Just a few weekends of irresponsible partying left now before the time is nigh for family responsibility, politeness and firm hand shakes with relative strangers and... Joy, we of course mean all types of joy. Nonetheless, do yourself a favour and stay off Market Street all day and head out into the night instead, as it's another unsurprisingly buoyant weekend of dance music in chilly Manchester. Although do go to Market Street if you need to visit the walk-in centre or buy a universal plug adapator; it's important to remember that you won't find anything like that anywhere listed below.
So Flute, The Roadhouse, Sat Dec 13, £5
Over the past year, So Flute have truly established themselves as a force to be reckoned with on the Manchester club scene, culminating in a true roadblock of an event with Motor City Drum Ensemble a few weeks back. As a more low key but no less energetic send off to the year, the crack team of residents behind So Flute will be bringing some of the finest records of 2014 to the decks. Indeed, key selector Werkha is signed to Gilles Peterson’s exemplary label Brownswood, Bolts reps Fly High Society and Danuka is a regular at Corsica Studios. But all together, including Yadava and Baloo, they're all at their eclectic best at So Flute, veering from house, exotic disco and edits, soul and whatever else works on the floor. MC Kwasi provides his distinctive tones on mic duty.
Selective Hearing - Sankeys, Sat Dec 13, £15
Originally scheduled for Joshua Brooks’ basement, the appeal of Robert Hood, thirty years into his prodigious career means that the event has shifted to Sankeys. Courtesy of Selective Hearing, Hood will be nailing an epic three hours of raw, uncompromising techno of the very sort that through his work with Underground Resistance, he help set the template for, drawing no end of funk out of raw drum constructions. Deeply spiritual both in the studio, in his personal life and behind the decks, his Floorplan alias plays tribute as much to Detroit’s lively churches as much as its rich electronic culture. Hood’s own re-edit of the transcendent Floorplan anthem ‘Never Grow Old’ has slowly become one of the biggest club records of 2014, and we can only imagine the sheer euphoria when Hood spins it this weekend. Further support comes from Selective Hearing regulars Reflec, Olsen and Bam.
Drunk at Vogue Glitter Ball - Kraak, off Stevenson Square, Fri Dec 12, £5
'You will go to the ball' declare those behind Drunk at Vogue, perhaps Manchester’s most successful underground gay party over the past few years, known for an inclusive but anything goes atmosphere and its crack squad of DJs, who play unpretentious but irresistible and not so obvious pop, disco, house and R&B all night long. For this seasonal special, they promise an evening of killer disco and ‘quality couture’, and you can be assured that DaV’s dedicated crowd of regulars will be throwing themselves into the spirit, and indeed, into vats of glitter you’ll be finding on your person for weeks. Dressing for the occasion is encouraged for all; if you bring the glamour, Vogue provide the party in the back streets of Manchester.
