About

— The Analog Vault // Essential Listening —

Frank & Tony are Francis Harris and Anthony Collins, two DJs and producers who teamed up in 2011 to found Scissor & Thread. Since its formation, their label has provided a platform for Collins' steady stream of thumping club singles and Harris's increasingly introspective productions. Undoubtedly, Ethos is tremendously influenced by the multitude of projects originating from, and supported by, the duo and their label in the decade – releasing records from a vast diversity of artists and Harris becoming curatorial voice of Brooklyn’s premiere venue for audiophiles, Public Records, where he continues to amplify work across a global diaspora (and where the duo maintain a residency of wide praise).

It's a sound equally primed for headphones and PA speakers, able to soundtrack a quiet evening at home or a transcendent club experience. When they first called it quits in 2017, it seemed like no one would be able to capture deep house in quite the same way. (Their 2014 album, You Go Girl remains a minor masterpiece.) Luckily for us, Francis Harris and Anthony Collins reconnected and quietly began issuing new music in 2022, gathering steam with an EP every few months. With the release of new album Ethos, it's like no time has passed at all. Though it's only their second full-length in a decade, Frank & Tony's attention to detail and commitment to smoldering ambiance are sharper than ever. 

The familiar Frank & Tony elements are all here: groovy basslines, synthesized shakers and handclaps, the insistent thump of a kick, the blocky snare. Melodies pop up occasionally, like the syncopated piano that bobs and weaves through the end of "Too Poor For Movies, Too Tired For Love," or the flanged guitar shimmering like an oasis vision halfway through "Drift." But for the most part, these songs are standard Frank & Tony fare, imbued with a soft bioluminescent glow. Perhaps most striking about Ethos is its collaborative spirit. Much of the pair's previous work felt borne of a specific environment only the two of them could have created, as if perfected in a hermetically sealed chamber before being presented to the public. This time, they tap Scissor & Thread labelmates Lawrence, DaRand Land and DJ Aakmael for features, all of whom make equally lustrous deep house tunes themselves. Much of Frank & Tony's work celebrates the fundamental mechanics of deep house, taking the genre's basic sounds and gorgeously arranging them like an art exhibit. Here, Frank & Tony incorporate soul into sound design, expertly pinpointing the beating heart within. — (via Resident Advisor)



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Label: Scissor and Thread
Format: 2x Vinyl, 12", Album, Gatefold
Released: Mar 22, 2024
Genre: Electronic
Style: Deep House

File under: House / Electro / Techno
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