'Def Radio' by Visioneers

Much has been made about revered classics by James Brown, Curtis Mayfield, Bob James and Isaac Hayes, amongst countless others, serving as sources of inspiration for a range of 90s hip-hop DJs and producers.  Celebrated icons of the genre including Pete Rock, Jay Dee, DJ Premier and Erick Sermon would go on to recontextualise their music and subsequently repackaging them for an all-new generation of music fan. 

Naturally, this conversation dates back to an era of sampling before legislation had come into force so it was understandable for artists to not be thrilled at hearing their music employed in ways that was tantamount to theft; but hip-hop's use of sampling could very much be argued to have given back to artists in ways perhaps people never fully realised.  For devoted fans who had become accustomed to trawling through the inlay cards of albums to pick out names of collaborators and producers of tracks, their path would inevitably lead them to those very architects whose music formed the basis of tracks all of those years later.  For a generation of music fan, hip-hop's greatest gift was the introduction of those aforementioned soul legends but also the introduction to jazz via the works of Roy Ayers, Bobby Hutcherson, Donald Byrd and Ronnie Laws.

Conversely, hip-hop's impact on music post the 1980s and certainly the 1990s has perhaps never truly been quantified either.  As a genre that had reached international acclaim by the 90s' golden era, it had become a style of music and culture that would impact people as individuals whose affections for the genre would become as interwoven within the fabric of their childhood as the films they watched and the video games they played.  Further to that however, for many artists hip-hop would prove to be as impactful an influence on the music they would go on to make in their own right as well, leaving an indelible mark on everything from soul (and the rise of neo-soul), jazz, soul, funk, electronic and even rock music.

'Def Radio', as with past Visioneers releases, taps into those moments of nostalgic bliss as music from A Tribe Called Quest, Gang Starr, The Pharcyde and Method Man would form the backdrop of our teenage years as we fell in love with a genre of music that was still in many ways discovering itself and its own potential.

Through the phenomenal talents of Marc Mac, 'Def Radio' serves as our imaginative portal ushering us back in time to revisit those key and milestone moments of hearing 'Electric Relaxation', 'One Love' or '93 til Infinity' for the first time.  Tracks that have gone on to shape generations of hip-hop fans and creatives for more than thirty years.

As one half of the ground-breaking broken beat and electronic music duo 4 Hero alongside Denis "Dego" McFarlane, Mark "Marc Mac" is in no way a stranger to creating music that has forged its path.  A brand that has generated an obscene amount of music including full-length albums, EPs and remixes, whether together or as individual artists in their own right, the 4 Hero name carries as much weight today as any that could be held up against it.

Mac's cultivation of the Visioneers project as an ongoing series has generated some enthralling reinterpretations of hip-hop classics with 'Def Radio' perhaps standing tall as the definitive benchmark going forward.  

With Marc Mac credited to a full arsenal of instrumentation throughout the album including Rhodes, percussion, bass guitar, sitar, Solina strings, upright bass, Moog, piano and synths, an additional ensemble are recruited to help breath inspired new perspectives into established treasures.  Luke Parkhouse provides stellar accompaniment throughout the album primarily on drums while Carina Andersson soars over sublime soul of 'Hurt So Bad'.

Resisting the temptation to run through the entire track list and spoil the surprises, the album works best when taking the plunge and experiencing those Eureka moments as a part of the 'Def Radio' listening adventure.  It won't come as a spoiler however to site 'Def Radio' as a joyous and sensational record though and one that elevates Marc Mac into an even higher esteem... which we didn't think was even possible.