DJ Mag TOP - 100 DJs 2011
Position No. 71
MARK KNIGHT (UK)
Style: Tech house.
Best known for: Toolroom Records and Toolroom Knights
Tune of 2011: Anything by Stefano Noferini.
Breakthrough DJ/Producer of 2011: Michael Woods - he deserves to be a superstar.”
What's the future of DJing? It's become a show now, 2012 will see that take even more prominence in the scene.
Favourite app? Shazam, 'cos it's all about knowing the names of records.
Discovery of the year? My new son - obvious really!
Rediscovery of the year? Jodeci 'Freakin You (MK Dub)' from 1995. With the current renaissance of tracks from this golden era of house, it's great to play one of my all-time personal favourites that still sounds as good now as it did on the day I bought the vinyl.
Awkward Moment? [Long pause] Answering this question
Style or substance? You can't have one without the other.”
Pet Hate? DJs who get on the mic. It's a return to the old days. We don't need it!
year?', but having 72 out of the Beatport Top 100 all on your own label must come a very close second. Mark Knight's Toolroom Records did just that at one stage in 2011, pretty much defining the year's main room tech house template as a result. It's no surprise really, because the man himself talks with a steely determination.
“I've got a definitive plan of what I want to do with my career. This year I've been focussed on the new live concept, but have also done some interesting pop collaborations with people. It's been good; I've had some big singles this year and have stepped it up a notch with the people I'm working with.”
Those people include Tiësto, and his live show debut is imminent. It's due to launch at Brixton and is a culmination of months of hard (“and expensive”) preparation. “I have a repertoire of proper songs and anthemic pieces, so I might as well play to that strength. That's gonna be my angle - we'll have Karl Hyde from Underworld, and loads of other guests will come on and perform. A sort of Chemical Brothers-style vibe is what I'm ultimately aiming for.”
A bold move, given Mark's already assured standing on the world DJ circuit. This year alone he has opened Space with Steve Lawler and Carl Cox, played an eight-hour set in front of 15,000 people at Cacao Beach in Bulgaria and has touched down all across Europe and the Americas.
