Spotlight Mix: Mack Loenz

There’s a proper late-night shape to this one.

For our latest Spotlight Mix, Mack Loenz steps in with 18 tracks of electro, house, techno and bass-heavy club music, arriving just ahead of his debut album ‘From The Heart’ on Maceo Plex’s Lone Romantic imprint on 4th September.

Behind Mack Loenz is Larry McCormick, an artist many heads will already know as Exzakt. That project saw him release through the likes of Tresor, Fabric, Turbo and Skint, but Mack Loenz has become the next chapter, pulling those electro roots into something more cinematic, melodic and built for bigger rooms.

You can hear that thinking all over this mix.

Fred again.. kicks the door open before Chris Lorenzo and Kah-Lo push things towards the club, then Mack drops his own ‘Right From Wrong’ Club Mix into Maceo Plex’s ‘The Plan’. From there, Kyle Watson, Beswerda, Glowal, MPH and Anti Up keep the pressure moving without the selection ever getting stuck in one groove.

There are a few nice left turns too. Craze and Black V Neck bring some low-end swagger, Mack slips in his own VIP mashup of Fred again. and Skepta’s ‘Victory Lap’, while Maceo Plex appears several times across the hour. It makes sense given the relationship between Mack, Lone Romantic and the forthcoming album, but none of it feels like box-ticking. The records earn their place.

His own ‘Sunrise’ arrives late in the mix, one of two tracks from ‘From The Heart’ featured here. The ten-track LP pushes further into Mack’s blend of analogue synthesis, glistening arps, heavy basslines and emotional electronics, balancing proper dancefloor weight with a more reflective side.

And then comes the closer.

Mack finishes with Maceo Plex’s 2013 remix of Kavinsky, a particularly poignant choice following the French producer’s death in Paris last month at the age of 50. Kavinsky was one of the defining names of the second wave of French Touch, and his influence stretches far beyond ‘Nightcall’.

It’s a classy way to finish a mix that clearly comes from someone who still cares about selection, sequencing and where a record sits next to the one before it.

Turn it up.

Tracklist

1. Fred Again.. – flex fm feat. Future, Lil Yachty, Playboi Carti
2. Chris Lorenzo, Kah-lo – In This Bih_ (Extended Mix)
3. Mack Loenz – Right From Wrong – Club Mix 
4. Maceo Plex – The Plan (feat. Baby Monsta)
5. Kyle Watson, Nevve – Bad Luck  (Extended Mix)
6. Beswerda – Fold 
7. Agoria, STS – Call Of The Wild (Glowal Wild Remix)
8. MPH, Æ (US) – Flex It  (Extended Mix)
9. Anti Up – I Cannot  (Extended Mix)
10. Maceo Plex – Sub-Alot (free download)
11. Marco Strous – Monkey Swag  (Extended Mix)
12. Craze, Black V Neck – Ride That Thang
13. Fred again.. x Skepta – Victory Lap – Mack Loenz VIP Mashup  (free download)
14. JACKSON (BRA) – Nissan Altima (JACKSON Twist) 
15. Maceo Plex – Lonely Drive
16. Dorian Craft – The Last Run
17. Mack Loenz – Sunrise
18. Kavinksy – Maceo Plex 2013 Remix  (free download)