Share This Article
After releasing the massive track “Holding Me” on Factory 93 Records, Marbs returns to his own Desert Hearts Black label with his latest single “Clean Slate Glow.” Marbs is known for captivating his audience with his distinctive blend of House and Techno, a signature style that has earned him recognition as a leading figure in the Californian underground electronic music scene.
We have had the pleasure of interviewing them and this has been the result.
Can you tell us a little about your experience? Where are you from/how did you get into music? How did you learn to produce?
- I grew up in a little beach neighborhood called Leucadia in the city of Encinitas, CA. I was always surfing and skateboarding, typical San Diego boy.
- I got into electronic music in the early 2000s and it wasn’t until I got lost at Love Fest in San Francisco during my college years where I found Lee Burridge and it changed my outlook on electronic music forever. That was my taste of really good tech house, and then later that year I stumbled upon Plastikman at Coachella and my world was forever changed. I immediately fell in love with the minimal techno sound.
- These two experiences have shaped the sound I’ve reached for in my performances and craft. Through these experiences and learning to DJ I eventually started throwing little bar parties with Mikey Lion and Porky, which led us to meet Lee Reynolds who was throwing similar parties in southern San Diego. We were linked at the hip as soon as we met, started going to desert raves together and we all thought, “We should do our own desert rave and leave the bars.” This is how Desert Hearts was born. It took on a life of its own and grew into the incredible community, labels, and movement that it is now. I’m eternally grateful for my journey and its still evolving :)
Who have been your main inspirations (both musically and in “life”)? And how have they affected your sound?
- In the beginning it was the two artists I listed above, Lee Burridge and all of Richie Hawtin’s projects. Later on I really fell in love with Metric (Maceo Plex’s alias before he was Maceo) and I’d say that sound is still my main influence for what I play and try to create. He tapped into this combination of techno and tech house that was fun, sexy, but dark and powerful. That’s what I truly aim for.
- Non music inspirations have been Alan Watts, Jim Carrey after his acting career, and Ram Dass ~ these inspirations are more spiritual and mental but I love listening to what they have to say.
How would you define your sound? And how has your sound evolved in the single?
– I have a hard time with labeling and defining sound, I think music is ever evolving and is a reflection of the state not only us as artists are in but the state of the world too. I started my productions with tech house, then moved into melodic house and techno, got more experimental during the pandemic, and now I’m just trying to create things that pull influence from all of these personal eras. Clean Slate Glow is a perfect representation of my evolution in my opinion ~ it pulls from my early hip hop days with the vocal, my psychedelic side with the synth work, my breaks side with the kick pattern, and sprinkles of melodic techno to top it off :)
What can you tell us about your latest single? What inspired you? What do you want to transmit?
– Ever since the pandemic it feels like many people, especially artists, have had to reset or approach things in a new way. That’s how I entered the studio with this track, I wanted it to be different than anything I had put out while still feeling like me and fitting my catalog. The title is referring to that feeling and glow someone has when they start something with a ‘clean slate’ and look at it through new eyes.
What can you tell us about each track that makes up your latest work? What concept do you want to convey?
– I think I kind of answered this in the last two questions, but my main intention with this release was to produce something that encompassed a wide range of my influences and sounds not just during my DJ career but also from childhood, while simultaneously making it a track that can fit a wide range of dice floors and experiences.
Do you feel like the underground scene will continue to persist?
– I do, it always does. As old underground scenes become more mainstream, other underground scenes bloom. It’s a never-ending flourish and kaleidoscope, which is what makes the underground so important. It’s what shapes the future of music and the scenes around it. I think that will always be and I’m grateful for that.
What projects are you working on right now?
- Right now I’m buried in work for our 2024 Desert Hearts Festival. Outside of being an artist I’m also the lead director of the entire event. I have my hands in every piece ~ logistics, medical, security, art curation, vendor coordination, stage/lighting/sound… pretty much every piece. We have so much magic planned for this year’s event on July 4th weekend in Flagstaff, Arizona and we’re beyond stoked to be out there in about a month.
- When I’m being the director of the fest I kind of have to put studio time aside and focus on that, so about 6 months of the year I fill this roll and the other 6 I’m solely focused on production, but also touring the whole time during both periods of the year. It can be a lot, but I love it so much and I’m so grateful that I have both avenues in my career to activate the many things I love to put my energy into.
