Bleep

Houndstooth hits HTH100 with The Marquis of Hawkes, a clear-cut vision of house shot through the studio and sequencer of Marquis Hawkes.

The Marquis of Hawkes manages to walk the tightrope of setting itself up as the perfect peak DJ pull during next weekend's early hours room 1 session, while also offering a fully loaded selection that’s just as satisfying when it’s powering you through the train ride to work the following Monday morning.

Opening with the richly sunk drones of Beton Theme, we are left to bask in a form of melancholy that resembles a Sprinkles track that's been stretched through time from the early 00's right into the present moment. This feeling fades away when Don't You kicks in though, featuring the talents of Ursula Rucker, the pair craft a sound owing a lot to classic Trax (but hey, doesn't everyone making house music?). Things continue in the classic 90's hammering vibe with Instrument Of Thought, right before the sheer delight and dub chords of Tough Love appears on the horizon like a techno steamroller overlooking a thousand and one Detroit 12"s. From here on in, things only get better and better. The Matrix sounds like a fresh twist of Moby's Twin Peaks-esque Hacienda classic, Go, while Sunset is the Dettmann garage dub that never got cut to wax. The album ends on a high with some acid lines before Jamie Lidell's guest PA steals the show.

The Marquis of Hawkes follows on from a seriously strong run of Houndstooth releases from Pariah, Special Request, Nina Kraviz and Anastasia Kristensen...