Producer’s Producer: Jesse Marco

Just twenty-three years old, New York native Jesse Marco has quickly solidified himself as one of America’s premiere deejays. As a teenager, Jesse, heavily influenced by his parents’ vast record collection, began to fuse rock, punk, soul, and funk with the hip-hop of his generation. “My parents musical tastes really shaped mine. My first cassette was Led Zeppelin and my second was Sam Cooke.”

Jesse’s encyclopedic knowledge of music and remarkable skill have since taken him around the globe headlining college tours, appearing at festivals, and holding residencies at premiere venues worldwide including LIV (Miami), Hakkasan (Las Vegas), Lure and Supperclub (Los Angeles), MIXX (Atlantic City), Finale (New York). Jesse has become a favorite of the fashion and art worlds playing high-profile events for Alexander Wang, Giorgio Armani, Calvin Klein, Vivienne Westwood, Donna Karan, Diesel, GQ, and Kaws.

Jesse has had a string of acclaimed official remixes for Two Door Cinema Club, Peter Bjorn & John, The Knocks, and his 2012 single “Daddy Cool” [Big Beat / Atlantic Records] which spent weeks on Beatport House chart. In the coming months, Jesse is lending his expertise to Stussy and Visionaire curating exclusive mixes and compilations. His 2013 weekly bootlegs have also been widely supported by deejays and music blogs across the globe, here’s his view on the ultimate producer…

Rick Rubin

To me, he’s the absolute best at creating the best landscape for whatever is coming through the speaker in a way so that you have an emotional and physical connection with the music. He’s not a “producer” in the way we see things nowadays, where producers are armies of laptop DJ’s, but he’s produced some of the best sounding and quality songs that span different genre’s and emotions. I admire his sampling ability. He seems to be able to just put the right pieces together. The drums on “License To Ill” by The Beastie Boys are honestly part of the reason I love music. They’re very compressed, crunchy, and rugged. It fit with the emotion of the music.

I’ve always admired how he was able to cross genre barriers as well. Everything from Raising Hell by Run-DMC to LL Cool J, to Public Enemy. He gave rap music a sound, and it matched the emotion in the artists. I liked how he was able to inject this formula into working with other groups, whether it was the Red Hot Chili Peppers or a heavy metal group like Slayer. He’s not afraid to let the artists be who they are, and I really try to take that approach myself when I make my own music. I don’t think it was too long ago that he actually put out a remix of a new Justice song, and I was so intrigued when I listened and it contained so many familiar drum breaks and samples that made it like a puzzle piece to a vinyl digger. It was so dope! And only he could do something so ridiculous. I like the statement it made, and I think it says a lot to our generation. It’s saying there are no rules, everything doesn’t need to be a 4/4 progressive house beat. Sample anything, and do whatever it is that you feel is you.

I think the fact that he was a DJ really is a part of his production style. Even when he strips albums down – even the new Kanye album – some of those songs have so much emotion in them, and they just have the right elements, like a DJ mix. I also like the tones he picks, whether its the guitar on “99 Problems” for Jay-Z or the guitar on “Give It Away Now” for Red Hot Chili Peppers. The tones work for the dance floor and are warm and full even when you listen on ear bud headphones. He has a good idea how to balance different elements.

I really try to apply a lot of what inspires me about Rick Rubin intro my production, even when the music I’m making is different. I love making fun dance tunes and I’m super inspired by many people, especially since being your own engineer these days in dance music is EVERYTHING, but I think he makes me remind myself to take a step back and be myself. I’d hope that my sound is sort of an amalgamation of my influences in learning how to make music and DJ and in a way, I think that’s a bit like how he must look at producing. To hear a vocal and know it just needs a bass line under it to make it sound great, or having a big breakdown string section that leads into a pitched sample, I think are one in the same. Its just about balance. So that’s why Rick Rubin is the ultimate producer for me. Plus he has a cool beard and meditates.