International DJ/Producer, Mark Knight is known by his empire label, Toolroom Records. The Toolroom has steadily grown immensely from 2004 and have added artists such as Fedde Le Grand, David Guetta, and Fatboy Slim over the years. Since then Toolroom has become the biggest, fastest selling label on Beatport with the help of dance act, Faithless in 2009. Mark remains a force to be reckoned with, as his abilities supercede the glorified title of “DJ.” He has taken on his calling on the business side as he spearheads Toolroom, taking it from Mainstead, UK and giving it a worldwide recognition in dance music.
Marks latest release, Stopover resulted from locking himself in the studio for 48 hours with Dragon (Dirty South), and out was birthed the February 17th track released on Beatport. Mark lets me know that the story behind the name Toolroom and its success, “I set up Toolroom Records with my brother back in 2004. I often have to pinch myself when I think of how it’s grown from a tool shed outside my parent’s house (hence Toolroom Records)- to where we are now as a business, with the caliber of artists we have signed to the label and the amount of people involved with Toolroom Knights.”
As momentum takes its course in hard work and dedication, so does recognition. Mark Knight received that in the form of his first Grammy nomination for his production work on the Black Eyed Peas album, E.N.D. Mark remains humble when asked about this colossal acknowledgment, “[The] hook up for the track came through David Guetta. We worked across the net and got the track finished. I couldn’t believe it when I found out we’d been nominated for a Grammy. Nothing has changed. But off the back of the Grammy nomination, there’s some more interesting projects in the pipeline.” Mark emphasizes the new projects that will be emerging and will include him, of course, his partner, Wolfgang Gartner, D. Ramirez and Dave Spoon. The kicker happens to be the Mark Knight touch to a remix he is doing for Ginuwine, Timbaland and Missy Elliot!
Outside of that, Mark Knight has a few surprises that you will hear during the Winter Music Conference. All I could get out of Mark is it’s for mega acts, Underworld and Faithless. As he says, “It’s a bit hush, hush”, but I guarantee you will hear those tracks in his sets. The full Toolroom squad will be playing at the Terrace at Space on Friday 26th. “D.Ramirez, me, Dave Spoon, Funkagenda and a very special ‘super styling’ guest” will be there. I am guessing Fedde Le Grand?
A man that wears many hats, Mark doesn’t seem like he sways far from his Gemini dualistic traits. Busy and on the go all the time, this DJ,”loves a good cup of English breakfast tea. Not very rocking roll” (he knows). As many artists like Mark, would like to come to DC more, “I’ve only played DC twice before and both times were really good. [I am] Looking forward to coming back to GLOW, it’s a cool club and the crowd is great.”
-Dee Sanae
Come out and see what this Grammy nominated producer is all about at CLUB GLOW on Saturday, February 27th! Please visit www.clubglow.com. And as always, Panorama Productions hosts events at the best nightclubs in DC!
For more information on Mark Knight visit www.djmarkknight.com | www.toolroomrecords.co.uk www.myspace.com/djmarkknight
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This Thursday, the beat master himself DJ Dan takes center stage at Glow Thursdays at Lima! From his start in the late 80s till now, Dan has been a pioneer in establishing the Electronic Dance Music scene across the United States. You can hear him LIVE this Thursday at the new Glow at Lima!
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