V/A - SELECTS VIII

Focusing on broken beat is an intriguing choice for fabric Records’ eighth ‘SELECTS’ compilation, following previous editions dedicated to UK garage, tech house or bass.

The genre has been declared dead more than once, its revival announced even more often — yet it has never quite crossed into the mainstream in the same way as some of its neighbouring genres.

What makes the sound endure is perhaps also what makes it difficult to pin down.

There’s a strong sense of lineage too. Bugz in the Attic key members Mark Force and Afronaut build a dense, percussive arrangement from vocals, whistles and interlocking rhythmic layers on ‘Carnival (AfroForce Vox Dub)’, while Maddslinky’s ‘UNTITLED AS YET’ brings a previously unheard CoOp-era recording into the mix.

If there’s a gap, it’s the absence of certain foundational or influential voices — no IG Culture, Kaidi Tatham, or Shy One — but the newer names hold their own.