Remix and match: MK tells us about the art of reworking records

Image: MK

If you really think about it, everything is a remix. Galaxies are a remix of elements forged in the furnace of exploding stars; each and every one of us are a remix of our mum and dad's genes; and Marc Kinchen's success today as one of the most in demand DJs and prolific remixers in the game is just a different take on his early career as a pioneering house producer in the early 90s.

MK has been sculpting the sound of house music, as we know it today, ever since he produced his timeless classic ‘Burning’ back in 1991. His nineties production style - distinctive in its chopped vocals, organ basslines and shuffling drums - is the sound in trend at the moment, cycling back around like Calvin Klein jeans.

Is outdoing the original with his remix - as he did with Nightcrawlers’ ‘Push The Feeling On” - always the aim? "Yes," the Detroit native tells us. "I don’t think I know anyone who ever heard the original version from the group.  It was an R&B track, I really did not listen to it myself, I asked for the vocal parts and ad libs and wrote my own music to it, even though they got all the publishing, I wrote the music. I still love that record."

P. Diddy and Bad Boy records released an album in 2002 titled We Invented the Remix... but would it actually be more accurate to say MK invented the remix? "With all due respect to P. Diddy and Bad Boy, the actual concept of the remix was invented before Puff was putting out records and to be honest, a lot of people would disagree that I invented the remix," he explains.

"Some people say it was Mark Kamins, others say it was Frankie Knuckles, and still others say it was Kevin Saunderson, so I don’t think it was really down to one person. I think it kind of went viral with a small group of the underground guys without the benefit of the internet, and then it caught on,” he says, batting away our daft assertion. “I will admit that I created a certain type of remix, but it was definitely after being inspired by Mr. Fingers. Diddy definitely switched it up for hip-hop though."

The last two years have seen MK spit out massive remixes on a regular basis. As he now gears up for a big summer behind the decks and the release of his debut solo album, we rundown 10 of the biggest hits from his box of 200 plus remixes.

10. Hot Natured, ‘Reverse Skydiving’ (MK Remix) [2014]

For this reworking MK slows down and distorts the original vocals over a deep house vibe, intertwining the two versions at various intervals throughout, like two versions of one track tumbling through the same space.

 9. Pet Shop Boys, ‘Can You Forgive Her?’ (MK Remix) [1993]

The original version sounds so sickeningly 90s, but even with the distinctly Pet Shop Boys vocals, the MK remix can still be bumped today.

8. Kant vs MK, ‘Ey Yo’ (MK Remix) [2014]

The mark of a great remixer is rendering the original almost unlistenable. Kant did a great job sampling Busta Rhymes’ ‘Dangerous’ vocal, but next to MK’s high energy mix it sounds so flat.

7. Jodeci, ‘Freek ‘n You’ (MK Dub) [1995]

Chopping up the best part of the cheesy vocals, MK adds an infectious beat to perk the whole thing up, so you can still listen to a bit of Jodeci with your car windows down without getting laughed at.

6. Lana Del Rey, ‘West Coast’ (MK Remix) [2014] 

When Lana Del Rey bleeds into the electronic music spectrum the results are usually very good, and this version is no exception with MK applying his trademark stamp – although a little darker vibe than usual.

5. HAIM, ‘If I Could Change Your Mind’ (MK Remix) [2014]

Keeping the structure and melody of the original, this HAIM track gets the perfect MK bouncy deep house makeover as if the original music video hadn’t made it clear enough: the trio want you to dance to this.

4. Lana Del Rey, ‘Blue Jeans’ (MK Dark Blue Dub) [2013] 

MK is obviously a sucker for a killer vocal, and Blue Jeans was already an epic track, but did it sound as fun as this? One of MK’s best remixes to date.

3. Wanklemut & Emma Louise, ‘My Head Is A Jungle’ (MK Remix) [2013]

There was absolutely nothing wrong with Wanklemut’s original version, everybody loved it. But it didn’t have a classic MK piano house sound, and once it did it took it to #5 in the UK charts. 

2. Storm Queen, ‘Look Right Through’ (MK Dub III) [2013] 

Storm Queen’s ‘Look Right Through’ had already attained underground success in 2011, but once MK got his hands on it a smash hit emerged. MK achieved his first UK chart #1 with his up-tempo version and made it a trio of chart-topping house hitters for the year, alongside Disclosure and Duke Dumont.

1. Nightcrawlers, ‘Push The Feeling On’ (MK’s Dub Of Doom) [1992] 

Way, way back, Marc Kinchen demonstrated the art of the remix when he flipped a R&B-influenced track by the Scottish group, Nightcrawlers, instantly making a house music DNA definer with the after birth of the cheapest music video ever witnessed. 

If you want to see the remix master in action, check out MK's upcoming gigs.