What he has achieved over the past 15 years has been phenomenal, steadily climbing the ranks of the house music scene and earning respect and recognition wherever he plays.
Tucking himself away from much of the hype that some DJs surround themselves with, Marc Hughes is understated, quiet and brilliant. Everyone who knows and plays with Marc knows that he lives and breathes house music, and that it is this pure unadulterated love of it, and an exceptional talent, that has been his driving force.
Hailing from west London, Marc Hughes has been rolling around the house scene since the early 90s when he teamed up with Jazzy M and Julian Jonah via Jazzy’s shop Vinyl Zone on the Kings Road. Initially going in to buy Hip Hop, Marc eventually swapped scratching for the big room sound of house, and once this musical choice was made, it didn’t take Marc too long to reach big room status.
Marc’s first rise to DJ stardom happened very quickly in 1994 via his production skills with East 57 Street a collaboration with Julian Jonas and Saturday with Jazz & Groove, which went straight into the Top 20. Even though Marc had been making a name for himself on the club circuit via his own night The Vibe at Iceni and various sets around the capital, this was the pivotal point for the launch of his triumphant career.
In the early 90s the place to be seen and to be was the very new Ministry of Sound, where Marc spent most weekends mingling with DJs, listening to the music and waiting for his moment. This would come quickly as Marc’s talent was spotted and he was offered his first set in 1995. Blowing the dancefloor way, Marc was immediately asked back to play on a regular basis, moving from back room to bar to box and eventually on to the infamous Ministry of Sound UK tours. 1999 would see Marc become official resident to the Ministry of Sounds global tours, which took him to SE America, Europe and Asia often playing on the same bill as house heroes including Deep Dish, Masters at Work, Felix da Housecat and Tiefschwartz to name but a few, as well as taking him to the famous Pacha main room where he was resident every Friday night at Ministry of Sound, Ibiza, a position previously held by Erick Morillo and CJ Mackintosh. Marc’s commitment and hard-work, however, never wavered, and he was soon also hosting the Ministry magazine Saturday morning Saturdays at Space.
When asked about his style Marc states that he only plays and makes good house music, in his words house music with a large amount of substance that infiltrates the crowd with bass, a feeling and an everlasting mark. Due to his extensive and dynamic diary Marc’s style, inspirations and sets are constantly evolving and adapting to suit the club, country or continent that he is visiting, making for a very unpredictable and exciting musical journey whenever he plays.
In 2003 Ministry of Sound invited Marc to become resident at its flagship and world-renowned venue in South London. This coincided with the launch of the club’s Saturday Sessions night and it’s first ever compilation album aptly entitled Saturday Sessions that Marc mixed alongside Saville Row founder Jon Carter. It was in the same year that Hughes teamed up with Justin Spier in the studio to make one historic dance floor smasher War / Idiot Box that sent clubbers, DJs and the airwaves crazy, featured on numerous compilation albums and solidified the partnership Hughes & Spier.
It was here that Marc and his partner became members of the House Brit Pack, a collective of producers and remixers including Audio Bullys, Switch, Jon Carter and more who have crept into the house arena in the past 5 years and sent it rockin, jackin and bouncin into an entirely new dimension with its distinctive leftfield British sound that uses samples from genres such as Hip Hop and Ragga making it fresh and upfront. Inspired by the new energy around them, Hughes & Spier continued to produce and remix some of the finest house music to come out of the UK including Audio Bullys Snake; The Scissor Sisters Numb and more recently Britalics ‘See you Through’ whilst releases have included Gordin/Sonck; Revelations and Put ya Body in it on Elementary Group and Show You Like This on Toolroom Records as part of the Saturday Sessions series.
It has been a busy 15 years for Marc Hughes, we’re just lucky he is still faithful to his Ministry of Sound roots so that we can be a part of whatever it is he’g got lined up next.