Free Friday NYE bonus
le cool’s still on holiday, but with the help of our resident advisor John Power, we bring you a run-down of The best things happening for New Year and we have tickets to give away as well
NYE Free Friday giveaways:
1. Join the hip hop party collective Livin’ Proof in The CAMP Basement. We have two tickets to give away. Just send a big New Year’s greeting to us at:
E-mail: blog.london@lecool.com
Competition closes: 6pm, Friday 30 December
2. We have two tickets to Secretsundaze (see below). Just tell us where is the party happening?
E-mail: blog.london@lecool.com
Competition closes: 6pm, Friday 30 December
3. We have two tickets to the Nest in Dalston (see below). All you have to do for this one is email John:
E-mail: johnpower@gmail.com
Competition closes: 12pm, Saturday 31 December
And now, take it away Mr Power, with the ultimate NYE round-up (and some doom and gloom):
John says…
The most overrated night out of the year is here, we’re here to try to steer you away from the glut of overpriced and underwhelming nights on offer and hopefully towards the kind of party that will genuinely see in the new year with a bang.
After all, with everything from meteors, global disasters, general apocalypses and a Republican president in the Oval Office predicted for 2012, you might as well party well this NYE, you might not get the chance again…
The Nest, Dalston
It’s been a big year for the Nest in Dalston, thanks in large part to a DJ booking policy that seems to be in denial about how big the club actually is. With line-ups that wouldn’t put Fabric’s main room to shame and a soundsystem to match, The Nest provides a nice alternative to the more shambolic, if fun, goings on that you generally associate with the postcode.
For NYE, they’re going big and bassy with one of the stars of 2011, Steel town’s Toddla T heading the night. He’s joined by the likes of Mosca, Mista Men, Stripes and Tom Lea, so expect everything from house and garage to dubstep, dancehall and beyond. This was the soundtrack to the best clubs in 2011, so if you want to get a taste of what’s going to be big in 2012 then this is the place to be.
Secretsundaze, Troxy
Secret Sundaze never fail to throw a good party so if you must go somewhere BIG, then this is your best bet. Taking over this grand old former art deco cinema, Secret Sundaze have put together a mouth-watering line-up of house and techno talent including Innervisions Ame, Detroit’s Kyle Hall and New York’s Levon Vincent. Throw in Secret Sundaze’s own Giles Smith and James Priestly, and a second room hosted by the excellent Man Make Music crew and you have the perfect recipe for a big night out.
The Dogstar, Brixton
Week in week out, Audiosushi at the Dogstar reels them in with an unpretentious party-starting mix of hip-hop, house, dubstep, drum and bass and whatever else the packed dancefloor at this seminal Brixton pub-come-club demands. Always a safe bet, you can be sure that New Year’s Eve will be no different with one of London’s most hard-working DJs, Disastronaut, at the controls in the main room, and the good people behind the essential Get Low blog supplying funky, tropical, bassy sounds in the Ballroom. Plus, unlike most other parties at this time of year, The Dogstar won’t break your bank account just getting in, leaving you with plenty of money to ensure that this NYE is a night to remember (or not as the case will probably be).
Wang, Secret Warehouse Location
Those looking for something a little more underground should take a look at Wang’s NYE offering. Electro Elvis and Lula have thrown some of London’s best techno nights over the past 10 years and with a line-up that includes Andrew Weatherall, Simian Mobile Disco, Radioactive Man and Altern 8’s Mark Archer, this year’s NYE party won’t fail to go bang in all the right places. The venue is kept secret until the day of the party but tickets for this warehouse extravaganza are going fast, so if techno, electro and all things machine music are your cup of tea then don’t sleep on this one.
The Book Club, Shoreditch
If the idea of seeing in the new year to a soundtrack of chugging mechanical beats fill you with horror then The Book Club in Shoreditch should provide a much funkier proposition. With the venue being done up in the style of New Orleans’ Mardi Gras, it will be the perfect place to knock back a bourbon or 10 and cut some rug to everything from funk and soul to dub and hip-hop.
Taking control of the DJ booth on the ground floor will be DJ Format, one of the UK’s most respected hip-hop DJs and the man responsible for one of the most acclaimed mix CDs in Fabric’s long and distinguished history. Expect everything from dusty funk and old school hip-hop to straight up party anthems. Meanwhile in the basement The Specials’ Jerry Dammers and friends will be digging out everything from mambo, to calypso, cumbia, ska, reggae and juju 45s.
Player’s Ball, The Social, The West End
It’s fair to say there’s normally little to recommend going out in the west end as it is, throw in the amateur drinking spectacular that in New Year’s Eve and you’d probably want to give W1 as wide a berth as humanly possible. Still, as gardeners will tell you, a bed of shit can be great for roses and amidst the horror show that is central London, you’ll find one or two outposts of quality bravely holding out. The Social is probably the best known, if also one of the smallest, and this year Southern Hospitality are taking over this long, thin space to throw the Player’s Ball.
DJs Rob Pursey and Davey Boy Smith reckon they throw London’s Crunkest Club Night™, and who are we to disagree. What’s more, they’ll be throwing their legendary Hip-Hop Karaoke into the mix so any budding Jay-Zs or Fresh Princes out there can cold rock the spot, or make idiots of themselves, depending.
WU Year’s Day Party, Peckham
Finally if that all still sounds like far too much effort for too little reward then never fear as increasingly the smart money is on giving NYE the swerve completely and partying with the professionals on New Year’s Day. If you fancy saying hello to 2012 fresh faced, bright eyed and bushy tailed, for a few hours at least, then save your energy for World Unknown’s New Year’s Day party in Peckham.
Their monthly secret parties have been the thing of legend in 2011, throbbing, hypnotic acid house parties that properly captured the true Dionysian, unruly spirit of the music, so what better way to start 2012 than in the company of WU’s Joe Hart and Andy Blake.
Part of WU’s appeal is that sense of being far outside the mainstream clubbing continuum, and dancing the night away in an out-of-the-way, never-before-used spaces is all part of the appeal. So as you’d expect, rather than just sweep up the glass from the night before at some regular club they’re taking over a pool hall on Rye Lane for the day. They’ll be filling it with a massive soundsystem, smoke machines aplenty and some of the best music ever committed to vinyl and partying on through till 2 January, unashamedly raw, this is what clubbing should be about, expect something special.
Photo: Nathan. F
