Troubleman also known as Mark Pritchard was born in Crewkerne in 1971, Mark’s a true West Country boy. He’s also the author of classics across a bewildering array of styles, and he’s gained respect and admiration from a committed fan-base, critics, as well as fellow musicians. Whatever the genre, Mark's work has always been characterised by his ability to give the music more room to get funky, and produce deeply emotional but twisted sounds - guaranteed to get your groove on! His productions across multiple genres turned 90s electronic music on its head.
Mark was irresistibly drawn towards music, from early beginnings in Woolworth's “when I was 5 my mum used to take me to the record store and buy me a 7” every week” and a momentous decision to sell the guitar that his dad had bought him – to be able to afford more bits of electronic production kit, of course.
His unbelievably diverse discography stems from his equally remarkably wide musical taste. From a 12 year old dabbling in ska and 2 tone, to his early teenage years in the company of rock and indie from the Pixies to Black Sabbath, and then into the clubs with the music of Carl Craig and Mr Fingers, “I’ve always checked all styles for inspiration.”
In the clubs of Bournemouth he found like-minded West Country people in Tom Middleton and Richard James (Aphex Twin) through the mutual love of the early sounds of Detroit techno and Chicago house. He met Tom at one of his early DJ gigs, “Went back to his house afterwards, and he played me loads of as yet unheard-out-of-Cornwall Aphex Twin tracks, and they blew me away.” Having found in his indie stage that he couldn’t find enough people to form a band, he set about starting his own label and making his own music…
With inspiration from Carl Craig (the label was named after one of his tracks) Mark and Tom set up the seminal Evolution label in 1991, dedicated to pioneering techno and electronica, trying to reproduce that “soulful and futuristic” sound of the Detroit revolutionaries. The label encouraged a high level of experimentation with its uncompromising stance, also releasing early work from fellow innovators Matthew Herbert and Danny Breaks. The combination produced some amazing music but was fiercely non-commercial in its approach, which ultimately led to its demise. An acclaimed label compilation was released on Warp in 1996. (If you spot any of the original Evolution releases on EBay though, they’re pretty collectible.)
In 1992 Mark embarked on the now-legendary Global Communication (again alongside Tom Middleton) – a “more ambient and melodic” project making music with the emotional soundscapes that became a signature of their work. Highly challenging but beautiful, the project took electronic music to another level, and introduced them to a whole new audience and won massive critical acclaim: 'best ambient album of the decade' (The Guardian). The first album was a remix project for indie band Chapterhouse in 1994, followed in 1996 by ‘76:14’ – which “has gone down as a bit of a classic”
At the same time, Mark was working on a project called Reload for Creation, a hugely experimental imaginary soundtrack - ‘A Collection of Short Stories’ was released in 1993. Reload was produced using rather novel methods, including recordings of factory noises refracted through Mark’s studio electronic wizardry. It also included Mark’s school friend Dom Fripp’s spoken word stories, as he happened to be hanging out in the studio while it was being recorded... Steve Beckett from Warp Records loved the LP (it’s still one of his favourites), and a Pritchard-Middleton Link-E621 12" was released on the label.
From some of the deepest and most beautiful ambient music of the decade with the Reload and Global Communication albums, Mark and Tom took the opportunity to show their range in 1996 with the cartoon electro-breaks project The Jedi Knights. As Mark says, “Club music at the time had become very serious, so we decided to bring back the funk,” and they became the first producers to mix Star Wars into George Clinton’s Funkadelic. The Jedi Knights ripped up 1996 with their no-messing heavy beats and bass lines, combined with an inimitable funkiness. They incorporated elements of hip-hop and electro, giving them a distinctive and instantly recognisable sound, and reinvigorating an entire genre in the process, and always containing that vital dose of humour.
The Jedi Knights also betrayed Mark’s “new hobby” in space discovery and science fiction, continued with hip-hop pseudonym Harmonic 33 – it’s named after the frequency produced by planets turning on their axes, with which it’s believed aliens use to navigate the universe.
After the demise of the Jedi concept (a presumably jealous George Lucas threatened to sue) came Mark’s classic ‘Link’ 12” by the Chameleon for Good Looking records (“a jazz-funk inspired drum and bass track, with a Ferris Bueller’s Day Off sample”), which became a definitive anthem at LTJ Bukem and Fabio’s infamous Speed club night from its release in 1996.
Mark spent 1998 producing Kirsty Hawkshaw’s solo debut album (singer for Opus 3, a rave act who had an early 90s number one single with ‘Fine Day’), and in 1999 began a collaboration with former Kula Shaker front man Crispian Mills. This hasn’t led to an album release just yet, but has given Mark the opportunity to upstage Robbie Williams on tour, playing as his support alongside Crispian and Portishead’s drummer Clive Deamer. He’s also been working on hip hop, drum and bass, and more…
As their reputation grew in the 90s, Mark and Tom picked up remix work together, producing astonishing reinterpretations of Lamb, Azymuth and Warp 69. Meanwhile, Mark developed his own sound, which can be heard on remixes for the Orb, Stereo People, Cosmos, KRS-1, and A Tribe Called Quest, which have all become underground classics.
This selection of remixes has led naturally to Mark’s current projects, “Taking inspiration from electro and funk and from what Kenny Dope does” and leading spectacularly to the Troubleman, LP – the mid-tempo project that he’s been itching to do. Mark says: “most of the house I was hearing didn’t sound as good as the original stuff,” so he’s concentrating on the Brazilian-tinged electronic funk that’s Troubleman – with a long-standing relationship with Far Out Recordings and a penchant for the sounds of Brazil, Mark has developed an exciting new sound.
Mark’s production philosophy is pretty simple: “I suppose I’m quite purist when it boils down to it. When I do a hip hop track I want it to sound like a hip hop track, not trip hop or something like that. Of course I want to try to put my own take on it but the fundamentals I try to get correct.” His obsessive attention to detail “can seem tedious to a lot of people but from my experience that extra effort can be make or break on a track. For example I probably spent a week just on the drum editing on ‘Strikehard.’ then probably another full week on the rest of the track.”
With tracks inspired by the psychedelic soul of Dorothy Ashby and David Axelrod (‘Lonely Girl’ and ‘The Righteous Path’), the afrobeat of Fela Kuti (‘Strikehard’), and featuring nu-school soul stars Steve Spacek and Eska (‘Without You’ and ‘Roll On’), as well as including a couple up-to-the-minute underground club classics, ‘Time Out Of Mind’ brings together all Mark’s influences.
Discography
Time Out Of Mind (Extended Version) – 2007 (Far Out Recordings)
The First Phase – 2005 (Far Out Recordings)
Time Out Of Mind – 2004 (Far Out Recordings)
