Pangaea
FABRICLIVE 73
[Fabric]
One of the key figures at the forefront of the UK underground, Pangaea has carved himself a niche as one of the few artists who can successfully balance experimental, forward-thinking sound palettes with sub-heavy, feet- friendly dancefloor rhythms. A devout disciple of the hardcore continuum, Kevin McAuley has taken the sound to new and exciting places with his solo productions and via the critically acclaimed Hessle Audio imprint which he helms alongside Ben UFO and Pearson Sound. McAuley’s steadfast desire to marry the obscure with the accessible is at its strongest on his contribution to the FABRICLIVE series, which seamlessly blends the best elements of past, present and future.
The first third of the mix is uncompromisingly dark, hypnotic and crunchy. From the shuffly, pseudo-jungle of Hodge’s 'Resolve' to the straight-up strobe light fodder of 'Untitled #5' from Tripeo, it’s serious, head-down bass pressure for the first 20 odd minutes, and it’s a clear statement of intent: hardcore music is here to stay. Washes of spacious, melodic atmospherics characterise the next portion of the mix, providing a nice contrast to the grinding, distorted syncopated kicks and percussion that keep the vibes rolling. Techno legend Adam Jay delivers his quirkiest work to date with 'Refraction', while on 'End Point' Pev & Kowton get as close to linear, four-to-the-floor techno as their ever likely to, further highlighting the forward-thinking, never-complacent attitude of the kinds of artists that Pangaea aligns himself with.
From here on out it’s a straight-up techno rave, featuring all the driving percussive rhythms, grimy basslines and wacky, hypnotic synths you could possibly hope for. Marco Shuttle’s 'I Wanna Dance…In Outer Space' is reminiscent of early Jeff Mills works with its blippy sine wave lead, while Alex Falk and Oscar Mulero’s contributions are only a hair shy of being no-holds-barred 90’s hardcore rave. Also throw in tracks from Drumcell, Truncate and Speedy J and you’ve got yourself proper 4AM madness distilled onto a shiny compact disc.
FABRICLIVE 73 is genuinely as close a representation as you’ll get to what Pangaea sounds like live, and a perfect snapshot of where the ever-evolving sound that he pushes is at.