FEAT. THE BLACK DOG (LIVE), INSTRA:MENTAL, PERC, AL TOURETTES (LIVE), SHIFTED, SZARE (LIVE), TRUSS, TENGUI, MB & CB
10PM - 6AM @ CORSICA STUDIOS, 4/5 ELEPHANT ROAD, SE17 1LB
TICKETS: £5/£8/£10 ADVANCE / £12 OTD (£10 NUS)
2010 was a big year for Colony, seeing us make the transition from our east London encampment(s) to the increasingly in-demand Corsica Studios, home to some of the capital's best underground promotions and two of its heaviest soundsystems. It was a big year for Perc Trax too, relaunching their clubnight activities (with us, duh) and generally smashing it on the releases front, thanks in no small part to the production work of Perc himself. Happily, both parties are back for more, and once again we've come correct with a line-up that represents the very best in purist underground club music, UK style.
Topping the bill, we're delighted to be welcoming back Sheffield legends The Black Dog, pioneers from before you even knew what techno meant and now going stronger than ever. Their last album, Music For Real Airports, was a triumph of dramatic, at times gritty, ambience, and they're keeping the ball rolling with a new, Dadavistic excursion into haunting industrial soundscapes. That's on top of some consistently excellent dancefloor gear, most notably a stunning rework of Anodyne's Corrosion (one of 2010's best tunes) and an epic take on Slam's Soma smash Azure. They got us off to a flying start last year, so we thought it only right have them back for more, especially now we're talking Funktion-One sound. Proper. Another act to go back a bit, but whose relevance has never been greater, is Instra:mental. Alongside dBridge, ASC and a select few others, the London-based duo have pretty much reinvented the rules of uptempo (and, increasingly, not-so-uptempo) bass music, forging a unique sound that draws on classic techno, electro and IDM, 80's synth decadence, dub, jungle, 2-step and house, and all kinds of other randomness, but which comes off as uniquely their own. With a debut LP about to drop on NonPlus+, countless classics both out (take your pick) and in the pipeline, and regular appearances at the world's top clubs and festivals, two hours of the Autonomic pioneers simply isn't to be missed.
Kicking on from a thumping live set at the first Colony vs. PT, meanwhile, Perc will be doing the DJ honours for this one, treating us to a sneak preview of his forthcoming album in the process. A recent, long-overdue podcast for RA shows what the man is capable of, and after the year he's just had (live action @ Berghain, CLR and Stroboscopic wares, widespread props for Perc Trax), not to mention the flyer he's currently having (more Berghain action, Fabric in the pipeline, said LP about to drop), you can be sure he'll clean the place up. Another man who knows a thing our two about ruining clubbers' minds is Alec Storey, aka Al Tourettes. His live PA for us last year was one of the nuttiest things we've ever had the pleasure of hosting. Taking his cues from booty-shaking electro, swinging 2-step and jacking techno, he's forged a sound all of his own, earning him releases with labels as revered and esoteric as Apple Pips and Ostgut Ton. A Bloc festival regular, you can bet your bottom dollar he'll be primed and ready after this year's performance, so be prepared!
In hot pursuit, newcomer Shifted - whose identity is, in large part, a mystery - will be taking things suitably deep and moody, dropping the kind of moribund, bass-heavy warehouse techno that made his debut EP for Mote Evolver so blackly compelling, and which he'll be delivering plenty more of by way of his newly founded Avian imprint, a second EP for Mote, and work for fellow performer(s) Szare's Syndrome Z imprint. As for said colleague(s), there's really very little to point out beyond the fact that whoever's behind the alias is making some of the most advanced, and downright spookiest, dance music currently out there. Falling somewhere between cavernous techno, mutant slow-house and tribal 2-step, Szare's London debut (the night's third live PA, no less) will be an education for those of you unacquainted with the dark textures of Horizontal Ground 04 and 08, and a massive treat for those who are.
Support comes from Perc Trax's Truss, fresh off the back of an excellent podcast for Elecronique.it and scything remix duties for Lucy's ever-popular Stroboscopic Artefacts, Colony newcomer Tengui, who'll be journeying through system-primed ambience into droning slowmo techno, and organisers-cum-residents MB and CB, keeping the tempos high and the basslines low for the room 2 stamina crew. As with the last bash, tickets really aren't a lot, and we'll be doing our damndest to make sure the vibe is spot on throughout the night. It might be the Royal Wedding the same day, but for those of you who know your hi hats from you posh twats, this is the real agenda. Don't miss a beat.
Buy tickets now: www.residentadvisor.net/colony
www.colonyparty.com // www.perctrax.com // www.corsicastudios.com
