Clubbing Highlights – December 2011
The anti-Christmas and Hogmanay fight back starts here. There will not be single mention of those two events for the rest of this column. If I had my way I’d close my eyes, put my fingers in my ears and go “la la la la la” to drown them out but then I’d be missing out on some of the fine DJs that are hitting the clubs this month. So that’s what I’ll do instead: drown out the jingling bells with some rocking beats. It’s a lean month then but it’s full of quality.
One of the kings of Detroit techno, Robert Hood, makes his grand return, fittingly enough, at Return to Mono & Animal Farm at Sub Club on Fri 9 Dec. Robotic and minimalist, he has been one of the key individuals in the genre's progress from the early 90s onwards. As the head of M-Plant Records and as one of the founders of Underground Resistance, he been right at the heart of a great techno machine. This will be as essential a techno set as you can imagine.
If a 20th year means you’ve earned the title of ‘institution’ then what does a 21st entitle you to? Divine! reaches that remarkable milestone after entering its third decade of spinning out tunes. In its new home at The Admiral the celebrations on Sat 17 Dec will extend to handing out free mix CDs packed with retro, soul and funk as well as cake and badges.
The Arches plays host to an absolutely mammoth night in the form of The Colours Winterparty on Mon 26 Dec. The epic euro trance line-up features super DJ project Dash Berlin, the Dutch duo W&W and Marcel Woods. Another two rooms are packed with the likes of Bassjackers and Alex Metric for an event that really requires human cloning to be enjoyed in its entirety.
The multitalented Hyetal is the standout producer playing at Sneaky Pete’s on Wed 7 Dec with his decaying chillwave which sounds like a bank of dying LEDs flickering their last wrapped around with bursts of beat patterns. There are a few producers working this same patch but not many are doing it to this level and you can fully expect the crowd to be awe of his set.
Finally, La Cheetah Club plays host to the first official Scottish night from one of the hottest underground labels to emerge in the last few years, Night Slugs on Sat 10 Dec. The label has become a force after consistently being ahead of the curve with a string of releases from the likes of Girl Unit and Jam City. Label bosses L-Vis 1990 (James Connolly) and Bok Bok (Alex Sushon) are two of the most in tune DJs when it comes to knowing what is hot at the moment so this should be an exemplary demonstration of Night Slugs in action.