Sometimes, every now and again, you'll find yourself scrolling through the boundless list of mixes on your iPod and end up with nothing that quite satisfies your mood. Pop on one and, for one reason or another, it just doesn't speak to you. Pop on another, and it's the same boring, artless tracks that everyone else has put into their mixes that week. Well, good people...Chicagoan-turned-NewYorker DJ and remixer extraordinaire Prince Language has come to save the day. Before he comes to hit you with the freshness next Saturday with his DFA fam in Room Three (did you catch that? We'll bold it up to ensure it makes an indelible mark in your memory: SATURDAY, 5 JUNE), and before you slide from Friday evening right on into your weekend...get your download on and coast through some righteously infectious grooves. We'll leave you with Prince and his Language skills with a description of the lovely mix. Enjoy.
Summer's almost here in New York City, and I felt like making a mix that gives you a taste of my favorite time in the city. This is how, and what we get down to here when it gets hot. We get together and dance on rooftops at night, in the park on Sunday afternoons, and in dark, hot, sweat-box lofts until the morning with all our friends at once. A big chunk of this mix is devoted to the sounds that those friends are making. There's an amazing crew of DJs, producers, musicians, dancers, and party people making and propagating incredible music here, keeping our traditional native rhythms fresh and dirty. They're what keeps me here, paying too much rent and spending an ungodly amount of time in a grimy basement studio in the Lower East Side working on things like this. The mix has some great new and yet-to-be-released tracks from friends like Shit Robot featuring Saheer Umar of House Of House, Jacques Renault, Dr. Dunks, Bim Marx, and myself all representing for New York, and some other newish jams alongside a few favorite slept-on vintage cuts.
There's a ton of really good new house music coming out at the moment that nods firmly to the past without sounding too retro or nostalgic, and my selections here slant a bit in that direction (I was born in Chicago, after all), but I'd like think that this mix - and what I play in general when I DJ reflects that sensibility and idea of history in a more general sense. The dude around three and a half minutes in pretty much says it all: don't worry about the labels. Enjoy, and hope it gets you moving...
We're buzzin' about how high we're gonna fly as the weekend readies to rear its face - its long face, at that...bank holiday time, mothertruckers! Get your fill over three days of madness, with a 3-room WYS special to round the weekend off.
Spell it with us now: P-A-R-T-Y.
FRIDAY 28 MAY
10pm-6am.
£15/£12 (Students/fabricfirst Members).
ROOM ONE:
PLAYAZ...
DJ Hype (2hr Set), Pascal, Hazard, Breakage, Randall B2B Vapour, Taxman, Potential Badboy
MCs IC3, Fats, Funsta MC & AD
ROOM TWO:
BUKEM IN SESSION...
LTJ Bukem & MC Conrad, Random Movement, Paul SG, TC1,
MCs Moose, Warren G
ROOM THREE:
IN SUPPORT OF OPULENT TEMPLE AT BURNING MAN...
Meat Katie, Dylan Rhymes, Ali B, DJ Icon
SATURDAY 29 MAY
11pm-8am.
£18/14 (Students/fabricfirst Members); £8 for all from 4am, £5 from 5am.
We’ve seen some interesting things when we offer over the run of our blog to a certain artist, letting them run wild and free through the archives of YouTube. Jackmaster made prevalent his love of 90s Chart House, Sound Pellegrino gave us naked torsos and coke bottle rimmed glasses dancing to guttural electro but now Scratcha DVA takes things that little bit further...
We knew the Rinse.fm resident would kill it, given his vibrant and bubbly on air persona, his frankly astonishing twitter game (“Just kno that on my rider I have fruit pastilles and snickers duos. Safe”) and his playful nature on record – check his infectious ‘Ganja’ if further proof is needed – but he’s really gone deep with his picks. Described by Hyperdub boss Kode9 as “quintessentially London” Scratcha’s on the eve of releasing his 5th plate, ‘New World Order,’ on his own DVA label, furthering and showcasing his frustratingly danceable style beautifully.
Ahead of his date in Room Three on the 25th June (where he shares the bill with Chef, Elijah & Skilliam and Deep Teknologi) Scratcha has provided us with these 10 video clips, providing a great insight into one of underground dance music’s brightest talents typically twisted sense of humour and he laced us with an exclusive mix; a feat we’ll thank him for once we stop replaying that clip of Rainbow...
"Hello. When I DJ I just want to play in raves where they dance like this. Like FWD..."
Xmas XBOX ting
"This was kinda how I was when I was a kid... My aunty bought me a calculator watch with a gold rim for Xmas and cause I stayed up so late Xmas eve just to open the present, I was tired and before I went to bed, I wee'd on it and broke it..."
David Icke
"I’m still trying to work out of this guy is mad or clever; he is definitely interesting."
Kat Williams
"Everything Kat Williams says about weed in this is true. I remember every night, getting home, sitting on the edge of my bed and staring at the carpet for an hour before I could do anything else."
3 year old playing drums
"This kid must have some seriously pushy parents."
Fresh from releasing their debut album 'Split The Atom,' Noisia are back with a video set to make eyes stretch and jaws drop, thanks to the incredible work of Alexander Lehmann.
If we told you’d be able to hear colour and see sound this Saturday night at fabric, we wouldn’t blame you for thinking we were a few nuts short of a fruitcake. That is until you witness the wonders of Crosstown Rebels' leading lady, Deniz Kurtel and her recently exposed 'creature of the night,' aka a self-made LED light installation that will ignite a sensory overload and take your dancing feet into a whole new dimension. Deniz’s LED artform first came alive in her secret workshop at Wolf and Lamb’s favorite hang-out, the Marcy Hotel in Brooklyn. Since then, her impressive artistry has been laying down technicolour spectacles that generate a raw flow of energy between the visual experience of colour, sound and emotion.
On a musical note, we are very happy to welcome Deniz into the labyrinth of fabric alongside her fellow rebel ravers, label boss Damian Lazarus, Parisian star Dyed Soundorom and the inimitable Jamie Jones, who are now taking on the European leg of their Rebel Rave Tour. Her smash hit 'Yeah' (feat Guest of Nature) has been denting dancefloors worldwide; not to mention her punk-funk techno remix of 'Fables & Fairytales' (by N/A featuring Rosina)...just two big reasons to get your hands on her hotly tipped debut album out this year.
Reminding us once again that the ‘future is rebel,' catch Deniz’s words on her LED mastery and some of her major influences here...
I've been involved with LED art for a couple of years before I started making music and it's a nice coincidence that these two art forms work very well together. When I was talking about the Crosstown Rebels tour with Damian, he encouraged me to build an installation for the tour and I wasn't so sure of it because it was going to be the first time I'm playing live and I felt like it might be too much to handle at once, but I'm very happy that I did. It's a big effort to travel with it and set it up, but it definitely adds a lot to my show and is worth the effort.
The first time I got interested in LEDs was in 2006 when I went to the Burning Man Festival for the first time with Zev and Gadi (Wolf+Lamb), and afterwords Zev gave me a bunch of his LEDs and I started making installations with those at Wolf+Lamb parties, and later at places such as 3rd Ward, School of Visual Arts, the Burning Man festival, The Rabbit Hole, and Communikey Festival of Electronic Arts.
Visual element has always been important in music, in adding another dimension to the experience...In my LED projects before I started making music, I was preprogramming patterns, now I'm experimenting with connecting the lights with my sound, where the lights are responding to the data coming from my music. Right now I have a combination of patterns that are preprogrammed and ones that are feeding live from audio. It's a work in progress, and I'm constantly working on developing a more intelligent communication between the lights and the sound. The installation that I will have in my fabric show on May 22nd is what I built for the Crosstown Rebels tour back in February, and this will be my first show in Europe with it.
To mark John Tejada's return to our disco this Saturday night for Tyrant in Room One we've dug out the 30 minute mix done in promotion of his sleek fabric 44 mix from the beginning of last year to give you a reminder of what you can expect from a set by the Palette Recordings boss man.
Joe Nice is a name you may have come across or heard whispered in the corners of raves, if you have any interest in one of the fast growing dance music genres; dubstep. Hailing from Baltimore, Joe’s the man with bounds of energy, charisma and presence behind the decks. Patrolling the cult hub Dubstepforum since day dot, he was the first DJ from the states to play at DMZ and is highly regarded for bringing the sound to the States like no other. Holding his own radio show every 1st Tuesday of the month on Gourmetbeats.com, more often than not you’ll find him spinning the freshest dubs straight from the studio.
Joe also runs one of the States’ premier dubstep nights, Dubwar, at Love Club in New York City. With past guests including everyone from Mala, Loefah and Coki to Kode 9, Scuba, Pinch and Skream, next month they celebrate their 5th year and we thought it was about time we caught up with one of our favourite stateside DJs.
Name: JoeNice
Age: 34
Hometown: Baltimore, MD, USA
So I’ve read that you were born in UK, how familiar are you with the UK, how often do you come back?
Actually, I was born in Southampton, I came to America when I was 2. I try to get to London twice a year, I love the city.
What were you listening to growing up as a kid?
The cliché answer would be, “I listened to everything when I was a kid,” but that’s not true. I had a box full of tapes The Police, Bob Marley, Whitney Houston, The Mighty Sparrow, Michael Jackson, Van Halen, Al Green, The Jones Girls, Prince. I was all over the map but I can’t say I listened to ‘everything.’
Did you always want to become a DJ or was that something that happened organically?
Being a DJ interested me, but it wasn’t really an ambition. I was a child of the 80’s where the DJ and the MC were on equal levels and equal billing: DJ Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince, Eric B and Rakim, Kool G Rap & DJ Polo… see what I mean? The MC was always in the spotlight, but the DJ was the one holding things together – the glue. I listened to a lot of radio when I was a kid and Baltimore is a house music town, soulful house, we also love our Baltimore Club. You’re 15, looking for a hobby and music was mine. You get decks; you get a cheap mixer with ‘HI’ and ‘LOW’ (no mid). Life is great. You start buying records. You start imagining what could be. You become what you’ve imagined.
When was the first time you remember hearing the ‘dubstep’ sound? Do you remember what your initial thoughts were?
I heard the sound in 2001 and my initial thoughts were, “WTF is this?” Not to sound melodramatic, but hearing dubstep for the first time was a sonic epiphany.
You reside Baltimore, how do they react to the sound out there, is there a following?
There’s a following here, but just like a lot of other cities, it takes time for a sound to catch on. It takes time for change. Granted, there are some followings that are bigger than others. Part of that is the size of the city. Part of it is enthusiasm and interest from those in the city/market.
I know you are a huge fan of DMZ, what does the night and music mean to you?
When I went to the first party, it was like nothing I’ve ever experienced. For those that are reading and remember 3rd Base, you know what I’m talking about: Turbosound 12k rig with no limiters. Basslines were running through you. Their night was the inspiration for Dubwar.
You were the first DJ from the US play at DMZ, what’s your memory of your very first and the last session you played. (I saw you at the 5th Birthday, which was one of my favourite sets)
Thanks for the good words. I had a great time there. Feels like home. Yeah – I was the first [US DJ]. My first time playing there, in September 2005, my first thought was, “Joe, don’t screw this up.” My second thought was, “You didn’t come this far to fail.”
The soundsystem and amount of people didn’t intimidate me. I was in my element. The other memories include the people. There wasn’t nearly the hype with the music as there is now. People were there for the sound, the heads, the community. There was also a feeling that everyone there was going to be a part of something that would grow.
Guy Gerber’s Supplement Facts imprint has made people stand up and take notice since its birth in 2007. Putting warmth, soul and feeling into their productions, the label’s output goes way beyond just the music that flows from the speakers. With the unique, individual pieces of art that accompany every release, inspired by and reinterpreted from the minds and the sounds of the artists themselves, they are establishing dance music as an art form itself. Indeed, the label ethos reads, “music for the heart and feet, art for the mind and soul." That being said, it is of course their music that does the loudest talking. As well as the romantic techno of boss Guy Gerber, Supplement Facts also houses the deep artistic grooves of David K and the live improvisation and organic sounds of dOP, they have also brought the new, Parisian house grooves of Varoslav to the world – and it is for that, that we are most grateful. As the Supplement Facts crew prepare to host Room 2 this Saturday, we take a look at what we can expect from the label’s artistic director and exclusive producer, the one and only Varoslav.
Born of Czech dissent, the 30 year old Parisian describes his music as coming from the heart. Forever groovy, his style crosses over between deep house and techno. Keeping it sexy and energetic and often spell-bindingly hypnotic, you can expect to hear a range of varying sounds in his set as he looks to explore his broad palette during his DJ gigs. Heavily influenced by the black music of his childhood, you can hear the soul of hip-hop, funk and 90s house in his music. As he continues to travel extensively, bringing his own sound to different corners of the globe, he in turns picks up influences and inspiration. From playing clubs like Berlin’s Panorama Bar or Watergate, Studio 80 in Amsterdam, Cocoon in Frankfurt, Omladine in Serbia or Underground in Ibiza, Varoslav continues to develop as a DJ. Certainly a DJ that relishes the opportunity to light up the dancefloor, we can’t wait for his appearance in Room 2 this Saturday. If like us, you really, really can’t wait, it’s no problem as us kind people here at Fabric have got this exclusive mix from the man himself. It this won’t keep you dancing until he takes to the decks on Saturday, nothing will ....... ENJOY!!
Following on from Jacob Husley's Canalside Mix last week and the Q&A we did with Cormac back in March, the next piece of the WetYourSelf puzzle, Peter Pixzel, offers up a slab of music not in the usual four to the floor vein that WYS is renowned for. This time, Peter takes the dance floor vibe down a notch and, caters instead for a more laid back, emotive listen. In his own words:
"This is a mix I put together to be a little bit more for home listening rather than the kind of set I usually play at the club every week. It is something closer to heart but still includes enough energy to have a dance to, depending on your mood. It features my favorite producers of the moment, and I hope it will open some of your eyes, and ears, to music you may not know already."
Riding high with the bigwigs of techno following the release of the epic ’Stoppage Time’, which smashed dancefloors, Israeli born DJ/producer-cum-label entrepreneur, Guy Gerber, has been building up quite the repertoire. His Supplement Facts imprint, which has various offices dotted around the world’s leading techno hotspots, has been finger picking the hottest artists from all over since its beginnings in 2007. Clearly a huge responsibility but not enough to weigh him down, Gerber juggles these duties with playing clubs the world over and spending much of his time in the studio. Some people, it seems, were blessed with their own timezone with which to function under.
Guy will be representing Supplement Facts this Saturday in Room Two, featuring sets from fellow artists who have also released on the label, Detroit's Ryan Crosson and Lee Curtiss, as well as the France-based Varoslav. Amongst all the hard work, he was kind enough to offer us this vibey little number of cut up celestial vocals and swinging woodblock percussion.
Calling all photography buffs...come forth, we're in need of your expertise to capture our fabric and FABRICLIVE nights in all their glory.
The perks include:
1) Free entry (and guestlist for a couple mates) and a few cheeky drinks on the nights that you work.
2) A rare opportunity to build up your portfolio with photos of the DJs and bands that play at our disco.
3) The chance for your photos to be published in the various publications and websites we work with around the world (that includes our blog).
4) A fantastic opportunity for networking.
If that sounds up your street, please send us your portfolio or email us a bit about yourself: hotdesk@fabriclondon.com
Please note: We are primarily looking for professional, semi-professional and university-level photographers.
There will be no closing date for applicants as this as it will be an ongoing task. The more, the merrier.
Hailing from the oft cited musical melting pot of Bristol, Tectonic is one of the newest additions to our burgeoning FABRICLIVE residencies roster. The offspring of arch-innovator, Pinch, Tectonic has become one of the most revered imprints working in and around dubstep, housing albums from Cyrus, 2562 and Pinch himself alongside high profile technoid 12”s from Skream and Benga, 140bpm excursions from Flying Lotus and deeper work from Joker and Jack Sparrow. Constantly pushing the sound towards the deeper end of the spectrum, Pinch’s label has never confined itself simply to one style, choosing instead to harness the low end and stark drum patterns so engrained in dubstep, in a plethora of different ways.
“I always used to say that Tectonic is primarily a home for deep and heavy forward-thinking music,” Pinch explains asked about the roots of the Tectonic sound, “but I think there is a bit more to it than that - which is harder to pin-down - but could be quickly summarized as “...that I'm into!” You can't expect to shape a new sound with every release, but you can focus on putting out material that is on the fringe of what's happening more commercially, and I try to do that with Tectonic.”
“I guess what I’m saying”, he continues, “Isn’t really about being leftfield or challenging for the sake of doing so; but not being afraid to step away from the trodden path to try something new. It is a dubstep label first and foremost, but I don't believe in rules, there's only ever guidelines.”
Centred around dubplate culture and the quality of how a tune sounds over a big and properly tweaked rig in the dance; it comes as no surprise to learn that it’s a big part of Pinch’s Tectonic process to road test tracks. Cutting possibles to vinyl so he can hear the extent of the productions in an environment he’s completely accustomed to, its Pinch’s own personal barometer that gauges suitability.
“If I like how it works on the dancefloor, how it sounds loud and so on, I'll find out if it's available for the label and then look to put it out. It's a process that works for me as I get to test drive upfront material, giving my DJ sets a bit more edge and also I get to see how the tracks work on the dancefloor before committing to a release.”
Going on crowd reaction and his own eagle ear Pinch has successfully managed to position the label at the forefront of the scene since its inception back in 2005. The Tectonic imprint has become a label people look to for inspiration as well as an outlet for great, fresh takes on modern bass music that fits into Pinch’s grander vision and aesthetic. Take the latest release on the label, Brooklyn-based MC and producer Pursuit Grooves’s ‘Foxtrot Mannerisms,’ is an album that embodies Tectonic’s willingness to buck fickle genre restrictions drawing more on the touchstones of hip hop, house and soul than ‘dubstep.’
“Pursuit Grooves sent me a track over myspace ('Start Somethin') which was nearly dubstep tempo (a touch slower) which I decided to cut to dubplate and played a couple of times at the end of a set. It became apparent that most of her other music reached other genres more directly than dubstep - you can hear a lot of hip hop and housey influences in her music for instance - but it was all really good. I couldn't believe she'd not had any offers from other labels already.”
The album defiantly steps way out from what some may perceive as the ‘classic,’ rolling Tectonic sound but Pinch is confident that Tectonic’s core audience is willing to share in their vision.
“It makes me feel confident in the strength of label's following that we could carry this off. I'm also very lucky to be working with so many talented artists,” Pinch concedes. “As you build a relationship of trust with key artists you can come to trust what they want to do also and a perfect example of that is 2562 who's second LP for Tectonic, 'Unbalance', was less accessible than his debut 'Aerial' but has gone on to sell just as well if not better regardless.”
The growing confidence and support has (luckily for us) led to Tectonic joining the FABRICLIVE family, and it is certainly testament to the growth and evolution of dubstep, in all of its multifarious permutations, that Tectonic will be diving straight into Room One come Friday 11th June.
“It's a real honour to be hosting Room 1 at fabric and I hope the Tectonic vibe fits the space… I can't wait to hear the bass push through those crazy under-floor speakers you have in Room 1! I’m slightly anxious, but I’m certain the vibe will be great regardless - the line up across all three rooms is fantastic - I couldn't have asked for a better start to it!”
If we told you’d be able to hear colour and see sound this Saturday night at fabric, we wouldn’t blame you for thinking we were a few nuts short of a fruitcake. That is until you witness the wonders of 
