Move Your Soul/The Electrician

By: MRK1
Label: Contagious
Written by: Matty O
Rating: 7/10


Smothered in trademark atmospheric stealth and slither, Move Your Soul has MRK1 making fanfares for imperial squadrons, and intercepting vintage female dance vocals in a hostage situation as he darts in and out of another of his chrome mazes. Remember when Peter Griffin from Family Guy is granted the wish of having his own theme music wherever he goes? MRK1 can conceivably pop round the newsagents to the sound of ominous intergalactic friction. Taken from the forthcoming potential lip-smacker Sound of Contagious album out soon, it stands in the gap between dubstep and electronica at its surliest, moving to an easy-to-follow path so that the mass of the situation becomes hard to take on the chin. In other words, it may move freely, but it still casts a serious shadow.

Another album preview is The Electrician, which takes the rewiring of plugs to industrially draconian lengths. Synths are programmed to kick you both in the guts and your fillings as MRK1 walks the plank of spinning blades with a crystal finish, operated by a black-hearted Speak n Spell. Dubstep’s jackhammer blur of beats are dodged for a firm putting down of his foot while making the traditional aspect of dub stand out. It’s the sound of an extreme version of LaserQuest: complete with pinging crossfire across the bass wastelands, the power-packs are taking the weight of a real ready-to-go arsenal.