With fabric's full club listings for November and December recently announced, of all the nights I eagerly scrawled my diary, this wasn't one. Sandwiched between Luciano the week previously and Mathias Tanzmann next weekend, and also because I had only just seen Âme perform last month at the birthday weekend (Ok, Luciano was there too, but exceptions can be made), I thought I may be able to get away missing this one. As it turns out, I didn't make it to Luciano or Perlon (Zip, Baby Ford, Alex Smoke etc.) at fabric the week before, two nights I was very keen on attending, so this turned out to be my consolation. I should know better by now than to see any night at fabric as merely a consolation, whatever the alternative, but I left EC1 at about 8:30 with that great, satisfying feeling of having just enjoyed an entirely successful night.

Âme would headline for the closing set in the perfect slot of 5-8, after Craig Richards and Guillaume and The Coutu Dumonts live. Room 2 looked surprisingly tempting too, with Terry Francis joined by Heiko Laux and Steve Rachmad, who have previously collaborated to make some exceptional productions, such as one of my favourite trippy house numbers to date, The Boatshow. If their production skills were anything to go by, it would hopefully not be so intense in the second room as it so often is, the reason I typically avoid lengthy spells in there. We actually headed to the fascinating confines of Room Three first, where James Priestly, Delano Smith and Brawther collectively delivered a well assembled and well executed jam of upbeat tech house to a surprisingly well-filled space. One thing which is becoming increasingly obvious to me is how unique and refreshing that third room of fabric's is. It offers a welcome break from the sweaty, crowded and often overwhelming atmosphere of Room's One and Two while still maintaining the true fabric personality- formidable sound system, rugged brickwork (with the original arches to add extra character) and the same uncompromising sonics that we step through the front doors for in the first place.

Downstairs, house was definitely the word. Craig Richards had already started spinning at the early time of 2am. Although slightly more playful than usual, his set remained ever funky and exciting, blending fun house, stitched together with sprinkles of quirky, frolic sounds that were as bewildering as ever on that system. Immediately after followed a dazzling live performance from Guillaume & The Coutu Dumonts. His fervent session of his own unique style of house genuinely rocked what had become an almost full room. Combining punchy basslines with simmering synths and manually produced bongo effects, it was a great hour to witness, and that's coming from someone not usually that fussed about live sets.

Despite the tempting line-up over in Room Two, the relentless pounding that seeped from the arches of it's entrance made our mind up that we were to once again stay put in the main room where Âme's DJ half commenced his 3 hour set at just after the expected time of 5am. Âme's live set at fabric's 11th birthday weekend, performed by the other half of the duo, was undoubtedly one of the highlights- their reputation as producers is obviously and deservedly highly revered, but personally I felt it wasn't the most danceable of sets. In the booth on the other hand, it was a phenomenally groovy session. Their trademark deep house style was in full, glorious flow from beginning to end. It was the perfect demonstration of how good house music can be, exploring some slightly more minimal flavours at times, tech house at others and even some squelchy acid, to the frenzied delight of those on the floor. The set peaked when Lee Jones' twisted house groove Yoyo was dropped, then soon after Art Department's huge disco-seasoned anthem Without You. From the trend of the set, it seem more likely than not Without You would be melded in at some point. The sexiness of the bassline is the kind of thing you could see Âme being slightly envious that they didn't come up with first, and the vocal element went unsurprisingly down a treat with those familiar to it. For me however, the real pleasure came in the surprise inclusion of Ferrer & Sydenham's legendary house hit Sandcastles, which caused an eruption of euphoria at around 7am. In what had been such a consistently melodic amalgamation of relatively new house sounds, such a classic was what fabric is made for, and what Âme appreciate more than most other house DJs.