- Hot on the heels of his partner in crime Lee Burridge's latest mix CD comes Craig Richard's superb Fabric Volume 1, the first in a new monthly series of mixes designed to showcase the sounds of London's premier nightclub Fabric. Richards and Burridge are most renowned for their Tyrant club night at Fabric and the superb mix CD of the same name, which features a wide range of styles and tunes with a common air of quality about them. Whereas Lee’s recent Nubreed CD for the Global Underground crew was reminiscent of the more upbeat progressive and tribal tracks on Tyrant, Fabric Volume 1 showcases the deeper, funky tech and more minimal house sounds that kick off either disc of the pairs joint mix. Think tracks like ‘Never Can Say Goodbye’ and ‘El Locomotion’ off the Tyrant mixes and you’re on the right track.
Fabric opens with the sublime ‘At The Cafe’ by Gemini, a tune with minimal percussion, a grooving bassline and floating synth washes perfect for lounging in the summer sun with drink in hand. This mood continues through the next few tracks as Richards smoothly mixes between the minimal tech funk while slowly upping the pace. Other standouts early in the mix are the two SCSI-9 tracks, which are guaranteed to have your head bopping, if not your feet moving. The CD is progressing at a reasonable pace by the tenth track, ‘Bluntski’ by Bushwacka, which serves as a turning point in the mix and the standout track on the CD. This deep, percussive, bass heavy and downright trippy breaks number showcases yet another side to Bushwacka, a producer who has been nothing short of brilliant of late. This tune will no doubt be played by various styles of DJ for a long time to come. Following on from Bluntski are a number of more upbeat, percussive tech house tracks that represent the ‘peak time’ of the mix, when the entire crowd is on its feet and shaking its collective arse. This continues until the brilliant and emotional ‘Mispent Years’ by Schatrax closes out the mix, in style.
As impressive as the previous description was, this CD will probably not grab all people equally. The minimal grooves at the beginning of the mix are not the most danceable tunes in the world and will definitely not appeal to those who like their music ‘bangin’. The CD may also take a number of listens to appreciate its beauty and Richard’s skillful mixing and programming in bringing the user from very minimal funky tracks smoothly up to jump-up-and-down dancefloor material. If you are sick of hearing too many mixes with the same sound, if not the exact same tunes, then Fabric Volume 1 is offering a refreshing alternative of quality, funky and techy electronic music.
Tracklist
Gemini – At The Cafe
CPEN – Pirate’s Life
Antonelli Electr. – Dubby Disco
Dub Tech Soundsystem – Sugar Rush
Jamie Anderson – Montage
SCSI-9 – Cozmoport
SCSI-9 – Cologne
Lo-kee – Sinners
Enrst Viebeg – Nightlife
Bushwacka! – Bluntski
Swag – Drum Hydraulics
Roman IV – 14x7x4
Wavescape – Silicon Jazz
Helmet – Early Riser
Schatrax – Mispent Years