When writing about the mix work of Marcus B, I have to restrain myself from descending into gratuitous use of superlatives, because to me the man's work stands as some of the finest ever created.

Quite simply, Marcus B helped define the mixtape as an artform in its own right. His tapes most notably Sunshine Ambassador and Scatterbrain helped blur the lines between a mix being a selection of other peoples work and a creative work in its own right. He even coined his own term for his work: Concept Pieces. Ask any mixtape heads about seminal mix works and theyll mention shit like Mr Dibbs Turntable Scientifics, Q-Berts Demolition Pumpkin Squeeze Music and Signifys Mixed Messages. Only the real true heads knew about Marcus B and his contribution though, as he remained the most slept on of the 1200 Hobos. These werent mixtapes; they were so much more. In fact they were a precursor to the likes of Kid Koala, who fused the mixtape aesthetic with his own ideas to create albums like Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Back when these mixes first dropped, it wasnt uncommon to hear the word Shadow used, as Marcuss work shares that same element of introspection coupled with ultra nice beats.

So, for your listening ears I'm delighted to present "Sunshine Ambassador", arguably Marcus's best work (and certainly his personal favourite, I believe). Customarily introspective, this is a truly affecting mix; a creative work that is beautiful, eclectic, original and downright inspired in its range and feel. Arrogantly I'd consider myself not bad at mixing, but when I hear this I feel I've got a long, long way to go...

Enjoy what I've been enjoying continually for some 8 years now.

Trick

Footnote: It took me 6 years to track Marcus B down, having sworn to find the guy and possibly attempt to reissue these mixes so people could realise what they'd missed. In 2007, Marcus is throwing down some mean guitar in a band called Sir Splendid - sonically a fair distance from this mix work, but excellent nonetheless. Until I got in touch, I think Marcus had long since consigned his previous adventures as a seminal DJ and producer to history. I'm delighted to say though, that in the conversations that followed my initial contact Marcus is not only writing and performing with Sir Splendid, but back on the beats trail. So, we've not heard the last of this lost legend - and I've never been happier.

Find out more about Sir Splendid at their MySpace page:
http://www.myspace.com/sirsplendid