First coming to the attention through his caustic production for Manchester's Virus Syndicate, MRK 1 (aka Mark One) returns to the mighty Mu with new album 'Copyright Laws' - a record which sees a throbbing dubstep heart stepping out on the town with all manner of styles and production adjuncts in tow. A real evolution from 'One Way', 'Copyright Laws' sees MRK 1 spooling in sub-blows and eroded urban fragments galore, creating a textured vision of 21st Century Britain that extends beyond the tired cliches of rain lashed tarmac and feral hoodies. Kicking proceedings in the teeth, MRK1 launches through 'Slope' - wherein kung-fu samples and squawking electronics shotgun the mood, before a 20ft tall beat lurches into view and drags the sonic detritus with it. Creased with dubstep's calling card of wamping bass and concrete beats, 'Slope' gives way to the frisky disposition of 'Caveman Boogie' and a set of Asiatic influences that extends beyond the usual postcard implants, before 'I Got Too' introduces a fug to the room thanks to a vocal collaboration with the man Sizzla. Sounding furnace fierce and backed by suitably heavy rhythms, 'I Got Too' threads real connections between dubstep and dancehall's shared heritage - allowing MRK 1 the room to paint broad sonic strokes that are both detailed and suitably widescreen. Elsewhere, 'The Underworld' passes the mic over to Virus Syndicate's Poet Shado for a dystopian nursery rhyme of considerable menace, 'Sensi Shank' beams you straight back to the early ragga rave days albeit drenched in dubstep bass, whilst 'Devils & Angels' is a suitably grand five minutes of epic breakdowns and orchestral pomp. Closing on the melancholic ruptures of 'Stardust', MRK 1 has delivered a record which keeps the genealogy dubstep but shines it through a kaleidoscope of differing styles and influences. Trademark!A1 Sensi Skank A2 Caveman Boogie B1 Trip Down The Nile B2 Devils & Angels C1 Ruler C2 Dr Rudeboy D1 The Underworld Featuring - Poet Shado D2 Digital Orient
