- The decisive moment in Fabric 59 occurs right at about the midpoint of the mix. The strident electro bassline of "God Sent" meanders along as the vocal fades out, to be joined by a shadowy twin, closer-than-familiar, then a slightly haunting melody cooing alongside and suddenly there's this voice, and you know the story by now, "I am the story, I am the star, like nine-oh-two-one-oh. Oh, yeah." Hearing "Madame Hollywood" cut its way into a house mix in 2011 feels a bit like reclamation for the much-derided electroclash, but for Jamie Jones it's just another part of the house music firmament, just another track to be laid and swung into place. What makes this broad-mindedness work is Jones' ability to follow moods and stitch together bass and melodic lines between unlikely bedfellows, shifting tempo at times but never losing the overall groove.
With so many differently-produced tracks, certain thematic groupings are inevitable on Fabric 59, to keep aesthetic hiccups to a minimum. To that effect, the first section oscillates around lightly funky, laidback house, segueing every few minutes into a new permutation or style. The transition between "Madame Hollywood" and Jones production "Assimilation" provides a bit of a lull, but moves quickly enough to avoid excessive mid-mix fatigue. In the final rounds, Jones just slaps down off-kilter classics and lets them more or less run their course. Both are tied together, naturally, with Jones' own varied output in the form of productions, remixes and one original contribution (the sinister bend of "The Lows").
There's very little gristle in these 65 minutes, but some new and old standouts include Crazy P's "Open for Service," a serious late-summer bit of disco funk that makes perfect sense alongside the more soundtrack-y, AOR-disco of Panthers' "Goblin City," complete with unexpected guitar solo wigging out on top. It's all House Music, Mr. Jones tells us, and it all fits together—from the dark, yearning, urbane gospel of "God Sent" to the sweet, almost tender "Get Up Disco;" from Karen Pollard/Pollack's jazzy 90's stomp "You Can't Touch Me" to the final drawn-out chords of Footprintz' obvious-but-killer Depeche Mode homage "Fear of Numbers." Many DJs suffer from monotony and overspecialization while some seem guilty of over-reaching their stylistic grasp. Jamie Jones has navigated his way to a solid balance between the two, and with Fabric 59 he's honed the crowd-pleasing tip of his aesthetic to a very fine point indeed.
Tracklist 01. Hot Natured feat. Ali Love & Kenny Glasgow - Time Intro
02. Sebastien Tellier - La Ritournelle (Metronomy Mix)
03. James Teej - Don't Appear (Redux)
04. Coat Of Arms - Is This Something (Jones Fly Edit)
05. White Lions - DePalma
06. Karen Pollack - You Can't Touch Me (Murk Remix - Jones Fly Edit)
07. Cajmere feat. Jamie Principle - God Sent ('10)
08. Felix Da Housecat - Madame Hollywood
09. Waifs & Strays - Body Shiver
10. jennygoesdirty - Amoureux Solitaires
11. Hot Natured feat. Ali Love & Kenny Glasgow - Assimilation
12. Crazy P - Open For Service
13. Panthers - Goblin City (Holy Ghost Mix)
14. Oppenheimer Analysis - The Devil's Dancers
15. Jamie Jones - The Lows
16. soho808 - Get Up Disco
17. Footprintz - Fear Of Numbers