Artist: Mara
Title: Turning It On
Label: Choo Choo Records
By: Simon Jones | 17 September 2003
Tracklist:

• A: Original Mix
• B: Low End Specialists Mix

Mara "Turning It On"

It's been a long haul and a labour of love for Mara over the past few years, creating and developing their ideas and sounds, whilst building up support via unique live shows and sets. Now the finish line is in sight as their debut artist album 'If You Only Knew' is due for release shortly, and to build up some interest, one of the main tracks of the album, Turning It On' now gets a full release, backed with a remix from the Low End Specialists.

My opinion of this track has not changed. The trademark Mara percussion leads us in into subtle effects and loops. However, laid back synths wash over the bassline, interrupted only by a spanish guitar-esque riff, before Sara's vocal begins to trickle through the speakers softly, but with enough power and depth to take control of the track, crafting a deep, delicious, blissed out masterpiece, which still retains enough elements to ensure it will work on the dancefloor and engrain itself into minds of people will will be humming it unknowingly after only a few listens as the riffs in the background only serve to push the vocal into your mind even further. It's one of those tracks that merges excellent production with great ideas and slips a vocal that actually builds the track around itself into the centre of everything, creating one masterpiece that is without a doubt Mara's finest moment yet, a statement I still stand by.

This time around Ali and Mac, the Low End Specialists add their touch to the track, creating their 'For The Girls Mix'. Leading in with some deep and brooding atmospheric percussion, soon melodies shuffle through the drums, adding to the smoky house groove that the duo create. Sara's vocals slide over the top in delayed fashion, and this melancholic interpretation could very well be one of those rare sing-a-long anthems, for the girls indeed.

Without a doubt a good choice of introduction for the forthcoming artist album, and with a further vinyl of more club orientated remixes, 'Turning It On' looks set to find it's way back into dj boxes once again, though for many djs who were lucky to get one of the early one sided white labels, it never really left.