Climbing onto the same pedestal as his elders, citing both Swayzak’s and James Murphy & Pat Mahoney’s legacy-defining fabric mixes as influences, Leon Vynehall finds his voice in the liminal space between gqom, ambient house, breakbeat and Neurofunk, realising his DJ capabilities on this compelling mix for fabric presents.
The lauded producer can normally be found credited on Wesley Joseph, Kenzie TTH and Joy Crookes’ tracks, but this submersive mix sees Vynehall moonlighting as a DJ in the confines of fabric’s abrasive paradise. Packed with countless exclusive tracks, from Skee Mask’s ‘Untitled 279’ to ‘Sugar Slip (The Lick)’ courtesy of Vynehall himself, the self-described “far-out, but playful” mix stunningly captures his inimitable ability to fuse polar genres with compelling dexterity.
Off the back of his acclaimed 2021 album ‘Rare, Forever’, the Ninja Tune signee elaborates and broadens his token textural expression into a vast, and technically formidable soundscape, effortlessly blending the subterranean throbs of Avon Blume’s ‘South Bermo’ with Sector Y’s breathy ‘Road To World Cup’. The intense weaving of often antagonistic tracks showcases Vynehall as a musician with a wealth of understanding of the ecosystem he inhabits, tapping into his diverse pool of influences and dishing them out with the ease and tenure of a Vegas blackjack dealer.
Somehow fusing Gaunt‘s heaving ‘Raw Cartoon’ into the cerebral samba-cum-dial-up tone of Piero Umiliani ‘Produzione’. It shouldn’t work, but to Vynehall, he approaches it like a tangible puzzle: he has all the pieces, he just needs to rotate, chop and reinsert them in order to create the full picture. The coda begins to tone down the dichotomous blends and approaches a neat finish line, allowing the ‘mad 808s’ of N-ERGY’s ‘The Mad 808’ to blow off some heat until Ana Roxanne’s gossamer voice on ‘Suite Pour L’Invisible’ marks the finale.
Whereas Vynehall’s contribution to the ‘fabric presents’ mix could never have felt rushed, riding off the tail end of ‘Rare, Forever’s enchanting chokehold feels like the perfect time to embrace it. His experimental, future sounds are as playful as they are decadent, immersing us in a serotonin stupor that sticks around long after fabric vacates.
8/10
Words: Alisdair Grice
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