A few months back we introduced you to Mark England, a 52 year old producer from Wakefield in the UK. Mark developed a passion for music at an early age but never followed it up, due to life’s unpredictable eventualities. However, due to the pandemic and subsequent lockdown, the fulltime IT professional found the time to put his passion to task. Mark is now back with his eighth, and brand new single, “Take Me Away”, which drops officially on the 14th of June.
“Following on from previous successes I wanted to produce something uplifting and catchy with a sound that paid homage to the 90s Acid house music scene,” explained Mark England. “This track is heavily influenced by the likes of Black Box, Snap and The Shamen to name just a few. I’ve tried to recreate the acid house’s minimalist production aesthetic and house music’s four-on-the-floor beat with minimal vocals to get that unmistakable 90s sound” he continued.
“I had great fun producing this single, it evoked so many memories for me, and from a technical point of view I found myself learning new techniques which I feel give it that authentic sound I was looking for,” concluded Mark. The end of the ‘80s and the beginning of the ‘90s was a magical time for many things, including the love of house music. Although it got its start in the early ‘80s, it wasn’t until the tail end of the decade and more importantly, the dawn of the ‘90s that house music took its rightful place at the top of the charts.
It was a time that the sounds of the influences Mark mentions for “Take Me Away”, thoroughly flourished. Now Mark grabs the key elements from those sounds and rhythms, and loads them straight into his latest single. Four on the floor kick drums, swinging hi-hats, soaring gospel-styled vocals, bouncy piano chord progressions, and funk-inflected bass lines are all integral to the unique identity of the genre, and “Take Me Away”.
Once you get the basic house formula down, it’s not too difficult to replicate, but it’s the subtleties and qualities in the details that make certain tracks like “Take Me Away” stand out. It is a well-known fact that house music’s thumping beats, drum machines, pianos and powerhouse voices all draw on influences indebted to disco, gospel, and R&B et al. And Mark England manipulates these classic sounds with almost unparalleled authenticity in 2021.
Mark England also understands that although glossy production and danceability can be vital assets in this particular style of music, it’s the gutsy, heartfelt vocals that make the best beats stand out above the rest. As such, Mark has engaged a full-throated diva, who belts out the anthemic melody with candid vigor, lifting “Take Me Away” into the upper echelons of the genre’s most iconic offerings.
Mark England may have arrived to the table later than others, but he is perfectly positioned and fully equipped to devour the enormous amount or delicacies at the musical banquet, and regurgitating them into sounds that are even more appetizing.
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