Vanishing Point, Brighton
Vanishing Point are bringing something special to the table for Halloween, welcoming Rinse FM host and underground talent Krystal Klear. The Manchester-based producer and resident of the city’s club night Hoya:Hoya is known for his sense of fun on the air and in the club, creating disco-influenced bangers that have quickly gained a reputation as go-to dance-floor fillers. Joining him is Justin Robertson, whose 23 years in the industry mean he’s had a big influence on the house scene. From starting the Most Excellent nights in the early 90s to remixing Björk and New Order, his endeavours have seen him pull influence from a wide-range of genres. Joining them are Skint Records’ Damian Harris and Matt King as well as Vanishing Point residents Teamy and Matthew Balaam. Attendees are encouraged to dress up – with prizes for the best costumes – and the venue will also be adorned with plenty of spooky decorations.
Patterns, Sat
SM
Halloween parties, London
Falling on a Saturday, and following a US-influenced mission creep that encourages turning anything – clown, entomologist, office supplies manager – into a slutty version of itself, Halloween is bigger in clubland than it’s been in years. The best of the capital’s raves include Secretsundaze’s offering Carnival Du Freak (Shapes, E9), where dressing up as something seriously twisted is encouraged; soundtracking the melting facepaint are the Black Madonna, Trus’me and Kassem Mosse. Chilling the blood with icy techno and tech-house is Drumcode’s takeover of Tobacco Dock (E1), its deserted mall the perfect place for that Dawn Of The Dead homage, with Boddika and Pan-Pot among the guests. Maya Jane Coles, Damian Lazarus and Mount Kimbie go for billowing gothic techno grandeur at Building Six in the O2 (SE10); clutching a bucket of pound-shop sweets at the more low-key end is top underground label Apron’s night in a wee Stoke Newington spot, with Greg Beato playing spooked-out house jams (DOT Cafe, N16).
Various venues, Sat
BB
Wigflex, Nottingham
Nottingham’s Wigflex is only an occasional party, but for the city’s rave-thirsty community of underground techno fiends, what an occasion it is. Returning in proper style for the first time since Ben Klock’s appearance in May, Wigflex have secured a trio of dance music’s most reliable boundary pushers. There’s Ron Morelli, whose L.I.E.S. imprint – once the accidental vanguard of the muddied “outsider house” scene – is a label that continues to surprise and subvert. It’s a similar ground to that occupied by Hessle Audio, the Leeds label co-founded by Pearson Sound. Both are joined by Shackleton, whose singular live performances continue to explore compelling and unpredictable ground.
The Brickworks, Sat
JT
Pressure, Glasgow
When he was a teenager, Peter Van Hoesen was a member of three libraries in Antwerp so he could borrow and listen to a vast and eclectic selection of records from their archives. These early voracious listening habits are still evident in his style today: techno flecked with Belgian new wave, 80s post-punk, the industrial and the avant-garde. This Halloween he’ll be playing alongside Pressure residents Slam, as well as Ivan Kutz and Petrichor, and Australian DJ Bella Sarris, fresh from a summer residency at Richie Hawtin’s Enter night in Ibiza.
SWG3, Sat
SC
Nosaj Thing, London
Bringing a fairly rare live set to London is LA beatmaker Nosaj Thing, whose music bumps with the same fluorescence that squelches through Flying Lotus, Sa-Ra and the Gaslamp Killer: the sort of hip-hop instrumentals where the beat splatters rather than snaps. His productions have been tapped up by Kendrick Lamar, Kid Cudi and most recently Chance The Rapper, who also appears on Nosaj’s most recent LP Fated. In support is Luka, and Gerry Read, whose tight yet burnished re-edits, such as Limp Biscuit Anthem, could warm you for the entire winter.
Shapes, E9, Fri
BB
