NOTORIOUS BY NAME,……..NOTORIOUS LEGEND BY NATURE! Few artists in the UK hardcore scene can boast the pedigree, experience and talents of the Scottish rave legend that is…Marc Smith. Still blowing back boundaries today, Marc's journey through turntable culture can be tracked right back to 1985 when the ultra charismatic Glaswegian began chopping up early hip hop in his bedroom, before teaming up with local rappers, beat-boxers and break-dancers for the next few years until he became hooked on the newly emerging dance music sound, and he's never looked back !!
It was two years later, however, when a 17 year old Smith gained his first true rave culture experience, with his quick wrIsted deck talents securing him a long standing residency at one of Glasgow's early acid house havens at The Warehouse. Marc's intuitive talents didn't go unnoticed with further long running residencies at 'The Club Hacienda', and 'Euphoria @ Heaven' following quickly behind. Spinning classic early dance classics like 'Voodoo Ray' and Joey Beltram's 'Energy Flash', these nights were to become infamous in the formative Scottish clubbing culture, and made DJ Marc Smith a household rave name practically over night. With army's of ravers following his every move, Marc soon earned a reputation as DJ who pushed the mixer, the turntables and his music to its absolute limits, merging the turntable intensity of his hip hop schooling with the electric energy of early rave culture.
The early 90s rolled on by and rave's energy had built the scene into an explosive force with Marc Smith riding high at the forefront of the movement. Now known as a true innovator and pioneering DJ and producer, Marc was deservedly voted Scotland's No 1 dj by the readers of Clubscene magazine the Scottish clubbers' bible and went on to win that title for the next 6 years in a row, as well as numerous other accolades... like voted Best Scottish dj in the Irish Dance Music Awards, and also Best Scottish DJ by the listeners of the late, great Tom Wilson's show "Stepping Out" on Forth FM. Legendary massive parties like Holocaust, Technodrome, Amnesia, World Party, Awesome 101 and Earthquaker and the like's soon called upon Smith's dynamite deck talents as the seminal Scottish bouncy techno sound began to take shape around 1993. Between 1993 and 1995, Marc took on his prized residency at the massive Rezerection party where his sets there have went down in Scottish rave history. . Often likened to the Scottish version of Slipmatt or Sy…………………
Not content with achieving legendary status across from behind the turntables, Marc's creative visions had also forced him into the studio with the explosive rave eruption of his first ep 'Breakdown' surfacing on Clubscene in 1992. Impressively, his follow up 'Techno'd Up' had tracks that were caned by loads of the Dutch DJs and by none other than the then hardcore master Carl Cox as well as the likes of Scott Brown and Brisk and numerous others. In 1994 Smith then stuck his neck out alongside his new business partner Tony Montgomery to launch the Notorious Vinyl record shop and a label of the same name – a name that would follow Marc till the present day.
Then came the raw manic rave belter 'Pump Up The Noize' in 1995 – the bouncy techno classic that remains a regular anthem at raves to this day. It was the Scottish sound's first true timeless anthem. As Marc's production came into its own, he then unloaded yet another classic anthem in the epic yet hard hitting 'Boom N Pow' the following year, which lead up to his accomplished debut LP, 'The Past, Present and Future, in 1997'. Alongside Marc's close friend Sharkey, Smith remains one of only two UK hardcore artists to have released an artist album of solo material and the final product represented a journey across the full spectrum of hardcore - from rave to vocal to banging to bouncy – ending on the experimental guitar breakbeat meets kick drum frenzy journey of 'Echoplex'. A track that showed Marc's true diversity and versatility in the studio to full effect it remains totally unique in style and sound.
Over the late 90s, Marc then continued to spread his banging party friendly DJ sound at raves across Scotland and all over the uk with a jam packed gig diary - regularly rockin parties like Hardcore Heaven and his long running Northern residency of Vibealite to mention just a few. Around this period, Smith continued to work closely with fellow Scottish rave legend Scott Brown and started the label Federation Records with him, and went on to also do remixes and productions on Brown's legendary Evolution label whilst Ultra Sonic, TTF, Chemical Mass, El Bruto and Ultimate Buzz and many others all benefiting from Smith's distinctive remixing magic touch.
Now already spending now most of his time working there, In 2001, Smith then headed South of the border to hook up with soft southerners Sharkey and K Complex. Having previously invited Sharkey north of the border into Marc's studio to collaborate on seminal anthems like Oh No, Truth, Death by Stereo and It's all just Hardcore. Sharkey returned invite – it was a significant move as the result produced the intense hardcore blaster 'Identify The Beat'. Unique, innovative and full of hardcore power, its formula defying arrangement worked through a grunged out trance n 'bass breakdown, intense acid surges and heavy hitting kicks. Like nothing else of its time it became a stern favourite of the Radio One's late bastion of musical democracy John Peel – who even included the track on his mix for London superclub Fabric, and made it number 8 in his festive 50 list.
The next few years were spent preparing and perfecting the awaited relaunch of his Notorious Vinyl whilst headlining DJ sets continued to roll in at the likes of HTID, Uproar, Slammin Vinyl, Vibealite and the infamous Tidy Weekenders. During this time Smith's international diary continued to read like a Heathrow Airport departure board with sets in Australia, Austria, Holland, Canada and New York to reel off just a few.
By 2006 though, the time was finally right to unleash the Notorious beast once and for all. Wasting no time in ripping its way through raveland, the first relaunch release was an instant favourite with the tough euphoric banger 'Gravity' and the orchestral piano breakdowns of heavy kicker 'Wot Da Fuck' balancing old favourite 'Thik N Fast'.
Whilst so many others follow the obvious fads and fashions, Marc Smith continues to reel in an abundance of main room bookings and make a Notorious name for himself by stamping out his own and his label's unique party friendly sound without surrendering to the more mainstream oriented side of the hardcore scene. Pure hardcore power with all the notorious Smith individuality. The second Notorious EP with Gammer proved that – if done right - the tougher side of hardcore can still rock the ravefloors to their foundations as the head-twisting rave rollercoaster 'Pump This Party' and heavy kicking mayhem of 'One With The Beat' both secured major CD licenses and became solid favourites in the boxes of Gammer, Brisk, Kevin Energy and Sharkey.
Fast paced and accompanied by the Scotsman's party loving energy and infectious charisma, Smith's own DJ sets with his flawless mixing and awesome deck abilities, coupled with his awesome stage presence continue to stand out as the most explosive, energetic, diverse and open-minded in today's scene! As everything from partycore energy, uplifting synth riffs and even massive vocal numbers to brockin' drum & bass tracks whip up the rave storm like only Marc Smith knows how.
In short, Marc Smith over the years on the journey through his career has played every style of rave dance music from acid house to techno, house to drum and bass through to his hardcore sound he has pioneered today and has played alongside every major dj in the dance scene as a whole…not just hardcore, and he's Dj'd at just about every major club and party, toured all over the world, also his productions and remixes have… and continue to, generate massive anticipation and create insane floor damage in raveland!
Over twenty years at the top of his game and still as Notorious as ever, Marc Smith is………a true rave legend and entertainer like no other!!!
www.myspace.com/theoriginaldjmarcsmith
Email - marc@notoriousvinyl.co.uk