Mark XIII was created in 1996 by Aymeric Ponsart & Eric Virey.

The goal was to promote the electro/indus scene in the south half of France.
A lot of parties were programmed in Grenoble but also in various other cities : Marseille (HIV+, TrolleyBus Resident), Montpellier (Dogme at Rockstore), or Lyon (the Pez-Ner team and Mark XIII organisation collaborated together during several years).
Many live acts were also organized : Suicide Commando, Black Lung, Das-Ich, Imminent Starvation, VNV Nation, Pierrepoint...
For each of these events, a first part featuring a french band or project was systematically programmed, in order to provide against the lack of distribution structures.


In 1999, the Mark XIII dept is open in the city of Grenoble (France).
The concept is a pub with a musical identity and a preference for underground electronic styles of music. In this way , the "dept" is devoted to the promotion of unknown local artists as well as well known ones. It offers a place to meet people around common underground tastes.
The line-up is broad-minded (electro, techno, indus, drum&bass or ambient) with always a constant purpose : to make unexpanded musical flows in France more accessible.
A lot of known & less known DJs & artists will play between the walls of the "dept" for two years, untill it gets closed in September 2001.

Two years later, in September 2003, Mark XIII is back with the Mark XIII dept 2.
Bigger, stronger & better located. The opening date is a true success, revealing that a growing crowd did miss the pub. But that missing was not an empty period for Aymeric Ponsart.
It was the opportunity to create his own label, and from now, Mark XIII is concretely involved in what it always believed.