Marc Mount, or as the extensive world of bass knows him, is Mport! Stomping in from the mile-high city of Denver, this intelligent and captivating producer will instantly have you floored. With his specialties ranging in tech support, musical domination, or even cracking a good laugh; this dude has you covered. Now sit down, keep quiet, and by all means… take notes.
Please welcome Mport to the storm!
Q1: Welcome to our storm Mport! We are pumped to have you in the downpour!
As far as your musical journey goes, where did it all begin? Walk us through those moments in the beginning days of Mport!
A1: Oh, where to begin. My musical journey started when I was in 4th grade and my parents decided to put me into piano lessons because I wouldn’t stop messing around with the baby grand piano we had in our living room. I took lessons until 10th grade. After that, I started dabbling into what DAW’s were and how music is recorded and made in general. I got so into it all; I decided to attend CU Denver for their music and audio technology program aka, recording arts. To practice what I was learning in school, I started producing in Logic Pro in 2012. My first two years in school I made everything I could, every genre/ style. My junior year (2015) I ended up landing an internship at Beta Nightclub in Denver. This is where I really got my foot in the right door. I started running the secondary room’s backline, audio and lighting. This is where my duo project called “Parks N’ Wreck” began. I started DJing and really focused on producing bass and club music in general. A year later I was promoted to the main floor where I would run all the visuals and open for some of my favorite artists as “Parks N’ Wreck.” About a year after that, my duo partner and I split up do to exploring our own creative paths. I then began my journey as Mport in 2017. At this point I knew I could decently produce most any genre and wanted to dive into my production to figure out my own unique sound. The name comes from the word “import”. I love the idea of importing ones self into a world, sound, or idea. Also audio, you import audio into digital audio workstations and DJ software to create music and sets, so I think it’s a good fit. I envision the brand based around electricity and the idea of entering (being imported) into my world of sounds in music. I just got fresh logo and art that embodies this idea and I couldn’t be more excited to showcase my vision.
Q2: Your recent track Proximity has been wildly successful. Just recently it was played out at the Amplitude 500 Summer Series show a couple times. What does it feel like to play one of those drive-in shows, then hear your track played out at the same venue?
A2: The Amplitude 500 Series has been such an amazing set of events to help keep things semi normal in these unusual times. I can’t thank the team over at Amplitude Presents enough for doing what they do. I was lucky enough to be asked to play the very first 500 Series back in July with 12th Planet and ATLiens headlining; I was ecstatic to play a show again. I made an entire custom intro and wrapped up a bunch of songs and remixes with so much raw energy. Overall, playing that show made my year. I even released the mix on SoundCloud and it was majorly my own music, which I had yet to accomplish. A couple months later to hear my newest release played both nights was really an incredible feeling. I was sent so many videos of the first night when Dirt Monkey played it and I was in the crowd the 2nd night when L.U.C. played it near the end of his set. I have the funniest video of my friends and I freaking out and singing along in the crowd. Crazy, awesome moments like that is one of the many reasons I produce music. I’ll never forget that!
Q3: Your Instagram reels are assuredly funny. For example, your videos of you finding random samples and then creating full tracks out of them. What sort of inspiration do you call upon to fashion up a catchy yet dynamically sound track?
A3: Instagram reels are a blast! I also love to use Tik-Tok, the direct inspiration for it. Making funny and creative videos is something I’ve been doing since I first downloaded SnapChat years ago. The inspiration in general really came from watching Dillon Francis’ snap stories and realizing how fun it is to be silly and make people laugh. Recently I’ve been having a lot of fun taking the most simple and common sounds and flipping them into a little song. It’s honestly a fun way to challenge myself and hopefully inspire people to stay creative. It also plays off the brand of importing audio. I love how with the right manipulation and possessing you can make anything into anything when it comes to audio. One of my favorites is when I made an entire beat out of myself saying, “wow.” I mean everything; drums, bass, leads and all. It’s super fun to push the limits of sound and see what the outcome is. I’ve done this before too with my scooter’s bell and a doob-tube; oh I should upload that one.
Q4: 2020 has been wild, although it is wrapping up! What sort of plans do you have for the rest of 2020 and going into 2021? What can your fans expect from the likes of Mport?
A4: 2020 has been a whirlwind for sure! The rest of this year I plan to wrap up a bunch of new music and keep my socials filled with fun previews and funny videos. I have a couple of live streams planned as well! I’m super excited as my sets are becoming almost all original sets and that has been a goal of mine from the start. I will have a collaboration EP coming out with my best friend who goes by Stoic early next year and that has some of my favorite music I’ve ever made on it. Our song “Wonke” will turn some heads I think. Beyond that, I have so much music to put out I am just trying to release it in the most effective way possible. Whether that’s through labels or EP’s I’m not quite sure yet, but I’m more excited than ever to share these songs. Some are really heavy, some are real deep and weird, but they all include my style and sound in some way. Super pumped to showcase my unique weirdness in my new music. 2021 will be a great year as long as the world can pull itself together.
Q5: Do you have an before-show/after-show ritual? Anything you as Mport feel necessitated to do?
A5: I love to make custom intros for sets and try to also include the venue or city name specific to the show. I know I would lose my shit if I were in the crowd so I want to curate that experience for others. I also love eating Chipotle day of show, it’s always a nice filling and tasty meal before I dance around like a crazy person for an hour or more. After I’m off I chug water and say hey to everyone who came out to the show! I also just love raging in the crowd afterwards. When I worked at Beta, I would play the direct support slot for an hour and a half then immediately run the visuals for the headliner after. That was a crazy feeling cause the tech booth was right next to the DJ booth, it was a party. Ugh I miss shows.
Q6: Walk us through your creative process behind the ominous track, Empire. What went into that track mentally? What about Proximity?
A6: Empire is one of my favorite and quickest songs I’ve ever made. The concept is based around the idea of creating an “empire” around my music and myself. Eliminating any negative energy from my life and focusing on the good stuff. I love the idea of how something small can grow into something massive with the right focus and dedication. This process also usually involves focusing on the good side of things and not dwelling on the dark side of life. This is represented by the soft piano melodies slowly morphing into these massive festival style saw synths in the intro. Sonically, I wanted to make something that had a huge switch up. I wanted it to transform from a “hands up” almost cheesy festival vibe into something incredibly deep, different and unexpected. I made this in an afternoon, played it that same night at a show in a back-to-back set and decided it was done. I hope to play it one day at a festival and really have people experience what I envisioned with that nasty switch up of a drop.
Proximity is a very special one indeed. As the first song I finished during quarantine, I wanted to take some of the anxious feelings I was dealing with and put that energy towards making music. This theme can be heard via the lyric “too close to me” and how the song starts off pretty but soon crashes into a sea of anxious sound. From there, I decided to just have fun with it. I tried to focus on the positive side of life and I ended up writing this bouncy drop that involuntarily results in your hand dancing. My goal from the production standpoint was to make something people would sing along to with the wubs and melodies. I achieved this by using creative repetition and interesting turnaround /fills. When we heard it at the drive in you best bet we were screaming the wubs! I was so happy to have it be released through Dirt Monkey’s label 19K. The artwork I got was wildly epic in and of itself. The response to the track has been really so amazing and I cant wait to see what people think of the new music too, as it comes out!
Q7: As an avid skateboarder of 15 years I must ask! What sort of details can you speak on, in regards to your custom skateboards your giving away on your Instagram?
A7: Ah yes! The skateboards! I got some artwork done earlier this year and I’ve been thinking of creative ways to use it. Recently I got back into skating and long boarding due to these pump-tracks that have popped up around Colorado. My friend Shank Aaron told me about how CCS does custom boards for only 5 more dollars than blanks. I was like, well I need a new skate board anyway, why not make it custom. I decided to make three. I was going to sell them but I thought to create a fun contest idea where people could upload funny videos or whatever kind of videos (dancing, gloving, poi, ect) to either Instagram Reels or Tik-Tok use “Proximity” as the audio and get entered to win one! The boards are 8-inch decks and I gripped them already. I hope people enter and go out of their comfort zone, post a video and enjoy the prize if they win! I grew up skating and I always loved cool graphics on the bottom so I’m excited to have one of my own. I will also probably make more to sell them if people want them after; the contest ends on 10/23.
Q8: Who do you see killing it lately? Give them a healthy shout-out!
A8: I have SO many talented friends in all genres of music and art. I gotta shout out my boy Aaron who goes by Stoic. He has been making some of the most passionate music from drum and bass to techno to whatever he is feeling. Also, my roommate who goes by JoeyNE, is about to release a plethora of amazing hip-hop/ pop/ RnB based music. I produced a song with him and Shyla Lee that’s dropping before the year ends too. My boys Kryal x Banko are also absolutely crushing it and have a phenomenal EP coming out here soon called Snoitch. We also have an entire collab EP on the way. Also, ya’ll got to check out my friends Shank Aaron, TruFeels, Killa Nilla, Globzter, Morf, and Backleft. There are so many but just to name few!
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