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JIVE Magazine Rating: 5 out of 5

Release Information:

Ivan Smagghe stands at the crossroads between trendy scene hype and unflinching musical integrity. Since his earliest days on the Parisian electronic underground - working in record shops, as a music journalist, playing parties - he's shunned the obvious trends and embraced his own ideas choosing to work with a wide variety of close collarators.

Spawning projects like BlackStrobe, they're currently finishing their album, and Volga Select, which he has released on 20:20 Vision and his own Set Recordings. Long associated with the electro house sound, there's much more to his DJing and production than this particular niche. His daily leftfield eclectic show on Radio Nova allowed him to indulge his wide tastes, and spawned his Kill The DJ parties, label and compilations. Over the years he's recorded standout compilations for the Source Lab series, Suck My Deck for Bugged Out, and most recently Death Disco for Eskimo. He can currently be found touring the globe as a DJ, releasing new material on Kill The DJ and appearing at festivals with the live presentation of Blackstrobe.

Ivan on DJing: "I'm happy to be playing now because it's really not going to be what people expect, which for me is a lot of what DJing is about. I've got this thing that's coming from the (Andy) Weatherall approach - for me he's always been the guy who's got the best line of conduct and ideas about DJing and making music. Knowing how to say no, and when to say no, and don't do what people expect because, otherwise, what is the point?"

Fabric 23 is a wild ride through deep sub bass, twinkling electro and growling guitars. Ivan opens deep and dubby with Aswefall, the acid rifts of Audion and I-Robot's bleeping acid 'Frau'. He moves through the quirky melodies and enticing snares of Ada's Booka Shade re-rub, before stepping up a gear into the bumping acid electro of Iñaqui Marin, with throbbing basslines from Michael's Mayer's 'Heiden' and Lopazz's dark vocals. DJ Koze comes on strong with clicks and loops, while [T]ékël rumbles through to The Kills snarling guitars and commanding vocals. Flipping it straight to dark and druggy there's Konrad Black's distinctive techno groove, as Ivan weaves through Fabrizio Mammarella's jackin' funk and the compelling throbs of Audion's 'Just Fucking'. Shimmying up to the winning post there's bristling electro from Serge Auto and the final disco tinged crescendo of Joakim's excellent Italo Dub remix of Poni Hoax.

Ivan on the mix: "Abstract bleeps and dark noises? Synths that rock? 4/4 electronics? Yes, all that. This is the scream of the guy who did not want to be pigeonholed."

Track Listings
1. Aswefall – Ride (Der Schmeisser Lovelysplinterremix)     
2. Audion – Your Place Or Mine     
3. I-Robots – Frau (Pandullo Vs. Und)     
4. Booka Shade – Vertigo Vs Cha! (Ada Remix)     
5. Iñaqui Marin – You Can’t Scape     
6. Michael Mayer – Heiden     
7. Lopazz – Blood (Acapella)     
8. DJ Koze – The Geklöppel Continues     
9. [T]ékël – Snake Tartare     
10. The Kills – No Wow     
11. Konrad Black – Jefferson And Braeside     
12. Fabrizio Mammarella – Tear Up     
13. Audion – Just F*cking (Roman Flügel's "23 Positions In A One-Night Stand" Mix)     
14. Sergej Auto – Carnage, Ok!     
15. Poni Hoax – Budapest (Joakim Italo Dub)