Kapital's 2nd Birthday @ The Caves, Edinburgh, 31 July

Kapital becomes two years old next month. So The Skinny would like to say Happy Birthday! Thanks too for your night-life contribution. So far, they’ve brought the finest of the Border Community crew (Nathan Fake, Petter, James Holden), Damian Lazarus, Anja Schneider last time and now Berliner favourite Ellen Allien. Known throughout the techno world as one of the foremost acts in experimental beat-laden sounds. She’s recognised as being part of the Berlin minimalism scene, but Allien is better described as electronic, purposefully vague as she progressively delves from echoing percussive micro-spaces to robotic rhythms emanating the industrial feel of her homeland. But don’t let the thought of German machinery make you think it lacks emotion. Each skeletal sound dwarfs the space she’s filling and her elaborate live effects as well as her high-energy performances create atmospheres of introspection as well as enduring connection with her audiences. It’s Kraftwerk, it’s Autechre, no it’s Ellen Allien and Kapital have bagged her. [Nicol J. Craig]