Clubs

Who Are LuckyMe?

The people behind the music

1 Oct 2009

Who's involved? Who are you? Claude Speeed of American Men (along with Paul Carlin and Ali Lloyd). Where do you come from? We live in Edinburgh, Manchester and Glasgow, but Paul spends most of his life in various hotels and tour buses…

Ultragroove and Telefunken: Edinburgh's House Nights

The state of the capital's dance scene

1 Oct 2009

There are few people working in the clubbing world who would look you in the eye and honestly tell you that the last year hasn’t been a tough one. When asked to reflect on the scene they operate within, the fact that attendances have been fluctuating…

Adventures in Sound and Beat Control

Exploring the best new nights in town

1 Oct 2009

Residents Andy Wilson takes charge at Adventures in Sound while the Evol DJs (Keiron Mellotte and DJ Skoda) take care of Beat Control. Guests None confirmed as yet with the residents on hand every week, but don’t be surprised by the odd DJ set from…

The Orb

Ambient electronica legends in Glasgow

1 Oct 2009

The Orb brought ambient to the masses. The brainchild of Dr Alex Paterson the band emerged from the early house scene, manning the decks at Paul Oakenfold’s Land of Oz in 1988. ‘We split £90 between us when we did the six-hour chill out sessions. Our…

The Rise of LuckyMe

The Glasgow collective from conception to the present day

1 Oct 2009

While the LuckyMe collective has its roots in Glasgow, its co-directors Dominic Flanagan and Martyn Flyn have both recently returned to their home city of Edinburgh. The pair became friends working in the Leith branch of Tiso when they were still at…

Kraak and Smaak

17 Sep 2009

Name: Kraak and Smaak. Occupation: Dutch purveyors of crispy funk and futuristic jazzy beats. Kraak & Smaak? Is this some new high-class drugs combo I’ve never heard of before? While we’re sure they get the double meaning it actually translates as…

Marshall Jefferson set for Byblos, Glasgow

17 Sep 2009

Dance music sounded very different before Marshall Jefferson got his hands on it. In 1986, Jefferson played piano over a 4/4 beat for the first time and was told by record companies that the sound just didn’t work. The next year he produced ‘Acid Trax…

The final Kinky Afro

The techno night waves a fond farewell

17 Sep 2009

Kinky Afro’s promoter Matthew Bennett, aka Mr Mafro, is on his mobile phone in a field on the Isle of Wight, the sounds of Bestival pounding out around him. For the moment, though, his heart is in the Sub Club. ‘It’s almost 13 years to the day since I…

Hitlist: Clubs

17 Sep 2009

Cabaret Voltaire’s Alternative Freshers Week, Kinky Afro, Motherfunk, Pinup Nights, Weak at the Knees, Numbers & Fortified, Huntleys and Palmers Audio Club, Compact Disco, Streetrave 20th Birthday Party

Cabaret Voltaire’s Alternative Freshers Week

17 Sep 2009

So you’re a new student in the fair town of Edinburgh and not quite sure what club nights are worth going to. Well fear not young fresher, Cabaret Voltaire has assembled all their best nights for a full week of house, drum & bass, indie, electro and…

Skream

17 Sep 2009

Numbers and Fortified join forces to unleash the dubstep anarchy of Croyden’s finest Skream on the crowds at the Subbie. One of the earliest and most respected pioneers of the genre, he mixes jazzy complexity and house rhythms with juddering bass and…

A guide to the best clubs in Scotland

10 Sep 2009

It’s not that we want to make Edinburgh feel inferior, but Glasgow is pretty much recognised as the most vibrant city in the UK after dark, behind London. Sure, your student days aren’t complete without a stagger alongside Sauchiehall Street every now…

Fresher's week club nights

An evening's entertainment for student sorts

3 Sep 2009

Although Edinburghers might not notice it quite so much thanks to their fancy festival throughout the month of August, the clubbing scene does tend to go into a state of semi-hibernation over the summer. And there’s one over-riding reason you just can’t…

The Psychedelic Ballroom

Introducing the best new club nights in town.

3 Sep 2009

Residents: Glasgow band The Balladeers: Jackson Scott (guitar and vocals), Gav Troon (bass), Ruaraidh Macleod (drums) and Sean Fitzharris (keyboards, violin). They’ll be playing a set and DJing afterwards. Guests: For this debut night it’s…

Clubs hitlist

3 Sep 2009

JakN & Cause It, Kapital, Ballers Social Second Birthday Party, Wrong Island, Death Disco, Fortified, Wire, Killer Kitsch

Phil Kieran

3 Sep 2009

Two techno clubs celebrate their birthday this fortnight. Glasgow’s Shift reach their third while Edinburgh’s Compakt hit their all important first anniversary, and both nights have decided Belfast boy Phil Kieran would be the perfect guest to help them…

Eddie Halliwell, Sander van Doorn and Judge Jules set for Parklife

3 Sep 2009

It may well be the dying embers of summer, but there’s still time for one last hoorah as Parklife lays its claim as the last dance music festival in Scotland this year. Returning for a second year of trance, hardstyle and commercial dance the festival…

Ballers Social Second Birthday Party

3 Sep 2009

Spend two days in the company of Ballers and LuckyMe as they celebrate their second birthday. And it’s a bumper line-up of warped hip hop, leftfield dubstep and wonky electronica featuring the likes of Jamie Vex’d (live), Darkstar, Rustie and The…

Nathan Fake returns to Kapital

3 Sep 2009

Nathan Fake returns to Kapital this month to showcase his new album Hard Islands. Signed to James Holden’s Border Community, Fake will be putting in a live (or ‘a laptop with some controllers and shit,’ as he describes it) set of melodic techno and…

Two Tribes: Xplicit and Musika

The two big club events bringing the festival to a suitable climax

20 Aug 2009

The closing weekend of the Festival Fringe has become a traditional highlight in Edinburgh’s clubbing calendar. And this year doesn’t disappoint, with dates from Vegas!, Optimo, Tackno, Taste and more across the bank holiday weekend, but it’s two…

Twisted and Brainfire: Ten Years

20 Aug 2009

Despite not being the most critically-acclaimed genre, hardcore has a long history of popularity in Scotland, and a still-strong fanbase. Possibly the style’s biggest monthly parties in the country are run by Glasgow-based promoters Alan Robertson and…

Alter Ego

Profile of the German dance duo

20 Aug 2009

Name: Alter Ego Also known as: German duo Roman Flugel and Jorn Elling Wuttke. Occupation: ‘The Pet Shop Boys of techno’, asserts their MySpace. It’s hard to argue. Where did they come from? Longstanding legends of the German techno scene in all its…

Hitlist: Clubs

Where to go and what to dance to this week

20 Aug 2009

David Holmes, Modern Lovers, Elextric Frog Street Carnival, Million Dollar Disco, Club For Heroes, Eyes Wide Open, Tokyoblu, Melting Pot, Second CIty

Electric Frog Street Carnival

The Notting HIll spirit comes to Glasgow

20 Aug 2009

‘The Street Carnival came about from us deciding that we’re the north’s version of the Nottinghill Carnival in London,’ explains Jack Revell, aka Numbers DJ Jackmaster and one of the people behind The Electric Frog Street Carnival, a new all day event…

Tokyoblu

The Tokyoblu live band say goodbye in style

20 Aug 2009

After four years the Tokyoblu live band will be saying a final goodbye. Their funked up house, electro grooves and disco rhythms have been heard from T in the Park to V Festival alongside their residency at the Cab. ‘To mark this last gig we will be…

Richie Hawtin

The Detroit techno man plays Glasgow

20 Aug 2009

Despite hailing from Oxfordshire via Canada, Richie Hawtin was part of the second wave of Detroit techno innovators, his Plus 8 label and Plastikman alter-ego helped set the ground work for the minimal scene. He’s slayed the Slam Tent at T in the Park…

Bongo Club Cabaret

Seduction, celebration and imagination

16 Aug 2009

Beginning with American roots folk straight from the Bible Belt (though without the morals), the Bongo Club has created a cabaret of seduction, celebration and imagination. Thoughts that variety is dead are dispelled by ingenious performances from the…

Bloody Beetroots

Expressionless fright masks and slaying dancefloor electronica at Death Disco

14 Aug 2009

On the backstreets of Bassano del Grappa, in northern Italy, an ungodly experiment took place. Elements of Slayer and Daft Punk were fused together to produce the mutant progeny that is Bloody Beetroots, a vicious electro duo whose music hits like a…

Top 5 Things To Do This Week

14 Aug 2009

Bloody Beetroot (clubs), Inglourious Basterds (film), Emergent Artists (Visual Art), Soulsavers (music), Christopher Brookmyre (books)

Maelstrom

13 Aug 2009

‘I started DJing,’ says Paul Gordon candidly, ‘by playing some pretty dubious music. Definitely nothing I’d admit to! You know, all the usual under-18s discos when I was about 13 or 14, then I started to get a few decent gigs as I got older. I played…

Devil Disco Club

13 Aug 2009

Are you sick of clean, safe clubbing and shiny superstar DJs? Well ‘Trouble’s back in black’ with the perfect antidote where it’s all about the buzz of hearing great new music, be it soul, rap, disco, electro, house or boogie. Joined by London’s…

Glasgow Roller Disco

13 Aug 2009

Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll Dig out your skates (they’re also available to hire on the night) as roller disco mayhem descends on Glasgow, recreating the New York sounds of disco with a modern twist. DJ sets come from Jackmaster, Rustie (pictured), DJ…

5 Questions for Bass Syndicate

12 Aug 2009

5 words to describe the Bass Syndicate experience? Bass-droppin’, beat-cuttin’, party-rockin’, crowd-smashin’ funhouse! 4 things you love about the DJs on the bill Cyantific rockin’ drum & bass on three decks like no one else; ‘Super Sharp…

EH1 Festival

Inaugural all-day celebration of dance music culture

6 Aug 2009

Colours and Streetrave have decided to celebrate their 20th anniversary in style, and you’re all invited as they present perhaps the biggest club event Edinburgh has ever seen – the EH1 Festival at the Royal Highland Showground out at Ingliston. ‘It’s a…

Jackmaster

6 Aug 2009

Jack Revill has had a good idea of what he’s wanted to do for a living since an early age. At least, in fact, since he was 14 years old and managed to score quite possibly the greatest work experience placement from school. ‘I went to work at the…

RAW

The highs and lows of clubland

6 Aug 2009

Aerial work can often be filled with magic and mystery, as you watch a performer fly fearlessly through the air. That bravado, however, is based on many things — not least the person behind the scenes making it all happen. ‘The aerial technician is so…

Top 5 things to do this week

6 Aug 2009

We go behind the scenes of the first collaborative exhibition by Baldvin Ringsted and Hrafnhildur Halldórsdóttir and explore the theme of improvisation versus skill that informs their work. Intermedia Gallery, CCA, Glasgow, Tue 18 Aug–Sun 6 Sep.

The Black Dog and Mr Copy set for Soma Records Night

6 Aug 2009

It has become a bit of a mainstay at the Edge Festival and Glasgow’s premiere label, Soma Records, is back once again for its annual showcase of all that’s great and good in the world of house and techno. This year’s line-up includes seminal UK techno…

Wire

6 Aug 2009

‘Discotronic pop, art punk, twisted folk, electronic love and beyond,’ promises promoter/resident DJ Craig Jamieson at Wire. ‘Scotland’s most eclectic soundclash celebrates the best in innovative and cult music.’ Jamieson will be happily living up to…

Fierce Angel

6 Aug 2009

Mark Doyle not only set up the world conquering Hed Kandi brand of glamourous house, chillout grooves and instantly recognisable cover art, in 2006 he launched his Fierce Angel project, which comes to Glasgow for a night of sexy, fresh Ibiza anthems and…

The Foundling Wheel

6 Aug 2009

Solo experimental electronica from Edinburgh as The Foundling Wheel lay down a set of abrasive beats, deep spooky vocals, ‘noise-saturated mountains of programmed polyrhythms and bit-crushed distortion’. Enfant Bastard and Asthmatic Astronaut join The…

One More Tune turns two

The folk behind the sound talk to David Pollock about difficult beginnings

4 Aug 2009

It’s overplaying things to describe it as a rags-to-riches tale, but Matthew Craig’s career as a DJ and promoter on the Glasgow circuit has come a long way since he started putting on One More Tune (alongside Ralph Thomson, who he DJs with as Define…

Seth Troxler

3 Aug 2009

‘Once upon a time, Satan shat out a crystal, squeezing it through a body cavity resembling Chinese-restaurant pork. That crystal, glowing red with embers, was Seth Troxler.’ It’s certainly an interesting way to start your offical bio. Now based in…

Clubs Hit List - Glasgow

30 Jul 2009

Edinburgh too busy for you? Here's our pick of the best nights to be had out in Glasgow

One More Tune - Here we go again

29 Jul 2009

It’s overplaying things to describe it as a rags-to-riches tale, but Matthew Craig’s career as a DJ and promoter on the Glasgow circuit has come a long way since he started putting on One More Tune (alongside Ralph Thomson, who he DJs with as Define…

Headspin

29 Jul 2009

Always keeping it fresh and funky, the Headspin residents supply a four deck mix of hip hop, funk, electro, house and any other flights of fancy that take their mood keeping the dancefloor rocking at all times. For their festival special they invite…

5 Questions: Gamma Ray Dali

24 Jul 2009

We talk to Gamma Ray Dali who orchestrates the madness that is Confusion is Sex, a multi-sensory clubbing experience featuring live sets from Big Ned and The Leg vs The Pineapple Chunks and far more besides for this Festival special.

We Are . . . Electric

24 Jul 2009

The Midweek club that matters, Gary Mac’s We Are … Electric, celebrates its fourth birthday with a two-part party of electro funk and punked up electronica. First up is German techno and house genius DJ T (pictured) alongside a live electronica from The…

Wickerman Festival 2009 - DJ Danny Rampling interview

23 Jul 2009

It might not be on the same scale as T in the Park or Rock Ness but the Wickerman is happily striding forth into its eighth year as an alternative to the many big buck corporate festivals. Wickerman aims to create a friendly atmosphere and a good time…

DJ Ellen Allien to play at Edinburgh night Kapital

23 Jul 2009

TECHNO ‘Ever since her mix tapes first found their way to us at the start of the decade, we [the trio of DJs and promoters behind Edinburgh night Kapital], have been strongly influenced by Ellen Allien,’ says the club’s Barry O’Connell. ‘Everything…