I hear that you'd like to take The King of the Jam to other countries and states. Where do you want to take it and why?

My dream is to make a TV show around the world, I want to take it everywhere, especially "non western" countries and places that aren't so dominated by hiphop. It's for the same reason, Jam is about reminding people that we are ALL musicians and it is OK to like more than one genre of music Well if any TV production companies are reading this just get me some plane tickets and I'll get you twelve episodes of amazing music and culture. I am most keen on finding crazy traditional instruments in each destination and incorporating them into the jams.

Tell us about your newly acclaimed 'Splinterland'?

SPLINTERLAND is a magical event. I mean really, when you go to most clubnights, there is nothing there, just a bar and a DJ. It's like people have stopped trying to do events, they just do clubnights. So I wanted to make a special event and spread some love. I wanted people to know that when they go to SPLINTERLAND there will be efforts made to ensure their enjoyment. We even had fake passports and our own national flag. At the first party I bought 250 flowers and suspended them from the ceiling, things like that are essential I think. There was no way I would try that in London, I mean really London died creatively the minute Tony Blair said "cool britannia" and shook Noel Gallagher's hand while drinking champagne and wearing a suit.

So I found Lithuania and out there I wouldn't say it's easy, but the advantage is Lithuanian people come to party, not to spectate. They want fun and variety, not just big name DJs playing the same records every day.DJ Vadim came out to play and of course everyone went mental for each and every record, but in London I have seen him get a lukewarm reception from playing too much reggae or whatever. Londoners are spoiled for choice when it comes to performers, but every venue is slack and obsessed with alcohol revenue, a bad mixture. It's just lazy. SPLINTERLAND might tour the Baltic but I can't see it coming to London. The next SPLINTERLAND will probably be a chillout event, and I also want to get Vadim and Ethan Reid back to Lithuania for a reggae event I am planning called "Jamaican Embassy".

Some people are worried that because of Splinterland, your not going to do King of the Jam anymore. Is this true, and if so, why?

Well you know it is possible to do more than one thing at the same time! At KotJ2004B I joked that it would be the last KotJ ever. The idea is that people make their OWN jams on their OWN initiative, not wait for me to decree a date for jamming! Jam every day! I can't be everywhere. I will definitely have a Baltic Jam, and then I hope to return to London victorious with a TV contract in one hand an a miniDV camera in the other.

You're currently relocating to Lithuania. Tell us about the differences between the UK Hip Hop scene and the Lithuanian Hip Hop Scene?

Well I am interested in more than hiphop but I will tell you anyway. The scene out there is amazingly well educated. Since the arrival of the Internet, they read the same pages we do, so they know the same things and hear the same things. There is a hiphop radio show every Sunday in Vilnius called Gatves Lyga (Street League) which plays all the UK underground stuff and even played some Cutterz Choice drum and bass, so I would say they are starting to get open-minded and not stuck in 1984 New York style like you would expect from a new country.

Big ups to Mantini and all the Gatves Lyga boys, they are doing a good job to promote the artform. The graffiti in Vilnius is really good, there are toys tagging all over the place but there is also a hardcore of stencil artists and stickers, always with a really wicked sense of humour. I think the Banksy thing is worldwide, and in Vilnius they are definitely onto something. I can't wait to get back out there and see what's new, a feeling I never get from London. Out there art is more respected and spiritual than in London, it's not such a "waste of time". And now there are new crews like Fresh Rice Crew starting to define a Lithuanian style rather than copying America, it is set to explode.

I would say the scene is small but growing, and yes there are people who like gun-glamour and pimpin rides, but also they are educated in other forms of music, and unlike London, hiphop is not everywhere in the mainstream. Classic funk and soul is appreciated out there, and I think Jungle and Drum and Bass will be very big in Lithuania, because I still say straight hiphop doesn't make a party, you need other tempos and influences, nobody wants to hear the same stuff all the time.

And Finally, what do you think of cats? Furry cute cuddly friends, or annoying balding beasts from hell?

Well I am allergic to them, and I wouldn't say I really love them, but let's just say I hate dogs. Cats don't shit on the pavement or lick your face. Cats don't depend on you, they are not big stupid lumps of bad breath. If they don't like you, they just leave, they don't eat your sofa. Given the choice of living as a cat, dog or human, I think I would choose cat.

May I take this opportunity to say big up all Humanbeatbox.com massive, keep doing your thing, f**k the majors (except when they pay me) and never restrict your music. Make fashion don't follow it. Come and live in Lithuania, the rent is cheap and the girls are incredible.

"Come and live in Lithuania, the rent is cheap and the girls are incredible."

To find out more about Mark and the SPLINTER brand check out splinterproducts.com and splinter.lt.