After a quiet 2004 pulling the strings of his Bedrock label, progressive house legend John Digweed returns with a fresh mix of minimal tech house and electro house with the unmistakable Digweed progressive flair. How does it stand up, and more importantly, is it worth your currency? Read on…

Pete Moss – Strive to Live (16B Remix)

Soaring, full sounding synths do a great job opening up this compilation, even if this track does set a deceitfully progressive tone for the mix. Regardless, Strive to Live (which was released last year) is a great example of the lengths Digweed has went to to give this mix a fresh feel. Melodies, basslines, and harmonies float in and out, providing a great segway into…

Adam Johnson – Traber

The first transition here is dead on and completely seamless. If you thought Digweed was a God on a pair of decks, you’ll be blown away by his skill with ProTools. Traber builds its percussion and bassline gradually, while Digweed loops the last remaining melody of Strive to Live through the first half of this superb second track.

Repair – Forgive and Forget (Richard Davis Remix)

Floating, Bjork like vocals melt in with the equally floaty melodies, creating that unmistakable Digweed sound. This track then leads into a second melody and more rapid fire percussion. The vocals are faded out, making for a segway into…

DJ Rasoul - True Science

As soon as this track is ushered in, a computerized voice reminds us that we’re listening to Fabric 20 with John Digweed (this will happen about 2-3 more times during the mix). This is highly unnecessary, as this track embodies the more modern Digweed sound of bouncy house coupled with slamming percussion and choppy vocals. A breakbeat saxophone section infuses the track with a great amount of variety. A rising and falling melody is introduced, along with a quick scratching sound. The saxophone returns, then the percussion is beefed up as our journey through sound continues.

Wont Bother Me (20:20 Mix) – The Glass

Funky in every sense of the word, this track is a departure from the progressive approach Digweed has taken with this mix so far. Groovy basslines, and clever chopping effects set a great mood for…

Billy Dalessandro - In The Dark

Layered basslines create a great, bouncy feel to this track that is enhanced by tripped out vocals like “In the dark, I’ll kill you, In the light, I’ll show you” These phrases are particularly effective because they are nonstop, and when coupled with a perky and hyperactive melody, really set this track on fire. This is also where the mix becomes much more dance floor oriented. This is one of the reasons that the first couple tracks are particularly deceitful, as they present this mix as more of a listening experience. Anyways, In The Dark marches on into…

Bobby Peru – Venom

A purely electro affair, Venom uses one melody and lots of off beat, Holden-esque percussion and delay to create a great tripped out electro house track. Unfortunately, this track is fairly repetitive, which is probably why it is mixed out of so quickly into…

Martin Solvieg - Rocking Music (Martin Solveig Dub)

Continuing on the electro vibe, this track feels a bit more housy, as it combines choppy backing vocals and particularly hard hitting percussion. The latter section of this track focuses more on an acid synth line, which leads back into the vocals and eventually into…

Slam - Lie To Me (Freestyleman Thirsty Monk Dub)

Grinding percussion, and a great synth driven bassline keep the mix moving. The sublime buildup and breakdown makes great use of more background vocals and several layers of acid synths as well as old school, 80’s sounding drums. The breakdown is driven by a separate melody that floats in and out of the mix into…

Angel Alanis – Knob Job

Also known as ‘A Pair of Jacks – On and On’, this track has been seeing heavy rotation from Sasha as well as James Zabiela. The phrase ‘On and On’ is looped over a building melody that, when coupled with the massive bassline, really keeps the mix moving. Filters are used cleverly here and although the breakdown isn’t anything special compared to the rest of the track, this piece certainly will keep dance floors moving ‘On and On.’

Infusion – Better World (Josh Wink Interpretation)

The mix into this track is somewhat abrupt, but effective. The bassline is simply killer and is deserving of the constant looping it gets. Infusion’s vocals also work well here. Wink has done something really cool with the guitar portion of this track by giving it a unique electro sound. When the track drops, all of the great elements Wink has teased us with are combined. However, the second breakdown is somewhat excessive, as nothing new is added.

Superpitcher - Happiness (Michael Mayer Mix)

Digweed finally lets the electro vibe die off, taking the mix to a more subliminal and progressive level. The vocals “I want happiness, I seek happiness” are looped over more offbeat percussion along with several melodies and basslines. A soaring synth delivers the track into a satisfying break which is where the track becomes significantly funkier while retaining a progressive feel. A second breakdown is sure to set dance floors aflame, and surprisingly, #2 isn’t at all repetitive or unwelcome. The soaring synth changes notes several more times, carrying the track into…

Joel Mull – Emico

Having caned this tune myself (I had bought the vinyl before I had even seen the tracklist for Fabric 20), I was pleased to see it on here. By far the most progressive and techy track on the compilation, Emico is carried by elaborate and tweaked out percussion and one synth line. The buildup feels somewhat trancy, combining all the great percussion and synth lines, creating a pretext to a sublime breakdown.

Matrix & Danny J - Vertigo (Goldtrix Mix)

This track is well known in clubland by now, as it has seen heavy play from Sasha. As the only true ‘feel good’ trance-house combination in this mix, Vertigo’s highly melodic content works to great effect after listening to 70 minutes of tech-house and electro. Vertigo is a fitting end to a superb compilation.

Conclusion:
Although Fabric 20 doesn’t flow as well as it should at some points, it is nonetheless a great compilation of cutting edge dance music. The mixing is not only flawless but goes above the requirements for even a ProTools mix, much like James Holden’s Balance 005. I wish Digweed could’ve expanded more on his progressive tastes as this is a listening CD first and foremost. Some of the more electro house tracks were monotonous and, while they may work well on their own, kind of mesh together that may bore even some of Digweed’s fans. Despite this single shortcoming, Digweed uses his networking skills to great effect, giving us (so far) the best dance compilation of 2005!