It’s been six months since Fabriclive served up a 100% drum & bass mix but it’s been worth the wait… Hazard’s managed to squeeze in an astonishing 50 tracks onto his Fabriclive 65 mix. Drenched in all manner of VIPs and exclusives with double drops, switches and deep blends galore, it’s the Fabric mix D&B fans have dreamed of for years.
“I didn’t exactly plan on including bang on 50 tracks but it kinda ended up that way,” grins the Brummie badman. “At first I thought I only had 60 minutes to play with. Then I realised CDs are long than an hour. I didn’t want to push it too long so when I had 50 I thought ‘right, that’s it!’”
After weeks of heavy pressure on his producer mates, eager to score the most upfront bangers possible, Hazard finally had the 50 bass-bitten jigsaw pieces to paint the rawest D&B party picture he wanted to. It’s only then he realised one thing: he had no decks to mix the CD on. You read it here first, people: Hazard has no decks!
“I haven’t had decks for 10 years mate!” he laughs. “The only decks I’ve actually owned myself have been some really rubbish belt drives, one of them didn’t even have pitch control! I’ve always practiced on the radio or in the club. And because I’m always in the studio I don’t have time to make a mix.”
It makes the Fabriclive 65 listening experience even more engrossing. Tighter than an austerity budget and more energetic than a lorry load of Olympic champions, it’s mind boggling to think he mixed it live in just one take after only a modest amount of cheeky practices. Then, once done, he unplugged the decks and has yet to use them again.
“I’m standing in my bedroom now, looking at two CDJs and an Allen & Heath mixer,” he says. “They look the part but they’re not plugged in or anything, there are no speakers up here! The only time I’ve used them is to make this mix CD.”
You have to admit, a set of decks and a mix makes for a rather fetching ornamental set up…
DJ Hazard – Fabriclive 65 is out now. Listen and download here.