Event preview: Hogmanay Celebrations

Published by Metro

31 December, Glasgow and Edinburgh

One night, hundreds of events, thousands of hangovers. Hogmanay's just around the corner, and here are your options.

Slip into a pair of skinny jeans and a vintage sweater and you'll feel welcome at Glasgow's Stereo, where experimental music is the order of the evening with Croc vs. Croc & Friends.

Just down the road at Classic Grand, the burlesque beauties of Club Noir provide a glittering and glamorous end to 2012, with electrifying shows by Morag Antoinette and Bonnie Prince Charlie.

At the other end of the M8, Afore the Bells at The Queen's Hall in Edinburgh offers a more traditional way to enjoy the festivities in the form of whisky, food and a ceilidh – while Cabaret Voltaire will operate at a different rhythm as house DJ Isaac Tichauer sets its dancefloor alight 'til 5am.

So just have fun, and don’t end up sat in front of the telly watching Bullseye on Challenge as the clock strikes midnight.

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Music preview: Paul van Dyk @ O2 Academy, Glasgow

Published by Metro

Saturday 29th September, 9pm, £16,
O2 Academy, Glasgow. Tel: 0844 477 2000. www.o2academyglasgow.co.uk

VIDEO: Paul van Dyk feat. Austin Leeds — Verano



Paul van Dyk is a titan of trance. He’s the boss of beats, a hero of house, and – here’s my favourite – the daddy of decks.

Seriously though, this German DJ has appeared on the back of more Ibiza compilation albums than angelic photographs of women in yellow bikinis, bending down for out-of-shot bottles of Hooch. Yes, Hooch – that thing from the nineties.

Honing his craft on the dance music scene back in his native Berlin, PvD moved to UK shores to take up a residency at Sheffield’s legendary Gatecrasher nightclub in 1998. He scored a major hit with For An Angel that year, and quickly established himself as a pioneer of progressive trance, joining the likes of Paul Oakenfold, John Digweed and Carl Cox on an exclusive circuit of superstar DJs.

Six studio albums and countless remixes later, PvD’s tunes continue to set dancefloors alight across the world. His latest record Evolution is vocal-heavy and packed with anthemic tracks including new single Verano, which features Austin Leeds.

It’s 80 minutes of the usual euphoric piano chords, electronic grooves and thumbing beats that PvD fans have become accustomed to over the years – and Glasgow can expect more of the same when he takes the O2 Academy stage on Saturday night.

So come on now, I know times are hard, the weather’s cold, and the week’s been tough. That’s precisely why you need this in your life.

Music preview: Steve Aoki @ The Arches, Glasgow

Published by METRO

Sunday (1 April), 7pm, £14, The Arches, Glasgow. Tel: 0141 565 1000. www.thearches.co.uk

VIDEO: Steve Aoki ft. LMFAO & NERVO - Livin' My Love (Wonderland, 2012)

When’s the last time you did anything exciting on a Sunday?

Scary, thinking of all those hours you’ve lost vegging out on the sofa in some fragile state, isn’t it?

Well now’s probably a good time to tell you about Steve Aoki – the electro-house maestro who’s coming to Glasgow in a couple of nights.

Known for his energetic live sets and sizzling remixes, the American DJ and producer arrives at The Arches on the back of the release of his debut studio album, Wonderland.

Aoki’s been setting dancefloors alight all over the world since founding his Dim Mak record label back in 1996; Tiësto and LMFAO are among the big names who’ve collaborated with him in recent years.

So please, let’s do something exciting this Sunday – and make sure we’re not this year’s April Fools.

Music preview: Annie Mac Presents... @ the Arches, Glasgow

Published by METRO

It’s Bonfire Night tomorrow, didn’t you know? Well done if you did, because it’d just about slipped my mind. It just doesn’t seem quite as exciting as it was when you were wee, does it? Back when mum and dad would buy you sparklers and take you to one of their friend’s houses, where, for the only day of the year, you’d be allowed to get dizzy on lemonade until ten o’clock on a school night. Ah, the memories…

Well, now I’m going to snatch away those rose-tinted glasses just as easily as I placed them over your eyes in the first place. We’re all grown ups now, and, unless you have kids of your own, there’s a far more important occasion occupying the November 5 square on your calendar – Annie Mac is coming to Glasgow.

Yes indeed, this Dublin gal – renowned for enriching our airwaves with the very hippest in new dance and electronic music on her Friday Radio 1 show – will be travelling with a convoy of talent into town to play at the Arches tomorrow night.

Since 2005, the Annie Mac Presents tour has covered practically every partying inch of the country, showcasing the very finest electro, dubstep, disco and drum n’ bass. This year, she’s taking it to North America and Australia as well as to best clubs over here – high time for the Arches crowd to show her what it’s capable of, methinks.

Supporting the good lady herself is dance music legend Erol Alkan, who, as with each since his breakthrough in the early noughties, is enjoying another hyper-productive year as an artist, producer and DJ. Alkan is probably best known for pioneering the ‘mash up’ – the art of throwing together two different tracks and making it work – the most famous of which was a fusion of Kylie Minogue’s Can’t Get You Out Of My Head with New Order’s Blue Monday.

Joining the bill is experimental pop artist Charli XCX, whose infectious dark and moody style has attracted a growing army of followers, and Brooklyn MC Azealia Banks, known for her blend of filthy raps and bouncing electro beats. Glasgow’s own rising sub-house star, HaHaHa, also makes an appearance on the main Arches stage.

No, you won’t be getting any lazy conclusions like ‘she’ll set the dancefloor alight’ or ‘there’ll be fireworks when she takes to the stage’ from me. Just go out and experience Annie Mac’s set live tomorrow, as opposed to annoying your neighbours by cranking up her radio show tonight. And remember, remember, the fifth of November – whatever that means.

Clubs preview: Factory Floor @ Death Disco, the Arches, Glasgow

Published by METRO

You know what? I’m not going to try and patronise you by asking if you’re aware of what will be occurring tomorrow evening. Of course you know, and so does much of the country. After all, two words have been scrawled in permanent marker on the body calendar of Scottish clubbers for the past ten years.

Death Disco: a night of electro bedlam that attracts the most exciting talent on the circuit. As such, its most loyal followers will have had their outfits and pre-drinking schedules planned since the previous month. However, I bet the event’s clockwork-like regularity means that it tends to slip off the radar of many who are interested in going, but who’ve never been before. Am I right? Some of you – and I count myself in this – must be guilty of ‘we could always just go next time…’ syndrome. So let me give you two reasons why we should both go tomorrow night.

With over a dozen acts competing for our attention across two venues – inside the Arches and over at SWG3, which can be reached by a ‘disco bus’ – Factory Floor is a stand-out highlight. This Hackney trio will be blending their raw sound of hollow kick drums and Krautrock basslines – which has earned them comparisons with New Order – live on stage with some ambient synth and echoing vocals.

If you want a pun, then you’ll be satisfied to know that the spirit of these guys promises to live on long after they clock off. After all, if trends really do follow a 20-year cycle, then this lot are right at the helm of re-imagining the second summer of love – taking place tomorrow night not in Manchester, but in Glasgow.

Next, we can register on the Death Disco mailing list and get our tickets for just £7 – that’s less than 50p for each act on the bill – but we should do it fast, because this year’s fresh intake of students are bound to be on the ball.

So come on, let’s actually go to Death Disco this time. Please?

Clubs preview: Colours @ the Arches, Glasgow

Published by METRO

It’s not difficult to understand why you’ll have a great time at this event.

Let’s start with Colours. It’s a night that holds a clique of superstar DJs – Paul Oakenfold and Pete Tong to name a couple – in its gravitational pull. Tick.

Secondly, the guy who’s joined the orbit this time around is at the top of his game. House supremo Afrojack has had a great year so far, winning a Grammy for his remix of a Madonna track and producing one of the summer’s biggest anthems – Give Me Everything. Tick.

Next, just look at the venue. The Arches is genuinely thought of as one of the best clubs in the world by sources that really know what they’re talking about. It’s certainly Glasgow’s favourite, partly because its unique structure offers a quality clubbing experience. Tick.

So, to conclude. It’s Colours. It’s house music. At the Arches. Any questions?