Uitgebracht
December 2008
- Ubiquitous UK remixer/producer/DJ Graeme Sinden has been tagged as an exponent of fidget house, an annoying label that calls to mind images of a jock with the shakes trying to cue a track without damaging his equipment. To detractors, the style sounds like impatient house, with its high churn rate, cut-up mixing and occasionally dilettantish fixation on exotic sounds. Sinden's production work certainly deserves the relentless tag—see his catchy, bouncy single "Beeper." But on his new Fabric mix, he presents a focused, well-constructed set.
It's a bit of a branding exercise to shoehorn "Switch & Sinden Present Get Familiar" into the title of this mix, since Fabriclive.43 is strictly a solo affair. But the style and spirit of the duo's bi-monthly Fabric night is clearly an inspiration for this album, which showcases Sinden's inclusive and immediate style. While there's nothing especially brave or unique about spinning an eclectic club set in 2009—especially a fast-paced tour through Baltimore club, grime and other genres—Sinden executes with solid pacing and well-chosen tracks.
Sinden wanted this set to reflect what's happening in clubland now, and starts off with tracks like Yo Majesty's brash, bratty "Club Action" and his remix of Mujava's wobbly, bleep-heavy "Township Funk." From there, cynics may say, every item on the hipster checklist is dutifully marked. He cycles through his remix of "Balle! Shava!" by Tigerstyle, Radioclit's buzzing "Secousse" (which adds an African vibe), and then he dips into grime and dubstep. But his transitions are smooth and unforced, switching between genres without hitting any potholes, and the deep, swaggering detour of tracks like Joker's off-kilter "Gully Brook Lane" and JME's "AWOH" cool things down before the final build-up.
Sinden tightens the screws with "Drop the Pressure," "Giggle Rhythm" and "Beat Bang" by his Machines Don't Care supergroup, and eventually exhales slowly with two ethereal, neon-tinged tracks, M83's "Couleurs" and "Redlights" by Salem. This is a snapshot rather than a defining statement, and while other contemporaries may focus on low-end sounds or go farther afield in terms of song selection, Sinden delivers something both punchy and potent.
Tracklist 01. Juiceboxxx and Dre Skull - Center Stage
02. Yo Majesty - Club Action
03. Aquasky feat. Acafool - Have A Good Time (The Count & Sinden Mix)
04. Armand Van Helden - This Ain't Hollywood
5. Scottie B and King Tutt - African Chant
06. Mujava - Township Funk (Sinden Remix)
07. Tigerstyle feat. Vybz Kartel, Mangi Mahal + Nikitta - Balle! Shava! (Sinden Remix)
08. MixHell - Highly Explicit (Brodinski Remix)
09. Buraka Som Sistema - Luanda - Lisboa
10. Radioclit - Secousse (Instrumental Version)
11. Alan Braxe Ft. Killa Kella & Fallon - Nightwatcher [Show Me] (Instrumental) / Double S & True Tiger - From Day
12. Joker - Gully Brook Lane
13. JME - AWOH
14. Skream - Fick
15. Zomby - Strange Fruit
16. Caper - Hybrid
17. Project Bassline - Drop the Pressure (The Count & Sinden Remix)
18. Piddy Py - Giggle Riddim
19. Roisin Murphy - Overpowered (Herve and Roisin in the Secret Garden Mix)
20. Machines Don't Care - Beat Bang
21. Kudu - Let's Finish (Sinden Remix)
22. M83 - Couleurs
23. SALEM - Redlights