The Warehouse Project Welcomes Chic, SMD, Jeff Mills and More This Weekend!

This weekend, as Store Street’s finale looms ever closer, a Warehouse Project staple returns to present an evening of house, techno and disco of both cutting edge and undisputed classic varieties.

Simian Mobile Disco have rocked the WHP consistently over the past five seasons, with both their blinding live show and acclaimed DJ sets, and for this event, curate a roster of inspirational dance music.

Few artists are weaved as tightly into the landscape of popular culture as Chic. Headlining the evening as a live ensemble, Nile Rodgers’ seminal band laid a foundation of disco, soul music and hip-hop, which remains vital to this day.

Having concocted basslines and grooves so distinctive to influence everyone from Grandmaster Flash to Blondie to Jonny Marr, Chic have spent three decades being chopped up, sampled, remixed and reworked by hundreds of other bands, DJs and artists. Now, led as ever by Rodgers, the band will perform a slate of their biggest hits – ‘Le Freak’, ‘Good Times’, ‘Everybody Dance’ – as well as other rarities and chugging jams designed to send a few thousand dedicated ravers dancing, in what could be the sweatiest, most elating history lesson you’ve ever had…

Not that musical heritage has ever been Warehouse Project’s sole intention. Whilst still sounding irresistibly fresh themselves, Chic are part of a very special line up that blends artists old and new with an amazing ability to stay utterly relevant in the often transparent world of dance music. Case in point – Jeff Mills.

One of the most important names in the history of techno, Mills' three decades in dance music have seen seismic shifts in style and tone, often to do with the man himself, but his intense and raw DJ sets have kept him at the very forefront of his peers. Often utilising any number of decks, as well as his infamous and well-honed 909 drum machine, Mills is a steely performer with a unique ability to send crowds everywhere mad, from sweaty basements, to sprawling festival fields, with just the most subtle twist of a knob or the release of a clattering drum-pattern. As long as Mills’ hands do not remain still, we assure you, nor will your feet.

Simian Mobile Disco, aka Jas Shaw and James Ford, once rode a wave of electro-house madness with the release of their debut album, Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release, in 2007. Its poppy follow up, Temporary Pleasure, saw collaborations with everyone from Beth Ditto to Gruff Rhys, but the eponymous duo at once took their sound broader and darker, setting up their own label, 'Delicacies', the eponymous host of this evening’s party. 

Dealing in raw, unbridled analog techno, the band released a compilation of their charismatic, instrumental 12 inch releases late last year, and have spent 2011 pushing their sound further still, prepping not only a third album, but pressing out the odd room-quaking techno release. Their eclectic DJ sets have been a firm favourite at Store Street over the years, and here’s one last chance to find out why.

Whilst Chic found their audience thirty years ago filling up airtime on radio stations worldwide, Feel My Bicep are as similarly dedicated to disco, house and all things groove, but utilise a somewhat more contemporary medium. Their blog and podcast has garnered dedicated fans and followers worldwide, keen to discover what’s they’ve discovered on the dusty back shelves of the world’s record stores… However, their online presence hasn’t kept them out the clubs, instead gaining them bookings worldwide as classified taste makers and party-starters, and put out their own tracks and remixes, including this year’s stunning ‘Darwin’.

Completing the line-up are local audiophiles and WHP residents, Krysko and Will Tramp!; both flawless performers known and respected for their love of irresistible disco and house business, as well as everything in-between.

Words: John Thorp

Unbelievably, there are still a few tickets left for Chic and SMD at The Warehouse Project. Get yours below! 

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