Five For The Funk - The North West This Weekend

Image: The Martinez Brothers

With festival season drawing to a close, it's time for events to take charge again and this weekend is looking like a big one for raves. The leaves are turning and summer plans are fast turning into memories, but fear not, there's so much to look forward to over the colder months.

For this week's Five For The Funk feature, we've selected a handful of the best events taking place in the North West this weekend in September, and taken a closer look at the headliners who are sure to shake those holiday blues away. 

Less Effect: French Fries

The mammoth amount of talent which French Fries has adopted as a DJ and producer has seen him gain support from the likes of Claude VonStroke, Oneman and Justin Martin. His exploration of sub-genres has left him with a distinguished, dirty, bass-laced sound which features in all his tracks and his sets (check out his Boiler Room below).

His delves into the darker side of bass and house music, the drops and drums are characteristic of the label which has been heavily associated with him, dirtybird. The warehouse environment of 24 Kitchen Street in Liverpool for Less Effect is the ideal place for him to unleash his musical power. Grab your tickets here, and check out the interview we did with him too.

Sankeys Tribal Sessions: The Martinez Brothers 

Sankeys is back in Manchester this Friday, and what better way to kick things off at their home location for the Autumn/Winter season than welcoming back the house sibling duo The Martinez Brothers. 

Their ability to work with funky, feel-good tracks (check out their Ibiza Boiler Room above) and approach to adopting new sounds makes every set secures their relevancy in the scene, but they never stray too far from their bass-driven roots.

The brothers are no strangers to the confines of Sankeys, which results in an unbeatable confidence and ease which they have developed with the club. The atmosphere and crowd connection is always second to none, Tribal Sessions is the perfect opportunity for them to bring their Balearic flare back to the UK. Fancy it? Head here for tickets. 

Giraffe: Patrick Topping 

Hot Creations' man of the moment Patrick Topping will be headed to FC2 in Warrington for Giraffe to deliver a helping of the best in house music. His track 'Forget' catapulted him further into success earlier this year, the chugging bass mixed with sweet vocals made a huge impact, and proved that Topping is capable of producing tracks that are completely dancefloor ready. 

Each Giraffe event has brought the most exciting and influential new stars in the world of dance music to the city. Topping is able to work through powerful tracks with superb skill (check out his Juice TV set above), expect a set which sends the Giraffe crowds into frenzy. Get your tickets for Giraffe here. 

Hustle: San Soda

Hustle is one of Liverpool's gems. Their events have a really close-knit vibe, the regulars know exactly what to expect: quality house and disco music with no frills and no pretentiousness, and everyone is welcome to join them. They've invited San Soda to help them celebrate their second birthday this Saturday. 

Thanks to San Soda's flawless production skills and tight mixing abilities, he has been responsible for some of the best house music to come out of Belgium. His collaboration track with FCL 'It's You' became one of the underground anthems of last year. Don't miss out, grab your tickets here. 

Sankeys VIVa Warriors: Cassy

One mega event this weekend for Sankeys obviously wasn't enough, they've also got a VIVa Warriors party on the cards. Steve Lawler is the head honcho of VIVa, so it goes without saying that he'll be behind the decks on Saturday, but it's the choice of Cassy as headliner that is sure to shake things up in the basement. 

Cassy is a regular at Panorama bar in Berlin, so working in the most renowned house and techno spaces is second nature to her. She radiates an infectious energy, and takes crowds on a journey, exposing them to the wonders of the genres she loves. Get your tickets for Tribal Sessions.