CALIBRE

FABRICLIVE 68 (Fabric)

15/20

After chatting to an ardent female drum and bass fan (yes, they exist), she couldn’t help but lavish glowing praise on Calibre. After bitterly complaining that jump-up drum and bass had been the unrelenting realm of dickheads for years, we were subject to a good hour of D&B real talk about the structure of the scene and how Calibre is a prominent figure at its more ‘intelligent’ and less chauvinistic end. This CD is glowing proof of her rhetoric. Bouncy liquid rhythms rub alongside dubby baselines and lashings of melancholic piano, giving the whole vibe of the offering a lift. Even when things get a little rougher toward the back end of the compilation, touching on more choppy jungle rhythms, it’s done with an assured hand and never veers into, or even touches, the aforementioned wacky world of drum and bass twattishness. Competent productions are another feature of a mix in which Calibre has contributed no less than 15 remixes or productions of the 24 on display, another stamp of quality on one of the best FABRICLIVE outings for some time.

– – – – – – – – – –

 fabriclondon.com/artist/view/calibre

Words: Thomas Frost