Max Tundra (live) @ dfrnt Trouble, Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh, Aug 4

You can't get any more in advance than this: Max Tundra is appearing at dfrnt Trouble as an exclusive, well ahead of his third album's release date, and not as part of a UK tour. Trouble/dfrnt drum, voted runner up Best UK Club by Radio 1's Worldwide Music Awards 2005, are joining forces again for a bit of a mix-up. Trouble's indie-disco sister night, dfrnt drum, usually taking up residency in Cabaret Voltaire's back room, is moving to the main room to provide a fitting warm-up to the 'deranged pop covers' of Max Tundra.

From his early musical beginnings on piano playing TV show and advert themes before moving onto a Commodore Amiga 500 home computer for composition, Tundra has arrived as a multi-instrumental disco force to be reckoned with. With releases on Warp, Tigerbeat 6 and Domino (home to Four Tet and Franz Ferdinand), he is a one-man music machine, switching between piano, guitar, and laptop for live performances. Dfrnt drums DJs Bobu-san and The Dalek will be supporting, and are alreay looking forward to bringing his "singularly skewed pop vision" to the Edinburgh crowd.

Started in 2003, and selected as a different kind of backroom option for Trouble clubbers in 2005, dfrnt drum has played host to various alternative groups, including CrËme de Menthe and the Penpushers. Blues, reggae, disco, Northern Soul and funk are just a snapshot of the styles they interlace to create a more exciting evening. The Trouble DJs also have their own special guests for the backroom, in the form of MC Ratty B and DJ Kwame (bOUNCE, Londonderry). Kwame's funky and incredibly popular bOUNCE night (attracting 400 people every Saturday!) will be the template for the evening. Expect jazz with a splash of soul, topped with funk and hip hop. He'll probably even find time to serve that with a side of latin! Now we're cookin' - dfrnt Trouble is going to be a great way to ease into the festival. [Alex Burden]