Woaaaah mumma.

This ain’t no April Fools’ joke: on Friday April 1, the one and only Lee Gamble[above] is descending on Sydney. Emerging from Birmingham’s legendary jungle and techno scene in the early ’00s, the man has gone on to release his own recordings on the likes of Entr’act and PAN, and most recently formed his own label UIQ. He’ll be joined by Josh Leenaars, Moopie and Jon Watts one a Funktion-One sound system at Slyfox. Giddy up.

Ol’ mate Greg Pepperpot will return to Sydney later this month. For the past seven years the French stalwart has been a resident at the legendary Parisian Rex Club, but over the course of his 20-year career he’s been bringing his subtle brand of house and techno to the biggest clubs and festivals around the world, and imprints such as Silver Network, Serialism and Kaato Music. Word on the street is that he’s planning to launch his own label soon, so get a sneak peek of his first releases when he hits the Burdekin Hotel on Saturday March 19 with support from Donald Leicester, James Petrou and Eliot Mireylees.

A couple of newly announced international acts are hitting the town this weekend. On Saturday March 12 you’ve got the choice of the double bill of Guy J and Pablo Sanchez at the Burdekin Hotel, Dana Ruh at Civic Underground or Âme, Edu Imbernon and Audiojack at Greenwood Hotel. Oh, and of course the previously announced gig featuring Mr. Ties and Marcellus Pittman at Arq. You’re most likely going to be mighty crusty on Sunday morning, which brings me to my next point.

If you’re after some essential viewing this week/end, head no further than bbc.co.uk. Yes – I know this may sound strange, but hear me out. The site has revived six of its best rave-centric documentaries from the archives, include Rave: The Beat Goes On, Witness: The Haçienda Nightclub, Stories In Sound: The Roots Of Rave, Behind The Label: Ram Records, The Amen Break and Stacey Dooley Investigates: Ecstasy Wars. Essential viewing, especially the documentary on the infamous Haçienda.When you’re hungover next Sunday and looking for something to watch while you wait for your take-out, you’ll thank me.

Tour rumours: expect to see a visit from Frenchman and Antinote label curator Zaltan by the end of the month. Same goes for Sidney Charles and Olivier Giacomotto.

Best releases this week: it actually came out a month ago, but after hearing Kenji Takimi throw down Closed Paradise’s ‘Your Love I’m Gonna Take’, I can’t take the track off repeat. If you were a fan of the deep house/disco hybrids that were emerging from Melbourne basements back in 2010 (think Tornado Wallace, Francis Inferno Orchestra, Andy Hart), then you’ll love this. Other highlights include the compilation LI$002 (on Low Income $quad) and the joint project from Voices From The Lake and Wata Igarashi,Stealth 2/3 (Time To Express).

[Lee Gamble photo by Oliver Clasper]

Recommended:

FRIDAY MARCH 11

Marco Shuttle @TBA

SATURDAY MARCH 12

Mr. Ties, Marcellus Pittman@Arq

Guy J, Pablo Sanchez@Burdekin Hotel

Dana Ruh@Civic Underground

Âme, Edu Imbernon, Audiojac@Greenwood Hotel

TUESDAY MARCH 15

St. Germain@Enmore Theatre

SATURDAY MARCH 19

Soichi Terada@Jam Gallery

Mr. Ties, Tom Of England@Arq

Pepperpot@Burdekin Hotel

SATURDAY MARCH 26

Vril@Burdekin Hotel

FRIDAY APRIL 1

Lee Gamble @Slyfox

Got any tip-offs, hate mail, praise or cat photos? Email [email protected] or contact me via carrier pigeon.

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