Shackleton Fabric 55 Review

BBC Review

A bold and galvanising mix of mostly previously unreleased material.

Chris Power 2010-12-06

Describing his process for losing himself in music, Sam Shackleton recently explained that the traditional kick and snare pattern disrupts his immersion in sound, "and it takes me a long time to build up to this state". That’s one reason why you won’t find any boilerplate boom-tish on his Fabric mix, which uses 22 tracks of his own unreleased and rearranged material to approximate his occasional sets at the London club. What you will find, along with a lot of off-beats, is an inexorable build through states of drama, tension and, occasionally, release. This is, in the best possible way, an enveloping and suffocating experience.
Shackleton, born in Lancashire and now resident in Berlin, is the most intriguing producer who emerged from the mid-00s period when dubstep was first finding popularity beyond its founding cliques. His defunct Skull Disco label (co-founded with Appleblim) forged a key link between dubstep and techno, and helped clear a lane for the two-way traffic of artists like Shed, Untold, Monolake and Scuba. The iconic Skull Disco record is Ricardo Villalobos’s epic remix of Blood On My Hands, Shackleton’s brooding response to 9/11.
Shackleton’s own music from that period owed a debt to the 1980s and 90s work of Mancunian producer Muslimgauze. That influence persists in the liberal use of goblet drum percussion and the muezzin-like flavour of certain vocal samples, but the more Shackleton produces the more he sounds only like himself. That’s why, rather than being just another mix CD, Fabric 55 feels like a full-blown successor to his 2009 album (perversely titled Three EPs) on Perlon.
This is confirmed by the fact that its strongest sections comprise new material. Following the quivering pulses of bass driving 2006’s Hypno Angel, the mix runs through an extraordinary sequence of previously unreleased productions: Visontele reprocesses vintage techno stabs as aquatic bass blurts, Blood Rhythm with Wishy Drones throws a popping beat above desolate pads that are overrun by the digital screech, sustained organ chords and glimmering sci-fi tones of Operatic Waves, before the growling sub-bass of Closeness to Nature rolls the mix into a new phase.
Fabric 55 is so well programmed that these miniature movements aren’t immediately discernible. When one does become apparent, it’s as if the album shifts into a new form to be freshly enjoyed. Its moments of light – the minimalist dancehall organ stabs on International Fires – and dark – the eerily uninflected biblical quotations on penultimate track Massacre – are emblematic of its overall effect: bold and galvanising.

David Rodigan Fabriclive 54 Review

BBC Review

A wonderful compilation from champion selector Rodigan.

Angus Taylor 2010-11-10

Champion British selector David Rodigan has been bringing his deep bag of specials and innate ability to work a crowd to the world for 20 years. An appearance at London super-club Fabric spurred him to mix some of his favourite sides for their 54th Fabriclive release – where his eclectic tastes, with no one big label calling the shots on his choices, make this the best celebrity-endorsed reggae compilation since Jah Shaka’s The Positive Message for Greensleeves in 2009.

There’s a lot one can learn about Rodigan from listening to this disc. Basically, anything goes: whether it’s roots and dub from the 1970s (King Tubby and Augustus Pablo), 2000s dancehall (Cham’s brutal but brilliant Ghetto Story), or even dubstep (David’s son Cadenza’s remix of Keith and Tex’s Stop That Train), so long as it rams the dance, it’s in.

Rodigan’s well-publicised disillusionment with modern Jamaican product means most of the island’s output here is pre-2007. Of the later material, two of the productions are by veterans Sly & Robbie – Chezidek’s Borderline and Bitty McLean’s Plead My Cause.

He’s a big backer of non-Jamaican singer-deejays he deems "real authentic reggae music". The Sicilian Alborosie’s 2006 self-produced hit Kingston Town rubs shoulders with Bermudian Collie Buddz’s Bobby Konders-helmed Come Around, and Sweden’s Million Stylez on UK wunderkind Curtis Lynch’s update of the Junjo Lawes classic, Police In Helicopter.

In fact, Lynch’s productions occur more than anyone else’s, illustrating Rodigan’s support of British talent if it can reach beyond its shores. Interestingly, there is none of the heavy UK sound system, Shaka-influenced dub that splintered off from mainstream reggae in the 80s; yet dubstep, which shares many of its traits, has the man’s golden ear.

Too often celebrity collections are just a company trying to push their latest reissues and new singles. By sourcing tunes from multiple publishers (that they all got licensed confirms Rodigan’s industry standing) this selection avoids these pitfalls while, crucially, showing that in the right hands all styles of Jamaican and Jamaican-inspired music can be friends.

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David Rodigan Fabriclive 54 Review

BBC Review "A wonderful compilation from champion selector Rodigan." Angus Taylor 2010-11-10 

Champion British selector David Rodigan has been bringing his deep bag of specials and innate ability to work a crowd to the world for 20 years. An appearance at London super-club Fabric spurred him to mix some of his favourite sides for their 54th Fabriclive release – where his eclectic tastes, with no one big label calling the shots on his choices, make this the best celebrity-endorsed reggae compilation since Jah Shaka’s The Positive Message for Greensleeves in 2009. There’s a lot one can learn about Rodigan from listening to this disc. Basically, anything goes: whether it’s roots and dub from the 1970s (King Tubby and Augustus Pablo), 2000s dancehall (Cham’s brutal but brilliant Ghetto Story), or even dubstep (David’s son Cadenza’s remix of Keith and Tex’s Stop That Train), so long as it rams the dance, it’s in. Rodigan’s well-publicised disillusionment with modern Jamaican product means most of the island’s output here is pre-2007. Of the later material, two of the productions are by veterans Sly & Robbie – Chezidek’s Borderline and Bitty McLean’s Plead My Cause. He’s a big backer of non-Jamaican singer-deejays he deems "real authentic reggae music". The Sicilian Alborosie’s 2006 self-produced hit Kingston Town rubs shoulders with Bermudian Collie Buddz’s Bobby Konders-helmed Come Around, and Sweden’s Million Stylez on UK wunderkind Curtis Lynch’s update of the Junjo Lawes classic, Police In Helicopter. In fact, Lynch’s productions occur more than anyone else’s, illustrating Rodigan’s support of British talent if it can reach beyond its shores. Interestingly, there is none of the heavy UK sound system, Shaka-influenced dub that splintered off from mainstream reggae in the 80s; yet dubstep, which shares many of its traits, has the man’s golden ear. Too often celebrity collections are just a company trying to push their latest reissues and new singles. By sourcing tunes from multiple publishers (that they all got licensed confirms Rodigan’s industry standing) this selection avoids these pitfalls while, crucially, showing that in the right hands all styles of Jamaican and Jamaican-inspired music can be friends.