Mark Farina’s surprising appearance on the fortieth disc of the Fabric series is galactically vibrant (if familiar) terrain for the veteran west coast/Chicago house DJ. The last Fabric mix to be as inspired by the high heels, disco balls and bright lights of bouncy feel-good house may trace its way back to Tony Humphries’ Fabric 04. And so, much like a 40th Anniversary, the 40th Fabric release is something truly special in the context of its predecessors.
Fabric 40 is a colorful expose of Mark Farina’s classically unique trademarks: Up-bow flurries of flute, soulful jazz guitar and jubilant cowbells illustrate a small fraction of a galaxy of instrumental fusion. Layers of bold funk and crisp hi-hat serve only as foundations for lively vocal tracks by the dozen. Included are acapellas, low fidelity 1940’s voiceovers (similar to those found on Jacob London’s “No Farting In The Ice Fort “(Jason Hodges Remix) found on Farina’s collaborative live OM release alongside Derrick Carter). Fabric 40 also ensures the inclusion of 1980’s fast rapping in delightful concert with splashes of downtempo, reminiscent of the aptly coined Farinian “Mushroom Jazz” sound. In essence, Fabric 40 amounts to a long-range compilation of the many quirky talents possessed by this chronically crowd-pleasing DJ.
Mark Farina takes Fabric’s opportunity to improve his adaptive skills as a DJ. In other words, the `philosophy’ of minimal-tech house that Fabric has traditionally embraced is not entirely lost. In order to compensate for startlingly lively and fluid hi-hats, vocals and deep bass riffs, the mix contains a variety of audibly sparse bars and electro-sci-fi editing, which provides the subtlest hint of the “techno flavor” on which the label has prided itself in nearly every prior series release.
For all his adaptive coherence and feel-good fluency, though, Farina makes little effort to significantly stray from his traditionalist selection of Chicago house artists and sounds. A fresher Farina mix might strike the mark with a bit greater impact - and yet, the undeniable presence of a quality mix cannot help but eclipse such technical nitpicking. This bright-eyed Chicago house mash-up indeed possesses every talent one could ask for in a track list; included are the sensational likes of JT Donaldson, Inland Knights, Mood II Swing, Johnny Fiasko, Lawnchair Generals, DJ Sneak, Chuck Love, legendary King Kooba and Mark Farina himself.
Fabric 40, a curveball album if ever there was one, comes straight out of left field, and will almost certainly turn away the average devout Fabric fanatic. As it ought to be, though, label matters little in the case of Mark Farina’s latest creation. Mark Farina executes longevity and professionalism in the fusion and variety of this album, which begs a sexy evening of fine dining and smooth bodily movement. In other words, to quote Mood II Swing’s “Closer,” `It’s more fun to compute.’
- James Woodruff
01 - Giom - Together
02 - Chuck Love - Yellow Truth [Atnarko Mix]
03 - JT Donaldson & Uneaq - Why Not Rock?
04 - Ricardo Rae - Lead The Way
05 - John Larner & Slater Hogan - Gettin’ Ready
06 - Inland Knights - Where Ya At?
07 - Homero Espinosa - Got This Feeling (LNS Disco Dub)
08 - Alexander East - Believe En Me
09 - Frank Solano - The Blues Line [Tommy Largo Remix]
10 - Kris G - Feel My Love [Bobby Valentine Remix]
11 - Non Believers - Stasera
12 - Johnny Fiasco - Last Word
13 - Mood II Swing - Closer [Oliver Desmet & Fred Everything Mix]
14 - James Curd - Pick Up What I’m Putting Down
15 - Rylan White Ft. Olly Brunton - There Goes The Neighbourhood
16 - Lawnchair Generals - Broke Acid
17 - Jeremy Joshua - Make Dat Shit [Derrick Carter Mix]
18 - DJ Sneak - Mumbler
19 - Prztz - Brutality
20 - Mark Farina - Das Shibuya [Cheeba Mix]
21 - King Kooba - Hoose Musik
