Carl Craig, Slam, Luciano, Damian Lazarus, Craig Richards, Repeat Repeat (live), Transparent Sound (live), Slam's 8th Birthday, Pressure, The Arches, Glasgow, Nov 24

Soma's whippersnapper of a sibling, Slam, will be eight years old this November, and they've snagged a host of underground house and technoids to celebrate. Carl Craig is Detroit through and through, infusing his techno productions with jazz and soul for a stand-out sound. His own records label Planet E has featured releases from big name players like Kevin Sauderson. When he was dismissed as artistic director for the Detroit Electronic Music Festival, a high profile campaign was started to have him re-instated, by fans and producers alike. Birthday boys Slam, aka Stuart MacMilan and Orde Meikle, are known for their brand of Scottish techno and house as recording artists, producers and touring DJs, including performances at T in the Park and Hi:Fi festival this year. From starting in smaller club venues in Glasgow to their Arches' club night Slam (where the duo inadvertently acquired the Slam name for themselves), and onto releasing popular tracks like Positive Education, they ended up co-founding Soma Records in 1991 with Dave Clark. When they aren't gracing Radio 1's Essential Mix you can usually find them pounding the decks at Pressure, possibly even more so this month to iterate all eighth birthday dumps. The live aspect will be covered by Repeat Repeat and Transparent Sound. Repeat Repeat's debut album has been two years in the making, and now the duo are trying out their hand at bringing their tracks live. Their squelchy, wonky, and determined techno pitches from speaker to speaker with an unmistakable acidic edge, so the live show is gonna grab you tight. [Alex Burden]