- FabricLive returns once again to drum'n'bass after seeing seminal releases from Fabio (FabricLive 10), Grooverider (FabricLive 6) and DJ Hype (FabricLive 3). J Majik is the selectah for unlucky number 13 and as we've seen from previous J Majik releases such as Solarize and his remix of Hatiras' Spaced Invader - J Majik is known for pulling out the uplifting, stomping and bass heavy drum'n'bass tracks.
Infrared's Me Lever is first off the mark featuring a summery latin guitar riff and hard bass. MC Tali's lyrics on High Hopes are laid down on top and they suit the rhythm particularly well. DJ Hazard continues the bass line assault on Enuff Iz Enuff - very nice how the bass line does a call and response routine.
More bass line madness on tunes like J Majik's own Pitbull and Total Science's Monkey See, Monkey Do before the mix settles back down again to the more soulful side of drum'n'bass with Back To Love by MIST vs DJ Marky & XRS.
J brings back the latin vibes that seem to be very popular in drum'n'bass with Infrared vs Gil Felix's Capoeira - drum'n'bass' summer anthem - before going back to the harder style tunes like DJ Hype's Original Foundation - rolling beats with a wickedly hard bassline without the harsh clangy snares that trademark Hype's sound.
Jammin' by Peshay and Studio 12 provides the mix with it's first variation on the drum'n'bass theme. Latin inspired vocals and beats, the tune slows down to a salsa beat before it cuts out and plays a repetitive vocal sample which is then laid on top of the drum'n'bass beats. The slowed down salsa beat then returns, then goes back into the drum'n'bass beats as before - wicked!
From here J Majik amps up the aggression mixing in DJ Clipz' Cuban Links bringing with it a chopped up guitar sample and a healthy dose of hard bass. Even more so with Dillinja's Fast Car rising bass lines and a male vocal sample who sounds like he's had a bit too much red meat in his diet. John B's Pressure has been given a new remix for FabricLive 13, still riding on that "sweet melody on top of hard breaks" vibe that made it so good when it first came out.
DJ Fresh's Temple Of Doom adds a little Indian flavour to the mix and this is continued on Badmarsh & Shri's Signs - drum'n'bassed up by a remix courtesy of Calibre.
To end it all off, J Majik & Wickerman present Feel The Music featuring the vocal talents of Kathy Brown. It starts off as an atmospheric drum'n'bass roller, with Kathy Brown's vocals before breaking out into a hard drum'n'bass tune with a manic bassline.
A selection of the latest, upfront drum'n'bass tunes that J Majik says causes dancefloor mayhem when he plays them out. Like a good drum'n'bass mix, FabricLive 13 features many drops and peaks throughout and even some variations on the 160 bpm theme. A good release for drum'n'bass fans, and what's more you get 25 of the latest tunes.