Pressure 17th Birthday

GROWING up in Fürstenwalde, near Berlin, in the ‘90s, Marcel Dettman’s town lacked a shop where he could buy new dance records.

So he started a vinyl business from his bedroom, buying wax in bulk from distributors and selling them to his friends.

After building up a considerable Chicago and Detroit techno collection, he started playing at the Berlin clubs he frequented: Ostgut, E-Werk and Tresor among them.

When Ostgut became Berghain he secured a residency, and is now one of the legendary club’s foremost figures.

In other words, he’s the ideal headliner for Pressure’s birthday party tomorrow night: a techno specialist who is one of the genre’s most influential DJs.

Dettman is joined in the club’s new TV Studio by the Russian minimal house and techno sensation Nina Kraviz and Pressure’s proud parents Slam. Upstairs in the warehouse is a Detroit Love room, with Carl Craig and Stacey Pullen – both from the city’s second wave of techno artists – pulling the strings.

The party’s takeover of the SWG3 complex is complete, with Lindsay & Kendal of Metafreq and Code’s Nick Morrow going deep in the Poetry Club.

Tickets are long sold out, as befits a party this big, but Pressure fanatics won’t need to wait long until the next one – there’s a Boxing Day special in a few short weeks.

• Pressure 17th Birthday, tomorrow, SWG3, 9pm – 3am, sold out

Alison Wonderland

Alison Wonderland’s background as an indie-rock bassist and Sydney Youth Opera cellist will have done little to prepare her for her current career.

But the Aussie DJ’s knack for crafting big room club bangers shows that perhaps she was wasted in those other pursuits.

Saturday night sees SWG3 become the latest stop on her never-ending world tour – fitting, really, since one of her first outings back home was a whistle-stop jaunt taking in warehouses across the Australian continent.

Expect an intense set of hands-in-the-air anthems without pause for breath.

• Alison Wonderland, Saturday, SWG3, 10pm – 2am, £16

Honey Dijon

“The fashion world has a handful of ‘it girl’ DJs, but there are very few that other serious DJs respect,” New York writer and nightlife personality Rayne Baron told the New York Times in 2013.

“Honey Dijon is one of those rare birds that traverses both worlds.”

The house diva grew up in Chicago, sneaking into Frankie Knuckles parties from the age of 12 and locking herself in her room with house records and fashion magazines.

She’s now a regular at Manhattan parties hosted by the likes of Hermès and Givenchy, and her style flits between old school house, disco, funk and soul – this is one for those that simply want to get down.

• Honey Dijon, tomorrow, Sub Club, 11pm- 3am, £10

Keeping the Rave Alive

On Saturday, Kutski brings his Keeping the Rave Alive podcast into the physical world once again for another night of hard dance madness.

This is the official launch party for “The Ravers Revolution,” Keeping the Rave Alive’s celebrations marking its 200th episode.

Kutski is joined by Dutch hardstyle DJs Brennan Heart, Evil Activities and Dr. Rude, with Italian “sickcore” duo The Sickest Squad also playing.

Upstairs in Room Two there’s a plethora of local talent, including Malfunction and Beamer and the Demolition Squad.

• Keeping the Rave Alive, Saturday, O2 Academy, 7pm – 3am, £22

Autonomous Africa

Autonomous Africa, the label set up by Optimo’s JD Twitch, has been releasing Afro-inspired singles and EPs to raise funds and awareness for charities and initiatives since 2012.

This latest project, Youth Stand Up! is a collaborative work featuring musicians from Glasgow, Ghana and Belize, and the funds that it makes will help the Tafi Cultural Institute build a recording studio in the village of Tafi Atome, Ghana.

This launch party has Ghana Soundz, Wilkes himself and Sordid Sound System spinning tunes from, and inspired by African styles, and live sets from Sacred Paws and the incredible Golden Teacher.

• Autonomous Africa Album Launch, tomorrow, The Art School, 11pm – 3am, £tbc

Earl 16

All the way from Kingston, Jamaica to Shawlands, Earl 16 brings his winsome roots reggae to The Rum Shack tomorrow night.

The veteran singer has survived working with trigger-happy producer Duke Reid, and a beneficial collaboration with Leftfield in the ‘90s brought the Earl to a wider audience.

He plays alongside London-based dubplate specialist Fenomeno, and Italian hip-hop/reggae crossover artist Miss Fritty.

• Earl 16, tomorrow, The Rum Shack, 8pm – 1am, £8