Reviewed: Flexout x Planet V FabricLive

Fabric London, Flexout Audio and Planet V, if that combination alone doesn’t get you excited then you may as well stop reading now and get to know. When I saw the announcement of this FabricLive event back in December, I couldn’t contain my excitement. A Planet V takeover of Room 1 and Flexout Audio takeover in Room 2, two rooms packed with some of the finest talent the Drum & Bass scene has to offer.

In Room 1, Planet V brought the heat with a seriously hefty line-up consisting of Drum & Bass royalty; Jumpin Jack Frost, Ed Rush & Optical, Bryan Gee, Bladerunner, Paul T & Edward Oberon, Riya, and new boys on the block Mozey, Disrupta and SL8R. Room 2 was all about Flexout Audio, a label that have been pushing the boundaries of the darker side of Drum & Bass and they didn’t disappoint with a hugely stacked line-up. Topping the bill in room 2 was Workforce followed by Visages, Bredren, Amoss, Arkaik, Fre4knc, Bassi, and Charlo with Joe Raygun and Charlie Brix on hosting duties.

We arrived at fabric at around 11:30pm and headed straight for room 1 to find our feet and what better way to do so than with one of the V Recordings top dogs, Jumpin Jack Frost. Moody reese basses, thick snares and jungle breaks, Jumpin Jack Frost was serving up all the V Recordings flavours. There’s something about big jungle breaks and fabric that just naturally go hand in hand together. So loud but so crisp, the perfect setting for a proper Planet V showcase.

Up next was the Flexout Audio head-honcho himself, Bassi. Flying the flag high for stripped back minimal Drum & Bass, it was clear his USB wasn’t shy of a dub or two. Tearing room 2 apart, Bassi served up a whole host of unheard material, which I can only assume a lot of we will be seeing on Flexout throughout 2022. Bassi was teasing us with tracks like ‘Amoss & Visages – Long Island’ and ‘Arkaik – Boxed In’, setting the stage perfectly for Workforce who was ready to take over.

Stage set and crowd ready, Workforce stepped up and kicked things off with a beautifully dark atmospheric intro, infused with crunchy jungle breaks and thumping 808s. Now if you know anything about Workforce, you will know all about his time as Spectrasoul and just how good he really is. Synonymous for his ridiculously good production skills and expertly written tracks, Workforce really is of the highest calibre when it comes to Drum & Bass. In true Flexout style, Workforce fiercely worked through a selection of darker stripped back numbers dropping a whole host of dubs. Chopping and changing effortlessly between tracks, Workforce dropped in the odd liquid track including his recent release ‘Forever’, a soulful piano-led anthem, to keep things fresh.

Taking over from someone like Workforce is no easy feat, but Flexout crew member Amoss didn’t show any signs of struggle. The time was now 2am and the darkness of room 2 had taken over, I’m sure the lights were literally off at points, and Amoss was in his element. Synonymous with that Flexout sound, Amoss was intricately carving his way through the darkness with low, wide subs, tight drums and those moody vocals which dominate the dance. Amoss was gracing us with even more unreleased music and if there’s one thing that can be said about the Flexout takeover is that 2022 is going to be a seriously big year for them and an even bigger year for Drum & Bass.

After taking a quick minute to catch our breath following Amoss’ monster set, it was finally time for the act that I had personally been waiting for all night, Visages. Made up of a group of French lads, Visages have been working tirelessly over the past few years gracing us with some of the best Drum & Bass we have heard and they’re finally starting to break through onto events all over the world. Fresh off a tour in New Zealand with Alix Perez and Monty, Visages switched up the night with some 140 in true 1985 fashion. Playing some of the most outrageous 140 I have heard in ages; Visages were wiping the floor of room 2. Once again, a whole host of unreleased music which I had only heard in mixes online, so it was unreal to finally hear it on a proper sound system. Seamlessly transitioning into Drum & Bass, Visages started the next part of their set with their track ‘Yalda’. Let’s be honest, unless you’ve been living under a rock you’ll have heard this track an uncountable amount of times and every time without fail it hits just as hard as the first time you heard it. Rolling on getting darker and darker, Visages treated us to a play of their upcoming release on 1985 Music featuring Strategy on vocal duties. A proper Visages tune, dark and gritty with some stupidly good vocals from Strategy. The Visages’ boys have been busy in the studio and are another example of what’s in store for 2022.

The last set of the night saw us take a trip over to the unintentionally neglected Room 1 where Mozey was in charge. I first heard about Mozey back in 2020 when he debuted on Serum’s label Souped Up and since then has been a regular on the label. Fierce, aggressive, murky is exactly what springs to mind when I think of Mozey’s set. The energy was unrivalled, and credit must be given to the Room 1 sound system, it’s hard to think that it could get any better than room 2 but boy it was. Mozey gave us a taste of some new music but also drew for a whole host of his released catalogue including his tracks ‘Night Buzz’ and of course ‘Back To Funk’.

There was still one more set to go in each room however it was time for us to call it a night but what a night it was. Hats off to the Flexout Audio crew and of course Planet V. Two ridiculous line-ups that did not disappoint. Here’s to the next FabricLive.

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