GETME! London
The shoutily monikered GETME! has been straddling grime, UK bass and Tumblr-surfing cosmopolitanism since 2006, hosting everyone from Funkystepz to Evian Christ to Dam Mantle, the latter of whom it put out on its own label. This time round the headliner is Prayer, who like Holy Other or Suicideyear does stately gothic grandeur lit by skittering trap snares, all for sad boys to snuffle soulfully to. His recent NTS mix (made with Lixo, also playing here) wasn’t all mascara tears, though, building from groove-led techno into yearning ambient into hectic grime. Backing him up is the mysterious Forever Forever, with whom Prayer once shared a slice of wax on Zomby’s label Cult Music, playing pretty melancholia that can’t quite hide its optimism. Then there’s Iydes, whose recent Interior EP for GETME!’s label is blinding: all the elements of dub – bass, sirens, toasting – are panicked into an uptempo, glitchy frenzy.
Rye Wax, SE15, Fri
BB
Pender Street Steppers, Glasgow
The Vancouver house scene has gone from strength to strength in recent years, and it’s in large part thanks to a pair of DJs, producers and label owners called Pender Street Steppers, AKA Jack Jutson and Liam Butler. Part of the Mood Hut collective - who have also released shimmering house jams by the likes of Aquarian Foundation - the pair have struck a chord on dancefloors at home and abroad for their inquisitive selections and cerebral mixing style. The familiar 4x4 of house music functions as a beating heart within, rather than a strict template for their sets, blending ambient sketches and ripples of acoustic and brass instrumentation into vintage disco, underground house and sassy funk. Joining them in the basement will be Mood Hut cohort Hashman Deejay, whose Sandopolis LP of strung-out workouts melts down new-age psychedelica, hip-hop, disco and house in a woozy style. The Vancouver sound is a subtle, intoxicating creature right now, and these DJs are its finest exports.
La Cheetah Club, Fri
LM
Mumu, Liverpool
After a decade, Ostgut Ton still thrives among techno’s most prestigious labels, boosted by its association with Berlin’s legendary Berghain and Panorama Bar clubs. For those who’ve inched through the queue of the latter only to be turned on their heels, tonight’s Mumu party brings together some of the label’s best respected talents in a suitably raw environment. Dealing in shades of uncompromising techno is nd_baumecker, offset by Steffi’s perfectly arranged if still rather pumping branch of crystalline house. Ryan Elliott, ties it all together, demonstrating his well-earned reputation as one of the most consistently versatile DJs in the world today.
New Bird Street Warehouse, Sat
JT
Happy Skull x Berceuse Heroique, Bristol
Bristol DJ duo the Kelly Twins arrange another head-to-head with KEMAA, the similarly idiosyncratic London-based DJ and labelhead. His Berceuse Heroique imprint shares the innovation and rawness of the Kelly Twins’ Happy Skull label, without a care for what’s in vogue. The team have brought in techno newcomer Gabicci Bruuner to lend his skills, so you can expect steel-toecap kickdrum pummelling, hydraulic electro rhythms, warface grime and all sorts of off-kilter and dystopian sounds you haven’t heard before.
Cosies Wine Bar, Sat
GT
UKG Fest, London
A lineup so big it will require an entire roundabout’s worth of traffic lights to promote it, this indoor garage festival hosts PAs from every chorus-merchant to ever covet Evisu jeans. There are big-hitters such as Lain (Battle), Romina Johnson (Moving Too Fast) and Jodie Aysha (Heartbroken), but it’s the likes of MC Ranking who’ll be scoring the gale-force Proustian rushes; remember Sometimes It Snows In April? They’re backed up by the ever-reliable, ever-touring scene DJs like Matt Jam Lamont, Pied Piper and tens of others.
Coronet, SE1, Fri
BB
