Former DMC champion and breathtaking turntablist A-Trak’s FABRICLIVE mix goes straight for the jugular, as you’d expect from a DJ who’s so functional in his ability to rock a crowd. DJ Sneak’s classic filter house joint You Can’t Hide From Your Bud makes a welcome return from the crates, segueing into A-Trak’s career-high remix of Boys Noize’s Oh!, by way of some funked-up scratching. Things are kept funky and fun, your host avoiding the impulse to scratch and cut everything into oblivion, instead focusing on keeping things moving at a rapid pace and not allowing boredom to set in.
We’re into thumping, dirty electro territory before long, the thump of Alex Gopher’s Aurora met by the playful tones of Dance Area’s AA 24-7, and soon into the terrifying bass of Daniele Papini’s Church Of Nonsense. His track with Laidback Luke, Shake It Down, is a manic, sub-bass thumping peak-time banger, but before long the tempo has dropped and we’re into nu-disco territory – and it feels like we’re going in the wrong direction. Thereafter, the tempo and intensity raises back up for an incoherent ending, culminating in DJ Zinc’s classic but very over-rinsed 138 Trek.
Surprisingly, some mixes on here are very awkward and not what you’d expect from a man of his calibre – the mix into His Majesty Andre’s Peep Thong from Diskjokke’s remix of Metronomy’s Heartbreaker is a cluttered mess for example. In addition, his use of FX isn’t always so effective – at times just coming across as unnecessary, jerky and irritating.
This mix fails as both a club mix (given the sudden dip two-thirds of the way in) and as a home listening mix (given how intense and rowdy it gets in the middle). Those who are less picky about such things won’t be bothered, but for me it’s unfortunate that his undoubted skill technically and also as crowd-rocker haven’t translated too well here, despite plenty of great tracks.
Tracklisting:
01 A-Trak - Say Whoa
DJ Sneak - You Can’t Hide From Your Bud
02 Boys Noize - Oh! (A-Trak Remix)
03 Scott Grooves feat Parliament Funkadelic - Mothership Reconnection (Daft Punk Remix)
04 Voodoo Chilli - Get On Down
05 Skepta - Sweet Mother (House Version)
06 DJ Class - I’m The Ish
07 Metronomy - Heartbreaker (Diskjokke Remix)
08 His Majesty Andre - Peep Thong
09 Zombie Nation - Forza (Original)
10 Alex Gopher - Aurora
11 Dance Area - AA 24-7
12 Robbie Rivera - Move Move (DJ Observer & Daniel Heathcliff Remix)
13 Daniele Papini - Church of Nonsense
14 Laidback Luke & A-Trak - Shake It Down
15 Nacho Lovers - Acid Life (Nachos 909 Dub)
16 Rob Threezy - The Chase
17 Friendly Fires - Paris (Aeroplane Remix)
18 Fan Death - Veronica’s Veil (Erol Alkan’s Extended Re-Edit)
19 Simon Baker - Plastik (Todd Terje’s Turkatech Remix)
20 The Martian - Tobacco Ties
21 DJ Gant-Man - Juke Dat Girl From The Back
22 DJ MP4 - The Book Is On The Table
23 Jamie Anderson & Content - Body Jackin’
24 Raffertie - Do Dat
25 DJ Zinc - 138 Trek