Party Series Turned Solo Project: The Evolution of Running Hot | TROVE 40

Producer Mark Newman (Running Hot) has seen his day-to-day shift irrevocably over the past few years. Having a child will do that. Mornings are now all about the kindergarten run, while afternoons  are spent “touring Berlin’s plethora of playgrounds.”

That leaves the middle of the day for music. “I’ll get some precious hours to work on music, dig for records or work on stuff for my label.”

That label, Running Hot Recordings, is still a relatively new venture, but Mark has been pleasantly surprised by how it’s grown, and how much satisfaction he’s found in building it.

Even six years on, those close to it all feel the DNA of those London parties still courses through Mark’s veins. Whether behind the decks or writing his own hammers, he refuses to be boxed in by genre, forever expressing the same sense of playfulness and exploration that defined Running Hot from the get-go.

A Running Hot record sounds like sunshine: chugging basslines, the warmest of pads, spritely drum combinations and sleazy vocal grabs. HOUSE in all caps type shit. Mark says he’s not necessarily trying to stir up certain emotions with his music. Instead, he wants it to become the soundtrack to iconic dancefloor memories. Similar to the ones he’s experienced over years of partying.

“Whether it’s peak-time in a packed, sweaty basement surrounded by your best friends, or dancing outside as you feel the sun rising on your face.”

His latest EP, HOT TRACKS VOL. 1, delivers exactly that. Funnily enough, after all this chat about his own label, this one landed on close pal Sally C’s home for tunes, Big Saldo’s Chunkers. A name I can’t get enough of, just quietly.

Sally and Mark first crossed paths when he arrived in Berlin. By chance, he was working for a friend’s company, digitising records for various DJs and labels, while Sally was based in the studio right next door. A few years passed without much to report between the two before, as Mark recalls, “a mutual friend suggested I do an EP on her label. I sent some demos over to Sally, she really liked them and not long after we had HOT TRACKS VOL. 1.”

An introduction, an idea, and that was that.

As the title suggests, all four offerings are sweltery and suitably chunky. The B1, “Bumpin’,” is my personal favourite – contagious synth stabs, a sexy female vocal, bubbly bongos and a thick ass bassline. The kind of sound that acts like a magnet to the dancefloor, humans reduced to moths chasing the light.

Mark was kind enough to crack open the vault and give us a look at the gold nuggets that helped shape the EP in question. The stories behind the sounds, the records that lit the spark – TROVE 040, let’s go!

1. Calderone & Quayle  | “Resonate” (That Kid Chris Mix)

The track ‘Feel The Rhythm’ was inspired by a period of me listening to a lot of early 00s NY Tribal House, stuff from people like Danny Tenaglia, Junior Vasquez and Victor Calderone and lots of DJ sets from the legendary Twilio club. This track is a great example of that kind of sound: dark synths, trippy vocals and slamming percussion.

2. Trevor Rockcliffe & Mr G | “High Spirits” (Mr G’s Remix)

When I sent ‘The Trip’ from the record to Sally, she said that it reminded her of Mr G’s productions. It wasn’t necessarily something I had in mind when I made the track, but he’s an incredible producer, and I play a lot of music so perhaps the influence was subconscious. This remix he did of Trevor Rockcliffe (another one of my favourite producers) is in a similar vein and a great example of his sound.

3. Ethnic Souls | “Drop Base”

Bumpin’ on the EP was definitely heavily inspired by a lot of the West Coast house stuff I’d been listening to that was coming out of San Francisco in the early 00s. This track by Tony Hewitt on his label Tango Recordings, which is arguably the definitive label for this type of sound, is a great example of the type of vibe I was going for.

4. Liberty City | “If You Really Love Somebody” (Original Mix)

‘Amor’ the final track on the record, is my sort of ode to the late 90s NY house sound of legendary producers MURK. Driven along by the drums and the bass, and with just a few other elements required to make it all tick. This one is a stone-cold classic.

5. Indo | “R U Sleeping?” (Grant’s Dub Mix)

The whole EP is definitely influenced by a lot of 90s Garage House. Grant Nelson is probably the best to ever do it in terms of that sound. Here he is remixing Indo’s R U Sleeping into a certified club stomper.