It’s not often that you get to dine with some of the founders and pioneers of that movement known as ‘techno’. It’s even less often that you get force fed world-class seafood by one of them, while being told revelatory tales about major Hollywood actors.
But that’s exactly how we found ourselves last weekend, after being invited to check out long-running 10,000 capacity Madrid mega-club Fabrik (FYI nothing to do with the London one with a ‘c’, and it’s been there for much longer too). The night DT has been invited to is Code: a monthly party dedicated to the raw sounds of “proper” techno – with a focus on Detroit this month. It’s one of their biggest line-ups ever, with Carl Craig & ‘Mad’ Mike Banks, Derrick May, Kevin Saunderson and Octave One all decamping from their Mid-West home for one night only.
Rodrigo, promoter of Code, invites us to join his team and the DJs at one of Madrid’s finest seafood restaurants on the outskirts of town, and we soon find ourselves sat next to a jovial Derrick May for the evening. “I don’t normally do these dinners” said the bespectacled legend, “but this is a special occasion”. The other DJs soon arrive, but are sat at the far end of the table – out of banter’s way. May takes a little while to ease into conversation – dispensing bits of octopus onto our plates and ordering wine by turns – but we’re soon discussing everything from Tiger Woods’ infidelity (“why did he only have the one phone for 20 women?”) to the films of Stanley Kubrick and his all time favourite (“All About Eve” with Bette Davis is definitely up there…I tell anyone who’s trying to get into the industry to watch it”). He’s still living in his hometown, and so we ask him - is everything we hear about Detroit’s decline true, or is it being exaggerated? “Absolutely. The city ripped out the public transit system years back when the motor industry took off, so everyone would buy a car. With no public transport, the citizens of Detroit lost their ability to put themselves in social situations, to mix. And people are leaving – whole neighbourhoods are disappearing every time I go back.” It’s a grim picture he paints, but one must have a certain degree of respect for the fact that he and his contemporaries have stuck their ground and stayed true to their hometown. There’s hope for redemption from the city’s myopic industry though (“the city put all its eggs in one basket with the motor industry”)
– he tells us that there’s serious talk of recalibrating the city from an industrial powerhouse to an agricultural one, given its abundance of fertile land, ample water supply, and vast open plains all around the city.
Much wine, razor clams, scallops and other various underwater creatures later - Derrick May piling them onto our plate after his pals at the other end fail to finish them - and it’s time to hit the club. May heads back to his hotel for a power nap (he’s not on ‘til 5AM) and we find ourselves riding to Fabrik with the rest of the Detroit crew. Underground Resistance co-founder Mad ‘Mike’ Banks is often painted as a stubborn, difficult individual – but that’s not the Banks we meet tonight. He’s the most humble guy you could hope to meet, docile and very bashful. Walking to our awaiting car after the meal, the talk turns again to Detroit – Banks noticing its decline more than ever thanks to his frequent recent travels across the globe with Carl Craig. “Everytime I go back, it’s like another little bit of the city has died“. He tells us that the mayor of the city has asked him for advice – him being a local figurehead and stalwart – and that he feels shocked that he’s “more travelled than this guy”. Banks also points to a lack of communication in Detroit, saying that there are huge swathes of the population unable to afford internet or cable. “'When 9/11 happened, no one knew shit. Same with Katrina” he tells us laconically. He tells us of his own hardships too, but is quick to thank his friends and colleagues for bringing him back to the fore recently – “Carl and the boys, they look after me…”
A mad dash around the outskirts of Madrid follows as we make hotel stops on the way to the club, with topics of conversation ranging from 50 Cent (Carl Craig: “I liked him at first ‘cos he had charisma…”) to Octave One’s favourite UK gigs (“There was that one festival…what was it called…oh yeah, The Big Chill!” says Lenny Burden, one half of the Burden brothers that make up the duo. “We loved that…and Corsica Studios in London…”). Lenny also reveals the creative process behind their productions – the legendary MPC sampler, as favoured by many a hip-hop producer. “I’d like to learn Logic” he says, “but man, I just don’t have the time to sit down and do that!” We arrive almost thirty minutes late for the start of Saunderson’s set, but the big man seems unphased, locking straight into a blistering set of sexy tribal techno and big room house music.
Fabrik is a pretty immense venue. Situated a good 15km from the centre of Madrid, it’s got that isolated feel like Amnesia in Ibiza – but the liminal nature of the space lends itself well to the debauchery and otherworldliness inside. A cavernous main room focuses around a sunken pit, raised areas at the back and sides, balconies, a tiered mezzanine VIP section, a huge secluded seating area, and a DJ booth with a stage above it. Then there’s the terrace, which features music in the summer, and a second arena that’s like a giant conservatory – all transparent sides and roof. By the promoters’ standards, this isn’t one of the busiest nights they’ve had recently, but you can imagine what a playground this place must be when it’s rammed to the rafters. That said, the crowd in the main room builds gradually over the night, and it feels busy enough.
After Saunderson’s delicious rhythms, Carl Craig and ‘Mad’ Mike Banks take to the stage overhead, with Craig delivering a surprisingly tough set, Banks adding jazzy keys and dissonant chords over the top. We take a scope of the crowd and it’s generally very young – it’s impressive and somewhat comforting to see teenagers immersing themselves in thumping, proper techno without batting an eyelid. Octave One take up the challenge thereafter, bopping their heads in perfect brotherly unison while dishing out some unrelentingly tough beats. As the magical tones of Blackwater emerge from the murky depths towards the end of their set though, the mood suddenly changes to triumphant and uplifting. A true classic that helps their set come to a stomping end.
Derrick May returns from his disco nap to steal our accolade for set of the night however. We’ve not seen him mix before, and it’s a pleasure to be up close in the booth watching him at work. A big box of large white label 12”s sits behind him, and a bucket of champagne (and two writhing girls). He grabs one, slams it onto the turntable, cues it up for about 10 seconds and then tosses the headphones to one side, bringing the track straight in and riding the mix from his monitors. It’s breakneck, exciting stuff, with May bouncing like a madman to his selections (which include Jeff Mills’ brutal classic The Bells), and mixing like no-one we’ve ever seen before. In an age of TRAKTOR, Ableton and beatmatching, it’s refreshing to see. It should also be noted that Carl Craig’s TRAKTOR seemed to randomly speed up one of his tracks without him touching it, leading to much confusion on his part and an awkward minute of high tempos, while May’s trusty vinyl fared no such problem.
It’s a rare treat to see such a selection of Detroit pioneers and torch-carriers on the same line-up, and in such a majestic venue too. If this is how good Fabrik is on a less packed night, we can’t wait to see it in full swing.
Look out for our DT-TV feature from the night – coming soon!
Check out more on Fabrik at http://www.grupo-kapital.com/fabrik/. Forthcoming parties in March feature the likes of James Holden, Steve Bug, Ken Ishii, Ben Sims, Nathan Fake, Guy Gerber, Radioslave, District One, Felix Krocher, Shinedoe, Cristian Varela, Marco Bailey and many more.
We advise staying in central Madrid and taking the free bus to Fabrik from Plaza de España, every 15 minutes from 11:30PM (returning to Madrid throughout the night).