Three of Europe’s capital cities of dance music come to Edinburgh this weekend, as techno ambassador Rødhåd arrives from Berlin, electro and acid disco connoisseur Young Marco hops off the plane from Amsterdam and credible house to pop crossover sensation Duke Dumont makes the trip up from London with labelmates in tow.
Pulse x Substance: Rødhåd – Bongo Club, Fri Feb 20
Two of Edinburgh’s best techno nights come together for the first time to co-promote a show by one of Berlin’s finest techno DJs. Rødhåd gave himself his own big break in 2009 by starting his club night Dystopian in the city, and the reputation that built for him meant that within a year he’d been taken on by Berghain as a semi-regular resident. He releases tracks on his own label, also called Dystopian, with ‘Blindness’, ‘1984’ and the ‘Red Rising’ EP living up to the label’s name with their urgent industrial grind.
Wasabi Disco with Young Marco – Sneaky Pete’s, Sat Feb 21
Edinburgh’s premier home of sleazy disco, classic house and forward-thinking techno is usually in safe hands with rampant resident Kris Wasabi in charge, but when they get a special guest it’s a good one. For this month’s edition, that’s experienced Amsterdam-based producer Marco Sterk, aka Young Marco, whose recordings are perfectly in tune with the ethos of this club: minimal, pulsating electronic grooves which borrow as much from the synthesised heartbeat pulse of Kraftwerk as they do from the cool soulfulness of Detroit techno. Check out last year’s debut album ‘Biology’ on ESP Institute, then join in here.
Nightvision presents Blasé Boys Club – Liquid Room, Sat Feb 21
Another weekend, another cracking Nightvision party. This time it’s hosted by Duke Dumont (pictured above), the chart-topping (‘Need U (100%)’ and ‘I Got You’ have both done the job in the UK), Grammy-nominated (he and AME shared a nod last year for ‘Need U (100%)’) Brit producer, whose Blasé Boys Club is both his alias and his growing label presence. As if the Duke wasn’t enough of a draw, support announced so far includes BBC Radio 1’s excellent B.Traits and Kiwi, whose debut EP ‘The Mara’ arrived on Blasé Boys Club last summer.