Miguel Ramirez
“To bring back the Altitude name all these years later and do these shows at massive venues is truly a dream come true for me.” MaRLo tells The Trance Project.
MaRLo will embark on a new journey, headlining Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion, Melbourne’s Festival Hall, Perth’s Villa Nightclub and Adelaide’s HQ Complex this August with his brand new tour ‘Altitude’.
He’s got the right sound and skills to bring it to the masses – MaRLo is ready to take on larger venues across Australia.
We interviewed the Aussie trance hero on all things Altitude!
What does your new tour ‘Altitude’ represent for you as an artist?
These upcoming Altitude shows are the most important and special shows of my career so far, as the original Altitude was the first gig I ever played. A group of friends and I got together and hired a venue and printed flyers and just invited as many people as we could to come to our party. We booked ourselves to play as no one else was willing to give us a chance.
To bring back the Altitude name all these years later and do these shows at massive venues is truly a dream come true for me. Doing these Altitude shows also allows me to play a longer extended set than usual, and play the whole evolution of my “MaRLo Sound” all the way back from my early tunes like ‘The Island’ and my remixes of ‘Brainbox’ and ‘Key of Life’ as well as some of the early classic Tech Trance tunes that got me excited to go out when I first started listening to Trance and of course plenty of other classics too. I’ll also be asking all of my DJ buddies for exclusive and unreleased tunes to premier at my Altitude show so there will be a big mix of old and new stuff.
Do you have a favorite story or moment from the early days playing at the club night ‘Altitude’?
I’d have to say playing LIVE on keyboards and samplers was really exhilarating, knowing that so many things can go wrong can be pretty nerve racking, but I think those early experiences have made me a better performer today. Looking back, it’s also really cool that we actually co-promoted one of Armin van Buuren’s first club shows in Sydney. There’s something magical about putting all your time and energy into something you truly love and believe in.
What appealed to you most about playing at larger venues for the ‘Altitude’ tour rather than clubs, and what sort of surprises might you have in store for your fans?
I think it’s finally an opportunity to play a longer extended set, and also to bring in some vocalists and even a special guest live performer. I also really wanted people that have been supporting me for years to be sure they can come – as lately with some of the club shows in Sydney and Melbourne it has sold out so fast that a lot of my fans from years ago missed out. Taking my Altitude shows to bigger venues means that hopefully no one will miss out.
This tour will mark the debut in Australia of your tech energy sound. How much of this sound will you be able to fit into your sets and what can fans expect from the new component?
Tech Energy is basically just what I’ve called it when I play a harder and faster mix of Hard Trance, Tech Trance, The faster Uplifting (138) style Trance and sometimes a bit of Hardstyle all in the one set. I first played this harder and faster Tech Energy sound at ASOT700 Utrecht when I closed the mainstage . . . I started at 138bpm and finished off at 145bpm. At the time it just felt like the right type of set to play at 6am, but once the stream went up on Soundcloud, the response was super positive, so much so that I was booked to play a Tech Energy style closing set at Transmission Prague as well. But I’ve never actually done it in Australia yet! So it’s great to be able to include it in my own Altitude shows at the end of the night as well.
Is here anything else you would like to add or give a message to your fans in Australia?
This sounds cliche, but honestly I love you all . . . without you, none of this would have ever been possible.
It’s because of my constant loyal supporters that I’ve been able to achieve things well beyond what I even thought was possible in my career! When I started out, my only goal really was to be able to do what I love (making and performing music) and not have to work another part time job. The fact that I’m able to travel the world and play at the biggest events, and meet so many amazing people is all because of the support I’ve been given. And now to be able to do my own big shows at venues like Hordern Pavillion and Festival Hall is just incredible. Altitude – Join us!
MaRLo – Altitude Australia Tour:
Fri Aug 5th – Perth (Villa Nightclub) – Moshtix
Sat Aug 6th – Melbourne (Festival Hall) – Ticketmaster
Fri Aug 12th – Adelaide (HQ Complex) – Oztix
Sat Aug 13th – Sydney (Hordern Pavilion) – Ticketek
Support acts announced:
Chloe (Syd & Melb only)
Christina Novelli
Emma Chatt (Perth Only)
Emma Hewitt
Piotr (Syd & Melb only)
Ruben de Ronde
