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Optimo presents “100 years, with Justin Strauss (New York City)” Few djs are truly deserving of the accolade “legend”. Justin Strauss is one of them. With a career in music stretching back over 40 years, Justin is one of the most iconic djs still playing. A huge part of what originally inspired the creation of Optimo was the New York club scene of the early 1980s, that Justin was a huge part of, with its clash of punk rock, no wave, new wave, funk, electro, hip hop and disco scenes all coming together. As well as hanging out in the dj booth at the Paradise Garage, Justin was dj at a series of clubs that define the New York club scene of that era, then indisputably the best in the world; Mudd Club, Danceteri a, Palladium, Tunnel, and Area, clubs that if we had a time machine would be our first port of call. He was also one of a select group of DJs who pioneered a new trend that we today take for granted; remixing. His discography is insane with nearly 500 credits o...

Bucky Skank is an annual night from Optimo that celebrates Jamaican music in all its forms. For this fourth instalment, Twitch will delve into his collection to play his favourite dub, dancehall, ska, roots, sleng teng, steppers and rocksteady records as well as anything that might have a Jamaican influence that will fit in. The night is augmented with dub delays, space echo, dub siren and banks of samples operated by JG Wilkes. A mix of the sort of things that may be played is available here - https://soundcloud.com/ twitch/ jd-twitch-bucky-skank-2014- mix The night has also evolved into a label and there are now two Bucky Skank 12"s with more to come….. In the Vic Bar, Glasgow School of Art, 11 - 3.00 on May 9th. £6 for GSA students and for all before midnight. £8 after midnight. £4 for unemployed (please bring proof). Head over to Facebook here to read more.

O nce a thriving part of Glasgow City, Bar Ten was designed by Ben Kelly who was responsible for creating the Hacienda Club in Manchester. Since the 80's the bar was one of top spots to be seen in and attracted an eclectic crowd of post work drinkers and pre clubbers wanting something a little bit different from the usual public house crowd. After years of success the bar eventually pulled its last pint and was bought over by the same people who brought you the high end booze bar Chinaskis and the small but perfectly formed Berkeley Suite. Tabac has its grand opening on the 27th of March and aims to deliver an experience like no other bar has been able to manage in Glasgow before. Decked out with Parisian street lights and original decor from when the building used to be a warehouse back in the 70's, Tabac is set to pull out the stops with beers on draught from the likes of Williams Bros. and West beer, sold in a classy schooner form. Not only will customers be t...

Hopefully you enjoyed some of the nights over Christmas from our last Going Out post... but it's time for an even bigger party with NYE just round the corner. OPTIMO HOGMANAY 2014 - The Art School This Hogmanay Glasgow legends OPTIMO are back at their old haunt of The Art School for the first time in years. Here is what to expect:  Assembly Hall - OPTIMO TRAX - Boot & Tax (LIVE) + JD Twitch & JG Wilkes The Vic Bar - OPTIMO MUSIC presents Whilst & Golden Teacher all night DJ takeover - featuring Whilst (LIVE) OPTIMO return to the Glasgow School Of Art for their biggest Glasgow party of the year, choosing to celebrate their own musical family with a line-up of artists from the Optimo Music and Optimo Trax labels. Accompanying JG Wilkes & JD Twitch in the main room are Milanese duo BOOT & TAX. Their first Ep ACIDO on Optimo Trax was a sell-out success, ripping a path through dancefloors in 2013. This, their UK debut live show, promises to be a t...

This weekend Optimo (Espacio) working along with The East End Social bring a great show to the Barrowland Ballroom. Starting at 5pm the stellar line up includes the Scottish debut from Norwegian electro DJ Todd Terje and a full live set from Golden Teacher . Between this there will be DJ sets from Glasgow's own Optimo, Hessle Audio's Ben UFO and Beats in Space DJ Tim Sweeney . This great lineup will be followed by an afterparty at Sub Club from 11 with subbie veterans Twitch & Wilkes along with special guests. Make sure you get yourself down this Sunday if you don't want to miss a great show.

Tonight (Friday 14th March) Hot Contact takes to Glasgow's notorious late night club haunt The Berkeley Suite with Craig Moog (Piece Together) at the controls. Sound wise think, Disco, Italo, House, Re-Edits, Cosmic, Electronic, Balearic, Psychedelic, Funk, Boogie and everything else in between. The Berkeley Suite has been renowned for it's great great bookings since opening it's doors a while back with guests such as Dan Avery (Phantasy), Prins Thomas (Full Pupp), Thomas Bullock (Rub'n'Tug), Optimo, Derrick Carter, Horse Meat Disco, Cosmo Vitelli, Pete Herbert & Dicky Trisco (Disco Deviance), the list continues...rolling through the place and Andrew Weatherall & Sean Johnston holding down a residency there with their brilliant 'A Love From Outer Space' club night. The club runs from 11pm till 3am, get down early to ensure entry!

To celebrate the release of Optimo's great new "Dark Was The Night" mix album the duo are returning to the Sub Club tonight (Friday 31st Jan) for their first residency date of 2014. Though Jonnie Wilkes and Keith McIvor have done scores of commercial and free mixes down the years, Dark Was The Night rivals any of their previous selections in terms of diversity. Across 21 tracks, the techno of Terrence Dixon and Silent Servant mingles with Scottish '70s punk band The Freeze, New York minimal wavers Jeff & Jayne Hudson, Kode9 & Space Ape's new-school dub and experimental cuts from the likes of Nurse With Wound, Hieroglyphic Being and Carter Tutti. The title of the mix is a nod to Blind Willie Johnson, whose song "Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground" was one of the 27 pieces of music taken on the Voyager space flight in 1977 (known collectively as the Voyager Golden Records). Despite this, Johnson died penniless of malaria ...

Two of our favourite club nights at Fat Buddha Store take to the high seas tonight on the legendary paddle steamer boat The Waverly. Melting Pot and Optimo (Espacio) provide the soundtrack to bring us one of the best boat party's of the year taking place on the last sea sailing paddle steamer in the world, The Waverley with a trip to Gourock and back on an immaculately preserved vessel.  The boat sails from the Glasgow Science Centre at 8pm, sails up to the lighthouse in Gourock and returns to Glasgow for 11pm. At 11pm they will move over to SWG3 for Part 2 and pick up where they left off until 3am. Round 2 sees Them take the party back to SWG3 where three of Glasgow's most famous clubs, Optimo (Espacio) ,  Melting Pot and Mungo's Hi Fi Sound System with special guest Parly B, welcome everyone with open arms and also with the kick ass Mighty Mungo's Sound System. This is event will take place over 2 floors. If you don’t have a ticket for the...

Tomorrow see's the return of The Electric Frog as they join forces with Pressure to put on one of the events of the summer, The Electric Frog & Pressure Riverside Festival - a one day festival in the setting of one of the most iconic Glasgow landmarks, the Riverside Museum and The Tall Ship! Kicking off at 4pm, the event will feature outdoor stages and bars, covered dance floors, street food, comedy and performance art. With some great acts scheduled to play inlcuding two of Germany's finest Boys Noize and Len Faki, seminal electronic producer Josh Wink, local favourites Slam, Optimo and Aunite Flo, Detroit's legendary collective Underground Resistance, one of the original turntablists and founding member of the Beat Junkies J Rocc as well as Fat Buddha Stores very own Craig Moog and many more. Recently voted European Musuem of the Year, the Riverside Museum is the perfect setting for what is going to be a cracking Saturday afternoon!

Well it's Friday again, and one of the best party's in the city is set to take place tonight at The Berkeley Suite. Due to a late cancellation in their touring schedule and an uncontrollable urge to play music… the folks at The Berkeley are delighted to announce a very special one-off FREE PARTY as their event for  tonight (Friday 5th July) at The Berkeley Suite, North Street, Glasgow. Playin from doors til closing time will be one of Glasgow's favourite DJ duo's Optimo (Espacio) JD Twitch and JG Wilkes.   Back to Back, Front to Back, Side by Side, Shoulder to Shoulder, Arse over Tit… All Night Long. Yes, this is a FREE party Glasgow so get down early and get in there as this is sure to be filled to capacity. One night ONLY. Drinks at the bar from 10.30pm. License 'til 3am. Please note that there are no advance tickets for this event. Going, to make you Freek!!!

Another weekend and another great round of club nights. Tonight (Friday 28th June) Hot Contact takes to Glasgow's notorious late night club haunt The Berkeley Suite with Craig Moog (Piece Together) at the controls. Sound wise think, Disco, Italo, House, Re-Edits, Cosmic, Electronic, Balearic, Psychedelic, Funk, Boogie and everything else in between. The Berkeley Suite has been renowned for it's great great bookings since opening it's doors a while back with guests such as Dan Avery (Phantasy), Prins Thomas (Full Pupp), Thomas Bullock (Rub'n'Tug), Optimo, Derrick Carter, Horse Meat Disco, Cosmo Vitelli, Pete Herbert & Dicky Trisco (Disco Deviance), the list continues...rolling through the place and Andrew Weatherall & Sean Johnston holding down a residency there with their brilliant 'A Love From Outer Space' club night. Craig has played on the same bill as lot's of the guests above and warmed things up for a whole lot more,...

Maxi Dance Pool comes to Glasgow's favorite night club haunt The Berkeley Suite in Glasgow tonite. (Friday 21st July) Maxi Dance Pool is a kooky hook-up for freaky disco-philes ;- a pooling of record collections, a gathering of friends, a concentration of love for all dimensions of the Disco Spectrum both familiar and un-familiar. Dance Pool aims to be a hot trip from Classic NY disco jamms to glistening italo, Euro discotheque to synthetic funk, street boogie to Cosmic visions. Dance Pool was cooked up by Hushpuppy and MWX after a short stint as joint residents in Aberdeen’s Hot City club night. Their idea was to draw together their passion for the decade of disco sounds between 1975-1985, their ideas for visuals, design and event dressing, as well as their friends and peers with similar tastes, to create an club night that was all about shared PASSIONS. The second Dance Pool happening is touching down in the deep red basement of The Berkeley Suite on Friday ...

Daniel Avery (Phantasy) makes a welcome return to Glasgow's Berkeley Suite tonight (Fri 17th May) alongside Glasgow favourite and one half of Optimo JG Wilkes. Avery is unique among the current crop: a rising producer embraced by the same icons whose own work inspired him to seek that warm up slot playing ESG and Neu! records in Bournemouth all those years ago. Alkan in particular recognized Avery's passion for sounds originating away from the dancefloor, something that was instrumental in Avery signing for Phantasy, a collective Daniel now regards "very much as home." The critically acclaimed "Need Electric" and "Water Jump" EPs followed, showcasing a depth and progression alluded to in his earlier works for Throne Of Blood, Relish and Tigersushi. Much more music for Phantasy is promised in 2013. Dan is joined behind the decks tonight in the Berkeley Suite by JG Wilkes from Glasgow's finest DJ duo Optimo , who needs no intro...

Following on from the Easter bank holiday show, Glasgow's favourite boutique festival Electric Frog returns to SWG3 on Saturday 25th May and Sunday 26th May with another monster line up. The Saturday sees a more Disco/House inspired line up with legendary figures such as David Morales, Chez Damier and Dimiti From Paris taking to the turntables, also with NYC's Nicholas making his Scottish debut, 6th Borough project and a host of local legends such as Melting Pot, Al Kent, Kev Stevens & Craig Moog and much more keeping the stream of music flowing throughout the day. The Sunday is more electronic affair with acts such as Erol Alkan, Octave One, I:Cube, Matias Aguayo and another host of local legends in the form of some Sub Club greats such as Optimo, Harri & Domenic, Thunder Disco Club and much more. With some special guests to be announced and some more acts being added to the bill, this looks set to be an absolute blinding weekend of some of the finest music aroun...

Great to have Glasgow's favourite institution of hedonistic music Optimo making their appearance underground at the world famous Sub Club on Jamaica St tonight (Friday April 5th). Unless you've been hiding under a rock for the last few years, you must have seen the duo's popularity grow, their touring schedule get bigger, and their own releases and remixes become more frequent, meaning these guys have been working hard. For anyone out their who doesn't happen to know, Optimo was a weekly Sunday-night club based in Glasgow, Scotland at the Sub Club on Jamaica Street, as well as a collective moniker for the night's resident DJ duo. Having run every week since it was founded in 1997, on Thursday 11 March 2010, it was announced on the official Facebook page that the weekly nights would come to an end on Sunday 25 April 2010. However, JD Twitch and JG Wilkes would continue to tour, promote and release music as Optimo. Often known simply as "Optimo,...

Tonight (Friday 22nd March) see's Capracara (Comeme/Unknown To The Unknown/DFA) and JG Wilkes ( Optimo) play the ever popular Berkeley Suite in Glasgow. Jonathan Burnip goes under a few aliases such as Automan but is probably best known for his work under the Capracara guise. Joining other practitioners of twisted 21st century acid house like Jamal Moss (Hieroglyphic Being) and Tadd Mullinix (James T. Cotton), Burnip's first Capracara 12" — "Opal Rush"/"Flashback 86," snaking tracks heavily informed by Chicago house pioneers Adonis, Phuture, and Larry Heard — came out in 2006 through Soul Jazz. Its A-side was subsequently remixed by Kit Clayton. The next Capracara release, "King of the Witches" (featuring a Rub 'n' Tug mix on the flipside), didn't arrive until February 2009 on DFA, yet Burnip was active in other ways, remixing as one half of the duo Tiger Timing, contributing re-edit work to the History Clock label, a...

Tonite (Friday 1st March) at The Berkeley Suite in Glasgow see's Hot Contact take to the club with Craig Moog ( Piece Together) at the controls. The Berkeley Suite has been renowned for it's great great bookings since opening it's doors a while back with guests such as Dan Avery (Phantasy), Prins Thomas (Full Pupp), Thomas Bullock (Rub'n'Tug), Optimo, Derrick Carter, Horse Meat Disco, Cosmo Vitelli, Pete Herbert & Dicky Trisco (Disco Deviance), the list continues...rolling through the place and Andrew Weatherall & Sean Johnston holding down a residency there with their brilliant 'A Love From Outer Space' club night. Craig Moog (Piece Together) has played on the same bill as lot's of the guests above and warmed things up for a whole lot more, across Europe and maintaining his residency 's in Glasgow.  He also runs the music blog Piece Together Music where you can find an array of great mixes and tracks. Tonight you can expect the sounds...

Some of our favourite parties of last year at Fat Buddha Store has to be some of the Electric Frog events, which have seen guests such as Jeff Mills, Moodyman, Felix Da Housecat, Floating Points, Auntie Flo and much more. As a way of thanking everyone who came along to the parties in 2012, they are throwing a free party for everyone on 26th January at SWG3. Things kick off at 8pm and you're all invited! Providing the entertainment on the night will be DJs who will feature in shows throughout 2013 including JG Wilkes (Optimo), Thunder Disco Club, Vitamins, Bigfoots Tea Party, Simon Cordiner (Melting Pot), GPMG, Craig Moog (Piece Together), Kev Stevens and Chris Reid. This looks set to be a party not to be missed! 1 ticket admits 2 person, Entry is subject to capacity, please arrive early to avoid disappointment. Over 18s only. ***PLEASE NOTE NEW START TIME OF 8pm***   They will also be announcing two events for 2013!

Back in September 2011 when the Berkeley Suite in Glasgow was opening it's doors for the first time, JG Wilkes ( Optimo ) and Jackmaster (Numbers), were set to be playing the party for the opening night. Due to the venue not being ready in time, the party was moved next door to Chinaskis (one of Glasgow's greatest bars) and what a party that was! Now this is finally happening tonight at The Berkeley Suite, and if your out and about this is one club night not to be missed. Jonnie (JG Wilkes) has been busy on the touring front with gigs taking him round the world alongside musical partner Keith McIvor (JD Twitch) and has seen them both churn out some outstanding mixes, remixes, and productions under a host of aliases. Jackmaster has also been a busy man when it comes to touring, with gigs around the globe, and a host of festival appearances during the summer months. The Numbers team go from strength to strength on the release front with Jackmaster also adding to the Fab...

While Daniel Avery may be better known to clubbers around the world for his residency behind the decks at London institution fabric and weekends spent in numerous other clubs in Europe and beyond, his rising craft as a producer is setting him apart. His induction into the prestigious Fabriclive mix series provides compelling evidence of this, a dizzying trip that speaks to Avery's skill as both a curator and a creator of some of the most inventive and forward thinking electronic sounds emerging today. Four of Avery's own solo productions - all signed to Phantasy Sound, the label run by "kindred spirit" Erol Alkan - form the basis of the mix, the result of hundreds of hours spent locked in a studio full of analogue equipment. Alongside this, there is "Effect Tweak" the latest result of an ongoing production relationship with Justin Robertson, another of Avery’s stated influences. Speaking about his contribution to the series, Dan states: ...