Check Out Mark Kingsley’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mark Kingsley.

Mark started DJing the New England underground rave scene 20 years ago… he got fed up with the limitations of such a small music scene that he decided to move to Los Angeles and pursue something bigger… When he arrived, he found work in the music industry unloading gear for shows at local venues… Basic road work… Mark quickly graduated to sound engineer and then to stage manager for some of the biggest electronic music nights in LA such as Avaland, The Henry Fonda Music Box theaters premier bass music event LA Beatdown… He then started finding residencies at these venues and was playing alongside of some of the largest names in the industry… Quickly Mark realized that just Djing had its limitations and wanted to be able to express his music in a more personal way. So he decided to dive into original production… The learning was slow till he decides to start a monthly producer meetup with his friend and fellow producer Stephan Jacobs called The Producers Social. A place where local producers could meet up and share unfinished music and give each other feedback and share tips and tricks. It quickly started growing and spread to over six cities, including an international chapter in Bangkok.

Over the past six years, The Producers Social has had over 1500 producers attend and share their music. And it has formed an amazing community of like-minded, ego-free artists and producers and hundreds of collaboration projects. We also formed a record label under the same name and have released over 30 different artists of all genres and multiple compilations. The Producers Social has recently moved to an online streaming format due to Covid but remains to go strong every few months. We will be back in late 2021 for in person events that will be bigger and better than ever… With the help of the Producers Social Marks production quickly progressed and he released multiple albums under his DJ name, Da Moth…A mix of Dub, Instrumental Hip Hop and Drum and Bass, Da Moths music is great for dance floors of just chilling by the fire… After a few years, Mark wanted to try something new and ventured into the world of UK Garage. and 2 Step..2 genres that he had DJed back in the early 2000s… He wanted to go back to his roots and make a more modern version of this older sound and give it some pop sensibility… Out of this desire K!NGS was born…

Quickly Mark caught the attention of a prominent UK label called Slime Recordings and has now released 3 EPs on this label and has some new material coming out on some local LA-based labels very soon. About two years ago, Mark also joined the LA-based psychedelic dance/clown troupe Bubble Gutter and has played around the country as their DJ and sound editor/Character… When the pandemic hit, Mark also teamed up with Bay Area fundraiser “The Safety Net Fund” and has helped raise thousands of dollars to help artists and Musicians who are out of work due to covid by throwing 12-hour livestreams with DJs from around the globe. He also co-director and is resident DJ at LAs premier immersive theater bass music event Mutate…

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
It’s been a real struggle this whole time. I was homeless and on the streets for a long time in the beginning of my career. Sleeping on friend’s couches and my car. DJing was not as lucrative back then. Most you would get is 50$ and free beer after driving 2 hours to a “venue” in Connecticut. I got to Los Angeles and realized that I would have to learn a whole new trade here. I worked hard and barely ate or slept. I was working multiple jobs in the day and night and most weekends, I was playing clubs and raves till 6am… I was lucky enough to have an amazing partner and wife throughout most of this journey. She is an amazing human and I wouldn’t be where I am today without her.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I dabble in so many different forms of art but they all revolve around music in some way… I would say I specialize in DJing and an extensive knowledge of most genres of music. I’m known for not taking myself too seriously but also being a perfectionist when it comes to my performances. I love being weird and clowning around during sets. Life is to short to make serious art in my opinion. We all gotta lighten up a little… I’m most proud of creating the Producers Social. So many amazing friendships and music collaborations have come from this event and I feel like we helped a lot of people really get out of their bedrooms and take their art to the next level. I guess what sets me apart is I’m just a weirdo. I don’t really follow the rules and I usually like to make people question reality as much as possible with my art. I want it to be challenging but also satisfying.

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I think the biggest risk I ever took was dropping a successful DJ career in Boston and move to LA with no connections or real plan… Me and my wife…(girlfriend at the time) were in our very early 20s and had about 2000 dollars to their name. They drove across country staying at the sketchiest motels and eating 1$ menu cheeseburgers and once in LA worked their behinds off to stay afloat. It was worth the hard times though… believe life is about risks and it’s ok to fail. Without failing, there is no growth…

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.producersocial.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/iamdamoth
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/damothbass
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/da-moth