Mark Pritchard

A shared love of Detroit techno and Chicago house saw Mark Pritchard and Tom Middleton join forces to record together in the early nineties. Pritchard's debut solo album as Reload and his eponymous collaboration with Middleton as Global Communication cemented their respective reputations as producers of considerable merit, with the former a majestically disturbing slice of post-techno futurism while the orchestral beauty of the latter effectively defined ambient music for the acid house generation. The establishment of the Evolution imprint drew the attention of Warp, whose collation of the labels singles was released in 1995 to considerable acclaim. A second label, Universal Language, focused on beats and bass with the pairs Jedi Knights project at the forefront of the re-emergence of electro with the 1996 full length New School Science — the use of the moniker prompting a rumoured phone call from a deeply unhappy George Lucas. As well as honing their skills as remixers, a single as Link found itself reworked and rebadged for LTJ Bukem's Good Looking. As Middleton leaned more towards chill out and deep house, so Pritchard's recordings pushed the envelope of breakbeat music, recording as Use Of Weapons for Droppin Science in addition to working with accomplished label manager Danny Breaks as Vertigo. 2001 saw the emergence of two new projects, Harmonic 33 broadcasting a fusion of b-movie cinematica with hip hop skits for Science spin off Alphabet Zoo, while Troubleman enjoyed a plethora of success with latin funk for Far Out Recordings.