Club Previews

28/07/2016

Cosmic Gate

The stereotypically hedonistic lifestyle enjoyed by your common superstar DJ is well-documented. That’s mostly because it’s true: these hard-partying, globetrotting playboys hop from city to city playing records, getting wasted, and generally having a right old knees-up. It’s an image that countless amateurs lust after, and it’s easy to see why. The adulation, the groupies, the endless free booze: it’s what every wannabe record spinner dreams of, right? Well, yeah, but according to the experts, perhaps they shouldn’t be.

“If you are in for the fame and champagne, don’t do it,” is Cosmic Gate’s advice for aspiring young DJs. “The only reason why you want to be a producer should be the passion and love you have for club music.” Sounds slightly boring, but the German duo are clearly speaking from experience: after 15 years at the top of the trance game, they’ve achieved just about everything that it’s possible to achieve in a DJing career. Having sold out arenas in the world’s EDM capitals, curated stages at big-name festivals and hit the DJ Mag Top 100 chart, perhaps they’ve just reached the point where the platonic ideal of DJing is the only path left to take. Or maybe – and this is more likely – they’re just two star-crossed musical partners, devoted to spreading the universal message of peace and love that banging commercial trance so often carriers. Either way, this is their first Scottish show in over two years and with support from local veteran Michael Hutcheson and a trance revival making waves online, it’s one you won’t want to miss.

• Cosmic Gate, tomorrow, SWG3, 9pm – 3am, £17.50

Heidi

The Jackathon is back, baby. After a hiatus of more than a year, the influential house label Jackathon Jams, run by Canadian DJ Heidi, has returned with releases from DJ T and a string of parties across Europe. "I'm extremely excited to bring back Jackathon Jams Recordings,” she said. “Kicking it off with a mega fresh new release from a dear old friend who helped me put the Jack in Jackathon way back when I started out in this biz. DJ T… was there at the beginning and I'm so pleased to have him kick start the label again.”

Having witnessed the chaos that erupted when Heidi played with Slam at Pressure in December, I can fully recommend this as an essential Friday night outing. And after a day of rest (you could drop in and see Panorama Bar resident Prosumer at Subculture on Saturday, but only if you’re a fan of suitably authentic Edinburgh-based, Berlin-endorsed house) it’s not going to hurt to hit up Sensu’s Bank Holiday session at Saint Luke’s on Sunday, either. They have the Bristolian bass warrior Eats Everything - who’s probably just finishing off a midweek set at Ibiza’s DC10 as you’re reading this – and hotly-tipped local star Denis Sulta on headline duties, with the Sensu residents in support. As if that all-day party in the Calton wasn’t enough, the afterparty at the Subbie takes it into the wee hours. It would be rude not to, wouldn’t it?

• Heidi, tomorrow, Sub Club, 11pm – 3am, £8

• Sensu Bank Holiday Sunday, Sunday, Saint Luke’s, 4pm – 11pm, £25

On the House – Garden Party

It’s difficult to be in the vicinity of a radio these days and not hear an Illyus and Barrientos song. The local house duo have been attracting the attentions of tastemakers like Annie Mac and Pete Tong for months now, and are pretty much a weekly fixture on their Radio 1 shows. Their latest remix, a tasty reworking of Michael Mandal & Forbes’ ‘Really Love’, is released on Mark Brown’s Cr2 Records tomorrow (Friday) – listen out for it on the country’s biggest station, and catch them in the flesh at The Sanctuary’s all-day house blowout on Saturday – simply put, they’re outstanding.

• On the House - Garden Party, Saturday, The Sanctuary, 2pm – 10pm, £10

Saltmarket Outhouse

Last month, indie Glasgow went into mourning as news spread that The Variety Bar had closed its doors for the last time. The beloved Sauchiehall Street institution was gone for only a week, though, and has since returned to serving up Cuba Libres and craft beers - much to the relief of its sophisticated regular punters. On Saturday, eclectic aural treats are the order of the night as the rising Glaswegian collective Saltmarket Outhouse take over the soundsystem. The duo (Dave and Dave, or Batton and Miami Chocolate) have a motto – “absolutely zero genre restraints, just heavy good tunes” – and their policy of juxtaposing obscure jams with ‘50s gospel and unabashed disco bangers sits nicely with me.

• Saltmarket Outhouse, Saturday, Variety Bar, 9pm – 3am, free