Starting his musical career as a London club DJ at the age of 15 (playing disco/soul/funk/electro until a transition to house music in 1986), Summers became a UK recording artist and studio engineer in 1989 with his involvement on the underground rave track "Meltdown" by Quartz. Following a dispute over ownership and royalties of "Meltdown" between Summers and the other two Quartz members, Summers decided to release his own first solo work "Melt Your Body" - which was moderately based upon "Meltdown", made in retaliation by Summers after the dispute. By January 1990, "Melt Your Body" had outsold "Meltdown" by 3:1, it entered the UK top 100 sales chart, and in recognition of this, Summers was firmly established as a promising new UK dance music producer.
Due to big responses from playing his own tracks whilst DJing, Summers signed a two-single deal with Island Records' offshoot urban dance label 4th & Broadway, in May 1990. The first single "Party Children" just missed the UK top 75,[1] whereas the second single "Summers Magic" climbed up the UK chart to peak at number 27, in January 1991.[1] "Summers Magic" gained instant recognition as the first ever dance track to heavily feature a sample of music from a children's TV theme tune, in this case the BBC's The Magic Roundabout.
The hardcore/breakbeat/techno-driven kids' TV sampling phenomenon of "Summers Magic" seemingly provided inspiration for many other artists, including the Prodigy (also from East London/Essex), with their first single "Charly". Before entering the UK national charts, some rave followers believed "Charly" was possibly the work of Mark Summers and his follow-up to "Summers Magic". The Prodigy's track eventually charted in July 1991, almost 7 months following the ground-breaking "Summers Magic". This style of breakbeat hardcore came to be known as "toytown techno". "Summers Magic" was later to appear in the opening of the 2013 comedy film The World's End (starring Simon Pegg), although it does not appear on the soundtrack album. During 1991–93, Summers produced and remixed tracks mainly in the musical styles first labelled as "hardcore" and "jungle", which later morphed itself into the breakbeat-driven music genre now commonly known as "drum and bass".
Artist productions
Moving on from "rave" and revisiting his preferred style of house music, Summers released six singles on the Hoochie Coochie label (1993–96) with fellow DJs Ben Howard and Dave Malone. During this time, he was hired as a sound engineer to work in the studios of Air Lyndhurst/Chrysalis Music (now Air Studios), co-owned by Beatles producer Sir George Martin. Summers became the head studio producer within less than 3 months. He went on to produce and remix Chrysalis Music artists, and also for the offshoot dance label Tuch Wood/Tuchwood Records, co-owned by DJ-producer Dave Lee (a.k.a. Joey Negro). By the end of 1995, Summers had gained an immense sound production status to add to his post-DJ and dance artist qualifications, including recording and production work with notable artists such as Malcolm McLaren, Mica Paris, Jocelyn Brown, Aphex Twin, Ashley Beedle, X-Press 2, Gabrielle and Kylie Minogue, amongst many others. Summers worked within various (mainly dance) music styles and genres, from R&B to house, trance to drum and bass and even pop and rock, using his extensive DJ experience as the basis for his knowledge and technical skills acquired from Air Studios in different types of music production.
Scorccio Records
Fully inspired by 1970s disco, '80s hip hop and '90s house music, in 1996 Mark Summers launched his own label, Scorccio Records (pronounced "scor-chee-oh"), with releases that combined elements of those three music genres from the past three decades. The first release was the disco rapped "Inferno" - under Mark's pseudonym Souvlaki. "Inferno" reached top 20 in the UK national chart via the PolyGram offshoot label Wonderboy (coincidentally, it was also their first single release), and "Inferno" also appeared on the 1.5 million-selling Ministry of SoundAnnual 2 album mixed by Boy George, becoming a worldwide hit via international licensing. Using the label credit of "Scorccio Remix", the mixing skills and popularity of the "fired-up sound" Mark Summers produced instantly pushed JT Playaz to a UK number 1 dance chart position with "Just Playin", and the follow-up "Let's Get Down". Major label remix work followed, including remixes for Perfecto, Warner Brothers, EMI, Telstar and Universal. Success from the release of over 40 Scorccio tracks and remixes on various dance compilations and singles created a huge fan base for Scorccio, most notably in Japan. Key to success was Mark Summers using up to 10 different pseudonyms for his artist name, one of the most popular and often used being Ultimate Heights. PlayStation 2 and Konami have tracks and remixes by Scorccio featured on their popular Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) console and arcade series of music video games. Dance Dance Revolution Extreme featuring "Highs Off U" by 4 REEEL (produced and mixed by Summers), was the winner of the MTV Video Music Awards in 2005 for Best Video Game Soundtrack.[2]
SCORCCIO Sample Replay Productions
The Scorccio release of "Inferno" in July 1996 originally featured a sample of Dan Hartman's "Relight My Fire", which Summers was told by PolyGram (prior to their release) that the sample either had to be replayed, or that he should pay for the master sample clearance (US$15,000). Avoiding financial loss, Summers decided to replay the sample, the first time he had ever undertaken such a challenge. Summers was determined to make the sample replay as close sounding as possible, and upon first hearing the replayed version PolyGram/Wonderboy believed Summers had simply re-EQ'd the original sample, until he played them all the separate stem parts to prove it had been fully recreated (including a 4 piece string section overdubbed numerous times). Since then, every Scorccio-related release has had replayed and/or revocalled samples.
Quickly establishing the world's first ever 'sample replay' service, in 1996 Mark Summers took his venture into the next stage by working for a large number of major and independent music labels, DJs, producers and recording artists. Ministry of Sound, Defected, Positiva, Universal, Virgin, Sony-BMG (amongst others), soon became regular clients of Scorccio sample replays. In 2004, Positiva released "Lola's Theme" by the Shapeshifters, which featured a Scorccio replay of Johnnie Taylor's "What About My Love". The song went from being hugely popular in clubs to gaining a No. 1 national chart position in the UK, Italy and Germany, followed by a No. 1 spot on the U.S. Hot Airplay Charts. The following year (2005) saw Michael Gray's "The Weekend" reach No. 7 in the UK and No. 1 in Italy, featuring distinctive keyboard riffs played by Summers (initially based upon a re-edited 1980s electro track). Other notable replays have included: "People Hold On", "Blue Monday", "Love to Love You Baby", "Love Sensation", and "One More Time".
In 2009, Summers replayed "Street Player" (originally by Chicago) for the U.S. Billboard No. 2 hit "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)" by Pitbull. The Scorccio replay of "Street Player" has since become the most successful usage of any sample replay in history, due to the number of sales and media plays of the Pitbull song worldwide. With over 400 million hits to date on YouTube, the song is now ranked as the third most viewed electronic dance music video in history.[citation needed]
Another successful sample recreation in September 2010 was produced by Summers for the U.S. Hot Dance 100 No. 1 artist Duck Sauce, with "Barbra Streisand" featuring a Scorccio sample replay of the 1979 Boney M song "Gotta Go Home". The song reached No. 1 in dance charts worldwide.
Summers replayed four samples on the album The Day Is My Enemy by English electronic music group the Prodigy, two decades after both Summers and the Prodigy had first appeared on the UK rave scene. The album was released on 30 March 2015 and immediately charted at number one in the UK, officially certified by the BPI with a gold disc for sales in excess of 200,000 copies. It was released by Three Six Zero Music/Warner Bros. Records in the United States.
2018's "One Last Song" from the album The Thrill of It All by English singer Sam Smith features Mark Summers' recreation of "Be a Lion" on the intro and throughout "One Last Song". The original recording is a track from The Wiz (1978), produced by Quincy Jones and featuring the vocals of both Diana Ross and Michael Jackson.
Summers was guest speaker on panel discussions at the New Music Seminar in New York, June 2015.
By October 2022, Summers had produced over 4,000 sample replays for Scorccio. During the previous years, 4 tracks featuring his production works had reached number 1 on Beatport's Top 100 chart; Fatboy Slim's "Praise You" (Purple Disco Machine Remix), Roberto Surace's "Joys", Matt Sassari's "Put a Record On" and Martin Ikin's "Hooked".
His replay production of vocals and instrumentation from Rick James's 1981 single "Super Freak" featured on Nicki Minaj's "Super Freaky Girl" debuted at number 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, number 1 on US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and number 1 on UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC) during August/September, 2022.
As of 2024, having achieved over 5,000 replays and successful productions spanning over 25 years, Mark Summers is now widely recognised by the music industry as one of the most prolific and most important contributors to dance music throughout the world.[3][4]
2001: "It Only Takes a Minute" - Tavares: (Toshiba-EMI, Japan)
2002: "As Long As I Got U" - Unknown: (Z Records)
2002: "Living on a Love" - WTP: (Scorccio)
2003: "Rhythm Is a Dancer" - Snap: (Ministry of Sound, Germany)
Video games
Scorccio has two songs which appear in the Dance Dance Revolution arcade series. In addition, the song "Total Recall" was to be included in Dance Dance Revolution 3rdMix Plus, but the song never appeared in the series. It is available in beatmania 5thMix and newer, and in beatmania III, but not in beatmania IIDX.
Telstar Records was a British record label that operated from 1982 to 2004.
Disco Inferno were an English experimental rock band active in the late 1980s and the 1990s. Initially a trio of guitar, bass, and drums performing in an identifiable post-punk style, the band soon pioneered a dynamic use of digital sampling in addition to standard rock instruments. While commercially unsuccessful during their existence, the band is considered to be a key post-rock act.
"A Little Bit" is a song recorded by American recording artist Jessica Simpson. It was written by Kara DioGuardi, Steve Morales and David Siegel, and was produced by Morales along with Ric Wake. The song was released as the second and final single from Simpson's second studio album Irresistible (2001), on August 28, 2001, through Columbia Records. Musically, the song is a mid-tempo dance-pop song and the lyrics speak about the protagonist wanting changes in a relationship she is in.
Loleatta Holloway was an American singer known for disco songs such as "Hit and Run" and "Love Sensation". In December 2016, Billboard named her the 95th-most successful dance artist of all time. According to the Independent, Holloway is the most sampled female singer in popular music, used in house and dance tracks such as the 1989 Black Box single "Ride on Time".
D. I. Go Pop is the second studio album by English post-rock band Disco Inferno, released on 28 February 1994. After forming as a post-punk band in 1989, the band subsequently worked towards an innovative production approach that incorporated found sound elements through extensive use of digital samplers. The band released several critically acclaimed EPs in this vein from 1992–93, and recorded D. I. Go Pop concurrently with some of those preceding EPs, working with producer Charlie McIntosh. The album cover, designed by Fuel and featuring photography by David Spero, has been described as "one of the most indelible album cover images in the '90s."
BBC Sessions is an album of recordings by the rock group the Jimi Hendrix Experience, released on MCA Records on June 2, 1998. It contains all the surviving tracks from their various appearances on BBC radio programmes, such as Saturday Club and Top Gear, recorded in 1967.
Klubbheads is a team of dance music producers and DJs from the Netherlands. They have more than 40 aliases for their recordings, including Hi_Tack, DJ Disco and Drunkenmunky.
"Could It Be Magic" is a song written by Adrienne Anderson and composed by American singer-songwriter Barry Manilow, inspired by Frédéric Chopin's Prelude in C minor, Opus 28, Number 20.
Euphoria is a series of dance music compilations that debuted on the Telstar Records label in early 1999. During the first year, Euphoria focused primarily on trance music until mid-2000 when Euphoria released the first chill-out album in the series and the first hard house album in late 2000. Euphoria was later spun off into a number of associated club nights around the UK, Ibiza and Cyprus. Over the course of three years, in excess of 500 tour dates were chalked up with tour DJs such as Adam White, Robert Van Ryn, Simon Webdale and Darren James. The compilations included box sets usually priced at around £20.00. The Euphoria albums were of high quality and still are highly collectible and the earlier versions are somewhat rare.
"Lola's Theme" is the debut single of British house duo The Shapeshifters, featuring soul singer Cookie on vocals. It was released on 12 July 2004 as the lead single from the Shapeshifters' debut album, Sound Advice (2004). The song became the duo's biggest hit, peaking atop the UK Singles Chart and charting highly in Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. In Australia, it was the most successful club hit of 2004.
Shaft are an English electronic music production duo, known for their covers and remixes of "(Mucho Mambo) Sway" and "Mambo Italiano". The former entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart in August 1999, then reached number one on New Zealand's Recorded Music NZ chart in December. They followed this with the release of "Mambo Italiano", which peaked at number twelve on the UK Singles Chart but ultimately did not replicate the success of the previous single. They went on to tour the world and win a gold disc for best performing group. Since then, they have recorded more songs such as "Kiri Riri Boom" and "Shake Seniora".
"Hoochie Coochie Man" is a blues standard written by Willie Dixon and first recorded by Muddy Waters in 1954. The song makes reference to hoodoo folk magic elements and makes novel use of a stop-time musical arrangement. It became one of Waters' most popular and identifiable songs and helped secure Dixon's role as Chess Records' chief songwriter.
Minimalistix was a progressive trance music project from Belgium, consisting of members Dave Lambrechts, Janus De Decker, Johan Casters, Peter Bellaert and Steve Sidewinder Poison Ivy voice and performance on stage and existing from 2000 to 2010.
Nu-disco is a 21st-century dance music genre associated with a renewed interest in the late 1970s disco, synthesizer-heavy 1980s European dance music styles, and early 1990s electronic dance music. The genre was popular in the early 2000s, and experienced a mild resurgence in the 2010s.
The Last Dance is the fourth EP and seventh overall release by English post-rock and experimental rock band Disco Inferno. The EP was the band's third release to develop their innovative production and sample-based approach. After initially recording sessions for the EP with their original producer Charlie McIntosh, the band's label Rough Trade Records were unsatisfied with the sessions and instead the band worked with a new producer, Michael Johnson, famous for his work with New Order. His production ethic included a period of pre-production, the first time the band had used this process.
"Pesenka" (Russian: Песенка, IPA:[ˈpʲesʲɪnkə], lit. 'little song'), sometimes known as "Pesenka (La La La)", is a song by the Russian pop–dance–techno group Ruki Vverh! (Руки Вверх!, 'Hands Up!'). The song, with lyrics in Russian and music by band members Sergey Zhukov and Aleksey Potekhin, appears in the band's 1998 album Sdelai pogromche! (Сделай погромче!, 'Make it a little louder!'). Lisa Rodnyanskaya is the vocalist.
"Don't Stop the Party" is a song recorded by American rapper Pitbull for his seventh studio album, Global Warming. The song features TJR and includes samples of the song "Funky Kingston" by Toots and the Maytals replayed by Mark Summers at Scorccio Sample Replays. It was released on September 26, 2012, as the album's third single by RCA Records.
Meltdown EP is an extended play (EP) by American rapper Pitbull, released on November 22, 2013 through Mr. 305, Polo Grounds, and RCA Records.
Pushing On is a dance single from German record producer Oliver $ and Swiss record producer Jimi Jules. It contains a sample of "Pushin' On" by the Quantic Soul Orchestra and originally contained a sample of "Williams' Blood " by Grace Jones, which was subsequently replayed by Mark Summers at Scorccio Sample Replays, recreating all instrumental elements of the sample. It peaked at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart. The song was credited as the second most Shazamed track in Ibiza for 2014, having been frequently dropped by DJs in festival season. It also featured on the Xbox 360/One game Forza Horizon 2 on the in-game radio station "Horizon Bass Arena".
Disco is the fifteenth studio album by Australian singer Kylie Minogue. BMG Rights Management and Minogue's company Darenote released it on 6 November 2020 in both digital and physical formats. After finishing her campaign with her previous album Golden (2018), Minogue was inspired by a Studio 54-esque section on her Golden Tour to create a disco-themed album. Early sessions began in 2019-2020, but were temporarily halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic and widespread lockdowns. As a result, Minogue continued to work on the album remotely from London, using GarageBand and Logic Pro for the first time.
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