QEMISTS LP LAUNCH Audio Weds 1st
Perhaps being huge in Japan has kicked The Qemists into action, as this sophomore LP has come extremely swiftly in comparison to the difficult birth of the first one. The launch should go right off and hopefully local rock god Matt Rose will be down to add his vocals to the trio’s hectic drum’n’bass. There’ll certainly be a hometown party atmosphere amongst the crushing beats. (JK)
BATTLEJAM Audio Fri 3rd
We’ve been missing JFB and Beardyman over the last few months, but while the mouthpiece of the pair is still on sabbatical for the festival season, the scratch DJ will bring together some Battlejam favourites in the form of Ed Solo and Figital. Without Beardy this ought to be more like a party than a gig – with the hip hop and breakbeats the trio will be improvising that’s no bad thing. Time for a night of dancing – it is some of the best music in town after all. (JK)
GUILTY PLEASURES Komedia Sat 4th
While we don’t completely agree with the idea of ‘guilty pleasures’ – stand up for the music you like and don’t be embarrassed – the night lends itself to having a lot of fun. What seems to come out of it, at its best, is a mix of muso crate-digging and reassessment of more obvious tunes. Most importantly the crowd are up for having fun. And that’s what it’s all about, right? (JK)
PLAYGROUP REUNION Concorde Fri 3th
“Oh man, do you remember way back, two weeks ago, when we were at the Playgroup Festival?” Actually, there’s probably a lot of sketchy memories, so getting the reunion in quickly is a wise idea. As you’d expect there’s a load of bands and DJs playing, but as per usual, we don’t know who. Still, trading on your reputation is the best way, if you can. If you missed the festival you won’t want to miss this, if you were there you’re probably excited for more. (JK)
IT’S STILL 1985 Concorde Sat 4th
Now that Henron isn’t at New Hero he’s free to put on more of the bigger nights like Horse Power that he co-promoted earlier in the year. His first stop off sees him back at the Concorde expanding out the popular It’s Still 1985 into the biggest school disco in town. Where some 80s nights hunt out the cool obscurities of the decade, Henron will play whatever gets the biggest reaction. New Hero must be the only club where Toto’s ‘Africa’ became an anthem and ‘Lady In Red’ got played in the middle of a set. In the bigger venue the party atmosphere should flourish. (JK)
WE LUV POP Brighton Ballroom Sat 11th
The iced-pop gems We Luv Pop will be taking us back to 1970s New York City this month, where disco divas strut their stuff at Studio 54, CBGBs is still home to the punks, and Brooklyn’s the breeding ground of all the hottest scenes. It’s Big Apple beats aplenty at the Ballroom bop. (LS)
MICHAEL WOODS Digital Sat 11th
Flawless brings some of Ibiza’s end of season flavours to Brighton by booking the ever progressive Michael Woods, whose vocal-led house will have Digital heaving this evening. His plinky-plonky 8-bit sounds build upon each other slowly but surely - when the track finally crescendos you’re always left with a blissful dancefloor filler that conjures up images of white sandy beaches, crystal clear water and cool breezes. There’s also support from funky house dons Mark Masters and Tom Upton. (ZC)
AUDIO 6th Birthday Audio Fri 17th
The Audio birthday parties are among the most exciting nights of the yearly clubbing calendar but normally come with a catch – they take place on a Monday. This year though, we can go wild with abandon without needing to take the next day off work. Which is good because the line-up is killer – Simian Mobile Disco bring a big bag of electro records and have Casper C of Blogger’s Delight and Sam ‘Schtumm’ Watts along for support. Working as a pair SMD really know what they’re doing behind the decks and have impeccable music tastes. Hopefully they’ll have a load of new Delicatessen & Delicacies tracks too. (JK)
NIC FANCIULLI Coalition Sat 18th
As well as being an understatedly talented DJ, Nic Fanciulli is an absolute diamond. Despite being good mates with Steve Mac – who lends his deep understanding of house music sonics behind the decks tonight – Nic doesn’t play down here nearly enough, perhaps because he’s at places like Pacha Ibiza all the time. He opened Carl Cox’s night at Space this season with Dubfire for example. We haven’t seen him play since he spent all that time playing back-to-back with James Zabiela so it will be interesting to hear if his house music has taken on a tech-prog influence. Last year’s Global Underground CD suggest things could be deep through to techy. (JK)
SKITZ & RODNEY P Jam Sat 18th
This is a great booking for The Doctor’s Orders as it goes from strength to strength in its new Brighton home. Skitz & Rodney P have been keeping it proper British for years now, never tempted to slip into the stateside vibe that so many of our hip hop outfits fall into. Rough, raw and urban without falling into grime, they instead frequently mine reggae. Their live set is backed up with DJs sets from Spin Doctor and Rusty Ryan – can’t argue with that for a fiver. (JK)
RAMADANMAN Life Fri 24th
Of all the people for Aka Aka Roar to get themselves in with, Hessle Audio’s Ramadanman is a particularly sweet one. Loved by anyone with even a passing interest in house, techno and dubstep, his stuff is as clever as a fox with an A* at A Level in Clever Music and super deep with it, but not so luscious you won’t want to dance your socks off. For his return he’s joined by Braiden’s super-technical dubstep mixing, and newcomer from the Night Slugs crew, Girl Unit, currently picking up props from Fact for his ‘IRL’. What a night, and now on Friday to boot. (JK)
MY GENERATION Concorde 2 Sat 25th
This all-nighter is the launch event taster for a new annual event in the mod weekender diary. It’s all kicking off on the seafront, with live sets from The Steve Craddock Band (him out of Ocean Colour Scene and Weller’s band) and The Moons, as well as DJ sets from Mani (Primals, Roses) and Hipshaker DJs among others – all mixing up the various mod disciplines of jazz, rhythm’n’blues, northern soul, britpop, funk and indie. (NC)
WORDS BY ZAC COLBERT, NICK COQUET, JAMES KENDALL, LYDIA STOCKBRIDGE