Belgian DJ and producer Marco Bailey has proven to be versatile as well as reliable throughout his lengthy career. Initially surfacing as a trance producer in the mid-’90s, he switched to straightforward techno by the end of the decade, delivering purist club bangers and tribal tracks on releases such as 1997’s Global Warning. During the 2000s, he ventured into electro, minimal, and tech-house on full-lengths like 2004’s Rudeboy and ambitious mixes such as 2005’s Positive Disorder, both issued through his own MB Elektronics label. During the 2010s, he hosted the successful Elektronic Force mix podcast, which was succeeded by Materia, also the name of an events project and label founded by Bailey. Through this label, he released numerous EPs in addition to albums such as 2021’s Surreal Stage.
Marco Beelen began attending clubs in the late ’80s and started to DJ funk, rock, and hip-hop soon after. After getting into electronic music, he began releasing tracks as DJ Marco Bailey on Belgian label Dance Opera beginning in 1994. Dreamy trance singles such as “Place to Heaven” preceded Bailey’s 1995 debut full-length, Planet Goa. Bailey’s track “Sniff” emerged as a breakout club hit, and releases such as 1996’s Scorpia EP continued in a hard trance direction, but by 1997’s Global Warning, Bailey (who eventually stopped using the DJ prefix) had begun to move away from the style. 2000 club hit “Play It Back” appeared on Carl Cox’s Intec Records, and the more experimental full-length Sacrifice and Dedication was released by Primate Recordings the same year. Bailey launched his MB Elektronics label in 2002, and was also involved with the Madrid-based Pornographic Recordings, co-founded by Cristian Varela. Full-length Rudeboy, with cover art paying tribute to the Clash’s London Calling, was released in 2004.
Bailey remained active releasing singles, playing DJ gigs around the world, and releasing mix CDs such as 2007’s Live in Ageha Tokyo. E=MB², a full-length with frequent collaborator Tom Hades, appeared in 2008. He launched his Elektronic Force mix podcast in 2010, and released the Watergate EP on John Digweed’s Bedrock Records that year, with full-length Dragon Man following in 2011. High Volume appeared on MB Elektronics in 2013, and remix collection 25 Years (The Reworks) was issued digitally in 2014. In 2015, Bailey launched the brand name Materia for his events and release projects. Mix CD Materia XL2: Pure Electronic Journey appeared in 2016 and full-length Temper followed in 2017, while Bailey’s Materia podcast hosted mixes from the likes of the Advent and Yotam Avni. Numerous EPs followed, including Submit Yourself to Me, a 2019 collaboration with Detroit techno legend Blake Baxter. Bailey’s Surreal Stage full-length was digitally released in 2021. Electro EP From My Mind appeared on Watergate Records in 2022.
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