Sam Greenwoodfabric announce a new live performance streaming series, London Unlocked, in partnership with Arts Council England. Launching 14th March, streaming every Sunday across seven weeks, this exciting new series will see fabric unlock some of London’s most iconic cultural spaces and raise donations for the Music Venue Trust (MVT) to support struggling grassroots music venues around the country.
Pairing the city’s most adored arts venues, galleries and historical landmarks with the UK’s most exciting artists, London Unlocked features scene stalwarts, club regulars and fast-rising newcomers, including Kode9, Fabio and Grooverider, Djrum, Midland, Shanti Celeste, Saoirse and more. These artists will stream live in incredible cultural institutions including Royal Albert Hall, V&A, English National Opera at The London Coliseum, Round Chapel and Tower Bridge as fabric pays homage to London’s exciting contemporary culture and the legendary, ever-evolving and diverse electronic music scene. Streams will be accompanied by a call out and easy, one-click link to encourage viewers to donate to the MVT.
“We are grateful to the Arts Council England for their support and to our partner venues who made this possible. We also want to recognise the importance of the broader landscape of diverse music venues throughout the UK, many of which have not received similar government support, and encourage viewers to donate to the Music Venue Trust to help ensure that the UK’s music scene as a whole makes it through the pandemic.” – Cameron Leslie, fabric Co-Founder & Director.
Kicking off the series on 14th March, catch South London’s finest, Bradley Zero (Rhythm Section), Shy One and Skream & Crazy D live from the Royal Albert Hall. One for the heads, Skream takes dubstep to the Royal Albert Hall for the first time, playing an exclusive set of brand new 140 productions with a firm nod to the genre’s formative years. Next up, old skool rave energy comes from OG’s Fabio b2b Grooverider, plus Oneman b2b Bluetooth, bringing jungle, drum’n’bass, UKG and more to street style and cultural hub Wavey Garms pop up gallery event in Soho. Week three sees Batu showcase his stunning new AV show, with himself and object blue performing to this lighting installation project at Smithfield Market. Returning to our beloved home at fabric, Josh Caffe brings his live set and vogue dancers to Room One featuring Johnny Aux (Paranoid London) and Alex White (Fat White Family) for the fourth weekend of streaming. We then journey across to East London’s beautiful Round Chapel as we invite Hyperdub head Kode9, acclaimed newcomer and NTS resident FAUZIA, plus a set from genre-defying DJ/producer Archie Hamilton.
At the top of the Tower Bridge, Bristol’s Giant Swan are set to perform live before Djrum’s deft and textured rhythmic selections and the fierce-forward sound of LCY. In the decadent surroundings of the V&A, Midland takes to the stage before fast-rising selector OK Williams. Saoirse and Shanti Celeste also come together for a B2B set in the same space – expect colourful, euphoric house and techno from two DJs at the top of their game. Rounding out London Unlocked on a triumphant high, the English National Opera welcomes jungle originator Dillinja with GQ, while SHERELLE and Tim Reaper go B2B for what will be a high octane set at The London Coliseum.
With a clear focus on the future of fabric, and the highly anticipated return to the club, the Arts Council funds have also been instrumental in the on-going maintenance of the physical space in the venue, and supporting creatives in nightlife, employing a skeleton team to plan for fabric reopening.
Fans can watch the livestreams on Beatport’s Twitch, FB and YouTube as well as fabric’s Youtube and Mixcloud.