Hello and welcome to another exclusive PFG Progcast, come with us on our journey around Planet Prog and see where your imagination takes you...

This week Starship PFG takes you back to the UK, and the home of one the country's most respected club brands, with a twist! In line with their recent Engage series, PFG are excited to bring you this, very different take on our podcasts, we're sure you're going to love this. Ladies & Gents... Marcus James!

I was delighted to be asked to contribute to the PFG Progcast so big thanks to the crew for the offer.

My ‘Lowdown In Lockdown’ mix is a 108-112BPM, downbeat trip through a variety of genres. I wanted to do something a bit different for a number of reasons. Firstly, I am very aware there’s a lot of club music out there right now and, in lockdown, it may not be the best environment in which to appreciate it; Secondly, I spend a good chunk of the month listening to 120-125BPM tracks, both for the Sound Of Renaissance, which I compile and mix, and the label, so it was great to be able to step outside of that. Thirdly, the thing that has inspired me most over the recent months was Dave Seaman’s Engage. As you may be aware, we record those Engage’s ahead of time and then add all the post-production, so in the meantime I get to listen to the audio. I go walking a lot these days and I pretty much had that on repeat for days. It’s a really enjoyable listen and, returning to my earlier point, I thought people may appreciate something more accessible they can have on in the background whilst lockdown part 2 continues, certainly for the UK at least. 

It’s a curated mix in so much as I chose the tracks based on merit, not timeline; it’s not a showcase of unreleased material from top flight producers that no one may hear for months either. Much of these downbeat tracks seem to stand the test of time better anyway. For me, the goal was to get the mix to hang together and, despite the varying ages of the tracks, make it sound cohesive. It took a while to come together, but it was fun to work on; I hope people enjoy it as much as I did creating it, Marcus.


Marcus on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/wearecabal

Renaissance Engage #006 - Dave Seaman: https://www.mixcloud.com/Renaissance/renaissance-engage-006-dave-seaman/

TRACKLIST

Pepo Galan - Samoa (Suero Remix) 
YokoO, Fatima Njai - Vulnerable feat. Fatima Njai 
Lisa Gerrard - Come Tenderness (Chris Air’s Lost Sunrise Edit) 
Chistian Löffler - Bergen (Roman Flugel Remix) 
Marc Pinol, John Talabot, Quentin - Rain
Feon - The Light 
Namito - Stone Flower 
Rheinzand - Porque (Scorpio Twins Remix) 
Rapossa - Song of Motley Love (David Hasert Remix)
Elfenberg - Bonobos' (Yawns Are Contagious) 
Grace Jones - Williams' Blood (Greg Wilson Version) 
James Organ - Moons of Gaza
Feon - Gotta Slay
Middle Sky Boom, Eliezer - Sloe With The Run (Paresse Remix) 
Lullabies In The Dark - Song For Marie and Elsie (Aeroplane Remix) 
Róisín Murphy - Something More (Soulwax Remix) 
Raphael, Eliezer - Acid Akko
Die Orangen - Orange Munshine (Mungolian Jet Set Mix) 
Cyence - Osiris
Xaver Naudascher, Paul Mogg, Rosalind Blair - Connections (Ewan Pearson’s Slo NRG Mix)
Mistakes Are Ok - Distress
Men Without Hats - The Safety Dance (Extended Club Mix)

PFG The Progcast - Episode 38 - Marcus James 'Lowdown in Lockdown'

58 year old raver that’s me 🙌🔊🙌
Craig pailing 🙌🙌 jimi falconer 
John digweed Sasha 
It’s 2020 I need a club to go wild in 🤣🙌

Originally from Scotlands coastal East Lothian but now based in Edinburgh . Very broad musical tastes influenced over the years, my parents loved a party, their music definitely influenced me.

I was into early gangsta rap in 90s, then Leftfield,Daft punk etc , whilst working in a kitchen as a teenager in a Saturday, i listened to Pete Tong before finishing work and heading home for the essential mix later! 

Became hooked on clubbing during the early days of prog , 2000 onwards it was every weekend nearly.My love of clubbing and music has never stopped from those days.


Picked up Belt drive turntables before moving to 1210s in 06 and added Pioneers, I still use vinyl but mainly digital nowadays.


Over the years I have played in clubs in Edinburgh at nights such as Beatroot, Karnival. 

Aswell as Edinburgh I have also played at Kinfolk in Williamsburg ,Brooklyn NYC, Cariocas Beach Bar in Greece and also in the glamorous Cote d'Azur areas of St Raphael/Frejus. 

I hit a buffer in 2018 due to family circumstances and it wasn't until 2020 I got back into DJing again. 

I did 2 vinyl live streams during lockdown and afterwards I was Invited to do guest mixes for Online group PFG , I was then asked by Steven Mccreery and Kev Wright to do mixes for Beat 106. In July 2022 I was asked by Belgium/France based station, Xbeat radio to do a mix. I have since done a further 6 mixes for them .

The Pinnacle for me has been playing at the mighty Skyline parties in Glasgow, I was first asked to play at their 2nd Birthday Sudbeat Showcase in May 2024 alongside Graziano Raffa, Marcelo Vasami, Nicolas Rada, GMJ and Matter .

Incredibly I was asked to play again at the Selador records party in September 2024. Dave Seaman and  Steve Parry, alongside Kasey Taylor,Tara Brooks.

I like to try and use music from many different genres and artists. Anything goes ! 

From Ambient sounds to Hip Hop,Jazz,Disco and on to good ol House music with anything else in-between! 

I continue to record guest mixes for stations around Europe and hopefully beyond in the future ,
Thank you for checking out my page and I hope you enjoy my mixes.



Welcome to Il Modo. Supporters of quality underground electronica, specialising in Progressive House and all related genres. Follow us for Exclusive DJ sets from around the world, both weekly and monthly. Plus our monthly radio shows on DIFM & Subcode! 

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PFG The Progcast - Episode 38 - Marcus James 'Lowdown in Lockdown'

IL MODO