23/6 Saved Recs Showcase: Nic Fanciulli 30/6 Mobilee Showcase: Anja Schnieder 7/7 Cécille Showcase: Nick Curly www.LAB11.co.uk

26/8 Tayo’s Tracksuit Party @ The Old Queens Head, Islingtonwww.facebook.com/groups/Tayostracksuitparty

15/9 Planet Trance with Daniel Kandi, John ‘00’ Fleming and Planet Trance residents (venue TBC)www.planettrance.co.uk

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On the way to Paradise, via

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The best parties of the last month

TRMNL PReseNTs @ LAB11

birmingham1

wHeRe LaB11, Trent Street, Digbeth, BirminghamwHen every Saturday at LaB11mUSiC The best names in techno from around the world

wHeRe Paradise By way Of Kensal greenwHen Twice or thrice a yearmUSiC Party poppin’ disco, house, garage and hip hop

wHeRe Sound Control, wakefield StreetwHen every few monthsmUSiC Trance

an elegant warehouse

rave-up

introducing the new club craze:

‘trance pout’

WHIle SOMe NeW clubs go for squeaky clean and shiny metallic spaces, lAB11 begs to differ. Birmingham’s brand new purpose built venue has a raw and underground aesthetic, driven by a pumping Funktion One soundsystem. Tall walls of exposed brickwork support a high

ceiling dressed with futuristic and distinctive strip lights. But the club’s ethos is stripped back, humble and warehouse influenced, echoing the surrounding industrial area of Digbeth – which some are calling the new epicentre of english clubland.

The people behind it have nailed the essentials: sound, production and guest talent. Yet, as the main room fills to a thousand strong crowd of unhinged clubbers going wild to headliner Radio Slave’s tough house and techno, lAB11 owner Dee Dixon suggests, “you would have thought we were crazy to open the door if you had seen the state of the place at 8pm.” It’s ship-shape now though as the fresh faced ravers,

hardened aficionados and techno spotters pile in, one guy punching the air on his way onto the dancefloor.

lAB11 is the comeback kid of infamous Birmingham promoters TRMNl, whose original club was controversially shut down back in 2009 amid noise complaints from angry residents. It’s back on form, with decent toilets, an accessible bar and bespoke sound and lighting. Down the corridor from the main floor, room 2 is smaller and darker, a perfect home for the lush, deep house tones of london duo ethyl and Flori. Back in room 1, underground hero Mark Henning burrows deep into his bag for a selection of heavy, bass

driven house and rolling techno as the crowd bust out an increasingly frantic set of moves.

After the gig, Matt edwards, aka Radio Slave, suggests, “even if it isn’t quite finished yet, they should just leave it as it is.” And with the crowd dancing and sweating towards morning, it’s the atmosphere at TRMNl that provides the finishing touch. Tom Jones

ONe STRIPe, TWO stripes, three stripes, four – there’s a lot of peeps in tracksuits queuing at the door of this enormous West london pub. Rainbow coloured and dripping with goldie-looking chains, tilted peak caps and more than a little love for Adidas, it’s a tell tale sign of what to expect from the latest instalment of DJ Tayo’s rampant block party takeovers. Inside, through a decadent lounge where people hustle for a spot at the bar, the place opens out into a cavernous room that’s already packed for Southern Hospitality’s hip hop karaoke. By just 10.30pm the party vibes are strong – punters geeing on fellow rap hopefuls – while up a twisting staircase the main floor beats to UK garage pioneer Wookie.

“I started it for a laugh in 2001 as a fun alternative to my more serious playing,” says Tayo, his collecting of vintage trackies and conviction that “girls look fit in tracksuit tops” sealing

THICK DARKNeSS AND static bodies create a nocturnal assault course like something out of a game of Tron.

It’s this high spec, high intensity environment that Planet Trance hopes will set it apart from the pack. By midnight, the no-holds-barred production has stepped up a gear. The crowd, a mixture of long-time trancers and fresh-faced newbies, stare hypnotised at the evolving images projected in front of the stage.

the thematic deal. The friendly bash has since graced festivals as well as joints across london, with top DJs all revelling in the chance to play something other than their usual sets.

As a result, the vibe is positive, unpretentious and unafraid to celebrate classic cuts with grins, booty bouncing and a lots of bling. Step up Rob Da Bank, who unleashes the perfect MCA tribute with the Beastie’s ‘Fight For Your Right’ before swirling through classic house and deep disco vibes, before quick-fire sets from Artwork and Matt ‘Jam’ lamont melt the party into a sweatbox. Finally, Tayo takes to the

decks, dressed in a leopard-spotted Adidas two-piece, and drops Scott garcia’s ‘It’s A london Thing’ to massive cheers before a finale of R Kelly’s ‘Ignition’ sends everyone into party paradise, by way of Kensal green. PhiL DuDmAn

The arrival of Radio 1 incumbent Jordan Suckley snaps them back into reality. His upfront set is peppered with classics. We are reminded of the timelessness of seminal progressive crossover ‘Heaven Scent’, which, unlike many tracks from that era, doesn’t sound out of place among today’s polished productions.

The announcement of the end of Suckley’s set is greeted by a mixture of disappointment and adulation. But as the night draws to a close, gareth emery’s 2012 smash ‘Concrete Angel’ shows any that this often ignored genre is more alive and diverse than ever. GorDon sTriBLinG

TAyo’s TRAcksuiT PARTy @ PARAdise By WAy of keNsAL GReeN

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The northern trance scene has a new contender

PLANeT TRANce @ souNd coNTRoL, MANchesTeR

Bringing the underground back to Brum

Top tunes and tracksuits for a block party takeover