Message from Soulville

Half of the veteran electronic group 4hero, Marc Mac has been putting out records since the early '90s. Hailing from Northwest London, he was a key player in the early drum and bass and breakbeat scenes, and his influence can be heard on countless other artists who followed in his head-nodding footsteps. In recent years he's been producing mostly instrumental projects that take listeners back to the '60s civil rights era, pairing loop-driven midtempo beats with samples from period newsreels, speeches, and the like. Following up It's Right to Be Civil and Extend the Knowledge, Message from Soulville focuses on the black experience in Vietnam, where recently drafted infantry soldiers fought and died overseas for a type of freedom that was slow in coming to them back home. The tracks are short but sweet, instantly likable mini-jams mostly clocking in at less than three minutes but loaded with layered slabs of funk and soul. It's ideal for fans of Madlib's work with DOOM and Quas, or Dilla's beloved Donuts album.