Alexander Wang’s favorite producer is a true New Yorker with diverse music taste.
If you haven’t heard Jesse Marco’s name yet, you will soon, as a lot of important people in the fashion and music industry already have. Alexander Wang commissioned the NYC-based producer to create a mix that would turn the designer’s Tokyo store into a trendy nightclub; Tom Ford asked him to score one of his Milan Fashion Week shows, and recently, the mighty Jamie xx gave Jesse’s remix of "Good Times" the green light. Now Jesse can share everything he learned during his life-long music research at club residencies all over the States.
Hometown/homebase. New York, USA.
Introduce yourself to us, Jesse.
Hi, I'm Jesse.
One word that describes your sound.
Breaks.
What made you choose music as your profession?
It was a hobby, honestly, that somehow turned into a job.
How did growing up in New York help shaping your tastes and your own sound? Could you imagine living anywhere else in the world?
New York is really tough, but in a good way. You kinda get influences from everywhere since everyone is smashed together. I grew up across the street from the Palladium: everything from Prince to KRS-One to Nirvana to Biggie to Larry Levan to Funkmaster Flex. Even reggaeton and Latin stuff, too. Anything that has attitude in music I think I was influenced by. I've lived in LA but moved back as it was too fake for me. Maybe I'd live in Tokyo, though.
You have tight connections to the fashion world. What brands are you working with?
I work mostly with Alexander Wang.
What was it like working with him and creating Urban Survival Mix for his new Tokyo store? What inspired you for that mix?
I just wanted to make something that you could hold on to for a while and wouldn't get tired of. It's a little all over the place - I took a different approach to this mix more so than other's in that it's got a lot of blends in it: sometimes with maybe three different tracks going at once, like an acapella of one song with the music from another and a drum beat I threw under the whole thing.
You’ve DJed around the States. What was your favorite place and crowd to play for?
I love playing in Vegas at Hakkasan. Everyone just has a lot of energy to give you there especially when you play all types of music. New York and Miami will always be homes to me. Omnia San Diego recently: I probably had one of the best nights ever there.
What do you think about the idolization of the DJs that we’re witnessing over the last few years? Does all the hype distract from the actual music?
A little bit. But I mean it's entertainment, so whatever. And it's actually a good thing: I mean it just gives the DJ/producer the spotlight, which gives us the opportunity to show and prove that we deserve it. I think it definitely can distract from the music, but that's really on the artist: some people are doing a lot of stuff in front of the decks and some aren't - sometimes it's about the studio work and the performance is just a performance - it's really up to you who you want to be up there. God knows DJ's used to be hidden in the room in a corner, so look how far we've come.
Honestly, the most distracting thing is every fucking DJ trying to be a comedian. Like every DJ posts memes and shares the same jokes - it's so boring at this point like “We get it, what else is there to the story?” It's funny in the moment but, I dunno, I'm just bored of it. I'm sure tons of other people are too. Give me the music first, all that other shit is secondary.
If you were to produce a track for any artist, dead or alive, who’d you pick?
Jay Z.
The gear you can’t work without is…
Laptop.
What should we know about your new release on Fools Gold?
It's a dance floor song. A bit tribally—it has a break in it. It'll be a good one for the DJs.
Your three favorite tracks at the moment?
Follow Jesse Marco on tour: http://www.jessemarco.com/
