Fabric has established a solid reputation for providing first-class house and techno mixes by enlisting the services of international heavyweights including Jay Haze, Claude VonStroke and the mighty DJ A-Trak. For their latest release, they have managed to acquire the skills of all-round Renaissance man, DJ T.
In addition to running the world famous clubbing institution Monza in Frankfurt and founding German techno bible Groove Magazine in 1989, DJ T (real name Thomas Koch) also started the insanely popular Get Physical Records alongside house icons M.A.N.D.Y. and Booka Shade. The Berlin based label are the highest selling label across all genres on Beatport and considering they are the team behind the top selling Body Language and Full Body Workout compilations, I would say it is a fairly safe bet that DJ T knows how to put together a good selection of infectious dance floor gems. Also, DJ T only managed to narrow his choices down to twenty tracks which means that even if half of this mammoth mix is rubbish, it is still better then the majority of house compilations on the market.
The mix commences with DOP’s beautifully down tempo “Window Law”, with smooth, whispering vocals that evoke images of a dimly lit industrial estate Berlin club. This track is made even better by the fact that it was previously unreleased.
The first bump in the road comes in the form of 10Lec60’s “Drown Dogs”. The invasive singing (I use this term loosely) does not compliment the minimalist bongos. The juxtaposition of the uncomfortably loud vocals against the backdrop of such a sparse beat is obviously intended to be poignant but instead it simply sounds ill-fitting.
Fortunately, order is restored by Stuffa’s “A Million Secrets”, which creates blissfully nervous excitement with a gradual build up of futuristic disco house. This is the kind of track that is intended to kick start a good night out.
The standout track of the entire album has got to be “Give Me Pain” by Danton Eeprom. This epic track has a show stopping chorus that starts with crashing symbols, followed by a full brass band accompaniment and ascending choir vocals. House music does not get more uplifting than this.
This is followed by six solid minimalist house efforts, including a notable gem by Will Saul and Tam Cooper that slowly builds up momentum and gently eases the listener into a foot stomping frenzy. DJ Mujava’s “Township Funk” has somehow made its way onto this mix which, although arguably one of the most over played records in late 2008, gets a fresh lease of life thanks to a funky remix by Nottingham’s Crazy P.
Despite the fact that there are a lot of tracks on this mix, there are very few occasions when you find yourself reaching for the fast forward function. It is slightly disappointing that there are not many rare disco tracks on here as DJ T is a well known advocator of the genre and must have an amazing collection at his disposal. This may not be as inspired as previous efforts from A-Trak and Claude VonStroke but come on, that was always going to be a pretty tough task for even the most gifted of vinyl aficionados.
Tags:
album, dj t, fabric, live, mix, release, thomas koch
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You can’t compare this mix to Vonstrokes mix. Everytime you listen to this mix it just keeps getting better and better. One of the better Fabric mixes going round.