Beat 102-103 presenter Darren Rice has teamed up with acclaimed producer and fellow radiohead Mark McCabe for a new music project called ANIM.
The duo release their debut single "Count To Ten" this weekend worldwide on Universal Music Ireland/Republic Records.
Darren says "‘Count To Ten’ first came about following a pretty incredible moment for me watching the sunrise at Burning Man festival in the middle of the Black Rock desert in Nevada. I was working on a demo of it here and there for about 3 years. I thought it really had potential but needed someone with both underground & commercial sensibilities to give it a bit of a scrub & gleam to get it to where it needed to be.”
Darren and Mark had crossed paths over the years on both the clubbing and radio circuit so when they bumped into each other at Electric Picnic in 2019, a conversation about music sparked the idea to start working together.
Darren, commonly known as Ricer to family, friends and fans alike, has a hugely successful DJ career that has seen him entertain the masses at many of Ireland’s most cutting-edge clubs and festivals. He has presented house and techno show The Saturday Selection on Beat since 2007 and has been recognised eight times by the national radio awards in the specialist music category. Darren is also a podcast presenter, sneaker fiend and style guru. He has hosted Beat Drive since January 2019.
Mark McCabe is the renowned producer behind one of the biggest-selling Irish singles of all time, “Maniac 2000” and the multi-platinum selling single “I’m Feeling It”, not to mention putting his remix skills to work with artists such as Gavin James, Dagny, James Arthur and Gabrielle Aplin. His work has picked up over 300 million combined streams. Like Darren, he’s a regular on the live dance circuit and a prominent independent radio host.
The pair’s work on “Count To Ten” has proved a fruitful alliance. They clicked so harmoniously on the project that the potential for future releases and live performances seems too obvious and apparent to ignore. Plans are already afoot for a follow-up.
