The Fabric crew have been pushing the progressive house and breaks sound in Adelaide for very nearly 3 years now. The Fabric crew pride themselves on pushing a different sound in a town dominated by the harder sounds. Their parties are intimate, fun and have a great friendly atmosphere, making it very difficult to not have fun. They are responsible for bringing some of the biggest DJs in the world to Adelaide, including James Zabiela, Dave Seaman, Infusion, Chris Fortier, Gwill Morris, James Holden and many more. On the eve of their 3rd birthday even at Garage I caught up with Fabric Co-Founders Mal and Kit.
What inspired you to start the Fabric night?Mal: Believe it or not, there used to be heaps of clubs in Adelaide that played progressive house such as Dreamers, Warehouse, Nation and Pure. By 2001, there weren’t many clubs left that me or my friends would bother going to either due to crap music or crap people. Around that time, Kit (who was one of the ex-owners of Dreamers) and I became mates and decided to rectify the situation by starting a club that in our opinion focussed on good people and good music.
Kit: A mate that needed a hand in doing something that he was passionate about and believed in. Realising that we weren’t the only ones that needed somewhere comfortable to go with great music and great friends
Give a little rundown on the history of Fabric?Mal: That’s a pretty long story, so just to be brief: three venues in three years. We started off at The Loft in 2001 doing weekly Saturday nights until the end of that year. We then switched over to Minke where we did our monthly shows upstairs in Skylab staying there until they closed their doors late last year. Now we are at Garage, which in our opinion is one of the coolest and most versatile venues in Adelaide. Over the years we have also done shows at Traffic, Black Cat White Cat, Soda Room and Sugar as well as being involved with Stardust Spring Sessions at Adelaide Uni a couple years back.
Kit: Was never intended to be a regular night. Started as a concept for once off events. Saw the potential of the Loft and after the first night, realised that there was a demand for what we did. After the Loft came an awesome year at minke, with some great one off parties at traffic, BCWC and co=promotions with stardust…
Fabric has moved location twice, yet constantly manages to keep the same awesome vibe, what do you think are the reasons behind this?Mal: There are a lot reasons that I could probably think but the biggest would be that we have been lucky in having some of the best supporters in the world, many whom have been there since day one. We have been able to appeal to a broad range of clubbers from those who experienced the older clubs and those who are new to the scene and are beginning to discover what they like. Doing everything we can to make sure every person who comes through those doors that night has a great night without pretentiousness I think has also been very important to our success to date.
Kit: Choosing the right venue is key to the atmosphere created. Making sure that people are comfortable and feel welcome is crucial. Consistency is also important as far as the quality of music and people that you attract. Aside from that, its also about evolving, making sure that you keep pushing the boundaries while still making the music and the vibe accessible. While creating all of this we try to remain humble, through not trying to be something that we are not.
This year saw the Fabric crew nominated for various South Australian Dance Music Awards, and both you and Lachlan Pender picked up awards, how does it feel to be recognised by the SA Dance community?
Mal: Brilliant. It was very flattering to win the award as it shows that the South Australian scene has evolved and that progressive and breaks are both continuing to flourish in this city. It would have been great to win the ‘promoter’ or ‘special event under 500’ award, but you know what they say about one step at a time…. In any case, there’s always next year ;)
Kit: Always nice to know that you have support. It’s also a good sign that you are doing something right! Promoting can be tough – more stress, more risk and not always the guarantee that you are going to get a wage, so its nice to be recognised…
You have managed to keep Fabric running for three years, in a town that is dominated by the harder styles of dance, what is the secret behind your longevity?Kit: As mentioned previously – being humble. Knowing that we won’t appeal to everyone and trying to make sure that those that we do appeal to, are part of the family. Making sure that we keep changing to suit our market has also kept us around a bit longer through retaining our core group and recruiting and educating new patrons
You’ve been responsible for bringing some of the biggest names in progressive and breaks to Adelaide when they normally would have passed us by, if you had to choose one who would you say was the best and most satisfying to see perform?Mal: That’s a tough call.
In a pinch I’d have to say James Holden because he is always fresh, exciting and interesting when he plays and absolutely tore the roof off last time he was here. I’ll also have to say Gwill otherwise he might hurt me.
Kit: Gwill Morris for his stage presence and his connection with the audience. Hyper for being a bouncy, crazy, partying Pom and all-round nice guy.
What is the most satisfying aspect of running a successful night?Mal: The nod.
Kit: Seeing a room full of punters going off at a night that you’ve created
You are responsible for pushing two somewhat new sounds in the Adelaide dance community, progressive & breaks, what is it that keeps you doing promoting and risking money for the good of the scene?Mal: The satisfaction in knowing that we are doing something no one else is doing here and hopefully making a difference to the local scene. Also after years of missing out, it’s great to be able to expose Adelaide to some really great acts such as James Holden, Chris Fortier and James Zabiela who are blowing up all around the world but previously would never have come to Adelaide.
Kit: Knowing that it’s appreciated. Loving the music and the vibe that’s created by the fabric crew.
Where do you see Fabric and the Adelaide Progressive and breaks scene heading over the next 12 monthsMal: Things have continued to grow since we started and with breaks blowing up all around the world and progressive as strong as it’s ever been despite all those ‘prog is dead’ Mixmag articles, I feel things are just going to keep getting bigger and better as more and more people get turned onto our sound. Also, we also keep managing to turn up punters who stopped going out 4 years ago before Fabric was around, sitting at home listening to Global Underground and Renaissance CDs who had no idea there was somewhere in Adelaide playing progressive.
Kit: Becoming bigger as people keep discovering that they’ve loved prog for years (they just didn’t know it was prog!). It will always have a place somewhere in Adel coz people need something other than House, Hard house or D’nB to listen to
Any big things planned for the rest of this year you’d like to let slip?Mal: Coming up in September we have a huge night planned with Infusion kicking off their tour to support their new album and Matthew Dekay from Holland who is one of the hottest producers on the planet at the moment both on the same bill. There are some other things in the pipeline but let’s all I’m allowed to say for the time being. Version 3 of our website should be online pretty soon too.
Anything you’d like to add or people you’d like to thank?Mal: The Fabric Crew and all the club owners, promoters, djs and everyone else that has supported us the past 3 years. Peak on.
Kit: The fabric crew (new and old). They’re the real reason why we do it…
The Fabric 3rd Birthday takes place Friday July 23rd at the Garage. Check out ITM Whatson for more info.
