Always a good day when a new Chicagodamn record arrives ! Postmodern Blues will be a two-record series from the celebrated & illusive UK producer The first volume here features four new cuts fresh out the box ! As ever, we're dealing with a combination of straight up, raw machine funk, built for strobe-lit, sweaty walled basements and warehouses sitting alongside more emotive pieces. Familiar themes indeed, but pulled off with impeccable attention to space and sonics. All killer More

The debut LP from Chicagodamn ! It's been pieced together over the course of a year, since the last, superb and limited edition 'Bizarre Sex' 12 on his own label Since becoming a father to triplets, this incredibly talented producer has, thankfully, managed to make some time for the recording studio too, as the title tells us 'Experiments Must Continue' Gavin McClary's music lies somewhere between the cavernous, pared down sonic delights of producers like Levon Vincent, and the simplistic yet irresistible classic House on labels like Prescription Underground. All executed and pieced together with beautifully produced analog textures, an undeniable ear for hooks & a dash of the gritty UK Techno sound synonymous with his production alias. Whether he's carving up Disco samples or making 4 basic elements do incredible things, his 'sound' is instantly recognisable, and effortlessly effective where it counts. On 'Experiments Must Continue' he pushes and develops his trademark themes into a striking and cohesive collection of modern warehouse jams. Moving from expertly overdriven, rowdy pieces like 'Sleep Deprived' and 'Acid Tool', to those ever present, stripped back grooves on the mesmerising 'Strawberries & Kream' & 'Experiments' And don't get us started on the deadly 'Agitated' as distinctive and powerful a club jam as you're likely to hear all year ! A stunning collection then Available as a limited Edition (500 copies) Double vinyl package Housed in shrinkwrapped manilla sleeves, with cover sticker & unique download codes More

The latest EP from Chicagodamn. Affirming once again why he's at the very top of his game. 3 more unique, live take MPC jams that will destroy and delight in equal measure. From the dislocated Funk of Pleasurer, to the futuristic House sound of Temporary Transgression via the powerhouse slammer that is Let Your Body Rule. All killer More

CHICAGODAMN arrived on the scene with an instant classic on MARK E's MERC label Following this was the stunning debut on his own label, as well as acclaimed releases on the excellent Wolf Music & Claremont65 offshoot Sixtyfive. So here we have the eagerly awaited follow up, strobelit futuristic warehouse tackle once again, shot through with the enduring spirit of first-wave Detroit Techno and the pared down pulse of Chicago. ATTJOH kicks things off with a beautifully realised lesson in dancefloor dynamism and mood, simplistically constructed for maximum impact in the right hands. On the flip JOH is another heady concotion of intoxicating atmospherics and spikes of acid bubbling up through the sonic stew, with the mood drenched finalé TIME WAITS FOR NO MAN wrapping up another classic EP More

After a short hiatus the ever-dependable Mark E returns to his own Merc label with three new tracks in his own inimitable style
Displaying a depth and flair for aural innovation like no other, Mark plots a course through a heady trio of beautifully constructed machine-funk jams. 'Twilight Fade' leads us seductively into a slowly unfurling Sound Signature style voyage through the soulful circuits. 'Quarttz' is a super deep, all enveloping synth-led workout, while 'First Thing' on the B, stretches a few simple ingredients into a sonic banquet of heady dancefloor bliss.
This one's super limited folks, so we encourage panic buying ! More

MERC return with the latest instalment in their celebrated E-Versions series. No. 8 is classic Mark E business, proven king, as he is, of the 'slow-burner' 'Train Tunnel' is a beautifully unhurried deconstruction of a Jazz classic, upright bass, piano flourishes and horns picked fresh from the speakeasy and popped in the slow-cooker for a deeper, mesmerising flavour On the flip 'Give It Time' is a glorious celestial and atmospheric workout, which - as the title would suggest - implores you to ignore the demands of accelerated culture and pace your journey to dancefloor nirvana accordingly. Merc to the future ! More

MERC is very proud to welcome Mark Seven as guest editor on E-Versions 7. It took a long time, a lot of telephone conversations, a lot of pleading, digging, sweat and tears to simply find out what TONY'S SLICE was after hearing it on Mark's Parkway Mastermix. Turns out its MKVIIs attempt at recreating a live mix by Tony Humphries he heard on Kiss cutting 2 copies of the phone conversation back and forward forever. With EV#7 looming we knew this would be a perfect opportunity to have a guest on the series, so we persisted and broke him down and he finally gave in to the pressure. In addition to TONYS SLICE, MKVII has turned in a superb acid work out in the form of CASE STUDY 9. "I WANT TO KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY PLANS FOR THIS WEEKEND" More

Merc return with the second in the next phase of E-Versions ! As ever, MARK E's best selling and precision club jams project delivers big things for discerning dancers Here we have a reload of easily one of Mark's finest moments. The Womack & Womack rework which made his name, certainly with the likes of Giles Peterson introducing a bright new star to a wider audience appears again here for the first time since its original release back in 2005. A bona fide classic !
Plastic People has never been available on vinyl (only as a bonus cut on his 2010 'Works' CD Comp) So it's a fitting addition to this majestic platter ! More

Merc return with the first in the next phase of E-Versions ! As ever, MARK E's best selling and precision club jams project delivers big things for discerning dancers We've witnessed first-hand the damage that A Side cut 'Horn Jam' visits on a sweaty dancefloor, with its insistent frug and layers of rising synths - a hypnotic bomb as only Mark can deliver On the flip Sanctified makes a meal out of a killer soul sample, working the arrangement into waves of subtle frenzy
A masterclass, as ever. Merc to the future ! More

Mark E makes a rapid return after the hugely successful E-Versions series, we now embark E-Work ! While E-Versions celebrated the full, dazzling shimmer of the Disco ball lit dancefloor, E-Work turns down the lights, and turns up the system for some pared down sonic sorcery Mark channels his years of experience, digging, DJing and producing to distill the essence of the Chicago House blueprint & divert into an altogether more 21st century destination
Emotive, muscular machine jams then, in Vocal and Instrumental versions Let's Work ! More

Number four in this much loved series & proof, if proof were needed that no one flips a track like Mark E ! Two more overlooked and underplayed staples get the E-Versions treatment, weaving an extended and irresistible groove that's tailor made to cause trouble One press - vinyl only More

Two unreleased edits emerge from Mark E's Merc label starting the E-version series. Kahn turns a classic disco track into an expertly extended, peak-time puncher adding percussion and persistent loops. While Mingo stretches a drum laden ethnicity around its Techno foundations. Already being played by Gilles Peterson, Daniel Avery & Dixon. More

Mark E's collaborative PROJECT E series continues with the follow up to the excellent Megacity EP. On this 12, Mark teams up with Keyboardist Nat Woodcock & vocalist Greg Bird to piece together another excellent EP, combining the influences from both producers ranging through 80's synth pop, classical avant garde, Italo disco & detroit techno. A departure from previous MERC releases which have relied on sample heavy driven deep house, PROJECT E holds tight to the deep house direction but takes it into distinctive cosmic territory.
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Project E is Mark E's first collaboration since his Good Times release on Prins Thomas' Internasjonal label some 4 years ago with "Dragon" This time Mark teams up with Keyboardist Nat Woodcock. The result of this can be heard on the "MEGACITY" EP . A 3 track 12" combining the influences from both producers ranging through 80's synth pop, classical avant garde, Italo disco & detroit techno. A departure from previous MERC releases which have relied on sample heavy driven deep house, PROJECT E holds tight to the deep house direction but takes it into strange cosmic territory. The Megacity EP is the first in a series of releases due over the coming months. More

The artist formerly known as Edward returns to Merc for his second release. "Burning" burrows a deep distorted bongo led, deep disco march into you head for a day, topped with dramatic stabs keeping it other worldly. On the B-Side " Counterfeit Paradise " highlights the plight of South America's Rain forests with a Mark E deep house interpretation. More

Referencing his formative years spent listening to Prince and The Egyptian Lover and filtered via the deeper side of Detroit - the result is irrepressible machine funk.'. More

MERC 009 sees another Mark E 2 tracker with SNOW WALKER & ENVIRONMENT. Snow walker combines an uptempo relentless percussive hard nosed rolling drum rhythm, running parallel with shimmering disco lights, synth blobs and a messed up yeti vocal nag, nestling comfortably somewhere between the black country and the black forest. Environment however pushes itself all deepness and glory with electronic female vox, looping sub bass boogie and a slow Sasquatch techno sensibility. More

Merc Music proudly presents new Artist "Edward", a new light emerging from the Black Country underground. Having passed Mark E a CD full of left field house music Maxa & Naxa finally make their way onto vinyl with Merc. Here lies deep distorted driving 4/4 beats and looped disco monotony, following in the vein of previous Merc releases this pushes the sound even further. More