Interview: MK Chats to us About Latest Track, 'Body 2 Body'

Dance music legend, MK, has once again delivered a hot summer banger with his first release of 2019, Body 2 Body.

The DJ, producer and remixer – also known as Marc Kinchen – decided to scrap the warm, chopped up, piano-house sound, for a more advanced style, as well as producing his first ever track featuring male vocals.

Body 2 Body is the follow-up track to his 2018 gold-selling single with Becky Hill and Jonas Blue, Back and Forth; but is set to make a much bigger impact on the charts and everybody’s playlists.

As well as owning a record label and event brand, Area10, – which plays host to some of the biggest parties across the globe – he has achieved major success with his most popular release, 17 – amassing over 122 million Spotify streams to date.

Not only has the multi-talented artist hosted Area10 stages at festivals including Parklife and Creamfields, but he will also kickstart his five-week residency at Ibiza Rocks Hotel on Monday 8th July, with a variety of VIP guests soon to be announced.

MK’s new release exemplifies the numerous sounds the DJ can take on and conquer, ultimately proving why he is worthy of being one of the most popular DJs in the world.

We got the chance to chat to MK about his new summer hit, his top three guilty pleasure tunes, and his possible future-collaboration with fellow DJ, Calvin Harris.

Hey MK! Tell us all about your latest single, ‘Body 2 Body’. How did the track come about? 

Sure! I’m really happy with how ‘Body 2 Body’ came out. I got the topline roughly a year ago and I would work on the track in between shows. So basically, when I got home, I would go through my files of music that I needed to work on and I kept getting back to ‘Body 2 Body’ because there was something about the vocals that I really liked. It sounded kind of fresh to me and just the fact that it was a male vocal was appealing to me. This is my first track with a male vocal! After working on it for a while I started to really like it and thought this is a good single to follow on from ‘Back & Forth’. It’s a bit different to ‘Back and Forth’; it’s a lot different from most of my singles actually. And then I ended up doing a dope mix of it just for clubs and yeah, that was it, let’s go with it. 

You’ve worked with HUGE names in the industry. Who is your favourite person to collaborate with? 

Probably Lee Foss and Annabelle Englund; I have a group with them called Pleasure State. But I think creatively the way we work together. We don’t create to make a hit, we don’t create to satisfy a certain genre, we just make music that we all feel. And a lot of times you don’t really get that with other people you collaborate with. Sometimes you may collaborate with someone who wants a radio hit, or someone who wants a club banger, but when working with Lee and Annabelle, it ends up being perfect. You’re just creative and you’re making music the way you initially started making music; like when I was younger, you know, you just want to make fun good music. So definitely Lee and Anabelle. 

Who would you like to collaborate with in the future? 

Adele. Vocally she’s nuts. But also, Calvin Harris. We’re actually talking about it so I think that one might come to light. 

We know you’re at Creamfields this year. What’s your favourite thing about the crowds in England? 

Well, they’re always up for it. I haven’t been DJing that long compared to a lot of other DJs, but I’ve always known that Creamfields was one of the biggest places you could get to. And even when I played – the first time I played was maybe 4 or 5 years ago – and I played in like a VIP tent and it was maybe 100 people there but those 100 people were still up for it. They had a good time, they made me feel good and they just really appreciate you. Every time you walk around and you have people coming up to you for a picture, you feel good. 

Can we expect you at any more festivals? 

Yeah, I’ve just played at Parklife and Hideout is always fun. Hideout is one of my favourite festivals just because of the location. It’s like you’re stuck at a festival with everyone instead of going for a couple of hours to a festival and then going home. You’re stuck for a few days so you make a lot of friends, so, that’s a good one. Tomorrowland has always been fun for me. I’ve only played it twice before, but the only bad part is that basically I played and left so I didn’t get to see a lot of it but I am looking forward to going back for sure. 

What’s the best thing about performing in Ibiza? 

They’re so musically knowledgeable, so you can give them your fire. You know, I may have something that I’m scared to throw out at a certain time of the year, in a certain city, just because the kids may not get it, it may be over their heads, it may be too underground, it may be too commercial; but in Ibiza, you can just give it to them. You can’t do that everywhere. It’s like if you make a song as a producer and you trust that song, then you can play it without any worries. A lot of the songs I’ve played for the first time have been in Ibiza. You know a lot of my songs – the big ones – I played in Ibiza first to test it out. And if it works there, you know. 

Did you have any other aspirations apart from music? 

Well, I always used to like drawing when I was younger. I used to program on computers when I was younger; I was gonna be an architect. I went to school for architecture but I got a record deal before I finished school so I had to pick one. I left school and pursued music. 

So, who did you listen to growing up? 

I listened to a lot of alternative music; a lot of alternative, new wave. Depeche Mode was my favourite group. A lot of 80s alternative music, you know Pet Shop Boys, New Order, Bronski Beat, Howard Jones. 

When you need inspiration, who or what do you go to?

To be honest, for inspiration I try not to listen to music until I actually get ready to make a song. And then I’ll go and listen to a random DJ’s set or I’ll listen to music in the genre of the type of song I wanna make. You know if I’m making a vocal track, I’ll listen to vocal house tracks. But for the most part, I need a couple of days of not listening to music. I think most producers can agree with that because this is what we do. Any music that’s playing, if it’s in an elevator, if it’s on TV, if it’s in a commercial, our mind is constantly thinking what sound is that or who made this music or why did they make this music. You can’t turn the music off in your mind if you’re a producer. You just can’t. It’s like a film producer watching a movie; you gotta’ imagine it’s hard for them to watch a movie without thinking who was the director or what kind of camera did they use. You just can’t do it. So, my inspiration is just no music. 

Pick three guilty pleasure songs that nobody would imagine you listening to! 

Let’s see… Depeche Mode ‘Behind the Wheel’, Prince ‘Automatic’ and Michael Jackson ‘Billy Jean’. 

What advice would you give somebody trying to make it as a DJ/producer? 

I say this a lot and I stick by it – you have to try to be unique. If you look at the careers of big DJs or big producers, you’ll find the ones who have a unique sound are the most famous or successful, so try to follow that road and you may jump a couple of steps ahead of the average kid that wants to be a DJ. I’m not saying don’t copy someone, because we all did it. I mean I’ve copied many producers or tried to, but take what you learn and go in your own lane. Be a little bit different and you have a really good shot at being successful. 

You’re all set for a great year. Is there anything you would like to achieve before 2020? (Personal or Career-related) 

I think it’s still trying to maintain the balance of traveling, DJing, having a personal life and maintain it where you’re not going crazy. It’s hard. You go and play in front of 10,000 people and then you wanna’ go to McDonald’s and just chill out, or whatever. You know it’s just hard to find a balance. I feel like that’s the hardest thing in the entertainment business, to find calmness and a balance.  

You can check out the official music video for Body 2 Body below!

Have you checked out MK’s brand new summer anthem, Body 2 Body? Tweet us @CelebMix and let us know your favourite MK tunes!

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