Hawkins,Mark - The New Normal (Sealed) (CD)

During a lost year that’s been anything but normal, it’s no surprise that Mark Hawkins has dug deeper, gathering his influences and ideals into a more experimental, yet relevant and cohesive whole. ‘A New Normal’ represents a blossoming of Mark’s creativity; freed from the constraints of immediate dance-floor delivery they explore new territory, rampaging over a landscape of electro-funk, body-rocking house, experimental electronica, euphoric pop and reflective chill out all underpinned by his accomplished melodic sensibility. Opening track ‘Can’t Let You Do This’ sets the tone perfectly, so stridently optimistic it will surely become a staple of 2021’s (hopefully) unstoppable deluge of summer parties, whether they’re held in fields to an audience of thousands or in the kitchen of a one-bedroom flat. 100 Percent’s dreamy, delayed vocals and classic House riffs are simply joyous, whilst the disco flavoured ‘No One Can Find Us’ demonstrates a twisted sound design that wickedly plays with perception & emotions. Lazy Sunday’s cheeky organ stabs and ‘You Bring The Sunshine’’s woozy melodies both revel in sun-drenched possibilities of a summer spent forgetting the past year’s hardships. But there are other moments that perhaps point us towards a different future for Mark’s music. Shape The Way You Compromise marries Soca rhythms with merciless bass tones and staccato acid bleeps, chewing up echos of West London broken-beat via stuttering IDM styled edits perfectly sums up an album that challenges what ‘normal’ from now on should be. Tracklisting: 01. Can't Let You Do This 02. Second Born 03. 100 Percent 04. Shape The Way You Compromise 05. No One Can Find Us 06. Lazy Sunday 07. You Bring The Sunshine 08. I AM 09. Never Stopped Loving U 10. Let It Slide feat. Jamie Lidell 11. The New Normal 12. SE5 Confirmed Press & Promo: Press International Press: SERVICED: Release served to international publications around the globe for feature & review. These include (to name a few): DJ, Time Out, Mixmag, The Wire, The Guardian and NME in the UK; Tsugi, Trax and Les Inrocks in France; Groove and FAZE in Germany; Billboard in the USA; and more. Student/Regional Press: Reviews and articles arranged based around gig locations. Radio SERVICED: National Radio: Release distributed to all relevant specialist national shows including Radio 1, and BBC 6Music, Kiss, Rinse, NTS. Online SERVICED: Online Press: Release served to music websites & blogs internationally for preview, review and feature. These include (amongst many others): Pitchfork, Stereogum, Resident Advisor, FACT Mag, Dummy, Dazed, XLR8R, The FADER, Pigeons & Planes, Data Transmission, as well as online presences of print publications such as Clash, Time Out, Big Shot and Mixmag. Advertising: Targeted Facebook and Google campaigns (Budget ?300). Social Networking & Communities: News to be featured on fabric blog and across artist’s, fabric & Houndstooth social networks Twitter: (fabric: 138k / Houndstooth: 7.7k / artist: N/A) Facebook: (fabric: 490k / Houndstooth: 14.6k / artist: N/A) Instagram: (fabric: 190k / Houndstooth: 5k / artist: N/A) Houndstooth YouTube: (14.2k subscribers / 8 million views) Track uploaded to Houndstooth Soundcloud: 35k followers Club Promotion: Posters displayed in fabric nightclub (averages approx. 6000 visitors per week).