The Rainbow Venues in Digbeth celebrate its eleventh birthday this weekend with a massive Chapter XI all-day party that promises sets from Loco Dice, Seth Troxler, Loefah, DJ Zinc and T.Williams to name a few.
In recent years, The Rainbow has been at the heart of the nightlife revolution in Brum, helping the city earn a reputation for hosting some of the most ambitious music events in the UK.
It all started with Below back in 2005, which were the brainchild of renowned underground house DJ Adam Shelton and Rainbow main-man Lee McDonald.
This Sunday, the final Below takes place at The Rainbow Venues, drawing the final curtain on one of Birmingham's most important regular parties. With that in mind, Areti Tziorta asked Adam to select his top-ten tracks, year by year, from the last decade of Below and Rainbow parties.
Read on for an essential dance music history lesson.
2005
Matt John – 'The Rising Scope'
'Still one of my top tracks on Perlon Records; a real early Courtyard classic that also featured on the first ever Below mix.'
2006
Argy – 'Love Dose'
'The original of this is killer; the acid hit is so stand out. I much prefer this version to the Luciano remix that got played to death.'
2007
Pier Bucci – 'L'Nuit'
'Early stuff on Crosstown Rebels like this was the label at its best for me; breaking cool artists like Pier Bucci and Jennifer Cardini.'
2008
Jamie Jones – 'The Capsule'
'Jamie is an old friend of ours and has become one of the biggest DJs in the world. This track was very important for him.'
2009
Silicon Soul – 'Chic O La' (H Foundation Remix)
'An older track, made before Below started, but it's one of my favourites and has played a solid part in rocking Below's many dancefloors.'
2010
Jagged – 'Hello Kool Nice' (Quarion Remix)
'A proper feel-good track, which reminds me of summer vibes and our best after-parties.'
2011
Moritz Piske – 'Dirt Cabana'
'Dancefloor killer, enough said.'
2012
Kris Wadsworth – 'Lime and Pink'
'Kris always delivers raw, interesting sounds and this is no exception.'
2013
Matthew Styles – 'Hot'
'A brilliant track from Matthew, a Below regular and a true selector.'
2014
Trevino - 'Backtracking'
'My favourite track on Craig Richard's label – an essential end-of-night track.'
Words by Areti Tziorta