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Hudson Mohawke

‘OUR MUSIC SPANS LOTS OF GENRES AND SENSIBILITIES’ Hitlist FESTIVAL CLUBS *

Fortune favours the bold David Pollock talks to Glasgow-based record label/art collective LuckyMe as they decamp to Edinburgh for their Festival party

T his has been the most important year yet in the evolution of Scottish electronic label LuckyMe, and this third annual Edinburgh Festival event featuring their friends, collaborators and signees should be the perfect showcase for local supporters and new fans in waiting to see what they’ve been up to. It’ll go some way to beat their party of the year, though.

‘We had our own stage at [Barcelona’s] Sonar festival,’ says the label’s boss Dominic Flannigan, ‘a real prime-time spot at the climax of the festival, playing to a crowd of between eight and ten thousand people. It was a nice validator of everything we’ve been working towards, that we can all do an event together and play music which spans lots of genres and lots of sensibilities, but that it all has the innovative and fun character of LuckyMe.’

LuckyMe has been around in one form or another for eight years, its first incarnation being a hip hop night at Stereo in Glasgow run by Flannigan (an Edinburgh native who was at Art School in the west at the time), Ross Birchard (now better known as Warp Records artist Hudson Mohawke), Martin Flyn and Mike Slott. Influenced by ‘electronic music, forward- thinking rock music and the osmosis of Glasgow’, LuckyMe would broaden out into an Art School- affiliated group of musicians, producers, DJs and artists interested in releasing records, promoting parties and art-directing for the music and fashion industries. ‘The original idea of LuckyMe was as a DIY collective from Scotland,’ says Flannigan, ‘that could become a leader in a couple of industries which are normally very London-centric. We looked at things like Seattle’s rock scene, for example, in that we wanted to make something out of strength in

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numbers.’ In the years since things have gone from strength to strength for LuckyMe, now clearly defined as a record label, with releases earlier this year by leftfield guitar outfit American Men and New York producer Machinedrum adding to a catalogue which also includes EPs by Hudson Mohawke, Mike Slott and Nadsroic. Hudson Mohawke and American Men will be two of the main attractions here, as well as the label’s The Blessings (Flannigan and Flyn’s joint alias), Éclair Fifi and Dema. That’s not all: for a mere fiver, Edinburgh’s Festival crowd will also be treated to Jackmaster (Glasgow’s Jack Revill, one of the men behind Scotland’s other clubbing success of the last few years Numbers), Glasgow grime artist Taz Buckfaster, visuals from Flannigan and Konx-om-Pax, and more.

Now living back home in Edinburgh, Flannigan waxes lyrical about the city’s club scene past and present, and about the studio LuckyMe have on the north-west of the city. He feels that the city is ‘there for the taking’ for a new night that might wish to rise and follow in the footsteps of classic Edinburgh clubs gone by, ‘but maybe it’s a generational thing, maybe people think of Cabaret Voltaire the way I used to think of the Venue. ‘But I don’t know, I heard Kode9 [Scottish founder of seminal London dubstep label Hyperdub] on a radio show in New York a few months back saying he thought Pure at the Venue was the greatest club he ever played. I feel privileged to have been a part of that.’ Although he stressed the international nature of their business, it’s a city lineage to which Flannigan’s label deservedly belongs.

LuckyMe, Cabaret Voltaire, 220 6176, Fri 13 Aug, 11pm–5am, £5.

✽✽ Devil Disco Club Trouble’s ‘new disco’ night mixes house, acid, Italo and electro as they hit their first birthday with a live set from special guests Silver Columns (pictured) and their indie-disco crossover perfection. The Bongo Club, 558 7604, Fri 13 Aug, 11pm–5am, £6 before midnight; £8 before 1.30am; £10 after. ✽✽ LuckyMe Expansive beats as Glasgow’s LuckyMe rolls into town. Highlights include Hudson Mohawke, The Blessings, Jackmaster and American Men. Cabaret Voltaire, 220 6176, Fri 13 Aug, 11pm–5am, £5. ✽✽ The Bang Bang Club Aidan Moffat from much missed Scottish indie miserablists Arab Strap is the guest DJ at this leftfield indie, rock, punk, soul and garage night. Electric Circus, 225 6313, Sat 14 Aug, 1am–5am, £8 (£6). ✽✽ Bass Syndicate Earth- shaking bass as the breaks and house club celebrates its fourth birthday with the launch of a new monthly special. Sneaky Pete’s, 225 1757, Sat 14 Aug, 10pm-5am, £16.50. ✽✽ Club Noir/Scottish Opera Burlesque meets opera? Find out more about this initially baffling partnership on page 89. HMV Picture House, 0844 8471740, Sat 14 Aug, 8pm–2am, £22.50. ✽✽ Musika Take two on Musika’s Liquid Room relaunch party with fresh electro-house from Berlin’s Get Physical as MANDY and Tim Green man the decks. The Liquid Room, 225 2564, Sat 14 Aug, 11pm–5am, £16.50. ✽✽ Substance vs Monox East and West collide as these Edinburgh and Glasgow techno nights go head-to-head featuring a live set from Forward Strategy Group. The GRV, 220 2987, Sat 14 Aug, 11pm–5am, £5.