One of the young talents from that great factory called Manchester is Mason Maynard, who returns to Jamie Jones’ Hot Creations label this February. At just 25 years of age, Mason has made a big name for himself on the international house scene and has toured half the world, including extensive American tours and venues such as Privilege in Ibiza, Space in Miami and festivals such as the UK’s Parklife.
His new EP, Somethin’ For Tha Underground, consists of five tracks, with two top vocalists as guests on the release. The first of these is the legendary MC General Levy who lends his vocal input on Somethin’ For Tha Underground, the EP’s title track. American singer/songwriter Hadiya George follows suit on Ring Of Fire.
Mason spoke of how the release came together: “I’ve been writing a wide range of styles over the last two years and I’ve tried to share some of that here. I’m grateful to have worked with the legend that is General Levy, as well as the very talented vocalist Hadiya George”.
Somethin’ For Tha Underground featuring General Levy opens the EP, a tribal, old-skool leaning cut, with the legendary MC’s vocals providing that signature jungle feel, while Mason’s four-four style marches to the fore. Ring Of Fire feat. Hadiya George, manifests itself as a soothing sunset cut full of emotive chords and warm strings. The dub version completes that first part of the EP, giving way to our two favourite tracks, in a more underground vein starting with Motherland. Another sample of the genius of this young producer and DJ, whose only aim is to get everyone dancing but at the same time trying to bring originality to his work. Disco Punk closes the EP, with infectious and highly danceable House Funk.
We’ll see what the future holds for this young Mancunian, who is already rubbing shoulders with big names at festivals and clubs. Of course, if he doesn’t give in completely to commercial interests, we predict that he could have an interesting future, much bigger than his present.
Release date, February 11th, pre order available here
