High Rise, London
Streetwear brand Boxfresh leeches some cred off trendily leftfield dance acts, in a trio of gigs it’s curating across an afternoon on three London rooftops. Rockwell House in EC2 features deep but poppy house from Pedestrian and Waze & Odyssey, whose crowd-pleasing bootleg of R Kelly’s Bump N’ Grind is getting a major-label release this month; while Dalston Roof Park, E8, has even poppier dance from Star Slinger and Golden Boy, plus twisted, jazzily futuristic trip-hop from Ninja Tune’s Lapalux. Pick of the bunch, though, is the lineup atop Netil House, E8, where, amid the backpacker rhymes from UK hip-hop mainstay Jehst and the tasteful, slightly anaemic and totally 2014 dance-pop of Alpines, Mumdance and Novelist are on hand to give everything some real adrenaline. The former’s imaginative grime production tees up the latter’s deliberate and exacting vocal flow, to make tracks that are both chaotic and level-headed.
Various venues, Sat
BBT
Juan Maclean album launch, London
Over a decade ago, the first releases on DFA Records kicked their way into the dance scene championing both guitars and turntables, and ushering in a disco-tinged edge to dance music which still lingers. In the first run of DFA releases, including LCD Soundsystem and the Rapture, were the Juan Maclean, the pairing of John MacLean and Nancy Whang. Their discography is peppered with classic singles: body-popping android funk in By The Time I Get To Venus, face-stroking Balearic euphoria in Happy House, comically cosmic disco-funk in Give Me Every Little Thing, and a shoulda-been-massive pop smash in One Day. On new album In A Dream (launched at this party), the youthful punkishness has been replaced with a middle-aged zen, but everything still pumps and rumbles, be it Moroder-style synth undulations, Scando disco, or even the sort of adult boogie Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis churned out in 80s Minneapolis. Support comes from Horse Meat Disco, whose knowledge of sassy disco and house is equally encyclopaedic.
The Nest, N16, Sat
BBT
Zoo Project festival, Donington
Donington Park’s motor racing circuit is usually associated with pistonheads and metal mega-fest Download, but Zoo Project festival, now entering its third year, is planting the flag for dance music. Focusing on a strong and varied pool of established and emerging talent, this year house and techno are the main staples, including live performances from the likes of Ten Walls and Benjamin Damage. DJ sets, meanwhile, come from Barcelona’s heartbreak house master John Talabot, original trance superstar Sasha, and Daft Punk collaborator, DJ Falcon. Another one to watch out for is former Streets man Mike Skinner, who’ll be DJing with his usual eclectic dexterity.
Donington Park, Fri to 14 Sep
JT
Return To Mono, Glasgow
Having brought outer space to the club with Underground Resistance in the 90s, techno linchpin Robert Hood’s own sound has grown from a dark, clinical creature, into the warm, pounding grooves of his side project, Floorplan. Though he hardly breaks a sweat behind the decks, it’s his live sets that continue to challenge the audience with a kick drum-led dynamism that made last year’s Paradise LP such a critical hit. The album is stuffed with his characteristic soulful vocal hooks (Never Grow Old is a stand out example), all smoothed down into immaculately layered techno grooves.
Sub Club, Fri
LM
Global Beats, Brighton
Laurent Garnier is one of the most significant noise-makers in techno history. Inspired by Chicago house and Manchester’s Haçienda, he became famous – especially at his residency at London club The End – for marathon sets, which flipped between chuggy techno, melodic house, jazz, dub, Balearic, electro-disco and everything else in between. These days, he’s also a live artist and composer, and this three-hour mix at Concorde 2 should be a treat for south coast clubbers.
Concorde 2, Sat
SM
