Completing a hat-trick for breakbeat in the FabricLive series (Freestylers' slamming tear-out mix being the first followed by Joe Ransom's party infused mix of hip hop and breakbeat) comes Meat Katie who presents a darker and more serious tone to the genre. The mix follows on from his highly acclaimed releases for Bedrock Breaks and Stomp EQ Australia and still embraces everything breakbeat fans have come to love and expect from one of the guru's of tech funk.
The master of tribal acid breaks Lee Coombs starts off the mix with the 80s influenced Banned Practice with David Phillips. A trademark Coombs percussive break is combined with a funky electro bassline, a bubbly acid line and Talking Heads style vocals. Lee then returns to pull off a "Back To The Phuture" remix of Virtualmismo's Mismoplastico which combines elements of an electro acid house riff with a deep rumbling bassline and a very jazzy synth loop.
One of the highlights from Infusion's Six Feet Above Yesterday LP, Better World appears in remix form done by the infusion boys themselves and then gets mashed up with Unkle's Reign - Ian Brown's verses from Reign sit comfortably with the beats and then before you know it the Better World chorus vocals kick in as if the two tunes were meant to be together - a highly creative mix that leaves a big smile on your dial. Before you know it Fingerlickin's Jem Stone & JC (whose production styles sound mysteriously similar to those of Soul Of Man... hmmmm!) bring out the disco funk with Disco Daze - melding a bouncing bassline with disco guitar licks, slap bass grooves and funky breakbeats.
Moving towards the end of the mix, Mark then does a label feature for his new label Lot49 dropping new cuts from the label beginning with breakbeat newcomer Metric whose tune Stale has a notable electro-punk flavour to it - dirty bass, electro hooks and a female vocal brimming with attitude. Harking back to their rave days, Force Mass Motion's Out Of It combines Plump-esque beats (there's even that bouncy snare the Plump's have made us all familiar with) with a massive rave synth line during the breakdown.
It would be a crime to forget the inclusion of Meat Katie's remix of Dylan Rhymes' Salty as it has been rocking breaks dancefloors and incited clued up breaks crowds to sing along with the vocals. This provides a perfect lead up to Koma & Bones' brand new tune, the house flavoured Get Down. On a rocking 4 to the floor tip, the tune features a stomping house beat, growling bassline and is something completely unexpected from the trio. Plastic Raygun's Vandal samples a memorable quote from Network on Mad As Hell cleverly placed in between a electro tinged breakbeat loaded with funky synth hooks.
What can I say, but this is some fresh stuff. In true Meat Katie style he delivers his own sound of breakbeat which embraces elements of house, electro and techno and still manages to keep proper dancefloor ettiquette. Not only that, but he keeps his vinyl buying fans satisfied by showcasing new and upcoming tunes from his label - I for one will be waiting with baited breath for many of these releases to hit the shops.
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