Newcastle native and expert commander of the dance floor, Mark Jenkyns has become an undeniable stalwart of the house and techno scene. Many of you will be familiar with him for his close affinity to the Paradise and Hot Creations family, holding a residency on the white isle at Paradise and Abode in Ibiza, and his heavy hit list of releases on Suara, Crosstown Rebels, Hot Creations, Defected and VIVa. His latest Sirens EP on Hottrax hit the overall Beatport top 10 in just just three days, and he’s got a new collab with Andre Salmon in the works that’s bound to be a killer. Before getting caught up in the madness of his autumn and winter tour dates with Jamie Jones, we had a chance to catch up with Mark Jenkyns to chat about breaking into the industry, collaborating with vocalist Mizbee, new music, and more.
Take us way back when…how did you first get into dance music and breakout in the industry?
Mark Jenkyns: To be honest, it probably dates back to the illegal raves in my home town that I went to when I was 14; we used to listen to what was known as bouncy house / happy hardcore and those raves were definitely some real eye-openers when you’re only 14. Not long after that, I went to Aya Napa on a lads holiday and thought it was the be all and end all, but then I went to Ibiza the following year and was like “what the f#ck have I been doing?!” It’s hard to pin an exact moment that put me onto the dance music vibe, but a combination of events kinda lead me to where I am now, I guess. It wasn’t until a few years after Ibiza, once I’d learnt to DJ and make tunes, that I broke through with Hotwaves/Hot Creations – the rest is history!
Would you say that Ibiza or the UK dance music scene has had a stronger impact on your music?
Mark Jenkyns: Hands down Ibiza – there’s no other place on earth where so many people with the same passion for music can enjoy the scene like they can in Ibiza. Every trip inspires you to get back into the studio.
After a wild summer playing Paradise, what was your most memorable/craziest moment at these shows?
Mark Jenkyns: I would have to say closing the Paradise main room at the closing party with my best mate and having all our old school/proper mates in front of us loving it will take a lot to best… unless we do it again next year 😉
Let’s talk your Sirens EP. What went into the making of the title-track with Mizbee?
Mark Jenkyns: Basically, some sampled vinyl, a belt of a vocal, and a whole lot of love. The vocal was kind of a happy accident – it’s actually a recording of Mizbee warming up, but it just clicked.
What do you typically look for when searching for a vocalist to collab with?
Mark Jenkyns: Hmmm, well I think I have found the perfect vocalist with our Fay (Mizbee)! It takes someone that has a love of the music you’re doing, soul and warmth in the voice, and has good craic. She ticks every box for me and we have become very good friends as a result of working together. We have a lot of projects going on which includes another EP on Hot creations, but she is also getting some great offers so I expect you’ll be hearing a lot more from her in the future. So if anyone ticks these boxes they’re in, but I think Mizbee will be around as my go-to for vocals for some time.
How did the collab with Andre Salmon for “Hey Honey” come about?
Mark Jenkyns: Me and Andre met at Lost Beach in Ecuador when we were both playing. The guy is super talented and it won’t be long till he gets a break. We ended up having a jam in the Lost Beach studio and clicked, so since then we have back-and-forthed with projects – Jamie (Jones) really liked “Hey Honey” so we decided to put it on the Hot Traxx EP.
You’ve got another collab with Andre Salmon being released this month. What can you tell us about it?
Mark Jenkyns: Yeah, it’s on Resonance Records – it may be put back a little now, but it’s a 3-4 track EP and all mainly club tracks. With Sirens doing so well it was important for me to make sure that I had an equally strong EP to follow it up with, I reckon this one will do the job!
Any shows coming up that you’re looking forward to?
Mark Jenkyns: The big shows I’m looking forward to next are a couple of Warehouse Project shows, and one at London’s Printworks – they’ll all be with Paradise. And I’ve got another South American tour lined up too. Certainly busy!
Check out Mark Jenkyns with Mizbee and a banger remix of Andre Salmon’s new tune below:
Connect with Mark Jenkyns:
https://www.facebook.com/markjenkynsmusic
https://twitter.com/mark_jenkyns
https://soundcloud.com/markjenkyns
https://www.instagram.com/markjenkyns
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