Marcus Marr [DFA/ New Fingers/ UK]
Late 2010 we stumbled upon a remix by Marcus Marr and we were in love. We have been following the UK based producer/DJ ever since and he has kept us coming back for more with his label "New Fingers" droping a great debut EP by Marcus himself. Find out some more in the interview below.
Butter: How did you evolve from listening to music to creating it?
M: I learnt some piano as a kid. Then I taught myself how to play the guitar and eventually started writing songs. I would hear a riff then work out how to play it by ear. Nowadays you can go on youtube and see someone explaining how to play something! It did train my ear though. Then I tried to record my songs myself. That got me started i suppose. Its been a gradual process. A lot of practicing, trial and error. A lot of error!
Butter: As well as producing and DJing, you run a label. Tell us more about the label and the idea behind it.
M: The label (New Finger), was me wanting to get a better understanding of the process of releasing records. Watch out for more releases soon.
M: The label (New Finger), was me wanting to get a better understanding of the process of releasing records. Watch out for more releases soon.
Butter: You have this sort of...left of centre disco vibe going on with your tunes. What influences these sounds?
M: Erm.. A big influence was the DJ Felix Dickinson. He made me a mix of weirdo underground disco years ago. That was a revelation to me. I also saw Harvey play in Brighton at the Zap club around that time. That also influenced me a lot. My tastes are pretty broad though. Some of my future releases will show other sides of what I like.
M: Erm.. A big influence was the DJ Felix Dickinson. He made me a mix of weirdo underground disco years ago. That was a revelation to me. I also saw Harvey play in Brighton at the Zap club around that time. That also influenced me a lot. My tastes are pretty broad though. Some of my future releases will show other sides of what I like.
Butter: What are you running in the studio? Is your setup hardware based?
M: Its a mix of hardware and software. I have all my instruments in a rough circle. Drums, guitars and keyboards. In the middle is my 16 channel mixer which feeds into Logic on a mac.
M: Its a mix of hardware and software. I have all my instruments in a rough circle. Drums, guitars and keyboards. In the middle is my 16 channel mixer which feeds into Logic on a mac.
Butter: A lot of amazing artists out of the UK have been pumping out ripping records as of late. Can you tell us what the scene is like over there and how it differs from other places you have visited?
M: I've not visited enough other places to judge properly. It seems pretty healthy here. I do think the UK has a strong tradition of music creation and consumption. There are loads of obsessive collectors of every conceivable kind of music. Maybe the rubbish weather has something to do with it! Escapism is big everywhere but English people seem to need it more than most I think.
M: I've not visited enough other places to judge properly. It seems pretty healthy here. I do think the UK has a strong tradition of music creation and consumption. There are loads of obsessive collectors of every conceivable kind of music. Maybe the rubbish weather has something to do with it! Escapism is big everywhere but English people seem to need it more than most I think.
Butter: What can we expect to hear in a Marcus Marr DJ set?
M: At the moment, I like to play at least a few of my new things in my sets. Its disco, boogie, house, some techno-ish bits. I edit a lot of the stuff i play. Some things I play are exclusives where I was listening to something, getting into it, and found myself wanting to play some keys or guitar on top. What do you call that?
Butter: The last 12 months or so have been quite big for you, what do you have planned for the rest of 2011?
M: More djing, production, releases, partying. A deeper studio tan would be nice too.
M: More djing, production, releases, partying. A deeper studio tan would be nice too.
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