London clubbing guide: April 2013

London clubs keep the big names coming in April, with Juan Atkins, Jamie Jones, Dennis Ferrer and DJ Jazzy Jeff all coming to town, as well as plenty of big birthday celebrations, new talent and the return of Bloc
25 March 2013

We Fear Silence and Blueprint Records host a 12-hour marathon of cutting-edge techno south of the river for their second party of the year. Heading the line-up, it's Germany’s Ben Klock, a regular at Berlin’s legendary Berghain club and who is known for his heavy, hypnotic grooves. Supporting him, it's the current darling of the UK techno scene, Hessle Audio's Blawan. The Yorkshireman’s unique brand of ‘terror techno’ captivated dancefloors last year, especially thanks to the truly spooky slice of genius, Why Do They Hide Their Bodies Under My Garage?. If you like your beats hard and unrelenting, don't miss this.

April 5. We Fear Silence presents Blueprint Records is at Cable, 33 Bermondsey St, SE1. 11pm-11am; adv £17. wefearsilence.com.

Soul Clap Records Showcase at Loft Studios

From terror tech to super smooth – Boston’s soulful remix masters Soul Clap bring their favourite artists over to Kensal Green’s Loft Studios for a label showcase. The Soul Clap boys head the bill with their oh-so-sexy blend of electro funk. Support comes from one of Soul Clap’s early protégés Nick Monaco & Night Plane, as well as New York cosmic disco upstarts Rub N Tug. Expect kitsch, funk, smooth bass licks and mellow house vibes.

April 5. Soul Clap Records Showcase is at Loft Studios, 77-81 Scrubs Ln, NW10. 10pm-6am; adv £15. londonelectronic.com.

Jamie Jones and Lee Foss’s dance label Hot Creations has reached boiling point, having gone from the underground hipster-house label of choice to scoring a top 40 hit last year with their track Benediction and, now, curating not one but two headline shows at Brixton Academy. The boys sold out Saturday and have added an extra date on Friday to meet the demand. The label's leading collective, Hot Natured, which features Foss, Jones, east London producer Luca C and singer Ali Love, make their live debut tonight, and the support is just as heavyweight, with DJ sets from Jones, Foss, Tale of Us, Richy Ahmed and Russ Yallop. Truly a blockbuster line-up.

April 12 & 13. Hot Creations presents Paradise is at O2 Brixton Academy, 211 Stockwell Rd, SW9. 9.30pm-4am, adv £30. o2academybrixton.co.uk.

In clubland, there's no such thing as too young and too talented. The the hazy R&B-house sounds of 17-year-old production duo George Townsend and Adam Kaye, aka Bondax, are a case in point. Sounding like Disclosure Jr, their releases have a nostalgic, summer-jam vibe that any child of the 90s is sure to appreciate. Despite that, when garage-house was enjoying its heyday in the early 2000s, the Bondax boys would have been five years old. Still, they're going to be massive. Support comes from another young house talent, 21-year-old Irish producer Frank B, who turned heads with last year’s Aretha Franklin-sampling killer, Chain of Fools.

April 12. Bondax are at The Nest, 6 Stoke Newington Rd, N16. 9pm-4am; adv £7. ilovethenest.com.

Swamp 81 at Fire

Loefah’s Swamp 81 label has established itself as a genre-bending purveyor of forward-thinking electronic music over the last five years and tonight it takes over Vauxhall’s Fire to celebrate its half-decade. The label boss headlines the night – it’s only fair – and he’s roped in some big names to support. Nonplus+ head honcho Boddika, renowned for his dark and moody techno and for being one half of Instra:Mental, backs up Loefah’s bass, while garage legend-turned-future bass experimenter Zed Bias is also on the bill. Best of all, Loefah has roped in good friend Skream as a special guest. Expect it to be high energy, high tempo and highly enjoyable.

April 27. Swamp 81 is at Fire, South Lambeth Rd, SW8. 10pm-6am, adv £12.50. firelondon.net.

Ten Years of Crosstown Rebels at Great Suffolk Street Warehouse

Another legendary label celebrating a birthday this month is Damian Lazarus’ Crosstown Rebels, which has reached the grand old age of ten. Over the years, it has released tracks from some of the best new deep disco-house talent, including many of the people on this list, like Jamie Jones, Soul Clap, Russ Yallop and Ali Love, as well as house masterminds Maceo Plex and Seth Troxler. Lazarus takes centre stage tonight, with support from house heads Luca C & Ali Love’s new collaboration, Infinity Ink, as well as Dinky, Subb-an and many more. The Crosstown crew is known for its futuristic and high-end production, too, so expect no expenses spared, while the crowd will be young, bohemian and beautiful.

April 27. 10 Years of Crosstown Rebels is at Great Suffolk Street Warehouse, 29 Great Suffolk St, SE1. 10pm-6am; adv £15. crosstownrebels.com.

Yet another anniversary – but this one isn’t counted in years. London hip hop night The Doctor’s Orders celebrates its 250th event with a mouth-watering line-up at the Scala, where legendary turntablist and Will Smith collaborator DJ Jazzy Jeff will be jetting in from Philadelphia to blow out the candles. As well as his unforgettable anthem Summertime, Jeff has produced tracks for De La Soul, The Roots and Eminem and, with more than 20 year's experience behind the decks, is guaranteed to put on a phenomenal show. Support comes from UK duo The Nextmen, as well as many other UK hip hop heads, including Rich Medina and Mo Fingaz.

April 13. The Doctor's Orders 250 is at The Scala, 275-277 Pentonville Rd, N1. 10pm-5am; adv £17.50. thedoctorsorders.com.

Bloc. Series 1 at a secret Hackney Wick location

After the disaster that was 2012's Bloc Festival, the team has been laying low for a while. But now they're back and they’ve announced a series of ten shows, going back to their intimate, underground roots, to signal their return. Held at a specially-licensed 500-capacity venue in Hackney Wick overlooking the Olympic Park, they kicked things off in style last month with Detroit techno legend Juan Atkins. Tonight, another US master takes the stage in the shape of Chicago's Marshall Jefferson. One of the founding fathers of the Chicago house scene, Jefferson may have been producing house and techno tracks since the mid-80s but his warehouse funk has never sounded fresher. London's Joe Hart, who runs the Bodyhammer and World Unknown nights, hosts with a warm-up set.

April 21. Bloc. Series 1 is at a secret Hackney Wick location; adv £15. bloclondon.com.

He was once dubbed "the SuBo of deep house" (that's Susan Boyle, if you remember) after his single Hey Hey racked up a similarly massive number of YouTube views (12 million and counting) and made it onto Radio 1’s A-playlist, but Dennis Ferrer has always been the biggest fish in Defected's pond. The house label brings the New York innovator to its regular showcase night at Ministry of Sound this month to teach the young 'uns a thing or three and show exactly how he straddles mainstream and underground house with expert finesse. Support comes from Noir, who shot to fame thanks to Solomun’s sleek remix of his track Around, and UK duo Copyright.

April 13. Defected In The House is at Ministry of Sound, 103 Gaunt St, SE1. 11pm-7am; adv £22. ministryofsound.com.

Exit Records Tenth Birthday Party at Fire

Drum 'n' bass bigman dBridge celebrates the tenth birthday of his label, Exit Records, by teaming up with DJs Maldini and Vegas from the original line-up of his seminal group Bad Company. The band developed a cult following in the late 90s for their blend of dark, jungle-influenced D&B, showcased on singles like The Nine. As well as the rare reunion, there’ll be a host of themed sets throughout the night reliving Exit’s influences. Breakage will dust off some old wax for a one-off classics set, Doc Scott will spin a set dedicated to the legendary D&B club, Blue Note, West country boys Krust and Die will be playing strictly Bristol-only dubplates and Fabio will take to the decks to mix a speed D&B set.

April 12. Exit Records Tenth Birthday Party is at Fire, South Lambeth Rd, SW8. 10pm-6am; adv £12. exitrecords.co.uk.

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