Being a student city, Liverpool has traditionally shut down or at least entered a phase of semi hibernation as the summer swings round, club nights investing time in their residents and low key parties. This summer Chibuku has already staked a claim to a new way of partying in the summer with the Co-Op – warehouse parties promoted in collaboration with Circus, Coco de Mer and Freeze, which launches the day after this session on Sunday May 2nd.
May is a packed month which really hits with some oomph with three Chibukus to savour which also sees the launch of the Shipping Forecast, the new pub Chibuku are plastering their musical mitts over – the boys have been very busy to say the least. And what a bloody party it is as well to kick start the month on Sat May 1st, with acid house legends from both sides of the Atlantic and drum n bass doyens clashing with dubstep upstarts, spread across three rooms with all musical bases covered.
Let’s start with The Theatre; Chicago is in the house. Top of the bill is Felix da Housecat, the electro pilfering kitty who remains the most iconic incumbent of the windy city’s heritage. Doing the do since it all kicked off in the eighties, Felix has criss-crossed house music in its rawest form, not to mention the electro and techno he is known for.
Joining him is the daddy of the house music scene, DJ Pierre, the man who started it all when he started using an unfashionable 808 drum machine and created ‘Acid Trax’. Still a mind-blowing DJ twenty five years on from the start of his legacy, Chibuku is delighted to pair these legends together for a very special tag team duel.
The historical lineage continues in The Loft, with drum n bass pioneer DJ Hype headlining alongside dubstep fusionists Virus Syndicate. One of the key figures as drum n bass evolved from the wreckage of breakbeat focused rave music, Hype has been at the epicentre through all of the music’s junctures, be them Jungle, Liquid funk or jump-up. Virus Syndicate will be bringing the pressure earlier on with their inimitable swaggering blend of dubstep and grime, the Mancunian institution a veritable hotbed of the music and it’s most sonic and aggressive best.
And just when the line-up couldn’t get any bigger, there is the small matter of Ink. One of the most influential figures in British dance music is playing, and for the whole night. Andrew Weatherall is a byword for quality, be it his timeless production as Sabres of Paradise, Two Lone Swordsmen (alongside Keith Tenniswood) or his groundbreaking dub workouts with Primal Scream and St. Etienne. As a DJ he can invoke dance music form every era, for five hours in Ink he will be doing just that. Special shizzle guaranteed.
The Full Line-up
Chibuku Shake Shake
Saturday 1st May
@ The Masque, 90 Seel Street, Liverpool, L1 4BH
Theatre
Felix Da Housecat
DJ Pierre
Loft
DJ Hype
Virus Syndicate
Ink
Andrew Weatherall (five hour set)