Fabric: Elevator Music Vol.1 Review

Fabric has long been an envoy when it comes to generating many of the clubbing nation’s most treasured and timely compilations. A key platform for promoting some of the best talent in the sounds of drum & bass, techno and dubstep, we can thank the Fabriclive series for being the first place we heard many of the tunes that have elevated into the bangers that turn crowds of thousands on their heads!

Who could forget Fabriclive Vol. 37? Whether you loved it so much your night would be spoiled without a Godly spin of “Jahova” or you hated it with a vehement loathing - everyone was talking about it. Along with marking Caspa and Rusko as figures in the scene, the disc most definitely helped in spreading the word about a new type of mystical sound going under the name of ‘dubstep’. Elevator Music Vol.1, the latest off shoot from Fabric, strikes the match on a new agenda of capturing the diverging sounds from electronic which have recently ensnared raving masses. Showcasing unreleased material from established and obscure but promising talent, the compilation which is released in January 2010 puts the spotlight on experimental sub-heavy bass music. There’s not a singular genre you can scoop it under but it promises to be another essential collection, one to leave its trail on the nights you attend!

First track into Elevator Music it becomes apparent that we are lunging into clearly carved out dance floor territory. The Funky, up tempo bounce of Hot City’s “If That’s How I Feel” breaks open on the scene with feel good , ‘I’m just here to dance’ vibes. Keeping things warm, 2-step syncopation nicely leads us into the tribal samba sounds that emerge in Doc Daneeka’s “Drum in the Deep”. The unmixed tracks keep the rythmn flowing with an intersection of light, airy trance remincent tracks by the likes of Julio Bashmore and Skinnz before pounding into some sharp, high energy, wobble-tastic tunes by dubstep boomer Untold.



Almost appropriate to such a venture, the mix includes work from the Caspa and Rusko. Their track “One of the Same”, a deep, slow meditative rhythm, is the only one which distinctively takes me, on first grab, into the chill out zone -a less typical space for the duo to take pitch on. Tracks which must get a shout out for an instantaneous catchy creep are “Pistol in Your Pocket”; by Hackman which features twice as a remix, and Martyn’s “Friedrichstrasse”. The last segment of the disc ends nicely on galactic, futuristic hemispheres with “Black Monlith” by Starkey and its scaling synth.

An eclectic compilation to say the least, Elevator Music is a curatorial vision true to the developments in electronic music which sees infusions along the spectrums of trance, house, techno, dubstep and takes influence far and wide from grime to Afro beat. Showing a passion for low frequencies and subwoofer binding bass it maintains a ready for the weekend feel which is sure to make you want move your feet!