Andy Cato and Tom Findlay, aka Groove Armada, have mixed FABRICLIVE 87, set for release on 20th May 2016.
The pair are rooted in dance music’s seminal movements, with Andy taking in Castlemorton and the free party scene, and Tom regularly attending the Hacienda during his formative university days in Manchester. When they met in London in the mid-90s, little did they know they would go on to make history themselves. Groove Armada came to fruition as the name of a club night where Tom & Andy each hosted a floor, and the duo adopted the moniker when they started producing music together for Tim ‘Love’ Lee’s Tummy Touch label. A week spent in the remote countryside resulted in their debut album ‘Northern Star’ and their breakthrough hit ‘At The River’, which was to prove the catalyst for major label recognition, million-selling albums, Grammy and Brit nominations, and a pioneering live show, establishing Groove Armada as one of the planet’s best-loved dance acts. However, throughout their two decades of global success, they have remained as comfortable in sweat-soaked basements as on the big stages. Indeed, Tom & Andy began DJing properly as a duo in fabric’s Room 3 during the club’s early days, whilst more recently they have made Room 1 their own.
“It’s in Room 3 that we effectively wrote Superstylin’, or at least the idea for that track took serious shape. They were magical times, really. It’s been amazing returning to the club, a sense of coming home. A lot of the people involved when we first played there are still involved, so it felt easy to come back, it’s an overused description but fabric is family.” – Groove Armada
FABRICLIVE 87 represents the kind of house music – and importantly party music – that Groove Armada might drop in a typical Room 1 set, on a night where the vibes of the dancefloor align perfectly with the music of the DJ. The mix opens with a strong salvo of contemporary house, creating an uplifting mood from the outset with productions from The Revenge and Move D, before bedding in with groove-heavy cuts from the likes of Reset Robot, Nicole Moudaber and Hexxy, the latest project of Hercules & Love Affair’s Andy Butler. Showcasing tracks on their favourite UK labels, such as Freerange and Saved, the duo punctuate the mix throughout with the classic US house sound of Strictly Rhythm and KMS, rekindling memories of their musical initiations, and paying respect to artists they’ve followed throughout their careers. A brief deviation into the electro-inspired rhythms of Chicken Lips and Brassfoot opens into an ecstatic closing sequence, featuring Bicep, Rick (Poppa) Howard and their own 2012 Hypercolour cut ‘Stevie Latenight’, as befitting for a sunrise on the South Downs as for the lights coming up in Room 1, and leaving the listener thirsting for more after seventy minutes of kinetic beats, rhythms and grooves.
“The mix happened between a Stoke Newington basement and a disused barn near Toulouse. As always for mixes, the preparation was thorough. That’s a leftover from the era of the mix tape. Mix tapes were the stuff of life, a currency for getting gigs, girlfriends, or just distributing amongst mates for the love of it. But once you pressed record, everything had to be bang on for 45 minutes. There was no take two, no FX, no computer touch up. The flow and tuning of the tracks had to be right. But once you’ve done your homework, there comes the moment when the lights go off, the volume goes up and you do it for real. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but it has to be human and have a vibe.” – Groove Armada
Groove Armada launch FABRICLIVE 87 in Room 1 at fabric on 27th May.
FABRICLIVE 87: Groove Armada
Release Date: 20th May 2016
Label: fabric
Format: CD / Digital
Tracklist
01. Craig Smith & The Revenge – The Soul Part II
02. Flashmob – Don’t Leave (Instrumental Dub)
03. Kolja Gerstenberg – Sand (Move D Remix)
04. Reset Robot – On Your Knees
05. Essence – Moments In House (Full Effect Mix – DJ T. Edit)
06. Doc Daneeka – One For Pidge
07. Hexxy – Edging
08. Julien Sandre & Los Pastores – One More Time (Onno Remix)
09. Chez Damier – Untitled A1
10. Burnski – Your Love (Steve O’Sullivan Remix)
11. The Revenge – Incredible Shellsuit
12. Nicole Moudaber – Can I Get Some
13. Tiga – Plush (Dixon Re-Rub)
14. The Black 80s – Move On (Hollis P Monroe & Wrong Jeremy Mix)
15. Josh Wink – 516 Acid (Chicken Lips Acido Ze Boogie Mix)
16. Brassfoot – We Made It Out The Hood Ma
17. Skudge – Convolution
18. Anek & Medeew & Chicks Luv Us – Shake
19. Ross Evans – Let it Go
20. Pezzner – Prey (Fred Everything Re-Beat)
21. Digitaria feat. Clarian – Favourite Addiction (Groove Armada’s Dub Creation)
+ Acid Mondays – Interstellar Cake (Richy Ahmed Remix)
22. Aster – Cielo (Bicep Remix II)
23. Rick (Poppa) Howard – Can Your Love Find Its Way
24. Groove Armada – Stevie Latenight
25. Moon B – Starfight
26. Khan – On The Run (DJ Kaos &Me Remix)