Marc Helt - NWS Cast #032

Once in a while you stumble upon a person who seem to be 120% alive which kind of makes them illuminate their surroundings. Marc Helt is this of this nature, and his approach to DJ'ing is a perfect example of how to keep a deep and emotive vibe vivid. This set is his second NWS Cast and for those of you who missed out the first time we can tell you that Marc will brighten your day. :) He has played alongside the best of the best and later this April he'll be joining Juan Atkins and Margaret Dygas behind the 1's & 2's.

Apart from DJ'ing, Marc is working in a kinder garden where he is taking care of kids. He is also part of the Copenhagen Underground Posse (or CUP), a crew of creative event makers, dj's and artists serving the people of Copenhagen some real deep shit every month! CUP arranges parties in changing locations with interesting line-ups and one message: "It's all about the love".

Hit the play button via the link below and read the unedited Q&A.. real talk!!

Click HERE to listen to the Mix!

NWS: Hi Marc! You come from the city of Kolding which is known mostly for it's rock music culture. Can you tell us a bit about your days as a youngster there and how you first made contact with the DJ and club culture?

Marc: Hi guys and thanks for having me back on the podcast!
 

I was born and raised in Kolding, living with my mom, dad, sister and brother. In Kolding i was skating a lot. Crusin’ around all day long with my friends, listening to punk rock and smokin cigarettes. When i got a bit older it was hard for me to keep pushin it as a skater, acting like everything would settle by itself! I had to do something with my life. I started gymnasium – similar to american college – here i met my best friend Jonas Rotne, who i still spin music with today. Together we met the electronic wave coming around 2005-2006 and we we’re sold immediately. As you say at that time it was mostly rock music you heard in bars, (at least the nice ones) So when Jonas got a Dj job at the local bar ’Pitstop’, it didn’t take long before we had an evening every month.

NWS: You are playing 99% of your gigs back to back with Mikkel Ulriksen and have acclaimed quite a bit of success over the past years. What's your relationship with Mikkel and why this solo mix?

Marc: I met Mikkel shortly after moving to Copenhagen. We met at a warehouse party in the outskirts of Copenhagen. He was dj’ing with a guy called Petter. He had brought his own 12’s and two milk-boxes full of records and both guys really caught my eye. All by coincidence I was invited to a birthday party at a girls place. When I arrived I found out that Mikkel was the roommate of this girl, so i didn’t really celebrate her birthday, instead I sat down with my beer looking at all of Mikkel’s vinyl haha. I remember we talked and talked. At the time none of us had played in any clubs in Cph, but both of us had a burning wish to do so. We started sharing music and thoughts. Before long we had our first gig in Dunkel and from there it went really fast!

Mikkel and I have in some ways the same taste in music and in other ways quite different!! It’s hard to say. I have a big thing for bangin’ house music haha! Also have a big thing for vocal-house, Mikkel is not to keen with that! But, sometimes i just have to get it out – and most of the times it’s just a feeling i get. Like.. Today i’m mixing all day. Just by myself. Then i record it! I never plan out a mix, what should be in it etc. It’s a feeling i get!

NWS: I heard you are going to Bristol to play with Mikkel this easter? How did that happen and what do you expect and look forward to there?

Marc: Yes that’s true. I’m really looking forward!! We were invited by a good friend of us, David. He is making a colaboration with some clubs around Europe. The project is called ’Beats Across Boarders’, bringing Dj’s from around to Copenhagen and of course the other way around. We are going with a big crew, getting picked up in a bus when we arrive in London and then we’re going together to Bristol! I can’t wait.. Think it’ll be like all of the rudeboys from summer camp seeing each other after 10 years being apart!! I look very much forward to seeing another part of the UK, especially a city like Bristol that has such an exciting music history and so many young people, for what I’ve heard!

Easter will be fun for sure! When we come home we’re playing with Juan Atkins and we also host the basement in Culture Box where the Kill Your Telly guys invited Margaret Dygas.

NWS: You now live in Copenhagen and have played just about every club here from the famous Culture Box to festivals, private events, bars and Pakistanian Basement Strip Clubs. What's next? Where do you see you (and Mikkel) going in the future?

Marc: Hmmm.. I have my hopes and dreams for what should happen in the future. In Copenhagen so much exciting stuff is going on in the underground! A lot of talented dj’s are poppin up all the time! For the sake of Copenhagen i hope that people from outside of Denmark will have their eyes opened up to what’s going on around here.

Personally I hope to get more travel-experiences together with Mikkel. I love Berlin and Paris and playing there really was something special. We have some exciting stuff coming from our C.U.P crew and maybe that will bring something – who knows?

NWS: Finally tell us a bit about your crew C.U.P. and what that means?

Marc: It’s our crew here.. The C.U.P stands for ’Copenhagen Underground Posse’. It consist of Daniel Savi, Dee Brown, Jonas Rotne, Mikkel Ulriksen and our newest member Tsvetan. We swipe underground as well as established venues. Giving people the raw sound of house music and they seem to like it. We have some exciting stuff coming soon and I can’t wait to see what that brings along!

Saverio Celestri - NWS Cast #031

We like to keep a finger on the pulse of the scene not just to keep up to date with what's going on, but also to help push new talent and new crews. Saverio Celestri is definately a noticeable beat we feel will come your way in the future. He is no more than 20 years old and already shows great prospects. His sound and style is more mature than you would think. It seems to me that Saverio's musical understanding is based in emotion rather than in any form of idolization of particular currents or tendencies. He's a young gun with power, energy and a message and you gotta love that!

In 2013 Saverio moved from his home, the small city of Treviso (north of Italy). Like so many others he moved to Berlin to pursue his dream and aspire as an artist. Here he earned a residency with the Select*Elect crew, an established London party crew that recently moved to Berlin where they are throwing intimate parties and running a podcast etc.. He is releasing more and more records on significant labels such as Owen Jay's Batti Batti and Kina Music. It's safe to say that Saverio is settling as a young new artist and producer with a mature sound and we at NWS supports and respects that! We had a chat with Saverio and this is what he had to say:


LINK TO THE MIX: Saverio Celestri - NWS Cast #031



NWS: Can you describe the local scene where you had your beginning?

SC: I had the first official gig on March 16th 2008, at the Shock Club, c/o The Max, one of the most known venues in my home town. In the beginning I received big support from my friends ( RE-UP ) owner of Kina Music, and here in Berlin from the slow-life team.



NWS: Why did you move to Berlin? What do you think it has done for you to move there?

SC: I’ve decided to come here at the age of 19 because in Italy the clubbing scene was actuallly dead. Berlin is really important for my musical evolution. Here i found the chance to know the roots of the underground house/techno music.



NWS: Your mix speaks of a guy who is not just playing the new tunes coming out, but also digging. What's your funniest "crate-digging" experience?

SC: I'm always looking for new music, but from this year I will be giving more attention to the old tunes from the 90's. Back then I think music was made with bigger soul and quality.



NWS: You have a new EP coming now on the label Nothingwithx, a 3-track EP of more bumping tracks than other of your more deep productions. You seem to be a versatile producer. Would you say you have a sound?

SC: Nice question! I made those tracks like two years ago, but had some problems with the release date. Now I'm evolving my sound. My next releases will be more techno orientated but always with lots of pads and atmospheres.



NWS: What do you want to achieve with your music?

SC: Actually I don't want to be famous, I'm just doing this for passion. Music has been part of my life since the beginning, but if one day success will ring my doorbell, I will probably say: "Yes, I'm here". But I think I will always keep the underground roots.



NWS: You've been to South Africa recently, how was it to go there and play?

SC: It was a really nice tour! I played in Pretoria, Johannesburg and Cape Town. I met a lot of nice people and I had a really great time playing!



NWS: Tell us about your relationship with the Select*Elect parties?

SC: I started this year to be part of the Select*Elect family and I feel a strong potential with this project! Select*Elect have already done four years of warehouse parties back in London. We are now doing a party at (Basement 8) twice a month. (The first one was amazing!) And we are planning something new and special for the upcoming summer!