elektro exclusive interview with Mark of Those Usual Suspects + “Blaze” Trailer

Mark from the progressive house group, Those Usual Suspects, came by our studio for a chat about their upcoming dates, their massive upcoming single, "Blaze," and the future for this quickly emerging group. Check out the teaser for "Blaze" and our exclusive interview below!

So, you are from the Australian electronic dance music scene. Obviously, one of the biggest EDM hot spots right now. Are there any particular upcoming artists from Australia that you’re into?

Mark: Definitely Nordean we’ve done a couple tracks with him. I think a very underrated producer. He actually does a bunch of ghost productions things like that for other people he’s really, really talented. He’s one. There are a few kids coming out of Australia not necessarily my sound but I think they will do really well like Will Sparks he’s obviously going to be.. he’s done a few really good tracks. There’s a raft of kids that are coming up. You know the likes of Dirty South Tommy Trash and doing their thing and they are going wild. It’s the thing to do.

Big news came recently that you’re opening for Dirty South at Governor’s Beach Club. Dirty South actually played your upcoming track “Blaze” At EDC NY. What can you tell us about this track?

Mark: Well, we have done a few vocal tracks in the last year or two especially after “Walking Alone” that we did with Dirty South and we’ve always come from the clubbing sort of background, or at least like a housey background, and I just wanted to do something that really just slams, but taking away a lot of some of the stuff that you hear at the moment. I am not going to say it sounds generic, but you know I just wanted to do something a little bit different because I sort of stepped it back a couple of years and that was the idea for it something really big something really progressive you know the progressive house sound.

So you’ve worked with Dirty South, as well as several vocalists. Is there anybody else on your wish list for artists or vocalists to work with?

Mark: From an EDM perspective I would love to sit in the studio with Axwell for a day it’s one of those I think everyone would love to just to see how he thinks and how he operates. There is just something about the music that he makes especially on his own that you go, “wow this is an Axwell track,” and it’s just something about it and I just want to know how he does it. From I guess a vocalist perspective there is a lot, and oddly enough, it is a weird one but Missy Elliot I think that that would be really interesting. I was in my teens around the late 90’s and early 2000’s and it was a lot of her music that you’d listen to on the radio and I just thought that that would be kind of interesting.

Like “Work it?”

Mark: Yeah like “Work It.” I still drop that acapella in my sets, its just such a great track.

Aside from the governor’s island show, what are some of the upcoming events that you are looking forward to performing?

Mark: We’ve got a few gigs now at venues in Chicago like Studio Paris in Chicago. Hopefully a few more Vegas, I just played Vegas last weekend at the Encore Beach Club. Having just moved here [New York] it’s now about getting that local exposure.

Are there any artists you are looking forward to playing along side?

Mark: Not in particular. I think for me its everyone that’s here is doing amazing things like there are so many others, its too many to name. I always like to play with artists that are a little bit different from what I do because from a crowd perspective, you are not hearing the same thing over and over again, and I try to do that anyway even if I am playing with Dirty South, or if I am playing with someone else. Just try to play with different groups so you hear different things.

So right now you kind of have this like progressive house sound electro house some may call it I guess is that a sound you are hoping to stick to or you hope that it will evolve into a genre at some point?

Mark: Well I think we are always trying to keep it housey in some way. I think what I generally try and produce is a lot of called the groove, there is a bit of weird shape to it, but you know that kind of sets it apart. Always interested in new sounds and all of that sort of stuff haven’t really thought about you know if I am going to go more dubby or something more electro, but I think we try and keep it quite house because that’s where we come from, and I think you are hearing a bit more of that from Axwell with his new “Center Of The Universe” and some of the stuff that I’ve heard Steve Angello is doing is just trying to bring it back into the more housey stuff, and it’s good because a lot of the kids that are new to EDM probably haven’t heard that stuff so its going to be fresh for them.

So where do you see yourself and Those Usual Suspects in five years from now?

Mark: I think for us its if we are enjoying what we are doing, producing music that we are enjoying and people are enjoying listening to it still, I think we are happy with that. I’d love to say that in a couple of years time we have collaborated with a couple of really big artists. I’d love to do a track with Calvin Harris or someone like that, but I think we are content with being happy with what we are doing, and if we are getting to play a few shows here or there so be it we’ll be happy with that.

Is there anybody you want to give a shout out to?

Mark: My other two compatriots in Australia that are part of Those Usual Suspects. It’s hard obviously being me living here and them living over there, and basically all the fans that have been supporting us we just registered 50,000 on Facebook which we are really happy about and excited about.