Opal Tapes, On tour
Based in the north-east, Opal Tapes is an offbeat DIY label that explores the more experimental edges of electronic music, usually via the medium of the cassette tape. The label is embarking on a European tour with Karen Gwyer the headline act. She touches on both Chicago house and the likes of Arthur Russell with a hardware jam that’s as confounding as it is oddly groovy. She’s joined by ambient experimentalist Wanda Group and the techno of Patricia. Label founder and manager Stephen Bishop, AKA Basic House, will also be present for a DJ set, stretching his sound into even more unworldly corners.
Fuse Art Space, Bradford, Sun; Cafe Oto, E8, Mon; Star & Shadow Cinema, Newcastle upon Tyne, Wed
JT
Halloween parties, London
Promoters rejoice, as Halloween falls on a Friday and tons of cod-spooky lineups are legitimised. While it’s hard to see exactly what’s so phantasmagoric about, say, having Matt Jam Lamont knock out some garage classics, there’s something pleasantly dissonant about raving as a zombie. Found say “dress to scare” for their two-dayer with George FitzGerald and Maya Jane Coles (Troxy, E1), while you’ll need a Dia de los Muertos (Day Of The Dead) vibe for Chez Damier at Mexican Death Disco (iCAN Studios, E3). On the Saturday, the Secretsundaze crew are throwing a Dead Famous party, encouraging you to dress like deceased celebs to a backdrop of tough but funky techno from UR jock Rolando along with Funkineven (Oval Space, E2). Possibly too hip for costumes, but sonically scarier than all of the above, is the pick of the bunch: Evian Christ placing his icy dread back to back with emo-R&B producer MssingNo, plus new-age trap heroes Total Freedom and Nguzunguzu (Corsica Studios, SE17).
BB
Last Warehouse On The Right, Glasgow
Halloween partying can go one of two ways: drink cheap wine in your flat while dressed in a poorly constructed costume, or leave it to the pros to put on a suitably scary and silly party for all. This year, three local crews – diva-loving nutters Thunder Disco, hip-hop and house collective Stay Fresh, and Sub Club regulars Sub Rosa – team up for the horror flick-referencing Last Warehouse On The Right (the name is a bastardisation of Wes Craven’s proto-slasher Last House On The Left). The once derelict warehouse of SWG3 feels perfect for a night of creepy twists and turns. Since fancy dress is encouraged and Glaswegians never miss a chance to show off, a few hearts might skip a beat when weaving through the concrete maze. Their riff on the original movie’s tagline might prove appropriate too: “To avoid fainting, keep repeating: it’s only a party!”
SWG3, Fri
LM
The Random Acts Club, Bournemouth
Random Acts have recently delivered Chicago house originators Marshall Jefferson and Derrick Carter, plus pioneers of looser grooves, too, including Soul II Soul’s Jazzie B and Notting Hill legend Norman Jay. This party finally brings the two strands together, with 80s electro-boogie group Loose Ends playing live while soulful house DJ Andy Ward – one half of Soul Central – plays in the attic. This will be going on in the entirely suitable locale of Bournemouth’s oldest building, apparently once a smugglers’ hangout.
Royal Exeter Hotel, Fri
GT
The Hydra, London
As well as their own Halloween party with Prins Thomas’s Scandi disco crew Full Pupp, The Hydra also have a double birthday this week: the FXHE label turns 10, while Non Plus is five. FXHE trades in no-frills vibes both aesthetically and musically, with label head Omar S creating some of its most warm-hearted moments. He’ll be the perfect foil for fellow Detroit resident Kyle Hall. Non Plus, meanwhile, is curated by Boddika, who hosts dub techno maestro Moritz von Oswald, Radio Slave and Kassem Mosse.
Studio Spaces, E1, Sat
BB
