ARTICLE
2006 10 Favourite Labels

ALBUMS
aMute
Art Ensemble of Chicago
Asphalt Jungle
Joseph Auer
Avia Gardner
Tommi Bass
Caural
Cdatakill
Christ.
Conjoint
Contriva
Cursor Minor
DJ Soul Slinger
DJ Wally/DJ Willie Ross
DoF
Electric Penguins
Encre
Flashbulb
Fuckpony
Funckarma
Cedric Gervais
Eglantine Gouzy
Greater Than One
Greg Haines
François Houle
Housemeister
Jan Jelinek
Eleni Karaindrou
Kode9 + Spaceape
Takagi Masakatsu
Mini
Move D
The New Law
Nuuro
Qwel & Meaty Ogre
Rant
Max Richter
Janek Schaefer
Svarte Greiner
Thighpaulsandra
Unwed Sailor
Geoff White
Wilt
Yellow6
Jesse Zubot

COMPILATIONS/MIXES
4 Women No Cry Vol. 2
Analog for Architecture
Assemblage Sessions
Jimmy Van M
King Unique/Nubreed
Monza Club Ibiza
Pop Ambient 2007
Rub-N-Tug
Thankful
The Rorschach Suite

3"/7"/10"/12"/EPs
Baseheadz
Big Toe
Franco Cangelli
Richard Chartier
Deadbeat/Monolake
Depth Affect
Diebombshelters
DJ Koze
Eltron
Johan Fotmeijer
Hellothisisalex
Mitsuaki Komamura
Múm
Ozka
Seekers Who Are Lovers
Strategy
Tandem 5
Andi Teichmann
The Twilight Sad
Ray Valioso

Rub-N-Tug: Fabric 30
Fabric

Rub-N-Tug members Thomas Bullock & Eric Duncan are all about stoking a raucous party vibe so it's no surprise their pumping Fabric mix is primarily focused on letting the good times roll. (The duo adopted the group name after hosting wild disco parties at a friend's ‘Chinese Rub-N-Tug massage-palace-cum-loft-space,' and, at the first Rub-N-Tug loft jam, fights broke out while someone played a keyboard with his bare ass). Electro and house dominate with throbbing bass lines and chugging beats snaking a path through the sweat-drenched crowd. Interestingly, the mix's character shifts ever so subtly throughout the 74-minute set, morphing from its grimier beginnings (the sleazy sputtering electro of Claude VonStroke's “The 7 Deadly Strokes”) into a sleeker machine in its final third (Lifelike and Chris Menace's “Discopolis,” Ame's “Engoli,” and Ewan Pearson's remix of Mocky's “Catch A Moment In Time”). In between there's snappy tech-house funk (Jesse Rose's “Evening Standard”), exotic synth delirium (Gary Martin's “Turkish Tavern”), and silky electro-house (Rufuss's “No Exit”). I could do without the banal lyrical gyrations of “Lets Get Busy” by Curtis McClaine and The House though the “Sympathy for the Devil” backup vocals and soul-funk groove almost make up for it (Foolish and Sly's “Come A Little Closer” is likewise as much soul and gospel as it is techno or house). The peak moment arrives halfway through with Serge Santiago's “Atto D'Amor,” feverish electro-swing that's as spacey as it is Latin-flavoured. Rub-N-Tug's set isn't the greatest Fabric release by any stretch (not that it's aiming to be so either) but it's certainly a fine enough soundtrack to your next party.

December 2006