Home-grown talent

Get into the groove this weekend!
Rahul Verma|Metro11 April 2012
The Weekender

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After bringing leading acts from Norway's clubs to the capital last year, the

Fertilizer

Spread over three nights and three venues (93 Feet East, Herbal and Spitz), Fertilizer hosts MOBO-winning jazz artist Soweto Kinch and Wall Of Sound's UK hip-hop don Blak Twang tonight. Another tantalising double-header tomorrow features Ninja Tune's five-piece Pest and Sonik Gurus (Swaraj), while Saturday sees Herbal rocking to Nasha's Eastern-edged drum'n'breaks, Border Crossing's wholesome hip-hop soul and Attica Blues's Tony Nwachukwu, whose set will only consist of unreleased CDRs. You can't get fresher than that.

Meanwhile, a short shimmy across the East End will bring you to another vital festival, Trans Europe Express, which is forging a nice little rep for identifying the leading lights of Europe's cooler club scenes and letting them loose in London.

Tomorrow's highlights include gigs by Norwegian duo Xploding Plastix showcasing their jagged, angular take on jazz ahead of an imminent LP release, and Sweden's S.U.M.O., whose Afro-beat house is beloved of Bob Sinclar (Africanism).

Saturday welcomes Dutch disco and electro from DJ TLR and a gig from Finland's irreverent Bangkok Impact, taking in Italo disco, Finnish tango and disco tributes to He-Man. Our glorious leader should employ the TEE crew to swing his EU referendum.

Revered as Gilles Peterson is, he's not the easiest DJ to find playing in London (excluding his fantastic Monday night at Bar Rumba, which isn't much use to peeps with proper jobs). It's probably because he's living up to the name of his Worldwide Radio 1 show (which can now be found on British Airways in-flight entertainment) and sourcing the latest essential tunes from around the globe.

But he's definitely at Rouge tomorrow to launch the compilation Gilles Peterson In Brazil, which features bold funk and bossa soul from the 1960s and 1970s and current dance-floor bombs taking in d'n'b, broken beat and house. Peterson is joined by fellow champion of globe-trotting sounds DJ Cliffy (Batmacumba), the Dreem Teem and Femi. But it's a performance of mesmerising S"o Paulo soul from Patricia Marx that threatens to steal the show.

Urban sounds may be inescapable right now, but it's surprisingly difficult to find good-quality, hip-hop nights on a weekend. We're not talking MOR R'n'B or hip pop from the catch-all urban nights, or, at the other extreme, clubs with head-nodding, surly lads, but a good ol' fashioned, block-rocking, hip-hop party.

Indelible brings good-time hip hop to the Key on a monthly basis, through residents Mr Thing, The Nextmen's Brad Baloo and DJ Spin Doctor. This weekend, the trio is joined by Canadian turntablist whiz A-Trak, winner of five world turntable titles, who will briefly demo his immense scratching skills before getting down to the real business of firing up a hip-hop freak-out. Next month, Ca$h Money guests.

Tonight

Tomorrow & Sat, Trans Europe Express, Cargo, Kingsland Viaduct, 83 Rivington Street EC2, 8pm to 3am, tomorrow £5 before 9pm, £10 after, Sat £6 before 10pm, £10 after. Tel: 08700 600 100. www.transeuropeexpress.org Tube: Old Street

Tomorrow, Gilles Peterson In Brazil, Rouge, Andrew Bord Street, off Charing Cross Road WC2, 10pm to 4am, £10. Tel: 020 8378 6956. Tube: Tottenham Court Road

Sat, Indelible, The Key, Lazer Road N1, 10pm to 5am, £7 before midnight, £10 after. Tel: 07866 610212. Tube: King's Cross

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