Clubs

It’s the second year of the Encompass Festival and it’s expanding. It’s cut down on the seminars and industry schmoozing in favour of hosting a heap of parties that boast the most cutting-edge talent on UK and Euro labels. For £17 you get a wristband that will get you in to some 14 label showcases (up to six venues a night!) from Thursday to Saturday, plus a Saturday afternoon of talks and Q&As for anyone not watching the FA Cup Final. And there are plenty more ‘partner events’ where clubs like Fabric, The End, the Ministry of Sound and The Key offer hefty discounts to wristband holders between Thursday and Sunday. It has to be the best nightlife bargain you could dream of in the middle of May. The only drawback? You can’t be in six places at once and the venues aren’t all massive, so you’ll have to prioritise. With that in mind, we’ve selected some of the best events to wave your wristband at – check the listings or see www.encompass-london.com to see the whole damn shoot.

Best for beeps and bleeps
Warp at Rhythm Factory, Thursday
Sitting comfortably at the forefront of all things electronic with their pop-electroid-techno wigginess since 1989, the Sheffield-based imprint bring Jimmy Edgar, B12 and Milanese for some live sounds. Feature continues

Best for eyes wide open
Channel Zero at Cargo, Friday
There’s a whole world of wiggy AV talent, and two of the very best are Addictive TV and Eclectic Method. Conveniently, they’re both at Cargo tonight, joining Channel Zero’s DJ/VJ hordes in a huddle of laptops and big screens.

Best for arty chin-stroking
Cybersonica at Phonica’s Vinyl Factory Gallery, 51 Poland St, W1. Until May 20.
An Encompass art exhibition was never going to be watercolour landscapes. Instead, the commissioned international artists have worked sonically. It’ll make sense when you see – or rather hear – it.

Best for impressive facial hair
Tummy Touch at 93 Feet East, Thursday
Tim ‘Love’ Lee boasts one hell of a ’tache (and locks most men would swap football teams for, if they were being truly honest). His label’s an essential purveyor of sleazy funk and, well, quirky stuff. And its parties? As infamous as his facial hair. Don’t miss.

Best for bothering bassbins
Depth Charge at Herbal, Saturday
Crossing the pond for this gig, North Virginia’s heavyweight Depth Charge Recordings will be cranking up the bottom end with Kelp and Padded Cell live.

Best for Q&As
Fabric’s Keith Reilly & Craig Richards
The key to Fabric’s success? Well, that would be telling. And that’s exactly what owner Keith Reilly and musical director (and resident DJ) Craig Richards promise to do this afternoon. The talk is followed by an audience participation session (so get your probing questions ready). Our own Nightlife guru Dave Swindells does the asking.

Best for sweaty rave-ups
Border Community at Bar 54, Saturday
While James Holden’s inspirational label is never going to be home to, say,
a young Dutch gabba turk, his showcase is going till dawn and we all know how parties at this former Indian restaurant descend into mayhem in the blink of an eye.

Best for ‘who they?’
Factorcity at Sosho, Friday
Fret not, here are your pass notes. Factorcity, the Catalan house and techno label, will be represented by the blokes who run it. House producer Undo (who clocked up years in an indie band, so his album is house with guitars) and Vicknoise (who resides at excellent Barcelona club The Loft) show London what it’s all about.

Best for genre-bashing
Nonstop at Cargo, Thursday
Get some hip hop, electro, grime, house and more, all on the same bill. Man Like Me fuse mic-bothering with electro and grime, Spektrum marry disco and punk in a gobby ESG-meets-The Slits fashion, Early Man (featuring MCs Trevor Goodchilde and Kombo) pioneers the new face of hip hop with his electronic-inspired early rave jazz, while Caspa Codina does house and True Stories handle futuristic funk.