Mark Reeder is an important actor in the Berlin music scene over the last 40 years. He moved here in 1979 and quickly took on the role of German representative for Factory Records, working to get Joy Division gigs in Europe. He spent the 80s smuggling records into East Berlin, organising secret concerts, and producing for bands like Malaria!

In 1990, following the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union, Mark founded his label MFS, named in part after the Stasi abbreviation "Ministerium für Staatssicherheit" or "Ministry for State Security". His label, "Masterminded for Success", saw great success with DJs like Paul van Dyk (marking the foundation of Trance Music, which Mark is responsible for naming) and took somewhat of a hiatus for around 10 years before he returned with Chinese electronic band STOLEN.

In this interview, Sebastian sits down with Mark to talk about all of the above. The majority of the interview is focussed on his work following the fall of the wall because there is a massive wealth of information about his work pre-1989 and, to find out more about that, you can listen to the ARD1 radio show "Grenzgänger" or watch the docu-film about his life, "B-Movie: Lust and Sound in West-Berlin"!

(00:00 ) Introduction
(03:18 ) Representing Joy Division
(12:58 ) Smuggling Music into Communist Berlin
(15:57 ) The Story Behind MFS
(26:42 ) STOLEN and Reviving the Label
(35:48 ) Releasing Music in China
(43:42 ) Touring with New Order (again) and STOLEN
(46:00 ) Producing Pet Shop Boys Remixes
(49:04 ) How Chinese Nightlife has Changed
(59:22 ) Music Recommendations
(1:03:49 ) Club Scene Berlin
(1:08:28 ) Outro

B-Movie: https://www.amazon.com/B-Movie/dp/B012BTVPNS
Grenzgänger Radio Show: https://www.ardaudiothek.de/sendung/grenzgaenger-die-geschichte-des-berlin-sounds/94715528/
Mark's recent work on Bandcamp: https://markreeder.bandcamp.com/
Mark's older work on Bandcamp: https://markreedermfs1.bandcamp.com/
Mark on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/markreeder.mfs/
STOLEN: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1NiLgDSjGiX5cVrPjhkrm6

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Credits:
Produced by Unsigned Berlin
Edited by Yannick Solandt
Hosted by Sebastian Sheath
Thumbnail by Anton Heeckt