As it currently stands, today’s musical landscape finds itself littered with new found label after new found label, but there are arguably very few that measure up to the trailblazing example that’s consistently been set by Houndstooth. Three years on and 50 releases later, the fabric Records offshoot has firmly established itself as not only a pioneer, but also as a master of boundary pushing electronica, and nothing spells this out more clearly than with ‘Tessellations’, its third anniversary compilation album.
From the offset, the team behind Houndstooth have been sure to communicate their creative vision – something that A&R representative Rob Booth detailed in the plainest way possible in a 2012 interview: “Whilst Houndstooth will also release electronic music and reflect the musical ethos of fabric, it’s got a lot more of a license to operate beyond the realms of the dancefloor.” Listen to any assortment of their charted releases thus far; from the pounding kicks of Call Super’s ‘Acephale II’, right through to the gleaming synth and sugar-coated vocals heard in Soft As Snow’s ‘I Adore’, and you start to get a better idea of this far-reaching sound that the label prides itself on.
‘Tessellations’ is a heady, fourteen-track serving of musical eclecticism that seeks to ‘trace common threads and highlight tensions within such a stylistically expansive roster’ – it should be a challenge, but the Houndstooth artists involved appear to take it in their stride. Featuring contributions from all fourteen who determinedly leave their own indelible marks means that it feels unfair to take it apart and herald a select few as ‘stand outs’. ‘Tessellations’ is a unequivocally mixed bag.
CD1 maintains a gentler presence for its duration as it basks in the atmospheric productions of Guy Andrews, Call Super and Throwing Snow, while also soaking up some of Houndstooth’s signature playful electronic pop – where tracks such as ‘Undertow’ and ‘Brainliquid’ couple mesmeric vocals with fervent synths to a wondrous effect. All of this makes for a perfect contrast with its moodier second side that veers further into club territory, as household names Akkord and Special Request pay homage to drone and drum ‘n’ bass through a series of chopped breaks, dark pads and dynamic drums in ‘Vector’ and ‘Live from Alpha Centauri’, whilst _Unsubscribe_ and Marquis Hawkes bring things to a close with a healthy dose of acid inflected techno – reminding us all of Houndstooth’s deep rooted familiarity with the confines of the dancefloor.
Available now on both CD and digital formats, ‘Tessellations’ serves to remind us of the alluring quality that exists with the ever more frequent blurring of musical boundaries whilst also providing a potential blueprint for the future of electronic music as a whole.
9/10
Words: Sofia Leadbetter
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