Hola hombre! Long time no speak! It’s been a while since our last posting… But this one is going to put that right, just in time for the weekend. And quite a weekend it is to be reopening the blog post account. So lets get down to it…

Basically if your head has been in the ground for the last month or so, or you happen to be a Chilean miner, then you’d be hard pressed to have bypassed the monstrous weekend happening at fabric. The Chilean miners amongst you might have checked the calendar and realised its October. This obviously brings the fabric birthday instantly to mind – mainly due to the fantastic review that we wrote last year. Well for this year they’re following up the phenomenal party with what looks to be another phenomenal party. Part of the magic last year was the three Villalobos sets spread across the Saturday to Monday marathon. This year they’ve got RV back in again. You might ask, are you not fed up with the prospect of RV for another marathon session so soon after the On&On session the other month in August? The answer is no. Literally RV can do no wrong at the moment. I hate to gush, but the guy is just on fire. But that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Supporting through the weekend will be dOP, Floating Points, Move D, Trus’Me, Ryan Crosson – all people who have been brilliant this year. Plus established firm favourites like Ame, Lazarus, Dixon, Tobi Neumann and Lee Burridge along with the trusty residents Richards and Francis to make the whole weekend a mouth watering melon of a session. If last year was anything to go by you want to buy your tickets right now if you already haven’t… The top tip from earPIPE is go for a bit of a posho breakfast at Smiths or the Modern Pantry, all nearby, followed by some bloody marys down the road from fabric at the Fox & Anchor. Then arrive at fabric around 10am to spend the day in the dark cavernous rooms. If I were a Chilean miner just back on the surface, this is exactly how I would want to celebrate life. FACT.

Get your tickets at TICKETWEB or you can get some interesting ticket CD combos at the Fabric Website.

However if waking up to rave on Sunday just sounds a bit too civilised and you want to bash through from Saturday night, then you might be interested in the following two nights. It’s a toss up between A Night With or Shake It. The former has the always brilliant Ivan Smagghe for the whole eight hours. Smagghe plays a fair bit in London, but he rarely plays for eight hours. Personally I think this will be one of the standout A Night With nights. However… Shake It have brought in some Minus folks in the form of Magda and Marc Houle – two DJs that I do thoroughly enjoy hearing out. Its though. Maybe Smagster just sways it, either way they should be both entertaining. But please do get yourself down to fabric, after the tough year they’ve had, they’re bound to be blowing off some major steam. You’ve been warned!

A Night With… Ivan Smagghe (Tickets)

Shake It with Magda, Marc Houle and Layo & Bushwacka! (Tickets)

For your consideration – a few things happening this weekend, and they’re all underground quite literally in basements.

Warm at Plastic People with Steve Bug (Info)

London just can’t get enough of the Bug at the moment. He’s been popping up all over the place of recent times. This Friday sees him in the intimate surrounds of Plastic People for Warm. Steve Bugs mix of electronic house will be perfect for the  low ceilings of the plastic people basement. However this perfect match of DJ and venue has caught the eye of many. So if you haven’t got one of the few tickets that went on sale you want to be getting yourself down there early doors.

Red Bull Music Academy at The C.A.M.P (Info)

On the same night, another basement on the other side of the Old Street roundabout will be having its foundations tested. Red Bull will be taking over as part of the Red Bull Music Academy and they’ve brought in a cosmologic line-up. They’ll be hosting the king of bubble tease Maurice Fulton and New York’s Morgan Geist of Metro Area fame. If that’s not enough to get you out in the cold, the fact that this is all on for free should definitely seal the deal.

Fabric with Tobi Neumann and Akufen (Buy Tickets)

Saturday night looks a bit quiet in the city but there a still a few gems that shine out. One of those, of course, is fabric. When all else fails you can always count on the sturdy “super club”. The delectable Tobi Neumann is back in town to jack up room 1 on a course of big house beats and rolling basslines. Akufen is on with a rare live appearance and the likes of Vera, Billy Nasty, Sammuel L Sessions, Mark Broom and Fred Everything. Not bad for a quiet Saturday.

Hypercolour at T-Bar (Info)

Hypercolour start their new year with their first night at T-Bar. They’ve shipped over Catz and Dogz to headline the basement. I only found out that Catz and Dogz were formerly known as 3 Channels, who were knocking out some great dark technoey tracks the other year. So if the production is anything to go by they should put together a full of beans set. Support will be coming from the Hypercolour residents and new Leeds export Mono Cult. Also don’t forget there’s a new door tax at T-Bar, but its still free before 11pm.

Others worth a look in are East Village’s 2^nd birthday with Quentin Harris, Vita Luna Presents 8Bit Records at Cable with and Parallel presents INXEC at Sosho.

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.

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.

My god, this weekend is so packed that there is hardly any room to manoeuvre for hangovers. But even though we know of the impending doom that is likely to happen next week in the form of an almighty comedown we’re still going to give you our low down on what seems fun for the short term.

If you’re starting things early then new club Cable in London Bridge has their opening night on Thursday. Will Saul, Dave Congreve and the Disco Bloodbath fellas will no doubt be cracking open a bottle of bubbly in celebration.

But now on to the real weekend. Friday sees the French grand master Laurent Garnier debut his live show in the UK at matter. Things kick off early with the live show starting at 7pm and running through till 9pm. That’s then followed by a pretty monstrous line-up consisting of DJ sets from Garnier, Francois K, Yousef, Norman Jay, The Unabombers and Chris Coco. Not a bad way to start a weekend eh? Get your tickets from the following links: Live Show only or Combined Live/Club tickets here or Club night only tickets here

If a trip all the way out to Greenwich is too much (and I don’t blame you) then maybe a trip to East Village where everyone’s favourite Romanian DJ, Pedro of a:rpia:r fame is manning the decks in the basement. He’s sure to have things bumping with his blend of techno and house. Moving on to Saturday and there is one event which is sure to be a complete roadblock.

That is of course Ricardo Villalobos at Fabric. He’s going back to back with everyone’s other favourite Romanian DJ Raresh. Their sounds are similar so this should surely be a blinding B2B set from the duo. Be warned however, this will be a roadblock event so be prepared to dance on the spot pogoing to the beats. It’s also not advisable to wing it on the door so get your tickets here.

If being stuck in a sea of people until the early hours of the morning isn’t your thing then Jay Haze at the recently reopened T-Bar is popping in for a visit. The guy is releasing a Fabric CD in the coming months so it could be cool to check out his sound and the new venue (apparently a converted S&M retreat). Also worth a mention is part three of Cable’s opening parties. UR legend Rolando is over along with Chateau Flight and Rub n Tug. There’s also resident support from our favourites Will Saul and Dave Congreve. Tickets are only £12 so it would be rude not to hear some quality techno. Get your tickets here.

That brings us neatly on to Sunday where things start from the get go. Egg play host to the Mixmag after party where the Ketoloco folks have Pier Bucci and Tim Paris firing up the decks on their garden terrace for those that has trouble sleeping. Reckon if the weather is on form this could be a top class after party. You can still get tickets here.

If you’re really wrong you can go from the Mixmag after party straight to Secretsundaze who will be taking over the MOS terrace in the afternoon. Unfortunately Onur Ozer who was booked to play is having visa troubles so instead they’ve got Tobi Neumann who is definitely a worthy replacement. The last few times I’ve seen Tobi play it was been phenomenal jacking grooves which are bound to go perfect in the sunshine. Tickets have sold out so you might have to chance it on the door or on the tinterweb. There are however tickets left for the evening party round the corner at the Coronet where Sebo K will be making his long awaited Secretsundaze debut. Get your tickets from RA here.

If south of the river isn’t your thing then Mulletover are having their summer close down party in Old Street. The venue is the Basement on Scrutton Street off Curtain Road. If it’s the venue I think it is then it’s a raw industrial basement which should have a great vibe comparing to those Addias Originals adverts. Providing the music will be Cecille’s Robert Dietz with Burnski, Anthea and Geddes in support. The staple party will be sorely missed until they return in October, so send the Mulletover folks off on their summer travels in high spirits. Get your tickets here.

Our final mention of fun things to do is Dig Your Own Rave at T-Bar. It’s been a while since the hay days of free messy Sunday evenings at the T. But they’re back with a TBA line up which could be special considering all the talent in the vicinity. So even if you don’t go big you could always pop in to the old faithful. So there you go… The weather looks good as do the parties. Bon Voyage!

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