Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
ONWARDS & UPWARDS
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As time ticks down on Shine’s legendary tenure at the Mandela Hall, its home for the past two decades, it is only fitting that the curtain falls with a suitably mammoth bang. To ensure this is the case, the club has enlisted some big names to curate the sounds and few come much bigger than Maceo Plex who headlines proceedings tomorrow night.
Originally a lighthearted counterpoint for his darker material released as Maetrik, Eric Estornel’s Maceo Plex project has become his main venture during the last few years.
It will be the first time that the American producer, now based in Spain, brings his deep, emotional and futuristic house to Belfast.
Since his earliest techno/electro productions in the 90s rave scene, The Maceo Plex aesthetic developed into his once-signature growling techno, but eventually came to embody a deeper groove and funk. His penchant for blending and sculpting these sounds for different dance floors has made him one of the more nuanced and diverse acts working in techno today.
He first tinkering with hardware modules in 1997, and since then has been fully committed to mind-bending sonic exploration in the studio, and wrecking dance floors across the world.
Along the way he’s developed a flare for reconceptualizing dance floors, which lead him to Shine’s final show at the Mandela Hall at Queen’s Student Union tomorrow night will be a jampacked banger – and we have a pair of tickets to give away!
To be in with a chance of winning them, all you have to do is email ultimateulster@mirror. co. uk with your contact details (include the best phone number to get you on) and the correct answer to the following question: the cavernous Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam for an electrifying performance amongst Rembrandts, and even taking in 10 odd gigs in 24 hours in Ibiza last season.
After completing a massive second season at the helm of his boundary pushing Mosaic series at Pacha Ibiza, Maceo Plex has become one of the most sought after techno acts in the world – a DJ, producer and also the label owner of Ellum. It was through the sub-label of the latter that he recently released his latest LP, titled Solar to critical acclaim this year.
Jay Donaldson, otherwise known as Berlin based DJ and producer Palms Trax, makes his Shine debut in the main room alongside Maceo Plex. Already a highly thought of DJ amongst his peers in the scene, the Dekmantel label is famed for his humble brand of classic-analogue house-sounding rhythms that honour the legacy of the Chicago-detroit sound that influenced him over the years.
Support in the main room comes from Lor. Ilian Tape label bosses and Munich based DJ and live duo Zenker Brothers head up proceedings in room 2 with support from Schmutz and Marty Moran and in room 3, Chris Hanna brings his new Carlton Doom alias to Shine with support from Däïre & Conor Alexander.
This is seriously close to selling out – check Shine’s social media for the latest availability info. MACEO PLEX’S 2012 LP WAS CALLED LIFE _____:
A. INDEX
B. TIME
C. GIVER Unlike Lucie Silvas, see above, Stu Larsen looks every inch his type – the straggle-haired, bearded wandering troubador. The Aussie’s star is definitely in the rise and it’s easy to hear why. Songs such as San Francisco and Some Kind of Gypsy, from debut album Vagabond, perfectly captures his restless spirit while newer songs from the recent collection Resolute only serve to reinforce the stereotype. Larsen’s current UK tour has people travelling from all over Europe to catch him live in reasonably intimate surroundings. The Northern Ireland edition lands at the Empire Music Hall on Monday – sounds like a fine place to settle for a night until he heads off wherever the travel bug takes him next...