Crack

It’s official: Crack’s editor Tom, has no stamina, none whatsoever. None. But when you are faced with 30 hours of continual dance time only the hardest survive.

After the resounding success of their 10th birthday, London clubbing mecca Fabric decided to again open their doors for 30 hours straight. From 11pm on Saturday March 6th to 5am Monday March 8th you could jump on techno train for a seriously elongated period of time. But some of us have jobs, like this one. And there was also the question of brain cell retention and an impending print deadline.

So we shifted it. Like a tag team wrestling partnership, one editor ran up the stairs to find solace in a darkened bedroom and fruit and the other half of the team (confusingly also called Tom) eagerly ran down the Fabric stairs at 12am to see what daytime clubbing was like.

Unlike most continental clubs, the British have this ridiculous obsession with getting up far too early and going to bed far too early. The joy of continental clubbing is the party rarely gets moving ‘til 3/4am and then often continues right into the middle of the next day. The Berlin techno home pitch of Berghain and Watergate are usually open all weekend. For Fabric to do the same is forward thinking brilliance and an astute middle finger at British morning sensibility. Let’s face it, most of us are pretty shitty before the clock hits midday, but if you’re still up at midday, well I’d suggest your mood is likely to be entirely different.

For the first half of tonight, Fabric have done a cracking job in separating musical style. The action spirals from twisted acid disco and house dramatics in Room Three with Renato Cohen and Trus’Me, to Dave Clarke’s braincrushing hard stuff in Room Two. The techno glitterati play in Room One with Onur Ozer, B-Pitch brilliance from Thomas Mueller and Ellen Allien, and hot tip of the moment Seth Troxler and Craig Richards.

It’s literally like being in the sweetie shop, and what a shop. Nothing ever really gets left to chance in Fabric, from the sound guy at 8am running round making sure everything is sounding sweet, to the bar staff bobbing around with a scary amount of enthusiasm the vibe feels like it’s pushing itself ever onward and upward. Time becomes an irrelevancy.

The time and pitch of the music is perfect. The crowd is typically good-natured and (apart from the odd lost wreckhead) there is a fantastic vibe to proceedings. After Rooms Two and Three close at about 8am, those who are left and those who are committed flock to Room One. Ellen Allien crashes the shit out of the soundsystem with some typically German industrial noises, and Seth Troxler keeps the grooves rolling into mid-morning.

Come 11am there are still large numbers on the dancefloor and it’s easy to see why. Crack’s first Fabric soldier finally starts waning and makes the fatal mistake of going outside for a cigarette at midday. Bad idea. Light burns his eyes and it’s time to pay a visit to the National Express. But not before tagging Crack’s 2nd footsoldier on the way out of the club.

One of the warmest days we've had in a while and the first sign of proper sunshine; so what better way to spend it than downstairs in a dark club with no natural light whatsoever? The three-day extravaganza was named On and On and On and I definitely arrived at the second 'and On' stage of the weekend. This was made more apparent on bumping into a few friends who explained they were heading home for a quick sleep only to return 'when it picks up again'. Well there’s bound to be inevitable lulls in proceeding when you offer 30 hours of rave time. I also knew full well that I'd have to pay just under a fiver for a bottle, so planning in advance for starting a clubbing session at midday was a little different. I came with a full wallet.

Room One was the only part of the club open when I arrived, with a small but decent enough crowd still enjoying Fabric’s incredible sound system that never disappoints. It doesn’t matter whether you are playing sardines on the dance floor or it’s a little sparser, the atmosphere in Fabric is always energetic and moving.

Even at this odd hour it was no different, with a hugely cosmopolitan crowd and, as already noted by our editor, very energetic bar staff. Still conscious that I was missing the only sun I'd seen for months I explored outside where a South African BBQ had been laid on for those needing a refuel.

Sure enough by about five o'clock it picked up again and the place filled right up. Those who had previously seen the night through were happy to be back and those like myself and others I’d come with were equally glad to have a party in full, sweatbox swing again.

Unfortunately I'm like anyone else who works and has a 9 to 5 lifestyle to adhere to, so wasn't there for much longer. I managed to catch Seth Troxler provide a nice warm up of soul and funk before he went back to back in Room Three with resident Craig Richards.

Wolf and Lamb and a special live set from Berlin techno wonder lady, Dinky, made for an enthralling and groove-laden end to my time in Room One. Leaving Fabric is especially gutting when your sole reason for doing so is work.
I agree with resident Craig Richard's views on spending a Sunday that way when he said: “There's something wonderful about not knowing what time it is.” There is also a big annoyance when you realise it’s time to go home."



http://www.fabriclondon.com

Words: Crack's Editor and an Optimistic Grime Fan

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