Scottish Clubbing Highlights – June 2015

We kick off in Edinburgh with a highly recommended midweek outing courtesy of Juice at Sneaky Pete’s. This month they host Pender Street Steppers, a Vancouver-based duo who form an integral part of the Mood Hut collective. Jack Juston and Liam Butler produce tracks which ooze warmth and soul. April saw the release of The Glass City/Golden Garden, a typically accomplished record offering a serene and engaging wander through plodding basslines and glistening melodies, delivered at the most leisurely of tempos. As a DJing duo, Pender Street Steppers’ range and knack for progression is impressive, often showing a taste for much livelier tracks than their own back catalogue would suggest. Their set at La Cheetah in Glasgow in April was one of the best we’ve heard all year, so we urge you to head down to this one and check them out for yourself (4 Jun, £5).

Our next pick takes us to Glasgow on the following night where La Cheetah have a special one lined up with their label showcase series this month celebrating 15 Years of Crème Organization. Established at the turn of the millennium by DJ TLR, the outlet has been consistently impressive in its releases, giving a home to some incredible music by the likes of Legowelt, James T. Cotton and Bangkok Impact. More recently, artists such as John Heckle, Marquis Hawkes, Photonz and Lake Haze have all added to the label’s sprawling back catalogue. TLR is no stranger to La Cheetah, being one of the club’s favourite DJs, and he mixes up everything from dark and twisted electro to analogue house and smatterings of jungle and rave. He is joined by British artist Neville Watson, whose debut album Songs to Elevate Pure Hearts was released through Crème in 2013. Watson will be performing live, delivering the kind of percussive acid workouts with which he has made his name (5 Jun, £10).

The following Saturday, The Tunnels in Aberdeen gets our vote as Nothing More To Say host the ever-reliable pairing of Tiger & Woods, a duo whose infectious brand of disco house jams never fails to do the trick on the dancefloor. With a precise and slick approach to sampling – often using tiny fragments of sound to weave hypnotic funk out of retro source material – the pair have struck upon a sound which is hard not to warm to. Releasing primarily through their own Editainment label, with album Through the Green coming out on Running Back, Tiger & Woods have consistently delivered the goods. Their DJ sets are normally exceptionally joyous affairs from beginning to end, so don’t miss this one (13 Jun, £11/13. Glasgow fans can catch Tiger & Woods on 12 Jun at The Berkeley Suite, £8).          

Our next pick takes us to Glasgow’s Sub Club where Huntleys & Palmers are throwing a launch party to celebrate the release of the debut record from local act Hi & Saberhagen. Comprising four tracks of notable depth – spanning deep and heavily saturated grooves, crisp and playful melodies and ending with a dubbed-out closer – the duo’s first offering shows considerable promise. It’s no surprise that their work has already found support from high profile DJs, with Joy Orbison playing two unreleased tracks in his Beats in Space mix last year. This outing should give you an early glimpse of an exciting Glasgow act who are being tipped for big things (14 Jun, free before 12/£5 after).    

Later in the month, we return to Sneaky Pete’s in Edinburgh, this time to take in the sounds of PLO Man at Wasabi Disco. The Berlin-based Canadian has been gradually building a name for himself, primarily through his shows for cutting edge independent platform, Berlin Community Radio. His talent as a selector is particularly apparent throughout an excellent offering he put together last year for the Trushmix series. From deep and dubby cuts, to more jazzy melodies and jacking rhythms, PLO Man is likely to deliver the goods at any party. With his recent foray into production as co-producer for CC Not on the Geo Fi record, and with his growing rep as an accomplished DJ, we suspect you will be hearing a lot more about PLO Man in the coming years. He is joined in Edinburgh by fellow Berlin Community Radio regular, Johannes (20 Jun, £5).

Other nights worth noting include the visit of Tin Man to the Sub Club (19 Jun, £5-8), Glaswegian producer Mirrors who plays La Cheetah (12 Jun, free before 12/£3 after) and, finally, Andrew Weatherall and Sean Johnston’s popular A Love From Outer Space, which visits The Tunnels in Aberdeen at the end of the month (27 Jun, £10-15).