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This is where the hype of the music industry meets a truly underground figure that has been creating monster underground tunes since the beginning of the UK house scene and who is also a serious part of the UK house music dance history.
Meet a true champion of the UK music and its ever-changing scene.
Mark Ryder was born in Lewisham and raised in south-east London’s Catford but left home at 15 to live in Essex with his father?

Mark was definitely not a model school kid. His teachers described him as lacking concentration and someone who would not succeed in the real world. A tearaway in his youth mark found it difficult to get on with other children when he moved to Essex. By the time he left school he had made himself quite well known with his scratching and mixing DJ ability and had a very tight circle of friends.
With no real experience leaving school mark was on the dole and djing at parties to make a bit of extra money which all went back into buying American hiphop and early house imports which was the music mark loved.
Around 1985 mark got into the pirate radio scene and co ran a station in London call called TKO this was when Kiss FM (the pirate) had not even got a name for it's self.
Around 1986 Mark Ryder teemed up with a guy called Dave lee (Joey Negro) to make a new type of sound known as acidic house (acid house). It was only known in the UK by the most anorak of vynalist and it was only available on small American record labels.
Mark and Dave loved the music and having met in a record store where they would regularly fight for the last copy of a new import they became friends and began to make plans to conquer the music industry for themselves.

Dave Lee was a disco man but Mark was a Scratching /hip hop DJ and always had a street attitude to his music they both loved the house sound but Mark wanted a lot more from it then just a disco vibe.
One of the first release by Mark and Dave was under the guise of Raven maize- “forever together” which is now a classic anthem. Another was Masters of the Universe "Space Talk" these along with many other jointly made tunes have become very collectable and sought after

Mark went on to make many records and remixes with Dave Lee getting his tunes out on American labels like Transmat, Nu groove, Easystreet and more, some of his remixing with Dave has also become timeless classics like the phaze two Reaching remix and many others.

Mark worked with Dave right up to the very early tunes when Dave became Joey Negro.
Mark always took a back seat when it came to the press, as he did not want to be too closely associated with just the disco garage sound he did with Dave.Setting up Strictly Underground records in 1987-88 with money he has saved up from DJing at house parties. Mark embarked on a mission to produce serious UK underground music that he loved the problem was that mark loved all forms of house music. At this time there were many different strains of the house sound beginning to form. Even this early on the rave scene was taking hold and breakbeats were slipping into the four beat kick drum.
Mark could see the scene splitting and love both styles while other narrow minded artist were starting to disassociate from one form of house music (rave) claiming total allegiance to the new form (Drum & Bass). Mark was releasing both on his strictly underground label making it difficult for record stores to fully support his releases as they might get a garage tune straight after a rave tune then a drum & Bass tune.
The music business and record shops did not seem to accept that mark could make a good garage record and then a good pumping house record and then a good trance record.
It was clear to mark that the only way to get his music accepted was to keep a low profile and let the music do the talking.
Mark set up other labels, and began his mission to produce music for Clubbing!
Strictly underground was known buy all in the rave years as a great label but all would be shocked to know that almost all the tunes in those early days were in fact by the same person solely or jointly with just a few other producers.
Mark has made many massive rave anthems during 1988- 1993 under many different names but never using his own name
But we will keep those under raps, as it’s always good to hold back some information.
Mark laughingly jokes that he found it harder making the artist names then the music.
While this was all going on mark had to find another way to build his label profile. The press kept on asking for pictures and interviews with artists that did not exist and although the promotion would have been good, mark feared a backlash if the press found out he was all these different artist and making different styles of dance, rave and house music.
Still involved in the Pirate radio scene mark had his fingers in a few stations and was able to sell thousands of singles and compilations through pirate radio advertising of his releases.
He was making a fortune and making massive underground tunes as well with no one in the industry being any the wiser (strictly underground to the end!).

The next step in marks rise was his party’s which he had also been putting on since 1988 this too had been growing from the original illegal parties to what ended up being the biggest parties held at Wembley London!
Mark was one of the men behind the massive Ravealation parties that were held four times a year (including new years eve) at Wembley.
Using his stations and his record releases as a means to promote the events mark was really running things with out anyone in the "industry" knowing about it.
Most ravers will have attended a Ravealation event or one of marks many other underground events like ‘Hellraiser’ and again mark was able to have his music available to any DJ's that might want to play them to the masses at his events.
1993 and The Drum & Bass scene was now in full swing and mark was Making Rave and Drum and Bass on strictly Underground records and Disco house, Trance and uplifting house on other record labels.
There were other record labels having great promotional success as well like Moving Shadow, Reinforce and Surbanbase. Mark made sure that strictly Underground avoided most of the PR because he was selling more records pulling off the biggest events and his major involvement in pirate radio. Mark was worried that any press would focus on him and this could be damaging to everything he had built up and make it all seem smaller than it actually was.
But mark was missing out on the "artist" and Label profiles that the magazines were giving other labels, this was the price that he chose to pay to keep things running ‘Underground’.

Mark started to collaborate more with other talented individuals like DJ A-Side, Uncle 22, Mike James etc this allowed mark to move artistically further and at the same time have more time for his many business ventures.

One of mark’s biggest achievements to date has to be his N0.1 commercial hit record (network chart) under the name NJOY. Ironically he again was not credited as the artist for this.
The tune "Anthem" by NJOY has go down in history as an all time classic.
Everything was doing well but Mark was also building his corporate empire in other ways as well.....
Not only had mark Got a hold on the pirate scene and the rave scene in London and Essex and the 12" Dance music scene through his various Record labels
Mark was also producing the Biggest selling rave compilations through his S.U.Corp Company (Strictly Underground Corporation).
Having seen the massive sales that were being made by other promoters selling illegal mix tapes of their events.
Mark had decided to try and produce a legal compilation where all the artists actually got paid for inclusion of their songs.
Mark wanted to work with other producers and record labels, as he knew what it was like to have his music appear on illegal mix tapes and not get paid.
This issue is still a thorn in marks side as he loathes anyone who steals other people’s music to make a mix for financial gain without getting the permission and paying the artists that actually make the records.
The history and success on the S.U.Corporation and its compilations is a whole story in its self but at its peak it was turning over millions with help from some of the other ventures mark was involved with and it is still going strong today although marks many music commitments have slowed his compilation releases down some.

It’s always been busy for mark and his DJ/music carer. He took the Strictly Underground Record company on a world tour in 1984 stopping at Oslo, France, hongkong and Miami to name just a few places. Mark has played at so many different venues around the world that its hard even for him to remember all of them but If you know mark at all you will know that his preference is to actually be in front of the speakers as a punter and not as the DJ because this is what its all about for him……The music!
So why has Mark suddenly started putting his name to his music?
Mark says, “I love the music I make. People’s opinions are always going to be good and bad but I have grown and succeeded in the face of everything that has been pitched at me. I have always stayed true to the underground music scene even when it grew into something new and others chose to discard the old and moved on. I choose to learn and add rather than discard and change. You can hear all my influences from rave, drum & Bass, Jungle, garage, that’s probably why I am still here when others (labels and artists) move into something they did not really understand and have now disappeared.
It’s been a great ride so far and its time to move things up a gear and see where it takes me. I still enjoy everything I do and unlike some artists, I can look back at the music I have made and I am still proud of it all. I know I am getting better and improving my production skills so it’s all still new everytime”.
This is still just the beginning so Let’s see what happens next?.
Marks fist release (Joy) using his name went straight in the national top 40 UK Chart and his current round of releases are creating major waves and look like doing similar chart success. People can actually see the man behind the music and here him DJ and this looks like taking Mark to a whole new type of success.