Death Disco returns this Saturday with a show headlined by the amazing Bloody Beetroots – and their new alter ego, Death Crew 77.
The Bloody Beetroots DJ’d to a sold-out audience here last August, and if their set wasn’t wild enough, who knows what chaos the incorporation of live drums, vocals and a ridiculous number of effects, pads and pedals will bring?
The man behind it all is Italian “Sir Bob Cornelius Rifo” (or Bob Rifo for ease): a modern art and cinema fan who has big conceptual plans for his masked group of heavy-metal/electro avengers.
This appearance will be the Scottish debut of the Death Crew 77 show.
“I play six instruments and sing. The keyboards are two Nords and two Korgs. There are three of us on stage, “ explains Rifo. “I am joined by historic Beetroot, Tommy Tea, and we have a new drummer, Edward Grinch. I see DC77 as a secondary growth of the BB DJ set.”
Rifo’s two acts are supported by fellow Italian Don Rimini, a fine example of the power the internet can have in transforming the careers of little-known producers and DJs through the viral spreading of one track through the network of blogs and forums.
Rimini’s Let Me Back Up, and the remix by DD favourites Crookers, was one of the biggest club tracks of 2008 and came seemingly from nowhere. Since its release, Don went from strong release to stronger release with the help of Mental Groove Records (Luciano/Miss Kittin/Crowdpleaser) with his tracks appearing in countless DJ sets from the likes of A-Trak, Boys Noize, 2ManyDJs and Tiga.
Norwegian pop-princess Annie is also coming to the party! She burst into the charts in 2005 with singles Me Plus One, Heartbeat and Chewing Gum, from her debut album Anniemal.
She is now enjoying her long-awaited comeback, collaborating with the likes of Franz Ferdinand and Girls Aloud, and her DJ set is a quirky addition to the night.
Completing a great line-up are Hey Today!, two Germans who make up one of the more interesting new production duos in Europe, and the young Mancunian four-piece Egyptian Hip Hop. The band will kick things off in The Playroom at Death Disco.
Their debut single Wild Human Child was released at the start of February and with the NME strongly behind them, 2010 is looking extremely bright for this curiously named (and impressively hair-styled) group.
- Death Disco @ The Arches, Saturday, 10pm – 3am, £16 (£8 with a half price pass. Sign up for one atwww.deathdisco.info)
Farewell, Optimo
Optimo is a club night in Glasgow that was started in November 1997 at The Sub Club by DJs JD Twitch and JG Wilkes – and Sunday April 25 will mark its final fling.
The duo’s success as both a DJ team and as individual artists has them much in demand internationally, and the pressures that come with running a club night in the UK, whilst touring, remixing and working on individual projects caused both members to realise that perhaps Optimo’s time had come.
They envisage a new event with a rolling roster of DJs drawn from their Glasgow clubbing peers, and full details will follow soon, along with the plans for the final, tearful and joyous closing party.
