Exit Festival 2010

Only one week to go before ticket prices go up for the awesome Exit Festival in Serbia (they're currently just £85 plus booking fee).

The lineup this year looks pretty good, including Missy Elliot, Chromeo, Chemical Brothers, Ms Dynamite, Josh Wink, D:Bridge and Hudson Mowhawke.

Nothing, however, can beat the year I went - 2007 - when I caught Beastie Boys, Wu Tang, Prodigy, Groove Armada, LTJ Bukem, Pendulum and the greatest act I've ever seen, ever, ever: Snoop Dogg.

Exit is a cracking festival with great weather, really nice people and an amazing location. A word of advice from Gravity Skanker though: don't camp. It's way too hot, and there are good cheap apartments nearby you can rent for far less hassle!

www.exitfest.org

Hospitality moves to Fabric

Following the closure of Matter ('for the summer'), Hospitality has moved its next event, on Friday 2 July, to Fabric.

Personally I think this is awesome news - no more horrific Tube journeys home at 6am!

SeOne club reopens as Debut

 Dry your eyes, there's some good news after all.

Huge London Bridge venue SeOne club, which closed in April, has reopened under new management.

It's now called Debut, and kicks off tomorrow night with a party hosting everything from 'multisensory' art installations, to live bands, to DJs playing hip hop, dubstep and electro. And - tadah! - the launch night is called 'Debut'.

It looks like the new bosses are taking a different tack, with Debut being geared towards live music and corporate events. But then again, that's what they said years ago when Camden Palace closed, only to return again as Koko - and I've had my fair share of rave-ups in that gaff since then.

www.debutlondon.co.uk

Matter closing

Oh my days. As if this hasn't been a bad enough week already in terms of dance music events going down the plughole.

Matter nightclub at the O2 in Greenwich is set to close - at least for the summer. The rumours, which have been heavily circulating on the net for days, were confirmed by DJ Yousef on an online forum.

He said: “You may as well hear it from me. Due to many reasons, the main one being the lack of transport to the venue, Matter has shut for the summer. Sad times. They are an amazing bunch down there.” The post was later removed.

As representatives of Matter are unavailable for comment, it's unsure whether scheduled parties beyond this week's Halcyon night will still go ahead.

I've had my suspicions about the club's fortunes for a while now. Yes, it has some huge promotions in there - such as FWD, Stanton Sessions, Ram and Hospitality - which are mostly a sell-out. But as was pointed out by the owners of SeOne club when the London Bridge venue announced its closure recently, one sell-out a week still doesn't pay the bills for such a huge venue.

In addition, I've noticed its forerunner Fabric - owned by the same people - has been 'diversifying' in terms of its events. A club that was once every promoter's dream destination, the unattainable pinnacle of venues with a select few partners, is now hosting many lesser-known promotions. This is no bad thing - in fact it's healthy for the music scene - but it does point to a situation in which the sibling venues are jostling for space. Perhaps there is only room for one of them.

Event magazine reports that Matter lost £1 million in the first year after it opened in 2008, and was £3 million in debt according to the same accounts.
 
To follow the discussion online, try the Dogs On Acid forum. 

Rusko at Thekla, Bristol

As someone who is totally, utterly obsessed with clubbing, I know I'm not alone. I've been very lucky to get to know some of the capital's top ravers over the years - the people who you're guaranteed to see at every party, year in, year out; people who share the same obsessive need to skank it up each weekend with a big fat smile on their face and a hug when you see them.

I love those guys (you know who you are), and one of my top ravers - a fellow dubstep and DnB-head like myself - is Holly (who is probably going to kill me for writing this post about her). She's the one with the gas mask and the Sub Soldiers T-shirt raving it up at the front, usually at Fabric.

Last weekend she invited me to Thekla in Bristol for a massive dubstep night. I couldn't go, but she sent me a link to a video of Rusko's set, which made me kick myself for not being there.

Various people (particularly some holier-than-thou music journalists I shan't name) turn their nose up at Rusko in the belief that he's too mainstream, appeals to a young audience, or not highbrow enough. Bullshit. He rocks a crowd, and I think this video proves it.

Seeing as this is a blog about clubbing I thought I'd share the clip with you, so you can spend seven minutes imagining you're there. Have fun.

Breakfree: new night in Crystal Palace

If you're still pissed off about missing out on Krafty Kuts at Matter last night, here's something to lift the spirits. 

Westow House in Crystal Palace is starting a monthly breaks night called Breakfree - its launch party features the ever-charming Soul of Man, aka Justin, father of Finger Lickin' Records.

First event is on Friday 11 June and best of all, it's FREE!

Click here for the Facebook event page.  

Krafty Kuts at Matter cancelled

More bad news on the cancellation front, kids. The Krafty Kuts party at Matter this Friday has been dropped.

The club night was supposed to host Krafty Kuts, Nextmen, Evil Nine and Napt. A truly awesome (if a little sparse) lineup. No reason has been given for the cancellation - I'm guessing poor ticket sales.

If you're looking for somewhere to go that night, Noise is on at Babalou in Brixton. And of course, the veritable Vinyl Touch is hosting Freestylers on Saturday night at The Rhythm Factory.