Marc Mac is one of my musical heroes. As a key member of the legendary production/composing team 4hero, Marc has been pioneering music styles for the better part of the past two decades.

Over the past year or so, he has also put out a series of podcasts highlighting the work of various arrangers who have inspired him:

I have always been moved by great orchestral accompaniments and the amazing arrangers of the 60’s and 70’s, sadly this art form is slowly receding throughout today’s Soul music. Although I also love the classical/pop arrangements of masters such as George Martin, Lalo Schifrin, Hal & Burt and the great reggae arrangements of Brian Rogers (arranged for Jamaican singer John Holt) throughout this series of podcasts I wanna focus on my fave soul arrangers cats like Charles Stepney, Richard Evans, Gene Page, Wade Marcus, Charles Chalmers, Quincy Jones and Jerry Peters.

Long overdue, he’s just posted the latest installment, forgoing the single arranger focus of previous episodes to pull together gems “from the back of the soul crates, great vocal, string, horns and riddim sections all over these”:

The Soul Arranger (Part 5) – The Soul Crate

Marc Mac’s crates are never to be fuxed with. Amazing tunes from start to finish.

Check out his podOmatic page to catch the rest of the episodes. You won’t be disappointed.

Also, check out the video below from 4hero’s most recent album, Play With the Changes, if you’re not yet familiar with the brilliance of Marc Mac’s composing/production: