WOMAD

Qool DJ Marv

From United States

"If he plays half as well as on previous visits, New York's Qool DJ Marv will warrant the excitement this return trip is producing."* From the cocktail lounges of New York to the sweaty basements of Manchester, Qool DJ Marv has played venues as varied as the music he spins. Qool DJ Marv earned his reputation by effortlessly intertwining several musical styles that both captivate and invite you to sing along. Diverse best describes Marv's DJ style with selections spanning many eras and decades of music including Rhythm & Blues, Hip-Hop, Reggae, Latin, House, Jazz, Funk, Rock and Soul classics, and Eclectic beats from around the world.Raised in Philadelphia by what he describes as naturally funky family, Marv's introduction to music came at an early age. Grew up in a house with four aunts and uncles, my parents, and my grandparents, and the way that everyone used to listen to records was on 45s, I could go in any room in my house and hear different sounds from popular soul to more under the surface stuff. That was pretty much an everyday experience. With a regular home diet of Rick James, Parliament/Funkadelic and almost anything on the Philadelphia International label coupled with an extensive family that hardly need any excuse to throw a party, Marv was learning his future trade before even deciding on a career path. Both Marv's academic and musical education continued in New York, where he managed to find ample time to check out the music scene in between studying for his masters. In 1998, Marv took his first trip abroad to DJ in Berlin, Germany. In 1999 Marv made the pilgrimage to the magical musical Mecca of Manchester in the United Kingdom. At his first gig at a club called Planet K, with the daunting task of DJing between Mark Rae of Grand Central Records and James Lavelle of Mo Wax, Hamish Anderson in his review of Marv's set for his Sleazenation Magazine feature on Qool DJ Marv says it best: Saturday night in Manchester and Fat City Counter Culture night is full of people screaming, shouting, and generally acting like they are at a KISS concert, rather than a Hip Hop club. There are several men making repeated, bouncer baiting attempts to mount the stage. The man they wish to greet is bald headed, shirtless and recognized by no one, yet he has the crowd eating out of his hand. DJ Qool Marv is moving seamlessly from Tribe Called Quest classics to new school Hip Hop via Disco, early House, 70’s soul, Jazz Funk and an assortment of British beat pieces. He drops the tempo but holds the crowd with a smooth, stealthy mixing style, which he alternates with cheer inducing cuts and scratches and spacey, beatless interludes. One such segue is a combination of odd noises and a voice asking Can You Hear Me? Over and over again. It goes on for a while. It ought to clear the floor, but instead it harnesses the crowd, who start shouting their response before Marv cuts in Stevie Wonder and the club erupts. Marv, who, in his native New York, only gets away with this sort of thing in bars, grins from ear to ear. While Marv has forged a nice, if unexpected, niche in the UK though, an even further unforeseen welcome was waiting back home from NYC's movers, shakers, and decision makers. Who knew that TV companies had whole party-planning departments? And that quietly spoken dude from Philly would become their DJ of choice? How, indeed did their worlds collide? I was playing at a little club (Bar 6) in Greenwich Village, recalls Marv, still slightly perplexed by the whole thing. It was one of those places where anyone could walk in playing this cool, vibey set, and these people come up and ask for a card. I get a call later saying "Hey, we're from NBC, how'd you like to play at a party we're holding?" The gigs kept coming."* Marv has mixed the vibes at events that are as diverse as New York’s Central Park on a warm sunny day. Qool DJ Marv has been the DJ for some of the most enthralling parties in New York City. Whether the gritty down-to-earth funkiness of a downtown lounge or stepping up to the turntables at several HBO events (Emmy and Golden Globe Awards after parties and premiere parties for The Sopranos, Sex in the City, Oz, Six Feet Under, and Entourage), Marv always creates an atmosphere. As the resident DJ at the legendary Tramps nightclub (replaced by Centro-Fly), Marv warmed up the crowd and set the stage for artists like Erykah Badu, George Clinton and P-Funk, Busta Rhymes, and A Tribe Called Quest. However, it was at one of Prince's spur-of-the moment Tramps jam sessions where Marv elevated his reputation with the music and entertainment elite. After a 2Â1?2-hour, genre-blurring, party rocking set that kept his audience grooving until his purple highness showed, the president of VH-1, in attendance and impressed, encouraged his special events executives to hire Marv for both the 1997 & 1998 VH-1 Fashion Awards after parties. Hence, the beginning of many of Marv's stirring and uncommon sets in the world of entertainment. Marv attributes his wide-ranging appeal to his understanding of the universality of good grooves. Marv plays a soulful mixture of styles, with an emphasis on tracks which are melodic and introspective, yet dedicated to the art of moving butts. With his melting pot approach, Marv has gained a passionate following and is regarded as an inventive pioneer amongst his music industry and DJ peers. Marv produces a mixtape series called Beats, Jazz, & Soul, (which was once titled Acid Hip Jazz Hop). Marv's mixes, so influential and far reaching, have created opportunities for Marv to mix promotional CDs for Universal Records, The Fader Magazine's Suite 903, and his first official commercial release Grand Central Translation on Grand Central Records. Qool Marv's an impossible-to-pin-down maverick maestro. Whether it's putting out music for ten years for the sheer love of it, or hunting out offbeat hip-hop and soul, his involvement ranges from key Philadelphia institution Buttamilk to exploring the realms of broken beat and future soul. Certainly refreshing and humbling to witness such gifted performances from one totally devoid of the usual machismo and ego problems that accompany many DJs. Perhaps Marv’s success then, lies in both the music and the man. Best of all, Marv does this all with a big smile on his face as he truly is doing what he loves and loving what he's doing hear the difference. To Contact Marv, please write to him at djqoolmarv@buttamilk.com or andrea@bambu-uk.co.uk