TINCHY STRYDER
Concorde 2 Fri 2nd
Any friend of N-Dubz is pretty much an enemy of ours. Seriously, has music ever been so retarded? But it’s not so clear cut with this self-proclaimed ‘star in the hood’ – he’s also made a tune with awkward indie art wankers Gang Gang Dance. For his own tracks Tinchy’s basically taken the grime out of grime and made urban music for suburban teenage girls. That might be a clever move for the wallet – and clearly despite pretending, the boy ain’t dumb – but in creative terms the jury is very much still out. Still, a No.1 artist in the Concorde – expect it to be roadblocked. (JK)
WILD FRUIT 17TH BIRTHDAY
Coalition Sat 3rd
In gay years your 17th birthday is like your 50th, so fast is the hedonistic pace of life. So well done on your 50th birthday, Wild Fruiters. Coming down to help the night go with a bang is Boy George and, we have to admit, we don’t know what he plays anymore. He’s been DJing for years – we first interviewed him as a DJ in about ’94 – so he clearly knows what he’s doing. The Wild Fruit crowd is always onside anyway – a more positive dancefloor you’ll struggle to find. (JK)
PETE TONG
Honeyclub Sat 3rd
After a mere decade as the leading figurehead of the British dance scene, Pete Tong was an absolute joke of a DJ. He couldn’t mix a cocktail without clashing beats. But then he split up with his wife and spent months and months in Ibiza and learned how to play. You can’t have a four-year residency at Pacha and not get it together. Clearly he’s always had the access to the best tunes – and long before anyone else – if not necessarily the taste to stick them in a record box. Interestingly as he approaches 50 years old, he’s been booted to a later slot by Annie Mac. Is this the end of his reign? (JK)
ANNIE MAC PRESENTS
Digital Thurs 8th
Speaking of Annie, she’s back at Digital for another of her hugely popular Presents night, although we’d really like ‘Annie Mac Resents’ – we’d pay good money to hear her moan and rant on the mic. This time she’s presenting Delphic, Riton and Zombie Disco Squad, the latter with the most zeitgeisty name of the issue. Riton’s electro house rocks anyway. (JK)
CARBON
The Volks Fri 9th
Carbon’s back with a vengeance - Voytek and Insight return their signature night of forward-thinking drum’n’bass to its proper home, the Volks. Their first event back packs a punch with a heavy line-up including king of the rollers Doc Scott and the original dark master Fierce. Downstairs is hosted by the infamous Bassmentalist sessions providing ice cream flavours of dubstep, techno and old skool jungle. At a measly £5 you’d have to be pretty sick and twisted not to go. (ZC)
WILEY AT 3RD BASS
Ocean Rooms Sat 10th
Notoriously flaky and difficult grime godfather Wiley must surely have got his act together now that he’s a bona fide pop star. When he can be arsed he’s got skills so this popping up in Brighton for the first time since working with The Qemists is actually exciting. (JK)
TRU THOUGHTS 10TH ANNIVERSARY
Coalition Fri 16th
Bloody hell, if you’re gonna celebrate a decade of jazz-tipped dance music, do it in style. Rob Luis presents Belleruche live, an acoustic set from Lizzy Parks, a PA from Kinny and DJ sets from Nostalgia 77, Flevans, TM Juke, Natural Self and Hint. Phew! For more on Tru Thoughts read the interview – we refuse to repeat ourselves here. (JK)
DEADMAU5 Digital Sun 18th & Mon 19th
So impressive is this Canadian DJ’s reputation that you can hardly fit his custom-designed, giant mouse head in the doorway, which apparently now has strobe lights fitted to the eyes! The biggest selling artist on the online music retailer, Beatport, you will see that when he plays live he transforms his usual production of minimalist techno into pounding electro house. With an extra date added due to demand, he’ll whip up the crowd so much you could make ice cream out of them by the finish. (TR)
THE COUNT & SINDEN
Digital Thurs 22nd
Hervé has been one of the most explosive figures on the dance scene in the last few years. While he slipped into Switch’s shoes when that producer got more serious, Sinden was Switch’s protégé. So, plenty of common ground. Anyway, the pair make messed up fidget house and ghettotech that’s more frantic than others but still with the groove. Perfect party music in other words, although rubbish if you’ve got a hangover. Probably better to get drunk while you’re there. (JK)
DJ YODA
Concorde Fri 23rd
After taking a turntablist approach to 80s pop and country – the man clearly has a perverse sense of humour – Yoda is now taking on 30s swing. To be honest, it’s the least successful of his trio to date, coming off in places like Jive Bunny. But of course when it’s good, it’s clever, funny and interesting. Good fun and hip hop – the two aren’t obvious bedfellows. (JK)
DA DOO RON RON
Komedia Sat 24th
We told you all about Da Doo Ron Ron in our club review last month – check out the article on www.brightonsource.co.uk if you missed it – but we still need to give you the heads up about this 11th birthday party. A man who seriously knows his female-fronted soul is Saint Etienne’s Pete Wiggs, a proper music boffin, and he’s taking to the decks alongside the regular crew. (JK)
FREEBASS
Ocean Rooms Fri 30th
Unless you are a flyer refuser you’ll probably know that Freebass is a night that very much lives up to its name. Bass-heavy dance music that doesn’t cost a dime to get in to. Always packed out when it’s been at the Concorde, it’s a massive coup for the Ocean Rooms to grab it for a weekly Friday session. This is surely the strongest news yet that Ben Gill and Howie McConnell are turning the venue round to past glories. (JK)
WORDS BY ZAC COLBERT, JAMES KENDALL, THE RECOMMENDER