- Getting lost in one of Craig Richards' sets at fabric is as much part of the London experience as getting lost on the tube. Both are packed, underground and disorientating—though the former is of course a lot more fun. That Richards has had the world flock to him during his 15 years as a fabric resident has meant he hasn't had to push himself through punishing international tour schedules to become a star. He's also freed himself of the constraints that come with that lifestyle: instead of banging out two-hour sets in different clubs every night, he's been able to push the warm and groovy house and techno he loves in a club he knows intimately.
You can see why helming an edition of Get Lost would appeal to Richards, given that many of the mixes in the series—particularly those from Dinky and Jamie Jones—have been trips into the weirder edges of 4/4. Perhaps unsurprisingly, that's the same route he follows here.
Get Lost VII presents Richards' usual blend of streamlined rhythms and spooky atmospheres—no one would suspect anything if you told them it was yet another of his contributions to fabric's mix series. There are light and bouncy moments, but with the ketamine voices, bare bones percussion and thick bass of tracks like STL's "Something Is Raw," Ruf Dog's "1 4 Ron" and Richards' own "Sleeping Rough," this is music for dark corners rather than blitzing strobes. The mixing, too, is un-flashy but effective.
Music this deep works best at the end of the night, when the crowd's thinning down to the real heads, yet Richards can always fill a dance floor with it. It's an elusive kind of nocturnal magic, one that doesn't always work heard on a CD in the cold light of day.
TracklistCD 1:
01. JTC – Through The Looking Glass
02. Black Rascals – Blaze Theme Track
03. Trans Mania Boing, Boom, Jack (Alexander Robotnick Remix)
04. Untitled – Untitled (Thorny Hill Edit)
05. Raiders Of The Lost ARP On And On (Patrice Scott Sistrum Remix)
06. Zsou Vs Velvet Season & The Hearts Of Gold – Fantasy Princess
07. Calibre – Getter Go
08. 2 House Go Techno (Tony Humphries Dub Mix)
09. Trevino – Revolve
10. Steve Bug – Big Cheese From Wisconsin
11. The Model Dungeon Man
12. Lerosa – Blinkerskate (Her Mix)
13. Backroom Productions Definition Of A Track
14. dBRm – Darnley
15. Mark A Brook – Sound Barrier
16. Kenny Larkin Groove
17. Ruf Dug – 1 4 Ron
18. Michael Ozone – Perfect Systems (Steve Summers Remix)
19. This Side Up Love Starts With An L
CD 2:
01. Spesimen Calibus
02. Pametex Reflectie
03. ERP Lodestone (Ideograma Bsas Mix)
04. Klorex 55 Mystisk
05. Amfibian Pa Relax (Jark & Prongo Remix)
06. Craig Richards – Sleeping Rough
07. DMX Krew – Undesirable Element
08. Neil Landstrumm – Keep Up
09. Arpanet – Wireframe Images
10. STL – Something Is Raw
11. Unknown – Untitled (Jonny Rock Edit)
12. The Parallax Corporation Anti Social Tendencies
13. Redshape – Finizh
14. Joey Anderson Musical Tentacles
15. Samuel L. Session – Givin You Part 3
16. Brooks Mosher – Encroachment
17. Radio Nasty – Radio 1
18. Bangkok Impact – Junge Dame Mit Freundliche Telefonstimme