The latest in the DJ Marky & Friends Presents series brings us this DnB mix by DJ/producer Makoto, who’s long standing connection with DnB in Japan and internationally, as well as his Progression Session, makes him a worldly choice for this mix of the Innerground label’s impressive musical back catalogue, thrown together with a good handful of outsider tracks.

Kicking off with S.P.Y, an up and coming producer in good company, Innersoul sets the tone for the album, a high tempo, laid-back, soulful and relaxed wander through the more chilled and uplifting end of the DnB spectrum.

Not that it’s all lady music. There’s some darkness in there, some jazzy sounds, a mix up of musical directions, but always coming back to this laid-back feeling, sort of like a long Sunday afternoon radio set with a female vocalist drifting in and out as the sunny mood takes her. There’s a definite feel that this is covering some historical periods within the music, but only referentially, the beats and rhythms vibrant and modern throughout.

DJ Marky tracks appear regularly (as you’d expect) in collaboration with Makoto himself and S.P.Y. With the former Secret Place (remixed by Random Movement) is probably the pick of the bunch with its heavy rolling bass line and rolling beats. With the latter the Tapestry really catches the ear, mixed expertly in to the dark broiling Aquarius, dropping in to its parsed out, mixed up bass lines, quite old skool with Miri adding her vocals before the Hospital style uplifting soulful song kicks in. This duo also combine well, to similar ends on The Dopper Effect, all rising treble all the way.

Elsewhere the Makoto remix of Fabulous’s Words of Love is a dancing track, less drums, less beats, more music that works as a pleasant segue between some of the darker tracks in the middle of the album such as Calibre’s heavy, heavy sub-bass Like It Is and On Your Mind by 8Bits, although even these darker tracks retain a flavour of soul in them.

This is a real chilled out album, the sort of album you could slap on and kick back to without having to get up and turn the volume down when it gets to frenetic. There’s a bit of a musical journey but mainly it’s a composed, directed piece, one that should appeal to a broad swath of DnB lovers and beyond. The quality of the mixing and tracks is high, throughout, and is a great peek in to the Innerground stable, giving us a sight of that’s there and what’s surely still to come.