Northwest Clubbing Highlights – November 2015

Manchester

First off, Project 13 bring in Teklife’s DJ Spinn to the cavernous Soup Kitchen basement on 5 Nov, fresh off the back of his scorching Danny Brown collab, Dubby, full of Chicago footwork and general beefiness (£7). The following day sees Belgian producer San Soda going all night long at Soup Kitchen in the latest instalment of the Zutekh series (£10).

TERNESC boss and everyone’s favourite tattooed modular whizz, Blawan, gets down and dirty via aggressive analogue workouts, heading up the bill along with Eli Verveine at Hidden on 7 Nov (£13.50). The day before, Hidden also hosts Night Slugs main man Bok Bok, the Rinse FM-aligned Roska and Kim Ann Foxman all for just a fiver. 

DJ Qu racks up snarling house straight outta East Coast US, joined by legend of the game Amir Alexander and Parisian producer French Fries, at Hidden on 13 Nov. Manchester-based Bohemian Grove affiliate Means&3rd is also on show to offer less than gentle encouragement to those thinking about heading down early (£10). The following night (14 Nov) sees Hidden serve up yet more Stateside talent, this time with Levon Vincent at the helm, with a little help from Fabric favourite Craig Richards (£12). Dirty double, maybe?

Also on 14 Nov, sampling mastermind turned bandleader Max Graef flies in from Berlin to get busy at 1 Primrose Street until the early morn – well, 4am (£9). There’s also the Hudd Traxx tenth birthday party on the same night at the Whiskey Jar, a chance to catch some top drawer Euro talent in the form of Agnès and Iron Curtis (£10). Local lad and label head Eddie Leader will be making an appearance, too!

One for all the Simpsons fans out there, Friday 20 Nov welcomes Keith Tenniswood – aka Radioactive Man – to the Whiskey Jar (£8). Tenniswood, a resident of Bloc, is a true British legend, mates with Andrew Weatherall and a guy who has skirted the perimeter of dance culture for the past 20-odd years. 20 Nov also sees new night Hold Tight bring their A/V assault to new NQ spot Texture. Watch out for sounds from resident party boy Szajna who, incidentally, also brews his own brand of hot sauce (£3).

A true wizard behind the Berghain decks, and still rattling brains (and speaker systems) almost a year on since her head-splitting Essential Mix debut, Panorama Bar resident Steffi is set to teach us all a lesson on 27 Nov at the acoustically treated Mantra Live in Ancoats (£12 earlybird).

Liverpool

Abandon Silence lead part two of their Kazimier farewell parties over in Liverpool come 6 Nov, which looks poised to set us in warm stead for the rest of the month no matter how low the temperatures drop (£15; only a few left). Over in the Baltic Triangle on 7 Nov, disco legend and Studio 54 resident Nicky Siano – also responsible for bringing NYC’s The Gallery to the forefront of a musical movement – hits up Baltic Social for a grooving four-hour marathon. A chance to get yer dancing shoes polished and Lionel Blairs at the ready (£17.50).

Scouse stalwarts Chibuku return on 7 Nov after their daytime session in October, merging London duo Dusky with funk and rhythm connoisseur Seven Davis Jr and NTS’s finest flame-haired selector, Moxie (£16).

On 11 Nov, local favourite Mele enjoys his first slot as part of a year-long residency at the Shipping Forecast – fiver in. Expect the crème de la crème if you’re into bass-heavy bangers and nostalgic rave with Toddla T thrown in the mix, and a fair share of acid, too. The guys behind the Forecast also bring Midland below ground, as he continues on his all-night-long set supremacy across the UK on 13 Nov (£10).

The newly opened Buyers Club comes from the team behind Bold Street Coffee (as well as others in the city), tucked away at The Picket’s old space just behind the Old Blind School and fusing great food, quality drinks and stellar lineups to match. You’ve got Glasgow’s Dixon Avenue Basement Jams on 19 Nov – you know, the guys who brought you Marquis Hawkes’s debut – hurling their full-throttle, no-holds-barred techno/acid out to the sweaty masses. Bargain at £5.

And to cap off the month, Abandon Silence return for part three of their Kazimier farewell with help from Jeremy Underground Paris on 27 Nov (£12). The day after, on 28 Nov, Osunlade makes his Merseyside debut at Magnet, a warm-up affair for the sunny climes of SuncéBeat next year (£14) and ex-Hercules and Love Affair artist Foxman will goes B2B with the ever-jackin’ Heidi over at Circus’s Camp and Furnace takeover. All in all, it’s not looking so grim up north this November...