Tiefschwarz - fabric 29
Tiefschwarz is two brothers, Ali and Basti Schwarz. They hail from Stuttgart in southern Germany, a bustling city famed for high-tech industry and car manufacturing. From the age of 17, encouraged by fun-loving parents, all they wanted to do was play music and party. From word-of-mouth events held in their own flat (which attracted up to 300 people) to squat raves and huge themed shows, they revelled in the spirit of adventure which engulfed an entire generation of German youth. They moved into clubs and were among the first promoters to attract the biggest names in US house - Mike Dunn, Tony Humphries and Masters at Work all played their nights. Those influences were plain to hear in their early production work too, as they started to tout their name by remixing tracks. These days they're rooted in Berlin's counterculture and have mastered a deep, driving sound, rooted in techno, house and electro, that soundtracks clubnights across the world. A typical Tiefschwarz record starts where you least expect it and goes where you couldn't predict, employing the kind of sonic twists and tricks that make you laugh out loud on a dancefloor. Still driven by that sense of fun and family spirit, Tiefschwarz exhibit an energetic, uninhibited approach to 4/4 electronic music.
"We wanted to give a perspective of a Tiefschwarz DJ mix in one hour. For us, it was not about making an eclectic mix, we were much more interested in showing what interests us as a DJ team. That was the idea and how we selected the tracks. We thought it made most sense to do a DJ mix, because that's why we're at fabric, that's why people hear us in fabric, so we figured we'd follow that. It's out of the stomach." Tiefschwarz
'fabric 29' is a Tiefschwarz tour-de-force; a typically deranged and unhinged peak time set condensed into 70-odd power-packed minutes. The brothers work it out over fourteen tracks, perfectly placing their mixes to drain every bit of action from each emotive cut. As ever, the devil is in the details. Listen out for popping beats, warm basslines, strangled vocals, waves of EQ and floor-thumping rhythms. Too charged-up to be minimal, too clued-up to be commercial, this is Tiefschwarz in statement-making mood.
Tracklist:
1 Louderbach – Grace (Anxiety)
2 Claude VonStroke – Who's Afraid Of Detroit?
3 Tiefschwarz – Damage (M.A.N.D.Y. Remix)
4 Theodor Zox – Extruder (Maetrik Remix)
5 Touane – Bassic
6 Thomas Schumacher – Rotor
7 Night On Earth – Rondell
8 GummiHz – A.A.K.N.Y.
9 Ichundu – Hey
10 Jamie Jones – Amazon
11 Sleeper Thief – Freefall 4:25
12 Depeche Mode – John The Revelator (Tiefschwarz Dub)
13 Riton – The Hammer Of Thor
14 Kate Wax – Beetles And Spider (Roman Flügel Remix)