David Fuerst (3:23)

So much fun and the music sounds so cool.

Mark Robier (3:26)

Thank you. It sounds as ridiculous as ever.

David Fuerst (3:29)

Well, you're back in New York after this long European leg of a tour. Tell us about the tour. How has the crowd energy been?

Mark Robier (3:37)

Oh, man, so good. Europe is, is a special, a wonderful place to play. You get it? It feels much easier to get people excited over there for some reason than generally. I would say, by and large it does. Here they're much more eager to scream at you, throw things at you in a loving way.

David Fuerst (3:59)

Is there a way to throw things in a loving way?

Mark Robier (4:01)

100%.

David Fuerst (4:02)

Okay.

Mark Robier (4:02)

Yeah, you'd be surprised. A lot of loving throwing and. Yeah, just a lot of, a lot of vocal enthusiasm and chanting things that make you feel validated and encouraged as a performer. It's one of the reasons I really love playing over there. There's, there's a lot more of that on a consistent basis.

David Fuerst (4:22)

I would say things you can feed off of and kind of helps fuel your set.

Mark Robier (4:27)

Yeah. 100%. 100%.

David Fuerst (4:28)

Now you have a couple of days off right before you start this eight set residency at the Blue Note.

Mark Robier (4:33)

Yes.

David Fuerst (4:34)

How do you spend your downtime when you're back in New York City?

Mark Robier (4:37)

Oh, man.

David Fuerst (4:38)

Well, I like to doing things like this, obviously.

Mark Robier (4:41)

Yeah. I like to do radio interviews, press junkets. No, I ride my. I have an electric unicycle. It's like a very nerdy kind of scooter that rests on a giant tire. I take that all around the city. I'm reading a lot these days. I'm reading the Count of Monte Cristo right now. Really great book. I. I know it's obvious, but it's a classic. It's very good. Highly recommend it. And yeah, I shoot photography as a hobby as well. So just riding around, reading, shooting, having fun.

David Fuerst (5:16)

Very cool. Now you're originally from Dallas.

Mark Robier (5:18)

Yes.

David Fuerst (5:19)

And you once told the Dallas observer ahead of a homecoming show in 2019 that you a little frustrated about having to leave Dallas in order to become successful. Now that you've been living in New York City for a while and back from this European tour, how much does playing in New York now feel like a homecoming to you?

Mark Robier (5:39)

It definitely does. I mean, it's, you know, I've been here long enough that coming back in any respect feels like just coming home and yeah, it's hard to imagine being anywhere else and you know, Dallas was, I don't I don't like to poo poo Dallas, because it really was so integral to my success. I mean, the. The people there gave me my first jobs doing this ever and supported me, you know, for the first time. And without that, I wouldn't have been able to cut my teeth. I wouldn't have been able to play over and over again for unsuspecting audiences who often didn't want to see me. And those restaurant and bar owners, like, gave me my first shots, you know what I mean? It's just kind of the venues over there that weren't willing to give me a shot at, like, ticketed shows, so that's why I left.

David Fuerst (6:32)

Fascinating. And winning over those crowds, that must be a lesson, right? Going into a restaurant, they have no idea what to expect, and you have to win them over from zero.

Mark Robier (6:41)

Yeah, it's true. It's true. And that's. That's how you learn what the show is kind of. It's like, you know, being able to be given this fresh canvas every day of between five and 10 people. You know, you get to sort of play off of them. And, you know, I'm there, you know, at a lunch shift, basically playing for three, four hours and having to make stuff up. And so it's. Yeah, it. It pushes your instincts and makes you think about just how to get to a creative place in as many different ways as possible and how to draw people in and get them to pay attention to you. And it's really still what the show is today.

David Fuerst (7:26)

What a training ground, though. Now, your performances are usually built live.

Mark Robier (7:31)

Yes.

David Fuerst (7:31)

Improvised. And a lot of your viral recordings are recorded by yourself. Let's hear another example. This is a motivational song that went viral called you Got to Show. And heads up there. There are a lot of profanities that we. We had to bleep out.

Mark Robier (7:48)

Thank you. You gotta show up if you wanna get it done if you wanna get it done, you gotta show up if you don't show up, it's not getting done, you gotta show up if you wanna get it done, you gotta show up if you wanna get it done. Gotta show up if you wanna get it done. If you wanna get some done, you gotta show right up and do that. You gotta show up, do that. You gotta show up, you gotta show up. And if you don't show up.

David Fuerst (8:13)

A lot of beeping.

Mark Robier (8:14)

Yeah, it's got kind of a percussive effect. It's not bad.

David Fuerst (8:18)

Oh, maybe it's something you could use in the future. Well, Mark, you've just released your first studio produced track. It's a new single called Vibes. All right, yes. And we're gonna listen to some of that in just a bit. But first, this really is a step away, right, from the live, improvised looping that you're known for.

Mark Robier (8:36)

Very much so, yeah. It was an attempt to do a thing that, you know, I've wanted to do for a long time and that I actually sort of started this whole thing attempting to do very unsuccessfully for many years, which was trying to just do traditional style production in a DAW digital audio workstation like Logic or, you know, Pro Tools, and trying to traditionally compose tracks. I attempted that for the better part of a decade before picking up a looper and switching it up. And so, yeah, this was a way to sort of get back in the studio. I worked with a really great producer, Jake Portrait. With. He's. He's the bassist and one of the producers for Unknown Mortal Orchestra. Incredible guy and produces a lot of other really cool stuff. And yeah, he just sort of. We got a few musicians in the room, I brought some ideas, we hammered them out to tape and then we took the things that we had recorded live to tape and then chop them up and sort of meticulously fuddled with them until they turned into longer recordings.

David Fuerst (9:45)

That sounds. That's fascinating. That sounds like it's. Bringing together those two ways that. Of working.

Mark Robier (9:50)

Totally. Yeah, yeah, that's what his idea was. Let's bang things out, live that way. It has that feel, that spontaneous sort of imperfect feel to it. That is. It's harder to capture when you're, you know, when everything is so premeditated. Which is one of the things I don't like about traditional production is, is all the time it takes and you can overthink things that way. So we still kept it live and then we really finessed it in the. In the edit.

David Fuerst (10:23)

Well, let's hear a little bit. This is a little bit of vibes all.

Mark Robier (11:00)

When you're loving me lie I need you to. I can't feel getting better by a minute I can't feel when it's time.

David Fuerst (11:30)

Mark Rabiet and Vibes. All right. The new single. Great sound.

Mark Robier (11:34)

Thanks, man. Appreciate it.

David Fuerst (11:35)

Now, the producer on the track, Jake.

Mark Robier (11:38)

Yes.

David Fuerst (11:39)

He said, quote, the only way to push Mark creatively was to bring my eight track and a drummer to the studio. Mark is a master at capturing the universal vibe, but with this track, we wanted to explore what's brewing in his head when the live stream isn't on.

Mark Robier (11:56)

Interesting.

David Fuerst (11:57)

What Is.

Mark Robier (11:58)

Oh, God, who knows? Who knows? Yeah. I mean, honestly, they're all like little shots in the dark, you know, and it's new territory for me. When I listen to that now, it's like, I do love it, but I can see all of these directions and little improvements I could make. And, you know, I'd like to let myself shine a little bit more in terms of the sort of ridiculousness that I'm usually known for. I think there could be more of that present terms of letting my vocals be a little free or a little more. You know, this is. It's very locked in. So when I listen to it back, I'm like, I have all these notes for myself.

David Fuerst (12:38)

Well, you're. You're so live, right. You're always tinkering, right. When you're doing this. I don't know how to. You could describe this better than me, but when. When you're performing live, these creations of yours you're making. You're singing.

Mark Robier (12:52)

Right.

David Fuerst (12:52)

You're speaking.

Mark Robier (12:53)

Yes. Screaming.

David Fuerst (12:55)

You're creating all of the rhythms that we're hearing, all of the music that we're hearing. You're doing a lot.

Mark Robier (13:00)

Correct. It's true. It's a lot of work. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, the live show and then a lot of the live streams and videos are. Yeah, it's all from Scrat. And I don't. I go on stage with absolutely no nothing, really. No set list, no ideas. I might come on stage with the tiniest thought or phrase or whatever. But really, outside of that, that's it. And so you just have to trust that experience and instinct will lead you to, like, an entertaining place, you know, and it usually does, not always, but.

David Fuerst (13:37)

You know, I mean, I can hear you. You're still tinkering with the recording as we're listening to it. You're thinking about the things that you should be hitting and adding and playing. What did this process, though, of going into the studio with the drummer and working with a producer help you unlock musically, anything different?

Mark Robier (13:54)

I think, yeah. Well, definitely. I mean, it puts you in a very different state of flow in terms of, you know, because when it comes down to it, like, even though the things I create live are. They're put together very quickly. And so as a result of that, they tend to be somewhat basic from a compositional standpoint. I mean, there's only so much you can do, you know, in 90 seconds or whatever. And so doing this in the studio, I realized that I really do enjoy, like, tinkering. I really like fussing. Over the details, I have a very precise idea of what I'm looking for. When I hear something, I. I find that I can articulate very specifically what I want changed. How, when, where, etc. And so, yeah, the studio environment really lets you do that, like, to a much higher level. Like, bring this down. Bring this in. Add horns here. Take this out right here. Muted out. Bubba. And it's. Yeah, so it's just kind of an expl. Version. Much more intricate version of what I'm usually doing on stage. And so it's nice to work that way. But you can get bogged down, too, in the details. Yeah.

David Fuerst (15:17)

Well, the song Vibes. All right. Does this song speak to the vibe between you and your crowds, the vibe that you generate together?

Mark Robier (15:27)

Yeah, I mean, honestly, the vibes all right. Thing was, you know, it was like a voice note that I recorded on the. On the piano at some point. And it's just like a phrase that sounds. You know, it's like the rhythm of vibes, all right? It just. The rhythm of that phrase sounds good. It has no real meaning. Like, most of what I do, it just. It sounds good. And so it's like, you know, I. But yeah, it's. To me, if I'm thinking about why, I'm saying it's like vibes all right, Like. Like, hey, we're cruising. We're chilling. Hey, yeah, everything's. We're on Easy Street. You know what I mean? That sort of thing. Summer vibe.

David Fuerst (16:16)

We continue on Easy street with Mark Robier in just a moment. You're listening to all of it here on wnyc. This is all of it on wnyc. I'm David Fuerst in for Alison Stewart, and we're here with Marc Robier, electronic musician, talking about his new song, Vibes. All right. And talking about your tour. You're going to be at Blue Note. You have a residency at Blue Note starting this Thursday. Goes for four nights.

Mark Robier (16:50)

Four nights, two shows a night. Yeah. Thursday through Sunday. It's sold out, unfortunately. But, man, it's. Well, not unfortunately, but very fortunately for you. Exactly. Yeah.

David Fuerst (17:00)

Not fortunate if you're trying to still get a ticket.

Mark Robier (17:02)

Precisely.

David Fuerst (17:03)

We're talking about the energy that you create with your crowd in these live shows. Your stage energy is big.

Mark Robier (17:13)

That's a word for it. Animated.

David Fuerst (17:15)

You could see the enthusiasm in your crowds. This is an audience that is game to participate.

Mark Robier (17:20)

Very much so.

David Fuerst (17:20)

When a mic is shoved in their faces or when they're called up on stage, what kind of work does it take on? Your end. To make all of this happen, to make sure that this vibe between you and your audience is indeed all right.

Mark Robier (17:36)

That's a great question, David. Yeah, I think it, you know, you have to. The most important thing, I think, in order for the show to be successful at a small or especially a large scale. Cause it's harder to lasso people at a larger scale with this show, is you have to really leave everything at the door and go on stage very receptive, very present to whatever the audience is happens to be giving you that night. And that means that, like, you know, it may be a quieter crowd. It may be, you know, they may be very enthusiastic, they may be a little more withdrawn, drawn. But either way, it's your job to coax out of that, like, the energy that you need to play properly. And so sometimes, you know, I will use a more withdrawn crowd energy as, you know, as a way to berate them, create an antagonistic relationship and then.

David Fuerst (18:51)

Get in the pool.

Mark Robier (18:52)

Exactly. You feed off of that energy. You're screaming at them. And then, you know, that sort of wakes them up a little bit. It tends to. Or, you know, there's crowds that are much more participation friendly. They want to get up on stage. And so you take that and you go down into the crowd and you bring people up. It's just. Yeah, it's a flexibility thing. And the Blue Note shows is I'm particularly excited for. Because it's going to be a very different. Different energy. We booked this room specifically because it's so small and seated, which is really not the way I usually play.

David Fuerst (19:31)

Will it remain seated?

Mark Robier (19:32)

It'll remain seated. Oh, yeah.

David Fuerst (19:34)

That's a very different situation for you, isn't it? What do you do?

Mark Robier (19:38)

Well, I think I'm going to take it low, slow, soul, a lot more soul grooves, R and B. I might sit down. I mean, I might sit down. I never thought I'd say this before, but I could take a seat. So, yeah, I think it'll be more of an opportunity to experiment a little bit, do more singing, do more, you know, talking to the audience as opposed to, like, screaming with them. So it's going to be a very different set of shows I'm excited about.

David Fuerst (20:13)

It does sense that make almost bring you back to Dallas and some of the restaurants where you started having to win over a crowd that was seated a little bit.

Mark Robier (20:23)

Yeah, but. But, you know, the difference with that is that those. I was still really exerting myself with those over exerting myself, perhaps, with those crowds. The energy I would say in those early shows is a lot more like the energy at a big festival I'm playing these days because you have to convince them to listen, you know what I mean? Here I have a captive audience. They've bought tickets, so I feel permitted to.

David Fuerst (20:54)

They're on your side.

Mark Robier (20:55)

Exactly, exactly. So the energy is different. I can sit down, take my time.

David Fuerst (21:00)

Mark, when you're not being that big character on stage, do you ever get to just switch off? You know, I imagine there's a lot of pressure on you to always be this life of the party.

Mark Robier (21:11)

Yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah. I'm, I would say I'm mostly quite a relaxed person off stage, I take it. I enjoy relaxing. I think I enjoy a lot less constantly working hard. I very much value my time off and my. Yeah, my downtime and with my friends. I mean I'm very social and I, I can pull on that high energy, but I tend to be more relaxed. I would say in my day to day life, I'm just a pretty chill.

David Fuerst (21:49)

Yeah, I think that's, that's evident right now.

Mark Robier (21:51)

Yeah, exactly.

David Fuerst (21:52)

For sure. Now I wanted to add, you know, vibes. All right. Do you have more plans to produce studio tracks like that?

Mark Robier (21:58)

What are.

David Fuerst (21:58)

Where do you thinking you're going to go with this?

Mark Robier (22:00)

Yeah, well, yeah, we do have a couple more like half in the bag, me and, and Jake Portrait. And so we may continue to develop those and then release them. Otherwise I might, I might, you know, try and produce some more on my own. And then in general, yeah, there, there are other directions I've been thinking about going as well creatively, you know, outside of traditional performance, getting back to live streams with guests, I think is, is a fun direction after tour. And then I also. I was mentioning to you over the break that I have this idea of doing things with kids because a lot of the things that have been the most successful for me in terms of clips recently have been stuff with kids. And it makes me realize how incredibly creative they are and what a wonderful thing it is to like, to, to, to convince a kid to go there creatively is such a joy, like for them, for you as a performer. And I can see this thing where I'm like helping kids unlock a creative side to them. It's just in the nascent stages in terms of my thinking about it, but I'm really feeling this idea of like a kid's show or some sort of thing like that.

David Fuerst (23:36)

I could see you totally doing things to encourage kids to just be free and be creative.

Mark Robier (23:40)

Exactly.

David Fuerst (23:42)

I read something that you said. I read it online this week. I forget where it was, that. Your father was a big supporter, a big believer in you and your music. You also described him, and I love this description, as an aggressive enjoyer of life.

Mark Robier (24:00)

It's very true.

David Fuerst (24:01)

Can you talk about his belief in you that this is what you should be doing? You know, pursuing music, performing on stage. This is sometimes the opposite of what parents tell kids. Right?

Mark Robier (24:12)

That's very true. Yeah, he was supportive to. To almost an annoying degree, you know, so much so that when I was still trying to figure things out, he was so dogged in his, you know, his. He was very relentless in his suggestions that I be on stage, be performing, be working towards success. And he believed in that so hard that it, you know, at a time when I was just sort of trying to hang out and like, develop things on my own, it was not advice that I wanted, especially from a parent. I didn't. I took it for granted. And it was not until later when I realized, you know, he passed away a few years ago. But I. Yeah, it just. He was so right, you know what I mean? He was so on the nose with everything. He sort of thought about me and what I should be doing. He was just like many, many years ahead of me. And I needed. I needed to live a lot of life before I really took that to heart and, like, started trying. But having that in there has been like, really instrumental in my ability to motivate myself, stay inspired. Is just this voice in there from him, you know, saying, go. It's a lot of what I say in my music, actually. You got this, you got to keep going. Come on, you can do this. Blah, blah, blah. That's all like Gilbert style advice and. Yeah, it's my way of sort of, you know, honoring him and keeping that, keeping that alive.

David Fuerst (26:12)

It's very interesting to hear because a lot of times we hear about the motivation being rebelling against a parent's advice. Right. But he still. There still was some annoying aspect.

Mark Robier (26:22)

Very much so. Very much so. You know, you're a kid, it's like you can't really appreciate the. The thing of it until. Until you arrive there. And then things just become so much clearer and man, you know, it's like if I had listened to him earlier. Yeah, whatever. But, yeah, you just have to go through it sometimes, you know, you have.

David Fuerst (26:44)

To go through it.

Mark Robier (26:44)

Yeah.

David Fuerst (26:44)

And get to it there yourself. But you can still hear those words kind of motivating you now.

Mark Robier (26:48)

Oh, 100%.

David Fuerst (26:50)

Well, you. You Found your first success live streaming your music online. Before COVID Yes. You carried that through the pandemic. You improvised with collaborators, all kinds of collaborators. And now you're running around continents, touring. It's incredible. But if money was no object at all, if someone said, mark, you've got unlimited resources to give you, what would you want to do in your wildest dreams?

Mark Robier (27:16)

What would you want to do with your right now? I'm sure that answer would change based on the season, my, you know, state of mind. But right now I feel a very intense urge to do something really constructive and helpful with this small, let's not exaggerate, very small bit of influence I have, you know, and so I think I would use resources to, yeah. Better people's lives in some way. That's why I'm thinking about the kids thing. It's like, there's got to be a way for me to channel this thing and not just do the traditional performer thing of, oh, I have a new soda, you know, or like, oh, I'm just playing a bunch of show, which is great. You know, I don't want to poo poo that either. But like, we have this thing, this incredible privilege of like a platform, a little bit of influence, people listening. And I really would love to use that constructively to, like, help people in some way. I don't know how that is.

David Fuerst (28:35)

That improvisational spark is something that I think really connects with kids. Just gotta dial down the cursing on those nights.

Mark Robier (28:44)

Exactly, exactly. Yeah. It's like a very bizarre Mr. Rogers. You know what I mean? We can get there. We can get there.

David Fuerst (28:52)

All right, well, next time we chat, I'm gonna be listening to you talking about your new kids project.

Mark Robier (28:57)

I hope so.

David Fuerst (28:58)

Mark Robier, thank you so much for joining us today.

Mark Robier (29:01)

Thanks, David.

David Fuerst (29:02)

You're gonna be at the Blue note at 131 W. 3rd St. In Manhattan from Thursday to Sunday. A four night residency, two shows per night. And your new song is Vibes. All right, Marx, thanks again for joining us. Let's hear a little bit more of that music.

Mark Robier (29:42)

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David Fuerst (29:52)

Visit grayscale.com for more information.

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