fabricfirst newsletter vol09

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My first year at fabric, we were getting everything ready for the fifth birthday. So now, as I’m writing to you about our upcoming 10th birthday, you can imagine the waves of sentimentality. Five years of hearing our soundsystem get rocked to its very core; of watching genres get invented (donk, “minimal,” fidget house, wonky, nu-rave, you name it); of seeing our favourite artists rise to meteoric fame (Villalobos, Michael Mayer, Diplo, Sinden, Caspa and Rusko spring to mind). There were the moments that still give me goosebumps: the time Ian Brown climbed onto our Room One stage; Andrew Weatherall’s set on NYE ’05; Buraka’s first ever live show at fabric, when they had the entire Room One crouch down on the floor and jump back up at the same time; the first time we tested dubstep on our soundsystem; walking around the disco during our 8th birthday passing out beers and fancy dress costumes to our punters; seeing a jam-packed Playaz room brock out to Andy C’s last rewind at 6am…ah, far too many to mention. Some moments we’d probably prefer to forget - like the first time I came to fabric and couldn’t figure out how to use the washing basins. Some random raver told me they were voice activated, and acted it out (“See, all you have to say is ‘ON,’” he told me…I didn’t realise he was turning the tap on with his foot) - he had me screaming “on” at the sink at the top of my lungs, much to everyone else’s amusement. And of course, there’s the many mortifying moments that we’ve thankfully blacked out. All in all, enough memories to last 10 lifetimes, at least. So let’s go back and remember some. Come take a walk down memory lane with us, as we look back on some of the good times. We’d suggest listening to Pangaea’s ‘Memories’ (a track loved by the g-dog) as your soundtrack. Thanks for being a part of so many of our nights, fabricfirsters. Danna xx



Quite fitting that our October CD is dedicated to two people that are as much part of fabric as the bricks in the building itself: the Filthy Dukes, whose Kill ‘Em All night at fabric has been part of our history for the last 6 years.
	This month, it’s back to what the Dukes know best on FABRICLIVE 48: uproarious, incendiary DJ sets that sizzle through a smorgasboard of genres, not so much traverse boundaries as obliterate them, coupling pulsating kick drums, with dreamy melodies and song-writing sensibilities with an ability to turn a dancefloor upside down. It’s care-free, it’s joyous, it’s the sound of two mates, who know their music inside out, throwing their favourite records around the room. Throw down your preconceptions and discard your notions of the sounds of a fabric main room, this is Filthy Dukes, and this is how they Kill Em All.
The duo say it much nicer than we could: “With the mix we tried to capture the energy of one of our DJ sets and reflect our night Kill Em All. When we book Kill Em All, we think about it like a DJ set, booking acts that reflect our taste in music and creating a night that builds. We start off with disco sounds, some live bands, move into house and techno and different sub-genres of both, getting a bit darker and heavier the later it gets. The mix reflects this and, like our DJ sets; it's also quite unpredictable with tracks by artists like Mr Oizo next to Jack Penate. We have always been passionate about new music and new bands but also fun, so this is a proper party mix - a true reflection of both Filthy Dukes & Kill Em All. A lot of the artists on the mix have performed at Kill Em All: Emperor Machine, Phenomenal Handclap Band, WhoMadeWho, Discodeine, Braxe & Menace, Aeroplane, Popof, Brodinski, Joakim, Zombie Nation, Proxy. So it feels like a representation of the ultimate Kill Em All night in one mix.”






As mentioned, after a decade, our memory lane is a seemingly endless road…though it’s very fuzzy and muddled in most parts. Still, we turned to our friends and family to find out – what memory sticks out in your head? Chris Duckenfield: The only way I can describe DJing in there is like being behind the wheel of a very powerful machine, records I knew inside out, took on a whole new sonic palette in there, making it year zero again for me in terms of how I play and what I could play. The moment which endures is being stood, at 6 am on the main floor hearing Dexter's 'I Don't Care' for the first time. In a brain full of club moments, this one still stands out a mile. Long may they continue to re-define what it means to go out clubbing. Chris Duckenfield: Cameron Leslie (Managing Director of fabric): I think when I stood on the balcony above Room 1 and the realization of what we had built just hit me for the first time. You can get so carried away with architectural plans, structural engineers, lawyers, accountants, consultants, builders, bank managers, licensing specialists, drinks suppliers….. all the individuals you have to work with to bring a project like fabric to life but it just suddenly hit me how complexly simple the whole thing was – it boiled down to people having a great time, listening to great music on a great system with other great people. All the stress of development just melted away! Celine Khor (Head of Events at fabric): There are too many to mention but probably my favourite-ever night was for FabricLive last year with Patchwork Pirates, Toddla T, Ghislain Poirier and Starkey - I arrived in Room 03 when the club opened and did not leave or stop dancing pretty much the whole time until it closed. The atmosphere was incredible - that perfect balance between busy and still comfortable enough - and everyone was really getting down and dirty properly - I loved the fact we heard everything that night from hip-hop classics to dancehall and dubstep - and even a couple of soca tunes! I was so happy at one point I thought I was gonna cry Sas Lamperd (Record Label at fabric): There are too, too many! John Peel playing with his whole family in Room Three. Terry and Craig b2b one New Years Eve. All the birthdays and the after parties. Scott Paterson (Promotions Manager at fabric – he’s very Scottish, and a bit wrong): I don’t have too many I’m afraid but a couple I remember are/were…Pissing myself during a set by Brookes in Room One. Didn’t want to leave the dancefloor. Actually, I couldn’t leave the dancefloor as it was such a messy affair and the music was too good and I thought it was my liver playing games on me...didn’t realize until I had come round a good while later that I had pissed myself. Also, crying the first time I heard Matthew Jonson smash the fuck out ‘Decompression’ in Room One. That riff fired in and through me right as I was coming up big time, so I burst into tears like a right fucking ponse. Dan Coshan (Group Operations Director – aka GOD – of fabric): Too many to mention. Mostly around either idiotic customers &/or staff. We had a spate of “bin fires” within the venue – from lit fags put in bins, Shaun – our promotions manager - was wandering around the club and thought he could smell burning, he radio’d it through with a location, but the location kept changing as he walked around – he then started to panic as he thought that there were multiple bins on fire and that we were under an arson attack. As it transpired he had set fire to his own tee-shirt which is why the smell followed him. Genius. My favourite blagger was a guy convinced he was Dan C’s (me) cousin. He was utterly committed to getting to speak with Dan (even though he already was) and was adamant that he was my relative. Plonker. Lee Burridge: I've been lucky to play many many times back to back with Craig. It's not really a single night that springs to mind but more a time of the night. I love Fabric after 5AM. The dance floor is full of the people who'll be there until the end and it's when the music always sounds the best. Lenny Burden (Octave One): While standing on the edge of the stage in room 2 shaking a few fans hands after our show, a girl smiled at me and asked, "Are you the DJ playing right now?". I looked over at the DJ booth and back at her and said "no I'm the guy talking to you right now". She kindly told me still smiling, "Wow, you're just great". Priceless. JJ (General Manager at fabric): Probably about 4–5 years ago, on NYE I was asked to help with the ticket collections on the front door. Midnight approached and pretty much all staff disappeared downstairs, and I ended up being stuck on the door with a few others and a big queue. Midnight came and went and I was so annoyed that everyone else was enjoying themselves downstairs with champagne, balloons, the lot. I only had some random drunken idiot wish me happy New Year. I was not happy. So I stormed into the security office got on the radio asking where everyone (management wise) was. Little did I know, that while I was bitching and moaning on the front door, one of the drains in the main toilets collapsed and all of the management staff and a small army of floorstaff, security, were using any means possible to get the sht moving again...quite literally. Shaun Roberts (Promotions Manager at fabric):* Two of my former colleagues Tubbs West and Nikki Smith climbing onto a packed stage during the first birthday party in sumo suits. They then had a fight with no regards whatsoever for the punters around them. It was comedy gold




Standing on the door at fabric is no mean feat, particularly when you have hundreds and hundreds of impatient people waiting in long queues (of course you fabricfirst members are none the wiser about long queues at fabric eh). There’s bound to be quite a few chancers that will try their best to demand special treatment. Our hats go off to the patient, non-discriminatory and giving souls that have to actually deal with these people – those that operate the guestlist weekend in, weekend out. This month’s high fidelity is dedicated to the top 5 blagtastic excuses they’ve been dealt over the years.

CLARE WOODCOCK 1. The most hilariously memorable one was when a dude came up to the door saying he was Eagle Eye Cherry (Neneh Cherry’s younger brother) and that for that reason he should get in free. What he didn’t bank on was that I had previously done some work with Eagle Eye Cherry when he had his record out on Polydor. But he insisted he was. Wouldn’t take no for an answer. So I made him sing for it. He wasn’t bad. But he wasn’t Eagle Eye Cherry. He was so entertaining tho that I think I let him in anyway! 2. Another lookalike story was when ‘Yasmin Bleeth’ (the Baywatch babe) turned up. Some of ‘her’ entourage came up to the door saying that Yasmin Bleeth wanted to come in. but not only come in, she wanted to be escorted through so she wouldn’t get mobbed on her way in! I asked to speak to her, but they said she was in the car waiting. So I played along with them for a bit. They all swanned up ready to be whisked through. She had her head down acting a bit celebrity like. All the guys on the door were quite excited to see her. But guess what...it wasn’t Yasmin Bleeth! I wonder how many times they all played that one getting into clubs. 3. I’m Craig Richards’ brother! Yes that was a classic. Came down on a Friday and claimed he was Craig Richards’ brother, and that Craig had told him to just come down and mention that and there’d be no problem getting in! When told that’s not how it works, he proceeded to tell me to go and get Craig from the decks as he would be annoyed if he didn’t get in. Craig – on the decks on a Friday night? Oh how stupid do these people think we are?!! 4. The drunk EDITOR of the Times. We get a lot of the ‘I’m a journalist, I’m here to review’ kind of blags, but this one stands out in my mind. A rather unassuming looking chap wobbles up to the front door saying he should be on the guest list as he’s writing a review. His name is not there so I ask him who he is writing for. He says The Times (i.e. the most high-brow of all broadsheet papers). I humour him a little more, asking what column it’s for, or what supplement. He drunkenly tries to tell me all sorts of babble, but comes out with the clanger that he’s in fact THE EDITOR of the Times, and that if this club wanted to succeed then we should let him in, otherwise it would be on the front page how disgraceful the club is. Needless to say, we didn’t believe him and didn’t let him in, and there was no front page article the following day! 5. I’m only here for the weekend, I’m from [insert country]. Honestly, why people that are visiting for the weekend think that they have more priority over others I don’t know! But guaranteed every week you’ll get about 10 people trying to squeeze their way into the club without queueing because ‘they’re from Canada/Holland/New York/Brazil/Madrid’ etc etc…in fact one time somebody even tried it because they’d come ‘all the way from Tottenham’! CELINE KHOR 1. David Gest - of Liza Minnelli and "I'm a celebrity fame" - turning up on a bass-heavy Friday with 3 suspiciously young, fresh-faced & sexually ambiguous boys, asking if he can come straight in, and being told, rightly so, by our head doorman that "the queue's that way." He walked off in a major huff and said he'd never join the queue, never – and finally shouted "over my dead body!" whilst making quite a dramatic turn to leave. 2. Whilst unknowingly standing right in front of him, a young and eager punter tells us with conviction he's Dan Coshan's nephew....Are you sure, we prompt him. Yes yes, he's sure. Dan, the general manager, is his uncle and he's definitely on the list. Dan then steps forward and indicates he is the general manager and alleged uncle (he does not have any nephews!), to which the guy seriously responds - "No you're not.” Hilarious. 3. From a terribly drunk group who claim to have organised a guest list through someone at our office called Rebecca, even though there's no such person - "We're on the press list, for sure." Then as the chief pisshead lady proceeds to show me her proof (a staff badge from Virgin Active gyms), and I ask her what business Virgin Active would have with a press guest list, she tells me, "Well, we're press, we're reviewing the night for our gym magazine, innit." This was on a Playaz event as well. Can't imagine, if they really were press, what piece they could possibly have written on the health benefits of drum'n'bass? Though maybe that's quite an angle, thinking about it now... 4. Probably one of my favourites of all time - from two random guys carrying instrument cases:"We're the bongo players - we came in earlier to sound check, now we need to get in as we're supposed to be on soon" - errr, no you're not! 5. Conversation goes something like this: Punter (dead serious) - "Diddy put me on the guest list." Me: "I'm sorry, who put you on the list?" Punter: "Diddy." Me: "Diddy?" Punter: "Yeah." Me: "Who's that then?" Punter (shocked and offended): "You don't know who Diddy is? As in Puff Daddy?" Me (straight-faced): "No, sorry - never heard of him"





Village Green are the genius imaginations behind all of our club and label artwork.
Please introduce yourself… Jon Cooke: Hi. My name is Jonathon Cooke and I’m double cool. Sebastian Marling: I'm Seb Marling - no further introduction required.... How would you describe your art, to the uneducated? Jon Cooke: I stick things together and draw. Sebastian Marling: Uneducated! (Never had any training) How did you get into art? Jon Cooke: Always been into art, used to draw sharks and tanks when I was young. Sebastian Marling: As I say, I didn't train or go to art school. I set up a studio with my brother in the early 1990's. We were running clubs and doing flyers. Then some 'small' bands asked us to make their record covers, then some 'big' bands, then some more clubs and then some brands made it a proper job and it went from there. What musicians/labels have you worked with? Jon Cooke: I’ve worked with most major labels and have worked with tons of artists…too many to mention. Sebastian Marling: Most of the major record labels and some independents - JBO, Rough Trade, Wall of Sound, Deconstruction, K7. Loads of bands over the years, more well know ones are Leftfield, Chemical Brothers, Coldplay, Travis, Teenage Fanclub, Grooverider, Pulp, Supergrass, Ashley Beadle, The Rapture, Glasvegas, Yeah Yeah Yeah's. How did you start working with fabric? Jon Cooke: I was asked to pitch on the branding for the club when it first opened (which I didn’t get). Sebastian Marling: Jonathon Cooke has been working with fabric for 10 years. We got together 3 years ago. So I started then. Do you remember the first time you came to the club? Jon Cooke: First time I came to the club was the opening party for friends and family. I was marched out on being accused of dealing drugs. Sebastian Marling: Very early on. Was it the opening? I can't remember. François Kervokian was playing. What’s your funniest memory of coming to fabric? Jon Cooke: See above. Sebastian Marling: We finished up there on my stag night. I was well looked after. What’s your favourite piece of work you’ve done for fabric? Can you talk us through how you came up with the concept for it? Jon Cooke: My favourite piece of work is the black and white self portrait (the one with the drill bits in my mouth). The concept came together just by looking at myself in the toilet mirror. Sebastian Marling: It would have to be the 'Masks' series, or a recent one that we call 'Tableau,' which was a series of objects laid out on tables that suggested secret organisation, strange conventions and cheap catering for fat cats. Neither were my concepts. You'd need to ask Tom and Pete at Village Green. When you listen to music, do you picture it visually? And vice versa - do you ever attribute songs to things you see? Jon Cooke: Very much so, but this does not influence the work I put together for fabric. Sebastian Marling: Yes and No (respectively). Who are your inspirations - be it artists, musicians, authors, film directors, philosophers, etc? Jon Cooke: I take inspiration from all kinds of things from vintage fashions, my Lambretta motor-scooter to nature, anything. Sebastian Marling: Aphex Twin, Robert Mitchum, Werner Herzog, Roy Orbsion, Andrew Weatherall, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Kandinsky, Joan Miro, Max Earnst, Jon Carpenter, Mikey Dread, Brian Eno, W Somerset Maugham, Soren Kierkegaard (as far as I can tell). And...(sorry to sound like an American giving an awards speech)…Jesus. He's a revolutionist, whatever you think about Christianity. I believe in God. Jon thinks it's nonsense but he's one of the most spiritually attuned people I know, he just doesn't know it: a natural mystic! Where do you go for inspiration? Jon Cooke: The beautiful English countryside. Sebastian Marling: Jonathon Cooke (or France...whichever is nearer).




		Smutlee The Yoyo resident and mixtape master has compiled a little gem in preparation for his set here on the Friday night of the birthday weekender. As ever, expect a jumbled bag – this mix is raining dancehall, dubstep, grime, funky dwells resolutely in all those lovely grey areas.

		Andy Weatherall – A Walk of Shame Pioneer. Legend. Genius. Remarkably, this is the first time in Andrew’s long and distinguished career that he’s released a solo album under his own name, ‘A Pox on the Pioneers’. This taster from it, ‘Walk of Shame’, explores dark disco and it’s suitably amazing. He’s playing at the birthday too, sometime (maybe more than once? Ooh, you’ll soon find out) over the 17-18 October bender.

		Filthy Dukes – ‘Tupac Club Robot Rock’ Remix (featuring Wiley) This month’s FABRICLIVE 48 compilers, Filthy Dukes, have given us something a little special. ‘Tupac Club Robot Rock’ was basically the best thing on their debut artist album ‘Nonsense in the Dark’ earlier this year, but they’ve given it another going over with an additional verse from Wiley and he smashes it. Grab it now.


Just a few classics from over the years. The archives are infinite, truly.

		CARL CRAIG, on identity: “I’m not Craig Richards, I’m Carl Craig.”

		OMAR-S, on why he’s the shit: “Mixing is kinda like fucking, you know what I’m saying? A lot of people don’t appreciate how to do it right, and that’s why their girlfriends end up leaving them. With this particular mix, I didn’t want no two-minute fuck.”

		KRAFTY KUTS, on 5 O’Clock heroes: "I know the 5 o'clock shadow but maybe the 5 o'clock heroes are a bunch of newsreaders on a rampage looking to save people from menaces."

		RUB N TUG, on hedonism: (said on Monday, 1pm) “I can still smell amyl on my mustache.”



A BIRTHDAY SPECIAL – A SMALL HANDFUL OF OUR FAVOURITE PHOTOS FROM THIS LAST DECADE.

In the best example of fabric “before and after” syndrome we’ve ever seen, this raver goes from this…

…to this. We’re also big fans of the smug look on High Contrast’s face (he must feel responsible for the shirtless screwface).



Krafty Kuts, with the greatest press shot ever.

Have you ever seen King Henry VIII and Switch in the same room at the same time? We haven’t either….spooky. Absolutely uncanny.

Funnily enough, this isn’t a photo from a fabric birthday fancy dress session. This is just what happens when you go out to eat with Terry Francis, on any given night.

Our annual staff outing to the tropical paradise that is Camber Sands in Sussex yields many casualties, such as this…

And this…



Count the bass faces. Ten points for every one, and a bonus fifty points for spotting what looks like an actual serial killer hidden in there like a sinister Where’s Wally.

Be honest, have you ever seen Richie Hawtin look this happy before, ever? From one of his B2B sessions with Villalobos.

A karaoke leaving party for our finance director who, believe it or not, is the shirtless Iggy Pop impersonator on the mic. Props also for our Soundman Sanj on the right – despite the mullet, this was only taken a few years ago. We have yet to find out what’s on his shirt.



Emails If you have a problem with your membership, have changed address, have a new cash card, can’t remember your password, replying to a blog post, or just need a friend in this cold, unfeeling world, please e-mail the lovely Ashleigh at cds@fabriclondon.com Updating Information Card information can be updated directly by visiting: www.worldpay.com/shopper if you no longer have your World Pay log on information please contact ian@fabriclondon.com or call 01303 850 252 and he can update on your behalf in super quick time. Please note you can update your own address/email details in the member's part of the website. Queue Jumping Your card allows you priority entry to the venue (through the ticket holders queue), at a discount rate. You may bring one guest with you, though they must pay full price. Membership Cards We are issuing membership cards and welcome letters in the same package as the free back catalogue CD. In fact, the whole fabricfirst operation has been brought in-house, meaning delivery should be speeded up to all postal zones. Membership Cards II You have to show your card at the door of the venue to jump the queue and get a discount. For God’s sake, don’t keep swapping your card with people or passing them down the queue. Just don’t! Membership Cards III We are now issuing replacement cards - but at the hefty price of £3. If you are interesting in purchasing one please contact Ashleigh email: cds@fabriclondon.com or call 0870 444 6088. Free CDs FYI, the free back catalogue CD members receive is randomised (our Record Label boss chooses a new one each week). Members can choose which free CD they receive when a friend signs up via ‘Spread the Love’.

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