Marquis Hawkes - The Marquis Of Hawkes (2018)

Berlin based electronic mainstay Marquis Hawkes has announced details of his second LP ‘The Marquis of Hawkes’, due out 24th August 2018.

Ahead of this, Hawkes will release a new single featuring acclaimed UK soul singer Jamie Lidell on the 20th July. The single, entitled ‘We Should Be Free’, features, alongside the low slung but melancholic original version, three reinterpretations of the song, remixed by Hawkes himself. Both this, and the essential previous single from June, “Don’t U”, which featured the vocal talents of Ursula Rucker, will appear on the forthcoming album in an extended version.

The album will be the producer’s second LP for us, following his critically acclaimed debut ‘Social Housing’ for the label, which was released in 2016. Entitled ‘The Marquis of Hawkes’, the new album adheres to a specific sound palette whilst still displaying eclecticism across its eight tracks.

Opening with the beat-less droning ambience of ‘Beton Theme’, the album takes in a variety of themes from across the house music spectrum, from the deep and dubby meditation of ‘Instrument Of Thought’ to the body jerking rhythms and retro bass stabs of ‘Tough Love’, the introspective mood of ‘The Matrix’, to the soulful New Jersey styled House grooves with a contemporary twist of ‘Sunset’, building through the optimistic joyousness of ‘Hope In Our Hearts’ before closing with Lidell’s heartfelt and passionate emotional overload on ‘We Should Be Free’.

First emerging in 2012, after being sought out by Glasgow label Dixon Avenue Basement Jams, and having previously been heavily involved with the free festival sound-system culture, the London born artist’s iconic sound has taken shape with the influence of music from cities like Chicago, Detroit and New York alongside the UK’s underground house scene.

With both depth and clarity of vision, Marquis Hawkes’ second album for Houndstooth expertly hones a shining hybrid of classic slamming house and grittily soulful optimism, making for a career-defining piece of work.