fabric SELECTS III | Saturday night sounds of melody and more
As one of the most recognisable names in London’s underground music scene - as well as across the world - the power and influence of fabric is unquestionably colossal. Club, record label, clothing merchant and so much more: the place is an institution for so many artists. Whether it’s the globe-trotting, world-renowned names or handpicked emerging talent, this Farringdon hub is a true purveyor of quality music, formed of a team who clearly invests so much time and energy into curating delectable line-ups across a broad spectrum of techno, house and drum and bass.
As part of this powerhouse is fabric Records, which has been operating nearly as long as the club itself. A reflection of the extremely high standards of the branch, previous artists on the label include Sasha, Chase & Status, DVS1 and Midland - and this is simply just a minute fraction of names; yet it is solid testament of how artists view fabric - as well as the team’s understanding of music variety and quality.
Amongst the ‘fabric Presents’ series, the VAs and the EPs, comes the latest instalment - ‘fabric Selects’. The concept simple: every edition focusing on one genre of music, with featured artists being those who have driven the sound in the club on particular nights. A mixture of both recognised names and up-and-coming individuals fabric have invested in, the album captures the sounds you’d certainly hear on the weekend in both opening, middle and closing sets. Our third instalment, in unison with homegrown event Love Hertz, focuses on the deeper spectrum of dance music: diving between the melodics, deep grooves and soul-edged beats. Not only a reflection of mentioned event series, but this genre is a firm favourite at the club on a Saturday night. An all-rounder for both artists and the club lovers, giving them a deeper connection to their experience(s) within the iconic brick walls.
Our slow-burning, slow tempo intro comes from rising artist Moritz. He’s been building a solid reputation through a string of well-received sets across every room in fabric, as well as recent releases on labels Running Back and Diynamic; undoubtedly he’s a trusted selector of deeper, gently-paced tempos. Continuing to establish his artistic character comes this multi-layered journey of progression and harmony, which takes us through a voyage composed of several separate elements pieced into one - much like the four fragments of namesake ‘P.L.U.R.’. A motionless breeze of whimsical melody is made serious with a warbling bass, before the track puts on another face with frazzled machine drumming. Light, breezy and all emotions in control, haloes sing an ethereal stance: a clean crystal harmony. Falling bright, gentle lulls of androgynous flutters cement the crystal harmony as cymbals shudder, trembling into the delicate breeze; soon breaking down with a descending scale of drawn-out keys which sing deeper into the slow-grooving bass. Tailor-made build-up track ‘P.L.U.R.’ is a loose foundation, gently moving and changing: visions of slowly-lit, smouldering embers burn into an alluring ambience, alighting us into motion.
Supersonic - scattering - a tale of twinkling stars dancing amongst the vast matter of the night sky - the atmospherics of Hardt Antoine’s ‘Timespace’ teleport us to an enthralling journey through a rich and dramatic mesosphere. Thrown straight into a black hole of theatrics, drum kick rolls act like flying matter crashing against one another, whilst thunderous pings dart straight: meteors flying past in a frenzy. Twinkling chords fall back into the drum rolls, propelling forwards with lasers which waltz and salsa. Our scene is set. Along the galactic sky, drama continues to intensify with shots of stabbing and punching drum pads. Dashing through the galaxy, all light dims and we’re held in suspense amongst a breeze of shadows. And underneath the beauty of this night sky we dance: close your eyes and ‘Timespace’ places us within the universe's natural luminosity of stars whizzing by. We blink for one moment, and all intensity has gone, like the tingling pulsations which have built up and dropped.
Kiara Scuro takes us back in time with ‘Revelation’, conjuring feelings of ‘80s house music and culture - think clubs like The Hacienda. Revving up the intensity and setting us around warehouse nostalgia, the track pursues an electrifying and fighting drum beat, laced with hush-a-by vocals and a bootleg bounce for kicking energy. Echoing, muffled voices as skipping rattles polish over and collide with injections of acid-infused electro: spinning, dizzying as if our heads are bouncing from wall-to-wall of the bare brickwork of a packed warehouse. Repeats of ‘revelation’ hush, softly feathering over the smokiness in the air. Like broken fragments inbetween the mellow-melting laser shots, the trip-hop beat and soft vocals keep our heads clear. Amongst the ashy embers, smoky chords wheeze and whine on the vibrating acid jabs, and as we’re led through the fog at 5.06 mins, the uncertainty begins to diffuse and we find ourselves moving our bodies in full clarity, united, for the last minute remaining.
Our first compilation collaboration and perhaps the most personal one associated with fabric: through time spent behind the hallowed DJ decks, comes the partnership of Pattn and Adnan Khadra, who have become both musical allies and friends through their residential spots in the club. As their first official release together, this is an important one - yet no less, as a light and breezy number, it present as an upbeat tale of their happy and strong friendship. Six minutes of cosmic disco delishness, ‘My Celia’ is a lightheaded funk - full of floaty atmospherics which dip and bounce around the soundscape. A simple composition of jewel-encased, breezy chords are serenaded by augmented guitar strings, as they sway and hallucinate, falling into the arms of the jolting and convulsing bassline. Our guitar tune swoons as heartbreak, and as a sorrowful lull expressingly sings out its soul to a mellow encore, it dawns that in all its smooth and seductive heartache, this is romantic minimalism.
Emotions and memories define the story of Anii’s ‘Just Breathe’: musically it narrates her journey into London life. An artist whose take on musical endeavours is a mixture of emotion, melody and compassionate timing, Anii is an excellent conductor of taking us on beautiful journeys, yet this track feels like she has taken her artistic direction one step further, as she takes us through her memories; brimming with emotional stance, wavering melody and colourful accents - a self-portrait of inner feeling and musical reflection. An opening to marshmallow-soft piano keys which create a scenic backdrop to glowing, nature-derived mannerisms set the scene of a new dawn - a new landscape to conquer. Breathe, and release: with every exhalation new elements build, more emotion driven. As sweet harmonics glide and swoosh through the air, a swirl of chromatics croon out heart achingly. Breathe in, again - now the shallow vocals release to the atmosphere - so foggy and haunting; exhaling breath. In itself a contradiction of the computerised melody, the track acts like a balance of inside feelings and outside perceptions: a self portrait of how Anii feels and what others see. In its loose foundation of all layers, we bow down to feeling Anii’s freedom, seeing her confidence building as the seconds pour and her inner free spirited persona comes through.
Duo Glowal are no casual strollers when it comes to making big-room music: so attention grabbing they’ve impressed their big energy with labels such as Innervisions, ATLANT Records and Watergate Records. ‘Riptide’ further plays into the hands of their procured sound. Channelling a fluid and glossy melody, funnelling forward like a tidal wave - a large landscape of movement, as air horns and brisk donks tap the rhythm to command. Supped-up synths meet an exaggerated chorus; we envision a powerful riptide coming into sight: building up, and falling, like water which has relapsed. Snare kisses warn us ahead as the waves of hi-hats wave on the edge of the shore. Mixing down, to a drowsy dusting of keys - leisurely dancing to confined escapes, and as our gigantic wave builds up, we sway in tense motion - soon, it comes crashing down. So loose, so free - so effortless. A riptide - which means two different currents meeting - is envisioned in Glowal. A fast, powerful and potent track - all so exciting.
Our Israeli production mavericks take us on another unique journey of theirs; for followers of their art, there’s little disputing that Red Axes sounds are avant garde, and really few artists to compare. ‘Super Power Powder’ is trippy in name and tripping in nature - could it be a memorable journey of tripiness too? A four-to-floor structure, sandwiched with never-ending claps lays the groundwork, jammed with simple synthesised keys for that mood-shaking groove. Slowly, slowly, the mellow piano keys build; the pace pounding mid-tempo. Running back and forth, a drum roll of claps applaude us into the race, the piano keys now fading from hi to low, and reversed. Under and over our keys dip, as a crying, exasperated yearn squeals: whether in pain or pleasure we’ll never know. Above water and under ground, the track’s pure eccentric-ness strikes our intrigue, attention captivated for that brief moment, before claps and piano bring us back to the real world. And in our clearer mind, the crying wail has transformed to elated madness - the powder has powered through our minds from the unknown and into the ecstasy of the night ahead. Without surprise, Red Axes deliver another kooky track - and for the dancefloor, this is something which hooks our intrigue immediately.
The formation of ‘Back To Self’ strikes a two-tone balance, as it plays out both a chugging bassline and half-halted drum kick, bringing the track to feel as if it’s rolling in much slower motion than the actual 126 bpm. A diverse musical background, as well as experience working and playing with many different artists has shaped Chloé Caillet into a broad-ranged DJ and producer, who loves to go down unexpected roads at any given chance. Her star-spangled addition makes us feel like we’re ready to rage with the harsh drum pelts and rhythmic steel drums, but reaching back to another avenue, it pursues a softer, dreamier manner. Swirling emotions run round; like sonic illusions rushing through a tropical island breeze. But as it turns, the other side of the zippered squelches spiral around pulsating drums, forever we’re left with different imaginations chasing us wild. Chloé catches us in a psychedelic haze: a track which is so bright and sparkly - chirpy and full of neon rays which evaporate into luminosity under a magic spell. A transitional track: build up, slowdown or unwind - how it’s played out is truly up to those in command.
Our ninth track offering comes from Zombies In Miami, giving us groovy techno goodness - note nothing like today’s fast paced belters, but more in tune with classic dance floor movers. The Mexican duo have prepped and polished their sounds of success since 2011, and here 12 years later we have a strong entry to show. Rolling us into play with a slightly jackin’ bassline, gleaming icicles drip from every beat. Catchy euphoria melody entails, and soon sunshine key strokes radiate their warmth. ‘Forever’ is a sunny disposition - classic feel-good house. Shuffling percussion breaks away, whilst twinkles glow and shoot over the top. As gasping exhalations loop, a sharp feminine voice wails on top of a jazzy dubbed flatline. A mid-way breakdown leads to more serious accolade - and with all elements driving a tougher collective, our euphoria begins to peak. A track which homages the past into present day: a showcase of the classic house sound which lives on, forever.
Cruising straight from her fabric set, as part of the Melodic Diggers’ room host, Tony y Not continues to show us her colourful musical canvas - this time away from the dance floor. Sharp as it is inquisitive; abstract as it is grandiose, ‘From Here On Out’ is a muted and moody landscape, filled with infectious movement and seasoned with a catchy chorus for vibrancy. Bass and kick: simple beginnings, with a bass-bopping infusion drives a minimal core. It’s this slick rhythmic kick which tiptoes on the central structure and dances as delicately as feather-light, nimble footwork. Robot vocals of ‘moving in night’, ‘living through light’ and more speak amongst our acid-synthesised, head-bobbing composure to envision a stroppy mood swing, until the vocals start to warm; mixing and bringing a somewhat colourful infusion to stone cold illusion. Rolling forwards, Never Not Making Noise, and playing into disassociated feelings which prevent us from feeling connected, ‘From Here On Out’ is a serious peak-time mover, an acid dub-techno number, which strange as it may sound, is also a seductive piece of malfunctioning electro bliss.
Rockstar - come DJ - come all-round enigmatic musician Curses forever breaks the status quo. Dance music cut into melancholic atmospherics drives his post-punk-esk indie sound. ‘Nightlife’ is a rather apt title for the album - straight away it presents itself as a gift to all us dancing bodies. The energy is lively, tinged with a minor sounding refrain, with guitars in amplification. Artist Sara Zinger takes the vocals, softly shouting “nightlife” on repeat into a ghoulish sea of spiky guitar riffs. Zinger continuing her wordplay soon breaks into a half rap - paying homage to the afterdark, further telling “messing with my brain”, “sleepless nights again” - lyrics so relatable. Crawling around like a creature of the night, the brooding guitar talks to our souls, the motifs of the screeching sirens act like our impulsiveness and the lyrics speak like every one of our minds on the weekends.
In March this year Shubostar muted to Mixmag Brasil that the ‘80s are her biggest inspiration. Musically, in ‘Pale Blue Dot’, this is solid proof: a track which seriously wouldn’t be amiss amongst one of Yazoo’s albums - this track from the South Korean born/German based DJ/producer is a retro-synthesised, melodic-pop dream. Digging deeper into its delicious soundscape is a track which takes us on a journey through Carl Sagan’s time and space, as the vocal used is of the astronomer’s speech of the same track name. Reflecting on the speech, Shubostar creates a somewhat musical equivalent and conjures up our position within the solar system; already the sonic, spacey atmospherics pair perfectly with her signature cosmic and dark disco sounds. 20 seconds of a clean, forceful kick make a bold entrance - the energy kept in check. Dots swirl, float around like stars and flash in different spots - the inky blue shades blot out and fade like stars burning far and bright, before our vocal lifts off into the galaxy of melody. Churning pads add weight to the extra-terrestrial theme as Sagan confides “the Earth is a very small space” to lead us to our moment of emotion; even the brassy trumpets sing amongst the sonic radio waves, swaying in motion and playing out with the sepia-soaked vibrancy.
The fiercely multi-talented Perel sure knows how to endlessly revamp her music style - a forever reinvention of herself. Through productions, DJ sets and live sets, vocalist et al Annegret Fiedler leaves no genre untouched; mixed and shaped to own desires. And so, in true fashion and (trance)form, she once again flexes artistic diversity. Breaking borders between minimal, acid, trance, seasoned with a fast-paced mantra which is derived from the core of harder techno. Leading us in with a cluster of energetic snares, shaking amongst a sharp kick, a foot-tapping beat soon opens to a gentle stream of melody, as soothing as specks of summer rain on our skin. Rolling in at one minute, groove descends as the beat becomes harsher and our vanilla-sweet melody now intensifies: stringing forwards amongst the essence of futuristic, silver-tinged chords which glisten. It’s due to this monsoon of illusion that a story of euphoric character is building; seeking out our lost souls and dragging us along for the ride. Metal-tinged whispers of ‘tranceform’ murmur, and by 2.52 minutes, in true trance style we’ve hit another turn. Cuts of holographic splinters play along our sweet, sprightly song - dancing on a fine edge of cutting and soft, thus creating a smooth and vigorous textured mix which continues to flawlessly blend. Euphoric energy kept constant, always switching up the transition - Perel never stops us dancing, as she glides between ultra-fast rolling, tribalistic drum pelts and sentimental melodies throughout, to the end. No compilation which focuses on melodic dance music should miss out on Trance, and here we have a seriously excellent addition - full of ecstasy, beauty and constant re-invention.
Sunshine sounds and glory-moulded melodies make Dublin’s Long Island Sound. The track name taking inspiration from the cold season, yet ‘Snow’ is quite the contrary with its balearic anthem with a radiating atmosphere - so warm and happy. Taking a tripped beat which falls, steps and falls again, novel vocals illuminate in with obscure clarity. As the tacky glue strings sing out, we hear glitchy whirls twinkle like dew drops on a crisp December morning. Keys carouseling into halfway, the lyrics now become clear: “I remember you” it serenades and the meaning now transforms into a harmonious ballad of romantic recollections. Melting keys computerised in fluorescent neon makes the beating heart glow - ‘Snow’ becomes a track for those warming moments. Long Island Sound has clearly nailed the emotional dance floor breakdowns to a tee.
Rounding off our journey is an energetic, mind-bending chase, from Que Sakamoto & NT. Sakamoto self describes ‘Nani Nani’ as an “oriental Japanese Exotic Trance”. Words to describe you’d never expect together has made this track a crazy and unique concoction of sounds. Like an acid-infused caraval ground, a foggy refrain spins around, flossed with bittersweet hydraulics. Crashing into the madness, the air whisps and minor-toned metallics rattle. A mystic haze of Dinh Giao Linh’s vocals flutter, lullabying into a trance for a split moment, before windy whooshes engulf. Soon with the pace fastened, Linh continues to sing, looping “Nani” and weaving her voice inbetween the gonging rattles, searing on the edge of insanity.
Presenting 15 tracks together to umbrella a massive genre - especially one currently so popular and an important piece of a club - is no easy task. Yet fabric has curated well. Of course, this comes as little surprise given the extensive experience and passion from the team. This dedication is strongly shown in the tracks: not only do we have a diverse range of sounds to cater for many different music tastes, but the high quality production of each addition is superb and consistent across all. Also notably is the fantastic mix of names. fabric hasn't just chosen the instantly recognisable - it also includes up-and-coming artists, proving that their mantra of including all from all stages of life, and bringing together as one, runs deep through the weave of this institution.
review by joanne philpott
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