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A Fresh And Driving Single from Mark Hickling (DJ M)

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A massive new single from Mark Hickling, aka DJ M, delivers a brilliant combination of high-octane electronic and trance blended into vast undertones and classic elements of house, pop overtones, and an edgy soundscape.


"In My Head" is absolutely a club-style mix, utilizing amazing synths and keys to create this robust atmosphere that you end up falling right into, and once you're there, you don't really want to leave.


Textures layered upon each other sort of swirl around you, and that vast undertone is always there, delivering depth whether it's created by synth pads floating through the ether of the track or by pianos that are dripping with reverb. That spacious feel has a particular way of wrapping itself around you and keeping you right where it wants to.


Mark is definitely the kind of person who pays a lot of attention to the tones of his keys, since, and pretty much all other instrumentation involved.


You can tell there is a sort of vision that he must have going into it, but I'm sure that that grows as the track is being produced.


This is an immense single that definitely takes a few different turns, giving some surprises around its corners, including some pretty beefy and hard-hitting climax sections that are perfectly placed and very punchy.


Being able to create an alluring, almost seductive sound utilizing that expansive underbelly and creating those hard-hitting sections with synthesizers that sound like saws is brilliant.


The song definitely gives you little hints towards classic Inspirations and influences. You can hear elements of '90s and even '80s tonalities coming through here and there, and little bits and pieces, and this is probably all part of what influenced him to become what he is. The songs, tracks, and DJs that he listened to growing up all have a way of showing a little bit of face on this one track alone, which, in my mind, is crazy.


All the keys are outstanding. They are lush with great melodies and hooks that sort of stick in your brain for hours or even days after the song has ended, and he certainly is not afraid to layer.


By the time you get more than halfway through this track, things start to get pretty intense. That intensity, in part, comes from the layering of synths and keys on top of each other in a particular format and way that helps build things up even bigger.


While this is all happening, you still have that spacious undertone still being delivered in part by synth pads that are flowing, and this to me is part of why it has a semi cinematic aesthetic.


It is very electric. There's a lot happening and the energy is high a lot of the time.


One of the things I love is the way that he kind of breaks it down back to just the beat and certain keys towards the end of the track.


This, in a sense, is almost reminding you about how many layers there were just a moment to go.


For me, this is almost genre-bending in terms of everything remaining under the electronic umbrella.


It takes elements of trance, EDM, house, synth pop, and more and packs it all into this one banger of a single that really just takes you for a ride.


Mark Hickling is a producer, songwriter, and DJ who pulls from his many influences, and this is something that I find helps push the songs forward and let them stand tall in terms of combining old and new school approaches and soundscapes, so that you have tracks like this. Songs that are both engulfing and driving at the same time are few and far between, but Mark really pulls it off without a hitch.


Take a deep dive into this track as soon as you can, and either listen to it loud or with headphones on because all the brilliant approaches to layering textures of synth tones are an amazing approach and do indeed build this outstanding atmosphere that you end up getting sucked right into.


One of the best ways to soak all of that in is with headphones, in my opinion.


As far as we know, more tracks are coming soon, so I would definitely jump on this one and keep an eye out for the rest.




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