Mark E At Juno Download

Review: What seems an age after it appeared as part of Mark E's last spot on Beats In Space, "Call Me" finally arrives for general consumption, yet it's in danger of getting overshadowed by the company it keeps, with both Dixon and Tensnake holding things down with an edit and a distinctive remix respectively. The original is classy enough though, very much in sync with the producer's recent album, formed of a typically pressurised house groove upon which gloopy key lines draw you in, and go on for seemingly ever. The onset of a massive chord wash and snaking organs is the prelude to a delightful spoken word turn from Miss Diana Ross. This touch adds that dash of class that separates Evetts from the dross. Up next, Tensnake indulges his inner penchant for mid 90s West London broken beat 2 step swingers which will no doubt confound latecomers to the Mirau bosses charms and is all the better for it. Dixon's edit adds a housier slant and sounds as good here as it does as part of the Innervisions boss's excellent Live At Robert Johnson mix.

Review: Founded by the Roots Unit duo of Piers "Soft Rocks" Harrison and Chris Galloway with the mission statement of formulating another way to lose money alongside their vinyl and alcohol habits, the inaugural Vibrations release will prove very successful in doing anything but that. Formed of two heavily pressurised dancefloor moments from Mark E and an additional remix from Roots Unit themselves, this twelve proves to be an auspicious debut indeed. "Escape" throbs with a compressed menace that the Merc impresario hinted at on his EP for Running Back. Ethereal vocal harmonies are slowly teased through the viscous mist of bassline frequencies before a heavy duty disco sample locks in and rides the groove out towards an shimmering finale. "Midnight Fares" flips the sonic script for a more spinal techno beatdown washed with phased vocal swirls and scattergun percussion that would make Four Tet jealous. Roots Unit end this fine release with their refix of "Escape" which turns the steam down via plenty of Basic Channel style dub technoisms.

Review: FINALLY! The inaugural release on Merc gets a digital release after limited vinyl runs last September - and a chance for those allergic to black plastic discs to own "Get Yourself Together". This track had Mark E obsessives frothing after he debuted it in his RA mix - ten minutes of slow burning acid tinged house that contains the typically hypnotic groove. Added bonus comes in the shape of "You", the Midlander's smart boogified reworking of Diana Ross' 1978 track "You Were The One" which places the emphasis on the soaring string arrangements and contains a real bumpy groove. Enough to keep you entertained until Mark E's forthcoming Works 2005-2009 Vol. 2 drops later this summer.

Review: To draw a line under the last five years of superlative edit work, Mark E has compiled this second volume of the Selected Tracks & Edits series which will please the edit obsessives no end. Both tracks from Mark E's debut release, the 2005 Scared EP on Jiscomusic, are present here in all their glory and it's a mark of the producer's talent that they sound just as fresh some five years later. "Scared" in particular is pretty much the blueprint for a successful slo mo disco house edit, with the groove of Womack & Womack's "Baby I'm Scared of You" being extended over some ten minutes Theo style, with Mark E adding elements of instrumentation with a guile not matched by some of today's edit cowboys. "Formed" occupies the space marked "End of night set killer" on this CD that "Sun Shadow" the superlative reimagination of Labelle's "Moon Shadow" did on the first volume. Elsewhere unreleased secret weapons such as the opening "Often Think To Myself" or "Darker" where the brooding chug is transformed into a glorious piano led 80s soul instrumental make this a worthy conclusion to some four years of edit dynamite.

Review: "Oranges" remains one of the most enduring tracks to feature on Stone Breaker, Mark E's debut album released on Spectral Sound last year, finding favour with a broad spectrum of DJs and even being complemented by a deft Jacques Renault edit. In order to satisfy those rueing their decision to invest in an "Orange"-less vinyl edition of the album, Spectral have given it a deserved single release, with a complementary "Space Dub" from Mr Evetts himself. This release provides a welcome chance to re-familiarise yourself with what is a sumptuous example of house music at its most simplistically effective, those warm synth tones proving just as delightful to your senses all these months on. In essence, the "Space Dub" is a pretty apt title - launching in the manner of a rocket skywards through a cosmically charged array of fizzing machine textures and piston heavy rhythms, sounding like a completely different track until Evetts slowly teases through those familiar melodic elements.