Kahn & Neek – FABRICLIVE 90

A wonderfully executed mix that comes with remarkable timing...

Six months in the making, whether or not this mix was completed before this summer’s events is largely irrelevant. Irrelevant, that is, because it’s inevitable that this latest instalment in the ‘FABRICLIVE’ series — number 90 — will be viewed in the context of fabric and its various offshoots being closed by city authorities earlier this year.

At the time of announcing this mix, a pending appeal would determine whether the club’s doors remained shuttered. Depending on the outcome of that hearing (which turned out to be a positive one), this mix would serve either as an epitaph to everything that fabric was and the diversity, inclusivity and genuine musical innovation that the club supported and represented — or celebratory proof of the importance of maintaining institutions such as these.

It’s fitting, then, that this CD is such a wonderfully executed thing. And it’s presumably no accident that the mix closes with Kode9 & The Spaceape’s ‘Ghost Town.’

Bristolians Kahn & Neek are best known for their no-holds-barred grime instrumentals, but also dabble as a duo in dub music (as Gorgon Sound) and in more experimental concoctions as part of the Young Echo collective. Kahn also has a strong individual profile as a producer whose music spans as many styles and emotions as it does tempos.

Building in pressure, weight and texture, their ‘FABRICLIVE' contribution strikes that old-school accord of the perfect mix CD: something old, plenty of new, and the odd thing that’ll make you stop what you’re doing and reach for the tracklist with a ‘what fuck is this?’ falling from your lips.

8/10

Words: Will Pritchard (@Hedmuk)

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