Jay Haze

It’s difficult to know where to begin with an artist as complex and multifaceted as Jay Haze. On one hand, his upbringing - desolate beginnings in the processing plant-infested lands of northeast Pennsylvania, surrounded by drug addiction, death, group homes and jail - is a tainted window into the complicated soul within. But on the other hand, against all odds, nothing has overshadowed his talents, and the family of like-minded artists he has shaped is testament to his unshakable spirit and unerring ability. Jay Haze stands out as a visionary in the world of techno and house, a true nonconformist within a blinkered scene. But his work supports his revered status as an exceedingly prolific producer, DJ, live performer, collaborator and label owner. His wide-ranging labels ring true to themselves and never sway, each holding on tight to their own characteristic sound and group of artists: the house-oriented TuningSpork; the harder hitting tech-based Contexterrior and the downtempto dubby tones of Future Dub. Jay also brought on the explosion of 2003’s Textone, his inventive creation of an online music magazine and internet label, which was created years before digital stores like Beatport or the now-prevalent online magazines/blogs had caught on. Beyond his own labels, Jay Haze’s genre-expanding, experimental productions have graced the catalogues of Playhouse, Kitty-Yo, Cocoon, Get Physical, and his remixes have been on labels far and wide, from Shitkatapult to Playhouse to BPitch Control to Soma. In 2005, he released his debut LP on Kitty-Yo, ‘Love For a Strange World,’ an album that challenged the world of techno further by questioning genre lines and embracing all that’s unconventional and unpredictable. His more dancefloor (and humour) geared moniker Fuckpony launched his career with Get Physical, the ‘Children of Love’ album being one of the most celebrated underground albums of 2006.

fabric 47 is the deep, wandering heartbeat of 4/4’s most bold, valiant and versatile character; a bright, cohesive mix that is inherently Jay Haze through and through. Deeply-rooted in his free and capricious spirit, the flawlessly assembled collection of tracks thump with soul and alluring eccentricities. Grooving with an airtight flow across wide-ranging beats and styles, fabric 47 is a charismatic portrait of Jay Haze’s musical clan: the mix not only showcases the peerless artists he works with on his family of labels, as well as the many monikers that comprise Jay Haze, it’s also a glimpse into the soul-fuelled, future sound that they’ve collectively mastered. Teased throughout with samples from his Fuckpony track ‘Lady Judy’ (a song dedicated to our own fabric promoter, Judy Griffith – and a nod to the Daniel Bell classic, ‘Baby Judy’), he takes things dubbier with Alex Celler’s enchanting ‘Trapped In Dub’, trippier with the groove-laden ‘Mellow Dee’ (created with former studio partner Ricardo Villalobos in ’08), and epic with the penultimate Fuckpony track, ‘Burning’, fabric 47 is Jay Haze incarnate; deep, daring and brave. Seventy minutes in the company of this disc leaves you feeling edified and your faith in music’s brilliance renewed.