(Apologies for the delay, life goes up and down, tumult, rollercoasters, that sort of thing. Anyway, back to the music John)

The latest FabricLive Mix (57) courtesy of Jackmaster is arguably one of the most hyped the series has been boasting for a while. There has always been a bit of excitement when a certain name is in line to make a Fabric mix, and there’s hardly been a better recent example than Jackmaster. The ‘choix du jour’ for folks who love their ‘party DJ’s’, a guy who loves to ‘mash it up’ through eclectic track choices and unpredictability, Jackmaster is essentially, one of those Chewy type characters(niche Dublin reference) who simply plays whatever is cool at any given time. Because of that, he’s seen his profile rocket in the last year. He can mix, there’s no doubt about it, and when he gets it right and consistent, he can be pretty impressive indeed. He’s put together one or two 80’s or 90’s gems that, whether they are digested with irony or not, are pretttay pretttay good, as Larry David would say. 

For this mix however, its all guns blazing on the mashup rapid fire approach, and in a hint of desperate appeasement, seems like he is searching around like a headless chicken in attempting to fit the best of every genre in. Probably because he can’t make his own mind up about what constitutes a good tune. In attempting to pick classic cuts from a variety of sources, the result is a sprawling mess. On paper, individual choices look alluring. There’s classic techno (Anthony Shakir), classic house(Larry Heard), French House(Bangalter) bass(SBTRKT), early nineties rave (The Outlander) and wait for it, even Radiohead, just for the those who like to think outside the box, and listen to ‘other music’. So when all these are thrown into a metaphorical blender, it tends to sound exactly like, well, a physical blender. Not pretty, and utterly pointless. It’s symptomatic of what the Fabric Mix series has become, and by extension, Fabric as an ‘institution’. Jackmaster’s ill advised attempt at party edginess has perfectly illustrated the misguided and irrelevant nature of all things Fabric, and how off the mark they are with all their aims in the current climate.

Its less than a few years ago when a new Fabric release was eagerly awaited with baited breath. Both Fabriclive’s and Fabric’s were the perennial mix albums, and arguably In terms of sheer success, they were unrivalled at their peak. Classic Mix Albums arrived and were revered, namely Jacques Lu Cont’s stellar FabricLive .09, which gained instant classic status and is still highly regarded. Cut Copy’s mix brought them a whole new fanbase and aura of respect with their subtle mixing skills and deft track selection, and another one that went down as a highlight in the annals, with the longevity to boot. Ricardo Villalobos’s Fabric, uniquely done as a mix of original productions was considered a landmark release, while more recently, Omar S’s sterling reputation expanded tenfold with the warm reception his Fabric mix received.

But for all these classics, that were more prominent two or three years ago, the Fabric’s we became more familiar with in recent times lacked any inventiveness, impetus or plain excitement. The quality of FabricLive’s waned, with anodine electro or supermarket drum n bass becoming flavour of the month, whereas the recent Fabric’s focus on dark bass ensured a series of mixes that veered on the plain repetitive and boring. Sounds like your average night in the actual club. So in other words, the Fabric concept, experience and production had just become bloated and irrelevant? You can say that again.

You’ll probably urge me to steady on there, but a quick mulling over of the club experience and I reckon you’ld be inclined to agree. Friday lineups? Possibly a competition to showcase the worst in juvenile, Skins-y electro or Drum N’Bass, and a crowd who are on a night off from studying for their GCSE’s. Saturdays? Hardly an improvement, Craig Richards, Terry Francis and more than likely Carl Craig every single week, probably putting on an autopilot CD mix of the latest unrecognisable blandness and pressing play. There’s also navigating an eclectic rabbit warren of Epping and Eastern Europe’s finest, not to mention Italian’s who keep Pepe Jeans, Jello Curl and St Tropez all in business. Edgy stuff.

So its declined? Its a miracle its still open, and arguably, had it gone under when it did(don’t get me started on Matter), I doubt there’d be much notice now. No one is interested anymore, because those who are passionate about creating the music, and those who are passionate about listening, will go elsewhere, to newer, more reliable and trustworthy FREE sources of Podcasts and releases. Greener aural pastures. Sites with a true DIY ethic where the source and listener’s channel of communication is as accessible as possible have now usurped the turf once occupied by a Fabric mix. Sites like XLR8R and FACT are burgeoning all the time, because people know there will be a garnish of passion and class on every mix or release, and its the most exciting source for guaranteed new emerging material. The consistency of the sets and outputs on these sites are a breath of fresh air, and constantly pushes the boundaries, a far cry from the bloated commercial animal the Fabric series has become. The approach to such exciting new sites and podcast series is also reflective in the going out side, with aficionado’s long having jettisoned Fabric for the more intimate environs of a DIY gig or small bar. And so it should be. Allowing people to stay close at hand. Times have changed for the better, and you need seek no further evidence than the Fabric series. Despite this, I believe Four Tet is due to release one in the near future(CAVEAT: After Goldie), so there’s a glimmer of hope for decency on the horizon. But if its as mediocre palp as what we’ve come to see recently, I won’t exactly be expecting a medal.