FABRIC WATCH may have taken a break since for a month or so, but activity at the club has never been busier. The programming this year has been widely acknowledged as exceptional, and it's difficult to disagree when you consider who has visited EC1 so far and we're only half way through the year. Although I speak only for Saturdays, this year has been a statement by the club of its continued and unrivaled reputation as the country's elite underground club, and one of Europe's. Week after week Saturday nights display line-ups that most clubs could only dream of exhibiting, yet fabric conduct it all in such an admirably modest fashion. I certainly can't recall any year I've had fabric on my radar being as consistently impressive as 2011. The selections of artists has been innovative, interesting, even daring at times while remaining appropriate. For sure, some of electronic music's most illustrious artists have performed but only those who are right for the club.

The best of July

Saturday July 2nd:
Craig Richards, Matthias Tanzmann, Martin Buttrich (live), Matt Tolfrey, Lee Foss, Jamie Jones
The first Saturday of July offers an all-encompassing showcase across all three rooms. The tribal tech house wizard, Matthias Tanzmann, returns for the first time after his fabric debut last autumn where he demonstrated why his popularity has risen so dramatically over last couple of years. He is joined in Room One by the Desolat brand of techno from Martin Buttrich, who will deliver one of his coveted live sets. Room Two exhibits '5 Years of Leftroom', with the label's chief, Matt Tolfrey joined by some of his finest alumni. Room Three welcomes back Jamie Jones, alongside Lee Foss for what will most certainly be a packed out Hot Natured session of the most cutting-edge deep house.

Saturday July 9th:
Craig Richards, Dixon, Isolee (live), Steve Rachmad, Terry Francis
This night is all about Room One and most notably Innervisions founder Dixon. Anyone who has witnessed one of Dixon's genre-spanning sets will tell you how impressive his ability to weave so many diverse, unconventional sounds together is. Without doubt, Dixon is right up there with the most daring, unpredictable selectors, and is possibly the best example of a DJ who pushes the boundaries of when any sound can work on the dancefloor. Isolee live is certainly not to be missed either. The German minimal producer followed his critically acclaimed debut album, We Are Monsters with another fine long player, Well Spent Youth in February and this rare performance in the UK promises to be a memorable occasion.

Saturday, July 23rd:
Tyrant (Craig Richards & Lee Burridge), Reboot (live), Maetrik
Any night Lee Burridge descends on EC1 to join his old pal Craig for one of their regular Tyrant episodes is always a great occasion. Take it from me when I say if I would be there every time if it was possible. There is no better example of chemistry in a B2B set than when these two phenomenal DJ's begin bouncing off eachother. While both supply equal amounts of the most groovy, quirky tech house available, Lee Burridge embraces the party like anyone else in the club, and his enthusiasm is an exhibition in itself. Reboot, a man who needs no introduction, is also billed to perform one of his perfectly assembled and infinitely intriguing live performances. Frequently credited as one of the most exciting live acts around, Reboot, having released music on Sei Es Drum, Cadenza and Cocoon, is very much at the forefront of minimal techno and house, and if there's any possibility of hearing him play 'Caminando' then it surely not to be missed.

Wednesday July 27th & Thursday July 28th:
London Electronic presents Nicolas Jaar (live), Gadi Mizrahi (Wolf + Lamb) and Soul Clap
After the resounding success of his London debut at fabric back in March, London Electronic once again are back to unveil electronic music's prodigal son. This time however, there are two chances to catch him, the first on Wednesday which finishes at 1am and also features one half of Wolf + Lamb, Gadi Mizrahi. The following evening, they are joined by Soul Clap in what promises to be one of the most prestigious events in London this year. Expect a night of the most soulful, elegant house and other delicate electronic beats, as well as very rapid ticket sales and none on the door...

Saturday July 30th:
fabric ON... Craig Richards, Ricardo Villalobos, Deniz Kurtel (live), Space Dimension Controller, San Proper (live), Sandwell District (live), Sigha... (Saturday 11pm - Sunday 2pm)
Ricardo Villalobos is back for the second part of his twice yearly residency, the natural choice to headline fabric's extended party, ON..., which traditionally finishes no earlier than 2pm. His appearance will no doubt spark a frenzy of anticipation in London, especially for those who witnessed his remarkable behaviour at the club in March. His set time will also be hotly debated, with many dismayed by his 8:30am starting time at the event's equivalent last year, which even then he was an hour late for. For those who are coming down just for Ricardo, I would suggest arriving at the club no earlier than 5am WITH a ticket, with queues expected to be very, very long all night. For those arriving earlier there is no danger of being bored. Deniz Kurtel and San Proper are billed to perform live on stage in Room One, while Space Dimension Controller in the booth should give a refreshing twist to the night. Room Two sees Terry Francis joined by Sandwell District live. Not familiar? Then you should listen to their debut album, Feed Forward, released on their own eponymous label in December last year and met with universal acclaim. Think of a coalescence of Jeff Mills-style detroit and the Berghain-schooled techno of Ben Klock and you're some way to achieving some kind of expectation of what Sandwell District are about. Correctly deployed on Room Two's shuddering soundsystem, expect an eye-opening couple of hours, within the monumental occasion of the whole event.

fabric 58: Craig Richards presents The Nothing Special


Craig Richards has been tormenting me for a long time. 11 years ago he was one of three key people to conceive what would eventually become arguably the world's most iconic nightclub. Several years later, he inaugurated the club's mix series, now 58 strong and showing absolutely zilch signs of coming anywhere near to the end. Almost very Saturday night since October 29th, 1999, he has been at the forefront of the line-ups as the club's resident, the first name on the list above whoever he invited to play, and not once has that ever felt wrong.

Craig Richards would ask why that should be wrong, but the the reality of clubland has always focused on the headliner. Forgetting fabric's unique approach momentarily, any event flyer will always have the headliner as the very first name. In big, bold print, heading the list of acts billed, with the residents somewhere near the bottom. The logic is obvious, as the residents are always there, so there needs to be no overt notification of their appearance, while the headliner is what will generally draw the crowd. Fabric decided to challenge the necessity of this, and it was Craig Richards all those years ago who was provided the opportunity to be the star of every night. Entrusted to invite who he wanted, to play when he wanted, Richards has transformed the nature of a club residency from a position of assumed insignificance to one of control, autonomy and prestige.

This formula couldn't have been more successful at fabric, as the club edges towards its twelfth year without a hint of decay on the cards. Naturally, this degree of evergreen longevity couldn't be achieved by anyone, and although his role as the club's director of music has been arguably the most crucial factor to the rise of the club, as a DJ, one of the people actually supplying the music on the night, Richards has been beyond revelatory. This is where his habit of becoming the tormentor comes in. This is a man who doesn't see himself as a 'DJ' in common perception of the title. He is a collector of music, a hobby of his since childhood, and having the opportunity to play them in a club is merely an offshoot of this hobby. As an avid collector of music myself, I can say that having a vast reserve of tracks does allow a wonderful sense of freedom and expression, and nobody exploits this better than Richards. Whether it's warming up for one of Ricardo Villalobos's epic sonic voyages, or closing the night after Cassy's warm house sessions, Richards has the perfect records to fit the occasion and work the crowd. Together with Lee Burridge as Tyrant, he regularly assumes the role of resident-headliner, now a celebrated staple in Room One.

Perhaps because he rarely tries his hand at production, it has always been a difficult task pinning down exactly the style Richards is all about. I used to lazily associate him with 'tech house', a fusion genre which has become almost derogatory these days, but having seen him more and more I'm now less certain what sound he leans towards, which is exactly why his sets are so utterly captivating. The number of records at his disposal makes it an almost impossible task identifying tracks from his sets, something that has become almost an obsession of mine. Only occasionally do stumble across one I recognize- a celebratory moment. It's his ear for the quirkiest, funkiest, most trippy cuts of minimal techno, house and electro-flecked hybrids that is so moreish and absorbing. It's addictive stuff, and for years now I've become a slave to the Craig Richards sound.

So, is fabric 58: The Nothing Special anything like his sets at the club, and does it reveal any of those elusive numbers that have tormented me over the years? There are occasions when it feels very much like one of the dark, nightmarish experiences in Room One at his mercy. Arne Weinberg's My Testimony has a hollowness that is often found in Richards's warm-up sets, a crucial part of any night, quickly followed my G-Man's El Jam, which is snappy and breathless and perfectly designed to keep bodies and minds stimulated. While the first third of the album definitely feels like the warm-up material Richards would use in one of his introductory The Nothing Special sets at the club, the tempo hastens with Eco Tourist's Magelonic, a searing cut of electro-tinged house which paves the way for even more daring notes to enter. Anyone who has seen Richards this year will probably have heard him try to fit the square-shaped Comeback Dust by L.I.E.S. into his circular sets, and make it work somehow, which is exactly the case in the mix. Typically peculiar, it's an inspired selection that although usually only appears in the very late hours of his sets, melds fabric 58 together in a way you wouldn't ever expect had you heard the track before and seen it on the tracklist.

When I think of Craig Richards I can't help picture the whole occasion of him playing at fabric. The smokiness of Room One, the pressure cooker of sound it becomes when he really feels like testing a soundsystem which, let's be honest, is rarely exploited to its dangerous potential. There are periods during his sets that are difficult to pull away from if you're on the dancefloor, like Loop Hotel's acidic Room 202 which is stuffy and claustrophobic, undeniably characteristic of Room One, something which is later revisited by Convextion's dingy Premiata. But what is possibly most impressive about this mix is how it genuinely grasps what Craig Richards at fabric is all about. Whether he designed the mix in this way or not, it's a very vivid recreation of those finely-tuned, tastefully assembled warm-ups and those eccentric, exciting and even humourous finalés at the club. Richards has this very intuitive and cunning ability of manipulating his dancefloor by changing the mood of what he's playing. Despite the drained, leggy feel to much of the second half of the mix, the final two tracks although are typically late selections of his, are undeniably lifting. A final surge of energy in a club that tests the limits of body and soul but always leaves you wanting more. Is an extraordinary knack Craig Richards has really. To pluck records from a vast museum-like collection is one thing, but to sew them all together and make them feel like your own is something very, very different.