Leon Vynehall, Manchester
Leon Vynehall spent his teenage years in Brighton boshing out decidedly crunchy post-hardcore and then moving swiftly on to squelchy-as-you-like funk, which might come as a surprise to those with their ears on his recent ascendency as one of the UK’s most promising and musically rich dance talents. While some of his earlier work arguably veered a little too close to that of deeper-than-deep pioneers such as Pépé Bradock, his back catalogue, especially last year’s superlative Music For The Uninvited mini-album, continues to nail the inclusiveness, escapism and nagging heartache that’s at the beating heart of house music. Despite his easygoing charm, Vynehall also knows full well how to get a sweaty room onside. Currently something of an unexpected festival favourite, he’ll be tracing his influences throughout an all-night, midsummer set in the basement of Soup Kitchen, courtesy of Zutekh.
Soup Kitchen, Sat
JT
Unity Reggae Club, London
Here’s an unmissable chance to be schooled by the vice-chancellor of British reggae, Dennis Bovell, the man who helped give the UK scene its own voice. His 70s band Matumbi played classic roots and backed Caribbean stars such as I-Roy, but he then carved out the romantic “lovers rock” style away from the Jah-praising Rasta scene. His were gorgeously minimal love songs, throbbing with echoing bass and his production style was tapped up by an astonishing variety of stars. It opened up new possibilities for The Slits and the Pop Group, with the latter’s 1979 album Y still the high-water mark for post-punk as result; its collapsed funk is full of dread, in every sense. Bovell was even employed by Bananarama for nifty pop-reggae B-side Tell Tale Signs. Former Beta Band man Steve Mason was the most recent person to get a sprinkle of his dub, on a re-versioned take of his album Boys Outside. Bovell DJs here in Peckham, supported by a live set from neo-rocksteady group Sidewalk Doctors.
Bussey Building, SE15, Fri
BB
Balance Boat Party, Bournemouth
Calling someone a deep house DJ can easily be misconstrued nowadays. The deep house tag is so often misapplied to throwback 90s garage, slowed-down bassline and 4/4 remixes of Ed Sheeran that the real meaning of the genre has almost been lost. But make no mistake, the cunningly monikered Shur-I-Kan, AKA Tom Szirtes, discovered 15 years ago by the renowned Tom Middleton, is a mainstay of the real thing. His is truly soulful music, mixing the block-party sound of 90s New York with far-out jazz, hypnotic low frequencies and cocktail-shaking polyrhythms. He sets sail tonight on the Purbeck Princess, departing from Poole Harbour for a shake on the waves.
Departs Poole Quay, Sat
GT
Icy Presents: Walton, Glasgow
With recent hits from MC brothers Skepta and JME, grime seems to be breaking into the mainstream more forcefully than ever, but it’s still a slavishly underground sound. The Keysound label champions London’s club sounds (grime’s eight-bar energy, rolling garage basslines and weird techno licks) and Walton – who has also worked with seminal dubstep-gone-global crew Hyperdub – is part of the cohort. For Icy, Walton takes his sound to Glasgow: a skeleton of clattering house, grime, garage and techno bones, with a glossy club skin holding it all together.
La Cheetah Club, Fri
LM
Lindstrøm, London
Sharing an Oslo studio space with Todd Terje and Prins Thomas, Hans-Peter Lindstrøm is one of the linchpins of a Scandinavian cosmic disco style that’s still yielding dividends. His latest emission is a fantastic prog record in a collaboration with Todd Rundgren and one of Serena-Maneesh: listening to it is like being hurled through an orgy covered in paint. But there are also pure pop productions such as Home Tonight trickling out, so expect this live set to be a hit of Ibizan sunlight in Dalston.
The Nest, N16, Fri
BB
