About Us

MARCELLMAR came of age during the birth of dance music in Chicago. Though he has played every genre imaginable, his first love is deep house music. After his first visit to Grammaphone Records store on Chicago's north side, he immediately bought a pair of turntables and a mixer and began teaching himself how to DJ. From there, he enjoyed playing almost exclusively at private venues. Often described as music for your soul, his style is an uplifting mix of melodic harmonies and hypnotic basslines that take you through the deep histories of jazz, funk, classical, and blues music.

 

Heavily influenced by Massive Attack, Unkle, Kerri Chandler, DJ Shadow, Tricky, Portishead, Frankie Knuckles, and Farley "Jackmaster" Funk, he is quoted as saying his music is like "eating a slice of German chocolate cake right after Sunday dinner." He attributed this to his first taste of DJ life at the Warehouse in Chicago, where house music was a mashup of gospel, disco, and early hip-hop. A few years later, he moved to Munich, Germany, just as the rave scene began to blossom. There he absorbed the influences of Morcheeba, DJ Krush, Nightmares on Wax, Armin van Buren, and Tiësto. Upon returning to Chicago, a serendipitous meeting with an old friend gave him a chance to move to China, where he picked up a residency at Cliff's Hangout and rotating nights at Echobay in Chongqing. While learning to speak mandarin, he incorporated bass and hip-hop vibes from OHSI, Blind 92, and Shannon of NY's Club Management podcast to expand his musical taste.

These days you can find him back in Chicago working on new sets to premier at house music clubs in February 2023. He is also working on new music with DJs and artists at LA's Musician Institute to premier on his new ChocolateWisdom podcast. 

 

If you can't wait to see him on his next tour, beginning in Chicago in May of 2023, you can listen to fresh tracks on Soundcloud. 

Marcus aka "MARCELLMAR"