Now We Rave, our frequent post dedicated to the nosiest, rawest electro-techno, usually coincides with a recent rave of my own of similar nature. The appeal of this style has resulted in a terrifying amount of poorly produced, misguided music, so these days we tend to rely mostly on Ed Banger, Turbo Recordings and Boys Noize Records for our electro fixes. It will come as no surprise then that my latest bout of frenzied leaping around amongst 'rave-moshes' came at fabric, where Alex Ridha and his BNR imprint's flat-capped members took over Room One for fabriclive.

Although I had witnessed several other of the electro scene's major players there, such as Erol Alkan, Hey Today!, Brodinski and Carte Blanche, I had never seen Boys Noize at fabric. I had frequently lusted for his maximal electro-techno hybrid on that unique soundsystem but my few years of visiting EC1 had so far unfortunately not coincided with one of his rare appearances. So, a BNR takeover of Room One promised everything I had been wishing for, with the label's figurehead joined by Housemeister, Djedjotronic and Shadow Dancer live. When we arrived, Boys Noize was in command of a bruising dancefloor of over-excited electro-indie kids, scrambling around to classic Boys Noize sounds. Predictably, Ridha's set was saturated in acidic riffs alongside many of his set's recent (and historic) staples, such as his remix of Housemeister's Music Is Awesome (featured below), Lemonade, Yeah and just like when I last saw him at XOYO, a teasing sample from Chemical Brothers' Swoon, which of course Ridha reshaped into one of the best remixes of 2010.

Housemeister followed, barely changing the bubbling, abrasive tone that Ridha had set. Considering the fairly barbaric character of BNR's brand of electro, it remained a skillfully assembled two hours, maintaining the same breathless tempo while slipping in some interesting, less predictable choices, such as Siriusmo's bass-heavy Einmal In Der Woche Schrien. Ridha may have finished his personal slot, but his presence remained in the booth throughout the rest of the night, joining forces for the last hour with both Housemeister and Djedjotronic for a BNR 'All Stars' finale that continued to feed the familiar chaos of a fabriclive dancefloor.

If I was to compare my latest Boys Noize experience to my previous one at XOYO, I would say it trails ever so slightly. Naturally I was still provided with my usual spoil of thrills, explosive climaxes and favourite electro staples, but there is perhaps a good reason why Boys Noize doesn't appear at fabric more regularly. Some DJ's are born for a stage, not a booth and I have always felt that Alex Ridha is one of those DJ's. At XOYO, the set-up is perfect for the Boys Noize style. The DJ is the center piece, and the dancefloor becomes less about having space to move and more about who can get closest to the front. This is where the likes of Boys Noize, Tiga and the other rave kings thrive, lapping up the excitement in front of them. fabric is the archetypal underground nightclub, with the DJ discretely kept as the conductor of the dancefloor, responsible for freshening up the mood and keeping things varied and different. For DJ's of techno and house, and even some of the bass-heavy sounds of Friday at the club, fabric is the ideal place to work, but for Boys Noize's sound, the environment doesn't quite feel at home, despite how fantastic a DJ he is, and how magnificent the club is.

Ironically, XOYO houses two of this weekends most exciting raves for the electro connoisseur. On Friday, Bugged Out! returns, this time bringing Turbo's glamourous chief Tiga to London for the first time since the stunning Planet Turbo show this time last year, and the following day sees Kavinsky join Feadz and Hey Today! in what will be the perfect way for me to celebrate if Wembley yields the right result on Saturday night, as unlikely as that will be.

The selection of tracks I've posted here may be small, but they certainly shouldn't disappoint. Gesaffelstein, currently leading Turbo's techno revolution, features twice, while Carte Blanche return with Jack On The Moon, a typically frantic house cut that will be sure to give bouncers a headache following its drop on dancefloors across Europe. Autoérotique meanwhile are responsible for what we believe is the best remix of The Subs' Don't Stop, among recent attempts by BeatauCue and others.



Moby - The Day (Gesaffelstein Remix)


Carte Blanche - Jack On The Moon


Housemeister - Music Is Awesome (Boys Noize Remix)


Gesaffelstein & The Hacker - Crainte (Clement Meyer Remix)


Hey Today - Minor (Black Strobe Remix)


The Subs - Don't Stop (Autoérotique Remix)