Under The Influence with Marc “MK” Kinchen

With the new Under The Influence series we hope to gain an insight into the tracks that have shaped producers sound and made them sit up and take notice or made them rethink what they have been doing and go in another direction. We’ll be asking for a selection of tracks that have had a big influence on them and get them to tell us a little about each one.

A festive treat for you to finish off our Under The Influence feature for 2012. We managed to get hold of Marc “MK” Kinchen to ask him about the tunes that have pushed his buttons over the years.

A legend in dance music since he broke onto the scene in the early 90′s he has produced some seminal tracks including a Labs favourite “Burning”.

Remixes galore and too many labels to mention have cemented his place as one of the dons on the electronic music scene. As you may expect he goes in heavily on the old school tip with Chicago, Detroit, London and Baltimore represented.

With a hugely busy schedule he was a man of few words but we were delighted to grab some time from him and as you would expect, the tunes speak for themselves.

St. Etienne – Only Love Can Break Your Heart (Masters At Work Dub)

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I love the chords here, the melody and the vocal sample is just perfect.

Inner City – Good Life

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Reminds me of when I first started out and began working with Kevin Saunderson.

Soul II Soul – Back to Life

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Here once again I love the song, the vocals and production are exceptional. Its a song that signifies a special era in music.

Crystal Waters – Gypsy Woman (Basement Boys Strip to the bone Mix)

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Baltimore’s Spen, Tommy Davis and Karizma aka The Basement Boys did the production here and this track was the inspiration for Burning.

Bucketheads – The Bomb

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Classic beats from the mighty Kenny Dope who was just starting out.

Todd Terry – Samba

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Have to respect Todd Terry aand everything he has done as a producer.

Nightcrawlers – Push The Feeling On

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This is my guilty pleasure but I can get away with playing it because its my record!

Frankie Knuckles – The Whistle Song

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I just love the swing in this song.

Technotronic – Pump Up The Jam

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I was in London the first time I heard this and it was played by David Morales in 89/90.

Jomanda — Got a love for you (Steve Hurley Mix)

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This track inspired me to use horns in my productions.