The month ahead: November Clubbing in Leeds

Image: Ricardo Villalobos

Summer, it seems, is officially over. Students have long since been back at University and the holiday season for the rest of us is no more. The clocks have gone forward, outside its getting colder and darker, and it is all just about starting to sink in. However, thankfully for those of us living in Leeds, there's a whole lot of underground house and techno on offer to help keep us toasty and warm at night, keeping those winter blues well and truly at bay. 

Each year the night life of Leeds gets bigger and better. Dotted around the city are top venues like Mint Warehouse, The Garage, The Warehouse and Mint Club (to name but a few) and week in, week out the clubs continue to provide parties that have captured the hearts of many a loyal following not just in Leeds but across the nation. 

The most recent addition to the roster of clubs here is Control. Fully equipped with Funktion Ones, a 24 hour license, the world's first LED Geodome and a capacity of 3000, the club certainly has the potential to throw some very exciting parties. This month Todd Terje, the master behind legendary tracks such as 'Inspector Norse' and 'Ragysh' will headline for Flux on Thursday 7th November, whilst Pete Tong brings very special guests Booka Shade (Live) back to Leeds alongside Tensnake and Waifs & Strays for All Gone Pete Tong on Friday 15th November.

Mint Club provide us with plenty of options this month. Every Thursday Teknicolor invite a range of guests sporting different flavours of deep house and tech, such as Deetron as part of his album tour on the 14th and an exclusive extended set from Hot Since 82, the man behind the huge remix of Green Velvet's 'Bigger Than Prince' (a track that without doubt has become an anthem over the summer). 

Louche celebrate their 6th birthday on Saturday 16th with the iconic voice of the Detroit legend that is Moodymann, alongside Prosumer, for what will be one of their last parties in Leeds in the run-up to their final farewell in January. The fun doesn't stop there for the club, as Adam Beyer headlines Blacklight for an intimate Drumcode showcase (not for the faint hearted) and Ketoloco return to Leeds, bringing Tale Of Us and Mario Basanov along to mark the occasion. 

What makes November even more special is the birthday of the longest running club night in the world. Backtobasics celebrate 23 years in the business with a punk themed party at their current home, The Garage, merging the club with its neighbours Ok Karaoke and Waxwerks to give four rooms of top quality tech house from the likes of Yousef, Doc Martin, Laura Jones, Ralph Lawson... the list goes on. Backtobasics means something very special to many people in Leeds and across the UK; the birthday party of one of the most loved brands in the underground world of house and techno is not one to be missed. Lawson's mix recorded live from the 20th birthday reflects the greatness that can be expected. 

The Warehouse come in strong at the end of the month on the 30th with a Hotflush showcase presented by Selective Hearing & Abstract. Scuba, George Fitzgerald, Paul Woolford and Dense & Pika will all be on hand to submerse the club in bass driven techno. The choice between here and Full Circle is a tough one however, the latter sporting mono_cult who are raising the bar once more with techno's leading lady Nina Kraviz alongside Boddika and Bicep as headliners. 

Golden Ticket

As you can see, we really are spoilt for choice in Leeds this month. However, the Golden Ticket must go to the Cocoon takeover of Mint Warehouse on Saturday 9th. Resident Ricardo Villalobos is joined by regular DJ partner Raresh (the pair have certainly been known to perform a brilliant back to back performance) as well as label mate, Onur Ozer.

The Cocoon representatives will be sure to provide us with a most special night of the finest underground techno house in one of the best and most industrial club spaces in Leeds. Check out the three players in action at the Cocoon Ibiza closing party a couple of years back for a little whetting of the appetite. See you at the front! 

like this? Try Ketoloco turns seven twice.

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