fabric, the iconic hub of electronic music culture, proudly announces its latest addition to the fabric mix series: "fabric Presents The Streets". This eagerly anticipated compilation marks a milestone in the illustrious history of the UK institution, as they join forces to commemorate 25 years of groundbreaking club nights and genre-defining mixes. The release is accompanied by original material from The Streets in the form of two singles, the first to be shared is “No Better Than Chance”.

"fabric Presents The Streets" is more than just a mix; it's a sonic journey through the pulsating veins of UK nightlife. Skinner's deft curation transcends mere selection; from the gritty beats of underground garage and bass music to the icy melodies of UK rap and grime, Skinner weaves together a tapestry of sounds that encapsulates the essence of fabric's legendary atmosphere. The compilation album will also be available in the iconic fabric CD tins.

fabric itself stands as a bastion of innovation and inclusion within the electronic music community. For 25 years, it has been a sanctuary for music lovers, a breeding ground for artistic evolution, and a beacon of diversity in an ever-changing landscape. Its impact on UK nightlife cannot be overstated; fabric is not just a club, but a cultural institution that has shaped the tastes and trends of generations. To commemorate the 25-year journey, fabric's labels will release a collection of exclusives. These will include five special ‘fabric presents’ compilation releases, ‘fabric Presents Shygirl’ was the first to be shared in March.

In addition to the mix album, fabric and The Streets unveil the brand new original single "No Better Than Chance," an electrifying track that encapsulates the spirit of both fabric and The Streets.

“I’ve spent many nights wasted but not wasted any nights in fabric over the years. The dedication to underground music and innovation, the way the bodysonic bass transducers sent the sounds through your body via your feet, the queues, the camaraderie and a real sense of being part of something that people will remember through the haze as the home of some of the greatest moments of their lives. When I was asked to do a mix for the anniversary series I couldn’t wait to get on with it. fabric has become one of the homes of bass music and that’s some of the music I’ve been playing out the most. It’s a pleasure to follow in the footsteps of so many incredible DJ’s in the fabric, FABRICLIVE and fabric presents series and be part of their celebration. Here’s to many more decades of hedonism.” - Mike Skinner

As fabric celebrates its silver jubilee, "fabric Presents The Streets" stands as a testament to the club's enduring legacy and commitment to pushing boundaries. This collaboration is more than a mix album; it's a celebration of the past, present, and future of electronic music.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: A highly invigorating trip through the various avenues of the bass music super highway. There's no head scratching or pointless obscurities; with Mike Skinner as our curator we're treated to a no-holds barred selection of upfront, party starting soundsystem bangers. Fabric, and indeed The Streets, still at the top of their game and relevant as ever.

TRACK LISTING

A1. The Streets - No Better Than Chance 
A2. Dusky - Eros (Interplanetary Criminal Remix) 
B1. The Streets - End Of The Queue 
B2. 33 Below & DRIIA - Loyal 
C1. Mike Skinner - Hands Down 
C2. Cesco & Hamdi - Swing King 
D1. Coki & Leotrix Ft. Flowdan - DIY (Old Skool Mix) 
D2. Emz Ft. Nasser & Valor - Free 

Overmono first performed their version of The Streets’ seminal 'Turn The Page' at the 2022 edition of Lost Village Festival to a rapturous response. Hailed by Rolling Stone UK as a "glitchy techno banger”, it has since grown into a word-of-mouth phenomenon and a pinnacle moment in the duo’s critically acclaimed live show. From their Coachella debut to their viral Boiler Room and more recent sold-out headline show at London’s Roundhouse, the track continues to resonate across continents, solidifying its status as a timeless dancefloor anthem. Now available for pre-order on 12” black vinyl with laser etched lyrics on the b-side.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: A huge feature of Overmono's globally adored live show, and released the same week as The Streets' fabric compilation. This unbelievably top drawer remix of "Turn The Page" retains all the original's spine-tingling poignancy whilst Overmono inject a skippy garage beat and plumes of bass; making it soar high above festival crowds and elevating the conciousnesses of a million ravers as it does so. Unbeatable. Might be one of the best remixes of 2024.

TRACK LISTING

1. Turn The Page

In celebration of 20th Anniversary of The Streets most iconic album: ' A Grand Don't Come For Free' - comes a limited edition coloured repress on double vinyl (dark red). Originally released in 2004, the record features legendary tracks such as 'Dry Your Eyes' + 'Fit But You Know it' and original artworks shot by counterculture photographer Ewen Spencer. A must-cop for any fan interested in relishing in the nostalgia of early 2000s Uk Garage, spoken word and hip-hop. 

Twenty years on from their debut album 'Original Pirate Material', which hit the charts in 2002, changing UKG & hip-hop forever, Mike Skinner still finds himself an iconic pioneer of British music.

First full The Streets album since 2011, the new Album has been in the works for 5 years with all songs written by Mike Skinner unlike the previously released 2020 mixtape 'None Of Us Are Getting Out Of This Life Alive' which was a collaborative project.

The album is a classic Streets album - filled with Skinner’s trademark lyrical wizardry and beats honed over a decade of building his other career as a legitimate bass/rap DJ in clubs - all songs written by Skinner but featuring vocal contributions from longtime collaborators Kevin Mark Trail and Robert Harvey, as well as a track featuring Teef. The songs on the album soundtrack the film and also play the role of narrator of the film at times - and whilst neither the album or film exist without each other - both can be enjoyed separately.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Another strong message here from the inimitable Mike Skinner, bringing his streets nom-de-plume back for another album of super smooth grooves and wryly observed lyrical passages. Brilliantly inventive as ever, and beautifully produced.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. Too Much Yayo
2. Money Isn’t Everything
3. Walk Of Shame
4. Something To Hide
5. Shake Hands With Shadows
6. Not A Good Idea
7. Bright Sunny Day
Side B
1. The Darker The Shadow The Brighter The Light
2. Funny Dream
3. Gonna Hurt When This Is Over
4. Kick The Can
5. Each Day Gives
6. Someone Else’s Tune
7. Troubled Waters
8. Good Old Daze

Celebrated engineer Yas Inoue and DJ Takaya Nagase come together in the studio and rework the Voltage Brothers rare groove jam “Happening In the Streets” with a cleverly put together edit with filters, effects and sonically tweaking it to perfection. They've created a perfect dancefloor masterpiece already championed by Louie Vega, Joe Claussell, Spinna, Mike Dunn, and Rich Medina. 

Japanese sound engineer Yas Inoue, based in New York began his career in the world renowned MAW Studios in the late 90s and has engineered for producers such as Masters At Work, Patrick Adams, Leroy Burgess, and Randy Muller contributing to the creation of various New York house and disco hits.

Takaya Nagase, a New York based Japanese DJ started as an A&R for Japanese record label Soundmen On Wax. He learned and studied under the great David Mancuso of the Loft Party NYC and later held his own Joy parties along with other Loft members. Having had regular gigs at Club Shelter from 2006 to 2007 and at Club Output from 2017 until the closing in 2019, he built his DJ chops and now currently DJs at New York City's top venues such as Le Bain, Good Room and Nowadays along with monthly shows on the famed Lot Radio in Brooklyn.

Together they are Domo Domo and with their first project on Vega Records they are on their way to becoming New York household names in the dance music industry. "A Happening In The Streets" does indeed, sound like a lost Loft jazz dance classic. The type of track you assume they don't make anymore. Vibing keys going right off, big bolshy brass staps, crazed conga, wandering b-line - every single musician playing their heart out like its their last performance on earth - and finally given a riotous and soulful injection through that empowered vocal part. Seriously - a future classic of the genre make no mistake! Backed with a tasty DJ tool that stretches out the hook with added filtered reverb, inventive DJs are definitely gonna make use of this...

  

TRACK LISTING

A. Happening In The Streets (Domo Rework 7 Edit)
B. Happening In The Streets (DJ Tool) 

Limited edition 12", only available for a limited time only. In addition to its title track, ‘Brexit At Tiffany’s’ also features a collaboration with grime artist MC Manga Saint Hilare titled ‘3 Minutes To Midnight’, and is closed out by a song called ‘Test of Time’.

The new EP marks Skinner’s second release as The Streets this year, after linking up with Master Peace for ‘Wrong Answers Only’ in January. Last year, he celebrated lockdown ending on the ‘Who’s Got the Bag (21st June)’, and remixed Greentea Peng‘s ‘Free My People’.'

TRACK LISTING

Brexit At Tiffany’s
3 Minutes To Midnight
Test Of Time

Horsepower For The Streets is Jonathan Jeremiah’s fifth album, his second for PIAS, a label which feels like a good home for a soulful singer linked to a cadre of artists more readily associated with mainland Europe than his own island. So far at least. Much of the new album was written in Saint-Pierre-De-Côle, the countryside beyond Bordeaux, during breaks in Jeremiah’s first tour of France. Long walks and open log fires. You can take the boy out of Brent … and the continent welcomes him with open arms (see also Tindersticks, Scott Matthew, revered across the Channel, where the artistic tradition is less distracted by Londinium hyperbole). The album was recorded in Bethlehemkerk, a renovated monumental church in Amsterdam Noord, with Amsterdam Sinfonietta, a 20-piece string orchestra. There’s clearly a European influence at work here, a bond which has endured.

Since he appeared on the scene in 2011 with A Solitary Man, Jeremiah has been likened to such iconic performers as Scott Walker, Serge Gainsbourg, Terry Callier. The clarity of his delivery draws the listener into the landscape he paints in such detail, whilst at the same time leaving much to the imagination.

The opener, “Horsepower For The Streets”, might conjure up images of boy racers, revved up emotions (my guess, when he asks me what I think). In actual fact, it’s a quote from an old acquaintance in Berlin, a rallying cry, a positive vibe. Which arrives just in time after a couple of years which, let’s be honest, have been pretty tough going. This is an album of its time, of hardships endured, rhodium thieves sighted across the road, sirens wailing on their way to the hospital. The second act represents the darker days of the work, bookended by a vibrantly hopeful opening and consolatory resolution.

Jeremiah draws us in, allowing us to see what he sees. On “You Make Me Feel This Way” we look out onto the street with him, there’s a neighbour walking the dog, scenes we recognize and become part of. The view from the window is, by definition, that of an outsider, and yet the act of observation feels empathetic. All human life is here. If he started out as a solitary man all those years ago, he now seems far more grounded, ... even in isolation, he feels connected.

There’s a simple explanation to the solitary man origins in Jeremiah’s case, he was a security guard at Wembley Arena, composing songs in his head on the night watch. His father was an electrician there and sorted him out with the job. Imagine Jonathan, tall as a door, guarding the entrance to the snooker halls. His father, who arrived from India and met his mother, from Ireland, at the Lancaster Hotel where they were working, also influenced Jonathan’s musical development. Not so much the Cat Stevens or Elvis records played in the family home, but more through watching films together, Clint Eastwood, Dirty Harry, The Wild Geese, even Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It was the music that stayed with Jonathan, the lush string arrangements of Lalo Schifrin, echoed here by Amsterdam Sinfonietta who elevate the songs of Horsepower For The Streets to a sublime degree.

Jonathan Jeremiah is a solo artist in the truest sense, translating his vision into music, taking care of every last detail (“down to the catering,” he jokes, referencing George Clooney’s take on film production). If it sometimes feels like it’s all too much, he remembers the words of his friend Glenn: “I’ve got the number of a guy who digs ditches”. Flick through his videos and you’ll see him wandering alone (last man standing on the Berlin underground platform, or crossing fields with the Wembley arch in the distance).

TRACK LISTING

1. Horsepower For The Streets
2. You Make Me Feel This Way
3. Cut A Black Diamond
4. Small Mercies
5. The Rope
6. Restless Heart
7. Youngblood
8. Ten-storey Falling
9. Early Warning Sign
10. Lucky
11. Sirens In The Silence

The 25th March 2022 marks the 20th anniversary of the instant British classic Original Pirate Material - The Streets. 

Big Brother, Dom Jolly, Playstation 2, Ronaldinho, Rivaldo and Ronaldo, weak pills and cheap skunk, 3310s, foot and mouth, Soham and Pual Burrell - that was the world when "Original Pirate Material" first dropped in 2002 - blowing up Kazaa and Audiogalaxy and finding its way to your mate's CD player on an iffy CDr. To say it was a breath of fresh air is an understatement, this groundbreaking album filled the air with a green fug, challenged the yanks for the MCing crown and twisted the polished sheen of UKG into a laptop-crafted fusion of skanking bass and housey beats. While breakthough hit "Has It Come To This?", "Turn The Page" and "Let's Push Things Forward" remain era-defining anthems, every single track here is the tits. "Sharp Darts" sounds like an utterly wrong Wu Tang joint, "Same Old Thing" and "Geezer's Need Excitement" are rough, tough and proper grimey and "It's Too Late" is bloke-poetry on a heartbreaking anthem tip. Elsewhere "Don't Mug Yourself" royally takes the piss out of you on the back of the bus and "The Irony Of It All" offers a hilarious review of boozed up townies and stoned students. And then there's "Weak Become Heroes", the e'd up ravers anthem that's still the best track of that decade. 

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. Turn The Page
2. Has It Come To This?
3. Let's Push Things Forward
Side B
1. Sharp Darts
2. Same Old Thing
3. Geezers Need Excitement
4. It's Too Late
Side C
1. Too Much Brandy
2. Don't Mug Yourself
3. Who Got The Funk?
4. The Irony Of It All
Side D
1. Weak Become Heroes
2. Who Dares Wins
3. Stay Positive

The third in the series of Richard Hawley music boxes.

"Do you know why you got feelings in your heart....."

TONGA, the balloon filled rap, grime and dubstep party by Mike Skinner and Murkage Dave, had been a series of shoobs to remember. Copenhagen to Manchester to Berlin. Brum to Brixton. Usually arriving with a coterie of legendary UK figureheads and gobby upcomers in tow, like Kano, Giggs, Jammer or Jaykae, the pulsating essence of the nights needed to be immortalised. The original plan had been to release a TONGA album. But as night moved to day, and day moved along to night, it… just didn’t happen. Instead, a new mixtape titled None Of Us Are Getting Out Of This Life Alive steps up to take its place. Recorded between work on his film and accompanying solo The Streets album, it is the unpredictable sonic continuation of those parties. Taking in UK Funky and twilight zone UK rap, and with guest spots ranging from Grammy nominated psychedelia sovereign Tame Impala to cult south London rapper Jesse James, as well as 2019’s key-fiend-friendly drum’n’bass collab with Chris Lorenzo, None Of Us Are Getting Out Of This Life Alive is the most eclectic and highly collaborative collection of songs from The Streets yet. Or as Mike puts it with characteristic distinction: “it’s really just a rap duets album.”

Every track has one if not two guests, who, though underpinned by Mike’s distinctive lyrical flair, usually perform atop a genre or sound not previously explored within the realm of The Streets. “You know that thing where if you wore it the first time round, don’t wear it the second time round? I would never put on Aquascutum at this point in my life. It would be stupid, a pastiche of what I did twenty years ago. For all of us. Whereas now I’m going back and I’m picking things that I didn’t pick before.” The inclusion of, say, Mercury Prize nominated punk group IDLES (who perform what Mike describes as a sea-shanty tinged track inspired by an overnight ferry to Dover) and teenage wünderkind Jimothy Lacoste help ground things firmly in the here and now.

But there are familiar faces of the past too. Birmingham legend, Dapz On The Map, pops up on merky rap track “Phone Is Always In My Hand”. While Rob Harvey, previously of The Music and Skinner collaboration The D.O.T, tunes into pensieve penultimate track “Conspiracy Theory Freestyle”. “The guests had to be into me, as much as I was into them,” jokes Mike, of the featured artist selection process. Really, though seemingly disparate on paper, the acts on the record are connected by their singular talent for “talking about normal stuff.” “All the different things I’ve tried to do, they’re who is doing that now.” “But instead of talking about abstract emotions on this record, I’m talking about things and objects and details.” Couched in those UK and Euro wide experiences with TONGA, this results in tales of hardly partying, but partying hard. The path to excess.

The morning trying to climb in under the curtains as you’re busy putting the world to rights. Like anything that happens between the nightclub and the bus home, there’s as much connection as disconnection in this world; as many new relationships forged as there are trails left behind from the ghosts of previous companionships past. Communication, or lack thereof, plays a huge part in this present-day experience. “One thing I’ve ended up doing is talking about being on my phone,” says Mike. “It was very easy on my first album to say, well: where am I? I’m in a pub. I’m at home. I’m in a betting shop. I’m getting a kebab. It felt fairly straightforward and no one had really written about it. Whereas when making this record, everything now basically happens on your phone.” These dual themes of nightclub and connection land the record in the simple yet eternally complicated prism of human interaction. “You’re ignoring me but you’re watching my stories”, on “Phone Is Always In My Hand”, is a black comedy mantra of our times. Same goes for “every girl has a dude in her inbox talking to himself” on the Oscar #WorldPeace featuring “The Poison I Take Hoping You Will Suffer”. References abound to missed calls (on opening track “Waiting For It To Stop”, Kevin Parker sings, trance like, about neglecting to call someone back) and “five minute” journeys (the kind where you lie about leaving the house).

Despite its humble mixtape beginnings,  None Of Us Are Getting Out Of This Life Alive is a precise and very human body of work from a modern UK music pioneer. Emotionally poignant, full of one liners, club ready. More than anything, it’s exciting – a call back to those fun and responsibility free evenings at TONGA. Yet “the result is much more than I thought it would be. It’s become a real album,” says Mike. And so, as the new decade begins, so too does a new era for The Streets...

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: It's been a few years since the last Streets album proper, but even though 'None Of Us...' is technically a 'Mixtape' (I still don't particularly understand that when it's neither mixed, nor on a tape), it has all of the cohesive drive and thematic intensity you'd expect from a fully formed and sequenced LP. Not to mention the host of superb guests sprinkling the credits, or the superb songwriting and groove we've come to expect from Skinner. A triumph.

TRACK LISTING

1 Call My Phone Thinking I'm Doing Nothing Better With Tame Impala
2 None Of Us Are Getting Out Of This Life Alive
3 I Wish You Loved Me As Much As You Love Him
4 You Can't Afford Me
5 I Know Something You Did 
6 Eskimo Ice
7 Phone Is Always In My Hand
8 The Poison I Take Hoping You Will Suffer
9 Same Direction
10 Falling Down
11 Conspiracy Theory Freestyle
12 Take Me As I Am

Remixes and B Sides from the first four albums, Original Pirate Material, A Grand Don't Come for Free,The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living  and Everything Is Borrowed

When faced with the unenviable task of following up the instant classic that was his genre defining debut, Mike Skinner decided to channel his observational lyricism and home made beats into a concept album about a geezer on holiday, on the prowl, on the con and out of luck. Whereas 'Original Pirate Material' was a record that garnered acclaim from the electronic / dance fraternity and the forward-thinking wings of the rock / mainstream press, 'A Grand Don’t Come For Free' swept the board in prompting critical praise. This was the album that saw Skinner compared to the likes of Ray Davies and Paul Weller in evoking the glorious mess of everyday life. A striking concept album set to an inventive sonic backdrop, the seemingly prosaic tale of a young man unlucky in love (and, so it seems, money) is brought brilliantly to life in a barrage of astute lyrics, lurid tales and memorable hooks. Deservedly awarded a 9.1 review from Pitchfork, the record sees Skinner reveal his most vulnerable self: 'Dry Your Eyes' and 'Blinded By The Lights', in particular, manage to articulate painfully familiar feelings that appeal to music fans of every hue. This record marked Skinner’s creative peak, received international acclaim and, thanks to its distinctiveness, propelled its maker to the top of the musical tree.

TRACK LISTING

It Was Supposed To Be So Easy (3:55)
Could Well Be In (4:23)
Not Addicted (3:42)
Blinded By The Lights (4:44)
Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way (4:36)
Get Out Of My House (3:54)
Fit But You Know It (4:14)
Such A Twat (3:48)
What Is He Thinking? (4:40)
Dry Your Eyes (4:30)
Empty Cans (8:12)

A prime side of old school hardcore beef (a badly chosen metaphor for a veggie to use, but there you go.) You need this kids!!!!