Clubbers: This weekend offers a treat for techno fans
Tonight is a big night in Cork for techno fans at Dali.
The big one is happening this Friday (August 10), when Cork techno kingpin Bastardo Electrico joins forces with Strident Grooves and Four Four Magazine to present Berlin-based Spanish DJ Alienata in Dali. Bastardo Electrico, as we all should know, is the very long-running club night run by Waterford native and long-time Cork resident Jamie Behan.
Twenty-three years long, in fact. Not only has he seen other nights come and go, he’s also serving as an influence and mentor for a whole generation of new Cork techno evangelists that has emerged since the pandemic, specifically the Kriptik/Encrypted collective. The last couple of years has seen Behan increasingly collaborate with other local promoters and after putting on Jerome Hill in the Pavilion in February, Bastardo reunites with Strident Grooves for Alienata.
A mere toddler next to Bastardo Electrico, Strident Grooves emerged in 2023. The brainchild of Eoin Sweeney, he adopted the DJ name SWNY in 2022 at a time when he was involved in the UCC DJ Society. He went on to become the vice-chair of the local DJ community and advocacy group Electronic Music Council. The Electronic Music Council was created with the aim of generating and maintaining a positive, sustainable night-time music economy and SWNY brought some of those values to Strident Grooves.
An interesting addition to this promotional partnership is Dublin-based online electronic music journal Four Four Magazine, an outlet that has managed to keep a keen eye on what’s happening in the cities beyond the Pale. They celebrate their own milestone of a decade on the beat. Representing them is Shiv, who is making a return to the place where it all started in terms of electronic music.
From Limerick, Shiv was inspired by clubs that were around at the beginning of the last decade like Electric Underground and Dub Culture and the more gritty techno and bass music sounds they purveyed.
From doing a radio show on Cork Campus Radio, co-founding the underground electronic music blog Skirmish, being part of the Cutting Heads Collective, which united many Cork DJs who represented different leftfield music genres, and putting on DJ workshops, Shiv was a real enthusiastic presence on the scene.
One of the last things she was involved in before moving to Dublin was a regular Friday evening jam in the back of Nancy Spain’s. She has since gone on to be a resident on RTÉ Pulse and Future Music FM and has warmed up for the like of Sunil Sharpe, Jerome Hill.
The headliner is also in a celebratory mood, having just released her debut EP Quantum Skin on her Discos Atónicos label.
A collection of the sort of jittery, hypnotic, bass-y techno made for dark intimate rooms, Alienata’s sound is influenced by the emotional depth of Detroit, the rhythmic energy of Chicago, and the edginess of UK techno. Alienata plays Dali at Lavitt’s Quay on Friday, July 10, from 10pm to 1.30am. €15.
