About Me
Music has always been a big part of my life. My first real introduction to music, of my own choosing that is, was Depeche Mode in ‘82. Oh the good old Eighties! At that stage I wanted to learn to play the keyboard and form a band with my friends, something which never happened. In the late Eighties, I developed a great interest in Reggae music and the whole culture. I even went so far as putting together a fanzine, World Sound & Power, every three months. Also wanted to be in a Reggae band (never happened)!Then in the early ‘90’s I had my first exposure to Dance music when I went out to a club called 3-30 for the very first time. At that point I merely had a passing interest. It was only in ‘96 when I went to my first “Rave†with Carl Cox playing that I became truly interested, in fact almost obsessed with the music! A music which seemed to bring everyone together to have a great time. For the next few years I would attend every event possible in my quest to be exposed to new sounds and DJ’s. Carl Cox, Blu Peter, Mrs Wood, Baby Doc, Tony De Vit (RIP), Malcolm Duffy, Sister Bliss were just some of the many sets I heard and of course danced to! In between all these events I became a regular at firstly Flaiva, then Crash and ultimately, when they had all closed down, back at 3-30. I was so inspired by the resident DJ’s as well as frequent international guests that I went out and bought a mixer. This I used with normal CD players just to fade tracks into each other.It was in 1999 that I realised if I wanted to take it to the next level that I needed turntables and would do anything to get them. There went my entire music collection as well as any savings I had! My first week and a half with turntables made me wonder if I had made a huge mistake. There I was trying to get the beats to match and it just was not happening. Then one night it all came together, the first mix! They do say practice makes perfect.I started off playing mostly hard house with a mixture of techno and trance as this was the music I had mainly been exposed to and into. My first set was at a house party with some good friends of mine and what a feeling it was to play in front of a crowd (albeit small crowd). From then on there were regular slots at house parties alongside my friends. It was about this time that the Global Underground as well as Renaissance compilations started having an influence on my musical taste. I really enjoyed some great live sets at 3-30 from the likes of Dave Seaman and Nigel Dawson who toured South Africa. This begun having an influence on the vinyl I was buying as well as the direction of my sets. For the first time playing a set made sense to me, it was like telling a story and at the same time keeping the dance floor happy and full!Our group of friends wanted to play at a club / host our own parties and that is always easier said than done. No club willingly hands over the DJ booth and their venue, after all it is a business and the owners want to see the money rolling in! A production crew was formed under the name Lapis Lazuli, the original DJ members being Brandon Leetion, Manoj Budhu and myself. This was backed up by a others who arranged the design and distribution of flyers, décor for the venues and general organising of the events. The vision was all about the music and having a great time with great people. We played many great parties / events together in very interesting locations and venues. The following grew because of the vision and quality musical choice of it’s DJ’s. Lapis Lazuli were soon joined by other DJ’s and the lineup changed over the years. Unfortunately I feel the vision also changed somewhat. Around this time I was actually made redundant from my paying job. For this reason, as well as the Rand - Pound exchange rate, it became increasingly difficult to keep up with the latest vinyl releases. It made sense for me to quit playing at the time. I have never believed in doing anything in half measures, if you do something then it must be done properly! I just could not keep playing the same sets over and over. It is also about educating people with new music besides playing the tracks they love. I did play at the occasional party and my last performance in Durban was in November 2004. The following year I left to start a new life in the United Kingdom. Some thought it a bit crazy since I had never been in an aeroplane but sometimes you have to take risks in life!I have been in the UK now for just over two years, which have been spent setting up accommodation and employment wise. There have been ups and downs but that is what we have to expect from life. It has all been worth it though, as I feel that it is a better life for me here. Since I have been here I have been able to increase my music collection as well as music production equipment. After all that has to be the next step, producing a killer track that can be played out live. In this time I have only played at one event with a good friend of mine Andrew Naude. It is now time I do something about that! Expect to hear more from me……Marques Allan
24 June 2007
