Stefan Goldmann takes on John McLaughlin's 'Marbles' - a legendary 1970 proto punk / dance classic from McLaughlin's 'Deνotion' album, which he recorded when he played on Miles Davis' Bitches Brew and taped the Record Plant session with Jimi Hendrix.

Originally, Marbles didn't just deliver jazz rock's most danceable 4/4 beat, played by Band of Gypsies drummer Buddy Miles. It is also centered on a once-in-a-generation bass line performed by Billy Rich. Larry Young's otherworldly Hammond textures predate a lot of what synthesizers were about to do much later, and the blowtorch energy emanating from John McLaughlin's cranked amp went beyond what most would had dared during the defining era of heavy rock guitar. However, first and foremost 'Marbles' is an invitation to dance.

Stefan Goldmann's throbbing techno version leans heavily on the tune's signature bass line. And what a bass line it is. Multiple musical hints appear throughout this 2025 version - at forms, ideas and sounds which have emerged in dance music since 1970, highlighting how well the central elements of the original composition have held out through disco, post punk, house, techno and anything else that has leaned onto the solid foundation of a 4/4 bass drum in the past fifty five years. Now here we have steady sequencer bass, voice-like synthesis (mirroring McLaughlin's handling of the wah-wah pedal), percussive echoes... And all fit like a glove.