Terry Francis [fabriclondon.com]
Venue to check out: fabric
THERE are big club line-ups, and then there is fabric’s 27th birthday. From Saturday night until 5am on Monday, fabric is opening all three rooms for a 30-hour marathon featuring some of the finest names in house and techno.
Craig Richards and Ricardo Villalobos head a line-up that also includes DJ Masda, Francesco Del Garda, Bobby, Jane Fitz, Zip and plenty more.
Fabric has been a massive part of London’s electronic music scene since opening in 1999. Despite temporarily losing its licence in 2016, the venue is still going strong and remains one of the capital’s most treasured clubs. This weekend’s line-up is a clear reminder of why it has lasted.
You can buy tickets for the whole thing, or after certain times on Sunday. If you have even a slight interest in electronic music, this incredibly stacked line-up is enough to justify getting a ticket and heading to Farringdon.
fabric, 77A Charterhouse Street, EC1M 6HJ. www.fabriclondon.com
Artist to check out: Terry Francis
Sticking with fabric, Terry Francis deserves a mention. Francis has been a resident at the club since it opened in 1999. Alongside the late Nathan Coles, he also established Wiggle in the 1990s, a party that became closely associated with the UK’s emerging tech-house sound and underground club scene.
Aside from being a top-notch DJ, Francis is also a talented producer. Loving You, from his 2001 Strong Woman EP, is one of my favourites, while Change and Rhythm Spirit both featuring Ricardo Afonso, are great tracks built around rolling rhythms rather than fast drops or obvious climaxes.
Now more than three decades into his career, Francis is still DJing and remains a big part of both the sound and the scene he helped develop.
Album to check out: Amy Winehouse – Back To Black
Amy Winehouse’s connection with Camden hardly needs explaining to readers of this paper. Some long-term residents may even remember seeing her around Camden Town.
This month marks 20 years since the release of Back To Black, and on October 23 the album is being reissued in an expanded anniversary edition. It will include four previously unreleased demos, B-sides and other recordings, including Winehouse’s 2007 performance at Amsterdam’s Paradiso. With the anniversary coming up, now feels like the perfect time to revisit one of the most important records made by a Londoner this century.
While her debut album, Frank, had already established Whitehouse in Britain, Back to Black propelled the 23-year-old into an international sensation. The album contains some of her most famous tracks, including Rehab, You Know I’m No Good and Me & Mr Jones. Much of the album was written during the breakdown of Winehouse’s romantic relationship, and that heartbreak runs intensely through songs like Love Is a Losing Game, Tears Dry on Their Own and the title track.
Twenty years on, it can be difficult to separate Back To Black from everything that followed in Winehouse’s life, and her death at just 27. But listening to it again reminds you how distinctive she already was. Its mix of soul, jazz and more contemporary sounds, along with meaningful and direct songwriting, gave Winehouse a sound that is both immediately recognisable and uniquely hers.
Forgetting the rest of her story for a moment, Back To Black remains, above all else, a remarkable record.
