Publication:
Sonicnet.com
Article:
Sound Design Vol. 2, Mark Grant-Hometown Champ
Author:
Mike Gwertzman
Reference:
September 18, 2001
Mark Grant has been one
of Chicago’s hometown favorites for years, holding down long-running
Windy City club residencies and working as the in-house producer at
the seminal house label Cajual. His mix for Om Records’ Sound
Design Vol. 2 (following up the first Sound Design disc,
mixed by Los Angeles deep house maestro Marques Wyatt) shows exactly
the kind of knowledge and craftsmanship a DJ needs to become one of
Chi-town’s big dogs. It’s a flawless mix that sees Grant melding a
handful of house flavors into a seamless journey, resulting in one
of the best house mix-CDs released in years.
Grant grabs a listener’s
ears from the get-go, dropping a cappella samples over some serious
funkstrumental house tracks. It’s almost eerie how perfectly the a
cappella from the Artist Formerly Known as Technique’s “Clear”
(1996) fits over the British deep house due Inland Knights’ 2001
track “Feel This Way”, one of the highlights of the disc. Grant
then goes drum-heavy, via obscure disco act Atmosfear’s 1979 track
“Dancing in Outer Space”, remixed by New York’s revered Masters at
Work (Kenny “Dope” Gonzalez and “Little” Louis Vega). Sugar-sweet
Latin tracks and vocal cuts end the set, with Matthias Heilbronn’s
sparkling remix of Dominican superstar Chichi Peralta’s “Un Dia Mas”
standing out.
Grant keeps the energy
high on Sound Design Vol. 2, maintaining a steady, pulsing
thump that invokes images of jam-packed basement parties and sweaty
dance floors. He controls the vibe with dexterity, never letting a
track get too stale or sticking with one sound for too long. It’s
precisely the kind of experienced authority you hear from master
DJs, and should firmly establish Grant as one of the nation’s best
mixologists. |