Confession: I’m just not sure how good I feel about the new Andrew Weatherall Fabric 19 mix.

I admit that I failed to read any reviews before sending a friend out to purchase this disc for me, yet I still held the unfair expectation that Fabric 19 would find a place in my heart alongside Weatherall’s Hypercity Force Tracks mix, which is still a staple in my weekly listening repertoire. However, after 4 good listens, I just can’t seem to get into the first half of the mix. The first two tracks are certainly electro party classics, but being already sick of Egyptian Lover’s “Freak-a-holic”, I end up skipping to track 3… then from track 3 on past the downright annoying Alexkid’s “Don’t Hate Me”, right up to track 8, Marc Romboy vs. Booka Shade’s “Everyday of My Life”, the tracks are completely unremarkable. In fact, they are shining examples of the bland, techy, white-as-hell electro-house that I’m starting to loathe, especially in non-dancefloor situations.

Thankfully, my long-time musical love, Jesper Dahlbäck, steps in to save the day with Robot Dance, a track that can only be described as what happens when schaffel meets The Percolator. Steve Bug follows with the jarring “That Kid (Hate Mix)”, followed by one last flirt with dancefloor material, then settles into the good tracks: The Emperor Machine’s “Bloody Hell”, a stunning 2 Lone Swordsmen guitar & drum set remake of Richard Villalobos’ “Dexter” and finally, Technova’s cover of Joy Division’s “Atmosphere”.

One thing that I appreciate most about this mix is the “story” that it tells: we encounter a horny duo of freaks, embark on a mission to battle a broken heart on an acid-soaked dance floor where we do an absurd robot dance before meeting our underground rodent friends in a cute cartoon disco, then end our night at a hazy, guitar-laden afterparty. Weatherall’s mixing, programming and mastery of creating a journey out of a hour’s worth of music shouldn’t be taken for granted, so I’m not giving up on Fabric 19 quite yet; perhaps I’ll just save the first half for a more appropriate social engagement.