Scottish Clubbing Highlights – March 2015
March's clubbing calendar puts the spring in our step courtesy of Sunil Sharpe, Anthony Naples and Roni Size
We kick off in Glasgow where Headstrong have fierce techno on the cards, taking over the Assembly Hall of the Art School on the first Friday of the month. Samir Alikhanizadeh AKA Happa announced his presence in 2012, unleashing a dark hybrid of dubstep and techno tracks produced when he was just 14. From then he has had releases on Church and Bleep, alongside The Black Dog, has built his rep as a DJ and, as of last year, co-runs PT/5 Records. We suspect the future is bright! Joining him is Dublin maestro Sunil Sharpe, whose relentless flow is everything you want from techno. The line-up is rounded off by Perth-based duo Clouds, who've been gaining momentum in recent years with releases on Turbo, Blood Music and Glasgow’s legendary Soma label (Fri 6 Mar, £8/10).
If you’re looking for a slightly more sedate, but equally worthwhile outing on Friday 6 March, Numbers have a cracker lined up: New York’s Anthony Naples at the Sub Club. With releases on the likes of Mister Saturday Night, The Trilogy Tapes and his own Proibito outlet, Naples has shown considerable range and proficiency, from hazy deep house to more coarse techno-inspired sounds. He's joined by Numbers’ own Spencer, a DJ whose appeal has always been in his cultivated selection, exploring a similarly dizzying range of sounds to buddy Jackmaster and perhaps more often reflecting Numbers’ underground roots (£10).
Our final Glasgow shout takes us back to Jamaica St, courtesy of the Red Bull Music Academy as part of their UK Spring tour. For their visit to Subculture they've invited one of Detroit techno’s founding fathers along to share his 30 plus years of experience behind the turntables: Derrick May was among the first exponents of the high tech soul which made the Motor City widely synonymous with techno. Also on the bill are Gerardo Delgado and Quinn Whalley AKA Paranoid London, who unleashed the sensual acid killer Paris Dub in 2012. As always trusted residents, the legendary Harri & Domenic, will be on hand to support (Sat 28 Mar, Sub Club, from £15).
Across the M8, Edinburgh’s Nightvision continues to expand: this month they welcome jungle and drum n bass royalty in the form of Roni Size to La Belle Angele. The night celebrates 18 years of Size’s contribution to the UK scene, during which he won the Mercury Prize in 1997 for his seminal New Forms album with group Reprazent. Incredibly influential in his field, the Bristol native co-founded the Full Cycle label in the mid 90s and has continued to contribute significantly to a scene he helped build. He's joined by S.P.Y, Eno and MCs Youngman and BZ (Fri 20 Mar, £15).
The following evening the Nightvision team offer up something completely different when they host in-demand Lithuanian producer Marijus Adomaitis AKA Ten Walls, a man with a clear knack for producing haunting melodies within the framework of deep dancefloor-focused tracks. His 2014 smash Walking With Dinosaurs reached number 6 in the UK singles chart – no mean feat – and reigned supreme in Ibiza last year. He's joined on the bill by Northern Irish cosmic disco whizz Space Dimension Controller – Jack Hamill laces his futuristic sounds with generous helpings of sleek funk, earning him releases on the likes of Clone’s Royal Oak and the mighty R&S. Local Moda Black signing Theo Kottis completes a strong and varied line-up (Sat 21 Mar, The Liquid Room, £17.50).
Our final pick takes us to The Tunnels in Aberdeen for a collaboration between Bigfoot’s Tea Party and Minival. Detroit brothers Lawrence and Lenny Burden AKA Octave One appear live, offering a soulful and full-bodied take on techno which is both exhilaratingly rhythmic and, at times, emotionally charged. Providing DJ support is Chilean artist Dinky, with her remarkably open-policy sets spanning house, techno, disco and soul – check out 2009’s brilliant Fact Mix for evidence of her quality (Sat 28 Mar, from £13.50).