The Chef's Specials

The Chef's Specials For Week Ending 23/05/2010

2010-05-19T09:04:00.105+01:00

Hello folks, and welcome back to your favourite weekly round up of all the best clubbing previews. How was last weekend for you? I had quite a chilled one for a nice change, the highlight of the weekend was Moodymanc's set at Metro Soul on the Saturday night. Way better than i'd prepared myself for. Mixing up tough and often tribal beats with lovely jazzy and soulful melodies and vocals plus the odd proper crowd pleaser. Definately one of the best Metro Soul events i've ever been to. Really great, up-for-it crowd who were going mental most of the night. I was really impressed and very glad to see Metro Soul doing so well.

This weekend things seem to be hotting up again. There are lots of excellent nights on right across the country with a couple of new ones also popping up on my radar so are you ready to take a peek at my top picks???

THURSDAY 20th MAY 2010

Slo-Mo

@ The Flying Duck, 142 Renfield Street, Glasgow

Thursday night kicks off the weekend in style with an allstar resident line up at Slo-Mo. Yes our intrepid band of disco jockeys will once again be diggin deep in their crates to thrill your ears with some of their damn fine cosmic grooves. From classic funk and boogie to reworked disco and mid tempo house music.

Holbeck, Gardiner, De Party and Firth are rapidly gaining respect across the city for their exquisite taste in music and their abilities in the dj booth. At just £2 entry, this wee weekend warm up session is well worth a look for those of you who like the deeper, soulful side of the house music spectrum but don't have to work on Friday morning. Doors 11pm-3am.

FRIDAY 21st MAY 2010

The Vinyl Club

On Leith 98.8FM (9pm-11pm)

On the Vinyl Club this week John Gerrard and co have a cracking guest mix from Nottingham based DJ/Producer/Remixer extraordinaire, Red Rack'em, ahead of his set at Forever Cookin' Presents here in Glasgow on 28th of this month.

Danny, as his parents know him, has been one busy boy over th.e past few months releasing a string of awesome productions on various well respected labels such as Tirk, Untracked, Home Taping is Killing Music and Shift. Many of his original works, edits and remixes, recorded under his Hot Coins alias, have been finding their way into the record box's of electic pioneers such as Rob Da Bank, Gilles Peterson, Greg Wilson and Jazzanova amongst others. He proved to be a huge hit on the UK's summer festival circuit last year with appearances at Bestival, Big Chill, Glade and Glastonbury, his ability to fuse jazz, house, techno, garage, disco and hiphop seemlessly made him very popular. He hosts a fortnightly radio show on internet station MyHouseYourHouse which is constantly breaking new artists as well as pushing some of the best in underground dance music from around the world. You can find previous shows hosted as podcasts on his website The Smugglers Inn.

His tastes in music cover many many styles, as do his productions, from the blissful deep housey business of In Love Again to the techier slightly cosmic sounding Underground, then there's A Late One which is more on a bumping Chicago house tip and Night Shift which is a cross between all three. For more examples of his stunning back catalogue please check out his Soundcloud page.

In the second hour of the show, F Sonik takes over for another installment of the Flow sessions.

Aleš Furlan alias F.Sonik became involved in electronic dance culture on account of one very innocent occurrence in his youth. And it’s a sole fault of his brother that he ended taming the decks, mixers and effects night after night. “It all started when he brought home some studio mixer and Akai sampler,” remembers F.Sonik “Just a few days later I knew I wanted to produce electronic and become a deejay and I was hooked ever since. I started gathering information about the scene, artists, clubs, music and the whole electronic movement. Living on the Slovenian Riviera it was natural to be influenced by Ambasada Gavioli club as I started attending Valentino Kanzyani’s matinees and performances of leading electronic artists on the regular basis.”

It was his friend Alessio who helped him with the first steps: "He was caught by this bug well before me, so he already learned to mix and could teach me a thing or two. I still remember how I use to hang out at his parents house everyday struggling to beat-match the records. And after I started performing he even lent me his records." Shortly after that they teamed up for the live performances. "We've named ourselves Ghettotek. Alessio was mixing the records and I was in charge of putting in some effects. This way I got to perform in most of the hip Slovenian clubs even before my solo career really took off."

Thriving on a strong and globally accomplished techno heritage Slovenian electronic scene is still heavily directed by techno. But being influenced by the Global Underground music philosophy F.Sonik dared to go where only a few artists in the region dared before him – he decided he will combine the techno heritage with melodic progressive sounds: "Even Umek was there somewhere, but as he was pure techno deejay back then and I was more into progressive stuff, it were the likes of Sasha, Deep Dish and Steve Lawler that have inspired me the most," admits the young artist.

F.Sonik successfully transferred his unique vision of dance music, built on techno and blended with some emotionally rich proggy landscapes, into his own tunes. As a producer he gained the most attention with the track titled Something New, which he produced in collaboration with his musical guru Tomy DeClerque. “We’ve connected really good in the studio, so it was a really good feeling when Umek supported our first track including it in his Essential Mix even before it was officially released. That really inspired us and we already work on a bunch of new tracks,” announces F.Sonik. Additional acknowledgement of being on the right path was the fact that they won Vonyc’s remix competition for Kanzyani’s Nueva York which will be re-released in 2008 with some great new remixes.

As a very dedicated member of SDJF ("it only matters there's a party") initiative that is directed in helping local artists with their first steps and development of club scene in the local community, time is not a luxury when it comes to F.Sonik. But he is dedicated, he has his vision and knows how to persue his dream.

Phonic Launch Party

@ Ad Lib, Hope Street, Glasgow

This week sees yet another new night launching here in Glasgow.

Phonic is a new project put together by Paul "Peebee" Bendoris, Steven Headspeath and Eddie Cointreau, mixing up as many different styles of electronic music as they see fit. From classic house and techno to experimental electronica and deep and funky machine music.

They also plan to keep things fresh by hosting regular live sets both from the residents and from many of the guests whom they already have lined up to play. This week local dj producer, The Wasp (Monox), drops in to warm up the turntables. Doors 11pm-3am, entry is £4

Ooft!

@ Mamasan, Bath Street, Glasgow

DJ/Producer and fellow blogger Ali Herron supplies the funk, soul, and deep housey business at Bath Street's faourite speakeasy, Mamasan, on Friday.

Ali is one of the city's hardest working underground soldiers, running the hugely respected Ooft Music blog page as well as djing in most of the city's coolest nightspots and creating some of the finest funk and soul re-edits both on his own and with his production partner Graeme "The Revenge" Clarke. A familiar face on the city's disco and deep house scenes, he's been a resident at Mamasan for a good while now and he knows how to get his regular friday night crowd in the mood for some serious groovin. Entry is free all night and Ali's on from 11pm.

Devil Disco Club

@ The Bongo Club, Holyrood Road, Edinburgh

Over in the east the Trouble boys are looking forward to bringing London's Horse Meat Disco crew back for another raucous set of energetic disco, italo and full on cosmic campness. Horse Meat Disco helped to launch the Devil Disco Club back in August last year so this looks set to be a grand reunion party.

After 5 years of weekly sunday sessions in their native London, Horse Meat Disco has become an almost global institution. Originally dreamt up by Jim Stanton and James Hilliard, HMD aimed to return to clubbing's golden age, when parties were just parties, full of likeminded souls who just wanted to dance and listen to great music, who didn't care about race, colour, creed or sexual orientation. An alternative party which was heavily inspired by the past but remained focus on the future. This formula was to prove a massive success and over the past 5 years, the resident djs have been invited to dj at gigs all over the world ,while at home they've had guests as diverse as Prins Thomas, Derrick Carter, Cosmo, Rub N Tug, James Murphy, Tim Sweeney, Miss Honey Dijon and Lady Miss Kier and Dimitri from Paris. They've also proved to be a big hit on the UK's summer festival circuit with regular appearances at the likes of Bestival, T-In The Park, Big Chill and Glastonbury. They will be supported on the decks by Eric Da Viking, Hobbes, Kris Wasabi and Simonotron.

Also on this week's bill, Edinburgh's very own electropop 6 piece band RBRBR will be looking to get the crowed pumped with one of their very special live sets which have been the talk of the town of recent months. They've just released their debut ep, Euphonios and have been touring all over central Scotland promoting it. Their wacky stage costumes and props coupled with some excellent musical talents and quirky songs have given them an edge against there peers. They're quickly becoming one of the most exciting bands to emerge from the city in years and they can't wait to show you why.

This looks set to be another massive night for the Devil Disco Club and at only £7 after midnight or £5 before, this will be excellent value for money as well. Doors open 11pm-3am

SATURDAY 22nd MAY 2010

Solid Gold
Saturday Safari
@ The Halt 2, 160 Woodlands Road, Glasgow.

As usual myself, Dribbler and Anton will be hosting our weekly adventure into house and techno music and all the building blocks its derived from on Saturday afternoon. Expect bits of jazz, funk, soul, boogie, disco, house and deepend techno. The barstaff will be preparing some more of their awesome bloody marys as well so if you're feeling a bit ropey after Friday night get along to the Halt and we'll give you just the Tonic to put you right back in the game. Party starts from 2pm till late and entry is free all day long.

Tronicsole

@The Admiral 72a Waterloo Street, Glasgow

On Saturday Tronicsole welcomes one of its prodigal sons , Milton Jackson, back to the fold for what is sure to be another awesome event.

Milton's been making house music since the age of 18 after gettin an Akai MPC2000. Within a year he'd released his first ep on Stevie "Hiro" Middleton's Tronicsole label. 3 more eps for Tronicsole and a critically acclaimed album The Bionic Boy for Glasgow Underground followed. The album received support from the likes of Laurent Garnier, Tom Middleton and Ashley Beedle. Jockey Slut magazine named Milton as the most exciting thing to happen to UK house music for years and gave The Bionic Boy five stars.

By 2006 he'd formed a new relationship with Jimpsters Freerange label where he teamed up with another deep house supremo Shur-i-khan. together they released "I Want It" and "Special Powers". Further eps followed from the likes of Tsuba, Crack And Speed, Silver Network and Icon.

2007 saw the release of "Cycles", a deep driving and beautifully melodic track. It was voted a top ten track of the year by listeners of the Buzzing Fly Radio show. It was at this time that his dj gig schedule really started to get busy as bookings started coming in from all over the world, from Tresor in Berlin to Womb in Tokyo, from Anzu in Brazil to 360 in Dubai and a very special live performance in front of 7000 people at Sonar in Barcelona.

In 2008 he released Ghosts In My Machines. his most successful single to date which became a huge hit at the Miami Winter Music Conference that year. It was the years biggest selling deep house track on Beatport and won him Beatport's Best Deep House Single award. He was ranked as the third best deep house producer on the planet after Jimpster and Dennis Ferrer. His second album Crash which came out on Freerange gained him even more plaudits. It was described as "darkly, tech edged, deep house, adding judicious samples of exotica and sci-fi effects to laudibly clean, moodily funky effect." by uncut magazine and "Reinvents house music for the future / where electronic house music melts into the darker machinations of the techno spectrum." by DJ Magazine.

2009 saw him win the best deephouse dj in the DJ Mag Awards. 2010 sees his schedule still packed full of globetrotting dates. He's also just started working on another LP for Freerange which looks set for a release early next year. He's also busy with a new label which he and Shur-i-khan have started called Dark Energy.

This event kicks off at 11pm-3am and entry is £7/members. There will also be a preclub party at The Courtyard on West Nile Street hosted by Stevies Sole and Coyle.

Men and Machines
@ Stereo, Renfield Lane, Glasgow

Another of Glasgow's disco-techno parties, Men And Machines reaches its second birthday on Saturday and they will be welcoming two rising stars from the electronic music world to help them celebrate.

Serge Santiago is one of the hottest dj/producers in the UK right now. Since his career started as a resident at Brighton's Stompa Phunk night, he has developed his production skills, released several original tracks, each of which gained him a little more respect amongst his peers, teamed up with production partner Matt Edwars to form Radio Slave and created some of the most amazing remixes for artists such as Kylie Minogue, Goldfrapp, Fischerspooner and Tiga. His unique electro sound which is heavily influenced by his passion for italo disco has helped him leapfrog much of the competition and pushed him right to the forefront of the UK's electronic scene. His re-edits series which were released in low key, single coloured sleeves became indispensable sonic weapons and found homes in many of the worlds leading djs' boxes.

Last year as Retro/Grade with Tom Neville he realeased one of the biggest dancefloor smashers yet with Zoid, a re-edit of Automat's italo anthem Droid from 1978.

Beats in Space show:
http://www.beatsinspace.net/playlists/314

Resident Advisor Podcast:
http://www.residentadvisor.net/podcast-episode.aspx?id=11

Electronic Beats Radio Show:
http://www.electronicbeats.net/Radiomixes/Serge-Santiago-Serge-Santiago-for-Electronic-Beats-Radio#menu=3&uuid=cc3846f90d2f3fb3fb2a37d0a813d57c

Also on the bill is Erdbeerschnitzel aka Tom Keiling. Tom Hails from Germany and creates dreamy electronic disco and deep, techy soundscapes. Tom's first release, the Vorsprung Durch Hektik ep on Producer-Network records in 2008 signalled his arrival and gained him much respect. He's since released another string of original tracks plus a few remixes and nearly all of them in digital download format. Only "4 Months" and "Cotton" have so far made it to vinyl but in this day and age where a huge proportion of the worlds djs have gone digital this hasn't stopped him becoming a name to watch. Tom will be playing a full live set for this event so be prepared to be impressed.

Check his stuff here:
http://soundcloud.com/erdbeerschnitzel
http://hypem.com/search/Erdbeerschnitzel%20mark%20e/1/

Entry to this party is£7/5 but if you have a ticket for Stag and Dagger its free. Doors open 11pm-4am

Well that about wraps it up for this week guys. Hope you have a great weekend wherever you end up. Please remember to rave responsibly and thanks again for reading The Chef's Specials in assossciation with...

The Chef's Specials For Week Ending 16/05/2010

2010-05-11T23:03:00.011+01:00

Hi guys, 5000+ hits!!! Thank you so much for making this worth while. It was always my dream, while I was at school, to be a music journalist and write about the bands, the gigs and the clubs i was into. However after failing higher english and being unable to get into a degree course my careers guidance officer pretty much burst my bubble and tried to get me to take up engineering instead. Well it seems like I'm back on track, doing what I enjoy and you people seem to enjoy it as much as I do and for that I cannot thank you enough. 5000+ hits in about 8 months worth of posts!!! I never expected that at all!

Another massive weekend of ace events is rapidly approaching with around 14 or 15 excellent parties taking place between Thursday and Sunday from here in sunny Glasgow all the way to the east coast. So without much further ado lets get straight in about them.

THURSDAY 13th MAY 2010

Keep It Unreal

@ Sub Club, 22 Jamaica Street, Glasgow

Legendary eclectitian and all round harbinger of good times, Mr Scruff, makes his Subby debut on Thursday as part of his unrelenting Keep It Unreal tour. Clubland's favourite bearded tea Jenny will be doing his usual 5 hour non stop trip through jazz, funk, hip-hop, soul, house, disco, reggae, breaks, afrobeat and more although quite how he's gonna fit all those records into the Subby's DJ booth remains a mystery. I'd hate to think the long time vinylist had gone digital these days but the last time i saw him he'd brought more records to do one gig than i own in my entire collection.

The Keep It Unreal tour has been constantly travelling the world for nearly a decade now and shows no signs of stopping any time soon. Scruff's ability to mix classic dancefloor fillers with obscure gems of every genre while his home made animations play on screens around him, appeals to massive crowds of real music fans and everytime i've heard of him playing in a venue near me, the events have been proper roadblockers, very often selling out in advance. Even on a Thursday night this event is sure to be packed so i seriously advise buying tickets in advance if you wanna get involved. Doors open 10pm-3am and advance tickets are £10 available at Gigs In Scotland.

FRIDAY 14th MAY 2010

The Vinyl Club

on Leith 98.8FM (9pm-11pm)

This weeks show is hosted by John Gerrard who turns in another crackin deep tech mix in the first hour as he warms up for this week's guest Estroe.

Esther Roozendaal hails from Zutphen in the Nederlands. Currently, she's based in Rotterdam in the industrial heartland, a city famed for its relentless fast paced hardcore techno. Estroe has been djing for over ten years but things really started to take off for her around 2003 when she made the leap to producing her own tracks, something that was always important to her. Her early works hark back to the soulful techno of detroit and is heavily influenced by the likes of Kevin Saunderson and Carl Craig, a more sophisticated and intelligent sound than the ferocious and somewhat violent styles of techno which were being made by her peers. This gave her the upper hand and soon people like Laurent Garnier, Ripperton and John Digweed became interested in her music with Digweed asking her for a remix for his Bedrock imprint shortly after hearing her "Driven" track.

These days she finds herself rolling with the elite dj Goddesses such as Anja Schneider, Mistress Barbara and Monika Kruse and its the quality of her productions which have brought her this far. Her melodic take on minimalism is delicate and full of atmosphere. She has worked tirelessly through many different software and hardware packages to achieve her sound and although it has taken a while she's happy with the final results for Estroe likes to make music which touches people emotionally as well as challenging the listener with fresh ideas.

She currently manages the Eevonext label which she runs with two of her friends. The label puts out classic techno from the dutch masters as well as loads of fresh material from some of the country's new up and coming producers. Estroe enjoys coaching these new bloods using her own experiences to guide them through the pitfalls of the music industry. She's recently given up her day job to work in music full time which is exactly where she wants to be. She has a new album about to drop on the esteemed Connaisseur label very soon so chances are if you haven't already then you will be hearing and probably dancing to one of her tracks very soon.

Bermuda Triangle Disco

@ The Brunswick Hotel bar, Brunswick Street, Glasgow

Start your friday night with the dark angel of disco, Billy Woods as he unleashes some more bohemian rhapsodies and sleazy beatfreakery upon the post-work drinkers and pe-club revellers in the Brunswick Hotel's main bar.

Armed with his trusty Bozak mixer and a crateful of the finest disco, acid-funk and sleazy rock ever produced, wild Bill will lead you on a heart stopping, musical mystery tour which will leave you gasping for more.

The Brunny's impressive cocktail list and awesome variety of continental beers and lagers will keep you well lubricated as you shake off that work-week stress and get your brain into weekend mode.

Free entry and Billy's on from 9pm - Midnight.

La Di Da

@ Bacchus, 80 Glassford Street, Glasgow

Meanwhile on the other side of Merchant City La Di Da aims to bring a bit of fun and dressing up capers to the often too serious Glasgow clubscene. With a non-compulsory but actively encouraged dress theme of Country Gents And Ladies Who Lunch, DJ/Promoters Holbeck and Gardiner hope to inject some banter into your Friday night.

For the Gents, think Tweed, waxed fabrics, wellies or brogues, plus-fours, woolen socks, Flat caps or deer stalkers. For the ladies, its floral print dresses, wide brimmed hats or fascinators, lace, fake fur, long gloves, Mary-Jane shoes and pearls.

The music will be the only element of the night that will be taken seriously with the emphasis on soulful house and US garage, plenty of vocals and some bottom-shaking beats with mysterious figure The Earl joining Holbeck and Gardiner on the decks.

The bar will be stocked with top quality Gin and will also serve Pimms Cocktails and various other delights to bring some rural charm to the heart of Merchant City.

Doors open 10.30pm-3am and entry is just £5

Telefunken

@ The Caves, Niddry Street South, Edinburgh

Over on the east side, Telefunken are hoping for a cease in Icelandic volcanic activity, just long enough so that they can get lofty house don Gene Farris over to play the set he was supposed to play last month.

Yes, along with many of the world's international djs who were billed to play in the UK and mainland Europe, Gene's set last month had to be re-sheduled due to the large ashcloud drifting south from Iceland's Eyjafyallajokul volcano. Telefunken were quick off the mark and managed to secure the capital's Caves venue so that the gig could go ahead.

Gene is currently the boss of no less than three different record labels at the moment Farris Wheel Recordings, lunched in 1998, Farris Wheel Limited which he started in 2001 and his latest addition Industry Records. The labels are responsible for releasing cutting edge funky dance music from the likes of Funky Transplant, Onionz, Boo Williams, Glen Underground, Demarkus Lewis, JT Donaldson and Bryan Jones amongst others.

Gene's DJ sets are renowned for their relentless, driving energy which mashes tough, syncopated, percussive rhythms with really funky bass lines and ocassional dark brooding grooves. Throwing in some spooky sci-fi style effects and wicked vocal tracks he never fails to create a hot and sweaty vibe on the dancefloor. As a true master of his artform, he really knows how to read a crowd and he feeds off their energy before channelling that same energy right back into his set. I've been fortunate enough to have caught him djing numerous times here in Scotland and I have to say he's definitely one of my favourite djs on the planet. His Scottish debut at Tribal Funktion in Edinburgh back in 1996 was and still is one of my top 10 nights out ever, and after nearly 14 years of clubbing almost every weekend, that is quite a title to hang onto. Support as always comes from Alan Gray with Hoss on warm up detail.

Heavy Gossip

@ 45-47 Medina, Lothian Street, Edinburgh

Heavy Gossip returns to the underground catacombs of Medina once again this Friday, with residents Craig Smith and Nick Yuill joined by one of South London's most promising new talents, Wbeeza who will be performing a live set.

Wbeeza is signed to the well respected Third Ear Recordings label and has been steadily making a name for himself among his peers with fantastic productions such as the "Heavy Stuff", "City Shuffle" and "New Skank" eps.

At just 23 years old, he seems to have a firm grasp of the history of house music, especially the deep and soulful sounds of Detroit. He manages to embrace these classic sounds to produce a variety of styles from tough, jacking and funky to sweet, melodic, soul grooves, putting a firm London twist on them in the process. His beat programming is particularly developed, making jazzy kit sounds into something more mechanical and he cites that as the basis for all his tracks.

"Everything comes from the kick drum," he says. "Once I've got that, then anything is possible. You can do anything on top of the right kick drum."

This will be his first time playing in Edinburgh and the Heavy Gossip team are somewhat thrilled to be hosting a full live show. Doors open 11pm-3am Entry £7/5students.

SATURDAY 15th MAY 2010

Solid Gold

Saturday Safari

@ The Halt 2, 160 Woodlands Road, Glasgow

As usual, Saturday afternoons kick of with some of the best Bloody Marys and dopest house 'n' disco joints in the city as Dribbler, Anton and myself dig in our collective crates to find some of our favourite tracks to ease your Friday hangovers and set you up for Saturday night.

With the front wall opened up to bring some sunshine into the darkened confines of the Halt 2, our uplifting and soothing selection of tracks will put you back together faster than all the kings horses and all the kings men could ever hope to. The irresistable bloody marys at £2 a pop will certainly kick start you metabolism and put some colour back in your cheeks. Watch out for some fantastic guest slots from some of the best clubs in the city and beyond over the next few months. This is definately one saturday social you should come and be part of.

Free entry all day and djs playing from 2pm till late.

From The Graveyard

To The Ballroom

(30 Years Of Factory Records)

@ The Black Sparrow, 241, North Street,

Charring Cross, Glasgow

To commemorate 30 years this week, since the death of Ian Curtis The Black Sparrow will play host to a party featuring 30 years worth of music from one of the worlds greatest ever record labels.

Dj Tam Coyle will be bringing back meories of miss-spent youth as he plays tracks from some of Manchester's most famous independent record label's vast back catalogue. Bands such as Durutti Column, Joy Division, Cabaret Voltaire, A Certain Ratio, Section 25, New Order, Stockholm Monsters, James, Kalima!, The Wake, OMD, Quando Quango, The Distractions, Ex-O-Dus, Be-Music Productions, The Railway Children, Happy Mondays, Swamp Children, The Royal Family & The Poor, Marcel King, Martin Hannett will all feature in a night of celebration and rememberance. Entry is free and doors open 9pm - 1am.

Metro Soul

@ La Cheetah, Queen Street, Glasgow

Deep, bumpin house purveyors Metro Soul are back in La Cheetah's banging basement on Saturday and they've lined up the talents of Moodymanc to deliver the kind of dj set that's made him big news around the world in the past few months.

Danny Ward is a drum obsessed musician from Manchester. Back in the mid-nineties when most of his peers were dreaming of becoming djs he kept himself busy honing his skills as a drummer. He began playing live percussion in clubs such as Back To Basics in Leeds where he met Ralph Lawson. A few years later Ralph had put out 2 albums by Danny on his 20:20 Vision label under the alias Double D.

The albums, Reachin' Out (2005) and Playin' Out (2007) received critical acclaim for their free flowing jazz grooves (played by Danny) which combined with down tempo rhythms, house samples, and soulful melodies. All of these elements helped to define the label's jazz laced, electronic sound.

Danny went on to become the perfect choice as the drummer for Ralph's 20:20 Soundsytem, having already worked with the likes of The Pharcyde, Rae And Christian and Chapter And Verse. As Ralph's house music obsession began to influence Danny further and further, he decided he needed a new alias to record more dj friendly and housier tracks so Moodymanc was born.

So far Moodymanc tracks have been released on prestigious labels like Baker Street, Outils de Connoisseur and Tsuba Recordings and Steve Bug's Dessous label which released "Omelette" at the tail end of last year. With a dj schedule that seems to be filling up at an ever faster rate, Moodymancs career as touring musician and dj is definately growing into something promising. This will be a rare chance to catch him playing in the intimate confines of La Cheetah and the Metro Soul lads are very excited about this one indeed.

Doors open 11pm - 3am. Entry is £10 before midnight or £12 after.

Wasabi Disco

Fudge Fight

@ Sneaky Pete's, Cowgate, Edinburgh

With resident Chris Wasabi currently on holiday, Controlled Demolition's Clom L'inane steps in to host the rather splendid Wasabi Disco at Sneaky Pete's in the heart of Edinburgh's old town. Joining him in a headlining role will be one of Edinburgh's biggest underground heroes.

Gavin Sutherland is a true veteran of the Edinburgh clubscene. As one of the city's most prolific vinyl pushers he has probably sold more records than any other person living or dead in the city. He's worked in the capital's last real emporium for true underground vinyl lovers, Underground Solush'n, since the shop opened back in 1995.

As a connoisseur of the finest disco, boogie and deep soulful house Gav's passion has earned him many residencies behind the decks at some of the city's best loved club nights. From the legendary Tribal Funktion, to Homeless and Get Together his skills as a dj have always been well respected amongst the citys most discerning clubbers.

In the past couple of years though its his skills as a producer and musician which have propelled him to global fame. As Fudge Fingas, Gav's been involved with some of the best production crews in the UK. Indeed when long time friend Lindsay Todd set up the now globally respected Firecracker Recordings label Gav was there right from the off. He has since featured on practically every release on that label as well as working with chirpy Mancunian Trus'me, on projects for the Prime Numbers imprint.

He has just released an ep of his own, titled "About Time", which is already a real favourite of mine and seems to be getting played by all my favourite djs. He has another stunning ep "What Works" due for launch fairly soon on Firecracker as well as a debut LP due for release on Prime Numbers.

He's also just had the somewhat prestigious honour to record a podcast for the mighty Resident Advisor which has been on repeat on my MP3 player all week. The mix kicks off with his new "What Works" track and i have to be honest, its probably one of the most beautiful deep house tracks i've heard for at least 5 years, if not, longer.

He's now playing gigs all over Europe including a regular stint at Fabric in London for Prime Numbers. Global domination is inching steadily closer for this amiable chap so this is sure to be one of his most intimate gigs for the next ten years at least. Entry is free before midnight and just a few quid after so get down early to avoid the queue. Doors open 10.30pm - 3am

Ultragroove

@ Cabaret Voltaire, 36 Blair Street, Edinburgh

Edinburgh's longest running house club plays host to its Geordie counterpart this week as Shindig take over the main room of the Cabaret Voltaire as part of their 18th Birthday tour.

Djs Scott Bradford, Neil Bainbridge and Mark Lowry will be looking after dj duties in the main cavern whilst Ultragroove Capt'n Gareth Sommerville stirs up the boogie, funk and disco joints in the back room for the entire evening.

Shindig has been one of England best loved clubbing institutions for what seems like forever. This is a rare opportunity to hear the clubs residents playing together without having to spend a couple of hours on a train first. Doors open 11pm -3am and entry is £5before midnight or £8 after. Students get in for £5 all night.

SUNDAY 16th MAY 2010

Sunday Gold

and Tic Tac Toe

@ Max's and La Cheetah, Queen Street, Glasgow

If you're still out on Sunday then Max's on Queen Street is the only place to be as from 5pm the Solid Gold Safari crew will be on hand armed with more of those disco, soul, funk and house vibes to try to ease away the pain caused by the smug Toley... sorry Tory in number 10.

From 11pm the basement club La Cheetah will come to life as Tic Tac Toe kick off their summer Sunday Sessions. Andy Doran and Domm will be boshing out the bumpin house and deep techno for anyone still standing as well as the retail and hospitality crowd who have to work the rest of the weekend.

With djs playing all evening from 5pm till 3am and free entry all evening too this should be your one-stop party shop every Sunday throughout the summer.

Ear Candy

This week's Ear Candy features mixes from SLO-MO resident Stuart Holbeck, a new house and techno mix from Red Rack'em, plus Garcon's awesome deep techno n house mix for the Keep It Deep Blog

Stuart Holbeck - SLO-MO Promo 1.2

Lump - Rain

6th borough project - Stratus Quo

Neighbour - Charo Claptrap

The beatdown soundmachine - More love (LTJ X-perience mix)

Space Ranger - Herbal cake (the Revenge rubdown)

Johnny Dynell - Jam hot (40 thieves dub)

The Revenge - Heavy love

SFPV - Cosmic funk (SFPV edit)

Roundtree - Get on up (Brevil edit)

Eddie C - One with the stars

The Revenge - Just be good to me (Revenge alternative dub)

Red Rack'em - Shift Workout
Cloud - Untitled (Juju and Jordash Remix) (Exceptional)
Mark Du Mosch - Satical (Cyberdance)
Red Rack'em - Exhalt (///Shift Music)
Daniel Stefanik - One (In Day Of Old Part 1) (Kann)
KaSpar - Path Of Spheres (4lux)
Rick Wade - Melancholy (Harmony Park)
Red Rack'em - Underground (///Shift Music)
Newworldaquarium - Trespassers (Delsin)
Plasmik - Faces (Hypercolour)
Mike Dehnert - Umlaut 2 (Clone Basement Series)
See The Road - Pondora (See The Road)
Tribal Son - Hi Tech Groove (Easy Street)

Please remember that Red Rack'em is playing at Ivory Blacks here in Glasgow on Friday 28th May with support from Billy Woods. Advance Tickets are on sale now priced £7 plus booking fee from Tickets-Scotland, Rubadub and Ché Camille or contact me on my usual number or through Facebook to book tickets for £7 without the booking fee.

Garcon - Keep It Deep
Black Jazz Consortium- far away (atmospheric pass)
Jitterbug- speakers corner
Big Strick- a walk down linwood
Omar S- b2
Anton Zap- i'm fine
Jason Fine- nutella
Marcello Napoletano- what's going on detroit
I.F.M- yes we are (bonus deep mix)
Levon Vincent- double jointed sex freak
Basic Soul Unit- hope unity vision
Roman Lindau- combiner
Bruce Ivery- a1
Jacob Korn- supakrank
Scott Ferguson- warehouse dream
Larry Heard- you rock me

That's about it for this week guys. Thanks again for reading and for sharing. Hopefully catch up with some of you on a dancefloor soon! Rave safe. Peace!

The Chef's Specials is brought to you in assossciation with...

The Chef's Specials For Week Ending 09/05/2010

2010-05-05T00:09:00.012+01:00

Hi folks, how was your weekend? Mine was pretty special...again. There seems to be a great abundance of amazing musical event taking place this spring and the rest of this month looks set to keep on rolling with with top drawer enetertainment.

My weekend started with a short trip over to Edinburgh on friday afternoon to catch up with some of my east-sider friends. Most of my time there was spent in the comfortable surroundings of The Newsroom on Leith Street, a great wee bar which is undergoing a bit of a transformation at the minute. Its always been a really nice space but until fairly recently the rather dire music policy it had, seemed to attract a fairly rubbish crowd of neds and wannabe gangsters. Since the new management team of Harry Bennet and Paul Cunningham took over though, its managed to shake off that tarnished reputation and is steadily growing more and more poular as a place for a slightly older (25+) clientele to hang out for post work beverages and unwind to some soulful sounds mixed up live by some of the city's best loved djs such as Trade Union's Beefy, Ultragroove's Gareth Sommerville and Heavy Gossip resident Craig Smith.

On Friday evening the ever fabulous Isla Blige was on duty in the booth, dropping some classic funk, soul and disco joints, causing no end of beaming smiles and some weird shape throwing antics from at least one still-suited office worker. And after 4 or 5 tasty Mojito's it became increasingly difficult to stop myself singing along as some of my all time fave tunes rocked out the bars soundsystem.

On Satururday afternoon, Solid Gold set up camp on Woodland's Road here in Glasgow for the first of our Saturday Safari Jams at The Halt 2. Dribbler, Anton and myself spun some tasty house, deep techno and proper disco while the sun beamed straight into the bar. By the time we were wrapping up, a nice we crowd of punters had gathered for some pre club Bloody Marys and banter and they all seemed to be digging the music. After a taxi home and a bite to eat I headed back into town again to one of my absolute favourite nights in the city.

Melting Pot was pretty incredible once again, resident dj and audio boffin Andrew Pirrie had tweaked even more magic out of the already very impressive soundsystem resulting in an audio clarity you'd be very hard pushed to equal in any club in the world. His warm up set was up to his usual very high standard as well dropping classic disco, funk and a slight curveball in the shape of Paperclip People's anthem "Throw" which really got the crowd fired up. By the time special guest, Beats In Space's Tim Sweeney stepped up to the decks the buzz on the dance floor was already reaching fever pitch. Sweeney dropped back into disco more for a few tracks including Dennis Parker's "Like An Eagle" before sweetly changing tack into a deep and brooding house set which sounded incredible from anywhere in the room.

By Sunday my energy levels were starting to wither slightly due to a cold i've been trying to shake off all week. But there was still Million Dollar Disco to check out, at a venue i've never been to before. The Big Joint is an intimate little bar and clubbing space with about 100 capacity. Its located in the middle of an industrial estate on the north west edge of the city in a district called Scotstoun. From the outside it's pretty hard to even notice its existence at all as it just looks like all the other warehouses round about it. Inside however it feels like something from a Star Wars film set, like a spaceport tavern frequented by intergalactic smugglers. Above one end of the bar there's even a sculpture of a skull coming out of the wall kind of like the sleeve art on The Prodigy's Music For The Jilted Generation album, it reminded me of Han Solo frozen on the wall as Jabba's prisoner.

The crowd already gathered inside were buzzing though, in anticipation of 2 of the best Disco Jockeys on the planet going head to head in this tiny venue. As we made our way through to the blacked out cube which served as the main room, the sounds of Al Kent's warm up beats were already pounding from The Big Joints impressive rig. Tracks like Mystic Merlin's "Just Can't Give You Up" and Harold Melvin And the Blue Notes's "The Love I Lost" had never sounded so good to my ears. The crowd which was largely made up of old soul boys and Djs such as Craig Smith, Andrew Pirrie, Hobbes and Eric Da Viking from Trouble, Ross Hutchison and Ricky Reid, all there to show there appreciation and pay there respects to Al Kent and special guest Rahaan who took the roof clean off with an amazing set of rare and exclusive, soul drenched disco edits. Three o'clock came round all too soon for everybody inside but every one of us felt nothing short of privaleged to have been a part of such an amazing night.

This weekend looks set to be another cracker with lots of great nights on both here in Glasgow and over on the east coast too. Are you ready to take a look at the highlights? Ok then, lets get stuck in.

THURSDAY 6th MAY 2010

Slo-Mo
@ The Flying Duck, 142 Renfield Street,
Glasgow

Slo-Mo returns for its second event at The Flying Duck this week, and this will be our first guest night. For your listening and dancing pleasure, myself, Charlie, Stuart and Rob will be joined by two of the awesome Solar Disco's residents. Craig Moogroove and Kev Stevens will be dropping in with their record boxes full to bursting with some of the freshest nu-disco and deep, soulful house music.

If you've been following this blog for a while you'll know how much i rate their Solar Disco night and how much i've been looking forward to this event. Craig and Kev are both very much in demand DJs around Glasgow and beyond and they're both usually busy with gigs every weekend. The party starts at 11pm and we're open till 3am. Entry's only £3 and there will be the usuall excellent drinks promos on to keep you lubricated. I hope i'll see some of you there.

FRIDAY 7th MAY 2010

Headway
6th Birthday Party
@The Reading Rooms, Black's Croft, Dundee

Kicking off in Dundee on Friday night, the Headway crew are celebrating a milestone event this month as they reach their sixth birthday. To help them mark the occasion they've booked one of the world leading techno innovators. Flying in from The D to the Dee will be none other than Carl Craig, a man widely regarded as one of the most important and influential producers on the face of the earth.

As part of Detroit's second wave of techno pioneers following in the footsteps of the genre's original holy trinity of Saunderson, Atkins and May, Carl Craig has been at the absolute forefront of the techno scene since the mid 90's. His seemingly countless back catalogue of original productions released under various moikers including Innerzone Orchestra, Paperclip People, BFC, Psyche, 69, C2C4, Tres Demented, and Urban Culture includes some of electronic dance music's most ground breaking anthems such as "Throw" or "Bug In The Bassbin". His equally impressive list of remixes for other artists also features some of the most well known underground tacks ever produced Theo Parrish's Falling up being one such example.

He's an incredibly talented DJ as well but primarily Carl Craig is a musician. Many people refer to him as the Miles Davis or John Coltrane of electronically produced dance music, indeed he often fuses elements of jazz and soul into his productions. He doesn't make hit records in the popular music, here-today-gone-tomorrow sense. Carl's productions are most usually timeless pieces of music that touch the very soul. They're records that only improve with age and with every listen. You can pick one of his records from '94 or '95 and play it today to a dancefloor filled with 18-24 year olds who've probably never heard it before and the reaction will be exactly the same now as it was back at the time it was originally released. His understanding of musical theory and his passion for embracing new technology, mixed with his unrivalled natural talent make him one of the most important musicians of the 21st century and indeed one of the most in demand Djs on the planet. In the past 12 months he has headlined at many of the world biggest music festivals and clubbing venues including Sonar Festival in Barcelona, I Love Techno in Belgium, Nuits Sonores Festival in France, Amsterdam Dance Event, Glade Festival, Get Loaded In The Park, Bloc Weekend, Pressure's 11th Birthday at The Arches, The Sub Club, Fabric, Berghain/Panorama Bar in Berlin, Rex Club in Paris, Air in Tokyo, Space in Ibiza and many more.

For this event the Headway boys are beefing up the Reading Rooms's house system with some extra Function One subs to give some serious bottom end and an extra special warmth to the sound.

The Reading Rooms is quite an intimate venue at only 300 capacity and Carl will be playing an exclusive 3hour set so this will be a very special occasion indeed. Doors open 9.30pm-2.30am. Advance tickets on sale now from Grouchos for only £12. Also available online from Club Tickets and Resident Advisor

Jackhammer
@The Caves, Niddry Street South,
Edinburgh.

Back down in Edinburgh, Jackhammer plays host to Glasgow's most prominent techno dons this Friday with another party at one of my favourite capital venues, The Caves.

Stuart McMillan and Orde Meikle have been Scotlands most prolific techno ambassadors for the best part of 20 years. Although their hectic djing schedule regularly takes them to the four corners of the world they're always keen to keep their feet firmly in their native Glasgow. Their regular parties here, Pressure at The Arches and Return To Mono at The Sub Club, regularly feature some of the biggest names in todays electronic music world such as Richie Hawtin, Sven Vath, Felix Da Housecat, Joris Voorn, and Green Velvet.

The vast majority of these artists will tell you that Glasgow regularly features as one of their favourite places to play in the world. That is also partially down to Slam, who's tireless work promoting and pushing the local scene here, be it through their own parties or via Soma Records which they co-run with business partner and manager Dave Clarke, or via their longstanding residency at Scotlands largest music festival where they've hosted their own 15,000 capacity tent for the past 10 years.

They're well respected producers in their own right too with anthemic tracks like Dark Forces, Azure and their seminal 1995 hit Positive Education which first brought them to the attention of the worlds techno and house music fans.To date they've released 4 studion albums plus a pile of top class eps and remixes. They have some of the most dedicated fans of any recording artists in the world. This will be another awesome night for Jackhammer and its promoter Connor McLarnon.

Dj support will come from Stepback Djs Wolfjazz and Keyte and also Gee Dubs. Doors open 11pm-3am and entry cost £8/6concessions.

Depthcharge

@ The Flying Duck, 142 Renfield Street,

Glasgow

Back here in the west Depthcharge have joined forces with another of my favourite nights, Wedge, for a double whammy of electronic funk and deep house. Joining Jaya and Frazer devine in the main room this month will be Mylo's touring guitarist/keyboardist Williams. Hailing from the Isle Of Skye William Threlfall has been involved in making music for about 7 years now. As a friend of Myles "Mylo" MacInnes he assisted in the creation of the seminal electro pop album Destroy Rock n Roll. The Album was a huge success and led to tours around the world. Ona more personal level Williams is regarded as a real talent in his own right. He realeased a 9 track LP on Glasgow Underground label back in 2003 which became something of a cult underground hit due to its bleepy Roykssop-esque melodies until the label ran into financial difficulties soon after.

Since then he's released a string of quality eps on Germany's Get Physical Label, including "Picadilly Circuits/The Arrival" which gained huge support from MANDY and Richie Hawtin amongst others. He now has his very own Love Triangle Recordings which is always looking to put out music of a slightly alternative nature.

The Bar area will open as a second room this month with the Wedge boys hosting it. Wedge has been one of my favourite parties here in Glasgow, booking guests like Fudge Fingas, Linkwood and Trus'me who all played sell out shows at The Hetherington Research Club. This looks sure to be an exciting new development to both clubs as since the Hetherington went into receivership Wedge has been without a venue.

Doors open 11pm-3am and entry is just £5before midnight or £7 after

SATURDAY 8th MAY 2010

Solid Gold presents...

Saturday Safari Afternoons

@The Halt 2, 160 Woodlands Road Glasgow

If you happen to be up the west end on Saturday afternoon, or you're still up from friday night and just looking for a cool place to hang out and listen to some great music then fire along to The Halt 2 on Woodlands Road where Dribbler Anton , myself and some mystery guests will be soothing hangovers and aurally massaging you with blissfull chill out, deep melodic house and techno, a smatttering of disco and a dash of sun-drenched reggae vibes. The bar staff will be knocking out some of the tastiest Bloody Mary's in the city all afternoon too so there will be no better hair of the dog treatment anywhere else.

Solar Disco

@ The Brunswick

My favourite montly fix of nu-disco, midtempo house and deep boogie is back at the Brunny this Saturday as Craig Moogroove, Paul Maelstrom and Kev Stevens bring some of those beautifully fresh flavours thy're famous for. Last month's free party was awesome so been really lookin forward to this one all month. Entry is free of charge for this one as well so no excuses folks. If you like a bit of Tensnake, 6th Borough Project, Greg Wilson and some the Solar Disco record label's own signings then pop in and check it out. Party starts upstairs in the main bar around 9pm and finishes downstairs about 2am.

Dance! Dance! Dance!

@ Mamasan, Bath Street, Glasgow.

Up town, Derek Smith and Andy Piacentini will be droppin old school disco bombs and classic house up at Mamasan on Bath Street so if you're up that end of town pop in for some of the finest cocktails in the city and some of the smoothest grooves. This party is free as well (Jeez you guys are spoiled this weekend) and its open 9pm-3am.

Stepback
@ Sneaky Pete's, Cowgate Edinburgh

Auld Reekie's noisiest bass merchants Stepback are back this week with another guest from the UK's techno elite. This month Jim Masters who runs the hugely popular High-Tek Soul parties at London's Ministry of Sound will be joining them on the decks in what will no doubt be another roadblock event for the club.

During his illustrious 20 year career as a dj and producer Jim has held down a 7 year residency alongside Carl Cox at their night Base, one of the most important techno nights on the planet during the 90s, he also helped establish Ministry Of Sound, both the club and the record label as brand leaders on a global scale. His own Open label put out Carl Craig's Paperclip People track "Throw" one of the bigest and best loved house tracks ever produced. His Drum Club project was a pivotal factor in the whole evolution of the UK dance scene and was the first place that acts like The Chemical Brothers, Underworld and Leftfield got the chance to play alongside the likes of Sven Vath, Danny Tenaglia and DJ Sneak. He's one of the single most important people in the entire history of UK club culture and the Stepback camp are thrilled to have him join them in such an intimate club.

Again i must stress that Sneaky Pete's only has a cpacity of around 100 and this will be a very busy night indeed so get down early to avoid huge dissapointment. Entry is free before midnight too or £5 after.

Bang Bang Club

& General Erection Section

@ The Electric Circus, Market Street, Edinburgh

Saturday in Edinburgh sees The Bang Bang Club unpacking its trunks and saying hello again to The Circus.

Residents The Baron and The Regent will be serving up their usual tasty, eclectic, fast paced mash of sleazy swamp funk, rockabilly, indie and alternative and throwing some curveball dancier numbers as well.

Meanwhile in the second room Jetboy will be doing his thang with cinematic weirdness with extra high-drama underground freak sounds... a typical playlist includes Vangelis, Portishead, Bowie, Sonic Youth, Gil Scott Heron.... heavy downbeat eclectic goodness!

Video art will be supplied by the honourable Lord Awesome, a serious force to be reckoned with in the edinburgh clubscene at the moment.

Now that Optimo has finished The Bang Bang club is striving to claim the title of most musically diverse clubnight in Scotland and among those luck Edinbuggers who know that title is already theirs.

Doors 11pm-3am Entry is £6/5

F.C.P Announcement

Forever Cookin Presents...

Red Rack'em (Hot Coins/Smugglers Inn/Tirk/Home Taping)

and Billy Woods (Supermax)

On Friday 28th February Forever Cookin Promotions will be launching a new quarterly showcase project which we hope will bring you some of the best clubnights from outside of Glasgow as well as some of the best underground record label parties featuring top class DJs and incredible live sets. For our first event we are bringing one of my heroes of the minute Red Rack'em to Glasgow for the first time.

Danny Berman (aka Red Rack’em, aka Hot Coins, aka Marlinspike) is a man on a mission. Since Gilles Peterson invited him to play at his Worldwide Awards party last year, broadcasting his set live on BBC Radio 1, Danny’s rise through the ranks to the UK underground’s elite has been nothing short of meteoric. With DJ sets at the UK’s best loved music festivals, Glastonbury, Bestival and The Big Chill he proved his worth to the masses blending hip-hop, funk, disco, two-step, house, techno, jazz and electro into an energetic frenzied vibe which has gained him fans such as Radio 1’s Rob Da Bank, Greg Wilson and Jazzanova amongst others.

His skills on the decks however are only half the story. Danny is also a very talented producer with ridiculously eclectic tastes in music styles and forms. Under his Red Rack’em moniker he produces some extraordinary deep house and techno grooves, He also makes some stunning nu-disco and electro tracks as well as creating some of the finest re-edits of last year under his Hot Coins guise. As Marlinspike he seamlessly blends the deep techno, sci-fi sounds of Detroit with the UK’s very own two-step garage beats.

In the past 12 months he’s released tracks on labels as diverse as Tirk, Untracked, Deep Freeze and the hotly tipped Home Taping Is Killing Music label. He has just released 2 new singles which are both getting huge respect. 'In Love Again' which has just dropped on the Untracked label became Phonica’s record of the week and received Radio 1 airplay from Gilles Peterson.

His 'Nightshift' EP on Undertones (Detroit) is also gaining huge respect and support from key players such as Laurent Garnier, Dixon, Slam, Mark Farina, Ewan Pearson and Osunlade. Danny has another single about to be released on London’s Shift label titled 'Undergound' in June plus his debut on the Home Taping label 'Pressure' is out in July.

In September he will launch his own record label Bergerac with the hotly tipped 'How I Program' EP. All releases on the new label will feature bespoke sleeve art from German artist Silke Eiselt.

http://soundcloud.com/red-rackem
http://www.redrackem.com/

Supporting Danny on our hallowed turntables is Glasgow's nocturnal wizard of the sonics....

A man who casts no shadow...

A man even more mysterious than The Stig, who's natural habitat is usually the darkest, funkiest and downright bohemian club spaces in the city.

Armed with 3 turntables, a world class, custom built soundsystem and a crateful of the sleaziest, sexiest and utterly debauched beats from the world of rock, funk, soul, disco, house, acid techno and everything in between, he patrols the city's more exclusive and and well hidden drinking dens and party spaces.

His extraordinary, somewhat magical power over a dancefloor has to be witnessed first hand if it is to be believed at all. Wild shape throwing, jacking, bumping, grinding, writhing uncontrolably as his beats do their work upon your mind body and very soul, once you succumb to his musical spell only he can decide when to set you free.

He is the resident and host of the legendary Supermax Love Machine

His name is Billy Woods.

Advance tickets for this event will be on sale from this Friday 7th May at Rubadub Record Store and
Tickets-Scotland priced £7+bf. Otherwise it will be £10 on the door. If you're fortunate enough to have my and you'd like to come along please gimme a call and I can sort you out with tickets at£7 without a booking fee.

Ear Candy
This week i've got a couple of mixes from myself for you plus the latest Resident Advisor podcast from Edinburgh's Fudge Fingas, a crakin mix from Billy woods and a fantastic home listening mix Red Rack'em did for the Another Night On Earth Blog from 18 months ago.

Chef De Party - Medium Rare Grooves

Tammi Terrel and Marvin Gaye - California Soul
Isley Brothers - Love The One You're With
Temptations - I Just Can't Get Next To You
John Holt and Dennis Brown - Wild Fire
Ella Fitzgerald - Sunshine Of Your Love
The Rimshots - Dancin Girl
Jamiroquai - Love Foolosophy (Accoustic demo)
The Jacksons - One More Chance
Rufus featuring Chaka Khan - Live In Me
Stevie Wonder - Superstition
Clarence Wheeler and The Enforcers - Right On
Sénor Coconut and his Orchestra - Smoke On The Water
Bran Van 3000 featuring Curtis Mayfield - Astounded
Soul Dhamma featuring Donni - If We Could Fly Away
Pepé Deluxe - Big Muff
MFSB - Summertime
Otis Redding - Mr Pityful
Soul II Soul - Back To Life
Peshay - Theme
Bass-O-Matic - Fascinating Rhythym

Chef De Party - Sweet Smells From The Disco Kitchen IV
Linkwood - Miles Away (Intrusion Sunrise dub) - Firecracker Recordings
Jazzanova feat Phonte - Look What You're Doing To Me (Motor City Drum Ensemble remix) CDR
Jayson Brothers - Its My Life - MCDE US
Manolo - Lose Myself - Delusions Of Grandeur
Beatdown Sound Machine - More Love (LTJ Xperience dub) - Sleazy Beats
Smal World Disco - More Love - Small World Disco
Martin Luther King - We Shall Overcome (Accapella)
6th Borough Project - The Soul (John Daly Remix) Delusions Of Grandeur
Show B - Komposit - Compost Black Label
Soul Renegades - I Wont Let You Go - 3 Of A Kind
Tiger And Woods - Time - Editainment
Claudia Barry - Sweet Dynamite - CDR
Juan Laya and Jorge Motiel - Underground Variations CDR
Soul Tourist - Lowfield High - Drum Poet Community
Show B - Moory - Compost Black Label

Fudge Fingas - Resident Advisor Podcast

Weldon Irvine - Deja Vu (Intro) - Cool Note
Fudge Fingas - What Works - Firecracker Recordings
First Choice - Love and Happiness (Acapella)
Vakula - You Can Do - Firecracker Recordings
James Mason - Nightgruv - Soul Brother
Chez Damier & Stacey Pullen - Forever Monna - Prescription
Danell Dixon - I Saw the Future (Intro)
Disco Nihilist - Easy - Construction Paper
Andy Stott - Night Jewel - Modern Love
Symbiosis - Oxygen - Alleviated
KiNK - Kiss The Sky - Boe Recordings
John Collins - All We Need - Underground Resistance
Kevin Johnson - Atonement (Version I) - DNH
Skudge - Convolution - Skudge
Linkwood - Nectarine - Prime Numbers
Fudge Fingas - Mass X - Firecracker Recordings
Sun Ra And His Intergalactic Myth Science Solar Arkestra - Springtime Again (Outro) - Art Yard

Billy Woods - Billy Who? mix

Sorry no tracklist.

Red Rack'em - Loose Change mix for Another Night On Earth

Robert Shroeder - Invisible Danger

Thomas Leer – Tight As A Drum

Wax Stag – Sson

Hot Coins – Valiant Truth

Lunar Jam – Over and Over

Glaxo Babys – Shake The Foundations

The Jellies – Jive Baby On A Saturday Night

Hot Coins - Leathered

Heinz Becker,Karl-Heinz Stegmann & Isabel Zeumer – Mein Tanzlied

A Certain Ratio – Touch

George Duke - GamesBauhaus - Kick In The Eye

Azmuth – Toqeu De Cuica

Tones On Tail - There's Only 666 - Secret Mixes Fixes Edit

Liassons Dangereuse – Peut Etre… Pas

Wax Stag – Mirror Lantern

Stereo Twins – Slang Thang – Amplified Orchestra Remix

Was Not Was – Mr Friction

The Mole – Alice You Need Him

Pepe Bradock - Mandragore

Well that's it for this week guys. Thanks as always for reading. If you have any comments or questions please feel free to leave them in the comments box below.

The Chef's Specials is brought to you in assossciation with...

The Chef's Specials For Week Ending 02/05/2010

2010-04-28T02:36:00.207+01:00

Christ on a bike! Is it really Wednesday already? Well they say time flies when you're having fun, eh? I reckon I must be close to using up my entire annual quota for weekend fun after that one! Absolutely awesome from start to finish.

Friday kicked off in Edinburgh with a live gig from the one and only Candi Staton which was fantastic. She may be in her sixties now but she still looks stunning and that voice... Utterly magical. I was so glad to see a really great turn out for the gig too. All of the capital's real soul fans were out in force and none were dissapointed by Candi's performance which featured most of her greatest hits plus a few excellent covers too although I was kinda expecting her to do her new single with Ashley Beadle's Mavis project "Revolution" but it was not to be.

Candi Staton - In The Ghetto Live

After the gig I headed up to the GRV for another cracking night from Club For Heroes, Djs Jamie Spectrum, Simonotron, Honey Sweetcheekz and the Dapper Dan guys played amazing sets of old and new disco mashed up with funk, house and shades of techno. A wicked live set from Glasgow's the Niallist added a sheen of electropop to the event as well and created a really excellent atmosphere. By the time the house lights came up at 3 the crowd were screaming for more tunes from Simonotron who stood behind the decks grinning like a cheshire cat! Excellent night all round.

Back in Glasgow for Saturday night which was a bit of a first for me as I made my first visit to the legendary Supermax night at The Brunswick Hotel. Upstairs in the main bar Craig "Moogroove" Thompson kept things fresh with a set of awesome deep Nu-disco tracks from labels like Disco Deviance and Tirk before finishing with one of my all time faves The Joubert Singers' Stand On The Word which never fails to make even the most miserable people smile.

Then we were hearded downstairs to the dark and smokey confines of the Supermax basement where disco wizard Billy Woods was rocking his resident crowd of fashionistas and hedonists with a fantastic set of sexually charged techno, funk, acidhouse bluesy rock and proper disco. I've been to many different nights at The Brunswick over the past 18 months but never anything like Supermax. The sound, lighting or rather lack of it, the smoke and the really diverse and friendly crowd make it a world away from most other nights there. You tend to forget where you are and get a bit disorientated. Its more like a party in the Red Room in Twin Peaks. I kept half expecting a backwards talking dwarf to appear and start chatting to me about jazz records and Laura Palmer. The music was amazing all night and the surreality of it just knocked me for six so i can't wait till next month's episode.

Sunday started off at about 2pm with a text informing me that a queue was already forming outside the Sub Club for the last ever Optimo Espacio party. After finally checking it out last week i really didn't want to miss the finale as i knew it was gonna be one of those "moments in pop history" events. After a quick shower and some food i headed over to Jamaica Street to find no sign of a queue at all and infact the Sub Club staff had stuck posters up at the door which read "No queueing for Optimo before 8pm!" The local pubs however were already very busy, chock full of ravers getting ready for the night of their lives. MacSorley's was buzzing as dj Teamy played some quality pre-club tracks to get the revellers right in the mood. Next door in The Glasshouse they have a strict no-music policy but that hadn't stopped nearly 300 partygoers making it their first port of call.

As tension mounted outside over the 8pm queueing deadline, i managed to get to the bar and order a pint but after just 4 gulps of it the stampede had begun as practically every punter in the building made their break for the door to join the queue outside. It was only 7.40 but by 7.45 well over 500 people had already formed a line to the Subby's front door and still they kept coming. By 8pm the queue had stretched all the way round the corner to the Arches.

The atmosphere was totally charged as excitement and anticipation grew as fast as the queue itself. I'd managed to find some friends up near the front of the queue and muscled in to 78th posistion in the line. At 8pm a red Audi estate pulled into the lay-by next to us and out stepped Optimo's resident heroes Keith "JD Twitch" McIvor and Johnny Wilkes. The cheer that greeted them from the crowd was like something you'd hear at a cup final. Utter adoration from their incredibly loyal fans. It was an emotional moment alright and both Keith and Johnny looked completely humbled by it.

By 10pm it was already heaving inside the club, full to capacity and the door staff were telling the queue they were now operating a strict one-out-one-in policy. The queue at this point was still huge and stretched all the way round the corner towards the Arches. Inside. the whole place was buzzing. History was being made right here and we were a part of it. Twitch and Wilkes slowly built the night up with a beautifully programmed set which gradually got faster and more full on as the night pushed on. Mixing up classic rock, funk, camp disco, pure pop music, house, techno, punk, electro indie and alternative plus some crazy nerve shattering sound effects they created an atmosphere quite unlike anything i've ever seen in nearly 15 years of hanging out in some of the country's best club environments. The noise from the crowd when certain anthems dropped into the mix or between tracks was quite deafening.

Extra speaker stacks had been brought in especially as well as loads of unbelievable lighting effects and big tv screens for visuals. I've never heard the Sub Club sound or look anywhere near as good! At just after 4am when the final track had ended the cheers were louder than ever and what a moment of sheer joy at being a part of something we all knew was huge and would be remembered for a long time. There was also a deep sadness that Optimo was gone forever but as Nina sang just moments earlier, "It's a new dawn, its a new day, its a new life for me....And I'm feeling good!" The Optimo team will continue running Sundays at The Sub Club but Twitch and Wilkes will no longer be tied to Djing there every week. They have many other exciting projects to get into now they have a bit more free time but as Johnny stated right at the end "Glasgow is the best place to play in the world and there's no way they could ever give it up entirely!"

For a wee taste of the vibe inside please check out my Optimogeddon clips on Youtube.

So its out-with-the-old-and-in-with-the-new time so lets have a gander at what the coming weekend has in store for us. This weekend look's set to be a little bit quieter as there doesn't seem to be much on on Friday. However, its Mayday Bank holiday weekend so there's lots of good stuff happening on Saturday and Sunday is also jam packed full of great parties.

FRIDAY 30th APRIL 2010

The Vinyl Club

on Leith 98.8fm

On this weeks show John Gerrard lays down a storming set in the first hour demonstrating the skills that earned him one of the biggest cheers at last weekend's Unique Beats event in Edinburgh. The second hour will be handed over to the Flow Management crew from Slovenia with another tech-house and minimal set from Alexander Madness. Here's a wee bio on the man himself.

Alexander Madness

“Music is movement, variation, imagination and eternity. In other words: the future of sustainable energy. As a DJ I try to transfer and receive that form of energy from and to the people on the dance floor - mixing minimal techno tracks with electro house floor fillers. For the rough cases I always carry progressive and electro tracks in my DJ bag.”

Alexander Madness (AM) discovered daylight in 1978 in Koper, Slovenia. Already his mother knew that music is going to be one of his main interests: As a kid he always liked to stand in front of roaring speakers. Before diving into the universe of electronic music, Alexander was listening to rock, pop and all the other genres that are usually popular among the youth.

"I first got to feel the magic of electronic music in 1996, when sounds of fast hardcore hit my ears. Because that kind of music was rare at that time, I soon switched to slower rhythms of chemical progressive."

In 1998, AM first stepped behind the decks and immediately felt the connection – and it’s still lasting. Like any other DJ he realized that the beginnings were not easy. His first gigs were played at local bars and private parties, but his technique evolved within years, as did his passion for the music.

In the past years he was switching from one e-genre to another until he really got into techno, which he still prefers. He plays mostly minimal/techno but in his DJ case you’ll also find progressive and electro/house tracks.

He has been playing in all the major and recognized clubs, such as Ambasada Gavioli, Lipa, SubSub, K4,The Temple, Fun Academy, Oxygen, Netopir, The Club, The Cube, Channel Zero, Playtime, Forest, Tivoli, Arcade, Culture club and many more. He participated also on Final Flash, Fetique-Boutique,Maximal, Astrodisco, Born to be Wild, The way of Freedom and Sound Of Summer events.

AM is currently making a real name for himself. His productions have found him fans that include the likes of Umek, Marco Carola, Pedro Delgardo, Tomcraft, Wehbba, Tomy DeClerque, Dyno, Laurent Garnier, Tomcraft, Riccardo Ferri, Thomas Krome, Jan Nemecek, Piatto, dA frESh, Robert Leiner, Markantonio, Maverickz and many more.

Throughout his eleven years run and after AM’s guest appearances in numerous venues in Slovenia & Croatia, AM has also shared the spotlight with some of the industries best DJ’s. Some of his collaborations include artists such as Valentino Kanzyani, Andy Moor, The Filterheadz, Richard Bartz, Len Faki, Bryan Cox, Oxia, Joris Voorn, Matthew Dekay, Seamus Haji, Criss Source, Danilo Vigorito, dA frESh, Mashtronic, Electrixx, Ade Fanton, Virgin Helena, Paul Hazendonk, Petar Dundov, Jamie Bissmire and many more.

He aims high and as written in the biography "beginnings were not easy..", but it is already obvious, after all these years, that e-music is the thing that keeps him going.

Alexander Madness on myspace

Show runs from 9pm -11pm. click the link above to tune in online.

Scrabble

@ La Cheetah Club, Queen Street, Glasgow

If wonky techno and incendiary dubstep is what you're after of a Friday evening then get along to Scrabble because Luke's Anger and Stick 430 are performing live this week.

Luke's Anger hasn't played here in Glasgow for nearly 3 years so this is quite a rare opportunity to catch this innovative producer here in an intimate club venue with a real kick ass soundsystem. Performing live on a combination of synths, drum machines and various other bits of kit his dancefloor friendly techno sound will captivate your mind and shake your body to the floor. His remixes and original tracks are garnering support from some very influential people indeed with Steve Pointdexter, Detroit Grand Pubahs and Laurent Garnier among some of the bigger names crediting his work. His seemeingly endless touring schedule has seen him play all over the UK, Europe and America especially around the festival circuits. He also runs the Bonus Round record label which puts out some very cool experimental and chalenging tech-funk.

Check out his website or his myspace for previews of his awesome tracks and more info.

Stick 430 are two Scottish based producers, Hector Ruiez (RA) and Harvey (RV). They've been working together since around 2004 when they were playing live at various parties around Edinburgh and Glasgow. After getting chatting they discovered they had a mutual love for machine music and found that their individual styles kinda complimented each other so they decided to join forces. They're both very passionate about all things electronic and regularly incorporate elements of dubstep, techno, electro, chiptunes and oldschool rave into their live shows which are largely improvised and always unique. This will be the third time they've played for Scrabble. They've just released an ep on Input-Output titled Time Obsolete

Check out their myspace for a taster.

Doors for this open from 11pm till 3am and entry's just £7/6

SATURDAY 1st MAY 2010

Melting Pot

@ The Admiral, 72a Waterloo Street, Glasgow

Glasgow's premier disco party throws open its doors once again on Saturday with another incredible line up of musical luminaries.

Downstairs in the main room Beats In Space host Tim Sweeney will be flying in from NYC to drop some of those ground-breaking, spine-tingling earth shattering joints he's famous for. Beats in space is widely regarded as one of the best radio shows on the planet in terms of the calibre of guest djs and producers who regularly supply mixes or drop into the studio for interviews or to talk about events and projects they're involved in.

Broadcasting live every Tuesday night on New York City's WNYU fm station or live online (or as a downloadable podcast), the show features an incredibly diverse range of guests from Glasgow's own Optimo guys to Motor City Drum Ensemble, to Rub N Tug and Maurice Fulton to Aeroplane, Tensnake and Harvey. Now in its 11th year and with thousands of fans all across the globe the show's sucess has allowed Tim to travel all over the world. He's been a club dj since the age of 15 and after starting out playing around the clubs in the Baltimore and Washington areas he moved to NYC in 1999 where he also met James Murphy and Tim Goldsworthy and began working with them at their esteemed DFA Recordings label.. He's currently very much in demand all over the world and Melting Pot are very happy to have him back for a second guest slot here in Glasgow. Main room support this month from the Melting Pot residents Simon Cordiner and Andrew Pirrie.

Check out the Beats In Space website for podcasts of loads of previous shows and other good stuff.

Also on the bill this weekend, Glasgow's Niallist will be doing his live techno-electro-disco-pop thingwhich went down a storm last weekend in Edinburgh. Niall's been getting regular gigs at the likes of Optimo and Death Disco and i've no doubt the Melting Pot faithful will be right into his unique sound. He's playing upstairs in the bar area which is hosted this month by Esprit D'Escalier. Matthias D'Escalier has hosted some rather awesome parties at The Black Sparrow and Blackfriar's in Merchant City. His dj sets incoprorate lots of funk, twisted disco and spacey electro sounds. He's joined by special guest Gnarlyface who will be bringing some wonky, soaring electronic sounds which make his Casio Canteen show on Sub City Radio popular.

Entry to the club cost £10 and doors open 11pm-3am. Preclub party starts upstairs at 9pm and there will be a few half price passes for the club up for grabs so get down early and ask at the bar.

Jam The Box
Goes Live

@ The GRV, Hasties Close

(Off Guthrie Street), Edinburgh.

In Edinburgh the Jam The Box guys are throwing one of their part live gig-part club night events this month. Featuring no less than 5 live bands from 7pm then djs from 11 this event is sure to have something for everyone.

Headlining the live section this month are Alfonzo who absolutely rocked the roof off last time they played at JTB back in July of last year. Hailing from nearby Portabello, the Alfonzo four piece have been busy in the studio recently and have just released their first single "Blind As Faith". They recently played at Sneaky Pete's as part of the one day Edinburgh music festival Haddowfest and delivered one of their trademark sets, a mixture of blues, funk and good old fashioned rock n roll, which completely stole the show. They're very excited about coming back to Jam The Box as their last appearance at the club was a highlight of their career.

Alfonzo Myspace

The Set Up are an Edinburgh based four piece whose blend of blues, rock and folk and really stunning 3 part harmonies seperates them from the rest of the pack. Their catchy riffs, and signature hooks always captures their audience's imagination and they utilise electric guitars, acoustic guitars and piano based melodies to devastating effect. So far they've had tracks played on various national radio stations including Radio One and BBC Radio Scotland. Thev'ye received very positive review from the likes of Vic Galloway and Rick Fulton and have even done a live studio session for Radio Scotland.

The Set Up Myspace

The High Lines are another Edinburgh based band. They've also played at JTB before and they're excited to be back on the bill for a second time. The lads have been busy playing loads of smaller gigs around Edinburgh and recently played at the legendary Dublin Castle venue in London. They've just released a new ep titled The Walls and can't wait to thrill the JTB crowd with their energetic punk/funk - rock 'n' roll set.

The High Lines Myspace

Edinburgh indie kids, The Albions make their JTB debut with whats is best described as traditional British guitar music. Catchy, well structured songs and crowd pleasing melodies coupled with a set of older tracks as well as plenty of brand new material allows for plenty audience participation when these guys hit the stage.

The Albion Myspace

Green Man Running are another band who have played JTB before and after their impressive set last year look forward to rocking the crowd again with a set of filthy basslines, catchy riffs and stomping beats. They're one of the most highly talked about bands in the city at the minute and well worth a look.

Kicking off the event will be The Ragged Army. Comprised of former members of the Romany Rogues, these guys bring a mixed bag of folk, rock and psychedelia to JTB with a predominantly accoustic sound.

After Alfonzo the Jam The Box residents take over the main room 'pon their hallowed wheels of steel. Meanwhile Roscodisco looks after the bar area.

Doors open at 7pm and close at 3am. Entry just £6 all night which is a total bargain for so much great music.

Ultragroove

@ Cabaret Voltaire,
36 Blair Street, Edinburgh

Also in Edinburgh on Saturday, Ultragroove welcomes deep house don Milton Jackson. Milton's been making house music since the age of 18 after gettin an Akai MPC2000. within a year he'd released his first ep on Stevie Hiro Middleton's Tronicsole label. 3 more eps for Tronicsole and a critically acclaimed album The Bionic Boy for Glasgow Underground followed. The album received support from the likes of Laurent Garnier, Tom Middleton and Ashley Beedle. Jockey Slut magazine named Milton as the most exciting thing to happen to UK house music for years and gave The Bionic Boy five stars.

By 2006 he'd formed a new relationship with Jimpsters Freerange label where he teamed up with another deep house supremo Shur-i-khan. together they released "I Want It" and "Special Powers". Further eps followed fro the likes of Tsuba, Crack And Speed, Silver Network and Icon.

2007 saw the release of Cycles, a deep driving and beautifully melodic track. It was voted a top ten track of the year by listeners of the Buzzing Fly Radio show. It was at this time that his dj gig schedule really started to get busy as bookings started coming in from all over the world, from Tresor in Berlin to Womb in Tokyo, from Anzu in Brazil to 360 in Dubai and a very special live performance in front of 7000 people at Sonar in Barcelona.

In 2008 he released Ghosts In My Machines. his most successful single to date which became a huge hit at the Miami Winter Music Conference that year. It was the years biggest selling deep house track on Beatport and won him the Beatport -best deep house single award. He was ranked as the third best deep house producer on the planet after Jimpster and Dennis Ferrer. His second album Crash which came out on Freerange gained him even more plaudits. It was described as "darkly, tech edged, deep house, adding judicious samples of exotica and sci-fi effects to laudibly clean, moodily funky effect." by uncut magazine and "Reinvents house music for the future / where electronic house music melts into the darker machinations of the techno spectrum." by DJ Magazine.

The
Korova
Conspiracy

@ The Reading Rooms, Dundee.

Up in Dundee The Korova Conspiracy guys are lookin forward to a massive night with Leftside Wobble aka Jonathan Moore at the Reading Rooms.

In the past 12 months Moore's Leftside Wobble alias has gained significant attention the length and breadth of the UK and beyond. His slick dj mixes which he posts on Soundcloud have been real favourites of mine. Joining the dots between funk, soul, boogie, dub and house music they defy any genre ruts and maintain the beautiful fluid motion which you just know will rock any dancefloor. He has an uncanny knack of being able to keep you moving between styles just like djs such as Cosmo, Danny Krivit, Francois K and the like.

His edits are an absolute joy to the eclectic ear as well and no two are the same. From his rework of The Beatles's Tomorrow Never Knows to a personal fave of mine Curtis Mayfield's Hell Below, his masterful skill in dissecting a truly stunning piece of classic, contemporary music, coupled with his remarkable ability to sew the pieces back together, to form a fresh and more up to date sounding track which will work on a modern dancefloor, is almost unparralled. Topping over a hundred thousand downloads and gaining support from the likes of Ashley Beadle, Greg Wilson, Rob Da Bank, Mr Scruff and Luke Unabomber its no wonder the guy is hot property right now.

Although Leftside Wobble is a relatively new name on the dj circuit Moore has been djing since the early acid house boom around 1988. He was a regular at Paul Oakenfold's parties in London and became a resident at the venue after Oakenfold left. He regularly throws charity fundraising parties with the likes of Bill Brewster, X-Press 2 and Pete Heller to raise money for Trees For Cities projects. He's always maintained a truly balearic attitude towards music, in that he likes to mess around with many styles, keeping things fresh and surprising rather than get stuck into a boring rut of one particular genre.

This will be the first time he's played in Dundee and The Korova camp are extremely excited about this event which will see him play a solid 3 hour set. Support in the main Room will come from Baxter P Sunbather whilst room 2 will see Hometown Hifi and Dean Boogie joined by Ediburgh's Blonde Flash who's renowned for her Paradise Garage/Studio 54 inspired sets of classic disco, funk, hip hop and soul. As its a bank holiday this weekend The Reading rooms will open from 9.30pm - 3.30am and entry for the event costs £12.

Check out Korova Conspiracy's blog for more tasty mixes and related titbits.

For some of Leftside Wobbles amazing tracks have a gander at his Soundcloud.

SUNDAY 2nd MAY 2010

Million Dollar Disco

@ The Big Joint, South Street, Scotstoun, Glasgow

This Sunday sees the first of Million Dollar Disco's intimate summer parties at one of Glasgow's coolest and most underground venues out on the northwestern edge of the city. Big boss man, disco evangelist, Al Kent will be joined by one of the finest disco jockeys on the planet who helped him kick start the Million Dollar Disco parties way back at the beginning.

Chicago, Illinois's Rahaan has been dropping disco and funky house beats to retro music heads since the 80s when he and his friends used to hang out at the Windy City's best parties. This background in spinning tunes alongside some of the best Djs from the city has certainly paid off for him. He's now a very much in demand dj around the world and an excellent producer and re-editer in his own right with eps out on Stillove4music and KAT labels. After a few years away from home, living in Wisconsin, he moved back to Chicago with his ever growing collection of proper disco records. During the nineties he moved quickly up through the citys dj ranks as one of the elite disco/house djs, playing at clubs such as The Spot, The Loft parties, Sisters Of Vision and Soul In The Hole and eventually a residency at Chicago's premier club venue The Buddha Lounge. By the turn of the millenium he'd started producing tracks for his own collection, exclusives that he could play out. These tracks brought him to the attention of Fourplay Records who immediately signed him up and released his first big hits "Coming Hard" and "No Time For Love". Since then he's compiled and mixed many djmixes for other labels as well as releasing loads of original tracks which have in turn brought him to the attention of other record labels.

His skill on the turntables has propelled him out of the Chicago underground circuit and onto the global stage. His first appearance here in Glasgow at the first Million Dollar Disco party at the Big Joint was something quite extraordinary. Rahaan almost literally blew the roof off. So many people turned up to hear him play that the venue clear ran out of drink!

He's djd at some of the best black music parties around the world and is a regular feature on the bill at the legendary Southport Weekender. He's played in Glasgow numerous times now the last time being at Electric Frog Street Carnival at the tail end of last summer. His Dj sets are always very well received here and this looks set to be another roadblock event

Rahaan will be supported by one of Glasgow's premier Disco Jockeys and the man behind The Million Dollar Disco, Al Kent. Kent's passion for black music stems from a very early age. After discovering the Tamla Motown label on a shopping trip to Tesco with his parents back in the early 70s he became hooked immediately, head over heels in love with the sounds of Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, The Marvelettes and The Miracles.

A few years later by now in his teens he began to meet other people who shared his love of black music. They began to hang out at Northern Soul parties and events. By the age of fifteen, he and some close friends hire a local community hall and some turntables to throw their own party. This would be the first time that he made people dance by playing his records. He liked that feeling of making people happy with music. He liked that feeling a lot.

Over the next few years he began to get gigs playing his records in proper nightclubs and getting paid for it! He also kept on doing the occasional community hall parties, which soon really took off and became all nighters with guest djs playing too. Eventually he found himself touring all over the country attending parties, djing at parties and generally spending most of his money on records. He soon discovered the disco music of the 70s and became even more hooked and began collecting these bigger 12" maxi discs.

Later still a man named Yogi Haughton exposed Al to a new sound, a bit more electronic driven than the disco and soul he'd heard previously. This new sound was house music and once again he found himself blown away by the power of it. Soon he was collecting and playing these new house tracks out on a regular basis and getting paid quite well from his art. But eventually the old disco records crept back into his sets until he realised he was pretty bored of the newer house sound and that Disco was his true love.

Years later Al started the Million Dollar Disco label to put out his own disco edits and remixes, then after, realising that he wanted to make proper, original disco tracks from scratch instead of using the house music production techniques of sampling and cutting up old tunes. He enlisted the help of some real musicians and formed his own Milion Dollar Disco Orchestra. The project took nearly three years to complete but eventually an album titled "Better Days" was released on BBE records.

Al's skills as a dj have earned him huge respect from some of the best people in the business and he's regularly invited to play at parties like Southport Weekender, where last year he was asked to play in the main 2000 capacity room for the first time. Last year he also released another album called Secret Sounds again on BBE. Its a slightly more stripped down affair than MDO was, utilising a few of the old house music production techniques but mastered in a totally analogue studio to give it a nice organic feel.

This event promises secret sounds galore as Al and Rahaan show off their finest and most prized records from their collections. Expect real rarities and incredible re-edits of old favourites as they go head to head educate and entertain you in equal measures.

Tickets will sell out for this. The only way to guarantee entry is to book your place on the list in advance. Send £10 per person via paypal to info@milliondollardisco.com. Doors open 11pm - 4am

At the time i'm writing this there are less than ten tickets left. Big Joint capacity is limited to only 100 so this will be an amazingly intimate event!

Kitty Kat Klub
@The Universal, 57 Sauchiehaul Street Lane, Glasgow

The Kitty Kat Klub returns to The Universal on Sunday for a bank holiday special and they've put together a crackin line up of djs for you so if you can't get along to Million Dollar Disco this will make a fantastic alternative.

Joining residents Craig Moogroove and Bosco in the main room will be Dublin's Marcus Lambkin aka Shit Robot. Signed to the rather exquisite DFA Recordings label out of NYC, Shit Robot's sound can be describes as spacey, elctronic funk with its roots in disco but adding classic touches of chicago house along the way.

Since moving to NYC in 1992 Marcus started up a weekly Sunday party with some friends playing electronic dance music in a predominantly rock music venue called Brownies. He then made 3 mixtapes which he sent out to other venues in the hope of getting more work. Two of those venues offered him residencies, one of which was the now legendary Save The Robots night, where he was a resident for 2 years. It was here where he met fellow irishman Dominic Keegan with whom he founded Plant Records and P lant Bar which would be named the coolest and loudest bar in NYC by Face magazine in October 2002. Here he started the Shit Robot parties with DFA's James Murphy. They named the night after James's rather rubbish drawing of a robot. He left Plant Music in 2004 and he and his wife moved to Stuttgart. In 2006 he released the Wrong Galaxy/Triumph ep. He's been touring all over the world ever since and has released loads of other gret tracks, many of which you can find on his myspace.
This event will also feature a second room with another favourite dj of mine, Kev Stevens, playing alongside Kitty Kat debutante Rebecca Vasmant.
Entry to this party is £10 and doors open 11pm - 3am.

Ear Candy

This week i have another awesome mix of mid tempo house and nu disco from Baker Street Recordings Jacob Kelly plus the entire 7 hours of musical paradise that was the last ever Optimo party at Glasgow's Sub Club, plus something very special for the older readers who may well have frequented the legendary PURE.

Jacob Kelly - Spring Mix '10 - Eclectic Avenue

Do It To The Max - 6th Borough Project

Just a Memory - 6th Borough Project

Heavy Love - The Revenge

Herbal Cake - Space Ranger

Fever - Chris Carrier

Cancan - Chris Carrier

The Way - Global Comunication

Who's Who - 95 North

Planets - The Revenge Lost Groove

Nudge Up - Head Nodding Society

Optimogeddon - 25/04/10 The End Of Otimo at the Sub Club

Thanks to Moggieboy at Ripped In Glasgow blog for compiling and hosting this lot.

Here's another awesome mix from JD Twitch. Its more of a PURE set than Optimo. If you're old enough to remember Pure then you'll love this, full of the rampant classic techno that made the club an absolute mecca for electronic music fans throughout the 90s.

Twitch - Pure Nostalgia

Adonis - No Way Back (Chicago 1986)

Armando - Land Of Confusion (Chicago 1988)
F.U.S.E. - Substance Abuse (Detroit 1991)
Essit Muzique - Essit Muzique (Eindhoven 1994)
Up! - Spiritual High (Detroit 1992)
C'hantal - The Realm (acappella) (New York 1990)
Pergon - The Deliverer (Frankfurt 1993)
Speedy j - Pullover (Rotterdam 1991)
Holy Noise - Get Down Everybody (Parkzicht remix) (Rotterdam 1992)
Alec Empire - SuEcide (Berlin 1992)
Linea Alba - Space Travel (Ghent 1990)
Code 6 - C.O.D.E.S. (New York 1991)
Dimensional Holophonic Sound - House Of God (New York 1990)
Fierce Ruling Diva - Whipped Kream (Amsterdam 1990)
True Faith - Take Me Away (acappella) (Detroit 1989)
2 Bad Mice - Waremouse (London 1991)
Genaside II - Narra Mine pt. 2 (London 1991

Well as the fat pig said, "Th-th-th-th-th-th-th...That's all folks. Thanks for reading The Chef's Specials. In association with...

The Chef's Specials For Week Ending 25/04/2010

2010-04-20T15:15:00.014+01:00

Well guys, i cannae really say i feel that much wiser and i'm not really feelin any older either to be honest but another year in the life of Chef De Party has passed. Yes i'm now officially 32 and still just getting warmed up.

Having just had a monster birthday weekend which took me to Edinburgh for some live music at Citizen Smith, followed by some awesome djs sets from Yogi Haughton and DJ Q at Telefunken on Friday, then Metro Soul for some tough rythmic house music from Domm and Ryan Alan here in Glasgow on Saturday and finishing with Sunday Safari and Optimo on Sunday, I am feeling surprisingly fresh and full of energy this week.

Disco Kitchen HQ is becoming a real hive of activity as promotional work for various events and organisations is starting to come in for the summer festival season. And with all our Forever Cookin' events all starting to come together as well there's a real air of excitement and anticipation building. Support for our events at local level is also building momentum and i'm very grateful to be living in such a creative and supportive city. Indeed i'm very happy to say that 2010 is shaping up nicely and my 33rd year may well turn out to be one of the best yet.

Anyway, thats enough of the over indulgent optimism for now. I'm guessing you're here reading this because you wanna know whats on this weekend so lets have a butchers at this week's top picks.

THURSDAY 22nd APRIL

Equalised

@ Halt 2, 160 Woodlands Road, Glasgow

The Equalised lads' weekly Thursday session at The Halt features SubCity Radio's Men And Machines crew this week. Mixing up various styles of electronic dance music from disco to techno and deep 'n' bleepy house music, Men And Machine also run a clubnight at Stereo on Renfield Lane which has featured the likes of JG Wilkes (Optimo), Black Meteoric Star and I Am Blip amongst others. Djs start at around 8ish pm till eleven pm and its free entry all evening.

FRIDAY 23rd APRIL 2010

The Vinyl Club
live on Leith 98.8FM

This week's show kicks off with James Carrol at the controls for an hour of solid tech house, minimal and tech funk. James and his co-host John "Gerry" Gerard have been friends for years. He has been a popular spinner at various parties in and around his hometown of Glasgow since his late teens.

These days he's a fully fledged club DJ, regularly playing at the likes of Pulse and Jam The Box in Edinburgh as well as the Velvet nights here in the west, warming up for the likes of Spektre, Redshape and Samuel L Sessions. After many years of djing together, John and James joined forces to try their hand at production. Their first single titled The Acid Incident is just about to drop on Pyrate Music later this month and its backed with a cracking remix from rising star Shaun Mauren.

The second half of the show features a mix from Ian O'Donovan. Hailing from the Emerald Isle, Ian's techy electronic sounds have been developing since he was 16. After immersing himself in Ireland's electronic music scene and djing at various local parties, he decided to move to Australia, where he made the leap into music production. He eventually moved back to Ireland last year and began to really focus on music production as a career. His first few promos were sent out and immediately began to gather support from some of the techno world's biggest stars including Laurent Garnier. This year he has a whole barrage of new tracks about to be released on record labels such as Flying Flowers, Hype Music and John Digweed's Bedrock imprint. His rich and uplifting melodic tech house is sure to continue winning him fans and supporters and 2010 looks set to be a big year for him.

A Deeper Groove

@ Blackfriar's Basement, 36 Bell Street, Merchant City, Glasgow

Glasgow's Deeper Groove merchants Joc and Steph will be back in Blackfriar's basement this Friday for another one of their rather nice wee soulful house parties. After their last one a couple of months ago which featured Edinburgh soul and house veterans Ricky "Soul Renegade" Reid and Craig "6th Borough" Smith, the lads have managed to pull in another old school Scottish legend. This time its Colours and Streetrave hero Jon Mancini's turn at the helm.

Jon is without doubt one of Scotland's most famous DJs having been a part of the first big acid house parties back in the early nineties. As a resident dj at Ayr Pavillion's now legendary Streetrave events, Jon played alongside some of the biggest names in the rave and early house music scenes. Nowadays his soulful, vocal house sound can be heard at the Colours events held at The Arches. He's also made a name for himself as a radio presenter having hosted Clyde FM's specialist dance music show Colours Mix for over 3 years. This is a rare opportunity to catch Jon playing in an intimate venue and it will be a busy night so best advice is to get down early. Doors open 10pm - 3am and Entry cost just £5 before midnight or £7 after.

Soulology

@ The Brunswick Hotel Basement, Brunswick Street,

Glasgow

Glasgow's undisputed queen of soul, Elaine McGrath, hosts another one of her Soulology nights at The Brunny Basement this Friday. Colin Sales and the legendary Mancunian Yogi Haughton will be popping in to lay down some sweet, soulful and jackin house music mixed up with a dash of jazz-funk and a sprinkling of disco rarities. These two DJs have been around for ages and have become pretty much synonamous with great quality clubnights.

Entry for this party costs £5 and please note the Brunny is only licensed till 2am so the event starts an hour earlier than most other places at 10pm.

Club

For Heroes

@ The GRV, Hasties Close

(Off Guthrie Street), Edinburgh

Following an extended break, Edinburgh's sparlkiest cosmic discotech returns to its home at The GRV on Friday night with another galactic line up of musical mix-masters. Residents Simonotron and Honey Sweetcheekz will be joined by the bearded militant vinylist Jamie Spectrum and Glasgow's acid-disco-pop merchant The Niallist in the main room while Dapper Dan's Default and Picassio look after the front bar area.

Jamie Spectrum is one of Edinburgh best loved veterans of the dj booth. An old favourite at such legendary nights as Motherfunk, and Scratch and long time staff member at the city's finest and longest serving vinyl emporium Underground Solush'n, Jamie's dj style visits all points on the musical compass. Blending swiftly between hip hop, funk, disco, soul, house and techno with wild abandon and masterful skill, he knows exactly how to work a crowd by pushing its buttons and taking them into the unknown, on a musical voyage full of surprises and excitement. A true master of his art and one of my favourite disco jockeys.

Hailing from Glasgow, The Niallist is another of the Scottish clubscenes true underground heroes. A regular spinner at Death Disco, Optimo, Melting Pot (next week) and Wasabi Disco, The Niallist built his reputation creating acid tinged discopop and wonky, italo space-funk, the sort of beautifully chaotic and sexually charged sounds that labels Dissident and Little Rock lap up greedily.

Doors open from 11pm-3am and entry is just £3 before midnight or £5 after.

SATURDAY 24th APRIL 2010

Unique Beats

Electronic Arts Festival v2.0

@ The Roxy Art House, 2 Roxburgh Place, Edinburgh

Electronic music enthiusiasts should head to The Roxy Arthouse in Edinburgh this saturday, as the second annual Unique Beats festival is taking place. Held in a stunning old church building located between the city's Pleasance and Bridges districts, Unique Beats has already become the biggest fairs of its kind in Scotland. The event features equipment and software demonstrations and workshops hosted by the likes of Moog, Novation, Ableton, M-Audio, Akai, Roland, Korg and more, plus live music from over 30 talented local acts such as Anchorsong, Frog Pocket, Tokyo Knife Attack and Asthmatic Astronaut upstairs in the main hall.

Meanwhile downstairs in the basement Leith FM's Vinyl Club and the Laptop Lounge will be hosting another stage where dj/producers like Deemond, Swede, Project Dataline and Slo-Mo djs will be playing some rekkids. The event is sponsored by Red Dog Music store and it looks set to be a really informative and fun day out. Tickets cost £7+bf in advance from the website or £10 on the door. The event starts at midday and finishes up at around 1am.

His n Hers Launch Party

@ Electric Circus, Market Street, Edinburgh.

(by Cornelius Pierce)

From the radge bastards that brought you "the bang bang club + erection section"

say hello to HIS & HERS...

A much needed, straightforward, quality indie and alternative club night, that for some weird reason doesn't currently exist in Edinburgh, the last thing close to this was in the liquid rooms before it burned down, and even still we had our critisms...

The question was... Why is there nowhere that plays all the quality stuff from punk, post punk, new wave, 80's synth pop and electro, 80's alternative, the wealth of 90's indie and alternative and the cream of the same crop from the last 10 years?

And when you find something close to that, it's always in a dingy venue with suitably matched punters, its a stigma that will prevent good people from venturing into one of these nights, even though there is a chance they "might" get to hear some of their favourite tracks.

Electric circus is without a doubt one of the cleanest, prettiest, sexiest venues in the capital, very friendly and a great host for a night such as this. Other than the venue, the playlist for this night speaks for itself, just good quality music with a healty dose of nostalgia, without being cheesy and definately missing out all the obvious stuff, no disrespect to nights such as Madchester and Planet Earth at the Citrus Club etc... They are what they are. His & Hers will be striving to be a little more discerning than that, with 3 decades of solid music to play for everyone, a vibrant and interactive facebook ideology. We are paving the way to give back something that everyone wants, yet would have to go to 3 different club nights to satisfy. Simple uncomplicated stuff, you should know what to expect and you should expect a high standard, as we are talking about the music we all grew up with.

Taking their name and visual styling from the Pulp e.p. and album, we hope to set the right tone for this night and hope it becomes a reliable, regular favourite for many in Edinburgh. There shall be a heavy amount of relevant kitsch on the screens and 2 His 'n' Hers cocktails on offer (pink for girls and blue for boys of course!)

This launch night will be immediately after The Fall's concert at Studio 24, so as you can imagine, there may be the odd fall track getting a right good seeing to.

We hope you can come out to play and enjoy the fresh air of some stuff you rarely get the chance to dance to elsewhere.

His n Hers starts at 11pm, finishes at 3am and costs £5 before midnight or £6 after.

Electrofunk-
discotek

& Supermax

@The Brunswick Hotel, 106 Brunswick Street,

Merchant City,Glasgow

Back here in the west The Brunny plays host to two excellent parties this Saturday as Craig Moogroove and Sir Billy Woods bring their crates full of cosmic disco, italo, techno, house and space funk to play for your listening and dancing enjoyment.

Upstairs in the main bar Craig's slick blent of modern disco-edits, deep house and cosmic hiphop jams will undoubtedly please a clued up crowd of 20-30 somethings who like to indulge their passion for undeground music in the plush comfort of one of the city's swankiest boutique hotels. Craig's experience both as a dj and as an accomplished producer has led him to gigs all over Europe including Paris and Berlin. His sweet and friendly nature coupled with a real passion for the music he plays has earned him a large circle of friends and admirers. He's also one of the resident jocks at Solar Disco which also runs at The Brunny and is another of my Favourite nights here in Glasgow. He's an avid blogger too and runs the Piece Together blog which is a great resource for mixes as well as bits and bobs about Glasgow nightlife and the creative forces behind it. This party kicks off from about 8.30pm and runs till around midnight. Entry is free all night long.

In the Ear Candy Section at the bottom of this week's Specials i've included a new mix from Craig to get you in the mood. It's pretty darn awesome so please check it out.

Glasgow's favourite eclectic wizard of dance music Billy Woods will be rolling his incredible Bozak-Balmain soundsytem down into the basement a little bit later on as his Supermax Love Machine touches down once again.

Billy is a full on vinyl obsessive and a collector of some of the rarest and most obscure disco records ever recorded. His dj style knows absolutely no genre boundaries and he's as prone to playing proggy Krautrock as he is to playing The Jacksons or the O'Jays. With Billy you never really know what to expect which makes him one of the most exciting DJs in the country.

He's one of the few jocks left in the world who still play by the unwritten rules layed down by the likes of Larry Levan where the emphasis is not solely on flawless beatmatching but in playing exceptionally good records to create a story and to bring people out of there shells and let them enjoy themselves. Popular club hits of today sit next to some of the most obscure rarities of the past 50 years. Squelchy acid techno merges with soulful disco and italo or electro and old school hip hop. The way in which the sounds are heard is also an obsession for him so his custom built Bozak-Balmain rig is one of the very best soundsystems you're ever likely to hear, with crystal clarity and a beautiful warm and organic feel.

Tronicsole

@ The Admiral, 72a Waterloo Street, Glasgow.

Freerange Records boss Jimpster will be dropping into The Admiral in Glasgow on Saturday night to help Tronicsole celebrate its first birthday. Tronicsole has been at the forefront of the city's deep house scene since its launch 12 months ago. With resident Stevie "Hiro" Middleton and his Solemusic label backing the night its no wonder, really.

Freerange Records is one of the UK's best known deep house stables. Their artist rosta reads like a "who's who" list of the nations deep house professors with names like Manuel Tur, Lovebirds, Milton Jackson and Shur-i-khan all featuring. Since the labels launch in 1996 they've managed to clock up over 100 releases and there's no sign of things slowing down for them just yet so expect loads of exclusive new tracks from the boss man on Saturday. Hiro and Stevie Coyle will be providing support this month as well as giving away loads of free cds featuring mixes and new tracks from the Solemusic label.

They're also throwing a wee pre-club party up at The Courtyard on West Nile Street from 9pm and will be issuing people with discount entry passes to the club afterwards.

The club opens at 11pm and runs till 3am and costs £10 entry. Preclub is free entry.

Ear Candy

Here's another crop of excellent dj mixes which have been tantalising my audio tastebuds this week.

Lel Palfrey - Sleazy Beats Mix April '10

First up is my mate Lel Palfrey's awesome new mix for Sleazy Beats blog.

Intro - Skit [Firecracker]
Red Rack 'Em - In Love Again [Untracked]
Fudge Fingas - It's about time [Prime Numbers]
Session Victim - Danish Daughters [Retreat Vinyl]
San Proper - Sex Drive Rhythm - [Dekmentel]
Small World Disco Edits - Where is The compassion [Small World Disco Edits]
Nu Frequency ft Ben Onono - Fallen Hero (MCDE RMX) - [Rebirth]
Cottam #3
The Beatdown Machine - More Love (LTJ X-Perience mix) [Sleazy Beats]
Riccio - Thrills (ft Kelvin Sholar) [Gentleman]
Story #1 - Subway To Cologne [Story]
I:Cube - Falling [Versatile]
Amplified Orchestra - Shake Up Theme [Amplified]
Amplified Orchestra - Sugar Honey Baby [Amplified]
Lovebirds - Modern Stalking - [Winding Road]

Craig Moogroove - Electrofunkdiscotek -Fragments mix

Electrofunkdiscotek and Solar Disco residents new mix of nu-disco and deep house

Jay Shepheard - End Of Part One - (Retrofit)

Burnt Island Casuals - Scotch Hop - (Under The Shade)

I:Cube - Falling (Versatile France)

Crazy P - Stop Space Return (Ron Basejam Remix) - (2020 Recordings)

Bottin, Kotey Extra Band - Hot Ring (Fernando Edit) - (Bearfunk)
Golden Bug - Flamingo (Pete Herbert Remix) -(Gomma)
KZA - Gothenergy (The Revenge Remix) - (Endless Flight)
Fromage Disco - Acidic Strings (P.H Edit) - (Lightspeed Records)
Dirty Jesus - Don't Fuck With My Shit (Pete Herbert Remix P.t 1) - (Juno Records)

Burnt Island Casuals - Truth & Temptation - (Under The Shade)

Ooft Music - Some Like It Warm

Ooft Music's Ali Herron delivers a party rockin set of pitched down house,

deep and moody disco edits and some nice techy flavours towards the end.

Rene & Angela - I Love you More (Mr K Instrumental)

Reset - Juiced (Recut)

Tornado Wallace - Be My Ladyboy

Daniel Solar - Got To See Her

Surround Sounds - Beyond The Dance (The Revenge Demo Mix)

Chamboche - Show Must Go On

Motor City Drum Ensemble - Moving Through Clouds

OOFT! - Ride In To The Red Zone

Sascha Dive - Jus Groove

Denny Trajkov - Pacific Dream (OOFT! Remix)

Missing Linkx - A Short History Of...

Runaway - The Fire Below

OOFT! - Spanky Spanky

Rick Wilhite - What Do You See? (Moodymann Remix)

Josh Wink - Counter Clock 319 (Chateau Flight Remix)

Jovonn - Losin My Mind (Jon Cutlers Distant Music Dub)

Paul Du Lac - The House Of Spirits

Floating Points - Estian III

Simon Hallworth - Back To Mine IV

Edinburgh's Simon Hallworth delivers a really stunning chill out and ambient electronica mix

The Last Atlant - Reminescences (Original Mix) .::. [bonzai elemental]

Jon Anderson - Amor Real (Global Communication Remix) .::. [Dedicated]

Nick O'Sean - Sureness (Adrien Aubrun Chillout Mix) .::. [e Musica]

Chicane - No Ordinary Morning .::. [Xtravaganza]

Yunus Guvenen - Indigo (Original/Layered Sounds mix) .::. [Bedrock]

Spooky - Shelter (Slow Phase) .::. [spooky.uk.com]

Peter Martin - Sunday Melody .::. [Morrison Recordings]

Sasha - Baja .::. [Deconstruction]

Delerium - Twilight .::. [Nettwerk]

Banyan Tree - Feel The Sun Rise .::. [Songbird]

B.I.G. - Teardrops .::. [Klik]

Ulrich Schnauss - Monday-Paracetamol .::. [City Centre Offices]

Blank & Jones - Daydreaming .::. [Gang Go Music]

Nemos - kuues meel (Aural Imbalance Remix) .::. [Nemos Music]

Underworld - Banstyle , Sappys curry .::. [Junior Boy's Own]

Sister Bliss - Sister Sister (Blissed Out Mix) .::. [Unknown/white]

Medway - Slow Resurrection .::. [Hooj]

Solarstone - Last Defeat (Part One) .::. [Solaris Recordings]

Well that about wraps it up for this week folks. I'd just like to thank you all again for the birthday wishes and for continuing to read The Chef's Specials, brought to you as always by ...

The Chef's Specials For Week Ending 18/04/2010

2010-04-13T20:20:00.010+01:00

Hi guys. Good weekend? Mine sure was.... Again! Saturday evening started off at Max's bar on Queen Street here in Glasgow, listening to some sublime deep disco and mid tempo house from one of my favourite local Djs, Jamie Thompson.

A firm favourite on the pre-club circuit here, Jamie's love for deep and soulful grooves is earning him lots of support and respect just now. As well as playing at the likes of Bloc bar and Max's Jamie can often be found in the upstairs bar at Melting Pot. He recently recorded a mix for the Ooft Music Ruff Jamz series and its a beauty which has been on repeat on my Mp3 player for the couple of weeks. If you wanna check it out, just click on the Ooft Music Blog link down the right hand side of this page.

By around 11 o 'clock we'd left Max's and headed into Merchant City to catch up with the Solar Disco lads at their monthly free party. The music here was again really good with Kev and Craig rocking the upstairs bar till about midnight before the whole party moved downstairs to the Brunswick Hotel basement. I'm really happy to report that the party had a really great turnout and the atmosphere was fantastic. Tracks by artists such as Tensnake, Azari and Ill, Floating Points and The Revenge really pushed the soundsystem to its limit and the up-for-it crowd turned the room into a proper little sweatbox.

As is the case practically every time I go to a really good party, I was somewhat dissapointed when 2 o'clock came round really quickly and it had to finish. But it was good to get home and get some sleep before Sunday's Solid Gold Safari Back at Max's which took place upstairs this weekend. I had a great afternoon catching up with some old friends and playing some classic disco and funk records mixed up with some nice Sunday house joints.

This weekend I'm really lookin forward to catching up with some more old mates whom I haven't seen for a good while and as i'm celebrating turning 32 on Monday, i'm also lookin forward to some birthday drinks! But for those of you who are here to see what's cookin in clubland this week lets get right in amongst this week's highlights.

THURSDAY 15th APRIL 2010

Slo - Mo
@ The Flying Duck, 142 Renfield Street, Glasgow

As many, if not all of you should know by now, the first of Forever Cookin' Promotions' new Glasgow projects launches this Thursday night at one of the city's most unique clubbing spaces.

Myself, Stuart Holbeck, Charles Gardiner and Rob Firth are very excited about this new venture which will see the four of us playing some top class feel-good music to ease you into your weekend, a day earlier than usual.

With over 40+ years of djing experience between us we're looking forward to soundtracking your Thursday evening with some soul, funk, disco, edits, mid tempo house and deep melodic techno. We're aiming to create a cool, almost afterparty, kind of vibe at the duck where djs, promoters, producers and so on can come and hang out and discuss ideas and collaborations. We also want to appeal to all the tradeworkers, shop staff, NHS staff, and others who have to work all weekend but want to go out and listen to really great music midweek instead. With a ridiculously cheap door price and fantastic value drinks promotions we're hoping that you'll come and join us every fortnight as we invite some of the finest djs in the land to join us in the DJ booth. Already lining up to play with us over the next couple of months are Craig and Kevin from Solar Disco in May plus Dance Dance Dance residents Andy Piacentini and Derek Smith.

This event kicks off at 11pm - 3am and entry is only £2. Please check out our new blog page for more information, regular updates, dj charts, free mixes etc.

http://slomo-glasgow.blogspot.com/

Those lovely lads at Equalised have also invited us along to The Halt Bar (160 Woodlands Road) on Thursday to do a wee preclub party with them. This party should start around 8 o'clock and run till the bar closes. Slo - Mo DJs Stuart Holbeck and Rob Firth will be joined by the Equalised Resident in Halt 2.

FRIDAY 16th APRIL 2010

The Vinyl Club
live on Leith 98.8FM

On this week's Vinyl Club show, John Gerrard and co will be joined by the production team behind the Unique Beats Electronic Arts Festival. Unique Beats was launched in the Spring of last year at Edinburgh's Roxy Art House, a huge converted church building located between The Pleasance and the city's South Bridge area. This years event takes place on Saturday 24th of April and features lots of live music from local electronic artists, as well as dj sets from some of the best underground talent from across Scotland. There will also be stalls, demonstrations and workshops hosted by hardware and software manufacturers such as Ableton, Roland, Moog, Korg, Akai, Novation, Yamaha, Propellerhead and M-Audio.

Live sets at this year's event will come from Anchorsong, Frog Pocket, Tokyo Knife Attack, Engine 7, Alex Tronic, Athsmatic Astronaut and Deaf Professor amongst others. There will also be a downstairs room this year hosted by The Laptop Lounge and featuring Dj sets from some excellent local acts including myself and Slo-Mo.

Tickets for the festival cost just £7 plus booking fee and are available from the Unique Beats website (Click link above) along with more information about the event and the featured artists and companies.

The second hour of the show will feature a guest mix from the capital's MomentuM djs Adam Famos and Paul Thompson who've been throwing parties downstairs in City Cafe and hosted the second room at Ultragroove recently. Their blend of classic Chicago house and deep Detroit-esque techno is proving to be quite a hit with the natives and they're looking to branch out to Glasgow soon too.

Equalised
@ Stereo, Renfield Lane, Glasgow

Friday sees the Equalised lads host another of their events at Stereo here in Glasgow and this month residents Bobby Wilson, Alex Ash and Truman Data will be joined by Chicago dj/producer Kate Simko.

Kate started her musical career in her early childhood as a classical pianist but by the mid nineties, by then in her teens, the blossoming house music sounds emanating from her home town soon got her hooked. Her passion for electronic music continued to grow and eventually led her to Northwestern University where she studied Music Technology and Piano. By 2001 she'd moved to Santiago in Chile and had hooked up with Andres Bucci with whom she recorded her first record "Shapes Of Summer" as Detalles.

Since then she's been back to South America numerous time, recording more work with Andres as well as playing gigs in cities like Buenos Aries, Caracas, and Punto Del Este. Kate's sound has developed into a hybrid of deep, soulful techno reminiscent of Detroit and the jackin', funkier house sounds of her home town. Throw in her classical training and some beautifully intricate programming and you have a rich tapestry of funky basslines, deep grooving synthlines, driving percussive rhythms and lush, textured ambience. She's been voted one of the top 10 djs in Chicago by XLR8R magazine and her diverse and versatile dj style has won her thousands of fans around the world.

Equalised are very excited to welcome the first lady of techno to Glasgow for the first time and this party looks set to be a real stormer. Doors open from 11pm to 3am and entry is just £7.

Telefunken
@ Cabaret Voltaire, 36 Blair Street, Edinburgh

Over in the East, Edinburgh's Telefunken lurches back into action after a short winter break. After a pretty massive 2009 which saw the likes of Mark Farina, DJ Sneak, Hector Moralez and Derrick Carter all fly in to rock Edinburgh's old town, The club have roped in another of the Windy City's big guns.

This time the mighty Gene Farris will be delivering one of his trade mark, funky, ass-shakin' looped out disco-techno sets to the Edinburgh faithful. Gene is currently the boss of no less than three different record labels at the moment Farris Wheel Recordings, lunched in 1998, Farris Wheel Limited which he started in 2001 and his latest addition Industry Records. The labels are responsible for releasing cutting edge funky dance music from the likes of Funky Transplant, Onionz, Boo Williams, Glen Underground, Demarkus Lewis, JT Donaldson and Bryan Jones amongst others.

Gene's DJ sets are renowned for their relentless, driving energy which mashes tough, syncopated, percussive rhythms with really funky bass lines and ocassional dark brooding grooves. Throwing in some spooky sci-fi style effects and wicked vocal tracks he never fails to create a hot and sweaty vibe on the dancefloor. As a true master of his artform, he really knows how to read a crowd and he feeds off their energy before channelling that same energy right back into his set. I've been fortunate enough to have caught him djing numerous times here in Scotland and I have to say he's definitely one of my favourite djs on the planet. His Scottish debut at Tribal Funktion in Edinburgh back in 1996 was and still is one of my top 10 nights out ever, and after nearly 14 years of clubbing almost every weekend, that is quite a title to hang onto. Main room support as always comes from Alan Gray with Hoss on warm up detail.

In room two Scotland's favourite funk-soul-brother Yogi Haughton will be doing his trademark, boogie, funk, northern and proto-house thang. Yogi is one of Scotlands biggest heroes although he originally hails from Manchester. He owns one of the largest black music collections in the world and is allegedly responsible for bringing the sounds of US house and techno to Scotland back in the 80s.

Advance tickets are on sale from Tickets-Scotland, Ripping Records, Underground Solush'n and Xile Clothing priced £7+bf or £9 on the door. Doors open 10.30pm -3am.

SATURDAY 17th APRIL 2010

Metro Soul
@ La Cheetah, 72 Queen Street, Glasgow

Back in Glasgow, Saturday night sees the return of deep techy house emporium Metro Soul to the infamous La Cheetah, basement club. The venue has recently benefitted immensely from a new sound system installation and i have to say its pretty damn impressive.

Metro Soul residents Ryan Alan and Rob Firth will be testing it thoroughly on Saturday with some deep and moody house and tech house before they hand over the reigns to Sub City Radio's undergound hero, Domm who runs the Slave To The Rhythm show.

Nominated for Best Newcomer and Best Specialist Show awards at last year's Scottish Radio Awards, Domm's passion for deep and techy house music is astounding. His Slave To The Rhythm show regularly attracts some of the biggest listener numbers to the station. With guest dj sets from the likes of Laurent Garnier, Carl Craig, Agoria, Sebastien Leger, Slam and Loco Dice amongst others, its no wonder the he's getting the respect and admiration of clubbers and music industry bods alike.

This looks set to be a real belter for Metro Soul and a welcome return to La Cheetah. Doors open from 11pm -3am and entry just £5 before midnight or £6 after.

SUNDAY 18th APRIL 2010

Solid Gold Sunday Safari

@ Max's Bar, Queen Street, Glasgow

Dig out your blunderbuss and pith helmets once again on Sunday for some more Safai fun at Max's on Queen Street. This week Anton, Dribbler and myself will be hosting the afternoon session of beers, banter and great music and we'll be joined on the decks by Mr Jamie Thompson plus a surprise guest. Lashings of Sunday soul grooves, a soupcon of classic funk and some tasty disco nuggets being the order of the day along with fresh coffee, homecooked food and the Sunday broadsheets.

Party starts at 5pm and entry is free all day.

Optimo Penultimo

@ The Sub Club, 22 Jamaica Street, Glasgow

The Sub Club's sunday institution of genre-smashing, hysteria inducing funkiness Optimo is about to close its doors forever and this Sunday sees the last but one event. Your hosts, legends JD Twitch and JG Wilkes will be pulling out all the stops over the next two weeks and dropping every tune that ever rocked the Optimo dance floor over the past decade. This week they'll also be joined by KXP.

The first band not from Glasgow that Optimo ever put on at the club were Finland's Opel Bastards. They were also one of the best bands they ever had play and are one of only a handful of bands they had back to play again. They also had them play as their alter ego And The Left Handed, and they have remained great friends of Optimo's. They have now morphed into KXP.

There is S-F-A about them online but their album is great and the Optimo (Espacio) remix of their song "18 Hours Of Love" has become a bit of an Optimo fave (and is featured on the Synth Summer podcast).

It seemed very fitting and a seemly symmetry to have them as the last ever band to play the club. The past and the future collide...

Get down early or be prepared to queue.

Well guys thanks for reading The Chef's Specials once again. That's it from me this week. I'm off to get everything sorted for Slo-Mo and to get ready for another monster weekend as I'm celebrating my 32nd birthday. Hopefully I'll catch up with many of you over the weekend but if I don't see ya have a good one and please rave responsibly! Cheers for now.

The Chef's Specials is brought to you every week in assossciation with...

The Chef's Specials For Week Ending 11/04/2010

2010-04-06T17:49:00.218+01:00

Wow! What a weekend that turned out to be! Hang out with old friends... Check. Make lots of new friends... Check. Dance to some of the best music ever recorded... Check. Have an out of body experience because the music/soundsystem/joy of sharing the experience with some of my nearest and dearest was almost too much to handle... Check. All day Monday spent in bed recovering... Check!

Seriously guys, its a good job not all weekends are quite in the same league of sheer bliss as Easter was for me because i think i'd go utterly crazy. My trademark bunnet is well and truly doffed to everybody who made this such a special weekend, especially to the Melting Pot guys who's double whammy almost sent me off into space. Saturdays Paradise Garage tribute was like an encyclopedic voyage through some of the best dance music i think i've ever heard in one night in my whole life. Many of the records played i'd heard before, but a vast majority were brand new to my ears. Some of the tracks, i'd heard bits of, rehashed and turned into more modern house tracks but they were previously unheard by me in their original form. There is nothing i like better than djs who don't just entertain me but also educate me with their record selection and this is probably the biggest factor that makes Melting Pot one of my favourite nights in Glasgow.

The fact that they book some of my favourite guest djs every month also helps and Danny Krivit on Sunday was nothing short of mindblowing. His set was a nonstop ride through some of the most beautiful soul, funk and disco tinged house music i've heard for ages. Track after track of beautiful vocals, exquisite melodies and feelgood vibes. The expressions on the faces of the packed crowd said it all. Massive smiles of sheer joy all round. Even the lengthy queues at the bar didn't dampen anybodys spirits. In all it was one of those weekends you just don't want to end but hey, it had to wind down eventually.

So as another week begins, "what" i hear you ask, "do we now have to look forward to???"

Well this weekend has its fair share of good stuff too, although not quite so much as last weekend but that's probably a good thing. Lets take a look, shall we?

THURSDAY 8th APRIL 2010.

Thursday Nights at The Halt Bar
160 Woodlands Road, Glasgow

Thursday night sees Equalised return to The Halt Bar on Woodlands Road for another session of mid tempo house and deep techno grooves.This week Rob and Bobby are on holiday so Truman Data will be hosting the whole night. Truman's blend of deep and sleazy tech-funk grooves simmers next to solid, tracky disco re-edits and melodic deep house. Using Ableton software he creates some extraordinary brooding sounds with layer upon layer of head melting beats and bass.

For a wee taster of Truman in action check out the really excellent mix i've posted in the Ear Candy section below.

Entry is free all night and djs are usually on from 8 till midnight.

Next Thursday (15th) myself and the Slo-Mo residents will be dropping in to play some funky disco and deep, pre-club shizzle ahead our launch party at the Flying Duck. Hope you can join us!

FRIDAY 9th APRIL 2010

The Vinyl Club
On Leith 98.8 FM

This week John Gerrard kicks off the first hour with another excursion into the deep tech-house grooves for which he's becoming famous on Scotlands east coast. Fresh from another storming performance at the weekend, alongside the Jam The Box guys, John's really looking forward to getting back in the hotseat and warming you guys up before this week's special guest mix drops for the second half of the show.

Paul Nazca lives in rural France, way down in the deep south ,amongts the olive trees from which he and his brother produce oil when he's not making incendiary techno records. His love for the countryside in which he lives is almost as strong as his passion for the music he makes, however its his music which has made him famous around Europe as well as the rest of the world.

He was just 11 years old when he got his first taste of electronic dance music during the first Anglo-Saxon rave wave. By 1993 he'd started djing and after 4 years of really pushing himself to master the art of mixing records, he naturally progressed to wanting to make them. The following few years saw him collect various bits of analogue and digital hardware and to focus his energy on the creation of his own style of tech-house.

In 1999 he was introduced to André, who was part of a very famous local band called Virtual Age, this meeting was to prove to be a pivotal point in both of their careers. By 2000 they'd launched a new record label, Scandium, as a means to release the tracks that they were creating. Paul's first ep, Movement, was released that year and was the second release for the label. It quickly gained huge support from the likes of Technasia, Funk D'Void, The Hacker and fellow countryman, Laurent Garnier. The rest of the tracks Scandium put out were also recieved well amonst the techno elite and press alike. The following year Paul released another 4 LPs worth of tracks. All of which sent shockwaves through the techno and tech-house communities around the world, further cementing his status as a world class producer, as well as helping to create a real buzz for French techno. By 2003 he was ready to drop his first album, a double LP titled "Les Musiques Des Mon Moulin" (Music From My Windmill). The album was a huge hit and put him right up amongst the cream of the crop of French producers of electronic music, as well as being a great reflection of his true personality.

More recently Nazca has joined forces with another, younger, french Dj, Maxime Dangles, to create the hugely powerful and explosive Napthalina EP, which they recorded under the Danzca moniker earlier this year and released on the Signaletik label, with a remix by US techno legend Joey Beltram.

Paul is a huge fan and supporter of the Vinyl Club and has submitted a guest mix each year since 2008. Tune in from 9pm either on your FM dial or online via the link above.

Jackhammer
@The Caves, Niddry Street South, Edinburgh.

After a short winter break Jackhammer springs back into action on Friday night. This month they're taking over one of the Capital's most spectacular venues in the heart of the old town, and they've secured an equaly spectacular line up.

Ben Sims is no stranger to Jackhammer, having played at the club numerous times before. His slick style of relentless, crashing beats and twisted funky rhythyms is always a hit with the Edinburgh crowd. Surgeon too has previous form at Jackhammer and his clinical mixing style has long been a favourite. This month though, both producers are going head to head for one of their infamous live shows as Frequency7.

Taking their name from the title of a highly influential, electronic funk track by 80s band Visage, Frequency 7 is a mind blowing project put together by two of techno's biggest superstars. Combining elements of techno, funk, hiphop, dubstep, house, disco and indutrialand utilising decks, FX, plus all the latest in software and hardware technology, Surgeon and Simms create a truly awe inspiring assault on the senses that leaves their crowds in a state of sheer elation and delerium.

The project initially started out as a studio practice session but quickly evolved to a few secret gigs at techno parties around Europe and beyond. It has now grown into a full live show which the guys have toured all over the world and has become both producers' main focus after their solo work. This sound coupled with the ambience and accoustics of Edinburgh's The Caves venue, will no doubt be one of the biggest and best nights of the capital's 2010.

DJ support this month comes from the residents of one of Edinburgh's most forward thinking clubnights, Stepback. Party starts at 11pm till 3 in the morning and Entry costs £10 or £8 for students.

We Are Electric

@ Cabaret Voltaire, 36 Blair Street, Edinburgh

We Are Electric's monthly Friday session takes place this weekend and host Gary Mac is joined by local legend Mr Pyz who runs Cab Vol's flagship techno and drum n bass soundclash party, Split.

Now into its sixth year, Split has become a serious behemoth on Edinburgh's clubbing calendar. With a winning formula of upfront drum n bass, jungle and breaks in the main room plus cutting edge techno, tech-house and electronica in room two, the weekly Tuesday session has been a huge sucess amongst the capital's student population as well as the many tourists and foreign workers livin in the city. Every week the club fills to bursting point with anywhere between 400 and 600 up for it ravers piling in and creating a proper sweatbox atmoshphere. Mr Pyz has been involved since day one and his unrelenting enthiusiasm, coupled with an inexhaustable knowledge of the music the club plays, as well as a knack for booking some of the best new dj/producer acts and his desire to keep a wallet friendly door price, has ensured that the incredible reception the club gets continues year after year. Students and tourists come and go but Split's place in Edinburgh as a top night out remains constant and with regular slots from some of Edinburgh's other heavyweight clubnights, Aztech, Obscene, Xplicit, Manga, Shadow Skillz, Bass Sydicate, Access and more its no wonder the kids just can't get enough.

We Are Electric, which also takes place every Wednesday, started doing a monthly weekend party around the begining of last year in a bid to bring some bigger name guest djs over to rock the Cab's brickwork. It has also been very successful and continues to pull in punters from all walks of life who love to listen to cutting edge electro, tech-house and minimal grooves. Mr Pyz's dj style fits right in to all of those categories and his technical ability will ensure this party will definately go off.

Room two is hosted this month by the disturbingly good Picassio and Default who run Dapper Dan's Their eclectic show of decks, fx and some of the best genre hopping music around is always a huge hit so make sure you check them out. Entry on Friday cost just £3 before midnight or £5 after which i'm sure you'll agree is a serious bargain. Doors open at 11.

Heavy Gossip
@ Medina, 45-47 Lothian Street, Edinburgh

Craig Smith and Nick Yuill's new project Heavy Gossip returns to the archways and alcoves of Edinburgh's Medina this weekend for their second event. This month Sub Culture newbie, Telford, is invited along to drop some of those deep, brooding flavours which have propelled him rapidly through Glasgow's dj ranks to a residency at the longest running weekly house night on the planet.

Telford enrolled at the Sub Club academy for dj excellence as a lowly glass collector just a couple of years ago but he soon found himself in the hallowed booth working as a light technition. From the most prized viewpoint in the whole club, he was able to study, not just his mentors Harri and Domenic but also the premier league guest djs as they worked their undeniable magic upon the Sub's dancefloor. It wasn't long before his passion and devotion for the music began to take hold and after a bit of gentle persuasion to his mentors he was allowed to play a few warm up sets on Saturday nights.

His training, now almost complete, has since taken him to the dizzy heights of a Sub Culture residency and all the responibility that role carries. He's also taken to producing music like a duck to water with some stunning solo tracks as well as really exciting collaborations with some of the city's key players. Proving that bags of natural talent and a lucky break are sometimes all you need to really chase a dream Telford's future career seems to look very bright indeed.

Doors open from 11pm -3am and entry is £5 all night.

Numbers

@ O2 ABC, 300 Sauchiehaul Street, Glasgow.

Over here in the west, the Numbers crew are setting up camp in the O2 ABC this month, with another cracking guest in the form of Germany's Modeselektor.

Mashing up old school rave samples with dubstep, techno, electro and bass heavy breaks has proved to be a winning formula for Numbers who have been running regular parties around Glasgow for over six years now. With a resident dj/producer crew which includes Jackmaster, The Village Orchestra, Nok La Rok, Spencer Nelson, Goodhand and Bobby Kleaver amongst others these guys have rocked most if not all of the hottests dancefloors in the city. Between them they run 3 record labels as well as the Numbers labels itself. Their nights usually feature some of the most groundbreaking, barrier smashing djs and producers around and Friday will be no exception.

Modeselektor got together in the early 90s amid the acid house boom and the illegal rave parties. They started off creating music together as Fundamental Knowledge but Changed their name to Modeselektor in 1996. By 2000 they'd met Ellen Alien and signed to BPitch Recordings which they made their home label. They have also joined forces with a few other producers on projects such as Moderat with Apparat, and Pfadselektor with Pfadfinderie. They refuse to be pigeoholed with their dj style or productions veering between hiphop, techno, dubstep and experimental electronica.

They've built up a huge fanbase across Europe and have been a huge hit on the festival circuit over the past few years. Even Radiohead's Thom Yorke is a fan and he actually invited them on tour with the band recently. This is not the first time they've been booked to play for Numbers and i very much doubt it will be the last either. Dj support on the night comes from Spencer Nelson and Goodhand with Pfandfinerie and Retina Glitch supplying the visuals tickets are on sale priced £12 plus booking fee from Tickets Scotland, Rubadub Records and the O2 ABC box office. Doors open 11-4am

Please take a few minutes to check out the Numbers website for podcasts, previews, mixes and various other bits and bobs. Its a really informative site and well worth a look if you're a fan of the club or the label.

SATURDAY 10th APRIL 2010

Solar Disco
@The Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick Street, Glasgow

Solar Disco makes a welcome return to the Brunswick hotel again this week, with more deep and cosmic grooves from residents Big Kev, Craig Moogroove and Maelstrom.

I made my debut appearance at Solar Disco last month and i have to say the tunes both upstairs in the main bar and down in the sweaty little basement room were seriously good, with the likes of Tensnake, Floating Points and Motor City Drum Ensemble all rocking the clued up crowd.

Solar Disco is a monthly free entry party which really does attract a cool crowd of clubbers. Djs start from 9pm upstairs in the bar with the party moving down to the basement arount midnight and continuing till late.

Stepback
@Sneaky Pete's, Cowgate, Edinburgh

The capital's premier bass merchants Wolfjazz and Keyte are ready to blow another hole in the Cowgate this weekend as their Stepback Project rolls into Sneaky's once again. This month one of the aforementioned Numbers crew residents joins them on the decks. The Village Orchestra or Ruaridh Law as him friends know him is also one third of The Marcia Blaine School For Girls. He is an acomplished producer and a seriously talented dj.

His debut album Et In Arcadia Ego was released in 2005 and was an instant hit, with many of the music press institutions voting it well inside their top 20 albums of the year. Since then the live gig and dj set offers have been flooding in and Ruaridh has played all over the UK and beyond.

This will be his first set for Stepback, though maybe not his last ,as i'm sure his style will fit well amongst the Stepback faithful. Doors open 11pm - 3am and entry is free before midnight or £3/5 after. Please remember that Sneaky Pete's is a really small and intimate venue with a seriously kick-ass soundsystem. I definately advise getting down there early otherwise you may struggle to get in at all.

Late Nights with Dance Dance Dance!
@ Mamasan, Bath Street, Glasgow

Fresh form rockin' one of the best clubnights i think i've ever been to on Saturday when they teamed up with Melting Pot, The Dance Dance Dance boys Andy Piacentini and Derek Smith are looking forward to playing the hosts at Mamasan this weekend.

Once again their record boxes will no doubt be filled to bursting with the best in disco, boogie, funk, soul and vocal house bombs which will set the Mamasan dancefloor alight. Entry is free all night and doors open 11-3am.

The Bang Bang Club

and Erection Section.

@Electric Circus, Market Street Edinburgh.

(Preview by Corneilius Pierce)

Edinburgh's most diverse club night continues it's musically irresponsible nonsense this saturday at Market Street's Electric Circus.

It's been a year in the making, starting off as an underground performance art night, that focussed mainly on the darkside of underground indie and alternative, has developed into a colourful celebration of just playing the best, most wanted sounds ever mashed together for a dancefloor, there is no route left untouched here, no rules or music policy to speak of, other than any genre as long as each song is of a high standard.

This direction is mainly owing to the club's home in Electric Circus, maybe the most eclectic looking venue in the capital. With stunning decor and a mixed crowd to match, it is literally the only venue between Edinburgh's old town and new town, and the crowd match this with messy precision each time. Fat /skinny/cool/square/orange/yellow/white/brown...

Music wise the djs like to play live mashups of really cool tunes including drum and bass remixes of Joy Division and La Roux, straightforward rockabilly, 60's garage, an indulgent helping of hard edged post punk, a selfish amount of Bowie and Iggy and Roxy, at least 3 Fall tracks per night, lashings of Nick Cave, soul, 90's alternative, present day indie, krautrock, dirty edits, 80's pop & electro, topped off with maybe the closing song from Bugsy Malone... it is the disco equivalent of the chaos that ensues when the teacher leaves the classroom, and quite possibly the happiest, friendliest most non threatening uncynical crowd around...

Couple that frenetic excitement with the addition of the Erection Section, a backroom playing just as an eclectic mix of downtempo sleaze and filth and sounds you dont normally get to hear at such booming volume... and you have a club that is hellbent on pleasing everyone...

This whole evening is gelled together with excellent edgy visuals on all of the club's many screens, this saturday see's the introduction of the visual art of Canada's "Lorde Awesome" their permanently 'remote' new team member...

Wrecking the decks this month they have residents, The Baron and The Regent plus special guest Jetboy who will be controlling the Erection Section. Together they will be subverting the mainstream and making the underground accessible.... it's a stupid orgy and they love it.

£5 before 12 £6 after

Don't forget to ask for the Bang Bang Club's exclusive cocktail, the "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang"

SUNDAY 11th April 2010

Solid Gold Sunday Safari

@ La Cheetah, Queen Street, Glasgow

Glasgow's newest Sunday afternoon party roars back into town with another crackin line up of local talent. This week, residents Dribbler and anton will be joined by Pete Walker, DJ Lono and myself Chef De Party. Expect a wild mix of acid techno, disco, funk, soul, and house. The party starts at 3pm and rolls till 11o'clock so if you fancy some hair of the dog refreshments and a lugful of quality undeground music then come and take a walk on the wild side with us.

Entry for this one is FREE all day so nae excuses folks.

Ear Candy

Once again i've been inundated with exceptionally good mixes from some of the best djs on the planet this week so here's a few of my favourites. They're all free to download so you can stick them or your MP3 player and enjoy them anywhere.

Leftside Wobble - Spring Mix

Absolute killer mix from one of the true leaders of the nu-disco renaissance.

Manolo - Lose Myself

Leo Sunshipp - Give Me The Sunshine (SDC edit)
6th Borough Project - Stratus Quo
Cosmic Boogie - The Users
Rocha - Hands Of Love
Surround Sounds - Beyond The Dance
Eddie C - My Woman (PBR Streetgang Mix)
Situation - Gangster Love
William Devaughn - Be Thankful (Onur Engin Edit)
Martin Virgin - 24 Hours, 24 Minutes
Lovebirds - Out Into The Night
Art Of Tones - The World As I Live It
FCL - More Than Seven
LTJ Xperience - Do It
Stupid Human - Far Out Gypsy
The Revenge - Forever In Their Debt
Alex Kid - Don't Hide It (Acid Dub)
Jacques Renault - Piano's On The Beach

The Baron - The Bang Bang Club (April Sampler)
Here's a wee taster of the crazy eclectic sound of The Bang Bang Club.

the oblivians - ride that train

lady gaga vs freebass 808 - poker tramp

david bowie - rebel rebel

2 raumwohnung - sexy girl

the slits - heard it through the grapevine

iggy vs peggy - fever/passenger

francoiz bruet - la certitude

portishead - silence

Craig "Moogroove" Thompson - The Falling Mix (Electrofunkdiscotek)
This one's an absolute masterpiece of mid tempo house, sleazy electrofunk and dubby disco from the Solar Disco resident.
Pete Herbert (Reverso 68) - Unreleased Track - (CDR)

Shahrokh Sound Of K - Love Happens (Supersonic Lovers Dub) -(Compost Black Label)

I:Cube - Falling -(Versatile France)

Marius Vareid - Jet Set (Ray Mang Version) - (Maxi Discs)

Tensnake - Coma Cat - (Permanent Vacation)

Ajello - Hot July (Marius Version) -(Maxi Discs)

Bottin - Disco For The Devil (In Flagranti Mix) - (Bearfunk)

The Revenge - Innaspace - (Mule Musiq Japan)

Supersonic Lovers - Zupo (Pete Herbert Dub Mix) -(Brown Eyed Boyz Records)

Ray Mang - Look Into My Eyes - (DFA Records)

Truman Data - Live at Equalised at the Halt Bar 15/01/10

This is a crackin mix of deep melodic tech-house and mid tempo house mixed by one third of the Equalised crew unfortunately i don't have a tracklist for it.

Jose Padilla "Perfect Summer" mixed live at Cafe Del Mar Ibiza, August 1991
This is a stunning mix from one of Ibiza's greatest legends. Beautifully eclectic and funky, full of party joints and sugar-sweet feelgood vibes. Again though there's no tracklist, sorry.

Derek Smith live at Dance Dance Dance! 13/03/10
This is a timeless mix of funk, soul and disco from one half of the Dance Dance Dance! crew.
Mick Jackson – Blame It On The Boogie – (Atlantic)

Steve Winwood – In The Light Of Day – (Virgin)

6th Borough Project – Do It To The Max - (Instruments Of Rapture)

Jay-Z – What We Talkin’ About (DANCE! DANCE! DANCE! Edit) – (CDR)

Herbie Hancock – Stars In your Eyes (Yam Who Dub) – (Columbia)

Sade – Hang On To Your Love – (Epic)

Summerland – Soulmate (Naked MAJ Original) – (Naked Music)

Sunburst Band – Far Beyond – (Electric Chair)

Daniel Wang – In The Street (DANCE! DANCE! DANCE! Edit) – (CDR)

The U.B.’s – Beyond The Groove (Re-Touched) – (Electric Souls)

Inner Life - Ain't No Mountain High Enough Pt. 1 (JM 4AM Mix) - (BBE)

Global House - Lose Control – (Heartbeat)

LCD Sound System - Disco Infiltrator – (DFA)

Lindstrom – Grand Ideas - (Smalltown Supersound)

Humberto Matthias - Social Disco Club mix for Cool In The Pool
Latest mix on the Cool In The Pool blog from Humberto Matthias. Lashings of nu-disco and mid tempo house joints. Check out the interview as well.
Kenneth Bager - Sound Of Swing (Pilooski Dub Edit)

Social Disco Club - Give Me The Sunshine (Social Disco Club Edit)

Johnwaynes - Falling Leaves (Social Disco Club Remix)

Ilija Rudman - Dance Disorder (Faze Action Remix)

Imagination - Changes (DFP Back To Garage Mix)

Tensnake - Get It Right

Situation - Get On Up (Situation Edit)

Exodus - Together Forever (Pete Herbert & Dicky Trisco Edit)

Ike - Docs Edit

The Revenge - Forever In Their Debt (Pitched Down Mix)

Social Disco Club - Don't (Social Disco Club Edit)

Je Davu - Jam (Keep Me Warm Edit)

That's about it from me for this week. Hope you all have a great weekend and thanks for taking time to read The Chef's Specials. In association with...

The Chef's Specials For Easter Bank Holiday Weekend 2010

2010-03-30T21:02:00.002+01:00

Hi guys, how are you? Lookin forward to Easter? I sure am and not because i believe in chocolate eggs or crazies who turn bread into fish. (Wonder if thats how fish finger sanwiches were invented???) No ,i'm excited because we're officially into British summer time at last. Yes, i know its still snowing outside but winter is officially over. I'm also excited because this weekend is the first of the month again and it looks set to be another monster on both sides of the country with loads of amazing guest djs playing at loads of rather awesome parties. Indeed there's techno from Sven Vath, Jay Shepheard ,Marcell Detmann and Carl Cox, house from Derrick Carter, Hiro, Sonny Fodera, Ultragroove and Dmitry, disco from Billy Woods and Danny Krivit and a bit of everything from Jam The Box and Melting Pot. Aye its sure lookin like another roaster of a weekend so lets take at look at this week's highlights.

FRIDAY 2nd APRIL 2010

The Vinyl Club
on Leith 98.8FM

This week's show features a guest mix from Ireland's The Parallel who've been makin waves recently with a series of excellent quality, deep techno and electronica EPs on labels such as Static Recordings, Nice And Nasty and Komisch. They're currently getting support from the likes of Laurent Garnier Derrick May and Dave Clarke so well worth a listen.

Lance Blaise, boss of US label Teggno Records also delivers a crackin mix this week, showing why he's a name to keep an eye on in the near future. Recording under various monikers, including Tattoo Detectives and Taco Pimp amonsgt others, he has released an astounding number of tracks on some of the worlds best techno imprints and has had his music played by the likes of Richie Hawtin, Dubfire and Josh Wink. His friend and mentor, Carl Cox, cannot sing his praises enough and regularly invites him to join him on stage while he's touring the States. Since he parted company with his Tattoo Detectives parter in 2008 he has focussed on a more twisted, minimal style of techno. His record sales figures on Beatport would seem to prove that this was indeed the right decision for him. His innovative approach to his productions has gained him a huge following and his fans consistantly push his tracks into the top twenty on record store sites. This looks sure to be another monster show from The Vinyl Club so don't forget to tune in.

Depthcharge
@ The Flying Duck, 142 Renfield Street, Glasgow

Depthcharge returns to The Flying Duck this week, to host their third event and this moth Frazer and Jaya have invited local hero err... Hiro along to spread some of that Tronicsole/Solemusic magic upon the Duck's dancefloor.

Hiro or Stevie Middleton as he's known to his missus has been a key figure on the Scottish house scene for years now. His record label Solemusic was set up in 1996, originally as a means to release tracks by local artists who were making and playing predominantly black orientated dance music. Since then the label has continued to flourish and is now one of the longest running independant dance music labels in the UK.

The list of artists and contributors is astounding with names like Basement Jaxx, Joey Negro, Terry Hunter, Rainy City, DJQ, DJ Spinna, Chris Harris, Dominic Martin, The Jigmastas, Cooly's Hot Box, Sandy Rivera/Kings Of Tomorrow, Milton Jackson, Inland Knights, Frankie Feliciano, Phil Asher, Sounds of Life, Fred Everything, Todd Gardner, Lego, Swirl People, Basement Boys, Homecookin, Bugz in the Attic, Jay Tripwire, ATFC, Richard Earnshaw, Liquid People, The Beginerz and Open Door all featuring. Originally the label only released tracks on 12" singles however as with any business it has had to move with the times and has now put out compilations as well as artist albums. Solemusic has also embraced new technologies and now caters for the digital dj generation, with file downloads as well.

As a producer, Stevie has released over 100 of his own tracks as well as remixing and collaborating on countless others. His tracks regularly attract huge support from the likes of DJ Spinna, Kerri Chandler, Roger Sanchez, Joey Negro and Masters At Work amongst others, leading him to gigs all across the globe. He has played in nearly every major city on the planet in his career which spans nearly 20 years to date and he shows no signs of slowing down yet.

Jaya and Frazer are absolutely delighted to have him join them on the decks at Depthcharge for a night of proper deep house and sweet, soulful boogie-tech. Doors open 11pm-3am. Entry costs just £5 before midnight or £7 after.

So...Sub Club and Slam Closing Party

@The Arches, Glasgow.

If solid slamming techno and minimalism is more your thing ,then head along to the Arches on Friday for the grand finale of Subby n Slam's Smirnoff associated programme of events. For the big send off they've put together a crackin line up of djs including Sensu, Telford, Harri and Domenic, Slam and headlining the night German techno god Sven Vath.

Vath's name has become synonimous with the modern, minimal techno scene also championed by his sometimes sparring partner Richie Hawtin, although his career in music spans nearly 3 decades. Back in the early 90s he was one of the first djs to push the trance techno sound coming from Europe and he was a founder member of both the Harthouse and Eye-Q record labels which specialised in that particular style of music. Vath has always been an innovator and a fan of experimental electronica, melody and rhythm. By the mid nineties he was widely regarded as one of the most successful djs on the planet, with gruelling tour schedules which took him to every corner of the globe. His dark, hypnotic, trancetech sound was making him legions of fans in every city he played in. He was by far the biggest DJ in Europe by 1995, '96 saw him launch his Cocoon project which has since grown from a regular clubnight in his home town of Frankfurt to a globally recognised brand with worldwide tours, a weekly night at Amnesia on Ibiza during summer as well as incoporating a record label and artist agency.

Last year saw the tenth anniversary of his weekly Cocoon series of parties at Amnesia and with it the launch of his Sound Of The Tenth Season mix cd. His tireless touring schedule and relentless, visionary work ethos will keep him at the top of his game for a good few year yet.

Tickets for this event are on sale now priced £18 available at Slam Events. Doors open 11pm to 3am.

Fiasco
@ Bacchus, 80 Glassford Street, Glasgow.

The Fiasco gang return from Miami's WMC this weekend with Australia's bump n funk specialist Sonny Fodera in tow. Sonny is one of the most prolific producers around at the minute having had nearly 50 releases in just 15 months. His beautifully produced tracks are getting huge support right across the globe from some of the biggest players from Sneak and Farina to Carter and Heather and he's promised to bring a whole crateful of exclusive new stuff he's recorded recently for the glasgow massive.

This will be Sonny's first performance anywhere in Europe and he's really excited about playing in Glasgow which has always been one of Europe's hotspots for house music. Supporting this month will be Marco Loco of Ibiza Groove plus resident Ed Marco. For a sneaky preview of Sonny's mastery upon the decks please check out this recent mix recorded for promotion at WMC 2010.

Advance tickets are on sale now from Tickets Scotland priced £7 or its £10 on the door. Doors 10.30 - 3am
If you can't make it along you can also tune in to Chicago House Fm for a live webcast.

Monox
@ Sub Club, 22 Jamaica Street, Glasgow.

Round at the Subby this Friday, Monox returns for another session of stripped down tech-house and pedigree techno with another of Germany's principle exports, this time in the shape of Marcell Dettmann.

A firm favourite among Europe's techno fraternity, Dettmann's dj skills have earned him a residency at Berlin's Berghain club, a residency he has held since the club opened in 1999. He has released a number of top quality productions too, on Berghain's own Ostgut Ton label as well as his own MDR imprint. His style is best decribed as dark and brooding yet experimental and always looking to push things forward. As a friend and sometime colleague of fellow countryman Sven Vath, Dettmann has similar passions and aspirations about his music, continually striving to find new production techniques and exploring different sounds.

Resident and local legend Dan Monox will be providing DJ support. Doors 11pm - 3am and entry is £10 on the door.

Saturday 3rd April 2010

Jam The Box

@The Grv, Hasties Close, Guthrie Street, Edinburgh

After their insanely good Back To The 90's style rave up with Altern8 legend, Mark Archer last month, Jam The Box have decided to keep things a bit more local for their Easter extravaganza and have invited Leith FM Vinyl Club's John Gerrard along to join them on the decks in the main room.

The Vinyl Club has become a real jewel in Leith FM's schedule as an outlet for some of the most groundbreaking, electronic dancemusic. It's popularity continues to grow week in week out and it now attracts thousands of listeners every Friday night from places like Croatia, Serbia, Portugal, Spain, Estonia, Hungary and even South America and the USA via its online broadcasts. The show features exclusive guest mixes from some of the biggest names in house, tech-house and proper techno with artists such as Steve Rachmad, The Advent Neil Landstruum, Hans Bouffmeyer, Gabriel Onanda, Butch etc all regularly sending in mixes and actively supporting the show.

The show was launched nearly five years ago by the Dysfunktional residents James Carrol and John Gerrard, who now also co-promote Pulse nights in the capital. Their dj talents have gained them a huge following with mixes posted on their soundcloud pages regularly getting hundreds of plays and downloads. They've both recently been getting into producing tracks as well and they're already showing great promise. John's passion for the music he plays is incredible. He's always on the look out for new artists to showcase on the vinyl club and regularly send out messages to listeners to send in demo mixes or tracks to be played on the show. He is a true hero in the broadest sense and Jam The Box are somewhat honoured to have him join them this Saturday.

John's Soundcloud
James's Soundcloud

Through in the bar area Picassio and Default from Dapper Dan's will be joined by JTB favourite Rosco Disco to drop some funk, disco, soul, boogie and classic house cuts all chopped up with some crazy effects and turntablist skills, making sure that no matter what room you find yourself in, you won't be able to stop dancing.

Doors open from 10.30pm -3am and entry is £5 all night.

Ultragroove
@ Cabaret Voltaire, 36 Blair Street Edinburgh

Also in Edinburgh this Saturday, Ultragroove throws caution to the wind and lets the legendary Yogi Haughton loose in the booth of Cab Vol's main room. Yogi's is one of the citys longest serving djs having been spinning records all over the world for nearly 40 years. He's credited as the man who brought house and techno to Scotland back in the late 80s but he's probably most famous for his unrelenting passion for all kinds of black music, especially soul, jazz, funk and northern. His record collection to date stands at over 80,000 and is still growing making it one of the biggest and most prized collections in the UK and the world. This Saturday though, he's promised to deliver a set of soulful house cuts ,both new and classic, to a clued up bunch of revellers at the capital's longest running house emporium.

Also on the bill this weekend local boy Stewart Wilson makes his Ultragroove debut. Stewart's played in most of the decent clubs in Scotland as well as further afield in Barcelona. He likes his house on a deep n tribal tip with plenty of vocals and tough beats. As always main man Gareth Sommerville completes the line up. Entry is £5 before midnight or £8 after and doors open 11pm -3am.

Melting Pot vs Dance Dance Dance
Paradise Garage Tribute
@ The Admiral, 72a Waterloo Street, Glasgow

Here in Glasgow, Melting Pot teams up with Dance Dance Dance! once again for an evening of proper disco, soul, funk, boogie and early house music in tribute to the NYC institutions that were The Paradise Garage and its resident dj Larry Levan. This is the first part of a massive double header from Melting Pot and will feature many of the most popular and well loved tracks played by Levan at what is regarded as one of the first real superclubs.

The Paradise Garage was a discotheque notable in the history of modern gay and nightclub cultures and in dance and pop music. It was founded by Michael Brody, its sole proprietor, and was located at 84 King Street, New York City. It operated from 1977 to 1987 and was the base for DJ Larry Levan. Its name derives from its origins as a parking garage. The Paradise Garage's business model was largely inspired by David Mancuso's Loft parties: no liquor was served, there were no sales of food or beverages, and the club was not open to the general public.

The sound system was Developed, Designed and Installed by Richard Long & Associates, Kenny Powers and was said by those that attended to be the best in New York City at that time. The club has been credited for its influence on the development of the modern dance club as it is today: unlike other clubs of its time, the Paradise Garage was focused on dancing rather than social interaction, and it was the first to put the DJ at the center of attention.

Melting Pot and Dance Dance Dance residents are really excited about this event and have been digging in their collections for some of the most amazing and timeless tracks from the golden age of disco and protohouse, many of these tracks are real rarities and it will be a real privalege to hear them on the Melting pot soundsystem. As always the pre party starts in the bar upstairs from 9pm with £5 passes for the club on offer at the bar. Club doors open from 11pm -3am and full price is £8.

Sub Culture
@ The Sub Club, 22 Jamaica Street, Glasgow

Glasgow's premier weekly house night Sub Culture is very pleased to have Chicago House master, Derrick Carter, back for the first time in nearly two and a half years. Carter was one of brightest stars of Chicago's nineties wave of bumpin, jackin house music. Although his sets feature predominantly house music he has a habit of veering off seemlessly into Jazz, oldschool disco, funk and techno or whatever else he feels will work on the dancefloor. He's was one of the pioneers of the swing/jazz influenced house music which reached almost fever pitch over the last couple of years with artists like Mes, Gramaphonedzie, and Greens Keepers amongst others all getting the bug.

His touring schedule is still as relentless as it has been for the past 15 or so years with gigs right across the globe nearly every weekend. This is his first trip to Glasgow in a good long while and i've no doubt it will be a tremendous night at Subby. Support come from Harri this week. Entry is £9 before midnight or £12 after. Doors 11-3am.

Sunday 4th April 2010

Solid Gold Sunday Safari
@ La Cheetah, (Under Max's Kansas City), Queen Street, Glasgow

Easter Sunday sees Solid Gold roll into La Cheetah for another Sunday Safari session. This regular Sunday afternoon party which has seen the likes of JD Twitch, and Chicago's Chez Damier drop by to play seems to really be making its mark on Glasgow's clubscene. The whole concept is a continuation of the East Village NYC Sunday parties which held their last event on Sunday 9th September 2001. The terrorist atrocity which took place two days later, closed down the venue and consequently the club.

Here in Glasgow, the ethos of the events remains the same. Families and children are welcome to come along and have a bite to eat and a dance to some of the best contemporary dance music around, supplied by resident djs Anton and Dribbler (Pure) as well as some quality guest djs. This week, Glasgow's professor of disco ,Billy Woods, will be popping in with some absolute killer tunes to rock out the kind of set that makes his Supermax events some amongst some of the most hedonistic in the city.

He will be joined by a real superstar from the former Soviet Union Supa DJ Dmitry (pictured) who was one third of Dee-Lite back in the late 80s to early 90s. Their single Groove Is In The Heart became a dancefloor anthem around the world when it was released in 1990 and spawned subsequent tours all over the globe. Since the band broke up in 1996 Dmitry has maintained a succesful career as a club dj as well as being involved in many production projects including a single with Julee Cruise.

Entry to this event is £5 and doors open 3pm -11pm.

Cosmic Microwave
@ Universal, Sauchiehaul Street Lane, Glasgow

Cosmic Microwave takes flight to The Universal on Sunday with residents Aaron Petrie and the hugely talented Brian D' Souza (Slabs Of The Tabernacle) joined by a relative newcomer to London's deephouse and techno scene, Jay Shepheard. This will be Jay's first gig in Glasgow and he's really looking forward to it after a successful, recent tour of Australia, releases on Buzzin Fly, Dirt Crew and the mighty Compost Black Label as well as launching his own label, Retrofit, and being signed up by the Secret Sundaze agency. Yes 2010 is already looking like one of the best years of his career so far.

His productions skills are pretty well defined already and his music is gaining much respect and admiration from some key players in the scene. His style appeals to a broad spectrum of music fans, straddling the divide between deep house and melodic techno with ease and creating some pretty stunning soundscapes. His track Last Days Of Cou Cou D taken from his debut on Compost Black Label #19 is a real favourite of mine and has been for ages now. That Ep gained him a lot of support, which he built upon with further releases CBL #28 and CBL #34 both of which were also widely acclaimed by djs, music fans and the press alike earning him a nomination for Beatport's Best Deep House Act award for 2007.

This year he's just launched his Retrofit label which aims to marry futuristic production techniques and sounds with the disco, funk, acid house and classic techno styles of the past. The first release simply titled #1 is already finding its way into some of the world best deephouse dj's record boxes.

This is sure to be a crackin finale to the weekend for fans of more futuristic techno based music and will no doubt be a busy one. Universal is quite an intimate venue as well so worth getting down early to avoid any queues. Doors 11pm - 3am. Entry £7

Melting Pot
@ The Admiral, 72a Waterloo Street, Glasgow.

Easter Sunday night, for me, is all about Melting Pot's doubleheader second half, featuring another legend from NYC. This time its Body And Soul's Danny Krivit who will be gracing the hallowed MP turntables. Krivit has been involved in the dance music scene since his childhood. When he was just seven years old he helped out as a waiter in his step dad's place Ninth Circle in Manhattan serving the likes of Jimi Hendricks, Janis Joplin and John Lennon. He got into music even before he'd realied it due to his parents love of Jazz. By 1971 his Stepdad had decided to cater for the increasing number of gays moving into Manhattan so he converted the downstairs restaurant into a disco and Danny started programming and compiling tapes of tracks to play in the disco as well as borrowing tapes from other more established disco venues. The place didn't have decks back then and it wasn't until much later that Danny began to experiment with mixing records.

By 1976 he was hanging out with David Mancuso, who's Loft parties were becoming unmissable social events. It was at these parties that he discovered a love for less mainstream and more underground music. Mancuso liked to play the freshest new tracks as well as more obscure b-sides and album tracks which many of his guests had never heard before but which they began to love more than the more popular records of the time.

Danny eventually became a resident at The Ones and from there his career really started to take off. Hanging out with the likes of Nicky Siano at The Gallery and Larry Levan at Paradise Garage he learned how to work tracks together, how to contruct a set, to create the tension and release of energy that played with his crowds emotions, taking them to places with a tweak of an isolator or a drop of heavy bassline.

During the 80s Danny developed his skills at re-editing tracks and many of his edits became the standard version of the tracks, for example MFSB's Love is the Message and James Brown's Funky Drummer. Since then, he's notched up over 200 edit and remix credits with many of his tracks featuring on compilation albums from the likes of Defected and Strut.

In 1996 he joined forces with two other New York heavyweight DJs, namely Joe Claussell and Francois Kervorkian to launch a new weekly Sunday venture called Body And Soul. This decision became a pinnacle in his already glittering career. Over the 7 and a bit years that Body and Soul ran weekly, the events became a huge international phenomenon. Clubbers flew in from all over the world especially to sample the atmosphere of one of the greatest clubbing institutions on the planet. The forward thinking approach to new music, combined with an understanding of the rich heritage of disco, funk, soul, hiphop and latin beats on which NYC's clubscene was founded, made it the closest experience to the legendary Paradise Garage since it closed its doors for the last time in 1987.

Body and Soul's unparallelled success has meant that Danny is now one of the worlds most in demand djs alongside Joe and Francois. He has now played all over the planet and continues to do so as often as he can. Body and soul no longer runs a weekly party but they do throw special parties at least 3 times per year in NYC as well as annual bashes in Japan, Brazil, London and elsewhere.

Melting Pot are absolutely delighted to have him back in Glasgow for his second guest slot at the club. This will no doubt be an incredible event for fans of deep, soulful house, classic disco and funk. Tickets are on sale now from Aspecto Clothing on West Nile Street and The Admiral bar priced £12 doors 10pm - 3am.

Well there we have it folks, another mammoth weekend of ace music for heads and feet alike. That's just about it from me this week but do have yourselves a great weekend, wrap up warm cos temperatures are supposed to plummet again this weekend and please rave safe!

Thanks again for reading The Chef's Specials in association with

The Chef's Specials For Week Ending 28/03/2010

2010-03-24T01:14:00.006Z

Hello there folks. How are you? All good i hope. I'm feelin pretty chipper this week after quite a nice chilled and relaxing weekend, working away down in the Scottish Borders. I'm back down there again this weekend too so this weekend should be equally as refreshing. Plenty of goings on in clubland though for those of you looking to go crazy and party all weekend again. From The Kingdom Of Fife right across to Glasgow there are some really interesting nights on worth takin a look at so lets get right in aboot it.

THURSDAY 25th MARCH 2010

Equalised
@ The Halt Bar, 160 Woodlands Road, Glasgow

For those of you wanting to start your weekend a day before everybody else, the Equalised guys are throwing another of their free parties at The Halt Bar on Woodlands Road here in Glasgow on Thursday night. Resident Bobby Wilson is on warm up detail from 8pm and is followed by one of Glasgows new breed of talented young djs, in the form of part time Sub Culture resident Telford. The 22 year old has been wowing crowds at Scotland's longest running house institution recently and with his clinical djing style coupled with a growing catalogue of very nice productions and with Harri and Domenic as his mentors its no wonder the lad is gaining confidence and skills. Definately a name to watch for the future.

Late Nights At Mamasan
Launch Party
@ Mamasan, Bath Street, Glasgow

Elsewhere on Thursday Mamasan on Bath Street are havin a launch party for their new look weekend line ups. With Djs from such Glasgow Clubbing institutions as Cotton Cake, Ooft Music, Tronicsole, Animal Farm and Dance Dance Dance! Mamasan looks set to become a rather cool place to hang out if you're looking for great music and atmosphere but you're on a tight-ish budget. Every Friday and Saturday night one of the aforementioned clubnights will take turns to host the party. Customers can enjoy some really tasty food from Mamasan's evening menu before letting their hairdown on the dancefloor in this beautifully decorated, boutique venue which has just been kitted out with a nicely tweaked Martin Audio soundsystem. Taking their lead from European clubbing experiences such as La Fabrique in Paris and The Supper Club in Amsterdam, Mamasan hope that you will find its ambience and soundtrack the perfect antidote to a hard working week and that it will become a one stop shop for your entire evening's entertainment. Entry is free all night and doors are open from 9pm with free cocktail giveaways and asian tapas available too. Also, if you sign up for their loyalty card you can grab yourself half price drinks on certain lines every week.

Friday 26th March 2010

The Vinyl Club
on Leith 98.8fm

This week's Vinyl Club show features a guest mix from Glasgow's Darren Quail, co-promoter and resident of Animal Farm, the clubnight which he runs with Chris Lamb and Charles Turtle. Since its launch at the Halt Bar on Woodlands road back in 2005, Animal Farm has grown steadily and gained a healthy following amongst Glasgow's more discenrning techno and house music fans. After a couple of venue changes the party is now held at the city's most notorious and legendary clubbing institution at 22 Jamaica Street. Animal Farm continues to pull in a regular crowd of clued up ravers and its no wonder considering the calibre of guest djs the guys have been booking. From 3 Channels and Marcel Dettmann to Slam and Detroit legend Mike Huckaby to Ben Klock who rocked the famous Subby System with an absolutely blazing set before proclaiming that it was his best gig of 2009. Animal Farm is back at The Sub again next month and will feature a live set from techno gods Function aka Regis and Sandwell District so if you wanna see what all the fuss is about tune in to The Vinyl club for a sneaky preview of how Animal Farm throws it down.

Slovenian tech house pioneers Flow Session will be rockin out the second half of the show with there trademark solid beats and bass for your listening pleasure.

Audiablo Nights
@ Sneaky Pete's, Cowgate, Edinburgh

Edinburgh's fresh new record label specialising in dirty electro and tech house, hosts the first in a series of random parties to be held at various venues across the city, this Friday. Audiablo Records was founded by Ricky Palys and Mark Price and they've also recently been joined by Tokyo Blu's Ian Gibson. With over 30 years experience of djing and promoting events between them and coupled with a great deal of studio experience the guys hope to give Edinburgh's talented dj/producers the chance to get their tracks out to the global market. The label plans to host a whole bunch of parties across the city to help promote their growing rosta of artists and djs firstly in Edinburgh but they're also looking further afield.

This party sees Ricky, Mark, Ian and longtime friend Kev Wright take to the turntables for an evening of intense beats and rampant, twisted bass. Doors open at 10:30pm till 3am and entry is free before midnight and £4 or £5 after.

Return To Mono

@ Sub Club, 22 Jamaica Street, Glasgow

Over here in the west Return To Mono return to.. well The Sub Club, for another night of glitchy techno, twisted electro and some weirded out psychedelic house music this friday in another Smirnoff assossciated night. This month Parisian Ivan Smagghe stars alongside the legend that is Andrew Weatherall for what will surely be the hottest party in the country on Friday night.

As France’s most wanted radio host and selector, Ivan Smagghe stands at the crossroads between glamorous parisian hype and musical integrity. His Test radio show and compilations imposed a new vision of leftfield electronica on Radio Nova and his programming for the two past years has been a faultless example of quality eclecticness. Though Smagghe hails from the early days of the Parisian underground – both through his connection with the defunct Rough Trade record shop and remixing contributions on various formats – he just recently came back to music production by launching his own Set imprint in early 2001.

Initially a freelance music journalist (using both his own name and the pseudonym "Audrey Witherspoon"), Weatherall's first studio work was alongside DJ Paul Oakenfold on the Club remix of "Hallelujah" for the Happy Mondays. Other remixes followed, including "World in Motion" by New Order and "Loaded", a hit remix of Primal Scream's earlier track "I'm Losing More Than I'll Ever Have". He joined fellow scenesters Terry Farley and Pete Heller to form Boy's Own, initially a magazine commenting on football, fashion, records, etc. They also did parties, and had a record label under the name of Boys Own Recordings (which went on to be called Junior Boy's Own in 1992 upon Weatherall's departure). Along with engineer Hugo Nicholson and singer Anna Haigh, they released two singles as Bocca Juniors on Boys Own Records, "Raise (53 Steps to Heaven)" and "Substance".

He formed the electronic music trio The Sabres of Paradise in 1993. He has promoted the Bloodsugar and Sabresonic club nights. In early 1996, after shutting down Sabresonic, Weatherall and Keith Tenniswood became Two Lone Swordsmen, signing to Warp Records label and setting up Rotters Golf Club for their own dancefloor-orientated work. He has produced such artists as Beth Orton, Primal Scream and One Dove, and has remixed the work of Björk, Siouxsie Sioux, The Orb, The Future Sound of London, New Order, Manic Street Preachers, My Bloody Valentine, Saint Etienne, James and many others.

In late 2006, he released his debut solo single "The Bullet Catcher's Apprentice", followed by his debut solo album "A Pox On The Pioneers" in 2009. Both were released on his Rotters Golf Club imprint.

Doors open 10:30pm -3am tickets are £14 available from Slam Events.
The ticket also allows you entry to Pressure at The Arches (Only after 3am) where Jeff Mills and Dave Clarke are headlining this month.

Devil Disco Club

@The Bongo Club, Holyrood Road, Edinburgh

Back over on the eastide, Edinburgh's Devil Disco Club has been causing quite a stir since its conception at the tail end of last year. This new bi-monthly night of serious, genre-hopping beauty has really hit the ground running and has already ammassed an army of loyal supporters. Led by Andrew "Hobbes" Richardson of the infamous Trouble brand, the night is a step back to the basic fundamental principles of good people, having a good time and listening to some of the best in groundbreaking dance music, mashed up with plenty of classic dance tracks from across the whole musical spectrum. Taking in soul, funk, hiphop, afrobeat, latin, jazz, disco, house, boogie, italo and anything else they can find, the clubs sound appeals to musical conniesseurs, clued up students and to an extent a slightly older than usual clientele.

One of the original resident line up, Nick Yuill has decided to leave D.D.C to focus on his production skills as well as a new project he's just launched with Craig Smith. To take his place they've invited one of the city's finest disco superstars Simonotron from Club For Heroes. His eclectic tastes and his penchant for camped up disco sleaze will no doubt prove to be a huge hit amongst the Devil Disco faithful.

Also on the bill this month Glaswegian electro and synthpop merchants Nevada Base will be dropping by for a full live set before Aberdonian, Giles Walker takes over on the ones and twos to close the night with some more eclectic niceness to tickle your audio tastebuds. Giles has been a key figure on the granite city's clubscene for a number of years now, holding down residency's at the likes of Mixtape, Hush Hush and Everything Else Sucks as well as doing regular guest slots in Glasgow, Edinburgh ,London and various other places around the country. He's one of the Trouble Djs' favourite Scottish spinners and they're really looking forward to having him join them for this hootenany. Doors Open from 10:30pm-3am and Entry just £3 before midnight or £5 after.

SATURDAY 27th MARCH 2010

Ché Supermax
@ 6th Floor Argyll Chambers, 36 Buchanan Street Glasgow

A huge slice of vintage Noo Yoik City will establish itself in the heart of Glasgow on Saturday as the mighty Supermax club teams up with Che Camille fashion house and one half of the Optimo machine.

Che Supermax is a huge project incorporating a fashion show featuring some of Ché Camille's latest creations. Followed by a crazy, sexy, disco party hosted by HRH Billy Woods and Johnny Wilkes. The pair will be rockin out some proper block-party disco joints mixed up with classic soul, funk boogie hip hop and a sprinkle of house music on a mind boggling, high fidelity sound system, built and installed by Bob Balmain of We Enjoy Sound and featuring what is widely regarded as the world finest dj-mixer from Bozak.

The Fashion show starts at 10pm then there will be a debut live performance from local band Culture And Leisure from 10:30 till around 11pm. The band describe their sound as "bermuda triangle disco". I'll let you try and work that one out for your self! Billy And Johnny take over on the wheels of steel from 11-3.

An initial run of just 200 tickets for this sold out in rapid time so another 25 have just been released due to the huge demand. If you haven't got one yet, get one NOW! They're available from Tickets Scotland priced £10 plus booking fee. Doors open from 9pm and everyone must be in before 10pm.

Autodisco
@The Reading Rooms, Dundee

If any of you happen to be in Dundee on Saturday night, get along to The Reading Rooms as Autodisco welcomes 6th Borough Project for an evening of super-heavy-hitting house music. Edinburgh's Craig Smith will be laying down some thick and syrupy soulful house for the Dundee massive and showing off 6th Borough Projects heavy arsenall of exquisite productions which they've been knocking out at an obscene rate for the past year or so. Tracks like Miss World, How Can I Show You? Hang On, Do It To The Max and Just a Memory have become absolute must have's for all serious house music djs recently due to their unparalled beauty and mouthwatering arrangements.

Craig has also been busy in the studio recently with another Edinburgh legend, Ricky Reid, producing some more absolute gems under their Soul Renegades moniker and many of these track are also essential items for the house connieseur. Craig's reputation as a world class spinner has been pretty solid for a good few years now and his latest barrage of collaborations and solo productions have further cemented this status.

Autodisco starts at 10:30pm till 2:30am and costs just £8. First hundred peeps in will recieve a free mix cd from residents Dicky Trisco and Iamelectron.

SUNDAY 28th March 2010

Sunday Circus

@The Courtyard, West Nile Street, Glasgow.

If you're not completely burst by Sunday, or if you are but need some hair of the dog therapy Sunday Circus return to The Courtyard in Glasgow for another bonkers afternoon of deep house and techno. This Month they've called in Sub Culture legends Harri and Domenic to assist on dj duties. Warming up for them as always will be Ronnie Muirhead and Affi Koman.

The party kicks off at 5pm till 11pm then there will be the usual afterparty shenanigans which are staying secret till Sunday. Tickets are on sale now at £7 and they usually always sell out so get yours sharpish if you don't wan to miss out.

Ear Candy

Here's another bunch of delicious mixe. Food for the soul.

Sticky Sugar Shack presents Nothin But Butter

A sweet blend of deep and dreamy breakbeats and syrupy, souful vocals.

Issac Hayes-Ellie’s Love Theme

Hooverphonic-2 Wicky

Rae & Christian-The Hush

The Rebirth-Sinking

Joi-Maybe

Ben Harper-Faded (4 Hero’s Dollis Hill Groove)

Tricky-Slowly

Rae & Christian-Vai Viver a Vida

Dzihan & Kamien-Colores

Loess-Schoen

Damiak-Este es mi Secreto

Savath & Savalas-Rolls and Waves of Acknowledgment

Snooze-Down For Mine

Ticklah vs Axelrod featuring Vinia Mojica-Deception

Sonic Boom Feat. Tamara-Painful Dub

Kruder & Dorfmeister-Boogie Woogie

Alpha-Saturn In Rain

Moloko-The Time is Now (Bambino Casino Mix)

Dzihan & Kamien-Smile

Still Going - Beats In Space #412 Part 1

Spacy disco, house and edits.

King Errisson – Space Queen – Venture
Roy Buchanan – You're Not Alone – Atlantic
Promo Only – Rong
Osmonds – I'I'I – Mercury
Imagination – Music & Lights – R&B
DJ Duke – Music Cinema – Henry Street Music
Stage Two – Let's Be Mo Mo Okamatik – Philosomatik
Palm (Bakazou Mix)
Ytre Rymden Dansskola – Full Pupp
Slow & Groovy
Slow & Heavy
Out Of Control
Permanent Vacation

Danielle Baldelli mixtape C4 1981

Classic electro-funk, boogie and italo disco.

Sorry no Tracklist

Well that's about it from me this week guys. Thanks again for reading The Chef's Special's. Hope you have a crackin weekend and please remeber to rave safe!

In association with...

The Chef's Specials For Week Ending 21/03/2010

2010-03-18T13:41:00.043Z

Waddup peeps??? Hope you're all having a cracking week so far this week. Mine has been nice and chilled so far and my weekend looks set to continue like that, as i'm off down to the borders to cater for a wedding function in a beautiful castle near Berwick Upon Tweed. Really looking forward to it too so i'm somewhat glad to report that this weekend looks set to be quite a quiet one in clubland compared to the previous two weeks. There are still one or two really good nights on though with some very special guest djs to look forward to as well so without much further ado....

FRIDAY 19th January 2010

The Viny Club
on Leith 98.8fm

As always Leith Fm's Vinyl Club show leads us into Friday night with another crackin line up of guest mixes, this week featuring Manchester dubstep hero XXXY as well as a crackin mix of emotional Detroit techno from teh Big D's very own Luke Hess.

Anyone who's into modern electronic dance music knows that Detroit has been at the forefront since the very beginning. Before techno and house music's conception in the late 80s of course there was the 60s and 70s soul scene led by the likes of Tamla Motown, who's predominantly black artists, managed to capture the otptimism and joi de vivre of the time perfectly in their music. During the first half fr Detroit was a real boom town with thousands of people moving into the city to work in the massive automobile factories such as General Motors and of course Ford. By the late 80s however the bubble had burst and the Motor industry went into a rapid decline which saw tens of thousands of the workersmade redundant as factories went bust and were forced to close. Incidently the BBC aired a documentary recently, all about the dramatic rise and fall of Detroit, its people and the social and economic challenges it faces. It is a very frank and hugely informative slice of tv journalism documenting the events of the past century which have shaped the city which was once the heart of the USA. You can watch Requiem For Detroit on BBC I-player by following the link.

The pain, sadness, despair as well as hope and optimism for the future is still very obvious in many of the styles of music produced in the city today especially in its electronic soul and techno and Luke Hess is one of its new school of pioneers.

Born in 1980 in metro-Detroit and subject to the city’s mid-90’s warehouse parties, Luke Hess has harnessed a deep appreciation for electronic music and the expression of the underground movement. His background in mathematics and engineering has given him a scientific approach to the dance floor, using frequencies, tones, and sound-scapes to transform surroundings and mood.

Luke’s faith based music production has landed him a seat with FXHE and Beretta Music in Detroit. Solo work on Beretta Grey include “Dwell” on Beretta Grey Vol.1, and “Absolute Truth” EP on Beretta Grey Vol.3. Luke has recently been picked up by a French based dub-techno label “Modelisme” and Echocord Colour based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Also, look for his highly sought after EP's on FXHE, including Dubout #1, which was charted in Groove Magazine in the top 30 EP's of the year in 2007. With 8 years of DJ experience and several notable live sets, he is regarded as a perfectionist on stage, layering tracks in a very detailed and hypnotic manner. He has highly regarded mixes online and in 2003 recorded a promotional mix CD release for UR/Submerge. Luke’s continued hard work behind the decks and in the studio combined with his unyielding interest in technology and sound will no doubt stimulate the boundaries of electronic music.

This will be yet another cracking show from Vinyl Club HQ and well worth a listen.

Hotbox

@The Admiral, 72a Waterloo Street, Glasgow.

Over here in Glasgow on Friday night, the Hotbox crew are looking forward to welcoming Polish techno whizzkids, Catz n Dogz over for a session of deep melodic yet driving house and rhythmic, party techno. Catz n Dogz have been gaining a massive following across Europe and beyond with fans such as Claude Von Stroke and with a back catalogue of releases on some of Europe's most respected labels like Get Physical, Crosstown Rebels, Poker Flat and of course Dirty Bird as well as their own imprint Channels Recordings its no wonder.

This will be the duo's 3rd visit to Glasgow and they'll be supported by Hotbox resident Daniel Hedley. Doors 11pm -3am and entry just £7 for this one

SATURDAY 20th March 2010

On Saturday Subclub, Slam and Smirnoff present another of their co-promoted events and this time Detroit's almost mythical hero of disco orientated, deep house, Kenny Dixon Jr aka Moodymann is invited to play. Moodymann is one of Detroits biggest legends due to his incredible deep and breathtakingly beautiful productions many of which sample some of the finest soul and disco records and reinvent them without ever losing the real emotion of the originals.

His reluctance to be interviewed by journalists or even to have his picture taken has only cemented his reputation as has his strange habit of djing with his back to the crowd rather than facing them to enphasise that he believes his shows are all about the records he plays and not about him personally. In this day and age where many people want to be celebrities without actually doing the work to deserve celebrity status Moodymann's ethos is a breath of fresh air.

Many of his productions have become utter classics amongst real deep house officianados. The likes of Shades Of Jae, Dem Young Sconies, The Day We Lost The Soul all became instant, cult club anthems and years after their release they still get incredible reations when played to a packed dancefloor. His label Mahogani Roots still releases some of the best deep and soulful house music around and back in his hometown his regular skate jam parties regularly pull in hundreds of skaters with a soundtrack of oldschool hiphop, soul, and disco joints. He recently played at Red Bull Music Academy's skate party in London and, lucky for you guys, his entire set is now available to listen to stream and download from Soundcloud. I've posted the link below in the Ear Candy section.

Advance tickets for this event were limited to 200 and are nearly all sold out. However there are still many tickets left on the door however this will be a roadblock event so i seriously advise getting along early to avoid dissapointment. Doors open at 10 and its on till 3am. Advance tickets are £!2 plus booking fee or more on the door.

Coming Soon...

Forever Cooking Promotions is currently very busy putting together some new events to add to Glasgow's already vibrant club-scene. Between now and July we're hoping to launch around 4 regular events as well as hosting a few unique, one off events in various places around the city.

The first of these reular parties, SLO-MO, launches on Thursday 15th of April at The Flying Duck at the top end of Renfield Street. This will hopefully be a fortnightly party initially, running on the first and third Thurday of the month. Our resident dj team featuring Stuart "Roogers" Holbeck, Rob Firth, Charles "Prince" Gardiner and myself hope to ease you into the weekend with a night of pitched down and soulful sounds from Motown to electrobooie, classic funk to twisted disco, deep emotional house to melodic, organic techno. We're also hoping to bring in some of our good friends and local dj heroes for guest slots and to create a real sense of community with this project.

We have many drinks promotions on offer as well as keeping the door price to a wallet friendly £2.00 so we really hope you can come along and join us for some great music, great atmosphere and great times! If you think you'd be interested in this please join our facebook group SLO MO GLASGOW and or subscribe to our blogpage here.

Ear Candy

Here's another batch of rather tasty mixes which have been keeping my ears and soul entertained over the past couple of weeks.

Moodymann live at R.B.M.A Roller Skating Jam. 4/03/10

Tracklist on Soundcloud page.

Craig Smith presents 6th Borough Project Blend II
No Jose Part 1 ( The Revenge Remix) - Ron Basejam
Return Of The Duff (Dub) - Duff Disco
Easy Money (Todd Terje Edit) - Dee Dee Sharpe
One Dope Samba (Demo Mix) - 6th Borough Project
Ain't Nobody ( The Revenge Rework) - Alex Wilson
McLovin' - 6th Borough Project

More Love - LTJ Experience

Darlin' (Demo Mix) - Soul Renegades
Closer - 6th Borough Project
Burside (SuperBreak Edit) - Fred Cherry
Stratus Quo - 6th Borough Project
Holdin' On For Love (Tornado Wallace Rework) - Surface
Paddlin' - Tornado Wallace
Jump Up In The Air (Dub) - Todd Terry
Night people (6th Borough Love Rub) - Illya Rudman
Dangerzone (Souled Edit) - Midnight Express
One Of Those Nights (The Revenge Edit) - Billy Ocean
Keep On Dancin' - Jayson Brothers
Exodus - Pete Herbert & Dicky Trisco 20. Feel up (The Revenge Rework) - Grace Jones
Deep Cover - Dirt Crew
Breaking Bad - Art Of Tones
Da Boogie (Demo Mix) - 6th Borough Project
Club Lonley (Shield Edit) - Lil' Louis

P.A.R.T.Y. - Soul Minority
Fire Below - Runaway
Feel the reel (Souled Edit) - Adrenalin
Erotic booty - Yorkshire Rapper
Bra (Deep & Spacey Edit) - Cymande

Danny Krivit Live at Djoon, Paris 26/02/10
Epic six hour magic carpet ride from NYC's last disco superstar.
Tracklist on Soundcloud Page

Cosmo and Ashley Beedle - Darkstar Mix
Sorry no tracklist.

Billy Woods - Billy Who? mix
Sorry again no tracklist.

Well i'm sure you'll find something amongst that lot to tickle your fancy. Have a great weekend and i'll catch you all next week with some more tasty goodness. Thanks for reading The Chef's Specials in association with...

The Chef's Specials For Week Ending 14/03/10

2010-03-11T15:46:00.009Z

Hello again folks, hope you're all well and not still feeling rough after one of the biggest weekends of the year so far. What an absolute blast i had! Friday evening was spent at my mate Craig's Citizen Smith pub on Rose Street in Edinburgh where the resident, Friday night band, The Citizens absolutely rocked the joint with an energetic set of cover versions of stone cold, classic, rock and indie anthems. The intimate wee bar was packed almost to bursting point with a really up for it crowd and by the time the first track, The Stone Roses "Waterfall" drew to a close they were already going mad. A fantastic set that included the likes of Kings Of Leon's "Sex Is On Fire" and "Polsom Prison Blues" by Johnny Cash and "Call Me Al" by Paul Simon had the vast majority of the crowd on their feet and singing their lungs out! Craig assures me that its like that every week in their and i do not doubt that for a second. Fantastic place to start your Friday evenings in Edinburgh if you're a fan of guitar music.

Saturday night for me here in Glasgow, was always gonna be about Melting Pot. And with Cosmo and Ashley Beedle on the bill this was always gonna be a special night. As usual i was not dissapointed. Resident Simon Cordiner played a beautiful warm up set covering proper, classic soul, disco and fresh beatdown grooves which built an air of anticipation and excitement as the crowd poured in. By midnight Ashley and Cosmo took to the decks for a 3 hour marathon of some of the funkiest disco and deep melodic house i've heard so far this year. The dance floor remained packed all night and the atmosphere was nothing short of electrifying.

By 3am closing time, i was blissfully rinsed out and on leaving the building was handed a flyer for next month's double dose on Easter Weekend, featuring a Paradise Garage tribute party at The Admiral on Saturday 3rd April followed by Body And Soul (NYC) legend Danny Krivit on Easter Sunday which is sure to be a road block event.

Tickets for this event will be available from Rubadub Rrecord Store, Aspecto Clothing on West Nile Street and from The Admiral Bar priced £12 subject to booking fee.

BLOC WEEKEND
@ Butlins Holiday Resort, Minehead, Devon

This weekend sees the 4th annual Bloc Weekend take place at Butlins Minehead resort in Devon. This indoor festival of electronica, techno and leftfield dance music features another typically massive line up, with the likes of Model 500 (Live), Salt N Pepa (Live), Grandmaster Flash, Adam Beyer, Derrick May, Roots Manuva (Live), Luke Slater, Omar S, DJ Zinc, Radioactive Man, and Joy Orbison amongst over 100 acts all featuring over the 3day (and night) event. The entire event takes place in the Butlins holiday resort with all 5 stages indoors so the weather won't affect any of the proceedings. The entire place has been kitted out with Function One Soundsytems with top quality visual stimulation featuring mind blowing light and laser shows. The bars are all licenced 24hrs day and all accomodation is in luxury villas which are included in the ticket price. As well as the musical performances all the usual Butlins entertainments and leisure facilities are open as well from swiming pool to fairgrounds and cinemas. If you're into modern electronic dance music and you want to try a festival with a bit of a difference then this is for you. All of the previous Bloc Weekends have sold out and this looks set to be no exception so if you want to go, book your ticket immediately. There are a small handful of 4 berth chalets left but they will all go by Friday. Tickets cost £140-150 for the whole weekend. To book, call the Bloc Booking Line now on 0844 414 2464.

Friday 12th March 2010

Back up here in Scotland, things seem to have calmed down ever so slightly after last weekend, however there are still lots of quality events taking place on both sides of the country.

THE VINYL CLUB

On Leith FM

The Vinyl Club takes over the airwaves on Leith 98.8FM for an extended 3hr show this week featuring residents James Carroll and John "Gerry" Gerrard being joined by not one but two heavyweight guests. Kickin of the show will be Dutch superstar Joris Voorn who will be makin a wee guest appearance ahead of his gig at Cabaret Voltaire for Musika on Saturday. Also on the show this week, London techno pioneer, The Advent delivers a cracking guest mix of tough fresh beats and deep brooding melodies.

PULSE

@ The GRV, Hasties Close (Off Guthrie Street), Edinburgh

If you are a big fan of the Vinyl Club show then get along to The GRV afterwards as they deliver another Pulse party, this month in association with Karnival and the Oxygen Junkies. Special guest Agoria drops by for a slamming set of tech-house and electro as part of his current European tour.

He's supported by the Pulse residents team of Darrell Harding, Andy Problems, Darkside, John Gerard, Andy Borthwick and Muzza B with Mike Pinkerton and Matt Edwards from Karnival and the Oxygen Junkies. Doors for this open at 10.30 - 3.am and its £9 on the door.

AZTECH 3rd BIRTHDAY
@ The Caves, Niddry Street South, Edinburgh

Edinburgh's biggest and consistently impressive breaks night is celebrating it's 3rd birthday this Friday and to help rock the very foundations of the capital's Old Town, they have invited one of their best loved guests from the last 3 years back to join them on stage. French bass n breaks merchant Maelstrom absolutely smashed it last time he played for Aztech back in October 2008, with an incredible set of heavy duty electro, huge dubby basslines and some high energy breakbeats as well and some slamming tech-house numbers. As an Aztech regular i can tell you that this was a really special night indeed so it comes as no surprise that he has the birthday honours slot this year.

The Aztech crew are very very excited about this one and will be handing out free Mix Cds, lollipops and various other goodies to make you feel like you're at a proper birthday party. I think they're drawing the line at ice-cream and jelly and pass the parcel but you never know with these guys.

Siren, Retox and Al Majik will be providing support as usual and with seriously talented residents like these its always worth getting down early. Doors open from 10.30 -3.00am and tax is just £7 or £6 for members.

HEAVY GOSSIP LAUNCH PARTY
@ Medina 45-47 Lothian Street (Under Negociants), Edinburgh

Friday also sees the launch of a new project put together by the promoters of Audio Deluxe, Stereotype and Solescience which will take place once a month at Medina, opposite Bristo Square.

Heavy Gossip will feature resident DJs Craig Smith (6th Borough Project/ Soul Renegades) and Solescience's Nick Yuill supplying a rock steady groove of sweet n soulful house music as well as some classic disco and funk. This will be Craig's only Edinburgh residency and with his dj schedule filling up with international bookings this year, due in part to the cosistantly solid 6th Borough/ Soul Renegades releases, this is a great chance to cath the man spinning in an intimate venue on home soil. The party is set to kick off at 11pm till 3am and entry is just £5 all night long.

RETURN TO MONO
@ Subclub, 22 Jamaica Street, Glasgow

Slam return to The Subby this Friday with a special Quartz Recordings label party. Parisienne label boss Paul Ritch will be playing a full live set showcasing some of his slick new productions which have been getting strong support from the likes of Adam Beyer, Richie Hawtin and Mistress Barabara amonst others. Since his first release, The Samba EP on Resopal back in 2006 Ritch has gained massive respect and support from his peers and has fairly flown up the ranks to become one of France's biggest techno Djs. His seemingly endless string of releases on labels such as Get Physical, Kickboxer and Freak and Chic have solidified his status as a top producer. He has toured all over Europe and beyond including playing live at Detroit's Electronic Music Festival and also The Awakenings Festival in the Netherlands.

Fellow Parisienne, friend and sometime production partner Okain is also on the bill for this show. Another fast rising star on the French Techno circuit Okain has also released many tracks on a few of the aforementioned labels and has also recieved a lot of support and respect from Techno fans around the world as well as regular guest slots at the likes of Fabric and Tresor. Stuart and Orde complete the line up for Friday with entry costing £12 and doors open 10.30pm - 3am.

Saturday March 13th 2010

LETS GO BACK... WAY BACK!

@ Stereo, Renfield Lane, Glasgow
.
This Saturday sees Glasgow play host to another big name from the UK's halcyon rave days. Adamski's first release "Live and Direct" back in 1989 featured 4 tracks which were recorded live at various venues across england and Ibiza. The release on 7" vinyl was given away free with copies of Record Mirror. One of the tracks on the release was a live version of what was to become his first single "N-R-G". The sleeve art on this single featured an image of a mocked up Lucozade bottle with the word "Lucozade" replaced by "N-R-G". According to rave legend, this track incited a riot at Danny Rampling's Shoom night, the first time it was played there.

His biggest success however came in 1990 with a colaboration with a little known soul singer who toured with Adamski and provided vocals for a few of his tracks when they played live. That vocalist was Seal and the track which became a worldwide, acid house anthem was of course "Killer". "Killer" reached number 1 in the UK charts and was a massive smash in the clubs at the time as well. The Video featured some really cool computer generated graphics and with Seal's disembodied head rotating as he sang. At the time there was nothing really like it and it's still one of the most instantly recognisable music videos ever made.

Let's Go Back...Way Back are delighted to welcome Adamski for a night of classic acid house and rave anthems circa 1987 - 1992 in their new home at Stereo a large warehouse style venue in the heart of Glasgow's city centre. DJ support on the night comes from resident Bosco. Advance tickets are currently on sale from Tickets Scotland priced £10. Party starts at 10.30 and runs till 3am.

SOLAR DISCO
@ Basura Blanca, Brunswick Hotel,
Brunswick Street, Merchant City, Glasgow

Just across town in Merchant City, Solar Disco makes a welcome return to The Brunny Basement for a night of deep, pitched down house and spaced out disco nonsense. Residents Kev Stevens, Craig Moogroove and Maelstrom (not the same Maelstrom who's playing at Aztech listed above) are well known throughout the city for their exquisite taste in all things deep and cosmic. The Solar Disco and Mindless Boogie record labels have both been putting out some fantastic tracks of late from the likes of Prins Thomas, Todd "Wade Nichols" Terje, Peter Visti, and Ichisan. A few of which have appeared in my record box and are currently being aired a lot. If you're a fan of these slowed down deep grooves then this will definately be right up your street. For a wee taster of (this) Maelstrom in action check out this mix recorded live last month at Druzbah Bar in St Peterburg.

This event kicks off from 10pm in the bar upstairs and runs till 3am and best of all entry is free!!!

Stepback
@ Sneaky Pete's, Cowgate Edinburgh

For those of you who like extraordinary ammounts of earthshattering wobbly bass, Edinburgh is the place to be this Saturday for the return of Stepback which takes place in Sneaky Pete's on the Cowgate. This tiny intimate venue has played host to some serious big names in wonky electronic bass music over recent months with the likes of Alex Smoke, Radioactive Man and the Lucky Me Recordings crew all having rocked the healthy soundsystem. This week local DJ hero Beefy drops by with some of his beautifully eclectic record collection.

Stepback is one of the city's favourite nights amongst the more discerning students as well as the more techno and dubstep orientated crowd and is always rammed to capacity by just after midnight so worth getting down early.

Residents Keyte and Wolfjazz are renowned for really pushing the envelope with experimental sounds and have really begun to take the city by storm. Wolfjazz is currently holding down residencies at at least 4 other Edinburgh clubnights including We Are Electric and Trade Union. He's been one of my favourite DJs for a long time now with an ear for a real ass shakin tune matched with an incomprehensible technical ability. He's been making a fair bit of headway productionwise as well with some cheeky edits and original tracks which he saves for his jaw dropping dj sets. Be warned Stepback is not for the faint hearted! Doors 11-3am and free entry all night for this one.

Well guys i hope you find something amongst that lot that tickles yer fancy. Thanks again for taking the time to read The Chef's Specials, as always in association with...

The Chef's Specials For Week Ending 07/03/10

2010-03-01T02:02:00.397Z

"Back once again with the ill behaviour!!!"

Hello again to all you groovers, shakers lovers and hitmakers. And how the devil are you??? Well folks, its been a while, 6 months to be exact but it sure is good to be back. After a rather lengthy hibernation period from bloggerland, i felt it was about time i resurected this here page as things are starting to warm up once again in Scotland's clubland. Yes it may well still be snowing in many parts of the British Isles but spring has officially sprung here in the undergound dance scene. This coming weekend in particular is looking set to kick things off in a monumental fashion with some absolutely incredible artist billings on both sides of the country. With guest dj sets from Floating Points, Ashley Beedle, Cosmo, Todd Terje, Mark Archer (Altern-8), Kode9, and Mes plus loads more, as well as live shows from The Blessings and the legendary Laurent Garnier, this weekend has something for everyone. And if anyone is lucky enough to be in London toward the end of this week, Red Bull Music Academy are throwing a proper Roller Skate Jam featuring Horse Meat Disco and HRH Moodymann on Thursday!!!

THURSDAY 4th MARCH 2010

A Roller Skating Jam Named Red Bull Music Academy

@ The Renaissance Rooms, Wandsworth Road, Vauxhall, London
SW8 1RZ

Roller disco culture is a passion for mythical deep house renegade Moodymann. Known for preserving the rich heritage of Afro-American (sub-)culture with the utmost respect, he’s done more to keep the roller disco phenomenon alive than any other human being on the planet with his Detroit regular Soul Skate. For this very special session at South London’s Renaissance Rooms, he’ll not only bring a box full of classic skating rink jams with him, but also ten of the motor city’s most notorious four-wheeled dancers between 8 and 80 years of age. They’ve continuously supported him at the original Soul Skate and will now leave the US, some even for the first time in their lives. Also on the bill: the frontrunners of London’s current disco revival, the infamous Horse Meat Disco. More than just a damn good night out, this is a true tribute to the soul we will never ever lose.

This incredible party will take place at The Rennaissance Rooms, , Tickets are only £10 from ticketweb and Rennaissance Rooms website but i wouldn't be at all surprised if its a sell out, so if ye want to be in it, GET YER SKATES ON PEOPLE!

FRIDAY 5th March 2010

The Vinyl Club from 9pm on Leith 98.8FM

Back up here in Scotland things kick off proper on Friday. As usual Leith Fm's Vinyl Club gets underway from 9pm with guest DJset from Germany's Snuff Crew. Signed to International Deejay Gigolos label these guys are a mysterious bunch of jacking Chicago house enthiusiasts who also dabble in some acid techno and italo disco. Not much is known about them except their unfaltering ability to rock a dancefloor or a front room as will be the case on Friday night. On warm up duties this week John "Gerry" Gerard will be dropping some deep, tech-house vibes as well as filling you in on upcoming events from the Vinyl Club Crew's Pulse clubnight.

Numbers @ Sub Club,
22 Jamaica Street Glasgow.

Glasgow's Numbers crew are back this Friday with another bumper edition of DJ/Producer talent to treat your ears to. One of my favourite deep 'n' dubby house producers of the moment, Floating Points, is on warm up detail this month so well worth getting down early. Also on the bill are Martyn and headliners Kode 9 who'll be ripping up the Subby sound system with a mixture of techno, dubstep, hyper dub and some DnB. Show kicks off at 11pm and tickets are £10. Tickets for this have already sold out on the Resident Advisor website but i'm assured there will be a few left for sale at the door on a first come first served basis. You have been warned!

Pressure @ O2 Academy,

121 Eglinton Street, Glasgow, G5 9NT

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, the Slam boys are havin another massive Pressure party, this month at the O2 Academy. With a line up that includes Sunday Circus, Master H, Slam, plus a live set from the all encompassing Laurent Garnier and his live band this is sure to be the hottest ticket in town. Garnier's love of eclectic electronic music is renowned throughout the world and is one of the main reasons the guy is widely regarded as one of the best DJs on the planet and has been for the past 15 or more years. His productions are generally a few cuts above as well, this is the fella who's tracks Crispy Bacon, Acid Eiffel, The Sound Of The Big Babou, and the simply mesmerising Man With The Red Face tore up all the rule books, all the formulas of dance music production and delivered nothing short of complete and total devastation on the world's dancefloors. No matter how old these tracks get the effect they have on a packed floor is always the same. Show starts at 10.30 and runs till 3am and tickets are £18 plus booking fee, available from Tickets Scotland. Again this will also probably sell out by Friday so get on the case quicksmart or you'll be the man (or woman) with the red face!

Depth Charge @ The Flying Duck,

142 Renfield Street, Glasgow.

Frazer Devine and the delightful Jaya are back this week with another incendiary filled Depth Charge. This new project which launched last month, sees them hooking up with old friend Monty, from local deep techno and house night, Kreep, for another musical safari through all that is moody and soulful in proper house music. If last month's launch party was anything to go by then this is gonna grow into a true gem of a night on the north edge of Glasgow's city centre. The Flying Duck is a crackin venue with a kick ass sound system and some of the quirkiest decor i've ever seen in a club. Doors open from 11pm till 3am and entry is just £5 before midnight or £7 after.

Fiasco @ Bacchus Basement,

80 Glassford Street Glasgow.

Fiasco welcome the return of funkin house giant DJ Mes for his long awaited second outing this weekend. The San Fran born maestro was last on these shores back in 2008 and played what, for my money, was the best dj set i've ever heard at Fiasco. Mes is a true party starter with an unquestionable stage presence. With head honcho Ed Marco on warm up detail this week plus a guest slot from dutch house don Funktransplant, this is sure to be another very special occasion for Fiasco. Party starts at 10.30 and runs till 3am. Advance tickets available from Tickets Scotland priced £7+bf or pay £9 at the door.

Kapital @ The Caves,

South Niddry Street, Edinburgh

Over in the east, Kapital return for their first event of 2010, in Edinburgh's most spectacular venue, The Caves. This month they have invited Stuttgart's Joachim Speith to give the Kapital crowd a taste of German melodic minimalism and stripped down techno. Speith is the boss of relatively new record label Affin which has been putting out some rather tasty tracks for a few years now from the likes of The Dolphins, Hans Bouffmayer, Revelations Of Noise and Dirty Culture amongst others. The label prides itself on its ethos of nuturing new talent and promoting the sounds of the many talented young producers from around eastern europe. As usual, residents Barry O'Connell and Brad Charters will be on hand to warm you up with some hypnotic tech-funk and electronic grooves. Tickets for this are £7+ bf from Tickets Scotland and Ripping Records. Doors 11-3am.

Saturday 6th March 2010

Jam The Box @ The GRV,

Hasties Close (Off Guthrie Street), Edinburgh.

On to Saturday and in Edinburgh, Jam The Box is set to welcome a true pioneer of modern dance music and culture. Mark Archer first started making music back in 1988. He was a founding member of Bizarre Inc who's Playing With Knives became a UK top 40 hit. But he's most famous for being one half of legendary UK rave band Altern8 with his mate Chris Pete which they formed back in 1990. With a mixture of Roland TB-303s, 808s and 909s they began to transform the early house music which was starting to spead from the US strongholds of Detroit and Chicago. Their trademark use of breakbeats, eclectic noises, heaps of extra bass and familiar vocal samples led them to almost singlehandedly invent what is now known as Rave. Back when massive outdoor parties were still legal, Altern8's reputation grew rapidly as they played to huge crowds dressesd in trademark chemical warfare suits and bright yellow dustmasks emblazoned with a black letter "A". Their tracks E-vapor-8, Infiltrate 202 and Active 8 (Come With Me) became hardcore rave anthems with the latter reaching number 3 on the UK singles chart and the LP Full On Mask Hysteria peaked at number 10 on the Album Chart. Mark has continued djing and Making music since those glory days with Nu Skool Breaks tracks for Rennie Pilgrim's label as well as the occasional remix for other breakbeat artists such as Edzy.

Also on the bill for this one are the AGT Rave Cru from London's I Love Acid parties. Their rapid cut 'n' paste mixing style is much loved by the south's rave monkeys. They turned a Sunday afternoon gig at Bloc Weekender into a throughly raucous, full on, rave riot mashing up all manner of dance music anthems with some freocious breakbeats and heavy basslines. The Jam The Box guys have been very excited about this one for months now and with the glow sticks and dustmasks at the ready this looks set to be an absolute stormer. Doors open at 10.30 and Entry tax is £8. Mark Archer, AGT Rave Cru and the Jam The Box djs will be hosting the main room with Rosco Disco and Melange FM looking after the Bar area

Ultragroove 250th Event

@ Cabaret Voltaire,

36 Blair Street, Edinburgh

Edinburgh's longest running, heavyweight, house music emporium this week celebrates its 250th event, a massive milestone for any clubnight i'm sure you'll agree. And to help Gareth, Frazer and co toast this incredible achievement they have flown in none other than Norwegian disco viking Todd Terje. A true master of the re-edit, Terje has gained massive respect worldwide for his ability to fuse fun and function whilst keeping a true musicality to his productions. His enormous catalogue of edits has found fans among some of the world's best disco jockeys and has led him to bookings in far of reaches of the world. He's a marvelously talented producer in his own right as well and his original works are no less stunning than his re-edits with soulful sensibility and funky feelgood factors perfectly balanced. With Ultra resident Gareth on warm up detail plus a live set from local heroes The Blessings (Lucky Me Music), Ultragroove are offering healthy portion of house music for your money. Entry is just £5 before midnight or £8 after. Doors open from 10.30pm.

Melting Pot's 9th Birthday

@ The Admiral, 72a Waterloo Street, Glasgow

Back here in the west, another clubbing institution is also celebrating a bit of a milestone achievement. Yes Glasgow's favourite and longest running disco and deep house monthly reaches its 9th Birthday this weekend and London's club culture chameleon Ashley Beedle will be dropping by with his pal Cosmo (Bitches Brew) to deliver a set of stunning house, jazz-funk, disco, and latin beats to a (no doubt) packed houseful of the city's most discerning, clued up and friendly clubbers. Melting Pot, i must confess has become a serious favourite haunt of mine in recent months. With an atmosphere that usually harks back to the early days of my clubbing past, at the likes of Tribal Funktion, Homeless and Motherfunk, these guys have been booking all the guests i want to see and playing all the records i want to listen and dance to.

Residents Andrew Pirrie and Simon Cordiner have an uncanny knack of being able to build the most exquisite of dj sets and and always leave their packed crowd (which is mostly made up of regulars) on a nice rolling simmer before their phenominally talented guests take over. I had the pleasure of spending my hogmanay at the club this year listening to the likes of Greg Wilson and The Revenge turning in mouthwatering sets of funk, disco, soul and house but Pirrie's closing set was the best of the night for me with a massive nod to pleasure domes of old such as the infamous Paradise Garage.

This month though Cosmo and Beedle will be showcasing some of their Darkstar project's work as well as rocking the roof off with their usual eclectic blend of genre hopping dopeness. For those of you unfamiliar with the name Cosmo, its worth bearing in mind that she is part of the promotion team which runs the quarterly Loft parties with original NYC's Loft legend David Mancuso. She was also one of very few djs privaledged enough to be invited to spin at Mancuso's original Loft parties. She was also one of the few djs who played at the legendary Body And Soul nights in NYC, alongside Joe Claussel, Franscois K and Danny Krivit.. Infact Franscois treats her in such high regard that she's the only other dj he allows to play all night long at his regular Deep Space night in Noo Yoik. When she's not promoting or hosting parties from behind the decks ,she's busy running her succesful Bitches Brew label or presenting radio shows which are played around the globe or producing some very fine records under her Wild Rumpus guise, some of these tracks have recently found their way onto Rub N Tug and Prins Thomas mixes.

Ashley Beedle really should need no introduction to anyone who has even the slightest interest in the UK's dance music scene. He's a soulboy first and foremost with more than a passing interest in sundrenched roots and reggae music as well. His love of tribal house and techno also stems from an early age. As one third of X-Press 2 with Rocky and Deisel he had much chart success back in the late 90s and early noughties. He was also part of the production teams The Ballistic Brothers and Black Science Orchestra which were also hugely succesful on the underground house scene here in the UK and abroad.

More recently Ashley's taking some confident steps into solo production with releases on his own Out Hear Audio Label amongst others. He also got involed in another collaboration with Horace Andy and a brand new blue eyed soul project titled Mavis which was released on K7 last month and featured guest vocals from the likes of Kurt Wagner, Candi Staton, Sarah Cracknell, Cerys Matthews and many more.

Entry to this will set you back £10 but if you get down to the preclub sesh which starts in the bar upstairs from 9pm you can grab yourselves some half price passes. Just ask the friendly bar staff.

OOFT Music @ Mamasan,
190 Bath Street, Glasgow.

OOFT music's Ali Herron and friends host their monthly free party at Mamasan on Bath Street this Saturday as well so if you're feeling the pinch after a wild one on Friday but still fancy a drink and a dance in some plush and comfortable surroundings head along for some of their trademark slow burning disco and funk edits with lashings of soul. The djs take to the decks around 11 pm till late and entry is entirely free all night.

Just mind and leave yer fireworks at home folks, eh?

EAR CANDY

Here's a few of the mixes that have been keeping my spirits up during these bleak winter days and nights.

I hope they give your ears as much pleasure as they've given mine!

Rub N Tug live at Sunday Best NYC (Right Click Save As)

Sorry no tracklist.

Melange FM Detroit Mix by Jimmy Jammin Thomas

Knights of the Jaguar (Mad Mike Mix) - Underground Resistance [UR]
Knights of the Jaguar (Original) - Underground Resistance [UR]
Stand Up - The Beat Addicts [Sweat Records]
Small Black Church on the East Side of Detroit - Moodymann [KDJ]
Strings - Rhythm Is Rhythm [Transmat]
What Do You See (Moodymann Mix) - Rick Wilhite [KDJ]
Girlfriend - Gary Martin [Teknotika]
Synthetic Flemm - Theo Parrish [Sound Signature]
Dream Dancing - Red Planet [Red Planet 9]
Abandoned Building in Mono - Perception [UR]
Lightspeed - Model 500 [R&S]
Hubble (Optic Nerve) - Metroplex Social Club [Puzzlebox]
Rock My Soul - Random Noise Generation [430 West]
Bounce Your Body to the Box - Reese & Santonio [RMS]
Tango - Jeff Mills [Purpose Maker]
The Other Day - Jeff Mills [Axis]
Dee Dee Dee(Yes Yes Yes) - Dr Feelgood [NSC]
Superman - Robert Hood [M-Plant]
Foundry - Anthony 'Shake' Shakir [NSC]
Break it Down - AUX 88 [Direct Beat]
Down - Aaron Carol [Electrofunk]
Keys to the Whip - Disco D & DJ Profit [Booty Bar]
Murda Capital - DJ Nasty [MCEC Detroit]
Flamuri I Popullit - DJ 3000 [Motech]
Shut the Lights Off - DJ Bone [Metroplex]
Spirit of Sankofa - Silent Phase [Transmat]
Method - Robert Hood [Peace Frog

Red Rack'em live at Big Chill Radio

Sorry no tracklist.

Cottam - Random Circuits Mix

Patchworks - Handsworth Wood

Ibex - 360
Floating Points - Truly
Mark e - Codsall Juniors
Baustein 001 - Side A
Cottam - #1 Side A
Amplified Orchestra - Electricity
Chamboche - Ipso Facto
Nick Chacona - Time Bandit (NC Dub Beats Mix)
B.D.I. - City and Industry (World Balloon Dub)
Ben Klock - Goodly Sin (Robert Hood Remix)
Cronk Family Enterprises - A Quiet Rebellion
?????? - Olufeme
Motor City Drum Ensemble - Raw Cuts 6
Floating Points - Vacuum Boogie
Cottam - #2 Side B
Norman Nodge - MDR005 B1
Cottam - #3 Side B
Motor City Drum Ensemble - Stripped Down To The Bone
Cottam - #3 Side A

Linkwood - Lost Experiment

LTJ Experience - Sleazy Beats Mix

Side Effect - Private world (edited) * Fantasy

Super Value 09 (ltj edits) - Mellow Mood * super value
The Beatdown Soundmachine - More Love * sleazy beats recordings
Ltj Xperience - Time has been now * Unreleased
Super Value 07 (ltj edits) - Windy City * super value
The Beatdown Soundmachine - Groove is on my mind * sleazy beats recordings
Ltj xperience - on the floor * irma
It's a small world disco - cry (ltj edit rework) * It's a Small World Disco
Stupid Human - Swamp funk * Stupid Human
Drrtyhaze - Make my body hot - Redux
Armando - my sax (ltj reworked) - Saber
Eddie C - One with the stars - Sleazy Beats Recordings

Pamplemousse - you can get off on the music - Avi

Chef De Party - Sweet Smells From The Disco Kitchen Vol 3
Primal Scream - Loaded - Creation
AFMB - A Friendly Ride On The Pressure Boat - AFMB
6th Borough Project - Nights Over Memphis -Instruments Of Rapture
Linkwood - Falling - Prime Numbers
John Carpenter - The End (Laurent Garnier remix) - Harmless Recordings
Its A Small World Disco - Cry (LTJ rework edit) - SWDE
Duff Disco - Red Hot - Duff Disco
Its A Small World Disco - Depth Of My Soul - SWDE
House Of House - Rushing Into Paradise - CDR
Floating Points - Vacuum Boogie - Eglo
Conforce - Joyless Mind -CDR
Omar S/Henrick Schwarz feat Stevie Wonder - I'm Feelin You - CDR
Dixon/Ben Klock - In A While - Innervisions
The Revenge - Looking Up To You - MCDE
Faze Action - In The Trees - Juno Records

Well folks that's it from me for this week. Thanks for taking the time to read The Chef's Specials, as always in association with..

The Chef's Specials for Week Ending 06/09/09

2009-09-01T16:21:00.015+01:00

Hi folks, a pinch and a punch for the first of the month and welcome back to The Chef's Specials coming to you live from Glasgow. Yes apologies once again for my prolonged absence and lack of updates on here. I decided at the begining of last month that the time was right for a move out west so I've left Auld Reekie behind after 11 years there and i've relocated to Glasgow. I'm now back working part time in a kitchen again until i get Forever Cookin' Promotions back up and running and the past 4 weeks have been spent grafting 55+ hours per week in a bid to get some cash stashed away so i've not had much of a chance to check out much of the city yet. As of this weekend i'm back to part time though so looking forward to getting stuck into all the clubbing and parties that Glasgow has to offer.

On Sunday there i had the opportunity to check out a new one day festival called Electric Frog Street Carnival which took place up the west end. Despite the weather this turned out to be a really cool party with a surprisingly good turn out of right up for it punters. The line up was absolutely amazing for a wee Sunday afternoon session with sets from Rahaan, Al Kent (Million Dollar Disco), Floating Points, JD Twitch and JG Wilkes(Optimo), Tim Sweeney (Beats In Space), Tim Goldsworthy (DFA), Den Haan live as well as Theo Parrish and Detroit Techno legend Stacey Pullen amongst others.

With lashings of soul drenched disco and funk being played for most of the day the rain just couldn't dampen anyones spirits at all. By the time Stacey Pullen stepped up to the main stage at around 9pm the crowd were really buzzing and his blend of stunning tech house and and deep techno had us all going crazy. I really hope the organisers hold another one of these parties next year as this was very well planned compared with some other festivals i've been hearing about of late with ample bar space and plenty of refreshments etc. Please Click the link below for some video footage from the event courtesy of EQ Mag.

EQ MAGAZINE: Electric Frog Street Carnival

This coming weekend there are lots of good stuff to get in about too, both here in the west as well as in Edinburgh so without much further ado lets take a sneaky peek.

THURDSAY 3rd SEPTEMBER 2009

Club For Heroes Relaunch Party featuring JD Twitch

@ The GRV, Guthrie Street, Edinburgh

Edinburgh's loveliest disco embarks on a new chapter this Thursday as it moves to a new weekly slot at Guthrie Street's GRV. Resident disco jockeys Jetlad and Honey Sweetcheeks will be joined by Optimo's JD Twitch, a man who needs little introduction. Twitch has been a leading figure on the Scottish clubscene since the early 90s. As a former resident of Edinburgh techno and acid house institution, Pure, he was widely regarded as one of the best djs in the country.

Since Pure called it a day and closed it's doors for the final time a few years back Twitch has continued to lead the field with new sparring partner JG Wilkes as Optimo. The Optimo brand has been toured around the world to much critical acclaim. The diverse music policy of the club now takes in everything from 70s funk to surf guitar, techno, house and good old fashioned rock n roll.

This will no doubt be yet another insanely good party from the Club For Heroes camp so please get down to the GRV on Thursday if you can and help them celebrate their housewarming party.
Entry is free all night and drinks are cheap as chips so no excuses people.

Doors 11pm - 3am.

FRIDAY 4th SEPTEMBER 2009
The Vinyl Club and R.S.I Radio on Leith 98.8FM from 7-11pm

This weeks Vinyl Club show features mixes from resident James Carrol plus a rather bangin' guest mix from Irish Techno maestro Chymera. Chymera or Brendan Gregoriy as his ma knows him has been djing since the mid 90s and producing his own brand of deep tech-house since 2002.

His productions have been well received by many of the world's top tech-house jocks from Steve Rachmad and Luciano to Laurent Garnier and Felix Da Housecat. With releases on labels as diverse as Urban Torque, Supreme Entertainment, NRK, Ovum and Tishomingo, the latter putting out what is surely his most popular track to date, "Arabesque". This track was licenced to many high profile mix compilations from the likes of Global Underground, Fabric and Renaissance earning him much respect from his peers.

In 2007 he was voted 3rd best chillout artist for his beatless "Umbrella" remix for Ovum. Last year he moved to Barcelona where he's continued to develop his style realeasing more tracks on labels such as Conneusseur and Figure. His Live shows and Dj schedule is jam packed at the minute taking him everywhere from Russia to Japan and everywhere in between.

Following the Vinyl Club show as ever will be R.S.I Radio featuring the impeccable dj talent that is local boy Zuni. Zuni's involvement in the Scottish Techno scene began over a decade ago. As a promoter and resident dj (Semaj) of Edinburgh's UTI (Under The Influence) he honed his mixing skills alongside some of the most underground techno legends from around the world. Jay Denham, Dave Tarrida, James Ruskin, Mark Williams, Jamie Bismire, Rob Stowe and Stephen Brown have all played alongside him as well as some of the best of Edinburgh's local technos.

In 2002 he launched UTI Recordings as a means to release some of his own productions as well as those of some of his friends and peers. The first release was the "Influence EP" from Cymbol which featured remixes from Terry Mitchell and Mark Williams which went on to become a big hit with the scenes key spinners. He also launched another label, Injun Ears which specialises in digital downloads with one of his own productions the "As A Child EP" with remixes from Steffan Robbers, Jamie Ball and Acid Junkies. He has recently launched another new web based label Tribal Waves with an ep from Ellex.

R.S.I Radio is very proud to feature another crackin Guestmix featuring fresh new tracks from all of his labels.

Preclub Soul Jam 9pm - 1am@ The Newsroom, Leith Street, Edinburgh

This Friday the Newsroom on Leith Street will be bumpin to the soulful sounds of Carina Ramos and her glamourous assistant Lel P.

These two are fairly gettin around with regular gigs in most if not all of the city's favourite preclub bars and once you get a taste of the delicious grooves they're dishing up you'll know exactly why. Mixin up classic disco, real Philly soul, raw funk and some of the finest eighties electro their complimenting styles are really quite sublime. Gaining respect from some of the biggest players in the capital from Gareth Sommerville to Yogi Haughton and Craig Smith these two djs really are just the sonic tonic after a hard workin week.

Free entry and lots of drinks promos on.

SATURDAY 5th SEPTEMBER 2009

Jam The Box presents Jetlad (Club For Heroes)

@ The GRV, Guthrie Street Edinburgh

With Jimmy Jammin Thomas and Jammiwam away to Croatia for Disco 3000 festival this weekend, the remaining residents decided to draft in some assistance and who better suited to take the reins than Club For Heroes supremo Jetlad?

Having built up a loyal and well clued up following at The Wee Red Bar over the past couple of years Club For Heroes has become exactly as its name suggests. With regular appearances from the likes of House Of Traps, Fudge Fingas and Linkwood and with cameo roles from some of the best artists from the Optimo stable, Jetlad's diverse musical tastes from gay disco to real soul and some stunning deep techno sounds have earned him a legion of true music fans.

Jam The Box's Jimmy Jammin Thomas and Marmalade Maslin are two such fans and were knocked for six by Jetlad's set on their first venture to Club For Heroes. Maslin is very excited about having Jetlad join him on the decks in the main room this Saturday for his Jam The Box debut. If you like your music to be funky, raw, deep and just al ittle bit camp then this is the surely the best night in Edinburgh for you this saturday. Open minded music for open minded people...Disco Sans Frontieres

Entry is only£5 all night witha £4 concession for Students.

Doors 10.30pm - 3.00am.

Melting Pot presents Horse Meat Disco + Ali Tillet (Warm, London)
@The Admiral, 72a Waterloo Street, Glasgow

Melting Pot and Horse Meat Disco team up to throw one almighty mother of a party at Glasgow's Admiral Bar this Saturday so if Disco is your thing and you can't make it to Edinburgh for Jam The Box then this is where you want to be.

"Since its humble beginnings over 5 years ago Horse Meat Disco has become an institution on both sides of the sexual divide due in large part to its dedication and appreciation to Disco music in all its forms. The brainchild of James Hillard and Jim Stanton via the inspiration of New York nightlife legend Adam Goldstone (RIP) the idea was to create an alternative party that harped back to the halcyon days of parties like The Loft and The Gallery in New York whilst at the same time adapting it for a London crowd and always looking to the future. This formula proved successful from the start and led the club to take up its residency every Sunday in the most fantastic South London boozer; Eagle London.

Jim and James both DJs in their own right enlisted the help of 2 of London's hardest working DJs to help create the sound that would take HMD from its beginnings in a china town basement to the recognition it now holds. Those DJs being Severino hailing from Mantova in Italy and Filthy Luka (aka Luke Howard) resident of Queer Nation and life long disco fanatic. These 4 DJs with their knowledge of music and what makes a dance floor move proved a force to be reckoned with and the parties soon became the talk of the town attracting a discerning mix of old time disco heads, club kids, bears, naturists and something new in gay clubs; a space where disco fans of a heterosexual persuasion could live out their fantasy of going to a gay disco club without feeling totally out of place. The club's ethos has always been to provide a queer space for everyone after all the best parties have always been the ones where the crowd comes from all walks of life."

Also on the bill for this is Warm Agency's Ali Tillet. Ali is the brains behind one of London's best clubnights which has morphed into an extremely high quality booking agency which represents dj/producers such as Ame', Dixon, Tim Sweeney, and Mark E. Ali has held residencies at some of London's best known clubs such as The End , Plastic People and Fabric. He's currently celebrating a whole decade of Warm so Melting Pot are delighted to bring him to Glasgow to continue celebrating Scottish style.

This is guaranteed to go off like a rocket and may well sell out so you are well advised to get down early to avoid missing out, The club opens at 11pm but there will be a preclub party in the bar upstairs from 9pm. Get down early for half price passes too available from the djs at Preparty upstairs.

Entry is £10 all night or half price with a pass.

Well guys that's all from me for the moment. I'll try to find some more time this week to add some links to some of the top quality mixes i've been listening to lately. Lots of great stuff from some local heroes as well as some crackers from a few of the world's finest djs. Anyway thanks for being patient and i hope you still enjoy reading The Chef's Specials. Brought to you as always in association with...

Thanks, Chef.