Markus Schulz Blog - July 20th 2010
Hey guys,
Hello to you all today from that little magical island we like to call Ibiza. I’m here preparing for my second of six appearances on the island as part of my residency at Amnesia this summer, and very much looking forward to meeting up with my buddies Armin and Blake later.
You’re probably wondering why I’m writing a blog here on a Tuesday, rather than the usual Friday. Well, two reasons for that. The first is that this week is probably the busiest one I will have gig-wise all year, with 5 gigs in 5 different countries in the space of 6 days. So that would have left me very pressed for time to get a blog done for this Friday as planned. Second, I owe you all the reviews of 6 gigs since the last blog, and I didn’t want to fall behind with those either.
It hasn’t been the easiest of times for me recently, but I’ll try my best to get you up to speed with everything I have been up to lately. As promised, I’ll start off this blog with a midweek trip to Atlanta a couple of weeks ago…
Return to Atlanta, and a Road Trip to Tampa
The first three gigs of the week were all in cities I had not played in for well over a year. So when I touched down in Atlanta, I was determined to gather some momentum of playing in the city again after such a long gap.
I always associate my gigs in Atlanta with those of the Forum in Charlotte, because so many people live in either city and always make the effort to travel to my gigs in both, which helps contribute to a real family gathering. And when I showed up at Opera later that night, they gave me a very warm welcome.
The layout of the club reminded me of Ruby Skye in San Francisco, where I had played only three days before. The booth was down at the level of the floor rather than up at the Mezzanine, but I preferred it this way because it meant that I could rock it out with the crowd. And the dancefloor was packed! I had so many people coming up to me before and after the set saying how happy they were for me to be back in their city. I hope that I can come back there soon, and we can build on what we had started on the Wednesday night. I’m looking forward to seeing many of you make the trip up to New York for the Electric Zoo festival in September.
All Opera photos are courtesy of Amber McSpadden
Back home on Thursday afternoon and slept for a little bit, then got to work ahead of the weekend. I was staying in Florida on the Friday, so my office crew decided to organise a road trip up to the American version of St. Petersburg. An office crew that included one Angelique Bergere.
Three hours on the road then some time for food and chill. When I got to the venue in Tampa, I saw so many people had made the very same road trip as I had! So it felt like a homecoming gig for me, even though home was quite a bit away.
Angelique as you know is one of the breakout stars featured on the Do You Dream album. As well as starring on Lifted and Lightwave, she also leant her harmonic talents to the single where she first surfaced, the title track of the album itself.
If you have been to any of my gigs this year and if I have played the uplifting vocal mix of Do You Dream, you will know that I have Angelique’s face appearing and singing in the visuals. So when I played it on Friday night, and when the visuals kicked in, I pointed up to the balcony, and signalled to the crowd where she really was. They gave the biggest cheer of the entire night! So that was a really fun moment shared between my Coldharbour crew and everyone in attendance.
The weekend was in full gear, and two huge nights lay ahead, as I said goodbye to my crew. They went south, and I was going north.
Vision, Chicago – Saturday July 10th
Hello Chi-town! Finally I was here playing a gig and not just on a layover going somewhere else. One of the best cities in the US for clubbing had been a big omission on my tour schedule for so long, and I was delighted to be back there. I had heard that they were filming the new Transformers movie in Chicago, and guess what I spotted when I was on the way to the hotel?
I have to be honest with you guys and admit that I used to be really intimated by playing in Chicago. When I started developing a love for electronic music, my life was immersed in house. And the city of Chicago was the birthplace of this genre. I still have so many fond memories of listening to mixtapes from guys like Frankie Knuckles, Hot Mix 5 and Julian Jumpin Perez. It’s one of the reasons why the trance I play and am associated with is not your typical structure, because I’ve always loved the groove and percussion of house music.
But in a city with such deep roots for house, how was I supposed to overcome my nerves and understand what the people of Chicago wanted to hear?
What I didn’t realise at the time was that Chicago hosted the second largest population of Polish people after Warsaw. So then I thought to myself, go into a gig in Chicago with the mindset that you are actually playing in Poland instead. And anytime I have played in Poland, they have always embraced my sound and made me feel right at home. So Chicago for me equalled an understanding in knowing how to cater for the peoples’ heritage and their city surroundings, much like Montreal I guess.
It was the final weekend of the World Cup, and as usual, I had missed the Germany game. So my first mission after checking in was to find out the final score, and discovered that Paul the octopus had got another prediction right. But then it was time to prepare for a 4 hour set at Vision.
There was something magic in the air in Chi-town that night. I could just feel it. I don’t know if it was nostalgia thinking back about previous nights there, or what this city means to electronic music, but I had this gut feeling that it was going to be a special night. And as it turned out, I was right to have that feeling.
The balconies and the main floor were absolutely jammed, and they were begging for it to be banged out. I started off with a special intro I had made specifically for my festival sets. Like Montreal the week before, I had some brand new Coldharbour 100 material to debut, and this time, it was in the form of a little unknown track called Blueberry.
When I was mapping out my vision for 100, Blueberry was always going to be a priority to get remixed. The original is so beautiful and iconic, that it’s actually quite a difficult task to produce a remix, and for it still to contain the essence that makes us adore the original so much. But my boy Rex Mundi absolutely ripped it with his interpretation! It was a huge surprise for everyone at Vision that night. People had heard me talk about it during my interview with Armin at ASOT 450, but this was the first time I had played it in front of a live audience.
Since it was a Do You Dream album tour stop, the main focus of the night was on the album tracks, and each of them generated huge reactions. The energy of the crowd never once dropped from open to close, and you could feel the electricity of the atmosphere bouncing off the walls. I even decided to pull out a bit of Dakota action from last year in the form of Chinook, and it tore the house down. I ended with Breathing and every person had their arms in the air as high as they could. An unbelievable sight.
All Vision photos are courtesy of John Zoubek
This was without doubt the greatest night I have ever experienced playing in the windy city. And a sincere thank you to everyone who came out and supported, including all of you who travelled from Kansas and St. Louis. When I look back on all my travels this year, Saturday July 10th in Chicago is going to be right up there among the very best of memories. It really was one of those nights that I wish everyone around the world could have experienced.
And I guess you know what that means when I say something like that. I really hope that I get booked to play at Vision in Chicago very soon again. And if the logistics are right and the date falls towards the end of a month, the next time I am back in your city, I will be taking the World Tour recording equipment with me. Chicago needs to be represented on the GDJB World Tour map, and that’s a priority!
355 Mansion, Calgary - Sunday July 11th
World Cup final day and I was still beat from the night before at Vision. I lay in bed watching the start of the game but eventually got kicked out, and watched the rest of the first half in the bar. At half time, my pickup had arrived to take me to the airport, and when I got checked in to the business lounge, everyone was crowded around the single TV that was there. Tension was high.
I was rooting for the Dutch because of being friends with Armin and all the Armada guys and girls, but at the same time, I was pleased that Spain got their first World Cup win. To beat teams like Portugal, Germany and the Netherlands along the way for me meant that they deserved it. Nothing unites a country like a championship win. And it meant that the remaining dates on my schedule in Ibiza thie summer, and the Barcelona Music Conference in early August will be even more special.
So it was goodbye to Chicago and hello to the crazy little Canadian city called Calgary. And it was right in time for the third night of their Stampede celebration! There are around 150,000 people in the streets each day playing their part in celebrating their rodeo heritage. And that atmosphere would continue at 355 Mansion that night, as yours truly would be joined by Sander van Doorn for a party into the small hours.
Rather than rest up, I wanted to get into the thick of the action and head to the club early to party with all the Calgary peeps. Sander hadn’t performed here during Stampede very often, whereas for me, I was a bit of an unofficial resident, playing in the city during the summer for the past 4 years. He has been on fire with his productions this year, and he had a big smile on his face when I told him I had been guilty of playing his track “Reach Out” twice in my extended sets on occasions!
This party got out of hand, but for all the right reasons. All sorts of craziness going on, even when I was playing on stage. Every time I play in this city, it just gets more and more insane. The majority of the night is a big of a fog for me. I guess it was a combination of tiredness and the vodka that was being passed my way. I even overslept the next morning, which is something I very rarely do! But like a good and efficient German, I made it to the airport on time.
But Calgary rocked again and the people there never fail to get me into some sort of mischief. I’m looking forward to coming back there already.
Back Home, Sick, But With Some New Toys
Getting home to Miami from Calgary took much longer than I had originally thought! It was unfortunate that a lot of the passengers were coughing and spluttering for the entire flight on the way home. I guess it was inevitable that I would end up catching something from them. And of course, bang in the middle of the hectic summer schedule, the timing was not ideal!
My final full two days at home would be very busy indeed. I had a new MacBook waiting for me in the office, so had to spend a lot of time getting all of the software set up and my files transferred over. I don’t know what it is with me and technology this year. I’ve gone through more headphones in the past 6 months than I’ve had in the last 5 years, and I’ve had to change laptops again after less than a year and a half. And again, the timing for the laptop to start acting up couldn’t have been worse, as I was on tour in Australia when it happened!
There was an issue with the power and the batteries not being charged properly; which basically meant that I couldn’t use the laptop when travelling or on the plane - where normally I’m listening to new music or making Global DJ Broadcast, especially when I have midweek gigs in my schedule. So getting a fully functional laptop to allow me to do my thing was very important. The previous laptop became useless for me when the DVD drive stopped working - not much point in me having it if I can’t burn my last minute edits before heading to the clubs!
Also waiting for me was another cool toy - the new iPhone. I’m gonna have a little fun playing with it during the summer and getting some games stocked to play when I’m stuck at the airports and need to unwind a bit. All I need now is to get an iPad, and then I’ll have the whole set!
The downside to my time at home, not only with it being so short, was that the cold was getting heavier and heavier. I managed to get GDJB done on the Wednesday without feeling too sluggish, and chilled that night by watching the ESPYs (ESPN Awards), but on Thursday morning it was hitting me hard. But, as usual when I get sick, I had to suck it up and march on to the airport. Goodbye Miami once again for a month…
Sankeys, Manchester - Friday July 16th
An overnight flight to Manchester, England via New York and I was absolutely exhausted with tiredness and sickness. So it was straight to bed for a long sleep. I thought to myself though before drifting off that hopefully, by the time the gig at Sankeys was over, that I would be feeling better. The best way to get the cold out of your system is actually to be in the club performing, and work up a good sweat in the process.
Turned over in bed and looked at the clock in my hotel room; and it said 7:30pm! Time to get my day started, as terrible as it sounds at that time! First mission was to find some coffee to give myself a boost, and thankfully found a Starbucks at the train station across the street from the hotel. A bite to eat and a couple of hours preparing, and I was out the door to Sankeys.
This was a night I had been looking forward to playing for a while. The club itself is iconic, back to the days when people like Daft Punk and The Chemical Brothers were performing there. And recently, it has become the home of the now local Gareth Emery’s Garuda nights. So I was looking forward to sampling the atmosphere and playing in a club and city I had never experienced in playing before, and also to catch up with my tour buddy from Australia, even though we’ll be seeing a heck of a lot of each other between now and September!
Showtime and I was on the decks for a 3 hour set beginning at 11pm. There weren’t too many people in the club when I started, but those that were there definitely made themselves heard! I started off with a new version of Surreal I had been experimenting with in the studio before I left Miami, and the crowd singing along really made me feel very welcome right away.
I have to give a shoutout to producer Pobsky, whose track “Final Cloud” I debuted on Global DJ Broadcast last week. It really caught my attention when going through the promos, and believe it or not, I had made a little edit of it in the hotel before going to the club. Just before I was starting, he came up to the booth and introduced himself to me, and thanked me for playing his track on the show. So about 45 minutes into the set, when the dancefloor began to get packed and people were going crazy and fighting through the dry ice, I decided to drop Final Cloud, and it got a huge reaction, one of the biggest of the entire night!
It was so hot in that booth during the set. In a way I didn’t mind so much because gradually it was taking the cold out of my system, but it was tough keeping hydrated up there. About halfway through though one of the staff could be heard behind me shouting, “we need to turn the fan on in here!” Thanks for letting me know guys, haha! But my highlight of the whole night was meeting some very cool small people who came out to support. They had people on the dancefloor lifting them up to shake my hand in the booth, and everyone was cheering them on. It was awesome! So when I finished my set, I wanted to meet up with them and promised them a picture, so that they would appear in the blog.
All Sankeys photos are courtesy of Danny Fallon
As the clock struck 2am, it was time to pass the baton onto the hometown boy. We embraced and shared a fun moment when transitioning from one set to the other. I wished him well and then went out of the booth to meet the fans in the bar. The tiredness was starting to catch up with me though, so I stayed for a little bit to support Gareth and then called it a night shortly after. Didn’t get too much sleep however, because the cold was still fighting against me; but a big shoutout to the Sankeys and Manchester faithful for making me feel so welcome in your city.
Global Gathering, St. Petersburg - Saturday July 17th
An early start and I was saying goodbye to Manchester. Gareth was travelling as well so it was nice to have a bit of company. We stopped off for a layover in Frankfurt, and the guys from Cosmic Gate joined us. Had the flight been longer, we probably could have come up with a new track!
This Global Gathering in particular holds special memories for me from almost 12 months ago, as it was the World Tour episode in August 2009, and a few months later, was voted as the most popular edition of the entire year. I was playing the closing set, but this year, the festival went through the entire night and well into the next morning. I was playing what I thought would be a sunrise set, from 4:30-6am.
I got picked up at the hotel well in advance because the Tuutari Park venue was over an hour away. Cosmic Gate were on the ride too. Picture the scene – in the back of a van, somewhere in the middle of Russia, with no radio, and three guys speaking German. Eventually the conversation dies down and we’re just left staring at each other. I made a call to my tweeple to suggest some fun car games. Somebody suggested I tried out my beatbox skills - I think the next time I find myself in that situation, that’s what I’ll do.
That little feeling of butterflies in my stomach returned as we could see the venue in the distance. Russia is one of those countries where the trance scene is absolutely thriving right now, and I’ve consciously made an effort to make sure the country has had a good platform for the fans to showcase themselves to a global audience through the World Tour series. One of my favorite nights this year already was the World Tour recording at Milk nightclub in Moscow, even though the gig was originally scheduled to be an outdoor festival. Thankfully, no tornados were going to stop us in St. Pete.
The sky that night was one of the most beautiful sights I had ever seen. Even at 2am, it was still bright outside. The sun never went fully down, and I began guessing that by the time I took to the stage, it would be in full brightness again! Nic, Bossi and I hung out backstage and jammed out to Steve Angello’s set. He had the crowd rocking and finished up with a new version of “Show Me Love”. The guys from Above & Beyond took over and I hung out for a bit longer to get the vibe of how the night was progressing, before heading over to the other stage with Steve to see Dubfire performing.
When I saw the timetable for all the stages, I was a little disappointed that my set time would clash with the guys from Cosmic Gate, because I really wanted to see their set. I’m glad that I’ve got the guys back on Global DJ Broadcast as part of the Ibiza Summer Sessions in August.
But with half an hour remaining until my set, I headed back over to the mainstage to begin mentally preparing. I felt right at home back in that booth again, and all the memories of 12 months ago came flooding back to me. And everyone in the crowd started flooding towards the main stage to be part of this surreal early morning experience.
It was so cool to be performing and having Dubfire, Steve Angello and Darren Emerson all hanging out and jamming to the set. You’ll remember from the World Tour broadcast at Ministry of Sound in London that I played a big room reconstruction of “One” by Swedish House Mafia, a group which Steve of course is a part of. He loved hearing that during my set, and he gave me the thumbs up when I turned around to him!
6am and I was done, and we all were piled into a bus to take us back to the hotel. In Russian tradition, the vodka started being passed around and was flowing everywhere. My ears were ringing but good times where being had. Another memorable St. Petersburg experience was in the books. Thank you to everyone who came out and stayed with me until the end. You guys sure know how to party!
Berlin for a Day, on to Ibiza, and the Week Ahead
I made it back to Berlin on Sunday evening and met up with my father, who I hadn’t seen since Mayday at the end of April. Sadly, his meeting was accompanied by the delivery of some bad news, and left me with a very heavy heart.
Right now I don’t feel quite ready or comfortable to go into details about it just yet, but I guess I should say something to you guys since it’s weighing so heavily on my mind. He told me that after a recent checkup they found cancer inside his system, and the doctors were unable to get all of it out. So things aren’t looking too good as things currently stand. When I start to feel a little more comfortable, I’ll make a separate blog to tell you about everything that has been going on.
I want to say that I am very thankful to everyone for their kind words of support. It’s not really the best frame of mind for me to have when we are during such a busy tour schedule in the summer, but I’m going to try to be strong and perform at my absolute best for you guys as always. All I can ask is that you keep my dad in your thoughts and prayers.
And such a busy week lies ahead.
I left Berlin on Monday evening to fly to Ibiza, and tried to get a good night’s sleep to deal with my recent news. Today I have been working all day on the special Sunrise Set for Global DJ Broadcast this week, making some cool edits and mashups to debut. Many thanks to all of you who left your requests for the set over at the forums over the past couple of weeks. I hope that you will enjoy the show and this new concept. Think of it as your soundtrack to watching the sun coming up on those long summer nights, regardless of where you are in the world.
Once I get this blog posted, I’m heading out the door to meet up with Armin and Blake for another night of fun at Amnesia. It’ll be good to see both the guys again. Then on Thursday, it’s the big one - the next World Tour recording, and my return to Budapest. I’m really hoping that you guys will be able to make this one of the best World Tour episodes yet. Friday marks my return to Poland at the Sunrise Festival. I believe that GDJB broadcast partner Planeta FM are airing the festival live on their station, so keep an eye out on the forums for details on what time I am playing and how you will be able to catch all the action as it happens. Saturday I’m in the Czech Republic for the Pleasure Island Festival, and the weekend is rounded off on Sunday with a return to Tomorrowland in Belgium. Should be lots of fun at every gig, and I look forward to seeing all of you.
When I get back to Berlin next Monday night, my focus for a couple of days will be working on my special 4 hour set for our annual Coldharbour Day celebrations. It’s hard to believe that July 28th has come around so fast yet again, and I hope that you guys will all make yourselves part of the celebration this year. This day was created for all of you; for all of you who are proud to call yourselves Coldharbour Citizens. So cancel all your plans for next Wednesday and let’s unite for our special day.
Alright guys, so that gets you all up to speed with everything I have been up to. Apologies for not being able to feature photos of every gig, but hopefully you will understand due to the lack of time involved. If you were at any of the gigs over the past couple of weeks and have photos that you would like me to consider in the blogs, then please post them on the Facebook page or over at the forum, and I’ll make sure you get credited for your work.
Amnesia is calling me and it’s time to put on a performance tonight. I’ll check back in with you guys on Friday next week, where we’ll review all of the gigs this week, and look ahead to my return to Nature One in Germany next weekend, which I think is another live broadcast for you to enjoy!
So take care everyone, enjoy the Sunrise Set on GDJB this week, see you at the gigs this weekend, and for next Wednesday, it will be time to say… Happy Coldharbour Day.
With love,
Markus
Hello to you all today from that little magical island we like to call Ibiza. I’m here preparing for my second of six appearances on the island as part of my residency at Amnesia this summer, and very much looking forward to meeting up with my buddies Armin and Blake later.
You’re probably wondering why I’m writing a blog here on a Tuesday, rather than the usual Friday. Well, two reasons for that. The first is that this week is probably the busiest one I will have gig-wise all year, with 5 gigs in 5 different countries in the space of 6 days. So that would have left me very pressed for time to get a blog done for this Friday as planned. Second, I owe you all the reviews of 6 gigs since the last blog, and I didn’t want to fall behind with those either.
It hasn’t been the easiest of times for me recently, but I’ll try my best to get you up to speed with everything I have been up to lately. As promised, I’ll start off this blog with a midweek trip to Atlanta a couple of weeks ago…
Return to Atlanta, and a Road Trip to Tampa
The first three gigs of the week were all in cities I had not played in for well over a year. So when I touched down in Atlanta, I was determined to gather some momentum of playing in the city again after such a long gap.
I always associate my gigs in Atlanta with those of the Forum in Charlotte, because so many people live in either city and always make the effort to travel to my gigs in both, which helps contribute to a real family gathering. And when I showed up at Opera later that night, they gave me a very warm welcome.
The layout of the club reminded me of Ruby Skye in San Francisco, where I had played only three days before. The booth was down at the level of the floor rather than up at the Mezzanine, but I preferred it this way because it meant that I could rock it out with the crowd. And the dancefloor was packed! I had so many people coming up to me before and after the set saying how happy they were for me to be back in their city. I hope that I can come back there soon, and we can build on what we had started on the Wednesday night. I’m looking forward to seeing many of you make the trip up to New York for the Electric Zoo festival in September.
All Opera photos are courtesy of Amber McSpadden
Back home on Thursday afternoon and slept for a little bit, then got to work ahead of the weekend. I was staying in Florida on the Friday, so my office crew decided to organise a road trip up to the American version of St. Petersburg. An office crew that included one Angelique Bergere.
Three hours on the road then some time for food and chill. When I got to the venue in Tampa, I saw so many people had made the very same road trip as I had! So it felt like a homecoming gig for me, even though home was quite a bit away.
Angelique as you know is one of the breakout stars featured on the Do You Dream album. As well as starring on Lifted and Lightwave, she also leant her harmonic talents to the single where she first surfaced, the title track of the album itself.
If you have been to any of my gigs this year and if I have played the uplifting vocal mix of Do You Dream, you will know that I have Angelique’s face appearing and singing in the visuals. So when I played it on Friday night, and when the visuals kicked in, I pointed up to the balcony, and signalled to the crowd where she really was. They gave the biggest cheer of the entire night! So that was a really fun moment shared between my Coldharbour crew and everyone in attendance.
The weekend was in full gear, and two huge nights lay ahead, as I said goodbye to my crew. They went south, and I was going north.
Vision, Chicago – Saturday July 10th
Hello Chi-town! Finally I was here playing a gig and not just on a layover going somewhere else. One of the best cities in the US for clubbing had been a big omission on my tour schedule for so long, and I was delighted to be back there. I had heard that they were filming the new Transformers movie in Chicago, and guess what I spotted when I was on the way to the hotel?
I have to be honest with you guys and admit that I used to be really intimated by playing in Chicago. When I started developing a love for electronic music, my life was immersed in house. And the city of Chicago was the birthplace of this genre. I still have so many fond memories of listening to mixtapes from guys like Frankie Knuckles, Hot Mix 5 and Julian Jumpin Perez. It’s one of the reasons why the trance I play and am associated with is not your typical structure, because I’ve always loved the groove and percussion of house music.
But in a city with such deep roots for house, how was I supposed to overcome my nerves and understand what the people of Chicago wanted to hear?
What I didn’t realise at the time was that Chicago hosted the second largest population of Polish people after Warsaw. So then I thought to myself, go into a gig in Chicago with the mindset that you are actually playing in Poland instead. And anytime I have played in Poland, they have always embraced my sound and made me feel right at home. So Chicago for me equalled an understanding in knowing how to cater for the peoples’ heritage and their city surroundings, much like Montreal I guess.
It was the final weekend of the World Cup, and as usual, I had missed the Germany game. So my first mission after checking in was to find out the final score, and discovered that Paul the octopus had got another prediction right. But then it was time to prepare for a 4 hour set at Vision.
There was something magic in the air in Chi-town that night. I could just feel it. I don’t know if it was nostalgia thinking back about previous nights there, or what this city means to electronic music, but I had this gut feeling that it was going to be a special night. And as it turned out, I was right to have that feeling.
The balconies and the main floor were absolutely jammed, and they were begging for it to be banged out. I started off with a special intro I had made specifically for my festival sets. Like Montreal the week before, I had some brand new Coldharbour 100 material to debut, and this time, it was in the form of a little unknown track called Blueberry.
When I was mapping out my vision for 100, Blueberry was always going to be a priority to get remixed. The original is so beautiful and iconic, that it’s actually quite a difficult task to produce a remix, and for it still to contain the essence that makes us adore the original so much. But my boy Rex Mundi absolutely ripped it with his interpretation! It was a huge surprise for everyone at Vision that night. People had heard me talk about it during my interview with Armin at ASOT 450, but this was the first time I had played it in front of a live audience.
Since it was a Do You Dream album tour stop, the main focus of the night was on the album tracks, and each of them generated huge reactions. The energy of the crowd never once dropped from open to close, and you could feel the electricity of the atmosphere bouncing off the walls. I even decided to pull out a bit of Dakota action from last year in the form of Chinook, and it tore the house down. I ended with Breathing and every person had their arms in the air as high as they could. An unbelievable sight.
All Vision photos are courtesy of John Zoubek
This was without doubt the greatest night I have ever experienced playing in the windy city. And a sincere thank you to everyone who came out and supported, including all of you who travelled from Kansas and St. Louis. When I look back on all my travels this year, Saturday July 10th in Chicago is going to be right up there among the very best of memories. It really was one of those nights that I wish everyone around the world could have experienced.
And I guess you know what that means when I say something like that. I really hope that I get booked to play at Vision in Chicago very soon again. And if the logistics are right and the date falls towards the end of a month, the next time I am back in your city, I will be taking the World Tour recording equipment with me. Chicago needs to be represented on the GDJB World Tour map, and that’s a priority!
355 Mansion, Calgary - Sunday July 11th
World Cup final day and I was still beat from the night before at Vision. I lay in bed watching the start of the game but eventually got kicked out, and watched the rest of the first half in the bar. At half time, my pickup had arrived to take me to the airport, and when I got checked in to the business lounge, everyone was crowded around the single TV that was there. Tension was high.
I was rooting for the Dutch because of being friends with Armin and all the Armada guys and girls, but at the same time, I was pleased that Spain got their first World Cup win. To beat teams like Portugal, Germany and the Netherlands along the way for me meant that they deserved it. Nothing unites a country like a championship win. And it meant that the remaining dates on my schedule in Ibiza thie summer, and the Barcelona Music Conference in early August will be even more special.
So it was goodbye to Chicago and hello to the crazy little Canadian city called Calgary. And it was right in time for the third night of their Stampede celebration! There are around 150,000 people in the streets each day playing their part in celebrating their rodeo heritage. And that atmosphere would continue at 355 Mansion that night, as yours truly would be joined by Sander van Doorn for a party into the small hours.
Rather than rest up, I wanted to get into the thick of the action and head to the club early to party with all the Calgary peeps. Sander hadn’t performed here during Stampede very often, whereas for me, I was a bit of an unofficial resident, playing in the city during the summer for the past 4 years. He has been on fire with his productions this year, and he had a big smile on his face when I told him I had been guilty of playing his track “Reach Out” twice in my extended sets on occasions!
This party got out of hand, but for all the right reasons. All sorts of craziness going on, even when I was playing on stage. Every time I play in this city, it just gets more and more insane. The majority of the night is a big of a fog for me. I guess it was a combination of tiredness and the vodka that was being passed my way. I even overslept the next morning, which is something I very rarely do! But like a good and efficient German, I made it to the airport on time.
But Calgary rocked again and the people there never fail to get me into some sort of mischief. I’m looking forward to coming back there already.
Back Home, Sick, But With Some New Toys
Getting home to Miami from Calgary took much longer than I had originally thought! It was unfortunate that a lot of the passengers were coughing and spluttering for the entire flight on the way home. I guess it was inevitable that I would end up catching something from them. And of course, bang in the middle of the hectic summer schedule, the timing was not ideal!
My final full two days at home would be very busy indeed. I had a new MacBook waiting for me in the office, so had to spend a lot of time getting all of the software set up and my files transferred over. I don’t know what it is with me and technology this year. I’ve gone through more headphones in the past 6 months than I’ve had in the last 5 years, and I’ve had to change laptops again after less than a year and a half. And again, the timing for the laptop to start acting up couldn’t have been worse, as I was on tour in Australia when it happened!
There was an issue with the power and the batteries not being charged properly; which basically meant that I couldn’t use the laptop when travelling or on the plane - where normally I’m listening to new music or making Global DJ Broadcast, especially when I have midweek gigs in my schedule. So getting a fully functional laptop to allow me to do my thing was very important. The previous laptop became useless for me when the DVD drive stopped working - not much point in me having it if I can’t burn my last minute edits before heading to the clubs!
Also waiting for me was another cool toy - the new iPhone. I’m gonna have a little fun playing with it during the summer and getting some games stocked to play when I’m stuck at the airports and need to unwind a bit. All I need now is to get an iPad, and then I’ll have the whole set!
The downside to my time at home, not only with it being so short, was that the cold was getting heavier and heavier. I managed to get GDJB done on the Wednesday without feeling too sluggish, and chilled that night by watching the ESPYs (ESPN Awards), but on Thursday morning it was hitting me hard. But, as usual when I get sick, I had to suck it up and march on to the airport. Goodbye Miami once again for a month…
Sankeys, Manchester - Friday July 16th
An overnight flight to Manchester, England via New York and I was absolutely exhausted with tiredness and sickness. So it was straight to bed for a long sleep. I thought to myself though before drifting off that hopefully, by the time the gig at Sankeys was over, that I would be feeling better. The best way to get the cold out of your system is actually to be in the club performing, and work up a good sweat in the process.
Turned over in bed and looked at the clock in my hotel room; and it said 7:30pm! Time to get my day started, as terrible as it sounds at that time! First mission was to find some coffee to give myself a boost, and thankfully found a Starbucks at the train station across the street from the hotel. A bite to eat and a couple of hours preparing, and I was out the door to Sankeys.
This was a night I had been looking forward to playing for a while. The club itself is iconic, back to the days when people like Daft Punk and The Chemical Brothers were performing there. And recently, it has become the home of the now local Gareth Emery’s Garuda nights. So I was looking forward to sampling the atmosphere and playing in a club and city I had never experienced in playing before, and also to catch up with my tour buddy from Australia, even though we’ll be seeing a heck of a lot of each other between now and September!
Showtime and I was on the decks for a 3 hour set beginning at 11pm. There weren’t too many people in the club when I started, but those that were there definitely made themselves heard! I started off with a new version of Surreal I had been experimenting with in the studio before I left Miami, and the crowd singing along really made me feel very welcome right away.
I have to give a shoutout to producer Pobsky, whose track “Final Cloud” I debuted on Global DJ Broadcast last week. It really caught my attention when going through the promos, and believe it or not, I had made a little edit of it in the hotel before going to the club. Just before I was starting, he came up to the booth and introduced himself to me, and thanked me for playing his track on the show. So about 45 minutes into the set, when the dancefloor began to get packed and people were going crazy and fighting through the dry ice, I decided to drop Final Cloud, and it got a huge reaction, one of the biggest of the entire night!
It was so hot in that booth during the set. In a way I didn’t mind so much because gradually it was taking the cold out of my system, but it was tough keeping hydrated up there. About halfway through though one of the staff could be heard behind me shouting, “we need to turn the fan on in here!” Thanks for letting me know guys, haha! But my highlight of the whole night was meeting some very cool small people who came out to support. They had people on the dancefloor lifting them up to shake my hand in the booth, and everyone was cheering them on. It was awesome! So when I finished my set, I wanted to meet up with them and promised them a picture, so that they would appear in the blog.
All Sankeys photos are courtesy of Danny Fallon
As the clock struck 2am, it was time to pass the baton onto the hometown boy. We embraced and shared a fun moment when transitioning from one set to the other. I wished him well and then went out of the booth to meet the fans in the bar. The tiredness was starting to catch up with me though, so I stayed for a little bit to support Gareth and then called it a night shortly after. Didn’t get too much sleep however, because the cold was still fighting against me; but a big shoutout to the Sankeys and Manchester faithful for making me feel so welcome in your city.
Global Gathering, St. Petersburg - Saturday July 17th
An early start and I was saying goodbye to Manchester. Gareth was travelling as well so it was nice to have a bit of company. We stopped off for a layover in Frankfurt, and the guys from Cosmic Gate joined us. Had the flight been longer, we probably could have come up with a new track!
This Global Gathering in particular holds special memories for me from almost 12 months ago, as it was the World Tour episode in August 2009, and a few months later, was voted as the most popular edition of the entire year. I was playing the closing set, but this year, the festival went through the entire night and well into the next morning. I was playing what I thought would be a sunrise set, from 4:30-6am.
I got picked up at the hotel well in advance because the Tuutari Park venue was over an hour away. Cosmic Gate were on the ride too. Picture the scene – in the back of a van, somewhere in the middle of Russia, with no radio, and three guys speaking German. Eventually the conversation dies down and we’re just left staring at each other. I made a call to my tweeple to suggest some fun car games. Somebody suggested I tried out my beatbox skills - I think the next time I find myself in that situation, that’s what I’ll do.
That little feeling of butterflies in my stomach returned as we could see the venue in the distance. Russia is one of those countries where the trance scene is absolutely thriving right now, and I’ve consciously made an effort to make sure the country has had a good platform for the fans to showcase themselves to a global audience through the World Tour series. One of my favorite nights this year already was the World Tour recording at Milk nightclub in Moscow, even though the gig was originally scheduled to be an outdoor festival. Thankfully, no tornados were going to stop us in St. Pete.
The sky that night was one of the most beautiful sights I had ever seen. Even at 2am, it was still bright outside. The sun never went fully down, and I began guessing that by the time I took to the stage, it would be in full brightness again! Nic, Bossi and I hung out backstage and jammed out to Steve Angello’s set. He had the crowd rocking and finished up with a new version of “Show Me Love”. The guys from Above & Beyond took over and I hung out for a bit longer to get the vibe of how the night was progressing, before heading over to the other stage with Steve to see Dubfire performing.
When I saw the timetable for all the stages, I was a little disappointed that my set time would clash with the guys from Cosmic Gate, because I really wanted to see their set. I’m glad that I’ve got the guys back on Global DJ Broadcast as part of the Ibiza Summer Sessions in August.
But with half an hour remaining until my set, I headed back over to the mainstage to begin mentally preparing. I felt right at home back in that booth again, and all the memories of 12 months ago came flooding back to me. And everyone in the crowd started flooding towards the main stage to be part of this surreal early morning experience.
It was so cool to be performing and having Dubfire, Steve Angello and Darren Emerson all hanging out and jamming to the set. You’ll remember from the World Tour broadcast at Ministry of Sound in London that I played a big room reconstruction of “One” by Swedish House Mafia, a group which Steve of course is a part of. He loved hearing that during my set, and he gave me the thumbs up when I turned around to him!
6am and I was done, and we all were piled into a bus to take us back to the hotel. In Russian tradition, the vodka started being passed around and was flowing everywhere. My ears were ringing but good times where being had. Another memorable St. Petersburg experience was in the books. Thank you to everyone who came out and stayed with me until the end. You guys sure know how to party!
Berlin for a Day, on to Ibiza, and the Week Ahead
I made it back to Berlin on Sunday evening and met up with my father, who I hadn’t seen since Mayday at the end of April. Sadly, his meeting was accompanied by the delivery of some bad news, and left me with a very heavy heart.
Right now I don’t feel quite ready or comfortable to go into details about it just yet, but I guess I should say something to you guys since it’s weighing so heavily on my mind. He told me that after a recent checkup they found cancer inside his system, and the doctors were unable to get all of it out. So things aren’t looking too good as things currently stand. When I start to feel a little more comfortable, I’ll make a separate blog to tell you about everything that has been going on.
I want to say that I am very thankful to everyone for their kind words of support. It’s not really the best frame of mind for me to have when we are during such a busy tour schedule in the summer, but I’m going to try to be strong and perform at my absolute best for you guys as always. All I can ask is that you keep my dad in your thoughts and prayers.
And such a busy week lies ahead.
I left Berlin on Monday evening to fly to Ibiza, and tried to get a good night’s sleep to deal with my recent news. Today I have been working all day on the special Sunrise Set for Global DJ Broadcast this week, making some cool edits and mashups to debut. Many thanks to all of you who left your requests for the set over at the forums over the past couple of weeks. I hope that you will enjoy the show and this new concept. Think of it as your soundtrack to watching the sun coming up on those long summer nights, regardless of where you are in the world.
Once I get this blog posted, I’m heading out the door to meet up with Armin and Blake for another night of fun at Amnesia. It’ll be good to see both the guys again. Then on Thursday, it’s the big one - the next World Tour recording, and my return to Budapest. I’m really hoping that you guys will be able to make this one of the best World Tour episodes yet. Friday marks my return to Poland at the Sunrise Festival. I believe that GDJB broadcast partner Planeta FM are airing the festival live on their station, so keep an eye out on the forums for details on what time I am playing and how you will be able to catch all the action as it happens. Saturday I’m in the Czech Republic for the Pleasure Island Festival, and the weekend is rounded off on Sunday with a return to Tomorrowland in Belgium. Should be lots of fun at every gig, and I look forward to seeing all of you.
When I get back to Berlin next Monday night, my focus for a couple of days will be working on my special 4 hour set for our annual Coldharbour Day celebrations. It’s hard to believe that July 28th has come around so fast yet again, and I hope that you guys will all make yourselves part of the celebration this year. This day was created for all of you; for all of you who are proud to call yourselves Coldharbour Citizens. So cancel all your plans for next Wednesday and let’s unite for our special day.
Alright guys, so that gets you all up to speed with everything I have been up to. Apologies for not being able to feature photos of every gig, but hopefully you will understand due to the lack of time involved. If you were at any of the gigs over the past couple of weeks and have photos that you would like me to consider in the blogs, then please post them on the Facebook page or over at the forum, and I’ll make sure you get credited for your work.
Amnesia is calling me and it’s time to put on a performance tonight. I’ll check back in with you guys on Friday next week, where we’ll review all of the gigs this week, and look ahead to my return to Nature One in Germany next weekend, which I think is another live broadcast for you to enjoy!
So take care everyone, enjoy the Sunrise Set on GDJB this week, see you at the gigs this weekend, and for next Wednesday, it will be time to say… Happy Coldharbour Day.
With love,
Markus
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Posted on 20 Jul 2010 by Markus Schulz
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