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For anyone who likes to keep musically up to date, without having to search through endless grates of new releases week in week out, the Fabric CD series is the most reliable reference point for modern house and techno around. Like the club, it presents a peerless snapshot of the current sounds that are shaping underground electronics in a compact and accessible form. For Fabric 27 Keith Reilly and company enlist the considerable talents of 27-year old Texan producer Matthew Dear, a vastly influential protagonist in the international techno scene. It has been his productions on Ghostly International and offshoot project Spectral Sound, the German platform Perlon, and Richie Hawtin’s M_nus imprint that have predominantly boosted his profile. His album ‘Backstroke’ on Spectral Sound attracted positive mainstream commentary in 2004, while his rather special ‘Anger Management’ gained support from a wide spectrum of DJ’s. However, his reflective Fabric mix demonstrates that his aptitude as a producer is matched, and perhaps even surpassed, by his unquestioned capacity as a DJ. In his Audion guise he creates a truly fascinating deep techno soundscape that constantly transforms from subtle grooves, via jacking tech rhythms, to sublime melodies.
Dear’s Audion personality slides into action with the menacing reverberations of his own ‘First Off’ that glitch in and out of the deep sub-conscious techno of Mikael Stavostrand ‘Mosquito Morpher’. The inclusion of US producer Lee Curtiss boosts the rich atmosphere via the skipping bass patterns of ‘Ketamine Christmas’. It has been argued that stripped down techno has little relevance on the dancefloor but with Robag Wruhme’s ‘Wortkabular’, remixed by Tobi Neumann, it is clear evidence that sparse aesthetics can be one of the most effective dancefloor tools. Jeremy Caulfield’s Canadian label Dumb Unit further cement this argument as Dear injects Butane’s ‘How Long Can You Do’. The penetrating bass arrangement conjures comparisons with Luke Slater’s deeper Planetary Assault Systems highlights and in turn increases the hypnotic profile of the opening section of the mix. The hi-tech atmosphere is extended thanks to the unsettling tones of German producer Ruede Hagelstein before the funky audio grooves of Sweet N’ Candy’s ‘Tacky Wakeup’ effortlessly merge with Billy Dalessandro’s unstoppable ‘Come With Me’; until the minimal jack construct of ‘Deep Throat’ seeps into the arrangement. Matthew Dear’s technical ability is simply outstanding at this junction and the inclusion of Claude Vonstroke’s most impressive material to date (in the shape of ‘Deep Throat’) will ensure that this Dirty Bird record will gain a fresh audience all over again.
The quality continues with Ali Kahn’s ‘Waterbomb’ on Matt Tolrey’s new Nottingham based label Leftroom. Slick record combinations follow, incorporating Argy, Body Code and Rene Breitbarth. These accomplished tracks slowly fade as the rolling tech house grooves are replaced by the scientific bleeps and transcendent keys of Audion at his finest. The simple but highly addictive deep space techno of ‘Just A Man’ and ‘Nothing’ grabs hold and refuses to let go until it has completed twisted your audio settings. These rhythms gradually relent as the hypnotic doubled up bass assault of Robert Babicz ‘Battlestar’ crashes through. Babicz talent for ultra hypnotic bass patterns, heard through his various aliases but especially as Rob Acid, is ever present as ‘Battlestar’ marches through effective breaks and unique synth sounds. From this point forward Matthew Dear reduces the tempo to provide the most memorable parts of his Audion project mix. The modern classic ‘Rej’ by Ame on the excellent Sonar Kollektiv commences the final sections as the sparse and futuristic funk of Seth Troxler’s ‘Backclap’ accompanies the twisted shades of Villalobos ‘Chromosul’. The tripping grooves of Luciano’s interpretation of the Vienna Vegetable Orchestra combine perfectly with the detailed chords of Audion’s ‘Off Third’ composition as the musical experimentation closes. Tracklist:
01 - Audion - Off First - Spectral Sound
Mikael Stavöstrand - Mosquito Morpher - Mikael Stavöstrand
02 - Lee Curtiss – Ketamine Christmas - Kalimari Musique
03 - Robag Wruhme – Wortkabular [Tobi Neumann’s Ricardosingtvocalpercussionundgretadasalphabet Remix] - Musik Krause
04 - Mikael Stavöstrand - Body Control - Adjunct Records
05 - Butane – How Long Can You Go - Dumb-Unit
Audion – Saks – Spectral Sound
Yamo - I Was A Robot [Jean F. Cochois’ Timewriter Remix] – Holon Records
06 - Ruede Hagelstein - Keep Us Away - Lebensfreude Records
07 - Sweet N Candy – Tacky Wakeup - Raum…Musik
08 - Billy Dalessandro – Come With Me [Jon Gaiser Remix] - Resopal Schallware
09 - Claude VonStroke - Deep Throat – Dirty Bird Records
10 - Ali Khan – Waterbomb - Leftroom
11 - Argy – A Rhino In A Glass Shop - Raum…Musik
12 - Body Code – Equidistant - Spectral Sound
Ali Khan – Fudgebuster Beat - Kahlwild
René Breitbarth - Thank You - Treibstoff Recordings
13 - Audion – Just A Man - Spectral Sound
Audion – Nothing – Spectral Sound
14 - Robert Babicz – Battlestar - Punkt Music
15 - Âme – Rej - Sonar Kollektiv
16 - Seth Troxler – Blackclap – fxhe Records
17 - Ricardo Villalobos – Chromosul - Perlon
18 - Vienna Vegetable Orchestra – Ciboulette [Luciano Mix] - Karmarouge Records
Audion – Off Third - Spectral Sound |
It was Matthew Dear’s intention to represent the diversity of Fabric on a Saturday night and he has undeniably achieved this. In the process he has also created a definitive presentation of the varied shapes of modern techno music as well. The complex layers, so integral to his production profile, can also be heard throughout the mix, as they introduce new sounds and ideas with every listen. In a climate where it would seem that everyone is playing ‘minimal’ techno Matthew Dear overshadows all the progressive converts and traditional techno expansionists - by sequencing an innovative and unparalleled mix that infiltrates your electronic reality. Not contend with just repositioning the boundaries of modern techno, Dear also joins a CD series that has consistently been at the forefront of underground music and in the process he eclipses most of the previous artists. Forget any genre classifications, this is simply techno music of the highest order that, as such, comes highly recommended.
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