Ministry of Sound’s ‘Sessions’, one of the world’s foremost DJ compilation series has hosted dance music heavyweights such as Derrick Carter, Dj Sneak and Josh Wink. This time it’s the turn of tech-funk-breaks legend Meat Katie to take the controls and command the latest instalment from the MOS. Meat Katie’s ‘Sessions’ comes as a two CD package with CD1 taking a journey into the deep and dirty underbelly of techno and tech-inspired house. Such luminaries as Locodice, Martin Buttrich & Dubfire rub shoulders with contemporaries like Andomat 3000, Worthy & Martin Eyerer to provide a mix with depth and quality that shines from beginning to end. This is an insight into the afterhours mind of Meat Katie, a selection that says as much about his wide ranging love of electronic music as his Dj’ing style. To those who may have misguidedly thought of Meat Katie as a straight up tech breaks Dj, this is a wake up call as the man shows that dance music doesn’t need to live in the pigeon holes it is often saddled with. The effortless flow and movement in this mix conjures up classic Laurent Garnier, Sven Vath or other such genre-defying DJs and demonstrates Meat Katie’s confidence and technical ability alongside his grass roots understanding of what works in the mix. In Mark’s own words ‘this compilation is about my influences as a dj and producer. I think it really comes to light on disc one with the likes of jazz and techno mashed together in places! At certain moments it even becomes quite soulful!’ Whilst still retaining the musical diversity that has almost become his trademark CD2 takes things into the more familiar territory of Meat Katie’s live sets. Dirty, rolling breaks get spliced with tough 4/4 rhythms to create a rollercoaster ride with a very clear intent of creating dancefloor devastation. Tracks from Lutzenkirchen, Lee Coombs, Felix Da Housecat and Meat Katie himself twist together into a roof raising affair that flows perfectly and gives a real insight into Mark’s energetic performances. Mark himself even says, ‘well, disc two is me ‘heads down’ and focused on nothing but the floor’ The Meat Katie Sessions album will go on a worldwide tour encompassing Australia, the Far East, Canada, USA & Russia as well as select dates on home turf. With a history of compiling outstanding DJ mixes for some of the biggest names in dance music such as Fabric Live and Bedrock it seems that Meat Katie may have reach a new high with what is almost certainly his most impressive and adventurous album to date.
5 Out Of 5
Reviewed By: Martin Madigan
