ATQPOD032 || Mak 1
The 32nd Arteq podcast is brought to you by Brisbane based producer & DJ Mak 1, and damn does this have some energy.
Creator of the Syzygy Podcast, which has been host to an array of artists, we shine a light on Mak 1 to see what he's been storing in his library.
What do we get? A beautiful mix filled with some high energy house and deep, chugging electronic music. Mak 1, you are a music connoisseur. Filled with great mixing abilities and an amazing ear.
We thank you for taking the time to curate this mix for us at Arteq, we know our wonderful family will enjoy it <3
CLICK to open mix in SoundCloud.
More from Arteq and Mak 1 below.
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Tell us about yourself as Mak 1.
So I started Mak 1 back in 2010 DJ'ing around Melbourne. I was into all sorts of genres, playing electro house at Platform One and Roxanne Parlour. Deep house at La Di Da and Blue Diamond. Tech house and bass house at Wah Wah and Levels. And tech house and disco at the dirty Mersh.
Nowadays playing tech house and melodic techno and I think my DJ'ing is always evolving. I chose the name Mak 1 from my last name Machen and also from the scientific name of ‘the speed of sound’. Which I think is relative with how music and my sounds are ever changing.
What direction did you take on the podcast?
So initially I had a plan for the Arteq mix to be a slower but more of a darker vibe, roughly 115 to 125bpm. I have a few songs I've been holding onto that I thought would suit, this playlist is called 'post apocalyptic melodic punk house and techno'. But the arrangements weren’t working out, so I went for a slightly faster vibe and with longer tracks. I like to think of this mix being an ode to older tracks that I thought had a deeper and more meaningful tone, with a new age of tracks that I also thought have high production.
Why did you start DJ'ing?
I mean the music is number one. I actually started DJ'ing because your obviously 10% cooler. But also because you can exude creativity with spontaneity. Seeing copious amounts of DJ’s at events essentially being their true self through mixing, on a level that’s ‘in the moment’, wasn’t like anything else. Seeing someone smash a track I’ve never heard while it’s 3am in some dark basement, was pretty up there for me.
What has been your favourite DJ set & why?
I loved when Sven Vath came to Prince 2013. I somehow managed to convince the bouncer I was Sven’s ‘lighting guy’ for his Future Festival set earlier that day. So I got to go backstage popping champagne from his rider and handing Sven his next selection of vinyls from the crate. Fair to say the only thing I remembered next was being kicked out.
So my actual favourite that I can remember was seeing Skream back in 2014 when Novel had brought him out to Brown Alley in Melbourne. I mean for anyone who’s been to Brown Alley you already know the vibe, but his mixing that night was exactly what I was talking about with spontaneous creativity. Also remember some dude swinging off the roof beams.
You are the creator of Syzygy Podcasts, tell us a bit about that.
Well I started Syzygy back in the first Melbourne lockdown through COVID. I just had this urge to really start something I could call my own, but also help out any other artist that was hoping to mix at the time. I figured the DJ could mix in any genre they preferred, instead of other podcast who keep in line with a theme. Kind of like an essential mix on BBC Radio 1. I really hope to use Syzygy in the future for something more but we’ll see where that leads.
There’s 10 minutes left before the world self destructs, what song do you put on?
Kaskade - 4am (Adam K and Soha Mix)
Is there anything on your mind that you would like to say?
I’m just excited to think about when events are in full swing again around the globe as I think we need them more then ever. And hopefully I’m apart of that.
Peace.
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