Top European parties

I was recently commissioned by ResidentAdvisor.net to find the best weekly parties happening in and around Europe and to provide an interview with one DJ plus a small but concise travel tip for each city. This is an example of what I found. The published versions can be seen here, here and here.

20th Birthday Celebration @ Rex Club
Saturday 24th May, Paris
Line up:
Chloe
Jennifer Cardini
Ellen Allien

This week’s top shindig is a birthday bash with a twist. Personal space will be at a premium as the intimate and historically rich Rex Club continues the two-week celebration marking its 20th year. This time around its minimal and it’s womanly. Berlin’s Ellen Allien rides into town on the back of her recent Boogybytes Vol.04 mix. Her co-stars are hometown girl, Chloé, who also favours Germany’s minimal side (with a sprinkling of dirty electro), and Jennifer Cardini, another lady with a recent release, namely the Feeling Strange mix on Kompakt.

Like her French counterpart, Chloé, Cardini is daubed by the Kill The DJ brush and she’s one Paris' most longstanding and respected DJs. We cornered her for a chat before party time.

RA: What do you especially like about the Rex?
JC: The sound system.

RA: Describe the Rex in five words.
JC: "Can you feel the bass?" 

RA: Do you have any extra special memories from the club?
JC: The first time I met Michael Mayer. We were playing with Riccardo Villalobos for a Katapult party and the three of us ended playing back to back. That was also how I started to work and be friends with all the Kompakt crew.

RA: What kind of vibe are you expecting at the party?
JC: As I answer to this it's 27 degrees in Paris so I hope it will be hot on 24th of May. I hope people will sweat and shout!

RA: What impresses you most about parties in Paris?
JC: That there is always a moment around 5 am when it's special. You get a connection with the crowd and you can start to play more deeper.

RA: What are your feelings about being party of the all-girl line-up?
JC: I thought I was in an artist line up. I never realised we were only girls.

RA: Where are your favourite cities and why?
JC: I don't have a favourite city. I think parties are nice most of time if the promoter is a real music lover and if he enjoys hosting you. Most of the time the spirit of the people working for the event attract the good people.

RA: Which tunes go down really well in which cities?
JC: Euh??? A good tune is a good tune.

RA: Who are the funkiest nation?
JC: The ones from the one nation under a groove ...

RA: Who are the sexiest nation?
JC: The one from the seven nation army ...

RA: Who are the most boring nation?
JC: Monte Carlo!

RA: What are the key ingredients of a killer party?
JC: To play only Kill The DJ records

RA: If you could create a party anywhere in the world, where would it be and who would be there?
JC: Moorea Island. Mayer, Weatherall, Smagghe, Chloe, Funke, Fluegel, Ata.

RA: When you are travelling, what do you listen to?
JC: Music For Airports by Brian Eno. And if I'm on a bad mood, ‘Home’ by Depeche Mode. 

RA: What inspires you?
JC: Life 

RA: When is bed time?
JC: In the week, 11:30 pm. On the weekend, I never remember!

RA: What would you most like to be remembered for?
JC: There are more things I would not like to be remembered for!!


RA lifestyle recommendation: The beautiful Jardin du Luxembourg has a fountain with a writers corner and, if the security guards aren’t looking, you can lie on the grass.


Bugged Out & Modular @ Razzamatazz
Friday 23rd May, Barcelona
Line up:
Das Pop (live)
Gato
Luis le Nuit
Boys Noize
d.a.r.y.l.
Bang Gang DJs
Bumblebeez (live)
Modular DJs
Fredski DJ

Razzmatazz is notorious for mixing it with the big boys and tonight is no exception. The Bugged Out bravado is represented by the ubiquitous Boyz Noize who squeeze into the cosy Loft. The four remaining areas are taken over by the braun of Modular as Aussies-on-a-jaunt, Bumblebeez and Bang Gang DJs, muscle into the main rooms. Belgian band and close friends to the Dewaele ‘Soulwax’ brothers, Das Pop, will be testing out their blurred mix of quirky pop and indie dance.

RA lifestyle recommendation: Culture vultures get down to the Quatre Gats café/restaurant where Picasso and his arty mates used to hang out.

Urban Gorilla at The Plug
Sunday May 25, Shefflied
Sasha
Switch
Krafty Kuts (BBQ set)
Âme
Boy 8-Bit
Run Hide Survive
Alan Chapman

The Plug is getting ‘the full UG’ and self-congratulating back pats should go to the UG collective for putting the steel back into the city of Sheffield. Headline sturdiness comes from the legendary Sasha and Sonar Kollektiv’s German house virtuosos, Âme. THE name to look out for in the Bug room is red hot remixer, Boy 8-Bit. Tickets provide entry into the car park where you’ll find breaks masters, Kraft Kuts, and BBQ-d meat products. What Bank Holidays were made for, whoop whoop!

RA lifestyle recommendation: On the hunt for a classic bargain? Jack’s Records in Devonshire Street is the requisite stop for second hand albums and movies.

Klubnacht Traum 10th Anniversary Tour @ Berghain/Panorama Bar
Saturday 24th May, Berlin
Line-up /
Ben Klock
Dominik Eulberg
Thomas Brinkmann Live
Triple R
Super Flu
Audiosex (Baggy Bukaddor & Tim Fischbeck) Live
Red Robin
Stephan Hill

This birthday celebration just doesn’t want to end. Traum was founded on its parties and over one hundred releases later, the intensity isn’t dwindling. Boss man, Triple R, has again collated a veritable who’s who from the label’s core as a preview of the Traum V100 release due out in June. Playful minimal house duo, Bukaddor & Fishbeck, and the dark mysterious Thomas Brinkmann, will be flexing their contributions from the album, as will Dominik Eulberg and Super Flu.

RA lifestyle recommendation: The old dance hall is East Berlin known as Claerchens Ballhaus promotes a ‘come one, come all’ attitude to dancing. And the upstairs bar is about as cool as a bar can be.

Compilation H Release Party @ Cocoon
Friday 23rd May, Frankfurt
Line-up
Joris Voorn
Dubfire
Simon Baker
Matt Star (live)

Are you keen to find out what’ll be making Sven Väth sweat beneath his collar this summer? Simply pop along to the big man’s Cocoon Club on May 23rd and you’ll witness firsthand the fresh faced delights handpicked by his highness to appear on this year’s Cocoon Compilation H. Joris Voorn get’s his ‘Deep Side of the Moog’ out, Simon Baker offers ’U’, Matt Star asks ‘Am I Dreaming’ and Dubfire will be looking for ‘Diablo’.

RA lifestyle recommendation: The Mantis Roof Garden has a stunning terrace thanks to an automatic folding roof which works well with the marble cocktail bar.


Six years of Electronic Motion feat. Sound Force KINGSIZE @ Gusswerk
Wednesday 21st May, Salzburg
Lineup:
Mauro Picotto
Adam Beyer
Turntablerocker
Moonbootica
John Acquaviva
Johannes Heil LIVE

Such a glut of headliner acts and to think it’s only a Wednesday! Surely, it’s not legal?! Salzburg’s premier outfit opens up all three arenas for the first time and offers a variety of flavours to taste at this 6-year anniversary: Turntablerocker lay down the ‘boogie’ beats; DJ/production machine, Mauro Picotto, goes partly high tempo and partly funky minimal; whilst the young-but-highly-developed Adam Beyer and Kanzleramt’s Johannes Heil tap the techno keg.

RA lifestyle recommendation: The Sound of Music bus tour with ‘alternative’ singalong lyrics should get a few smiles going (“Doh a beer, I need a beer. Ray, a bloke who buys me beer….”)

Display at BG
Friday 23rd and Saturday 24th May, Amsterdam
Line-up:
Day One:
Cluase VonStroke
Justin Martin
Jimpster

Day Two:
Warren Fellow
Guy Gerber
Chaim
Unders
Lucio Aquilina

One big fat line-up. Times two! BG’s decadent locale gets a double dose of techno. First up is Claude VonStroke, boss of the deep techno Mothership and the tech-funk Dirtbird, as well as a massive favourite with the Resident Advisor family. Sharing day one with Claude is hot property producer and old pal, Christian Martin, with whom he teamed up with on the recent haunting tech-house hybrid, ’Groundhog Day’. The Bedrock/Cocoon prog house of Guy Gerber and minimal tech-house of Lucio Aquilina will be claiming day two.

RA lifestyle recommendation: The lovely Albert Cuypt street market specialises in food and is strolling distance from Sarphati Park.

Warm @ East Village
Saturday 24th May, London
Line-up:
Tim Goldsworthy (DFA)
Tim Sweeney (DFA/Beats in Space)
Skull Juice (Walk The Night)
Warm Residents

It’s the English Bank Holiday which can mean only one thing - it’s time to get the Tims in. The bi-monthly Warm will adhere to its name once the classy East Village basement begins to bounce. Those familiar with DFA’s supremacy will know that label owner, Tim Goldsworthy, is rinsed right through the entire scene. Goldsworthy’s former intern, now collaborator, Tim Sweeney, has a varied palette in genres, an aspect that has made his Beats In Space radio show so enticing.

RA lifestyle recommendation: Avoid the Brick Lane curry cliches if you’re looking for something hot and tasty. South London’s Tooting High Road is a much better Mecca for the devilish dishes.


I.S.M DeventerDubSessions @ Burgerweeshuis
Saturday 24th May, Deventer, Netherlands
Line up:
Bart Skils
2000 and One
Farimont LIVE

If you’re going to go deep, go Deventer deep. Fairmont, the softer side of Canadian producer Jake Fairley, performs his mid-tempo live set balancing somewhere on the interface between trance and minimal. The Traum/Kompakt/Connaisseur spinner gets some help from Bart Skills, presently one of the Netherlands’ frontrunning techno DJs, and from 2000 And One, the back-to-basics project of producer Dylan Hermelijn and DJ Dano Leeflang, who blend Detroit techno house with Chicago acid house.

RA lifestyle recommendation: Take a relaxing jaunt along the banks of the River Ijssel and chance upon the Bolwerksmolen, an authentic windmill and the foot ferry which takes you to the scenic Worpplantsoen and Ossenwaard park.

Padded Cell ‘A Night Must Fall’ Album Launch @ Café 1001
Sunday 25th May, London
Zombie Zombie Live (Versatile Records)
Andrew Weatherall (Wrong Meeting)
Trevor Jackson (K7!)
Richard Sen (Bronx Dogs)
A Mountain Of One (DJ set)
Andy Blake (Dissident)

Two factors are intrinsically intertwined here. Firstly, noone has to work the next day. Secondly, it’s the launch of Padded Cell’s debut album, Night Must Fall. Cafe 1001’s double-roomed warehouse plays host to this 12 hour flirtation with live analogue. Versatile’s Zombie Zombie give their Parisian take on classic krautrock and DJ duties fall to the capable Andrew Weatherall and Trevor Jackson, both of whom are forerunners of the leftfield motion, masters of the remix and keen-eyed collectors of every known genre.

RA lifestyle recommendation: Very close to this party venue is the historical Truman Brewery where you can take in a spectacular view of London from the roof.