Mark Knight Talks Toolroom’s Return To Toronto’s Sunnyside Pavilion
Mark Knight joins us to share his excitement for the upcoming show in Toronto, what keeps him motivated, and what’s next.
After celebrating two decades last year, Toolroom Records is returning to Toronto’s Sunnyside Pavilion on Saturday, August 29. Toolroom’s head, Mark Knight, along with Tony Romera, Hatiras, and Addy, join for an open-air show that brings the label’s sound to one of the city’s vibiest summer spaces.
The event brings one of house music’s most recognized labels to the perfect setting. Sunnyside’s lakeside location and early evening start time create a different environment from a dark club in the early hours of the morning. As the sun starts to set, the crowd can expect a set with room for experimentation before the energy builds later in the night.
Ahead of the show, we caught up with Mark Knight to chat about his return to Toronto, adapting to Sunnyside’s waterfront setting, and what still inspires him after more than two decades in house music. Grab tickets to the show via TicketWeb and read on for the full interview!
Hey Mark, thank you so much for joining us today. Let’s jump into it! You’re getting ready to go back to Sunnyside Pavilion in Toronto. Anything specific you are excited about for this year’s show?
Pleasure. Thanks for having me. Yeah, absolutely. I really enjoyed it last year. Sunnyside is just a great setting for this kind of party, right on the water, outdoors, and when you’ve got good weather and everyone’s up for it, it’s a brilliant place to play.
This year we’re coming back with Toolroom, and we’ve got Tony Romera, Hatiras, and Addy on the bill, so musically it makes a lot of sense as well. Hatiras obviously has that Toronto connection, and Tony’s been a really important part of what we’re doing at Toolroom, so it feels like a proper label party rather than me just flying in, doing my set and leaving. I’m really looking forward to it.
How does Toronto’s crowd and the venue’s energy compare with other places you play regularly?
Toronto’s always been a really good city for me. What I can say about Sunnyside is that the setting definitely gives the party its own character. You’re outside, you’re by the lake, it’s a summer crowd, and the whole thing starts earlier, so naturally it feels different from walking into a dark club at one in the morning. The music has a bit more room to breathe.
How do you approach an open-air, waterfront show compared to a late-night club set? Does the environment change how you play?
Oh, massively. You’ve got to be aware of where you are and what time you’re playing. That’s part of DJing.
If I’m playing outdoors in the sunshine at seven or eight o’clock, I’m probably not going to approach it the same way as a two o’clock set in a dark club. It doesn’t mean you suddenly play completely different music, but you can lean into records with a bit more musicality, vocals, groove, things that suit that environment.
And that’s a side of house music I’ve always loved anyway. Disco, soul, funk, US house, garage. So an outdoor summer show allows you to explore some of that without losing the energy. Then as it gets later, you can start tightening things up. I like having that journey available to me rather than starting at eleven straight away.
After over 20 years in the scene, you’ve seen house music change a lot. What inspires you the most right now?
Good records. It sounds ridiculously simple, but that’s genuinely it. I’m still buying music, I’m still listening to demos, I’m still hearing young producers make something and thinking, “How the hell have they done that?” I love that. You don’t want to get to a point where you think you’ve worked it all out, because you haven’t.
What I find particularly exciting at the moment is how much house music is drawing on its musical history again. You’re hearing soul, disco, proper vocals, instrumentation, but it’s being presented in a way that works for a contemporary dancefloor. That’s obviously a big part of what I’m doing with Fool’s Paradise as well. There’s so much incredible music to draw from, and I think younger producers are discovering that and interpreting it in their own way.
When you hear a record for the first time, what makes you stop and pay attention? Has that instinct changed over the years?
It’s pretty much always an idea. You can tell pretty quickly when somebody has actually got an idea for a record rather than just made a competent piece of production. And there’s a massive difference between those two things.
It might be a vocal, a bassline, a hook, a sample, whatever. But what’s the thing I’m going to remember? If I’ve listened to twenty records and yours is the one I’m still humming ten minutes later, you’ve done something right.
Production standards are incredibly high now, so being technically brilliant isn’t necessarily enough. Everyone has access to amazing tools. I’d much rather hear a record with a brilliant idea that’s maybe 80 percent there technically than something absolutely immaculate that says nothing. You can help somebody fix a mixdown. It’s much harder to give them an original idea. I don’t think that instinct has changed much. Maybe I’m quicker at recognising it now!
When you think about the next chapter for Toolroom, what feels most exciting or important to you?
Developing the next generation of artists. That’s massively important. We’ve been doing Toolroom since 2003, and one of the reasons it’s still interesting to me is that it can’t just be about the same people making records forever. You’ve got to keep finding new talent and, more importantly, actually help them develop.
That’s where the Academy has become really important to us. It’s not simply, “Here’s how you make a kick drum.” It’s helping producers understand what they’re trying to say with their music, how to finish records, how to deal with a label, and ultimately how to build something sustainable.
Then from an A&R point of view, I want Toolroom to continue having a very clear identity. I think labels matter when you trust them. You see the logo, and you’ve got some idea of the quality and attitude of the record before you’ve even heard it. We’ve always worked hard at that, and I don’t want to lose it.
You have accomplished so much as a DJ, producer, and label founder. What are you still trying to prove to yourself creatively?
I don’t know if “prove” is necessarily how I think about it. I’m still trying to make better records. That’s the slightly annoying thing about making music. You finish something you’re really pleased with, and then fairly quickly you’re thinking about how the next one could be better.
And my tastes are broad, so there’s still loads I want to explore. Fool’s Paradise has been really good for that because it’s given me a very natural home for the soulful, disco and funk side of what I love. That’s not some discovery for me; that’s music I’ve been into for years, but I’ve now got a really focused outlet for it.
I suppose the challenge is continuing to make records that actually have an identity. I never want to make something simply because that’s what you’re supposed to make at that particular moment. If I’m going into the studio, there needs to be a reason for the record to exist.
You have spoken about trying to create more balance outside of music. What helps you stay grounded?
In one word: family.
Anything you can share with us today, maybe upcoming shows or releases you’re excited about?
Well, obviously Toronto is a big one. We’re at Sunnyside Pavilion on August 29 with Tony Romera, Hatiras and Addy, which I’m really looking forward to. And loads is happening musically. I’ve just put out “Yebisah” with Cristoph on Toolroom, which came out on August 21. I’ve had a really busy year in the studio generally, with records like “Bad Man” with Cutty Ranks and James Hurr, “Clap Your Hands” with Wh0, and “You” with Armand Van Helden and D. Ramirez. I’m keeping busy!
Thank you so much for your time today. Catch you at a show soon!
Absolute pleasure. See you in Toronto.
Catch Tony Romera, Haitras, and Addy all sharing the stage in Toronto with Mark Knight on Saturday, August 29. Tickets are on sale via TicketWeb.
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