
MADOKA BIO
Veteran music producer and DJ Mark Venneri has been part of the music industry for over 25 years. Under the Madoka name, he manages Metamotional Music and Private Reality Records.
From a simple start as a teenager experimenting with cheap cassette decks, toy keyboards, and second-hand DJ mixers to the complex, lush and layered music of his self-described Saturated Sound today, Mark has always been considered an innovator by critics and fans alike. He was instantly attracted to the underground electronic music scene after discovering an early warehouse rave in Philadelphia in 1991. Creatively, he has been reshaping his musical vision ever since that inspiring moment.
Mark first established himself as a bedroom DJ under the name DJ Relate. During the mid-1990s, he played house parties and club nights in Philadelphia and the Midwest. He also helped organize and promote a variety of large-scale events as part of a collective of local DJs. From 1996 to 1998, he hosted Grooveshop, his college radio show on KCOU 88.1 FM.
In 1998, he introduced his unique sound to the world with his first 12-inch vinyl record. He marketed the release on his Private Reality Records, promoting it at the Miami Winter Music Conference that same year along with the help of a good friend.
In 2000, Mark moved to New York City to lay the foundation for the next phase of his musical journey and introduced his newly forged artist name Madoka. During that period, he spent the entire year developing the direction of his music, focusing intensely on the craft of his production quality.
He materialized some solid ideas by the spring of 2001, and the creative restructuring resulted in Madoka’s My City demo. While shopping around My City to select record labels and powerhouse DJs, he received valuable feedback from many industry leaders, including a call from Plastic Fantastic Records in the UK. They seized the moment and signed “Dive.” The tune would ultimately be paired with a Mo Shic & Zidan remix for international release and would later be heavily supported by Sasha and Digweed on their Delta Heavy tour.
Mark used the accomplishment as creative fuel. With a solid effort now under his belt and mass appeal building, his production style continued to evolve.
“Here is a man who most certainly has his finger on the pulse of what is cool at the moment.”
Simon Jones / Progressive-Sounds
In early 2002, Mark was thrilled to accept the opportunity of a lifetime for his imprint, announcing a multi-year vinyl production and distribution deal with 3 Beat Label Management UK (3BLM). The arrangement included work on all future releases, incorporating Private Reality into 3BLM’s impressive stable of leading labels.
Over the next five years, he delivered a steady stream of Madoka singles and remixes that found homes on various record labels, including Deep, Deep Focus, SAW, Definity, Shinemusic, Babylon, and Mo-Do. His music was featured on several DJ compilations such as Max Graham’s Shine, Trendroid’s Transport 6, Andy Jarrod’s Vapourized Volume 3, Steve Gerrard’s Thinking Out Loud, and Kazell’s Driven.
His success continued as his now-classic single “Metamotional” found its way onto one of 2006’s most critically-acclaimed compilations: Ben Watts’ Buzzin’ Fly, Volume 3. The song maintained a year of heavy rotation with Watt which began with his BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix in February 2005.
In October 2004, Mark turned his attention from his vinyl endeavor with Private Reality to the rising digital domain. He launched his new record label Metamotional Music, paying homage to one of his favorite songs.
2005 reignited his passion for performing and marked his return to the DJ arena. He played global events in destinations such as Tokyo, Amsterdam, Turkey, Bulgaria, Vienna, New York, and Jacksonville Beach. In 2007, he released his first full-length Madoka album entitled A Cure for Loneliness on Metamotional Music. The collection featured a fresh set of eight original songs, setting a new creative standard for the label.
Mark resurrected both record labels in 2015 and redesigned the Metamotional website, integrating an online music store called MetaShop to release his music. A refined Madoka sound emerged and he marked his return that same year with his Beacon EP. The new release kickstarted the next chapter in his ever-evolving musical story.
More recently, he unleashed his album Speak For Yourself. The record is his first full-length set since 2007’s A Cure For Loneliness. Speak is a fresh, focused, steady, and slow-building collection of new material from Madoka, firmly setting the stage for the future
revised: may / 2021
DISCOGRAPHY
(1997 TO NOW)
Discover More: discogs.com
People Who Love You
Madoka / Metamotional
Wandering For Years
Madoka / Metamotional
Rushing Back (Madoka Remix)
Flume Feat. Vera Blue / Metapop Entry
Future Unwritten EP
Madoka / Metamotional
Speak For Yourself
Madoka / Metamotional
Element 118
Madoka / Metamotional
While the Lights Are Out
Madoka / Metamotional
Beacon (Dubs)
Madoka / Metamotional
Beacon EP
Madoka / Metamotional
Beat the Clock (Madoka Remix)
M83, Junior Boys, Nosaj Thing / Unreleased Project
Dos Espadas (Madoka Remixes)
Martinez FX / Unreleased
Bond
DBIB / Unreleased Project
Teardrops On My Guitar (Madoka Remixes)
Swiftly Related / Unreleased Project
Don’t Close Your Eyes (Madoka Remixes)
DPen / Paria
A Cure For Loneliness
Madoka / Metamotional
My Thinking Machine EP
Leroy Carroll / Metamotional
Lost Again EP
Leroy Carroll / Metamotional
Thursday Night Hero
Madoka / Noctambula
Drift EP
Madoka / Metamotional
Paz (Madoka Remix)
Madoka / Private Reality
We Awoke (Madoka Remixes)
Brahma & Sean Gruv / Sentient Audio
5B (Madoka Remixes)
Blue Room Project / Hunya Munya
Submerged (Madoka Remixes)
Brahma & Drew Nichols / Babylon
Embedded EP
Madoka / Private Reality
Electric (Madoka Remix)
Bart van Wissen / Private Reality
Altered
Madoka / Shine
Elektrix EP
Clerk 33 / Metamotional
Afterburner
Madoka / Private Reality
MTTM EP
Madoka / Metamotional
Metamotional EP
Madoka / Deep Focus
If I Could Fly (Madoka Remix)
Matthew Dekay / Nascent
Plataforma
Madoka / Release Elements
The Specialist EP
Leroy Carroll / Mixturi Global
Turn It Into Gold (Madoka Remixes)
Powerplant / Deep
Protected (Madoka Remixes)
Pole Folder / Mo-Do
Unforeseen (Madoka Remix)
Bart van Wissen / Private Reality
Distant Memories
Madoka / Private Reality
Good To Me
Relate / White Label
Overcast
HHT / Unreleased Project
If I Could Fly (Madoka Remix)
Matthew Dekay / Deep
I’ll Be Here (Akodama Remixes)
Automagic / Definity
Lost In Space (Madoka Remix)
The Realm / 3 Beat Music
If We Begin
Madoka / Deep
Not Done (Madoka Remix)
Madoka / Deep
Mass EP
Madoka / Private Reality
Cabaret EP
Madoka / Deep
Coppola EP
Madoka / Private Reality
Dive
Madoka / Plastic Fantastic
Slightly Forward
Akodama / SAW
My City EP
Madoka / Private Reality
Confessions of A DJ EP
Grooveshop / Private Reality
The Product
DJ Relate / Private Reality CDR