MARK E Vinilo y CD

Review: The lads and lasses behind the Needwant label are getting generous in their old age. This 12" sampler for their 5th anniversary compilation, for example, comes with a code to download not only the fresh remixes presented here, but also the 19-track collection itself. The material here is predictably strong, with Urulu's murky, spacious and stripped back take on Maxxi Soundsystem's "Make Or Break" vying for "top dog" honours with The Revenge's strobe-friendly, nu-disco-goes-vintage house revision of James Fox's "Holding On". Elsewhere, Mark E provides a typically woozy, deep and melodious rework of his own "We Could Love", while Nicholas turns Kim Ann Foxman's "Hypnotic Dance" into a "Good Life" style '89 house anthem.

Review: Mark E, it's been a while... After a short break, the Wolverhampton wanderer returns behind the wheel of his Merc for his first three originals of the year. As always with Mark, they're a beguiling, hazy and dense brew of sounds, feelings and ideas; From the dusky introspection and unhurried twinkles of "Twilight Fade" right the way through to the juicy loopy bass bites that's harmonised by strange machine chirps on the title track finale "First Thing", it's clear Mark E is back and he's not budging from the driver's seat anytime soon.

Review: Mark Evetts, or simply known as Mark E under his production moniker, has certainly travelled the world throughout his house expeditions over the last ten years, stopping off at imprints such as Golf Channel, Spectral Sound and even Gerd Janson's Running Back. This time he's back on his own Merc outlet with a ricking one-tracker split in two different versions. The instrumental mix of "Who Do You Believe In?" takes over the A-side and it's a melodic house affair with plenty of synth goodness and low-end gluttony, whereas the vocal mix adds in some sultry female vocals to add a little bit of ambience and a whole load of soul. Beautiful.

Review: In recent times, Mark E seems to have been returning to his disco and Balearic roots, albeit whilst retaining the stretched-out deep house vibe with which he's most famous for. It's little surprise, then, to see him blending the sun-ripened goodness of the Mediterranean with his usual attention to groove on this double A-side delight for Lovefingers' formidable ESP Institute imprint. "Laurentian Abyss" is particularly enchanting, with muted steel drums and a touch of accordion offering a focal point for a jaunty, Latin-influenced house groove and dreamy pads. "Emergency" continues the rush-inducing feel of the A, with chiming melodies and starburst chords riding a thickset, synthesizer-heavy deep house rhythm.

Review: After a few recent dalliances with UK labels like Futureboogie and Needwant, Mark Evetts answers the Spectral Sound call and returns to the Ghostly Intl offshoot with the sublime Avion EP. Eschewing the chance to merely repackage material from his LP for Ghostly earlier this year, Avion actually features two new productions from the Midlands house don and is ably backed by remixes from White Material's Alvin Aronson and Lazlo Dancehall. Both "Molyneaux" and "Avion Central" are quite wonderful, less concerned with gripping a dancefloor as gripping your headspace. On the flip, cuts from the Mark E LP are reworked by Aronson and Lazlo Dancehall pair Leon Vynehall and Christian Viers, with the former's take on "Bog Dance" coming across like a subaqueous Galcher instrumental. Nice work Spectral Sound!

Review: Mark E has a rich history with Gerd Janson's Running Back label, issuing a series of records over an intermittent period that includes one of the Midlands born producer's most memorable edits in the shape of "Slave 1". After an absence of some three years where Evetts has released a debut LP and started his own label, Black Country Roots signals his return to the Running Back catalogue. Described as "a tribute to the UK's Black Country and an ode to the Industrial Revolution" the four tracks here nonetheless build and bump in a fashion that will please Mark E fans. The way the organ is introduced on lead track "The Kings Heath" is particularly charming, whilst those looking for a dramatic set opener are well served with the self explanatory "SirensFX".

Review: The Bokhari label has stood out thus far with its three releases offering both a diverse approach to the art of deep house and some truly stunning sleeve design. Having provided a remix to the label's first release from Siafu, Mark E makes his full debut for Bokhari with the Crossing Paths 12" which comes with some distinctive What's That Noise? cover art from illustrator Ian Stevenson. If you've been keeping apace with Mark E's recent output on his own Merc label then you'll know what to expect here, with the lead track a bristling slow and intense techno bomb dominated by the producer's smart keyboard interplay. On the flip "R-Type" is a more motorik affair, it's chugging groove constantly ascending through waves of layered synths with a sense of hope.

Review: Mark E has been in fine form of late, remixing everyone from Boys Noize to Mic Newman and returning to last year's excellent debut album Stone Breaker to rework one of its highlights. His Space Dub of "Oranges" works as a neat prelude to the sounds explored here on the ninth release on his own Merc imprint; the same sort of piston-heavy rhythms at play there are driving "Snow Walker" on this 12". Sounding as if Evetts has compressed a forgotten soul classic beneath the weight of the rhythmic textures that lay thick at the core, this is an excellent example of highly pressurised slow techno that still has soul. On the flip, a computerised female vocal adds only a vague hint of humanity to "Environment", a lolloping hunk of industrial machine funk with rusted textures scraping away at a desolate soundscape with worrying rhythmic aplomb. Listening to this makes "RnB Junkie" seem like an all too distant memory.

Review: Yes! We've been eagerly anticipating for Mark E's return to Running Back since the news was announced a couple of months back. The five track Nobody Else EP is the producer's third release on Gerd Janson's always impressive imprint, and kicks off with the rolling tribal drums and cheeky cowbells that adorn the title track. Flip over for "The Wolf", which floats magnificently on the line between disco and house. A siren noise that is submerged deep beneath the rolling groove is soon brought to the fore on the two beatless tracks that round off another superb EP for the Brummie.

Review: Prins Thomas, Mark E, Bulgari and Ultra City all feature on Epic Disco Vol 2, the long overdue return to the twelve inch game from the Rollerboys imprint. Label supremos Ultra City aka Elias & Yourhighness open proceedings in excellent fashion with the resplendent "Delta" a richly rewarding exercise in effervescent Chicago house based around instantly uplifting piano tones and loose cascading Roland 707 patterns - instant dancefloor uplift guaranteed on this one. Merc boss Mark E follows with the deeper sounds of "Walk With Me" utilising a familiar vocal refrain amidst a musical arrangement that pairs subtle elements such as heart warming chords with the more intense synths. Flip over and Prins Thomas introduces a lesson in the art of infinite build via the primal, stripped down 303 jam "Stockholm Express" which has us rather excited for his forthcoming new album. Rollerboys regular Bulgari eases down the tempo to finish with a echo laden electro boogie future classic in the shape of "I Was On".