Sordid Culture 30 - Mike (Agent X) Clark (Detroit, SBR)

[SordidCulture]

Mike Clark spent time studying Detroit’s legendary “1st Dj” Ken Collier as well as two New York icons: Tony Humphries and Larry Levan. Mike traveled back and forth discovering the Chicago House Scene and the famed club “The Warehouse”, meeting Ron Hardy and building strong bridges with Farley Jackmaster and Julien Perez who became two of Clark’s permanent influences on his career.

Read the full interview with Mike clark at: http://www.sordidculture.com

[SordidCulture]

Master at work!!!

[John Clees]

thank you for sharing your projects here with us.. not many mike clark mixes floating around... he truly is one of the only cats that his sets got better since he changed to digital mixing.. countless people from the city of Detroit their sound changes when they go digital.. mike's sets have become better. the last time I heard him play at tv his set was the best I've ever heard him play. very excited to give this a listen.
grabbing now..

C: Thank you for being our guest this month, can you please say a few words about your mix and the thought process behind it?

MC: I did this mix with intentions of giving different aspect of deep. At the moment there is an issue with the term deep as it mean different things: soulful, minimal, jazzy, dark! I put them all together in a deep variety pot to satisfy all and It’ll come through.





SC: Having been in the game for so long, how do you find ways to keep challenging yourself and keep it interesting?

MC: I alway stay observing of whats going on in my scene and around me. I’ve been spinning since I was a young teenager when EVERYONE was older than me and now its pretty much the opposite, ha! For every new generation there is a new form of movement and my goal was to always see whats going on and how do I fit in. My challenge was to interest a younger audience as the older one fizzles out. At this point it is TOTALLY interesting!





SC: Do you find it difficult to stay healthy while constantly being surrounded by a party environment?

MC: Well its always give and take. One, you have to know your body limits before your body limits you. Always drink a lot of water because party atomspheres can be smokey and lots of alcohol is passed around and if u decide to partake in drugs, the same rules applies. Sometime you will push yourself to your limits, partying for days especially if its a festival or weekender or any kind of multiple day party, and that when your diet comes to play. The physical drain of drinking and drugging while dancing depletes you of all your nutrients and usually dehydrates you as well. Natural energy drinks, salads, smoothies, water, healthy meals filled with vitamins and things to help replinish your body back to a more neutral PH body level is IMPORTANT! You need to stay more alkaline then acidic. If you’re more acidic than your body is eating itself up and not producing what it needs. I always balanced myself throughout life as I did other things that required my body and mind to be right. I’ve been practicing martial arts longer than spinning, so I’ve had to learn how to go out, party all night, and be refreshed the next morning for a grueling physical day of training.





SC: Where do you think the future of DJing is going?

MC: Its a tough one…I watched it go in so many directions, some I like and some I don’t like, but evolution has no face, it just evolves. Its reached a very high creative point for me as far as what technical options are made available. But because DJing became trendy to the point where its video games , added with the super celebrity thing, you have a lot of people that do it for stupid interests, with friends, trying to live out superstar fantasies. So in that sense, technology did not help us: the real career DJs. We became worth less in terms of real employment. So I think that if this trend continues, the future for a career DJ is bleak, but is never gonna go away. There are now all these different types of djs, depending on what software or hardware they use, whether they are performing all of their own stuff and chopping and looping, or “playing” other people’s music. I personally like toying with the record and giving it a different twist. The audience might know the record but is gonna experince the music through me rather than just simply playing the song through. I even incorporate live musicians into my mix. It’s not uncommon to come to one of my parties and see me DJing, then run to my percussionist and play with him, or to have a horn player walking in the audience, or even a keyboard player grooving live with me. The future has soo many possibilities, I can’t put a foot on the world of DJing specificaly but Im sure that the DJ will be in all forms of public entertainment, playing with bands, opening half times for major events, from the highest most expensive event, to a good old house party.





SC: What music do you listen to outside of Electronic music?

MC: I love Jazz, Funk, Broken Beat, Latin, and African influences, some rock, some classic too. I’ve even heard some Country tunes that really intrigued me. I love music as long as its soulful and funky, you got me!





SC: As the owner of “Strictly Beatdown Recordings”, what advice do you have for aspiring producers?

MC: Work hard and don’t sell yourself short! In this day of age, there are lots of collaborations, weather you have songs of specific thoughts that your trying to push, or your trying to make floor fillers, or even timeless classics, keep perfecting your craft. Don’t limit your knowledge to just one piece of equipment there is a worlds of gear out their that will provoke different sides of you. Learn them. You are the future of this business, so please uphold the professionalism we’ve worked hard to achieve, so we won’t fizz out as a past time hobby like so many Producers and DJs are doing to our scene…It’s so important to bring value back into this field and make it really worth being a DJ/Producer. We must stomp out this frame of mind of it being a hobby, its belittling to the people who do this seriously for a living. If you do this as a hobby, stay home. If you feel that you can compete with someone that does it for a living, its disrespectful, and in the long run the worth and value of this field we love so much will be reduced to a profitless hobby for past time! We are in defining times and it is up to you, the new and upcoming talent, to make that difference!





SC: As a Detroit native do you see yourself ever leaving abroad to boost your career or otherwise?

MC: As a native Detroit DJ, I held down residencies here all my career and did soo much here. I think from a career standpoint I did all that I can in Detroit and I’m ready to chalenge myself professionaly and go elsewhere. My partner and I, Sarah, have been managing the label SBR from her hometown of Bournmouth, which is not far from London. I’ve been working and performing in London a lot, even now. At this point, I owe it to myself to go there and try it out. Europe is where I get majority of my gigs nowadays, so I decided a few years ago to go where my work is at. When I move there the goal is to be with my Love, Sarah and travel and conquer all of europe and beyond! This is my career boost and retirement all at once.SC: Thank you Mike, these were some really insightful words. We wish you all the best! Now let the music play.

[SordidCulture]

Right on, it does seem weird though to see someone like him using a traktor controler at some gigs. The difference at least in his position is that if he wants to, he can throw down a bad ass vinyl set (which he still does time to time). We found his interview very insightful and hope you enjoyed the mix!