THE REFLEX Funky Buddha Saturdays
As you might tell from the Duran Duran-referencing name, The Reflex is a new 80s night promising not only the best of that genre but also the worst too. That might sound like a strange idea until you have a few drinks inside you, but drunken singalongs are pretty much guaranteed. If you fancy giving it a go, the Buddha are offering one person guestlist for them and ten mates, plus two bottles of Prosecco and two crates of beer to get the party started. A runner up will get free entry for them and five mates. Just email [email protected] for a killer night out, completely gratis. (JK)
BACK TO BASICS The Haunt Fri 4th
There’s no snow now so Club Foundation, who had to pull their last night because of bad weather, can return with a massive old-school line-up; Funky Flirt, Innovation, Shockin, Trix and Loops plus a gaggle of MCs from the drum’n’bass phonebook; Det, Fearless, Deeza, and Starz. Tonight is held in a brand new venue – The Haunt (see News Special) and it boasts a blistering new sound system, which will leave your ears humming for days. (DC)
NUMBERS Life Fri 4th
Life’s Friday night parties are becoming a fixture in our clubbing calendar, consistently booking the freshest acts redefining dance music. This evening Glaswegian collective Numbers are in town – a melting pot of a crew combining record labels, DJs and club nights and garnering props from the Guardian, Fabriclive and Dazed & Confused. Tonight two of their hottest signings top the bill; Jackmaster who won DJ Mag’s ‘Best Breakthrough DJ’ award in 2010 and Deadboy, whose heartbreak garage will have you cutting some teary-eyed shapes on the dancefloor. (ZC)
TENSNAKE Audio Fri 4th
Strange to say it, but Tensnake is probably clubbing’s next superstar producer. His was the biggest underground club track of last year (the disco house anthem ‘Coma Cat’), and the slew of piano/synth disco coming in its wake can only complete the inevitable bump into mainstream acclaim. For Tensnake’s live set, DJ support comes from Brighton’s own Maxxi Soundsystem, whose star is rising faster than the express elevator at Studio 54. Their huge re-edit of Alexander O’Neal’s ‘Criticize’ is being fêted by everyone, up to and including Annie Mac on Radio 1. (MB)
PLAYGROUP FESTIVAL LAUNCH • Concorde 2 Fri 4th
One of the best things about last year was that, despite the fallout from Beachdown, Playgroup managed to get a grassroots festival going. After the success of 2010 it’s no surprise to see it back for 2011 – and this party celebrates the fact that the £55 early bird tickets are on sale. Fifteen-piece Klezmer and Balkan beat orchestra, the Trans-Siberian March Band, are the highlight of the launch party and they’re joined by Tru Thoughts’ Benji Boko and a whole load of other talent. (JK)
FWD>> Concorde 2 Sat 5th
London’s Rinse FM have been the go-to grassroots station for grime, dubstep et al for 16 years. Their sell-out club night FWD>> is coming to Brighton, with pioneering stalwarts Plastician, Joker, Roska, D Double E and Jamie George all coming down to shake us up. If you have more than a passing interest in dubstep, you’ll already have heard of these artists, and if you haven’t, you probably won’t be interested in going even if we give the most glowing of previews. So instead, we’re going to give you some lesser known facts about three of the biggest stars in the dubstep constellation: Joker’s favourite colour is purple, Plastician is a huge fan of greasy chicken, and Roska has a stellar repertoire of knock, knock jokes. Only two of those are true, but this definitely is: this night will be huge. (JMM)
HOSPITALITY Digital Sat 12th
2010 was a year of chart success for Danny Byrd with tunes like ‘Sweet Harmony’ and ‘Ill Behaviour’ pushing his revival of classic rave tracks to commercial acknowledgment. Also topping the all-star line-up are the Austrian duo Camo & Krooked, two of the most exciting new signings on the Liquid label, mashing up dancefloors with original productions like the soulful ‘Turn Up The Music’ and the rough, rugged and raw ‘Climax’. There’s a long list of supports including Marcus Intalex, NU:Tone and Callous. (ZC)
SHOGUN AUDIO • Audio Fri 18th Shogun
Audio has an exciting showcase of its emerging talent tonight. Freshest are duo The Prototypes, whose anthemic roller ‘Cascade’ demonstrated a big room sound with infectious vocals and earned them support from Radio1’s nighttime posse – Zane Lowe, Annie Mac and Annie Nightingale. Another name from the toted new breed of producers are Spectrasoul who have managed to distinguish themselves from a saturated drum’n’bass scene with their deeply progressive tracks like ‘Shades of Blue’ and ‘Poseidon’. (ZC)
FRAGMENT Volks Fri 18th
Fusing jungle, drum’n’bass and even some dubstep, this is a night that has been bubbling away for quite some time now. But this evening marks Fragment’s triple birthday celebration so to guarantee the party goes with a bang the Undiluted Recordings’ owner, Brockie, is coming to town. The Kool FM founder and jungle legend has been producing big basslines since 1988. Throw in Zen, Innovation, Deeza, Starz and Robott means that the Volks is going to go off. (DC)
SIMON BAKER Life Fri 18th
Another new night and a very promising one at that. Moody Disco, despite the name, is all about quality underground house and techno. The first guest is 2020 Vision and Crosstown Rebels artist Simon Baker, promoting his forthcoming ‘Traces’ LP, a set of driving tech house, reportedly a touch more delicate than his recent singles. He’s joined by fellow Space Ibiza DJs Dalton & Trench, plus a back room hosted by Zoon. An impressive line-up straight out of the gates. (JK)
DARK SKY & SHORTSTUFF Jam Sat 19th
Our favourite production trio Dark Sky return to Brighton, bringing their unique musical mixing pot of garage, dubstep and futuristic 2 step. Very much in demand in the remix world (it takes something special to appeal to both The xx and Kelis), too many chefs do not spoil the broth in this kitchen. They’re playing alongside Shortstuff, who if you’re a bass fan will need no introduction: he’s prolific on the dubstep scene, and his clunky pared-down beats have won over fans of many other genres too. (JMM)
EROL ALKAN Digital Sat 19th
In 1997 he set the precedent for London’s dance music scene with his club night Trash, more recently he helped save BBC 6 Music with eclectic sets that mixed easy listening vibes with forward-thinking electronica, and he’s a Chilly Gonzalez champion, releasing Chilly’s ‘Never Stop’ on his Phantasy Sound label. He is of course Erol Alkan, a DJ so deft he could turn country and western into an anthemic club banger via his natural gift for sonic alchemy. (ZC)
JULIO BASHMORE Green Door Store Sat 19th
The name somehow evokes nostalgic thoughts of Hawaiian shirts, Euro pop and medallions on hairy chests, but in fact Julio Bashmore is a ginger chap named Matt from Bristol, who makes wonderfully relaxed house music. Capable of making house cool even in this dubstep era, Julio’s understated, stripped-back take on the genre deserves recognition for being uplifting, light, and above all unpredictable, in a genre where all too many can’t manage it. (JMM)
JAMIE WOON Audio Tues 22nd
Having recently come fourth in the BBC’s Sound Of 2011 Jamie Woon’s music blends electronica and soul to produce stripped down, breathy tunes like ‘Wayfaring Stranger’ and ‘Night Air’ which have already gained massive crossover success with dubstep remixes by Burial, Ramadanman and Deadboy. As with any artist who makes the BBC Sound Of 2011 shortlist, this London troubadour is set for big things this year so catching him somewhere more intimate such as Audio will very soon be impossible. (ZC)
VENETIAN SNARESCoalition Thur 24th
Lauded by the late, great John Peel and credited with re-inventing breakcore, Venetian Snares is terrifying to the uninitiated and worshipped by his fans. Flawlessly blending breakcore with glitch, surreal vocals and sounds we can only describe as ‘noise’, the artist otherwise known as Aaron Funk creates confusing, frenetic soundscapes which will cause you to either gaze blankly in confusion or dance like a recently escaped lunatic. We recommend the latter. (JMM)
ROLL DEEP Concorde 2 Fri 25th
Since its inception in 2002, London’s finest grime collective has seen members come and go, beef eaten and squashed but the three founders remain; Wiley (the UK’s appointed grime minister), Flow Dan and Breeze. Tonight they showcase their first number one single, the 2010 hit ‘Good Times’ with guest vocalist Jodie Connor whose hook reels you in and perfectly punctuates the clubby chorus. It’s tunes like this that continue the cartel’s chart-friendly evolution. (ZC)
JAMES BLAKE &JOY ORBISON Life Fri 25th
The BBC’s Sound Of 2011 poll featured lots of mediocre pop acts with huge marketing budgets, but slipped in there too was the amazing James Blake, the 21-year-old Londoner who has pioneered the current crop of producers who are smashing the urban gutter swing of dubstep into the noir, speccy, plaintive clicks and bleeps of IDM and electronica. Between him and co-headliner Joy Orbison, this line-up is basically the future of bass-based music, in one venue on one night. (MB)
DARKSTAR Coalition Sat 26th
Filled with passionate bleeps, dark rhythms and whining synths, Darkstar songs sound like an overly emotional, lovesick robot made an album to win back his deserting cyborg girlfriend. Darkstar often release on Hyperdub Records and much has been made of their ‘hyperdub’ sound – a fusion of 2 step, dubstep, electronica and since 2010, synthetic vocals from new vocalist James Buttery. Smooth, drone-y melodies soar over melancholy basslines creating an elegant, futuristic and unmistakably atmospheric symphony. (JMM)
SNEAKER SOCIAL CLUB Jam Sat 26th
The only night we know of that’s devoted to trainers is back, with a slight change to the music policy. The order of the day is “crossover bass music bizzness”, with Ramadanman collaborator Midland topping the bill. If you like Joy Orbison and Burial then you’ve find plenty to enjoy in his warm and fragmented house music. He’s back by fellow Aus Music artist Al Tourettes who’s been playing Panorama Bar and releasing tracks for Appleblim’s Apple Pips imprint, as well as turning up on the soundtrack to Black Swan. As you can tell, the guy is firing right now. (JK)
WORDS BY MATT BARKER, DAZ CARNABY, ZAC COLBERT, JAMES KENDALL, JESSICA MARSHALL MCHATTIE
2011