April 2010 Club Listings: Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Dundee

UPDATE: Apologies for lack of listings for the 3rd week of April - the volcano ash gummed up my keyboard and I had to cease all comms ;)

Edinburgh

Club: An Evening with Mauro Picotto - Meganite
Venue: The Caves
Date: 2nd April

Picotto brings his successful Meganite event to Edinburgh for an exclusive four hour set of all shades of house and techno; groovin', minimal, tribal, deep and now in your home town! Take one club format, export it around the world, and ensnare a generation of clubbers - Meganite has enthralled the crowds of Europe, Asia, Australia, America, and even gained government support in Turin. Support comes from Jason Cortez.

10pm-3am, £17.50 adv. from Ripping Records

Club: Tokyoblu
Venue: Cabaret Voltaire
Date: 2nd April

Classic house club Tokyoblu presents 'A Real House Party' imbued with Chicago, Latin and African vibes for a four hour b2b set from the resident DJs. Funky, jackin' and dirty; the main room will feature live percussion from David McGeorge, and extra electro and disco from Niall & Denis McKervey and DJ No Bad. Do NOT stuff your face with Easter eggs, you'll need your dancing legs!

11pm-3am, £8 / £5 guestlist, student or member

Extra: Text 07709058952 for £5 guestlist

Club: Fuse
Venue: The Lane (formerly Berlin)
Date: 2nd April

Electronica, techno, house, dubstep and nuwave fuse together at The Lane where two b2b sets are going down simultaneously! Gus Armstrong & Tim James headline in the main room, with support from Stu Todd and Luke Dubious, while Luke Cassidy & The Ice Man take the White Room with support from Ritchie Simpson. Even the bar has DJs, with house and disco dashes that go down well with mixers Lee Mutch, Slikk Mik and Tony Nicol.

11pm-3am, £tbc

Extra: For paying guestlist email fusenight1@googlemail.com

Club: Musika
Venue: The Picture House and Cabaret Voltaire
Date: 2nd April



Limber up for a short cross-city club jaunt when Musika fly in Laurent Garnier for a live show at The Picture House followed by a further three hours of after party at The Speakeasy in Cabaret Voltaire. Garnier needs little introduction, having played an integral part in the development of house and techno across Europe and the world, and firmly cementing a connection between fried pork and popping techno in late 20th century. In a new century he's still going strong, and out to promote his new LP, Tales of a Kleptomaniac, which happens to be jaw-droppingly good and genre-bending as usual. His spectacular live performance features DJ support from a host of local club DJs, including Gary Mac (We Are Electric), Gareth Sommerville (Ultragroove), and Musika's Kirk Douglas. The party continues across town with Musika residents and special guests.

7pm-late, £18.50+bf adv at The Picture House and 11pm-3am, £5 at The Speakeasy

More info: Laurent Garnier will be on-stage at 10pm

Club: Volume!
Venue: Sneaky Pete's
Date: 3rd April

A wee taster for their huge forthcoming event later this month, Volume! put on a free party of dubstep, jungle, dnb, Baltimore and more. Resident DJs Termite, G-Mac, Paranoise and Brian D'Souza will set the beats and tone for the evening.

11pm-3am, Free

Club: Mothergroove Easter Party
Venue: Below The Stairs (Picardy Place)
Date: 4th April

At Edinburgh's newest venue, a collaboration between Ultragroove and Motherfunk brings us Mothergroove for a special Easter party. Gino & Fryer (Motherfunk) and Gareth Sommerville (Ultragroove) lay on a resurrection feast of house, soul, funk, disco, boogie and hip-hop!

11pm-3am, £5

Club: Jackhammer
Venue: The Caves
Date: 9th April

Give me a shout if you're in town for the mighty Frequency 7 live aka Ben Sims Vs Surgeon, as I'll be down the front pulling ridiculous shapes to hard techno, industrial, funk, dub and hip-hop. (I'll be the one who looks Lo-quality.) This will be the second ever appearance of the collaborative project in Scotland so grab your rough 'n' tumble clothes and head into Edinburgh's belly of The Caves and grab a slice of their busy 2010 production schedule. Support comes from Wolfjazz and Keytes.

11pm-3am, £10 / £8 students

Club: Substance
Venue: GRV
Date: 10th April

It has been very unusual to see high-rating dance artists playing the same weekend in Edinburgh, but that's about to change when Luke Vibert takes Substance to its acid-techno limits, in the very same 24 hours that sees Ben Sims going up against Surgeon less than a mile away! The Warp and Rephlex master joins Gavin Richardson in the main room of electro, techno and rumbling bass, while the familiar faces of Al MacDonald (Dogma), Monsieur De Large (Inner City Acid), Jetlad (Club for Heroes) and Nostra Terra crank the house and disco in room two. Get a lesson in electronica and just what can be done with it from the prolific Vibert machine.

10.30pm-3am, £10 adv.

Club: Volume!
Venue: The Bongo Club
Date: 23rd April

Volume's third birthday has cropped up quickly - is it really 36 months since the crew first intro'd Edinburgh to dubstep and the many levels of bass out there? To celebrate they have invited back Caspa(Sub Soldiers), who will host the main room of dubstep, jungle and dnb with support from MC Rod Azlan and residents Termite, G*Mac, Paranoise and Brian D'Souza. But that's not all! Biggi B-Boy Beatmaster (say that 10 times fast) and Barba Poppa Choppa lay down hip-hop, funk, soul and reggae in room 2.

11pm-3am, £10 adv

Club: Trouble
Venue: Secret Location
Date: 24th April

Can't say much about this one as the details for Trouble's 8th birthday remain a secret, but I suggest you start subscribing to their newsletters and checking out the website for some clues! Glasgow club Slab of the Tabernacle will be on hand to ring in eight years of stormin' house!

Time and price tba

Club: Departure Lounge
Venue: The Caves
Date: 24th April

Share the magnitude of this night with Departure Lounge, who are equally pleased about the live line-up they've pulled together for their yearly Saturday show (all other shows on Fridays); Bass Clef , The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble and The Souljazz Orchestra nicely sum up the Lounge's style - bass, brass, soulful and lively! Dancehall, dubtep, soul, afrobeat, and funk - it's the most exciting Departure Lounge you can end up in during travel gridlock! DJ set support comes from Astroboy, Jiminez & Mr Zimbabwe!

9pm-3am, £15 / £11+bf adv.

Extra: Mixed Bizness host Bass Clef on Friday 23rd at Stereo in Glasgow - Boom Monk Ben and Point to C are on support! 11pm-3am, £7 / £5 before midnight


Glasgow

Club: Sven Vath Sound of the 10th Season World Tour
Venue: The Arches
Date: 2nd April

I've always thought of Sven Vath as a kind of Million Dollar Man - I imagine if anything bad happened to him they would fix him and have him back on stage delighting the punters. The rigorous tour schedules already suggest there's some kind of bio-mechanical 'stay up forever' type surgery at work! Joining the house and techno lord (Cocoon, Womb, Zouk etc) will be Glasgow's favourite electronica sons; Slam, Harri and Domenic, and Telford.

10pm-3am, £19

Club: Animal Farm
Venue: MamaSan
Date: 3rd April

Another club whetting clubber's tastebuds in preparation for a bigger event later in the month is Glasgow's Animal Farm; deep house, Detroit, Chicago and dub techno for a budget £0. Get in practice for the floor-destroying Sandwell District later this month.

11pm-3am, Free

Club: Bigfoot's Tea Party
Venue: The Courtyard
Date: 3rd April

For some daytime dancing head to Bigfoot's Tea Party for their first event of 2010, entitled Dutch Appreciation - Episode One. The venue has undergone a revamp since they last visited in September, and now boasts two floors of outside areas. A member of the Amsterdam 661 Collective, Dutch techno spinner David Labeij (Remote Area) headlines the afternoon party, which also comes with a free bbq! Support for this nine hour extravaganza comes from Simon Stokes (Minibus/Rekluse), Daniel Hedley (Hot Box), Dave Scott (69) residents Marmalade Man, Faux Pas and Redux (visuals). Throughout the day Bigfoot will also be showcasing short, experimental films.

3pm-12am, £10/ £8

Club: Melting Pot
Venue: The Admiral
Date: 3rd and 4th April

Melting Pot bring us two events back to back for the first weekend of April, kicking off with their Easter Bank Holiday Weekend Part 1: A Tribute to The Paradise Garage and Larry Levan, followed by Part 2 on Saturday with Body & Soul's Danny Krivit. The Paradise Garage played a central part in the development of the disco and house scenes in the late 70s onwards, and Melting Pot are pleased to welcome original resident Larry Levan. The Dance! Dance! Dance! DJs Derek Smith and Andy Piacentini collaborate with residents Andrew Pirie and Simon Cordiner on support. The following Sunday the Pot crew welcome Danny Krivit; child of NY's Greenwich village, growing up surrounded by the stars of the 60s, and later feeding his thirst for house and disco at The Paradise Garage. In the near 40 years since turning vinyl enthusiast, Krivitz has enjoyed wide-spread success and started his own legendary events such as Body & Soul and still regularly DJs today.

11pm-3am, £8 (Saturday) / £12 adv. (Sunday)

Extra: The Melting Pot DJs will be playing tracks selected from the Top 100 records of The Paradise Garage, as listed in the muso's field-guide, 'Last Night a DJ Saved My Life'.

Club: Cosmic Microwave
Venue: The Universal
Date: 4th April

The Cosmic Microwave club moniker stirs imagery of bleeps, deep space sounds and pulses of the universe, so it's very fitting that the group export waves of deep house, tech-house and disco to transport clubbers to another dimension. Joining Aaron Petrie is Brian D'Souza (Slabs of the Tabernacle) and Jay Shepheard (Buzzin' Fly / Compost), who has several 12"s on Compost Black upcoming for 2010.

11pm-3am, £7

Club: Numbers
Venue: O2 ABC
Date: 9th April

Lo-quality is also quite pouty about the fact that they can't go to Modeselektor again this year, as the personal Numbers pilgrimage has been briefly suspended for recession budgets and Frequency 7. However, I can assure readers this is not a show to be missed, no matter if you've seen it before as Modeselektor will be launching their new Soundsystem performance; a combo of live Modeselektor and live edits of DJ tracks with visuals from Pfadfinderei. The adrenaline is pulsing up my spine already.

11pm-3am, £12+bf adv.

Extra: Numbers' Jackmaster will be flying over to Germany to represent the Glasgow club at Germany's Melt Festival this year.

Club: Animal Farm
Venue: Sub Club
Date: 23rd April

It's only their second time at the Sub Club venue, but Animal Farm have brought in the big guns, regardless! Regis and Function aka Sandwell District will thunder down live techno on an eager crowd. It's underground sounds for Glasgow's literally underground club, and the duo have the undeniable capacity to make fellow artists froth at the mouth. Pre-club at MacSorley's from 9pm with Animal Farm residents Lamb and Quail!

11pm-3am, £10

Club: Secret Wars Euro League feat. Spectrum
Venue: Sub Club
Date: 29th April

It's Glasgow vs Bristol in this edition of Secret Wars Euro League, where 16 cities battle for the crown of European Champions of Live Art; local artists will sketch it out in a 3 on 3 formation, followed by tunes from the Spectrum residents and special guests! The combination of art and music styles will ensure your cultural leanings are sated for April!

8pm-late, £tbc


Aberdeen

Club: Everything Else Sucks

Venue: Origin

Date: 10th April

A mixed bag of beats this month when Southern Fried's Malente sweeps into Scotland for a two date special; producing since the turn of the century, Malente has captured attention with his blend of electro, disco and house in jackin', rave and fusion styles! Support comes from residents Djamba (Hush Hush / Mixtape), Giles Walker (Hush Hush / Mixtape / Electrique Boutique) and Eezma (Kaplank Kapow).

10pm-3am, £7 / £5

More info: Velvet and Muck join forces to bring Malente to O'Couture's in Glasgow on April 9th. Support comes from PMcQ, Bovine and Rob Etherson.


Dundee

Club: Headway
Venue: The Reading Rooms
Date: 2nd April

The Cocoon boys must be in Scotland together, as Yousef plays Dundee the same night as Sven Vath conquers Glasgow! It's been almost ten years since Yousef (Circus / CR2) last played in Dundee, so an appearance is overdue for the city's house and techno lovers. Supporting is Andy Barton, Neil Clark, Bruce Anderson and Graeme Binnie.

10.30pm-3.30am tbc, £10

Club: DD10
Venue: Soul Nightclub
Date: 9th April

DJ Lottie Does Dundee on 9th April, spinning a rainbow of house genres to keep it funky, tribal, deep, jackin' and just plain jumpin'. Come spot the rare female serious house DJ in her natural habitat behind the decks!

9pm-2.30am, £13 / £11 adv./ £9 students

Help for Haiti

Edinburgh hip-hop crew Capitol 1212 gave Lo-Quality word of their intent to do something for the Haiti earthquake disaster back in January, and now the fruits of their determination are out on the web for digital download.

After gathering MC Profisee, Serocee, Mr Bang On (Big Dada) and Boston hip-hop head ED OG, the collaborative efforts of all went into producing 'History of Silence', a four track EP featuring remixes from Nasty P and Dema. All proceeds will go to Médecins Sans Frontières to help Haiti's survivors.

Tracklist

01 - Fiyah feat Ed OG Profisee Serocee and Mr Bang On
02 - No More Deceit feat Profisee
03 - No More Deceit feat Profisee [Dema Remix]
04 - Fiyah feat Ed OG Profisee Serocee and Mr Bang On [Nasty P Remix]

Available from:

Amazon
DJShop.de
iTunes
People's Music Store
Juno

Shock Announcement: Optimo ends!

As of 4pm today, the shock announcement of the end of Optimo - one of Scotland's, and by extension the UK's, favourite mash-up clubs - is ceasing regular outings after 12 and a half years of sold-out nights, hot talent and many a memory for punters.

Thanks to The Niallist for his heads up.


Full press release:

After 12 and a half years (or around 650 Optimos), we have, after a
huge amount of consideration and many sleepless nights decided that
Sunday April 25th will be the LAST EVER night of Optimo (Espacio) at
The Sub Club.

We have loved doing Optimo with all our hearts, but our hearts are
also telling us it is time to call a halt to it. Playing at,
organising and promoting a weekly night takes up an enormous amount of
energy and there are so many other things we want to do that some of
that energy is needed for our other projects. We also need to get our
lives and weeks back a little bit and take on new challenges and
opportunities (we have to turn down an awful lot of opportunities by
being committed to being in Glasgow every Sunday and being wiped out
every Monday).

We will continue to tour, promote and release music as Optimo but it
will no longer be possible to hear JD Twitch and JG Wilkes dj at The
Sub Club every Sunday night.

However, it is not completely over. Twitch played at the Sub Club on
Sunday nights for two years before Optimo started and was involved in
a Sunday evening club for a few years before that, so it is hard to
let go of Sunday night events in Glasgow completely. Twitch and Wilkes
will continue to promote Sunday nights at The Sub Club under an as yet
to be announced name. The new night will give a platform to the
plethora of great djs in Glasgow, bring djs we love to Glasgow and
bring live acts nobody else would bring to this city. Sometimes Twitch
or Wilkes will play alongside them and sometimes Twitch and Wilkes may
play together on a Sunday night but, without Twitch and Wilkes playing
together weekly, it won't and can't be Optimo.

Who know what this new venture will morph into but whatever, we hope
that the anarchic spirit we brought to the Sub Club in 1997 will
continue to prevail on Sunday nights.

So, there are 7 Optimos left. Hopefully we will see some of you before
the end. We absolutely intend to go out with a bang.

It's not over until the fat lady sings.....

--

You heard them! Catch Optimo every Sunday at the Sub Club, and more info on their farewell event will be published soon.

March 2010 Club Listings: Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Dundee

We have venues re-opening, packed club schedules, and it's only March! Read on for all the best bits, and as always these listings will be continually updated.

Glasgow

Club: Arches Grand Re-Opening Club
Venue: The Arches
Date: 5th March

It's all happening on the 5th in Glasgow, starting with the Grand Re-Opening of The Arches after a two month closure. To make sure the party is suitably celebratory, 2ManyDJs will perform a DJ Set in the main arch, with Danny Rampling in arch 2 and Colours residents, Jon Mancini, and Giovanni Ferri on popular support. Proving that brothers can make music together without public brawls, 2ManyDJs mix up electro, disco and anything with a groove, and have a track record of delighting the West of Scotland, only making their last appearance in Glasgow in December 2009 for Soulwaxmas. House stalwart Danny Rampling might bring back memories of his spot at the STREETrave 19th birthday event and will certainly bring a smile to clubbers!

10pm-3am, £24+bf

More info: The recent refurbishment includes a new South bar designed by Timorous Beasties, a recycled wood front bar, resurfaced dance floors and a fresh lick of paint!

Club: Pressure
Venue: O2 Academy
Date: 5th March

Laurent Garnier brings a full five-man live band to Pressure this March, at their last gig outside the Arches while it underwent refurbishment. The man needs barely any introduction, having stormed the techno and house scenes of Europe, the Americas and further for the past 20-odd years, and still producing fresh hits to this day (check out the Lo-quality review of his latest Crosstown Rebels release). For this gig he'll unleash his experimental jazz, techno and hip-hop live show - if you haven't managed to hear any of new album 'Tales of a Kleptomaniac', catch the real thing. Master H, Sunday Circus and Slam provide tried, tested and trusted sets to entice the crowds.

10.30pm-3am, £18+bf

More info: Laurent Garnier comes to Edinburgh's Musika on the 2nd of April - check back for further details.

Club: Numbers
Venue: Sub Club
Date: 5th March

Most people would turn up just to see Martyn or Kode 9, so it's even better when they're playing on the same bill! Dub-techno/house producer Martyn (3024) will be clocking up his third appearance with Numbers, and the man behind DJ Mag's Label of 2009, Hyperdub, Kode 9 is returning after a 5 year absence, busy introducing the music scene to dubstep stars and producing his own gems of UK Funky and dubstep. Floating Points (Egloo) plays the opening set, giving crowds a two hour slot to hear the breadth of his music collection, and his take on house, the low frequencies of dubstep, and 80s funk.

11pm-3am, £10+bf

Club: AC/ID Launch Party
Venue: The Black Sparrow
Date: 6th March

To launch new single 'A.C/I.D.' (Little Rock Records) by House Machine, a good old fashioned vinyl party is taking over The Black Sparrow, with special guests Line Idle (Andnotor Records) and Monsieur De Large (Inner City Acid) spinning the discs and a live performance by House Machine. A mixture of aciid techno, electro and squelchy house in that order, so head along to support your local artists. Not so much a club night as a wild party, this event is also completely free!

8pm-1am, Free

More info: Line Idle has his own debut vinyl release out on April the 1st on AndNotOR Records. 'Tense / Nu42 Acid remix' is techno to blow your socks off.

Club: Melting Pot
Venue: The Admiral
Date: 6th March

It's hard to believe nine years have passed, but the marking of their birthday with special guests DJ Cosmo and Ashley Beedle as collaborative project Darkstarr will confirm it! The rarely seen male and female DJ combo (bar the oft-recollected Hacker and Miss Kittin) will leave Melting Pot punters frothing at the mouth with their disco beats, and there's good reason to believe that residents Andrew Pirie and Simon Cordiner will be just as excited as the crowds!

11pm–3am, £10 on the door / Ltd £5 passes available from the Admiral bar's pre-club

More info: Darkstarr's compilation album, Psychedelic Disco-Tech: They Live By The Night is out Spring 2010.

Club: Drum Clinic
Venue: Soundhaus
Date: 13th March

Felt in need of rhythm treatment? Then I prescribe the Drum Clinic, which has guest beat surgeons Aaron Liberator (Stay Up Forever) and Sewelly (Relentless) in charge of the tray of instruments. One-third of the Liberator crew, Aaron will pour acid-techno into the mix, and Sewelly who recently supported Luke Slater in January and ran Soundhaus club Relentless for five years, will gaze into the future and select budding techno tracks. Residents Future Analogue and T4YH will be on main room support, while Room 2 brings you Serotonic, Gandalf and Casey with hardstyle attitude.

10pm - 3.30am, £10 / £8 members

More info: Remember, The Soundhaus is a private members club - guests must register or attend with other members!

Club: Numbers
Venue: Sub Club
Date: 16th March

As the release of new album 'Oversteps' (Warp) becomes a closer reality, Autechre have hit the road for a European tour; experimental, IDM, moving, electronic, glitch - whatever you want to call it - Autechre have perfected a sound which always intrigues and confuses simultaneously. Supporting is Russell Haswell, Rob Hall and Didjit DJ. Get in!

11pm-late, £10+bf

More info: 'Oversteps' is out 22nd March on Warp Records. Available on CD, digital download, and deluxe vinyl. Pre-order now at Bleep.com to get free MP3 and WAV files with all vinyl and CD orders.

Extras: To get you in the mood, and just because Lo-quality loves free music, grab a Rob Hall mix of his appearance at Edinburgh's Substance in Nov 2009; Here.

Club: Cotton Cake
Venue: Sub Club
Date: 19th March

House and minimal techno bods rejoice: Ewan Pearson is coming to town, and bringing hot unsigned live act Nevada Base*. The mix and remix king just can't help making people love his turn on the decks. He already has a strong relationship with Glasgow; his first LP release 'Latitude' came out on Soma Quality Recordings back in '97 (under the alias Maas). Pearson returns to his home from home from home (the guy moves a lot!) to remind the Scots crowds why he was picked up in the first place!

*who are playing Devil Disco Club on the 26th - one can only assume there's something about them that makes them in demand this month! Scroll down to the Edinburgh previews for more info.

11pm-3am, £10 / £8 students

Club: Mungo's Hi-Fi
Venue: Glasgow School of Art
Date: 20th March



Their progress to world domination grows; world tours, extensive collaborations, their own label - and Mungo's Hi-Fi now hook up Glasgow crowds with the UK's premier Steppers Dub Sound System, Iration Steppas and Exodus! If you've ever managed to catch the Subdub nights down in Leeds you'll know just how much bass this bunch can deliver. Reggae, dub, dubstep, and philosophical lyricism will ring throughout.

11pm-3am, £8 / £5 advance or Art School students

More info: Pre-club at the CCA Bar with Argonaut Sounds, 9pm-12am, Free

Club: Subculture
Venue: Sub Club
Date: 20th March

The Detroit sounds grab the Sub Club this weekend, with Moodymann taking to the decks for a techno and house blitz peppered with cultural references, intertextual media, and subtle political views on the music scene and glass ceilings. Add in some funk, jazz, soul and the able support of Harri and Domenic, and you have yourself a sensually steamy Saturday night!

10pm-3am, £12

Club: Pressure
Venue: The Arches
Date: 26th March

Underground Resistance bod Jeff Mills joins 10 other artists for a mixed and compact bag of techno, house, dubstep and electro at Pressure this month. In 2010 we find Mills indulging his X-File fantasies with new Axis sub-label Something In The Sky, so keep an eye out that he doesn't try to abduct the likes of fellow headliner Dave Clarke in an 'are you / aren't you' alien scandal! But don't forget to save plenty applause for our local heroes Gary Beck, Boom Monk Ben, Sei A, Edit Select, and Harvey McKay who will be rubbing shoulders (and vinyl) with Londoners Tayo and Hannah Holland.

11pm-5am, £20+bf

More info: Free entry to Pressure after 3am with a Return to Mono ticket, happening on the same night at the Sub Club with Andrew Weatherall and Ivan Smagghe

Club: Return To Mono
Venue: Sub Club
Date: 26th March

Slam are playing it tight with TWO clubs on the same Friday night, swathing the Sub Club with house, techno and electro from the Lone Swordsman himself - Andrew Weatherall and hot property, Ivan Smagghe. Set times tba, but fingers crossed that punters can indulge their taste for Weatherall and Smagghe and still make it in time for the Pressure finale!

11pm-4am, £14

More info: Keep your Return to Mono ticket and get into The Arches for Pressure after 3am for two more hours of partying with the Slam brotherhood


Edinburgh

Club: Volume!
Venue: The Bongo Club
Date: 5th March

EL-B (Ghost Records /Tempa) and Neil Landstrumm (Scandinavia/Planet Mu) come to this month's Volume! for dubstep, garage, dub-techno and ravestep. With so many steps the crowd will be just that little bit closer to the skies! Ghost label founder EL-B has enjoyed a resurgence of interest in past releases, having been re-issued on Tempa as testament to the phrase 'ahead of its time'. Neil Landstrumm is one of Edinburgh's most prized DJs, having captured imaginations of electronic fans across the globe with his evolving - and usually pioneering - sounds. Volume! residents Termite and G*Mac will warm the March crowds with another varied platter of beats.

11pm-3am, £8

Club: Disobedience
Venue: The Speakeasy at Cabaret Voltaire
Date: 5th March

Making his debut Scottish performance, Spanish tech-house DJ Coyu is coming to show Edinburgh why he received six nominations at the Spanish Dance Awards 2009. As well as several productions under his belt, he is the label owner of Suara and Aytpical Farm, is working on a career as a music journalist, and has 2010 releases on big name labels like Get Physical Records.

10.30pm-3am, £7 adv / more on the door

Club: Ultragroove
Venue: Cabaret Voltaire
Date: 6th March

Ultragroove are celebrating their 250th event this month, with a side note of no chance of reaching 500 shows - this at first raises the question why until you realise it would require them to keep hosting the popular house, disco and techno club for up to 22 years! Already into their 11th year on the scene, the fortnightly club founded by Gareth Sommerville and Colin Cook has always liked to dig into the underground of house and pick out rising stars - and this Saturday will be no different, with Full Pup's Todd Terje and LuckyMe's The Blessings holding ultra-groovy court. Heavy disco, dubby space, jazz tweaks, and a geeky attention to detail - big room sound in an intimate venue. Resident Gareth Sommerville will be on support!

11pm-3am, £8/£5 before 12am or students

More info: On Saturday 20th, Richy Vallenz, Adam Amos and Hobbes (Devil Disco Club) join Gareth for more house, disco and even boogie in the second Ultragroove of March - double helpings!

Club: Az-Tech
Venue: The Caves
Date: 12th March

For their third birthday of breaks (and electro, house and techno!), Az-Tech welcome Maelstrom 17 months since his last appearance when he destroyed their dancefloor with the "freshest and phattest tunes we've ever witnessed." Both club and artist have grown in popularity and experience since then, so join Siren, Re:Tox and Al Majik for another successful Scottish-French alliance!

10.30pm-3am, £7 / £6 members

Club: Innuendub
Venue: Cabaret Voltaire
Date: 12th March

Dubstep has been eagerly incorporated into club schedules, rosters and venues over the last two years, and 12th March heralds the arrival of new night Innuendub at The Cab; established by the self-named Edinburgh Dubstep Community, dubstep, techno and reggae will play over two floors, lining up nine sets for their first venture. It's dubstep all the way in room 1 supported by the addition of the Funktion-One Sound System to make sure the bass rumbles your soul, and possibly several past-lives, with Victor Q, Taz Buckfaster and MC Johnny 'Biscuits' Aitken warming up the crowd for Bar9 (Audio Breaks / Z Audio) and Emalkay (Dub Police / Boka Records). Room 2 will be the sole preserve of the techno heads with Gus Armstrong (Club Flux), Dickie Drysdale (Club Split) and Pyz (Club Split) representing local Scottish produce, and room 3 is keeper of the reggae and dub, where Big Toe's Hi-Fi will provide BPM respite in The Speakeasy.

11pm - 3am, £9 adv / more on the door

Club: Musika
Venue: Cabaret Voltaire
Date: 13th March

If you love Space - and I don't mean the vast nothingness we float through - you'll be enraptured with the new We Love... Space 2010 resident, Joris Voorn! Rotterdam is traditionally known for its all out hard techno; a cheese-grater across the brain, but Voorn has travelled a different path from his fellow local artists, instead embracing a mixture of soulful techno, minimal, house, ambient, and packed energy. Derek Martin, Jamie McKenzie, Kirk Douglas and Neil Bartley support.

11pm - 3am, £10 adv.

Club: Compakt
Venue: Cabaret Voltaire
Date: 19th March

Two months have passed so it's time for another Compakt event! With a name reminiscent of German couture hairdressers, Hans Bouffmyhre can shake any misconceptions with a quick blast of techno. Paisley born and bred, Hans has been garnering attention ever since the launch of his own club Sleaze in 2006, and now graces labels like Soma and Perc. Residents Bruno FK, Paul Morrice and Paul Thomas will warm up the main room, and room 2 will host Sean Smith of club Disobedience and a special DJ set from the Compakt competition winner.

11pm-3am, £6 / £4 b4 midnight or students

Club: Xplicit presents Hospitality
Venue: Potterrow
Date: 19th March

In the only pure DnB night of the month, Xplicit bring in soulful liquid funk spinner, Danny Byrd, who first hooked up with Hospital Records back in 2000 and has been comfortably racking up the scene hits ever since. But who needs one great headliner when you can have two or three? Hospital Records are bringing out the brothers of bass aka Nu:Tone (Dan Gresham) back 2 back with Logistics (Matt Gresham) AND a spot from Cyantific to ensure a packed night of fluid beats and philosopical bass. MC Wrec and MC BZ are your ever faithful men on the mics.

10pm-3am, £10+BF adv / More on the door

More info: No booking fee is charged when you obtain tickets from the City Cafe.

Club: Confusion is Sex
Venue: Bongo Club
Date: 19th March

Going hand in hand with the release of new Burton re-work, Alice in Wonderland, Confusion is Sex are hosting a Mad Hatter Tea Party to further indulge the senses at their multi-scensory club! Downstairs, Sara & The Snakes play blues rock live, the resident DJs play a mix of electro, punk, techno, and 'white trash', and to titillate the punters Teniah Twisted performs a themed burlesque, while the Freaky Brides rock about the dancefloor mainly drinking and dancing! Upstairs there's a live set from The Leg and rockabilly from the Dirty Red Diamonds. As always, if you dress accordingly to the Mad Hatter theme, you get in on reduced price.

11pm-3am, £7 / £4.50 b4 midnight or if you're dressed up!

Club: Headspin
Venue: Bongo Club
Date: 20th March

DJ Format proved such a popular and seriously funky ticket at Headspin last year, that the Head' crew have invited him back again! Funky, soulful, hip-hop and house beats await, not to mention four-deck sets from the residents. Note: there were impressive lines last time Format came to town, so get down early to guarantee you aren't left out in the cold.

11pm-3am, £8

Club: Devil Disco Club
Venue: The Bongo Club
Date: 26th March

It's all funky on the Eastern front when Aberdeen's Giles Walker takes a brief respite at the Snafu and Origin clubs to serenade the Bongo with electro, disco, house and fresh dance cuts. A live performance from Nevada Base, Glasgow's electro-pop property touting hints of italo disco and trance, and whom the promoters have stated "look and sound every bit like the perfect Devil Disco Club live outfit". This month also sees Simonotron from Club For Heroes join fellow residents Hobbes and Erik d'Viking after the departure of Nick Yuill to work on his studio production. Simontron intros the DDD crowds to his heavy disco sounds, though we have been pre-warned that his definition of disco is wider than your average boogier's!

11pm-3am, £5 / £3 b4 midnight

Extra: Trouble DJs' mixes / DJ demos can all be streamed from these sites:

http://www.mixcloud.com/hobbes
http://www.mixcloud.com/erikdaviking

Club: Sugarbeat
Venue: Cabaret Voltaire
Date: 26th March

There's a trend for local talent headliners this month, giving Lo-Quality the impression that a smart direction for Scotland right now is to look to the creativity within, rather than booking from without. Sugarbeat help round off the month with Edinburgh's Hostage http://www.myspace.com/alanhostage for a solid, yet bendy set of house, techno, electro and plenty interesting sub-genres to create an evolving and involving journey into beats.

11pm-3am, £10

More info: Upstairs in the Speakeasy, I-Tal Faya Sound with special guest (and debut performance of) Mama Marjas rock the reggae, dancehall and roots vibes. 11pm-3am, £6 / £4 for 'ladies' or people with something closely resembling tits and feminine genitalia.

Extra: Hostage's set recipe!

If it was a recipe for a nice dancefloor-cake you'd do the following:
Ingredients:

• 500g of Electro and mixed with 250g of House music
• 125g of Techno
• A dash of Old-Skool Hardcore
• A tablespoon of Fidget (If you don't have any fidget a wee bit of Wonk will do)
• A knob of Bassline
• Blend them all together into a nice wobbly dough.
• Bake at Gasmark 128bpm for 1 hour and 20 Minutes.
• Sprinkle with UK Rave Stabs circa 1992

Dundee

Club: Headway
Venue: The Reading Rooms
Date: 5th March

Recapturing a successful night of 2009, house and techno club Headway invite back Burnski (Poker Flat / Trapez) for more reasons as to why he was picked as the youngest resident of Leed's Back to Basics club. Deep tech-house to minimal techno and plenty flavours inbetween - listing out his style is a large collection of genres! Support comes from Bruce Anderson, Graeme Binnie, Neil Clark and Andy Barton

10.30pm - Late, £8 / £6 before 11pm


Aberdeen

Club: Flux
Venue: The Forum
Date: 13th March

The Aberdonians know how to shake off any snow blues; by jackin' the house, electrifyin' the house, pumping in the breaks, meddling with the techno, steppin' up the garage, with a dnb and dubstep insulation. Doorly was last in Scotland for Edinburgh's Sugarbeat in January, but obviously couldn't resist booking another slot further North! The man of mash-up has a busy schedule this year, hitting New Zealand, Australia and several Annie Mac Presents events, and is joined by Dutch house-master Jaimie Fanatic (Dim Mak) for 'Mad Decent' music. Flux residents Tim James and Gus Armstrong build a sturdy electro framework from which to hang the night!

£8 adv. / more on the door

Club: Let it Bleed
Venue: The Forum
Date: 27th March

Well, well, well! Looks like the Funktion-One sound system is on an Eastern Scottish jaunt this month, first appearing at the launch of Edinburgh's Innuendub, and now supporting a DJ set by Simian Mobile Disco's Jas Shaw! Let it all hang out, let it free, and let it bleed with electro, techno and house prolifacy. Greg Gibb from Mixtape will be on support with visuals from M.O.C. More tba.

10pm-3am, £12.50 adv / £15