Miguel Ramirez
“I’m going to focus on slightly higher BPM’s; from 136 to 140, more melodic and definitely more uplifting,” Mark Sixma on his upcoming ‘M6’ set at Dreamstate Melbourne.
As Aussie Trance addicts await Mark Sixma’s world premiere of his stage debut as ‘M6’ at Dreamstate Melbourne on October 1, The Trance Project caught up with the legend to find out more on M6!
Under the M6 moniker, Mark Sixma profiled himself with tracks such as ‘Amazon Dawn’, ‘Fade 2 Black’, and ‘Destination 6′. The M6 sound slides from all-destroying techno into tranquilising prog-trance and all the way back to orchestral, anthem-fit trance.
We’re very excited for your return to Australia and in just a few weeks you’ll be playing at Dreamstate in Melbourne – how excited are you for the show?
I love Australia. For me, it’s one of the countries in the world where Trance is really blooming and the crowd there is always fantastic. I’m really looking forward to being back. It’s going to be my first Dreamstate so I’m really excited for that as well. I can’t wait!
What do you love most about Australia?
It’s a very educated crowd! They know all the songs when they come to your show. For example, when I played at Atlantis last year, I played my remix of “Falling Back” by Cosmic Gate and in the break, I turned down the volume and the crowd carried the whole verse of the track. I think that’s the most gratifying feeling you could get as a producer and as a DJ, when people know your tracks so well and they enjoy it so much.
You’ll be playing under your M6 alias, what inspired you to bring back M6 and to perform under that classic name?
I’ve been producing a lot of tracks under M6 ever since around 2008. Back then, I was producing 128 BPM tracks and a lot of 138 BPM tracks which were more melodic which is a big part of me. I love classical music, I love uplifting trance as well and I felt like nowadays I’ve been doing a lot more 128 BPM tracks, somewhere between Trance and Progressive, which I really enjoy but I’ve missed that old feeling, that epic kind of vibe.
A lot of people also kept asking me on social media if I was ever going to go back to M6, and I thought “yeah why not,” I felt like I was ready for it and as soon as I got into the studio it all kept flowing. I’m so happy to bring M6 back!
What can fans expect from your upcoming M6 set at Dreamstate?
I’m going to focus on slightly higher BPM’s; from 136 to 140, more melodic and definitely more uplifting, and a little bit more reminiscent of the old days of Trance.
Mark Sixma Pres M6 – Dreamstate Mix
Do you have a favourite ‘M6’ tune?
I have a few; probably the first one is “Destination 6” because it’s the track that Armin van Buuren first played for me and he made it tune of the week as well, it was so overwhelming for me back then.
Then I have “Fade 2 Black” which is a little bit more moody, techy and I think “Opus Spectrum” would be another favourite, which is more classical with a big melody!
Are you planning on releasing any more M6 tunes this year or perhaps an album?
Right now I’m working on a mix compilation for M6 on Armada Music and I’m definitely working on a lot of tunes for that. One track I can already confirm for that is a collaboration with Standerwick which has a bit of an old-skool kind of melody to it and I’m going to premiere that at Dreamstate. I also have made a rework of one of the classics that I enjoyed the most from the early days of Trance. I can’t say too much but it’s one of the Vincent de Moor tracks.
What does trance mean to you?
Trance is the perfect combination of melodic and energetic music. The melody can take you away, create goosebumps, and the energy is the climax of the track, it really gets you going! The combination of those two things is what Trance is.
What has been the most life-changing moment in your career to this day?
One of the most recent ones would be producing a track with Armin van Buuren, “Panta Rhei” and when he invited me on the main stage during ASOT premiere it together with him. When I think about that, it still gives me goosebumps and that’s probably the highlight of my career so far.
Do you have any final words for your Aussie fans?
Thank you guys for having my back and supporting all my shows in Australia. I always have a good time, you always bring the energy and I hope you guys enjoy what I do at Dreamstate with M6 – see you there!
Buy Dreamstate Melbourne 2016 Tickets here.
