About

The sound behind Mark Bear.

A walk through my musical journey - to everything that went before, and everything that will become.

They say music is the great uniter. It doesn't care who we are, where we're from, or what we look like. When we hear music we like, it lifts us - it's such a special connection - that song by that band we listened to when we were 13 transports us back to thoughts of then. The right music moves us.

As an artist, If I can make you - my listener - a little happier, a little warmed with my creations, I can feel satisfied. For a creative mind, that's the best reward. Ever since I was a kid, I've loved making songs or performing for people, and now I'm in a place where I feel I can create like never before. MORE ⌄

Skipping past the detours to boyband pop (well, it's a guilty pleasure, still) of the 2000's, my music journey really began when a schoolmate introduced me to Green Day. I'd heard of green day - and seen the moshers and the metalheads wandering around in hoodies - but assumed it was some heavy noise. Instead, these were songs. There's such subtle artistry in what Billie Joe does in his words - and such range too. All painted with a subtle wash of melancholy that makes the music feel real.

College turned me emo. Oh well :) My Chemical Romance, Copland, The Get Up Kids - somehow, these bands took the blue tinge of Green Day and made it more emotional still. Around the same time, I discovered Muse. Listening to Origin of Symmetry still gives me goosebumps - such unashamed artistry and theatre. Citizen Erased is an absolute masterpiece. As I moved on to uni, I discovered HelloGoodbye, Shiny Toy Guns and Panic! At The Disco - artists who weaved an incredibly intelligent web of all three contemporaries to me - emotional / heartfelt, melancholic and dramatic.

As I moved through the years at uni, I became more and more into house. By now, it was 2005 - probably one of the biggest years for dance music. I became club crazed. Every weekend, in the club, feeling the beats pulse around me. I flitted between EDM and indie / synthpop / emo - I began to learn it's okay to like whatever you want with music.

Influences

Origin of SymmetryMuseIn Muse, I found a band who treats drama and theatricality not as an indulgence or problem, but as a strength... I can’t think of a better example than Origin of Symmetry. The epic sweep of “Citizen Erased” and the high-art ferocity of “Micro Cuts” taught me that creativity doesn’t always need reigning in; sometimes the magic is in letting it run wild.
ClarityZeddIf Muse gave my music its sense of drama, Zedd gave it its 'True Colors'. Anton’s productions are rich, layered and full of contrast... hard-hitting one moment, delicate the next, always balancing edge with melody. He showed me that synth-heavy pop could still be immediate, emotional and unapologetically accessible, and that electronic music didn’t have to give up complexity to be catchy.
A Fever You Can't Sweat OutPanic! At The DiscoPanic! At The Disco showed me that lyrics could hide meanings in plain sight while still speaking directly to the listener. Brendon Urie’s songs never felt distant; they felt like conversations — sly, theatrical, confessional and packed with personality. That immediacy had a huge impact on my own writing, showing me that lyrics could be clever and larger-than-life without ever losing their human voice.
For Your EntertainmentAdam LambertAdam's vocal delivery on this album still gives me goosebumps today.