Markia

He is our feature producer for the month and why is he a big deal?

Read On

How did you get into music & productions?

I was a DJ at 16, during that time I saw many local artists perform live not to their own tracks, but to instrumentals of popular acts at that time. I saw there was a need for original production that wasn’t going to break to bank to make. It started from that moment with very very humble beginnings. I had two turntables, my parent’s record collection and a playstation program called Music Generator. The rest is history

Favorite DAW

I would say Cubase as a DAW, but rewired with that Reason is a beast plus the new MPC studio brings an old skool workflow into the new skool environment.

About Five One Entertainment & are you self taught?

Five One exists because local hiphop record labels didn’t. I started the label after being surrounded with so many talented artists who were all independently trying to get a break. “Five One” breaks down to “3151”, the area code in Melbourne where I grew up, but now it means so much more. In the Bible there is a verse in Ephesians 4:11 which talks about five different callings, all with their own individual purposes. This application towards the music that we create means we bring purpose and reason behind what we do

For the most part, I am self taught. At that time there was no one that was doing production so it really is trial and error (and thousands of terrible beats made in the process!). I had a basic understanding of music theory, the rest developed from listening to different songs and taking note of what sounds and instruments are being used

Notable Productions

Israel – “Wake Up With U (MarKia Remix)”  Roadshow Entertainment

2004 Timomatic – “My Escape”EMI Music Publishing

2008 Jason Mighty – “Make A Joyful Noise”

2009 Timomatic – “Classic” EMI Music Publishing

2009 Lolly – “Butterfly Kisses”

2012 Tru-In-Deed – “Handz Up” / Proxime Entertainment

2012 Shak Marvel feat. KG and Vuoche – “Lets Fly” / Marvel Music

2012 Trinaty feat. T!NO – “No Limits”

2012 Trinaty feat. MarKia – “I Found Love” / 2013

Collabs (non-production work)

3Naylz feat. MarKia – “Rebirth”  Gods Block Records

2009 Iraj feat. MarKia & Jayasri – “Lion Nation” / Ill Noize Productions

2012 Iraj & MarKia feat. Kona – “Your Love” / Ill Noize Productions

2012 Iraj feat. Infaas, MarKia, RIO & Indra Joshi – “Just 1 Click” / Ill Noize Productions

2012 Deyo feat. MarKia – “Seize The Day”

2013 Janani & MarKia – “From Time (Drake Cover)” / 2014

and of course I produced my own singles

MarKia – “Let It Bump” / Five One Entertainment

2012 MarKia – “M.I (Mark Is)” / Five One Entertainment

2013 MarKia feat. Kim Cooper – “This Luv” / Five One Entertainment 2014

Apart from hip hop & rap, do you produce other genres?

I try to be as versatile as possible, so I’m always trying my hand out on different genres. In the past I’ve produced commercial pop, dub-step, progressive house, neo-soul, R&B and the list goes on. The more you can venture out of your comfort zone; the more skilled you will become!

The 5 wins & fails of producers

Five Wins:

1. Control the musical canvas of the industry

2. A producer can spark a unique musical trend (eg. DJ Mustard, Neptunes, Lex Luger, Timbaland, Kanye West etc)

3. They bring meaningful words and lyrics to life

4. There is no step-by-step guide to creating production; which is why your method is always right

5. You can produce years after your recording career is over (eg. Dr Dre)

Five Fails:

1. Producers who promote themselves over the artist they’re producing for

2. More equipment/sounds doesn’t not equate to better product

3. There have been more drum kits made other than the Roland 808

4. The extent of your musical knowledge is evident in your production

5. Just because you know how to DJ doesn’t mean you know how to produce

A message to upcoming producers

Two words; BE CREATIVE!!!

Check out Markia’s productions here