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.

Update – Check out the earPIPE Sonar Disco Map Here.

This weekend Barcelona becomes the centre of attention as Sonar festival rolls into town. The festival itself is a jam packed 3 days and 2 nights of music and art featuring the likes of Plastikman, The Chemical Brothers and Roxy Music. However its not just the festival that garners all the attention, as for the same weekend Barcelona turns into a thriving party city with what are now known as the Off Sonar parties. This year we’re spoilt for choice in terms of party venues. We’ve got parties on beaches, on rooftops, on terraces, on boats and at secret villas. There’s even a few parties happening in them there nightclubs. There’s a lot to pick from so here’s what we think is looking pretty hot for the weekend.

Wednesday

Ovum at Boulevard Culture Club (Tickets)

If you’re arriving in the city before the festival starts, then you can start your sleepless campaign from Wednesday night. Josh Wink takes over Boulevard Culture Club with friends Shlomi Aber, David Squaillace and Luca Bacchetti from his Ovum record label. The clubs conveniently located on La Ramblas, so there’s no hassle in getting there.

Warehoused  at Mephistos (Tickets)

Warehoused is a new night for Off Sonar and it opens at Mephistos, a heavy metal club in Barcelona. So i’m not sure what the venue has to offer, but the line up looks pretty solid with Konrad Black and Stimming heading the bill. Not bad to warm things up for Wednesday night.

Thursday

RA by Day at Hotel Diagonal (info)

RA host one of the parties of the weekend. They’ll be getting things into motion with their Thursday daytime party at the beautiful Hotel Diagonal rooftop pool. A minor distraction from the views will be the stunning lineup they’ve got planned – Michael Mayer, Steve Bug, Jesse Rose and Eric Duncan from Rub n Tug!! All for free!! But before you dust off you deck shoes and rolled up denim cut offs, entry to the party is by invite only. So you either need to know someone who knows someone, or you might have been one of the lucky 50 that won tickets.

Desolat Experience at Ghoa Beach Club (Tickets)

Sub Club at BeCool (Tickets)

Moon Harbour at Discotechque Club (Tickets)

Moon Harbour will be celebrating ten years with its sister label Cargo at the imaginatively named Discotheque Club. Matthias Tanzmann, Martinez, Boris Werner and Ekkohaus will be playing the labels’ blend of bumpy techno and house.

Friday

Watergate and Beatport Secret Villa Party (info)

Hot Natured at W Barcelona Hotel (info)

BPitch Beach Party at Playa de El Prat (info)

Cocoon at Ghoa Beach Club (Tickets)

Kompakt at Nitsa (info)

Kompakt have a pretty tasty party at Nitsa. You’ll be able to catch Michael Mayer, if you weren’t invited to the RA party, as well as Superpitcher, Gui Boratto and DJ Koze. That’s a huge lineup to celebrate 10 years of Off Sonar parties.

Circus Company at Oshum (info)

Saturday

Mobilee Rooftop Party at Hotel Diagonal (info)

BPitch Control Boat Party (Tickets)

Cadenza at Ghoa Beach Club (Tickets)

Crosstown Rebels at Oshum (info)

If you’re still alive then Secretsundaze will be taking up its traditional position at La Terrazza. They’ll be out in the picnic area from 5pm and then in the usual club from midnight. For music, they’ve got the cream of their DJ agency from Patrice Scott, The Mole, Trus’me, Ethyl, Flori and of course the two residents Jamie and Giles. Great club, great tunes, always a must on the Sonar weekend.

Minus Beach Party at Playa de El Prat (info)

If you fancy something with a rougher edge, then Minus will be for you. They’re throwing their beach party at Chiringuito Calamar out by the airport and have got everyone off the label to get involved, from Marco Carola, Troy Pierce and Heartthrob to Ambivalent, Fabrizio Maurizi and Hobo. They also say they’ve got some special guests, which means its highly likely the two Minus names not on the line-up but are playing at Sonar will probably turn up for a few tunes!

Playkula & Wilde Boat Party (Tickets)

Two of Berlin’s biggest DJ agencies join forces to set sail for the high seas. Tiefschwarz, MANDY, Pig & Dan, Thomas Schumacher, Matt Tolfrey, Heidi and INXEC will be entertaining a packed catamaran of ravers finding their sea legs after a weekend of fun. Let’s hope the seas aren’t too rough.

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.