DJ T

For someone who has been such an instrumental figure in all aspects of music production but has somehow seemed to remain underground, it seems that this Fabric compilation has given German Thomas Koch aka DJ T the chance to show off his exemplary skill at creating a journey through music for a much wider, less niche audience.

The overriding musical backbone of the album comes in the form of a house beat but this is manipulated by different paces of the beats, different eras, a huge range of labels and a certain level of playfulness binding it all together.  Setting the tone with dOP’s creeping lackadaisical track ‘Wiper Law.’ Further in he teases us with a brief spell of  ‘Ellelli’ by Madioko where African voices pick you up and plant you back to a world where rhythm was paramount.  In fact vocals feature heavily in the mix and adds a welcome human dimension to the electronic theme.  My favourite line is in Ben Mono’s track ‘Jesus is a B- Boy’ ‘I’m telling you that Jesus was a B- Boy, for I too have seen the burning bush and smoked it.’  An old time house favourite gets a modern re-work ‘I Get Deep’ by DJ Le Roi.  In fact he spins such a lush full mix that lifts you up, smashes you a bit sideways then coaxes you back into his bosom of his warm beats.

This is a mix more to be listened to at home, DJ T also mentions that many of the tracks would not reach his record box… but doesn’t it make for a nice change to get the chance to get inside the head and hence music collection of a DJ not just hell bent on banging out formulaic tunes?

Katie Gibbons

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