Marc Miroir - Hitting Home

Marc Miroir's has just released 'Hitting Home' an album in a deluxe CD format. Having been a prolific producer, DJ and owner of the impring Paso Music for fifteen years, he has the philosophy that 'Some things just get better and better with time, like your favourite old leather jacket, and sex, feeling comfortable in your own skin'. Ellie Hewitt caught up with Marc to talk about 'Hitting  Home', 1993, bliss, happiness and his preferential clubbing superpower as he drops an exclusive mix for Pulse Radio's Join The Dots show with Helen S.

Your new album 'Hitting Home' is a deluxe CD, what were your intentions with this release and why on CD? I started to think about producing my debut album in 2009, talked to my co-conspirators and wondered how my album should sound, made a rough sketch and started to search for sounds and samples. During that time I was lucky to meet Hard Ton and Kiki Moorse, who are great vocalists. The intention was to produce a timeless piece of good music, referencing different genres, but still one homogeneous body of work. I felt it should be composed like one of my DJ sets, with that magical arc of suspense. The completed album is available on CD and digital download. I don’t think a double vinyl album makes sense anymore, because it’s too expensive for the label to produce. Still, a CD is a physical entity and more prone to last, but we released two singles from the album on even more durable 12” vinyl. This album took me so long to create it would be nice for it to materialize in this world for some time now, too!

You're known for predominantly mixing vinyl and have had numerous vinyl releases, is there a reason for this debut album coming out on digital format? Most of the DJs are playing burned CDs or digital, so it’s important to release it digitally, even if I personally like vinyl better. For the fans who want to listen to it whole, a CD is better than double vinyl, because you can hear it in one go. So I think a double vinyl album makes no sense, partly because of the limited space on one side. But I still love and play vinyl so we released the two singles on vinyl. By the way, I just made a remix for Enough! Records, which will be a vinyl only release!

You've been DJing since 1993; what periods of Electronic music history have most notably influenced 'Hitting Home'? Definitely the early years around 1993 with Acid and Acid House, which I think you can hear on “Fire” or “Maxid” on the album. The 303 sound was, is and always will be, sexy and catchy. You can use it as a bassline like on “Fire” or as sound effects, like on “Maxid”. As well, the years around 2005 with its minimal sounds like those in “Sounds of the Barn” or “Ritterschlag” influenced me a lot. But I think I managed to put the tracks mentioned in a modern and contemporary context through the other tracks that are very up-to-date.

With people like Sven Vath and Richie Hawtin dropping your releases would you say there's added pressure to deliver with this album? No. I was completely free of thinking that I needed to please anyone and that the tracks needed to work on the dance-floor like a 12" should. The album is 100% me, without any compromises. The approach to an album is completely different than to a single. A 12" has to be functional and focused on the dance-floor. That was not my intention with this album, even though many tracks are working very well on the dance-floors!

You regularly rank a top 20 DJ in the annual Groovepoll and as a top national DJ, how important are your fans in your inspiration? My fans are very important for my inspiration. When I play a long set, with people dancing all the time, I get direct feedback about my work. Sometimes I’m searching for a special track, for that special situation, but it’s only in my head not in my bag. The next day I go to the studio and try to nail down this idea. On the other hand, you get direct feedback: what kind of sounds people like and what does not work like I had expected. Which DJ doesn't like the crowd to go crazy when they play?

Having been in the industry such a long time, what pieces of advice would you give to newcomers about having sustainability in this business? I think every DJ should know how to play with vinyl. That’s a technical skill, which every DJ should acquire, just to really understand the musical matter we are working with instead of auto-syncing your way through other DJ’s charts. I believe everyone should develop their own style and remain true to themselves. That is easier if you understand the matter you are dealing with in detail. It is vitally important that you are 100% committed to what you are doing. Be authentic. Practice makes perfect. Try to play for your fans whenever you can, even if it's at home playing for your friends before or after going out.

What would you say the driving mentality of Paso Music as an imprint is? Our philosophy is that we only want to release music that we like 100%, no matter if it’s Techno, Minimal or Deep House. The most important thing is, that it’s good music and that we love it. We are a small label and have to stand up against the big labels with the highest quality releases we can. If we don't have anything we like 100% we just don't release anything, even for a longer period, which bigger companies won't do because they have to have a constant output. I’m a DJ so our 12" releases are thoroughly tested and definitely work on the dance-floor.

Apart from the obvious fertile underground music scene of Berlin what other inspirations do you draw from the city? As you know, in Berlin there is a huge electronic music scene. You can meet other musicians during the week and talk about new equipment, problems or other things, so there’s a big exchange between the artists. Berlin is such an international city, with expats from all over the world moving here for one reason or another and that’s also inspiring for me. The city is changing rapidly and all the freedom that comes with cheap rents is about to go right now. I find that freedom extremely inspiring and hope it can last a bit longer.

What was it like growing up in Wurzburg? You've played at so many clubs in Germany, have you got any fond memories of any particular ones? Growing up in Wurzburg was great! I still love this small city because it has an enormous integrity and people like to party. For a city that is so small it’s great to have a club like “Airport” that can afford to bring in A-list DJs from all over the world. Really special for me are gigs at all the great festivals, like Nature One, SonneMondSterne, as well as Rave On Snow. The energy is amazing and so concentrated, despite the huge numbers of people that all come out for their love to this particular music. There are so many great clubs all over Germany but I love my Berlin residency at ”Weekend”, which is on 3 floors in a high-rise right on Alexanderplatz and includes a roof-top terrace which is amazing in summer when the sun is rising over the city.

If you could have one clubbing related superpower what would it be? It's often been sub-cultures like latinos, afro-americans or gays that have found in clubs and club music the freedom and happiness they couldn't find in the real world. So club-music has always had that anguish to it, too. I guess if I had clubbing related superpowers I'd like the whole world to turn into one club of bliss and happiness, so no one needs to escape a certain reality anymore.

Listen to Marc Miroir on Pulse Radio