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Written by psywise
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The master of many genres, best known for his role in Global Communications, is making his way to Hobart.
Mark Pritchard is not someone you would pick out in a crowd. Yet his work, which now spans most of the last two decades, has been celebrated everywhere from Top of the Pops to Fabric. As a callow youth his prescient Reload project was an enormously influential slice of British techno, becoming, fifteen years on, a serious collector’s item. So too, his collaboration as Global Communication spawned the seminal ‘76:14’, regarded as one of the greatest ambient albums of all time. He has flitted purposefully between genres with abandon for his entire career, rarely settling anywhere for long. His work continues to impact like stealth bombs on the dance music timeline, capturing the attention of the most discerning industry heavy-weights, be it Jazzy Jeff extolling Mark’s Harmonic 33 project, Kenny Dope raving about his Troubleman beats or the many tastemaker DJs like Gilles Peterson whose critical support has been a feature of his entire career.
Surprisingly, Global Communication’s ‘76:14’ - now regarded as a classic - initially sold disappointingly. However, shortly after, The Way the Deep (based around a crepuscular Dexter Wansell sample that was coaxed and charmed over several minutes until its hook was finally revealed ) threatened to catapult Global Comms. to international success. It’s considered one of the greatest house records ever made and a fitting tribute to the forebears who inspired it.
It’s said that the Big Chill festival was conceived while listening to the Comms’ 76:14 album, and there are few DJs and producers who have not been touched by Pritchard’s work, from Madlib sampling it, LTJ Bukem caning The Chameleon’s Links at Speed, Charles Webster eulogising Global Communications’ deep house output, Colin Dale’s Abstract Dance worshipping Reload or Richie Hawtin declaring Mark’s ‘Amenity’ by Link one of his favourite tracks of all time, his work has crossed boundaries and changed the way we thought about dance music.
The joy of Pritchard’s career is that you never quite know in which direction he might go next. But it’s never aimless. He’s looking for the route of most resistance. If Mark Pritchard had a family crest above a pair of crossed light sabres the motto would be simple: never assume, always question.
Mark will be playing at The Bay Hotel on Sunday 31st Jan. Entry is free.
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