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HIGH FIVE: FEBRUARY

This month's essential club nights!

Fed up of 'One Pound Fish'? Glad to get 'Gangnam Style' out your head? Lose your mind at one of these...


1. KRANKBROTHER AND PHONICA PRESENT, SECRET LOCATION LONDON, SATURDAY 9TH FEBRUARY

FOUR TET, DAPHNI, APPLEBLIM, PAUL WOOLFORD, KRANKBROTHERS, PHONICA DJS

Providing Four Tet recovers from a nasty ear infection (he suffers at the time of writing), he'll join an all-star cast of players breaking bass boundaries on Saturday 9th February, when Krankbrother and Phonica Records team up for an enormous knees-up at a location, which, while being kept under the hats of the promoters, is described by them as one of London's 'most versatile and exciting event spaces'.

Off the back of a year that saw Krankbrother step up its game with parties on roofs, in streets and with fancy dress — even a festival appearance and one on the Space Ibiza terrace — its partnership with London's best loved bricks and mortar record store, Phonica, is the next notch on its promotional bedpost.

Dan Snaith (aka Caribou) and his Daphni project is another along for the ride, following the rampant success of his debut album 'Jiaolong'. Feeding tribal Afrobeat riddims through a 4/4 framework, stirred up with plenty of seething sub-bass, Snaith — a close friend of Four Tet — is without doubt currently one of the most feverishly sought-out names in house and techno, partly owing to the scarcity of his appearances on the ones and twos.

Meanwhile, '00s dubstep pioneer Appleblim can be caught conjuring dark and dubby dystopian techno atmospherics alongside close ally, house head Paul Woolford, while Krankbrother and Phonica DJs put their heads together to ensure the quality of music lives up to the high standards of these two eminent purveyors of party music.

10pm – 6am | £20/£25 | krankbrother.com


2. WIGFLEX X MIMM X HYPONIK, THE LACEHOUSE, NOTTINGHAM, FRIDAY 22ND FEBRUARY

PARIAH, MIDLAND, PANGAEA, FUNKINEVEN (LIVE), TRUSS MPIA3, ALEXANDER NUT, DEFT, SPAM CHOP, MORRIS COWAN

No matter how sought out a residence is, it ain't nothing without its residents. Just ask the minds behind these three tribes. Wigflex, who moved from their home at Stealth to team up with Mimm last October for what they described at the time as a venue 'that operates below the radar'; 'one you've never been to and one you might not have the fortune to even find again'. Well, thankfully you might have.

That event, featuring Lone, Om Unit, Happa and Randomer, housed in a 'secret location', turned out to be at The Lacehouse, formerly the Sugar Bar, a former lace mill on Stoney Street, and it's returning. Again with Mimm but also Hyponik to add extra clout, the Wigflex crew is on the rave wagon once again to blaze its rudeboy techno warpath, with She Works co-boss Pariah, dub technician Pangaea, melodic bass merchant Midland, plus a live set from Y3K architect Funkineven along for the ride — hands inside, at all times.

10pm – late | £8 - £12 | wigflex.com


3. BOYS OWN PRESENTS DROP ACID NOT BOMBS, STUDIOS, PENNINGTON STREET, LONDON, SATURDAY 15TH FEBRUARY

DIXON, ROCKY, TERRY FARLEY, DAREN NUNES, THE JADES

With the ongoing original house resurgence showing no signs of abating, it's worth looking to the members of the old guard for a burst of dancefloor authenticity. Cue Terry Farley, editor of Faith Fanzine and Cymon Eckel, who he set up (Junior) Boy's Own alongside in 1990 — both purveyors of stateside 4/4s on these isles back when they were first primed for wax. Still going, the label has gathered its resources for another party, this time at Studios, Pennington Street. Despite booking old school legends still bringing home the bacon to do the business in the past — the likes of Frankie Knuckles and Lil Louis — for the launch of this new series, amusingly titled Drop Acid Not Bombs, they've roped in Berlin's most wanted, Innervisions boss Dixon to play a four-hour set; his inclusion here, by these two venerable chaps, testament to his stature already as a modern great.

Meanwhile, the purists can rest easy, with X-Press 2's Rocky and Terry Farley batting for the old skool at a party geared towards only the capital's most hardened house heads.

10pm – 6am | £20 | studio-spaces.com


4. FLUX 2ND BIRTHDAY, BEAVERWORKS, LEEDS, WEDNESDAY 20TH FEBRUARY

TOM TRAGO, PERSEUS, JACOB KORN (LIVE)

It's no secret that Leeds' dedicated club folk are a madcap bunch, but one party in the city really brings out the best of the raving elite with its Wednesday night parties. Everyone knows only the truly hardcore venture out midweek, so it's fairly safe to assume those that do either don't have a job — at least struggle to hold one down (because they go to too many midweek parties) — or they do but, simply, don't give a shit. Hence you'll find those most willing to let go, well, doing exactly that whenever Flux stops in at Leeds' converted 1,400-capacity Victorian warehouse, Beaverworks. Who could blame 'em, though, looking at line-ups, previously featuring the likes of Deetron, Ralph Lawson, Andres, Huxley and Manuel Tur? For their second birthday, it doesn't get much cooler than Rush Hour's Tom Trago, Perseus and Jacob Korn (live). More than a good enough reason to

sack off work (or possibly get sacked) on Thursday.

9pm – 6am | £6/£8 | facebook.com/beaverworks


5. JULIO BASHMORE, TBA, BRISTOL/LONDON/LEEDS/MANCHESTER, 8TH/16TH/22ND/23RD FEBRUARY

JULIO BASHMORE

When a DJ goes from big fish in a small pond to some sort of pirate ship devouring giant octopus, it's natural to want to, um, take on the world. But first, rather than training a pack of cheerleaders and planning a tour of America's football stadiums, it's often useful to test the water with a tour of your own backyard. In this case, it's Julio Bashmore's turn, who, seemingly tired of topping festival bills and selling out the country's most prestigious clubs, has decided to embark on a tour of the UK, excluding Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (“a tour of England!?” we hear you cry), stopping at undisclosed locations in Bristol, London, Leeds and Manchester this month. Some dates there for you to 'Au Seve' in the diary (sorry).

10pm – 5am | £14.50/£16.50 | juliobashmore.com