Marc Smith
[Auralism, Nightlight]
With a talent for insane melodies and harmonies, Auralism Records co-founder Marc Smith is a producer driven by a musical calling since childhood. From the life-changing moment when blues legend B.B. King pulled the 12-year-old guitar player onstage during a concert, Smith has remained committed to music-making—albeit, as it turned out, with a slant more towards Moog than Gibson. In 2003, Smith joined forces with Jason Short as Coalition of the Killing, a project that sprang from their mutual admiration for minimal techno's inspiring first wave, but which quickly developed into a more musical, pelvis-jostling sound all their own. Two years later, he helped to birth Auralism Records as a mouthpiece for COTK's prodigious output. In 2008 Smith took some solo steps away that veered away from the COTK sound towards the Teutonic end of the techno spectrum, creating a new sound from himself that really twisted some heads around . Of this new sound Smith says, "What I like about techno is its out-of-the-ordinary, dirty element. It's a little bit more carnal, you know? I've been focusing on using as few elements as possible, and getting the most impact out of each one. I'm a big fan of the 'less is more' aesthetic!"
2009 has already seen Smith garnering praise from the DJ community for his solo contribution to Auralism's annual Primaveral compilation entitled "Insisting upon its self". He and Short as COTK were also just recently highlighted as one of Beatport's artists to watch this year. The duo plan to tour this August to capitalize on these accolades. But hey, let the guy catch his breath, he's still savoring his amazing set from the "Night Moves" party at this year's Movement Festival in Detroit. If it all seems like a whirlwind flash of heat and smoke recently, that's because for Smith it has been. "One of the reasons for that", surmises Smith, "[is that] It seems as if the pipeline between San Francisco and the European electronic music industry is really opening up. We have so much talent here it is easy to forget there is anything else going on in the world of electronic music." But one things for sure, instead of trippin' on the E-G-O Smith has chosen to work even harder on his music with a focus on more groovin' cuts outside of his normal comfort zone. He's also branching out with some upcoming collaborations with other noted San Francisco producers such as Alland Byallo and Clint Stewart that should see the light of day later this year. Marc Smith is undoubtedly one artist to keep an eye on this year.
