Mark Alsop
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Mark Alsop is an Australian DJ and
remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...
er. Alsop is one of the longest-continuous working DJs in Australia. He predominantly plays
house music House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 115–130 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground ...
and tends to play at gay dance parties, bars and clubs. Specific genres played include
electro house Electro house is a genre of electronic dance music and a subgenre of house music characterized by heavy bass and a tempo around 125–135 beats per minute. The term has been used to describe the music of many ''DJ Mag'' Top 100 DJs, including ...
,
progressive house Progressive house is a subgenre of house music that emerged in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. It is characterized by its evolving, melodic Musical form, structures, subtle Transition (music), transitions, and layered sound design.Gerard, ...
,
deep house Deep house is a subgenre of house music that originated in the 1980s, initially fusing elements of Chicago house with the lush chords of 1980s jazz-funk and touches of soul music. Its origins are attributed to the early recordings of Larry Heard ...
, and vocal house as well as retro and soulful house tunes. Mark moved to Sydney when he was 19. In 1991, he studied
sound engineering An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduct ...
at the
Australian Film, Television and Radio School The Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS), formerly Australian Film and Television School, is Australia's national screen arts and broadcast school. Opened to students in 1973 as Film and Television School (FTS), after accredita ...
. He has provided his voluntary services to charitable events, particularly those that seek to provide education and support in relation to HIV/AIDS. In 2011, his charitable work was recognised when he received an ACON award. In 2016, Mark played a set at the
Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras or Sydney Mardi Gras is an event in Sydney, New South Wales attended by hundreds of thousands of people from around Australia and overseas. One of the largest LGBT festivals in the world, Mardi Gras is the ...
party.


Career

Alsop's early career plans focused on hospitality. His DJing began in 1984. The move was prompted by a meeting with David Hiscock. His first regular work was at a bar called Club 45 on
Oxford Street Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running between Marble Arch and Tottenham Court Road via Oxford Circus. It marks the notional boundary between the areas of Fitzrovia and Marylebone to t ...
in Sydney. This was followed by work at Midnight Shift. He has played at numerous events in Sydney, Brisbane and around their respected states as well as Melbourne, Adelaide and overseas at Noumea,
Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...
,
Phuket Phuket (; , , or ''Tongkah'') is one of the Southern Thailand, southern Provinces of Thailand, provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand. It consists of the island of Phuket, List of islands of Thailand, the country's largest island, and another 3 ...
and
Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...
. His popularity grew as the dance party scene in Sydney expanded in the late 1980s, particularly at the Sweatbox parties. In 1989, he played at Sleaze,
Rat Parties RAT Parties were a series of large dance parties held in Sydney, Australia during the 1980s and early 1990s. The Powerhouse Museum said that they "formed a key element of an emerging subculture" that was fashion-aware, gay-friendly, appreciate ...
, Bachanalia parties, Zoo parties and all of the Paradise Garage parties. Alsop has also played at numerous charity functions and benefits. In the mid-1990s he concentrated on remixing work and took a break from DJing while living on the Sunshine Coast. In 1998, Alsop played at the Brisbane Pride Festival dance party. Around this time he regularly played at the Wickham Hotel in
Fortitude Valley Fortitude Valley (often called "The Valley" by local residents) is an inner suburb of the City of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. In the , Fortitude Valley had a population of 9,708 people. The suburb features two pedestri ...
and the Brisbane-based Sleaze parties organised by SkyPak Lighting. Alsop played at the Brisbane's Big Gay Day in 2008. In 2009, he played on the "Surry Hillsong" float in the
Sydney Mardi Gras The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras or Sydney Mardi Gras is an event in Sydney, New South Wales attended by hundreds of thousands of people from around Australia and overseas. One of the largest LGBT festivals in the world, Mardi Gras is the ...
. In 2012 and 2014, he appeared on the cover of
SX News ''SX News'' was a weekly gay and lesbian newspaper based in Sydney, Australia. One of several titles published by Evo Media under the ''Gay News Network'' banner. ''SX News'' (commonly referred to as ''SX'') was distributed throughout Sydney and ...
magazine. His remixing work began in 1991. He has worked with Paul Goodyear and has remixed tracks for
Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreogr ...
,
M People M People (stylised as ''M''People) are an English dance music band that formed in 1990 and achieved success throughout most of the 1990s. The name M People is derived from the first letter of the first name of band member Mike Pickering, who f ...
,
The Human League The Human League are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Initially an experimental electronic music, electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their t ...
and Peter Blakely. He has worked on remixes for both international and Australian labels including Hot Tracks, Disco Tech, Rhythm Stick, ACE and X Mix. As a regular of the Sydney nightclub scene he was featured in an investigative report into the identity of Trough Man. Alsop was interviewed for the book ''Music Wars – The Sound of the Underground'' which tells the story of Central Station Records. He featured in the 2018 book '' 'Telling Tales' – 40 Fabulous Years of Floats, Fun, Fantasy and Fortitude (of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras)''.


Awards

In 2011, Alsop won the Media, Arts and Entertainment award for his service to the community at the ACON Honour Awards. He has also won several Best DJ Awards from the
Sydney Star Observer The ''Star Observer'' is a free monthly magazine and online newspaper that caters to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex communities in Australia. Since 20 June 2019 the ''Star Observer'' has been owned by media company Out Pu ...
.


See also

* List of club DJs


References


External links

*
Production credits
at
Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...
. {{DEFAULTSORT:Alsop, Mark 1963 births Living people Musicians from Adelaide Australian LGBTQ musicians Australian club DJs Australian remixers Australian electronic dance music DJs