Get Up Recordings continues to establish itself as purveyors of fine underground house music with the Plan B EP from veteran UK DJ and producer Lil’ Mark. The release contains two original tracks, “Blue” and “Bipolar”, each with accompanying remixes from Justin Harris and House of Stank.
Lil’ Mark is no stranger to Get Up Recordings, having remixed Alinka’s track “Reaching’’ for her Basic EP earlier this year. On Plan B, he is back in action with his signature pumping deep house and smooth production work. A taste of the Chicago house sound can be heard here as Mark has a deep connection with the city after living and touring with Derrick Carter in 1997. Mark’s bumpin’ style can also be heard on releases from Classic Music Co., MFF, Bump, Viva Recordings, and Hot Waves.
On the first track, “Blue”, Lil’ Mark’s tech house groove is catchy in the way that the melody becomes the hummable ‘lyrics’ while the bass and beat provide the backbone. The remix for this track comes from none other than the amazing Justin Harris. The two have been working on projects together for some time now with collaborations on labels such as Viva Recordings and Pin Up Recordings. Like Lil’ Mark, Justin has an illustrious history in the UK house scene, both as a producer and as a DJ. His most renowned work has been with Luke Solomon for the past 17 years on the Freaks projects, with releases on Perlon, Playhouse, International Deejay Gigolo, Hot Creations, Crosstown Rebels, and of course, the legendary Music For Freaks (MFF) and Classic Recordings. Here he takes “Blue” deeper, adding a disco sample that builds up and then takes it back down even further into the depths of smoothness.
The second track, “Bipolar”, is a bit more of a freeform, fun, and trippy tech house jam. As with “Blue”, one can hear his mastery of orchestration and how he uses bleeps and turns them into swinging grooves to accompany the bass and melody. Get Up Recordings label owners Christy Love and W. Jeremy, a.k.a. House of Stank, give “Bipolar” their quality remix formula: one part drums, one part melody, and one part bass that equal all energy. They take Lil’ Mark’s bass line and make it the melody, and they take his melody and make it the bass line, resulting in a track that -- while still in the same vein as the original -- is unique enough to stand on its own.
Mark Farina - “Hot!”
DJ Sneak - “Nice EP … solid all around.”
DJ Heather - “As per usual, great stuff from Lil' Mark. Great remixes as well!”
Johnny Fiasco - "I dig it!"
Giom - “The Justin Harris remix is the one for me.”
Christian Martin (Dirtybird / Anabatic) - “'Blue' is so badass.”
Larry Fives (Inland Knights / Drop Music) - “All round goodness.”
Matt Prehn (Oh So Coy / Large Music) - “All about Justin Harris’ version on this one - hypnotica at its finest!”
Carlos Sanchez (La Vie En Rose / Supernature) - “The ‘Blue’ original and Justin Harris remix are dope!”
Alinka (Classic Music Co. / Tribal) - “Love the whole release, great work!”
Randall Jones (Audio Therapy / Baroque) - “Sick tunes right here ... quality as usual.”
Alvaro Hylander (DeepWit Recordings) - “Both versions of ‘Blue’ are fantastic! Lovely groove on the original mix and Justin Harris squares it pretty good too.”
Marcia Carr (Mi-Soul Radio / Ladyz) - “I like the mix of analogue keys with funky effects over the bass line on 'Bipolar' - that House of Stank remix is a corker, it will keep the floors a-movin’.”
Chris Harris (Tronicsole / Nordic Trax) - “Loving the two original mixes ... quality house music from Lil' Mark!”
Tee Cardaci (Low Down Grooves / Sine Qua Non) - "I can hear Chicago from across the pond …solid!"
DJ P-Rez (Not So Fast Records) - “Loving the little 303 line in the House of Stank remix of ‘Bipolar.’”
Michael Stukes (WHR 90.3FM, New York) - “Too funky in here!”
Sam Hopkins (AccuRadio, Chicago) - “Both originals are stellar, but the remixes shine! Justin Harris' mix adds some nice bass weight and the House of Stank mix of ‘Bipolar’ does the same.”
Available now from Beatport and Juno Download.