Mark System – Hits Me In Waves

Mark System isn’t one to rush, and the release of these tunes has been a long time coming. No one’s complaining though — his mastery of balance and contrast is on full display. Throughout, tracks are driven by a hypnotic, rolling repetitiveness derived from techno, but enlivened by a simultaneous funky looseness: the swing of ‘Point Of Reference’, a beat arriving late in ‘Celebration’, synths that shun the grid in ‘On An Island’. The latter juxtaposes the drama of its crashing peaks with moments of pure serenity; the unfathomable, discordant grot of ‘Where’s The Dog’ somehow sits naturally alongside the blissful stargazing ‘Started At The End’. This is tech-soul-jazz sculpted as drum & bass, and it’s the reason why he’s one of the genre’s most highly respected producers.