Various – Elevator Music Volume 1 review

Artist: Various
Title: Elevator Music Volume 1
Label: Fabric
Genre: Dubstep/Grime
Format: CD, Digital
Buy From: Juno Records, Juno Download

Elevator Music is the best example of the cross pollination between dubstep, grime, house and techno that is becoming more and more prevalent over the last few months. If nothing else, Fabric’s first instalment of this new series proves that dubstep doesn’t reach its limit with warbling baselines peppered with hazy atmospherics.

Although bass is certainly the name of the game, it is bass that reaches the feet passing the mind first. Not just a reaction to the bass and beats, there is an intelligible and refined sense to the artists and music that feature on Elevator Music. There are warm baselines reminiscent of some of garage’s darker moments aligned next to percussive elements of funky house or the bold and brash energy of techno and grime.

Fittingling for Fabric, most of the tracks on this compilation are dancefloor focused. Amid the previously un-released tracks of Elevator Music we are treated to a diverse mix of palettes, again mirroring the vibe of Fabric’s club, and the bass heavy genre as a whole which gives it a strong appeal to fans of each sub genre without diluting the ethos to any.

Elevator Music is more than your average compilation and way more than just a collection of tracks. It is a representation of the styles and influences of a sub genre of music that takes in, uses and borrows from a host of already established tastes. Like the Fabric dancefloor itself, Elevator Music embraces all it can, regardless of genre, to remain fresh, new and exciting.

Review: Tom Jones