Club_Nacht & Hobbes Music have put on their fair share of established and underground names at the Bongo club since their collaborative event launched (Spring ’23): Crazy P, Bradley Zero, Coeo, O’Flynn, Auntie Flo, Optimo’s JD Twitch (RIP), Kirollus, MiNNA, Wallace, Anish Kumar, Barbara Boeing, Austin Ato, Yogi Haughton, David Jackson…
And that list is about to get event longer and bolder, as they welcome bona fide legend of the the 90s/00s ‘French Touch’ scene, Etienne de Crecy, to lead the charge for their strongest season of bookings yet (see brief synopsis of the rest below). Tickets are flying. Grab yours here.
Best known for his Super Discount, Motorbass and Tempovision albums, de Crecy is arguably more emblematic of the French Touch sound than any of his peers, effectively co-instigating the initial wave alongside Daft Punk, in the mid 90s.
Although ostensibly a compilation (including the equally legendary likes of Air and Alex Gopher, no less), the debut Super Discount album consists mainly of de Crecy producing sample-heavy tunes under different aliases and was an instant international hit on release.
Astonishingly released the same year, the first Motorbass album was a more underground sensation and has also aged extremely well. Co-produced by de Crecy and Philppe Zdar (one half of the equally legendary Cassius – aka La Funk Mob), the project initially released a trio of EPs, causing a ruckus on the international underground, ’93-96. Zdar went on to work with Phoenix, Chromeo, Franz Ferdinand and The Beastie Boys (among many more), before dying in a tragic accident a few years ago (RIP).
His Tempovision album further cemented de Crecy’s status as the French Touch don, including the crossover chart hit Am I Wrong (2000).
Changing tack, the second Super Discount album managed to pre-empt the coming electro wave by a fair few years (with his Parisian colleagues – Busy P at the Ed Banger label, Justice et al – consequently shifting the dial worldwide). It’s teeming with club bangers. Check out Fast Track, Bit Torrent, Audio Galaxy and Overnet for a kick-off.
Last seen at Cabaret Voltaire some 16 years ago (!), this stop in Edinburgh is part of a worldwide tour to promote latest album Warm Up, which dropped last year, featuring collaborations with Alexis Taylor (Hot Chip) and Damon Albarn (Gorillaz, Blur), among others. It seems somewhat understated now to describe Etienne de Crecy as a musician and producer with the Midas touch… Tickets.
For the remainder of the season….
Saturday 28th February sees German dons Session Victim bring their exclusive live set to the club’s Danley Lab rig. Last seen causing a sensation at Kelburn’s Viewpoint Stage, (2025), this late night live experience is guaranteed to be a bit of a one-off, as the Berlin-based duo brings a bass guitar, two drum machines, two midi controllers and a synth to make sweet, deep house music live on our stage for your dancing delectation. Put simply, their set involves them finding a series of sweet grooves, both getting locked in to them and then rinsing all of the dance floor juice right out of them, back-to-back. See below for a taste. Tickets
Saturday 28th March: Scottish legend Theo Kottis take the helm. Now firmly established as a regular for the likes of Dekmantel festival in Holland, the Rinse FM airwaves in London and many more, Theo will be well kent face for anyone who was clubbing along Cowgate and in Glasgow during the pre-Covid years, not least via his residencies at Cabaret Voltaire and the Sub Club. His 2022 Essential Mix for BBC Radio One (below) is perhaps the moment Kottis’s status transitioned from local treasure to international star and is well worth a rinse! Tickets
Saturday 26th April: the Hobbes Music label celebrates 13 years of releases on vinyl & cassette, welcoming the return of Michelle Manetti. Renown for her involvement in east London’s queer scene, not least her trailblazing Femme Fraiche nights, Manetti was previously the singer in cult act The Off Key Hat, who released a record via Hobbes Music, in 2018. While she earned massive respect from Bongo regulars when she blew our roof off while closing the label’s 5th anniversary party here, it was her legendary Boiler Room appearance in 2023 (below) that cemented her rep internationally. Tickets.
Saturday 23rd May’s guest is still TBC but the event brings together an entire generation as it celebrates the 14th birthday of Hectors House, the weekly Tuesday night house party which set a new benchmark for midweek style at Cabaret Voltaire in the mid/late 2010s. Expect this to be another very memorable party, as we blow out the candles with them…
June sees Glaswegian don Ali OOFT back at Bongo. Perhaps best known for a series of disco re-edits alongside the Revenge and other Glaswegian heroes in the late 00s and early 10s, Ali Herron has taken his soul-soaked sound all over the world. Firmly entrenched in west coast clubbing lore these days, he continues to nail it with his weekly Keep On residency at La Cheetah (alongside fellow stalwart David Barbarossa). Tickets
And July sees the CNxHM partnership literally shut down the club, before we close our doors for summer once more. Grab an early bird ticket here. More info coming soon….
It’s fair to say these promoters put their money where their mouth is, with some consistently high grade programming. Grab your tickets for all their upcoming events here.
Categories: Blog, NewsTags: Ali OOFT, Club_Nacht, disco, electro, Etienne de Crecy, Femme Fraiche, French Touch, Hector's House, Hobbes Music, house, Michelle Manetti, Motorbass, OOFT! Music, Session Victim, Super Discount, Tempovision, The Off Key Hat
