- "I mixed it in my living room, using vinyl, a computer and a mixer." In this day and age, Achim Brandenburg's description of the process behind fabric 79 will be seen by some as a guarantee of quality craftsmanship, while others might find it a bit quixotic. But there's a reason, aside from simple format bias, that Brandenburg prefers to lug his records around in a bag instead of carrying them on a USB stick. fabric 79 feels put together with the loving touch of a man used to caressing each individual slab of wax, rather than just clicking through icons on a screen.
Not that the German DJ really had that option when he first got his hands on these tunes, a fair chunk of which come from a time when most phones still had to be connected to a wall. fabric 79 begins with George Acosta and Erick Paredes' 1993 track "Time," whose piano greets you less than 20 seconds in, setting the stage for an outbreak of funky sax. Chez Damier's "Untitled B2" gives us the mix's first disco loops, before we go even further back with A Black Man, A Black Man And Another Black Man's 1987 classic "I Believe," whose rhythm is the kind of thing Brandenburg once memorably described as "music rubbing on your leg."
As much time as Brandenburg may spend digging through the depths of his collection, it's not like he misses what's going on now. fabric 79 finds space for box-fresh newbies, with tracks like Linkwood's "Expressions" and Murat Tapeli's "P.S.A. (Play, Stop, Acid)" slotted in among vintage cuts like "The Warehouse DJ" from DJ Armando as The New World Order. You can sense the feeling Brandenburg has for these records. fabric 79 is a hand-crafted mix with the DJ's fingerprints all over it.
Tracklist01. George Acosta & Erick Paredes - Time
02. Chez Damier - Untitled B2
03. A Black Man, A Black Man And Another Black Man - I Believe
04. The Traxxmen - Emergency (Original 9-1-1 Mixx)
05. Wilma - Fabio
06. Titonton - Signs Of Inertia
07. Earth People - Dance
08. Linkwood - Expressions
09. Kaptein Kaliber - Oh Ah Ah
10. The Knife - Ready To Lose (Tarantism Remix)
11. I-F - The Search
12. Shinoby - There R No Rules Fear Is Unknown & Sleep Is Out Of Question
13. Doms & Deykers - Fonts For The People
14. Domu - Something Borrowed
15. Crowdpleaser - Silberpfeil
16. The Jass Man - Jass Yo Azz Off (Mike's Mello Groove Mixx)
17. The New World Order - The Warehouse DJ
18. Murat Tepeli - P.S.A. (Play, Stop, Acid)
19. Vice - Ritual
20. Francis Inferno Orchestra - Rap Beef
21. The Steoples - Nature Of The Soul
22. Tuff City Kids - Carden Eden
23. Axel Boman - Fantastic Piano
24. Tommy McGee & E.R.A. - She's Got Her E.R.A.