Mark Pritchard (born 1971) is an English electronic musician, currently signed to Warp. He has produced a large discography with a constant change of styles and genres, in both solo work under various aliases, and collaborations.
History
Mark Pritchard was born in Yeovil in Somerset, England in 1971. From an early age he listened to a wide range of musical styles, and says when he was 5 his mother would buy him a new 7" record every week. After spending his school years listening to ska, 2-tone, indie and rock, he eventually became involved in club music, specifically Detroit techno and Chicago house. In the clubs of Taunton he came into contact with fellow West Country residents Tom Middleton and Richard D. James. Middleton would become frequent collaborator and James would eventually be Pritchard's label-mate on Warp.
Pritchard and Middleton formed a record label, Evolution (named after one of Carl Craig's tracks), in 1991. The label played host to experimental electronica and dance music, including early releases from Matthew Herbert and Danny Breaks, but was eventually discontinued. Throughout the 90s Pritchard and Middleton worked together under several guises, Global Communication, Jedi Knights, Secret Ingredients, Link & E621, Reload, and The Chameleon. In the late '90s, he started collaborating with Dave Brinkworth spawning the projects Use of Weapons and Harmonic 33.
Other collaborative projects include Series 7 with Stephen Horne, Shaft with Adrian Hughes, Vertigo with Danny Breaks, The 28 East Boyz with Kevin Hann, Chaos & Julia Set with Dominic Fripp, Mystic Institute with Paul Kent, Pulusha with Kirsty Hawkshaw, Pritch & Trim with Trim and Africa Hitech with Steve Spacek.
Throughout his career, he has also recorded solo work under various aliases, including Reload, Link, Harmonic 313, Troubleman, NY Connection, and Roberto Edwardo Turner (The Returner).
In June 2013, it was announced that he would be retiring his various aliases and using solely his birth name for future releases, with which, Pritchard released a trio of EPs on Warp, all a medley of footwork, jungle and bass-heavy dance-floor orientated electronics. A full-length LP, Under the Sun was released in 2016, and its companion album The Four Worlds in 2018, both on Warp; deeply atmospheric and richly impressionistic, hearkening back to Pritchard's work as Global Communication, with key vocal features from Thom Yorke, Linda Perhacs, Bibio, and Beans.
Solo projects
Link
The Link material goes back to 1992's The First Link EP, and is predominantly techno, often using drum breaks in favour of classic 808 and 909 drum sounds. There were two EP's released solo as Link, these being The First Link EP on Evolution and The Augur on Symbiotic. The Link alias also spawned Link & E621, which referred to Pritchard and Tom Middleton and was used for the 1995 release Antacid.
N.Y. Connection
This NYC house project was inspired by Strictly Rhythm's early 1990s releases, particularly those of DJ Pierre. The project yielded five singles, two of which were produced in conjunction with Kevin Hann of 28 East Boyz.
Troubleman
The Troubleman material was released through Far Out Recordings from 2001-2005. The releases were generally mid-tempo, electro and funk with Brazilian influences. Pritchard has cited Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez as an influence for the project. The project yielded six singles/EPs and two albums.
Reload
The Reload alias was born in 1991 and was responsible for some of Pritchard's more industrial output. Under this alias, several EPs and remixes were produced, and the 1993 album A Collection of Short Stories.
Harmonic 313
Pritchard has released under this alias through Warp since 2008. Under it he released four EP's/singles and one full length, When Machines Exceed Human Intelligence. He created the moniker to link with his Harmonic 33 project whilst acknowledging the Detroit influence (313 being the Detroit area code) heard in its sound.
Mark Pritchard
Pritchard first released solo material under his birth name with 2009's ? / The Hologram on Ho-Hum Records. Following releases on Hyperdub and Deep Medi Musik, he is currently signed to Warp, through which he released a trilogy of EP's exploring styles such as footwork and jungle in 2013, followed by two ambient companion albums Under The Sun in 2016 and The Four Worlds in 2018.