DEC. 17, 2013
Markus Schulz is a sweet guy, and he produces some sweet tracks, but Saturday night at Phoenix Nightclub in Charlotte, NC Markus Schulz’s set was dark and dirty…and it was amazing!
His travel arrangements into Charlotte were delayed and it meant I ended up only having 5 minutes with him instead of the 30 minutes or so I had hoped and prepped for. When I was escorted to the back to interview him 30 minutes before he was due to start his set, he was reserved and looked a little weary and tired. I don’t blame him, he had just flown in from performing at Marquee in Las Vegas less than 24 hours ago and honestly I don’t know how these DJ’s perform night after night in different cities and states without getting absolutely drained. But if I was worried I wouldn’t get much out of him with my limited time and his lack of energy, boy was I wrong. I might have only had time to ask him a few questions, but from the very first one he burst into life and gave me more exuberance and insight into his exciting and busy life than I could have ever wanted.
Your Buenos Aires ’13 compilation was recently released and has already amassed much adoration, what was your biggest inspiration for this particular city series?
I’ve been going down to Argentina for years and the fans there are amazing and this past year I did two shows back to back there both of them were sold out they were open to close solo sets both nights and I think that’s what really did it for me, those two nights just kind of, it really represented something special. Every year I dedicate it to a city that has inspired me during that year and I think those two shows were really instrumental in solidifying Buenos Aires as the 2013 City Series.
What are some cities you’re interested in highlighting over the next few years?
It’s like a whole event when we narrow it down and make the announcement, but I’m really excited about the next year or two because I’ve been to some amazing cities that deserve to have a compilation dedicated to them.
What was the catalyst for the creation of the New World Punx group with Ferry Corsten and how are those shows different to your solo performances?
Ferry and I, it kind of came about by accident, we were traveling together both going to the same gigs, actually we were going to Ibiza, and we just started hanging out and talking about music and we decided to make a track in the studio and we had a gig in Birmingham, UK at Godskitchen and the promoter basically said, ‘You know what, you guys figure out the time slot, whatever you guys want to do.’ So Ferry and I decided, why don’t we alternate, you open play for an hour, then I’ll play, then you’ll play and we wound up just playing back to back the entire night and we had so much fun. And then we did it again at Echostage in Washington, DC and from that point on promoters started calling and asking for it and so that’s why we had to put a project name to it to make it an official thing. And to be honest with you the whole idea of it is just to have fun, we’re up there just vibing off of each other, there’s some improvising, and it’s a lot of fun. The attitude is a lot different; it’s a little more of a rebellious attitude.
Who should we look out for as an up and coming talent emerging through Coldharbour Recordings?
Obviously Coldharbour is on fire and there’s an old veteran, Mike Push, he’s been around for a long time and he’s just back with a vengeance, he’s really making some amazing tracks. He opened for us [New World Punx] in New York City a couple weeks ago when we played in Roseland Ballroom and he did an amazing job. So I would say he is one of the guys to keep an eye on, because he is really making a huge comeback.
That interview solidified a few things for me, two in particular. First, I have to see Markus’s project with Corsten, New World Punx and second I’m extremely excited to hear more from Mike Push out of Coldharbour Records.
What really solidified the whole night though was Markus’s set, I had always known Markus to be an amazing trance DJ with exceptional producing and mixing abilities that gets crowds dancing, but I really was not expecting the hard core grittiness his set brought that night.
Between dropping his “Remember This” and a crowd pleasing New World Punx’s “Romper” with touches of old and new school like Hardwell’s “Apollo” and his own “Nothing Without Me” the crowd was utterly entranced. It was truly a show and a night for the record books.
By Lauren Stafford
