MJ Cole & Wiley - From The Drop

Album review: FabricLive54:David Rodigan

"I deliberately avoided the obvious tracks which have appeared repeatedly on reggae compilation albums over the years. fabric, the club, and fabric the record label, is at the cutting edge of music and so I wanted to uphold that legacy with my album."
David Rodigan


FABRICLIVE.54:David Rodigan
Fabriclive
2010
***** 5 stars

FabricLive is as FabricLive does…..Always cutting edge but with a nod the tradition. The current Series of FabricLive has covered all forms of club trends and has “globetrotted” from Harlem to London via Tokyo.

The edition of the catalog I have my hands on is the selection by a legend and pioneer in the Dancehall scene. We are talking about none other than David Rodigan. Possibly the best known DJ from the reggae scene, haters might cite his ethnicity as a key reason for his steady progression to the top and his dominance of the genre.


This of course this would over look the many StoneLove Clashes, the fact that he has played Kiss FM, Capital and Radio London (for our readers who are old enough). His effortless cool led him to be sampled by this current generation in a warped take on bass culture as a vocal on Breakages wonderful Bass odyssey “Together” which was later Vocaled by UK Rap veterans the Newham Generals.


The selection of tracks takes the listener on a journey from present day artists such as (Baby)Cham, Collie Buddz and Shaggy via a reworking of a classic track by Cadenza and all the way back to King Tubby which is the kind of thing I would find in my father’s record collection. Which brings me to another point, Dancehall music is often vilified for portrayal of violence and misogynistic lyricism however Rodigan seems to be able to pull the strands of fabric which speak through the generations and touch on themes like religion, love, politics and of course marijuana.


One thing I would like to ring the alarm about is that Sister Nancy - Bam Bam was left off the album, which did leave me quite angry until the dub come save me.


Peace.


The album is 10:00 ukp and can be purchased from the fabriclondon.com online store as an mp3 or physical.