This nonchalance has transferred on to his offering for Fabric 48. The intro to the mix is literally spread over the first three to four tracks. Now that might sound tedious to listen to, and it would be was it not for the fact that this is a Radioslave production. The eerie whirring of Michel Cleis’ mix of Baeka’s Right At It murmurs the start of the mix. It gently bubbles to its crescendo of shakers and wood block rattles. For your standard mix this would be a logical place to drop in to some big ass beats and bass to get the mix fully going. Not Radioslave. He launches into his own track DDB, a heavy marching kick/clap combo which arrogantly makes itself known. Yet even though there is this change up in gears he’s still holding something back, keeping you precariously balanced on a cliff edge ready to drop you at any moment like some sadomasochistic gangster. And that’s how much of this mix flows for the first half – hypnotic tribal beats, whirring sounds and dark dark basslines which progress at a snails pace. Yet every twist and turn drip feeds you enough to keep you hooked as if you were a self medicating morphine addict. Every track edges you over the cliff that little bit more until you’re dropped into the abyss of Spencer Parker’s looping piano riffs on The Beginning.

So where does Matt Edwards go after spending a good proportion of the mix building an intro? He goes and dices around the genre, effortlessly flowing through different shades of house and techno like the mood lighting pattern on Christmas fairy lights. The mix pulses out cycles of dark mechanical throbs (Nina Kravis – Pain in the Ass) to looped US style garage house (DJ Bola’s Balada Redo), through to bongo lead conga rhythms (Spencer Parker – My Heart and Michel Cleis – La Mezcla). It bobs and weaves within well defined limits but it does so in such a way that the energy levels never wane, a hard thing to do when current house is hitting that saturation point of over worked bongo and jazz samples.

The opening to this mix is probably one of the best I’ve heard being laid down on CD. Matt Edwards is just the king of the slow build. The only gripe about this mix is that a CD can only hold 76 minutes which makes this mix feel like the first quarter of some spectacular marathon Berlin set. Does Fabric not know that CDs are not fit for a king? Bring the man a DVD or even a Blu-Ray.

Buy Radioslave – Fabric 48 from Amazon, HMV, Play.com

Tracklist (click for mp3):
01. Baeka – Right At It (Michel Cleis Deeper Remix)
02. Radio Slave – DDB // Cabin Fever
03. Radio Slave – I Don’t Need A Cure For This
04. Dance Disorder – My Time (Radio Slave’s Rekids Tribe Remix)
05. Brothers’ Vibe – Platter Sugar
06. Spencer Parker – The Beginning (Michel Cleis Remix)
07. Nina Kraviz – Pain In The Ass
08. DJ Boola – Balada Redo // Cabin Fever
09. Radio Slave – Koma Koma (Steve Lawler Remix)
10. Spencer Parker – My Heart (Daniel Sanchez Easy Noise Remix)
11. Michel Cleis ft. Totó La Momposina – La Mezcla
12. 2000 & One – Wan Poku Moro
13. Nate William’s Club Patrol ‘Maximum Overload’ (Roy’s Death Wish Mix)

Image by Paul at Vision7Media

This weekend has been relatively quiet (and a little wet) so I’ve had a bit of time to tell you where I’ve been. First, two weeks ago was yet another bank holiday weekend and the Sunday was set as the big night since Saturday was reserved for watching a fat Manc get decked by a cheeky chappy Phillipino. Anyways Secretsundaze started their summer of events with their opening party on the THAT terrace out in the middle of nowhere (well no where in Greenwich with no Jubilee line). It was touch and go whether the weather was going to be good but Mother Nature for once pulled through and the terrace was to be blessed with sunshine all afternoon. Sunshine, drinking and outdoor dancing is just a great combination. The crowd were really up for it and despite some pretty shaky mixing, apparently due to some technical difficulties, the party still went off. Brothers Vibe did a great job of changing up gears from evening to night whilst Melon was knocking out some great grooving house beats. Move D early on was good but maybe a little too deep for my liking. Being tired and hungover whilst hearing some laid back deep grooves can make one a little sleepy however it did go well with the sunshine and glamorous crowd. So despite the awkward location and shaky mixing Secretsundaze was in my eyes a success.

But things weren’t to end there. Later on that evening we swapped sunny terraces for grotty warehouses and another Eastern Electrics bank holiday shindig. Last August saw the first of these parties in the Union Car Park venue with mixed results. But over the last year they’ve ironed out the issues and got things running smoothly. On arrival Craig Richards was out stretching his limbs having been unchained from the Fabric DJ booth. He was serving up some delightful tripped out techno. I would try and recall some records that he played, but I never really know what Craig Richards plays, all I know is that it’s good.

A quick wonder through the Disco Bloodbath room and I see two slighty mad Mancunians ripping up the middle arch with the ressies. It can only be the Unabombers. They serve up epic disco to the most up for it crowd in the venue. Disco in London has once again made its mark and it’s easy to see why. After a lengthy detour we finally make it to the third arch for the Freak n Chic showcase. By this time I’m told Shonky is on but this is all hazy second hand information. By this point I’m shuffling around to some great bleepy techno lost in a carefree utopia, which pretty much sums up Eastern Electrics. There’s something about being in a grotty warehouse where the crowd can really get down to having a good time. No rules as they say.

That said last weekend was spent in one of the nicest clubbing locations ever. Superfreq’s Cable opening party had been relocated to the Paramount bar, a swanky members only bar at the top of the Centre Point Tower on Tottenham Court road. It’s not the prettiest tower in London, but the bar has views to die for. Think Weekend in Berlin but overlooking a prettier city and higher up. Even though we were there for a boogie a good part of the night was spent looking out the window pointing at obvious landmarks and trying to see if you could see your home. For the record I could.

Photo by Nick Ensing

But once over the city gazing thoughts turned to dancing and who better than Steve Bug to an intimate crowd of 400 or so like minded revellers. It was just a great combination. The views, the music, the crowd and the setting made one of the parties of the year so far. Similar to the Loco Dice 300 party, the crowd was made up of people that had made an effort to be there. And when the sun rose at around 5:30 am the place just went nuts. A special moment which brought back memories of what made Ibiza special back in the day. I’ve only got two minor gripes from a near perfect night out. First, the lack of toilet facilities which for a bar that normally has only a handful of people couldn’t bear the strain of 80% of the 400 people “really needing a poo” and the second having to take the lift 31 floors down to smoke a cigarette. It’s a hard life I know.

I love this stretch of April to May. There’s a nice series of bank holidays which firstly equates to four day weeks or long weekends, but secondly and most importantly it means so many great rave up opportunities. You might have only just flushed the last bank holiday weekend out of your system, but here it is again, another extended weekend in our midst.

So what are the options for the May day rave up?

Saturday has some nice options with Excuse The Mess being top of the pile. They’ve got My My live along with the always excellent Matthew Styles in room 1. Then in room 2 Ralf Kollman takes the spotlight to entertain along with Shane Watcha.

The first part of Eastern Electrics also kicks off on the Saturday too. They’ll be vibing with some dub-tastic sounds with Dublime who have brought in Brendon Moeller. Room 2 has been taken over by the folks that brought you the Bloc Weekender. Their room is looking particularly sharp with the likes of Metro Area, Appleblim and Zomby. Then the third and final room is hosted by the Man Make Music guys. They’ve got the West Coast house head and Buzzin Fly aficionado Justin Martin.

Tickets are still available for both, so get Excuse the Mess tickets here and Eastern Electrics tickets here.

But in true bank holiday weekend style, the parties really kick off on Sunday and being the start of May for most Brits we’re in full blown summer. That means, outdoor parties in blustery not quite hot weather. Secretsundaze have their first outdoor party on the recently refurbed terrace of That formerly the House and Terrace in Greenwich. Apparently the terrace was always quite good, but with its Greenwich location it used to attract a pretty unsavoury crowd. Anyways, with a strict door policy and the terrace done up in the Secretsundaze way we can expect a pretty decent party. Brothers Vibe, Move D and Melon will be providing the tunes to what we hope will be a sunny day (a quick BBC weather check says sunny intervals!). If you’re after tickets you might be out of luck as they sold out the other week. But you could give your money a run on the door.

Another outdoor party which is a bit closer to home comes from those Circo Loco and tranquiliser lovers KetoLoco. They’re throwing a shindig at Light Bar in Shoreditch. They’ve brought in man of the moment SiS to do a live set along with Hobo from Minus, Ilario Alicante and Craig Torrance off MurMur. A balanced quality underground lineup. Lets hope its stays sunny for those guys too.
Get your tickets here.

The final outdoor party that takes our fancy is the Escape From New York Roof Top Party at the Queen of Hoxton. They’ve got a pretty spectacular roof top terrace which will play host to Holy Ghost from DFA and The Revenge. They’re also laying on a BBQ spread for those which need to eat through the daytime sessions. Sounds yum.
Tickets for this here

Once the sun sets, not to be seen until Monday, the main option is to head to Eastern Electrics for their second part of the Bank Holiday extravaganza. Sunday sees them team up with Mulletover once again who have brought in 2000 and One, The Mole, Craig Richards and Karl Gonzales. Our disco favourites Disco Bloodbath once again take over room two with Manchester and Electric Chair legends The Unabombers. The third room sees the Freak n Chic label setup shop with Dan Ghenacia, Shonky and Terry. MASSIVE. Get your tickets from here

If you’re wondering where Eastern Electrics is, its down at the Union Car Park on Great Suffolk Street.

View Larger Map

So there you go.. I’ve laid it out.. You just need to play it out. Good luck and see you there.

When most people think of Easter they think the second coming of Christ, Easter eggs, fluffy bunnies and daffodils. For a select few it’s all about Easter weekend and how to run your mind into the ground for four days and nights. I’m in the latter camp.

This year the options seem to be bunched around key days. Thursday night has an all mighty clash. In one corner you’ve got your scenster nights. Secretsundaze do their annual thing at the coronet theatre which will see Ame, Dixon and Henrik Schwarz combine forces to create some ableton improve amalgamation live set where they be as one together. No its not some gay love in between the quartet, it’s actually their new project Critical Mass. The whole thing sounds pretty interesting, especially if its anything along the lines of their recent Granfather Paradox mix. After the live session, Dixon and Ame will be dropping a dj set or two along with the SS and Horse Meat Disco ressies.

However if Secretsundaze all sounds a bit too complex with the live sets and you just want to go and party your ass of to some party tunes, then maybe Disco Bloodbath is for you? They’re celebrating their 2nd birthday and to help them they’ve brought in their Scottish mentors Optimo who have been playing party tunes for countless years. Todd Terje will be headlining the main room for the Bloodbath along with the residents, whilst Optimo residents Twitch and Wilkes will be keeping a handle on things with Gucci Soundsystem.

If that all seems a bit to fashionista and you just want raw big room stuff, then you want to be heading towards Koko or matter. Old Coxy is doing a party at the former with Nic Fanciulli and Yousef, whilst Diggers is doing his Bedrock thang at the latter.

Something for everyone to kickstart the weekend. However Friday and Saturday look a bit thin on the ground for anything gripping. The best Friday can muster up is Brothers Vibe at East Village. Saturday fairs a little better with Reboot and Ketoloco at Lightbox in Vauxhall. Also Fabric is worth a punt with MANDY and Tobi Neumann. But other than that nothing that jumps out.

But its probably for the best as things get going early with the Bugged Out All Dayer at the Old Queens Head in Angel. I believe the party vibe is retro 80s! Once that’s warmed the old engine up, the place to head is Mulletover where they’ll be celebrating five whole years. At the Seager Storage Units as per usual, they’ll be seeing in their 5th Anniversary with those Romanian favourites a:rpia:r, reel to reel extraordinaire Greg Wilson, the strange but highly talented musicians Noze and disco/funk revivers Linkwood Family. DELUXE!

If things are still functioning you can round off the weekend with a trip to matter where old skool hip hop legends Jazzy Jeff and Grandmaster Flash will be cutting and juggling up prime hip hop before the days of diiirty britches and bling.

So go forth and celebrate the rebirth of Christ by hurling yourself head first into the gutter.

http://www.myspace.com/secretsundaze

http://www.myspace.com/discobloodbathdisco

http://www.mulletover.co.uk/

http://www.fabriclondon.com

http://www.matterlondon.com

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