- It’s easy to become blasé about Fabric’s consistently solid line-ups. However, a great night once in a while does set things right.
As usual, Room Two was all about concrete techno beats. The pressure gradually rose, beginning with quality sets by Terry Francis and Matthew Styles, followed by an interesting live set by UK trio The Black Dog, before Dave Clarke took control of the CDJs for an epic journey into pure, ruthless and upbeat techno. In Room Three, Faze Action and Rub N Tug provided lighter grooves. Faze Action delivered a decent housey set, but it was Rub-N-Tug’s trademark sexy New York disco rave that was particularly successful.
Yet without a doubt, Room One was where the action was. First up was a pleasant minimal house set by Matthew Styles, and then Craig Richards took over. Clubbers overlook resident DJs, but it’s often a mistake to do so, particularly in the case of Richards, whose jackin’ beats and groovy tunes always work wonders. Then came Alex Under, who played an hour long live set. Judging by the levels of cheering, it is safe to say that this was one of the best received sets of the night. Live sets can often get boring and seem limited when compared to DJ sets, but this was definitely not the case tonight. Under’s powerful yet subtle approach to minimal techno was the perfect match for Fabric’s sound system.
Finally, 5 a.m. came and it was time for the main attraction: Ricardo Villalobos spinning for five hours. In the first half, he played groovy and efficient techno tunes, as well as deeper cuts, and in the second half more experimental Latin flavoured percussive tracks similar to ‘Fizheuer Zieheuer’. It was impressive stuff. But the most notable thing about Ricardo is his mixing style, which is truly unique: while most DJs deliver linear sets and are quite happy with simple transitions from A to B, Ricardo’s sets are like meandering Andean roads: full of unexpected turns and bumps. More than ever, he uses tracks as tools, such as Samuel L. Session’s grand ‘Can You Relate’, which he played around with for ten minutes, bringing the beat in and out before dropping it at last. It’s an originality that is particularly refreshing, but it is also confusing for trainspotters and more conservative clubbers. As dawn came, Room One gradually emptied, partly because of the long night, but also because of the impatience of some clubbers with Ricardo’s long experimental phases. It was a set which required effort and patience, but which was extremely rewarding. It also really got me looking forward to his long-awaited ‘Fabric 36’, due for release in September – I can’t wait to find out how he’s going to harness the potential of digital mixing (à la ‘DE9 Transitions’?) and condense the energy of his sets in an hour long format.