ROTW - Circo Loco @ Sankeys - Sat 4th June

Essentially I'm not gonna spend every Monday for the next three months in work knowing that at that very moment, somewhere in a tiny shed, on a hot island 2000 miles away, people are having that good a time. Maybe if I go to an old soap factory in Ancoats until 7 in the morning it'll ease that pain a little. Lord knows I'm going to try. Miss Vulcano knows I will.

Rave of the Week - Bugged Out @ Sankeys

Sankeys. Sankeys. Sankeys ey. It used to be the biggest player in town until the WHP came along and stole its top boy status. That and its fair share of the part-time crowd. Purist elite criticism . Bugged out 90s heads probably sneer down there nose at 00s Tribal Sessions heads as much as they (me ) do the current incarnation of one of Manchester's true raving institutions. Either way I’ve had some truly unforgettable nights there over the years [/mistyeyed] and regardless of your opinion on the changes put in place it's still packed out every weekend (could barely move at Jamie Jones a few weeks back). With plans to launch a sister club in Ibiza it seems world domination is truly on the agenda. Before they take over the world though it's future meets past this Friday with the night that started it all as Bugged Out host Bok Bok and his Night Slugs label in what looks like a monster monster line-up. Night Slugs couldn’t beat the accolades off with a stick in 2010 and Bok Bok cues up his first release proper on them in a couple of weeks. See what all the fuss is about with the added bonus of Hoya:Hoya's Krystal Klear tearing up room 2 fresh from bombing the Boiler Room with his vintage house vibezzzz.. Wonky.

Out Now - Andy Stott - Passed Me By

Right. Need to be careful with this one. To say that I love Modern Love wouldn't be an understatement. Neither would it be an overstatement. It would be correct statement of my tastes. I'm looking beyond my natural bias and trying not to remember seeing Bitstream, Troubleshooter, Claro, MLZ and co tearing the roofs off numerous parties in the last 7-8 years. Or the afternoons spent in the now defunct Pelicanneck records when I should have been passing 2^nd year at university. IGNORING ALL THAT, I can assure you I'm being entirely objective in telling you how great the new Andy Stott EP is. Buy it here. It's really good new music. I could go on about him mixing dubstep and techno 5 years ago before the current fad but I won't. He's alright is Andy.

Rave of the Week - Planet Mu Bangs and Works

Juke. Jit. Footwork. Whatever you call it I was late on this. Until Andy Stott released 'Retail Juke' on Modern Love last year I'd no idea this existed. I'd seen DJ Godfather maybe once at Sequence a few years back that was more manageable 140bpm ghettotech. Mike Paradinas has been at the forefront of pushing the 160bpm sound in the UK and brings 3 of Planet Mu's burgeoning roster to the deaf institute this Saturday. For a FIVER. More than capable support from Hoya:Hoya, Hit and Run and Now Wave. It's worth going just to see what your North Face clad dealer will make of it.

Details (FB).

Out Today [D/R/U/G/S - Love/Lust EP]

I first became aware of D/R/U/G/S on one of his countless supporting slots at The Ruby Lounge or Deaf Institute last summer. Immediately taken aback by the depth of some of his tunes. Timeless feel of space and melody. I'd like to think Velodrome 1 was inspired by the sci-fi stylings of the Velodrome. Velodrome 2 clearly wasn't. Listen to his Love /Lust EP on Spotify here. Or better still buy it on vinyl here. IT'S OUT ON MOSHI MOSHI TODAY.

Mount Kimbie @ The Deaf Institute 29th April 2011

Firstly this was the busiest I've seen a now wave and the deaf institute in quite some time. Impressive given this must have been Mount Kimbie's 3^rd/4th visit to Manchester in little over 12 months (more if you're including dj sets) plus they're pencilled in at Parklife next month.

Anyway stage set. Packed venue. All a bit hazy post royal wedding street party. Face slightly raw and sunburnt.

I'd heard mixed reports of their set at In the City so was hoping they were gonna pull a cat out of the bag. Well they did to some extent. Not a pedigree Siamese but a decent attempt. The show's clearly benefited from the raft of touring the duo have done this last year and they rarely miss a trick. Momentum builds throughout the set. The tiny dance floor is bouncing along. 'Before I move off' and 'Maybes' are emphatically received although I found Dom's live singing of the chorus line on Maybes a bit grating and lacking the intricate affectation of the original version. Blind Night Errand and (my personal favourite) Carbonated are injected with a thumping 4/4 that wouldn't be out of place in a Jeff Mills 909 set. The lost UR fan within was most pleased with that. Clearly been hanging out with Scuba at Berghain too much. Spinal Tap are channelled in informing the crowd that they'd been much better than the 1000 or so they'd entertained the previous night in London. WE LOVE YOU SPRINGFIELD. It's a short set at just under an hour but I wasn't surprised given the brief extent of their young back catalogue. Perhaps conscious of this Kai comes on to apologise for not doing an encore. Great gig regardless. I told myself I'd do 300 words so am just tacking this sentence on the end to achieve that.

Rave of the Week - Oneman @ Selective Hearing 05/05/11

The first I heard of Chow Down was when I met one of their team flyering after the Streets gig at the start of March. They had Lil Silva and Damu on that night. I wasn't gonna turn that down and they certainly didn't disappoint. Double thumbs up. They took last month off but bring the mighty Oneman to Joshua Brooks basement this very evening. Any Mancunian dubstep fan who ignores the chance to see dubstep forums THIRD BESTEST dj for £4 probably has to be up to go to work in Leeds at 6am on Friday. (SOB).