MARCUS SANTORO | Behind The Decks

Written By Kylie Vesey

If you speak to anyone who loves local talent, then Melbourne-based DJ and producer Marcus Santoro has been a name on the rise for years! Marcus first got behind the decks at 13 years old and is a true testament that hard work, dedication and the love for music truly pays off. As a result of being in the EDM industry since he was a teenager, Marcus has worked and been surrounded by some of the world’s biggest EDM artists one would only dream of meeting, including Martin Garrix, Above and Beyond, Axwell, Nicky Romero, Tiësto and many more proving he is truly catapulting himself internationally.

With his debut at iconic festivals, both locally and internationally, such as Tomorrowland Unite and Transmission Australia, Marcus has shown us he is just warming up, and the best is still yet to come!

Come with me as I step Behind The Decks with Marcus Santoro

Firstly, congratulations on the release of your latest track “Faces” on Protocol Recordings. I haven’t been able to stop playing it, it’s such a great track. What has it been like to be apart of the Protocol Vibes Miami 2020 EP?

Thank you! Yes, it’s amazing to be back on the Protocol Miami compilation for 2020, as in 2019 I had my very first release with the label with my remix of Nicky Romero’s track "My Way". "Faces" just felt like the perfect record to add to the compilation, and the response has been fantastic!

Great work on the launch of your first episode of “Louder Together” your very own radio show and podcast, we’ve listed and it was awesome! Was announcing a weekly podcast always on the cards for 2020, or with all this extra time something that you’re finally able to fit into your weekly schedule?

I’m super excited to finally launch my radio-show Louder Together, it’s been a long time in the making, as many of my fans have been asking me to do a show for quite some time! The brand/concept started out initially as a slogan to add under my name. It then turned into a weekly updated Spotify playlist and with everything going on at the moment, it felt like a great time to launch the show to go hand in hand with the playlist!

Before all shutdowns were enforced, you played the UMF radio stage at Ultra Australia in Sydney. What preparations go into a set like Ultra and what was the feeling playing to a crowd like that in your home country?

It was a great experience to perform at Ultra Australia, especially the show in Sydney. I’ve always called Sydney a second home, there’s a lot of rich history with the crowds there and I’ve been performing in Sydney since I was 15! Performing my very first Ultra show was also exciting. I prepared a bit for that one as I wanted to make sure it was the best set I could deliver. There’s always a lot of energy with festival crowds, it’s exciting and I’m glad I got to do it before all the madness happened!

You also flew back home the next day and attended Ultra Melbourne as a patron, as did I and loved it. Who were you most excited to see play, and who was the best set of the day?

It was a great time over the 2 days at Ultra. Melbourne was a vibe and it was fun to catch up with some of my local DJ mates! My highlight set of the entire weekend was without question Eric Prydz, he tore the roof off the festival!!

At the beginning of this year, you hosted Nicky Romero’s Protocol Radio #388 following the release of your single “Blackout”, what a massive achievement for you. Does co-hosting an episode of such a huge radio show such as Protocol increase your exposure on an international level?

It was super exciting to host the radio show whilst Nicky was on vacation! I absolutely love working with my Protocol family. Without a doubt, I definitely gained some new fans and it does broaden your exposure to a whole new platform. Hopefully, I get to do it again soon!

You are currently signed to Protocol Recordings, which is a massive achievement on such an EPIC label!. Disclaimer Kylie is a full fangirl when it comes to anything Nicky Romero so she might be a little biased with the label

How did you get recognised to be signed to such a massive label? Was it after your remix of Nicky’s “My Way” that caught Protocol’s attention?

After the remix of "My Way" started gaining lots of attention on streaming services, my team and I kept in touch with the label sending them new demos and keeping them updated with what I was doing. It wasn’t until I finished the collaboration with Sentinel, that “Shine” was sent to the label, and this is when we officially started working with them. “Shine” was a perfect debut single on the label and received a lot of love. It’s amazing to be on the label as I’ve looked up to Nicky Romero for a very long time.

You are also signed to Axwell’s label Axtone, both Axtone and Protocol Recordings have different sounds. When creating a track to be released on either label, how do you approach them differently?

Whenever I write a record, I don’t think about what label it’s going to end up on, because I don’t think you can really plan that labels will decide if they want to release it or not. With Axtone, Axwell himself calls the shots when signing music, so you have to make sure he loves it. I guess, however, you know towards the end of the process where you can envision a particular demo ending up. With “Blackout” for example, I knew it could work with Protocol because it was something that sort of fits under their spectrum. I guess it all depends on the product you have in the end.

The past year has seen you increase into a heavy touring schedule within Australia, playing club shows at Marquee Sydney and Aussie festivals such as Festival X and Ultra, how has this boosted your following here at home? Are there noticeable differences from the international market?

I think it’s opened my sound up to a wide array of audiences. Last year I visited Darwin for the first time which I’d never experienced before, and it’s a completely different crowd than Melbourne/Sydney’s for example. Australia is always going to be very different from the International market, which is a good thing because it stands on its own.

We are hoping to see you begin touring more in the international music scene, having played Tomorrowland Unite in Abu Dhabi twice now, hopefully, a future Tomorrowland is coming! If you had to choose one place to play, where would your ultimate performance be and why?

I would say the generic answer would be mainstage at Tomorrowland. It’s just got this feeling about it which I think any DJ or performer would absolutely die to grace that stage at peak time. I’ve seen a lot of people I know who have achieved it so it’s the motivation for me to get to that level, you just need to keep persisting and work your ass off!

As a producer you have been producing music for around 10 years now, what got you into creating music, where did your passion for music come from?

My Dad was a DJ back in the 70’s/80’s, so early disco/dance was always very prominent in my household growing up. Although, that didn’t exactly trigger my passion for wanting to create music. When I was 13, my cousins gave me a DVD of Tiësto’s first concert from 2004. Watching that, I was immediately captivated by how the music made people feel and what I experienced, I knew instantly that’s what I wanted to do, and now here we are.

In 2018 you achieved what only some Aussie DJ’s would dream of, and performed the warm-up set in Melbourne for Trance god’s Above & Beyond on the Australian leg of their Common Ground tour. Does moment like this prove to be a pivotal moment in your career?

Warming up for Above & Beyond on their Australian tour was a fantastic experience, and certainly one of the most rewarding, as it helped me dive into new musical territory. I guess it goes to show that if you are consistent and work hard, things can happen for you. Above & Beyond are artists I’ve aspired to be like for many years, and after their continuous support, being asked to warm up for them was a dream come true.

As a DJ you have a very diverse range which has seen you release tracks on Axtone, Armada, Revealed, Sony Music, Enhanced and Protocol Recordings. What would you say your current style is as you often cross over into Progressive House, Big Room and Trance?

My style is really just anything melodic. I LOVE melodic music, I need to feel something when writing otherwise I’m not 100% into it. I’ve always loved Progressive vibes, that falls under anything deeper, festive, ravey.

2020 has already been a truly testing time for many with the current world crisis. Once all the craziness in the world is over, what can we expect to see from Marcus Santoro, any hints of what you can share with us that is working in the pipeline?

Lots of new music, I mean nothing prepared us for what has happened, but one thing that hasn’t changed is music and how it’s perceived. With the launch of my new radio show, I’m hoping it enables fans to engage with new music that they aren’t familiar with and it will be a fantastic place to promote my new music. I still have many releases on the way, including some remixes and finalising some singles and collaborations.

And finally, we ask everyone the same closing question. What is the craziest thing you have seen from behind the decks?

I’m not sure if it is considered “crazy” but was certainly nothing I had experienced before. I was playing at Marquee and someone had accidentally triggered an alarm which cut out all the power and lights for a solid 30 minutes. Certainly gets people agitated that’s for sure.

What an interview with one extremely talented producer, I am truly taken back by the amount of hard work and dedication Marcus Santoro has put into growing his brand and sound. He is one artist that you never quite know which direction he will go next, and this excites me so much. From Big Room to Progressive to Trance, having such a diverse range is something that will transport him into the next wave of up and coming EDM artists. With the skillset as wide as his, the next year is sure to be a big one for Marcus Santoro. Let’s hope we see his mainstage dream come true and see him at the 2021 edition of Tomorrowland. Make sure you get around supporting our Australian talent by giving Marcus Santoro a follow on his socials below and tuning into his weekly radio show Louder Together for non-stop bangers and new releases!