The slowly shuffling queue of people which snaked around Charterhouse Street pretty much all the way down to Farringdon station, bubbled excitedly as they were ushered closer to the club by the bouncers. Tonight’s FabricLive was a total road block, and one blink at the line-up would explain why. If you’re a fan of deep or dirty dubs whatever room you may float into at any point tonight I defy you to be disappointed with the DJ.
This weeks FabricLive Friday night line-up glitters with likes of Andy C, DJ Hype, Friction, and Alix Perez in room two. While room one’s famous vibrating floor gives Rusko, Scratch Perverts, 16 Bit, SBTRKT, Lazer Sword and Patchwork Pirates a chance to rattle some raving bones. Tonight for the first time room three will play host to Critical Sound, the label that many of today’s most forward thinking producers call home. Tonight Break, Sabre, Rockwell, Jubei, FD and of course label boss Kasra will unleash the deeply engulfing, thoughtfully minimal, yet ‘can’t stop bubbling your head to it’ creature that is the Critical Sound. Critical Sound and room three are a perfect match. The lower ceilings, tiered floors, and the walls which split the dance floor and divide the bar area echo the enveloping warmth of critically chosen bass.
Break room 3
Wandering from room to room the atmosphere can be described as nothing other than musically euphoric. Harmonic happiness spreads like an infectious wave filling each raver’s ears with bass, breaks and beats. Room one is flying the dubstep flag high and very proudly tonight. No corner of the dubstep universe is left unexplored. DJs and live acts alike rinse an eclectic mix of funky beats to make you bounce, scary bass to make you skank, glitchy tech to make you twitch and a good old whiff of cheesy dub-indie a la Florence and Ellie.
Room twos militant line up, means the jungle massive are in for a work out of a life time. The troops are being exposed to an onslaught of killer tracks, which leaves not one body in the room static. The modern day heroic headlines mix the night into dawn with a few special three deck mixes and double drops thrown in for good measure.
Up in room three, Critical was going off, the atmosphere was a juxtaposition that mirrored the critical sound, a mixture of cool, laid back ambiance and hard hitting beats. The bar had a seamless trickle of business which meant you never had to wait too long for a drink. Sabre plays a beautiful selection including tracks from the club version of ‘A wondering Journal’ but his drop of ‘Diplodocus’ had the dance floor skanking hardest and managed to make the mumbling heads around the edge stop talking and start bobbing their heads.
Mr Critical himself
Plotted up on the sofas that surround the room is a couple canoodling against a hooded up lad with only the slightest of movements in his foot to show his engagement with the music. Opposite are a group of boys in checked shirts, vans and new era hats, half are zoning out to the sinking sounds of the sub, the other half are ogling some three lovely ladies, scantily clad, ridding the rhythms and bouncing to the base. Nothing connects these four very different groups of people except a liking of this new wave of D&B.
Although playing in room two Alix Perez is spending a lot of time chilling in the critical room. By the bar Critical artists mingle with the ravers while Kasra drops gems such as a remix of 'Redlines' by Total Science.The night has been a total success from any angle. Walking to the station with a smile of my face I could’nt help thinking “long live FabricLive!” and “New Era’s off to Critical for excellent hosting”. I wasn’t the only one who thought so and on the 6am train ride home I notice Hype post on Twitter “Big up to the Fabric crew for a blinder as usual…time for some well earned zeds! Nite nite” and a proud Karsa posting “Fabric was so big, thank you every one for dancing hard and the DJs and MCs for killing it. Critic sound 2010!” All in all good music, a good atmosphere and a damn good party!
Review by Nicola Elliott lead journalist underground-music.co.uk
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