Gerd Janson has proven himself to be a bit of an everyman selector over the years. He is as comfortable locking down a main room as he is playing for eight intriguing hours in an intimate basement. His multifarious label, Running Back, tells a similar story: everything from pumping tech to horizontal disco is contained within its tastefully eclectic and impeccably curated back catalog. While the German’s Fabric 89 mix is—necessarily—not as widescreen, it is an effortless and accessible selection that offers something for festival crowds and more heady collectors alike.

Initially, though, the mix feels rather too safe. Janson barely breaks a sweat as he builds through a tried-and-tested arc of house that is deep, then classic, then acid-jacked. Concerns that this might be a by-numbers main room megamix are assuaged as soon as the gorgeous chords of Mateo Murphy’s “Apex” peak through: it’s a cut that switches up the mood with rays of light and subtle euphoria, bringing excitement to the mix and marking a move into less predictable selections.

Janson’s mixing, too, becomes more adventurous. Smooth blends make way for quick drops, full-length tracks are broken up with short two minute snippets, and the whole mix springs to life as a result. The way Inner Sense’s “MoTP” is slammed into Glenn Underground‘s remix of “Mess Of Afros” is masterful, to be sure, and a trio of heavyweight cuts from Mike Ash, The Black Madonna and HMC at the mid-point mark a sweaty zenith with real style.

Things become yet more unhinged and playful from there. Joe Claussell’s loose-limbed afro house and Roger van Lunteren’s piano-laced 303s keep energy levels high without milking the same technoid beats that went before. They are followed up by a closing one-two of Scott Grooves‘ “Finished” and Prins Thomas’ Diskomiks of Caribou’s “Sun,” a combination that sends you off with a warm glow of familiarity. By Janson’s own high standards, then, this is a competent mix, if not one that will set the world alight.

Fabric 89 is out August 19. Pre-order it at the Fabric store.

Tracklisting:

01. Todd Terje “Snooze 4 Love” (Luke Abbott Remix)
02. John Talabot “Voices” (fabric Edit)
03. Traumprinz “Love Yeah”
04. Shan “The City Never Sleeps”
05. Boddika & Joy Orbison “Severed Seven”
06. Mateo Murphy “Apex”
07. Geeeman “Wanna Go Bang” (Catz ‘N Dogz Edit)
08. Q-Burns Abstract Message “Mess Of Afros” (Glenn Underground Remix)
09. Inner Sense “MoTP”
10. Mike Ash “Return To Acid”
11. Nick Höppner “Relate” (The Black Madonna Remix)
12. HMC “Marauder”
13. Joe Claussell “Rhythm”
14. Roger Van Lunteren “Hills, I Want You”
15. Scott Grooves “Finished”
16. Caribou “Sun” (Prins Thomas Diskomiks)