DJ Hazard - FABRICLIVE 65

Scott Molloy is one of those people for whom drum & bass was the soundtrack to a youth well spent. Born in Birmingham and raised in nearby Aston, Molloy was caught by the bug that was seemingly passed down through the ages, through plasterboard walls and shared experience. Funding his growing habit for collecting records by working day jobs in factories, restaurants and delivering pizzas Molloy made a name for himself as DJ Hazard by playing the clubs of his native Birmingham throughout the ‘90s. Building on his bookings and general success he took to Kool FM Midlands alongside MCs Biggie and Acapello to broadcast his sets, broadening his reach out past his immediate surroundings. Following a slew of self funded releases and 12”s on Formation Records and his own imprint, Radius, Molloy was getting play from the big name d&b DJs of the time including one DJ Hype, who would release several of his singles on his Ganja Records and go on to make him the first non Ganja Kru member to be signed exclusively to his True Playaz camp. The recognition Molloy received from the team behind Playaz has proved to be one of his most pivotal moments with the platform the label gave him serving to be an ample jumping off point. It gave tracks such as ‘Use Your Brain’, ‘Get The Fuck Up’ and ‘Mr Happy’ the machine they needed to become the jump up anthems they are today across a scene that spans the globe. Sonically Hazard’s productions are fierce and angular with a riff bombast that works to excite the room and it’s that energy that’s stamped all over his FABRICLIVE 65 mix.

"I wanted the mix to represent how I play in a club; I also wanted the mix to have a live feel to it so the mix was done in one take so that any mistakes could be heard; just two CDJs, a mixer and plenty of coffee. I tried to use as many new producers as possible and I also tried to get as much exclusive unreleased music as I could to try and make the CD as fresh as possible." DJ Hazard

Hazard’s known for a certain type of adrenalin guided jump up drum & bass but his mix - as you might well expect from one that incorporates 50 tracks in 66 minutes - covers a lot of ground between the divides of d&b as we now know it. Including the works of DJ Devize and Tyke (aka Retronym), ensures that Molloy covers that intricate techy sound, album opener ‘Never The Same’ and Ray Keith’s ‘Deeper Love’ marry soulful vocals with 170bpm beats whilst Boosta & Atmos T explore the rhythmical variety possible within the genre. Sure, there are plenty of unabashed rave moments like Taxman, Mampi Swift and his own contributions, but for someone who’s been involved in drum & bass since the turn of the millennium it stands to reason that Hazard has extensive knowledge and tastes within the sphere. He’s not using FABRICLIVE 65 to try and reinvent the style, he’s wantonly showcasing a little bit of the variety that already exists within it.

Tracklisting:

01 DJ Hazard - Never The Same [Playaz]
02 Phace & Misanthrop - Progression [Neosignal]
03 DJ Devize - Shock Time [3D Mode]
04 Tyke - Vice Squad [Radius]
05 Dialogue & Total Recall - Fox Bite [Radius]
06 Tyke - Buzzards [Grid]
07 Boosta & Atmos T - Where You At [Radius]
08 DJ Hazard - Cherry Bomb [Playaz]
09 Noisia - Diplodocus (The Upbeats Remix) [Mau5trap]
10 DJ Hazard - Time Tripping [Playaz]
11 DJ Hazard - Air Guitar [Playaz]
12 Malachai & Voltage - A Bunch Of Fives [Radius]
13 Bass Brothers - Mr Jungle (Hazard’s Exclusive VIP) [Easy]
14 Ray Keith - Deeper Love [Dread]
15 Sub Zero - Your Flex VIP [Playaz]
16 Taxman - Cool It Judy [Playaz]
17 Konichi - Engulfer [Radius]
18 DJ Hazard - Do Without You [Playaz]
19 Annix - Ghetto Blaster [Radius]

20 DJ Rowney - Cheek Of It [Radius]
21 DJ Hazard - Ramblers [Playaz]
22 DJ Hazard - Meen Time [Playaz]
23 Konichi - Tools Of The Trade [Muzik Hertz]
24 Decimal Bass - All In [Muzik Hertz]
25 DJ Hazard - It's A Secret [Playaz]
26 DJ Devize & Shookz feat. MC Blu-Bomma - Coming In Stealth [Playaz]
27 Boosta & Atmos T - Delinquent [Muzik Hertz]
28 Retronym - They're Not Human [Radius]
29 Joe Seven - Untitled Monotron [Exit]
30 DJ Devize - X-Groove [3D Mode]
31 P.A - Iron Fingers [Radius]
32 Annix - Unnatural Element VIP [Animated]
33 DJ Hazard & D Minds - Mr Happy (DJ Hazard VIP) [Playaz]
34 Dirty Harry - Watch Ya Teeth [Playaz]
35 Origin & Cabbie - Sharade [Subway Soundz]
36 DJ Devize - Squash Dem [3D Mode]
37 Konichi - Signol Smoke [Radius]
38 Lynx - Midnight Funk [Playaz]
39 Taxman - Cop Killa [Playaz]
40 FuntCase - Let's Go [Maximum Boost]
41 Dirty Harry - Badman [Playaz]
42 Mampi Swift - Gangster [Charge]
43 Noisia & Spor - Falling Through [Vision]
44 DJ Hazard - Hand In Hand [Playaz]
45 Decimal Bass - Reefa Tactics [Radius]
46 Level 2 - Red Note [V Recordings]
47 DJ Hazard - Foodfight VIP [Playaz]
48 Gerra & Stone - Droneheads (Octane & DLR Remix) [Alignment]
49 Decimal Bass - Hypnotise [Radius]
50 DJ Hazard - Mark Q [Playaz]