Born in Italy, Markhese has been passionate about dance music ever since he was a child. After studying at a music school in its prestigious Piano Division, he first worked as a promoter and DJ for Italian clubs for many years.
After he earned a degree in Musical Event Production, he moved abroad to become a stage manager and artist assistant at international festivals. Finally, his true passion led him to become an international DJ and producer, sponsored by the London Sound Academy. Currently based in London (UK), defined as a next generation DJ/producer thanks to his energetic and unique style, his performances are set in a highly eclectic atmosphere where musical styles ranging from Progressive, Future and Deep House blend in a trendy and unique way, heating the dance floor.
We caught up with Markhese at ADE 2016, where he gave us insights, regarding his journey so far in the electronic music industry, his plans for 2017, and very interestingly, tips on how upcoming DJs/producers can make the most of a platform, like Amsterdam Dance Event.
Akshay – How is it going? How is ADE shaping up for you?
Markhese – It’s going very well. I came here on Wednesday for the Top 100 DJ night. I had the chance to see Martin Garrix, who is one of my favorite DJs, winning the award. Then I kicked off and every day is super busy with meetings, demos for new tracks, the Spinnin’ store, conferences, events at night. The ‘’Pitch Your Ultimate Car Track’’ by Uber is a really interesting initiative created by ADE. Basically, you have the chance to meet DJs and producers such as Julian Jordan, or the manager of Martin Garrix, for example, and you can actually do a ride with them around the canals on the Uber car for 10 minutes while they listen to your demo and give you some feedback. Apart from this, I’m doing some networking to get the world know my music and have the chance to play in Europe and Asia next year, where I am focusing my efforts. There are some countries that are really interested in my music, and they have big opportunities for upcoming artists like me that I want to take.
Akshay – For people who are not familiar with your sound, how would you describe it?
Markhese – I can describe my sound as futuristic, melodic, with an energetic style. My performances are set in a highly eclectic atmosphere where I always try to heat the dance floor and make people dancing and having an unforgettable moment.
Akshay – How did you get into the dance music scene?
Markhese – I remember that, when I was a kid, my brother would listen to dance music (he was buying for me always the Ministry of Sound compilation for Christmas); and I started imitating him and I was totally captivated by it. Then time passed and, when I finished school, this interest gradually came back. Today, most of the new artists start their career when they are still in school. For me, it was different: my interest in music was a sort of “rediscovery”, and I am finally realizing that this is actually what I really want to do.
Akshay – Your single “Next To Me” saw its worldwide premiere at Ultra Europe 2016 and it was also selected for the ADE 2016 compilation, compiled by Make Your Noize recordings. How did that come about?
Markhese – I love a lot the deep sound so I created a future bass one with some chops of vocals that makes you sing and move on the dancefloor. I found this Italian record label – Make Your Noize Recordings – and they liked it immediately. We spoke about 4 months ago and they mentioned releasing it in their ADE sampler and since October 19th it has been out on Beatport, Spotify, Juno and iTunes for everyone. It’s good to have this to kick off my career. Also, I have two new future house tracks which I presented yesterday at ADE, and Spinnin’ liked one of them, so that’s simply great.
Akshay – Things are looking up, yeah?
Markhese – As Martin Garrix would say, “The only way is up”, so yeah, definitely!
Akshay – Any idea how fans have responded to the single?
Markhese – People loved it, I got some big DJs such as Kenn Colt already playing it on his radio show twice so this is just the beginning. I hope to make it to the house charts as well. But my plan now is to continue working on something new and creating my sound, so people will remember Markhese for that.
Akshay – As a producer, how do you find inspiration to write the tunes?
Markhese – I listen to music for approximately 15 hours a day, different types of music, of course, to get more inspiration. Now I am getting closer to trap, to give an example, that seems to be the new trend at the moment. Normally, I just open Ableton and I start a project from the melody and then drop and leave it. Then I start another one, and another one, and another one, so on. Finally, I revise them and I pick one that I like in that specific moment and work on it. Usually, indeed, I wake up the morning after I created a project and I find always something that I would change. I also do a lot of mashups, especially for festivals and gigs where you normally play fast and need more attention from the public and need to keep always them dancing. The mashups have also given me some success, the track Moby – Go (Hi-Lo remix) vs Adrian Lux -Teenage Crime (Markhese Mashup) got played by DJs like La Fuente and Lucky Charmes, who said they liked it a lot.
Akshay – 2016 was an incredible year for you: you played at the opening and closing parties of Café Mambo Ibiza Tour and you played at the Ministry of Sound many times. You also took a summer tour starting in Poland and Croatia, which culminated with your winning of the Ultra Music Festival Europe 2016 DJ Contest. Last but not least, you have your own radio show and you are resident on More Bass Internet radio for EDM Wednesdays. If you had to pick up one highlight, which one would it be?
Markhese – I would surely pick up the Ultra Europe. I made a 30-minute mixtape, I put it online and everyone said it was so fresh and summer-style and voted it as number 1; I got 15.000+ votes. Ultra then contacted me asking if I wanted to participate in the Worldwide Stage as the headliner: totally a dream! I had friends coming from everywhere to see me there, even from Australia, or Las Vegas. If you like what you do and you share your passion, people will give it back.
Akshay – What are your plans for 2017? How do you ensure you’re going to go to the next level?
Markhese – I came to ADE to take it to the next level, meeting many people in the music business and learning more about myself, too. The idea now is focusing on production, creating my sound and making connections. In particular, I’m focusing on doing more summer festivals and more contests next year, and also expanding my music to Asia. I think it’s a good market for EDM. I lived in Hong Kong for about 4 months last year and I had the chance to travel to Taiwan, the Philippines and Thailand and I remember how great and full of energy clubs are over there. I definitely want to be there. India also has something appealing to me, so I’m working for it!
Akshay – I’m sure there are some artists you’d like to collaborate with in your future. Can you name them?
Markhese – I’m into future house, so first I’d like to collaborate with the new Spinnin talent Mesto. I met him yesterday at the Spinnin’ store, we had a chat and I shared my new tracks with him. He’s 17 years old, and he’s a genuine, passionate and nice guy. Also, Madison Mars, Tiesto, Jonas Aden, Lucas and Steve and Don Diablo are some of the names I would love to collaborate with.
Akshay – This is something like a lot of upcoming producers you want to know. You came to ADE, so you must have had some plan to follow. People usually come to ADE with some plan, like networking, for instance. What would you suggest any upcoming producer to do? How should they plan their ADE?
Markhese – You need to come with a plan in advance, and you need to have your USBs, demos, business cards, press packs, and meetings all sorted. I planned this three months ago, and I had more than 20 meetings in 3 days. Amsterdam Dance Event is definitely the event of the year, it gave me so much; in particular, I loved meeting all these international people from the sector, it opened my mind and gave me great ideas for the future.
Akshay – What are your top 5 tracks of the moment?
Markhese –
1. Michal Calfan – Over Again
2. Bob Sinclar & Daddy’s Groove – Burning
3. Madison Mars – Put Em Up
4. Martin Garrix & Jay Hardway – Spotless
5. Mike Williams – Take Me Down
To familiarize yourself with the sounds of Markhese, check out this brilliant mix created during ADE 2016.
