It’s pretty dark times for our northern breadrin in Glasgow. Their football club can barely scrape together the costs for an open top bus trophy tour; then there’s that ridiculous stat you always hear that a good proportion of the city lives in poverty at a level which rivals Zimbabwe and to add insult to injury their easterly sister Edinburgh gets voted the best place to live in the country. But these things are the least of the city’s worries. It’s more so the dark cloud that hangs over the legendary Sub Club since Optimo announced they were ending their Sunday night tenure. Their weekly blend of eclectic samplings will be sorely missed, I for one am gutted that I never made it that far up north to witness these legendary nights first hand.

Luckily they immortalised some of what goes on at the Sub Club with their recent 20 Years of Sub Club mix. That mix ducked and dived through so many shades from electronic and acid to new wave and disco. It had a beautiful flow using some very disparate music making it a brilliant home listening CD. This extensive repertoire of legendary club nights, DJ sets and mix CDs means the bar is set extraordinarily high for their Fabric 52 mix. I wonder if they can pull off another great mix CD bottling that essence that has made them much loved in Glasgow and across the country.

From the press release the duo mentioned that they set out to capture a dance floor driven mix which reflects what they would normally do in Fabric’s Room 2. And that it is. The first half especially is a driving mix of chugging electronic basslines and loopy hooks. Prins Thomas, Spencer Parker and Rebolledo all weigh in with their interpretations of chuggy, yet whilst they’re different in their own ways they all seem to trundle along in the same way and offer little in terms of a sharp turn in proceedings which we have come to expect.

It’s not until the second half where the dancefloor guard is let down, allowing the mix to open up and explore those different avenues. The way they interject Thomas Brinkmann’s bleepy shuffling Walk With Me with the 90s German New Wave of Rheingold at the half way mark is exactly the kind of magic I was hoping for throughout this mix. It’s how they bend tracks from different genres to fit in with a dancey flow. We see more glimpses of this throughout the second half as Optimo weave in flavours from across the board. They give a quick head nod to the burgeoning UK Funky scene with a track from Roska where his syncopated beats allow it to blend perfectly with the Columbian folk dance rhythms on Shacalao. We also get detours into luscious synth washes such as the Joy Division-esque Together Alone or the camp 80s Don’t Call on Italians Do It Better.

It’s not like the second half is completely different to the first. It still keeps the same pace and flow; it’s just the more out of kilter track selection makes the mix a whole lot more interesting which finally gives the mix some much needed identity. It’s a shame there’s so much dawdling in the opening which disappointingly  makes it a luke warm effort overall.

Buy Optimo Fabric 52 from Amazon (CD | MP3), Play.com (CD), HMV (CD)

Tracklist:
01 Fad Gadget – Lady Shave – Mute
02 Discodromo – Cosmorama (Prins Thomas Discomiks) – Internasjonal
03 Basic Channel – Q1.1 – Basic Channel
04 Spencer Parker – YOGOTO – Rekids
05 Locussolus – Gunship – International Feel
06 Rebolledo – Amigos Cómeme – Cómeme
07 The Minister – Jack Your Bodey House Your Mind – Crème Organization
08 Altz – Get It Down! – Altzmusica
09 Thomas Brinkmann – Walk With Me – Curle
10 Rheingold – Dreiklangsdimensionen – Welt Rekord
11 Capablanca & T Keeler – La Konk Fiesta – Gomma
12 Roska – Feeline – Roska Kicks & Snares
13 Cumbia Moderna De Soledad – Shacalao – Sunflower
14 The Tyrell Corporation – Together Alone – Clone
15 Roni Griffith – Spys – Vanguard
16 Levon Vincent – Love Technique – Ovum
17 Oni Ayhun – OAR003-B – Oni Ayhun
18 Desire – Don’t Call – Italians Do It Better
19 Crazy Cousinz – Inflation – Defenders Ent Ltd
20 Matias Aguayo – Walter Neff – Kompakt
21 Nakion – Heartbit – Tigersushi
22 Xex – Heartbeat – What’s That Music

Horatia Opening Party with Faze Action (Details)

First off, a new venue for the year; from the people that brought you the Horse and Groom comes the Horatia, their new pub club venture on Holloway Road in Islington. They expect to bring you the same fun that you experienced at Shoreditch’s finest pub with a dance floor, so expect disco, house, live music and everything in between. They’ve already got folks like Disco Bloodbath and James Priestly already lined up for some free fun time evening shenanigans. For the opening party on Friday, the fantastic disco duo Faze Action will the in the house to commemorate this new skinny jeans haven in Islington, all for free too.

Fabric with Carl Craig, Ben Klock & Lee Curtis (Buy Tickets)

Now on to the meatier affairs for Saturday night. There are three stellar nights on the bill from the big guns but it’s just too close to call for one that stands out above the rest. In one corner we have Fabric; they’re packing a punch with Detroit legend Carl Craig. He’s never disappointed me so far and I’m sure he’s not going to start now. The support is just as compelling too, rising star Lee Curtiss is on for a live set and London favorites Jamie Jones and Cesar Merveille will fill the rest of the Room 1 schedule whilst Ben Klock, Steffi and Terry Francis will be pushing the harder edge in Room 2. If that’s not enough, all things DFA will be served up in Room 3 with Holy Ghost and Jacques Renault. Absolutely massive lineup if you ask me.

Discoteca at Matter with Jamie Lidell & Francois K (Buy Tickets)

Out east, sister club matter weigh in with a night equally as heavy. The extremely talented musician Jamie Lidell performs a live set alongside a DJ set from New York heavyweights Francois K and Metro Area. There’s also a label showcase from Italians Do It Better and in house duo Disco&Mercy will be keeping things warm. In room 2 the Disco Bloodbath boys take over with Scotland’s finest Optimo for a second room of anything goes. If you’re still unsure what to expect, then the matter blog has a pretty comprehensive post of mixes, vids and words to bring you up to speed.

Mulletover with Wolf and Lamb (Buy Tickets)

Third but not least, Mulletover shake off the New Years hangover with this winter warmer featuring the Wolf and Lamb lads Gadi Mizrahi and Boston duo Soul Clap. The label can just do no wrong at the moment and any Wolf and Lamb DJ sets have been the talk of the town, so expect a fantastic range of diverse music with plenty of soul and feeling. The venue should be just right for this with the intimate low ceilings of the The Black Lotus Karate Club on Scrutton Street. However with a fair few down to attend this, be sure to keep the clothing layers to a minimal as it can get a bit schweaty in there.

Dig Deeper with Danny Howells (Buy Tickets)

That’s not all however. Danny Howells wants to completely ruin you by throwing another Dig Deeper this Sunday at the Notting Hill Arts Club. The last one went down so well that’s he’s back again to punish you into Monday morning with another one of his spectacular 7 hour sets.

So there it is… Let’s hope London has started as it expects to go on!

When most people think of Easter they think the second coming of Christ, Easter eggs, fluffy bunnies and daffodils. For a select few it’s all about Easter weekend and how to run your mind into the ground for four days and nights. I’m in the latter camp.

This year the options seem to be bunched around key days. Thursday night has an all mighty clash. In one corner you’ve got your scenster nights. Secretsundaze do their annual thing at the coronet theatre which will see Ame, Dixon and Henrik Schwarz combine forces to create some ableton improve amalgamation live set where they be as one together. No its not some gay love in between the quartet, it’s actually their new project Critical Mass. The whole thing sounds pretty interesting, especially if its anything along the lines of their recent Granfather Paradox mix. After the live session, Dixon and Ame will be dropping a dj set or two along with the SS and Horse Meat Disco ressies.

However if Secretsundaze all sounds a bit too complex with the live sets and you just want to go and party your ass of to some party tunes, then maybe Disco Bloodbath is for you? They’re celebrating their 2nd birthday and to help them they’ve brought in their Scottish mentors Optimo who have been playing party tunes for countless years. Todd Terje will be headlining the main room for the Bloodbath along with the residents, whilst Optimo residents Twitch and Wilkes will be keeping a handle on things with Gucci Soundsystem.

If that all seems a bit to fashionista and you just want raw big room stuff, then you want to be heading towards Koko or matter. Old Coxy is doing a party at the former with Nic Fanciulli and Yousef, whilst Diggers is doing his Bedrock thang at the latter.

Something for everyone to kickstart the weekend. However Friday and Saturday look a bit thin on the ground for anything gripping. The best Friday can muster up is Brothers Vibe at East Village. Saturday fairs a little better with Reboot and Ketoloco at Lightbox in Vauxhall. Also Fabric is worth a punt with MANDY and Tobi Neumann. But other than that nothing that jumps out.

But its probably for the best as things get going early with the Bugged Out All Dayer at the Old Queens Head in Angel. I believe the party vibe is retro 80s! Once that’s warmed the old engine up, the place to head is Mulletover where they’ll be celebrating five whole years. At the Seager Storage Units as per usual, they’ll be seeing in their 5th Anniversary with those Romanian favourites a:rpia:r, reel to reel extraordinaire Greg Wilson, the strange but highly talented musicians Noze and disco/funk revivers Linkwood Family. DELUXE!

If things are still functioning you can round off the weekend with a trip to matter where old skool hip hop legends Jazzy Jeff and Grandmaster Flash will be cutting and juggling up prime hip hop before the days of diiirty britches and bling.

So go forth and celebrate the rebirth of Christ by hurling yourself head first into the gutter.

http://www.myspace.com/secretsundaze

http://www.myspace.com/discobloodbathdisco

http://www.mulletover.co.uk/

http://www.fabriclondon.com

http://www.matterlondon.com

]]> http://earpipe.com/2009/04/08/the-mother-of-all-weekends-is-upon-us/feed/ 0 http://earpipe.com/2008/08/06/earpipes-large-weekend-for-no-real-reason/ http://earpipe.com/2008/08/06/earpipes-large-weekend-for-no-real-reason/#comments Wed, 06 Aug 2008 22:45:18 +0000 admin http://earpipe.com/?p=238

Tally Ho! There is a rather large weekend on the horizon and it’s not even a bank holiday or anything special like that. Why would the gods bless us with such entertainment? I don’t have the answer to that. All I do know is that some serious fun can be had and I mean that with a capital S. First up, if you like your hip hop with a bit of humour then Fabric is right up your street. They have Yoda and DJ Format, truly the greatest DJs of the happy fun hip hop genre. If that doesn’t wet your whistle they stuck the Scratch Perverts in there for shits n giggles. But wait, we’re not done yet. We haven’t even talked about room 2 yet. Goldie, Dillinja, High Contrast, Commix and Nu:Tone. That’s pretty much everything that’s good about drum n bass in one place. If Fabric were to collapse that night the genre would be in dire straits. Tickets are still available, get em whilst their hot, else you’ll be stuck in a queue until next week: Buy Tickets Here

So that will kick your weekend off, but the main event for us is of course Field Day. We’ve been banging on about it a little. Take note of our useful guide of things we would like to see or our little chat with organiser Tom Baker. Taking place this Saturday at London’s Victoria Park, it’s sure to be a giggle with bands and DJs from that field they call left as well as a country style village fete. Surely a winner and at sub £30 you don’t even need to question the purchase. Hurry now if you have got one, I’ll even point you in the right direction: Buy Tickets Here

Of course day time fun is one thing night time is the other. And this Saturday its about Fabric….again… .You maybe sick of those three rooms from Friday, but this lineup is just too good to pass up. First of all room one is being headlined by the prince of dark regretimized music. Our man from Brighton who rocks Berlin it is of course Radioslave. He’s being supported by Sebo K, Mobilee man of mystery. His deluxe deep and dark house sounds will be perfect for that main room. Down the corridor they’ve gone and shoved in the Scottish Sunday party fiends Optimo! They also have stalwart Andrew Weatherhall chipping in too. Then in room three Greg Wilson is serving up a hot dish of electro funk. Richards and Francis will be there to make sure the place don’t burn down too. Probably one of the best Fabric lineups I’ve seen for a long time. Definitely get involved: Buy Tickets Here

If you haven’t moved into the foetal position come Sunday morning. Then those that like their Sunday afternoon’s debauched can head to Secretsundaze where they have once again taken over the Ministry courtyard. The parties have been fun all summer and this one will be no exception. They have got Pokerflat maestro Steve Bug!! I don’t even need to say anymore. Tickets are still available: Buy Tickets Here

So there you have it. Four great parties. Please do indulge.