- I’ve never seen him live but after hearing ‘FabricLive 34’, it’s plain to see why Krafty Kuts has nabbed Breakspoll’s Best DJ award three years in a row. His track selection casts a wide net in all directions but his mixing remains clean and tight, while also leaving ample room for turntable trickery and MC interventions. While his debut artist album from last year, ‘Freakshow,’ was overproduced and overly soft, Krafty’s ‘FabricLive 34’ is a potent blend of laidback vibes and upfront breaks with, most importantly, a good sense of humor, something that’s been lacking in the series lately.
Dynamite MC is called in for hosting duties here, but after also kicking off the Scratch Perverts’ ‘FabricLive 22’ and their ‘Watch The Ride’ mix from earlier this year, a shift from obligatory mic controllers is in order. From Dyna’s intro we’re treated to a tasty acapella of Lords of the Underground’s hip-hopper ‘What I’m After’ over the ‘Jelly’ beat by Krafty contemporary A. Skillz. Less effective is the rap classic ‘The Message’ cut with Milke’s breaks stormer ‘She Says’. Still, Krafty does manage some, er, crafty under-the-radar looping and tempo-raising to kick his mix into full breaks mode from there on out.
At the head of the pack is ‘Minimal’ by Hardy Hard & Lady Waks, a bitch-slap to techno and thus, ironically, most of the fellow ‘Fabric’ series. Krafty makes a poor choice of follow-up with Friendly’s ‘The Weekend Breaks’: drive-at-five breaks that can only bring to mind a stripe-shirted B&T tool raising his Smirnoff Ice to the track’s sole hook: “It’s the weeeeeeeek-eeeeeeeend!!!”
Krafty’s VIP mix of ‘Freakshow’ goes a long way in making it heavier and more danceable than the minimal-funkin’ original. A segue of sirens transitions it beautifully into the album’s best track, Plump DJs’ ‘Listen To The Baddest’, which only further cements them as the best producers in breaks, period. Ralph Robles’ ‘Takin’ Over’ salsa dances out of breakbeat before Dynamite MC whisks in Krafty’s mash-up of Joe Jackson’s new wave classic ‘Is She Really Going Out With Him?’ with DJ Assault’s booty bouncing vocal from Deekline & Wizard’s ‘One in the Front’. But the best part is Krafty’s devastating slam into the Tom Real & Rogue Element remix of ‘Twisted’ by Rob Le Pitch: absolute dancefloor wreckage.
Aquasky’s ‘Have A Good Time’ is a sour moment toward the end, with vocalist Acafool doing his best Ludacris impression since poor breaks producers probably can’t afford the real thing. Krafty’s use of Primal Scream’s 1994 cut ‘Funky Jam’ as the album closer doesn’t work quite as well as he imagined, either, as it feels like something you’d hear as the lights go up while doing the bitter/drunk/comedown shuffle toward the exits. At the very least, though, it’ll inspire you to throw the album in for another spin. That’s the beauty of this particular “FabricLive”: it feels like a genuine night out at a Krafty Kuts show, but one you can relive again and again.
Tracklist01 Krafty Kuts & Dynamite MC - Intro
02 A. Skillz - Jelly (Instrumental)
** Lords Of The Underground - What I'm After (Acapella)
03 Milke - She Says
** Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five - The Message (Acapella)
04 Malente - Move Your Body
05 Lady Waks & Hardy Hard - Minimal
06 Friendly – It’s The Weekend
07 Krafty Kuts & Tim Deluxe - Bass Phenomenon (VIP Mix)
08 Krafty Kuts & DJ Icey - Thru The Door (Krafty Kuts Mix)
09 Dave Spoon - At Night (Beat Vandals Remix)
10 Krafty Kuts vs. Deepcut - Beer Chucker
11 Maelstrom - Disto Funk
12 Splitloop - Just Enough
13 Krafty Kuts feat. Ashley Slater - Freakshow (VIP Mix)
14 Plump DJ's - Listen To The Baddest
15 Madox - Roger Milla
16 Ralph Robles - Takin' Over
17 Joe Jackson - Is She Really Going Out With Him?
** Deekline & Ed Solo feat. DJ Assault - One In The Front (Acapella)
18 Rob Le Pitch - Twisted (Tom Real and Rogue Element Mix)
19 Aquasky feat. Acafool - Have A Good Time
20 Freestylers - In Love With You (Instrumental)
** Krafty Kuts feat. Dynamite MC - There They Go (Acapella)
21 Primal Scream - Funky Jam