How You Make Me Feel: An Extract

UKF is thrilled to present an exclusive extract from How You Make Me Feel by Sherif Dhaimish & Mark O’Donnell, the forthcoming book celebrating the life and legacy of Marcus Intalex, one of drum & bass’ most pioneering and beloved figures. From his early days DJing in Burnley to his transformative years on the Manchester rave scene, Marcus became a beacon for the drum & bass community worldwide, while also effortlessly moving into techno with his Trevino alias. The book chronicles his journey from the raw energy of ‘Gunchester’ jungle raves to international acclaim, capturing the essence of a man who was not just a DJ or producer, but a vital force in electronic music for nearly 30 years.

Told through the voices of those who knew him best, including Goldie, Calibre, DJ Flight, and Doc Scott, this illustrated oral history paints a vivid picture of Marcus’ trailblazing career. How You Make Me Feel offers over 100 rare photos, artwork, and memorabilia, bringing his story to life visually while providing a deep dive into the emotional weight of his music. From Metalheadz to Berghain, Marcus left an indelible mark on club culture, and this book is a fitting tribute to the enduring influence of a humble yet restless creative force who continues to inspire artists and music lovers across the globe.

Pre-order your copy here.

Extract taken from How You Make Me Feel: the Life & Legacy of Marcus Intalex

By Sherif Dhaimish & Mark O’Donnell

Velocity Press, 2024

GRAHAM ‘GRUMPY’ NAYLOR

I once drove Marcus to Goldie’s to pick up a mixing desk that he was getting rid of. Apparently it was an old one of Noel Gallagher’s, at least that’s what Goldie said.

We turned up at his house and he was standing outside his front door in his underpants. We got out, and I said (probably not being the first or last to do so): ‘That’s not Goldie Hawn!?’ Marcus chuckled, Goldie chose to ignore it and in his best northern accent said: ‘Shall we get bacon butties on f’t’northern lads?’ He invited us in and we were all nattering on in the lounge while his daughter was kicking lumps out of me on the sofa. We had been there for well over an hour and he never did get the bacon butties on… The desk was huge and only just fit in my car. I don’t know much about mixing desks, but I’m sure it allowed Marcus to perfect his craft a bit more.

Not content with creating a ruckus on dancefloors, Marcus’s production aspirations were firmly in motion. Alongside ST Files he’d struck up a fruitful studio partnership with tracks on Renegade Hardware, Breakbeat Science, Emotif and the D&B Arena album. In what was a one-time-only release, they explored the convergence of house and broken beat with ‘Taking Over Me’ on Hospital Records. Under their Ill Figure alias, ‘Untouchable’ b/w ‘Style’ on Suburban Base blew up, both sides receiving heavy rotation on BBC Radio 1’s ‘One in the Jungle’ and in the clubs. ‘Style’, with its catchy horns, hiphop vocal and a bassline so wobbly it made jelly look stiff, remains a classic Mancunian wall-slapper. Like the kids carrying Henry Hill’s groceries home for his mother in Goodfellas – the wall-slapping was the ultimate sign of respect.

In early 1999, their aim was simple: make a tune to get in Scotty’s record box. What they created became a scene-defining moment. ‘How You Make Me Feel’ was like a shard of light suddenly flashing away in the gloaming, a clarion call for those who wanted to embrace a deeper, more soulful strain of dancefloor D&B.

GLENN AI

Soon after Kemistry passed away, there was a last minute memorial event at Heaven nightclub. I was a student working with Marcus at Eastern Bloc’s Leeds branch, and he persuaded me to go with him. 

There was all of this techstep music being played. And we were having this massive chat about how it was such a shame there was nothing with any musicality, soul, vocals, or breakdowns. 

Afterwards, we were playing records – early Good Looking and Creative Source – back at my parent’s house in Camden, and Marcus said he had an idea. And then two or three days later, he played me an early version of ‘How You Make Me Feel’. I remember it had a different bassline to the final version. Scotty was always his number one to send tracks to, and he snapped it up. It all came from that conversation at Heaven.

As darkside and jump-up D&B raged away in the big raves, and ‘sausagefest’ was used to describe the ratio of men to women rather than a celebration of British bangers, ‘HYMMF’ was the antidote. Bringing a hypnotic rolling groove with an acapella from a New York house release by Creative Force, it was immediately picked up by key tastemakers like Fabio who absolutely battered it on his Radio 1 show and at his weekly Swerve sessions in London. As legend would have it, Goldie got down on his knees in a Wayne’s World-esque ‘We’re not worthy’ salute after hearing it. Manchester D&B was having a moment.

CALIBRE

When I first heard ‘How You Make Me Feel’ it confirmed feelings I had about drum & bass and its capacity for beauty in the dance. I know a lot of producers who use it as a benchmark for quality. Around that time, that tune was a seed. We’ve seen it with other tunes like Shimon & Andy C’s ‘Bodyrock’ where it almost creates a sub-genre. It brought ladies back to the dancefloors too; it was the counter to everyone in Burberry caps.

DRS

I remember going into the End in London, and Bryan Gee was coming out, and he said, ‘Scotty man, where’s all the girls at?!’ I knew what he meant. A lot of the events were 90-95% male. A couple of months after that, I heard ‘How You Make Me Feel’ by Marcus and ST Files, and I knew this was the tune that the scene needed. The kick and snare were militant, but it had those vocals and chords. It was a reminder to people: you can have vocals in your tunes, it’s not a bad thing!

DOC SCOTT 

I don’t say this lightly – it is one of the most important tracks in drum & bass history. At the time it came out the music was incredibly aggressive and male-centric. In making music, timing counts for a lot. Sometimes an album or a track needed to come out at a specific time. Look at NWA, Wu-Tang or Oasis’s first album – whatever it is. The world just needed that tune at that time. And that’s what it was like with ‘How You Make Me Feel’.

HIGH CONTRAST 

I heard Fabio playing ‘How You Make Me Feel’ on the radio when I was about 19. That was an incredible moment for me. Someone had made this sound that I’d had an inkling for in my head. It was this perfect, beautiful track. I felt like it was the beginning of a new era of melodic, soulful drum & bass.

DARREN FUTURE CUT

They had one mixing desk, a sampler and a synth. They worked that equipment to the bone. The fact they made tunes like ‘How You Make Me Feel’ and remixes like 4hero’s ‘9×9’ is amazing. The equipment was so basic.

That scene-defining moment signalled the start of a movement. Marcus and Files led the way by setting the standard for others to follow. They also had a healthy disregard for a-sides with each 12″ release having two killer cuts that could arguably be the lead single. ‘Love & Happiness’ and ‘Dreamworld’, again on Doc Scott’s 31 Records, reinforced their reputation for mining the deeper end of the spectrum and showcased a sonic palette that saw them raid their record collections to sample Philadelphia’s First Choice and an early Roger Sanchez cut. While they brought a musical maturity missing in a lot of the high-impact but quickly disposable dancefloor tracks at the time, they maintained a clear focus on making music to bust up a dance.

MARCUS

We build a dancefloor element first, without being cheesy, and then put a musical element on top. The beats and bass – they’ve got to have impact.

Next, Goldie got in on the action, snapping up ‘Universe’ and ‘Lose Control’ for his Metalheadz label. ‘Universe’ was the middle ground ST Files talks about. Using a snippet of Vikter Duplaix’s soulful tones from a Masters at Work track, it’s the definition of soul in motion. The flip showed their versatility with a techier, futuristic vibe. It proved a deadly DJ tool.

Marcus handing DJ Marky the white label promo of Calibre’s ‘Mr Maverick’ / ‘Highlander’. Soul:ution at Band on the Wall, Manchester, 13 February 2004. (Al Baker)

GOLDIE

There are branches to this oak tree which we call this beautiful music, drum & bass. Marcus and ST Files established new branches for Metalheadz when releasing ‘Universe’.

Alongside their own productions, they’d quickly picked up a reputation for being able to work their magic as remixers. Their reinterpretation of MJ Cole’s silky smooth UK garage cut ‘Be Sincere’ was a major calling card, maintaining the track’s warm and soulful elements and updating it to a D&B tempo. Next came a flurry of requests from some of the scene’s most influential figures. ‘Just A Vision’ for Clayton Hines’ Renegade group had a vocal harmony you could hum along to and still have people calling for the rewind in the hands of DJs like Bryan Gee. UK pioneers 4hero followed: ‘9×9’ and ‘Better Place’ were a dream to mix and showed they were masters of sequencing.

Closer to home, Un-Cut’s ‘Midnight’, which thanks to Jenna G’s ability to shine in live settings, was a singalong classic in Manchester long before it became a huge hit for the singer and Future Cut. It received plenty of play at Notting Hill Carnival over a blazingly hot August bank holiday weekend in 2001, ultimately scoring them a big label deal. Marcus, who lived with Darren from Future Cut at the time, and Files delivered a DJ-friendly relick that again showed they could do no wrong.

HIGH CONTRAST

‘9×9’ by 4hero, Un-Cut’s ‘Midnight’, MJ Cole’s ‘Be Sincere’… these were all so influential to me and set the gold standard of what drum & bass remixes could be, especially if the song was from a different genre.

MARC MAC 4 HERO

They did the Solid State ‘Just A Vision Remix’ and it was a massive favourite down at Dollis Hill (where 4hero/Reinforced’s studio was based). I remember after working with Vikter Duplaix and getting to know his vocals, I heard ‘Universe’ and was like, ‘Who’s gone and sampled Vikter like that?’ 

And some of the guys at Reinforced got hot under the collar until we heard it was Marcus, then everyone was like, ‘Oh cool, he’s dope, that’s all good, calm down.’ Plus the track was fire, really nicely done.

I remember they enjoyed doing the ‘9×9 Remix’ because it was different to a lot of things they were doing at the time, i.e. remixing more sample-based music. ‘9×9’ is a composition of live music: string section, upright bass, piano, vocals, Rhodes, analogue synths and drums, which allowed them to get some real depth in the re-arrangement. I wasted no time and asked them to do ‘Better Place’ which I prefer; it’s less polished but still sounds great.

They had ‘a sound’ and that’s not easy to do. Great remixers like Masters at Work, Basement Boys, Steve ‘Silk’ Hurley or even the Neptunes all have a sound, a formula for hits, and M.I.S.T. (Marcus Intalex and ST Files) had that.