>> Markus Enochson
bio: Soul music comes in many different shapes and forms. The variations are increasing, and with each new generation’s interpretations, history is being rewritten, and forgotten or previously neglected phenomena, styles, and artists revaluated.
“Everything is possible, nothing is wrong” has been something of a motto for Markus Enochson since he began working on Night Games. The focus has been on composing the kind of tunes that help us remember long-forgotten times and places, and carry us away on a wave of euphoria or melancholia.
Enochson is constantly hunting for new ways of introducing his version of soul. Today he lets his early rave and techno influences shine through, coupled with broken beats and flirts with R’n’B. It has not always been like this.
There is a big jump from the classic, New York-inspired house of his first singles to the freer and more unrestrained compositions of today. It was an awakening for Markus when he realized he could escape from the pattern he was partly responsible for putting himself in.
"In the beginning, I was so elated about getting my music out that I quickly put myself in the position where I thought ‘I’m good at this,’ and so I maybe went on with the same style and sound a little too long. I figured that everyone was expecting a classic house single from me and when I eventually chose not to do that, I got a better response than ever."
Enochson’s willingness to push forward is partly down to his interest in technology. If it had not been for a childhood and teenage years spent surrounded by music, he might be a project leader at some IT company today, his interest in music restricted to buying a couple of CDs a year.
"I was regarded as the black sheep of the family because I was the only one who did not go to music school and was not interested in learning how to sing,” he says. “But I hung out a lot in my uncle’s music shop, and I remember how, as a five-year-old, I walked round among the synthesizers and sequencers, watching the lamps flashing and listening to all the fantastic sounds. That was when I decided that I had to surround myself with such machines. A few years later, I was in my uncle’s studio and saw all the drum machines and the big collection of synthesizers, and thought: ‘This is what I want to have one day.’"
When Markus rebelled in his late teens, he did so through music. Soul music had given way to synth and techno and it was not long before he was playing live at raves with his interpretation of dance music. Cari Lekebusch, one of the Swedish techno scene’s most prominent figures, lent Markus his ID on more than one occasion so that he could wangle his way into parties and clubs. But it was not until Markus discovered house music from New Jersey that he truly found the style that was right for him. The warm, soul-saturated sounds and steady beat helped him rediscover soul music in its new form.
"Music is natural to me,” he says. “I feel bad if I can’t work with it. As a person, I am a little reserved; I need music to make myself heard."
As Markus didn’t really think he could focus on music full time, it is perhaps no surprise that he began a career as a project leader within IT. It took him exactly three days to realize it wasn’t for him. When the remixing offers began streaming in, he decided to focus on music in earnest.
The boundaries within dance music have become increasingly eroded. Styles are merging with each other and the openness to new impressions is greater than ever. Nite Games is largely a reflection of what is happening today. Markus has gathered a wealth of influences on the album. It is a sort of soul-minimalism, distilled from his years of musical experience. Night Games is house, techno, and broken beats woven together in a way that only Markus can.
Whatever Markus has produced over the years, it has always been simple and, in terms of sound, virtually stripped down.
"If you look back on the soul music I grew up with, not many things were going on there either – a few elements were given a lot of space,” he says. “Sometimes I just want to go for it and add things, but generally I want some space and not too much going on at the same time. Maybe I should freak things out a bit more, but I think I’m on my way to doing that."
During a long musical career, Markus’s father, Lars Enochson, has worked with James Ingram, among others, and it therefore felt natural for Markus to ask the legendary singer to record something with him. He contacted friends at Masters at Work, who were over the moon at the chance – and the result. The single, Lean on me, brought Ingram a new audience, and he also contributed to Night Games.
"We wrote the song when he was in Stockholm to sing at my wedding,” Markus says. “It is wonderful to have him on the album because his voice has become classic and timeless within soul music."
It was Louie Vega from Masters at Work who came up with the idea of an album a few years ago. Markus started off the work, but while doing it, he kept getting new ideas that he didn’t know what to do with. The pieces have only fallen into place during the last year.
"I have found a wonderful home with Sonar Kollektiv, and it was when I realized they were open to basically anything that my creative phase really started." Night Games clearly shows that he has started a new journey, and nobody – including himself – knows where it will lead.
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