The Chef's Special for Week Ending 14/06/09

Hi guys and girls. Thanks for checkin in with this week’s Chef’s Specials.

What an awesome three days of good music and good times last weekend turned out to be. Friday night’s The Vinyl Club on Leith FM was excellent with a stunning mix from French techno wizard Marco Nazca. Then came Saturday’s slightly wet and cloudy session at The Meadows Festival where approximately 150 crazy people spent the afternoon dancing and smiling to the sundrenched reggae and dub vibes supplied by the heavyweight, Messenger Sound System despite the rain and dip in temperature.

Saturday evening’s Jam Sessions at City Café turned out to be a great little preclub party with excellent dj sets from Darren and Ryan McClean and Deni then onto the blatantly incredible Jam The Box night at The GRV where Fire Cracker Recordings boys Fudge Fingas and House Of Traps absolutely smashed it with a truly mindblowing space disco and tech house set. A packed house of friendly up for it punters made sure that temperatures soared and the dancefloor was rocking all night.

By Sunday fatigue and a nasty hangover was really starting to bite but another somewhat sunnier afternoon on The Meadows, this time with Big Toes HiFi supplying the beats and bass, had me fixed up in no time. Decks In The City was just what I needed to end a perfect musical weekend with 6 of the best underground djs in the city all playing for free. Great banter, great tunes and great people, who could say fairer than that?

This weekend is lookin like a bit of a quiet one with not really much to report clubbing wise. There are a few wee things on though to keep you entertained so without much further ado....

FRIDAY 12th JUNE 2009

The Vinyl Club and R.S.I Radio on Leith 98.8fm. 11pm-3am

If you’re stuck in doors this weekend or you’re havin’ a house-party and need some underground sounds to keep things lively till the wee small hours look no further than your local radio station to set the tone for a crackin’ night in. The Vinyl Club show this week features guest mixes from Telefunken’s Alan Gray, Disfuntional’s very own James Carol, plus a live mix from Marcel Janovsky and Germany’s Gabriel Ananda in a back to back stylee for the last hour. After tuning into this show last week and being blown away by the quality of music from house and disco through to dark dirty tech-house and electronica I’m gonna do my best to catch it every week.

Following on from The Vinyl Club, R.S.I Radio picks up the baton with a two hour show packed full of more underground techno, electro, breaks and electronica. This week local tech-house producer Ingen will be demonstrating the music manipulating skills which have earned him a residency at Cabaret Voltaire’s flagship drum n bass and tech-house night Split. Ingen also runs his own night Subtext @ The GRV every Wednesday night showcasing some of the best electronica and techno djs in the capital week in week out. His dj sets are invariably chunky, dark and seething with an utterly relentless energy. Not suitable for those of you with heart problems then!

Synthetic presents Jason Leach (Tresor, Subhead, Berlin) @ The Bongo Club, Moray House,

Clubwise in Edinburgh this Friday its all about Synthetic who have the mighty Jason Leach dropping in for some blistering wonky techno aided and abetted by residents the Physicist and Zuni.

Doors 10.30pm – 3am

Entry £7.00

http://www.myspace.com/elbowgreasedtechno

Fiasco presents John Larner ( Indianapolis) @ The Admiral Bar, 72a Waterloo Street, Glasgow

If you’re way out west this Friday evening and you’re up for less bangin and more bumpin and jackin then Fiasco may be right up your street. This month residents Frazer Devine and Ed-FM have shipped Indianapolis house maestro John Larner over for some of his trademark acid jackin house vibes.

John’s production success and DJ talent have seen him in demand in clubs around the globe He’s widely known for his high-octane dj sets which incorporate a balanced mix of fresh cuts and the old sounds of Chicago and Detroit. With strong followings in Belgium, Australia and Scotland, John racks up frequent flyer points all year long!

He currently receives his musical inspirations from likes of Derrick Carter, Mark Farina, Mathew Dear, Phil Weeks, Lance De Sardi and music from all over the globe.

John is flying in for this exclusive UK gig and we recommend not missing him, as this is his first Scottish performance in over 5 years!!!

Doors open 10.30pm – 3am

Entry £7.00

For more info plus free downloads of previous guest sets please check out…

http://www.fiascoevents.com

SATURDAY 13^TH JUNE 2009

Back in Edinburgh on Saturday and its Leith Festival Gala Day. This years celebrations will once again mostly focus on Leith Links and as usual the Gala Day parade will begin in Lochend Park at around 12.30pm and will wind down Lochend road onto the Links itself where the organisers have created a jam packed programme of family friendly events to keep the gathered crowds entertained including live bands, stalls selling everything from food to arts, crafts and antiques, the Annual Tug Of War Contest, pony rides and my favourite, the sundrenched sounds of dub reggae and roots supplied by the Messenger Sound System. If the weather is as good as last year this should be an amazing day out for people of all ages and of course Leith 98.8FM will be onsite broadcasting live throughout the day.

Please check out the festival website for the full lowdown on all Leith related events.

SUNDAY 14^th JUNE 2009

Under The Bridge @ The Water Of Leith Walkway, beneath the bridge on Great Junction Street @ sunset.

If you fancy something slightly different to wind down after a funfilled weekend I can highly recommend oen of the final events taking place as part of the Leith 2009 festival. The Event is called Under The Bridge and basically features the Heritage Ensemble playing a selection of soothing classical music and movie soundstrack pieces as the sun sets under Junction Bridge in Leith. I checked it out for the first time last year and was very, very impressed. It’s a very popular performance so its worth turning up early to get yourself a good seat. Performance starts at sunset, around 10pm.

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