Clubs OUTSIDE THE FESTIVALS
PREVIEW HOUSE VIRGO FOUR Rubadub’s 19th Birthday at Sub Club, Glasgow, Fri 5 Aug.
‘We weren’t cool with any of the other DJs back then,’ says Merwyn ‘Merl’ Sanders, one half of old school 1980s Chicago house duo Virgo Four (pictured) alongside Eric Lewis. ‘Our stuff was weird, it was a little mellow, and I’m coming from a Christian Church background, so it wasn’t natural for me to do a lot of the “jack it up, move your body” kind of thing. We totally get why we were missed in a way.’ Just like anyone who doesn’t recall Virgo Four alongside such Chicago house greats as Frankie Knuckles or Marshall Jefferson will get why this pair are primed for rediscovery if they dig out any of their old tracks (also look under the aliases ME, Ace & the
Sandman or just plain Virgo). It’s appropriate, then, that the duo are playing their debut Scottish performance in honour of crate digger’s paradise Rubadub’s 19th birthday. Although their style is firmly aligned with the piano-focused Chicago house sound, the pair of old school friends grew up trying to emulate the funk sound of Chic, Stanley Clarke, Slave and Funkadelic.
First discovered on the Trax label in the late 80s, half a decade after they started out, the pair have never quit making music together, with the recent Resurrection compilation on Rush Hour Recordings bringing them back to active service. ‘Resurrection’s all from the 1980s,’ says Sanders, ‘so we could probably do another from the 90s and one more from the 2000s. Then of course, there are all the things I find on YouTube that I never even knew we put out.’ (David Pollock)
PREVIEW TECHNO DC69 & DIVERSIFY BOAT PARTY Maid of the Loch at Balloch, Loch Lomond, Sat 6 Aug.
If you run a successful local techno night, why uproot it all and take your regular crowd to a paddle steamer cruising around Loch Lomond on a Saturday afternoon? ‘It’s an absolutely brilliant venue,’ explains co- promoter Raymond Studden, aka DJ Serotonic, ‘and you can’t buy a backdrop like that.’ It’s a trip that has worked well so far. The quartet who run the nights
Diversify and DC69 at Paisley’s Club 69 and now this boat party on Loch Lomond’s Maid of the Loch (Studden, Kenny Marshall – whose idea the boat party was – Robert Friend and Robert Farrell) were involved in last year’s Rock the Boat party in the same location and have already run two of these events this summer.
It’s a summer jolly that is aimed firmly at regulars of either club or fans of techno and tech-house in particular. Over two rooms and an open deck, a crowd of 250 will be entertained by 20 DJs, including local names Wardy, Andrew Cumming (Seasons) and Freeeknit. Studden also recommends electronic and live vocal duo Subsine because ‘this party’s as much about giving new artists a bit of exposure’. That, and hopefully enjoying the music and the barbecue with the best of weather. (David Pollock)
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HITLIST THE BEST CLUBS STUFF
Cry Parrot Presents: Dam Mantle Glasgow’s Tom Marshallsay – aka electronic experimentalist Dam Mantle – celebrates the release of his WE EP on the GETME! label with an exclusive show in the company of excellent indie promoters Cry Parrot. Also featuring Cru Servers, Lumpen and Errors DJs. Nice’n’Sleazy, Glasgow, Thu 4 Aug.
Colours present Masters of Hardcore Dutch hardcore brand Masters of Hardcore returns to the Arches for their second event at the venue, in association with Scotland’s biggest name in commercial clubbing Colours. This truly monstrous event will see big names like Angerfist, Outblast and Accelarator manning the main arch, with a new generation of hardcore talent in the second arch. Arches, Glasgow, Sat 6 Aug.
DC69 & Diversify Boat Party An evening of techno and tech-house courtesy of two nights from Paisley’s Club 69. Among the 20 artists appearing across two rooms will be Wardy, Freeeknit and Serotonic, and there’ll be a barbecue on the open-air deck too. Buses from Glasgow and Paisley. See preview, left. Maid of the Loch at Balloch, Loch Lomond, Sat 6 Aug.
Rubadub is 19 Glasgow’s finest record and music store edges closer to the big two oh, and to celebrate they have a reunion performance and Scottish debut for classic Chicago house duo Virgo Four lined up here. See preview, left. Sub Club, Glasgow, Fri 5 Aug.
Mount Heart Attack Sunday Sesh Having built a strong reputation for itself through regular monthly nights at La Cheetah, Mount Heart Attack will be bringing its eclectic combination of techno, electro, dubstep and bass to the Ivy Bar for a semi-regular series of Sunday evening pre-club bashes. Ivy, Glasgow, Sun 7 Aug.
Squelch vs Juice A night at the Soundhaus promises hard music in warehouse-like surroundings. This team-up event sees Murfi, Baddison, Mista Fleck, Johnny Whyte and more play tech- house, techno and minimal. Soundhaus, Glasgow, Fri 5 Aug.
4–11 Aug 2011 THE LIST 103