Markee Ledge: A Life’s Realization

There is a lot be said for musicians that start out their careers creating in bedrooms, basements and garages. Many have done this and become famous and successful. Markee Ledge is one artist that is on that path. The Glasgow native grew up listening to Manchester’s “Madchester” Rave scene kings The Stone Roses and The Happy Mondays, The Cocteau Twins, Everything But The Girl, Scientist, Lee Scratch Perry and King Tubby, all of whom led him to the realization of what he wanted to do in life—composing electronic music, writing songs, and leading a band.

Early on, the Slam boys were raising the bar for Techno and House music coming out of Glasgow’s Sub Club and this is where and when Markee embraced this new sound and solidified his desire to produce his own sounds in electronic music. Markee’s next move was to Bristol to witness and take in what was becoming a hot bed of groundbreaking Trip-hop and Drum & Bass music. The seminal bands Massive Attack, Portishead, Tricky and DJs Roni Size and Krust & Die would all play a major influence on the direction he would take with contributing and producing his own music.

Teaming up with first and long-term collaborator Darren Beale, also known as Decoder, via his first label venture Substance they would be part of what is called “The Golden Age” era of Drum & Bass. Forming a band was always something Markee wanted to do. In 1999, he realized this goal with the formation of his group Kosheen featuring his musical compositions voiced by singer Sian.

Their very first signing was with the Independent label Moksha releasing 3 Singles that year. The following year, 2000, Kosheen began writing a full-length album titled “Resist” that would go on to being picked up by BMG Records in 2001. Kosheen’s immediate success came with their smash hit and crossover single “Hide U” reaching #7 on the U.K. Charts. When “Resist” was released, it reached #8 on the charts, followed by the album’s Singles “Catch” and “Hungry” pushing the album’s sales to 500,000 units, making it the most successful Drum & Bass album at that time. Four more albums would follow for the band before taking a break in 2011. During the hiatus, Markee continued writing and working with new producers and vocalists that eventually led to a new solo release, titled “Elevate.” “Elevate” is very much in the Kosheen vein, but the key difference is that the album has a more cutting edge feel derived from the current sounds coming from the U.K.’s underground music scene as influenced by Rinse FM’s DJ Youngsta. The new full length album features singers Alys Be, Susie Ledge, Jodie Elms and guest producers Seven, Leon Switch, and dubspeeka.

—Joseph Arthur

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