Clubbing Highlights – October 2011

Festivals: over! Summer: over! You might as well get a good selection of soup stocked in your cupboards, dig out the winter wardrobe and invest in a SAD lamp because darkness, my old friend, has come to talk to you again. So the old script goes, but that’s not you, that’s the vitamin D talking and it’s the last you’ll be getting for sometime. Us pagan people have nothing to worry about as the approaching darkening months will just make the flashing lights seem a bit brighter and this month is utterly rammed with some seriously major talent surfacing behind decks all over the place.

This month’s standout event takes place on Fri 14 Oct in Glasgow with the annual Waverley Boat Party where the DJs themselves are put on deck aboard the world’s last remaining seagoing passenger steamer. Optimo, Subculture’s Harri & Domenic and Melting Pot’s Andrew Pirie and Simon Cordiner are all lined up for the three hour cruise with the optional afterparty kicking off at Chambre 69. Sub Club also host the annual Optimo Espookio on Sat 29 Oct which once again dares you to don costume and makeup for their fright night party. 

Plastician, one of the DJs present at the birth of dubstep and one of the biggest influences on the scene, comes north to Bongo Club on Fri 14 Oct for Xplicit to drop the latest grime and dubstep sounds. Bongo Club will also play host to another scene originator, DJ Hype, as he returns for what will be a huge night of drum’n’bass from the True Playaz confederate on Sat 22 Oct and, completing the trilogy, Xplicit will have Foreign Beggars, fresh from a mammoth tour with The Prodigy last year, playing live at The Liquid Rooms on Wed 26 Oct.

I have no idea what music most 12 year olds play on their birthday (honestly, I don’t) but it’s probably not the same as what Ultragroove will be dropping at The Green Room and Below the Stairs as they celebrate their final year before teenagerdom on Sat 15 Oct. Along with Heavy Gossip they introduce Horse Meat Disco to the party and on Sat 29 Oct they also host their Halloween Ball where everyone attending takes a trip to the costume shop or tries to find out where PJ Harvey sources her outfits. Don’t come dressed as a zombie to Sneaky Pete’s for Zombie Nation on Sun 9 Oct though because you won’t get in and, let’s face it, you’ll want to if you are in any way interested in hearing the Berliner’s thrilling electro set. Pretension free genre-hopping party madness also rolls into town in the form of Annie Mac Presents as the Radio 1 DJ unleashes Fake Blood and Jigsaw upon The Liquid Rooms on Sat 1 Oct.

Berlin’s fearsome electronica chameleon Apparat shuffles out from behind his laptop as he takes a four piece live band to the Arches on Wed 19 Oct for what should prove to be a sonic meltdown of unprecedented magnitude. Unlike previous collaborations with Ellen Allien and Modeselektor (as Moderat) this will dial back the electronic edges and replace them with a wall of noise made by actual, real instruments. After a summer of appearing at Sonar and Bestival the Numbers crowd return with a big double header. First up will be a Numbers and LuckyMe get together to celebrate the launch of Rustie’s new album Glass Swords at Stereo on Fri 14 Oct and on Fri 4 Nov Numbers will return with Pearson Sound & Space Dimension Controller to Sub Club.

Simply one of the hottest DJ talents around comes to Cabaret Voltaire on Fri 21 Oct in the form of Subb-an as part of his seemingly unending tour of the word's hottest clubs. Having already held a residency at Below in Birmingham he's broken out his utterly danceable techno to crowds at Glastonbury, Sonar and The Warehouse Project. Expect space on the dancefloor to be at an utter premium. Another under-the-radar one to check out is Benjamin Damage who is in cahoots with the techno/all genre rebels Modeselektor at the Wee Red Bar in Edinburgh on Fri 21 Oct. Having supported Modeselektor regularly and released numerous tracks on their 50 WEAPONS label he has a similar ear for dark, fun techno with a sense of the absurd which make him essential clubbing material.

Sadly last month had a major clubbing lowlight with the sudden and tragic death of DJ Mehdi at the age of 34. An accident at his house caused his death as he celebrated the birthday of his Carte Blanche collaborator Riton just days after both DJs had wowed crowds at Bestival and it’s a very sad loss for the French and global clubbing scene.