Fabriclive 49

I recently heard a clip from Fabriclive 49 and wanted to review it. Although I’m not too familiar with techno music (aside from the occasional club visit), I do like it, so off I went. Buraka Som Sistema’s album has a total of twenty-eight short club pieces that are very hard to separate. These songs overlap, interconnect, and pulse. There’s a definite dance vibe to the collection. At the same time, they are rather mellow and spacey in nature. At points, it was difficult to tell where one piece ended and the other started, but maybe that was intentional. The way the songs were put together reminded me of how the colors float together in candy floss, which is how the album needs to be treated—as something light and fun.

One of my favourites is “Machete,” which introduces a more acoustic style with beautiful singing. “Mermaid Dub” is another that stands out with its watery meditation feel, although it is rather long. There isn’t too much to say about its substance, but then again, maybe that too is expected.

Other pieces, like "IC19," are frantic with spinning sirens and a groove that slows down to offer voices only to rise up again. Images of being at once both at a party and floating out among the planets filled my head while listening to the sounds of this album. The dips and surges make the music somewhat more interesting. Another funky track is “Gone Too Far Feat Sizzla,” which is really upbeat.

While the collection overall isn’t too original (it includes remixes from other artists), I’ll definitely be playing it again. It may not have any original sounding bits, but it does have a rhythmically meditative quality to it. Light and airy dance music requires nothing of the listener other than to move to the beat.

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