First things first: Yes, Mark E, the man who helped creating the big Edit-thing of the previous years and who kept finding himself on top of the genre through constant adaptation has stopped doing the Edits. And yes, that’s something to bemoan. However, if one agrees to give his album-debut Stone Breaker on Spectral Sound a listen, the potential skepticism will turn into sudden euphoria when being confronted with a convincingly strong album. Why is that? There are two possible resolutions: Firstly, Mark E converts his feeling for arrangements (which was already outstanding with the Edits) onto dry, straightforward, mid-tempo house tracks. Layer by layer, he arranges the components in wild-pitch-style, he carefully creates groove by groove only to dissolve them eventually in an ecstatic climax. That’s old school in its best meaning. Secondly, Mark E doesn’t make a secret out of his role models, who are always present in his DJ-Sets but are also well manifested in Stone Breaker’s sound. Warm New York basses by Bobby Konders meet Chicago’s rimshots, dark effect-loops remind the listener of the early works of Felix the Housecat. Eventually, Mark E demonstrates with Quatro which significance Mister Nathaniel »DJ Pierre« Jones had for his own development. The man knows of the story of House Music. With Stone Breaker, he writes his own chapter to it.
Stone Breaker
