Madoka

New York-based Mark Venneri had a distinct vision of the future from the moment he was first introduced to the underground at a warehouse party in Philadelphia in early 1991. It was just a matter of time before he strengthened his love for the powerful music he heard every weekend and decided to try his hand as a DJ, and eventually, as a producer. Whether he was commanding a club’s booth, molding intense soundscapes during a live PA or broadcasting his college-radio show entitled Grooveshop, Mark was a true innovator. He remained relatively quiet in these roles for almost a decade in the United States before deciding, in 2000, that it was time to take his sound to the international masses. With his newly formed artist moniker Madoka, he began that journey.

Mark spent nearly a year refining the quality of his music and crafting the direction of his original sound. He materialized his ideas by the spring of 2001, and the creative restructuring resulted in his initial body of work entitled MyCity EP. With a solid production effort under his belt, he introduced his own uniquely deep, moody and throbbing style, molding house and trance into a new, twisted formula.

As a result of shopping around MyCity to top labels and DJs, he started to receive valuable feedback, including a call from Plastic Fantastic Records in the UK. They seized the opportunity and signed Madoka's first track entitled "Dive". The tune would eventually be paired with a Mo Shic and Zidan remix, and Mark used the accomplishment as creative fuel.

His next batch of songs was quickly picked up as well. "Cabaret" was licensed to Vapourized Volume 3 and was signed to Dutch label Deep Records along with the single "If We Begin". "Slightly Forward" followed, and was handed over to SAW Recordings under the exclusive Akodama name. The single was released to critical acclaim in spring 2002, and the Trendroid remix was licensed to Kinetic for their sixth installment of the Transport series.

During this time, Mark was also thrilled to accept what he considered to be the deal of a lifetime for his own Private Reality imprint. In early 2002, he announced an agreement with Andy Jarrod, Director of 3 Beat Label Management, encompassing the manufacturing, distribution and promotional details of future releases and becoming part of the group’s impressive stable of leading labels. Although Mark officially announced the creation of Private Reality back in 1998, and already managed to independently distribute 500 units of his debut EP entitled Confessions of a DJ, he was excited to write a new chapter in his label’s ongoing saga.

After the success of his first two Private Reality records "Coppola," with its flip-side "Temperamental" licensed to Slinky Planet: Tokyo, and "Mass," Mark built the label’s profile further. His own “Distant Memories” arrived reworked by Matthew Dekay, and young Dutch producer Bart van Wissen, the label’s first outside addition to the artist roster, unleashed his monster called “Unforeseen”.

Madoka followed with new originals signed to outlets such as ShineMusic and Ready Mix. His “Plataforma” on Release Records was licensed to Kazell’s Driven CD, and his “Altered” and “Afterburner” tracks found their way onto Max Graham’s Shine compilation.

Building on the excitement of reworking Automagic’s “I’ll Be Here” on Definity Records and Matthew Dekay’s “If I Could Fly,” he went on to remix Bart van Wissen’s “Unforeseen” and Blue Room Project’s “5B” on Hunya Munya, delivering the “Metasound Mix” that shipped on HMR002 in 2003.

By 2003 Madoka was drawing support from upfront veterans across the globe, an eclectic range of DJs from Mo Shic, Max Graham, Desyn Masiello, Cass, and Low End Specialists to Matthew Dekay, Lemon8 and Armin van Buuren.

Additionally, Mark received proper media attention as both Madoka and Akodama, with reviews appearing in DJ, Muzik, Mixer, Mixmag, M8, BPM and Urb, and with interviews conducted on portal websites such as Progressive-Sounds.com and Xpander.nl.