Simon Shackleton (Image by Rick Lesser)
Having recovered from his jaunt to Beat-herder festival, Getintothis’ Ste Knight takes a squizz at what August holds in terms of albums, singles, and nights out.
Wow. July has been an incredibly exhausting and exhilarating month. From the off, we’ve been chock full of stuff to be cracking on with every weekend. 303 had Justin Robertson over to Constellations, Beat-Herder Festival, and then Robert Hood was in the Williamson Tunnels at the end of the month. Plenty of live music to get all over, and there was a ton of fancy releases to have a listen to in-between all the hard partying. Brilliant.
August is showing no signs of letting up. There are loads of awesome nights out coming up over the next month, and we’ve got some cracking music for you to have a listen to. Get on it! Also, head down to the bottom of the page to be in with the chance of winning tickets to all of our top Liverpool nights this month!
Album of the Month
We’ve got an absolute stormer for album of the month here, from none other than Simon Shackleton. You may know Simon‘s music, at least you should, he’s been in the game for 25 years plus, and has recorded under various aliases, Elite Force being one you will certainly recognise.
Shackleton is about to drop his latest album, Piece of Me, and it is a wonderful listen. The self-funded album is his first in ten years, and boy is it a hell of a long-player. Opening track Piece of Me is a real hands-in-the-air melodic techno affair. The strings make the track in terms of euphoria, while the vocoded lyrics suggest it is a love song of sorts, either an ode to someone current or, as some of the lyrics point towards, a love lost. Either way, it’s great.
Piece of Me sets the bar high for the rest of the album, which doesn’t disappoint at all. Electronic albums have a tendency to be 25% singles and 75% filler. Not so here, Shackleton has produced an album that really gets under your skin. An album that you can feel as well as hear. Maybe your feelings are reflecting what Shackleton himself was feeling when he wrote the tracks, maybe they conjure feelings that remind you of certain times in your life, or of a certain someone.
All These Strange Ghosts and Soothe continue the seemingly biographical nature of the album, and instill a sense of yearning in the listener, before The Good Chameleon throws us back into the cosmos for another peak timer. Far and Wide brings the tempo back down, then we’re jacking to the futuristic tech-house leanings of Bet it All, which is some filthy heads-down, fist-pumping tackle.
The album is a roller-coaster emotionally, we continue with the blissed-out We Are Alone, before we sweat it out again to the dark, brooding tech-house of Carnival of Souls. The album finishes as strongly as it started, with Where Embers Glow and Afterglow giving us a bit more of that elation that Shackleton has treated us to throughout the album. Finisher Waterfall, with it’s repeated lyric “When I hear the call, I crawl inside your waterfall” played over a slowed-down drum pattern and layers of rapturous textures and a lamenting guitar lick, is the perfect closing point.
Piece of Me is due for release on August 8 – we suggest you keep your eye out for it. In the meantime, here’s a taste of things to come.
Nights out In Liverpool over August
You’re unlikely to be seeing much of your pillow in August, as there’s loads of boss nights incoming for you to enjoy. Here’s the upcoming month’s highlights.
Mark Farina (image from artist’s Facebook)
1: Mark Farina – Jolt X Hustle, Botanical Garden, New Bird Street, Liverpool, August 6
Mushroom Jazz head man Mark Farina hops over the pond to treat the Botanical Garden to an eclectic mix of jazz, soul, hip-hop and house music. Chicago House pioneer Mark has had a lustrous career, which spans over 30 years, and has seen him play phenomenal sets globally. Get down while the sun is still shining and the weather is warm for some perfect summer beats.
Steve Parry
2: Steve Parry – Buyer’s Club, Liverpool, August 13
Liverpool legend and all round lovely chappie, Steve Parry, swings by the Buyer’s Club on August 13, for an all night long set which should cover all styles of house music. If you don’t know Steve, then firstly, where have you been (?!), secondly, check out our Steve Parry GITmix, and, thirdly, grab some tickets to this belter night hosted by Steve’s label Selador . Gonna be a boss one!
Melos
3: Melos Late Night Techno Party – 24 Kitchen Street, Liverpool, August 19
Melos comes to 24 Kitchen Street for it’s Late Night Techno Party. Featuring sets from Matt Woods b2b Chris Tudor, Rob Connor, Jack Threlfal and Jan Lea. Get down to this one if you’re a night owl and you like your techno all night long, because you’ve got a nifty late finish on the go here.
Slam
4: Slam, Mind Against, DVS1, Monoloc – mUmU, Liverpool, August 28
mUmU drop another massive night, with Scottish techno stalwarts and Soma Records heads Slam in the headline position. Mind Against, DVS1, and Monoloc are also in hot pursuit, in what promises to be a belter night of tech house and techno. Yiss!
Single of the Month
Kooky and Damoon return with their second EP on Paper Disco. EP2 features Niki Kand on vocal duty, and the three tracks are all nu-disco squirmers. There She Flies is a bass-heavy funk-fest, with some sexy guitar licks wigging you out and grooving you down. We Go Dancing turns the funk up a notch, with soulful elements added via the chord progression in the track, and the Chic style guitar riffing over the top. Ass-shaker Take Me High is a dance floor killer, and oozes New York disco in puddles all over the floor. The EP is available now, so grab it while it’s hot.
COMPETITION TIME!!!
OK readers. This is a biggie. How do you fancy a full month of nights out on us? You do, do you?! Here’s the doozy. One lucky reader can win a pair of tickets to all, yes ALL, of the recommended nights out above. Basically, you’re getting four weekends of fun for free, for you and a friend.
All you have to do is ‘Like’ the Getintothis Facebook page, share the below post to your own wall and tag a mate you’d like to take on this wicked August Adventure with you.
Recap – one lucky winner, their mate, tickets to four nights out covering the whole of August. Simple! Like the page, share the post, tag a mate and get cracking because the first night out is Saturday August 6.
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