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THIS MONTH'S TOP CLUB NIGHTS

A fistful of fun to brighten your February

01. BUGGED OUT, VILLAGE UNDEGROUND, LONDON
FRIDAY 6TH FEBRUARY
TEN WALLS (LIVE), GARDENS OF GOD, FEW NOLDER

If there’s one DJ who truly understands the intricacies of playing records 'live', it’s Lithuanian producer, Ten Walls. Last year, the veteran selector skyrocketed from underground gem to headline act, thanks to the inescapable thud of his worldwide hit ‘Walking With Elephants’ and the success of his underground imprint, BOSO. Tech house and downtempo disco fans will be well aware that Ten Walls (aka Mario Basanov, this issue's cover star) has been kicking about far longer than the last 12 months, but it’s 2014 that saw him hone his spectacular live A/V show — the popularity of which will see him brought back to London on 6th Feb.

No better match was there for Basanov’s unique theatrics than heritage London club brand Bugged Out, a well-known name to any regular UK clubber, thanks to a raucous two decades throwing parties in London and Manchester. No surprise then that Bugged Out know exactly what the people want, with original Shoreditch rave cave Village Underground set to play host to the Ten Walls show — as if there was any other option for an audio/visual clubbing epic of such a scale.

Tech whiz Basanov isn’t short of business acumen. He’s cleverly hosted some of his best-known cuts on his aforementioned BOSO imprint, many of which make up the tracklist to accompany his bespoke visuals and travelling, flash-tastic lightshow. Fellow Lithuanian natives and BOSO protégées Gardens Of God and Few Nolder are booked to play alongside him at Bugged Out — look out for Few Nolder’s shimmery anthem ‘Clouds’, plus Gardens Of God's trippy prog-banger ‘Voices From The Past’. Atmospheric tech house is the label’s primary bent, so get set to lose yourself for a solid six hours of swelling, synth-laden glory in the depths of Village Underground’s industrial surrounds.

10pm – 4am | £19.50 | buggedout.net

02. TRANSMISSION, SANKEYS, MANCHESTER
FRIDAY 20TH FEB
BEN UFO, PANGAEA, PEARSON SOUND, JOY ORBISON, KARENN (LIVE)

 

A historic hall with heritage charm, complete with colourful stained-glass windows and an enormous organ. Sounds like somewhere you’d go for Sunday mass, right? Wrong! Though there’s no doubt that Manchester’s new event series Transmission will be a new religion of sorts, with the promoter set to host four months of incredible parties at the city’s beloved Albert Hall.

As one of the most important homegrown labels of the last decade, Hessle Audio seems an obvious choice for the booking team at Transmission. Part of a collaboration with The Warehouse Project and several other partners, Transmission will also welcome Yousef’s Circus Recordings crew and hard partying, speaker-blowing d&b label, Hospitality. Hessle Audio — on the other hand — is more about thought-provoking techno that will see Transmission step out of the Albert Hall and into another famed Manchester venue, Sankey’s, in a special one-off location change for the new party series.

Ben UFO and co are pulling out the big guns for their label night at Transmission, curating a line-up of their most successful DJ discoveries including Joy Orbison and a live set from Karenn, also known separately as Blawan and Pariah. It’s the epic b2b performance from techno vanguards Ben UFO, Pangaea and Pearson Sound that is tipped to inspire, with Hessle’s founding fathers set to slay the decks in truly spectacular fashion for Transmission.

10pm – 6am | £18.50 | transmission.uk.net 

03. I LOVE ACID, BLOC (AUTUMN STREET), LONDON
FRIDAY 6TH FEBRUARY
DJ PIERRE, LUKE VIBERT, POSTHUMAN, AFFIE YUSUF, PLACID

Everyone’s got a soft spot for acid. It’s hard not to feel nostalgic about the genre that so totally captured the hearts of UK clubbers in the late '80s and early '90s, with smiley-faced motifs and endless 303 the signpost of any real blue blood acid house knees-up.

Acid raves don’t come much more purist than parties by promoters I Love Acid, who will take over Autumn Street studios for a night this month with the sticky, acerbic tones of the indomitable DJ Pierre.

Acid house can’t be celebrated without mention of Pierre, whose records have experienced a considerable revival in the last twelve months, thanks to the resurgence of acid house in dance music’s mainstream — see Richy Ahmed’s ‘Sneaky Acid’ or Terry Farley’s ‘Acid Thunder’ compilation.

As if Pierre’s presence wasn’t enough to get you going, multi-genre house and techno composer Luke Vibert is also along for the ride, the cherry on top of an essential night out for acid fans old and new.

11pm – 6am |£18| iheartacid.com 

04. STUDIO 338 2015 OPENING, STUDIO 338, LONDON
SATURDAY 7TH FEBRUARY
ITALOJOHNSON, FRED P, KOWTON, CALL SUPER, SAOIRSE, JANE FITZ, DAVY, UNAI TROITT, JON SOJO, RAPHAEL, REMY ALLOCO

 

Studio 338 will wave hello to 2015 in a very big way this month, with a mega 12-hour opening celebration on their famed outdoor terrace. If you think you’re not prepped to battle the frigid elements in February, rest assured that Italojohnson’s brand of bouncy tech will warm your cockles, with the German three-piece booked to play for a meaty — and no doubt energetic — four hours.

Underground party brand Cartulis Day will take over inside, where Freerotation resident DJ Jane Fitz is guaranteed to smash it; this woman never disappoints behind the decks. Expect wiggly techno and crate-dug acid house when expert Fitz is at the helm, alongside Davy, Raphael and others from the Cartulis music crew. NYC house legend Fred P and eclectic German DJ Call Super will also pop in, so slap on some sensible footwear — it’s a marathon, not a sprint!

7pm – 7am | £15 | studio338.co.uk

05. RINSE LEEDS PRESENT DANIEL AVERY ALL NIGHT LONG, WIRE CLUB, LEEDS
SATURDAY 14TH FEBRUARY
DANIEL AVERY

Think Love Actually and a greasy take-out is the best way to celebrate on Valentine's Day? Think again! Spend your evening snuggled in a bed of sparkly, psychedelic sonics with Daniel Avery, when the techno savant plays at the Wire Club in Leeds on Feb 14th.

The crowning jewel on Erol Alkan’s beguiling Phantasy Sound imprint, fans should get set to hear some fresh-out-the-box edits from the UK producer, on the brink of a new two-disc remix LP due to drop in March. ‘New Energy’ sees Rødhåd, Factory Floor and Roman Flügel put their spin on Avery’s famous ‘Drone Logic’ album, with the usual limited vinyl pressing available for fans of wax.

Endlessly layered soundscapes and undulating grooves are guaranteed on a Valentine's Day visit to Wire, as well as some of Avery’s classic cuts and a stack of exceptional new remixes — it doesn’t get much more romantic than that!

11pm – 6am | £10 | rinse.fm