These are the Top 30 UK club events in December 2018

Anyone would think it was Christmas, what with the current vibe— mayhem, chaos and hopes pinned on wish-list dreams. Brexit aside, here are the top 30 UK club events for the last time this year. 

Charitable venue The Cause has an incredible offering to kick London off— Skee Mask's album is one of 2018's best, he's playing with our recent interviewee Bruce and Manchester one-to-watch Afrodeutsch. 

Two of the capital's best parties— Ben Sims and Kirk Digiorgio's Machine and Jane Fitz and Jade Seatle's Night Moves— go head to head at Corsica this month too, with Anthony Parasole also involved. And Hunee's residency at XOYO welcomes its best bill to date, philanthropic Leeds throw-down Cosmic Slop in the house with eclectic supremos Orpheu The Wizard and Jonny Rock, alongside fast-rising thumper, Powder. 

Not forgetting Amsterdam's techno legend Reaktor, which heads to E1 for the first time bringing two massive UK debuts in Kangding Ray and Sigha's Neon Chambers and Lotus Eaters, AKA Lucy and Rrose. Expect strobes and leathering sonic assaults. 

The North says goodbye to Canal Mills soon, this is the final NYD so make the most. Manchester heads get to explore a new-ish venue the night before, Niamos is an old theatre in Hulme that hosted the likes of Nina Simone. Local heavyweights So Flute and Red Laser Disco's genre-splicing plans should be pretty memorable too now the building has been restored. 

It's also worth noting that Rex Club deity Jennifer Cardini is in the city, at 150-capacity loft Aatma. And proper rarity Schatrax plays Leeds' Distrikt for free, an irregular face at the likes of fabric, Houghton and Kvarteret, he appears in very few booths and has a back catalogue, not to mention reputation, spanning decades.  

Elsewhere, Patterns hosts its final Shanti Celeste party of 2019— DJ Mag favourite DJ Stingray is on too, with Best of British runner Charles Green. Plastician drops disco and 80s cuts in Bournemouth, which should be fun, and the excellent Shall Not Fade label is on tour, taking its crunchy house sound to Southend among other places.

Bristol has it good— West Country dons Daisy Moon and Dave Harvey are always worth a punt, especially when joined by On Loop mastermind Moxie. Timedance's final, final chapter at The Island is also happening— the mighty techno of DJ Nobu with the mind-melting rhythms of Batu will be a fitting last hurrah. Cardiff, meanwhile, gets Edinburgh house imprint and DJ team Athens of the North. 

Wrapping things up, take note of Nicolas Lutz's excellent Uruguayan comrade, Omar, who hits Birmingham after proving time and again he's a solid, heads down pick for fours. Scotland, on the other hand, can look forward to two of Copenhagen's bass-techno groundbreakers arriving in Edinburgh, Solid Blake and Mama Snake. And our close pal Shlømo hits Glasgow with UK-born, Berlin-based juggernaut Stephanie Sykes. 

More complete listings are available in the current UK print issue, DJ Mag 588 - December 2018.

LONDON

1. E1 & PERCOLATE NEW YEAR'S EVE
MONDAY 31ST DECEMBER
E1
Even without confirmation of who the Special Guest will be there’s quality here in spades. Floating Points on a DJ tip, Daphni making sure the same room stays solid and immersive, while elsewhere party bangers Eclair Fifi and Peach go in, with Krywald & Farrer, iona, Raw Silk and Jay Ward completing the package. For now at least. 
9PM - 9AM / £20 

2. UNBOUND 
SATURDAY 1ST DECEMBER
THE CAUSE 
Skee Mask, Bruce, Afrodeutsche. 
10PM - 5AM / £16 - £18

3. MACHINE VS NIGHT MOVES 
FRIDAY 21ST DECEMBER
CORSICA STUDIOS 
Ben Sims, Anthony Parasole, Kirk Degiorgio, Jane Fitz, Jade Seattle. 
11PM - 7AM / £10 - £20

4. XOYO
FRIDAY 7TH DECEMBER 
XOYO
Orpheu The Wizard, Cosmic Slop DJs, Powder, Jonny Rock.
11PM - 6AM / £17.50 - £20 

5. REAKTOR LONDON 
SATURDAY 29TH DECEMBER
E1 
Neon Chambers (Kangding Ray & Sigha), Lotus Eaters (Lucy & Rrose), O/V/R, Oscar Mulero, Shifted, more.  
10PM - 7AM / £20 - £45 

NORTH 

1. CANAL MILLS NYD: THE FINAL CHAPTER
TUESDAY 1ST JANUARY 2019
CANAL MILLS, LEEDS
It’s not over ’til the fat lady, or Wednesday morning. Canal Mills bows out soon, so this is the final New Year’s Day in a rich history of January 1sts. Not so much about the line-up, then, although Gerd Janson, DJ Seinfeld, Hot Chip, Paul Woolford, Ralph Lawson, Maceo Plex, Hivern’s Pional b2b Fort Romeau, People Get Real and HAAi won’t hurt.  
8PM - 6AM / £27.50 

2. SO FLUTE & RED LASER DISCO 
MONDAY 31ST DECEMBER 
NIAMOS, MANCHESTER 
Il Bosco, Mikey D.O.N., Yadava, Bolts, Baloo, Danuka. 
9PM - 3AM / £TBC

3. 808 STATE: 30 
FRIDAY 21ST DECEMBER 
MANCHESTER ACADEMY, MANCHESTER 
808 State, Pearson Sound, Lone. 
9PM - 2AM / £21 

4. DISTRIKT PRESENTS 
FRIDAY 21ST DECEMBER 
DISTRIKT, LEEDS 
Schatrax. 
FREE / 8PM - 2AM 

5. TUSSLE 
FRIDAY 21ST DECEMBER 
AATMA / KRAAK GALLERY, MANCHESTER 
Jennifer Cardini. 
9PM - 4AM / £10 

SOUTH 

2019: A RAVE ODYSSEY 
MONDAY 31ST DECEMBER 
PATTERNS, BRIGHTON 
The last 12 months have been crammed with exceptional album releases, but Ross From Friends’ debut was easily one of the standout long-players. He’s here tonight, helping the fevered B-Town party people start another calendar, joined by the always up-for-it Horse Meat Disco, whose midnight set should be seriously fun. 
8PM - 5AM / £TBC

2. PEACH #4 
SATURDAY 1ST DECEMBER
PATTERNS, BRIGHTON 
Shanti Celeste, DJ Stingray 313, Charles Green. 
1PM - 4AM / £8 

3. SPACE CAKES 
SATURDAY 8TH DECEMBER
THE OLD FIRESTATION, BOURNEMOUTH 
Plastician, Groove Chronicles, Klose One. 
10PM - 4AM / £7 - £12 

4. 3 YEARS OF SHALL NOT FADE
SATURDAY 22ND DECEMBER
BAR BLUU, SOUTHEND-ON-SEA 
KGW, LK, more. 
9PM - 4AM / £10 

5. UP THE ANTI 
SATURDAY 1ST DECEMBER 
EDEN BAR & CLUB, BOURNEMOUTH 
LTJ Bukem, M-Ocean, Carlos, DJ Dream. 
9PM - 3AM / £12 

WEST / WALES 

IN:MOTION NYD
TUESDAY 1ST JANUARY 2019
MOTION, BRISTOL 
Team Motion and LGBTQ+ Bristolians Bitch, Please! go halves on what looks set to be one of Britain’s strongest NYD tickets. Proper house from The Black Madonna, Hunee, Palms Trax and Jayda G. Tougher stuff in the Marble Factory via Call Super, Saoirse and local don Batu, with Mella Dee, James Dyer and Five10 in the Tunnel. 
2PM - 2AM / £13.50 - £33.50 

2. ON LOOP  
SATURDAY 1ST DECEMBER 
THE LOVE INN, BRISTOL 
Moxie, Daisy Moon, Dave Harvey.
11PM - 4AM / 

3. HANGING GARDENS  
FRIDAY 7TH DECEMBER 
HANGING HARDENS, PLYMOUTH 
Alix Perez, Lightworks, Messenga, Blank, Centurai. 
9PM - 4AM / £10 

4. TIMEDANCE FINAL CHAPTER PT.III 
FRIDAY 14TH DECEMBER 
THE ISLAND, BRISTOL 
Batu, DJ Nobu. 
10PM - 3AM / £15 

5. GROOVE THEORY 5TH BIRTHDAY  
FRIDAY 7TH DECEMBER
UNDERTONE BASEMENT BAR, CARDIFF 
Athens of the North. 
10.30 - 4AM / £6.50 - £10 

MIDLANDS

 

1. RESONATE x SPACE LAB 
FRIDAY 7TH DECEMBER
THE BLACKBOX, BIRMINGHAM 
If you want an astute line-up in a venue packing one of the UK’s best rigs then look no further; Objekt and Jane Fitz are two priceless treasures, as varied musically as they are technically brilliant, whether dropping pulsating acid, warm house, obscure off-beats or full blown, rave-inflected chaos. 
10PM - 6AM / £12.50 - £17.50 

2. LEFTFOOT 
FRIDAY 7TH DECEMBER
HARE & HOUNDS, BIRMINGHAM
Leon Vynehall. 
9PM - 3AM / £15 

3. DBE END OF TERM PARTY
THURSDAY 13TH DECEMBER
LOUGHBOROUGH STUDENT UNION, LOUGHBOROUGH 
DJ Hazard, Exile, DJ Haus b2b DJ Boring, Dixon Avenue Basement Jams, Nyra. 
10PM - 4Am / £8 - £15

4. EVOLVE  
SATURDAY 1ST DECEMBER 
TWENTY2, BIRMINGHAM 
Omar. 
10PM - 5AM / £10 

5. CORE 
FRIDAY 21ST DECEMBER
THE MILL, BIRMINGHAM  
Tom Trago. 
10PM - 3AM / £8 - £14

SCOTLAND / NORTHERN IRELAND 

 

1. LA CHEETAH CLUB x COOKING WITH PALMS TRAX NYE 2018
MONDAY 31ST DECEMBER 
LA CHEETAH CLUB, GLASGOW 
Although this isn’t part of La Cheetah’s official ninth birthday celebrations it’s a great way to round off the celebrations— needless to say, Palms Trax is here, joined by Shanti Celeste upstairs, with Avalon Emerson and Or:la on duty down below. If you ask us, this is how to do Hogmany properly. 
10PM - 3AM / £30 

2. MAXIMUM PRESSURE NYD 2019
TUESDAY 1ST JANUARY 
SWG3, GLASGOW 
Slam, Surgeon (live), DVS1, Charlotte de Witte, SNTS live, Leon Vynehall, DJ Fett Burger, Harri, Jasper James, IDA, more. 
7PM - 3AM / £28 

3. PALINDRONE 005 
SATURDAY 15TH DECEMBER 
THE MASH HOUSE, EDINBURGH 
Solid Blake, Mama Snake.
11PM  - 3AM / £7.50 

4. NIGHTVISION - THE NITE AFORE 
SUNDAY 30TH DECEMBER
SECRET LOCATION, EDINBURGH
Purple Disco Machine. 
11PM - 5AM / £12.50 

5. ANIMAL FARM 14TH BIRTHDAY
THURSDAY 27TH DECEMBER 
SUB CLUB, GLASGOW 
Shlømo, Stephanie Sykes. 
11PM - 4AM / £10 

Martin Guttridge-Hewitt is DJ Mag's Clubs Listings Editor and tries to maintain a Twitter account.