News / / 12.09.14

Erol Alkan

Fabriclive 77 (fabric)
16/20

A new Erol Alkan mix album in 2014? Dubious? You shouldn’t be. But if you are, just ask yourself some questions: Is UK house ruining your life without you even realising it? Is Eton Messy your benchmark for quality electronic music? You’re doing it wrong. Good thing there’s an old hand here to guide you back onto the yellow brick road.

Erol Alkan, admittedly, disappeared for a period of time, but a man who – alongside a handful of other likeminded innovators – introduced an entire generation to acid, techno and disco certainly knows his way around a genre or two, and when the aforementioned genres on this mix are as potent as acid and techno we are truly in business. Call FABRICLIVE 77 a realignment, a dance floor-igniting trip through a host of the freshest meat available including Erol’s own timely return to the production canon. The mix weaves through a structure that could loosely be described as maximal techno with standouts coming from Erol’s own twisted re-work of The Emperor Machine, a contender for full-fat tune of the year from Crack favourite Andre Bratten, a lo-fi punchy piece of acid-wonk from Claro Intelecto and a superb Alkan reinterpretation of St Etienne’s pop classic Only Love Can Break Your Heart. Sorry what are Hot Since 82 and Route 94 up to again?

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Words: Thomas Frost

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