Off The Record

One of the most influential names in techno,Oliver Huntemann [pictured], will return to Australia late next month.

Originally a promoter of acid house in Hamburg, Huntemann has been a regular on the scene since the late ’80s. Over the course of his career, he’s had releases on the ilk of Sven Väth’s seminal Cocoon imprint and Anthony Rother’s Datapunk, alongside running his own Confused Recordings. Most recently, last year he launched the Ideal Senso label. Y’all can get schooled by the man himself on Saturday November 28 at Max Watt’s.

Those cats Maribou State have announced a return Down Under. Having released their debut album Portraits earlier this year (on Counter/Ninja Tunes through Inertia), Chris Davids and Liam Ivory are two of the fastest-rising names in the game. The duo have been going from strength to strength since releasing their Tongue and Truths EPs for Norman Cook’s Southern Fried Records, and can count Zane Lowe, Huw Stephens, Annie Mac, Pete Tong and Gilles Peterson in their fan base. They’ve recently played at Glastonbury, Warehouse Project and Bestival, and now they’ll hit Sydney on Thursday November 12 at Oxford Art Factory.

One of the biggest names in dubstep (the good kind, not the shitty wubWUBwubWUBwub kind), Mala [above], has locked in an Australian tour. Best known for his work with Digital Mystikz (alongside Coki, Loefah and St Pokes), he began spreading the message in the early ’00s in South London – he and the Mystikz guys launched the DMZ club night back when dubstep was not widely known. He’s also a producer, DJ and label owner, and has worked with the likes of Francois K, Moritz von Oswald, Grace Jones and Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry. He’ll be joined by Jason Howson, Garage Pressure, Subaske, Scatterbrain, Lewba, Wompa and 9toe on Sunday January 3 at The Civic Underground.

A brand new weekly house and techno night will open later this month. Dubbed C.U Saturday, the parties will take place every weekend on the best sound systems in the city at The Civic Underground. The launch party will be headlined on Halloween by London’s Jesse Rose, and will also feature local talents Murat Kilic, Robbie Lowe, Sam Francisco and Sam Arellano.Future events will spotlight international names such as Rodriguez Jr. in November and Margaret Dygas in December.

Tour rumours: LA’s Secret Circuit will be coming to town next month, while in January you can expect visits from Beats In Space head honcho Tim Sweeney and the almighty Dâm-Funk.

Best releases this week: Levantis (AKA Actress under a different guise) has come out with a crack titled Romantic Psychology 1 on Ninja Tune. Other highlights include iO & Silat Beksi’s Dub Ass (Mulen), Xandru’s Intrasi (CrazyJack) and Dresvn’s First Voyage (Honest Jon’s).