Touché Hombre – Nick Marks (reviewed by Dave Franklin)

Nick Marks’ ability to dance lightly across any number of musical genres, sounds, and styles never ceases to amaze me. You come across artists who are great at fusing two genres together, and sometimes, you stumble across those who can work with perhaps three at a time. But listening to, revelling in, and dissecting Nick’s work reveals him to be a consummate juggler.

Of course, the art of juggling is not just keeping all those objects in the air at once but also making interesting patterns, pulling off unexpected tricks, blurring those fast-moving objects into colourful arrays, and, most of all, wowing the audience. If you think of those balls or clubs being juggled as musical elements, then it isn’t going too far to suggest that one of the best jugglers of them all is Nick Marks.

Touché Hombre sees him throw into the air everything from funky grooves and smooth and soulful moves, jazz vibes and liquid, and often languid electronica, digital deftness and analogue dexterity, warm, west-coast sonic sentiments and gentle dancefloor beats. Not only does he keep all of these moving cnofidently, but he also uses their musical shapes and hues to create a beautiful and awe-inspiring display of his compositional and playing talents.

The art is not in merely choosing these myriad elements but in keeping them moving and relating, complimenting and sometimes brilliantly contrasting, supporting and synchronising with each other. And if you want to know what that might sound like in real terms, Nick Marks’ music in general and Touché Hombre in particular is exactly what you need to experience to appreciate this sonic display being performed to perfection.