Born in Glasgow Markee always gravitated towards new sounds and as a teenager was attracted to the Sub Club where the Slam Boys were helping to usher in the new era of house and techno. Hearing this new clubbing soundtrack greatly affected his desire to produce electronic-based music tracks. A move to Bristol exposed Markee to the emerging styles of ragga, breakbeat, and hardcore techno, markee had bought his first sampler, and conscious of this fresh new sound and local talent he quickly started his own night Ruffneck Ting and this is where he met his long-term collaborator, Darren Beale aka Decoder. The duo pursued a tech drum & bass soundtrack with their next label venture Breakbeat Culture, as well as running label Tech Itch, and Breakbeat Culture record shop and parties. At the same time, Bristol came into its own with the ascent of Massive Attack, Tricky and Portishead as well as groundbreaking drum & bass DJs like Roni Size, Krust & Die. Markee pursued his interest songwriting and forming a band . “Although I had got into production through tecnhology and was happy making instrumental music, I still wanted to get back to writing songs and do the band thing.” He began searching for vocalists and in 1999 found lead singer Sian and Kosheen was born. Kosheen signed to independent Moksha Recordings the same year and released 3 singles, which generated grass roots support. The band began recording their debut album ‘Resist’ the following year, which was signed and released by BMG Records in 2001. In the meantime the single ‘Hide U’ had blown up in the clubs before crossing over to the UK charts at No. 7. Upon release the ‘Resist’ album album charted at No. 8 and with the release of two subsequent singles ‘Catch’ and ‘Hungry, it was propelled to half a million sales, which in effect made it the most successful drum & bass album of that time. By now the band had recorded enough new material for a second album ‘Kokopellii’ and since becoming a successful live act and festival favourite, a selection of the tracks were written with live audiences in mind. The album charted at No. 6 in the UK and first single ‘All In My Head’ hit No.7. The follow up album ‘Damage’ was signed to Universal in Germany and released on Moksha in the the UK, as have been 2 further albums ‘Indepdendence’ in 2012 and a fifth studio album ‘Solitude’ in 2013. Through all this Markee is the central figure, writing the music and songs as well as producing and engineering the albums, overseeing the project. Markee continued to write new material including collaborations with other producers and vocalists since Kosheen has taken a break from recording in 2011. The Markee Ledge Elevate album project was initiated. “I knew I had a bunch of very powerful songs in the bag and I was really digging the real deep sound coming from London and Rinse FM. I wanted to kinda recapture that vibe we had on ‘Resist’, a real cutting edge current sound, with some very powerful songs with soul. Featuring a selection of guest singers including Alys Be, Susie Ledge, and Jodie Elms, as well as guest producers adding to the mix including J Kenzo, Seven, Leon Switch, dubspeeka and DJ Youngsta from Rinse FM, whose fresh take on underground music has added inspiriation to the project. Markee’s ‘Elevate’ album continues the Kosheen vibe with big vocal fronted tracks, however Markee has placed a greater emphasis on cutting edge, instrumental productions to satisfy the current UK underground music scene’s desire for deeper sounds. Markee Ledge will be presenting a live showcase for the ‘Elevate album at Notting Hill Arts Club on 10th November 2015. For further information on Markee Ledge please contact: matt@alchemypr.com 020 8996 1520 or james@alchemylifestyle.co.uk 020 8996 1521