Housed in a cavernous abandoned cold storage that used to serve the market opposite it, it now has a slightly different purpose: pushing the boundaries of club music with it's residents James Lavelle, Deadly Avenger and Ali B and it's award-winning drum n bass/breakbeat night, Fabriclive.

Fabric has always remained true to it's underground roots and is one of the clubs that devotes its main room to alternative genres. Drum n bass and breakbeats are mainstays here, along with downtempo, hip-hop and just plain weird stuff.

Charmaine was there to report on a one-off party in October hosted by breakbeats' funkiest label - Fingerlickin'.

Not to mention the regular big names like (drum n bass stars) Andy C, Krust, Zinc, Unkle, Scratch Perverts, Kenny Ken ,High Contrast and a live performance by EZ Rollers.

At a quarter past eleven, the queue had already snaked its way round the bend on Charterhouse Street. The last guy in the queue then would probably still be in line for at least two hours or more. I was fortunate enough to have been put on the guestlist and could go straight in to indulge in the massive sounds which were being generated in the dark rooms underground.

Spoilt for choice and undecided as to which room I should head for first, I finally decided on checking out the EZ Rollers live performance. When I got there however, High Contrast was still up dishing out some dark beats while the stage was being prepared for the performance.

Consisting of Jay, Alex, vocalist Kelly and MC Jakes, EZ Rollers put together a relatively downtempo, but rousing performance. While Jay and Alex worked with 3 decks at the back, Kelly and MC Jakes tied it up nicely, combining well to provide sweet vocals and lyrical rhymes. A great warm up to the hard but funky night ahead.

I don’t even know where to begin to describe Andy C’s set. It was MAD! The crowd tore the place up as they spontaneously responded to his opening track ( Headcase by Bad Company). I was left simply speechless as the thumping basslines were unleashed. Everyone went mental just kicking in to the beats. The room was getting really packed now as people were pouring in and it was carnage in there. Quite a bad situation to be in where what you wanted was just a little more space to move around to the beats. That being my only gripe, Andy C’s set more than made up for it. One of the best opening responses I’ve seen or heard.

Room 1 was where Unkle, Scratch Perverts and the Plump DJs were scheduled to play. The room that night was filled with rather dark and twisted breaks infused with some trance-like moments. Even the Plump DJs veered from their usual set of funky breaks to provide continuity to the darker break sounds which were defining the room’s atmosphere for the night. An interesting change, one which I wouldn’t mind going for again.

Upstairs in Room 3, some of the Fingerlickin' crew (Krafty Kuts, Soul of Man and Drummatic Twins) were dishing out scores of refreshing funky breaks. I caught bits of Krafty Kuts in action and the man did some brilliant scratching. Absolutely wicked sets that were laid out for the room 3 crowd who danced up every bit of the bouncey/electro /funkerish beats.

Elsewhere, DJs like Zinc and Krust were strutting out hard drum and bass sets with great breakdowns ( as was reported by a friend ).

All in all, an amazing Friday night at Fabric once again. A huge variety of sounds for fans of the breakbeat. Excellent.

-thanks to Melissa at Fabric!

-pictures courtesy of Fabric

>back