Coming from the M

>> Marcus Intalex flies the D&B flag up north

by CHRIS HATHERILL

The major metropolises scattered around our planet have each come to be associated with specific forms of music. When you consider hip hop, you can't help but picture New York City. For shitty rock, you think Los Angeles. And with drum & bass, there's no doubt that ground-zero lies somewhere within Greater London's 1,700 square kilometers.

It's therefore more than a bit surprising that one of drum & bass's latest and greatest heroes lives nowhere near the Thames, does not drink at Met Bar and does not say "guv'na" or "innit" to finish every sentence. No, the man many have picked to "save" drum & bass (from the quickly bored media?) resides in the wilds of northern England, specifically Manchester.

"If you can live in Manchester, you can live anywhere!" Marcus Intalex proudly declares over the phone, safe in the confines of his home studio. "It's definitely gotten better," he adds, laughing at my story of a Manchester ex-pat who has dentures at age 30-something thanks to a few too many nighttime excursions with large groups of friends.

Looking back, though, it's maybe not so surprising that Manchester is turning out top-notch drum & bass these days. The city has always been a hotspot for youth culture and dance music, safely tucked away from the fickle world of London tastemakers. Centred in the Wigan Casino, northern soul swept the nation and introduced Britain to all-night parties, non-stop dancing and odd drugs. New Order carried the torch through the '80s before handing off to Primal Scream, Stone Roses, 808 State and the infamous Hacienda nightclub, making Manchester a potent rival to the English capital's growing early-'90s rave scene.

It was during these early days that Marcus got started in the business of beats, first being blown away by house at the Hacienda and later by jungle at London's Rage, where Goldie also heard the future calling. He teamed up with another Mancunian, ST Files, and scored a few direct hits circa 1995 that put them on drum & bass map, which was still very London-centric.

Fast-forward to now and things are a little more spread out. Marcus names other producers like Future Cut, Perfect Combination and Accidental Heroes who are running tings up norf. He and ST Files blew everyone away with last year's "The Way You Make Me Feel" (not a Michael Jackson cover, thank you) on the well-respected 31 Records label, but have no plans to move south soon.

"I'm not stuck in the London scene," he says. "I don't know if that makes any difference in the music, but I'm not caught up in all the politics. It's also nice to be able to afford a place to live and record, isn't it?"

And good thing for us he can. His blends of smooth sounds and ruff beats fuse old-school elements with the new, and his skill as a DJ is right up there too.

"I just hope I'm not too rusty," he says. "I've been so busy that the last time I played in Manchester was back in September!"

At Jaï on Thursday, Feb. 8, 10pm, $11