MAKJ is an interesting up and coming DJ/producer within the EDM scene: he used to be a professional race car driver in China, was a grinding DJ before becoming a producer, and came from a small town in California. Mackenzie Johnson, or MAKJ, was able to take time from his busy schedule to talk to EDM Canada about a wide variety of topics and I promise that you'll learn a lot about this young talent once you've finished this interview, enjoy!
EDM Canada: Who is MAKJ and where are you from?
MAKJ: MAKJ is Mackenzie Johnson, I am a 23
year old California kid, I grew up in San Luis Obispo, California,
which is about 3 hours north of Los Angeles. It's a small town, about
50,000 people there. There's not a lot of EDM there as it's an
agricultural city. It has a lot of country and alternative music. EDM
wasn't that big so I moved over to L.A, and here I am, a year and a
half later.
At what age did you move to L.A?
Last year, so at 22.
How did you get the name MAKJ?
My name is Mackenzie Johnson and
everyone at school told me that they weren't going to call me
Mackenzie, so they called me Mak. And then once they knew my last
name was Johnson, they just started calling me MAKJ. I was about
12-13 at the time.
Define MAKJ's style.
I come from a DJ background, so I like
a lot of energy, no big breakdowns, no pauses. I like quick high
energy stuff with a more hardstyle kind of background with
progressive and uplifting sounds.
How did you get started in becoming a
DJ/producer?
I was living in China, I used to race
cars back in my teen years. My step Dad has a solid name in the
racing industry and used to bring me to the races. Once I hit 12-13
years old, I started racing go-karts, after that I moved onto formula
cars, won a couple of championships, and lived overseas in Asia, in
Macao. I lived over there because it was a lot cheaper to race in
China than it was in the United States. It's night and day prices
when you compare the two. My parents put me in a boarding school for
racing kids. I went to high school there but it was more of a charter
school. While I was 15, I was invited to a race over a long weekend,
and saw DJ Qbert spinning, and was immediately wondering “what is
this?!”. He was mixing completely random songs together and I was
thought it was awesome. I went up to the DJ booth that night to ask
him a million questions, watching what he was doing, and asking him
what equipment he was using. I went back home with all of these
notes, later bought some stuff, went back to the States, went to my
room for 2 weeks straight to try to learn. Next thing I know I DJ'ed
my first wedding, and the rest was history.
"Yeah, I've been DJ'ing for about 8
years now so I have a heavy DJ background. My first gig was a
wedding, I did bar mitzvah's, I did high school parties, I did proms,
I've even DJ'ed at surf shops. You name it and I've probably brought
my DJ gear there and played."
Were you a DJ first, then a producer?
Yeah, I've been DJ'ing for about 8
years now so I have a heavy DJ background. My first gig was a
wedding, I did bar mitzvah's, I did high school parties, I did proms,
I've even DJ'ed at surf shops. You name it and I've probably brought
my DJ gear there and played. So now I can go anywhere and read the
crowd and that's why I think my productions stand out because I know
what people want. That's really important. It's not the point where
you are making your songs sound really cheesy in a top 40 sense, but
more about knowing what people want at the club. You don't want those
big breakdowns that will clear the dancefloor, you want something
that people will remember and get the equation where you can get that
magic formula of what works, nothing is going to stop you.
How long did it take for you to become
a producer?
When I moved out to L.A and while I was
DJ'ing everyone was telling me that I needed to produce. So I was
making these bootlegs and mashups for a long time and that was
helping my name grow. Then everyone was telling me the need to step
my production game up because it was the only way that I was going to
gain recognition in the industry. So I went to a school called Icon
Collective in L.A. They basically taught me from zero to hero in
regards to production and that's what helped me in my career a lot.
It was an awesome production school with a really good family there.
Mark Knight, Deadmau5, Steve Duda, Dave Ramirez were all instructors
there. If I didn't go to Icon, I wouldn't be where I am at today for
sure.
"The
producer guys take me a lot more seriously and I'm no longer known as
just the “mash-up kid” anymore."
You recently released “Springen”
that has had a major impact on the Beatport top 100 as well as on the
festival circuit – how has your life changed since that track?
It's gotten me a lot of recognition
from a production standpoint. Now I'm getting hit up by a lot of guys
after it reached the Beatport Top 10, like Ummet Ozcan, who has been
one of my idols for the longest time, who wants to do a collab. The
producer guys take me a lot more seriously and I'm no longer known as
just the “mash-up kid” anymore. My bootlegs and mash-ups have
received a lot of support from guys like Tiesto and Hardwell, and now
I'm turning it around with actual productions – so now I'm
basically hitting all fields. It hasn't helped my career a whole lot,
but it certainly has given me more recognition and support from the
bigger guys.
You started your career as primarily
releasing remixes/edits and now you've switched to more original
productions – do you have any remixes in the works or are you more
focused on originals at the moment?
Everyone loves free stuff with my
remixes/bootlegs, and that's why my fan page is doing so well. If I
release free stuff in between Beatport releases, people will more
adamant in buying. I do a lot of edits and bootlegs every week for my
own sets, and I can do 10 in a week, because it's from my DJ
background because I love making stuff that works. So for sure I will
be making more.
Judging from your discography, you've
had a good working relationship with Robbie Rivera and his label
Juicy Music – how important was Robbie in the development of your
career?
Robbie was one of those guys that took
a chance with me, it's funny because it seemed like such a long time
ago, but it was only 6-7 months ago when I gave a few collab tracks
with this kid from Portugal. He took a chance on me by releasing
these tracks and it paid off for me. “Hold Up” was in the top 20
of the Beatport in the Progressive House music charts and it was one
of the highest tracks on Juicy this year. Robbie was almost like a
father figure to me because he took that chance with me and he has
brought me on tour and did about 2-3 Juicy Music shows including
Juicy Beats Miami. He's been a really big help to my career and I
can't thank him enough.
You released your big hit “Springen”
over at Hysteria Records, the label run by the Bingo Players – Do
you plan on working with Paul and Hysteria Records for future
releases?
For sure. I sent them a couple of
tracks and they seemed really interested. I will be releasing more
stuff, but it's more of a waiting game because I don't want to
release every month on Hysteria due to wanting to diversify myself
with other labels as every label caters to its own type of crowd.
Hysteria is definitely on my high list but I also have stuff coming
out on Revealed, and my next single will be coming out on Diffused
Records which is Michael Woods label which is more of a “Prydz”
style track. It's more of a “producer track”, completely
different from my last track and I'm excited to see what people have
to say about it. It's not that “big banger” but it's one of those
tracks that you can listen to all day and it's a great opening house
track. Michael has played it a couple of times with early support
from Thomas Gold, Nervo, Hardwell, Nicky Romero. It's a different
approach to my production.
"I did “Springen” a year and a half ago and
finally it was released on a label. Labels take a long time to find a
release date and get that Beatport exclusive."
I noticed that you released a
tech-house track in 2013 called “Conchy”, do you like to
experiment with other genres in the studio?
For sure, I have so many tech-house
tracks that are just sitting, I'm just waiting for that right time
and place to kind of put them out so I can show people that I can
produce different genres instead of that one style of progressive,
hard MAKJ style. That's what I feel is the most important thing about
production because if you know how to hit all marks and release
different tracks to different labels then the rest is history. I know
so many producers that only produce one style of music and after that
it's done. It's better for me and for up and coming guys to produce
multiple genres and release them to different labels.
It's almost like what Hardwell did
because he produces what he knows will sell on Revealed. He also does
his tech-house like when “Three Triangles” came out a few years
ago is similar to what I'm doing with my next track on Diffused. It's
a break from the big banger stuff that people are making fun of right
now. It's hard. I did “Springen” a year and a half ago and
finally it was released on a label. Labels take a long time to find a
release date and get that Beatport exclusive. Hysteria was sitting on
that track for 5 months and people don't know that. People think I
made that track last week and put it out. So it's better to have more
genres in my resume.
You've been collaborating with Hardwell
and Nicky Romero, do you have a timeline on when we'll get to hear
the results of these collabs?
Everything is already done and like I
said earlier, labels take forever to release. All of the tracks are
done and me and Hardwell and Nicky Romero still talk on a daily
basis. It's not us that is dealing with the contracts, it's our
management. We don't want to ruin our relationship over a contract. I
see these guys more as buddies, I don't see them like business
partners. There's no timeline when they will be released yet as we're
still working on dates, but it will be this year for sure.
Do you have any other collabs in the
works?
I did a collab with Clockwork, and a
couple of other collabs I can't mention. I am working with Zak Waters
(Who worked with Madeon on “The City”), which will be my first
vocal original track. It won't be “poppy”, but it will definitely
have that L.A vibe to it, with an electro-indie-pop feel. I played
the guitar and the live drums on it so it will be a live kind of
track.
There has been a lot of talk lately
about the Beatport top 10 sounding the same – how does someone like
MAKJ stay ahead of the pack to stay fresh and relevant?
Do different stuff. Create different
songs and release a lot of content so people don't think that you are
just producing that one genre. If people see that you are a more well
rounded producer, beyond a producer that only creates one style with
that big kick drum, simple drop, epic breakdowns – then people will
have a lot more respect for you and won't judge you so hard.
I read in a prior interview that you
used to hip hop DJ, how do you view the whole trap movement and have
you ever been tempted to dip your toes into that genre beyond your
edits?
It's always fun to go to a gig and play
a little hip hop to see the crowd reaction. Venturing into different
styles is what I like to do as I DJ. I like to play a little hip hop,
or a remix of a good classic rock song and have people really enjoy
the set instead of just playing crazy electro tracks for 2 hours
straight. I like digging in crates basically and that's where my
style really comes from. When you go to a festival you don't want to
be listening to that same music over and over again because the
majority of the big festival guys are playing the same songs. So if
you have something different to offer, people are going to remember
your set over any of these big guys.
Now that your name is rising in the EDM
world and the fact that you were a former professional race car
driver - do you have any dream car in mind to purchase once you've
completed a few world tours?
I'm pretty happy with my crappy little
Acura (laughs). It gets me to point A to point B and I don't think
I'll be buying myself a new car pretty soon. When you move to L.A,
you buy a crappy car because it will get crappier by the time you're
done driving it down the street. Dream car no, but dream house yes. I
really want to purchase some real estate and maybe get a house back
in my hometown, and spend vacations up there when I have time.
Do you have any advice for new
producers and DJ's trying to make it?
Produce multiple genres, ask questions.
You have to ask questions to gain knowledge. Read a lot of books. I
read a lot of books on the art of music and on how it's formatted.
Listen to different styles of music – listen to everything. Just
don't listen to EDM because you'll just end up producing the same
tracks as everyone else if you're listening to the top ten Beatport.
Listen to classic rock, listen to drum N bass, listen to all
different styles and genres and try to make music with all of those
elements into your own stuff.
If you could name one relatively
unknown producer who will have a massive 2014, who would it be?
Henry Fong – I'm actually doing a
track with him right now. He's this small guy in L.A, he's got a cool
look with his dreads, half Asian. He's a really talented producer,
and one of those guys that's hitting all marks. He's a nice kid and
started DJ'ing before he produced. He just hit the Beatport top 10
with his Hysteria release called “Jump”, so definitely keep your
eyes out for that kid.
You've secured a residency at one of
the most popular clubs in Las Vegas, XS – how important was it to
land this gig?
It was good. It's always really good to
have a solid family somewhere in the United States where I can always
go back to and build a relationship with. That's how I feel about the
XS family. I've gotten offers from Hakkasan, Mandalay Bay and all of
these clubs that wanted me to play with them but I was already at
Tryst and had already built that relationship with Jesse Waits who
runs XS, Surrender, and Tryst. We built a relationship over the past
6 months when I DJ'ed at Tryst so after that it was a no brainer. I
wouldn't leave these guys as they helped my career so far and took a
risk on me when I first started at Tryst as I didn't have any
releases out when they first booked me. Once my releases started
coming out and my name was growing they told me to move to XS and
let's build you from there. It's been nothing but good things.
What else can we expect from MAKJ for
2013?
A lot of gigs. You can see all of my
tour dates on my Facebook. There will be a lot of low key festivals.
I'm actually landing an Australian tour that will hopefully happen
March of next year. I have probably 50-60 more gigs before the end of
the year. I have a lot of releases coming up including “Hakaka”
on Diffused, a remix pack for “Hold Up”. I have a Lil Jon track,
my collabs with Hardwell and Nicky Romero are also coming up. A lot
of good stuff.
