DJ Sprinkles & Mark Fell - Incomplete Insight (2012-2015) (2022)

DJ Sprinkles & Mark Fell compile their collaborative 12-inch releases alongside a second disc of previously unreleased material for over two and a half hours of absolutely timeless, deadly productions from two masters of their respective forms.

Rooted in the duo’s passion for foundational NYC-skooled deep house and contemporary social politics which has inspired their artistic briefs in very different but often overlapping ways over the decades, ‘Incomplete Insight (2012-2015)’ extends the pleasures of DJ Sprinkles & Mark Fell’s original sessions with a bounty of alternate edits and unreleased productions from the vaults

In a sublime-to-rude back ’n forth, they open with tracks from their 'Complete Spiral' sessions, pairing purring, tuff basslines and naked drum machine rhythms with samples of Arthur Scargill and Tony Benn, before really getting inside their thing on the unreleased bits, shifting from buoyant expansions to more angular dubs by Mark Fell (“something like the chords stabs on “big fun” but more messed up and weirder”) that dial up his peerless Sensate Focus workouts. It’s the first time most of this material has appeared on any formats at all - with the previously released work only ever available on vinyl - so it should be considered absolutely crucial listening for deep house connoisseurs and experimenters - or basically anyone with any interest in electronic music of the early 21st century.

Now of a decade long vintage, the tracks’ original release marked over 20 years since the deep house phenomenon first hit from Chicago via NYC in the late ‘80s/early ‘90s, when its sleek studio-as-instrument engineering and focus on rolling drums, vibes and bass pressure would irrevocably influence UK dance music, in particular the rugged heft of Sheffield and South Yorkshire bleep ’n bass. As a jobbing DJ in the queer bars of downtown NYC, DJ Sprinkles was there at the sound’s inception, while Mark Fell absorbed it via US import 12”s, with both artists rapt by the form’s effortlessness and, ultimately, its irresistible effect on the ‘floor.

This raft of unreleased mixes sweetly dovetails and diverges the pair's appreciation of the style, with Sprinkles really getting inside the groove on the likes of her 11min Alt.mix render of ‘Fresh’, and a “personal favourite for mixing on the dancefloor” in the lush expansion of ‘Incomplete Spiral’, while Mark Fell effectively hustles his tightest gear since the Sensate Focus days with the liquid-hipped latinate tekkers of his ‘MF Dub’ parts and the ’Spiral Focus’ vignettes. It’s all supremely rich and deeply satisfying gear with a balance of immersive, tactile immediacy and emotional intelligence for the ages.

please remember that we support Terre and Comatonse Recordings' efforts to keep projects offline, minor, and acting queerly. When purchasing this item, we ask you to refrain from uploading and indiscriminate sharing in any form. <3