November 5th 2011 - Matt Tolfrey & Laura Jones (Leftroom Party)

Now then Ploppers!!!

Well what a year riffraff has had so far breaking barriers left right and centre, first club night in Europe to bring Benoit and Sergio, the first club in UK to bring the Watergate showcase, the first UK club to showcase the Harry Klein club, the first club in the northeast to bring Yaya, Tale of Us, Matthew Burton, the first cub night on Teeside to bring you a Panorama Bar resident Steffi, then finally bringing you Marshall Jefferson out of retirement the Godfather of house what will the makeshift organisation of Smoggy losers bring you next?

Well over the years riffraff is always influenced by the current underground and forward thinking sounds and constantly moving with them priding themselves on staying ahead of the pack due to hard work and research. The sounds come from artists and producers that they feel are cutting edge and from the labels that dare to put out this music, a label that’s been responsible at influencing riffraff for half a decade now is one that puts out quality twisted electronic music with every release and that’s kept the ever faithful riffraffer’s, ploppers and scrinsers dancing to the early hours of Sunday morning and that label is LEFTROOM!!!

It’s with great pleasure that LEFTROOM records is celebrating its five year birthday within the smoggy Med Bar Dungeon one of Matt Tolfreys favourite venues on the planet (True story?)!!

LEFTROOM

Leftroom is the creation of Matt Tolfrey. Musically, it is one of the first labels of its kind in the UK that at first showcased the off centre house and minimal techno sound which swept its way through club land. Now the prolific label puts out any form of quality twisted dance music which usually fits with Mr Tolferoo’s exceptional DJ sets.

The first release featured tracks by Pheek, Ali Khan, Luka & Lazo and Marc Ashken. Little did Matt know that the label would soon be responsible for putting out classics such as ITO and Stars “Sudoku Kid” and Audiojacks “Robot” amongst many other great tracks from the likes of Jamie Jones, Pablo Cahn, Simon Baker, Matthew Burton, Sub Ann, Glimpse, Gavin Heirhly and Lee Curtiss over its 5 year history of the imprint.

With Matt on the decks, future classics in this league are usually just a mix away, holding resolutely to his mantra – not to release a track he would not play and as a frenetic A&R scout Matt always has a new talent on his radar, his hunger to find the hottest new dance floor bombs has led him to build one of the farthest reaching networks of modern electronic music to date.

The Leftroom family of labels as much reflects Matt’s ability to bond with US acts such as Seth Troxler and Wolf + Lamb as it does his ability to recognise raw talent in the likes of Robin Ordell and Mark Chambers – part of a hot new generation of UK house heads.

Leftroom have been touring all year to showcase their artists around the globe at parties in some of the most prestigious venues including Sankeys and Fabric and with some magnificent guests that also praise the label. It’s now with great pleasure that Matt once again returns to riffraff by popular demand this time under his Leftroom Banner and alongside the new rising megastar from the label Miss Laura Jones!

Matt Tolfrey

Matt Tolfrey’s tireless devotion and relentless energy have taken him to a stage where he is beginning to shape the musical world around him. Having learnt his trade warming up for the biggest players in house and techno he now heads up a clutch of burgeoning labels, cherry picking the finest talent he encounters on his global DJ travels. As a DJ and label boss Matt joins the dots between old-school values and the cut and thrust of today’s music scene.

Matt has been insistently pulling and pushing at the boundaries of house music for over 10 years. Witnessing a 2002 set at Matt’s first residency at The Bomb left such a mark on Craig Richards that he invited the then 21-year-old to play at a Tyrant at fabric a few months later where Matt is now a regular and his close affinity to the London club continues to this day, either on main room duty, hosting label parties or on the main stage – debuting his live act with Inxec in October 2010.

His energy and desire to raise himself above his peers is now recognised by clubs world-wide such as Panorama Bar (Berlin), D Edge (Sao Paolo), Rex (Paris) and Warehouse 702 (Tokyo), Zoo Project (Ibiza), Culprit (LA) all falling for the wobble and bounce that characterises Matt’s unique style. Regular visits stateside culminated in 2010, headlining the notorious Need I Say More party, which kicks off after DEMF at Old Miami, presided over by the Vision quest party boys. The second US Left room excursion lands in late 2011.

Matt’s landmark first mix CD, the self-released Don’t Be Left Out will soon have a follow up after he has been commissioned to mix the first instalment on the new 1Trax mix series, with Einzelkind already lined up for the second instalment AND HIS 5 YEARS OF Leftroom album is already on shelves in record stores around the world.

Constantly striving to better himself, perfecting production is the next step. Collaborations with Inxec have seen tracks such as (I Just Cant) Take It snapped up by Sven Vaths Cocoon label. The massive “Hollywood” on Culprit and 2010’s “Almost There” on Rekids scratch the surface of the production ideas yet to be explored by Matt. From his first vocal performance on Candy, a new track from Lee Curtiss, to a studio album in the pipeline, Matt is looking to round off his game and consolidate his place at the top of the electronic pile.

And we are honoured to have the living legend back to our turntables as much as he is grateful to come back and play to you all once more and send you on a twisted journey in our dirty dungeon of dreams.

Laura Jones

As the sun began to climb in the sky over summer 2011, Laura Jones found herself on the cusp of becoming one of our scene’s most talked about names. Then throughout those hot months her captivating music sent undulating rays across terraces, dancefloors, after-parties and beaches around the globe both from her excellent DJ sets and from her productions in the studio that has seen releases on both Visionquest and of course Leftroom now ensuring her as a most ta;lked about name in clubland.

To be honest, any of you that know anything about our scene would know all about Laura Jones and what this girl has been getting up to in this last year and how far she has come in such a short space of time.

It’s true to say that Laura is currently the English girl to watch and hear behind the decks and has caused such a stir in previous months that she has played from London to USA, across Europe in every major city and now to riffraff where we will show her what we are all about.

It’s with great pleasure to have Laura play and alongside Matt Tolfrey we are giving you an absolute double whammy this month with two amazing artists and DJ’s for your listening pleasure.

October 1st 2011 - Marshall Jefferson (Traxx)

It’s been a long time since that Smokey night in a mid-terraced house (Now riffraff towers) when a disillusioned with Boro clubbing Lee Pennington, Ste Dunne and Rob Smith came up with a concept for a new fresh way to put on house music events in Teesside with more fun. Eight years later and many braincells lost only Lee remains from the original three Amigos and he has been joined throughout the years by many DJ’s, artists and special friends whom have taken riffraff to where it is now. Some of these special friends are now involved within the international underground dance music circuit themselves such as the mighty Paul Bowen that runs Luna records, Gow that DJ’s around the world to the masses, Graeme Stewart that organises the mega Zoo Project parties, Matty Gillespie whom releases hard hitting tracks and runs his own radio show, Mark Graham of the weekly Capture FM series plus a whole host of other amazing people that played their part behind the decks, in front of the decks and behind the scenes, you all know who you are and you are all scrinsey legends!

*riffraff prides itself on being the first Teesside based event to go on tour around the world playing its own smog fuelled take on house music to many different countrys and tell Amricans live on air about Pootashing, as well as to break the mould with random themed events such as lampshades, cushions, pyjama, tash partys and introduce people to the Pacific Bar after parties and their glorious toilets.

It was *riffraff that went against the grain and break the stigma of the Boro funky house period and watered down Garage pop music where DJ’s would have to conform to rules and regulations of the local clubs and bars in their commercial musical styles and also dress like Psyche had just chewed them up, spewed them up after they had been pooed out of Toni and Guys mullets are us. The riffraff philosophy is simple, dress like you mean to party leave your ego at the door and dance to these beats because everyone is equal in the riffraff house plus your gonna come out a quivvering mess anyway.

So eight years later after so many amazing times the gang keep on to try and not be obvious with their bookings by either staying up front and cutting edge or sometimes pulling someone out the bag that makes people think, “No fu*king way!!!!”

For our eighth birthday we have managed to pull off the latter of the above types of bookings. The boys in the camp are still pinching themselves and in Robbos case touching himself to see if one of the Godfathers of House music is coming to our little dungeon of dreams and yeah it’s true that the one and only MARSHAL JEFFERSON likes what we are doing and is very excited to come and play to the riffraff lunatics whilst having a family trip to the UK. .. Unreal!!!

I don’t need to tell you all about this man that in 1987 brought house music to the UK alongside Frankie Knuckles, or that he was the first ever house music producer to use piano within house records (Move Your Body), and that he also has claim to the first ever Acid House record (Acid Trax) and was the first producer to incorporate spiritual vocals within house records paving the way for the rest… Basically what Marshall did was lay the foundations for house music as we know it today…. But of course you knew all that and I didn’t need to tell you ;)

What I do need to tell you though is that this birthday party is not one to be missed by any one of you riffraffers, scrinsers, ploppers, boppers and even the whoppers… Or else you will be a double whopper and nobody likes a double whopper because I personally would rather eat a gherkin covered in marmite…. Slightly straying from the point here.

It’s thanks to everyone that’s supported us throughout the years that has brought us to this stage where we are at now and that with your continued support and upholding your side of the bargain then we will also keep to ours bringing you the best artists for your partying pleasures.

Also playing in the Club with Marhsal is Kristoffer that ran riffraff single handedly last month God Bless him who is now a riffraff living legend, warming up for Marshall will be newlywed Mark Graham and making their return debuts from playing at the Zoo Project every week is Pennington & Gow whom will be performing one of their special back 2 back sets that are so rare to see these days.

Upstairs in the bar sees the return of some of our past riffraff residents and ones that were titans during their time within the riffraff camp. We see the return of Dave slaphead Watson, Mark Gobshite Galloway, Matty greenfingers Gillespie, Dave loco Little, Paul the ginger ninja Crook, Chris horrible horrible Howson to keep you entertained all night and with that bunch of psychos together, God knows what could happen.

September 3rd 2011 - Matthew Burton (Visionquest/Leftroom)

Tale of Us gave us plenty of Tales to tell did they not? That had to be one of the best parties in Teesside we have ever had the pleasure of being involved with and again we thank you all for your continued support.

So what’s next on the agenda for September as we close in on our 8th birthday the month after?

Well since we have taken riffraff on an educated musical journey with the sounds becoming more experimental, eclectic and twisted the decision has been made to bring you a DJ/Producer from the underground that’s been doing the business for many years now both in Berlin and London.

As a DJ this chap was Resident at Club Der Visionare, the infamous hang out of Berlin Djs and producers where people like Zip, Ricardo Villalobos, Seth Troxler would turn up unannounced to spin tunes or listen to the residents. During his time in Berlin he was also a regular at Panorama Bar, Weekend club, and many more. Now living in London this formidable DJ now runs his own cool Bustagroove events in London with guests that portray the eclectic sounds that he is all about as well as playing at Toi Toi and Public Life.

On the production front as an artist records have been put out on Ultrastretch the Berlin based label ran by Zip's right hand man and Perlon artist "Sammy D". Not to mention releases on Jay Shepherds mega cool underground "Retrofit" label. Now if that’s not enough for you then lets just mention he has been snapped up by Matt Tolfreys Leftroom Records and the mighty Visionquest label, surely now we have your full attention…. So for those of you into deep, underground twisted, dark, tripped out house and techno music there can be no other than one DJ that can deliver this to the ultimate standard and this man is MATHEW BURTON!!!

Matthew carry’s on from last months guests taking our *riffraff family on a dark deep journey into electronic dance music.

Recently having a much acclaimed Resident Advisor pod cast that received rave reviews from the music heads and becoming Vision quests newest addition it only made sense that we brought him to our Dungeon where we are confident that he will do the damage.

Joining Matthew on the decks and holding the riffraff fort is resident Kristoffer after his warm up was world class last month and also to celebrate his new release with fellow resident Gow whom is still rocking dancefloors in Ibiza and probably being sick on them. Mark Graham will be busy getting married to his lovely woman Elaine and we would all like to wish them both the best on this day, Paul Bowen will be attending the wedding and probably eating all the cake. Lee Pennington will be busy in Tanaznia Africa helping with the educational system and probably catching yellow fever. So we have called upon friends to help Kristoffer hold the party together and friends that we know and trust will do an amazing job for you all.

First of all we have brought Vinyl Junkie and overall junkie “Macormic” in again to get the proceedings underway since he nails it every time for us and his own night “Right On”. This makes sense also since he recently warmed up for Burton at Idiosync in Manchester.

This then brings us to our guests upstairs that have travelled all the way from across the Pennines. Please come down and witness Madchesters answer to *riffraff, the talents of Eion, Aslan, Jorden Paul & Guy Richards who are IDIOSYNC!!!!

Joining Idiosync upstairs is local boy Chris Howson who we can also trust to keep the mood right and whom is becoming a household name in Teesside thanks to his secret party’s and his weekly radio show on CVFM “The bedroom sessions” as well as being thrown out of venues for weeing in plants.

Well that’s that, come down and support us as you always have done in your numbers and how you did last month because you were all amazing. The underground needs you to keep coming if we are to stay alive and strong.

Love you all and see you soon :)

PS: When we say lets smash it or take the roof off I dont actually mean this literally please be careful as we dont want anybody getting hurt, plus we will be getting billed for it in future and we need the cash to spend on better DJ's for you all :)

August 2011 - Tale Of Us (VisionQuest/Barraca/Circoloco)

Well then! Steffi came, she saw, she got incredibly wasted and she totally blew the roof off!!!

What a party that was, it had everything, House, techno, smoke, flashing lights, blow up dolls, tents, Twiggys, old faces, new faces, smashed faces, trashed faces, uppers downers, howlers, squealers, because once we get locked down in that basement the tendency is to push it as far as we can and we did that.

Then of course there was the after party… Imagine renting a street house in central Middlesbrough then partying for 24 hours in it with some of the finest DJ’s playing from Right On and *riffraff?… It’s a good job that we didn’t do that or we could have ended up in some serious trouble from the local authorities… Honest we didn’t ;)

So next up well what more can we say? You have seen the poster; you can see who we got on.

Unless you have been living under a stone for the last year then you have deffos heard the first full debut release of the duo which was out on 'Visionquest' in Spring 2011 but even if you did live under that stone there is no way that you escaped their massive remix on 'Life & Death' (Thugfucker - Disco Gnome) which seen them achieve much praise, airplay and success in record sales across the globe.

These two artists have already played solo gigs in clubs such as Watergate, Weekend, Privilege, Tenax, Barraca, *riffraff & DC10 and have been throwing secret loft parties in their hometown of Milan, known as 'Just this'. Such a wide range of clubs already played illustrates the natural talent in both and production and performing, helped in part due to their expansive understanding and knowledge of all variations of music.

But now they are touring the world as a formidable duo and are already regular faces at DC10 this year as well as every big club you can reel off your tongue.

It’s amazing that we have managed to pull them from their busy worldwide schedule and an honour to have the boys grace the *riffraff ones and twos, last time one of them was here it was said by many that it was the greatest *riffraff party in eight years so God knows what this is going to be with his partner in crime tearing it up also. Please if you know anything about underground dance music or music in general you will get your arses down to this next riffraff as once again we break the mould on Teesside to bring you the one and only… TALE OF US

Tale of Us Interview:

http://www.beatportal.com/​feed/item/introducing-tale​-of-us/

Also joining Tale of Us on the night will be *riffraff resident LEE PENNINGTON who is busy flying back and forth from Ibiza where he is holding down a Zoo Project residency and recently headlined Privilege and played a back to back set with Johnny D. His latest tracks have been supported by Luciano, Danny Tenaglia, SLAM amongst others and he will be showcasing them to you all on this special evening.

Other riffraff residents on the night will be MARK GRAHAM of Capture FM and Recycle Records and of course young buck KRISTOFFER whom is finding himself popping up at underground gigs across the UK.

MAKORMIC will be joining us again after his blinding warm up set and afterparty set last month and fresh from playing Public Life in London.

UPSTAIRS:

First up we have CHRIS HOWSON of the Bedroom sessions radio show and The Other Side illegal raves that have been causing a stir on Teesside.

After causing a lot of noise at Uncle Alberts Lost in Africa last month and by public demand we will be bringing you none other than GINGER KID AKA TOM HEMBLADE. Tom will be performing a half an hour turntablism routine. DON’T MISS THIS!!!!!

Also hosting upstairs will be the Ology boys ADAM MATHEWS, DAN MATHEWS & of course DAN DIXON.

July 2011 - Steffi (Panorama bar/Ostgut ton)

Half way through the year and already riffraff have brought you the most forward thinking underground off the cuff cutting edge artists from the international house music scene to the Teesside area as always staying ahead of the curve with the music that is continuously portrayed at the 7 and a half year monthly event.

So last month our core had the pleasure of seeing two of Germanys biggest female DJ’s rock it out at the dungeon and since the girls are doing the biz these days, this month we felt we should stay on that tip to bring you Hollands biggest female star.

This starlet is a DJ that is living and playing within a club inside Berlin…. Not just any club of course but “THE CLUB”… Yeah that’s right we are talking PANORAMA BAR here and we are talking one of underground house music’s most formidable DJs of modern times. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, lesbians and homosexuals, Christians and Muslims, Ploppers and Boppers, shlingers and shlongers, Morons and other strange beings that roam this land we welcome to you the mastermind behind Klakson and Dolly Records, the genius that recently brought you the top selling album this year “Yours & Mine” on Ostgut Ton, the girl that’s gonna come into the dungeon and hit you hard with house music like a Macho Man Randy Savage double elbow drop from the top rope WALLOP! Get out, 123 ding ding ding put this date in your diary, get your clubbing clobber on, buy your tickets quick because this is another Teesside first brought to you from the original scrinser’s who are still holding that burning torch that will never go out and are still leading the way of the original underground party inside Middlesbrough’s best underground venue, put your hands together or fondle yourself in a suggestive manner for the one and only DJ extraordinaire that is STEFFI!!!!!!!

Dutch born DJ Steffi has become an important figure in the realms of contemporary club music during recent years by embracing to music, art and counter-culture.

With the experience that comes with promoting underground parties for over a decade, and running two successful labels - Klakson, and her new Dolly imprint - Steffi has also developed a natural and professional balance between DJing and producing.

As a resident of Berlin's Panorama Bar she forged a growing a relationship with the club's label, Ostgut Ton. Her warm, classic-inspired and analog-proud productions have featured as various singles on the label and her first full-length artist album, “Yours & Mine” plants her firmly on the map as a deft hand at song writing and production. Tracks like the unmistakable “Yours” featuring Virginia, or pumping warehouse moments like “Mine” and “Nightspacer” are undeniably impressive, as is the entire album; an emotional journey reflecting her love for real, uncompromised club music. Steffi also collaborated with the dedicated Restoration Records as “Third Side” alongside Lucretio and Marieu, offering up a raw and historic 4 tracker. Also branching out on US label Underground Quality, her smooth night-driving “Reasons” EP again features Virginia's wonderful vocal encouragement. Steffi's productions explore the many channels of her love with house music, just as you will also hear when you see her controlling the sound system within the DUNGEON!

Always presenting a rich, versatile selection with her skillful, creative mixing style, Steffi continues to distill her huge knowledge and love for this music into her DJ performances. With increased touring and world-wide appearances becoming more and more regular, while also maintaining her residencies in Berlin and at Berns Salonger in Stockholm, Steffi is a talented, passionate and aware member of today's musical culture.

In a nutshell you would be mad to miss out on this if you are in the Boro area because lets face it, it’s not very often a Panorama Bar resident comes to our humble town and certainly not one as big as STEFFI!

ROOM 2

Room 2 this month is held by none other than cutting edge record label DEEP EDITION. This label is responsible for putting out records by the up and coming producers GRAHAM LAVERTY & MICHAEL McLARDY as well as putting out recordings from local boys LEE PENNINGTON & STE GUTHRIE. Deep Editions lord and master MARTIJN is the brains behind the operation and was recently Tipped by DJ Magazines “One to watch” so get your bottoms in there and have a listen.

Therefore Deep Edition Records will be hosting room 2 in style with the following DJ’s from the label: MICHAEL McLARDY, GRAHAM LAVERTY & MARTIJN.

Support on the night will come from globe trotting resident DJ LEE PENNINGTON recently back from his Zoo Project gigs in Dublin and Korea who is now warming up for another Ibiza season and he will be accompanied by the newest DJ addition to the gang KRISTOFFER ROBINSON not to forget of course Capture FM’s main man MARK GRAHAM also of Recycle Records fame.

June 2011 - Ana & Julietta (Harry Klien Club)

Now then ploppers and boppers, scrinsers and mincers, Plinkys and Plonkys hope your all well :)

Exclusivity is what it’s all about for us this year with our bookings at the raff and bringing to Teesside the most prestigious, unexpected, freshest and respected names from the European underground house and Techno scene.

So far you have witnessed Benoit and Sergio perform their UK debut, Watergate’s UK debut with the mighty Metro and Evan Baggs, Desolat and Zoo Projects Yaya, Hot Creations new boy Miguel Campbell, the unreal Secret Sundaze birthday party and the living legends of Giles Smith & James Priestly…. What’s next? What name can we bring you to keep on top of our game and repay our faithful who have supported us over the last 7 years?

Following on with bringing you the strongest brands with the best DJ’s we are once again venturing into Germany and this time to Munichs greatest House & Techno venue. For those of you that are lucky enough to have visited Munich on your clubbing travels then you will have been inside the Harry Klein club, a venue which is very much like our own dungeon, swapping the oft-tiresome nature of mainstream plastic clubs instead with sweatpit intimacy and a close knit community of music heads whom are exposed to the scenes greatest artists.

If you have danced inside the munich club then you will have lost yourself to the wall-to-wall screens of trippy visuals, psychedelic projections and had your mind bent to a soundtrack coming from two of Germanys greatest female resident DJ’s that are ANA & JULIETTA Anybody that has not been so lucky to have visited this legendary club then don’t worry and don’t go booking your flights out there because we have already booked their flights and we are bringing Harry Klein to you.

As you already know Julietta is not just a legend for her residence at the Harry Klein club and running its record label but for also gaining an excellent reputation far beyond Munichs borders around the world playing at renowned venues such as Panorama bar (Berlin), Watergate (Berlin), Robert Johnson (Frankfurt), Rex (Paris), T Bar (London), Colors Studio (Tokyo), Arma17 (Moscow), Flex (Vienna), Club 11 (Amsterdam), Bar13 (New York), Cocoliche (Buenos Aires), Cocoon (Frankfurt), Zoo Project (Ibiza) as well as festivals like Love Parade and Sonnemondsterne. Clocking up over 100 gigs in twelve months elevated her to one of the world’s hardest working and touring DJ’s. Now she comes to us as part of the Harry Klein showcase.

Joining the very busy Julietta on the riffraff ones and twos is Ana, a DJ very much on top of her game. Making a name for herself in munich by co-founding the popular club-night and radio show eZOO was how this girl gained respect and was brought into the Harry Klein family.
The tiny quiet German although may look sweet has venom in her tune selection and her infamous sets at Harry Klein have rang out around Europe allowing her to now boast bookings on bills such as robert johnson (ffm), weekend (berlin), kassablanca (jena), distillery (leipzig), lok*ee (london), housrepublic (italy), sonne, mond & sterne, partysan yachting, thaibreak, rave on snow, loveparade, Zoo Project (Ibiza). But the DJ vixen has toured nearly every house music club in countries such as russia, switzerland, spain, france, netherlands, romania, croatia In fact the list goes on and on.

Warming the decks up for our two guests this month will be Luna Records head Honcho Paul Bonehead Bowen alongside Capture FM’s Mark (Camp Radio Voice) Graham whom has had recent success with his debut release on Recycle Records.

Room 2 this month as always will be hosted by a UK based brand whom we think deserves to play at *riffraff for their own contribution to the scene and their hard work. This month sees Eivissa Soul join our residents. The Eivissa Soul brand headed by Alex Maxwell is making some noise around the Suburbs of London but more recently breaking into central London and putting on parties at the Egg. The southern based outfit however is not content with just making waves in this country but crossing them to France where they have been playing recently, but more importantly you will be able to catch Alex and his boys putting on parties around Ibiza this summer when they fly out there to showcase the music to European clubbers.

Also upstairs is the local new breed in the form of Right On’s Dean (Long Head) Mac, Ology’s Dan (Grinner) Dixon and of course our very own loveable cuddly (A bit too cuddly) KRISTOFFER!!!

May 2011 - 10 Years of secret sundaze -
Giles smith & James Priestley.

What did we tell you at the beginning of the year? Did we not say that we will be putting on the best parties with the best guests so long as you all keep on supporting us? Well I hope we are holding up our part of the bargain because you lot certainly are, you come down to *riffraff’s little affair every month with one purpose and one goal and that’s to have a scrinsey winsey time and from what we have noticed so far you are all achieving it!

So far we have had Benoit and Sergio making their UK debut, Evan Baggs and Metro make their north East debuts followed by Yaya making his and of course lets not forget rising star of the moment Miguel Campbell losing his riffraff virginity What possibly can top this?

Well we looked at the Watergate party and thought about how all us smoggies couldn’t all be in Berlin at the same time which is why we brought Berlin to the Dungeon and then realised that this could be done again with another party and what better event to bring to you all the way from London which is celebrating its 10th anniversary and is on a world tour playing at the globes most prestigious venues. It is with an honour that we bring you the one and only SECRETSUNDAZE party and not just one of its world famous ressy’s but both of the legendary distinguished DJ’s.

Yup that’s right scrinser’s and plopper’s I cant believe that we have managed to pull this one off but playing to you in the month of May is the fantastic partners in crime GILES SMITH & JAMES PRIESTLY in the form of…..

*riffraff presents... 10 Years of Secretsundaze.

“secretsundaze has changed the face of daytime clubbing” (Time Out Mgazine). Over its nine-year history Secretsundaze has gained a reputation as one of the most innovative, exciting and fun places to be for house and techno heads and party people alike. Utilising numerous risqué and often open-air venues, they have hosted some of the most colourful parties that London has ever seen. With their stylish, hedonistic crowd and attention to detail, the parties now have the reputation as being the place that Europe’s finest underground DJs want to play at and Europeans visiting London have to go to. Over the years, the likes of Ame, Ricardo Villalobos, Carl Craig, Tobi Neumann, Trevor Jackson, Cassy, and Steve Bug alongside Giles and James have all graced the decks.

Not only have their parties become one of the most successful events in London, they’re also found hosting parties and packed arenas at places such as Panoramabar, Sonar, Robert Johnson, Snowbombing, Lovebox, and Bloom Festival. It's a massive honour to bring 10 Years of Secretsundaze to *riffraff, especially only 6 days after their official London birthday party and to kickstart the tour. (Just as we did with Benoit and Sergio)

Below is just some videos of Giles and James doing their thing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfc_q3S1y9g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gjnnmPcS90
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJhSS_Aza9Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_52wXvhooc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9F-oeJzMOnM

If you have any plans for this date then cancel them because this is BIG!

Joining Giles and James in the dungeon will be Zoo Projects Lee Pennington and Luna records head man Paul Bowen.

But it doesn’t stop there does it?

Upstairs we have *riffraff residents Kristoffer and Mark Graham whom has recently been signed to Recycle Records but they too are joined by more special guests who will warm your cockles.

Our first special guest upstairs is a man making waves by having releases on Soma, Fade Recordings, celestial and recently having John Digweed championing his tracks we are happy to have HALL NORTH gracing the decks.

Then guests number two are a bunch of DJ’s and producers that are smashing the Leicester underground house scene with their top monthly parties that has seen Tato, Jonathan Tena, Milou & Defex, Saytek play at…. We give you top Leicester event GRITTER!!!!

April 2011 - Yaya & Miguel Campbell

Last month seen the mighty Evan Baggs and the Berlin legend METRO tear the Medicine Bar up, and by the way thanks to everyone that sent personal messages about how they were the best DJ’s you had heard play in Boro for a long time, that you were over the moon to see such talent come to Teesside etc and I have let the boys know and they were over the moon with the comments.

But this month we bring you two of house music newest ris...ing stars and two rooms of fresh music behind these two talents.

First up in *riffraffs dungeon of dreams sees the boy that made a name for himself smashing the Zoo Seal Pit a number of times last year as well as main room Privilege and also tearing Fabric up on New Years day. This kid has made so much noise in the past twelve months that Locodice himself signed him to the Desolat roster for his production talents and also plays alongside him throughout Europe. Ladies and gentlemen we are proud to present to you the on and only Italian Stallion YAYA!!!!

Without having to tell you too much about YAYA basically all you need to know is that he works for Desolat in his studio in Turin, is a Zoo Project resident, he plays all over the world in the most prestigious venues, his passion to record the sound of the streets and the feeling of rhythm, along with the skill to get the creative juices from real life ergo original samples, determine Yaya’s unique sound as a producer and also he is a Fu**ing wicked DJ!!!

Supporting YAYA in the main room and playing either side of him will be residents Mark Graham, Paul Bowen and Lee Pennington.

So then onto our second instalment of the evening and a chap that’s gonna keep upstairs chugging along nicely (There’s gonna be no escape on this night from quality music by the way) this guy l has been galvanised by the house music scene since the early 90's and has also been a DJ since that time, he began producing his own music as one 'half' of the underground duo HCB then in 2006 he founded his own label: Outcross Records and following that in 2010 he became the newest addition to Jaime Jones’s Hot Creation team. Making waves both in the UK an abroad we are proud to actually nail down one the scene’s most in demand DJ’s right now that is MIGUEL CAMPBELL!!!!

Joining Miguel upstairs will be resident Kristoffer, joining him are two young local boys Dean Mac and Dan Dixon.

Mar 2011 - RiffRaff Pres. Watergate Metro & Evan Baggs

After bringing you a UK exclusive in the form of Benoit and Sergio whom have now tottled off on their European tour playing at some of the most prestigious venues this side of the Atlantic Ocean we were left pondering over what other exclusive act could be offered to our ever faithful following of electronic music lovers.

So we looked at other musical institutions around Europe and even went to the extreme of visiting them and it all made sense of what should be done next. Not content on just bringing you another UK exclusive we wanted to push the boundaries even further and bring you the DJ's and the vibe of which to our opinion is considered one of the most respected undergound house and techno venues in the world.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls lesbians, homsexuals, musical lovers and aliens of Teesside we invite you all to come down once again to our dungeon of dreams and give a warm smogfest *riffraff welcome to Berlins very own WATERGATE!!!!!!!

Yup thats right, if we cant all hop on an Easyjet flight together and party inside Berlins Watergate then just bring the bugger to us.

First up representing the Watergate banner and making his UK debut is the one and only Mr EVAN BAGGS......

Evan is the man behind the decks whom you will see each week at Watergate spinning tunes warming up for the greatest acts in electronic dance music. A New Yorker whom Berlin adopted as one of their own due to his musical capabilities of production, tune selection and keen to party attitude it was no wonder that the mastermind behind Watergate whom they call METRO snapped up Evan to spin tunes in his glorious late night watering hole.

This brings me to the next guest and to be perfectly honest it gives us great pleasure to welcome one of Berlins longest serving DJ's that is considered the brains behind the success of WATERGATE, we welcome DJ METRO to our humble home. Its not very often you will get this man away from his residence but after telling him all about what we are doing and hearing reports from the artists that have played in our Dungeon the main man of Watergate decided he would come over and see what all the fuss is about.

Febuary 2011 - Benoit and Sergio UK debut at the raff!

Visionquest is the birthchild record label of the amazing Seth Troxler and is the label of the future. Its first release will be from Washington DC based production duo Benoit and Sergio titled “Walk and Talk” you all know the one about special K. At riffraff as you know we always strive to be one step ahead and at the last party we were when we kick started Benoit and Sergio’s European tour off down at the Dungeon. We were the first to bring this amazing double act to the UK and my God did they not rock it? We have the videos to prove it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGJzvSZOJio

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bv5wEef2AwM

It was an amazing beginning to the year and just a small insight to what we will be putting on over the coming months. Keep on supporting and we will keep on putting on great parties

NYE - 2010 - Bearweasel

Happy New Year from the big bad Bear!!!

For those of you not travelling away from the Boro on New Years Eve we have got a very special guest in store for you and a firm favourite of ours. Performing a 4 hour set will be the mighty Bearweasel on the ones and twos. He will be supported by Ste Guthrie of Future, Adam Mathews, Kristoffer, Mark Graham, Paul Bowen, Lee Pennington and Gow

Dec 2010 - Hector & Karm

What a way to end the year!!!! Wigs, cushions, Hector and Karm!

Well what more can we say? It’s been an amazing year for riffraff and its residents whom have worked hard to bring you some great parties each and every month. To finish the year we decided to have a double whammy of guests with Zoo Project’s Hector and DC10’s Karm. Little did we know that this night was going to produce one of the greatest back 2 back sessions we have ever witnessed.

For those of you that never left until the very end you will have seen Karm, Hector and our very own Lee Pennington take a turntable each and whack out tunes from yore and tunes from the future. It was one of those parties that make riffraff what it is, plenty of silliness and great bloody tunes mixed to the highest standards.

We would like to thank you all for an amazing year from the bottom of our hearts and wish you all a merry messy Christmas. God bless and good tidings.

Nov 2010 - Dyed Soundorom gets a sit down stand up

The little man from Paris came down to the gaff and completely brought the roof down (Almost literally). The atmosphere in the packed club was absolutely electric this month with the riffraff faithful going completely insaneo to Dyeds quality beats and grooves. The magical moment of the night however came when Hall and Oat’s “I cant go for that” caused the crowd to sit down in DC10 fashion and then when the bass slammed in the bodies jumped up just to make Dyed feel at home like in his Ibizan residence.

Afterwards Dyed told us that it was one of the best UK parties he had ever played at and to that we can only thank our amazing crowd.

Our ressys this month also did the damage with Pauly Bowens warm up and of course Dave Little supporting him, Mark Graham had upstairs rocking alongside Robski and then Pennington and Gow kept things moving until the very end.

October 2010 Massive thanks!!!

Well after last months crazy birthday party that resulted in Mr Bardsley being ejected from the club after climbing across the bar and he was closely followed by our wonderful Gow whom was found crawling up the stairs. It was the messiest party we had held in many years and everybody from the DJ’s to the promoters to the clubbers was on tip top form. We would like to thank everybody that’s been involved over the previous seven years to help riffraff become what it is today.

15th October 2010

riffraff 7th Birthday
So it’s that time of year again when we celebrate the birthday of our one and only baby that is *riffraff. This is a time for us in the riffraff camp to look back over the past seven years and reminisce on the events that have led us all to this point.

There have been ups and downs, tears and joy, scrinsers and shling shlongs, cushions and masks and so many fond memories which make us think that every minute we have spent buildi...ng this party has been worth it. Then of course there are the memories that make us think “what the fu*k are we doing really?” But even they can be laughed about now. For instance, to some of us the toilets of the Pacific bar seem humorous these days, even being chased by a gang of gypsies with baseball bats after accidentally peeing on their campsite on one of our all night illegal poster runs brings a smile to our faces not to mention nearly being arrested in Thornaby town centre for illegal flyering to which Paul Crook liar of the year denied anything to do with. Even though his cars back seat had 400 A4 posters piled high when the Police reigned down on his car and he still got away with it by simply lighting up a ciggy staring the coppers straight in the eye and saying “Nowt to do with me mate”.

Then of course there were the after parties, the endless mayhem from the early days of Little Miss Naughty’s gaff where Gal would keep us entertained with his futile Ray Liotta impressions and Matty G would chain smoke bifta after bifta to the organised and structured 2 day sessions at Little Locos. Let’s not ever forget Paul Bowen’s bus service in his 5 seated Micra that once miraculously fitted thirteen people into it (Got to be a world record as it hurtled down marton road, bodys bouncing off it). And how could we ever forget Paul Bardsley’s gardening business that he decided to start one morning after riffraff when he surprised neighbours by mowing the lawn bollock naked…. he had a tendency to do this at gigs too (Get naked not mow the lawn).

Not being content over the past seven years containing riffraff in our home town, our residents have taken our music around the globe from Boro To London, Leeds, Manchester, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Switzerland, Italy, Ibiza, Austria, USA, Croatia the list goes on. But there’s a big respect to those clubbers that joined our residents too on their travels…. Granted that on one trip to Switzerland we nearly never made it due to their being a distinct smell of certain substances in the passenger’s cabin before take off and the captain announcing that the plane has been delayed due to this smell and that upon arrival in Geneva the authorities will deal with the culprits responsible. I blame the swiss and their cheese personally but someone told me otherwise.

Now from writing all of the above you can probably tell that we can spin a good yarn as none of its actually true…Honest its all lies no really!!!.. But!!! And this is just a but!!!! If it were true then surely if we were to have a party that included all our past resident DJ’s mentioned above in those wonderful tales that gave us such happy and funny memories and that played the music over the years that made riffraff what it is today then surely that would be some party not to be missed?

Therefore out of respect to those DJ’s that made riffraff work behind the scenes over the past seven years and that have accommodated and played around the illustrious global artists and DJ’s we have brought to riffraff each month breaking boundaries in the Boro, it is with great news that we have asked our ex residents back to play with our current pioneers and to really let rip in the dungeon of dreams. We feel that now we are back in our true home and that the parties are better than they have ever been with you lot rocking up in your numbers and literally raising the roof each month that our ex residents deserve a piece of this and it would be an honour for them to grace the riffraff decks once again.

So now that we are all back together and the summers over and our prodigal son the Gowster has returned from Ibiza as well as the boy wonder Kristoffer finally being home and safe in one piece (Cheers Gra for taking care of them), and now that Paul Bowen is signed to Viva music as well as Lunar smashing out tune after tune and that Mark Grahams capture show is pulling in the numbers each week, and that Pappa Penno sits proudly looking at his riffraff children doing so well as he scrinses about like a plopper, we cant wait to celebrate *riffraffs seventh birthday in style and invite captain Insaneo into all your lives for a night full of complete and utter shling shlongness… Yeeeeeeeew what!!!!!

September 2010
Matt Tolfrey smashed it AGAIN!!!!

So this month’s instalment was the one and only Matt Tolfrey and again as always just like Fed Ex and parcel force the mighty Matt delivers. You lot were fantastic and staying to the very death screaming for one more when Matt and Lee Pennington played back to back was outstanding. Things are really taking off in the Med Bar now and so long as you lot keep supporting we will keep on bringing you quality and also improve the club to the best of our ability.

August 2010 Rebekah doing her thing

What can we say about this rising young star who is coming on leaps and bounds and a DJ that we were honoured to have guest at the Med Bar. After her performance at Fabric and Zoo Project this summer its no surprise that we got her to come and rock your socks off in our little dungeon. Rebekah thought that you were all a wicked crowd and loved every minute of it.

July 2010 Scott Bradfords annual smash!

Scott is a regular face at our parties and we bring him back every year to perform his talent. The mastermind behind Shindig, this guy has always been one of our all time greatest DJ’s. It was a pleasure to see Lee Pennington and Scott go back to back and something that Lee never had dreamed of doing in a million years rolling back the clock to his first visits to Shindig back in the 90’s. What a night this was and the ball is really starting to roll now in the Med Bar.

June 2010 Will Saul Christens the Med Bar

Well then! This was an emotional return to the original nesting place of the riffraff bunch and although the building is different the vibe remains the same. Will Saul did the job we wanted him to do and smashed it. We would like to thank you all for coming down and supporting us. The new venue couldn’t have got off to a better start and we are absolutely over the moon with it. I can sense only good will come from this combination of venue and party. Keep supporting us

May 2010
IMPORTANT RIFFRAFF ANNOUNCEMENT PLEASE READ!!!!!!

Last months *rr party was possibly one of the greatest that we have ever put on and we would like to thank everyone that made it so special from the staff to the DJ’s to the promoters and last but certainly never least TO YOU our ever faithful party people on the dance floor.

But this was our last party at Onyx and I am sure you will all agree that we went out with all guns blazing. We would now like to take this opportunity to thank Jason and Chris at Onyx for everything they have ever done for us because without them the party would have died a long time ago. We would also like to thank the members of the Onyx staff who have helped us over the past 17 months.

So after one year and a half of good times and keeping the party alive since our forced migration from the original party hive and underground dungeon “The Purple Onion” its been decided that its now time to make another move. But don’t worry yourselves this is not a bad move and we have listened to each and every one of you when you have reminisced with us about how good the dungeon was and we too have also missed the days of 300 people in a cellar dancing to underground beats.

Now that you’re probably asking yourselves the question “Where can they possibly move?” Well my simple answer is that we only ever move forward to make riffraff the ultimate party experience in Teesside. But we feel this time to move forwards we have to also take one step back and that’s back to our original stomping ground the place what originally put us on the house music map. It may have changed its name to the “Medicine Bar” but to us it will always be called home. That’s right we are returning to the dungeon and not only that, we are going all out on a Saturday night, that means there’s no excuses for you not being there unless you have church in the morning.

So with the best DJ booth in the town, the best underground club (Literally), one of the best systems, the best club owners in the business, the best Artist’s from around the globe, the best local talent and of course the best up for it crowd its looking very bloody likely that we are going to host some of the best parties in the north.

The opening will be on 5th of June and we will be smashing you straight in with an elbow drop from the top rope when we bring you the one and only long time former resident of the legendary END CLUB that is WILL SAUL. That’s right we have chosen this outstanding DJ/Producer to kick start what is going to be an exciting new chapter of the *riffraff story.

Will Saul needs no introduction as his track record ticks all the boxes from winning Bedroom Bedlam when he was younger, working at Phonica, being resident at the End club for Mr C, remixing all the top producers as well as releasing some hard hitting 12” singles himself and running the ever successful “Simple Records” label. Now a resident at Cable and playing around Europe at the most prestigious underground venues he is gonna do his thing for you very luck, lucky people here at our party and we cant wait to have him rock your socks off.

May 2010 Happy to announce our next event with Moonharbours boy DAN DRASTIC!!

After the great success of last month’s riffraff and the great Matthias Tanzmann rocking you with the sound of Moonharbour Recordings we thought that we would carry on with that same vibe once again but take you that little deeper. This month we are bringing you another exclusive and the second brain behind that ever so successful worldwide Moonharbour label and Tanzmanns right hand man, the one and only Dan Drastic.

April 2010 The greatest of them all at this moment in time is here coming to Teesside

This month we bring moonharbours main man MATTHIAS TANZMANN. We are over the moon with this booking and he is a DJ we have been trying to get on for some time but with his world touring, it’s been hard for us to pin him down but we finally nailed him. Make sure that you don’t miss out on this one and get down early!!!!

MARCH 2010 we present to you Chris Lattner!!!

Next event brings you one of the most respected and consistent artists around at the moment! With releases on Moon harbour, Einmaleins and Luna records Chris Lattner is not to be missed!

February 2010 We bring you the legend that is Terry Francis (Yeah Its True)

Now then!

We are back for the New Year and opening it with a big bang!

We know that Fabric is a long way to go for all of you so we made it a little easier and brought their long time serving legend to you.

Terry Francis is the long time classic resident of Fabric and one of the most respected underground DJ's ever to grace the turntables. We have tried for two years to bring this guy to our party but he has always been busy with his resident duties at Fabric. But finally we got him and all for our ever faithful following you lucky people.

I look forward to seeing you all give Terry a big warm Smoggy welcome as it’s his first time in the Boro

See you all on the dancefloor scrinsers!!!!!

December 2009 *riffraff is proud to announce the return of Mr Justin drake!!

Justin Drake is undoubtedly one of the most consistent contributors to house music for over ten years. Whether it be via his productions alongside Clive Henry as Peace Division, his audio engineering or his near constant DJ schedule, Drake has had nothing but success when it comes to the 4:4 beat.

Also joining Drakey this month for our Christmas party is a very special mystery guest.

Make sure that you don’t miss out!

Absolute

Our pre parties are now going to be held at Absolute and not Pacific Bar. These parties begin at 9pm and go on until 12am. Here we will feature guest DJ’s that are only just breaking into the underground circuit and causing a stir. Make sure that you get down witnessing these boys and girls as we have proven in the past with Autophase, Bigger than Jesus, Gow, JD Turbine, James Barnsley and many more we find the best up and coming by keeping our ears placed firmly to the underground.

Onyx

As you probably now know we are nestled in to our new home and its going from strength to strength. Just in case you don’t know here are a few things that I think you should know so by the end of reading this you will know what you need to know and what some people already know so you will be in the know:
1. Onyx is situated above Absolute 2. Doors open at 11pm 3. To enter you must leave Absolute and walk round to the entrance for Onyx 4. Middlesbrough College students must show card to gain discount entry 5. Main guest usually plays at 12:30 AM but this is subject to change 6. Doors close at 4:30 AM but this is subject to change on how wild you are

Production

Well the lads have been busy in the studio over winter. Gow has seen an EP released on high profile German record label Trapez with many more to come. Lee Pennington has had more releases than I can count but one EP signed to White noise recordings has been featured three times in I’DJ magazine. Paul Bowen has completed an EP with Lee Pennington for the riffraff recordings label as well as other tracks in the studio ready for unleashing.

Riffraff Recordings and Matthew Gale

We would like to welcome Matthew Gale to the nest of mayhem who has taken up the position of record label manager. The label has been brought into line and will be seeing some strong releases in the future from our residents as well as artists Glen Storey and Paul Loraine…. There are some very special people lined up too. Anybody with any tracks that they feel fit for the label then forward to any of us. Please check out what music we play first before sending though as we get plenty of music sent through and don’t want any electro garbage, hard house, driving techno, funky house or trance.

Home And Away

As well as the home games we have also being playing away at Back 2 Basics, Ministry Of Sound, Obtango, Area 51, Sankeys, Cosmic Ballroom and of course we cant forget the legendary events at Shindig in the main room which finally showed people that the riffraff DJ's are not just back room or warm up DJ's and can knock it out like the best of them. We wuold like to thank all of the continued support that come along to these events and make them very special

All Quiet On The Production Front

Because of the lads time being taken up with so much DJing this year their productions have taken a back shelf. Lee has had a few remixes released on Source Of Gravity and his joint effort with Gow on Digiprana has came out and found its way into some of the top jocks bags. But the good news is that the three amigos have been back in the studio and there will be more releases coming out throughout the year.

Newest Family Member

Most of you by now will have heard James Barnsley play this year and will understand why we adopted him as one of our own. He is one of the best DJ's that we have ever heard and does the job everytime in rocking the dancefloor. Its been an honour having him on board.

Ibiza Here We come

Finally the biggest news this year for us is that we have been made the brand new residents of the Zoo Project in Ibiza. We will be sharing an Arena with Panorama as well as playing some slots in the main arena. This means we will be out there all summer but dont worry the partys in the Onion will still continue.

Workers Needed

We are looking for workers to help us with the ever growing brand to work both abroad and in Middlesbrough. The workers are to operate on a commision based wage. If you are interested then please get in touch via l.pennington@ntlworld.com for jobs available.

PEACE DIVISION - END OF YEAR CLOSING PARTYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The boys were even better than we thought they would be. What a night this was. I wanna do it all over again.

JODY WISTERNOFF

The man from way out west came and knocked our socks off. The blend of melodic house and chunky beats suited our gaff and made a refreshing change for people. Never have we had so many people complimenting on how good the music actually was.

JAMES MOWBRAY

James is a regular face at Fabric and the Cross in London and it was excellent to have the man play @ *riffraff. The crowd really went for it and he pleased them all the way back to the afterparty. Cheers James.
*riffraff review on BBC website

http://www.bbc.co.uk/tees/content/articles/2007/05/11/riff_raff_feature.shtml

NEW SHOP
New riffraff shop where you can buy riffraff t-shirts and scrinser shirts. Please take a look and let us know what you think? Or if you have any suggestion please feel free to share them with us.

-riffraff

Section 75 Feat Penny - Locked Heart released

This track has finally been released after a year in waiting. Lee has released this under his Section 75 guise and it can be bought at all good download stores. It features fellow Teesider and regular *riffraffer Penny on vocals.

Scott Bradford Rocked It!!!

Cheers everyone that came down to *rr for Scott Bradford. We ahve to thank Scott for coming along and playing. He said that he was glad to see it grow as much as it has in the past year. A big shout out has to go to Stathis L that rocked the Pacific Afterparty what a guy!!! Big mention to DJ UCH that came all the way from NYC and soldiered on even though his transport broke down and the power went down on him in the middle of his set

Paul Bowens new track " Less is more"

Justin Drake from peace division will be hosting his exclusive mix on Misstress dafunk's show on BBC Radio one 26th May 2007 @ 2am, which will feature Pauls new track "Less is more"

Another top quality night at riffraff with Burnski.

Thanks to everyone that came along which must have been all of Middlesbrough because we couldnt move for screaming clubbers :-)

Thanks again and see you all again next month.

NEW SHOP
New riffraff shop where you can buy riffraff t-shirts and scrinser shirts. Please take a look and let us know what you think? Or if you have any suggestion please feel free to share them with us.

-riffraff

NEW NORTHEAST COMMUNITY
*riffraff are happy to announce the new NORTHEAST UNDERGROUND COMMUNITY

Its a message forum for like minded people who share the same interest in underground dance music. We have information on club nights: *riffraff / Shindig / Basics / Habit and much more.

Please feel free to sign up and get down with the banter! www.northeastunderground.co.uk

SUMMER EVENTS IN IBIZA
*rr will be scrinsing in Ibiza this year in August. We will be hosting a party at Savanahs with a special guest on the 26th from 12am - 6am. Then a party at Rehab on the 28th the same time slots. Then on the Friday 31st we will be hosting a boat party for Eden. The boat sets sail from the Harbour. Should be quality

DIGITALIZED, MIDDLESBROUGH
The *rr residents will be playing at Digitized on the 28th of April. This is at the Basement and in the Blue Bar. Our lads will be in the Blue Bar. Pop down and you will enjoy some scrinsing and some good music

April 2007

The Tim Sheridan night was a complete sell out again at the pre party, the Onion and the after party. Thanks everyone for coming down and making this a very special evening. To all those that never got in to either of the venues then we are sorry all we can suggest is that you come down earlier in future. If you want the guest list then please email your mobile number to l.pennington@ntlworld.com we will then keep you updated by text. Perc and Tim have both commented on how good the event is aand how clued up the crowd is about the music.

March 2007

*riffraff are happy to announce the new NORTHEAST UNDERGROUND COMMUNITY

Its a message forum for like minded people who share the same interest in underground dance music. We have information on club nights: *riffraff / Shindig / Basics / Habit and much more.

Please feel free to sign up and get down with the banter! www.northeastunderground.co.uk

March 2007

Massive thanks to everyone that managed to get to the Kasey Taylor night. It was an absolute sell out and Kasey was second to none with his mixing ability and crowd control.. He really knows how to rock a crowd ;)

Also Like to thank all that made it to our after party at the Pacific Bar which didn't end till 6am Saturday morning!! Kill The Disco / Kasey Taylor / Lee Pennington / Paul Bowen all rocked the dance floor leaving everyone shouting for more!!!!!

Keep your eyes peeled for another after party next month!

March 2007

TERRACE BAR EVERY THURSDAY WITH *riffraff DJ's PLUS GUESTS

What it says above, every Thursday we have special guests from the local scene spinning the best of underground house music in The Terrace Bar on Albert Road Middlesbrough. It's been going legendary so far and is an ideal warm up spot before hitting the Corner House.

February 2006

Tim Sheridan will be here, in Middlesbrough, on 6th April at none other than *riffraff!! Come fucking on!!!!!! We cant wait for this night its going to be huge. But not only are we just happy to bring you Tim, we thought we would give it a double whammy and book Ali Wells aka Perc.... How good is this event gonna be???

If you are unaware of Tim you may be more familiar with veryveryveryvery wrong indeed which is his monthly night @ SANKEYS

Watch this space for more details soon or visit www.myspace.com/timmysheridan

February 2006

Well Audiojack came they saw and they smashed it in big time!!! This was one of the most succesfull *rr parties to date with the music carrying on after the Onion right until 6am at Pacific bar. We would like to thank everyone that was involved with this event it truly was something very special. 

Other news is that, our new weekly radio show on www.digitizedFM has finally kicked off. We will be featuring a mix each week from one of the *rr artists as well as a guest. Some excellent guests will be playing on our show including Kasey Taylor, Flash Brothers, Chris Sterio, Andrew K, Red & Blue.... Too many to mention really

On the subject of mixes Lee Penningtons live mix from Kill the disco is now available on download www.djleepennington.com/lee.mp3

01 Pj Davy - What Is? [Friknfrak]
02 Jester Plays - Wonderboy [Ware]
03 Tom Mangan - Something To Say [CDR]
04 Tom Mangan - Mobile [CDR]
05 Tom Mangan - Laid [CDR]
06 Tom Mangan - Alone [CDR]
07 Tom Mangan - Money Stab [CDR]
08 Darcadian Feat Sam Mollison - Everything Or Nothing (James Reids Broadside Mix) [Fiberline Audio]
09 Cori Roc - Nitric Oxide [Digiprana Sounds]
10 Anderson And Davison - Zeitgeist (Section 75 Mix) [Source Of Gravity]
11 Gabriel Ananda - Dopplewhipper [Platzhirsch]
12 Vicknoise - Last Night At Flamingo [Factory]
13 M.a.n.d.y - Jah (Jonah Remix)lee Pennington Edit) [Get Physical]
14 Lee Pennington - Back How It Was [Bellarine]
15 Vibe Dealers - Vibe Delaine (Lee Pennington Edit) [Criminal]
16 Pennington & Gow - Kill Bull [Digiprana Sounds]

January 2006

Here we go with the new year. We would like to first of all thank everyone that has helped *riffraff in 2006 and 2007 brings a fresh approach. Big thanks to Mark Galloway, Matty Gillespie, Paul Bardsley, Dave Watson and Paul Crook for their continued support and what they have brought to *rr as well as all the record labels around the globe whom have supported us.
This year will see *riffraff reaching new heights bringing in top class DJ's to the Teeside area and seeing our resident DJ's make regular trips abroad as well as around the UK to spin the sound. We have brought in a full time promoter Dan Raistrick to help us in our quest for smashing it in. You will also see more weekly *rr events around the town of Boro where we intend to give new up and coming worthy DJ's a chance to play the music that they want. Get them demos in.

riffraff towers
3 Galloway Sands
Acklam
Middlesbrough
Cleveland
TS5 8UR

December 2006

*riffraff recordings has released it's first tune. Available exclusively to www.play-digital.com. "Kebab Doggin" by Kebab Twins is a minimal yet techy affair and has been getting plays from Lee Pennington around the globe as well as support from the rest of the *rr boys and girls.

December 2006
The end of year party went out with a bang. Big thanks to all involved from around the UK and Switzerland. Dan Welton, Marrocco, BP Zulauf, Paul Lancaster, Chris Sterio, Red & Blue and of course our residents Paul Bowen and Lee pennington

December 2006
riffraff's new and updated website, please feel free to share your comments on the site paulbowen21@yahoo.co.uk

November 2006

*riffraff Supporter of the month

Winner
Shiny Si

Update October 2006

CASS & MANGAN In Middlesbrough October 6th 2006

*riffraff moving forward with Cass and Mangan on the turntables.. The night was absolutely awesome, the place was packed out and the music was brilliant. Big thanks to the support we have had over the years this event was amazing because of you!

Update May 2006

*riffraff will play at the UK's biggest night club "Tall Trees" playing for one of the UK's biggest nights "GOODGREEF"

The line up will feature the worlds No1 DJ mr Paul Van Dyk him self making his north east debut. Along side PVD is Matt Hardwick | Adam Sheridan | Mark Norman | James Alexander aka KID | Paul Bowen | Lee Pennington | Bardsley | Dan Sudron | Strakes

THE NIGHT IS ON THE 28TH MAY 2006 PLEASE CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS

Update March 2006

Over the past couple of months the guys have been working really hard pushing riffraff higher and higher, and the result has been outstanding!! Big thanx the all the riffraff gang for all the hard work.

Also taking a step further riffraff have booked Scott Bradford for the next instalment of riffraff @ The Onion, Scott is Co Promoter/Owner of world class "Shindig" and we cant wait for Scott to come and rock the show on the 7th April.

The guys have also been busy again in the studio and have finished the remix of Moonbeam's Heart and Soul. The track is tribal/tech dub for Helvetica recordings, which is on sale now. Also Paul Bowen has finished the remix of Dan Weltons "Wanna Love" which is the first release for Helvetica’s sub label "Helvetica Noir"

Mark Galloway has been busy too travelling out to Doncaster to play at a really cool event "Vibe" he warmed up for "Full Intention" and done a really great job!!!

riffraff have also been busy playing at other gigs too which consists of Paul Bowen, Bardsley, Gow, and Lee Pennington traveling out to the Newcastle playing Interference @ WHQ.

Also riffraff where traveling again, out to Whitley Bay to play @ Sound Sessions which was awesome!!!!

Febuary News

Well so far its been a great start for *riffraff in 2006 on and off the decks. Paul Bowen, Paul Crook and Lee Pennington (Section 75) have seen a total of 9 releases/new signings between them in the past month including

king & charles - parallel realities (section 75 mix) - cp recordings
king & charles - parallel realities (paul bowen mix) - cp recordings
sterio&mcgrath vs section 75 - illusion - source of gravity
riffraff - spirits from the tide - cp recordings
riffraff - unauthorised war - cp recordings
Section 75 - the paradox - fade out recordings
Section 75 vs paul crook - sound control - fade out recordings
riffraff - vertical line - helvetica recordingz
Paul Bowen & section 75 - impaired perception - fragile

ALL TRACKS CAN BE BOUGHT FROM WWW.3BEATDIGITAL WWW.KARMADOWNLOAD.COM WWW.BEATPORT.COM WWW.DJDOWNLOAD.COM WWW.RELEASERECORDINGS.COM

Other news is that Matty Gillespies first production "Ye Mam" has been receiving support from top swiss DJ Dan Welton
Gow's first production "The Drug Track" has seen support from James Talk whom is also working on a remix.
Lee has completed an exclusive Source Of Gravity mix that will be aired on KVK's new Radio show in America.
Mark Galloway has been asked to be VIBES monthly resident.
Paul Bardsley travelled to play in switzerland and is also working on a remix for FRAGILE RECORDINGS
Paul Bowen and Lee Pennington are working on remixes for Source Of Gravity, Gravitation, Adjust and Helvetica. They are also working on an EP for Helvetica.
Lee Pennington has been given the job of head of promotions for Source Of Gravity Recordings.
Paul Crook has got a job down the mines and has bought a canary.

CANCELLED
*riffraff in asociation with GoodGreef

A special thanks to the local police force for once again holding Teeside back in the dark ages and cancelling an event that could have opened many doors for the local music scene.
*riffraff will not be giving up the fight for this all nighter event and we will be pursuing our goal of putting one on ourselves.... WATCH THIS SPACE!!!

FEBRUARY 31st 2006
*riffraff in association with GoodGreef

Yes thats right people riffraff will be working with massive night "GoodGreef" we will be taking to the decks at the after partie @ Blue and basement in middlesbrough on albert road. Get your arse down for some dirty - prog - tech - tribal madness from 2am on saturday 18th through till the early hours on sunday morning.

FEBRUARY 3RD 2006

JAMES COLLINGBURN and the mighty DAN WELTON completely rocked the socks off our crowd at this months event. We would like to thank lots of people for this event going ahead including all the crazy Swiss that travelled a long way to see Dan play and also the Grenadier gang who totally rocked it. A big special mention to Big Lee who was the tour guide for the Swiss and showed them how to fit into the Tesside culture ; )
Watch out for DAN WELTON in 2006 you heard it here first.

JANUARY 27th 2006

Meltdown V *riffraff went down really well when *rr boys Paul Crook - Paul Bardsley - Paul Bowen - Matty Gillespie and Section 75 took to the ones and twos. It was that good of a night the chaps will be back on the 24th Feb joined by more of the mob including Gow and Mark Galloway.

JANUARY 05TH 2006

*riffraff is back for 2006 with a whole new strategy to make the events more strong and ultimately more exciting for you guys! We would like to make a big welcome to our new residents for 2006 "Gow" "Paul Bardsley" and "Mark Galloway" welcome aboard!!! The lads have been picked out from a whole bunch of extra special talent around the northeast and these guys totaly rock.

Looking forwards our next bash will be on the 3rd of Feb and we are delighted to have Intense promotions and adjust recordings star from switzerland Dan Welton take to the *riffraff turntables. Also playing on the night is new upcoming star James Collingburn with recent slots @ shindig Newcastle probably one of the best uk club nights around!!

Watch this space for more exciting stuff very soon!!!!!

MELTDOWN V *RIFFRAFF @ LAVA IGNITE / MIDDLESBROUGH

*riffraff will be coming together with top Middlesbough club promotion meltdown for one night only, *riffraff will be in room 2 and meltdown will be in room 1, expect this night to be huge as the capacity of the club is 1500. See you on the dance floor details in the events section January 27th

NOVEMBER 25TH 05 CHRIS STERIO @ THE SESSIONS

We had a very special guest at this particular Sessions to celebrate the release of Lee Pennington’s SECTION 75 PRESENTS EP.
Chris Sterio agreed to take time out from his very busy schedule and play at our Sessions event held at the Pacific Bar. We are very grateful to Chris for playing especially so soon after his USA tour.
The EP is released on Chris Sterio’s Source Of Gravity Label from 28th November under Lee’s SECTION 75 alias.
It can be bought from www.beatport.com, www.edmdigital.com, www.xpressbeats.com

SWITZERLAND 18TH – 20TH NOVEMBER

Well what possibly can we say about this?
I think that the photos in the gallery will tell the story of how fun this entire trip actually was
Top Swiss producer / DJ Dan Welton and his lovely Caroline with all at the Paradox club made sure that the *riffraff were very welcome.
Lee Pennington, Paul Bowen and Dan Welton rocked the club from 10pm until 4am and left the Swiss clubbers of Nau Chatel shouting for one more.
We would like to thank everybody that travelled with us and lived up to our reputation both musically and for partying.. Big Lee, Crook brothers, Sam, Nat, Dug, Jon, PB, Key, Lil Ste, Gaz…. You are all shhhhhpot on!!!! 
Roll on the next outing

NOVEMBER 4TH

We celebrated our second anniversary in style. Big thanks to all the DJ’s that played at Pacific pre party who were: MARK GALLOWAY, PAUL BARDSLEY, GOW and Source Of Gravity'sTOM COLLINGBURN.
The fun all happened down at the Onion, after a late kick off of 10:30pm. Paul Crook completely rocked our crowd followed by Matty Gillespie playing his brand of electro techy Matty G style house. Next up was Section 75 with his Tribal Tech madness then Paul Bowen whom played a blinder of a set and working over time.
The real stars of this show however was the crowd, we have never had such a good *riffraff, and the photos will show it. From Ian Pickett wearing a dress, down to Gary Miller attempting to balance a bottle on his head for two hours; the laughs were great.
Not sure who the streaker was at about 2:30am, stood on a bass bin, but word on the street is that he had been doing similar antics all summer in Ibiza, anyone know any local DJ’s that spent their summer in Ibiza?????

OCTOBER 29TH

Paul Bowen and Lee Pennington (Section 75) travelled to Dundee to meet up with Club Headway.
They played at the Cotton club and by all reports rocked it, leaving the stain of the *riffraff on all of Headways clubbers.
The photos of this event can be found at www.club-headway.co.uk.
Big thanks to Bruce and the boys for making us feel very welcome and hope that you find Mars in the kitchen.
Big thanks also to DJ Adam Carter for all his help on this trip.

OCTOBER 7TH

Octobers *riffraff party was another great night, it had everything including an injured man playing until full time.
Lucy Hutchinson took to our turntables and showed the boys how to play cutting edge tech house for the first hour.
Followed by the fantastic Paul Lancaster (Fragile) and Scott Udberg (Habit). This was an amazing display of djing from these two guys, particularly from Paul whom cracked his head on the roof and played on until the end of his set (*riffraff salutes you).
Next up were the Adjust boys RED & BLUE; they completely took the roof off with their tribal mayhem and also managed to drink the bar dry.

Posted 18th September 05

We are happy add our new message board to the website please feel free to add your coments about riffraff events and just the usual crack ;o)

Posted 31st Auguat 05

August the 19th seen Lee Pennington (Section 75) travel to Londons top Progressive underground night Audio Deluxe. Lee played the *riffraff sound to the southern Progressive lovers and went down really well.

Lee will be travelling to many more UK underground nights in the next few months to help promote his new EP that is to be released on Source Of Gravity Recordings. We will keep you posted in this section.
 
On August the 26th, a large segment of the *riffraff crew made their way to the gorgeous Isle Of Ibiza.

They held a *riffraff party at the Orange Corner in San Antonio. The party kicked off at 3PM and flowed right up until midnight seeing DJ's Paul Bowen, Paul Bardsley, Junior Jones, Mark Galloway and Lee Pennington all playing back to back. We would like to thank all those that were in Ibiza at that time and came down to enjoy much drinking and merryment.
 
In the meantime back in the UK the *riffraff Sessions night has been going down a storm thanks to our resident DJ's Paul Crook and Matty Gillespie whom have been keeping the sound dirty and deep in the Pacific bar. If you happen to be out and about on a Friday night then make sure you pop into the Paficic Bar and say hello to our residents. You can even buy them a pint if you want.

Posted 1st August 05

The *riffraff camp are happy to present you *riffraff sessions!!!!
riffraff sessions will be based @ The Pacific Bar On corporation road Middlesbrough, the night will take place every Friday night from 6pm - late, and will feature some of the northeast's finest artists. Over the weeks you will see *riffraff providing guest slots for not only the finest artists but for up and coming DJ's from around the area too, giving them a chance to play in front of a crowd and to get a feel for the scene which they live to do.

*riffraff are very supportive for the local talent, and know just how hard it is for new djs to get 1 single slot, so this is a great chance for all new DJ's to come on down and introduce your self to the gang!!!

The riffraff gang.

Posted 12th July 05

*riffraff will be packing up and going to Ibiza this year from the 24th August till the 31st August, you can catch the *riffraff gang playing @ The Orange Corner on the 26th August from 12noon till late.

Playing some dirty tough tribal from mr Paul Bardsley, Lee Pennington with his twisted Tech house Prog sound and Paul Bowen knocking out some quality tough prog for good measure!!
If you in Ibiza at this time pop in and say hi the lads are very friendly and wouldn't say no to a pint hint hint ;-)