BANGERS AND MASH Concorde 2 Fri 1st
He’s the lyrical legend, he’s the turbo-tongued motormouth, and he’s winner of more drum’n’bass awards than you can shake a mic at. It’s MC Skibadee of course, and he’s behind you… no, not really. But he is hosting Bangers And Mash, now in its fourth year, featuring regulars Original Sin, Phantasy and Eksman as well as more support from Serial Killerz, Pablo Riddla and Fatman D. If that’s too big a line-up for you, well, as Skiba would say, deal with the matter. (ZC)
BRIGHTON JAZZ ROOMS • Komedia Fri 1st
Time to dust off that beret and goatee beard and slip on your best dancing shoes for this one-off return of Russ Dewberry’s legendary Brighton Jazz Rooms sessions. Afro-Cuban percussion frenzies, Brazilian bossas, afro funk and all points in between will be spun around appearances from Batacuda Band, Maracatu and the amazing Jazz Co Tech Dancers. Come and pay your respects to this kingpin of the local jazz dance scene for the past 25 years. And bring a towel – it’s going to get sweaty. (SC)
MARCUS INTALEX & CALIBRE Audio Fri 8th
As a DJ who’s been in the profession since 1989, Marcus Intalex knows his drum’n’bass onions. Uncompromisingly true to good tunes rather than commercial successes, his DJ sets are peppered with classics from the past few decades as well as some of the freshest, most underground sounds around – a recipe for floor-filling. Helping to stir up the crowd is Calibre, liquid funk’s premier innovator and Marcus Intalex’s label-mate on Soul:R. (JMM)
HOSPITALITY Digital Sat 9th
Topping the bill of this month’s Hospital visit is Andy C, a d’n’b household name for anyone who knows their Ram from their Records. In support are Blokhe4d, comprising American Jonas Uman and Michael Vegas of Bad Company UK. Their recent tunes are manic explosions of piston-spitting beats with blitz alarm basslines. Earlier this year they released ‘The Way Life Used To Be’ on Hospital Records, paving the way for their inclusion on Hospitality’s storming roster of DJs and producers. (ZC)
JULIO BASHMORE Tube Sat 9th
Just when it looked like deep house was dead forever, a new breed of producers arrived out of the melodic leftfield of dubstep making just that. Hailing from Bristol (not Brighton as Tiga said on his 6Music show, getting us all excited), Julio Bashmore is leading the sound that’s appealing to old house heads and bleeding-edge club kids alike. He’ll have complimentary support from Donga, our city’s guru of groove, for another impressive line-up from this cosy club. (JK)
ART DEPARTMENT Audio Fri 15th
Genre labels are fine, but they are a blunt instrument. It’s very difficult to describe texture, tone, atmosphere without getting all florid. To say Art Department sit somewhere between disco and minimal techno does them no favours but, trust us, they rule. Melodic, willful, bass-heavy synths, as imagined in Berlin at that 5am moment when the night is at its darkest. (MB)
PROPER GANDER • Volks Sat 16th
Jack Deeks’ night of serious bass really stresses the proper in the name. Two rooms of dubstep, hip hop and drum’n’bass are all tackled at full volume and full strength. This is perhaps their most impressive night yet, with Sludge’s Dodge & Fuski popping in a year after they hit the No.1 spot in both Beatport and Trackitdown. The throbbing distortion of their ‘Pornstep’ is tearing up YouTube’s UKF Dubstep channel right now. They’re joined by Dirty Dike, Jam Baxter and Sammy B-Side – some of the most important names on the UK hip hop scene, with crucial solo LPs out this year. If you haven’t been to this club yet, this is a good month to have a gander. (JK)
SUPERCHARGED • Digital Sat 16th
Krafty Kutz has got so many awards for his DJ skills over the years he’s had to start using them as impromptu paperweights and door stoppers. His latest mini-mix for Jaguar Skills demonstrates his love for old and new electronic music and his adeptness at mashing the two together into a cacophonous blend of beats, breaks and bass. Make sure you’re at Digital to witness the ridiculous skills of this international talent residing in our hometown. (ZC)
SICKSVILLE-A-GO-GO • Concorde 2 Sat 16th
Those filthy, tight-jeaned anachronisms at Stay Sick have pulled out all the slick-mulleted stops for this takeover at the Conky tonight, ransacking the place from top to bottom with go-go dancers, dastardly décor, a surf bar, a stage full of revolving mirrors and dance podiums where you’ll probably be able to gawp at guys and girls straight off B-movie film posters. As well as the usual garage, girl group and rock’n’roll tunes, they go all-out with a live line-up counting Austrian and French-Japanese performers. (BM)
LOOSE FIT • Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar Fri 22nd
The welcome introduction of a monthly Madchester night, where we’ve already been promised a free Inspiral Carpets tune in exchange for wearing our best floppy hat and baggy combats combo. If Clint Boon and friends weren’t your bag then you can also twist your melon to new wave, post-punk, dance stuff from the 60s to the 90s, shoegaze, acid house, rave classics and Balearic beauties from the decks, as well as lashings of hedonism, sunshine and love. (BM)
DJ FRESH Audio Fri 22nd
Ridiculously catchy, ‘Gold Dust’ has been the crossover hit of the past year, uniting drum’n’bass with the top 40 and inspiring another generation of sweaty-browed revellers. Fresh’s drum’n’bass credentials stretch back to his time with Bad Company in the 90s and he’s hit the big time recently with lighter, more accessible tunes such as the soon-to-be-released ‘Louder’, which shows commercial promise by managing to combine his jungle roots with pop, dubstep and an anthemic vocal track. (JMM)
AKAAKAROAR VS DEADLY RHYTHM Life Fri 22nd
For round two of their soundclash, AKAAKAROAR and Deadly Rhythm have got a suitably boisterous line-up. Headlining is Boddika, or Al Green to his friends, who made up one half of drum’n’bass duo Instra:mental. His new project sounds both retro and futuristic, taking influence from Detroit techno and Chicago house, generating strong mechanical sonics that are analogue-driven to create tunes that wouldn’t feel out of place scoring an 80s sci-fi B-movie classic. In support are Mele and Pariah bringing the heavy fire. (ZC)
BRANDON BLOCK Coalition Sat 23rd
His name might have become shorthand for partying too hard but Brandon Block has had a much bigger effect on dance music culture than you might think. Before Blocko and his partner in largin’ it, Alex P, came along, Space Ibiza was a dark little club with all the music inside. They dragged a pair of decks onto the terrace and changed the White Island forever. Quite apart from that he was the big name in feelgood house music for years, being a regular at Up Yer Ronson, Club For Life and Miss Moneypenny’s. So, just the man for an Ibiza Classic night. (JK)
BEN UFO Tube Sat 30th
It’s always been generally believed that to make a name for yourself as a DJ you need to start producing. Although often true, there’s a current trend that eschews that philosophy. Numbers label head Jackmaster shirked the studio, Oneman’s skipped it, and now Ben UFO’s got them both in his tractor beam. After founding Hessel Audio with Pearson Sound and Panagea, Ben’s gone on to mix some of the tightest sets at Boiler Room and represents on Rinse FM fortnightly. This evening’s a four-hour marathon set so expect some old eclectic grooves as well as box-fresh jams. (ZC)
NICKY BLACKMARKET H-Bar Sat 30th
Nicky Blackmarket’s name is synonymous with the old school tape packs we’d get from records shops like Slammin’ Vinyl back in the day, and hearing MC Dett bellow his name in a hoarse roar over classics like ’26 Bass’ and ‘The Nine’ still gives us goosebumps. He had a legendary partnership with the late Stevie Hyper D setting the benchmark that all rave sets would be judged against in the future. With a knowledge of dance music more expansive than Wikipedia, this evening is going to be one for hardcore junglists and d’n’b neophytes alike. (ZC)
WORDS BY MATT BARKER, STEVE CLEMENTS, ZAC COLBERT, JAMES KENDALL, JESSICA MARSHALL MCHATTIE, BEN MILLER