Pushing Buttons routine

DJ Shadow, Cut Chemist, and DJ Numark performing live on Akai MPC samplers... 'nough said.

Photek - 1997 essential mix BBC 1

One of my first vinyl purchases back in the day included the 12" single of Photek's Modus Operandi, one heck of a killer record that marked a time in the drum'n'bass scene. For me, the mid and late '90s where the best in the scene, dark introspectives of minimal yet powerful experiments in drum'n'bass breaks - soaking in intelligent ambient and soundscapes. A sound that defined the pre-2K madness where we wondered through our adolescence, trying to feed our craving for something new - now the grunge had died and post-rock was,'t even a genre yet.

Underground parties in basements of bars where only the local old folk hung by night, getting beer in the night-shop around the corner because stock was limited, trading obscure mixtapes we got of our shitty tapedecks... it had a romantic appeal to it that got lost in the abundance of todays digital offers.

Great was my joy when @ninjamixdump dropped a 2h mix-session of Photek, recorded in 1997 for the BBC's Radio 1 Essential Mix series. The first hour contains a bulk-load of classics from that time and then drops back to Goldie's epic lengthed 'Mother' topped of with some of Photek's close to flawless mix-in's.

This comes highly recommended!
Download Photek 1997 Essential Mix
Photek Myspace
Photek Productions website
Ninjamixdump @ Twitter
Ninjamixdump @ Tumblr


Title track of the Photek album Modus Operandi

Metro Area - Fabric 43

Those who were around in the early 80's might have had the pleasure of being introduced to a pop phenomenon called Stars on 45, also known in the States as Stars On and as Starsound in the UK and Oceania. This Dutch studio project under direction of Jaap Eggermont (see Golden Earring from the hits "Radar Love" etc.) embodied the idea to have a more polished, and legal, alternative for bootleg mashups appearing on compilation albums and radio stations. A more danceable mix was filled and strung together with popular compositions in an enjoyable medley fashion with one underlying uniform (disco) drumline. These early vinyl rarities bring me to the concept set Metro Area has thrown down on the 43rd of the Fabric Series.

At best, Metro Area achieves mediocrity on all fronts. The first half (apart from the intro) is a solid mix with a nice tempo, no extreme shifts in style and a cohesive vibe that delivers the promised groovy stuff. After the danceable first half comes a mess of awkward mixes held together by namedropping and the recognizability of a few classics. It's good fun if you feel the need to deviate from the usual Fabric Series sound or feel like busting some Chandleresque dancemoves in your bathroom, but definitely a fabrication to stay clear of if you like to pretend disco and the 80's never happened.


written for and published by The Silent Ballet
Fabric Records