www.myspace.com/alisonmarks
www.myspace.com/alisonmars

I still get a rush when I hear a tune that really moves me.

After spending my teenage years bombing about the country to various dodgy parties and raves in darkened clubs and fields (Castle Morton being a highlight) it seemed a natural progression to get myself a set of decks to play the records I’d been eagerly collecting. I went to Manchester University because I was so impressed that the guys in Eastern Bloc knew what tune I was looking for by the three lyrics I told them. Not very mature but it was free to go to university in those days and I just wanted to be able to go to the Hacienda every weekend.

My first set of decks were belt driven and had little twisty knobs to change the pitch. It was really hard to get them to stay in time but it was a great way to hone your skills. By the time I got some Technics I was well away, I sent a tape to Musik magazine’s mixtape competition and won. It was the start of a wonderful adventure that saw me host shows on Frequency FM and Groovetech radio, hold residencies at Turnmills in London, Propaganda in Moscow and La Sala in Columbia, play to 15,000 people at The Exit festival in Serbia and travel to the Ural mountains, Murmansk in the Arctic Circle, Sakhalin near Japan, Bejing, Israel, Beruit and a whole load of incredible and fascinating places, plus all the sound and interesting people I encountered. I even ended up living in Russia for 2 years and travelling the whole country in tiny little planes that were older than me hanging on for dear life whilst they rattled to a halt on icy runways. It was an amazing experience that I will never forget and still hold dear to my heart.

Along the way I became very interested in making music – first I had an Atari, next came a few synths and a better computer and the studio has built and built. I became addicted to learning the art of production and exploring the possibilities of sound, it’s a never-ending journey that I am so grateful that I have in my life. I can have the best time ever just sitting in my room playing with machines to no end at all safe in the knowledge that I will never run out of things to learn and that I don’t even have to leave my flat - perfect! ‘Ones ignorance continues to grow at precisely the same rate as ones experience’ (Anne Michaels). I also started recording the singing songs I had always written and hope to finish the albums worth of material I have floating about my hard drives one day. Of course I still love to dip into the chaos of my record collection and pull out a few memories as well as continually adding to this sound bank that is my life. I try to uphold the values important to me and not focus too much on the chosen life so I can move freely. It’s all about the journey, man ☺

Connection thru sound: one of life’s greatest pleasures.

A list of some of the places I've played over the years…

The End, Plastic People, Fabric, Robodisco, Wiggle, Secret Sundaze, The Laundry, The Cross, Turnmills, Groovetech Radio, Propaganda (Moscow, Russia), Twilo (New York), Muna (Germany), Otv (Croatia), Moog (Barcelona), Le Club (Valencia), Weekend (Madrid), Goa (Madrid), Tlv (Israel), Pervert (Mexico), Paradise Garage (Portugal), Radost FX (Prague), Tropical House (Los Angeles), and various clubs in Hong Kong, China, Lebanon, Turkey, Macedonia, Greece, Canada, Ukraine, Switzerland, Iceland, Holland, Germany, Georgia, Greece, Italy, Sicily and Siberia.
Festivals: Extrema (Holland), I Love Techno (Belgium), Mysteryland (Holland), Koneisto Festival (Finland) and Exit Festival (2002 Serbia).
Russia: Irkutsk, Siberia, Surgut, Saratov, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Tagil, Krasnodar, Pyatigorsk, St. Petersburg, Tyumen, Ufa, Magnitogorsk, Sterlitamak, Penza, Sahalin, Chelyabinsk, Sochi and many other cities and towns.