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HIGH FIVE: APRIL

April's essential UK parties unwrapped

Don't be an April fool, load up your party purse and trundle on to one of these cheeky wee stomps...


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1. EXIT RECORDS 10TH BIRTHDAY, FIRE, LONDON, FRIDAY 12TH APRIL

BAD COMPANY| DBRIDGE | CALIBRE | BREAKAGE (CLASSICS SET)| MARCUS INTALEX | FABIO (SPEED SET) | DOC SCOTT (BLUE NOTE SET) | KLUTE | SKEPTICAL B2B DUB PHIZIX | KRUST B2B DIE (BRISTOL DUBPLATES SET) | JUBEI B2B LOXY | FIERCE & RYME TYME (NO U TURN SET) | SP:MC | DRS | STRATEGY | SKITTLES | LX ONE | JUSTYCE |

Hosted by BassLaced, dBridge's Exit Records celebrates a decade delivering d&b and all its dirty derivatives this month with an outrageously large party at Vauxhall's Fire.
Aside from compiling the most wanted names on the scene today (Calibre, Marcus Intalex, Dub Phizix) all of whom have released on the label, there's an extra special trick up dBridge's sleeve, with the reunion of his supergroup Bad Company, also featuring Maldini and Vegas (but not Fresh), for one night only.


On top of that, the collective known for anthems such as 'The Nine', 'Planet Dust' and 'Speedball' will appear alongside an A-list of DJ talent deviating into alternative territory, with sets revisiting heritable ground or retracing influences. 
Digital Soundboy's d&b/dubstep experimentalist Breakage will play a classics set, Fabio will dip into his days running Speed with LTJ Bukem, while Doc Scott reminisces his time tearing up revered London venue The Blue Note as a Metalheadz resident.

There'll also be a Bristol dubplates set from Krust and Die, and Fierce and Ryme Tyme churn out a b2b homage to Nico's No U-Turn imprint.
Unleashing an army of MCs spitting enough bile to fill London Fields Lido, it's going to be a fittingly noisy celebration, big enough to benchmark such a monumental occasion — the 10th birthday of a label serving arguably as the scene's most forward-thinking for 10 years now. Want our advice? Head for the Exit.

10pm – 6am | £8+ | basslaced.com


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2. MUSIKA PRESENTS THE JACKATHON, THE LIQUID ROOM, EDINBURGH, SATURDAY 6TH APRIL

CARL CRAIG | HEIDI | WILDKATS

Edinburgh is hardly the centre of the clubbing universe, but the bods behind Musika book with an  attitude to rival any UK promotion powerhouse. With Sasha, Carl Cox and Maceo Plex taking to the booth at Liquid Room for Derek Martin's house music mammoth in recent times, the next date is one to be highlighted in your diary with fluorescent marker pen. 


The queen of all things jacking, Heidi, has been drafted in to deliver the dancefloor damage with another infamous Jackathon party — this time on the cobblestone tiles of Scotland's cultured capital. As is always the case with these events, she'll come with a big-name headliner. None other than leader of the Detroit second wave, Carl Craig. Plus support from those feral wee felines, Wildkats, returning to their hometown.

10pm – 3am | £19.50 | facebook.com/musikafanpage


3 The Gallery NYE 2009 at Ministry of Sound Londo
3. CELEBRATING 18 YEARS OF THE GALLERY, MINISTRY OF SOUND, LONDON, FRIDAY 5TH/12TH/19TH/26TH APRIL

DASH BERLIN | PAUL VAN DYK | LANGE VS ANDY MOOR | FERRY CORSTEN

Regardless of whether trance is your thing, there's no denying the irresistible force that is The Gallery, celebrating its 18th year of operation over four consecutive Fridays in April at its home, Ministry Of Sound.

Yep, you read that right. Eighteen years is a long time in dance music — as old as some of The Gallery's bushy-tailed attendees, as it happens. This melodic dance juggernaut has been at the heart of it since the beginning. From its early days hosting the likes of The Chemical Brothers and Sister Bliss to its position today as London's sacramental centre for 135bpm beats, intense synapse rushes and euphoric major chords, The Gallery has never skimped on big name talent — however, it's setting its sights higher than usual this month.
Dash Berlin (5th), Paul Van Dyk (12th), Lange Vs Andy Moor (19th) and Ferry Corsten (26th)... it doesn't get much bigger than that!

10.30pm | £15/£20 | thegallery-club.co.uk


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4. BUMP 1ST BIRTHDAY, JOSHUA BROOKS, MANCHESTER, THURSDAY 11TH APRIL

DUKE DUMONT | SEI A | BUMP DJS

Started as a Thursday night project between a bunch of uni mates at Manchester's Joshua Brooks, lead promoter Tom Mallas has since run with Bump, cha-cha-chaing into its one-year benchmark this month.

Snagging Duke Dumont, Bump has eyes for its biggest booking yet, in lieu of the renaissance man's high energy rave-bass hybrid pop following two massive releases recently — 'The Giver' and 'Need U (100%)'. With Sei A also on board to take things darker with some deep industrial techno/house, Bump's first birthday is a solid addition to Manchester's prospering club scene, ensuring April's second Thursday is a date as good as any in the Rainy City.

11pm – 4am | £8/£10 | www.skiddle.com


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5. A NIGHT WITH GRAEME PARK, BASING HOUSE, LONDON, FRIDAY 12TH APRIL

GRAEME PARK

Derren Smart's A Night With... fixtures have become a regular talking point among London's distinguished dance elite. Picking leftfield legends of the DJ circuit — the likes of A Guy Called Gerald and Trevor Jackson — to play all night, it provides an environment for dance music's more experimental figures to let their hair down and really open minds. This time, The Haçienda's Graeme Park will haul his crate to Shoreditch's Basing House to relive his humble origins at Nottingham's Selectadisc, on Kiss FM and Galaxy, via an eight-hour long educative journey tracing his house music heritage. Let him take you back... way back.

10pm – 6am | £10+ | basinghouse.co.uk