The city goes into the start of its annual pre-Edinburgh festival lull this month with guest DJ’s and live acts dropping off the radar slightly. The music festival season begins in earnest too with Rock Ness and the behemoth that is T in the Park drawing the kids from the city off into faraway fields to cavort and spend their cash. However, good nights out and fun times are still out there this month for those who seek them….
Patch William @ Sneaky Pete’s June 9th
The Ivor Novello nominated Patch William clock into Sneaky Pete’s on the 9th June. They’ve been described as being “like a posh xx” and “Damien Rice crossed with The Strokes” by various lazy journalists. Recently signed to a major label and with Culture Club producer, Steve Levine, twiddling the knobs there are big things prophesised for this Fulham four piece. Celebrity fan, Stephen Fry, thinks they sound “rather wonderful to me” and who would disagree with Stephen Fry?
John Power @ Cab Vol June 10th
The 10th of June sees John Power of The La’s and Cast fame playing an acoustic set at Cabaret Voltaire. The 1990 “The La’s” album is a high watermark in Indie history, an album that gave birth to the eternal and ambiguous pop classic “There She Goes”. Is it about love or the skag? Who knows? After The La’s broke up, Powers went on to find success during the Britpop years with the Herman’s Hermits meets Merseybeat influenced Cast. Hopefully he’ll be playing some of the hits this evening.
Hockey @ Cab Vol June 16th
Portland’s Hockey alights at Cabaret Voltaire on the 16th, a band who list their influences as poets Frank O’Hara and William Blake and MIA. Currently on a stadium tour with Pink, they’ve been compared to The Strokes, LCD Soundsystem and Passion Pit. Forthcoming dates for them include Lollapalooza in the US in addition to a smattering of Academy gigs across the UK. Evidence, perhaps, that they won’t be playing intimate venues for long.
Finley Quaye @ Cab Vol June 18th
Edinburgh’s Finley Quaye returns to the bosom of his home town on the 18th for a live performance at the Cab. Quaye found fame in the late 90’s with the Brit award winning “Maverick A Strike” album that fused his love of reggae and jazz. The singles “Sun is Shining” and “Even After All” were part of the soundtrack to the summer of 1997, finding fans amongst both indie kids and reggae lovers. Currently residing in Berlin and having been out of the scene for some time it’ll be interesting to see where Quaye’s head is currently at.
Luke Slater @ GRV June 19th
Techno commandant Luke Slater drops into Substance at GRV to play live under his Planetary Assault Systems moniker on Saturday 19th. Slater has been DJing and producing for over 20 years now, recording for a myriad of labels including D-Jax, Peacefrog, NovaMute and Ostgut Tontrager. His recent club appearances have involved headline slots at London’s Fabric, Barcelona’s Nitsa and Berlin’s legendary Berghain. Famed for his hard edged, minimalist dance music, this is a rare opportunity that you must take to see a true techno pioneer playing live in Auld Reekie.
Craig Smith @ Cab Vol June 25th
Rounding off the highlights, the fabled Craig Smith makes a guest appearance at Souloco at Cabaret Voltaire. Craig’s trademark soulful house sound has been crucial to the longevity of a career that has lasted for two decades. As club promoter he brought Masters at Work, DJ Deep, Kerri Chandler and Ashley Beedle amongst many others to play in the city. As producer on Five20East and Soul Heaven Records his music nestled in the set lists of Gilles Peterson, Todd Terje, Danny Krivit and many more. He’s played clubs across Europe and the US and on Friday the 25th he’ll be playing back at home. Get down early and make sure you get yourself moving.