Page 45 - Zone Magazine - Issue 033 - Jan Johnston

Parks & Wilson: Painting On Silence (Varese Sarabande, 2001)
https://www.discogs.com/Parks-Wilson-Painting-
On-Silence/release/145787
Mark Shimmon: Decoded (Pioneer, 2001)
This is The One. If I want to tell anyone what dark prog is like, and how good it can be, I put this one on the car stereo. Dark prog has a blunt singularity of purpose, and Mark Shimmon throws it all out there on Decoded. It's tight and economical (just over an hour), and after the brief intro, has nine tracks total. It's a fucking beast. While researching for this project, I was repeatedly advised to check out Gab Oliver's mix No Nonsense, as a purest example of this style; after having done so multiple times, Decoded is still my choice. I sure hope Shaniqua got those tickets to One Love. KEY DARK TRACKS: the whole damn thing, from DJ Gogo's remix of Josef's Ruhe "Zurihorn" all the way through to Shimmon's own "Dark Feelin'" as the closer.
https://www.discogs.com/Mark-Shimmon-Decoded/
release/754196
This was the comp that I relistened to the most during this project. I had been a fan of Parks & Wilson ever since their Essential Mix from 2000 - a bright, multi- textured, Hooj Choons-heavy affair that still ranks as one of my favorite Essential Mixes. When I got a promo copy of their first mix compilation, I was beyond excited. The sound they showcased on Painting on Silence was considerably different from what I had heard from them before, falling directly into the category of dark prog. Probably the "proggiest" of all these mixes, I want to use the word "plodding" in describing it, but the connotation of the word isn't correct - "steady" is probably more accurate. It now seems like the best example of an opening DJ's set from that era. Speaking of opening DJs, I remember when Mick & Mick finally came to Los Angeles to play at Spundae at Circus Disco. I had organized an interview with them and was psyched to see who I had come to think of as "my guys". In a classic terrible programming move by whomever booked the night, I watched as Mick Park stood aghast as DJ Irene played the opening set - her typical high-energy, loud, scratching, good-timey fast club music. Not at all appropriate for the boys from Coventry. They deserved better and so did I, damnit. KEY DARK TRACKS: Jade "A Day In The Life of an Eastern Assassin", Fusion feat. Matt Hardwick "Resistance" (Steve Porter mix), Tilt feat. Maria Nayler "Headstrong" (Sorrento & Scalpel mix), Pete Lazonby "Wave Speech" (Junior Vasquez mix)...really all of them. EXTRA CREDIT: check out their 2002 label profile mix, Baroque In Session, for similar vibes.