On Wednesday 5th June, Underdog is set to play host to one of the most influential musicians of the era as Mike Skinner kicks off the summer in style with the help of some special guests in the cool Manchester basement club. The former Frontman of The Streets will be joining a host of other DJs including some Manchester regulars to celebrate a huge summer fiesta hosted by Triangular. Embarking on a new phase of DJing and filling dancefloors across the county, this musical carnival is one not to be missed if Skinner’s FACT! Mix is anything to go by.

Supporting Skinner’s DJ set on the night will be Kerri Chandler’s latest signing, AZ & Tor, who are ready to wreak havoc in Manchester for the very first time. There will also be DJ sets from Manchester’s favourite club nights, Gold Teeth, Chow Down, Shy & Brazen and Triangular DJs.

We’re big fans of the venue, tucked under Black Dog Ballroom on New Wakefield Street, which combines all the cool New York appeal of the brand’s other Manchester venues with a more up-tempo, party atmosphere. We’ve witnessed the likes of Moda Black’s Jaymo & Andy George in the Funktion One soundsystem equipped club and would certainly recommend going there to witness the sounds for yourself.

TICKET INFO
Tickets are £6 (Early Bird) / £8 (Standard) and are available online from Skiddle and TicketText. The doors open at 10.00pm and the night will run until 4am.

Listen to Mike Skinner’s DJ set from Gorilla via SoundCloud.

Follow @UnderdogMcr on Twitter and like on Facebook for more Underdog news!

Where to start with the approaching and long-awaited season all music lovers set their sights on for the year…summer and FESTIVALS. Camping, wellies, warm beer, straw hats, the week-long recovery session afterwards; we love it all. Whether in the UK or abroad, we are beyond spoilt for choice when it comes to live music events, from indie/rock offerings in the city to the best in dance and electronic music on the beaches of Croatia, there’s something for everyone.

This year for DMM, we’re keen to go to as many festivals as possible (not just dance, electronic and house ones, but a whole variety of genres) and bring back with us plenty of mad stories and experiences to share, memories of seeing our favourite artists and DJs live, far too many photos and probably damaging our liver a bit too much. But that’s what it’s all about, so here’s our guide to the festivals we’ll be covering this year – if you’re going to any, we’ll be there at the front!

Live At Leeds: 4th May, Leeds

Celebrating “the best in upcoming local bands alongside more established national acts”, Live at Leeds 2013 will see some of the biggest names in indie/rock music take over Leeds for the day and well into the night. With a stormer of a line-up, including The 1975, Everything Everything, The Neighbourhood, Peace and Rudimental, we’re expecting to get our rock on, relish the indie vibe and immerse ourselves into everything the festival, now in its 6th year, has to offer.

Read more on DMM >>
www.dancemusicmanchester.co.uk/2013/live-at-leeds-2013-festival-rekindling-our-love-affair-with-indierock/

See who SpamellaB’s top 5 artists/bands are via Culture Vulture.

Live At Leeds / @LAL2013 / Facebook.com/Liveatleeds

We Are FSTVL: 25th May, Essex

The very first We Are FSTVL sees the Damyns Hall Aerodrome in Essex play host to over 70 of the hottest names in electronic dance music across 10 stages/arenas from 11am – 2.30am. With some of the world’s leading club brands and labels, including Cocoon, Crosstown Rebels, Defected In The House and Kehakuma, plus specially built areas within the venue including a beach arena, we’re predicting We Are FSTVL to be the first of many and a unique festival experience we won’t forget.

Read more on DMM > www.dancemusicmanchester.co.uk/2013/introducing-the-first-we-are-fstvl-festival-may-2013/

Check out our interview with the gorgeous Sam Divine, who will be playing in the Defected In The House arena >> www.dancemusicmanchester.co.uk/2013/dmm-inteview-defecteds-sam-divine-ahead-of-we-are-fstvl-in-may/

We Are FSTVL / @wearefstvl / Facebook.com/wearefstvl

Parklife Weekender: 8th – 9th June, Manchester

Possibly Manchester’s most well-known festival, summer would not be the same without a Parklife Weekender fix. Having grown in size and reputation since 2010, it has become a highlight of the festival calendar and continues to bring some of the biggest and well-known names to Heaton Park. Spread across seven arenas plus the huge open main stage, expect to see the likes of Julio Bashmore, Disclosure, Sub Focus, Bondax, Maceo Plex, Example and Eats Everything smash Manchester up over the weekend.

Read more on DMM >> www.dancemusicmanchester.co.uk/2013/from-manchester-with-love-parklife-2013-line-up-announced/

Parklife Weekender / @Parklifefest / Facebook.com/parklifefestival

Hideout Festival: 3rd – 5th July, Croatia

What more could you want from a festival: guaranteed sunshine and hot weather, beach and boat parties and a huge line-up offering an array of the biggest names in electronic, house and dance music… That’s where Hideout Festival comes in and ticks all the boxes. Located on Zcre Beach, Island of Pag in Croatia, be treated to the sounds of Chase & Status, Loco Dice, Modeselektor, SBTRKT, Seth Troxler and Skream & Benga plus many more!

Hideout Festival / @hideoutfestival / Facebook.com/HideoutFestival

Cocoon In The Park: 13th July, Leeds

What happens when you put Sven Väth, Richie Hawtin, Ricardo Villalobos and Craig Richards in a typically green Yorkshire landscape? The result is Cocoon In The Park, the official annual event for the UK’s techno music lovers in Temple Newsham, a gathering which will witness an impeccable sound system, creative visuals and performers – and of course, bringing the party-goers together for its 5th birthday!

We’re selling tickets! >> Make sure you follow us on Twitter @dancemusicmcr / Facebook.com/dancemusicmanchester to buy them.

Cocoon In The Park / @CocoonInThePark / Facebook.com/CocoonInThePark

Beacons Festival: 16th – 18th August, Skipton

Taking over Heslaker Farm in Skipton will be the annual Beacons Festival – as we see it, Yorkshire’s smaller-scale answer to Glastonbury but still offering huge names in the world of electronic, house and melodic music. From Django Django to John Talabot, Dutch Uncles to Ghost Poet and Eats Everything to Bondax, Beacons Festival isn’t just about the music. We’re looking forward to the chilled environment, sampling the Gourmet Street Food, pizza and whisky tasting, plus pop-up tea rooms too!

Beacons Festival / @BEACONSFEST / Facebook.com/BeaconsFestival

Creamfields: 23rd – 25th August, Cheshire

After last year’s chaotic end which saw the festival ending a day early, we’re hoping and praying this year’s Creamfields won’t be a wash-out! A firm DMM favourite, 2013 sees yet another incredible line-up, spoiling us with the biggest and the best names in dance, house and electronic music. There’s far too many to list, but think Duke Dumont, The Prodigy, Paul Oakenfold, Steve Angello and Porter Robinson, you’re on the right lines.

Creamfields / @Creamfields / Facebook.com/Creamfields

Mint Festival: 21st September, Leeds

The very first Mint Festival at Lotherton Hall last year was one of our highlights of 2012, most noticeably the Bitch arena and we can’t wait for its return this year. Bringing together some of the world’s biggest DJs in house, techno, dance and drum’n’bass (official lineup and details to be announced), Mint Festival is the perfect end to the festival season.

Read more on DMM >> www.dancemusicmanchester.co.uk/2012/our-highlight-of-2012-so-far-mint-festival-leeds/

Mint Festival / @Mint_Festival / Facebook.com/MintFestival

Want to learn to produce music and DJ? If that’s the case, you certainly shouldn’t miss out on the Midi School Open Evening on Tuesday 7th May, 6-10pm – go along for free workshops, talk to industry professionals, and tell them your story.

Ask yourself, what is it you want to do in music?

You may be a career driven future record label boss, craving learning to produce after a 9-5 day job, or simply wanting to DJ in time for the summer. With the Midi School, you can – whatever you want to do with music, the friendly guys there are happy to give you sound advice on how to get there.

Let’s ask some more questions here if you’re interested:

Who is welcome? Everyone musically minded that’s 16+, unless with an adult.
How much is it? Totally free (you might even win a prize and go home richer)!
Can I bring friends and family along? Of course, in fact it’s encouraged!
How do I book onto it? Enrolment is necessary as places are limited. Head to the website to submit the names of those attending, or call 0161 833 4722.

So, what’ll be happening?

Interactive Workshops
There’ll be interactive workshops on the go for the whole evening, designed for beginners to get involved, and those who know, to impress! Here’s what you can have a go at:
- Music Production in Ableton and Reason
- Writing beats and sampling in NI Maschine
- DJing: vinyl, CDs and digitally

Short Seminars
Don’t miss a range of seminars from industry professionals and staff on the following topics, with some fun bits thrown in too…
- How To Become a Successful DJ (with live scratch DJing)
- Music Composition : Not Just for Classical Music
- Ableton Live 9 & Push : Bridging the DJing and Production Gap (with live performances)
- How to Stand Out as a Producer
- Your Career In The Music Industry

Advice
All of the Midi School tutors will be available to listen to your background and what you want to do in music. They will give you direction on how to get there and what courses might suit you, along with information on finance, funding, accommodation, start dates and so on!

Prizes and Free Stuff

The obligatory and amusing prize draw will be taking place at the end of the evening – this means thousands of pounds worth of course places to giveaway!

If you want a bit more info on prizes – say there’ll be…
- Major prize: Access to the Midi School’s facilities for 3 months
- 121 DJ lessons
- DJ Taster Course places
- A range of Online Course Places of the winner’s choosing (Ableton Live 12 weeks, Reason 6 10 weeks, Reason 5 8 weeks, Maschine 4 weeks, Music Composition 4 weeks)

If all this sounds music to your ears, make sure you get booking your place quick!

Midi School website / @midischool / Facebook.com/MidiSchool

Kicking off Evolution on the night were Venus residents, Frater and Stent, doing a back to back style performance. Birthday boy Ryan (Stent) was up first, shaking the floor with the Mark Knight remix of ‘Submotion’ followed by an endless array of pure house tunes that had the crowd hooked. As the venue started to attract more and more people to the dance floor, Chris (Frater) joined his partner on the decks as they dropped their brilliant version of Duke Dumont’s number 1 smasher, ‘Need U (100%)’, which got Evolution absolutely bouncing.

By this time the night was in full swing and up next was the talented ESQUIRE, who brought his own unique style to Venus while dropping some top vocal house classics to a packed crowd. With this line-up being similar to last year’s Evolution, which was one of DMM’s first ever nights, the crowd showed their excitement on the return of ESQUIRE who seemed to love the reaction and the buzzing atmosphere surrounding him. Venus also gave away bags of free lollies which went down well – everyone loves a freebie!

We were now well into the night and the hardcore ravers were left to see a top performance by Sick Eleckrik‘s Ben and Jon. These guys are no strangers to the venue or the Venus crowd and they got totally involved on the dance floor before there set, knocking out some shapes and getting involved in the banter. The duo brought more top tunes and funky mixes which makes Evolution one of the best vocal house nights Manchester has to offer.

Closing the night was the young Lewis Grundy putting his own stamp on the night and finishing off in style.

Evolution brought us another great night and with Venus’s 14th birthday bash this Saturday with the likes of K-Klass and Michael Woods headlining Bitch Events at the end of the month, things are only gonna get bigger and better for Venus – see you on the dance floor!

After ‘Need U (100%)’ became the official UK number 1, the hype building around Duke Dumont‘s appearance at Joshua Brooks on Thursday for Bump‘s 1st birthday hit a massive peak and became the most talked about event of the week. Joining forces with Tiga’s label, Turbo Records, Bump certainly had a brilliant booking for their celebrations with the added bonus of Dumont’s soaring popularity. After playing out his Essential Mix more than enough times, we couldn’t wait to see this one of Radio 1′s ‘Future Stars’ in action at one of our favourite venues.

When we arrived, the Joshua Brooks basement was packed and founder of Bump, Tom Mallas, was treating the crowd to a varied house set, infusing his cool, deep mix with elements of jazz, saxophone melodies and bass, played on vinyl for extra points. With a huge, proud smile on his face, Tom looked more than happy to be up there and certainly got the night off to a cracking start.

As midnight approached, it was time for the main guy to take over the decks. For the next two hours Duke Dumont had the crowd under his spell with his incredible house/dance fuelled sounds which  set the underground space completely alight. We hadn’t seen Joshua Brooks bounce around like that for a while. The crowd’s reaction when he smashed out his most well-known tracks ‘The Giver’ and of course his number one, was what can only be described as insane. The buzz was electric and everyone was really enjoying themselves; Jimmy’s “Higgy Wiggle” was in full force and the whole venue seemed to be getting their house groove on.

Dumont certainly proved to everyone just how passionate he is about his music and how much talent he has to offer in the music world.  With a smile on his face as he took in the crowd’s response, seeing him live really allowed us appreciate him even more as a DJ and producer. We didn’t want his set to end but it was time for him to pass the control over to SEI A, who changed the direction slightly and showcased his dark, grungy vibes while still keeping the house/techno vibes, to a certainly well-suited underground environment.

We’d like to thank Joshua Brooks and Bump for hosting such as great night. It really was a 1st birthday celebration to remember and everyone we spoke to had nothing but excitable praise. Here’s to another brilliant year!

Big thanks to…

Shout to Chris Balmer Photography / @_Balmer for his awesome photos – check out the full album right here. Also thanks to Manchester Music Live for the use of the SEI A video, which was streamed live on the night. Duke Dumont’s set will be online soon – check out their website / @MancMusicLive / Facebook.