CLUBS
club vibe with regular DJs The Baron and Oli Findlay and special guests the Fini Tribe Sound System doing a DJ set. ■ StepBack at Wee Red Bar. 7 Mar, 11pm–3am. Free before 11.30pm; £5 after. Heavy bass, house, techno and hip hop from Wolfjazz and Keyte with guests Kris Wasabi, Graeme Nisbet and Kyle Arnold, Beefy, Hammay and Fred Lemon. ■ This is Music at Sneaky Pete’s. 7 Mar, 11pm–3am. £3 (members free). Indie-electro night hosted by the Sick Note DJs. FREE Underside at the Banshee Labyrinth. 14 Mar, 11pm–3am. Classic, metalcore, black, death and everything musically in between. ■ We’re Home Mardi Gras Closing Party at Summerhall. 28 Feb, 9pm–3am. £5 suggested donation (all proceeds go to charity). Tip top LGBT club night rascals Dive team up with LGBT History Month for the closing party to end all closing parties – showcasing not only some of the events taking place throughout the month, but also Dive’s own brand of merrymaking.
✽ Wee Dub Festival at the Caves. 7–9 Mar, times vary. £11–14.
Scotland’s only festival dedicated to dub and reggae music in all its forms. Taking place across various venues in Edinburgh’s Old Town on one weekend, it offers a diverse and enjoyable weekend of gigs, clubs, workshops, food and more. 2014 features Iration Steppas, Channel One Soundsystem, African Head Charge Soundsystem, Mungo’s Hi-Fi, Solo Banton, Nucleaus Roots, The Drop and more. See column, page 43. ■ Wonky at Henry’s Cellar Bar. 28 Feb, 11pm–3am. £tbc. Hardcore techno. ■ Xplicit at the Bongo Club. 28 Feb, 11pm–3am. £8 in advance; £10 on the door. Drum & bass, dubstep and other bassy beats featuring Brazilian guest S.P.Y.
Saturday Edinburgh ■ Bass Syndicate at Sneaky Pete’s. 8 Mar, 11pm–3am. £3 (members free). Bass Syndicate returns with a mix of bass heavy breaks, dubstep, electro and nu rave from G-Mac, Believe and guests. ■ bETAMAX at Studio 24. 22 Feb, 11pm–3am. £5 (£4). Mutant disco, post punk, new wave and 2Tone night hosted by Chris FAST (FASTpunkclub) and Big Gus (the Go-Go). ■ Big’n’Bashy at the Bongo Club. 8 Mar, 11pm–3am. £4 before midnight, £6 after. Four deck mix of dubstep, reggae, grime, dancehall and jungle playing out over the Messenger Sound System. ■ Bondax at the Liquid Room. 8 Mar, 10.30pm–3am. £12–£18. Electro and house duo. ■ Club Paradiso at City Nightclub. Weekly 10.30pm–3am. £7 (£5). House, electro and urban hits across three rooms complete with lasers, lights and dancers. ■ Dr No’s at Henry’s Cellar Bar. 22 Feb, 11pm–3am. £4 before midnight; £5 after. Dr No’s is back with a steady stream of the best in ska, rocksteady and 70s reggae. ■ Fabrika De Funk at the Annexe at the Liquid Room. 1 Mar, 10.30pm–3am. £7 (£5). Club night spinning the funkiest beats from residents Shaka Loves You, Astrojazz, EL dEL and Romolo Disco. ■ Mayday at the Mash House. 1 Mar, 11pm–3am. £3 before midnight; £5 after. Techno/minimal night whose aim is to create a real club atmosphere. ■ Messenger Sound System at the Bongo Club. 22 Feb, 11pm–3am. £6 before midnight; £7 after. The mighty Messenger Sound System blasts out the best in righteous reggae, dub and roots with MC Ras Echo. Bob Marley birthday special featuring MC Afrikan Simba. ■ Mumbo Jumbo at the Bongo Club. 1 Mar, 11pm–3am. £3–£7. Headspin’s Steve Austin and Colin Miller join forces with Tackno’s Trendy Wendy, mixing up funk, soul, electro, house and
46 THE LIST 20 Feb–20 Mar 2014
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HOUSE BREACH Liquid Room, Edinburgh, Thu 20 Feb; The Arches, Glasgow, Fri 21 Feb
Last July, Hertfordshire-born DJ/producer Ben Westbeech, aka Breach, joined the likes of Duke Dumont and Disclosure in the ranks of formerly semi-obscure house producers suddenly troubling the upper reaches of the UK charts. ‘Jack’ was the single that took him there and it was soon followed by another top ten hit with ‘Everything You Never Had (We Had it All)’. Whether or not the life decision he took while this was all happening was consciously about safeguarding
his creative mojo from the corroding effects of sudden fame in London, it certainly appears to be having that effect. Eschewing the standard move to Berlin made by countless British producers, Westbeech headed instead for Amsterdam, immersing himself in the ever-vibrant Dutch electronic music scene.
‘It was a musical choice and it’s given me a new perspective on what I do,’ he explains. ‘A lot of the
producers here, like Alden Tyrell and Dexter, labels like Clone and [legendary nightclub] Trouw are really good influences on what I’m doing now. Amsterdam is very different to London, and if I had stayed there I think my sound might have got stuck in one place.’ With 12 dates scheduled for his return to these shores, he’ll play three-hour sets at each, elongated slots
that he sees as vital to constructing the kind of coherent set he wants, rather than just ‘smashing through all the records you’re really into at that moment’. He says the mix he contributed to the DJ-Kicks series late last year, which included cuts by artists as diverse as Dopplereffekt, Fred P and Redinho, is a decent guide to what to expect. ‘I play quite a mix of stuff: a lot of deep house and some harder techno at times. For me, it’s really important to take things up and down rather than just staying on the same wavelength.’ (Kit Macdonald)
good-time party tunes. She-Bang Rave Unit upstairs. ■ Playdate at Sneaky Pete’s. 1 Mar, 11pm–3am. £3 (members free). House night with a few leftfield cuts from Steven and Stewart. ■ Pocket Aces at Cabaret Voltaire. 22 Feb, 11pm–5am. £7. At Pocket Aces dancing is a priority with high energy disco, 80s electro, Afrobeat and house at the fore. iAM control the decks this time. ■ Stacks at Wee Red Bar. 8 Mar, 11pm–3am. £5 (£4). Night of soul, funk, Motown, R&B, swing and old time rock’n’roll. ■ Torture Garden at the Caves. 1 Mar, 9pm–3am. £20. The world’s leading body art, fetish and twisted burlesque club makes another trip up north with a hard house, electro, dubstep, rock’n’roll and mash-up playlist. ■ Unseen at Studio 24. 8 Mar, 10.30pm–3am. £5 before 11pm; £7 after. Techno night specialising in ‘pitch black techno’ from the minds that gave you Dogma. Featuring Altern 8’s Mark Archer fresh from his Christmas chart appearance. ■ Wasabi Disco at Sneaky Pete’s. 15 Mar, 11pm–3am. £3 (members free). Another dose of disco, new wave, punk and New York grooves at this ‘no holds barred disco death match’.
Sunday Edinburgh
■ CAB VOL Sundays at Cabaret Voltaire. Weekly 11pm–3am. £3–£5. End the week in the city with resident DJs Cunnie and Beef playing house, garage, reggae and bass. ■ Cav Sundays at Cav. Weekly 10pm–3am. £4 before midnight; £5 after (students free before midnight). Studenty charty party. FREE Coalition at Sneaky Pete’s. Weekly 11pm–3am. Drum & bass, breaks, dubstep, techno and electro from the resident team every week. ■ Dive! at Henry’s Cellar Bar. 23 Feb, 9pm–3am. £7 (£6). Eclectic underground queer party, blending spoken word, live music and comedy with a kaleidoscopic soundtrack and a filthy disco to finish. A Queerevolution party in solidarity with Dive’s Russian comrades on the Sochi Winter Olympics’ closing ceremony featuring a selection of queer Russian cinema. Monday Edinburgh
■ Korrupt Disko at the Annexe at the Liquid Room. Weekly 10pm–3am. £5. Funky house night with some disco thrown in for good measure. FREE Nu Fire at Sneaky Pete’s. Weekly 11pm–3am. Showcase of underground hip hop, dubstep, drum & bass, electro and
MCs. Upcoming guests include Just Blaze (24 Feb – £8.50 entry fee). FREE Rockaoke at Opium. Weekly 10pm–3am. A metal/rock take on karaoke. Tuesday Edinburgh
■ Hector’s House at Cabaret Voltaire. 25 Feb, 11pm–3am. £4. Dedicated to house in its many forms, from vocal to progressive via disco, electro and Chicago grooves. ■ I Love Hip Hop at the Bongo Club. Weekly 11pm–3am. £3. Hip hop classics and brand new rap tracks, plus live performances, MCs and guest DJs. Wednesday Edinburgh
■ Champion Sound at the Bongo Club. Weekly 11pm–3am. £1 before midnight; £3 after. Club night of dub, dubstep and drum & bass. ■ The Honkey Tonk at Lulu. Weekly 10.30pm–3am. £3. Wednesday night dancing with Bleeker and DJs. FREE Rotation at Why Not?. Weekly 10pm–3am. Wednesdays where everything from the DJs to the theme is on rotation. Find the password for entry on their website. ■ Tribe at the Liquid Room. Weekly 10.30pm–3am. £5 (£4). Students’ night for partying.