- Tayo is a DJ for whom an entry in the Fabric series would've seemed obligatory long before now: in 2007 he has a decade-plus of experience DJing, loads of comps for high-profile breaks labels, not to mention maaad cred in the London underground. His turn behind the wheel of a FabricLive could've ended up like fellow breaks don Adam Freeland's back in summer 2004, and indeed looks like it on paper: a few of his own productions, some shit-hot remixes, and a bit of clever genre-blending, fade out. But Freeland's FabricLive, and just about anyone else's, look like child's play in comparison. On 'FabricLive 32', Tayo walks through a gauntlet of high-fives, gets on the decks and goes guns blazing on a set of loud, proud bass in yo' face for over seventy perfect minutes.
The mix gets off to a fairly laid-back start, at least for the first three minutes, with the dubtastic sounds of Tayo's 'Dread Cowboy', produced with frequent collaborator Acid Rockers. The heavy dubstep punch of Loot & Pillage's 'The Curse' then breaks it down with a stampede of bass kicks and handclaps, giving way to baile funk (Tayo & Undersound's 'Putaria Toda Hora' feat. Edu K) before slamming into the Baltimore club sound of Blaqstarr's 'Tote It'. The syncopated keyboard horn of 'Putaria' carries over beautifully, and then it gets pulled through an insane seven-layer dip of noise: a chorus of “What?”, gunclaps, a chorus of “Hey!” and '80s electro synth stabs.
Yet it's on Bassbin Twins' fittingly-titled 'Woppa' that Tayo really starts to mine the depths of bass. Old-school hip-hop breaks collapse into sub-shattering bass lines, blowing one after another like mines under your floorboards. The comp's best track, Si Begg's 'Move Up (Club Mix)', comes in like the tide, with an entirely bass-led melody pitching and rolling like a ship in a storm. Darker caverns are breached with Tipper's 'Open The Jowls', leading the listener down low-frequency tunnels before the boss battle with Warrior Queen on Sarantis' scorching grime track 'More Than Money'. Tayo expertly lays her vocals over Skream's dubstep classic 'Lightning', before lightening up toward the end with a few tracks from his self-described “heroes” Rob Smith (of Smith & Mighty) and Digital Mystikz. The latter get the last word, as 'Anti War Dub' winds down the mix with Spen G telling everyone “We don't want no fuss and no fight” over a chilled-out two-step beat.
Tayo's comps don't tend to have great shelf life: neither of his two Y4K outings 'Beatz & Bobz Vol. 2' and 'These Are The Breaks' have stood the test of time. But 'FabricLive 32' could be a different story: not only is it an indispensable snapshot of the underground sound of now, but it's indispensable, period. Tayo's sequencing is consistently surprising but always smooth, the mixing seamless and often awe-inspiring, the music selection blood-pumping and hand-raising. Critics could easily pooh-pooh his insistence on relentless, profound heaviness from start to finish, but it's definitely a sign of the times and one that can't be ignored. 'FabricLive 32' is easily a series-best and sees Tayo acing all responsibilities of a high-caliber DJ: an ear to the street, a hand on the record and an eye on the crowd.
トラックリスト01. Tayo meets Acid Rockers - Dread Cowboy - Tayo
--. Loot and Pillage - The Curse - Dan Feary
02. Ursula 1000 ft. Sista Widey - Step Back (Deekline Remix) - ESL
03. Tayo and Undersound ft. Edu K - Putaria Toda Hora - Edu K
04. Blaqstarr - Tote It - Mad Decent
05. Stereotyp Meets Al' Haca - Blaze N Cook (Radio Slave Remix) - Klein
06. Buraka Som Sistema - Com Reispeito - Enchufada
07. Aquasky ft. Ragga Twins - Ready For This (Baobinga Mix) - Passenger
08. Tayo meets Baobinga - Choppa Riddim - Roots & Future
09. Bassbin Twins - Woppa - Bassbin
10. Si Begg - Move Up (Club Mix) - Mute/EMI
11. Tipper - Open The Jowls - Tippermusic
12. Buckfunk 3000 - Jump - Si Begg
13. Benga - Comb 60's - Planet Mu
14. Tayo and Care In The Community - Dutty Bomb - Tayo
15. Marc Adamo - Vicious Exit - Marc Adamo/Local Zeros 2006
16. Elemental - Soul Fire - Destructive
17. Sarantis ft. Warrior Queen - More Than Money - Senseless
18. Skream - Lightning - Tempa
19. Digital Mystikz - Neverland - DMZ
20. Rob Smith - Loveage - Rob Smith
21. Digital Mystikz - Anti War Dub ft. Spen G - DMZ