A few bits and bobs going on this weekend with the big elephant in the room being the Lovebox weekender. Now extended to three days featuring the likes of Roxy Music, Grace Jones, Hot Chip, Hercules and Love Affair to name a few stellar names. Saturday looks like a hot tip with Roxy Music headlining the bill along with Mark Ronson. The terribly named Relentless Energy Stage hosts a solid line up consisting of Bookashade, Jesse Rose, Henrik Schwarz and personal favourite Dixon whilst Grandmaster Flash rounds off the Rizla arena on a old skool hip hop tip. A few tickets are left at Ticketmaster here.

On the Sunday Grace Jones will impose her diva stylings on the crowd whilst Hot Chip will be doing their thing in a more nerdy way. From the dancey side of things, Kubicle will be warming up for their birthday marathon with all their favourite DJs from Craig Richards and Jamie Jones to Lee Foss, Clive Henry and Lee Curtiss. Horse Meat Disco and Disco Bloodbath will be taking over the seedy derelict hotel of the NYC Downlow fresh from its outing at Glasto for a colossus disco hoedown. It is quite the temporary structure with a taxi crashing through the roof, plus what happens inside is so camp that your retinas will never be the same again. I’m not sure how the king of middle class bling – Westwood will handle the campness when he plays on the Saturday. Also the big gay bear from Chicago Derrick Carter will be in the house, or more so the Rizla arena with Larry Heard and the Hot Chip DJs. Tickets for Sunday are also still available but going quick at Ticketmaster here.

You can also get the both days for a cool £80 here.

All this daytime festivallng also means there will be swarms of people lost for things to do in the evening. Luckily though there are also swarms of DJs playing at Lovebox also lost for things to do. So conveniently there’s a few after parties happening to mop up the stragglers. Saturday sees Magic & Medicine make use of Dixon and the Bocking Street warehouse for a little post Lovebox shindig. I say little but probably mean massive as the pimp Seth Troxler and The Revenge will be joining in. Tickets are available from Ticketweb here.

On the Sunday Kubicle will be on after party duties with their entire Lovebox line-up heading back to Metropolis in Hackney to play eclectic sets to an intimate crowd of 500 jobless souls. With Craig Richards, Jamie Jones and Clive Henry on the bill its even worth quitting your job to be there.

If you’re not in the Loveboxing mood then A Night With… Cassy might be for you. The Berlinette will be smashing the back doors out of The Basement in Hoxton to a small and dedicated crowd. The atmosphere will no doubt be reaching fever point for this quality DJ. Tickets still going at RA here.

Finally on the Sunday Bread and Butter will be doing a day party at Light Bar’s roof terrace. Yep, turns out they’ve got a roof terrace… Ryan Crosson of wolf+lamb/M_nus/Wagon Repair fame will be keeping the rain at bay with house and techno records. Tickets available at RA here.

Not a bad weekend all in all. Lap it up, we’re half way through the summer.

As you all know, staple London night Mulletover will be celebrating its sixth birthday this Sunday. So we thought we’d catch up with its co-founder Geddes for a quick chat on all things Mulletover.

Hi Geddes, 6 years of Mulletover, that’s quite a milestone. Are you feeling tired or have you still got plenty more to give?

This year I feel we’ve turned a corner, 6 years a long time to be doing a party.  We’ve not missed one event in all that time.  So crazy and surreal at the same time. I’ve still got more to give, as long as I’m excited the parties will keep happening.

So let’s start from the beginning, what were you doing before Mulletover and how did it come about between you and Rob Star?

Before Mulletover I worked in the bars in and around west London, did a bit of PR here and there for various companies and basically supported myself with freelance work while I concentrated on building Mulletover and my DJ career.  The very first Mulletover party was due to happen at the Fortress Studios off Old Street but on the night of the event, Shaun who owned the gaff rang me and said it couldn’t happen as the police were on to him and threatening action.  Jafar (who was my partner at the time) said he new of another warehouse partying going on in White Chapel so he put a call in to Rob and that’s how we met and our partnership began.

Where did the name come from? Is it more to do with mulling things over or more about the mullet hair style favoured by Germans?

The name was always to do with mulling things over, obviously at the time there was this fascination in East London with hair cuts and lots of heads believe this is the real meaning but you’ve heard it from the horse’s mouth, it’s not!

How does it work between you and rob, as well as the rest of the team? Who brings what to the Mullet over production?

Rob brings a lot of the logistics into the fold, he’s good at organising and making sure mail outs and text messages go out on time, then we have Phil who handles all our bars and stock, Simon on production and me doing all the bookings and look after the acts on the night

Over the years you’ve held parties at many different locations and had a whole host of DJs headline. Which DJs and locations have been the most memorable, and which party has been your overall favourite?

May bank holiday 2005 with Ivan Smagghe, that party was off the hook

Does Mullet over take any inspiration from other parties and nights?

Speaking for myself I spent some time going to low life, lazy dog and soul sonic when I first moved to London so I guess I took inspiration from whatever I was going to at the time. Those parties were all about the vibe, music and people; it was those characteristics that gave me the drive to do something similar.  Rob on the other came from a rave background and I know those events were a major influence for him.

Looking into the future, where can you see Mullet over going over the next 6 years? Any sister projects, new directions, new sounds?

We’re always trying to be at the forefront at what we do and that will always be the case.  I don’t see us going on for ever, I never wanted to be promoting nights at 40!  Although that’s a long way off it is something both Rob and I have spoken about, as long as we’re enjoying it and the music and party is lighting our fire we’ll continue to do it.

To add to that, what would be your dream line-up (dead or alive), location and party, the ultimate goal for Mullet over if you will?

Ricardo, Cassy, with DJ Harvey in the back room.  For a venue it would be the ultimate place that we only dream about

Finally what’s happening for the rest of the year in terms of Mullet over and yourself?

We’re doing all the events at Eastern Electrics this year and some great line-ups in the pipeline for those, Glade Festival, and Garden Festival in Croatia.  Personally I’ll be doing a couple of dates at space this year, some more label nights around Europe the first being at Watergate in Berlin, remixes and productions in the pipeline, it’s going to be a good year.

Eastern Electrics (Buy Tickets)

Top of the picks again is Eastern Electrics. Last year’s party was quite phenomenal – great line up, good crowd and interesting location. This year is more of the same. Headlining the main room is the amazing Steve Bug, he’ll be bringing in the new year with his 11pm set. Shonky is in there for some moral support whilst the BLOC folk take over the second room with a seriously dubbed out line-up – Kode 9, Appleblim and Plastician. Finally Man Make Music host the third room with a couple of bumping headliners in the form of Justin Martin and Riva Starr, a pretty stellar line-up for new years. Location wise they’ve taken over some railway arches, this time in London Bridge, next door to the new Shard building on St Thomas Street three minutes walk from the station. Tickets are selling out extremely fast so get them now at a relatively reasonable £32.50.

Secretsundaze (Buy Tickets)

Secretsundaze will be pitching up at new venue The Camp. They’ve got quite a humble line-up in the form of Delano Smith and Wbeeza, and of course Giles and James in support. It’s a great little basement which will no doubt have an intimate fun atmosphere all for another reasonable £25.

Cocoon (Buy Tickets)

But if you’re splashing out for NYE then Cocoon at matter is the place to be. Sven Vath returns to his new London home with the whole Cocoon shebang. The minimalistic Cassy provides some heads down support, whilst Andre Galluzzi bolsters the Cocoon contingent. If that’s not enough best of British Yousef and Matt Tolfrey are present with their German friend Dorian  Paic. Tickets still available and a slightly pricier but I think value for money £40, especially if you’re in love with pappa Sven.

T bar with Magda and Heartthrob (Buy Tickets)

If you want some heavily electronic sounds then T Bar might be a good option. They’ve pulled one out the bag by shipping in Magda and Heartthrob. They’ll be rocking the basement all night. Not a bad shout at £25.

DFA vs Horse Meat Disco (Buy Tickets)

If you need something a bit lighter then I definitely recommend DFA vs Horse Meat Disco for some full on disco action. The brilliant Holy Ghost is headlining along with DFAs Jaquess Renault. Plus they’ve got some fantastic support from the Warm and Horse Meat Disco DJs. Camped out disco madness for NYE all for a steady £35.

Disco Bloodbath

On another disco tip Disco Bloodbath are throwing a shindig with their resident DJs – Dan Beaumont, Domon Martin and Ben Pistor. They’re back at their classic Dalston haunt Visions Video Bar. I’d definitely expect some terrific music ranging from disco right through to proto techno classics. And all for an extremely cheap £15. No tickets as of yet but apparently they’ll be out soon.

Fabric (Buy Tickets)

Of course you can’t forget the heavyweight fabric for NYE. They once again have a solid line-up with Ivan Smagghe headlining room 1, back since his amazing 10^th birthday set. There is also some superb support coming from Jamie Jones, Jesse Rose and Hot Chip’s Joe Goddard, not to mention the always high quality residents Craig Richards, Andrew Weatherhall and Terry Francis. Tickets still available at another £40.

After all that you might find NYE a bit overrated. If that’s the case then get involved with the NYD parties. New Years lands just before the weekend so you can get massively on it for two days and still have the whole weekend to recover. Best Christmas/New Years placement ever!

Bugged Out All Dayer

Now a staple of the Old Queens Head New Year celebration, the Bugged Out boys return once more for a day of off the wall music. Expect impromptu sets and some completely guilty pleasure fun. Already pinned to do sets are Ben Pistor from Disco Bloodbath, Brodinski doing a hip hop set and Tayo doing a classic house set. I believe its free to get in… just get there early.

MurMur Presents No Fit State (Buy Tickets)

The first recommendation is the MurMur presents No Fit State party at a secret location. What’s not a secret is the amazing headline DJ Seth Troxler who will no doubt open the year in fine style. He’ll be joined by NYC’s Bill Patrick and MurMur label boss Geddes.

Wet Yourself (Buy Tickets)

We’re back at fabric again for New Years Day where the Wet Yourself folk take over for the day after party. Taking over three rooms, they have some delightful DJs. There wil be some dark electronic stylings from Stephan Bodzin, Marc Romboy and Martinez, as well as Rui Da Silva keeping it rolling.

Tabula Rasa

For something a little edgy for NYD the Tabula Rasa folk have promised loads of special guests. This could be anybody, but judging from their previous track  record it is sure to contain some quality. However I am a bit dubious about their claims of a heated terrace party in the middle of winter. If anything it will be interesting how an outdoor party will fold out.

Fuse (Buy Tickets)

Fuse continue to fly the after party flag for NYD. They’ve picked up a classic London line-up in the form of Nick Curly, Geddes, Hector, Kevin Griffiths and Enzo. Not too shabby a line-up for 93 East.

Ministry of Sound with Sasha (Buy Tickets)

Finally, the big gunned night is Sasha’s NYD bash at Ministry of Sound. Sasha is Sasha so it should be pretty quality. The Cosmonauts will be injecting a bit of cosmic fun whilst Jim Rivers and Anil Shawla serve up some alternatives. Tickets still available at an OK £20.

So I hope all this helps…. I myself am still undecided… But I’m sure I’ll be found in a gutter come 2^nd Jan.

Well, this effort for Cocoon completely reflects her production tendencies utilising deep grooves, controlled progression and all done with the urgency of a tortoise, with only one slight difference – a healthy presence of the more soulful side of house which is currently in vogue.

That is no bad thing, however. Quite often, the stripped back sound can get so reduced that the overall progression and atmosphere of a mix can quite easily drain out the bottom like a leaky bucket. Interspersing stripped back with soulful house adds a bit of colour and contrast to the vibe. And that’s what Cassy has done quite successfully here. In the opening stages, the deep flickering bassline of Baby Ford’s ‘Make Your Own Sunshine’ is contrasted against the disco loop of Trus’me’s ‘Good God’.

Continuing on the drawn out tip – oscillating between the stripped back and the soulful – the fluttering of metallic percussion and a heavily phased synth line on Jitterbug’s ‘No Pressure’ creates a hypnotic haze which perfectly tees up the bongo rhythms of Kai Alce’s’ ‘Power Thru Pt.3′. The same happens again moving from the bleepy judders of STL’s ‘Silent State’ to the flourishing and soaring strings of Future Beat Alliance’s mix of ‘Septemeber’.

From here, Cassy descends towards the deeper depths via a new, dark and sinister path. Her own production, ‘Magnificent Cat Won’t Do’, respires hypnotic horns and her trademark wispy vocals to create a dazed link into chugging layers of synths on Kassem Mosse’s brilliant ‘Untitled A1′. However, it doesn’t take long for Cassy to allow some soulful sounds to rise back to the surface through updated 2009 deep house sounds. Inland Knights, Kez Ym and Pierre Lx all contribute in rounding off the mix in warm bass and bright melodies.

Whilst this effort definitely doesn’t bowl you over with high energy beats and palpable bass sweeps – that’s not Cassy’s style – it culls your attention as it transforms through shades of stripped back sounds from the soulful to the deep, whilst always remaining with in a tidy 4/4 template.

Buy Cassy – Simply Devotion from Amazon (CD), HMV (CD | MP3), Play.com (CD | MP3)

Tracklist:
1. Cassy – Simply Intro
2. Baby Ford – Make Your Own Sunshine (Minimal Man Mix)
3. Trus’me – Good God
4. Anton Zap – Spain
5. Jitterbug – No Pressure (DJ Qu Remix)
6. Kai Alce Feat. Azulu Phantom – Power Thru Pt 3 (Don’t Turn On The Lights)
7. STL – Silent State
8. Danny Howells – September (Future Beat Alliance Remix)
9. Taho – Energy Fields (Quince’s Dubbed Out Reconstruction)
10. Cassy – Magnificant Cat Won’t Do
11. Kassem Mosse – Untitled A1
12. DJ Qu – The Zones
13. Linkwood – R.I.P
14. Inland Knights – Wanna Be Up
15. Kezym – Washing My Heart
16. Pierre Lx – Gabita
17. Ralph Falcon & Alan T/Alex K – Whateva

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:

You may or may not have heard that London’s beloved T-Bar is set to close in mid December. A while back they sent out e-mails asking for punters to find a new location for them. Lazy if you ask me! But lets hope they succeed as T-Bar has been a staple night spot for those looking for quality underground music all at no cost. In its prime the likes of Damien Lazarus, Michael Mayer, Ivan Smagghe and Andrew Weatherhall were gracing their DJ booth frequently on every night though the week but the weekend and the Sunday carry on party used to be nothing short of ridiculous. So in true “I should have gone home hours ago” style, Tea Bar have got a series of parties set through the week to go out with a bang, no doubt with the aim of hospitalising a few in the process.

Some great DJs will be coming through their doors, from the likes of Chloe, Pier Bucci, Anja Schneider, Cassy and Heidi, but our top picks has to be Damien Lazarus’ return with chum Michael Mayer and Mulletover Geddes for their infamous Stink night. Whilst on the right side of the weekend, Thursday, sees Andrew Weatherhall and Ivan Smagghe resurrect their Wrong Meeting night. And finally T Bar closes with the very last Dig Your Own Rave, where the Sunday afternoon and evening is whittled away with Jamie Jones, Matthew Styles, Dave Congreve, Clive Henry and many more.

It’s sure to be a painful couple of weeks saying goodbye at work. Sickies at the ready….

Wednesday 3rd
Event: High Horse
Lineup: Foals DJ set, Skull Juice, Casper C, Matt Walsh
Time: 9pm – 3am

Thursday 4th
Event: Baise Main
Lineup: Chloe, Danton Eeprom, Tomas More
Time: 9pm – 3am

Friday 5th
Event: Ditched Disco
Lineup: Pier Bucci & Gower Ramsey
Time: 9pm – 4am

Saturday 6th
Event: A Night With… Carsten Klemann
Time: 9pm – 4am

Sunday 7th
Event: DYOR & Fabric present ‘Go with the Blow’
Lineup: DJ’s to be announced on the day
Time: midday – midnight

Monday 8th
Event: Stink
Lineup: Damian Lazarus & Michael Mayer
Time: 9pm – 3am

Tuesday 9th
Event: Gay Bingo
Lineup: Jonny Woo, Ma Butcher & Jon Sizzle
Time: 9pm – 2am

Wednesday 10th
Event: Mobilee Loves T Bar
Lineup: Anja Schneider & Ralf Kollmann
Time: 9pm – 3am

Thursday 11th
Event: Wrong Meeting
Lineup: Andrew Weatherall & Ivan Smagghe
Time: 9pm – 3am

Friday 12th
Event: Ditched Disco
Lineup: Cassy & Gower Ramsey
Time: 9pm – 4am

Saturday 13th
Event: Phonica Special
Lineup: Heidi, Hector, Simon Rigg, The Vangelis & Anthea
Time: 9pm – 4am

Sunday 14th
Event: Dig Your Own Rave closing party
Lineup: Jamie Jones, Matthew Styles, Rob Mello, Hector, Dave Congreve, Clive Henry,
Dyed Soundorom, Ben Bryant, FB Julian, Pierre LX
Time: Midday – Midnight

A civilised delayed start to the weekend took place this year for EarPipe. Rather than listen to one hour Tenaglia sets in deepest darkest Clapham, EarPipe decided to start the weekend on Saturday night in fine fashion at Hi Tek Soul, who happened to host the most Detroitiest Detroit line-up a none Detroit person would have seen outside of Detroit this year. Taking place at the ritzy glitzy Ministry of Sound for the third or maybe fourth time this year, the punters had the delectable selection of DJ Rolando, Stacey Pullen, Ken Ishi and of course Derrick May. Also, let’s not forget Jim Masters, who does such a sterling effort warming up or closing down for all these techno heavyweights.

From midnight onwards there was no hanging about with DJ Rolando. He just jumped feet first into a deep techno puddle, splashing all those around with relentless beats and bass. Like a kid with wellies on, he just splashed about care free dropping everything from upfront tracks to classic UR. A clichéd but perfectly apt moment was the dropping of Rolando’s own seminal classic Knights of the Jaguar, possibly my favourite EDM track of all time.

Out back in the bar, the versatile Stacey Pullen was teaching the kids about house music. Digging out some Chicago and Detroit beats, he did what he does best, effortlessly gliding between the slower end of techno and the Chicago side of house; such a talented DJ that seems to consistently deliver.

Derrick May was on deck duties from 4am onwards. By this point it starts to become a blur. All I know is that Derrick continued along the heavy foundations laid down by Rolando, momentarily stepping out for moments of funk rhythms. A solid set from the Detroiter, however I guess the combination of Clapham Park dancing in the day and the late set time meant much of the crowd had begun to thin halfway through his set. Unfortunately when that happens at Ministry the atmosphere of the Box room just gets sucked right out, leaving the night to slowly wind down to its 7am finish.

Despite that, Hi Tek Soul still remains the only thing worth going to Minstry for. Well that and when Secretsundaze takes over the courtyard.

As for the Sunday, the antics were supposed to be of a carnival nature. Plans for some Good Times and a bit of Panza were hampered by the increased police presence. No we didn’t get arrested for inter-gang warfare; it was only the conservative denial of entry to the Middle Row streets due to Carnival being a bit too busy. Who woulda thought? So the day was spent sitting in front of the job centre drinking cans of G&T whilst eating curried goat as busy Carnival people bustled around. It’s a glamorous life.

Tearing myself from the streets of Nottinghill, I venture south to Southwark where Mulletover, Disco Bloodbath and Resident Advisor have all joined forces to entertain the masses in a car park for the Eastern Electrics event. Being too ginned up there was a major failure in making it down for Raresh’s outdoor set. We did however make it down in time for Geddes who is consistently good right now. Every set EarPipe hears from the man is perfectly set for the crowd and venue. Sunday was no exception. He was precariously edging towards techno but nicely keeping those beats caged up; occasionally letting them take a swipe at the crowd.

Over in the Resident Advisor room Will Saul and Gerd Jansen were warming the second large railway arch as more destitute clubbers filed in from Secretsundaze. Still feeling the buzz from Carl Craig’s set the crowd were more than welcoming to Will and Gerd’s assortment of electronic sounds. Whilst in the Disco Bloodbath room which had taken over from Mulletover, Maurice Fulton was pumping out the disco. This was the first time EarPipe had ever heard or seen of Maurice, but on first impressions we decided this guy definitely knew how to spin disco. It wasn’t just Disco though; he’d often wonder off road and pick up some delectable acid house fruits to add an extra dimension to his set, truly a great DJ who probably stole the night for us. If you get the chance, definitely catch this guy.

Meanwhile Cassy was taking command of the RA room. I always expect her to play her restrained hypnotic loops which are so familiar on all her productions. But the two times we’ve caught her she has just gone fully for it. Long hypnotic minimal loops probably wouldn’t have been appropriate for a large cavernous room with a bunch of people that had been out all day. Gauging it right she drops some great techno and house dropping tracks from SIS and Johnny D and thus proving why she is so revered on the Berlin scene.

Appleblim had the tough job of following Cassy. After hearing Appleblim’s acclaimed RA podcast it was going to be touch and go whether their dub techno come dubstep sounds would be invigorating enough to keep the bank holiday crowd alive. Unfortunately the dark and moody sounds just didn’t suit for that time in the morning. Which is a shame as we could see what they were trying to do but when you’re up against tired legs they just didn’t stand much of a chance.

For their first outing, we must say Eastern Electrics was a hit. The venue was superb coupled with a great crowd and atmosphere, lets hope they get more gigs going there.

Stuck for something to do this weekend? Well swap that Clapham park grass for a bit of urban concrete. This weekend sees the first Eastern Electrics festival to be held in the Ewer Street car park near Southwark tube station. Apparently they’ve got a DC-10-esque courtyard as well as two indoor areas. But probably the most important is that there are no neighbours! So hopefully the party can be cranked up right through till 6am.

The Mulletover folks host the outdoor area through the day with everyone’s favourite Romanian prodigy Raresh. Guillaume Coutu Doumont will be providing a bit of support with regulars Simon Morell and Geddes. Resident Advisor will be doing inside at night with the Berlinette Cassy and those dub heads Appleblim. Sounds fantastic.

Ewer Street Car Park
Great Suffolk Street
London SE1 0NR

Line-up /
Outdoor stage hosted by mulletover (2pm – 10pm):
14.00pm Simon Morell (DDD)
16.00pm Guillaume & The Coutu Dumonts (Musique Risque / Circus Company)
18.00pm Raresh (a:rpia:r)
20.00pm Geddes (murmur)

Indoor Marquee hosted by Resident Advisor:
22.00pm Will Saul (Simple Records)
23.30pm Gerd Janson (Running Back)
01.00am Cassy (Perlon / Beatstreet)
03.00am Appleblim (Skull Disco / Apple Pips)

Indoor Marquee hosted by Disco Bloodbath:
21.00pm Dan Beaumont (Disco Bloodbath)
23.00pm Damon Martin (Disco Bloodbath)
01.00am Maurice Fulton (DFA)
02.30am I-F (Viewlexx)
04.00am Ben Pistor (Disco Bloodbath)

Both days open from 2pm-6am
Tickets £15 advance from:
www.ticketweb.co.uk www.residentadvisor.net/ee
www.mulletover.co.uk
www.residentadvisor.net
www.myspace.com/discobloodbathdisco