Âme

For the 42nd release in a series of monthly compilations, London's ultra-hip nightclub, Fabric, brings in Germany's answer to the Detroit House style of mix mastery, Kristian Beyer and Frank Wiedmann–collectively known as Âme– as this installment's DJs. Though this duo may lack the same name recognition that past releases have boasted, the impact Âme made with their neo-trance jam "Rej" should be a telltale sign of the headtrip to come on this tasty byte of electronica.

Fabric 42 starts off encompassed in a flowing, organic vibe with Âme's smoked-up and smooth mixes of Linkwood's "Hear The Sun" and Even Tuell's "Untitled B1." Âme excel at giving their programmed drums a human-like and hand-beaten sound on the opening few cuts, which transition seamlessly into one another and take on an intermittent sense of minimalism throughout. By the time the "Moddod Blubblub" kicks in, much of the natural element is lost, and a somewhat dysfunctional, robotic synthetic feel takes over. This loss of the "human factor" strongly and negatively affects the disc's overall character, though the pair still provide several highly entertaining mindbenders (Armando's "Don't Take It" being a standout) and pump buckets of adrenaline by layering the electro-groove of "Raw Structure" (Edward Justus) over the top of Those Guys' rant-filled "An American Poem."

An all around richly textured and driving affair, Âme's contribution to the Fabric series is a solid and enjoyable one, but it fares much better during the opening moments than it does thereafter. As the disc played through, the increase in overly-electronic sounds lessened the mixes uniqueness and paved the way for a rather standard listen.

–Ryan Ogle
10.07.08