Optimo – Fabric 52 | Album Review

Friday, May 7th, 2010 | Album Review

It’s pretty dark times for our northern breadrin in Glasgow. Their football club can barely scrape together the costs for an open top bus trophy tour; then there’s that ridiculous stat you always hear that a good proportion of the city lives in poverty at a level which rivals Zimbabwe and to add insult to injury their easterly sister Edinburgh gets voted the best place to live in the country. But these things are the least of the city’s worries. It’s more so the dark cloud that hangs over the legendary Sub Club since Optimo announced they were ending their Sunday night tenure. Their weekly blend of eclectic samplings will be sorely missed, I for one am gutted that I never made it that far up north to witness these legendary nights first hand.

Luckily they immortalised some of what goes on at the Sub Club with their recent 20 Years of Sub Club mix. That mix ducked and dived through so many shades from electronic and acid to new wave and disco. It had a beautiful flow using some very disparate music making it a brilliant home listening CD. This extensive repertoire of legendary club nights, DJ sets and mix CDs means the bar is set extraordinarily high for their Fabric 52 mix. I wonder if they can pull off another great mix CD bottling that essence that has made them much loved in Glasgow and across the country.

From the press release the duo mentioned that they set out to capture a dance floor driven mix which reflects what they would normally do in Fabric’s Room 2. And that it is. The first half especially is a driving mix of chugging electronic basslines and loopy hooks. Prins Thomas, Spencer Parker and Rebolledo all weigh in with their interpretations of chuggy, yet whilst they’re different in their own ways they all seem to trundle along in the same way and offer little in terms of a sharp turn in proceedings which we have come to expect.

It’s not until the second half where the dancefloor guard is let down, allowing the mix to open up and explore those different avenues. The way they interject Thomas Brinkmann’s bleepy shuffling Walk With Me with the 90s German New Wave of Rheingold at the half way mark is exactly the kind of magic I was hoping for throughout this mix. It’s how they bend tracks from different genres to fit in with a dancey flow. We see more glimpses of this throughout the second half as Optimo weave in flavours from across the board. They give a quick head nod to the burgeoning UK Funky scene with a track from Roska where his syncopated beats allow it to blend perfectly with the Columbian folk dance rhythms on Shacalao. We also get detours into luscious synth washes such as the Joy Division-esque Together Alone or the camp 80s Don’t Call on Italians Do It Better.

It’s not like the second half is completely different to the first. It still keeps the same pace and flow; it’s just the more out of kilter track selection makes the mix a whole lot more interesting which finally gives the mix some much needed identity. It’s a shame there’s so much dawdling in the opening which disappointingly  makes it a luke warm effort overall.

Buy Optimo Fabric 52 from Amazon (CD | MP3), Play.com (CD), HMV (CD)

Tracklist:
01 Fad Gadget – Lady Shave – Mute
02 Discodromo – Cosmorama (Prins Thomas Discomiks) – Internasjonal
03 Basic Channel – Q1.1 – Basic Channel
04 Spencer Parker – YOGOTO – Rekids
05 Locussolus – Gunship – International Feel
06 Rebolledo – Amigos Cómeme – Cómeme
07 The Minister – Jack Your Bodey House Your Mind – Crème Organization
08 Altz – Get It Down! – Altzmusica
09 Thomas Brinkmann – Walk With Me – Curle
10 Rheingold – Dreiklangsdimensionen – Welt Rekord
11 Capablanca & T Keeler – La Konk Fiesta – Gomma
12 Roska – Feeline – Roska Kicks & Snares
13 Cumbia Moderna De Soledad – Shacalao – Sunflower
14 The Tyrell Corporation – Together Alone – Clone
15 Roni Griffith – Spys – Vanguard
16 Levon Vincent – Love Technique – Ovum
17 Oni Ayhun – OAR003-B – Oni Ayhun
18 Desire – Don’t Call – Italians Do It Better
19 Crazy Cousinz – Inflation – Defenders Ent Ltd
20 Matias Aguayo – Walter Neff – Kompakt
21 Nakion – Heartbit – Tigersushi
22 Xex – Heartbeat – What’s That Music

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