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.

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.

Just a quick note on weekend manoeuvres. I’m not going anywhere as my life is in tatters after the last few months of being massively on it, all of which I will litter these pages with the details. But if I were to head out I would probably be looking at these things:

Saturday
The decks have barely cooled down from the last party, but pappa Sven is already back at matter for another Cocoon party. Even if Sven isn’t your cup of tea there is still the highly talented Onur Ozer who will finally be gracing London with his visa in hand, not to mention Reboot loaded with his hotly anticipated tune of the summer.

Even though pappa Sven is a veteran on the scene, nothing gets more veteran than Kevin Saunderson one of the birth givers to the techno sound. He’s dusting off the old Inner City moniker which gave us Good Life and Big Fun. This is definitely going to be a special show. But just for kicks Kevin Saunderson is going to play a few tunes and they’ve also brought in Claude Von Stroke to sweeten the deal.

Aside from the two heavyweights there is Tom Middleton in the East Village basement doing an Electro Funk set or there is Superfreq doing their final party at Cable with Adultnapper, Chloé and Tolfrey along with the ressies Mr C, Luke Vb and Dollz at Play.

Cocoon at Matter tickets HERE
Eastern Electrics with Kevin Saunderson tickets HERE
Superfreq tickets HERE

Sunday
Well, I don’t really need to say much about Sunday. I’ll just spell it out plain and simple.
Prosumer – Light Bar – Secretsundaze. Done.
If the weather holds out its going to be a stellar party.
Get your tickets HERE!.

Now that I’ve picked up the pieces (Yes its been three weeks..) its time to talk about the bank holiday weekend that recently stomped all over my brain. The first outing was way out at matter, where the French master Laurent Garnier was down to show off his new live show. Unfortunately being a working man meant it was a bit tough getting back and mustering up the energy to head straight back out again, so I didn’t end up getting down to the club till gone midnight and therefore missed the whole live show. Not to worry as I’ll be catching it at Sonar and Worldwide festival this year. But what I did catch was the mighty Francois K who did his usual trick of coming on and obliterating any warm up. It’s not a bad thing because it does often work and that night it picked the night up in the right direction. However I think he might have scared some of the after work drinks crowd with the blistering tunes he was playing.

The crowd itself wasn’t as busy as I thought it was going to be. Usually a Garnier gig is a road block event. Maybe it was, but with matter being so huge it comfortably held everyone with plenty of room to dance. The rest of the club wasn’t used though with room 2 being closed early on or all night and the upper floors of the main room being cordoned off. No biggie though as there wasn’t really time for room 2 and the temporary ceiling they put over room 1 made it a bit more intimate. Come 3am and Garnier hits the decks for his second showing of the night. I don’t know how the man musters up the energy at his age, but he sure does still have the spark. As always his set covers the expanse of dance music. He led brilliantly out of Francois techno before gently descending into some dubby grooves. He pushes the dub envelope so far that he’s actually dropped it down to dubstep before snapping it back into some house grooves. Only genius DJs can do that. Come 5am the crowd thins out a bit more, the toll of being at work all day or being at the early gig seems to have got the better of the crowd. I personally bowed out around then too, but I’m pretty sure Garnier was heading towards the mixed bag hour where D&B, disco and everything else were gonna be chucked in. A solid set just a shame the crowd weren’t there with him. Something about house and techno on a Friday just doesn’t work.

Saturdays though are owned by house and techno. And who better to command it than Ricardo Villalobos. Back again so soon after his March gig but this time with Raresh in tow for a back to back set. March was an uncomfortable experience. High expectations from November and about as much room to always be 5cms someone’s armpit made it a so so night. But expectations reset I was fully prepared to give it another whirl. And my was it worth the second chance. The club was still really busy, but a bearable busy. Yes there were a lot of people but you could still get on the dancefloor and have a fairly decent move around compared to last time. But more importantly Villalobos was on fine form. Maybe Raresh was a good influence, maybe Villalobos was fresher than last time (rumours were that he was at the Robert Johnson till ridiculous-o‘clock last time), who knows. All I know is that some incredible tracks were laid down. Plenty of percussive rhythms, quirky samples, massive basslines, it was all being banded about. Raresh seemed to bring a house balance to the pairing as the set was very house-centric compared to the last time I saw Villalobos. I could try and name some tunes but I generally never know what Villalobos plays. I do however remember the new Reboot tune Pra Dizer being dropped with its ridiculous acoustic guitar breakdown and that Ralph Falcon Whateva track whose lyrics have burrowed deep inside my brain. I ducked out around 9:30am, but it seemed like the party wasn’t ending anytime soon.

Actually I know it didn’t end anytime soon as there were plenty of clubbing casualties at Secretsundaze the next day who said they were there till gone 11am. I myself would have been a casualty at home, but the amazing sunshine meant it was prime Secretsundaze weather which shouldn’t really be passed on. Another sold out event meant everyone was crammed onto the Ministry courtyard hustling for space in the sunshine. Even though I’m getting bumped around, feeling horribly comedown and sweating out the weekend antics profusely, I’m still loving the fact I’m outside soaking up sun and hearing some great house music. It must be something to do with past memories from Ibiza or something. Some aeroplanes overhead would have made it pretty special. As for the music. Well, I never seem to have a bad word to say about Tobi Neumann. The guy just plays brilliant groove laden house music and Sunday was no different. Reboot’s Pia Dizer got another airing which says to me it might be pretty huge this summer whilst Matt Tolfrey’s recent tune on Cocoon went down a storm.

So that’s two out of two for Secretsundaze and sunshine. The next one is indoors with skylight windows, probably for the best as their luck is sure to run out soon.

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/2008/09/02/the-warehouse-project-sets-up-in-store-street-for-the-final-time/ http://earpipe.com/2008/09/02/the-warehouse-project-sets-up-in-store-street-for-the-final-time/#comments Tue, 02 Sep 2008 20:38:22 +0000 admin http://earpipe.com/?p=303

Just a quick note to let you know those folks in Manchester are at it again. The third season of the Warehouse Project sees them take over the Store Street car park for the final time. For twelve chilly winter weeks you can see the finest lineups ever to hit Manchester in a stunning urban and underground setting. Co Founder Sam Kandel says,

“The programme for this years series is, we think, the best yet. It has been gradually pieced together since last October. This year there will be a second more intimate room of music, which has allowed us to go even deeper with the line-ups, putting on some really underground breaking talent in addition to the huge main room action you are used to. The preparation for the annual series has become a genuine labour of love for all involved – now everything is set its time to get moving… Welcome back to The Warehouse.”

So which nights are EarPipe looking forward to? Well the first one on our radar has to be the Minus Presents night on the 17^th October. You would have thought we’d be sick of Richie and his label mates. But no we keep going back for more. Friday will see the Minus gang roll into Manchester ahead of their main Contakt event in London. Support comes from Troy Pierce, Gaiser and Barem. This will no doubt be a road block event, so get your tickets early!

The next big one has to be the Exhibitionist night on 1^st November. The alien from Detroit returns to pummel the north with his space aged techno. Joining Jeff Mills will be three of the hottest heads in house music, Ewan Pearson, Ame and Dixon. Definitely not one to be missed.

Sven Vath does his usual stop off with his Cocoon night on 14^th November. He’s joined by Extrawelt and Tobi Neumann, both hot property right now, especially after Tobi’s recent Secretsundaze CD release. They’ve also got all three of those Romanians doing the business right now. Raresh, Rhadoo and Pedro will be playing for six hours as the RPR sound system in the intimate backroom.

Finally if Novembers at home don’t mean anything to you the 21^st November sees Resident Advisor host John Digweed and Luciano. The cheeky Chilean has also called in support from his label buddies Thomas Melchior, Alejandro Vivanco and Reboot.

So there the nights we think might be a bit alright. Obviously there are the other twenty odd nights which also look fantastic, there just isn’t enough room on these pages.

Don’t forget to check back for competitions to win free tickets to some of the nights we’ve picked out… .Viva Manchester, Viva Warehouse Project!

www.thewarehouseproject.com