Carlita, Folamour, Gui Boratto, Dam Swindle, Beltran, Xinobi, Miguel Rendeiro, MaguPi, et Shia

Gui Boratto’s moment came with his 2007 album ‘Chromophobia’, released on the seminal minimal-tech label from Cologne, Kompakt. I’ve always had a soft spot for their particular variety of minimal techno, which is, of course, stripped down, but also somehow warm and organic, inviting and propulsive. That’s not to say I don’t like my fair share of dark ambient techno, I just really appreciate that there’s a variety. Gui Boratto’s own music, and particularly his live sets roam into a more evocative territory at times, with the occasional techno-pop tune surfacing. It seems to me that a lot of his set is live, sequencing and dropping samples and synths, but it’s hard to tell - his setup is also quite stripped down, consisting of laptop, a couple of interfaces and a drum machine, with which he’s able to create an organic, flowing set that transitions seamlessly through different moods, polyrhythmic pumping bass synths intertwining with the bass drum and snare, propelling the audience into a frenzy. Occasionally, Boratto will bring things right down, taking one particular strand of the track - a simple chord stab, and putting it through a filter, only to bring back the full onslaught a few bars later. It certainly has the desired effect on the audience, who whoop and scream out. Then, Boratto begins to slowly dismantle the track again, until all that is left is bass drum and snare. The crowd are still going wild for it. Boratto is one of those really accomplished producers who’s able to replicate live what he does in the studio. I highly recommend going along if he’s in town!

Lars Dales and Maarten Smeets aka the house and disco DJ duo Detroit Swindle started out simply making music for the sheer sake of it, however have gone on to spread their beats and mixes worldwide and it’s not hard to see why. Their energetic fun-loving approach to music making and performing live has a contagious rhythm to it, a contagious good time to it that rubs off on everyone with a nearby ear.

Boxed Out, the duo’s debut album is an ode to the classic US house music of Detroit and Chicago, it combines thumping beats, jazz flairs, mixed up vocals along with Detroit Swindle’s signature shuffles and precision-placed drops that gets any crowd bobbing and swaying. And this crowd was no different, anticipatory murmurs roamed until the pair came out of nowhere, ear to ear grins on their faces and got the party started – met with a roar from the audience. I adore the new album but Detroit Swindle’s remixes of other tracks is really where they find their own and being able to mix and match in their set was a real dream, the energy and movement contained in such a small space is testament to their quality track-making and rapport with the audience.