Reviews - Events
Fabric's 9th Birthday
venue: FABRIC, LONDON UK
what we think: Once again Fabric throw a party to remember
October 20, 2008
by John Watt
Saturday the 18th of October saw Fabric London welcome in its ninth year in business, an anniversary well worth celebrating when considering the recent closures of other key venues in town, including Turnmils, The Cross and shortly The End. Word and Rhythm's John Watt was there to mark the occasion.
If the queues were anything to go by, Fabric's ninth birthday was a huge success, with a room 1 line up featuring sets from Craig Richards, Terry Francis, Luciano, Shinedoe, Martin Buttrich (Live) and Ralph Lawson. Room 2 hosted an equally impressive range of artists and DJ's including Robert Hood, Baby Ford, Mark Broom and Soul Designer (LIVE). Meanwhile, not to be outdone, the ever experimental Omar S, Patrice Scott and Keith Worthy kept things going in Room 3. In terms of energy, the night couldn't really have been improved upon, with all DJ's rising to the challenge of providing stand out sets, which complemented the party atmosphere. With everyone talking about Fabrics new younger brother, the super club "Matter" it was good to see so many people paying respect to a venue that has become somewhat of an institution in the London scene over recent years and similarly to the DJ's who have made it what it is.
In particular the night appeared to be an important testing ground for new music from all the artists. Luciano had a great night, with his latest Fabric mix obviously helping build the buzz around this already firmly established resident DJ. Ralph Lawson kept the crowds happy with his uniquely iconic 20:20 vision cuts. Shinedoe was funky and energetic, and a pleasure to see, a truly talented female artist on top of her game, in what is often a principally male dominated scene. It was a pleasure to see the hugely influential Martin Buttrich, making a somewhat exclusive outing from behind his studio desk in Germany to be in front of the crowds. The hugely popular studio wizard, responsible for engineering Loco Dice amongst others came out guns blazing and pushing the boundaries, as was reflected in his Live set. With huge nights going on at SE1 and Matter the same weekend, Fabric managed to hold its own once again for their birthday, probably owing their success in part, to the excellent music they source and showcase tirelessly week in week out. Although many of the featured artists will never be household names, the club has never looked to seek out those acts. Instead they have always managed to provide the latest and most cutting edge of underground electronic performers. Combine this vision with the obvious loyalty that is expressed by the many clubbers who continue to pass through the doors weekly, we can just hope that Fabric will have an even bigger reason to celebrate for their tenth birthday next year
