list.co.uk/fi lm DEEP HOUSE / TECHNO PRESSURE OPENING PARTY The Arches, Glasgow, Fri 27 Sep
Having celebrated 20 years at The Arches last April, Slam duo Stuart MacMillan and Orde Meikle have all the experience they need to take Pressure forward into a new season. Attracting some of the biggest names in the business and constantly on the look-out for new talent, the night is a certified institution. But with their own hectic tour schedule, not to mention co-managing Soma, regarded as up there with one of the world’s most important techno labels, it’s amazing they can keep on top of everything. ‘We work as part of a strong team,’ says MacMillan. ‘Our
manager Dave tends to deal with the bookings, and the promotion team and the other guys in the office will help with the Pressure Facebook, press and Slam Radio. It’s not a headache because we are always looking around to see who is coming through, trying to find new records and artists early in their career.’ It’s this drive to discover, promote and party which has made Slam, and in turn Pressure, so successful. Glasgow’s clubgoers are perhaps some of the most clued- up in Britain, so being on the ball is definitely important. With techno big-wigs Chris Liebing and Pan-Pot taking care of the main arch at Pressure’s opening party this month, the Slam boys seem just as excited about the ‘support’ bill.
R R A B M U L A C
© O T O H P
‘We have Clouds playing live and a great line-up in the other room too with Levon Vincent, Jackmaster and Heidi, who may even do some of their sets back to back,’ says Meikle. ‘We wanted to come out all guns blazing for the first Pressure in four months.’ (Alex Caslano)
HOUSE FINALE THE LAST EVER ULTRAGROOVE The 511, Leith Street, Edinburgh, Sat 28 Sep
The end of an era in Edinburgh’s clubbing scene has arrived with the news that Ultragroove is closing its doors on its 14th birthday later this month, after almost four hundred parties spanning La Belle Angele, Cabaret Voltaire, the Green Room and the Liquid Room’s Annexe (those last two alongside fellow travellers Heavy Gossip), bringing guests including Joey Negro, Derrick Carter, Jesse Rose, Todd Terje and Azari & III to the city over the years.
‘I’d like a break more than anything else,’ says Gareth Sommerville, co-founder and the night’s only remaining resident. ‘For most of those years I ran Ultragroove fortnightly, and the last few months have been the only ones in 14 years I haven’t been promoting. I’ve quite enjoyed it actually, it’s allowed me to get right back into DJing, which was the whole reason I started doing this. Besides, you can only keep people’s attention for so long, and I think 14 years is a remarkable effort.’
This last party will add one more venue to the list, a basement space that Somerville recently used for a revival of his New York house night Truth, and a guest who represents unfinished business for Ultragroove: Stuttgart house pioneer Danilo Plessow, aka Motor City Drum Ensemble. ‘I first put him on four years ago,’ says Sommerville, ‘and he was meant to be the guest for our Annexe relaunch in early 2012, but that was when he decided to take a lengthy break from DJing. I’m really glad to get him back again, I love what he does with his set, the way he’s prepared to throw lots of different styles in. What he stands for as a DJ is a good reflection of what Ultragroove stands for as a club. Or stood for, quite soon.’ (David Pollock)
Previews | CLUBS
PROFILE COOLY G
Also known as Merrisa Campbell Occupation South London’s first lady of dubstep, one of Hyperdub’s crown jewels, the woman behind 2009’s breakthrough slow groove ‘Love Dub’ and its rough-edged twin ‘Narst’, as well as an unlikely but lovely breakbeat glide through Coldplay’s ‘Trouble’ on last year’s ambitious debut LP Playin’ Me. Where did she start? ‘My dad had a soundsystem, my mum and my uncle were into music, so I just felt that bass and got converted right away,’ she says. ‘They listened to rare groove, drum & bass, jungle, reggae, dub, ska. I first made a track when I’d just left school, when I was 15, but I’d been DJing before that. I taught myself, I used to make beats on anything, baked bean tins or whatever.’ Where has she been? ‘I started out just makin’ tunes, tryin’ to do something. I’d just had a kid before I made the first EP (2008’s Dub Organiser Vol 1), so I was like, oh my god, I gotta do something. I don’t wanna work in McDonalds. Then I released “Love Dub” and it got a bit dramatic from there. The response was really good to the album and I was happy with it, it just seems like it could’ve done more, being such a different album.’ Where is she going? ‘I’ve got my next Dub Organiser (her label) EP out in a couple of weeks, then my own EP after that (Hold Me, released in November). It’s got a housey vibe to it and some stupid bass, but I don’t know how to describe my music. Then I’ve got a couple of collabs too, but I don’t know if I’m gonna let that out yet.’ Any other business? Also appearing here will be Nottingham’s R&S-signed producer of rhythmic, laid-back electronica Lone, aka Matt Cutler. (David Pollock) ■ Cooly G plays Different Drum at Saint Judes, Glasgow, Thu 19 Sep alongside Lone.
19 Sep–17 Oct 2013 THE LIST 49