Stiff Kitten, Belfast Tomorrow 9pm £12 048-90238700
According to the man himself, Erol Alkan started the Trash club night so he could play Bowie tunes and bang basslines at the same time. Trash went on to become a seminal London night out and generated a lot of traction for Alkan, but that was just a starting point, as he became the go-to production and remix guy for thumping technicolour dancefloor dares that pushed rock and electronica together. His subsequent collaborations with Richard Norris of The Grid on Beyond the Wizard’s Sleeve have been just as fruitful.
On this Belfast visit, Alkan is accompanied by Orlando Higginbottom aka Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs. From releases on Joe Goddard’s Greco-Roman label and collaborations with Damon Albarn and Congolese musicians on last year’s DRC Music Kinshasa One Two album to his upcoming debut album Trouble, the Oxford producer has thrilled many with his smartly pitched electronic pop.
Can't see that? Catch this:Pet Duo's Brazilian techno (Fri, Dublin); prog-trance from Above Beyond at Transmission (Sat, Belfast); and 18-year-old Freakscene settle into their digs (Thurs, Cork)
