Tag Archives: Fabric

Let’s Dance – fabric presents Floorplan (Fabric)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Father and daughter Robert and Lyric Hood – aka Floorplan – arrive on Fabric presents with a good deal of history already clocked up with the label.

Robert remembers it well in the press release. “When you walk into Room 2 you feel like you’re walking into a moment. Once the room pulls you in, a connection is formed between a DJ & the atmosphere in that room.  It’s purely organic.” His contribution to the Fabric mix series – Fabric 39 – was made back in 2008, but now he has a slightly different modus operandi.  “Of the handful of techno clubs that I’ve shared stories about with Lyric, fabric was usually the one I talked about most, especially that sound system, and the crowds were just crazy”, he says.

What’s the music like?

An energy rush. Wasting no time, Floorplan set about their mix with a mission of bringing spiritually infused techno to a higher plain, with suitably euphoric vocals. Their own single You’re A Shining Star is an early highpoint, while the rolling bass underpinning My Desire For You is brilliant.

The highs continue as keyboards lead us skywards, with excellent vocals on Dale Move’s Praise, then Floorplan’s own We Give Thee Honor and Only God.  Shiela’s In The Morning – via a Floorplan mix – works really well, while the closing Higher from Andrea Belli and Dave Roy Bland is a suitable plain on which to finish.

Floorplan keep the mix moving, quickly flitting from one track to the other with the minimum of fuss but with a really satisfying flow to the mix.

Does it all work?

It does. Thrills and spills, wrapped up with the minimum of fuss!

Is it recommended?

Very much so. Quickfire music at the house / techno interface, and with a generous helping hand from the spiritual side. The vocals give it a constant high throughout. Highly recommended!

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Published post no.2,748 – Sunday 14 December 2025

Let’s Dance – Various Artists: Fabric presents Laurent Garnier (Fabric)

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What’s the story?

Let legendary French DJ Laurent Garnier take up the story:

“Clubs have been my second home since the start of my career. Once you’ve witnessed that unique connection you can create in a club with a crowd, once you’ve experienced it from behind the decks, you just know you are where you’re meant to be. This special journey with fabric is of course a tribute to the legendary London club – a place that’s been a home to so many clubbers, DJs and music-lovers for so many years – but most of all, a tribute to all the dancefloors and all the clubs around the world.”

Garnier presents four mixes that express his love of Fabric – The House Odyssey, Rhythmic Resonance, Into The Low-End and The Way Home.

What’s the music like?

As you might expect, Garnier delivers a mixing tour de force.

The House Odyssey hits the floor dancing after a short introduction, running through some bassy moments with Aberton and Caiiro via Mike Dunn. There is some really nice spatial play on Terry Hunter’s mix of Deon Cole feat. Terisa Griffin & Terry Hunter‘s Where The Freaks At, which Garnier segues into Demarkus Lewis & DJ Lady D’s A Deep-Felt Love. By Skatman’s What you Gonna Do and Harry Romero’s Liquid Samba things are really pumping, Junior Sanchez’ Strong Enough powering through to the end and the slightly Balearic feel of Basile du Suresnes’ So Good.

Rhythmic Resonance is brilliantly executed, a propulsive mix that finds an early high point with John Tejada’s Different Mirrors, building up strong momentum through the likes of Carlo Reutz, Lewy, Electric Rescue and Marco Bailey, by which time the beats are bouncing off the walls.

Into The Low-End is of course best heard on the right equipment, as Garnier heads for the bottom of the bass bin. It hits a percussive groove with Martin Badder & Maria’s No Two Ways About It, and by the time we hit Dismantle’s Hammer Time, things are really starting to motor. Garnier covers a lot of ground in this mix, with clipped beats, vocal doozies and some frantic rhythms that hit many peaks like Zero Zero’s drum & bass quickie Anything Can Happen.

The Way Home enjoys some much slower jams, with highlights including Adriano Koch’s I’ll Keep You Waiting and Dialog’s Book Of Life, featuring Benji. There are some really good smouldering late night grooves here, especially later in the mix from Richie Culver, Lorne and Melody Gardot.

Does it all work?

It does – and you will surely be introduced to a whole glut of excellent new music if you take on Garnier’s intricately picked set.

There is also an extra EP of Garnier exclusives to enjoy. Odyssée Maison, with Dan Diamond, is a housey winner, while the percussive Resonances From The D goes deep on the techno side. Playing With The Low-End goes bassy but arguably best of all is On The Way Home, an ambient beauty.

Is it recommended?

It certainly is. This is the closest thing to an old school DJ compilation mix you’ll encounter all year – and you are strongly advised to get on board while stocks last!

You can listen to clips from the mix at the Juno website – and get a full tracklisting from the dedicated Bandcamp page:

Published post no.2,402 – Monday 23 December 2024

New music – Daniel Avery: Wonderland / Running (fabric originals)

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by Ben Hogwood

Here is a love letter from Daniel Avery to the fabled Fabric nightclub. The release celebrates 25 years of the club, having been a pivotal space for Avery. Following the 2014 release of his album Drone Logic, he was invited by fabric to stage his own DJ night at the club, and the release of this single marks the return of that night.

Published post no.2,123 – Wednesday 20 March 2024

Let’s Dance – Various Artists: fabric presents Chaos in the CBD (fabric Records)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

The sibling duo Louis and Ben Helliker-Hales, who make up Chaos in the CBD, beam in from New Zealand as the latest contributors to the fabric presents series.

In the process they mark a decade in music, bringing together a set of house music described as ‘creating a tunnel between 1990 and 2007…a timeless listen, condensing the ebbs, flows, gear changes and the feelings that surface during an all-night set experience in 80 minutes.

The idea is to appeal to experienced listeners whose foundations lean heavily on rave music, but also newcomers getting into the genre for the first time.

What’s the music like?

This is a highly enjoyable, fluid mix of music that enjoys a good many twists and turns in its 77 minutes.

Chaos in the CBD are quickly into their stride, setting the scene before hitting a pretty much immediate high with Z-Formation’s Secret Departure. There are some nice lines floated throughout Hanna’s You & Me, where “I can see you in my dreams, you and me”, then some quality nocturnal house from Chris Brann – he of the Wamdue moniker – who contributes the wonderfully chilled Journey To The Centre, complete with airy piano.

We hear the deep Raymond Castoldi cut, into The Jungle, which segues nicely into the quality Tarenah from Psychedelic Research Lab, adding a bit more percussion. By the time Deep Sided‘s Fly You kicks in the vibe is definitely older school rave – and with a riff to match.

The mix roughs up really nicely through the likes of The Element, whose cut Oh You Got Me sounds great in its Deeper Than Deep mix. When Chaos in the CBD themselves surface with Higher Elevation the camera has panned out again, before Dana Kelley and Brothers Of The Underground offer slightly rougher, disco-infused cuts once again.

Musically the mix gets more adventurous the more it moves, and the wandering eye of Blak Beat Niks with Kerri Chandler proves a great listen on I’ll Be There, a Brazilian infused beauty. House music proper reasserts itself for Box Clever and I’ll Eat You (If You Were A Box), then the upfront Raunchy After Dark from Sound Clash Republic. Finally the deepness returns, with the lovely JD Hall and Johnathan Morning effort Into You, by which time the tempo is quite nippy.

Does it all work?

Yes – the brief very much fulfilled, with house music of varying dimensions and depths mixed into a really satisfying whole.

Is it recommended?

It is. Quality deep house is not always easy to find, but there is plenty of it here – and enough to satisfy those whose persuasions head more for the rave or even the jazzy side of things. Recommended!

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Switched on – Fabric presents Maribou State (Fabric)

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What’s the story?

Fabric may have called time on their two long-running compilation series, each of which declared on 100 not out, but they are still producing anthologies centering on a particular artist. Some, like this one from the duo Maribou State, are still concerned with reproducing the feel of a night out to the club.

There’s a subtle difference this time around, however, as the mix hones in on the sweet spot where the feelings build, Maribou State heading out on the journey to their own set with spirits and expectations high. This most pleasant of states is enhanced by field recordings from previous journeys into the club, complementing the choice of 21 tracks.

What’s the music like?

Dreamy. There is pure escapism at work here, right from the moment the strains of Stelvio Cipriani’s Mary’s Theme ease the listener into the evening. Over the next few tracks Maribou State establish a relaxed tempo and a penchant for a catchy hook or two, the relatively short excerpts blending together and fed through a warm fuzz. That slightly out of focus sound peaks through the heady sounds of Kutiman’s Line 5 and carries us through a soft-hearted cover of Ain’t No Stopping Us Now from Risco Connection, nicely done.

This is a junction point in the mix, after which it gets more percussive while retaining the fuzzy sheen round the outside. This works especially well when tracks like Oriyin’s Roll The Dice, with its nagging vocal hook, and Botany’s excellent Wednesday Night Oct 28 2015 are involved. The latter, a Western Vinyl release, pans out nicely, losing its beats as disjointed choral voices circle the listener in a heady cocktail.

Two-thirds of the way through the mix the tracks get longer, and we arrive at the squelchy funk of Shire Tea’s Hackney Birdwatch, as English as it sounds. This is the cue for two new tracks from Maribou State themselves, the urgent Mother and the skittish beats of Strange Habits, featuring Yussef Dayes. These frame another exclusive, their pulsing remix of Radiohead’s Reckoner, with some squiggly synthesizers to complement Thom Yorke’s floated vocal. Earlier on in the mix we get the duo channelled through the pseudonym North Downs, the easy and rather lovely Settle Down.

The mix wraps up with another Shire Tea track, the quick stepping Gentleman’s Whistle Club, which steps into the cooled down piano vibes of Hailu Mergia, and the improvisatory Yefkir Engurguro. This disappears into the middle distance.

Does it all work?

Most of the time. The mix drifts a little towards the middle, in danger of settling too far into the background, but thankfully the duo have an ace or a hook up their sleeves to bring it forward again. It’s good to hear a quirk or two in the productions, and refreshing to note the relative absence of big names.

Is it recommended?

Yes. For much of this warming hour and a quarter there is a strong sunshine vibe, and although Maribou State are be recreating a night at Fabric they could just as easily be providing the soundtrack for a particularly warm poolside scene in the Mediterranean. How we could do with that now!

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