Back when the first white labels started floating through the hands of German, British, American and Canadian DJs in late ’84, nobody was ready for what was coming. The official drop hit in early ’85 and the scene was never the same again. This was the moment Mike Mareen broke through the static. Yeah, he’d been working with Chris Evans-Ironside since the ’70s but nothing hinted that together they’d channel something this futuristic. “Dancing In The Dark” sounded like it had slipped through a wormhole: melancholic, hypnotic vocals wrapped in vocoder haze, riding an arrangement so razor-sharp it made most releases of the era feel prehistoric. It didn’t need the pop charts… It owned the clubs. And the clubs listened.

London. Berlin. Madrid. Rome. Paris. Lisbon. Amsterdam. Athens. Toronto. NYC. Tokyo. Mexico City.
One drop of that electro bassline and DJs were hooked. Crowds were hooked. The whole underground was hooked. Soon Europe’s radio charts caved under its pressure, and the track crossed borders on mixtapes, becoming a cult anthem behind the Iron Curtain. It was everywhere, even where it technically wasn’t allowed to be.

Fast-forward four decades and the spell hasn’t faded. “Dancing In The Dark” still shows up in indie dance, italo wave, house and deep house sets. Producers keep re-editing it like it’s sacred material. It’s one of those tracks that DJs treasure, a timeless weapon, one of the top three defining singles of Mareen’s entire career.

And now for the 40th anniversary of its official release, Vintage Pleasure Boutique and Night’n Day Records drop the vinyl every collector and selector has been waiting for: a special reissue loaded with four brand-new remixes spanning the full spectrum of today’s underground indie/disco/italo/house energy.

Tallac - the American Berlin dweller - dives deep into the hypnotic soul of the original, pulling out its buried deep-house DNA and carving out a spacious, emotional roller.
Luksek, Italian producer & DJ, goes raw and dirty: loop-driven, gritty, underground, hypnotic, the kind of edit that eats dancefloors alive.

Flemming Dalum, the Danish Italo grandmaster, finally gets to remix the track he’d always dreamed of touching and of course it’s pure Flemingish electro-italo magic.
And the Polish sparkle: A.P. Mono delivers a shimmering mix of italo disco, glitterbox groove, disco glamour and synthwave glow, all while keeping the spirit of Mareen’s original heartbeat intact.
 
The wax also features two historical heavy-hitters: the 1985 Jens Lissat’s team remix and Luis Rodriguez’s original arrangement, essential cuts in the Mareen universe.

Mike Mareen - Dancing In The Dark (Tallac Remix)

tächno deal

Damon Jee, Bonnie Spacey -  Don't (Original Mix)

Stopped by @operator-radio whilst in Rotterdam last week. Was a super hot day so decided to throw down some UK Garage for the first time in a long time. Lock down your aerial!

Running Hot UKG Special @ Operator - 7th August 2020

we're pumped to have @rhythm_sister's @livayers join us in the studio for our latest adventure in paradise on netil radio! had this b2b in the books for awhile and it didn't disappoint as we swapped an eclectic mix of downtempo grooves and tasting notes on canned G&Ts.

join us every third Friday of the month for another Adventure In Paradise!

Adventures In Paradise with Manuel Darquart & Liv Ayers

louis goes solo in the box for two hours of jazzy house heaters, nu-italo chugg-o-nauts and a bunch of big dirty stinkin' beats. NOICE

join us every third friday of the month for another Adventure In Paradise!

Adventures In Paradise with Manuel Darquart

This month with special guest Joe Morris https://soundcloud.com/joemorris

Monthly on a Saturday night (Sydney time) 2200 - 0100 www.orbital-radio.com

Records to make your bits jiggle and your butt wiggle.

Join me, Dick Cosmic and friends for Dick Picks. Picking some of the finest guests picking some of the finest cuts from our collections. Not exclusive to any genre but expect quality underground house and electronica from across the decades, from around the globe.

Blaze - Lovelee Dae (20:20 Vision acapella)
Sunshine Jones - Fall In Love Not in Line (DJ Spun's Dub)
Sian -Sei (Steve Bug Remix)
Pépé Bradock - Vermeille
Soichi Terada - Low Tension (Utopian Mix)
Sasha - A Key To Heaven For A Heavenly Trance (Night Dubbing Mix)
DSK - What Would We Do (Eight Minutes Of Madness mix)
Photon Inc - Generate Power (Instrumental)
Todd Terry - Bounce To The Beat (Remix) 
Kerri Chandler - Bar A Thym (Original Mix)
Thompson Twins - The Saint (Red Zone Dub) 
King Cosmic - Secezayzay (Claude's Sweet Dreams Mix)
Kink & Neville Watson - Blueprint - Original Mix
Spirit Catcher - Voodoo Knight (Catz 'n Dogz Dub Mix)
Alejandro Paz - El House
DJ T-1000 - Dream Is Alive
Dow Jones - Just A Techno Groove (JM Edit)
Frank De Wulf - The Tape (Original Mix)
Paperclip People - Throw (Slam's RTM Remix)
Kassian - 8th Movement
Matthias Meyer - Infinity
The Martinez Brothers - No Pop feat. Filsonik (Mathew Jonson's CS-60 Remix)
Axel Boman - Chestnut Heartsprite
Two Full Minds - Acoustic Dustbin
Rhauder - Acid Jam (JM'S TH Edit)
Hardfloor - 2 Guys 3 Boxes
Silicone Soul - Chic-O-Laa (H-foundation Mix)
Lemmon Grass aka Scott Featherstone Barly Rd
JT Company - Don't Deal With Us (Dusky Edit (Extended Mix))
Lovebeads feat Courtney Grey - This is the only way (Ambient Junior Style) 
Leftfield - Dub of Life
Tomas Malo - Not Beaten Yet

Dick Picks Show 4 - with special guest - Joe Morris - Broadcast 21/11/20

Joel was a mutual friend who I have encounted many times throughout the years be it on the dusty dancefloor or a sweaty club.

He shares a genunie passion for music, a real spice of life and genuine good guy.

This mix is such a pleasure to share, I really enjoyed hearing his perspective of the ~Balearic~ sound.

He has been running underground parties and a mix series under the Midnight Boil collective over the past few years.

Keep your eyes peeled in the near future for some collaboration.

Whilst you're here, check out his soundcloud and intagram below.
@user-759848323
instagram.com/jiu_si_boi/

BSS#16: Live From The Fruit Bowl - Jiu Si Boi

Live recording at Radio Tempo Não Pára (05.12.2020)

Artist: @sentinelislanddisco

Sentinel Island Disco @ Radio TNP 05.12.2020

A mix of 24 tunes selected by 13 friends in 1 very shit year. 

It's the HT ANNUAL 2020.

HT ANNUAL 2020

Joe Morris provided languid breaks, new age ambience, and deep sonics for the full two hours with Shades of Sound. Inside - sounds from Roza Terenzi, Shadow Child, Varhat, and more.

Shades of Sound w/ Joe Morris - January 2021

bookings: simon@thefinaagency.com
contact: manueldarquart@gmail.com