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Institutional Playaz - The Playaz @ Fabric legacy
Drum and Bass | Monday 11th February 2013 | Alfie
It’s hard to picture drum and bass without Playaz at Fabric. Running for over a decade and having recently celebrated their 150th event, this stalwart of the drum and bass scene is never to be overlooked. For some, it’s more than just a night – it’s an institution. It’s almost like the Eastenders of drum and bass (bear with me), East-London based, seemingly been there forever, with a legion of loyal followers and the ability to constantly surprise you. This is evident if you take a little time to talk to the revellers - follow an accent that doesn’t sound local, ask a few questions and you’re sure to find drum and bass lovers from all over the UK with a story to tell. If you need further evidence, mainline London train stations are littered with them on a Saturday morning in various states of consciousness. If you’re prepared to catch the 7am train home to Glasgow, just to catch a night, it must be something special.
So what makes it so good, why is it held in such reverence? We need answers Alfie! Well ok, let’s start with the line up. Now, I’m assuming that I don’t need to explain to you who Playaz are, who runs the show and which artists are signed to the label, but I will give you a brief run down. Head honcho is of course the seminal DJ Hype, cornerstone of the scene, scratch DJ-extraordinaire and “that geezer off kiss”. Alongside Hype is long-time scene favourite Pascal and a roster of DJ’s that will make your dilated eyes water. The line ups are huge. The 150th special boasted Hype, Pascal, Marky, Hazard, Original Sin, Taxman... That’s just part of room 1. If you like a serious bass line, you were catered for. There was even a nod to those who, like me, still have a massive soft spot for Garage with EZ in room 2. Marvellous.
So we’ve covered DJ’s, what’s next? Ah, the venue. Whenever I take someone to Fabric for the first time, I think the scale and the complexity hit them first. Then the sound does. With more stairs than most clubs have watts, and more watts than most clubs have dust particles, it’s really something to take in. I have spent many nights shepherding various groups of my friends around the place, invariably losing one or two to a cigarette break or their new best friend, who they’ve met in the toilet. There are three rooms, with the main room boasting a separate balcony room above, with its own bar and aerial view of the rave. Room 2 is fairly standard in shape, but boasts a bass thump that could knock your Nan’s teeth out. Room 3 is a little trickier to find, almost hidden away up a spiral staircase, like a portal to another bass-dimension (no, not the night called “bass dimension” in the back bar of your local pub). Overall, it’s an assault on the senses in the very best way imaginable.
When you stop to consider the artists, the venue and the people behind the scenes that make this all possible – it’s not hard to understand why Playaz at Fabric is the by-word for quality, and has been for so many years.
@alfie_lambert
