Simon “Mr.” Monday rose to fame, during rave, as a keyboard wizard. Alongside the likes of Adamski he was one of the first UK artists to perform house live at parties and clubs. In the early 1990s he was closely associated with The Brain, a Soho space run by Sean McClusky and Tim Fielding, and later McClusky’s subsequent ventures, such as Love Ranch and the indie band, IF. Probably most famous for the huge dance hit Future, Monday went on to have a successful career as an engineer and producer. From the mid-90s to the early 2000s he worked with On-U Sound’s Adrian Sherwood on pretty high profile projects, from Blur, The Cure, and Garbage, to Primal Scream and Sinead O’Connor.

Daybreak is a track taken from Monday’s Power Of Knowledge E.P., released in 1991 on London label, Great Asset. Picked up for reissue by Berlin’s Thank You it’s a prime piece of pitched down house that chunkily chugs along at around 95 BPM. Boasting a big piano, and a great old school Chicago bass-line, melodically it’s a mix of a nagging, wonky main synth riff and E-motive orchestral swells. The new 12” comes with a fresh remix – from Sound Metaphors’ Castro – and some bonus beats. Both are decidedly more boisterous than the original. The rhythm they ride constructed from a foundation of filtered high hats, collaged breaks – a la LTY & UF Force’s Balearic favourite, Funk Express – and cascades of computerised hand claps. Soundsystem soundclash sirens go off, and sampled party people shout, “Whoop, whoop, whoop”, with the extended take making room for breakdowns, snare rolls and trippy chimes. A whispered prayer – recited in something Latin (either Italian or Spanish) – counters this beefed-up bumping. 

Respected Stockholm-based DJ / producer / record dealer, Mark Seven, included Daybreak on his Originals compilation for Claremont 56, back in 2009. Mark told me, “Daybreak was a tune I played in my warm ups at the Bizarre nights, at the Paradise club in Islington. I think you can hear its influence in the sound of what I did with Bizarre Tracks. To my ears it fitted the long, slow comedown, post acid house, and in my opinion it’s aged very gracefully!”

Mr. Monday’s Daybreak is back in stores care of Thank You and Sound Metaphors.