How was MADE Birmingham last year for you?
OMG, it was absolutely amazing.
Birmingham crowds are so full on and into it, I always love coming to the Midlands, just seems very soulful and switched on.
It has such an organic vibe to it, I sometimes wish that more promoters from the US would come here to experience what a great time it is.
Spending so long working with music, do you ever struggle to just relax and enjoy it?
No I love listening to music, I find it relaxing because it stimulates me.When it's great, it inspires to get back to my own stuff. I also find it relaxing playing my video games.
Is it ever frustrating?
Sometimes. When I am asked to make music on demand, it does not always come to me and I find that frustrating. Creative inspiration is a mysterious thing, it is hard to do it on demand like a machine.
Inside the head of MK
In 2013, you said your proudest achievement was Burning. Does that still hold true or has something pipped it?
I guess I can modify that now, I would say it was my first proudest achievement.
Now everyday seems to bring something new that tops the list like having my first ever Number One in the UK Dance and Pop Charts with my remix of Look Right Through, and then a Number 4 with my remix My Head is a Jungle, by Emma Louise and Wanklemut. (I actually have a new one that Emma and I have co-written).
Playing Coachella a really big one, having my Area10 stages at Parklife, Creamfields and at We Are Fstvl, doing Area10 nights at Pacha, it feels like every day tops the last.
How do you go from producing work for films and TV shows to creating house remixes?
It's all making music to me, just for different purposes and to be honest, it went the other way around.
I first started making my own records, then remixes and then back to my own productions and after that it was movies.
It’s full circle now since I am doing my own music again for my upcoming album and remixes as well.
But, to be truthful, even the remixes are my music since I almost exclusively only use the acapella from the song and then build a new track to it (Push the feeling On is a great example of that, the original is an R&B song).
Even the recent Number 1 Tough Love version of Freakin You is a remix of my remix from the mid nineties.
"My name is MK, also I go by Marc Kinchen"
How long did it take you to get the hang of DJ'ing?
It took three solid years of working steadily at it to really have a handle, but I am still learning everyday, especially with all the technology that is changing all the time.
It’s funny - my whole issue with DJing in the early days is I wanted to actually mix the music live and that has now become a reality with all the various gadgets available now.
Like I said, I feel like I am getting better everyday and that keeps it challenging.
Do you still play tracks from the first stage of your career and what reaction do these receive?
Sometimes I do, I might drop a little bit of an old track in the middle of another song and I can tell by the reaction of the crowd who is familiar with my older stuff.
It is not really planned since I generally have a framework for what I will be playing but I still do a lot of stuff spontaneously, which for me keeps it real and in the moment.
Every now and then I will drop a little Push The Feelin On or maybe a little Freakin You but everyone thinks it's Tough Love now... (laughs)
Would you say your profile is the highest it has ever been right now?
Everyday I think that, it seems to be growing and yet, sometimes I feel completely normal and anonymous - like when I am home taking out the rubbish or fixing the dryer.
MK dominating the charts
Is it ever an issue flitting between all the different projects that you're involved in?...
I actually like working on more than one thing at once. I work on one project or song and then when I feel like I am running out of steam, I can start something else. Sometimes I will have four or five songs up that are in different stages of completion. Switching has been easy for me, I have no idea why, it's just like that for me.
How much work do you need to turn down?
I have had to turn down so much work lately, it is painful. So many songs, I want to do but I am either on the road or working on my album.
And how do you decide which gets taken on?
It really has to do with schedule and if I think I can really add something to the song and make it feel like it is part of me.
You've always been quite open about how important making money is for you. Do you think too many people hide that part of their goals?
Money does not rule me. It never has. I worked for a long time in the shadows of the studio and many people were able to make money from what I was producing and it made me very proud.
But now, I have a family and a team and money is the fuel that keeps us going, but music is my motivation not money. It’s always been that way. Regarding other people, I am not in a position to judge others, they each do what they feel is right for themselves. I have nothing to hide. I am extremely proud of what I have been lucky enough to accomplish.
"Money does not rule me. It never has."
Who is your favourite person you've ever worked with?
You must know that I can’t answer that. I have a list of at least one hundred that are my favourites. Do you want me to say Quincy Jones instead of Pitbull? Amine Edge instead of Will Smith? Lee Foss instead of Janet Jackson?
(laughs) Even answering these questions brings me right back down to earth, I am very blessed.
At this stage in your career, is it easy to have the confidence to stick to your own idea of what works on a track?
That is my mantra if I have one, I know that it something I must always stick to. I am always happy to have feedback and input, but when I know something works, I just know.
What would be the most bizarre remix you remember been asked to work on?
Hmm. I don't know the answer to that, I really have no clue, but I have done some weird ones in my time. I once did a remix called 1,000 Points of Light. It was a spoofy kind of record which took one of the first President Bush’s campaign speeches and I made a dub. That was a weird one
What are the long term plans and goals for MK?
Well I am working on my first album for Sony and Area 10 and that is the first thing on my mind, the other is putting together the production for the Area10 stages coming up this Summer.
Working on zero landscaping for my home so I don't get caught with a brown lawn and over consume the water in Cali (there is a terrible drought there) and just enjoying all the new adventures that are presented to me.
