Pangaea, Cork
When the Hessle Audio trio of Ben UFO, Pearson Sound and Pangaea rose (while remaining underground) to prominence in the late 2000s, it was because they were as much observers as participators within UK club culture. They weren’t quite dubstep or techno, not quite garage or jungle, but massive fans of what these sounds can achieve – especially together. Since then, the trio have carved out their own personas. Ben UFO is the champion DJ, Pearson Sound’s house experimentations are brittle and fascinating, but it’s Pangaea’s movement from deep, soothing dubstep to dark techno productions that has given Hessle Audio a kick-drum of an anchor. Pangaea’s style is studious and super-tight, carving the shape of the willing dancefloor to his own liking. To get in the mood, check his EPs on his own label, Hadal, which is named after the zone that’s home to the deepest trenches of the oceans. Perfect, right?
The Pavilion, Fri
LM
Notting Hill Carnival, London
Dust off the jewelled brassieres and perform hypnosis on your bladder: it’s the Notting Hill carnival, west London’s annual orgy of soundsystem culture. Norman Jay’s Good Times has gone east and Sancho Panza is no more, but returning regulars include Saxon Sound, Rampage and Channel One. Brave the inevitable roadblocks at Rinse and Shy FX’s stages: the former has grime from Meridian Dan and Novelist alongside London A-listers Katy B and Tinie Tempah, while the latter hosts Sean Paul, Skrillex, Craig David and Rudimental. Afterwards, there are the usual walking-distance picks: Numbers’ Spencer plays the Good Ship (NW6, Sun), while Paradise, W10, has takeovers from Eton Messy (Sun) and Benji B’s Deviation (Mon). Good carnivalesque options further afield include Swamp81’s traditional Heaven party (WC2, Sun); Mungo’s Hi Fi at Dingwalls (NW1, Sun); Don Letts, Daddy G and Fabio at Big Chill House (N1, Sat); and the Prince Of Wales, SW9, hosting MJ Cole (Sat), Gilles Peterson (Sun) and Norman Jay (Mon).
Various venues, Sat to Mon
BB
The Garden Party, Leeds
Leeds’ bank holiday Garden Party event has long acted as a small haven of quality music for the long weekend, but this year sees the event head into festival territory, covering two days, a wider range of genres, live acts, and the requisite art installations and local food. Highlights include Julio Bashmore bumping tunes from his recent Knockin’ Boots LP, as well as stellar dance pop from Róisín Murphy, Little Dragon and Todd Terje. There’s a solid backbone of popular UK house selectors on hand, including Heidi and Bicep, while the likes of Preditah and Paul Woolford will be throwing it down in rather more abrasive fashion throughout the weekend.
The Tetley, Sat & Sun
JT
Delete, Cardiff
In Cardiff’s diminutive underground scene, Delete’s summer parties are probably the hottest tickets in the city, especially since the demise of the Backroom bank-vault raves. For their final outdoor session of 2015, the promoters have surpassed themselves, bringing titanic talent Carl Craig. You won’t get many chances to see one of the biggest names in Detroit techno playing to a couple of hundred people in Wales, so don’t miss this session of the finest deep, jacking thumpers.
Gwdihŵ car park, Sun
GT
The Hydra, London
With sister series Clock Strikes 13 taking care of the weirder side of the dance spectrum, The Hydra returns for a season of crowd-pleasing house and techno. Highlights later in the autumn include Dixon on Osea Island in the Blackwater estuary (19 Sep) and Bugged Out’s 21st birthday (10 Oct), while this first weekend is staggeringly good. Ame and Henrik Schwarz do proggy deep house on Saturday, while Sunday has the best techno lineup of the year: Jeff Mills, Robert Hood and Rødhåd do lofty minimalism, while Tessela, Untold, Helena Hauff and others bring wire-wool industry.
Studio Spaces, E2, Sat & E1, Sun
BB
