Various - FabricLive.36: James Murphy & Pat Mahoney

Fabric: 2007

*cover art brought to you by FabricLive's “Cave Drawings In Water Colours” period*

I'm surprised this year's “Fabric On A Budget” venture hasn't turned into as much of a slog as I feared it would. Many of these CDs have been quite enjoyable, some even surprising me in curtailing expectations. Chalk it up to FabricLive's eclecticism, every edition I've covered offering something different from the last. I suppose you could say the same of the fabrics too, but aside from Radioactive Man's pure electro excursion, there isn't that much of a stretch between deep house, tech-house, and minimal house. Compared to the breaks, hip-hop, bass music, rock (!), electro, disco-punk, and mash-up action going down with FabricLive (and I haven't even covered one of the many drum 'n' bass mixes), you can forgive me for finding this series' diversity more exciting than having to indulge in “yet another *blank* house mix” from the other.

Even here, arriving at FabricLive.36, I'm feeling all squee inside, despite knowing almost exactly what sort of music I'm gonna' hear on this CD. James Murphy and Pat Mahoney are LCD Soundsystem, or at least the primary music makers behind the project. Whenever touring with the band, they'd pull a double-gig DJing on the side, which must have let ol' James breathe a sigh of relief not having to bellow out Losing My Edge or North American Scum twice in two nights (to say nothing of his intense cowbell smashing!). As this was about the time they were touring the sophomore LCD effort, Sound Of Silver, of course they'd get a chance at a Fabric mix too – seems the trend with these, after all.

A few tracks aside (Baby Oliver’s Primetime, Mudd’s Adventures In Brickett Wood, Babytalk’s Keep On Move, their then-current LCD B-side Hippie Priest Bum-Out), Misters Murphy & Mahoney (sitcom pitch!) are taking us on a tour of late-‘70s slash early-‘80s disco, garage, and funk. Some tunes are from very familiar names (Chic, Peech Boys, Was (Not Was), Love Of Life Orchestra, Donald Bryd), but being the New York City proto-hipsters that they are, the duo opt for showcasing unheralded acts of the era.

There’s disco-boogie from Gichy Dan’s Cowboys & Gangsters and Punkin’ Machine’s I Need You Tonight (think Tom Tom Club), electro-funk from Elektrik Dred’s Butter Up, and dancefloor-soul from Jackson Jones’ I Feel Good, Put Your Pants on. Also, Good Ol’ James and Pat (lame spinoff show) squeeze in a bit of a Vanguard showcase of the early ‘80s, a veritable giant of independent record labels that’s provided an outlet for tons of jazz, blues, funk, and folk music since the ‘50s.

Mixing? Eh, functional for the most part, given the nature of these DJ unfriendly tunes. FabricLive.36 is more like a mixtape than a live rinse-out with its clever track arrangement – try and guess which disco and funk numbers are actually from the 2000s!

Various - fabric 35: Ewan Pearson

Fabric: 2007

*cover art brought to you by fabric's “We Cans 4AD Too” period*

I recognize Ewan Pearson more than I did Ralph Lawson, but it sure doesn't seem like fabric's musically stretching far compared to its sister series. I could almost write a carbon copy of Lawson's background, Pearson's story in tech-house relatively similar. Sure, their careers have taken differing paths (Lawson stayed in the UK, Pearson headed for Berlin; one occasionally makes his own music, the other remixes a ton; that guy plays tech-house-house, while him dude plays tech-tech-house), but for the layman glancing at all these fabrics and FabricLives, neither are an easy sell when sat among very important techno people like Ricardo Villalobos, Ellen Allien, Rob Hood, and Luke Slater (and that's just sticking with the 30s run).

Oddly, I had to remind myself that fabric 35 almost certainly wasn’t a prog mix, as Pearson’s a name I mostly recalled cropping up in the early portions of prog DJ sets. For sure he’s done work in other genres (electroclash, funkier house, whatever it was The Chemical Brothers were doing around 2003), but that Soma Quality Recordings association probably helped keep Lord Digweed’s eye on him. Even with copious amounts of techno on this CD, fabric 35 kinda’ leans proggy in its construction, feeling more like a ‘journey mix’ than most rinsers of this music go.

I’ll get this out the way: there’s no minimal on here, at least of the plinky-plonk variety. There’s certainly a few stripped-back tunes, like Marc Houle’s remix of Marcashken’s Nimrod and Samim’s Paspd (back when it was still okay to play Samim tracks), but they’re simple lulls before getting back to some groovy techno action. There’s sinister electro vibes oozing from Snax’ Honeymoon’s Over, from which Mr. Pearson offers a great mix into an equally sinister, Latin jazz workout of Jens Zimmermann’s Tranquillité (I honestly thought it was one, long overlay). Remarkably, ol’ Ewan keeps this tangent going with Liquid Liquid’s Bellhead, a rapturous cacophony of Afro-percussion. Who says techno must always be serious digital music?

While fabric 35 doesn’t lose its momentum, it does get a bit over-indulgent at times. Laven & MSO’s Looking For God barely treads the line of tasteful minimalism (thank ‘God’ for a strong groove with this one), and I wasn’t too anxious to hear Samuel L. Sessions’ Can You Relate “what happened to the techno?” sermon anytime soon again. Also, it’s rather odd to end with a mash-up of the soulful croon of Beanfield’s “Tides” – C’s Movement #1 and the neo-trance of Aril Brikha’s Berghain. Or maybe not, if you think of fabric 35 as a progressive set hiding in techno’s clothing. Definitely makes listening to this more fun if you figure Ewan Pearson’s put this together as such.

Was This Worth The Pennies Paid For It?
A pleasant surprise, this. fabric 35 passed by with little fanfare compared to its sexier neighbours, but there’s plenty to love with Pearson’s offering.

Various - FabricLive.34: Krafty Kuts

Fabric: 2007

*cover art brought to you by FabricLive’s “Cave Drawings In Water-Colours” period*

I’ve generally taken the conditions these used Fabric CDs arrive in for granted. With such a simple design, how can the packaging get screwed over anyway? Cardboard sleeve, tin case, aluminum disc and liner notes within - we’re good to go, right? I never thought one would be shipped with no case, but Krafty Kuts’ FabricLive.34 proved me wrong. All I got was the CD tucked within the sleeve, and wrapped in one of the most ghetto cardboard packaging jobs I’ve ever seen. How this was even allowed advertised as an acceptable condition to sell on Amazon, I’ll never know. I was fortunate enough to have spare jewel cases so I could still stack it in my towers, though I had to 'craftily cut' the cardboard sleeve’s edges to make it fit. Hah!

Anyhow. Krafty Kuts is the man up next in FabricLive, which meant a brief return to the proper breaks scene for the series – like hardcore, it'll never die! Martin Reeves made his name during the nu-skool era, though he leaned more classic hip-hop breakin' compared to the Plumps and Warriors of those days. With a career that held strong even during that scene's downswing, it was an eventuality Fabric would come a knockin' for a taste of those killer Kuts. Probably didn't hurt he'd released a debut album the year prior, his name fresh on the minds of folks still following tunes of his sort.

If you know your breaks, FabricLive.34 probably won't hold many surprises, but you'll enjoy it nonetheless, Krafty craftily sticking to his breaks-and-butter throughout while throwing in knowing winks to those heads that never fled their scene. There’s scratching aplenty, acapellas aplenty, and most of the main players have tracks dropped in here: DJ Icey, Freestylers, Aquasky, and Plump DJs, although the Plump’s Listen To The Baddest is practically electro-house. Come to think of it, most of the middle of this set skews 2007 electro, including copious amounts of the swinging 2-step break that’s only the second most boring broken-beat around (‘Freeland breaks’ earns the top prize).

Speaking of the set’s middle portions, Mr. Kuts unfortunately runs out of steam after leaning a bit too heavy on anthems for a while. A shame since FabricLive.34 kicks off with all the energy you could hope for in a breaks mix (including a cheeky pisstake on ‘minimal’ techno), but builds and drops one after the other always grow tiresome without some sustained rhythmic momentum. Ah well, he at least indulges himself some with a few Latin cuts and even Primal Scream at the end. A strong finish, in other words, even if it’s on a totally different tangent from where his set started from.

Was This Worth The Pennies Paid For It?
I’m mostly nitpicking about Krafty Kuts’ set flow - can’t be calling this blog Electronic Music Critic without finding something to critique, after all. A solid CD of breaks, then.

Various - FabricLive.33: Spank Rock

Fabric: 2007

*cover art brought to you by FabricLive's “ARTIST NAME IN BIG FUCKING LETTERS” period*

Hey hey! I've now completed a FabricLive cover series too. Surely that warrants a free CD prize from Fabric. True, I'm practically getting these for nothing already, but it's the principle of the thing. C'mon, Fabric, hook a Canuck up with a bonus mix (preferably a good one).

It's an even bigger coincidence that the cover runs of fabric and FabricLive I'd complete are both from the same time, indeed the same issues (31, 32, and 33). What was it with Fabric in early 2007 that folks would want rid of these CDs so badly? True, two out of the five I've covered so far were pants, but another two were ace. Hm, does this mean FabricLive 33 is utterly average like Ralph Lawson's mix?

With a name like Spank Rock, there’s no way we’d get ‘utterly average’. The name alone inspires thoughts of either the slummiest ghetto tech or the cheekiest electrotrash. The group is somewhere in between, more known for their antics in hip-hop’s ‘Bounce’ side of things (what kind of a genre name is ‘Bounce’..!?), but also found a welcome home with drunk-sleaze electro-house clubbing as the ‘00s wore on. This mix is their attempt at condensing their shows into a sloppy, cohesive whole, which sounds like a good ol’ rollickin’ whiskey time. I mean, just look at all these names on here. Kurtis Blow! Yello! Mr. Oizo! Daft Punk! Yes! Metro Area! Tangerine Dream! (??!) Rick Ross! Chicks On Speed! Mylo! (those Talking In Your Sleep guys) The Romantics! Hot Chip! Uffie! More and more! Oh boy, this is gonna’ be like one of those awesome As Heard On Radio Soulwax mixes, I bet. Yeah, if 2 Many DJs had been totally wasted while recording.

Have you ever been to a party where the DJs (usually always two or three) are really cool guys and have fun taste in music, but always resort to pandering with the most obvious fucking tunes around? You cheer them on, ‘cause hey, it’s just a stupid night out, and you like the chaps, and you’re drunk as all Hell off of hi-balls, and ooh, I love that A Bit Patchy song by Switch, even though I just heard it played out by another DJ duo with impeccably deep crates. Oh dear, it’s that Drop The Pressure song again. I’ve heard it too much on the radio already, and dear Lord is that mix into Yes’ Owner Of A Lonely Heart ever rough – can’t you put on something not so played out anyway? Shit, now they’re painfully forcing a mix into Para One’s Dudun Dun. Get your act together, guys. I want to cheer you on (I love Miss Kittin & The Hacker’s Stock Exchange!), but give me a better reason to. Oh, what the Hell, another round of hi-balls!

Was This Worth The Pennies Paid For It?
About as worth it as $3 hi-balls. All night.

Various - fabric 33: Ralph Lawson

Fabric: 2007

*cover art brought to you by fabric's “Tacky Phifties Phamily Photos” period*

Hey, this is the first Fabric cover series I've got a complete set of! Yay, triumphant achievement unlocked, and all that rot. Okay, it’s not that impressive compared to those who've subscribed to the club’s CD, but it's not like I'm specifically gathering them for this reason. It's just a coincidence that folks were eagerly offloading fabrics 31, 32, and 33 at whatever price they could get, even a single penny. I can understand doing so for Marco Carola and Luke Slater's mixes, but Ralph Lawson? This one isn't that bad. Kind of run-of-the-mill, sure, but nothing someone should be embarrassed to own.

First, this Ralph Lawson guy. He's kind of familiar to me, though not in that Carola way. It's likely from his 20:20 Vision/Soundsystem work, which I've seen crop up on the occasional tech-house collection. Also, he has a warmer sound in his productions, with a bit of tribal influence too, making him a favorite for prog DJs tracklisting their early portions of their sets. At least, that was the case in during the first-half of the '00s, before everything went glitchy, minimal, and doff in the tech-house scene. As such, fabric 33 comes off rather retro for a 2007 CD, but I'm not gonna’ complain – I'll take early-aught prog over minimal deep-tech anytime. Not that there’s anything terribly prog in this mix, but it sure sounds proggier than John Digweed’s fabric set.

Ralphbert Lawson warms things up on the deeper side of house music, as most DJs of this sort are wont to do. None of that American or German styled deepness though, this be the warm, dubby, cinematic stylee the Western edges of Europe prefer (and me!). Then there’s a little tribal funk (Dennis Ferrer’s Transitions), a plonk of minimal (Badmouth’s Anymore (Phonique Remix); Marc Romboy’s Jigsaw (John Tejada Remix)), a touch of electro (Swag’s Hot Gloves (Bakazou Mix)), a dash of Detroit (Will Saul’s Pause; Nick Chacona’s The “Right” Wing), a drop of acid (Joakim’s Drum Trax (Beats)), a flaking of disco (Justus Köhncke’s Advance), and- why does writing the music out this way seem so familiar?

I honestly have little more I can detail about Ralphbert Paulson’s CD. It flows well, spices things up without being obnoxious about it, and leaves you with pleasant fuzzies afterwards. It’s about as serviceable a tech-house set as you can hope for. Damn it, why couldn’t it have outright sucked? Those are easier to write about. Eh, the being ‘totally wicked awesome’ option? Haha, this is tech-house, the most functional dance music around. Anything more exciting almost always ends up in another genre category by default. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with this sort of music for a dancefloor or even as a listening experience – it’s just terribly boring music to write about.

Was This Worth The Pennies Paid For It?
Sure, I guess. Hey, at least I finished a cover art series for the first time.

Various - fabric 32: Luke Slater

Fabric: 2007

*cover art brought to you by fabric’s “Tacky Fifties Family Fotos” period*

Luke Slater is Planetary Assault Systems, L.B. Dub Corp, Clementine, and Translucent, all very important aliases in the world of techno. I guess Slater under his own name’s important too, what with four LPs, over a dozen singles, and oodles of remixes too. P.A.S.’ the one most techno disciples enjoy namedropping though, and for good reason, the project always two steps ahead of what that scene is accomplishing. But that’s the underground, where he could take more risks. As plain, simple Luke Slater, his productions were broader, dabbling in other genres like downtempo, breaks, house, and even *gasp*, electro-crossover on Alright On Top. It’s curious he never made another “Luke Slater” album after that one.

Really, his whole career went into a relative limbo during the mid-‘00s, likely due to focusing his efforts on running his newly established Mote-Evolver imprint. During that time though, Slater put out a mix for Fabric, only the third mix CD he’s ever released (the two-part Fear And Loathing ran a couple years prior). Maybe it’s for the best, as judging by fabric 32, I suspect studio DJing really isn’t Mr. P.A.S.’ strong suit.

If I can take anything from fabric 32, it’s that ol’ L.B. has an eclectic ear for techno. Not that his own discography wasn’t proof enough, but this mix is all over the place, showing off plenty branches of the genre. There’s dub techno, minimal techno, electro techno (?), prog-techno (!?), disco punk techno (!!?), techno-techno (stop making shit up), and breaks too. Really, this has all the hallmarks of a mixtape, Luke Skyslater showing off his musical interests without much care for technical mixing. Fine and well if the set flows all the same, but fabric 32 doesn’t.

His transitions are often so abrupt, half the time I’m double-taking, thinking I’ve got my player on Random by accident. Some DJs can pull such freewheeling set programming into a thrilling, unexpected ride. This one’s just confusing, Slater unable to settle into any sound for long before throwing an odd tangent. You’d think a set that starts with his own dub techno cut Rhythm Division (as L.B. Dub Corp), and features Basic Channel’s Phylyps Trak II/II near the end (geez, again?) would flow smoothly. Instead, your links are Guy J & Sahar Z’ Hazui (Gui Boratto Remix), Switch’s A Bit Patchy, Spank Rock’s Bump (Switch Remix), Audion’s Mouth To Mouth, The Juan MacLean’s Love Is In The Air (Mock And Toof Remix), and Marin Buttrich’s Full Clip - and yes, in that order. True, there are other tracks among them, but that list gives a decent impression of how Slater’s set unfolds. If you’re familiar with those names anyway (folks reading this blog should be).

Was This Worth The Pennies Paid For It?
If it’s an honest representation of Luke Slater’s DJing, I guess so. Though a disappointment, it beats paying cover charge at a club to sate the curiosity.

Various - FabricLive.31: The Glimmers

Fabric: 2006

*cover art brought to you by FabricLive's “ARTIST IN BIG FUCKING LETTERS” period*

The FabricLive series features quite a few acts I’m very familiar with. Due to the proliferation of breaks and jungle DJs, I’ve probably seen a good third of them, those scenes holding strong in various spots of the backdoors of British Columbia, especially so the Shambhala Music Festival. The 'party-in-the-mountains' boasts a vibrant jungle and breaks contingent, and were even early adopters of dubstep when that genre had barely begun its exodus from the UK. Plump DJs, Adam Freeland, Freestylers, Stanton Warriors, Diplo, Andy C, DJ Craze, A-Trak, Drop The Lime, and even all the way up to the latest (lambasted) FabricLive contributors Jack Beats, I’ve had the chance to check out live.

Then there’s a duo like The Glimmers. I’d never heard of these guys before, and upon reading their bio, I feel right stupid for not knowing them. Formerly the Glimmer Twins (re: Mick Jagger and Keith Richards nicknames), David Fouquaert and Mo Becha picked up the DJ trade nearly thirty years ago, playing out at Belgium clubs before raves were even a glint in the UK’s dilated eyes. Their accomplishments were relatively humble throughout the ‘90s, never seeking the spotlight but always in the mix of things within clubland, offering a funky, soulful alternative to rave’s blistering energy or eurodance’s camp. As their tracklists often contained unsung ‘80s hip-hop, rare dub reggae, and ‘70s French disco, some PR guy must have noticed how marketable such proper retro vibes were once such ‘anything goes’ mixtapey mixes grew in popularity at the turn of the century. Suddenly The Glimmers were releasing singles, LPs, DJ mixes (including one for DJ-Kicks a year prior to FabricLive.31 - how did I miss these guys!?), and receiving plenty of deserving spotlight.

Unsurprisingly for a duo influenced by the early days disco and glam, their set runs through plenty of tunes from names recognizable (Roxy Music, Freddie Mercury, Howie B.) to wacky obscure (Arpadys); from upfront disco funk (LCD Soundsystem Disco Infiltrator, their own Kobe’s In Columbia) to ancient oddities (psych-rock fuzz jam Pierre Henry); and we can’t forget those curious trainspotter’s classics either (George Kranz’ Din Daa Daa, The League Unlimited Orchestra’s Things That Dreams Are Made Of).

With all these eclectic tunes and genres, why The Glimmers must be DJ gods to make it all flow smoothly together! Ah, no, not really. Well over half these tracks are pre-‘90s, and as any DJ worth their needles will tell you, beatmatching records from those days is nothing but headaches. Instead, we get quick crossfades, intermittent ka-lumping phrasing, and songs that outright end with a half-breath of space before the next start. There’s just no simple way of segueing disco punk into reggae dub, is there.

Was This Worth The Pennies Paid For It?
I’m a sucker for mixtape sets unearthing the past as The Glimmers do here. Chalk up another steal for the money spent.

Various - fabric 31: Marco Carola

Fabric: 2006

*cover art brought to you by fabric’s “Tacky Fifties Family Photos” period*

Seeing Marco Carola’s name among all these cheap fabrics gave me a sense of familiarity I couldn’t place for the longest time. You know that feeling, where you just recognize something from somewhere, but only in passing, so you never give it much thought. Mr. Carola kicked that sentiment into high-gear, such that I was looking forward to hearing his mix. It had to be treated properly too, with no background checks that might create preconceived notions or hints of why he seemed so familiar. I’d figure it out as soon as I hit “Play” on my DVD/CD machine, a succulent, solvable mystery guided by music.

Minimal music. Eeeehhh…………

Almost within the first minute of opener Io from Matt John, I remembered. Those flat rhythms, gimmicky echoes on hi-hats, spacious sound design, bleepy bits and dry sterility… he’s been billed with Loco Dice a bunch, hasn’t he. No, more than that, he’d even signed to Hawtin’s M_nus, lock-stepping into the label’s brand of formless minimal techno. And fabric 31’s from late 2006, so it’s gonna be one of those minimal techno mixes, isn’t it.

Yeah. I had some early hopes it wouldn’t turn into the monotonous gob that rendered so much techno unlistenable during this era, as Marco offers some decent groove with the first few tracks. In fact, Gabriel Ananda’s remix of Marek Bois’ You Got Good Ash is damn near funky, in that low grumbling, bassy way tech-house can go. Following it with an actual stomper (Fusiphorm’s I Am… You!), and you’d be convinced too that minimal was good music.

But nay, the set goes into dull, plodding, plonky, effects wank right after, and pretty much stays there for the duration. How dare you think minimal techno could be funky and fun. What’s that, you like melody? AH-hahaah! You naive nonce, this are serious minimal techno. Go listen to drone ambient if you want melody. Instead, marvel at rhythms that encourage a slight shoulder shuffle, and fuck anything else. There’s occasional teases that we might get something better (an actual melody emerges in Ernie’s Escarabajos near the end), but don’t get comfortable, as Marco takes everything back to square, tedious base level with each track.

As it turns out, Caralo’s generated a share of flack in recent years for his chosen sound, and at first I thought that was where I’d heard his name before - a typical namedrop of minimal’s worst tendencies once the backlash began in earnest. After digging into his discography a little deeper though, the final piece clicked. He’d been one of Italy’s prime providers of tough, bangin’ techno at the turn of the century, a veritable leader of that kick-ass scene. Knowing his awesome roots makes fabric 31, his debut DJ mix CD no less, even more wretched - a blatant bandwagon jump that offers nothing of lasting substance in return.

Was This Worth The Pennies Paid For It?
Fuck no.

Various - fabric 30: Rub-N-Tug

Fabric: 2006

*cover art brought to you by fabric’s “Lensed Deformity Photography” period*

Either I'm getting ridiculously lucky in this year's “Fabric On A Budget” venture, or some folks out there just don't have good taste. Why would anyone want rid of a mix CD as good as this one? For sure a DJ duo fancying them Rub-N-Tug doesn't bode well for those judging acts by name alone – it sounds like some tacky massage parlour in New York City's seedier neighbourhoods. Eh, what's that about them? Oh.

Rub-N-Tug is Thomas Bullock and Eric Duncan, two New Yorkers who played the after party circuit for a number of years during the region's post-Giuliani nightlife recession. This primarily meant small enclaves and lofts above massage parlours, earning their gigs the reputation of being ultra-hip and only for those in-the-know. It also helped if you were up for an 'anything house goes' vibe, the duo simply having fun playing vinyl favorites without much care for super-technical proficiency or journey set construction; good ol' unpredictability, then. They also keep the groove relatively on the slower side, though never crossing into downtempo territory, the sort of rhythm that moves bodies without wearing folks out or pissing off the neighbours living underneath.

Since the afterhours vibe is Rub-N-Tug’s game, making a mix CD for home listening isn’t much of a stretch for ‘em. I’m surprised Lord Discogs lists fabric 30 as their first one, American DJs often needing a couple releases under their belt before a UK label comes a-knockin’ – maybe a Fabric promoter went to one of their after-parties. The names on here run the gamut from familiar (Röyksopp, Claude VonStroke, Ewan Pearson, Âme, Marshall Jefferson, Black Strobe, Serge Santiago, Satoshi Tomiie) to obscure (Nemesi, Rufass, Foolish & Sly, Unknown Artist). Even judging by those recognizable acts, one can tell we’re dealing with an eclectic collection of tunes. House (both deep and tech, but thankfully not deep-tech), disco funk, a touch of the disco punk (it is New York City, after all), and smattering of space-synthy electro-house (ooh, Discopolis from Lifelike & Kris Menace is one fun little anthem at the end).

As a technical set, fabric 30’s unimpressive, most mixes functional and Rub-N-Tug forgoing any sort of journey for long. Of course, that’s how most afterhours mixes play out anyway, DJs free to rinse out records as they see fit. Bullock and Duncan deserve credit, then, for keeping fabric 30 as tightly flowing as they do, considering they aimed at capturing their post-party vibe in but sixteen tracks. The twists they do throw in serve as spice for an already smooth-tasting mix.

Was This Worth The Pennies Paid For It?
How could it not? Simmering funk, earwormy synths, deep grooves, and soul to spare. It’s a near-perfect cocktail of post-clubbing house music that never falls prey to insipid deep house clichés or vapid chill-out banality. I guess you could say fabric 30 rubbed... and tugged me in all the right ways! (eh? eh? ...*sigh*)

Various - fabric 21: DJ Heather

Fabric: 2005

*cover art brought to you by fabric's “Negative Suburban Life” period*

Is DJ Heather the first female entrant in either of Fabric's series? *backchecks* Huh, sure looks like it. That's surprising, taking so long for a member of the fairer sex to finally get the nod. I know the male-to-female DJ ratio is wildly out of whack, but surely Fabric could have offered it to someone sooner. Aside from those ladies who did get fabrics later (Ellen Allien, Magda), there's... um, hmm.

Annie Mac possibly could have done a FabricLive before, but her career only truly took off shortly after this. For a bold option, Mary Anne Hobbs might have worked, but few knew what to make of dubstep at this point in FabricLive’s lifetime. As for the main series, for sure fabric wouldn't bother with hard house gals like DJ Irene or the Tidy Girls, nor prog-leaning dames like Sandra Collins. Uh, help me out here, UK: were there any notable female DJs that could have broken the Fabric gender barrier earlier? I mean, it doesn't look good on your part that they turned to a Chicago resident when they finally did.

Not that Ms. Robinson isn't deserving of such an accolade, having already earned her house-rinsing stripes in the good ol' U.S. Of A. Her birth land may be the East Coast, but her sound bumps West Coast, often held in standing with another Chicago transplant, Mark Farina. Shortly after releasing fabric 21, she signed with San Francisco label OM Records, a label any sort of proper house-head should be familiar with. Sunny, jazzy sounds on the deeper side of house dominate their roster, and DJ Heather’s no exception.

It’s funny that much of the music on fabric 21 was what many considered deep house around the time, the San Francisco sound so influential abroad. That would change within a year thanks to the Germans, perhaps due to a desire for something fresher sounding than the usual funky American soul. I’ve said plenty before finding house mix CDs of this sort wasn’t difficult, and DJ Heather’s contribution to this cliché keeps it such. The music’s perfectly fine, at times on the dubby side (Marko Militano’s Good People; D’Julz’ Ze Theme; 2-Utes’ Bumpin The BQE),other times raiding disco funk vibes (Kaskade’s Steppin’ Out, with Members Only providing an Akufen-styled rub; both Mike Delgado cuts), and elsewhere taking either the jazzy road (DJ Rhythm’s Brazilian Soul; Mario Fabriani’s Release) or acid path (Maxx Renn’s Acid Jack). It’s a set that doesn’t stray far from familiar territory, but with scenery this fun and funky, who really cares.

Was This Worth The Pennies Paid For It?
Can’t fault the music at this bargain price, what with most House Of OM CDs still commanding a fair dollar even on the used market. fabric dips its hands into the San-Fran well every so often, so DJ Heather’s contribution isn’t entirely unique for the series. Aside from that whole “First Female DJ” bit, anyway.