aaamusic | On 06, Jan 2011

Circus – Sat 29^th January @ The Masque, Liverpool

It’s tempting to look back to Circus’ 2010 and reflect on just how strong it was – an 8^th birthday, 500^th Radio 1 Essential Mix DJ, Circus Live Vol 1. release and much more besides – all helping to create the club’s best year to date. Eclipsing this with January’s opening show would not be easy, yet Yousef has triumphed once more and put together a simply stunning show which welcomes back one of Circus’ talismanic guests for a long overdue return to Liverpool, along with no less than three debuts to savour too.

Since his first Circus appearance in Easter 2004, one man remains unparalleled in Circus’ rich history. No guest better encapsulates the vibrancy of electronic music, goosebump-prickling experiences and epic, many-hour sets which have electrified the club for years. That man is Laurent Garnier, who headlines and debuts with his new live LBS show performing with Benjamin Rippert and Scan X for six hours. No other artist has such a strong and enduring relationship with Circus, and fusing together Laurent’s passion for new sounds and his relationship with a loving Liverpool keeps him coming back for more. With many legendary sets already behind him in The Theatre and at Nation, Garnier still makes the hairs on the back of everyone’s neck ripple with anticipation; his LBS performance is the next step in a story which unites the club and legend together once more, blending DJing and live action together into a thrilling new direction.

The show has already caused a sensational storm, with Laurent saying, “During the live sections of L.B.S I will be developing and fine-tuning new tracks in front of (and with) the crowd to create the live of the future, but also to test out new tracks. We’ll be taking our time, something that isn’t really the done thing nowadays! Alongside Benjamin and Scan X I’ll be creating tracks live for my next tour and for my future releases.”

LBS offers the best of both worlds by combining the versatility and flexibility of the DJ set with the ability to experiment with tracks live in a club environment. Two decks, a Rhodes, several keyboards and machines will be used to create an organic, improvised full six-hour set for the Circus masses. For any Circus fan, this show simply cannot be missed in The Theatre.

Yousef himself storms into 2011 on the back of a momentous year, climaxing with his show at Latitude in Panama City on NYE. His work ethic remains relentless; his Circus gig is one of only two in Jan as he further focuses on his 2^nd studio album, encompassing a wide spectrum of at-the-fore electronic music with some surprises in store too. Jan also sees Yousef’s remix of Kasierdisco – In No One’s Shadow – the title track from their debut album, which Yousef named for them. And finally, Yousef is applying the finishing touches to a 3 EP remix album project which sees unreleased killer tracks from Yousef Circus Reworks, including Sven Vath, Fourtet, Gilles Peterson, Xpress 2, Mauro Picotto and many more.

Next up is Swedish techno titan Adam Beyer, returning after a long absence since his scintillating set at Nation 3 years ago. His sound is a mixture of bone-shaking grooves and gilt edged pounding rhythms, his intense interpretation of techno music making his a standout artist and DJ. His genre-defining record label, Drumcode is the home to pioneering producers including Cari Lekebusch, Joey Beltram and Marco Bailey, along with his own peerless remixes and productions. There’s only one man left in Aeroplane – who had the huge honour of being the 500^th Essential Mix DJ last April at Circus – and now Vito De Luca continues to ply his DJ and remixing trade at the head of deep disco and synth-pop excursions; as Aeroplane, he remains one of the leading lights in fusing everything from French house to Italo in seamless sets.

There are two special debuts left; first up is Belfast’s Space Dimension Controller making his Circus pilgrimage, a hotly-tipped 20-year old producer whose Temporary Thrillz EP has made waves in the house music community; his luscious, entrancing tunes have been compared to Theo Parrish and Moodyman and the youngster is set for a huge year.

Circus’ two key residents Lewis Boardman and Scott Lewis are on hand to support this stupendous Circus session, offering house and techno templates to warm up The Masque. There’s one final debut too – Sean Stephenson, one of the team behind Circus and Chibuku, makes his first appearance behind the decks.

Circus
Saturday 29th January
@ The Masque, 90 Seel Street, Liverpool, L1 4BH
The Theatre
Laurent Garnier presents: LBS – LIVE with Scan X and Benjamin Rippert (Live and DJ set) all night long.
The Loft
Adam Beyer
Yousef
Aeroplane
Tent aka Sean Stephenson
Ink
Space Dimension Controller – live
Lewis Boardman
Scott Lewis
10pm – 4am
Price £13 / £15
Info – 0151 706 8045
www.circusclub.co.uk
Tickets:
www.chibuku.com/shop
www.skiddle.com
www.datatransmission.co.uk/circus
TicketWeb: 08444 771 000
Ticketline: 0161 832 1111
3Beat: 0151 353 7027

Circus and Bedrock
Saturday 26th February
@ The Masque, 90 Seel Street, Liverpool, L1 4BH
John Digweed
Yousef
Seth Troxler
GUTI Live
Circus DJ Competition – 5 finalists, one hour each
More guests TBC
Lewis Boardman
10pm – 3am
Price £13 / £15
Info – 0151 706 8045
www.circusclub.co.uk
Tickets:
www.chibuku.com/shop
www.skiddle.com
www.datatransmission.co.uk/circus
TicketWeb: 08444 771 000
Ticketline: 0161 832 1111
3Beat: 0151 353 7027