London institution fabric continues its ongoing exploration of contemporary underground club music with the announcement of FABRIC SELECTS VII.
Following the recent release of DJ Q’s speed garage-leaning single Lose My Cool, the full fourteen-track compilation now arrives with a sharp focus on the modern UK Garage and bass music landscape, bringing together a broad mix of established names and emerging underground talent.
At a time when UKG continues to splinter into darker, heavier and more experimental territory again, FABRIC SELECTS VII feels less concerned with nostalgia and more interested in documenting where the sound currently sits inside contemporary club culture.
Leading the release is DJ Q’s aforementioned Lose My Cool, a slick fusion of early 2000s garage energy and weighty speed garage pressure. Rolling low-end grooves, shuffled percussion and autotuned vocal hooks give the track a distinctly modern edge whilst still nodding heavily towards classic UKG foundations.
One of the compilation’s defining moments comes via Ghoulish’s This Bassline Smells Like Oil, a murky and industrial-leaning roller built around dense bass pressure and hypnotic textures. It is a track that immediately captures the darker energy running throughout much of the compilation.
Elsewhere, Bodhi delivers deeper, head-down club pressure whilst 1111 introduces a more melodic and nostalgic feel through pitched-up vocal chops and restless rhythmic movement that recalls the golden era of late 90s and early 2000s garage.
Gemi and Kori keep things stripped-back and groove-led, while Daffy and PJ Bridger lean harder into soundsystem-driven club energy. Eloquin & Reimond shift further into atmospheric bass territory, balancing darker textures with spacious production and low-end immersion.
The compilation continues to move fluidly between styles without ever losing its underground identity. SEMPA’s percussion-heavy rollers, TARZI’s darker club pressure and Me & George’s warmer house-inflected touches all contribute to a release that feels broad yet cohesive.
Jessi Lowkey brings one of the compilation’s smoother moments, layering soulful vocal textures over deep UKG rhythms, while Lash and anse. both push deeper into tension-driven bass music territory with tracks designed squarely for darker dancefloors and late-night systems.
Closing proceedings, KAISUI rounds things off with a slow-burning bass-heavy cut full of space, weight and atmosphere.
Since launching the fabric SELECTS series in 2022 under the fabric Originals imprint, fabric has shifted away from the traditional DJ mix format, instead curating snapshot compilations designed to reflect the evolving sounds currently shaping underground dancefloors.
With FABRIC SELECTS VII, the legendary London club once again reinforces its long-standing role as both tastemaker and cultural documentarian, capturing a UK Garage scene that feels increasingly diverse, adventurous and club-focused once again.
FABRIC SELECTS VII lands 15th May via fabric Records. Download/stream here.
