Originally recorded in 1995 at Tokyo’s Liquid Room nightclub, the set is remembered for its speed, dexterity, and intensity. Mills used two turntables alongside reel-to-reel tape machines, weaving together a sequence of tracks that still feels futuristic three decades later. Although the mix was eventually released in an edited form, the full uncut version has achieved near-mythical status among techno enthusiasts. The upcoming shows aim to bring audiences closer to that original moment, offering a taste of what it was like to witness Mills in mid-90s Tokyo.

The tour includes stops across Europe, Asia, and the Americas, with each show tailored to highlight both the global influence of techno and the unique cultural contexts where it has taken root. In London, Mills will return to Fabric, one of the city’s most iconic electronic music venues, on November 8. A week later, he will arrive in Japan for a pair of highly anticipated shows: first in Osaka at Joule on November 14, followed by a return to Tokyo’s Liquidroom on November 15, a symbolic homecoming to the site of the original recording. Other notable stops include Hong Kong on November 21 and Paris on December 5, with further performances scheduled across Italy, the United States, Mexico, and Brazil.

Mills is incorporating visual elements to deepen the audience’s connection to the Liquid Room legacy. Screenings of rare footage from the original Tokyo performance will accompany select shows, while unseen archival material will be woven into the live sets. These audio-visual components go to show Mills’ ongoing commitment to presenting techno as more than dance music – it is a form of cultural expression.

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‘Live At The Liquid Room’ was not only a landmark recording in Mills’ career but also a defining statement for techno as a whole

Tickets for all upcoming shows are available here.

The fabric presents series is one of three series of compilation albums mixed by artists in the broad UK dance scene. The most recognisable of these series’, FABRICLIVE, is well known within the rave scene for its featuring of massive drum and bass artists, including LTJ Bukem, dBridge, Grooverider, and DJ Marky. Additionally, it includes other huge UK dance artists from garage, house, techno, and dubstep, with their last iteration in 2018 featuring Kode9 and Burial. This series ran from 2001 to 2018.

Conversely to the pedigree that FABRICLIVE has within the scene, fabric presents began relatively recently, in 2019, with its first artist being Bonobo. This release was, however, a hit, with a one of its bespoke tracks Ibrik becoming hugely popular despite never having a studio album release. Despite fabric presents relatively recent history, it has still hosted some huge artists, including Chase & Status, Overmono, and Maribou State.

Leon Vynehall is still shimmering from the success of his last album, Rare, Forever, a record that found its way into many of 2021’s end of year lists. A record that saw him move away from the house that defined him, he displayed his myriad of influences from outside his familiar genre, with the first track “Ecce! Ego!” sounding as if it were lifted from an early Boards of Canada album. More possessed by movements and motifs, the album was a refreshing shift in style that built on the experimental tendencies of his previous record, Nothing is Still, that at times felt more of an experimental jazz record than anything close to resembling UK house.

His new single, “Sugar Slip (The Lick)”, is a comparitive return to form, yet still an experimental endeavor with a pulsing beat and stabbing synths. Released by fabric records, the single is to feature on the upcoming fabric presents mix blended by Vynehall.

His last compilation album came in the form of a DJ-Kicks mix, which displayed a stunning variety of artists from distant genres, including Haruomi Hosono, AFX (Aphex Twin), and Ellen Fullman. Heres hoping his fabric presents mix revels in a similar disregard for genre convention.

This Sunday’s (21st March 2021) LondonUnlocked, will take place in a pop-up gallery in Soho at 6 PM with Jungle DJ’s Fabio and Grooverider Oneman back to back with Bluetoof.

Last Sunday’s stream took place live from the Royal Albert Hall, with DJ’s Bradley Zero, Shy One and Skream featuring MC Crazy D and was live-streamed to YouTube.

Taking to Instagram on 9th March, fabric wrote: “fabric Presents: London Unlocked: A series of streams from London’s most iconic spaces, with the UK’s leading electronic artists. We are delighted to announce a new live performance streaming series, London Unlocked, in partnership with Arts Council England. Launching 14th March, streaming every Sunday across seven weeks, we will be unlocking some of London’s most iconic cultural spaces and raising funds for the Music Venue Trust to support struggling arts venues around the country.”

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The live streams will span across six-weeks, finishing on 25th April 2021. Other locations will include the Victoria and Albert Museum, English National Opera at London Coliseum, Round Chapel, Tower Bridge, and the fabric nightclub.

After receiving support from the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund, fabric has been able to plan future events, including a 42-hour-long reopening weekend in June. However, fabric has recognised that not all venues have been as fortunate, committing to raising funds for the Music Venue Trust over the course of their London Unlocked series.

Writing on their blog, fabric said: “Over the past few months, behind closed doors, we have been working to present our Cultural Recovery Fund (CRF) projects, London Unlocked, Limited Edition and Between the Noise. We feel massively privileged to have been awarded the grant and to be able to look to the future with some hope and optimism after what has been a hugely challenging time for everyone.”

The Music Venue Trust (MVT) was set up in 2014 to help ‘protect, secure and improve’ music venues in the United Kingdom. MVT launched the #saveourvenues campaign in February after announcing that 20 grassroots music venues face the risk of permanent closure, who were ineligible to receive funding or who were unsuccessful in their application to receive support from the Cultural recovery fund. The campaign has successfully saved two music venues by raising funds through live streams, merchandise, and crowdfunding. However, 18 other previously popular venues across the country remain at risk.

Earlier this year fabric hosted another series via Youtube, ‘the Limited-Edition Series.’ The ten-episode series explored production on limited set ups, pairing producers together for two hours to create 64 bars and discuss production tips. You can watch the Limited-Edition series here.

To view the LondonUnlocked live stream: fabric: Mixcloud / YouTube / Facebook
Beatport: Twitch / Facebook / YouTube
YouTube Music

fabric Presents: London Unlocked Listings

21/03/21 –  Stream start time: 18:00 GMT – London –
Wavey Garms: Fabio b2b Grooverider, Oneman b2b Bluetoof

28/03 – Stream start time: 18:00 BST – London – Smithfield Market: Object Blue, Batu

04/04 – Stream start time: 14:00 BST – London
fabric: Josh Caffe | Round Chapel: Archie Hamilton | Round Chapel: FAUZIA, Kode 9

11/04 – Stream start time: 18:00 BST – London
Tower Bridge: Giant Swan | Tower Bridge: Djrum, LCY,

18/04 – Stream start time: 18:00 BST – London
V&A: Midland, OK Williams | V&A: Saoirse b2b Shanti Celeste

25/04 – Stream start time: 18:00 BST – London
English National Opera at the Coliseum: Dillinja & GQ, SHERELLE b2b Tim Reaper

To find out what’s in store, watch this teaser video:

Clubs and venues are being cautiously reopened in other parts of the world. Gov. of New York Andrew Cuomo announced that: ”Beginning April 2, so-called events, arts and entertainment venues can reopen at 33% capacity, with up to 100 people indoors and 200 outdoors”. 

Following up the Government Roadmap announcement, Fabric shared on twitter: “As the world unlocks from the covid restrictions we are looking forward to welcoming artists and clubbers back at EC1 with a weekend-long celebration. We are also announcing the following 3 weekends as part of our reopening”.

As the world unlocks from the covid restrictions we are looking forward to welcoming artists and clubbers back at EC1 with a weekend-long celebration. We are also announcing the following 3 weekends as part of our reopening. Tickets here – https://t.co/RjlGxjCVCJ pic.twitter.com/paiYCP2FnK

— fabriclondon (@fabriclondon) March 4, 2021

The London nightclub is one of the first to announce opening after lockdown. It will reopen on 25th June Friday from 10pm -10am and Saturday running from 10pm till 4am the following Monday. The club also runs Fabriclive events in July. Tickets are available here.

Meanwhile Fabric shared on their page series of music streams from best London locations called: London Unlocked. Streaming will start on 14th March every Sunday and lasts seven weeks.

fabric Presents: London Unlocked. A series of streams from London’s most iconic spaces, with the UK’s leading electronic artists. Find out more at https://t.co/UXNLui5sAz #londonunlocked #nevernotmakingnoise pic.twitter.com/yKHeznxcog

— fabriclondon (@fabriclondon) March 9, 2021

Fabric Club first opened on 21st October 1999 and “it was conceived by people that go to clubs, for people that go to clubs”.  The club has three separate rooms. Fabric’s founding residents are Craig Richards and Terry Francis, who have played there since the club’s opening.

Chase & Status’ RTRN II FABRIC marks part six of the iconic club’s Fabric Presents series that started in February 2019 with a performance by UK producer and DJ Bonobo celebrating the music venue’s 20th anniversary, and have since featured Kölsch, The Martinez Brothers, Amelie Lens, Maribou State, with Brooklyn-based house DJ Octo Octa & Eris Drew in line for the next installment in November 2020. The series covers a wide range of electronic genres and have already presented some of the finest names in the international house, techno and trip-hop scenes, with Chase & Status given the honour to enrich its repertoir with “over an hour of raw, melodic & energetic jungle“.

It’s here. We’re proud to present RTRN II FABRIC. Our first @fabriclondon mix.

Ft 6 unreleased singles & VIPs from us, one from Bou & over an hour of raw, melodic & energetic jungle.

Out Today. On CD, 8 track dbl vinyl & digital mix. https://t.co/OrYHoI1rBO#chaseandstatus pic.twitter.com/INIwPu3uFj

— Chase & Status (@chaseandstatus) October 30, 2020

RTRN II FABRIC features club classics and well-known tracks by Remarc, DJ Rap, SHY FX, Wax Doctor, Watch The Ride and Bou, as well as Chase & Status’ latest release ‘Engage‘ and few previously unheard tracks from their upcoming record like ‘Why‘ and ‘Hardstep‘. The compilation title itself is a clever twist on their last album RTRN II JUNGLE from 2019 that saw the band return to their earlier jungle roots and authentic drum’n’bass sound after few previous years of experimenting with grime projects, venturing into pop and dance territories and collaborating with an extensive list of established music stars and breakthrough artists.

In an exclusive interview for Beatportal, Will Kennard (Chase) reveals curious details about spending time with his family and keeping busy with music under lockdown, the difficulties in creating such extensive mix in the contemporary digital times, and the immence importance of Fabric for the UK club scene and the duo’s own history. He goes on to discuss the release of Chase & Status’ new tracks as part of the mix instead of standalone singles, and the final tracklist of the compilation:

“This just made perfect sense. Doing a mix with other people’s songs is cool, but we wanted there to be a bit more interest in it. There are lots of original versions of stuff, original music, and just kinds of different edits of existing songs. So I think it sounds pretty fresh!”

 

 

 

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On the eve of the release of RTRN II FABRIC… tell us your first memory of visiting the club in the comments. ⠀ ⠀ Get it tomorrow on the link in bio. ⠀ #RTRNIIFABRIC #chaseandstatus Публикация, споделена от Chase & Status (@chaseandstatus) на Окт 29, 2020 в 12:22 PDT

Following the release of the Fabric Presents compilation RTRN II FABRIC, the dynamic electronic duo has given Spotify’s very special ‘Massive DnB’ playlist the “Chase & Status treatment“. Curated entirely by the two London DJs, the world’s biggest drum’n’bass playlist this week covers an exclusive selection of 49 club bangers, including some of their recent jungle releases and more than 4 hours of d’n’b nostalgia. Listen to the full playlist in the link bellow now, or use it for an electronic twist on this year’s #HalloweenAtHome later tonight.

TAKEOVER @Spotify‘s ‘Massive DnB’ Playlist has had the Chase & Status treatment, curated by us.
Stream here: https://t.co/DbTs7yWkwm#RTRNIIFABRIC #MassiveDnB #ChaseandStatus pic.twitter.com/U845IL47TZ

— Chase & Status (@chaseandstatus) October 31, 2020

This is the first time Chase & Status are invited to appear on any of the iconic Fabric series that first started in 2001 and have since became a must-have release for all lovers of electronic music. Chase & Status used their social media channels to share the exciting news and praise Fabric for its “electric” energy and huge unfluence over the British club scene and culture.

RTRN II FABRIC
Our first EVER fabric Comp
30th Oct

We are honoured to be part of such an iconic mix series. fabric is an intrinsic part of British music & club culture. Its energy is electric. We hope this mix captures some of that energy.https://t.co/OrYHoI1rBO#RTRNIIFABRIC pic.twitter.com/TTuqXeCmY4

— Chase & Status (@chaseandstatus) September 10, 2020

RTRN II FABRIC will feature tracks by Remarc, DJ Rap, SHY FX, Wax Doctor, Watch The Ride and Bou, alongside upcoming material and VIP remixes of well-known favourite and club classics by Chase & Status themselves. The title is a clever twist on their last album RTRN II JUNGLE from 2019 that saw the band return to their earlier and familiar jungle and drum’n’bass sound after few previous years of experimenting with grime projects, venturing into pop and dance territories and collaborating with an extensive list of established music stars and breakthrough artists.

The Fabric Presents series started last year with exclusive set by Bonobo in February 2019, followed by Kolsch (May 2019), The Martinez Brothers (September 2019) and Amelie Lens (November 2019). The last and only release from this year saw English electronic duo Maribou State record a full mix for the March 2020 release.

 

 

 

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@chaseandstatus RTRN II FABRIC. The next edition in our fabric presents compilation series. Out 30/10 on CD, digital and vinyl. Публикация, споделена от fabric (@fabriclondonofficial) на Сеп 10, 2020 в 1:02 PDT

The legendary music club Fabric in Farrington, London, was opened in 1999 and first started running a series of hundred self-titled compilation mixes by established and emerging DJs between 2001 and 2018. Simultaniously, a second FABRICLIVE series ran for another hundred releases, showcasing a vast catalogue of drum’n’bass, grime, hip-hop and jungle club anthems, typicly played at the venue’s iconic Friday parties. Some of the bigger names to be featured on either series include Andy C, Groove Armada, Scuba, Sasha, Diplo, DJ Hype, High Contrast, Goldie, Four Tet, Skream, and many more.

This weekend, Chase & Status are headlining the second week of the socially distanced We Are 500 festival in Upminster. The band is performing twice on Saturday 12th September and although the evening show has already sold out, tickets are still available for the day event. More information on line-up, future dates and tickets can be found on the festival official website.

All Saturday evening tickets for our #WeAre500 show this weekend are now sold out… only a few day time session tickets left, act fast

Final tickets here https://t.co/cAot4kT2h7@wearefstvl pic.twitter.com/crr798L97D

— Chase & Status (@chaseandstatus) September 9, 2020

The club released a statement which has as its headline, ‘You saved Fabric’ before going on to say in full, ‘We owe everything to our supporters. We really would not be here today without your unparalleled support and generosity. So many different people stepped up to put their voices to our cause, artists from all corners of the music community, fellow promoters who have put on huge events from us and clubbers from around the world who all united behind us. We’ve even seen people sporting their #savefabric T-Shirts on the other side of this planet showing just how big this thing is. So, thank you to all of you. Without the strength of your backing this would not have happened. You saved Fabric. We’ll be back with some news about #saveourculture and our next steps when we can.’

New conditions on the club’s license as part of the agreement include a ban on under-19s at weekends, as well as a ‘zero tolerance’ drug policy – all of which is intended to help fulfil their promise that the club will operate to a ‘gold standard.’

Just as the reaction from the music community to the news that fabric would close was immediate and vociferous, so too has been the reaction to this latest development. Friction, Novelist, Katy B, Scuba, Daniel Avery and Loadstar all took to Twitter to voice their happiness following the decision. DJ Goldie, who had previously threatened to melt down his MBE in protest at the closure, also expressed his delight on the social network. Jon Hopkins went further, writing, ‘I want to DJ at @fabriclondon.’ Even Police Superintendent Nick Davies, of Islington police, referred to the significance of the venue for London’s music scene, stating, as The Independent reported, ‘I know Fabric is a venue that holds a great deal of affection in people’s hearts.’

Sadiq Khan, who along with Amy Lane, London’s ‘night czar’ – a position created by Khan – have supported Fabric throughout the process. Reacting to the decision, per The Guardian, he said, ‘I’m delighted that agreement has been reached and that Fabric will now reopen. The issues faced by Fabric point to a wider problem of how we protect London’s night-time economy, while ensuring it is safe and enjoyable for everyone. Over the past eight years, London has lost 50% of its nightclubs and 40% of its live music venues. This decline must stop if London is to retain its status as a 24-hour city with a world-class nightlife.’

Although, today’s news means that Fabric can re-open there is, as yet, no scheduled date for that to happen. Indeed, Time Out reports that the authorities stress that it is unlikely to be within the next few weeks. In a statement, they clarified that, ‘Fabric will not re-open until they [authorities] believe that they comply with their new conditions.’ Again, mxdwnUK will report on any further developments.

The news comes ahead of an appeal hearing which is due to take place on November 28^th at Highbury Magistrates Court. This may now not be required if the reports of ‘secret talks’ are accurate. Cameron Leslie, co-owner of the club, told The Islington Tribune that he was ‘not at liberty to say whether [discussions] are being had or not’, citing the ‘non-disclosure’ agreements that the parties have entered in to. However, he did comment on the potential for the club to reopen, saying, ‘I hope so. We wouldn’t have appealed otherwise.’ The Town Hall refused to comment, with a council spokesman merely stating, ‘We don’t have any other comment ahead of the appeal, beyond our statement from September.’ Despite this, The London Evening Standard has described the talks as ‘advanced.’

When Fabric closed in September, the reaction from the music world included sorrow, outrage and determination. This determination included the launch of a petition which has since gained 150,000 signatures and supporters of the campaign have also raised in excess of £300,000 to contribute to Fabric’s legal costs. It also included a 111-track compilation album, released by the club involving collaboration between Fabric Records and artist-led Houndstooth. Fabric released a statement following the closure which read, ‘The closure of fabric has seen a reaction that has been completely humbling and overwhelming to all of us on the team. This response perfectly encapsulates everything the electronic music community represents.’

Big names in the music world spoke out when the news broke in September, Chase and Status tweeted that, ‘Our culture has been torn apart with the closing of @fabriclondon & every club with serious history & importance in London #FabricReview.’ Groove Armada also took to Twitter to voice their anger, writing, ‘Islington council should hang their heads in shame.’ Jessie Ware paid tribute to Fabric’s significance, writing, ‘So sad about Fabric closing. Earliest clubbing memories and such an important club for london.’ Drum n’ Bass pioneer Goldie was particularly outraged and threatened to melt down his MBE in protest with Fatboy Slim, Professor Green and the Chemical Brothers all adding their voices to the support for Fabric.

Although the loss of Fabric was mourned in and of itself, many campaigners also voiced concerns that this was a wider problem affecting London’s music scene. The Guardian reports that in the last eight years, over half of London’s clubs have closed. Sadiq Khan, who campaigned to keep Fabric open and expressed his disappointment at the closure, said that this would have to change, ‘if London is to retain its status as a 24-hour city with a world-class nightlife.’

Well now it appears there may be hope for the campaign and for all those who have expressed dismay and anger at the closure. The London Evening Standard reports that the initial appeal date may now become an occasion to ‘rubber stamp’ any deal that is reached between the parties involved. MxdwnUK will keep you updated as the situation develops.

In a detailed statement on their website, Fabric organisers are keen to acknowledge the tragic deaths and insist they will “always be committed to caring for our customers and operating within the law.”

We are fabric.

This is not how it ends.

The police have revoked our licence to present music, art and culture; something we have been doing with great pride for nearly two decades. They abused archaic licencing laws in order to close us down and they will continue to do so if we do not come together and take action now.

This is about more than fabric – an entire way of life is under threat.

Mxdwn has followed the closure since it was first announced in August (see our article here) and more recently when it was announced Fabric was to be permanently closed (see the follow up article here). But now, as well as private donations and donations provided by the London music scene, famous DJs have now joined in to help save Fabric.

Club owners and managing director, Gary Kilbey, are now heavily into preparation to try and overturn the decision to revoke their licence forcing the permanent closure of Fabric by Islington Borough Council.

One of the bigger names sad about the closure of Fabric is Radio 1 DJ Annie Mac. Interviewed in the London Evening Standard (Friday 23 September) Annie Mac – whose AMP night began at Fabric and she had also held her 30th birthday party there – said:

“When it closed I was overwhelmed. They gave us a chance at the very start. I grew up there as a DJ, spent many, many nights there both DJing and watching other people, learning.

Annie Mac is keen to echo the sadness about the two tragic deaths but sees Fabric as an institution to the regular music scene:

“. . . if somewhere like Fabric is gonna be shut down, it sends a message to anyone trying to open a club or put on a dance music event that life is gonna be really tough – and if it’s gonna be very hard to do it, people just won’t do it.”

It seems the closure of Fabric has had a huge effect on the music scene and Fabric will have the last words in order to raise awareness of this and to welcome further generous donations:

Do you realise how much London has suffered already, and just what’s at stake if we stand by and do nothing? If the answer’s yes, join the fight to save our culture.

Now the licence has been revoked after Islington borough council criticised Fabric for failing to prevent the buying and taking of drugs on the premises. The deliberation to revoke the licence lasted until the early hours of Wednesday morning (7 September). Islington borough council slammed security staff’s searching policy as “inadequate and in breach of the licence.”

The council also added that covert police operations clearly witnessed the buying and selling of drugs within the club, stating:

“Staff intervention and security was grossly inadequate in light of the overwhelming evidence that it was abundantly obvious that patrons in the club were on drugs and manifesting symptoms showing that they were.

“This included sweating, glazed red eyes and staring into space, and people asking for help.”

Yet revellers and artists who had played Fabric showed their anguish at the decision. A club worker for over 8 years, Jacob Husley, created and online petition which had reached nearly 150,000 signatures. He said of the decision:

“We are in shock. I am feeling a mixture of disbelief and anger and sadness … It would be a devastating blow for London and culture, and clubs across the UK. It sets a precedent.”

It is unclear whether the club will appeal to the decision and they have not yet made a statement. However, there are a number of fans out there willing to campaign on their behalf, including Alan Miller, chairman of the Night Time Industries Association, who is keen to start a grassroots fund. Also London Mayor Sadiq Khan had expressed his support to keep Fabric open and before the announcement had expressed his passion for famous clubs like Fabric, saying, “London’s iconic clubs are an essential part of our cultural landscape.”

A spokesperson for Scotland Yard announced the closer in a statement:

“We support this decision made by Islington council’s licensing committee.

“London has a world renowned nighttime economy and people should be able to enjoy it safely, without concerns of serious crime. The Met is committed to working in partnership with those responsible for this sector to ensure that this happens.”