Genre-hopping Manchester DJ/producer Mr Scruff is back in town touring his Keep It Unreal night and anyone who’s caught one of his marathon sets in the past will know what to expect, this time around we’ve got a whole five hours to look forward to as well…

We caught up with him to talk tunes, gig preparation (there’s lots of it in his case) and how he ended up running a tea company…

Hi Mr Scruff, I’ve just had a look at your schedule for May, four gigs in four days in Scotland! Looking forward to it?

Yes indeed, it’s a while since we’ve been on the tour bus, and we’re gigging for most of May.  I’ll be doing a total of 20 hours of DJing in Scotland over those four days, so I’ll be on top form & really focussed.

Next month is the 11th birthday of Keep It Unreal in Manchester, that’s quite an achievement for a clubnight these days, tell us a little bit about how it all began…

In 1999 I was asked by a Manchester venue if I’d like to do a regular club night.  Up until then, I’d had many residencies & guest spots around Manchester, but this was the first opportunity that I had to do my own night.  The first night in June 1999 was the launch party for my Keep It Unreal album, and we’ve done one every month since then!

…and do the sets you play at the Manchester night differ at all from what we can expect when you’re up this way?

Every set I play is different, but the attitude & approach is always the same…I play all night, and cover loads of styles of music.  Expect the unexpected!

Right, three records (old or new) you’ve picked up of late that truly excite you:

Soul Jazz Orchestra ‘Rising Sun’ (Strut LP)

Flying Lotus ‘Cosmogramma’ (Warp LP)

Ramadanman ‘Glut’ (Hemlock 12″)

You’re well-known for arriving early and making sure everything’s up to scratch before your gigs, what’s happening during this time?

We spend about 3 or 4 hours setting up. I bring all my own DJ kit, much of which is custom-made, and we set that up on a heavy table weighed down with concrete slabs to prevent jumping, feedback & to tighten up the low-end frequencies.  We then set up all the visuals kit on stage as well, test the in-house PA, do a soundcheck, program the lights, hang up drapes if necessary, set up the teashop & do any final tweaks to get the mood just right.  All this extra work is worth it, as I know that it’ll sound great, and nothing will go wrong during the night, which means I can play all my favourite tunes & they’ll hit the spot!

Punters in the club on Saturday will notice your famous tea stall, how did things jump from that to the full-on business which is now Make Us A Brew?

We started the tea stall about 10 years ago as a daft thing to do in the back room of my regular Manchester venue. When we started to tour the Keep It Unreal night around the UK from 2002, we took the tea shop as well, and people responded really well to it. Fast-forward a few years & we were selling thousands of cups of tea at festivals, so we thought ‘why not do our own teabags?’, and so, four years ago, the ‘Make Us A Brew‘ tea company was formed.

Any new records/studio stuff on the horizon from yourself? I’ve noticed it’s the 20th anniversary of Ninja Tune (christ!) this year too, anything special planned for that?

I’ve just released a new single on Ninja Tune…Mr. Scruff Vs Kirsty Almeida ‘Pickled Spider’ (video below), plus Ninja are planning some very special surprises for their 20th anniversary which I’ll have a hand in (possibly a Ninja Tune zimmer frame!)

……

So there you go, I’d quite like one of those zimmers myself actually (aye, only if it was a limited edition) anyway, hopefully that’s whetted a few appetites (and whistles) for what should be a fantastic night,  as always there are plenty of mixes etc to check out on Scruff’s excellent website to get you further in the mood…

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Z8p7sHkz3I]

We always seem to end up covering the Do It! nights, probably ‘cos they’re invariably ace parties.  It’s not just us though, they’ve recently been featured in the excellent Juxtapoz mag for example…

Anyway, this is going to be a stormer as expat Aberdonian (and recent singing to Big Dada records) Offshore joins the regulars.  Big things are expected from him this year, very big things indeed, check out this mix from Bonafide zine for a few eclectic, beat-laden pointers as to why…

The Filthy Dukes bring their famed Kill Em All night North from its home at London’s Fabric for the first of a new bi-monthly residency at The Dirty Hearts Club.   They’ll be joined by KEA co-promoter and one of the DJs/producers du jour Stopmakingme whose eclectic mix of electro, techno, house, post-punk, pop and anything in between pretty much sums up the ethos of the night.  Which sounds fine by us.  Check out some mixes here, they sound fine by us too…

Do It!: Saturday 13 March | The Tunnels | 9pm | £3

A couple of events this weekend in aid of social care charity VSA:

First up, in the old Harley Clothing store at 22 Schoolhill, Pop Boutique (Facebook event page) gives you the chance to buy exclusive pieces from young Scottish artists, designers and creative bods…

Then it’s off down The Tunnels from 9pm on the Saturday for an afterparty courtesy of the Do It! crew.  A move from their regular haunt of Cellar 35 means they can kick up things a notch, so expect all the things they’re good at (great visuals, eclectic selectors, funk, house, 80s tunes, dancing, artwork, that kind of stuff) to be somewhat multiplied and amplified, which, to state the screamingly obvious, is a good thing.  Soundtracked by Do It! resident White Chocolate alongside guest Kid Bell, the night also sees the launch of the Aberdeen Sketch Book project (look! another Facebook event page). Aye, this lot know how to fuse art and music together alright.  More power to them…

Glasgow instrumentalists Errors’ soon-to-be released second album ‘Come Down With Me’  sounds like that Channel 4 show you pretend you don’t watch if said in a clipped, 70s sitcom upper-class English accent:  Come Dine with me.  Let’s go Dine to my Hice. Hmmm. Kind of works.  I’ll leave it in anyway.  I’ll read it back later and wonder what the hell I was on about though.  Guaranteed.

Anyway, Errors are signed to Mogwai’s Rock Action label and their new stuff is a pretty glorious mix of synths, guitars and driving drums which draws on krautrock, house, funk and post-rock with some big, swirling sounsdcapery thrown in for good measure.  Check out their ace, bouncy, new single (out today, Mon 22nd) below.  F**k knows what’s going on in the video though…

Support comes from tight, melodic and energetic local indie types Marionettes and the mysterious Min Diesel.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nv1JLMbq6OQ]

Some of the city’s best up-and-coming talents join regular Saturday night resident Funky Transport down Snafu way this weekend.  Expect quality underground house in all its shapes and forms. Pre-party upstairs in The Athenaeum from 9pm with discount/free passes on offer too…

Jeans Team are an electro/house band from Berlin. You’ve already heard them. Remember that landmark 2ManyDJs mix album a few years ago?  Remember the ‘Keine Melodien’ bit?  That was them. Anyway, they’re playing tomorrow (Friday) at The Tunnels as part of a flying visit to Scotland and following the show will be new indie/electro/retro night The Polar Bear Club with DJs Ross Calder & JJ Bull.  Sounds like a good way to limber up for the Live at the Beach show on Saturday…

A little reminder for this one, the second of The Dirty Hearts Club’s 4th Birthday nights (Thursday with the Filthy Dukes was  a stormer by all accounts). There’s a wee bit more info in our previous post here (the competition’s closed now, obviously). Get down early to catch Findo Gask live.  Good band…

Tonight (Thursday)!  Great cause.  Nice bar.  Excellent line-up of DJs.  What’s not to like?

The Do It! crew have been putting on great little parties down at Cellar 35 for over a year now, and there’s no reason why this night with a distinct Norwegian flavour to it will be any different.

Said flavour comes, not from a taste of that weird sweet brown cheese they have over there (which is, quite frankly, minging) but rather in the shape of guests Put Your Hand Up For Neo-Tokyo, a duo who’ve been making waves in Bergen’s burgeoning scene of late.  Influences? Aphex Twin, Dimlite, Jeru the Damaja, Gary Numan and Devo. Not bad. Not bad at all. There’s a bit of early Madchester stuff in there too for good measure…

Glasgow deep house/disco don DJ Clinical (Cosmic Microwave) and Do It’s own funk/80′s selecter White Chocolate provide ample extra tuneage alongside all the extra visuals and artwork we’ve come to expect from this lot.  Getting down early gives you the chance to pick up a free exclusive mix from Bergen’s Nabovarsel collective too.  Done.  Forget the oil,  this is one Scando-Scottish exchange we heartily endorse.  Skål!