Two stalwarts in the Irish music scene, Darren Rice and Mark McCabe, have joined forces to create a dynamic new dance partnership in the form of ANIM.

Sharing their debut track 'Count To Ten' last month, the crossover dance smash is a refreshing pop epic which instantly grabs your attention with its distinctive combination of melodies and vocal.

Having crossed paths over the years on the DJ and radio circuit, a meeting at Electric Picnic Festival in 2019 between McCabe and Rice sparked the idea to start working together.

“‘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," Rice says of the partnership.

"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 and gleam to get it to where it needed to be. Once Mark entered the picture, it came together pretty quickly.”

Rice has a hugely successful DJ career that has seen him entertain the masses at many of Ireland’s most cutting-edge clubs and festivals - also working as notable independent radio host and podcast presenter.

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'.

His remix skills have seen him collaborate with artists such as Gavin James, Dagny, James Arthur and Gabrielle Aplin, earning over 300 million combined streams. Like Rice, McCabe is a regular on the live dance circuit and spends his spare time working as a prominent independent radio host.

The pair clicked harmoniously on the ANIM project, plans for future releases and live performances are already afoot.

Check out 'Count To Ten' below: