INTERVIEW BY CARL MALONEY OF RGM JANUARY 3 2025
Hello again Marc! Thanks for joining us for a follow up interview in the virtual RGM lounge today.
It’s been five months since our last interview. Remind us how you got started in music.
(Marc) My entire life, it has felt like I’ve had no choice but to grow and explore as a musician. I don’t remember any time when this was not the case. It’s hard to ignore what’s stereotypically expected of you, and still pursue this with such commitment. It’s been a difficult balancing act. Frankly at times, I’ve tried to deny it, and leave it behind me, and that always turns out to be the wrong thing to do. So here I am.
Introduce us to your musical history.
(Marc) I’ve been a true “jack of all trades” in the sense that I’ve never settled down into one style for very long. Instead, I’ve taken styles on pretty seriously without “drinking the kool aid” of that style, if I can put it that way. I did take about a dozen years of piano lessons as a child through my mid teens. In spite of that, I do almost everything by ear today. It feels much more natural.
I have a keen sense of pitch, melody and timing, as well as a great many years of experience dabbling in all these styles. My years of sight-reading and music theory training have left many models of how music works in my brain, and these are my guideposts. Ideas just tend to flow when I need them. Setting up a concept and musical framework for me work with are valuable devices for me too.
It says in your credits that you play almost everything yourself in your music. How does that work exactly?
(Marc) I have spent the last ten or so years accumulating the best virtual instruments that are available, as well as several enormous sample libraries. It’s remarkable how much sound quality and realism have improved since my days as a producer.
So when I come upon a segment of a song that I feel needs a french horn sound to round out the passage for example, I have many ways of producing that sound. It’s a matter of finding the right one. Which one has the right expressiveness for what I am trying to convey? Between my long history in many styles and my ability with pitch bending techniques (thank you Jan Hammer and Chick Corea), I can usually coax a pretty believable performance out of these things. I keep at it until it’s good enough to make my point. About 90-95% of what you hear in my music is played in this way. Orchestrators and musical purists would consider these “mockups” but this approach works as an art form unto itself I believe. I once jokingly called my style “funky global neoclassical hybrid electronic music”. No hyphens there. (laughs)
I’ve seen a lot of people struggling for support recently online. What’s your view on the industry?
(Marc) Online support has become like running on a treadmill. It’s super hard to get anywhere and it has become a way too important pursuit for musicians to be involved in. As much as we all resented the record labels, managers, and agents, they were playing this role instead of us doing it for ourselves. I’m not wishing for a return to those times, but it’s important to examine our own quality of life too. Are we going to drive ourselves over the edge in trying to simply attract attention? Hope not.
Where do you feel you currently sit within the music industry?
(Marc) My music as an art form is very important to me. The music videos I produce for the pieces have also become integral to this art. It’s going to continue for a long time, I hope. My original releases for the “STIR” series continue until early June, and a new series entitled “FREED” will begin after that.
I am working on producing immersive 3-D mixes of my songs as well. Distribution of these is under development, and so I can’t say much more about that at this time. I am planning a parallel course as well marketing myself for sync licensing deals. These efforts will begin pretty soon actually.
Tell us two truths and a lie about you.
(Marc) The lie is that I am reclusive. The fact is that I am living two lives simultaneously and don’t have the time to do anything else but live my “day job” life and then compose and perform all the music, production work, and videos to a certain level of quality. I expect nothing less from myself. At the end of the day I have a little time left to spend with my wife and our friends.
So truths about me, so to speak: Music reviewers have many times called me “brave” and “fearless” about my presentation of my music. Others refer to me as a “beacon” of originality, innovation, etc. I am super flattered by these words, and take them to heart as a part of what I am doing. I only hope I can live up to those words, and keep it up for a long time!
Do you ever worry about people taking things the wrong way or cancel culture? Discuss….
(Marc) No. I am a polite person to everyone by nature. If anybody seeks confrontation it’s easy to get it right? I believe in calming things down and making life a little easier whenever possible. Things are hard enough.
What was your best experience on stage?
(Marc) Being able to play my own compositions with some very gifted musicians. This was a long time ago now, but it really emboldened me to continue composing music right through this day. There’s a section within my website dedicated to that wonderful period in my musical life. Click my VIEWS tab and scroll down a little.
What was your worst experience on stage?
(Marc) Going blank as a chord change approaches. There is nothing scarier for a proud musician than that.
Tell us something about you that you think people would be surprised about.
(Marc) I don’t know if people would be surprised, but I am very much into healthy and natural food, global cuisine, and natural supplements. I spend some of that time I don’t have on that. It brings me pleasure and I believe improved health and longevity.
I hear you have new music. What can you tell us about it?
(Marc) “Chill” is the 8th single in my series “STIR”. With each release, I am further pushing the boundaries of what is emerging to the world as my style. It is mysterious to many, but the response has been tremendous from reviewers so far. With “Chill”, instead of going into futurism, spirituality, or human intimacy, this time I explore a moment in culture when music experienced a confluence.
Miles Davis started bringing the new approach to music called funk, to jazz. He got criticized at first but in hindsight he is universally considered a genius for doing that. Its influence is felt all over the music world, and I wanted to acknowledge it. I love creating deeply emotional atmospheres and this is as valid an excuse to do that as any, in my mind.
What was the recording process like?
(Marc) Organized chaos (laughs). Like I said earlier, the ideas flow if I let them. It’s a matter of when, not if. Luckily, midi is my friend in this regard. It is an extension of my creative process and an indispensable tool. I often feel like my production studio is my instrument and an extension of my mind. Sounds weird maybe but it feels true.
What was the biggest learning curve in writing the new tunes?
(Marc) What everything is called can be endlessly confusing. There are dozens—maybe hundreds—of music technology manufacturers. There is almost no standardization for how things work and what things are called. Only the general rules of music practice are usually there.
Would you change anything now it’s finished?
(Marc). No. I’ve outgrown that strong impulse, finally.
Is there anything else you would like to share with the world?
(Marc) Let’s not go down the path that is being laid out for us. Resist the temptation. Make a better world instead.