In response to the global crisis currently affecting all of us, we profile the resident DJs from some of our favourite clubs around the world.

In Profile: Residents from our favourite clubs

In Tbilisi, techno is a signal of change. Nowhere is this truer than Bassiani, the subterranean labyrinth where an oppressive armed police raid famously incited large-scale street protests against the government in 2018. In post-Soviet Georgia, Bassiani is a haven for the LGBTQ+ community – often heavily marginalised outside of the club’s concrete walls – as well as the young, progressive generation, who gather and dance for freedom. 

Bassiani resident Kancheli threw down a full-throttle, vinyl-only techno set to represent the club’s core sound.

Kancheli fabric x Bassiani Mix

At Robert Johnson, heroes of the Frankfurt techno scene like Roman Flügel and Ricardo Villalobos are key sources of inspiration for an exciting new wave of DJs and producers. All of these artists love playing at the understated Offenbach spot for two reasons: firstly there’s the sound, which is among the best we’ve heard anywhere in the world. And once the sun starts to appear behind the River Main, there’s almost nowhere that matches the intimate early morning vibe at Robert Johnson. 

Robert Johnson resident O-Wells prepared a three-hour mix for us spanning uplifting house, bass-heavy club hitters, definitive electro and more.

O-Wells fabric x Robert Johnson Mix

A multispace hangout located in the heart of Athens, six d.o.g.s is one of Europe’s finest clubbing establishments. If you’re looking for electronic music in the city, this is the place to head, but the venue also makes space for live gigs through the week. Get lost exploring the stylish bar, restaurant and urban garden when you need a break from the tunes, and there’s a chance that you’ll never want to leave. 

six d.o.g.s resident Maria Politi compiled a colourful house and techno mix to showcase the sound of the venue.

Fabric Mix

Maria Politi fabric x six d.o.g.s Mix

Club der Visionaere is one of Berlin’s most beloved dancing spots. Hidden along a canal by Treptower Park, it’s widely regarded as the German capital’s HQ for reduced house and techno alongside its neighbouring sister venue Hoppetosse. Whenever we’re in Berlin we usually while away hours drifting between the deck and tiny dancefloor, something that’s made easy by an open end curfew, and the hypnotic tunes that roll out of the club’s speakers. 

Topper shared a trippy set of subdued rollers to represent the sound of Club der Visionaere.

Topper fabric x Club der Visionaere Mix

Set in an industrial estate out in Canning Town, FOLD is one of the capital’s premier nightclubs. Regular hosts include local favourites like Natural Selection and Cartulis Day, while the venue’s in-house nights cover all things techno. 

To represent the sound of the venue, FOLD resident Anabel Arroyo prepared a searing club session for us.

Anabel Arroyo fabric x FOLD Mix

Yu Yu is a tiny box room in CDMX. Since its opening in 2017, it’s been the home of electronic music in Mexico, welcoming everyone from Darwin to dBridge. In addition to the club, there’s also Yu Yu Record Store, a cosy vinyl stockist that champions the same flavours as its adjoining venue. 

Nico shared a percussive techno mix with us to represent the sound of Yu Yu.

Nico fabric x Yu Yu Mix

If you’re going to have a club in the birthplace of techno, it had better be special. Luckily that’s true of Marble Bar, an intimate indoor and outdoor space that represents the best of the Motor City’s underground music culture. Local legends like DJ Minx and Omar-S are regulars here alongside many other talented artists, proving that there’s still magic in the D more than 30 years later.

Marble Bar residents ATAXIA prepared a mix of their own remix material and unreleased tracks to represent the sound of the club.

Tracklist: 

ATAXIA & Mister Joshooa – Home Run
ATAXIA – One LFO (Ralph Lawson Remix)
ATAXIA – Unreleased
ATAXIA – The Rickaverse (Norm Talley MF Mix)
ATAXIA – The Rickaverse (Norm Talley 313 Mix) 
ATAXIA & Mister Joshooa – Unreleased 
ATAXIA – Kodak Moment (Ryan Crosson & Shaun Reeves VQ Edit)
ATAXIA – Time Original (Jamie Jones Edit)
ATAXIA – Acid Overlook (Terrence Parker & Merachka Instrumental Remix)
ATAXIA – Six LFO
ATAXIA – The Rickaverse (ATAXIA x Matt Tolfrey Re-edit)
ATAXIA – Unreleased 
ATAXIA – Michaelangelos 
SIS – Bargun (ATAXIA Supertempo Mix) 
ATAXIA – One LFO (Delano Smith Reconstruction)

ATAXIA fabric x Marble Bar Mix

At the end of the week, when the rest of Singapore is starting to wind down, the island’s local community of electronic music fans head to Boat Quay. Their meeting point is Headquarters, an intimate techno haven with stunning riverside views. Plenty of big names have stopped by to play here, but the key crew defining the club’s core sound are the residents at its in-house night, Council.

Headquarters founder and resident Cats On Crack dropped a high-intensity techno set for us to represent the sound of the club.

Cats On Crack fabric x Headquarters Mix

There’s a lot of charm to Pratersauna, Vienna’s famous sauna-turned-nightclub. Maybe it’s the unfussy interior, or the functioning swimming pool in the garden, or the club’s beloved “Captain” who never misses a night, but the venue has a distinctive character that’s hard not to fall in love with. Pratersauna’s booking policy tends to lean towards house and techno, with many of Europe’s minimal elite appearing at the club’s in-house night, Schlaflos. 

Pratersauna resident Max Wanderer put together a mix to represent the sound of the club. Compiled as the world was beginning to emerge for the first time in months, his session rolls through contemporary breaks cuts packed with bright, sunny flavours befitting of the outdoor season.

Max Wanderer fabric x Pratersauna Mix

Barcelona is blessed with plenty of amazing places to dance, but RED58 has managed to stand out by keeping things simple. On weekends, talented selectors both local and renowned spin to a small crowd of likeminded heads. The room stays dark apart from a set of hot red lighting panels, which only adds to the intimate vibe on the floor.

Omar M put together a mix of dubby techno cuts designed for late-night listening to showcase the sound of RED58.

Omar M fabric X RED58 Mix

The first time you walk into D-Edge, it’s impossible not to be struck by the futuristic LED surrounding the main room. But the São Paulo club offers more than crazy visuals, and the addition of killer sound, an open-minded crowd, and a regular rotation of superb DJs have helped make it one of Brazil’s most cherished dancing spots. The music varies depending on the night of the week you visit, with the world’s best in house, techno and experimental electronic sounds regularly stopping by for the club’s flagship Saturday night party, Mothership. Drum & bass also informs the venue’s core sound; DJ Marky’s regular homecoming sessions are always unmissable. In 2019, the crew helped us celebrate our 20th anniversary in style, while this year they mark two decades at the forefront of the Brazilian scene.

D-Edge founder and resident Renato Ratier prepared a colourful techno session for us to showcase the sound of the club.

Renato Ratier fabric x D-Edge Mix

Looking for high-quality electronic music in Zürich? You’ll find it at Zukunft. The Swiss institution does it all from deep, sub-drenched bass to dreamy house and gritty electro, served up by both trusted locals and international guests. The club was launched by a small team of music lovers including Alex Dallas and Kalabrese, who are both still holding things down as residents 15 years later.

Zukunft resident Manuel Fischer compiled a wildly experimental mix of breaks-tinted house, electro and percussive club cuts to represent the sound of the venue.

Manuel Fischer fabric x Zukunft Mix

If you’re into Nicolas Lutz or Z@p, you’ll love Phonotheque. The Montevideo venue is a South America institution, one that nurtured the modern “Uruguayan sound” years before the rest of the world caught onto it. The proponents of this style are the kind that dig tirelessly across genres for old and new weapons to play, a dedication that feels all the more profound given South America’s relative lack of record shops and online retailers. They mostly favour a heady blend of techno, electro and tech house, and all of them (including Lutz) were influenced by Phonotheque’s prized resident and godfather of the scene: Dj Koolt. 

Dj Koolt compiled a mix for us to represent his home club. The session finds him in typically dazzling form, seaming together first-rate tunes of various styles with deft fluency.

Dj Koolt fabric x Phonotheque Mix

There’s no denying it: Chicago is one of the best places in the world for music. The city that gave us Kanye West and The Smashing Pumpkins is also, of course, the birthplace of house music, and it’s still a fertile hotbed for the electronic music scene’s stars of today. It’s not a coincidence that a lot of them gravitate towards Smartbar, a 400-capacity nightclub that’s been the centre point of the local nightlife landscape since 1982. The club’s residents are as good as it gets anywhere in the world; even Frankie Knuckles called this place home back in the day. One of the best-loved parties is Queen! Sundays, especially when it’s Derrick Carter and Michael Serafini on the controls. But Smartbar is much more than a house club, and the cutting-edge music policy that takes in everyone from Elena Colombi to Josey Rebelle has only cemented its legendary status. 

Smartbar resident DJ Heather prepared a mix of high-energy house heaters to channel the vibe of the club when its dancefloor is at its peak.

DJ Heather fabric x Smartbar Mix

If you’ve never been to Oven Club, the Valencia venue’s list of talented regulars should give you a hint at the kind of place it is. On a busy night, they play to a crowd of 200 dancers, most of whom are knowledgeable club kids from all over Valencia. It’s one of the few places on Spain’s southeastern coast where world-class DJs are invited to spin until sunrise, making its cultural impact all the more significant.

Oven Club founder and resident Pin curated a mix of understated house and electro cuts to represent the sound of the venue.

Pin fabric x Oven Club Mix

宀 is a Chinese radical that roughly translates as “shelter”, which speaks to this team’s underlying vision. The recently-opened Hong Kong venue prides itself on being a safe space, where the promotion of freedom and self-expression has nurtured a diverse community of music lovers. The room boasts superb acoustics and a Funktion-One system, and it only holds about 100 people at a push. But if you do make it inside, you’re always sure to find exceptionally skilled locals spinning to a loving crowd of dancers.

Misty Penguin sent us a rowdy two-hour mix of techno, electro and rave stormers to represent 宀 Club.

Fabric Mix Sept 2020

Misty Penguin fabric x 宀 Club Mix

Tokyo is famous for its audiophile-friendly listening bars, but the city’s thriving music scene also owes a lot to a cluster of world-class nightclubs. One of the best-loved is Contact, a house and techno haven hidden within a Shibuya car park. Many of the most revered selectors on the planet regularly stop by here; Fumiya Tanaka is practically part of the family, and plenty more fly in from Europe, USA and beyond. And like at those listening cafes that placed Tokyo’s scene on the map, every guest arrives ready to settle in for an absorbing listening experience.

Contact Tokyo’s In Profile mix for us comes from Mars89, who’s become one of the venue’s most trusted locals over the last few years. Recorded live at the venue over the summer, the session sees him unleashing a raucous, adrenaline-fuelled techno sound that feels like it was tailored for clubbing in 2020.

Mars89 fabric x Contact Mix

Trust us: once the world starts to return to normal, you need to add Ljubljana to your list of party destinations. The main reason for this is to check Klub K4, a beloved gem that’s been the bedrock of Slovenia’s underground scene for the last three decades. The booking policy heavily focusses on local talent from selectors and live acts through to VJs, though with up to 150 events running through the year, they still find space for the odd Sugar Free or Truly Madly. Dedicated house artists like this shine at K4, but you could just as easily hear electro, techno, drum & bass, UKG or hip-hop depending on the night and room you stumble into. As for the crowd, ask the countless artists who describe the energy inside as unlike anywhere else in the world. 

Klub K4 programmer and resident DJ Nitz stepped in for his home club with a mix of ghostly electro and IDM cuts, the kind of thing you might expect to hear early morning inside the Ljubljana institution.

Nitz fabric x Klub K4 Mix

Melbourne is known as the electronic music hub of Australia. One place that’s been central to the scene’s growth over the years is Revolver Upstairs, a Thai restaurant and bar that turns into a party with live bands and DJs playing after dark. The nights run late, and they often feature big hitters from abroad, but it’s the trusted residents and their loyal fanbase that give Revolver Upstairs its tight-knit community vibe. 

Revolver Upstairs staple Henry Who put together a mix to showcase the sound of the venue, laying down a stack of smoky, late-night house cuts that left us yearning for the dancefloor.

fabric x Revolver Upstairs - September 2020

Henry Who fabric x Revolver Upstairs Mix

WOMB opened a few months after we did at the turn of the millennium, and since then we’ve shared a special bond based on likeminded principles. Crucially, the Tokyo institution is known for its mind-blowing sound system, which is described by even the most seasoned artists as one of the world’s best. But just as importantly, WOMB wouldn’t have hit 20 years without its dedicated team of music lovers, who work around the clock to showcase high-calibre electronic music to Tokyo up to seven nights a week.

DJ Sodeyama delivers WOMB’s In Profile mix for us, exploring the kind of kinetic techno he’s used to bringing to the Tokyo club’s dancefloor.

DJ Sodeyama fabric x WOMB Mix

Celebrating 25 years of fabric around the world

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