- FabricLive66 might be the first commercially available mix from British producer and DJ Daniel Avery, but if you've been paying even remote attention to twisted underground electronica these recent months, it is unlikely you'll consider him a newcomer. Furthermore, over the past 18 months or so, he has given the blogosphere a sample of his own tastes via intriguing podcasts for various sites and online mix series, thus assuring enough online visibility for his Erol Alkan- and Andrew-Weatherall-approved brand of indie-infused electro, house and techno. Unsurprisingly, then, and not unlike his own coming-of-age Taste release from earlier this year, FabricLive66 marks Avery's entry in the major leagues of dance music.
Whether producing or DJing came first for him, it is nevertheless striking to hear how these two activities are married to perfection on his entry for the ever reliable series. Take Rework's heady "Touch Yourself," which is part of the mix's introductory segment: in Avery's hands it's reduced to a mere vocal snippet that gets more sinister the longer it is looped over Nautiluss' bass-heavy "Troubleman." The combo then gives way to Avery's own "Need Electric" and "Na Ve Reception," themselves merged with Sneaker's brutally daze-inducing "You Think You Think" and Simian Mobile Disco's more elegiac "Supermoon." For 20 minutes or so, the DJ makes other producer's sounds his own.
This sequence forms the mix's first highlight, which is only enhanced by the fact Avery interrupts it completely for a few seconds right after "Game Theory" by Magnets. The dead silence marks the start of the mix's impressively cohesive second half, with the tone set via the Kraftwerkian "Effect Tweak" Avery recorded with Justin Robertson as Deadstock 33s, a recent production titled "Water Jump," and James Welsh's take (through the warped "Something Borrowed") on the lawless spirit of acid house Avery digs so much. Hats off, too, for the inclusion of Raudive's creepy vocal manipulations on "Dancing & Slaving" and Gatto Fritto's dizzying take on JR Seaton's "Way Savvy," a whirling remix that eventually descends into an almost cacophonic orgy of tweaks and effects. Avery likes his music weird, he says—on FabricLive66, it doesn't really get weirder and more captivating than this. He then closes the entire thing with "Dry Heat" by The Asphodels (AKA Andrew Weatherall), an updated nod to the "frozen Balearic gay biker house" sound Black Strobe once favored at their most perverse, and Compuphonic's surprisingly composed "Sequoia." In the end, FabricLive66 is an utter success because of the immersive song selection and the technical virtuosity with which its tracks are combined.
Tracklist 01. Daniel Avery - The Eagle
02. Cowboy Rhythmbox - Shake
03. Telephones - Kanal (Prins Thomas Sure Oppstott)
04. Rework - Touch Yourself
05. Nautiluss - Troubleman
06. Daniel Avery - Need Electric
07. Daniel Avery - Naive Reception
08. Sneaker - You Think You Think
09. Simian Mobile Disco - Supermoon
10. Magnets - Game Theory
11. Daniel Avery & The Deadstock 33s - Effect Tweak
12. Daniel Avery - Water Jump
13. James Welsh - Something Borrowed
14. Daniel Avery - Taste
15. Forward Strategy Group - Elegant Mistakes
16. JR Seaton - Way Savvy (Gatto Fritto Remix)
17. Morgan Hammer - Libillule (Matt Walsh Remix)
18. Viadrina - It's OK (Prince Club Remix)
19. Miss Kittin - Girlz
20. Raudive - Dancing And Slaving
21. Kassem Mosse - Workshop 12 (A1)
22. The Asphodells - Dry Heat
23. Compuphonic - Sequoia