T in the Park: Slam Tent highlights

For many across the country, July’s clubbing agenda revolves around one event. T in the Park has been the nation’s most celebrated music festival for many a year and for thousands of electronic music heads, it’s the imposing blue turrets of the Slam Tent that draw them in out of the sun (or more likely rain) to that darkened corner left in the capable hands of Scottish techno legends Slam. Orde Meikle and Stuart Macmillan feature as always, buoyed by the recent release of their Reverse Proceed album, and they're joined by the likes of Annie Mac, Claude VonStroke, Maya Jane Coles, Adam Beyer and Joseph Capriati. The lineup is certainly strong all weekend, but we thought we’d share just a few choice highlights to help you plot your course.

Headlining the Friday night, German techno king Ben Klock brings the vibe of Berlin’s infamous Berghain club to proceedings. A resident at the celebrated venue from its earliest days, Klock serves up a muscular brand of techno for the most part and his sets seldom veer into the monotonous. His selection displays a respect for techno’s more musical past masters, though he also salvages much of the minimal scene’s hypnotic charm.

The meteoric rise of Glasgow native and Numbers co-founder Jackmaster shows no signs of abating – he appeared no less than 6 times, in some form or other, at last month’s Glastonbury festival and continues to headline clubs across the world. On Saturday he teams up with Joy Orbison for what we suspect will be one of the best party atmospheres all weekend. Expect straight up house and techno, with detours through bass music and perhaps the odd 80s disco tweaker. If you’re lucky, a track from Kornél Kovács' recent Numbers release, Radio Koko, may get an airing for what would undoubtedly be a joyous moment under the Slam tent’s famous blue canopy.

Also on Saturday, there’s a prime space on the bill for one of house music’s longest serving ambassadors. Lil’ Louis made quite an impact with late 80s classic French Kiss and went on to become one of the most successful house producers of that era. Still reflecting the warmth and energy of the early house scene, Louis’ also often incorporates much more robust workouts into his sets and, of course, plenty of classic Chicago jams.  

If you’re looking for a DJ with a particularly intuitive knack for finding the right vibe, you could do worse than popping in to catch Innervisions co-founder Dixon on Sunday. The German’s ability to span different genres and moods over the course of a set is one of the most appealing things about his work. Whether keeping crowds enthralled with deep and mesmerizing slow-burners, or unleashing full-on party tracks, Dixon is a master of keeping people moving. His knack for selection is analogous to his ability to pick out hidden gems for the Innervision outlet, so expect more than a few memorable moments and stumbling out of the tent with a head full of urgent track ID requests.

Finally, if you somehow missed the buzz surrounding a certain Lady Gaga support performance last year, you may want to get googling for a sneak preview of our last tip. Stunning many of his purist techno fans, Birmingham legend Surgeon joined new collaborator Lady Starlight in front of thousands of gawping pop fans and proceeded to deliver a full-on techno assault, manning a small modular unit while his counterpart handled percussion and keys. Yet far from being gimmicky, the resulting set pulsated with energy and hinted at a particularly fruitful chemistry which should go down a treat here.

---

T in the Park takes place at Strathallan Castle, Perthshire, 10-12 Jul 2015