Fabric
Take Home a Slice of Fabric 10th Birthday Cake – Ivan Smagghe Mix
Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009 | Event Reviews | No Comments
It took them a while but here it is, a small slice of the fabric 10th birthday for you to take home, courtesy of Ivan Smagghe. His set from Sunday evening was definitely one of the highlight sets from the weekend, slotted in between the formidable Terry Francis and the supremo Steve Bug, Ivan pitched his set just right to set room 1 alight. So sit back, listen and enjoy, and if you were there re-live a few memories. Also don’t forget the Smaggster will be down at fabric again to see the new year in. Check our NYE guide here for more details, or skip the decision making and buy tickets from Ticketweb.
You can download the mix from here, just right click save as, or stream it from the player below.
EarPIPE’s Extensive But a Tad Late NYE/NYD Guide
Thursday, December 17th, 2009 | Event Preview | 1 Comment
So I guess I should do some NYE recommendations since it’s that time of year again. However I might be a little late on the ball these days as you practically need to start planning your NYE activities in the summer. But if you’re still stuck for something to do here goes:
Eastern Electrics (Buy Tickets)
Top of the picks again is Eastern Electrics. Last year’s party was quite phenomenal – great line up, good crowd and interesting location. This year is more of the same. Headlining the main room is the amazing Steve Bug, he’ll be bringing in the new year with his 11pm set. Shonky is in there for some moral support whilst the BLOC folk take over the second room with a seriously dubbed out line-up – Kode 9, Appleblim and Plastician. Finally Man Make Music host the third room with a couple of bumping headliners in the form of Justin Martin and Riva Starr, a pretty stellar line-up for new years. Location wise they’ve taken over some railway arches, this time in London Bridge, next door to the new Shard building on St Thomas Street three minutes walk from the station. Tickets are selling out extremely fast so get them now at a relatively reasonable £32.50. › Continue reading
The Berlin Bus is Coming and Everybody’s Jumping | Weekend Round Up
Thursday, November 26th, 2009 | Event Preview | No Comments
It’s the end of the month… That can mean only one thing – pay day! And don’t the clubs know it. The arse end of the month is so stuffed with nights that it’s actually touching cloth wanting to overspill into December. Consider this the official start to the run down to Christmas and New Years Eve/Day. › Continue reading
Magda – Fabric 49 | Album Review
Sunday, November 22nd, 2009 | Album Review | 1 Comment
Oh Magda, my how far you’ve come. Since your days as Richie Hawtin’s personal tea lady to now a heavy weight DJ with your own Fabric CD. A proper rags to riches story. On her path to stardom, Magda had put out She’s a Dancing Machine her first CD compilation way back in 2006 when clicky minimal techno was still fashionable. She earned some deserved applaud with her multi layered and intricately architected mix. It was mechanical, it was robotic, it was computerised, yet it clicked and jacked along dripping in synthetic funk. Magda had set her own bar high, the question is could she surpass it on Fabric 49?
The answer – no, at best on par. The mix follows the same recipe of synthetic funk, robotic rhythms and mechanical beats. The only difference is for Fabric 49 she stays caught on the same jittery electronic theme rather than providing contrast and texture exploring the techno genre. On Dancing Machine she moved from abstract sounds, to funky rhythms, to dark pummelling techno with ease. But on Fabric 49 she stays firmly locked on the same groove throughout. › Continue reading
15 Hours of Party Perfection – Fabric 10th Birthday Review
Tuesday, October 27th, 2009 | Event Reviews | 4 Comments
Pictures by Nick Ensing and Nik Torrens from Resident Advisor
The last 10th birthday I attended was about nineteen odd years ago on a Saturday afternoon and it consisted of a bouncy castle, some jelly and ice cream along with a goody bag full of sweets and a slice of cake. Fabric’s 10th birthday however was to say the least a little different. I didn’t really see any jelly and ice cream on offer, although there were bananas and a BBQ for nutritional support. It was lacking a bouncy castle, although you could say the mechanical rodeo bull was a grown up version of it. And the only goody bag you were likely to see would have been the inside of a body bag due to excessive celebration. But what fabric lacked in traditional 10th birthday festivities they totally made up for with their 30 hour marathon and the most impeccable line-up you would ever lay eyes on. The hardest decision was not whether to go but when to go. The guarded set times along with the massive array of talent that were going to play meant you either stayed for the two whole days to catch everyone or picked your time wisely to catch as much as possible.
Despite all the birthday options going off across the capital I ended up plumping for the quite civilised (really? do civilised people do this?) Sunday morning arrival with a quiet Saturday night under my belt. The first taste of fabric came thundering through the floorboards of Smiths, the bar next door to fabric. Popping in to start the day with a fry up, a quick glance across the bar saw a mix of glee and confusion on the faces of the other diners as their plates vibrated across the table to the bass and beats of room 1 pounding through the floor. Quite a surreal experience, especially for those just there for their Sunday paper read and breakfast.
As surreal experiences go that was just the first for the day. On entering the club it was odd to see club casualties crashing out with massive smiles on their faces ready to be replaced by fresh faced party revellers. It was going to be interesting to see how well the sober new comers would mix with the inebriated after partiers, › Continue reading
Fabric Birthday Tickets Now Available!!
Friday, October 2nd, 2009 | Event Preview | No Comments
get em whilst they’re hot… They’re probably not going to be sticking around long either… Don’t forget to book the foreseeable future off from life as this party is sure to create the hangover of hangovers!
Get em from TICKETWEB NOW!!
The Weekend Reprise – Contakt, Ministry Birthday, Aphex Twin, Secretsundaze & WYS!
Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009 | Event Preview | No Comments
I don’t know why but the last weekend in September always seems to be unnecessarily massive. Maybe because it’s the start of uni and the clubs want to start with a bang to get the kids hooked in? Guess it makes sense. Get em whilst they’re young and all that.
So what does the weekend have installed for all these younguns? Well the question should probably more what doesn’t the weekend have installed.
Contakt with Richie Hawtin
For one more time this year London will be graced with the last Contakt show for the year. It’s been almost a year since they last step foot in London and almost a year and a half since they started doing the show. If you haven’t heard by now the Contakt concept brings the Minus clan together, allowing them to perform as one unit set to the backdrop of some impressive visuals. Basically it’s an elaborate back to back session with all the Minus producers in front of a massive LED display showing some incredible trippy visuals. › Continue reading
The Disco Will Not Close – Fabric 10th Birthday
Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009 | Event Preview | No Comments
Only great things make their 10th anniversary. House music has been going for plus 20 years now. A Technics turntable often lives well beyond 10 years without any problems. Harry Patch celebrated eleven decades on this planet which itself has been in existence for 450 million decades. And most importantly my pair of lucky boxers celebrated turning ten the other week. there are a few holes, tears and stains, but by god they’re comfortable.
Another thing that’s turning ten in October will be Fabric. After busting through the super club crash of the early noughties. At a time where large clubs and nights were ending due to a loss of appetite for big room trance in soulless douldrums, Fabric remained unphased and continued sticking to its underground music policy to pull through the tough times in club land. Their music policy paid off and the club’s popularity rose with the upward trends of underground house and techno as well as the emergence of breakbeat and the second wind of drum n bass. Before long, from the strength of the nights along with their much revered CD series Fabric were setting the trends and becoming the template for what clubs should be doing. › Continue reading
Jay Haze – Fabric 47 | Album Review
Sunday, July 12th, 2009 | Album Review | No Comments
For Fabric’s 47th installation of the CD series, they’ve brought in the colourful character that is Jay Haze. Known for telling it like it is and literally coming from the streets of Philly (according to the press release he was homeless a couple of times), Jay Haze has mixed up an honest borderless mix that is full to the brim of soul and deepness. The mix predominately skirts around the house and tech house domains but there are wide and far reaching influences on the sound from Jazz, Funk and Disco to Hip Hop, Reggae and Dub. All of this is effortlessly blended together by Jay Haze.
For example the opening six or so tracks, Jay Haze has touched on Hip Hop with his track Awakening, which quickly runs over to deep house with an exclusive track on TuningSpork from Lil Dirty Ghetto Bastard, › Continue reading
LTJ Bukem – FabricLive 46
Tuesday, June 16th, 2009 | Album Review | No Comments
We don’t really cover too much Drum n Bass on here. But that’s not to say we don’t like it. The problem has been, in our own honest opinion, a lack of decent drum n bass. Well probably not lack of, just its been pushed to the side whilst all the kids have been going made for the noisy jump up sound ala Pendulum et al. Which is fair enough. Its noisy, its mental its what kids love. For grumpy folk like us at EarPipe we’re more accustomed to the oozsing liquid sounds of drum n bass. Hence why we’re giving LTJ Bukem’s FabricLive mix the big lighter cru thumbs up.
It’s been a long time coming for LTJ Bukem to do this CD. But by god it was worth it. So what has the godfather of liquid drum n bass dished out on this mix? Basically 70 minutes of smooth luscious grooves and layers over itching, rolling percussion. You’ve got rolling pianos, soaring synths, luscious melodies and my personal favourite, double bass basslines ala Breakbeat Orchestra style. I can’t really give you any details of its credibility in drum n bass terms, but it is definitely the best D&B mix from FabricLive since High Contrast and Marcus Intalex. Nuff said, innit.
Buy LTJ Bukem – FabricLive 43 on CD
Tracklist:
01 Greg Packer – People’s Music
02 Tidal – Impressions
03 Furney – Eerie Indiana
04 Villem – Inflated Tear (Madcap’s Remix)
05 Paul SG Ft Eros – Forever
06 Paul SG Ft Caine – Lay Down
07 Paul SG Ft Andy Sim – Sweet and Fresh
08 Locksmith – 2 Minds
09 Specific – Time
10 Furney – Jambaleno
11 Phatplayaz – Fact Of The Unknown
12 Furney – Rhodeo Drive
13 Eveson – Kodama
14 Furney – Fearz
15 Tayla – Turn it Around
16 Locksmith – I’m Not Where You Are
17 Furney – Rhodes For D
18 Syncopix – So In Need
The Bank Holiday Just Stomped Right Through All Over My Brain | Garnier, Villalobos & Secretsundaze
Tuesday, June 16th, 2009 | Event Reviews | No Comments
Now that I’ve picked up the pieces (Yes its been three weeks..) its time to talk about the bank holiday weekend that recently stomped all over my brain. The first outing was way out at matter, where the French master Laurent Garnier was down to show off his new live show. Unfortunately being a working man meant it was a bit tough getting back and mustering up the energy to head straight back out again, so I didn’t end up getting down to the club till gone midnight and therefore missed the whole live show. Not to worry as I’ll be catching it at Sonar and Worldwide festival this year. But what I did catch was the mighty Francois K who did his usual trick of coming on and obliterating any warm up. It’s not a bad thing because it does often work and that night it picked the night up in the right direction. However I think he might have scared some of the after work drinks crowd with the blistering tunes he was playing.
The crowd itself wasn’t as busy as I thought it was going to be. Usually a Garnier gig is a road block event. Maybe it was, but with matter being so huge it comfortably held everyone with plenty of room to dance. The rest of the club wasn’t used though with room 2 being closed early on or all night and › Continue reading
Madlib & J.Rocc @ Deviation, Fabric Review
Sunday, May 31st, 2009 | Event Reviews | No Comments
Here at EarPipe we do like to venture off the house and techno path every so often, so last Tuesday we headed down for the delayed Madlib & J.Rocc gig for Deviation. After missing his flight the previous week, the anticipation for Tuesday’s gig was at swine flu fever point. Getting into Fabric at 11pm the crowd had packed into Room 1 to get the best view and sound for Madlib’s arrival. Keeping the crowd warm was original Beat Junkie member J.Rocc. He was dropping funky classics such as Apache and They Reminisce into deeper stuff from Dilla and MF Doom. He even dropped Beastie Boys Paul Revere which had my guts rumbling like nobody’s business. For the best part he had the crowd eating out his palm.
Towards the end of J.Rocc’s set Madlib comes out and MCs live over loads of Madvillain and MF Doom stuff which sends the crowd berserk. J Rocc DJing and Madlib MCing, things look like › Continue reading
Yet Another Bank Holiday! Earpipe’s Guide to Completely Waste it Away!
Wednesday, May 20th, 2009 | Event Preview | No Comments
- Photo by Vickie Parker
My god, this weekend is so packed that there is hardly any room to manoeuvre for hangovers. But even though we know of the impending doom that is likely to happen next week in the form of an almighty comedown we’re still going to give you our low down on what seems fun for the short term.
If you’re starting things early then new club Cable in London Bridge has their opening night on Thursday. Will Saul, Dave Congreve and the Disco Bloodbath fellas will no doubt be cracking open a bottle of bubbly in celebration.
But now on to the real weekend. Friday sees the French grand master Laurent Garnier debut his live show in the UK at matter. Things kick off early with the live show starting at 7pm and running through till 9pm. That’s then followed by a pretty monstrous line-up consisting of DJ sets from Garnier, Francois K, Yousef, Norman Jay, The Unabombers and Chris Coco. Not a bad way to start a weekend eh? Get your tickets from the following links: Live Show only or Combined Live/Club tickets here or Club night only tickets here
If a trip all the way out to Greenwich is too much (and I don’t blame you) then maybe a trip to East Village where everyone’s favourite Romanian DJ, Pedro of a:rpia:r fame is manning the decks in the basement. He’s sure to have things bumping with his blend of techno and house. Moving on to Saturday and there is one event which is sure to be a complete roadblock. › Continue reading
Madlib and J Rocc At Deviation Rescheduled for Tues
Wednesday, May 13th, 2009 | Event Preview, News | No Comments
Just got word from Fabric that the Madlib/J Rocc gig at Deviation tonight has been rescheduled for Tues 19th May. All tickets are still valid for the night and they will provide a refund for anyone that wants one.
Claude Von Stroke – Fabric 46 | Album Review
Saturday, May 9th, 2009 | Album Review | No Comments
For many Claude Von Stroke divides opinion, there are those that think his wonky sound is the best thing since sliced bread whilst there are those that won’t give him the time of the day due to tracks like Whistler. For me, I sit on the fence like Switzerland. Von Stroke’s music can be a bit dubious at times, but you got to give the man some respect for genre busting sound of Whos Afraid of Detroit. What I do like about Von Stroke though is his whole approach to the scene. It all just seems like a good bit of fun for him which he doesn’t take too seriously at all. And in the process he’s helped create this wonky sound that straddles house and techno, he’s made some fantastic tunes and obviously some which are corny. But in his defence all the corny ones have had their comedic charm. I mean who in their right mind makes a breakbeat remix of Peanut Butter Jelly Time if they’re not dicking around, even his Fabric CD starts with him and his mates just laughing for no real reason.
Thankfully however Von Stroke doesn’t go absurd on the comic front for Fabric 46. Instead it locks into a wonky groove travelling through all sorts of styles with just the right sheen of Von Stroke humour and quirkiness. He gently › Continue reading
The Mother of All Weekends is Upon Us!
Wednesday, April 8th, 2009 | Event Preview | No Comments
When most people think of Easter they think the second coming of Christ, Easter eggs, fluffy bunnies and daffodils. For a select few it’s all about Easter weekend and how to run your mind into the ground for four days and nights. I’m in the latter camp.
This year the options seem to be bunched around key days. Thursday night has an all mighty clash. In one corner you’ve got your scenster nights. Secretsundaze do their annual thing at the coronet theatre which will see Ame, Dixon and Henrik Schwarz combine forces to create some ableton improve amalgamation live set where they be as one together. No its not some gay love in between the quartet, it’s actually their new project Critical Mass. The whole thing sounds pretty interesting, especially if its anything along the lines of their recent Granfather Paradox mix. After the live session, Dixon and Ame will be dropping a dj set or two along with the SS and Horse Meat Disco ressies.
However if Secretsundaze all sounds a bit too complex with the live sets and you just want to go and party your ass of to some party tunes, then maybe Disco Bloodbath is for you? They’re celebrating their 2nd birthday and to help them they’ve brought in their Scottish mentors Optimo who have been playing party tunes for countless years. Todd Terje will be headlining the main room for the Bloodbath along with the residents, whilst Optimo residents Twitch and Wilkes will be keeping a handle on things with Gucci Soundsystem.
If that all seems a bit to fashionista and you just want raw big room stuff, then you want to be heading towards Koko or matter. Old Coxy is doing a party at the former with Nic Fanciulli and Yousef, whilst Diggers is doing his Bedrock thang at the latter.
Omar S – Fabric 45 | Album Review
Wednesday, March 11th, 2009 | Album Review | No Comments
For the past few years Omar S has been releasing his unadulterated music across the world with the kind of swagger and disregard for everything else that only Detroit musicians can do. With Omar S there are no techno cliques, he’s just a guy that works at the Ford factory by day and at night he produces his own brand of luscious deep music at the same rate as a factory. His label FXHE is completely independent, releasing and distributing his music across the world from his lowly basement in Detroit. All this makes Omar S a definite character. God, he’s so out there he doesn’t even known who Ricardo Villalobos is.
For Fabric 45, he goes and does a Villalobos by mixing up a compilation of self penned works. But lets not worry about the technicalities of whom done what first, the real question is, is it any good? I’m happy to say the answer to that is a resounding yes. His Fabric 45 drifts you away on a sea of electronic synths following a natural current which casually floats you from one track to the next.
The mix weights itself around the focal point of Omar S’ synonymous Psychotic Photosynthesis. Each track from the very beginning edges towards the pinnacle in a fluid and organic manner. In the opening moments Strider’s World combines a haunting organ with 8bit gameboy sounds sets the mix up with an edgy tension before allowing the flood gates to open up to the warm deep synths of Detroit. The luscious melodies of Oasis Four, Crusin Conant and U are tightly intertwined and all reservedly controlled leading into 1 Out of 853 Beats which strips back to bare beats to set up the phenomenal release of Psychotic Photosynthesis’ resonant bassline. Its plunge into the emotive melodies is definitely the pinnacle of the mix.
From there the mix unravels out through various flavours, dicing between soulful numbers such as Set Me Out and the brilliant Day through to the spooky spaced out Blade Runner. And before you know it you’ve arrived at the end.
It’s such a strange mix; the progression is so gradual that any other mix would be considered boring. Yet with this mix the minute details keep you tied in, with wave after wave of intricacy and a build of so much purpose it just never gets tired. I’ve already listened to it countless times and I reckon you will too.
Buy Omar S – Fabric 45 on CD
Tracklisting:
01 Omar-S – Polycopter – FXHE Music
02 Omar-S – Flying Gorgars – FXHE Music
03 Omar-S – Strider’s World – FXHE Music
04 Omar-S – Oasis Four – FXHE Music
05 Omar-S – Crusin Conant – FXHE Music
06 Omar-S – U – FXHE Music
07 Omar-S – Oasis 13 ½ – FXHE Music
08 Omar-S – 1 Out Of 853 Beats – FXHE Music
09 Omar-S – Simple Than Sorry – FXHE Music
10 Omar-S – Psychotic Photosynthesis – FXHE Music
11 Omar-S – The Maker – FXHE Music
12 Omar-S – A Victim – FXHE Music
13 Omar-S – Oasis One – FXHE Music
14 Omar-S – Blade Runner – FXHE Music
15 Omar-S – Day – FXHE Music
16 Omar-S – Set Me Out – FXHE Music
Go Out on Sundays and You’re Bound to Wet Yourself
Thursday, February 19th, 2009 | Event Preview | No Comments
Don’t know if you’ve heard but much loved Sunday shindig Wet Yourself have moved away from the swimming pool and dried themselves off to relocate to the cavernous depths of Fabric. To help with the move they’ve got some great guests coming up. They’ve already had Miss Kitten and Marc Houle, and Popof and Gaiser complete the February run. Excellent stuff, now the much loved London club can see you right through the weekend nights through to Monday. Sounds alright to me!
Anyways if you haven’t been to Wet Yourself before, we’ve got residents Jacob Husley and Peter Pixzel to give you a taster with a couple of their mixes. › Continue reading
Something For The Weekend…. Go!Zilla|Mulletover|Fabric
Thursday, January 29th, 2009 | Event Preview, Music | No Comments
Surely it’s time to shake of the January blues? There is definitely a fair few options if you do.
Firstly, Cargo on Saturday plays host to Go!Zilla with Joey Negro’s legendary Sunburst Band. In support is Switzlerland’s Agnes doing a live performance and deck duties being done by Benji B and James Priestly of 1Xtra and Secretsundaze fame respectively. Expect fun, soulful house music.
Since Cargo closes so early you can extend the night and head over to Mulletover. The warehouse floor isn’t even cold from New Years Eve yet, but they’re straight back in there with their winter warmer. Anja Schneider the Berlinette of Mobilee fame and Nottingham legend with Matt “Leftroom” Tolfrey are brought in to blow away the January cob webs alongside Geddes. Over in the second room disco reviver Todd Terje heads things up with the Future Boogie folks. House, Tech-House, Techno and everything in between and if that doesn’t keep you entertained there is the cosmic rays of disco in room two. This has sold out, so get there early.
Finally, since we’re getting back into things proper… we might as well power through till the early hours. Fabric seems to think so. Original Detroit techno minimaliser Robert Hood is in town with Arne Weinberg and Convextion, not to mention the rock like Craig Richards. That still Room 2 goes all Français with Jennifer Cardini along with Ivan Smagghe and Tim Paris making their return.
What a Saturday of things to do! Get involved!
To warm you up a little, the kind folks at Fabric sent over a Tim Paris mix… 
)
Listen below or download from here.
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Tracklist:
Skinnerbox ‘Binaer-Sedenaer’
Jaxson ‘Miami Flys’
Chateau Flight ‘La Roquette’
Instant Boys ‘Nya Farger’
Koze ‘Abudinga’
Johnny White ‘Musique Noire’ (Jamie Jones edit)
Lexy ‘Get Down’
Marc Houle ‘Selection’
Remain ‘Dependance’
John Tejada Podcast
Thursday, January 15th, 2009 | Event Preview, News | No Comments
You may remember we reviewed John Tejada’s Fabric 44 recently. We’ll if you’re still making your mind up about his CD we have a few ideas. Firstly you could listen to his recent FACT Magazine podcast here and secondly you could catch him live at Fabric this weekend.
ROOM ONE:
John Tejada, Konrad Black, Donnacha Costello (LIVE), Hector
ROOM TWO:
Terry Francis, Luke Slater, The Black Dog (LIVE),
ROOM THREE:
NODISKO 5th BIRTHDAY…
Zak Frost, Lazersonic, Guglielmo Mascio, Bjørn Torske
Then buy the CD from here.
That is all.
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