Cassy Fabric 71
Pulse Radio
Original article here
The exposure afforded to the likes of Nina Kravitz and Maya Jane Coles in the last few years seems to have rubbed off on more established female DJs like Heidi and Cassy. Of course the issue of sexual equality in the industry and how women make it to the top deserves a full feature article, but the resulting resurgence in popularity for the latter lady does mean she’s been handed the opportunity to mix Fabric’s 71st compilation.
Catherine ‘Cassy’ Britton’s entry into the illustrious cannon starts with Diamondancer’s powerful poetry, urging the listener to ‘tune in’ before the 4/4 beats begin in earnest with Kuumba Project’s “Black Thoughts”. From there she weaves the kind of hypnotic, tribal groove that’s earned her residencies at Panoramabar, Trouw, Rex Club and Output over the years. Alex Cortex’s “Oh Yeah” pushes the BPMs a bit higher and Basic Soul Unit’s “Basic Necessity” adds a few 303 squelches, then a superb Pachanga Boys remix of John Talabot’s “When the Past Was Present” signals the halfway point with the first proper breakdown.
Time working in Berlin’s famous Hard Wax record store means Cassy knows what she’s doing selection wise and as she notes in the press material, “the tracks on the mix all represent what I love about electronic music and what I love playing; each track is individually beautiful.”
Thankfully she’s just as adept at mixing and the set moves seamlessly from deeper house in the first half to a darker techno in the second, the change signposted by Affie Yusuf’s pulsating “Bring You Techno”. By this stage she’s really bringing out the bangers: the brooding bassline of Emptyset’s “Completely Gone” segues into the peak time piano from Benjamin Damage’s “010x” and the set is rounded out by Duster Valentine’s looping vocals on “(My Back Is) Against the Wall”.
This is the sound of an assured DJ doing what she does best, nothing too flashy, just great club music that completely transcends the supposed gender divide.
7/10
Released August 19, 2013.