Beijing Beats: Timmy Trumpet, Air Max '97, Julius Steinhoff; Tape vs. Vinyl, Psytrance, and Rooftop Parties
Beijing Beats brings you the best in Beijing nightlife each weekend so that you can soothe the woes of a long and stressful week with some out-of-body gyrating and some experiences you'd rather forget come Monday. Check the weekend's full list of nightlife events here.
Friday, May 24
Timmy Trumpet
High brow this ain't. High energy it most certainly is. Australian DJ Timmy Trumpet (pictured at top) thrives on getting his audiences hyped on a mix of trance, electro house, and of course his very own trumpet. Expect big drops and energy that won't subside. RMB 120. 10pm. One Third
Air Max '97 Boiler Room DJ Set
Boiler Room is back, this time heading to Dada with a DJ set by Dutch-born, New-Zealand raised producer DJ Air Max ‘97. Dark, woozy, and owing a lot to the greats of IDM, his off-kilter mixes and detuned vocals are likely to sit well with the Sinofuturist set and make for a suitably dark dancefloor experience. Support comes from Puzzy Stack, Negative808, and Nomercy. Price TBA. 10pm doors. Dada
Julius Steinhoff
German producer Julius Steinhoff has played many of the great clubs of the world: Panorama Bar/Berghain in Berlin, Concrete in Paris, and Output in Brooklyn, and now comes to Beijing's Zhao Dai basement space to spin his warm blend of deep house and techno. Price TBA. 10pm doors. Zhao Dai
Beach 北s Present: Fruit B & Friends
Beach 北s celebrate the return to Beijing of London’s Fruit B, her second visit to the Chinese capital following her debut in 2018. She'll be joined by Beijing collectives Club Paradise and Loreli, for "a delicious night of percussive audiovisual delight, all night long." Free. 10pm. Soi Baochao
B2B All Night Long: Juliana Lima and Kornel Szennovitz
Get Connected celebrates the arrival of summer with a special back-to-back between two Beijing-based DJs: Get Connected's founder Juliana Lima and Kornel Szennovitz. They'll be manning the decks throughout. Price TBA. 10pm doors. Lantern
Saturday, May 25
Sevensol
Considered one of the stars of the Leipzig techno scene, and one-half of the DJ duo Manamana, Sevensol draws in listeners with his laid-back, playful, and accomplished house tracks. Price TBA. 10pm doors. Zhao Dai
La Sala Rooftop Party
Summer heads to Cue this Saturday with a tiki-themed rooftop party that kicks off in the late afternoon. DJs on hand to keep the party rocking include Juan Granados, Eva Xu, Raffal, Nigls, Rhom Omit, Axey, El-Mar, Hamoudeh, and Juliana Lima. There are also free-flow drinks packages available from RMB 150 if you intend to settle. Free. 5pm onwards. CUE
Francois X
Parisian DJ François X's bread and butter is 4/4 beats sprinkled with sensually rich textures and eclectic samples. The result is a stable, dark, and dance-worthy exploration of techno and off-kilter house. RMB 80, RMB 50 (advance). 10pm doors. Lantern
Goa Productions Presents: Psytrance Party
French DJ Viandoks has called upon his favorite psytrance cohorts in order to "find new talented soldiers to join him in his evil plans of world domination." What that means Saturday is that he'll be joined by China's Angry5JaR and Hong Kong's Third Wave for an evening of mind-altering sights and sounds as well as a fair share of Mortal Combat references. RMB 80, RMB 60 (advance), 10pm doors. Aurora
Sunday, May 26
Tapes vs. Vinyl - The Ultimate Analogue Throwdown
Finally, wind down the weekend with "The Ultimate Analogue Throwdown," namely, a battle to end the age-old dispute between which is the better musical medium: tapes versus vinyl. The premise is simple: four DJs face off against each other, two wielding their plastic rectangles, the others going large with circles of shellac. All you need to do is stand around, sipping on beer, browsing the accompanying vinyl market, and nodding along to the funk, hip-hop, soul, disco, afrobeat, and psychedelic rock coming your way. Free. 2-10pm. El Nido @ The Other Place
Want a drink before you head out? Check out the all the boozy happenings in Beijing this week, right here.
Images: BBC, courtesy of the promoters
