With the release of the 'Subscribe To The Vibe' album! Britain's top nightclub ABUNDANT showcases a bevy of top dance produces. DJ Coopoid reports.

Marc recalled how the track itself came about. "I played the Cross Rhythms '96 festival and did some things with HOG. This guy there gave me a flyer advertising Redland studios in Bristol and invited me down to do some work with him there. So l hooked up with Dave Drodge and we did the track in a day! I had some chords flying around in my head and had some beats that I've always loved, so we started playing around with it and it became a sort of acid jazz meets trip hop type trancy groove thing. Dave then played a light piano solo thing on top, but we made sure we left enough gaps for the vocals to fit in. as by this time Steve Baker had phoned to say that he was after some tracks for a gospel choir to get involved in. Steve liked what we did, so we sent the track off and Steve Marriot-Johnson put the finishing touches to it.

IKON
Ikon should be a familiar name to sanctified dance fans, with a hot album 'Global Transmission' released last summer by Dbass. Paul Cooper is the man behind the name, and he originally set out to "write quality Christian dance tracks in a techno house style." He is a computer engineer by day, but still manages to keep his fingers in a lot of musical pies.

Paul has recorded tracks for secular dance labels Stress and Jackpot and is planning an ambient album with Phil Brown from Synergy as well as a new Ikon album.

So how about Ikon's "Efflurescence" on 'Subscribe To The Vibe'? Paul told me about the track, "I asked my friend Sue Wallace to write some lyrics for me, but they weren't ready in time. It conveys a bursting into life: the track starts off fairly moody with an ambient feel. It then builds up in tempo as more sounds are added and a happier vibe is created.

"The lyrics were quite poetic, but they got changed in the end. Steve Marriot-Johnson did a good job on them, though they don't tie in with the track that much. Still, that's all part of the game I guess," mused Paul.

On the other hand, it happens to be Steve Marriot-Johnson's favourite track, as he spoke with fond memories about the time spent in the studio. "That day I sat in the studio with Paul, and we wanted to do something completely different from everything else on the album. As we put it together, we really felt the Holy Spirit and were dancing around the studio! It was probably the most special time I've ever had in a studio and I've worked in a lot of studios. I'd love to work with Paul again. The song is about knowing where you are with God - you may have a home here, but you also have a home with God. 'Heaven is my home, no longer will I roam" is a bit of a cheesy lyric, but it's real at the same time."