Mark Jones & 10 Years Of Wall Of Sound

10 years after starting Wall Of Sound as a vehicle for releasing Give 'Em Enough Dope Volume 1, a compilation comprising experimental electronica, leftfield and European hip hop, Mark Jones has become one of England's most successful A&Rs, helping make and break the likes of the Propellerheads and Royksopp. However, the artist he remains most proud of, is one who wandered in off the street, aged 15, when the label was just beginning.

"He heard our first compilation, bunked of school with his mate Adam, and they came to see me in the warehouse one day," Mark recalls.

"I believe they got caught by the headmaster on their way back into school. That was it, we started working together and Zoot Woman's first single was Wall Of Sound's 6th single in 1994/ 95."

The school boy's name was Stuart Price though these days he's better known as Jacques Lu Cont, one of the biggest stars of the new electro/disco scene.

"Stuart is a phenomenon, there aren't many people around like him, he's fast becoming one of the most talented and respected producers this country has created, I really believe that," Mark continues.

He's up there now, he's producing Madonna, for God's sake, and to see that happen in the 8 years since I met him is the thing that makes me most proud of what I've achieved. I'm not saying I've had anything to do with his growth directly but I've helped him and I've seen him develop."

Sititng in his cluttered office beneath Ladbroke Grove's Westway, his humbleness sits unusually beside his imposing presence and equally forthright character, though leaving school at 15 with no qualifications, he's clearly grown and learned a lot himself.

"There was no masterplan at all when we started and not even a preconceived notion of what we were doing," her admits.

"I had no experience of running a label it was purely driven on vibe."

Skrufff (Jonty Skrufff): How did Wall Of Sound actually begin-

Wall Of Sound (Mark): "I worked at a record distribution company called Soul Trader with a guy called Mark Lester, an old friend. One day we started doing press and distribution deals for different labels and artists that couldn't really afford to press their own vinyl and we'd get exclusive distribution on those singles and albums. This was with people like Kruder & Dorfmeister, Howie B and Larry Heard. One day I said let's do a compilation of all of these artists, thinking that they were all phenomenal artists but none of the music was really recognised at that point. There was also a definite feeling that things were changing because house music and dance music had reached an insipid corporate stage. It's quite cyclical, and the vibe back then was quite similar to how things are now. That compilation became Give 'Em Enough Dope Volume 1 and that was the first ever Wall Of Sound record."

Skrufff: Retrospective greatest hits albums often mark the end of a cycle and new beginning, does it feel like that with this album-

Wall Of Sound: "No, because there's lots of new music on it, I didn't want it to be a retrospective at all. This is a blueprint to say this is us, this is what we've achieved and I'm quite proud of it, in fact, I'm very proud of it. I'm proud of the people I work with and the artists we've got."

Skrufff: The music business is widely perceived to be in near terminal decline, what's your perspective on the state of the business-

Wall Of Sound: "We've just sold a million Royksopp albums so it can't be that bad. As an indie your (sales) graph is more drastic, so the good times are great and the hard times are really, really bad. For 'dance music' in general it's tougher but music is always cyclical. My 8 year old nephew is not interested in dance music at all, or R&B and hip hop, which my 14 year old nieces are, which is the pop music of today. He's into rock and nothing else. But a generation will come along after that and react again. Dance music will reinvent itsel Tags