"Quality Mark" a.k.a. DJ Class-A – Biog.:
(Shortened) Djing for over 20yrs, and one of Ireland's most experienced dnb dj's, Quality Mark has supported many top artists in the scene including, Friction, Hype, Noisia, Krust, Goldie, Break, Marky, Kasra, Icicle, Rockwell, Lenzman, Jumpin Jack Frost, Mark Archer, Grooverider, Ed Rush, Apex, Marcus Intalex, Calibre, Zero Tolerance, and Beta 2 to name a few.
Quality Mark’s main assets are his ability to read crowd and his versatility as a DJ. Whilst specialising in drum and bass & jungle, he has also been known for playing sets of old skool hardcore and classic house, UK garage, trance & techno. His passion for drum and bass music especially however, is clearly evident in his energydriven dancefloor orientated sets, in which he likes to incorporate all styles from Liquid to Neurofunk.
Over the years he has dj'ed all over Ireland from Belfast to Cork, including appearances at many festivals including Mantua Festival 2007 & 2009, and Life Festival 2008, 2009, 2011, 2015 and 2016 and many others such as Scrobarnach, Hotbox, and Puzzle. He has also played in the UK, in clubs in Manchester and London, as well as in Spain, Italy, Poland, and Canada (NYE 2007). A residency with Renegade Noize in the recently closed famous influential club Twisted Pepper in Dublin has also kept him busy the last 3 years. He as also been resident dj and promoter with hugely successful Energy Collective in Dublin for the last 2 & half years and has recently become a member and resident jungle dj of Dublin's "Homegrown Jungle" crew. You can also catch him on his own weekly Radio Show, E.S.P. – every Wednesday live from 10.30pm-12.00midnight GMT on Dublin’s Raidio Na Life 106.4FM and worldwide on the internet at www.raidionalife.ie. E.S.P. is now one of Ireland's longest running legal FM & Internet drum and bass shows and also features live guest mixes as well as updates on gigs going on around the country. (Extended) Having been a huge fan of dance music since the age of 16, it wasn’t long before Mark O’Grady’s (a.k.a. Quality Mark/DJ Class-A) collection of nearly 200 mixtapes of DJ’s of all styles of dance music had inspired him into getting decks of his own in 1993.
Within a few years of moving from Derry to Manchester to go to University, Mark had played at most of the main clubs in Manchester such as The Music Box (Champion Sounds), Phoenix, Paradise Factory (Storm Fm Launch Party), Joshua Brooks, Generation X/Club Code (Relish), Time (The Brain) / Jam (Homegrown Talent), The Park, The Shed and others. During this time he was also invited to play guest slots on Frontline Fm, a well-known Manchester Pirate Station. He was also involved in the launch of Storm FM - Manchester Student Radio.
In 1997 he was beaten by one point by Si "S-man" Smith, the winner, in the 1997 DJ Culture UK Mixing Championships - held at the G-MEX in Manchester.
He was then awarded the position of Manager of The Bassment Nightclub in Manchester in 1999, where he was also resident DJ, for a year, playing alongside some the finest DJing & MCing talent from Manchester and the UK.
Over the years he has dj'ed all over Ireland from Belfast to Cork, including appearances at Mantua Festival 2007 & 2009, and Life Festival 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2015. He has also played in the UK, in clubs in Manchester and London, as well as in Spain, Italy, Poland, and Canada (NYE 2007). A residency with Renegade Noize in the recently closed famous influential club Twisted Pepper in Dublin has also kept him busy the last 3 years. He as also been resident dj and promoter with hugely successful Energy Collective in Dublin for the last 2 & half years and has recently become a member and resident jungle dj of Dublin's "Homegrown Jungle" crew. You can also catch him on his own weekly Radio Show, E.S.P. – every Wednesday live from 10.30pm-12.00midnight GMT on Dublin’s Raidio Na Life 106.4FM and worldwide on the internet at www.raidionalife.ie. E.S.P. is now one of Ireland's longest running legal FM & Internet drum and bass shows and also features live guest mixes as well as updates on gigs going on around the country.
Mark has played alongside many top artists in the scene including, Friction, Hype, Noisia, Goldie, Break, Marky, Kasra, Icicle, Rockwell, Lenzman, Jumpin Jack Frost, Grooverider, Ed Rush, Apex, Marcus Intalex, Calibre, Zero Tolerance, and Beta 2 to name a few.
After moving to Dublin, in 2002 DJ Class-A came Runner-Up in a Smirnoff DJ Competition at Solas in Dublin, which was judged by Johnny Moy (Spirit, Spin 1038), DJ Krime (2002 ITF European Scratch Champion, Poland), and Ireland’s own 3 times DMC Champion & World Finalist DJ Tu-ki.
After having played in several Dublin venues, in April 2004 DJ Class-A was given his own weekly Radio Show, E.S.P. – every Wednesday live from 10.30pm-12.00midnight GMT on Dublin’s Raidio Na Life 106.4FM and worldwide on the internet at www.raidionalife.ie. On E.S.P. every week you will hear the most upfront drum and bass, with some dubplates, unreleased material and classic old skool thrown in. With updates on gigs going on around the country, and regular featured guest mixes this is one of Irelands longest running & best FM & Internet Drum and Bass shows. On this show he has showcased guest mixes from some of the finest Irish, UK & International DJ’s, such as DJ Shortee (Playboy’s official tour DJ, USA), HedCase (USA), Mark S (Elevation, Grimetime, Deadly Fusion), Arveene (Nylon, Dublin), Syringe (Resonance, Dublin), Chill (Step DnB, Belfast), Hago (Global Virus, Derry), DJ BPM (Amorphous, London), Bane (Eastern Bloc, Manchester), Xample & Sol (Ram Rec's, L plates, Flex, Metropolis), Affray (L Plates, Gutterfunk, Manchester) and many more.
In 2005 he started his own drum'n'bass event in Dublin, "Resonance", which ran in different venues up until 2008 playing alongside some of the finest DJ's from Ireland, the U.K & beyond.
In Ireland he has also played and headlined at events from Belfast to Cork, for promoters such as Renegade Noize(Dublin), United Drumz(Dublin), DNB Impact(Cork), Reach (Dublin), Remedy(Soul Food World Beats, Dublin), Going Underground (Killarney), Hertz-U(Dublin), Mantua Festival 2007 & 2009(Roscommon), Urban Central(Dublin), Bassick/Sound Koalition(Belfast), Life Festival 2008, 2009 & 2011, Tribe(Dublin), and Rebirth(Cork) to name a few. In recent years he has also been booked to play at clubs in the UK & London (The Jamm, Brixton), Spain (Al Final & El Divino) and Canada (Intense NYE, Quebec 2007/08).
After deciding to take a break from promotion in 2010, Class-A became resident DJ for the mighty RENEGADE NOIZE INTERNATIONAL, responsible for some of Dublin's best regular dnb events. He has now also started to develop his production skills and is working on a few tracks of his own.