Somethings simply happen in their own time. The track Yellow Meditation For The Dance Generation is an example of this. Just before Covid hit I had worked with the legend that is Marshall Jefferson, one of the Godfathers of House Music, and he truly is. It was Marshall who gave us Move Your Body (The House Music Anthem) in 1986, and when he did it changed everything for dance music. Move Your Body was the first House track to use that, now common, and replicated, recreated and recycled piano riff. Yes, we’ve probably all danced to it, raved to it, and it was Marshall who introduced it.
I was sixteen years old when Move Your Body started to get played at the discos and I remember being blown away by it. It was music unlike anything my mates and I had ever heard and certainly danced to. That four-to-the-floor and piano riff and vocals still move me today.
So leap forward a few decades, and Marshall has continued to release amazing track after track and worked with some of the best artists in the music industry (even Tom Jones believe it or not) and so I felt it was time the world heard more about Marshall, who for the most part is reserved, humble and takes being a Godfather in his stride. So, I approached him about writing his autobiography and he agreed.
Marshall Jefferson Diary of a DJ was published just before Covid turned things upside down. It’s a great read, so go grab a copy.
But then being in Covid and having what seemed magical time to pause and catch up with oneself I approached Marshall again. This time with an idea for a track that the listener could use to assist with meditation and helping them calm.
I wrote some lyrics based on a Sequential Relaxation practice that I had used for many years and suggested that alongside the music that Marshall would produce for it, he’d also narrate the lyrics. He’d done a track in the 90s called Mushrooms where he’d narrated a story over the music and his voice is just perfect for such ideas.
Marshall liked the idea and got to work on the music and one morning a few weeks later I awoke to find the mastered track Yellow Meditation For The Dance Generation relaxing in my inbox. I played it, loved it, and also used it to practice the sequential relaxation, and it worked.
Why Yellow? Well yellow is a colour that naturally calms and sooths the emotions. The breathing technique that Marshall narrates helps to take the listener on a relaxing journey where they can feel their muscles, nerves, mind calm. It’s a really amazing experience, give it a go, it works.
Yellow Meditation For The Dance Generation released September 2025 on Phonica Records on vinyl and digital.
