Young Marco, Edinburgh
The dust had barely settled on New Year’s Eve when one of Europe’s best clubs, Amsterdam’s Trouw, closed its doors. The three-day party that celebrated its life, rather than mourned its death, was helmed by faithful residents such as Young Marco, the Dutch producer and DJ with releases on local label Rush Hour who has become a beloved vinyl selector in the European underground. His debut LP Biology was a subtle triumph for his production cred but it’s his DJ sets that really make a room come to life. His tastes are pretty oddball: mixing disco, funk, house, soul and wobbly, esoteric beats from all over the world together in a style that manages to feel both signature and special.
Sneaky Pete’s, Sat
LM
House Of God, Birmingham
No less than 22 years into its relentless techno tenure, and Birmingham’s dearly beloved House Of God party is still packing in both Midlands rave purists and those making the pilgrimage to one of the most notoriously uncompromising clubs still legally in operation. Now spanning three individual rooms for this celebratory occasion, including a house and wonky disco den, the main focus is on techno of the most slamming order or, in their own words, “fully committed, fully loaded mayhem”. Surgeon, long-time resident and co-founder, will be joining forces with Blawan (a man with “kick” and “drum” tattooed on his knuckles) for a live set as Trade, while Paul Damage, Sir Real and other regulars man the decks. Also guesting is the similarly heavy Sunil Sharpe, sub-loving Gold Dubs, as well as a “traditional” (albeit presumably far from acoustic) live set from underground Birmingham favourites, PCM. “Brum As Fuck”, as they say.
Tunnel Club, Fri
JT
Krankbrother & Phonica, London
Imagine the stars aligning to form a rare constellation in the shape of a reclining moustachioed libertine, and you’ve got this lineup: a one-off confluence of passionate vibesmiths where sensuality and refinement are the order of the day. Gerd Janson and Move D are urbane Europeans who’ll blithely quaff a Châteauneuf-du-Pape while mixing tough yet snake-hipped house and disco with an emphasis on voluptuous bass. Roman Flugel, whose hair spells out “because I’m worth it” every time he turns his head, lets techno drift towards a sunlit, nymph-fringed meadow; while Levon Vincent, with a hugely anticipated debut solo LP just out, also generally ends up tempted away from minimal austerity. Optimo instructed everyone in pan-genre mixing long before it was de rigueur, and still hop from post-punk to Afro to acid. Hosts Krankbrother will show off the fruits of their recent production labours, while Phonica DJs will raid their shop for lusted-after white labels. Close to perfect.
Fire, SW8, Sat
BBT
DJ Bone, Cardiff
Renowned for his resolutely non-commercial stance on the music business, DJ Bone embodies underground Detroit techno; he’s the antithesis of his contemporary Richie Hawtin. The man is experiencing a creative surge at the moment, recording under a new alias, Differ-Ent, so it’s a good time to catch his exceptionally nimble-fingered, bumping technique. The event also marks the end of Mood, Cardiff’s finest techno night in recent memory. Bone’s pounding, star-gazey techno tearjerkers will be a bittersweet send-off, and a rousing welcome to new life.
Undertone, Fri
GTDC
Mumdance & Logos, London
These UK producers have been individually churning out grime productions even more frostbitten than those on Roll Deep’s ice rink back in the day. Now they’ve started making tracks together, but new album Proto, launched here, sees both step into a new mode. The energetic syncopation is still there, but now they’re making rugged 90s rave; there’s even a track named after King’s Cross club Bagleys. But this is far from gurning nostalgia: their dancefloor is somewhere to get lost rather than find yourself.
Dance Tunnel, E8, Thu
BBT
