Mark Redito: Nothing Beats Spazzkid's Beats

A Parallel Planets piece by Unknown

Parallel Planets presents Mark Redito

in Nothing Beats Spazzkid's Beats

Story and Interview by Erin Emocling

Mentioned: Japanese curry, being a whale, and more Japanese stuff

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Every time I see a circular portrait of any Asian-looking girl with Asian-looking fringe, I now associate it with Spazzkid’s Desire 願う album cover. Its visual catchiness has become so iconic that his followers have created alternate versions to replicate the girl on the cover, who I found to be his friend, Mang, from Shanghai.

Before he migrated to Los Angeles, Mark Redito’s hometowns in the Philippines were Manila and Laguna. Inevitably, most of my friends in my current circle have already met him while he was still living here. But for me, I only met him through our mutual contacts on the Internet.

And since I follow his updates, I recently read of his statuses on Facebook that said, “People assume that social media disconnect us. Personally, it has enriched my life and found people who share the same passions as I do.”

Those lines particularly spoke to me because it’s relevant to me—I have (virtually) met a lot of talented people via the World Wide Web and writing about them has shaped me into the writer that I am now. Luckily, Mark has become one of those who willingly shared a part of their lives to me, even if it’s just though pixelated waves.



Mark has a feel-good signature sound, which is often described by his listeners as playful and poppy. If human ears had tongues (no need to visualize, though!), then his melodies would be delicious. So delicious that even when he remixes a remix, he can still make it taste, I meant sound, really good!

He has always been included in my “artists to interview someday” list and when I got around to narrowing down my ideals for the first featured artists on Parallel Planets, I didn’t hesitate to ask him a favor.

Mark is a steaming swarm of passion and talents. I scoured online resources and found out that, aside from music, he also has a keen eye for film-making and photography. I’m starting to wonder if the guy has ever had a dull, unproductive day—because he always seems to come up with something new that’s cooler than the previous ones.

Or probably, he’s just practicing what he’s preaching because he also once told his followers, “[to] work on your art even though you don't feel like it.”

photo by Spazzkid

photo by Spazzkid

Initially, I was aiming to highlight these other interests of him but as I did my homework to know more about him, I realized that his music is permanently entwined with his being, with what he is now. Because truthfully, it is really hard to write about Mark without delving deeper into his tunage—music runs through his capillaries and he breathes it as oxygen. He is good at it; he makes other people happy with it. So really, there's no reason for him to not keep up the good work.

I wasn’t able to include this thought on the questionnaire I gave him, but I really hope that he visits our motherland soon so I could see him play live. If that day comes, I hope he would play Forgiveness since it’s my current favorite track from Desire. That would be super!



Read on to my interview with Mark Redito a.k.a. Spazzkid and learn how young he was when he started making music, his main inspirations (other than anything that’s Japanese!), and his positive way of dealing with a lot of things.

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Parallel Planets: Hi, Mark! Tell something about Spazzkid as a musician and before you became one.

Mark Redito: "I was primarily a drummer so my understanding of music is very rhythmic. People have this idea that I know a lot about chords and scales but in truth, my understanding of all that is very basic. I guess you can say I’m more of an intuitive musician than I am a technical one in that sense.

I also tend to gravitate more towards instrumental music than vocal/lyric-based music. I like how feelings and emotions can be channelled without words. For me, lyrics and vocals are another layer just like bass and drums. They are never central elements to my music."

Parallel Planets: When/How did your inclination with music begin?

Mark Redito: "I grew up in a musical family so we always had instruments lying around. I learned to play drums by age 10 and got my own kit by age 12. Together with that, I learned power chords which led me to like rock bands.

I used to play in church and remember enjoying blasting people's eardrums with my super loud drumming. I’ve always been involved in bands since high school all the way to college. I played in different genres from punk to hardcore to reggae to ska. I think all those experiences shaped me into the musician I am today."

Parallel Planets: What defines your musical/artistic style? What are your 'trademarks?'

Mark Redito: "That’s really hard to say because I always try to keep 'real' to what I’m feeling when I write a piece. I like to believe that I always try to push myself to evolve and experiment with different elements.

But that being said, I tend to lean towards lo-fi sounding sounds, an evolving 'beat,' a simple melody, and over processed vocals (to make up for my lack of vocal ability!). A lot of my inspiration comes from the music I consume. My peers on Soundcloud give me an endless feed of ideas and sounds to take inspiration from.



I also go on Spotify and choose random stations (my favorites lately are Latin and '60s rock channels) and listen to them while I cook with my girlfriend or while surfing the web. I think the things that I listen to on an unconscious level somehow come up in random moments when I make music."

Parallel Planets: What influences your work? Who inspires you?

Mark Redito: "Artists that I really look up to and have gotten a lot of inspiration from are Daedalus, Baths, Yasutaka Nakata (Perfume/Kyary Pamyu Pamyu), Jimmy Tamborello (Postal Service/Dntel), Shigeto, J Dilla, Daft Punk, Yellow Magic Orchestra, and Cornelius.

Relationships also influence my music in a very special way. Support from my family, friends, and my girlfriend plays a big role in my well-being, which I think is a big ingredient in my writing process."

Parallel Planets: What’s your most treasured work so far?

Mark Redito: "As with most artists and their work, all of my work is special to me. But I think Desire is the most expressive body of work that I have. I think that all the energy that went into the album was thoughtfully considered and carefully constructed—from the sound palette to the visual imagery."

Parallel Planets: What is your mantra in life?

Mark Redito: "I don't have a specific mantra to go by, but I believe in the power of positivity. Having a positive mental attitude in pursuing creative endeavors really goes a long way.

I also believe in the power of 'being real to yourself.' We are so caught up trying to impress other people that we forget to respect ourselves by being true to ourselves."


Parallel Planets: Aside from music, I found out that you are also into film-making and photography. Tell more about these other creative pursuits of yours.

Mark Redito: "My interest in film-making grew out of necessity because I knew I wanted to have visuals for my songs. I started out shooting videos for my friends and family as personal projects and then I starting doing work for my own music.

The cut up/found footage videos I did for my songs are snippets and vignettes which I hope elevates the listener by adding another dimension to my songs.

Photography has always been special for me too. I really enjoy using that medium. I have a decent collection of film SLRs, toy cameras, and a DSLR which sadly, I seldom use now because I’m on Instagram all the time."

Parallel Planets: Mention three of your favorite things.

Mark Redito: "Nigori Sake, Japanese Curry, Cashmere Cat (Producer/DJ)"

photo by Spazzkid

Parallel Planets: Do you have a fetish or any weird habit?

Mark Redito: "Everybody knows that I have a high curiosity and reverence for anything Japanese. From music to film/animation to fashion."

Parallel Planets: What projects are you currently working on?

Mark Redito: "I am currently working on some songs that may be included in an EP and I’m also working on a new t-shirt design. Remixes keep me busy too. I also have a good amount of collaborations with musicians and other visual artists coming up."

 
Parallel Planets: In this planet that we're thriving in—

What is your power animal? "Whales. I think they are silent, deep, and mysterious. I hear that they are also intelligent creatures. They are also incredibly beautiful and graceful."

Who is your alternate ego? "Toshiro Mifune. That dude is a badass. He was of Chinese descent but settled in Japan to pursue an acting career, which to my understanding, is a really hard thing to do. But he did it. I also like the rebellious characters he plays in his films, I really relate to them."

Parallel Planets: In an alternate universe where music does not exist—

What will your name be? "I like one syllable names. Maybe, 'Bo.'"

What do you think you would be doing instead? "A cook or maybe a traveler. Both are gateways to learning other cultures and gaining new experiences. I think that, creatively, cooking shares the same mind space as song-writing. You’re constantly adding, editing, and experimenting with both."

photo by Spazzkid

More from Mark Redito

spazzkid.com

facebook.com/spazzkid
soundcloud.com/spazzkid