Tropical Waste, London
Just when jetset hipsters are airily dismissing Berlin in favour of Leipzig, Lisbon or, I dunno, Loughborough, the Janus crew remind us that the city is still churning out bleeding-edge culture. They’re the most exciting collective in electronic music right now: a group of producers and DJs, including MESH and Lotic, who make bleak, abstracted ruminations built out of whipped air and blitzed gravel, alongside bursts of R&B and rap. Expect more of the same from Janus emissary Kablam, playing here alongside Staycore label boss Dinamarca, a Swedish producer making his UK debut trading in stripped-back low-riding kuduro. Then there’s Throwing Shade, making woozy neo-soul but also equipped with a formidable crate of obscurities; and Kamixlo, the blue-rinsed sprite who jacks up rap production with cans of guava Rockstar until it’s a stuttering juke mess, before glucose-crashing into mournful slow jams.
The Waiting Room, N16, Fri
BB
Tw!tch Presents Livity Sound, Belfast
Bristol’s dance music heritage is well known and loved. From trip-hop pioneers Massive Attack to drum’n’bass ringleader Roni Size, it’s rooted in a decades-long love affair with Jamaican soundsystem culture, and an ability to shape chest-rattling low-end bass into myriad styles. Bristol’s most recent success story is the Livity Sound label, a heady blend of techno, jungle, dubstep and house, wrung out through the pace, space and weight of the city’s dub philosophy. Two of the label’s founders, Peverelist and Kowton, bring relatable yet distinct club music traits to the crew. Peverelist, also the man behind off-kilter Bristolian label Punch Drunk, is considered a tastemaker in the evolution of the UK’s dubstep sound. Kowton acts as his brother-in-arms, with a dubby, minimalist techno style that feels like the soundtrack of the Earth, spinning slowly and heavily. Their collaborative releases on Livity Sound show how much Bristol still has to offer, and how much UK clubbers and soundsystem culture are still very much in love.
Queens Student Union, Sat
LM
Butter Side Up Friends & Family Summer Party, Leeds
There are few tighter resident teams than Leeds’ Butter Side Up crew, who regularly support some of the best respected names in house music. This party injects some much-needed energy into a Leeds scene that can be rather barren outside of student term time, with residents playing B2B with some of their favourite selectors from outside the city. Hugh Bailey and Jonny Sleight will be sparring with Frederic Peck and TMS of Mora Music, while Ciaran Hansen joins forces on wax with Dylan Thompson of Berlin’s Club der Visionaere. Finally, Butter Side co-founders Hamish Cole and Mike Stockell will be reading each other’s minds at the peak of the night.
Wire, Fri
JT
Digital Mind, Plymouth
After launching their debut night at the Factory with fellow promoters Vivify, Digital Mind are back by themselves, this time taking over the whole of the venue, and inviting one of the city’s most established techno DJs, Calrek, along with Digital Mind’s Finbar. Known for his improvised sets, Calrek is a performer who prides himself on the human element of techno, selecting tunes to fit the audience’s attitude. As one of the prominent figures of the city’s underground scene, Digital Mind are keeping it local, with mind-blowing decor and pre-planned visuals also promised.
Factory, Sat
SM
Screensaver, London
The live-streaming club night returns with Golden Teacher – the Scots band whose new Sauchiehall Enthrall EP dresses African-Cuban and Portuguese rhythms in techno’s rigid threads – at the top of the bill. It’s an elegant step on from the band’s earlier takes on Moroder and acid. In support are Second Storey and Appleblim, whose collaborative LP on R&S is a tangy take on garage and UK bass, and space-rock duo Gum Takes Tooth, who are joined on an off-world colony by fellow cosmonauts Orchestra Elastique.
Bussey Building, SE15, Sat
BB
