Mörk
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Biografía
- House music disc jockey and producer from USA“Yesterday’s weirdness is tomorrow’s reason why.” Wise words from the late, great Hunter S. Thompson that apply quite aptly to the trajectory of producer/DJ/promoter/graphic designer John Mork. Over the course of the last two decades, the Chicago native has navigated and survived more weirdness than most people experience in one lifetime—evolving from rave kid to house music celebrity, to reclusive band dude, and eventually arriving at a zen, grown-up amalgamation of all three personas. It was a wild, tumultuous ride riddled with spectacular highs and lows, but ultimately, all that weirdness served a purpose: it helped lead Mork to his current, most fulfilling, incarnation as a guy who simply derives great joy from playing and producing music that moves him. “I'm working my ass off over here trying to consistently make just Damned Good Music,” he says. “Sometimes it's house, sometimes it's slower—so, then maybe it's indie dance or nu disco. Sometimes it's whatever. I guess it’s just Mörk music.” It was a little over a decade ago in 2003 that Mork teamed up with drum n’ bass producer Frankie J to form the seminal house collaboration The Sound Republic. The two originally met while attending school at Illinois State in 1998. Both had cut their teeth on Chicago’s thriving rave scene, and each brought specific individual skills to the table. The fusion of Mork’s driving, funk-based new-school sound with Frankie’s engineering and drum programming prowess resulted in a musical style that was not only The Sound Republic’s signature sound, but which also played a crucial role in shaping the overall future path of the house genre. In 2005 The Sound Republic put out their first record on Dae Recordings, Aaron Dae’s precursor label to his current imprints Razor-n-Tape and Deep & Disco. A second release on Oakland, Calif.-based underground label Guesthouse Music soon followed. However, it was The Sound Republic’s release of “Just a Little Oven” and “Uncle Freak” under their bootleg monikers Johnny Drama and Francis Jilla on Guess Who? Recordings that officially put the duo on the map. The EP made waves at the 2005 Winter Music Conference in Miami, and suddenly—for better and for worse—The Sound Republic found themselves in the house spotlight. What followed was a heady whirlwind of prolific production, playing and partying. Between 2005 and 2009 The Sound Republic churned out some 35 original tracks and remixes on choice labels like Drop Music, Aroma Recordings, Tango, Jackin’ Tracks, Blackcherry, LowDown, Dae, Guesthouse, Control, .dotbleep and Sound Republic’s own label, SpatulaCity. The duo also launched “Grizzled,” a monthly party in Chicago that regularly featured such high-caliber talent as Mes, Raoule Belmans, Traxx and Justin Martin, to name a few. “The Sound Republic was a little bit like house music college for me,” Mork recalls. “I learned a lot about the business, made some pals, had tons of crazy, ridiculous experiences on the road, acted the fool and, most importantly, learned what not to do in the music business.” All of that crazy, ridiculous life-learning came to a head in 2009. Realizing he had gone too far down the rabbit hole, Mork made the executive decision to pull himself out while he still could—and to do so permanently. “I sort of dropped off the face of the planet for a little while,” he says. “I stopped going out, swore off dance music for life and started a band.” But, as it turns out, John Mork just can’t quit house music—and that’s a good thing for everyone involved. His return to the scene started subtly… a remix here, a track purchased there, a grooving nu disco mix quietly posted on Soundcloud in the fall of 2012. Without even realizing it was happening, Mork once again found himself firmly ensconced in dance music. He began making tracks and releasing records, and crazier still, he found himself out and about, and behind the decks. And despite proclaiming that first gig to be “just the one time,” Mork was soon playing at various local nights on a regular basis. Never one to half-ass anything, Mork partnered up with friends and fellow Chicago talents, Trancid, Alinka, Chris Grant and Karl Almaria in January 2013 and launched a monthly of his own: Nü: The Outer Space Disco Dancing Society of Chicago. Held at Chicago’s infamous filthy goth club Neo on the first Friday of every month, Nü has been an unmitigated success and has featured a slew of house and nu-disco talent, including Midnight Magic, Ed Wizard & Disco Double Dee (Dave Allison), Alkalino, Asher Diamonds, Aaron Dae, Sleazy McQueen, Ghosts of Venice, DJ Mes, Shaun J Wright, Tim Zawada, Kid Color, and many more. “So much for quitting,” Mork says with a laugh. “I mean, I truly believed I was done. Apparently, I was wrong.” These days, Mork is a happy man. In addition to putting on Nü, he and longtime friend Karl Almaria launched another monthly party in January 2014 called “HOOYAIS!” at Primary Nightclub. Joshua Iz and Asher Diamonds helped kick off the night’s debut, and house legend Joey Negro headlined in March. In addition, Mork has also been busy in the studio, producing remixes for Midnight Magic, The New Division, Speck Mountain, Change Request and Goldroom. He has also released music on Nu Jax Music, Seasons Recordings, Plus Plus and his own new label NBD Music Company. But this onslaught of creativity is merely the beginning for Mork, who plans to unleash a flood of new music in the year ahead. “My entire approach is different this time around, and it just feels right and good to me,” he says. “I got bit by the bug again and it felt how it did for me when I first discovered house music—open, free, inspiring, fun, nothing but possibility—and, I just understood it. I changed up my approach to production and have really been working in a completely different way than I did when I was in The Sound Republic. I honestly feel like I'm making the best music of my life, and it just keeps getting better.” Let’s give it up for yesterday’s weirdness.̸http://www.discogs.com/artist/479451-John-Mork?type=Credits
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