Jose Marquez
Los Angeles DJ/Producer Jose Marquez’s musical influence is a result of being brought up on a stable diet of Latin and World Music. fluoro spoke with Marquez in the lead up to his first ever Australian show about the role of his heritage, his awareness of musical history and the discovery of African disco.
Marquez initially began by playing soulful/vocal house music, typical of what was coming out of New York at the time. While he “still loves the soulful sound” Marquez has formed his own style that consists of sounds deeply rooted with the regions of Africa and Latin America. Put simply, Marquez calls this “Deep Afro Latin.”
Always intrigued by electronic sounds, Jose Marquez’s mission has been to fuse his love of world rhythms with the dance floor. A mission that has seen him travel the globe uniting nations on the dance floor with his signature sound.
(f) Where did it all start? What was it that made you become a DJ?
(JM) I got bit by the “DJ Bug” in high school. Many of my friends were DJ’s and I was always fascinated by how they masterfully mixed music together and got the crowd jumping at parties. But I got a late start and didn’t begin DJ’ing myself until my college years.
From then on I could never put the turntable needle down.
(f) Does your heritage play a role in your music today?
(JM) I wouldn’t say it plays a direct role in the music I’m making now, but it definitely helped kick start it. People always ask me where I’m from because of the music I create, they are surprised to learn that I am a Mexican/American born and raised in Los Angeles. Growing up I listened to a lot of Latin music like Cumbia, Salsa, Merengue and Latin Jazz. The rhythm and sounds of the various percussion instruments always captured my attention and I wanted to learn more about them.
This love affair with percussion led to a lot of research into the drums, their history and eventually their connection to the “Motherland” Africa. From there I discovered a whole new world of African music, styles and drums. Who knew that African salsa, funk, and disco existed.
(f) Do you feel your music aligns closely with a single genre? Why? Why not?
(JM) My music is definitely house music at its core. It will always have that dance floor element to it, but I like to sprinkle it with unique musical spices from around the globe to give it my signature sound and flavour.
(f) Who are your influences?
(JM) I’ve consistently enjoyed the production and quality of music from guys like: Osunlade; Joe Claussell; Louie Vega; Atjazz, Kuniyuki Takahashi and others.
Stepping outside the dance music genre, I listen to a multitude of various music that also influences my sound: Afro-beat; Latin Jazz; Folkloric South American music; Afro-Cuban Rumba and traditional Latin and African music and drumming.
(f) What changes have you seen over the last few years for producers/DJs?
(JM) Technology has obviously changed the game, I think for both better and worse. Production wise, it has made the tools available and opened the doors for a lot of new producers to showcase their sound, myself included. This is not always a good thing. There is a lot of bad music being made which is over saturating the market.
As for the DJ, everyone is a DJ nowadays right? You can create mixes from your phone and rock a party if you wanted to. I really don’t care what medium you use to play music. To me, what defines a true DJ is the selection and quality of the music, how well the DJ is able to make it flow and keep the crowd wanting more.
(f) What can Melbourne expect from your performance?
(JM) I have a couple of new remixes that I have just finished and will be debuting at this show. I’m very much looking forward to my first Australian experience and hope the people enjoy what I have to offer. Expect a chest thumping percussive dance floor set with sounds from around the globe that will have everyone dancing all night.
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Jose Marquez will play an exclusive show in Melbourne, Australia on Saturday 25 May, 2013. Visit the event page for more information: http://on.fb.me/11a8bGM.
