fabric 94: Steffi

Albumbeschreibung

For her installment of Fabric's endless, essential mix CD series, Berghain resident Steffi reached out to her friends and commissioned a set of exclusive tracks. While her DJ sets can often be populated by energetic, floor-filling house tracks, this CD is a much more reflective, cerebral mix geared toward home listening. Despite coming from over a dozen different artists (with Steffi herself co-producing two selections), the tracks achieve a remarkable consistency, as if they were born from the same mind. The beats avoid straightforward 4/4 patterns, exploring irregular sequences and polyrhythms, and they tend to unfold regally and let their chords and melodies blossom rather than head toward obvious peaks. Beginning with somewhat more abstract sounds in the vein of early Autechre and other Artificial Intelligence-era IDM artists, the mix eventually flows into a sharper brand of late-night electro, with twisted, foreboding tracks by UAS and Afik Naim, as well as '80s throwback electro-funk melodies and vocals on Dexter and Virginia's collaboration "Off the Beat." Steffi excels as both a curator and mixer, crafting an extraordinary mix which feels like one whole composition rather than several pieces stitched together. (All of the tracks on Fabric 94 were additionally released in unmixed form as a series of Dolly Deluxe 12" EPs on Steffi's Dolly label.)
© Paul Simpson /TiVo