Since the first instalment of the club’s long-running, and hugely successful mix series began, and Craig Richards pressed play on Gemini’s classic, At The Cafe, the albums have been something of an anomaly. Never have so many discs been produced, touching on such a breadth of musical styles, without the tracklists so much as sniffing at what sits above the underground.
We’ve had timeless techno offerings from the likes of Adam Beyer and Robert Hood. Ramadanman’s recent excursion into the bass heavy was nothing short of essential. And that’s just scratching the surface, dig a little deeper and names such as Ali B, Agoria, Tyler Stadius, Stacey Pullen, Swayzak, Slam, DJ Craze and Metro Area have all shown that very occasionally you can offer something to everyone and achieve great things, whether that’s funk fuelled and sample heavy broken beat filth or cosmic disco. So after spending many an hour listening to Fabric and FabricLive’s monthly output we decided to ask label chief Geoff Muncey to contribute a few words of wisdom on heading up this world-beating operation. Here’s what he said.
Fabric Records (UK) – Geoff Muncey
Describe your imprint’s output.
Fabric Records’ CD series releases a mixed compilation each month, alternating musically between our Friday, FABRICLIVE, and Fabric club nights on a Saturday. These are compiled and mixed by both the resident and guest artists, DJs and producers that we are lucky and proud to have perform for us each weekend.
What would you say makes it different?
The fact we release a CD each month is quite unique. We also still cling to the philosophy that physical CDs have an intrinsic value and package all our mixes in metal tins. We believe if an artist has spent time, energy and love creating something of beauty, then the very least we can do is package it in something equally as beautiful.
What is it that makes you keep looking for new talent to expose?
Fabric the club is the heartbeat and pulse for our label. The CD series is designed to give people a musical snapshot of what they can expect to hear at the club over any given weekend. The club has always been consistent in showcasing both new and emerging talent and our CD series follows that sentiment.
What’s the label’s pinnacle achievement so far?
Still going strong after ten years and having the good fortune to work with such an amazing array of talented people during this time.
If people were going to hear one release from your camp, what would you prefer it to be?
As a parent you can’t have a favourite child. You love the naughty ones just as much as the well behaved ones. We are the same; proud of all of our releases in different ways.
All being well, skip forward five years, where would you like things to be?
The moon.
Recent stops
UK – William Welt and Pete Bartram – 22 Digit
Canada – Jared Simms, James Teej, and Voytek Korab – My Favourite Robot Records