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CLOUDS
Operate @ The Moon Club, Cardiff Sat 11 May Operate, spawned recently from the brain of south Walian electronic producer Leon Piers, is debuting this month with a lineup of off-centre techno and damaged house. So, given that the concentration of nights offering something notionally similar has never been higher in the capital, what makes Operate’ s operation a vital one? Well, it’ s in the ever-friendly Moon, who are typically keen to keep prices cheap. The bill has residents of sorts – Obey DJs in room one, Slipped Disco representatives in room two – but seems to be consciously attempting to feature names that haven’ t graced Cardiff before. Grant Alexander & JMT are a youngish Bristol duo moving up that region’ s lengthy DJ ladder; 22 / 22 feature Piers plus friend Danny Cashman, peddling clanky and atmospheric neotechno to strong effect. The best reason to attend this, though, are Clouds. From Perth, Scotland, and also a duo, Clouds have barely reached their 20s and are getting shine from a list of guaranteed-headliner DJs too long and prestigious to get into. They are also issuing a series of 12” s, Tannhauser Acid Works, for Tiga’ s Turbo label, upfront of a debut LP soon on the same imprint. Hopefully, the eerie, crunching leftfield techno showcased on those and the brand new Man Out Of Dubs – semi-industrial creep like Perc or Sigha, with Berghain-style dancefloor nous – will be unleashed tonight. Tickets: £ 6. Info: 029 2037 3022( NG)
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JEN KAYE
Audio: Traffic @ Undertone, Cardiff Sat 1 June Tonight carries the subtitle‘ Girl Power’, thanks to a main name line-up consisting of Bristol female DJ duo Elanda, plus Midlands lady Jen Kaye, a name associated with Polysexual, The Whitehouse Clapham, and Air in Birmingham and Ibiza. She also knows Wales very well, as she went to uni in Swansea which is where she started DJing.“ I describe my sound as uplifting and sexy to dark and dirty house music,” explains Jen,“ as I try to include a range of styles in my sets, whether it’ s disco, soulful, tech, deep house or big room bangers. There are so many subgenres, it would be boring to stick to just one. I love tracks with old school influences like classic vocal samples, retro stabs and organs. One of my current favourites is Tensnake’ s Mainline. It’ s such a feelgood tune. Shane D’ s stuff is amazing too, check out What You Do To Me. Other producers doing it for me are Audiowhores, My Digital Enemy, Federico Scavo, David Penn, Crazibiza and Coqui Selection.” Given the theme of this evening, is there a power she could utilise in her DJ role?“ I’ d be speedy like The Flash,” says Jen,“ so I could sort through my CDs quickly, nip to the bar mid-set, and dash to and from the dancefloor for those big crowd moments, without having to neglect the decks for too long.” Admission: TBC. Info: 029 2022 8883( RH)
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ITALOJOHNSON
Delete @ Gwdihw, Cardiff Sun 26 May Delete boot the door to summer wide open – and for the first of their annual outdoor parties at Gwdihw – with the enigmatic ItaloJohnson, a trio as talked about for their secrecy as their productions. Having marketed themselves as a unique concept of minimal releases and nameless tracks, ItaloJohnson aren’ t Italian and don’ t make Italian disco. They are deep, they are techno, and their six singles( sans) titles, and all on vinyl, with a seventh due any day now. They don’ t give interviews or reveal their faces or identities. I wonder how they’ ll get around all that this evening, although it doesn’ t really matter as they should fit right in with the Delete birthday vibe.“ For anyone who hasn’ t been to any of our parties before,” say the guys at Delete,“ you can expect over 12 hours of house music, a Funktion One sound system, lots of happy people and one hell of a party … and of course the sun! We really enjoy being able to bring the DJs that we like to Cardiff. We attract a really friendly crowd of people who are serious about music and like to party. Throughout the summer months from May to August we will be holding a series of daytime Parties in Gwdihw’ s car park, which will be offering a wide range of underground bookings and a good mixture of local house and techno DJs.” Tickets: £ 10. Info: 029 2039 7933( RH)
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JAZZIE B
Get Loose @ The Garage, Swansea Sat 11 May It’ s not easy to condense Trevor Beresford Romeo OBE’ s curriculum vitae into this small space, but no matter what your age or disposition, he has permeated your eyes and / or ears at some point. The period during which he found his mainstream feet would centre around Soul II Soul, the chart-conquering outfit responsible for Back To Life and Keep On Movin’. Fast forward 14 years and Jazzie B has recently launched his own‘ classics’ range of clothes at Harvey Nichols, with artwork from the Soul II Soul archives described as“ raw, handmade and depicts the iconic Funki Dred image which illustrates the do it yourself energy of those early sound system days.” Those days took place prior to the late-80s period where Jazzie made his household name, when he was aged 13 and honing his craft with schoolmate Daddae, creating their Jah Rico soundsystem after years of watching how their big brothers did the same. Day jobs with the RNIB and then as a tape operator for Tommy Steele(!), and training as a PE teacher only led back to his calling in life, but it wasn’ t until a certain musical explosion at the close of the 80s happened that the planets aligned and one of the very first soulful house outfits stepped onto the crest of the acid house wave. Tonight is a rare chance to experience that vibe. Tickets: £ 10. Info: 01792 475147( RH)
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BUZZ 36 |