Comments on: Album Review: Fabric Presents Elevator Music: Vol. 1/Scuba – SUB:STANCE

By: Sectional Sofas

Sectional Sofas — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 00:20:00 +0000

I agree with this.

By: jakeob

jakeob — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 23:57:10 +0000

The original point wasn't to disagree with your opinion but to correct the factual inaccuracies, which I feel I've done, so just disagreeing with your opinion isn't going to get anywhere. Clearly, however, a mix is going to seem “more entertaining” and of course there's a “feeling of love for the music”, Scuba's probably spend hours working out which tracks to pick and the track order, how long each track should be played for etc etc. It's naive to compare a mix directly with a compilation

By: Andrew Ryce

Andrew Ryce — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 05:41:26 +0000

Well, I think this album is kind of a perfect example of how the two are merging aside from just being played on Rinse FM side by side — Fabric themselves called it a 'bass music' comp I believe, and while it certainly leans more towards UK funky than dubstep, a lot of the tracks have traits of both genres. I think to the outsider it would probably be lumped in as a dubstep compilation… And maybe I was a bit harsh but I just felt like the majority of the tracks were kinda boring — it's just my opinion, remember. I mean, stuff like “Pistol In Your Pocket” and “Bad Girls” and “Black Monolith” is A+ material but a lot of the other stuff just feels kinda… meh. I am glad that it gets some great smaller producers' names out there, and yeah, you're probably right about WHY they released it, and it makes sense. However good it may be for mixing, it doesn't really make for a cohesive listen.

I've come around a bit more on SUB:STANCE since I wrote this review back in January but it still seems to lack a bit of momentum, especially in the third quarter section.

Thanks for commenting on the reviews, I enjoy the feedback and the discussion.

By: jakeob

jakeob — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 11:13:25 +0000

Yeah I've read that, it's interesting but it's been happening for a while, UK funky has been gathering momentum for several years now and it was inevitable that funky and dubstep would merge on some level at some point, even though I would argue that the two are from very different places, with the only common ground really being the pirate radio stations they are both played on. I'm not going to argue that there are one or two dud tracks on this selection, but the quality of 'Behave', 'Bad Girls', 'Gold Bricks I See You', 'If that's how you feel', 'Doctor Bayard', 'Black Monolith', 'Melvin Blue' and particularly 'Pistol in Your Pocket' defies the assertion that this is an album of rejected tracks... I think you underestimate the power Fabric has, and also the power which a compilation such as this can catapult producers out of obscurity. For man like Mosca, Hackman, Doc Daneeka, etc. it's an opportunity to get your name out there beyond the heads who already know. So what if Caspa and Rusko are a bit shit, their names sell the album, the unknowns sell themselves.

I'd also argue that Fabric put out a compilation instead of a mix so as to get exclusivity on the tracks full releases. I bought this mainly for the potential of the tracks for mixing and to play on radio etc.

By: Andrew Ryce

Andrew Ryce — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 06:24:27 +0000

A bit late here, sorry about that, but I'll explain my thoughts. I wasn't criticizing it for being all the same tempo, not entirely; I think that the selection of tracks don't make for good back-to-back listening in an unmixed fashion the way that they are sequenced, which is in part due to the tempo of the tracks as well as to the mood and overall style. To me, Elevator Music more than anything feels like a bunch of leftovers that producers didn't want for real releases. I love the idea of it, and the list of producers involved is pretty top notch, but the execution just left me wanting. It's not a strictly 'dubstep' mix, no, but all of the styles and producers on there are associated and involved in the larger bass scene, and dubstep makes for a convenient, recognizable catch-all term, and I'm not the only one to refer to it as such either. I agree with you that the variation in tempos is quite refreshing and the bass scene is splintering apart at an impressive rate, which is why it's easier to refer to it right now in the context of dubstep. You can take a look at Martin Blackdown's current column on Pitchfork where he too links the current wave of 130ish house to the term 'dubstep', it's a really great read: http://pitchfork.com/features/grime-dubstep/776...

By: jakeob

jakeob — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 22:50:47 +0000

Poor review of Elevator Music, not every track is good, two or three are average, but that doesn't make it bad for an album of 17 tracks. To call it dubstep is incorrect (there's probably 3 which fit that description), and then to say “most of them are around the same tempo” is ridiculous. What were you expecting? Gabba? As it is, there's some tracks at sub 130, some at 135 and some at 140, which, considering dubstep for a long long time has been religiously 140 is truly refreshing.

By: brentkallmer

brentkallmer — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 21:51:37 +0000

A much-needed dose of honesty, here; great review, Andrew. Am I wrong that the last thing one would expect from a Fabric comp is tedium?