Hola hombre! Long time no speak! It’s been a while since our last posting… But this one is going to put that right, just in time for the weekend. And quite a weekend it is to be reopening the blog post account. So lets get down to it…

Basically if your head has been in the ground for the last month or so, or you happen to be a Chilean miner, then you’d be hard pressed to have bypassed the monstrous weekend happening at fabric. The Chilean miners amongst you might have checked the calendar and realised its October. This obviously brings the fabric birthday instantly to mind – mainly due to the fantastic review that we wrote last year. Well for this year they’re following up the phenomenal party with what looks to be another phenomenal party. Part of the magic last year was the three Villalobos sets spread across the Saturday to Monday marathon. This year they’ve got RV back in again. You might ask, are you not fed up with the prospect of RV for another marathon session so soon after the On&On session the other month in August? The answer is no. Literally RV can do no wrong at the moment. I hate to gush, but the guy is just on fire. But that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Supporting through the weekend will be dOP, Floating Points, Move D, Trus’Me, Ryan Crosson – all people who have been brilliant this year. Plus established firm favourites like Ame, Lazarus, Dixon, Tobi Neumann and Lee Burridge along with the trusty residents Richards and Francis to make the whole weekend a mouth watering melon of a session. If last year was anything to go by you want to buy your tickets right now if you already haven’t… The top tip from earPIPE is go for a bit of a posho breakfast at Smiths or the Modern Pantry, all nearby, followed by some bloody marys down the road from fabric at the Fox & Anchor. Then arrive at fabric around 10am to spend the day in the dark cavernous rooms. If I were a Chilean miner just back on the surface, this is exactly how I would want to celebrate life. FACT.

Get your tickets at TICKETWEB or you can get some interesting ticket CD combos at the Fabric Website.

However if waking up to rave on Sunday just sounds a bit too civilised and you want to bash through from Saturday night, then you might be interested in the following two nights. It’s a toss up between A Night With or Shake It. The former has the always brilliant Ivan Smagghe for the whole eight hours. Smagghe plays a fair bit in London, but he rarely plays for eight hours. Personally I think this will be one of the standout A Night With nights. However… Shake It have brought in some Minus folks in the form of Magda and Marc Houle – two DJs that I do thoroughly enjoy hearing out. Its though. Maybe Smagster just sways it, either way they should be both entertaining. But please do get yourself down to fabric, after the tough year they’ve had, they’re bound to be blowing off some major steam. You’ve been warned!

A Night With… Ivan Smagghe (Tickets)

Shake It with Magda, Marc Houle and Layo & Bushwacka! (Tickets)

The last bank holiday weekend for the year is just around the corner. Sad times for many as it marks the beginning of the descent into winter. This ensuing doom normally results in everyone going big for the weekend, and as a result, people tend to cool off the weekend before. But as any good football team will tell you its all about the pre-season friendly to get you match fit for the onslaught. I mean you don’t want to be flaking out on day two of the bank holiday because you didn’t practice a two day bender the weekend before. That would just be embarrassing. So here are a few pre bank hol weekend friendlies to get you ready for the long weekend.

Lobster at The Gramaphone (Tickets)

Our Lobster friends have laid down the second round at the all you can eat seafood buffet. This Friday they’re at The Gramaphone where Roof Light will be served up along side their residents Anton and George in a night of gorging and indulgence. Its like a premiership team in a friendly against a third division team, at only a fiver to get in it’s a palatable and easy way to start things off.

Fabric On & On (Tickets)

Saturday there’s only really one destination – fabric. This is the tough pre-season friendly with a 15 hour gauntlet being laid down by Villalobos – a man we have a little bit too much love for. Who knows when he’s going to play, but I’d imagine he’d probably play a couple of times over the night. To pad things out in between, Craig Richards, Dinky, Terry Francis and Slam will be sure to keep you locked in the dark doldrums. This is going to be a roadblock so get you tickets now!

Love Fever Studio Party (Tickets)

If you need something a bit less gluttonous, then the Love Fever Studio Party on Kingsland Road would probably be a good alternative. Wolf and Lamb co-honcho Gadi Mizrahi along with Jacques Renault will be making you strut well into the night with some disco stylish fun.

Half Baked (info)

Fabric, the pussyclarts, will be closing their doors at 2pm on Sunday. Pretty early doors if you ask me… However don’t fret, as the people at Half Baked understand. They’re kicking things off on Sunday afternoon straight after fabric are done, so drag yourself to the still to be confirmed east London location to continue the party as the beautiful and stylish people look at you in disgust! Jamie Jones and Disco Bloodbath’s Ben Pistor will be seeing you smash through the proverbial clubbing marathon wall.

Stretch the old legs out with these bad boys and you’ll be running rings around the amateurs come bank holiday weekend.

My God this summer is absolutely flying through. We’re already half way through yet I can’t even remember the summer beginning. We’ve literally been bitch slapped with great weather, festivals in parks, outdoor parties and for those lucky enough, flights to exotic places. Still dizzy from being sucker punched, here’s the run down for this weekend…

Friday

Ekstravaganza at Corsica Studios (Buy Tickets)

The Scandinavian returns to our shores for the fifth instalment of his Ekstravaganza, swapping the saunas and nudity of Norway for the gritty surrounds of South London’s Elephant and Castle. This Friday looks to be the biggest of them yet. Obviously Prins Thomas will be dropping some of his Norwegian branded cosmic disco, but alongside him the lusciously deep Mole will be wowing crowds with his live skills. Whilst in room 2 the gritty Parisian Ivan Smagghe will be stunning folk with his electronic weapons alongside Sean Johnston of Hardway Brother’s fame.  If you get down there before 10pm in you can get in for a fiver and sample the delights of the pre party BBQ with the Discosessions. That’s a family evening out right there.

Warm at Plastic (info)

If being south of the river is against your religion then fret not Hackney Council have just let Plastic People open its doors  again. Hazzar I hear you say? Hazzar indeed. For opening night they’ve got their familiar friends Warm to resume their brilliant residency. And for the headliner, who better than Berlin’s Prosumer to… erm… “warm” the place up for them. Delightful news and great to see the place back.

Saturday

T-Bar Closing Party at Scrutton Street Warehouse (Buy Tickets)

The other month it seemed like London was wheezing under the pressure of a club closure epidemic. One of the victims was T-Bar, already a bit sickly when it moved venues, it never really got back to its glory days and in June it finally bit the dust. We hope that T-Bar has gone to that happy place in the sky where the licensing laws are free, there are no sound restrictions and the punters are reliable and never ending. But apart from the wonky K memories and the countless mid week sick days what have we got left? Can’t remember? Well this Saturday is T-Bar’s wake to celebrate the once London weekday linchpin. Boston duo Soul Clap along with two brilliant young talents Floating Points and Nicholas Jaar will drop the soundtrack to this one last hoorah at the Scrutton Street Warehouse as people reminisce about the funny things T-Bar used to do. Ahhhh remember that time when T Bar opened on Monday night and Michael Mayer played that gut wrenching bass…ahhh yeahh… Rest In Peace

Sunday

Kubicle Birthday Marathon (info)

Blatant church dodgers Kubicle celebrate five years of sunday sin this weekend. From their humble beginnings at Public Life in 2005 they return to the scene of the crime to begin their 21 hour clubbing marathon. From Sunday morning till Monday morning the Kubicle rabble will transcend three venues across London’s east end. They’ll hope from Public Life to the Brickhouse on Brick Lane for Sunday afternoon before rounding off the night at Metropolis in Hackney. Across the three venues will see all Kubicle’s favorite people make an appearance from Dan Ghenacia, Jamie Jones, DJ THREE, Craig Richards and Clive Henry to Antonio De Angelis, FB Julian, Lee Foss, Derren’s Disco and jozif. Its going to be huge. You might need to take Monday off work though.

There it is… GET INVOLVED

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.

A weekend bookended by bank holidays, don’t you just love Easter. Jesus died so we could rave for four days with out feeling guilty about work. I’m pretty sure that’s what it said in the bible. Plenty of stuff on so I won’t ramble on in this blasphemous theme.

Thursday

Secretsundaze @ Stamford Works (Buy Tickets)

Ooo its nearly time for Secretsundaze to emerge from its winter cocoon and head back out into the great outdoors. I cannie wait. But just to wet your whistle they’re throwing a Bank Holiday warehouse party this Thursday. I remember reading somewhere that its at the great little warehouse called the Stamford Works in Dalston where the recent DDD birthday took place. Its round the back of the Jazz Bar and Kingsland Road station. However I can’t find where I read that, so the official word is its in Dalston and yet to be announced. For the line-up they’ve got a veteran of the New York scene Morgan Geist of Metro Area fame, whilst in support they have new comer Nina Kraviz who’s found breaking fame on Radioslave’s Rekids. James and Giles complete the main room bill and their friends Electric Minds host the back room. A nice warm up for the weekend ahead.

Horse Meat Disco Bloodbath @ Hewett Street Car Park

The two dominant disco forces in London collide at Shoreditch’s Hewett Street Car Park this Thursday. You’d expect the universe to implode with forces of such magnitude, but instead it’s managed to fly over New York’s Tim Sweeney, who’s dulcet tones introduce the now globally famous Beats in Space radio show. He will be joined on his rare UK appearance by all the residents from both of London’s titan disco nights. There’s a few tickets left at Phonica, Dalston Superstore and The Eagle, get em quick!

Bedrock @ matter (Buy Tickets)

A bank holiday weekend wouldn’t be one without ol’ Diggers throwing a Bedrock party. Matter seems to be the new London home for Bedrock parties after years spent at Heaven. As well as Diggers headlining, the legendary Danny Howells is on back up duties, whilst Christian Smith and Marco Bailey give room 2 a techno workout. It’s kind of a retro classic line up that doesn’t grow old, these guys know their music and they know how to mix.

Shake It! @ Great Suffolk Street Car Park (Buy Tickets)

I was in two minds whether to recommend this. Carl Cox is a legend, but his recent sets have been short of desirable in an underground sense. However, his legions of fans that span his lengthy career will be out in force which will mean a great crowd for the ol’ Coxy. If you want something fun and accessible for friends and family then this ain’t a bad shout.

Greg Wilson  @ The Horatia

I still haven’t got myself to the Horatia yet, but they have been consistently putting on fun DJs for free. This Thursday Greg Wilson is the bill armed with a tape deck and a few decades worth of music. Clean Cheap fun!

Friday

Shoplifter @ The Horse and Groom (Buy Tickets)

After the glitz and glamour of the old guard doing their thing on Thursday, Friday seems like quite a subtle affair. However there is no reason to hold back. Derren Smart’s Shoplifter has upped sticks and moved over to The Horse and Groom. Chris Sullivan, Rock Steady and Josif join Craig Richards and Derren Smart in their new home. Free before 11pm, then only £4 after that! Bargain.

Holic @ East Village (Buy Tickets)

East Village aren’t doing things by half on Friday. They’ve got a special 12 hour party starting from 5pm right through till 5am Saturday morning. The legendary house producer DJ Pierre will be ushering you through the half day party, with support from the equally talented Argy, whilst upstairs its all discotastic with Pete Herbet and the Disco Deviance crew.

Transition @ Visions Video Bar (Info)

New night Transitions looks a bit alright too. They start things off at the ironically rubbish but brilliant Visions Video Bar in Dalston. Headlining is Wbeeza from South London. He’s been getting good coverage on Third Ear as well as joining the new Secretsundaze roster of DJs. Big things are happening for this kid. Also on the bill is Sud Electronic’s Lakuti and Runsounds Chris Box. If you put yourself on the roll call at RA its only £3 in.

Lobster @ The Shacklewell Arms

New friends Lobster begin their voyage of throwing parties this Friday. They’re beginning life at The Shacklewell Arms in Dalston. This raw and gritty pub come club will play host to Tommy Four Seven who’s had much success on CLR. The rest of the bill is made up of fresh Lobster – resident DJs David Russell, Anton & George and Ed Worboys. Its free before 11pm and then only a fiver after that… Hope it goes well guys.

Saturday

Cocoon @ matter (Buy Tickets)

The big one for Saturday night is undisputedly Cocoon at matter. Pappa Sven continues his residency at the London superclub. If that’s not enough for you Loco Dice is on hand to make you sweat a bit more. That’s it. Sven and Dice all night in room 1.  I don’t really need to say much else.

Prologue @ East Village

Prologue return to East Village once again with another understated but quality line-up. Secretsundaze’s James Priestley headlines with Jozif who’s found recent success on Wolf and Lamb. They’ll be rocking the basement with long time resident Paul Louth, whilst upstairs, DDD’s Simon Morell will be working things with the Stafford Brothers. Not a bad little party in the heart of Old Street/Shoreditch on a Saturday night if you ask me.

Sunday

Mulletover 6^th Birthday @ Great Suffolk Street Car Park (Buy Tickets)

Sunday is the big one and top of the picks is the Mulletover 6^th Birthday. They’re back at the Great Suffolk Street car park with the quirky and hilarious DOP headlining with their brilliant live set alongside a quality British line up of Will Saul, Matt Tolfrey and Geddes. Resident Advisor are running things in room 2 with the incredibly deep Levon Vincent and the bright melodic Floating Points. Tayo is pushing his new venture Lean Left in room 3, where he celebrates all things 4/4. He’s on the bill with Get Physical’s Heidi and Tayo’s buddy Frank Tope. The theme is silver, so get yourselves wrapped in tin foil and be careful of stray lasers being reflected off other people. Don’t forget we’ve also got our competition to win two free tickets, a bday DVD and four free drinks. Enter Here!

Product 5^th Birthday @ The Doors (Buy Tickets)

Product celebrates half a decade which has seen them venture from Nottingham to London via Brighton and Hungry. They’ve landed at little known basement club Doors near Old Street station. This great little space will have its foundations shaken by Spain’s Tim Xavier. Original Product ressie Makai will be in support along with Zade Cross, Amaus, Chris Jones and yours truly – Chris Wan. I’ll be playing with only one leg, which is worth the door fee alone.

Wet Yourself @ Fabric (Buy Tickets)

You can’t really talk about a London weekend without mentioning Fabric these days. Sunday see’s Wet Yourself expand to all three rooms. The room we’re most interested in though is room 2. Marcel Dettmann and Ben Klock will be bringing a slice of Berghain to the hallowed halls of Fabric. YES!

Fuse @ 93 Feet East

93 Feet East is going to be rammed this Sunday, as Fuse have put together a great little party for you daytime rave lovers. Pokerflat’s Guido Schneider will be joined by Get Physical’s Einzelkind, and Murmurs/Viva’s Bearweasel. A lot of name dropping there, but all good DJs in their own right. However you better get down there early as the tickets flew out  for this one in days. There’s 50 left on the door.

So there it is, my lengthy Easter weekend planner for you. Happy Easter!

Hi Tek Soul @ Ministry (Buy Tickets)

It mainly boils down to a US techno face off. In the red corner we have Hi Tek Soul at Ministry. Derrick May returns to his exclusive London residency with Osunlade and Theo Parrish in toe. It’s a massive lineup for the main room sound system. In the other rooms Jim Masters heads up the newly named 103 room with Alex Robotnick, whilst the Micron guys take over the loft with a bit of help from Danny Ketoloco. And this is just the start of what’s to come at Ministry over the next year.

Jeff Mills @ Fabric (Buy Tickets)

In the blue corner however is an equally big titan of Detroit techno – Jeff Mills is making his return to London and Fabric room 1. He hasn’t played room 1 for quite some time, so this is sure to be something special, especially if Mills whips out his 909 for a bit of off the cuff percussion. Aux88 and Craig Richards will provide some worthy support, whilst the folks from Wiggle 16 years on will we slamming on some tech house in room 2.

Lost @ Plastic People (Buy Tickets)

Steve Bicknell continues his Lost residency at Plastic People, where DJs come and play anything that goes. One who does play across the board is Benji B, he’s on to headline the endangered basement this Saturday.

Wish I could be at either of these! Enjoy yourselves silly.

Its pretty straight forward for party selection this week with a distinguished set of nights and days to fill every minute of the weekend despite the clocks going forward.

Warm at Plastic People (Buy Tickets)

As the club’s existence swings in the balance, Warm are continuing to make the most of what little time could be left for Plastic People. Berlin’s Sebo K will be joining Marcus Worgull for another Friday shindig of sublime house music. Get yourselves down to show Hackney council how important this club really is. And if they don’t take notice, vomit in the street to slowly take them down with street cleaning bills.

Headspace at Public Life

Once you’ve finished vomiting in the street, get yourself across Shoreditch to Public Life. New night Headspace dish up their second morning/day party at the much hallowed toilet. Leeds lad Burnski famed for being on all the typical Leeds things (Basics and 20:20 Vision) will be headlining this interesting new venture.

Ricardo Villalobos at Fabric (Buy Tickets)

Two words – Villalobos, Fabric. That’s all I really need to say. But if you need some other words of encouragement Shaun Reeves is in support with Craig Richards, whilst in Room 2, new holes will be torn as Ben Sims and Surgeon smash your back doors in as Frequency 7. Going to be a road block, better buy some tickets.

Dubfire and Josh Wink at Matter (Buy Tickets)

Someone that has been round the block a few times is Philly’s Josh Wink. He’ll be showing his age as he celebrates 15 years of Ovum records at matter. In those 15 years he’s picked up a few skills to pay those so called bills and made a few friends along the way. He’s brought on board another veteran, born again techno evangelist Dubfire. Fanciulli and Yousef will also be chipping to what is probably a few thousand years of collective DJ experience.

1Roof at Cable (Buy Tickets)

The cringely named 1Roof have got party number two this weekend. They claim you need to be prepared for another mind altering journey into the unknown, urgh, I think I’ll take my chances and just wing it thanks. But PR sheen aside, they’ve got a bloody solid line-up. CJ Mackintosh, a UK DMC winner from the days when headphones were still used and most of the 6 minutes were spent beat matching two records, will be heading up a bill that consists of Giles Smith, Justin Drake of Peace Division fame, Dean Mushin, Guy Williams and Luciano Esse, all under “one roof”… sigh…

Moodymann at T-bar (Info)

Sundays just don’t seem to want to let you rest these days. We’ve got a prime cut of T-Bar this Sunday as they do what they do best – great DJs for free on nights other than Saturday and Friday. This weekend Moodymann is dropping a few tunes all for nothing. But the question is will his braid lady be there sorting his fro out?

After the success of the Fabric 10th Birthday it showed that marathon Berghain style party sessions could work in London, so it made sense for fabric to give it another stab, this time under the “just for fun” circumstances. So the first weekend in March saw fabric host another 30 hour marathon session from Saturday night through till Monday morning, with a line up equally as mammoth to suit. Everything was pointing to a party as fun and wild as the 10^th birthday, but ultimately that was its main draw back.

Like a younger sibling “On and On…” inadvertently followed in the footsteps of its older sibling “the 10th Birthday”, where every detail was compared to the other every step of the way. First comparison to be made was the crowd and atmosphere. Arriving on Sunday morning, Troxler is in full affect with Craig Richards. Room 1 is a comfortable busy, similar to the 10th Birthday and perfect for throwing shapes; except the main difference was a lacking edge in the atmosphere. It missed that electricity and that unified excitement that was so predominate in the air from last time. There was still energy in the crowd, but it seemed more like a crowd going through the usual after party motions. That judgement is probably harsh one, but again it’s so easy to make these comparisons. That said, Troxler and Richards were still on fine form laying down deep and dark grooves with flourishes of funk and soulfulness. Whilst the room wasn’t at fever point they had still captured a crowd that were hanging on their every movement.

By the mid afternoon Keith Worthy was laying down his deep techno grooves however they weren’t enough to keep the attention of Room 1 which had started to wane as Saturday night’s legs grew tired. Trus’Me followed soon after, lightening the mood with his slow grooving house set punctuated by flashes of cosmic disco, aside from a few calamity mixes the tune selection was spot on, hooking in a new wave of punters. However whilst Worthy and Trus’Me were both good, it wasn’t quite enough to fully ignite the crowd.

For the late afternoon earPIPE stepped out for a break to watch the sunset. Conveniently this happened to be from the 31st floor of Centre Point with Todd Terje and Sound Stream providing the soundtrack at Secretsundaze Red Bull Music Academy party that was taking place. This is probably the best winter venue SS has held a party at. The stunning views on such a gorgeous day emulated that Secretsundaze outdoors day time vibe, whilst all the coldness of the British winter was firmly locked outside – just perfect when combined with the bright soulfulness of Terje and Soundstream. I definitely urge SS to throw a few more Sunday daytime parties here through the winter.

After sun down and a few tonics, we head back to Fabric. The wristbands given to us got us back in no probs and we were greeted with Dinky ushering in Monday morning. She’s laying down some solid techno tracks, but Room 1 is still a little frosty and she’s not cutting enough of a unique groove to lift the crowd. For a typical Saturday night her set would have been on the money, but at the tail end of a 30 hour marathon the crowd needed that something extra to latch on to. Along with a couple of sound outages and a hangover hitting home whilst still on a session, it was time to call it a day…

Overall Fabric did a good job, the night ran like clockwork, there was some great music on offer, but it could have been a bit busier at times and the atmosphere was just missing that last piece. And whilst it was a different party with a different meaning, it was just too difficult not to compare it with the 10th Birthday to its own detriment. Whilst the line up was technically very good, it didn’t have that constant stream of stellar DJs that instantly draw in a crowd on name alone. There were no repeated Villalobos appearances or a constant stream of heavyweights to instantly attract and keep a crowd through the days. So the programming of DJs needed to have been carefully planned to keep your average punter locked in through out the two days. Unfortunately Keith Worthy, Trus’Me or Chez Damier whilst brilliant DJs weren’t enough of a “name” to instantly hook in a crowd which in turn would have fed into kick starting an atmosphere through more bodies. It sounds fickle relying on “big names” but then your average clubber is relatively fickle too.

However don’t forget we were only there for part of the Sunday daytime activities, so our perspective is blinkered somewhat. It maybe we just picked the wrong time to go as we heard from other punters that Ellen Allien and Dave Clarke weighed in with some great sets on Saturday night whilst Wolf and Lamb and Radioslave closed Monday in fine style. It may sound like we’re being picky and negative, but I think that’s just testament to the quality we expect from Fabric. Give it a few more tweaks along with filling in those last missing pieces and I’m sure Fabric will get the formula right to make marathon parties like these work in London on a regular basis.

I wait with baited breath for the next one. Preferably on a Bank Holiday weekend!

As always we’re on hand to help you through the plethora of London nights happening this weekend. For the first weekend of Feb we have a selection of birthday celebrations, toilet raves and basement debauchery.

Act Natural @ The Hub (Buy Tickets)

Initially it was just Anthea and Alex Cellar set to headline this Friday night get together, but with 54 losing its license, Product have handed over their headliners Kruse & Nürnberg to set up a now pretty sizeable night. Expect lashings of deep percussive house easing you out of Friday and right into Saturday morning.  All is not lost for Product though. They’ll be throwing a free party at the Castle pub round the corner. So if you’re in the area pop down and show some support!

Decked Out 10^th Anniversary @ Coronet Theatre

The first of the weekend birthdays comes from Decked Out a London based DJ/artist agency celebrating 10 years in the business. They’ve roped in all their DJs to lay on an extravagant celebration with the likes of Dave Clarke, Justin Robertson, Erol Alkan, Justice’s Xavier, Boys Noise, DJ Mehdi, The Glimmers, Aeroplane and Busy P. Plus all DJs are playing slightly alternative sets and donating their DJ fee to local charity Kids Company. Its gonna be noisy, sweaty but definitely bouncy fun. I hope you got your tickets sorted as this sold out weeks ago!

Coma @ Public Life – http://www.myspace.com/comatechno

On to Saturday and to take the edge of daytime shopping is Coma. They’ve got the tireless Glimpse doing an afternoon slot at everyone’s favourite public toilet turned club Public Life. Have some brunch, hit Spitalfields Market then get on it for the rest of the afternoon. Delightful.

Disco bloodbath @ TBC

Ah, the first Bloodbath for 2010. After a stellar year for the trio the Bloodbath boys look to continue in fine style for 2010. They’re up to their usual basement antics this weekend with Sweden’s Mark Seven. Expect the usual mix of HI NRG disco, classic house and cosmic rays.

Innervisions @ Fabric (Buy Tickets)

I know I mention them every week, but they thoroughly deserve it. Fabric have laid on yet another humongous night. This Saturday once again plays host to Innervisions. Ame, Henrik Schwarz, Marcus Worgull and Gerd Janson is all that needs to be said for Room 1. However that’s not all that’s on. Ivan Smagghe returns again to headline room 2 alongside Craig Richards, whilst Terry Francis and Chi-town legend DJ Heather keep things bumping upstairs in Room 3. Absolutely massive.

Prologue 9^th Birthday @ East Village – www.eastvillageclub.com

2^nd on the birthday weekender is Prologue. Its been nine years since their humble beginning at the now defunct Cross. But after a stint up the road at Egg, they now reside and celebrate their birthday at East Village. To commemorate the occasion they have brought back Paul Harris of Dirty Vegas fame who played at the Prologue first birthday. He’ll be supported by their long time residents Paul Louth and Nick Dare.

Wet Yourself 3^rd Birthday @ Fabric (Buy Tickets)

Finally, if you’re still out and about Sunday even then pop back to Fabric to help Wet Yourself celebrate their 3^rd birthday. For three years they have been keeping Sunday nights and Monday mornings interesting with their nights of techno fuelled fun. They celebrate three years with the return of Miss Kitten.

So that’s the weekend ahead. Get involved.

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.