In: Motion x Shall Not Fade at Marble Factory Bristol review

Image: In:Motion (Credit: Tom Ham Entirety Labs)

In the space of just under two years, Bristol’s Shall Not Fade have swiftly gained a reputation as one of the most consistently, on point house label’s to emerge from the city’s thriving dance music underground in recent times.

Through a prolific run of releases, the ambitious label and its similarly active sister imprints - Lost Palms and SNF white label series – has showcased an array of fresh talent from as far and wide as Australia to Italy and the UK. This attribute dates back to their inaugural 12” in 2015 by Australian hotshot Mall Grab, which proved to be an instant success for the label and the artist; having since gone on to greater heights.

Aside from their restless imprint activities with rising talents, Shall Not Fade is also known for throwing the occasional label showcase party. And Friday night at The Marble Factory in Bristol, saw them team up with the adjoined Motion’s In:Motion event series to assemble what was without question, their most impressive line-up thus far.

Topping the bill as guest of honor was none other than Detroit house hero Andrés, who incidentally appears on the latest SNF release in the form of a remix for Anthony Fade. Widely known as the man behind 2012’s instant classic ‘New For U’, the revered and multi-skilled artist aka DJ Dez is long-established for his work and contribution to Detroit’s underground scene, having released a slew of high caliber efforts on Moodymann’s KDJ and Mahogani Music label’s since the late 90s, more recent output via his own La Vida imprint, not to mention his hip hop credentials - specifically as a former DJ for celebrated hip hop outfit Slum Village.

Representing Shall Not Fade more closely was label head KGW, label regulars LK and Adryiano, along with London’s DJ Boring – arguably one of the chief instigator’s of the so called “Lo-Fi house” movement - who dramatically burst on the scene last year with his hazy, deep house offering ‘Winona’.

While completing the bill was Barcelona-based producer, DJ Seinfeld - another fast-rising talent and purveyor of said sub-genre; who in the last year since his arrival has released music on the likes of E-Beamz, Lobster Fury and Ten Thousand Yen. His ties with SNF come through his remix that featured on Baltra’s ‘Rendezvous’ EP via Lost Palms back in the summer of this year.

The early part of the evening was taken care of by KGW with some deep-techy house vibes, followed by Leeds resident LK, whose tight set took a more disco-house direction.  Although the attendance was fairly moderate before midnight struck, the funky tunes steadily got the early swarm of punters in the mood for the funkier sounds soon to follow. With the venue filled out by 00:30 and just in time for headliner Andrés’ arrival, the eager party-goers were geared up for a Motor City masterclass.

On his A-game as usual, the Detroit don delivered an eclectic mix that was nothing short of impeccable. Throughout his 1.5 hour stint, he took the energetic crowd on an inspiring, musical journey that drew on deep and soulful house, disco, funk, hip hop, techno and even the odd pop/rock classic thrown in for good measure.

One memorable highlight in this instance came in the shape of his house masterpiece ‘New For U’ mixed with the acapella of Fleetwood Mac’s anthemic ‘Dreams’. An unlikely song pairing it would seem, but the way in which it was slickly executed by the veteran DJ, went down a massive treat on the dancefloor. Formerly known as DJ Dez - during his earlier days as DJ for the late great J Dilla’s group Slum Village, there were also some eye-catching moments where Andrés’ hip hop credentials shined through with a display of deft scratching and cutting techniques.

Further crowd-pleasing delights in the set included Omar’s broken house banger ‘It’s So’ and towards the end a surprise spin of ‘Space Cowboy’ by Jamiroquai, which was joyously received by the young, open minded crowd.

Up next was German producer Adryiano, who opted for an up-tempo, peak time set which was peppered with 90s-era piano house bangers. Although every now and then, he dropped soulful house gems such as Hardsoul’s ‘Back Together’ to add some necessary variation to his pounding 90 minute set.

With the event way past its halfway point, DJ Boring followed up strongly, where he rolled out a selection of funky house bootlegs and edits of classics by artists ranging from the Fugees to Sister Sledge. For those familiar with the London-based Aussie’s productions or any first timers to one of his gigs, it’s fair that some may have expected a set full of dreamy lo-fi house.

Instead, however he steered well clear from that sound, other than when he dropped his own sample-heavy banger ‘Love’s a Crime’ – much to the crowd’s pleasure. Judging by lively action on the dancefloor throughout, and despite the irony of his DJ moniker, the young Australian delivered a set far from boring to say the least. 

Proceedings were closed by DJ Seinfeld in a unique fashion as he worked the dancefloor into a sweat for a good solid hour. Much like the preceding set from his lo-fi compadre DJ Boring, the Barcelona resident abstained from resorting to the sound that he’s most commonly associated with - which in a club setting isn’t always the strongest option, considering the grainy aesthetic and deeply introspective mood that informs many of the genres productions.

The producer, who originally hails from Sweden, hit the punters with a surge of raw, acid techno jams and atmospheric ravey breaks, some akin to his own emotive piano and string-laden works. With a debut album due to drop on Lobster Fury this November and an increasing barrage of EP’s under his deep house-inclined Rimbaudian alias, the future certainly looks very bright for this young talented producer, who is still in the very early stages of his career. 

All in all this was a winning event for Shall Not Fade and adds to their growing list of achievements to date, that signals that the label are on path to spread their wings widely across the house nation.

Find more events at Motion Bristol