Fabric 44

by Rick AndersonJohn Tejada was a techno legend by the time Fabric 44 came out, and this DJ mix program shows why: he's not only a genius at editing tracks so that a long string of unrelated source materials comes out sounding like a seamless piece of symphonic electro, but he's also a master of texture, which makes all the difference in the world when your rhythmic foundation is as minimalistic as his tends to be. On tracks like "Kamm" (by Pigon), a flanger in the background serves almost as a melody instrument for a time until the bleepy, swishy synthesizer part comes in; Alex Cortiz's "Phlogiston" is built on a repetitive four-note line that sounds like it was generated by a vintage Roland TB-303, and Tejada's own "Torque" combines a sassy handclap with eerily juddering chord stabs and a hoarse voice whispering the word "thirteen" (or "dirty"?) over and over. Only one track, the inexcusably annoying "Cristal" by Nekes, distracts from the consistently groovy pleasure generated by this top-notch slab of contemporary techno.