‘Fabric 35’ begins with brute force. One single thunderous bass drum pins down your attention forcibly, proving that less really can be more. In a climate where mixes are two a penny, and plenty cost even less than that, many listeners are lost in the first five minutes. But with that arresting drumbeat, the beginning of Sassé and Ata's ‘Robert Johnson 6AM X-Ray Italo Rework’ of Jahcoozi's ‘Ali McBills’, there's no danger of that here.
From there Pearson quickens the pace, with short segues from Marc Houle into the austere industrial funk of Gui.Tar's ‘Push In The Bush’, on the weird and wonderful Careless imprint. These are followed by Konrad Black's ubiquitous remix of Snax, then the unlikely mix of Jens Zimmermann's percussive, Villalobos style ‘Tranquilité into Liquid Liquid's Bellheadd, a transition which typifies Pearson's ability to remove the music he plays from its cultural niche, without losing any of the impact.
In a dance world where tracks have seemingly come to dominate once more in recent years, the fact that Pearson manages to convince you that there are still dance songs" out there in abundance is almost miraculous. As the mix develops, the classic pop feel of selections like 100 Hz's Trust Lovee is effortlessly intertwined with modern techno like Simon Baker's Plastikk or Laven and MSO's Looking for Godd. Tobi Neumann's bizarre, club-slaying remix of Johannes Heil's All For Onee gives way to Kaos's Panopeepss, which sounds almost exactly like one of Pearson's own productions. Then the final word goes to an epic mash up of the Carl Craig remix of Beanfield's Tidess and Aril Brikha's Berghainn, which ends Fabric 35 on an anthemic note.
It's a fitting conclusion to what is a fine mix. Fabric 355 flits through dance sub genres, and sees Pearson benefitting strongly from his lack of explicit connections or allegiances to any labels or trends. He remains a DJ who is out on his own in terms of aesthetic and style, leaping from country to country and from scene to scene in his selections, without losing any coherence in the process. You may never quite be sure what you'll get from Ewan Pearson, but you can almost always be sure it'll be worth getting.
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Tracklist: Ewan Pearson - Fabric 35
1. Jahcoozi - Ali McBills (Robert Johnson 6am X-Ray Italo Rework)
2. MarcAshken - Nimrod (Marc Houle Is A Nimrod Remix)
3. Gui.tar - Push In The Bush
4. Snax - Honeymoon’s Over (Konrad Black Mix)
5. Jens Zimmermann - Tranquillite
6. Liquid Liquid - Bellhead
7. Lee Burridge and Dan F - Treat ‘em Mean, Keep ‘em Keen (Exercise One Mix 2)
8. 100 Hz - Trustlove
9. Samim - Paspd ft. Big Bully
10. Laven & MSO - Looking For God
11. Simon Baker - Plastik
12. Samuel L Session ft. Paris The Black Fu - Can You Relate
13. Johannes Heil - All For One (Tobi Neumann’s Swinging Remix)
14. Kaos - Panopeeps (Origin)
15. Beanfield – Tides - C’s Movement #1 (Carl Craig Remix)
16. Aril Brikha - Berghain – Kompakt
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