Sinden

There are some mix CDs where the meticulous programming smacks you in face, boggling your mind as to how long it took to assemble such a perfectly complimentary collection of tracks into a velvety smooth single sonic unit. And then there are those mixes that sound like a bedroom one-off after a few 22 oz. Sapporos and a half-smoked joint in the ashtray.

Unfortunately, the new FabricLive 43, mixed by Sinden, falls into the latter category. It’s acceptable if you’re going to circulate a mix among friends, but when it’s being sold for $20 and has to stack up with the likes of Freq Nasty and Simian Mobile Disco in the canon of recent Fabric releases, one would hope for a bit more, especially from a known cohort of über-producer Dave Taylor (a.k.a. Switch).

Sinden's collaborations with The Count (as The Count & Sinden), two of which appear on this mix, belie a better musical sensibility than the man’s skills behind the decks do. Their remix of Aquasky's "Have a Good Time" has, as the track professes, that Miami bass sound with massive crossover appeal for hip-hop audiences. Similarly, their remix of Project Bassline’s “Drop the Pressure” has the same wobbly, dirty bass line and tight production that presumably would be laced throughout the mix, but it sadly falls far short of the floor-burning standard set by Sinden’s two original works.

The mix suffers from an identity crisis. What is he going for here? It starts out like an Ibiza throwaway set, then abruptly moves into “Have a Good Time”, into an Armand Van Helden track, with an African beat up next. It gains more cohesion as it progresses, finally hitting a stride with “Drop the Pressure” and the ensuing oscillating bass madness of Giggle Riddim from Piddy Py, but by then, 90% of listeners would have moved on to a more engaging mix.

—Christopher Nelson
02.09.09