Mark Hawkins Feat Jamie Lidell - Let It Slide

Mark Hawkins returns once more under his Juxta Position moniker, delivering two weapons grade slices of dance-floor machinery guaranteed to take the roofs off of clubs and parties worldwide!

Dark Energy, one of Hawkins’ more recent productions, reframes the early nineties upbeat euro-with-a-hint-of-detroit sound, counterbalanced with slick 21st century production values, it’s frantic 144bpm tempo likely to appeal to the new generation of thrill seeking techno kids looking for something to raise their pulses.

Exocet is a much older piece, dating back a full seven years, which is reflected by the more restrained pace, and refusal to adhere to clichéd tropes, clinging on to the old adage  popularised by Jeff Mills, when he was quoted as saying that Techno should be “sounds that you’ve never heard before”. 

This package is a symbiosis of old meeting new, that attempts to recapture the original spirit of experimentalism in electronic music, which has been sorely missed in the rush for attention at the cost of all else that has plagued recent times. 

We hope that you will listen closely!

Juxta Position - Exocet - Routine Issue 007

M.Hawkins is the artist moniker Mark Hawkins has designated for his more house music orientated work. He returns to explore this sound further after his last outing under this name on Routine Issue 002 which was released last year.

M. Hawkins - 4 U - Routine Issue 009

Juxta Position returns with two fresh cuts of leftfield techno, ready to knock your brain sideways!

“Scarab” is the more relatable of the two, despite moving into more abstract beat structures as the track progresses.

Title track “Legacy File” moves into even more surreal territory, revisiting and updating the original minimal techno sound that was pioneered by artists like Cristian Vogel back in the mid 90s.

Utilising unusual time signatures, and unique sound design, this release aims to push the techno paradigm into fresh pastures, keeping the original spirit of electronic music progression alive!

Buy/Stream

Juxta Position - Legacy File - Routine Issue 010

Mark Hawkins - The Beauty And The Beast - UTTU

12th Planet

Marimba (Original Mix)

12th Planet (Original Mix)

I Don't Want To (Original Mix)

Jupiter Jam

Will Saul presents: DJ-Kicks EP

Life Struggle

Coming through as a producer in the early 2000's, nothing much seemed normal. The whirlwind of 90s dance music innovation had given way to a lack of focus, with increasingly innovative and accessible technology making the sounds heard on dancefloors more eclectic but at the same time the parties had started to feel less inspired, as if it were too hard to keep hold of the magic that had swirled around us for the last 10 years.

Against this backdrop, Mark Hawkins immediately stood out by how grounded he was compared to most of the space cadets floundering with their musical calling. Watching one of his staggeringly raw live sets, ripping up the floor with a combination of jacking Chicago house and bare bones techno was to see a pragmatic idealist carving out a unique space, unashamed to reference his inspirations with humour and bombast.

It was perhaps inevitable that Mark’s boundless spirit would see him push through the barriers of the UK’s more experimental audiences to gain greater presence with his entrance to a more underground House sound. Releases followed on Dixon Avenue Basement Jams and Clone before arriving on Houndstooth, blending House and Techno in a way that reached for the sky even while their roots were clearly planted firmly in the ground. Whilst always tough-as-painted-nails, the music progressed from being identifiable through its keen rawness to displaying increasing sophistication.

During a lost year that’s been anything but normal, it’s no surprise that Mark has dug deeper, gathering his influences and ideals into a more experimental, yet relevant and cohesive whole. The Twelve tracks on this new album represent 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.

Lead single from the album from the old ways and into the new is ‘Let It Slide’, his second collaboration with Jamie Lidell (following 2018’s “We Should Be Free”) that tears up the rulebook. Beat’s stumble and stutter, resolving in angular B-boy grooves while the bass line sounds like it’s being slapped out by a P Funk-addicted robotic jackhammer. In its sheer disregard for musical conventions, it reprises Lidell’s previous work with Cristian Vogel in their genre-destroying freakbeat combo, Super Collider, and perfectly sums up an album that challenges what ‘normal’ from now on should be.

The New Normal

PREMIERE : Mark Hawkins - Let It Slide feat. Jamie Lidell

The Wash EP

Snow Day

Lunar EP

Voyage (Original Mix)

Droney

Lunar (Original Mix)

Sanctuary

Whatever This Is

Lost in the Way

Out today! (16.06.2014) Available on Will Saul's "DJ-Kicks" album for !K7 records as part of his mix, but also available as the straight up track for your own DJing pleasure on the 2x 12" Album, AND the special 4 track 12" to come after, ONLY AVAILABLE ON THIS RELEASE!

Buy from Phonica

Marquis Hawkes "Life Struggle" (!K7 Records) - Feat. on Will Saul's "DJ-Kicks"

3rd Party “War Dust” ROIS003
						
		1. 3rd Party “War Dust”
		2. 3rd Party “Sniper Surfer”

Release Date: 01.11.2024


3rd Party is a new project from Matt Kowall (AKA EZ Jam) and electronic music veteran Mark Hawkins, which is abstract Bass-music focused. 

This debut outing focuses squarely on updating the early 90s Jungle paradigm with more modern sound design, that additionally draws influence from grime, and other more contemporary sounds, with an attention to maintaining high levels of production, guaranteed to bang any system it’s played on.

These two cuts reframe and breath new life into the breakbeat aesthetic, by seeking out new drum breaks to cut up, rather than just rinsing out the tired usage of the legendary Amen break, but nevertheless remaining very much in the same ball park as the much used sample that was originally performed by soul group The Winstons way back in 1969.

So, as always, play it loud, annoy your neighbours, crank it up on the car stereo with your windows down at the red traffic light and enjoy!

Preorder at Beatport

3rd Party - Sniper Surfer - 1 Min 30 Clip

After a considerable hiatus, Mark Hawkins dusts off his Juxta Position alias, the name under which he became known for his own unique take on modern techno sounds.

Having built a considerable reputation from previous releases, that started on DVS1’s Mistress imprint with the legendary track “Mercy” which found it’s way into the record boxes of a variety of house and techno djs back in 2012, Hawkins once more proves his pedigree as an originator of his own aesthetic. This lineage was reinforced with further releases on labels such as Modularz, Figure and his own outlet, Failsafe.

Title track “The Creature” draws palpable influence from the first wave of mid 90s UK techno, whilst bringing the production values and sound palette bang up to date. The production process was heavily influenced by the use of the extremely rare Latronic Notron hardware sequencer, of which Hawkins has recently acquired on long term loan.

“Outflank” gives a heavy nod to the pioneering minimalism of originators like Robert Hood and Daniel Bell, but is more than the sum of its parts, that is somehow constantly evolving despite its repetitive nature.

In conclusion, two cuts that display the kind of depth and funk rarely heard in contemporary techno music. 

PLAY LOUD!

The Creature

Preorder at Bandcamp

Juxta Position - The Creature - 1min 30 Clip

Exocet is a much older piece, dating back a full seven years, which is reflected by the more restrained pace, and refusal to adhere to clichéd tropes, clinging on to the old adage  popularised by Jeff Mills, when he was quoted as saying that Techno should be “sounds that you’ve never heard before”.

Exocet

Juxta Position - Exocet - 1m 30 Clip

Dark Energy reframes the early nineties upbeat euro-with-a-hint-of-detroit sound, counterbalanced with slick 21st century production values, it’s frantic 144bpm tempo likely to appeal to the new generation of thrill seeking techno kids looking for something to raise their pulses.

Juxta Position - Dark Energy - 1m 30 Clip

21st century music Svengali Ned Beckett returns to Routine Issue, again under his Dream Sequence guise, dishing up two more cuts of synthy goodness.

“Sleetbow” opens up things with a matter of fact groove, with an old school nodding vocal applied to great effect, when suddenly a breakbeat strides forward to seal the deal, leading to a darkened vibe shift with lashings of sub bass.

“Frustration of Purpose” strikes a melancholic chord with its delicate plucked string centrepiece, slowly introducing glitchy percussion, spiritual chants and gruff synth stabs.

Dream Sequence - Sleetbow - 1min 30 Clip

Dream Sequence - Frustration of Purpose - 1min 30 Clip

M. Hawkins is the artist moniker Mark Hawkins has designated for his more house music orientated work. He returns to explore this sound further after his last outing under this name on Routine Issue 002 which was released last year.

“Want Some” takes a more modern approach, with its driving bassline and husky vocoder.

M. Hawkins - Want Some - 1Min 30 Clip

M.Hawkins is the artist moniker Mark Hawkins has designated for his more house music orientated work. He returns to explore this sound further after his last outing under this name on Routine Issue 002 which was released last year.

“4 U” recalls the deep house sound of the UK from the late 90s and early 2000s as championed by labels like Rainy City and Drop Music, with its insistent vocal hook and classy pad chords.

M. Hawkins - 4 U - 1Min 30 Clip

Juxta Position - Scarab - 1min 30 clip

Juxta Position - Legacy File - 1min 30 clip

The Beast

The Beauty And The Beast

The Beauty

This is what happens when the audience starts demanding that I play harder and harder. Recorded live on 15th May 2016- the tempo goes up, but we still keep it funky!

Marquis Hawkes at Electronic Lounge Bielefeld May 15 2016

Marquis Hawkes at Electronic Lounge Bielefeld  15 May 2016

Recorded live at Red Light Radio, Amsterdam, 03.02.2018

Marquis Hawkes @ Red Light Radio 3.2.2018

I've created a sample pack for @splice-sounds , which includes beats, synths, keys and more in both .wav and midi file format. The track here is an example of what can be constructed completely from drum loops, bass lines, lead lines and chords contained in the sample pack. So, if you're looking for interesting chord progressions, killer basslines, or slamming house beats, don't hesitate to check out my sample pack in the buy-link above!

Splice Sounds: Marquis Hawkes - House Essentials

Uploaded to commemorate the release of my new Lockdown House E.P. on @ausmusic, check out this set recorded live at a hot and sweaty  @about-blank-berlin @toysberlin event last September!

Marquis Hawkes at TOYS, ://About Blank, Berlin, 13.09.2019

Voyage

Lunar

Morning After

Mark Hawkins is a studio based musical artist with a career spanning more than 25 years.

Cutting his teeth in the UK underground party scene throughout the 90s, he has built an extensive body of work collaborating with a wide variety of record labels and artists, in numerous styles of electronic music under many different aliases, including his given name.

After two and a half decades of performing both as a live electronic act, and as a DJ, at many events around the world, which had included many of the most well known clubs and festivals, he decided to narrow his focus down to his main passion of writing, producing and engineering music in his Berlin studio, working on both his own material, and as a sonic “gun for hire”, assisting other artists in achieving their own aspirations in the studio environment.

Mark is a reclusive character who is more interested in sculpting sound, and searching for the perfect beat than promoting his own work, and as such declines to participate in the social media world which dominates contemporary culture.

Preferring to immerse himself in the world of audio manipulation, he has become a go-to studio engineer amongst those in the know, who want their own sound to take on a more professional sheen, or even a more retrospective aesthetic that relates to music from days gone by. 

But this has in no way slowed down his own output of material, in fact, without the distraction of unwanted self promotion or touring, he has been able to place an increased emphasis on crafting exactly the kind of music he wants to create for himself.

Looking ahead, Hawkins will continue to forge his own path via his artistry, blending styles and blurring the boundaries between genres, and will inevitably in the process discover and create exciting new works.

Mark Hawkins

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