Exclusive Interview with Mark Doyle
Mark Doyle's career started back in 1988 when he started promoting a club night at the now legendary Haven Stables in Ealing. Another 10 years of DJ’ing in London clubs followed until Mark found himself working at London’s Jazzfm as a marketing executive. After running the radio stations jazz record label for a short period Mark suggested that the station branch out and market a new label targeted at clubbers who had grown up during the birth of house. In 1999 Hed Kandi was created incorporating a record label, a radio show and international club nights. During Mark’s tenure, Hed Kandi millions of albums worldwide and his unique A&R and marketing vision helped them deliver a string of Top 40 singles and significant artist album. In early 2006 Fierce Angel was created, a completely independent record label and event company whose sole purpose was to build on the philosophy and values Mark has introduced to Hed Kandi. Marks DJ style has been honed by over 20 years of experience an encyclopedic knowledge of dance music and the ability to read a dance-floor whether it’s in The UK, Australia or Ecuador. His style is a blend of hands-in the-air party house and slightly tougher anthemic house.
Siam2nite had the opportunity to have an exclusive interview with Mark Doyle, shortly before his performance at Horizons Bangkok for New Year’s Eve on 31st December.
You look back on over 20 years of DJing. How did you get in touch with electronic music in the first place?
As we ring in 2014 and the new year I will be celebrating 25 years of Djing!!! I began as a lover of music from the age of 5 I was stealing my parents 7” records and they had to buy me my own record player. I started professionally Djing at the age of 17 years playing commercial / party music then shortly after I went to my first club night in London a club call “SIN” which was one of the first big house nights and was run by Nicky Holloway. The DJ on the night was Pete Tong and I sort of had a religious experience on the dance-floor and wanted to involve myself in this amazing music (this was around 1988). In the first year or so I spent a lot of money collecting music and finding out exactly what worked and what didn’t. I was lucky because at the time I was promoting and DJing at my own club night in West London so I got to test out all this new amazing music on the dance-floor to see what worked and what didn’t.
You are the creator behind the famous records labels Hed Kandi and Stereo Sushi. You left those brands in 2005 to maintain creative control and created Fierce Angel – which is smaller, but retains the same brand values as the original Hed Kandi. What can you tell us about Fierce Angel now and what’s on the agenda for the near future?
Fierce Angel is all about maintaining quality and integrity in everything we do. As a small label we can choose when we release our compilations and how many we release a year, we also are very careful how we present the brand live and what promoters we work with. Sometimes it’s not about the biggest club night but the best crowd and the coolest venue. We are currently working with some amazing new DJ’s and performers, which are exclusive to Fierce Angel and have just released a new Fierce Collective compilation, which is a selection of our biggest tracks, produced by myself and some of house music’s best producers. We are already completely booked for events from Jan to March and will be making regular visits to Asia. It’s all about doing what we love and making sure we are always giving our fans exactly what they want.
You are the compiler of over 80 best-selling albums, besides that – of course – you produce your own music. How would you describe your music in a few words and - out of all tracks you have produced - which would you recommend to someone that is not yet familiar with your music?
My music echoes all the music I love and the tracks I compile on Fierce Angel. At its heart it always has a great song whether it’s a cover of a classic track or something I’ve written myself. The music is generally feel good anthemic house music with great hooks and strong vocals. If you want a quick and easy guide to everything I’ve done so far grab a copy of The Fierce Collective compilation, which is out now on CD and Digital Download.
What are you currently working and focusing on?
We are currently focusing on expanding in Asia, as it’s such an amazing market for us and also one of my favourite areas on the planet. We are just producing a CD special CD for Aloft Hotels in Malaysia and are talking to Universal about a possible record deal. In Thailand I’m extremely excited to be working with Daryl & Ceto from the Mind Group and we have some big plans for Thailand and beyond. Whenever we set up deals in a local area it’s also about finding great local talent and promoting it via Fierce Angel so it’s an honour and a privilege to be working in a country that I’ve been coming to as a tourist for the last 20 years!
You travel a lot. What are the essential things you need to have with you at all times and what are the things you miss when you are on tour?
My Backpack is full of the usual things Laptop, Kindle, Headphones, Sunscreen and Music that’s pretty much all I need when I travel. Although I always go back heavier as I’m a demon shopper. The things I miss are my Wife, Our brand new house we’ve just moved into and my 3 cats. But the call of the dance-floor is too strong to ignore and I find myself of planes at least twice a month!
What was the best and the worst gig you ever played and what was the funniest thing ever occurred during any of your performances?
I’ve been lucky that I’ve played many legendary gigs but probably one of the most amazing was in Manila on New Years Eve. It was an amazing night and in the middle of my set I proposed to my wife in front of the whole club. The worse night would be in a very small club in Portugal where we were doing a big tour sponsored by a drinks brand. The drinks brand had picked the venues that were their biggest customers and not necessarily into our style of music. We arrived to a very small town on the outskirts of Portugal with a very glam / disco style tour with dancers and house music and all they wanted was hardcore hip-hop.. I think we were reasonably lucky to escape uninjured.
On 31st December – on New Year’s Eve – you will perform live here in Bangkok at Horizons, on top of Zen World. What can Bangkok expect of your performance?
Expect a full on fierce angel night to remember, it will be a journey through the biggest house music tracks of the year with loads of classic anthems thrown in. Expect a non stop hands in the air party and a very excited DJ.. I’ll also have a few CD’s to hand out on the night and make sure you come and say hi!