Ahead of the release of his very own House Masters compilation, we asked Marc Kinchen aka MK to talk us through some of the selections on the album. He duly obliged; check out what the house legend had to say about some of the seminal tracks from the MK stable right here.
House Masters MK by Defected Records
MK ‘Burning’ (Vibe Mix)
Crystal Waters was my inspiration for this track. I loved what the Basement Boys were doing at the time; they had a really raw sound that I loved and I wanted to do something different to what the rest of the ‘Detroit techno’ boys were doing at the time…this was the result.
Chez Damier ‘Can You Feel It’ (New York Dub)
Chez did A&R for Kevin Saunderson's KMS records and he was partly responsible for getting me to into the right place musically. This was made shortly after I moved to New York and had totally fallen in love with the NY sound.
MK feat. Alana ‘Always’ (MK Club Mix)
Alana and I were at the KMS studio when I told Alana that I had written this song that I really wanted her to hear. I sang her the verses over my track, then she did the vocals and we recorded it right away. I had originally planned on releasing this right after ‘Burning’, but it didn't happen quite that way.
4th Measure Men ‘Given’ (MK Dub)
A lot of my tracks were recorded in four measure loops, which is why I picked the artist name 4th Measure Men. Even though it was just me, I wanted to create another character to put out more underground, edgier music, and this gave me the freedom to experiment without worrying about confusing people on MKs sound. ‘Given’ was one of those tracks I took a chance on and it turned out to be a great surprise.
MK ‘You Brought Me Love’
This is one of my favourite MK records. I just wanted to make something really underground at the time – don’t have much more to say on it but as it’s one of my favourites it has to get a mention!
Studio Apartment feat. Yasmeen Sulieman ‘Sun Will Shine’ (MK Dub)
In 2007, totally out of blue Simon Dunmore tracked me down and said something along the lines of him wanting to bring MK back. I said ok, and eventually got around to doing this remix for Studio Apartment. A few years later, here we are!
4th Measure Men ‘4 You’
I was doing a remix for The Reese Project at KMS studios, working on the remix alone late one night and getting frustrated with what I was doing. So I put that aside and started doing a totally different track, this is the result.
The Reese Project ‘The Colour Of Love’ (MK Deep Dub)
I loved the lead vocals of this record. Anytime I am mixing a record with great vocals I’m usually able to make a great remix. Marci, my manager still says this is one of her favourites.
Masters At Work feat. India ‘I Can’t Get No Sleep’ (MK Dub Mix)
After I moved to NY I became really good friends with Kenny Dope and Louie Vega , and was honoured that they asked me to remix one of their songs. I was pretty excited about it and wanted to make sure I did it justice. I still like it, so I think I did ok.
MK feat. Alana ‘Love Changes’ (MK Mix)
We recorded Love Changes as a downtempo R&B song, but ultimately I think that’s why it wasn't all that difficult for me to make the remix so soulful. The original chord structure was really easy for me to transform.
Lauren Flax feat. Sia ‘You’ve Changed’ (MK D-troit Dub)
I met lauren in around 2009 with our managers Marci and Mark , and instantly fell in love with her style and as a person. I knew we were on the same page as far as sound and production went , so I just had fun making this record…it didn't hurt that she was from also Detroit either!
Byron Stingily ‘Love You The Right Way’ (MK Dub)
I grew up as a huge TenCity fan and got a call from Marci one day with a request to produce a song for Byron Stingily. I jumped on a plane the very next day and went in the studio with Byron and he basically said, “MK just do your thing”.
The Sleepwalkers ‘New Thang’ (MK Dub)
Sleepwalkers is my brother Scottie Deep’s record and he asked me to do a remix. I had just bought an EMU SP-1200 and Kenny Dope had just gave me sounds for it, a lot of which I used for this track.
Captain Hollywood ‘Rhythm Of Life’ (MK 12” Mix)
I did this remix at a time when I was doing about a remix a week. Because of this, I think it kinda slipped under the radar; I had actually forgotten I did this remix because I was doing so many at the time, but after going back to listen I was like “wow, this is dope!!” :)
K.E.L.S.E.Y ‘Boy’ (MK Deep Dub)
I had a pretty good relationship with Strictly Rhythm , and they continued to ask me for a records so I made up a new name K.E.L.S.E.Y , who is my best friend from high school. Again, I just wanted to make something RAW!
As a closing note, I want to say thank you to Simon Dunmore for urging and encouraging me to work with him on this record. It is an honour to be in the midst of so many of my peers and his support is truly appreciated. Thanks also to all my bros from Detroit (you know who you are), my family and of course Marci and Mark.
House Masters MK is out 21st November
