Similarities a World Apart with Marc Kinchen

American DJ + music producer MK (Marc Kinchen) is a house legend.  In 1993, his song “Always” hit No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart, and his 1995 remix of The Nightcrawler’s “Pushing The Feeling On” is, undoubtedly, a house staple.  In the 00s, MK lived in a world apart in pop, working with the likes of Pitbull and Jaden Smith.  Now—after a brief house-hiatus—MK is returning to his musical roots, with his signature sound international house-fans know and love.

Intro and Transcription by Camden Gaultney

Interview by Mike Greene

Mike: You travel the world doing what you love; what’s the biggest insight you’ve gained about culture and people in general?

MK: What I’ve noticed is that a lot of people are very similar in different countries.  You would think that when you go to Russia, for example, people would be quite different from people in America or Croatia.  But, everyone is pretty similar, which is quite shocking.

Mike: Is there one particular aspect of the individuality that makes them so similar?

MK: Every time I travel, the people are coming to see me or to hear music, which is universal—everyone’s take on music and watching DJs.

Mike: What about your interactions outside of the musical atmosphere?

MK: I don’t really have too many of those.  You literally go play somewhere and then leave.  There’s times I’ve been to a country and haven’t really seen the country—I’ve only seen the hotel room.  

Mike: Do you ever think twice about that?

MK: On paper, yes.  Before I leave, I’ll say: “I want to go to Paris and go to this or that museum.”  But you fly in at 6 am for the show and, by the end, you’re just too tired to do it.

Mike: Is there anything that has surprised you about the various cultures you’ve seen?

MK: Not yet.  I haven’t really been DJ-ing long enough to really see.

Mike: Do you think there is a difference in creating music that will gain popularity in America versus in London or Europe?

MK: For sure.  Before I travelled, I was just in America and would listen to US radio.  I used to think that what people wanted was what was on the radio; but it’s totally not that—it’s actually the opposite.  Travelling around the world, I’ve realized that’s not what people want.  People want something that is different, unique and doesn’t sound like anything else.

Mike: How do you find that uniqueness in such a saturated market?

MK: You go back to doing what you feel.  I did that in the beginning of my career in music.  I always just made music the way I wanted to make it.  But, as I got older, I started making more pop tracks and I kind of fell into that box.  But, when I started to travel, I took myself back out of that box and went back to what I think sounds good.

Mike: Is that based on a new breath of inspiration from the places you’ve been?

MK: Yes, it definitely does come from traveling—from seeing everyone else and what they want.

Mike: Is there any defining aspect of what you’ve seen that has really inspired you?

MK:  It’s just being out somewhere in a random country, hearing a track that sounds like nothing else you’ve ever heard and seeing people go bananas over it.

Mike: You’re a legend in the music industry.  What is something that you’ve learned from collaborating with other individuals in the industry?

MK: The funny thing is that a lot of artists I’ve worked with over the years work in a similar way.  When I was young and started producing, I worked in a room by myself.  Then, when I started to work with other artists, I noticed that we all kind of worked the same way.

Mike: Was there anything that super caught you off guard?

MK: I’ve seen Jay-Z do his songs without writing anything down.  He’ll just sit and listen to it for however long, then go and just do it.  I was in the studio with Quincy Jones once, and he did something that I’ve never seen before.  He took a synthesizer and put it in a vocal booth; and connected the mic to the synthesizer and the synthesizer to the speakers, the same way you would do an electric guitar.

Mike: Have you ever used that in any way?

MK: I have a couple of times; it’s a way to get a unique sound that you can’t get anywhere else.

Mike: You have an almost cult like following, and you’re known as an icon of the dance world.  What’s the biggest insight you’ve learned about having this much power?  You jump; they jump.

MK: I definitely don’t abuse that power (*laughs*).  I probably could do a lot more things, but I don’t really like to do that.

Mike: How does that make you feel?  In 2014, someone sold your sweaty towel for $10,000!

MK: I mean it’s amazing!  I was in the dressing room and the promoter’s girlfriend took my towel, after I had used it, and she said: “I’m going to sell this on eBay.”  We were laughing, and thought ‘whatever.’  The next morning, though, my manager told me it was on eBay, starting out for $50.  We were cracking up; I mean who would pay $50 for a towel?  Then the next day, my manager checked and it was going for $5,000—we flipped out.  It ended at $10,000; insane!  It was funny, though.  I was in London at the time, and all of my DJ friends were cracking up about it.  I went to see Jamie Jones one day, and I walked up during the middle of the set to say ‘hi.’  So, he turned around to grab his towel, and wiped his face with it.  It was fun; there were a lot of jokes with it.

Mike: Going back a bit to the beginning, how was the music scene growing up in Detroit, and how did the underground dance scene shape you into the musician you are today?

MK:When I was young, Detroit had a show called The Scene.  It was an independent dance show—super ghetto, but played the best dance music.  Back in the day, there was also a show called American Bandstand; it was a pop-show, they’d play commercial records and show kids how to dance.  This one [The Scene] was like the ghetto version of that; the music just made you want to dance.  I just sucked all of that in.  It was instilled in me even before I was producing.  Once I started producing, I automatically knew how to make songs ‘danceable.’

Mike: What about your relationship with Kevin Saunderson?

MK: When I first started to learn how to make music by myself, I did a record that some friends of mine put out independently.  Kevin heard it and got in touch with me when I was 17.  Then I started producing with Kevin, and watching him produce.  I learned a lot about producing in a real studio from Kevin for a couple of years.  Then I went on my own again.

Mike: What are your thoughts about mentorship?  If it wasn’t for Kevin, do you think you’d be where you are today?

MK: The funny thing is, I think I’d still be somewhere in music.  I was doing house music before I met Kevin, and I was still learning how to produce.  I would have just learned it more on my own, or somewhere else.  But, he definitely helped.  He was doing technic music; the way he was producing and creating his songs was something unique that I learned.

Mike: Where did your musical inspiration come from?  How/why did you get into all of this?

MK: I was always been a nerd growing up.  I was always into computers and technology.  In the 80s was when synthesizers and cool musical technology became popular.  I guess I kind of got into it all from that point.  If there were only acoustic guitars and pianos, I probably wouldn’t have become a musician.

Mike: Do you have any instrumental background?

MK: No, but I’ve taught myself theory, from the beginning.  I can read music.

Mike: Was there any artist that you looked up to growing up?

MK: Growing up, Depeche Mode.  If you know them, and know they’re music, it’s very electrical.  It’s all syncs.  Now they have more acoustic stuff, but in the beginning it was all keyboards and drums—I love that.  They would use these keyboards that were way to expensive for me, and I would think: “I wish I had that.  I wish I could make that sound.”  I’d try to mimic their sound with the equipment I had.

Mike: Was there anyone who you worked alongside, when you were coming up?

MK: Not really, it was always by myself.  Even now, I have a hard time with that.  I prefer working in studios alone—I’m more creative that way.  I try not to depend on anyone else when I’m making a song.

Mike: Are you very definitive in your work, in terms of adding things?

MK: I always feel like I could add something else to my songs.  A lot of times, when I’m remixing, I’ll have to stop myself and say: “Marc, stop, leave it alone.”

Mike: Last question: an artist’s music is typically a reflection of themselves in one form or another, what does your music say about you?

MK: I don’t know.  That’s a good one.  That’s the kind of question that someone would say if I were describing Prince and his music; I don’t know how you describe it about yourself.   

Mike: When you hear your music, what sensation do you feel?

MK: Well, I want a song that makes me feel good; that changes my mood to something happy and confident.  That’s what I feel like when I make a good record.
MK’s Publicist (off to the side): It’s also known as ‘shoulder-bounce’—that’s when you see the connection of his music and him being happy and confident!  It’s amazing.  I want to trademark it.