This week sees the party monsters NO ZU celebrating their ten year anniversary as a band with a 12” remix EP Body2Body2Body being launched at The Night Cat over Friday and Saturday nights. Edits, reworks and re-recordings of Afterlife‘s Body2Body and Spirit Beat by A Certain Ratio (Factory Records, Manchester), Jonny Sender (Konk, NYC) and NO ZU themselves with their heat beat guru Nao Anzai (who will be live-dubbing at Night Cat) feature on the EP.The heat-beat party kings have recently melted-down Pitch Festival, NGV Friday Nights and the Heaps Gay’s laneway party. These will be their last Australian gigs for a while as they’re off to Europe at the end of May, so get amongst it.
Also on Friday round at Hugs&Kisses, Animals Dancing returns with DJ Normal 4 out of Germany. As both a DJ and producer, DJ Normal 4 has one foot in the fields of the proto-rave sounds of the early ‘90s and one in the house sounds emanating from Düsseldorf, Lyon, London and The Hague today. 2016 saw the first DJ Normal 4 records combine breakbeat and electro elements to his house hybrid on the Berlin based Klasse Wrecks label and BFDM. Last year also saw the first two releases from his Aiwo Records label, with the debut Forum EP (of which he is one third) being a secret weapon in many record bags, while the brand new 5 Elements Pt. 1 Water & Air with Bufiman for Aiwo’s third offering adds another dynamic to DJ Normal 4’s already rich output, with nuances of ambient and new age combined with hypnotic breakbeat house. Otologic and Andee Frost are on support duties.
A few blocks away at Brown Alley on Friday, Other People are hosting Oliver Shories. The Hamburg resident will be bringing a live set of his classic deep emotive techno. Emerging in 2012 as an artist-to-watch, clubbers have been getting around his organic and melodic style with thick fuzzy reverb-drenched synths, powerful drum patterns and bags of emotion. In 2017, he’s become one of the most booked DJs and live acts of Germany. Local support is coming from Retza, Walter Juan, Jacob Malmo, Monty McGaw, Francesco Castelli, Jay Mugelli, Karl Devic and Nick Biggins.
On Friday also (bloody hell, what a night) is the R&S Records – In Order To Dance Label Showcase featuring Renaat at My Aeon. Renaat (the R from R&S) has played a massive part in shaping dance music as we know it. As the founder of R&S, Renaat was one of the first to welcome techno when it came from America to Europe in the ‘80s, giving a young Derrick May and Joey Beltram a chance at producing and releasing records in Europe. Renaat as a DJ pushes the boundaries of dance music, showcasing music from the label and many unreleased tracks, the catalogue at his disposal is second to none. There’s a few final-round tickets still available so don’t sleep on it.
