aaamusic | On 18, Apr 2011

The joy of the bank holiday season in April means there’s two double headers of aural seduction lined up for Sankeys, and the club starts as it means to go on with a scorcher lined up for the Easter period. Four evenings of illicit fun, Manchester’s glorious rave history from Hacienda is countered by forward thinking electronica from Crosstown Rebels, whilst Sankeys main room action from Benny Benassi gets complimented perfectly by an Easter Sunday showcase from Federation. Epic.

First off is Benassi. A superstar in his native Italy since the late nineties, Benny hit the big time when he destroyed the charts with that jack saw riff on ‘Satisfaction’ back in 2002. Speaker shredding and ear drum piercing, it was the crossover hit of the year and sounded acoustically amazing in clubs, a rare feat for an accessible record to be so brutal on a dancefloor.

Since then he’s become one of the biggest global draws and a veteran of Sankeys of over seven years; smashing clubs, festivals and stadiums across the globe. He’s guaranteed to get the club bouncing and is in possession of that killer brand of gut wrenching main room house that will be the ultimate soundtrack for knowing work is at least four days away still; the perfect person to open up the most hedonistic ten days the club has ever seen. Ibiza hot shot Oliver Lang also stars.

24 hours later and the Hacienda is here. This gig carries extra special resonance as all proceeds from the night are going to help charities involved in the relief effort in Japan after the earthquake and tsunami. The club’s story is well worn and well told simply because it is so phenomenal; it’s one of the clubs that more than any can lay claim to shaping the path of electronic music than most others. They’re headed this time by a duo that have took the acid house mandate to the pop charts, Basement Jaxx, whose riotous surges through house and carnival vibes continue to radiate the finest aspects of electronic music.  Justin Robertson heads up an equally strong support cast, with original residents Jon de Silva and Dave Haslam joined by the man who funded the histrionics Peter Hook. Further acid house heroes 808 State and Rowetta are augmented by a DJ set from Delphic, a nice touch recognising Manchester’s modern day heroes of electronic music.

Saturday is the turn of Crosstown Rebels, rightfully regarded doyens of modern dance music. Headed by Damian Lazarus, the imprint has become a byword for top notch quality in house and techno, all focus on killer grooves and hooky melodies and a roster that bulges with forward thinking talent.

Two of those acts are represented here, North American duo Art Department and Deutsch deity Matthias Tanzmann. Art Department gave us the deft masterpiece ‘Without You’ last year, which went from hotly whispered WMC secret (barely possible in this age of file-sharing) to club smash of the year, an old fashioned success story with a thoroughly modern sound. Tanzmann has a career built on off kilter dancefloor smashes and a Dj with real pedigree across Europe, a perfect fit for the Rebels and Sankeys.

The final piece of the rave pie comes in the shape of Federation, the Leeds party organisers who certainly know how to deliver a full experience of clubbing. Prizing theatrical endeavour above all else, Federation revels in delivering a show that blows every sensual aspect, evidenced by their gloriously flamboyant sister soiree Freakshow and their infrequent but markedly special tours of their clubbing brand. Their debut showing for Sankeys looks set to be a smorgasbord of sultry sophistication.