UPFRONTBEATS

There can be no doubting Alan Fitzpatrick’s position as one of the most influential electronic artists of the moment. Having enjoyed a breathlessly successful 2015, he is transitioning rapidly from the techno underground towards the electronic music main stage, attracting plaudits from BBC Radio 1, Mixmag and Resident Advisor.

Already a universally respected and in-demand producer, Fitzpatrick has succeeded in carving out his own musical niche within the ever-expanding genre of techno, drawing high praise from peers and tastemakers across genre divides for the vibrancy, originality and inventiveness that has come to characterize his music.

A mainstay at Drumcode since 2009, Fitzpatrick is also a go-to producer for labels such as BPitch Control, Hotflush Recordings and Hypercolour, as well as being invited to remix Roisin Murphy and Leftfield. He is a regular guest at a long list of high profile clubs across the globe and an alumnus of the coveted BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix, attracting fans from all over the world with his trademark tough, hooky grooves and incendiary beats moulded together with cerebral moments of emotive melody.

‘I really wanted to deliver a mix that had a timeless quality about it and that contained tracks that people were not very familiar with already. Crucial to achieving this was the special edits that feature in the mix, as well as the exclusive and unreleased material that I was able to include which I hope everyone enjoys listening to.’ ‘ Alan Fitzpatrick

fabric 87 is a statement of the strong connection between the club and Alan Fitzpatrick, who not long ago was a regular on the other side of the DJ booth. Recorded in one take, the mix weaves together a selection of tracks that convey the rollercoaster rave that is a Fitzpatrick Room 2 closing set and also stand as an expression of the influences and tastes of the audio architect himself.

It’s an exhilarating 76-minute trip that burrows down wormholes of dark bumping rhythms courtesy of Mike Dehnert, Reset Robot and Truncate & Jimmy Edgar, with blissful eyes-shut euphoria encapsulated by Scuba’s rework of Audion ‘Mouth To Mouth’ and a nostalgic nod to the ’90s via two Fitzpatrick numbers, the forthcoming ‘Where Haus” and Boxia’s VIP of ‘1992’ (an exclusive to this compilation).

There’s also no shortage of heavy-hitting cavernous beats, the likes of which sound very much at home inside fabric’s rave cave, courtesy of Psyk, Ilario Alicante, 2000 And One and Mark Broom’s exclusive edit of ‘Eyes Wide Open’.

The mix is bookended by thoughtfully constructed opening and closing sequences, the respective highlights of which being Marcel Fengler’s enchanting ‘Zen’ and Fitzpatrick’s own unreleased remix of Drewxhill’s ‘Bullets’.

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