Don’t Be Afraid & Cold Tonic, Bristol
Helping us bypass the dreary and/or repugnant rituals of the workplace socials that we’re encouraged to endure at this time of year, the people behind two fine underground labels have arranged what they’re calling an Alternative Office Xmas Party. Cold Tonic co-founder Krystal Klear will be playing his renowned disco-centric set, tbut he big draw is Neville Watson, a connoisseur of house and the acid-rumbling, drum machine-chugging spirit of the epoch-making Chicago sound. Also a regular collaborator with Bulgaria’s finest, KiNK, he’s rarely spotted in Bristol. Maurice Alexander (also of Cold Tonic) and Semtek (Don’t Be Afraid) are manning the decks, too, if not decking the halls. The latter is a particularly appealing prospect; his jilting, idiosyncratic techno production broadcasts below the radar of many, but is engaging and original. Time to hum-bug out!
The Love Inn, Thu
GT
Stroboscopic Artefacts, Sheffield
For all its rich heritage, the frosty world of Berlin techno can occasionally seem rather clinical and predictable; admittedly, for those wishing to lose their inhibitions through until Monday afternoon, this can be part of the appeal. But since 2009, the city’s Stroboscopic Artefacts label has furnished the genre with layers of intriguing experimentation and subtle emotion. Founder Luca Mortellaro, known in the DJ booth as Lucy, has recently assisted artists such as Ben Klock in exploring their ambient leanings, as well as fostering influential releases from experimentalists such as Donato Dozzy, Kangding Ray and Xhin. Tracing the line between the cerebral and the physical is what Stroboscopic do best, although in a club environment revellers will be heartened to know that Lucy’s performances tend to inspire more aggressive shapes than strokes of the chin. He’s joined by R&S favourite Paula Temple, who helped pioneer hybrid live-DJ sets, a performance concept she still pushes to its limits.
Hope Works, Sat
JT
Numbers, London
Once described as London clubbing’s Proms, the Hydra is in the middle of its winter season. This week, it’s a collaboration with Glasgow stalwarts Numbers. Headliners Koreless and Jackmaster have both been making and playing fascinating music for years, but there are some equally great newer names further down the bill. One third of Swedish label Studio Barnhus, Kornél Kovács, New York’s Bunker resident Mike Servito and second-generation Detroit techno producer Jay Daniel are three of the most interesting and fun DJs around. Since its first party back in 2003, Numbers has charted a path for forward-thinking and unpretentious dance music, and this night is proof of its continuing vitality.
Studio Spaces, E1, Sat
CJ
Digital Tsunami, London
Berlin-via-New York producer Doug Lee first got noticed a decade or so ago for his productions as Lee Douglas: chugging cosmic disco that took off on a caramel-shagpile magic carpet (his New York Story remains a glorious secret weapon). He then reappeared last year in a much meaner mood as An-i; the Balearic sunshine now blotted by a pea souper, tracks such as Kino I and Rut are killer acid-techno belters that plough furrows in dancers’ brows. He plays here in that latter guise, supported by Ernestas Sadau and Roman Sputnik.
The Waiting Room, N16, Sat
BB
Headstrong, Glasgow
After emerging in 2009 with the minimalist Nebulos, Andrew Bowen and Dimitri Poumplidis’s AnD project soon voyaged to the more abrasive end of the techno spectrum. Fuelled by working arduous day jobs before evening studio visits, their tracks became sonically crueller: melody trapped between bludgeoning 4/4 and bracing mid-sections stippled with silence. They’ve since released on a string of labels, including a full-length last year on Electric Deluxe. Here they put in a shift alongside fellow sensory roughage administrator Randomer.
The Art School, Sat
SC
