Fabric 50 - Martyn Review

So, Fabric have reached the 50th release in the series, and what better way to celebrate this milestone than allowing the talents of that dance music chameleon, Martyn, to take his turn at presenting the latest instalment of their prestigious compilations.

Martyn is certainly an inimitable character on the electronic music map; often associated with dubstep, but his output and music style far exceed a genre that will surely implode under the weight of overexposure and media hype its received over the last 18 months.The dubstep side of Martyn appears to have been put on the backburner in favour of more house and techno orientated rhythms. However, this is probably more of a slight detour than a new direction given his production history.

There's no doubt Dubstep has been taken firmly out of the underground and packaged for a mass market, as it seems to be becoming more and more synonymous with the high impact, unsophisticated wobble music enjoyed by sweaty teenyboppers who worship at the altar of Annie Mac. Ok, so being a sweaty teenage wobble enthusiast is probably a great deal of fun, but the point is, dubstep appears to be drifting away from the uncompromising hotbed of creativity that lay the foundations for the scene it has become today and Martyn has always been at the forefront of taking the music in unexpected directions instead of following the money and allowing the scene to become victim of over commercialisation.

His album Great Lengths was testament to his ability to straddle the genres with ease and join the dots between house, techno and dubstep and it's this same gift underpinning the mix on offer from Fabric. This 26 track mix was done entirely live and showcases Martyn as being a great DJ as well as producer. It may not be the straight up, action packed dancefloor orientated assault many of his peers in the dubstep scene would end up offering, but this eclectic journey, featuring the likes of Hudson Mohawke, Zomby, Kode 9 and Martyn himself, is a fine snapshot for anybody interested in the deeper side of bass music.

Here's to the next 50...well done Fabric you've done it again.

4 out of 5

Tim Forrester