CLUBS CRATE DIGGING
FREE Unseen at Studio 24. 4 Jan, 10.30pm–3am. Techno night specialising in ‘pitch black techno’ from the minds that gave you Dogma. The first of Unseen’s free sessions as they take on Edinburgh Tekno Cartel with guests Morphamish (live) and Alias23 back-to- back with Toxicologist. ■ This Feeling at the Voodoo Rooms. 11 Jan, 7.30pm. £tbc. London’s rock’n’roll mod night comes to Scotland.
■ Definition at Sneaky Pete’s. 22 Dec, 11pm–3am. Free before midnight; £3 after. Dancefloor-friendly underground house, electro, minimal and techno cuts on four dex, FX and laptops. ■ Dr No’s at Henry’s Cellar Bar. 22 Dec & 12 Jan, 11pm–3am. £4 before midnight; £5 after. Dr No’s is back with a steady stream of the best in ska, rocksteady and 70s reggae. ■ Fever at the Annexe at the Liquid Room. 22 Dec, 11pm–5am; 19 Jan, 11pm–3am. £8. DJs Fisher & Price (Taste) play an eclectic mix of the best underground dance music. ■ Gasoline Dance Machine at Cabaret Voltaire. 22 Dec & 19 Jan, 11pm–3am. £7 (£5). A night of mixed genres and mutant disco at this night from Cheap Picasso and Rob Ralston. ■ Shake Yer Shoulders at the Bongo Club. 22 Dec, 11pm–3am. £4 (£3). Mixed genre night of minimal, electro, techno and drum & bass. FREE Piece Sweet at Elbow. 22 Dec, 9pm–3am. Sally, Wendy and Nicki continue their ‘no music policy’ music policy for a special Christmas party.
✽ Jackhammer at the Liquid Room. 29 Dec, 9pm–5am. £15 advance.
HEADLINE GOES HERE Weekly ■ Bang Tidy Fridays at Mood. Weekly 10pm–3am. £tbc. Chart hits and big club bangers to start the weekend. ■ Broke at Cav. Weekly 10pm–3am. £tbc. Chart indie, hip hop, dance anthems and drinks promos. ■ Cream Soda at Electric Circus. Weekly 10.30pm–3am. £3 before midnight; £4 after. Bubbly new pop night with classic hits old and new. ■ The Devil’s Cut at Lulu. Weekly 9pm–3am. £tbc. Give in to the darkside with cool pop, electro and cocktails. ■ Fabulous Fridays at GHQ. Weekly 10.30pm–3am. £tbc. A camptastic night of chart, disco and dance anthems from DJ Shaza and Justin James. ■ Late’n’Live at the Jazz Bar. Weekly 11.30pm–3am. £5 (£4). Late night jazz and funk acts and DJs. Featuring Asazi Space Funk Explosion (14 Dec), Samba Sene & Diwan (21 Dec), The Number Nine (4 Jan) and Das Contras (18 Jan). ■ Lucid at City Nightclub. Weekly 10.30pm–3am. £3 before 11.30pm; £8 after (VIP £10). House and dance anthems with catwalk fashion shows in the VIP room. ■ Misfits at the Hive. Weekly 9pm– 3am. Free before 10pm; £4 after. DIY indie, electro, punk, rock, chart dance, R&B and retro with bargain drinks. ■ Oh No! at the HMV Picture House. Weekly 11pm–3am. £6. Mash-up mayhem from DJ Gentleman Johnny. ■ Planet Earth at Citrus Club. Weekly 10.30pm–3am. £1 before 11pm; £6 after. Music from 1976 to 1989. In other words, a healthy dose of punk, new wave, new romantic and electro-pop. ■ Sic at the Liquid Room. Weekly 10.30pm–3am. £5 (£4). House, bass, dubstep and trap from the cream of Edinburgh’s DJs. ■ This is Music at Sneaky Pete’s. Weekly (not 28 Dec) 11pm–3am. £3 (members free). Indie-electro night hosted by the Sick Note DJs. ■ XY at Cabaret Voltaire. Weekly 11pm–3am. £7 (£5). Adrenaline-fuelled house, electro and drum & bass night.
Techno night. This 11th birthday party is the perfect warm-up for Hogmanay with special guests Ben Sims, Slam and the mighty Jeff Mills (with a three-hour set). ■ Messenger Sound System at the Bongo Club. 29 Dec, 11pm–3am. £6 before midnight; £7 after. The mighty Watch out Edinburgh, there’s a new kid on the east coast block. Messenger Sound System blasts out the Well, OK, chances are Dundee’s bookish extravaganza might never best in righteous reggae, dub and roots quite reach the exalted status of the capital’s world-beating literary with MC Ras Echo. fiesta but it’s making a very strong case for itself with a series ■ Pop Tarts at Electric Circus. 29 Dec, of events that includes the likes of Nick Cave, Jackie Kay, Alan 9pm–3am. £5. Special pop party with DJs from Cream Soda, Pop Rocks, Beep Warner, John Carey and Iain Banks (pictured) plus an all-day comics Beep, Yeah! and Magic Nostalgia. conference. ■ Ride at Sneaky Pete’s. 29 Dec, 11pm– ■ Various venues, Dundee, until Sun 27 Jun. 3am. £3 (members free). Electro, indie and hip hop from Lauren and Chekkie. ■ Saturday Night Beaver at the Annexe at the Liquid Room. 29 Dec, 11pm–3am. £4 before 11.30pm; £6 (£5) after. SNB is back in the safe hands of Trendy Wendy, Mama D, The Funky Diva and Wee Taco Mel, with a kickin’ soundtrack for ladies, their invited male guests and LGBTI-friendly door policy. ■ Henry’s X-Mess Party at Henry’s Cellar Bar. 5 Jan, 8pm–3am. £4. The Cellar Bar’s customary post-festive Xmas party featuring live music from The Incendiary Bats, Pal and more. ■ Playdate at Sneaky Pete’s. 5 Jan, 11pm–3am. £3 (members free). House night with a few leftfield cuts from Steven and Stewart. ■ Speaker Bite Me at Electric Circus. 5 Jan, 10.30pm–3am. £5. The Evol DJs take charge at this night of indie, hip hop and a dash of electro. ■ Thunder Disco Club at Cabaret Voltaire. 5 Jan, 11pm–3am. £7 (£5). Nineties house, techno and ‘sex disco’ from Jube and Rory. ■ Bass Syndicate at Sneaky Pete’s. 12 Jan, 11pm–3am. £3 (members free). Bass Syndicate returns with a mix of bass heavy breaks, dubstep, electro and nu rave from G-Mac, Believe and guests. ■ Beep Beep, Yeah! at Electric Circus. 12 Jan, 10.30pm–3am. £3 before midnight; £4 after (students £3). A staunchly retro soundtrack of 50s rock, 60s grooves and 70s psychedelia. FREE Musika at the Liquid Room. 12 Jan, 10.30pm–3am. Edgy house and electro night. Free residents party to kick- start 2013. ■ Think Twice at Cabaret Voltaire. 12 Jan, 11pm–3am. £7 (£5). Deep soulful house and electronic funk from Craig Smith (6th Borough Project) and guests. ■ The Sound of C at the Liquid Room. 19 Jan, 10.30pm–3am. £15–£20 (students £17). Heavy bass and dubstep from Annie Mac, Danny Byrd (Hospital) and Jigsaw. Monthly & One-Offs ■ Basics at Henry’s Cellar Bar. 15 Dec, 11pm–3am. £5. Proper old school R&B, as in real-deal 50s and 60s rhythm and blues. ■ Big’n’Bashy at the Bongo Club. 15 Dec, 11pm–3am. £4 before midnight; £6 after. Four deck mix of dubstep, reggae, grime, dancehall and jungle. The bass specialist hit their fifth birthday and are holding a special Christmas party. ■ The Egg at Wee Red Bar. 15 Dec & 19 Jan, 11pm–3am. £2 before midnight; £4 after. Indie, 60s garage, electro, northern soul, ska, 70s punk and new wave at this Edinburgh institution. ■ Hott Boxx at the Annexe at the Liquid Room. 15 Dec, 10.30pm–3am. £5. Funky house. ■ Pop Rocks at Electric Circus. 15 Dec & 19 Jan, 10.30pm–3am. £4 before midnight; £5 after (students £4). Night of 80s classics and 90s pop hits from the Beep Beep, Yeah! DJs. ■ Wasabi Disco at Sneaky Pete’s. 15 Dec & 19 Jan, 11pm–3am. £3 (members free). Another dose of disco, new wave, punk and New York grooves at this ‘no holds barred disco death match’. ■ Classics at the Liquid Room. 22 Dec, 10.30pm–5am. £tbc. Dance classics, house anthems and more from Tommy Kay, Fisher & Price and Alan Dobson.
Weekly ■ Bubblegum at the Hive. Weekly 9pm–4am. Free before 10pm; £4 after. Student-friendly mix of electro, pop, dance, disco, R&B and indie.
Edinburgh Saturday
ANIMAL FARM
Their seasonal birthday parties are becoming a Sub Club institution, and this month’s celebration of their eighth year in the company of Berghain’s Ben Klock promises to keep up the tradition. Darren Quail and Charles Turtle, two thirds of DJ and promoter trio Animal Farm, give us their best
Quail: Mike Huckaby ‘Flashbacks from the M1’ (SYNTH) [from The Versatility EP✽ is a remastered classic from 1997 and simple Detroit techno at its best. It’s got a kick, a hi-hat, a clap and a synth hook that would deepen the shallowest of souls, it’s just the perfect club track for me. Keeping it deep, WAX ‘20002 B’ (WAX) is a fantastic production from one of the multiple aliases of Shed. The guy can do no wrong for me and this track typifies what I love about his sound: the uplifting pads, the soft piano stabs, a Basic Channel-esque dubbed baseline and crunchy, jacking percussion.
Finally, a true pioneer of the acid techno scene of Chicago. With its distorted kick drum, sharp percussion and organ riff, DJ Hyperactive ‘Wide Open’ (Missile) recently caught the attention of Len Faki, who released his own edit. I managed to catch this guy at Berghain this year and he was probably one of the best DJ sets I heard.
Turtle: Suburban Knight ‘Midnight Sunshine’ (UR) is one of the reasons I got into electronic dance music, having been heavily into grunge all my younger days. Like a lot of UR tracks it’s not DJ friendly and it throws things off by a third of a beat at the start of the track but that doesn’t stop me from playing it.
Ben Klock ‘Subzero’ (Ostgut-Ton) marks the resurgence of modern techno for me. It tears dancefloors to pieces with its cold, solid kick, crisp hi-hats and overall frosty reverb. You know you’re in the right place when you play this and everyone responds with a fist in the air. (David Pollock) ■ Animal Farm’s Eighth Birthday with special guest Ben Klock is at the Sub Club, Glasgow, Thu 27 Dec.
84 THE LIST 13 Dec 2012–24 Jan 2013
■ Club Paradiso at City Nightclub. Weekly 10.30pm–3am. £7 (students £5 before midnight). House, electro and urban hits across three rooms complete with lasers, lights and dancers. ■ Late’n’Live at the Jazz Bar. Weekly 11.30pm–3am. £5 (£4). Late night jazz and funk acts and DJs. Featuring Lou Hickey (15 Dec), Mike Kearney Ka-Tet (22 Dec) and Blueswater (19 Jan). ■ Magic Nostalgic at Electric Circus. 22 Dec, 10.30pm–3am. £8. ‘The Wheel’ decides the playlist, be it disco, 80s, 90s rave, power ballads or one hit wonders at this nostalgia fest. Christmas special with a few festive favourites. ■ The Opal Experience at Opal Lounge. Weekly 9pm–3am. £5 before 12.30am; £10 after. Glamorous vocal house and ice-cool electro with a hint of R&B. ■ Propaganda at the HMV Picture House. Weekly 11pm–4am. £5 (students £4 before midnight). The UK’s biggest indie club night comes to Edinburgh. ■ Reloaded at Cav. Weekly 10pm–3am. £8. Mainstream chart, dance and R&B. ■ Rewind at the Liquid Room. 15 Dec & 5 Jan, 10.30pm–3am. £5 (£3). Mick Cool, Stevie C and Shuggy Bear return for this Edinburgh favourite of 70s, 80s and 90s hits. Winter session. ■ Saturdays at Lulu. Weekly 9pm–3am. Free before 10pm; £5 before 11pm; £10 after. Electro, club hits, sexy disco and chart favourites. ■ Tease Age at Citrus Club. Weekly 10.30pm–4am. £1 before 11pm; £6 after. Everything from swinging 60s hits to baggy Manchester faves with DJ Monkee Mickee at Edinburgh’s longest continually running indie night. ■ Wonderland at GHQ. Weekly 10pm–4am. £6. Madhatters tea party with pop, chart and cheese from Reuben Lownethall in the mainroom and electro house out back from DJ Dowser.
Edinburgh Sunday
Monthly & One-Offs ■ Fudge Fingas at the Third Door. 23 Dec, 11pm–3am. £6. Soulful, deep house from FF. ■ The Post Procession Party at Tron Kirk. 30 Dec, 10pm–3am. £10. The Tron re-opens for 2012’s Hogmanay celebrations starting with soulful house from Craig Smith (6th Borough Project). Part of The Extraordinary Drambuie Gatherings. ■ The Sound of C at the Liquid Room. 30 Dec, 10.30pm–3am. £12 (£9). Featuring a DJ set from Rudimental who gave us the soul/dubstep chart monster ‘Feel the Love’. ■ Xplicit at the Bongo Club. 30 Dec, 11pm–3am. £tbc. Drum & bass, dubstep and other bassy beats. Final Xplicit at the Bongo featuring G-Mac, Paul Reset, The General, ENO, Dom Y2D, Dissonant and MC BZ. ■ Trash! Sunday Session at Citrus Club. 20 Jan, 10pm–3am. £7. A double bill of guests from Sleaze Records as Hans Bouffmyhre and Lex Gorrie supply the pounding techno. Weekly ■ Beat Sundays at Mood. Weekly 10pm–3am. £tbc. Your last chance to party before the weekend finishes. FREE Ice Cream Sundae at GHQ. Weekly 11pm–3am. Pop, cheese and chart tunes from DJ Lynne. FREE The Church of High Kicks at CC Blooms. Weekly 6–11pm. New daytime gay/mixed club session hosted over by the delectable Jon Pleased Wimmin. FREE Coalition at Sneaky Pete’s. Weekly 11pm–3am. Drum & bass, breaks, dubstep, techno and electro from the resident team every week. ■ Rise at Opal Lounge. Weekly 10pm–3am. £5 (£4). Johnny Frenetic mashes up a unique and energetic three deck mix of funky house, sexy urban and indie infused electro, club classics and remixes.