- I’m really feeling what Dixon and Âme are doing these days. The Body Language and Coast2Coast mixes were ace, Innervisions is consistently putting out great tunes and the showcase at Sonar was the highlight of the festival for me. So going to see them take over room one at Fabric, along with Chateau Flight’s I:Cube, was a no brainer for me.
One could argue that there is somewhat of a double standard for DJs as opposed to bands. With bands, you expect to hear them play their hits, which is why you go and see them in the first place, whereas DJs are supposed to be constantly on the cutting edge, breaking new tunes, constructing innovative sets and not just aping one another (hard to do when playing other people's music).
As label bosses, Âme and Dixon obviously want to push their brand, but it can be a bit of catch 22 when you start to recognize all the same tracks from their various mix CDs etc. But how can I really complain when these are what got me to go see them in the first place!
Terry Francis’s early set did not set the tone very well, starting things off with macho jacking house, but when Dixon came on at 1.30 a.m., he quickly set things right. The first half of his set was deep and soulful, with Ferrer & Sydenham’s 'Timbuktu' the first of many tunes somehow intertwined into the Âme/Dixon catalogue (you’ll find an Âme remix on their Coast2Coast CD). Things really kicked off though when the opening riff of Mark August’s 'Warm' penetrated through Fabric’s amazing sound system, such a tune! (Innervisions 10 for those keeping score at home). The Martin Buttrich remix of Tracy Thorn’s 'It’s All True' ('Body Language Vol. 4') made an appearance before the second half of the set upped the tempo in preparation for I:Cube and Âme, but when Dixon dropped the mammoth 'Baladine' (you’re getting the idea), it sounded and felt amazing in conjunction with the "Bodysonic" vibrating dancefloor. Fun trivia for you all: sections of the floors in room one are actually attached to 400 bass transducers emitting bass frequencies of the music being played, allowing clubbers to feel the music through bass frequencies transmitted into their skeletons via their feet.
After Dixon’s storming set it was time for a smoke break, which due to the new laws in London is a little more complicated then pulling out your lighter. Full marks to the Fabric staff who are friendly and well organized, and have a pretty good system for ushering people to the smoking area out back. They even provide umbrellas on rainy days. I really feel for them though as they have to deal with so many drunk/high people on a nightly basis, but I give credit where credit is due. Everything about Fabric is top class and professional, it truly is a super club experience, minus the pretension and attitude. As a side note, now that you can’t smoke in clubs, you really can smell the BO.
After a quick jaunt into room two to catch the very end of M.I.A from Sub Static's live set I then made it back into room one just in time to hear the familiar sounds of Chateau Flight’s 'Baccula' resonating through the speakers courtesy of I:Cube’s live set. Then it was on to Âme.
Âme sets can go two ways. They are very much entrenched in old school house music, but can also cater to the big room rave crowd. Unfortunately the latter was on display tonight. I found their set a bit to samey at times, very epic and trancey, although the inclusion of some Luciano was a nice touch. One tune I will never get tired of hearing though is 'Keepin Me' by Stereotyp (Fauna Flash remix) which they dropped at near the end. I originally heard Dixon drop this at Sonar and I went nuts all over again when Âme played it here. Massive! Of course an Âme set wouldn’t be complete without the epic stormer that is 'Nia'. Even though we’ve all heard this a million times, it has survived for a reason, it is a modern day classic.
For the last hour Dixon and Âme played back to back, winding things down and taking it a bit more housey again. Unfortunately, I had to leave early and was forcefully torn away from the dancefloor, so can’t comment too much.
The Innervisions sound has definitely been established, and people came to hear Âme and Dixon play it. They didn’t try to go all art house on us and experiment, instead giving the people what they wanted and expected to hear. I understand they will be back again in October, but no matter how many times I see them play the same tunes, I always enjoy myself, and will definitely go back for more.