After several significant showings in the Top 100 DJs chart, he now ranks as one of the top 10 DJs in the world! By now MARKUS SCHULZ needs little or no introduction. Voyeur was presented with the opportunity to ask Markus some questions ahead of his show at the club tonight, Friday, May 28th. Without further ado, here are 11 quick answers:
Voyeur: When will “Do You Dream” be released?
Markus Schulz: It’s out on the 8th of June as an iTunes exclusive and then the CD itself is out a week later on the 15th.
V: Any collaborations on the new album?
M: In terms of vocal collaborations there are many. I spent hours in the studio, in cars and planes listening through show-reels to find the right singers to balance my production tracks. It was quite funny as in two notable occurrences they were camped out remarkably close to home. Angelique Bergere for example was right here in Miami, almost under our noses! What she’s added to the tracks ‘Lightwave’ ‘Lifted’ is amazing. In terms of producer collaborations though, there is only one, which is with my long-time buddy Max Graham. He brought in Texan singer/songwriter Jessica Riddle (whose ‘I Know You’re Gone’ previously featured on my Miami compilation way back in 2005) for ‘Goodbye’. It was great to finally collaborate with him – we had been talking about it for waaaay too long!
V: Where did you record “Do You Dream”?
M: Almost entirely at my Coldharbour studios in Miami. We’ve actually just moved the studio, so I should point out for the hardcore fans out there that it was the old one as opposed to the new one. I tend to get picked up on things like this!
V: Are you currently working on any new remixes?
M:Nothing currently, it all been about the album this year!
V: What are some of your favorite old school records?
1) Cass & Slide – Perception (Vocal Mix) – I’m cheating a little here since the original version came out in 1999, but when it was re-released in 2000 with Naimee Coleman’s vocals, it became that special record for me – the one that I wish I had made myself. When I lived in London at the start of the decade, I used to attend The Gallery nights at Turnmills as a clubber on a regular basis, and this track was a huge, huge anthem at the time.
2) Rui da Silva – Touch Me – Probably one of the most important tracks released in this decade, not just because of how big it was in the clubs, but how successful it was commercially too. It’s such a simple track with nothing overly complicated, but the vocal is one that gives you goose-bumps. It’s perfect to play at sunrise sets and at New Year’s Eve parties.
3) Airwave – When Things Go Wrong – He has come up with some of the greatest melodies ever heard in trance, and When Things Go Wrong has always been the one to stand out for me. Just an incredibly emotional track, and I still find myself playing it in my livesets today.
V: Favorite Artist recently?
M: I think we’d have to make that artists, as there’s a couple actually. You really have to keep an eye on Phynn. I must have played his track “Spacewalk” in every single live set last summer, and a few months ago, I invited him to work his magic on Mike Foyle’s “Deadly Nightshade”, and he totally ripped it up. He’s a real talent, and having played at Trance Energy twice in the past few years, I’d expect him to gain some momentum on the DJing front also. I’m really eager to see how Sied van Riel develops. I’ve been an admirer of his DJing and productions for a while now, and I think he’s definitely capable of putting on some great shows this year. We had a lot of fun together when we played in Asia last May.
V: Artist on the lookout for in the near future?
M: Rex Mundi had an amazing 2009, most notably for the release of “Nothing at All”. He’s got a beautiful instrumental followup called “Opera of Northern Ocean”, and I couldn’t stop playing it for days when he first sent it to me. I’ve put it on my Las Vegas 2010 album and it’s proved one of the most popular tracks on there.
V: First dance record you ever got into?
M: Zapp- More Bounce To the Ounce. Maybe not what you’d expect as my first record! It came out in 1978 and had that P-funkesque dirty, low-down electroid sound going on. It’s been sampled by so many people: Public Enemy, Redman, Ice Cube – a classic track and definitely a good one to start my collection off with.
V: What are you most looking forward to in the near future?
M: Gotta say man the release of the album. It’s my first Markus Schulz one since ‘Progression’ 3 years ago and its 16 tracks that I’ve worked my ass off to make so I am pumped that its finally ready to fly. The reaction to the first 3 singles (The New World, Do You Dream and the latest single Dark Heart Waiting) have been really strong so, of course, I’m hoping that follows through for the other 13!
V: Who are some of the artists that you look up to?
M: Pink Floyd, Larry Levan and the Drum & Bass artist Aphrodite (as opposed to Aphrodite the goddess of love!). My mighty troika of influences!
V: What’s on the horizon for Coldharbour?
M: Well we have Coldharbour 100 – the 100th release coming up. I’m going to be going back through the archives and picking out 10 of the biggest and most memorable tunes from the history of the label and getting brand new remixes of each. I can’t say too much about it at the moment but I can reveal that my man Rex Mundi will be remixing Probspot’s Blueberry!
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WHAT: MARKUS SCHULZ
WHEN: Friday, May 28th, 2010
WHERE: Voyeur | www.voyeursd.com
