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

Friday

Buzzin Fly at Plastic People (info)

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

Heroes and Villains Warehouse Party (Buy Tickets)

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

Saturday

Fabric On & On… & On (Buy Tickets)

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

Magic and Medicine at CAMP (Buy Tickets)

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

Prologue at East Village (Buy Tickets)

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

Sunday

Eastern Electrics (Buy Tickets)

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

Secretsundaze @ TBA

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

Hybrid Life @ Black Lotus Karate Club (Buy Tickets)

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

Minus @ Ministry of Sound (Buy Tickets)

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

Mn to That Boat Party (Buy Tickets)

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

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

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.

The answer – no, at best on par. The mix follows the same recipe of synthetic funk, robotic rhythms and mechanical beats. The only difference is for Fabric 49 she stays caught on the same jittery electronic theme rather than providing contrast and texture exploring the techno genre. On Dancing Machine she moved from abstract sounds, to funky rhythms, to dark pummelling techno with ease.  But on Fabric 49 she stays firmly locked on the same groove throughout.

After 70 minutes of listening you’re left with a few moments and a lot of non-descript toe tapping. Don’t get me wrong there are some interesting tracks and transitions. When the bassline drops on Magda’s Moroder’s Revenge you do take notice as does the fog horn bassline from Robert Babicz’s Chordy. B-lines aside, there’s an interesting spooky medley between Marc Houle’s Profounding and Yello’s 1980’s track Heavy Whispers whilst the final track offers one of the few other diversions from the normal path of the mix. Everything else in between is neither here nor there. However that’s not to say it’s a complete waste of time. It bops and wiggles in true Magda style. It just needs a bit more zest along the way to differentiate itself from track to track like Dancing Machine was able to do.

If you’re a big fan of the clicky Minus sound then you’ll probably really love this mix. It does have robotic funk and is technically well put together. It just doesn’t make much of an impression after multiple listens with the listening experience being quite a throw away.

Buy Magda – Fabric 49 from Amazon (CD), Play.com (CD) or HMV (CD)

Tracklist:
01. Goblin – Al Margini Della Follia / Bostro Pesopeo – Falls (Hercules & Love Affair Remix) / Marc Houle – Voices
02. Circlesquare – Non-Revival Alarm / Gaiser – mfnstmp
03. Magda – At The Gate / Artem Folevski – Empörung (Original Mix) / Groupshow – It’s Not Just Country Birds That Are Attracted (To The Blue Glass Bird Bath)
04. Cristian Vogel – Mungo / Magda – Draculan Love Attack
05. Goblin – Buio Omega (Alternate) / Magda – Moroder’s Revenge
06. Catorze – Luscofusco / Marc Houle – Deep Sea / Heartthrob – Miss Pig
07. Robert Babicz – Chordy / Madato – The Night’s Rumors
08. Click Box – Bad Fish (Magda Edit) / Boosty – Telescope
09. Artem Folevski – Guido / Isomer Transition – San Pellegrino
10. Hobo – 23:59 / Luciano – Saulitude
11. Marc Houle – Profounding / Yello – Heavy Whispers
12. Heartthrob – 101 Loop / Farben – Aufschlag/Abschlag
13. Hobo – Mobius Trip / Rafael Droors – Blue
14. Bruno Pronsato – We Were… / Arsenal – The Coming (Idjut Boys Version 2)
15. Jimmy Edgar – Beat Squared / Jan Jelinek – Tierbeobachtungen (Live Played By Anne Westphalen & Peter Ley)

Since the mid nineties the DJ turned into the super star DJ. No longer was the DJ some person that happened to be playing records in the background, they were thrust into the limelight, they became centre stage and elevated above the crowd, they became closer to becoming the rock star. Well at the end of September Richie Hawtin and the Contakt bunch stepped DJing that little bit closer from merely playing records to putting on a full blown show. Gone are the dark sweaty dingy small clubs; in are the arena sized live venues. No more will the single sweeping blue light and occasional strobe keep the crowds visually entertained, it must be 30ft high LED screens with intricate graphics. Production values now rival a rock gig. But is that what clubbing and dance music is all about? Had Richie Hawtin pushed the concept too far away from its roots? There had been a lot of apprehension on whether the London Contakt show would be any good founded on some of the issues from last year along with a bit of a Minus backlash with people growing tired of their sound for being too cold and too clinical. There were also qualms about the venue, the ticket price and just a general feeling of tiredness from the whole idea. Leading into the show/gig/party, expectations seemed pretty low with a general feeling of well I’ll pop along to see what its like plus I’ll get to hear a bit of Hawtin.

I happened to pop along too and to answer my questions – it can be; I don’t think so, he’s having a go at trying something new; the venue worked; and finally was it any good – a resounding yes!

I had my reservations about Brixton academy when the venue was announced but looking back it really was suited for that type of show. The large capacity room could fit everyone in along with the massive stage space required for the screen and DJs. Brixton also sorted the floor out by having it level for the majority of the main dancefloor, so the fears of being wonky and at 20 degree gradient were alleviated. The only gripe that persisted, and I mentioned this when I was previewing this event, were the drinks. A choice between Tuborg or Carlsberg was like a choice between gouging your eye with a bread stick or trying to do a surgical incision through paper cuts alone. There was the special cider option number three which was Strongbow or the final alternative – the spirits route. Either way the drinks situation, as always with O2 Academies, was pretty dire. But then again you’re not out clubbing for the drinks – or so I’m told. But as I was saying before I got distracted by drinks, the venue worked well, the staff were well organised, there was space to move yet the right busy for a good atmosphere plus the sound weren’t too shabby either.

But the true spectacle of the night has to be the visuals. I’ve seen the Ali Demirel show a few times now and it just doesn’t become tiring to see, and at Brixton Academy it looked particular special as you can see by the video in this post. It really does step up a few DJs playing records to a full blown audio visual show. Demirel had a full kit of visuals for every moment in the music from graphics that gave the illusion of travelling through space, through to slowly mutating and growing, pulsing graphics or simple shades and shapes – all complimented the abstract and discernibly electronic music being played by the Minus crew.

Earlier I mentioned people becoming tired of the Minus sound with it being too cold and clinical, but on the night no one seemed tired at all. Yes they played that Minus sound where it is mechanical and clunky or abstract and alien, but the high energy beats and big room bass gushed a sea of smiling faces from where I was standing. Whilst I did yearn for a quick detraction from the Minus techno to add a bit more dimension,  it wasn’t detrimental to the set. People were happily caught on every whirring sound, every bass drop and every flash of prominent noise which created a great responsive atmosphere. The techno was heavy and pounding yet not at a pace which required a crowd to try and keep up but instead have everybody in the place bouncing on the temporary level floor. It is big room techno for a big crowd to be audibly and visually floored. It still is clubbing, it certainly felt like it, just with that larger than life production. Its something different and it worked.

But did the combined DJ show work? Kind of. I still question whether it really requires all of them to play at once and whether one or two people could do same job. There were some interesting moments which involved some practiced set pieces to heavily layer up a body of sound. Yet it was difficult to tell whether their real time manipulation was making any impact and adding more than if that piece were simply recorded and played back by one person. And I guess this is the significant difference between a gig with a band musicians and a band of laptop DJs. Unlike a band of musicians there is no visual connectivity between the DJ and the affect they’re having on the music. You’ve got five or six people up there, but there’s no link between what a person is doing and what you are hearing. Whereas with a band the visual aspect of seeing a talented musician input to the sound is very powerful, allowing you the audience to appreciate each and every person’s input. It’s kind of like seeing an excellent lead guitarist going crazy on their guitar and being able to audibly associate the result directly. If Contakt can some how visually connect the DJs actions through their LED display then I think they will make a leap forward in the combined DJ performance realm.

However don’t let that last outburst distract from the fact that the party was fantastic. The music was great, the crowd were great and the event was well put together. The show does seem to be improving and I can only hope they take it further.

So what does the weekend have installed for all these younguns? Well the question should probably more what doesn’t the weekend have installed.

Contakt with Richie Hawtin

For one more time this year London will be graced with the last Contakt show for the year. It’s been almost a year since they last step foot in London and almost a year and a half since they started doing the show. If you haven’t heard by now the Contakt concept brings the Minus clan together, allowing them to perform as one unit set to the backdrop of some impressive visuals. Basically it’s an elaborate back to back session with all the Minus producers in front of a massive LED display showing some incredible trippy visuals. The show was pretty spectacular at Sonar 08 with the huge crowd and massive LED display which covered the whole stage. You can check some video footage at the Sonar Video link here.

On Saturday they’ll be taking over Brixton Academy which should provide them the space they need which SE-One struggled to do the first time they came to London. It should be interesting to see how the venue deals with a more club orientated show which is in turn trying to be a more live show event. All I hope is that they don’t have that sloping floor! Anyways, a chance to see Hawtin and the Minus lot in the capital accompanied by stunning visuals in a venue setup for this kind of thing – you’d be rude not to check it out.

Get tickets from Ticketweb

Ministry 18th Birthday with Sasha

If you’re after something a little more mature then you should head down to Ministry where they will be celebrating their coming of age. They’ve brought in their childhood friends Sasha and Nick Warren to help celebrate the club’s passage into adulthood. I do wonder what happens to a nightclub when it becomes an adult. Do they start thinking they own the place with their Charlie big potatoes whilst the older Jazz clubs scoff at how immature and naïve the club actually is? Either way, one thing is for sure. No 18th Birthday celebration has ever been a subdued affair. Expect Sasha and Warren to blow the roof off like they have been since the beginning of time. I’d imagine a little reminisce of those early years will be in order too. Maybe Ministry’s mum will dig out the photo album of the club in nappies?

Get tickets from Ticketweb

Warehouse Project presents Aphex Twin at Matter

If all that seems a bit tame and you’d prefer your ears and eyes to be dragged backwards through a thorn bush intertwined with barbed wire as it rains lemon juice then matter might be up your street. The Warehouse Project, those car park dwelling folk from t’up north, have brought along the eccentric creative force that is Aphex Twin. His DJ sets are a bit of a rarity but when he does play they normally go down in legend. I would try and explain what to expect but I’m not even sure myself what he would play. His sound encompasses everything in the electronic music spectrum. Ambient, techno, drum n bass, you name it, and he’s probably dabbled with it. Some of it can’t even be classified, its just complete head fuck music that’s completely out there. What I do know is that he’ll be incorporating visuals, which if his music videos are anything to go by, you’ll definitely be weeping into next month. There is even talk of Aphex Twin utilising matter’s 5.1 surround sound. Sounds like anything could happen and that’s what Aphex Twin thrives on.

Get tickets from Ticketweb

Secretsundaze with Dixon

If you’re still standing after Saturday’s shenanigans, then how about unwinding at Secretsundaze? Their run of summer parties is unfortunately coming to a close but they’re going out with a bang so that you’re left wanting more. Sunday’s penultimate party is to be located, quite practically, in the rough warehouse surroundings of Village Underground. I mean let’s not kid ourselves, outdoor parties and the end of September aren’t the first things that come together in a sentence. Making sure that Secretsundaze leaves that everlasting impression will be Dixon. Not much needs to be said really. This guy plays brilliant house music and is probably one of the best DJs around at the moment. This definitely shouldn’t be missed.

Get your tickets from Resident Advisor

Wet Yourself at Fabric with Marcel Dettmann

Finally to round off the weekend, Wet Yourself wants to take you kicking and screaming into Monday morning. No rest for the wicked eh? One man who never rests and has been playing an extended Berghain after after after party set since 2002 is Marcel Dettmann. You might wonder how he does other stuff if he has been playing a continual set at Berghain for the last seven years. Well rumour has it that he has a monster looped techno record which he puts on whilst he steps out for a few hours. The Berghain punters love it. This Sunday that very record will be on again so that Marcel can catch a flight to London for Wet Yourself. This is definitely recommended if you don’t mind your Mondays being a complete right off.

Get your tickets from Ticketweb!

So there it is… So many options and only 48 hours. Pick wisely.

It’s pretty easy to stay stuck on this fair island called London. It seems everything you could possibly need is right here within the confines of our concrete perimeter, the M25. But believe it or not life does exist beyond those walls. For the last four years, during the autumn and winter months, Manchester has been the clubbing destination of the North. The reason – a grotty car park found in the arches of Manchester’s Piccadilly train station where the Warehouse Project setup shop to host some of the strongest nights past the Watford Gap service station.

Once again the team have put together another great run of nights starting from the end of September and running every weekend through till New Years Day. Last year we had great fun at the Cocoon night where Tobi Neumann absolutely smashed the main room after Sven Vath and the Ar:Pi:Ar boys completely stamped their mark on the back room. We also heard great reports about the Minus night with Richie Hawtin and the Resident Advisor night with Luciano and John Digweed.

So what’s hot for this year season? We think the following will be worth checking out.

Saturday 17th October
Minus with Richie Hawtin and Magda

The first big party for us has to be the Minus night. Richie has been on fire recently with a stellar set at Sonar over the summer so it will be great to catch him on his own in the car park. Magda as ever will no doubt provide some solid support along with minimal pushers Ambivalent and Hobo. To add an extra bit of spice Ali Dermirel is on hand to wow the crowd with his ever stunning visuals. The last Minus night there was a road block event so better get your tickets now!

Buy Tickets For MINUS With RICHIE HAWTIN

Saturday 7th November
Resident Advisor with Dubfire

Resident Advisor, another regular on the Warehouse Project party calendar, hosts “Deep Disher gone back to his techno roots” Dubfire alongside Swedish techno stalwart Adam Beyer and wonkster Claude Von Stroke. But its not the headliners we’re excited about… Its all about the support. Jamie Jones is on the bill pushing his forthcoming album. He recently amazed us with a fantastic set at Superfreq the other week. Then there is Seth Troxler who is just doing the business all over the place with his eclectic quirky house sounds. In addition to that there is the Motor City Drum Ensemble too, whose RA podcast earlier this year had us toe tapping on public transport for weeks.

Buy Tickets for THE RESIDENT ADVISOR PARTY with DUBFIRE

Friday 20th November
Cocoon with Loco Dice and DJ Sneak

Later on in November Cocoon are back to the Warehouse Project with one of their favourites – Loco Dice. His 300 party completely stormed London with rave reviews coming from all corners. I’m sure he’ll deliver the goods at the Warehouse Project too. Also on the bill is Chicago’s DJ Sneak, a fantastic booking as he is probably one of the greatest DJs to grace the planet in my humble opinion. Once again the support for this night is astronomical – Minilogue live, Zip, Johnny D and Onur Ozer?!?!?! Yes Yes Yes! Do not hesitate..

Buy Tickets for COCOON with LOCO DICE and DJ SNEAK

Friday 4th December
Cadenza Records with Luciano

Finally in the run up to Christmas, Luciano will be popping into the car park for a massive five hour set. The last time he played he apparently blew the doors off the place rolling through his trademark South American influenced house and techno.I’d expect him to do something similar on the Cadenza night. Failing that his moustache will definitely school the kids in how to wear an ironic tache. Luciano will be bringing along a few label friends in the form of Rhadoo, Pedro and Alex Picone. Not a bad way to warm up for the onslaught of festive partying.

Buy Tickets for CADENZA RECORDS with LUCIANO

So there you have it. Four perfectly good reasons to leave London for at least a night. If you book your train tickets from Virgin now you can get up there for as little as £16. Don’t worry about a hotel as the night runs right through to when the trains start up again. I’ve done it a few times now…. It’s certainly character building.

One on the not too distant horizon is Richie Hawtin and his band of merry laptop equipped men (and one girl). The M_nus mob return to the capital city to serve up another helping of their multimedia extravaganza show Contakt. It’s been almost a year since they would have last wowed the crowds in London with their multi tag team dj sound and retina burning visual show, so it should be interesting to see how or if the show has evolved. We particularly enjoyed one of their debut shows at Sonar a couple years ago, but still felt they hadn’t fully utilised the possibilities of the setup. So let’s hope their latest offering will step it up to the next level.

After a few niggles at SE-One, it looks like the show has relocated to the bigger venue of Brixton Academy. Good move? I’m not sure. Brixton Academy does have its charm, but the sloping floor and fading live venue layout and décor make it less excitable for a clubbing experience. However I’m going to reserve judgement until the night. I’ve read in places that Brixton Academy can level their floor for a more dancefloor friendly vibe and the visuals should make up for the live venue feel. So maybe all is not lost, but I do wonder why they didn’t make use of matter for this one. It surely has to be the optimal venue for such a show?

Anyways. Its defo worth a shout just to let Ali Demirel rape your eyes with his mind bending visuals on that massive LED display.

Buy your tickets here from TICKETWEB. Get them whilst they’re hot!

M-NUS presents CONTAKT Special

Saturday 26th September 2009
O2 Academy Brixton
10pm – 6am

RICHIE HAWTIN
MAGDA
TROY PIERCE
MARC HOULE
GAISER
HEARTTHROB
JPLS
AMBIVALENT
BAREM

Visuals:
ALI DEMIREL

www.contakt-events.com
www.m-nus.com

Have you noticed that the evenings have been getting darker a little earlier? You might put that down to winter. Actually the truth is the Berlin juggernaut label Minus is making its way to town. The UK leg of their Contakt tour will be rolling into London on the 18^th Oct but not before a quick Minus showcase at the Manchester Warehouse Project on the 17^th which I hasten to add we have a delightful competition to win a pair of tickets!

But first let’s talk about Contakt in London. On Saturday 18^th October, Richie Hawtin and friends will take over the tunnels of SE One to wow your senses in an orgy of twiste, abstract techno whilst an invigorating, immersive visual display of lights and images will suck you into the dark world of Minus. Together, Richie Hawtin, Magda, Troy Pierce, Marc Houle, Hearththrob and Gaiser will collectively build a journey of music whilst Ali Demirel will interpret this into a visual extravaganza so your eyes don’t feel too left out. It’s quite a spectacle. Those that were at Field Day this year would have seen a glimpse of the visuals to be expected, whilst anyone that made it to Sonar would have seen the whole show in motion. EarPipe saw both and we can say it is visually stunning as the pictures in this post prove. Some of the best visuals we’ve seen at an event. As for the music, expect all kinds of techno and house with each of the djs inputting their mark on things. With their collective minds the possibilities are endless. Tickets are still going at Phonica and on the door, so better get in there early as this one is definitely a road block!

Now on to Manchester. Before their London show, Hawtin along with Troy Pierce, Gaiser and Barem will be commanding the northern masses. This won’t be a full blown Contakt show but it sure will be entertaining. It will be the first time that Hawtin has played the Warehouse in three years it has been going so it is sure to be something special. To make it even better, for one night only those folks from WHP have managed to smooth talk the environmental officers of Manchester to let them stay open till 7am!!!!

As attendees of that infamous ambassador’s party would say, Excellente!

So, how does one win a pair of tickets to Minus Presents… at the Manchester Warehouse Project on the 17^th October? All you need to do is answer the simple question below:

Where did EarPipe catch the Contakt show this summer?

Send your answer along with your name and location to sublevelsessions@googlemail.com
Competition closes on the 12th October 2008

In the first part of EarPipe’s Sonar review we left you at the Soma La Terrazza party with a club full of glamorous people and decadent house music. Fast forward to Friday afternoon and that chic taste of vodka limon in an open air club has been replaced by a sweltering room, a furry mouth and an undying thirst for water. Being only the second day you can’t really whimper at the fact that we’re still in Barcelona, the day is glorious and one of the world’s greatest music festivals is taking place. Why feel hungover and sorry for yourself in some hot box hostel room when you can do the same outside on the fake grass of the Sonar Village whilst sipping that all important sixth mojito.

After a relatively slow crawl to the CCCB, EarPipe pitch up under a tree and relax to the various obscure bands. The first of these being a couple of natives called El Guincho who were described in the guide as a combination of funk, afro beat and African rhythms making them sound quite intriguing on paper. However I was totally confused when they opened with this. Its intro sounded a lot like the Ronette’s Be My Baby and was far from the funk and afro beats that were expected. A few more tracks in and the band edged into the African vibes and got a fair proportion of the Sonar Village on their feet. Quite an achievement considering many of the revellers tend to be struggling from the night before.

El Guincho was to be followed by EarPipe’s highlight of the day Quiet Village. Their ambient/psychedelic down tempo album Silent Movie has been receiving critical acclaim from all over and their recent RA Podcast was one of the most refreshing in recent times. But what’s most interesting is that one half of Quiet Village comes from the dark and pounding depths of Matt Edwards aka Radioslave. Much like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Matt has two guises where Quiet Village is definitely the Dr Jekyll persona. They open their Sonar set with the incredibly beautiful Victoria’s Secret, a long and winding scenic track laden with strings and clichéd wave crashes and cooing birds. They continue through their album dropping the great vintage 70s funk sounds of tracks like Can’t Be Beat and Pillow Talk. Ideal for a chilled sunny afternoon. As you can see by this video it was totally a sit down affair.

Kalabrese had the job of following Quiet Village. He made use of the opportunity to present his Rumpelorchestra from Switzerland. Together as a small three piece band they infused influences from jazz, afro-beat, funk and house. The energy from their performance got the crowd back on their feet. One thing that makes the Rumpelorchestra stand out from other outfits is their use of brass instruments which really brings in that classic jazz feel. Seems like a bit of a brass revival with Ronson and the mainstream getting involved.

For the evening, a trip to the Raum open air party was supposed to happen, but unfortunately it hadn’t started early enough to make it worth the trip. So instead EarPipe watched the surprise defeat of Croatia to Turkey before heading to Sonar by Night. On arrival to the vast venue we were greeted by the two tone sounds of Suggs and Madness. Their blend of pop and ska had the crowd singing along to all their greatest hits like One Step Beyond, Our House and It Must Be Love. Even the younger fans would have been able to join in what with Suggs doing all those fish finger commercials. A quick run over to the Sonar Park and we catch the finishing moments of BC vs JC feat. Darren Emerson. JC is infact Jamie Cullum the floppy haired jazz come easy listening artist that your parents and even your grandparents like. BC is Jamie’s brother Ben on guitar, talk about nepotism. And they’re all backed up by former Underworld brains Darren Emerson. Together they jam out a sort of soulful jazz influenced house come techno sound. Once we start looking past our music snobbery we actually find their performance quite pleasurable and to be fair BC vs JC feat Darren Emerson is a good way of introducing electronic dance music to the kids in a more palatable format, so props for that. However we are still getting over Jamie Cullum bopping his floppy haired head to electronic beats.

Meanwhile in the SonarClub, Diplo our man from Philly is entertaining the crowds with his ghetto tech and Baltimore breaks. There are no rules for this man; he plays whatever whenever so long as its got booty shakin bass riddem and tings, its just fun, unadulterated music which you can just bounce around to. He cuts and mixes everything from hip hop, techno and electro in that mashup raw way that’s currently popular. In the space of an hour I was hearing MIA edits, hip hop classics from Dead Prez, big electro numbers from Justice and even a splash of Plastikman Spastik. Diplo just delivers a whirlwind of music in such an effective manner. It’s not the sort of music we’re into down at EarPipe but it is much fun. And seeing some of the most die hard EDM fans just getting right into it is just proof of that.

Now on to the main event. The performance that was eagerly anticipated by a 10,000 strong crowd outside in the SonarPub was of course Richie Hawtin and his band of merry techno laptop technicians with a cube in tow. It was the Barcelona leg of their Contakt tour where the concept was built around a collective DJ performance creating one set rather than individual ones. Unfortunately the cube was no where to be seen, the reports from other gigs were saying that its lights changed colour but we were unable to give the official EarPipe word on that. Their introduction was very prog rock-esque. A mystical silence fell on the SonarPub before the black curtain was drawn back to reveal quite an impressive LED stage as an eerie soundscape comes in over the speaker. Like an epic prog rock entrance, Richie Hawtin rises from behind the laptops to rapturous applause. He continues to tweak the eerie soundscape whilst slowly bringing on each of the Contakt family one by one. As they do, their names are emblazoned in giant letters on the LED screen. It’s all very Spinal Tap, they probably had the system turned up to 11.

Over the course of the next six hours the Contakt group go through various combinations of DJs. Troy Pierce starts with Gaiser who are then later joined by Heartthrob and Magda. Hawtin comes on and replaces Troy for a bit and plays solo for a while. Marc Houle comes on later on and there is just steady rotation. The overall sound of the set is basically Minus, tripped out techno sounds with abstract noises with a relentless and hypnotic groove. At points there were up to three or four DJs chipping into the combined set. But in all honesty I’m not really sure what they were doing, what they were chipping in or having any effect at all? To us it just sounded like a normal set, with different DJs coming and going. The entire performance seemed like an elaborate back to back session. It was no different to your normal Minus night. Marks for trying to come out with something different and unique but I feel it didn’t push the boundaries obviously enough. Its neither here or there between intricate DJ set or rehearsed live performance.

Despite my grumblings of an elaborate back to back set the whole six hours definitely kept EarPipe entertained. Hawtin did all the usual stuff including those filter out buzzy drops and dropping classics like Yekke Yekke. Gaiser ran through some of the twisted horse music off his new album to great effect. Troy Pierce, Marc Houle and Magda all chipped in to create an amalgamation of sound which saw a crowd stay strong well into Saturday morning as the sun rose. They even finished everyone off with a little blast of Techno Vocals before bringing the curtain down on it all, quite literally. We must also add that the visuals were pretty stunning for the whole event. The way they were worked in across all the LED screens to create one big canvas was quite amazing, and the actual visualisations went hand in hand with the music. Whoever did that I salute you sir.

So to sum up Contakt is an elaborate back to back that doesn’t add anything new. The music is still pretty good to party to and its not really any different from your normal Minus party.

Part 3 coming soon )