Coded Rhythm, Manchester
Musician, DJ, photographer, painter and all-round cosmic renaissance man: at barely 30 years old, Jimmy Edgar has led a truly illustrious career. Once turning out raw sleaze when signed to Warp a decade ago, he has spent the last few years establishing his Ultramajic label, dedicated to offbeat club bangers with a twist of mysticism in its artwork. It’s an aesthetic that Edgar also portrays in his never-less-than-stomping DJ sets, which combine classic sounds from his birthplace of Detroit and minimal techno, while channeling enough flair to please those still hankering after the somewhat cheeky era of electroclash. Having spent his youth spinning with the likes of Juan Atkins and Kevin Saunderson in strip clubs, Edgar somehow manages to contrast the sublime with the ridiculous like few others. Supported by Coded Rhythm DJs, expect a mind-expanding evening with one of dance music’s true characters.
Xolo, Thu
JT
ENTER, London
When Sven Väth helped introduce techno to Ibiza, it was a black bloom amid the island’s fuchsia trance aesthetic. But, over time, it too has become normalised, with many supposedly “underground” nights achieving only Clapham levels of edginess. Richie Hawtin, however, has tried to make something genuinely atmospheric with his ENTER. nights at Space. Yes, its sake bar looks like a Wagamama with the lights blown, but his guests – which have included the borderline occult likes of Demdike Stare and Pye Corner Audio – are impeccably curated and tend towards techno at its most bangingly austere. At this ENTER. event in Tobacco Dock’s chintzily post-apocalyptic 80s mall, Paco Osuna, Ida Engberg and Adam Beyer bring straightforward techno in the main room, while Hot Since 82, Subb-an and Bella Sarris are a little funkier on the terrace. Hawtin will play a set in each, then there’s an afterparty over the road at Studio Spaces, E1, with most of the above in attendance, as well as a third Hawtin set.
Tobacco Dock, E1, Sat
BB
Dance Mania, Dublin
In the 1980s, Dance Mania tore through Chicago with a relentless vision of Italo-disco, house and techno, splicing 808 kicks, incendiary piano hooks and filthy vocals together with a “screw you” attitude that saw the label birth “ghetto house”. Central to the story is the iconic Barney’s record store, where Victor “Parris” Mitchell, who plays here, worked and hung out. While ghetto house has fought its battles in and out of the club, Mitchell’s been writing every chapter of the sound: by the end of the 00s, he relaunched the distribution of Dance Mania’s gold-dust output and saw the jams take over clubs worldwide once again. If anyone can play ghetto house with that original, nasty and funny flavour, it’s him.
Twisted Pepper, Sat
LM
Cf24, Invites Rhythmatic, Cardiff
Rhythmatic have been partying hard since 2007. Welcoming the likes of Marco Carola and Carl Cox to their decks, the team will be celebrating their eighth birthday by hosting nights in Ibiza, Dubai, Barcelona and more. Careful to steer away from trends, they focus on their favourite artists that know how to throw a party: Cardiff will be welcoming Priku, the ever-young Romanian who has released via Fabric, Concrete Music and All Inn, solidifying his place in the party circuit after starting his own label, Motif, and releasing the Acoustic EP through his real name, Adrian Niculae.
CF24, Sat
SM
Tender Hooks, London
Nick Höppner has long been locked into Berlin’s techno fraternity, with his Berghain residency as well as his involvement with the club’s label Ostgut Ton. A number of 12”s have led to his debut solo LP, Folk, which taps into a classic German tradition of utopian grooves topped with a surprising playfulness and proggily noodling melodies. But there are also some sterner bangers and even some breakbeat-driven tracks that crunch and lope out of his usual 4/4. Höppner himself launches it here with Romare and Awanto3.
Corsica Studios, SE17, Sat
