Mark Nuering's Perspective: From Humble Beginnings to Techno's Evolution
Mark offers an in-depth exploration of techno's artistic nature, its creative inspirations, and the overall state of the industry.
In the relentless world of techno, where raw energy and unfiltered sounds reign supreme, Mark Nuering—also known by his producer alias, Opus Daemonii—has carved out a space that prioritizes innovation over mass appeal. As a former resident at Format and the mind behind the Underground Sessions podcast, Mark brings a distinct perspective to the dance floor. 6AM Group sat down with him to explore his artistic approach, the decision to separate his DJ and producer identities, and his candid thoughts on the shifting landscape of techno music.
Hi Mark! Thanks so much for talking to 6AM today. How are you doing?
Hi, I’m doing great, thanks for having me! At the moment I am working on various exciting projects as DJ and producer and last but not least on a huge step - privately as well as professionally – my move back to Europe. After 25 years in Chicago, where I actually started to DJ, I’m permanently relocating to Vienna, Austria, where I was born and raised. The scene of hard, fast, industrial techno is simply more prevalent when you look at Amsterdam, Berlin, and Vienna, too. It also happened that even though I spent almost half of my life in the US I’m predominantly connecting with techno fans all over Europe.
Just to clarify for our audience you DJ as Mark Nuering but produce as Opus Daemonii correct? What’s the reason behind having separate names for DJing and production? Why not unify both under one alias?
Affirmative, I DJ under my real name, Mark Nuering. Opus Daemonii, which is Latin for “Devil’s Work”, started as a cooperation between my producer friend Sumerian and me, but our ways have parted a while ago, so it’s only me right now. I have projects in the works but not sure about the name yet, I am just proud of what we’ve achieved in a very short period of time. Let’s see where this is going.
You view yourself as an artist rather than an entertainer. What is the main difference between the two for you? How does this perspective influence your approach to crafting and delivering your sets?
This is kind of a tricky question so I’ll try to answer this carefully, as not to sound pretentious. The distinction is not about the personal enjoyment factor, it’s more about the function or the purpose of a work of music and there’s no clear line between them. In any case, as opposed to an entertainer who strives to appeal to the masses showcasing popular tracks, I’m attempting to transform and change the perception of music in general and techno in particular. I see my function as a DJ not in “reading the crowd” like entertainers do, I confront and I challenge instead, with my own take of putting my music together, new sounds people have never heard before. Art is exploration, paving the way for the next new developments. Artists go deeper, occupying the mind instead of providing quick pleasure. Of course, my music has a good part of entertainment aspects in it, nevertheless I give people challenges to think about, I give them an illumination of my spirit, and not a reflection of what they like. The reward - aka “likes” or “followers” in the age of social media - is definitely harder to earn this way, but once people understand, and the crowd at underground raves generally does, you connect with them on another level. This makes my efforts worthwhile.
Can you share what initially drew you to the techno genre and how your journey as a DJ and producer began?
Music has always been an important part of my life. I come from a musical family and started to play the piano very early on, when I was 4 or 5 years old. Later, as a teenager I switched to the drums. Soon after moving to Chicago for a job in the financial industry, I predominantly got exposed to house music. Several of my friends had been DJing at home or in someone’s backyard and we went to clubs all the time. The cool vibe at afterhours in various Detroit underground locations topped this experience though by far and sparked my still ongoing journey to the newest developments of techno, whether it be Electronica, Dark Techno, Industrial Techno or Hard Techno. Professionally my breakthrough happened when I became familiar with Traktor. That just compliments my style of Djing very well and created a flow I’m very happy and comfortable with.
In the ongoing debate between Traktor and CDJs, where do you stand, and how do your equipment choices impact your performance style?
In the end, what’s the difference? People should judge the result, the music, not the instrument. But to answer your question, featuring one single track after another single track on 2 or 3 CDJs pointing out the craft of mixing while waving to the crowd doesn’t mean a lot to me. I don’t have time for that, I make my own music while I’m DJing. At the time DJs are done with a transition from track A to track B, I already play track C and loaded track D into my decks. In my hard techno sets it’s around 25 to 30 tracks per hour. In addition, I’m using a lot of loops and stems too. I frequently jump around between the loops and 4 decks which is hard, if not impossible to do with CDJs. Traktor gives me the space to think about the result of what I’m trying to create and to focus on what is important to me, e.g. adjusting the key. It might sound strange, but even with tracks consisting mainly of beats and no melodies, a wrong key will sound awful, like something goes wrong. At the same time creating something new is of utmost importance to me, I never play any track twice. Once I’ve used a track in a set it’s done, I don’t play it anymore, with very rare exceptions. I come up with new stuff. As much as I would want to and think it is cool, all this makes it impossible for me to use vinyl. It also requires listening to new tracks all the time, every single day. It’s hard work, sometimes I sit a couple of hours going through hundreds of tracks and can’t find a single one I would have use for. Sometimes the result is just a single loop of a single track and when I play it as intended in a set, it rocks!
Your music is characterized by relentless beats and dark, industrial tones. What are the key influences or experiences that shape this distinctive sound? What’s your reason for focusing on ‘sounds’ rather than melodies?
It’s simply going back to the roots. Pure techno. It started as a revolution in the 90s and 2000s and I see myself upholding this spirit. It’s about the energy emanating from my sets or tracks, not any harmonies or arpeggios. It’s about keeping the energy high without respite, the foot on the gas pedal, speeding without breaks, one hour, two hours or three hours, it doesn’t matter. It’s about the challenge, it’s about surprise, everyone can come up with a melody, but creating moving vibes with constantly changing beats and noises only, is way more demanding. That’s why I’m also not a fan of vocals. When I’m playing, I’m using noises like soundbites merely as effects.
The techno scene has seen a shift from underground venues to larger stadium events. How do you perceive this commercialization, and what impact do you think it has on the essence of techno music?
You are right, in the last 15 to 20 years the techno scene has undergone a substantial transformation. In the 90s and early 2000s techno DJs were pioneers, they were artists, not entertainers. With the emergence of EDM, business techno, or trance, the landscape has shifted. Innovators are sidelined in favor of commercially utilizable entertainers, stadiums are replacing warehouses. Not only in the US, in Europe too. Generally speaking, the industry is about business, it’s about money, there’s no place left for the art anymore. Nowadays they even call those popular EDM events “underground” because it sounds cool, while the art is still confined, as it has always been, to the real underground, with very rare exceptions. I can live with that, because there’s nothing like an authentic rave starting at 12am at a venue where you’ve never been before, where the location is only being published the day of the event and only to people who know the genre and signed up before. There’s no expensive light show, just some proper subwoofers at a warehouse or under a bridge in an industrial zone where you would never go to, if it wasn’t for artists you’re respecting and craving to see. The music sounds very different at those underground raves, the atmosphere is incomparable. As an artist you can feel that and it’s pushing you to outstanding performances. In stadiums on the contrary, you have to play what’s popular. I don’t even have tracks like that. Here’s to the few promoters who are in for the show and not the money, the artists and the fans who make underground events happen! Long live the underground!
Thank you again for talking to 6AM. Is there anything else you would like to add?
Yes, I’m very grateful to all the people who supported me over the years, from my wife Elizabeth to my promoter/DJ friend Eric Gomez and to everyone else sharing my passion. It hasn’t been easy but I enjoyed it a lot.