RED BULL & DIMENSIONS: GET DOWN EARLY
The Vaults, Cardiff Bay
Sat 23 Nov
Recent grousing (by me) about a dearth of recognised clubbing envelope pushers being booked in this region is punctured by the appearance of cult German DJ Lena Willikens. Sure to treat the Vaults to its most adventurous set for some time, it ought to be noted this isn’t a local promotion, rather one devised by Austrian taurine moguls Red Bull and Croatian dance festival Dimensions. You are, of course, quite entitled to resist the tentacles of their marketing and wait for Willikens to play south Wales again.
The name of the night refers to its concept, where two DJs both get decently long sets, but the bigger name plays first – so expect the Cologne selector to be plugging away as the doors open at 11pm. Even given her exalted status in certain pockets of techno fandom, Willikens as warmup makes sense: her tastes tend towards trippy, textural tracks rather than obvious bludgeoners, with some ambient and pre-techno electronica likely to feature.
Headlining, meanwhile, is Bristol-based Londoner Danielle Doobay, truncated to Danielle when DJing. A peer of people like Shanti Celeste and Daisy Moon, she’s a resident on NTS radio, past employee of London dance vinyl store Phonica and owner of a furiously busy booking schedule.
Tickets: from ÂŁ5. Info: www.vaultspresents.com (NG)