Scottish Clubbing Highlights – May 2016

Edinburgh club nights

It’s disco oot its nut in the capital this month as Dimitri From Paris takes the reins at La Belle Angele on 7 May. The French producer boasts over a decade’s worth of experience in the industry, having introduced the first house music radio shows to his home nation in the 1980s, inspired by his affinity with the emergent funk and disco sounds of the 70s. The man delivers a shimmering arsenal of classic disco remixes infused with electro and hip-hop beats, sure to fill any dance floor with moving bodies (and he’s hotly in demand around these parts, as his upcoming top Riverside Festival billing later this month attests). Supported by Londoner Pete Herbert, who's previously stumped up exciting nu-disco sets for both Fabric and Ministry of Sound, this is a glitter bomb set to go off in spectacular fashion (£20). 

One of Scotland's most exciting prospects continues his recent run of varied, energetic sets with a resident spot at Cabaret Voltaire as part of FLY’s Sulta Sheik Down on Friday 13 May. Denis Sulta, aka Hector Barbour, mans the decks all night long and if his impressive back catalogue of Dixon Avenue Basement Jams productions are anything to go by, alongside last year’s breakout Numbers release It’s Only Real, the young Glaswegian is an up-and-comer you should certainly have on your radar (£10).

Back over at La Belle on 21 May, don’t miss Montreal producer Jacques Greene bringing his progressive house aesthetic and renowned analog showmanship to these shores. A handful of EPs released on the LuckyMe label in the last couple of years have shown off the young Greene’s flair for melding fluid, emotive synth and clanging percussion with unique vision; mark this as an excellent time to catch the lad in action ahead of a debut full-length release. Greene will be joined on the night by Glasgow-based act Koreless, who proves himself an excellent counterpart to Greene’s youth and innovation. Koreless, real name Lewis Roberts, has solidified his nascent career with a handful of ambient, elegant singles – including a collab with Greene himself, the rather excellent nine-minute soul-searcher Arrow (£11).

Glasgow clubs round-up

Over in Glasgow, there’s an interesting experience to be had when the Numbers crew get Funkineven and Awesome Tapes From Africa together for a night of techno, acid boogie jams and, erm, cassette tapes. West London born Steven Julien references his Grenadian roots via a colourful blend of house, hip-hop, soul and boogie jams; while Brian Shimkovitz, the man behind Awesome Tapes From Africa, uses his experience of studying abroad on a Fullbright scholarship in Ghana to transport the West African cassette culture to the rest of the world, setting up a night of music the likes of which you’ve literally never heard before (Sub Club, 6 May, £10).

Dance fever continues when Glasgow's King of Disco, DJ Billy Woods, celebrates four years of iconic Supermax shenanigans at the Berkeley Suite on 7 May. These cult status events consistently offer up lashings of NYC’s retro finest, transplanting a bacchanalian Studio 54 vibe to good ol’ Glasgow via a thumping, forward-thinking sensibility. Beefed up by the venue’s impressive Bozak Balmain sound system, the Supermax nights are the place to be for top shelf disco tunes served up with a solid side of house groove. It’s hot, it’s dark, it’s smoky, and as the team themselves warn: the club fills up quick, so get down early to ensure DISCO (£5).

At La Cheetah, CODE welcome back Luis Flores, who will be performing a special extended live set showcasing his urgent, industrial-inclined and idiosyncratic sound. Currently based in Berlin, Flores has released music on labels Silent Steps, Blank Code and CLR, and has also collaborated with Material Object under the moniker Impact Unit. The release of the Damage EP in 2009 established Flores as an international artist and, in addition to being credited with transforming his home city of Guadalajara into an emerging destination for electronic music, he's also garnered acclaim for his trippy, improvised and immersive live sets (21 May, £6 early bird, £10 standard).

Finally, with sunshine finally making a welcome appearance in our skies, May can only mean one thing – it’s nautical time. The annual I AM boat party extravaganza is back for a fifth year, and will be sailing down the Clyde for the first excursion of 2016 on 24 May with electronic duo Beta & Kappa at the wheel (£15). If you can’t make the boat, you can always join the afterparty back at Subbie, where local outfit Mia Dora will be transforming your average Tuesday night into an all night long thing of dance-infected beauty (£5 before midnight, £6 after – included in cost of boat ticket).

Club nights in Dundee

Warming up for Kerri Chandler in 2016 is a pretty good indicator of some serious talent at play; this endorsement is just one reason why our Dundee pick should be on your acts-to-see list. 27 May sees Main Ingredient put on a three-hour set at Reading Rooms – the M.i.collective, who got together via illegal warehouse parties on the fringes of Edinburgh and are united through a common love of Chicago and Detroit house, are renowned for vibrant sets, heavy on synths and captivating accompanying visuals (£5 before 11.30pm, £7 after).

Do Not Miss: Nightmares On Wax, The Berkeley Suite, Saturday 14 May

Sunshine is on its way (fingers crossed) and there’s no better way to celebrate than to revel in the sun-soaked, blissed out dub soul of perennial favourite Nightmares On Wax.

Since George Evelyn released his debut record, the techno-scented, hip-hop-tempoed A Word Of Science: The First And Final Chapter together with DJ Kevin Harper way back in 1991, Nightmares On Wax have grown into a distinctive and enduring UK trip-hop hybrid export.

Evelyn’s childhood diet of classic soul and Motown infiltrates and exemplifies the Nightmares On Wax sound, with solid lashings of reggae guitars and a recline-into-your beanbag sentiment. Evelyn has copped criticism for recent year releases that perhaps suffer from a lack of continued innovation, but that aside, credit where it’s due to an enduring act that almost single-handedly cemented the future of the iconic Warp record label. Flip ya lid, indeed.