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.

Hypercolour with Mark Henning

I’m guessing the promoters and clubs have all chipped in to charter a Mega Bus from Berlin as practically all the DJs headlining are coming over from our twinned party city. On the Friday Hypercolour are taking over East Village and they’ve reserved a seat for Mark Henning on the Mega Bus. He’ll be pushing his new HYpercolour EP, ‘The Right Time’, out in all good record shops now! Supporting him will be the Hypercolour head honchos Alex Jones and Cedric Maison whilst Pete’s 50th keep the upstairs warm with the Dalston connection.

Fabric with Luciano, Pedro, DJ Hell and Tiefschwarz

For Saturday we have Luciano cashing in on his Mega Bus ticket by including a spot of Christmas shopping over the week. He’s up in Manchester the weekend after for the Warehouse Project, but this weekend sees him return to Fabric to take control of Room 1. In toe will be his Romanian protégé Pedro who’s now convincingly made his own name with his A:rpia:r buddies. Room 2 features yet more current Berlinites in the form of DJ Hell and Tiefschwarz. A stellar line up in think you will find and coincidently it comes around just as I’ve got over the Fabric 10th Birthday. Salute!

Ekstravaganza with Prins Thomas and Lindstrom (Buy Tickets)

If you still can’t bare to look at the walls of Room 1 from the 10th birthday then how about looking at the four walls of Corsica Studios? Featuring is Scandinavia’s 5th most popular export after Ikea, Volvos, Lego and liberal sex; it is of course Scandinavian Cosmic Disco! Prins Thomas kicks off the second coming of his bi-monthly London residency Ekstravaganza with close friend Lindstrom. The pair have been known to go nuts and play well into the night, so having the pair together in London is certainly a treat. Label friend Magnus International provides some support, whilst the Horse Meat Disco guys have trundled along the river from Vauxhall to prop up room 2. Expect lashings of camp cosmic disco sure to make December open with a smile.

Mulletover Xmas Party with Prosumer (Buy Tickets)

Too Scandinavian? Fair enough… There’s still plenty more Berliners coming in on the bus. The ever delightful Prosumer is supplying the Worthers Originals for the trip. He’s dropping records and toffees at Mulletover’s Xmas party at the Bocking Street warehouse. We thoroughly enjoyed the venue when we were there at Disco Bloodbath the other week. It’s sure to be a winner with Prosumer on the decks, however it’s a bit tenuous calling it an Xmas party in November.

GetPhysical and Phonica 6th Birthday with MANDY (Buy Tickets)

Occupying the back row of the Mega Bus from Berlin will be those naughty GetPhysical kids MANDY and Thomas Schumacher. They’ll be causing mischief at Cable along with the Phonica boys and girls who are celebrating six years of selling records.Heidi, Hector, Anthea and Simon Rigg are all on board.

matter with Vitalic, Black Strobe and Morgan Geist (Buy Tickets)

Finally, if none of that takes your fancy, then matter doesn’t look too shabby. Vitalic live, Black Strobe DJ Set, Mero Area’s Morgan Geist and Guido Schneider for Very Wrong Indeed in Room 2.. A great mix of artists which should drop a mix of electronic sounds, house, techno, disco.. basically the works. Not sure what Black Strobe are doing these days Smagghe-less or what Vitalic have been producing, but going on past experiences they have always been good quality. Failing that there’s Morgan Geist!

Fuck me that was a mouthful to reel off. Hope you have fun!

Got Fringe is his first release for Mobilee. The title track takes on your typical in vogue deep house. Some warm basslines, a shuffling beat with a hint of jazz percussion, some conga lines and a Latin American vocal stab. All pretty standard stuff. The digital only track Canaca is more of the same fashionable deep house stuck in a groove. Its pleasurable but not memorable. However it is the B-Side, Taking Me For A Ride which really strikes a chord. It’s pretty much a massive thud of a kick drum with some crisp 909 cymbals which together rumbles up the rawest of grooves. Add a hypnotic vocal stab and acid tweak and you’ve got yourself this ridiculous old style minimal house track which is so simple yet so affective.

A: Got Fringe?
B: Taking Me For A Ride?
Digital Only Track: Canaca

Sorry for being a bit slow on the posts front recently. Its mainly down to me being found at weekends crawling around the floor of darkened rooms playing repetitive electronic music. That said I want to tell you about a few of those excursions.

Firstly way back at the end of February we got invited to the launch of Nic Fanciulli’s Saved Sessions at matter. The brand spanking new club was ideal for the heavy weight line up that Nic had brought in. Nic Fanciulli himself played a brilliantly judged tech house to techno set, whilst the the comedy techno antics of Green Velvet blew the socks off many a bewildered tourist clubber. The New York legend Francois K then smashed it home leaving only the lovers of techno to revel in the ridiculous bass that the matter sound system pumps out. Hopefully this is the start of a beautiful residency. Judging by the next Saved Sessions it sure will be. Derrick Carter vs DJ Sneak, Dennis Ferrer, Theo Parrish, Jerome Sydenham and Will Saul!?!?!?!?!?!?Surely i’ve died and woken up in US house heaven?

Fast-forward a couple of weeks and we’re down at East Village where Prologue had brought in Norman Jay for a bit of Good Times magic. I was worried whether Norman Jay was a one trick pony with his chesse-a-thon sets as seen at Carnival. However I was happily proved wrong as he dug out some great house music to have the basement turned up to gas mark nine.

The same night Laurent Garnier began his London residency for new night Shake It run by some of the folk from the End, including Layo and Bushwacka. The venue was once again down in the Southwark railway arches; I’m pretty sure the four or five times I’ve been down for various nights its been at the same place, yet everytime I go it seems like a different place. Either they’re moving the furniture around or maybe I’m too half cut most of the time to realise but i’m sure its different every time i go.  Anyways, for Laurent Garnier they had some how got the DJ booth between two arches to create a two tunnel main room (Disclaimer: Due to general late night antics plus a lot of smoke and strobes I think it was actually just one big room). It was a raw venue with an amazing rig. As you can expect, monsieur Garnier ripped the place to pieces in a way only he knows how. Everything from house and techno right through to Jazz and drum and bass was dropped in typical Garnier style. It just doesn’t get old. Definitely a night to get to, especially if you didn’t catch his sets down at the end. Just make sure you keep your nice shoes at home. The floor is filthy there!

Looking ahead, what have we got coming up? Well this Saturday Secretsundaze take over the Scala once again. It’s a terrible venue, but I think this might be worth the hassle. Cobblestone Jazz will be performing live with DJ support from Mountain People! A housetacular lineup! Plus the whole thing will be broadcast live on www.awdio.com. Ooooo… Then on Sunday mUmU continue their London residency at Cargo with the Oslo Records boss Federico Molinari and vinyl pusher Hector. A weekend large enough to have you completely forget about your mum on mothers day!

Then the week after that it’s a techno showdown between two monsters. Over in the red corner we have Ricardo Villalobos weighing in at Fabric with Dave Clarke, Billy Nasty, Jus-Ed and residents in his corner. Whilst in the blue corner we have Derrick May weighting in at Ministry and a heavy crew of Detroit backers in the form of Octave 1 and Stacey Pullen. Which ever one you choose its going to be bloody!!

The first of what we hope will be many Sunday parties come from newcomers’ mUmU. Hailing from the cultural capital of Europe, Liverpool, the folks from mUmU want to give the big smoke a shot after making a rather large name for themselves at a frightening pace in the last year. Their nights have quite literally seen the who’s who of underground house and techno from names like Pier Bucci, Sebo K, Mr C, Rhadoo and Matt Tolfrey. It’s obvious these guys want quality at their nights.

For their London debut they will take over the hallowed Shoreditch tunnel of Cargo to bridge the gap between early evening and midnight. For the opening night they’ve brought in a selection of London’s finest stalwarts with Simon Baker of Cocoon/20:20 Vision fame, Circo Loco’s master of the groove Clive Henry and 12” pusher turned global DJ Hector. Supporting this master class will be mUmU’s birth givers and residents Harrison and Lee Rands.

Seven hours well spent on a Sunday evening if you ask me. Plus the midnight finish could even have the most sensible of people in bed at a reasonable time. But if bed is not for you they’re also doing an after party at Sosho round the corner. I think you should all get involved.

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