26/4: Friction, Shogun crew and huge special guests TBA, Ewer Street Warehouse, Londonwww.shogunaudio.co.uk

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The best parties of the last month

Shogun Audio WArehouSe PArty london1

Where Great Suffolk Street Warehouse, London Se1When regular big label bashes across the UK all yearMUSic Drum ’n’ bass, dubstep, jungle

Shogun: vibes

Bryan G in full effect

UndEr ThE impoSing arches of great Suffolk Street warehouse, 2500 Shogun warriors assemble for the label’s biggest night to date. A combination of the underground vibes of manchester’s Warehouse project and the intimate feel of digital Brighton (the label’s usual haunt), it’s the perfect venue for Shogun’s step into the big time.

innovator of the newly emerging sounds of d’n’b, mefjus pulls no punches with his robotic set. relentless and scientific, the upcoming producer draws the crowd in, with ‘Far Too Close’ sending heads rocking in unison and

grimey trainers stepping hard. icicle continues the chill, ‘dreadnaught’ fusing tribal elements with low frequencies that shake the concrete floor.

Alix perez and rockwell appear with a sense of expectation that eclipses even label boss Friction’s slot. They launch into an eclectic back-to-back set that provides an insight into the future of the UK bass scene. A heady blend of moody sub-bass and clinical percussion mixed with trap and hard tribal beats, it’s an hour-long snapshot of the sound that’s currently cross-pollinating once separate genres.

Whilst the future of the d’n’b scene destroys one room, another arch plays host to fearsome dubstep courtesy of northbase and hatcha. Then it’s time for V recordings’ Jumping Jack Frost and Bryan g to educate and enlighten,

throwing together a set of classics. Laying out the foundations of a genre, Frost’s energy in the booth is infectious – and as Bad Company’s ‘The nine’ echoes through the bare brick arches, hands are universally upstretched.

A whisper spreads around that ‘Jason Status’ are on, triggering a mass exodus

to room 1. As the set begins, we witness another tell-tale sign that the UK bass juggernaut is continuing to transcend genres and trends. Taking the crowd through a multi-genred set full of classic tunes and forthcoming dubs, Chase & Status and hype man rage deliver the defining set of the night, bringing together all that has gone before. Curtis MoldriCh

Chase and Status and guests pack the arches of Great Suffolk Street Warehouse

25/12 Ben Klock and marcel Fengler at Club Lehmann, Stuttgart, germany www.clr.net Facebook.com/clr.official

26/12 Cream Boxing day party @ nation, Liverpool with Ferry Corsten, hardwell, Ladback Luke, marcus Schulz and morewww.cream.co.uk

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Undercurrent: floating boaters

chris Liebing: who’s the daddy?

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WWW.MixMaG.net january 2013 [[2r]]

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Where Undercurrent, amsterdamWhen regular label parties around the worldMUSic Deep techno, bleepy bass

Where nation, Wolstenholme Square, LiverpoolWhen irregular events all yearMUSic house, electro and more

nation: wide

A nETWorK oF gangplanks leads to the entrance of Undercurrent, a floating warehouse in the outskirts of Amsterdam. The place feels sparse, uncluttered and perfect for the soundtrack supplied tonight by CLr, the label and extended family of german techno pioneer Chris Liebing.

outside, water laps at the big ships and the outcrop of apartments beyond. But in the industrial steel shell of the main room dJ rebekah has set the beats thundering, as CLr’s mission to ‘create, learn and realise’ commences. The room fills at once, Terence Fixmer’s atmospheric changeover delivering a deep breath before a plunge, his tentacled logo swirling across the wall.

next door, the small timber cabin is a sweatbox, 150 people dripping en masse to dJ Emerson. he smashes in Ben Sims mix of perc’s ‘pure & Simple’ and ‘The Knife’ by label cohort motor, before monoloc and drumcell slide their own, layered grooves into his wake.

The heat is equally intense in the main room as Tommy Four Seven unleashes a monstrous breakdown, holding the beat back like a dam only to crash it open

ThroUgh A mAzE-LiKE trail of corridors that lead to three rooms (all big enough to be a club in their own right) strides pete Tong. he takes to the decks in the Courtyard at midnight. “This is the place where the party started,” he shouts, before the dark tones of the dub of ‘Benediction’ drop and the floor – and the ice cannons – erupts.

Arguably the biggest club brand in the world, tonight Cream marks the grand

with a tidal wave of streamers and white lightning before Brian Sanhaji’s perfectly judged live show.

CLr seem to flourish in techno’s depths, but the label represents artists who can crash over you with melodic waves, too. moreover, they’ve become a family, Liebing, with his wide smile and tattooed arms, happy to play daddy.

“They all get along because they are different,” says Chris backstage, telling us he feels “a responsibility to each and every one.” his loyalty to the fans goes even deeper; he points out a lady who “was there at the front 12 years ago”, now soaking up the full Vip treatment. Yet all this is nothing without his mastery of

techno’s dark arts, and he immerses Undercurrent in a final two-hour tide, a sweat-bound couple at the front locked in an unbreakable embrace as the crowd swells and breaks around them. Phil dudMan

old age of 20 in the best way possible: with a massive knees-up at nation.

As the night picks up so does the traffic. getting from one side of the club to the other is a mission, but no-one minds. in the main room John digweed unleashes rolling deep house before Fatboy Slim launches into some big bassline drivers and underground beats.

Back in the Courtyard, another Cream stalwart, paul oakenfold, picks up his legendary residency just where he left off. Carl Cox opens with ‘Blue monday’ and everyone loses their shit. it might be 20 years on, but Cream’s big guns are still doing it for the nation. JereMy abbott

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CreAm’S 20th BirthdAy PArt 2 At nAtion

Techno pioneer leads label family into the deep

Get out your party hats and dancing shoes

Pete tong: we’re taking

you back...

CLr At underCurrent