Mark One said: "I had known Denis from when he worked in retail in Manchester - but hadn't seen him for ages. I knew Stanton's reputation for cartridges - but had no idea how good their mixers and turntables were until he invited me onto the Lamba stand." It takes a lot to turn a DJ from the familiarity of his chosen instruments but by the time Mark had finished his demo he had committed to a pair of Stanton's new flagship STR8-150 turntables, fitted with 680HP cartridges, an SA-12 mixer and Stanton Pro 2000S headphones. These have already appeared on a number of prime time TV shows, including the recent Fashion Rocks, as Texas promote their new album Careful What You Wish For, and single Carnival Girl.
Mark has been working with the chart-topping band since 1997, since then his talents as a DJ, re-mixer, and member of the band have taken him around the globe. His musical style is sufficiently diverse to offer a fusion of Hip Hop, Soul, R&B, Funk and Breaks - which are reflected in both his DJ sets and his remixes. Mark generally uses the Stanton turntables on the band's TV work. He commented: "When I tried the STR8-150s I just couldn't fault them. They are less prone to jumping and more reliable than the decks I had been using. Onstage, I have the bass amp of Texas right next to me as well as the drummer - so I need to be on a riser. That can present problems for a turntable - but it hasn't jumped once, it hasn't skipped a beat. Much of that is due to the 680HPs, which are big and robust."
The SA-12 DJ Craze Signature mixer he rates as one of the best mixers on the market. He explained: "The FX unit is a godsend - it means I can add effects without the band knowing! I also like the phono and line switches, which are so clever, and of course the faders." The SA-12 incorporates a user-friendly removable effect module, so any DJ can install one of three sound modules available. These modules can then be assigned to either channel (1/2), the microphone, and even the main mix. Mark One continued: "I have had bleed-through on other mixers I have used but not with this - everything has worked perfectly."
Mark One's tour of duty includes European promotional TV and radio dates in the wake of a pan-European tour, scheduled for next Spring.
(Sarah Rushton-Read)
