Mark “Marky” Anderson
Becoming a writer for DKFM is one more accomplishment for Marky Anderson in a lifetime of activities that all revolve around his passionate love for music. He was born in Greenock, Scotland, but has lived in Gourock, a small town on Scotland’s west coast, his whole life.
“I have always loved music,” he says. “I spent many years DJing and putting on bands locally. And I have been going to gigs since I was a teenager.”
“My first gig I couldn’t go to so the promoter got me into the sound check. It was Spirea X, and it was filmed that night for Snub TV on the BBC. I still have my unused ticket,” he remembers.
Anderson also is an avid supporter of music. “I’ve been collecting CDs and vinyl for more than 30 years. I have well over 1,000 records, and I don’t want to count my CDs, but there is a ridiculous amount of those,” he laughs.
“I buy mostly online these days due to where I live. Usually, I’ll order from my favorite indie shops or Bandcamp. My three favorite record stores are Mono in Glasgow, Norman Records in Leeds, and Resident Records in Brighton. I especially love signed records, because of the personal touch.”
It was while he was a DJ that he first discovered shoegaze. “It was through that scene I was turned on to “Loveless” by My Bloody Valentine. I picked up a vinyl copy in a charity shop for pennies, and I still have it to this day. That album blew my mind,” he remembers.
“I then discovered the 4AD bands like Cocteau Twins and Lush, but it wasn’t until Teenage Fanclub came along I circled back to find bands like Ride and Slowdive.”
Anderson got his start writing music reviews and articles with a Scotland-based website called MusicScramble. After contributing to it for three years, he decided he wanted to write for a website that was more devoted to shoegaze.
So he joined the staff at DKFM and around the same time started his own blog called Static Sounds Club. His mission is to champion great new shoegaze music. “I am not here to judge a band or award points. Music is subjective, and I can describe only how a band’s music affects me personally.”
Anderson is also one of the moderators for the Shoegaze, Dream Pop and NuGaze Facebook group. “We are the original and largest shoegaze group on Facebook, and it’s a lot of fun. I really enjoy the camaraderie and new music that’s posted daily. I join a list of DKFM alumni who have moderated this group, and I hope I do as good a job as they did.”
This past year, Anderson also started a band with some other mates who live nearby. Called “Quietly Into The Night,” he writes songs, plays guitar and sings. Self-described as shoegaze and post rock, their first single “Moving Static” was debuted on DKFM’s radio show The Velvet Hum in an episode devoted to the music of Scotland.
Since the Scotland show, which was the first in a series of Velvet Hum episodes focusing on the music of the United Kingdom, Anderson has joined Deborah Sexton in choosing and presenting the best music from the region. For each UK episode, he is writing a blog discussing all the bands that were aired, so it’s a great way to learn about emerging bands and new releases by listening and reading all about them. Now Marky has brought a once-monthly radio show, “Static Sounds Club” to the DKFM airwaves, so that quality sounds from the U.K. and around Europe can be properly and regularly celebrated. Every third Tuesday of the month, with a repeat twelve hours later. Probably long overdue.
If you missed the original airing of any of the UK shows, you can listen at your leisure, on demand, at the DKFM Select channel on Mixcloud.
On a personal note, Anderson is married with two children: a girl and a boy.
If you think your band might be a good fit for a feature on the DKFM website, you can contact Anderson at dkfmreviewsmarky@gmail.com. While he can’t promise to write about every band who contacts him, he will listen to everything and thoughtfully consider all submissions.