Ethos by Frank & Tony

With its moderate rhythms and soft pads, Ethos, the second album from Frank & Tony (aka Francis Harris and Anthony Collins) arrives ten years after their debut You Go Girl with, thankfully, little change in their dynamic. Ethos is another beautifully crafted album of heavy House vibes and tasteful vocals (with notable contributions from singer and pianist Eliana Glass and deep House aficionado DJ Aakmael). Across the nine tracks, that swell and morph into familiar but pleasing shapes, every House and Techno trait is visited and paid respect. Yes, you've heard this album before (we're trading in timeless sounds don't you know?) but it's not derivative or boring. And Harris is acutely aware of this:

We’re only able to make house music because of the vast legacy of producers from New York, Detroit and Chicago who laid the foundation for what we do today. In many ways it can never really live up to that legacy as our art is born out of privilege rather than necessity to create spaces of political desire in the face of marginalization. So what does this mean? We take that legacy very seriously and we want our stamp on this history to resonate with current and future generations as a bridge to the real history behind it.

Frank (Francis Harris)

Bang on. Maintaining that personal connection to House music's founders is sensible and important, especially in consolidating the Frank & Tony input. With Ethos they've essentially added a footnote to the vast and slowly evolving House story.