You’d think having an extra day off would be a god send but in all honesty it’s a bit of a ball ache. This weekend, Landan Taan will swell to a beachball sized glut of party tourists keen to get their third dose of fun for the year (the other two times being Easter weekend and new years eve). You can expect the clubs, streets and parks to be packed with an assault of people forcibly trying to have fun this weekend. If you’re not too much of an idiot to spend £50+ on a bunch of half assed trance and yesteryear prog DJs playing to a crowd of baying halfwits non the wiser they’ve been fleeced, then I guess these could be a few so called suggestions for the weekend…

LED Festival – Victoria Park (Tickets)

The alternative to paying over the odds for standing in a Clapham park full of idiots is to pay nearly over the odds to stand in a park full of different idiots who weren’t quick enough to shell out for SW4 tickets before it sold out. If the festival hasn’t imploded through poor ticket sales and artist cancellations it might not be such a loss to attend with the main draw being Leftfield, who have dusted off the kit since the Guinness royalties have run dry. You’ll also be able to see Alison Goldfrapp tottering around on stage like Florence and The Machine’s grandma, and if you’re lucky Aphex Twin might play some nonsense. Unsurprisingly tickets are still going for this one.

Carl Craig at Fabric (Tickets)

In terms of evening line ups I guess you can’t really do any better than fabric. They’ve got their typical techno carry on consisting of one part Detroit (Carl Craig), two parts Berlin (Sebo K & Ben Klock) and a token UK techno head to make your balls go up inside yourself (Ben Sims). It’s a reasonable choice if you haven’t already spent half your waking weekend moments there this month.

Superfreq at Paramount (Tickets)

Across town at Centre Point, Mr C and friends are back at Paramount with their Superfreq brand. They’ve somehow commandeered another floor for their ingeniously named disco sister Superdiscofreq. DJ Three headlines the main room with the “not so evil in his old age” Eddie Richards, whilst DJ Garth and James Priestly will be playing up to the new spat of disco fashionistas. If past Superfreqs are a trend to go by, this one will be the best superfreq ever to date as boldly claimed by Mr C every month.

Dollop at The CAMP (Tickets)

If a night dancing with a bunch of geriatrics in a tower doesn’t sound that great, you can go to the other end of the spectrum and dance with some of the unwashed youth in a basement. Dollop are down from Nottingham for a London jolly at The CAMP. They’ve brought in the Parisian turned Dalstonian Ivan Smagghe to headline. Also on the bill is some bloke from Turbo (Thomas Von Party), that guy who plays at Bugged Out (Matt Walsh) and Nathan G Wilkins who for some reason reminds me of a presidential assassinator. Expect scruffy hair cuts, drain pipe jeans and a lot of garish noisy electronic sounds.

Carnival at Notting Hill

On to Sunday. For the day time you might as well be herded around the streets of Notting Hill whilst running the risk of being caught in the middle of some yoot gang warfare or getting poisoned by some chancer selling what was supposed to be curried goat out the back of his car. If you get there early enough and the police haven’t cordoned off the area you might be lucky to catch some chap (Norman Jay) play cheesey records off the top of a double decker bus. But hey its all free so you can’t complain about this shit.

Secretsundaze at Rich Mix (GList Requests – info@secretsundaze.net)

You might not have heard, because its secret, but Secretsundaze are at the Rich Mix loft. Daniel Bell heads up the main room with Tevo Howard, whilst Jacques Renault makes room 2 all disco glam. If you can get past the fashion police on the front door (in this case the face of authority is a guy with an achingly ironic styled tache) you might enjoy a nice dance inside. Just make sure your shorts are rolled up high enough on your deck shoes and denim shorts combo.

Eastern Electrics at Union Street Car Park (Tickets)

Evening wise Eastern Electrics is doing their predictable shindig at the once secret, but now standard affair Union Street Car Park. Their line up I must admit is pretty balanced. Fehlmann, Wruhme and Mayer fly in for Kompakt, whilst Von Stroke and Martin get fidgety in another arch, and to round things off Resident Advisor have got Joy Orbison, Scuba and Harri & Domenic, all of which they’ve brain washed you to think they’re good through their podcasts. The 10 early bird tickets and 5 saver tickets have sold out, so all you mugs left are gonna have to buy the standard price tickets at 20 quid a pop. Unfortunately your young person railcard doesn’t work on these tickets.

Lo*Kee at Cruffix Lane (Tickets)

Another special one for Sunday is Lo*Kee. For one night only they’ve scrapped their exclusively closed members list and open their doors to tom, dick and harry. This will give the riff raff a chance to really see what goes down at Lo*Kee – basically a bunch of “cool” kids that haven’t been to sleep for a few days rolling around to whatever DJs that haven’t been to sleep either. However on Sunday they’ve got a bunch of Cadenza folk over and they’re going to make a proper night of it, so I guess it’s not quite as Lo*Kee as the name suggests.

I could go on about the weekend… But you might as well read all about it at RA.. They’ll probably be a bit more cheery too with the extensive DJ biogs and promises of amazing parties. I’ll be at home having a good moan about SW4 thanks. Have a good weekend!

Well we’re on the verge of another momentous bank holiday weekend where the usual rule book goes out the window and things are pushed that extra mile. Once again, Friday and Saturday are looking alright, but those promoters have decided to pack in all the exciting stuff on the Sunday… Here are our picks…

Friday

Buzzin Fly at Plastic People (info)

They haven’t been killed off by Hackney council just yet! So the good times are still rolling. Ben Watt has brought in an absolute institution for his Buzzin Fly night. He’s bloody got Charles Webster to spin a few tracks in the grimy basement, he actually wrote the book on DJing. Tickets are gone, so get there early to queue up!

Heroes and Villains Warehouse Party (Buy Tickets)

Those fellas that keep Thursdays interesting down at the Hoxton Pony upscale massively this weekend with a full blown warehouse party on Bocking Street in Hackney. Wagon Repairers Konrad Black and Dinky go head to head with the Nottingham boys Matt Tolfrey and INXEC from Leftroom Records. Not a bad way to start a weekend eh?

Saturday

Fabric On & On… & On (Buy Tickets)

Technically you could start your Sunday rave up on Saturday if you head to fabric as the 30 hour party is back once again. This time on a convenient bank holiday weekend, so there’s no need to feel guilty about still being there at 5am Monday morning. The line up is a lot stronger than last time too with folk like Sasha, Carl Craig, Stacey Pullen, Seth Troxler, Reboot and Trus Me heading up things. The usual rules apply when figuring out when to turn up…

Magic and Medicine at CAMP (Buy Tickets)

Magic and Medicine bring over one of the DFA originals Juan Maclean to promote his new DJ Kicks mix CD. The guy has been in and out of the New York scene for over a couple of decades, so expect a lesson in disco, deep house and techno. The Horse Meat Disco and Allez Allez crews give some humble support. Also if you’re in town earlier that day, Juan is gonna be doing a little cameo at Phonica Records too.

Prologue at East Village (Buy Tickets)

Prologue stick to their guns this weekend as their much frequented guest DJ Norman Jay returns to dish out some good times. He’s sure to surprise you with some gems that you wouldn’t normally here him play at top a double decker bus. He’ll be joined by the ever faithful resident Paul Louth.

Sunday

Eastern Electrics (Buy Tickets)

If you haven’t heard by now then you’re too late. Eastern Electrics have a truly monstrous line up for the Sunday. A three pronged attack by BLOC, Disco Bloodbath and Mulletover brings Ellen Allien, Ivan Smagghe and Tim Paris as It’s a Fine Line, DJ Sneak, Omar S, Shackleton, Andre Galluzi and Still Going from DFA. They’re spread across three rooms in the usual Suffolk Street Car Park. The tickets have nearly run out so get them as soon as possible.

Secretsundaze @ TBA

For their 9th London summer season Secretsundaze have decided to go back to their roots which made them what they are today. So for us this means they’re throwing a party somewhere in London on Sunday…That’s about all anyone knows at the moment. Although we are hearing murmurings about an industrial Shoreditch location with one of the new breed Detroit legends to headline. Those in the elite will get a text message and those of you that aren’t elite will have to over hear it in conversation between some achingly cool people. Phones at the ready, ears peeled.

Hybrid Life @ Black Lotus Karate Club (Buy Tickets)

The Sunday line ups just keep on coming this weekend. Brand new night Hybrid Life materialises out of no where to begin their love affair with the city. The Black Lotus Karate Club in Shoreditch is the setting and filling the speakers will be the hottest thing on the planet Joy Orbison, alongside getting hot Kyle Hall from Detroit, still hot Will Saul, the “do not touch very hot” Donnacha Costello and “crap I forgot to turn the iron off” hot Alex Jones. Great underground line up in a great underground venue.

Minus @ Ministry of Sound (Buy Tickets)

Fighting for space in the limelight on Sunday will be the Minus juggernaut. However fighting probably won’t be the case, as according to our tags we believe the limelight shines out of Richie Hawtin’s arse and that he will bask his own event in is personal arse lime light. The usual suspects of Magda, Gaiser, Barem and Ambivalent will also be basking in Hawtin arse lime light. It’s a good techno line up on a brilliant sound system. All yours for a cool £27.50.

Mn to That Boat Party (Buy Tickets)

Beats ahoy hoy! Irish promoters Mn to That will be throwing their second boat party on the Thames. At the helm will be the extraordinary Maurice Fulton. We’ve seen the guy rock basements, warehouses, clubs and pubs, I’m certain this guy can also rock a boat too. Joining him in the Ninja Tunes saloon will be the legendary DJ Food who will jibe out all manner of funk, breaks and hip hop with that Ninja Tunes quirk. Plus if you buy the tickets from this link they’re only 15 bucks. Winners.

Quite frankly it’s a mouth watering selection for the weekend.

Red bull Music Academy at South Bank Centre (Buy Tickets)

This weekend sees the start of the Red Bull Music Academy which is taking place over the coming weeks in London. The academy brings together prospective musical talent from across the world to work and share ideas with help from established and successful music industry types. In conjunction with the academy, Red Bull have a series of events lined up for the general public. This Friday sees Red Bull team up with Resident Advisor at the stunning Royal Festival Hall in the South Bank Centre for a head on collision of experimental electronica, Jazz and techno. There are two acts in particular that have us foaming at the mouth. We have a showcase from SHAPE, a collaboration between Detroit heavy weight Carl Craig, the classically trained pianist and Innerzone Orchestra member Francesco Tristano and minimal dub techno innovator Moritz Von Oswald of Basic Channel/Maurizio fame. The other act will be another massive collaboration between Innervision’s Henrik Schwarz and Nordic Jazz sensation Bugge Wesseltoft. Their recent showing at Giles Peterson’s Ronnie Scotts takeover was supposedly incredible, so it will be a privilege to see these too jamming out in the distinguished Royal Festival Hall. Don’t expect danceable 4/4 beats, this is going to be a proper sit down affair. There are still some tickets available at TICKETWEB.

Egyptian Lover at The Big Chill

Probably a little less serious for a Friday night will be a live show from 80s rap legend Egyptian Lover. His early rap records of ballsy 909 beats and distinctly electronic synths helped pave the way for the hip hop movement in the 80s. He’s even had a bit of a comeback after his Egypt track was sampled/covered by Jamie Jones on his recent track Galactic Space Bar. Fun beats and straight up classic 80s rap. What’s not to love?

Musiq Concrete 2D at The Lightbox (Buy Tickets)

Saturday brings us a selection of equally solid nights. Down south at Vauxhalls Lightbox, we see Musiq Concrete return for their second night with a well rounded lineup. The dazzling lights of the Light Box will play host to Get Physical’s Thomas Schumacher who’s techy sound will give London its very own slice of pseudo Berlin Watergate. Whilst Simon Baker and Alex Cellar will provide some worthy London based support. In room two Brighton’s Cagedbaby and acid house legend Justin Robertson will show us another side to electronic dance music. Also if you print out this flyer you get a free drink!

Phonica at T-Bar

T-Bar are now running a new freemium business model. No more are the fall back nights where if all things failed you could always end there for a relatively cheap one. They’ve gone and started asking for some money on the door now. However to back up the asking they’ve bumped up the quality. This Saturday the record selling folks from Phonica have brought over Sascha Dive. Him and Anthea are sure to lay down some deep groves into the early hours of the morning.

James Priestley at The Horatia

Disgusted at the fact that T-Bar want to charge? Well there are new free options out there. New venture The Horatia have some solid nights lined up over the coming weeks. This Saturday James Priestley of Secretsundaze fame will be digging out his disco records and showing the masses that he’s not just about playing deep house outdoors with ironically tashed friends.

Superfreq 8^th Birthday at Centre Point (Buy Tickets)

Finally if you didn’t have enough of the birthday celebrations last weekend, then there’s one more for you. Those sycophantic slags Adultnapper and Mr C celebrate 8 years with original London tech houser Dave Mothersole. They’ll be wiggling their way until sunrise 31 floors up at the glamorous Centre Point.

Horatia Opening Party with Faze Action (Details)

First off, a new venue for the year; from the people that brought you the Horse and Groom comes the Horatia, their new pub club venture on Holloway Road in Islington. They expect to bring you the same fun that you experienced at Shoreditch’s finest pub with a dance floor, so expect disco, house, live music and everything in between. They’ve already got folks like Disco Bloodbath and James Priestly already lined up for some free fun time evening shenanigans. For the opening party on Friday, the fantastic disco duo Faze Action will the in the house to commemorate this new skinny jeans haven in Islington, all for free too.

Fabric with Carl Craig, Ben Klock & Lee Curtis (Buy Tickets)

Now on to the meatier affairs for Saturday night. There are three stellar nights on the bill from the big guns but it’s just too close to call for one that stands out above the rest. In one corner we have Fabric; they’re packing a punch with Detroit legend Carl Craig. He’s never disappointed me so far and I’m sure he’s not going to start now. The support is just as compelling too, rising star Lee Curtiss is on for a live set and London favorites Jamie Jones and Cesar Merveille will fill the rest of the Room 1 schedule whilst Ben Klock, Steffi and Terry Francis will be pushing the harder edge in Room 2. If that’s not enough, all things DFA will be served up in Room 3 with Holy Ghost and Jacques Renault. Absolutely massive lineup if you ask me.

Discoteca at Matter with Jamie Lidell & Francois K (Buy Tickets)

Out east, sister club matter weigh in with a night equally as heavy. The extremely talented musician Jamie Lidell performs a live set alongside a DJ set from New York heavyweights Francois K and Metro Area. There’s also a label showcase from Italians Do It Better and in house duo Disco&Mercy will be keeping things warm. In room 2 the Disco Bloodbath boys take over with Scotland’s finest Optimo for a second room of anything goes. If you’re still unsure what to expect, then the matter blog has a pretty comprehensive post of mixes, vids and words to bring you up to speed.

Mulletover with Wolf and Lamb (Buy Tickets)

Third but not least, Mulletover shake off the New Years hangover with this winter warmer featuring the Wolf and Lamb lads Gadi Mizrahi and Boston duo Soul Clap. The label can just do no wrong at the moment and any Wolf and Lamb DJ sets have been the talk of the town, so expect a fantastic range of diverse music with plenty of soul and feeling. The venue should be just right for this with the intimate low ceilings of the The Black Lotus Karate Club on Scrutton Street. However with a fair few down to attend this, be sure to keep the clothing layers to a minimal as it can get a bit schweaty in there.

Dig Deeper with Danny Howells (Buy Tickets)

That’s not all however. Danny Howells wants to completely ruin you by throwing another Dig Deeper this Sunday at the Notting Hill Arts Club. The last one went down so well that’s he’s back again to punish you into Monday morning with another one of his spectacular 7 hour sets.

So there it is… Let’s hope London has started as it expects to go on!

Its just gone midnight on Wednesday night… so no time for an in depth Sonar preview. So here it is in a business like bullet point format:

BLOC Weekend looks set to return after last year’s sell out success. Taking place on the 13^th – 15^th March weekend, this year sees the early spring weekend move location to the Butlins “mega-resort” in Minehead near Bristol. It boasts the largest water park in the South West with a water slide that can spit you out at up to 40mph. Definitely what you need after a night of jaw breaking techno and Aphex Twin’s microphone in a blender trick! But it’s not really about the luxury settings of the holiday resort its more what’s on. And judging by this year’s current line-up it could be held down the local sewage works without deterring anyone.

So who’s on the bill? Well they’ve brought in Aphex Twin as the main headliner for this year. He returns to performing with the premier of his new show, with new collaborator Hecker exclusively for BLOC. With no regard for the norm and various urban myths of him playing sandpaper or overloaded blenders this show is bound to throw a curveball for all those into the weird and wonderful. Also making a welcomed return to the scene is The Future Sound of London. Another coop for the BLOC organisers is the return of The Future Sound of London for their first show in ten years.

Probably the next highlight for EarPipe is the announcement of DJ Q-Bert joining the line-up. Probably the best turntablist to ever walk the planet, QBert had to retire from competition just to give everyone else a chance. However he still performs and is still pushing the boundaries of turntablism. In the same hip hop vein Afrika Bambaataa, one of the original originators of hip hop culture is also on the bill.

That’s only the tip of the ice berg. There is a plethora of underground genres being catered for. In the techno corner you have the likes of Carl Craig, Green Velvet, Robert Hood and Frequency 7 featuring Ben Sims and Surgeon. All things dub are covered by the likes of Skream, Benga, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, Digital Mystiks and Kode 9. The list of artists just keeps going on and on. So rather than bore you to death you can find the current full line up at the end of this post.

So its look to be a corker of a weekend once again for BLOC. If you’re up for a weekend of forward thinking music in a dry location and a 40mph water slide within the UK, then look no further. Get your tickets and accommodation from www.blocweekend.com.

FULL LINEUP TO DATE / MANY MORE ACTS STILL TBA:

Aphex Twin + Hecker

The Future Sound of London

Jamie Lidell / Carl Craig / Afrika Bambaataa

Green Velvet / DJ Qbert / Skream / Benga / Metro Area / Altern-8 / 4Hero

Busy P/ Egyptian Lover / Daniel Bell / Heartbreak / I-F

Dublime feat. Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry / Scientist / Digital Mystikz – Coki / Tipper /

Kode 9 / Rusko – Debut Live show / Ed Rush and Optical / Mad Professor / Zion

Train / Plastician / Pole

Overkill feat. Modeselektor and Pfadfinderei / Beardyman / Clark / Richard

Devine / Tim Exile / Otto Von Shirach

Subloaded curated by DJ Pinch, feat. DJ Pinch / 2562 / Jamie Vex’d /

Appleblim / Peverelist / Joker b2b Blazey / MC SGT Pokes

Split and Tilted Disco feat. Robert Hood / Frequency 7 feat Ben Sims and

Surgeon / Redshape / James Ruskin / Colin Dale / Steve Strawberry / Alex

Downey

Numbers feat. Martyn / Rustie / Hudson Mohawke / Jackmaster

Dynamix II / Dj Godfather and MC Omega / Dylan & Robyn Chaos b2b / Ulrich

Schnauss / Ed Chamberlain / Global Goon / Rob Hall / Transparent Sound /

Ceephax Acid Crew / Cosmic Force BassClef / Ital Tek / Lief Ryan / Alexander

Robotnick / Bizzy B / 2 Bad Mice

Greco-Roman feat. Rob Da Bank / Drums of Death / Totally Enormous Extinct

Dinosaurs / Greco-Roman Soundsystem: Raf Daddy, The Great Mentsh & Full

Nelson

Cocadisco feat. Russell Haswell / DJ Benetti / Louis Enchante and friends /

Andy Blake / Rodaidh and Piers

Caravan Recordings feat. October / Emptyset

Wifey feat. D’explicit – LIVE PA / China feat. Black the Ripper / DJ Undecided /

Wifey DJs

Cliché feat. French Kriss / Michel Dupont / French Connection Trio + Special

Guests

Pathic / ADJ / Junq / P45 / Ebola / Lusinda / AGT Rave Cru / Amental / McMash

Clan

Residents from: WANG – Electro Elvis and Lula / Braindrop / Dub Pressure /

Drums of the South / Square Roots / Sequence / Plex / Dissident

BLOC Residents: Billy Nasty / Radioactive Man / Ed DMX / Jerome Hill / Luke’s

Anger / James Tec / Rebel Intelligence / Joe Hart / Oliver Way / George ‘The

Skull’ Hull

Richie Hawtin

OK so our top pick isn’t really the off centre alternative choice. But you just can’t deny how good the Canadian turned Berlin scenester is. Think of this more as the solid without fail choice. More often than not Richie will deliver, trust us we have seen him countless times and never get bored. Expect driving techno beats which build up to infinity, some technical ingenuity and his trademark hair flick and clap dance.

Bookashade

With a new album out this year, the boys have been on the road showcasing a new live. Already receiving rave reviews from all corners of the world, this show is sure to excite the electronic dance heads as well as those who prefer their bands live live rather than laptop live.

Carl Craig

This man has the golden touch. Anything that he produces or remixes turns out seminal. A stalwart on the scene from the early Detroit days Carl Craig has been there, done it and decided to hang around a bit longer to show the kids what its really all about. EarPipe caught him at the start of the year and blew us away with his Detroit blend of techno combined with such musicality that only one word comes to mind. EPIC.

Dixon

Another person we caught at the start of the year was Dixon. The Innervisions resident has been at the forefront of the deep electronic house sound that has seen a recent flourish. His deep house stylings are warm, sensual and seductive, be sure to catch.

DJ Yoda

Here at earPipe we love a bit of novelty comedy to lighten the mood. DJ Yoda is the undisputed heavyweight of lightening the mood. Serious does not even come into the equation. Simply marvel and smile as he ridiculously scratches and cuts up anything and everything into an old skool b-boy rhythm. Entertaining of the highest order.

Killa Kella

Whilst we’re on the subject of entertaining hip hop we can’t forget about beatboxer Killa Kella. The former beat box champion transcends all genres from Britney to drum n bass all through the manipulation of his voice. Truly an amazing sight.

The Field
Stockholm’s Axel Willner as The Field creates some of the most epic and mesmerising soundscapes you will ever hear. Signed to Kompakt he sound is often categorised as minimal techno but it is so much more than that. Intertwining harmonies, drawn out loops and sheer epic soundscapes create a complex and intense musical environment. We caught the man at Sonar and effortlessly floated away in the sunshine on a river of mojitos.

Audion

This Saturday Matthew Dear has left his leather trousers and big hands at home for he will be in his Audion guise. What this means is he’ll be thrashing out his blend of epic twisted techno from mouth to mouth and beyond.

Danny Tenaglia

Last but not least the Brooklyn 20 hour legend that is Danny Tenaglia. Renowned for his relentless 20 hour DJ sets, this man knows how to party. The purveyor of dark twisted tribal beats, Danny will take you on a long and deep journey, then at the end he’ll kick you out in the middle of no where. Expect tribal beats with a dash of diva vocals. But do beware of the stilton clangers that he has been known to drop every so often.