michael mayer / fabric 13 / fabric

Michael Mayer has created a beatmatched "Back to Mine/Another Late Night" style "listener's/taster's choice mix" that trades his driving abstract momentum for contrasting blends that allow for full appreciation of the nuances of each individual track. There is a decidedly friendly and soft song-style techno (not necessarily all with vocals) throughout most of this mix. Inviting melodies move through H. Voss' "I Think About You (rmx)" into R. Davis' "Bring Me Closer" cresting with Westbam and Nena's(!) "Oldschool, Baby", full of disarmingly festive, yet still minimal, club piano melodies!

Track 5: Wruhme and Wighnomy's "Killerteppich" into T.Schaeben's "Busted" is where Mayer begins to lay into his abstract funk a bit, but the mix suddenly eases down to Villalobos' "Easy Lee" which clears the palette for my favorite part of the mix...

From there, Magnet's "Abendstern" climbs infinitely into space, full of small beautiful details, becomes Superpitcher's "Mushroom" and blossoms into Jackson's remix of M83's "Run into Flowers."(This track will put a lump in your throat.) This section is full of contrast and detail that underscores Mayer's statement that "Fabric 13" is not a "clubset" and that he prefers mix CDs to "be intimate" and "to tell a story." (Although describing a DJ mix as one that "tells a story" might sound cliche', Mayer does NOT delve into pacifier/glowstick territory.)

Finally, after a short, two-song detour into more killer funk (Le Dust Sucker's "Love Me" is a bit SICK), Mayer frames the mix with a re-visitation of H. Voss' "I Think About You", this time, with the original version. An infinite variety of tracks, arranged primarily for appreciation (melody driven, rather than beat driven) as opposed to moving the dancefloor. Another facet of one of the best.
listen: michael mayer/run into flowers
listen: michael mayer/love me