Earth Planning

The long-running Drum & Bass Sessions focuses on the crossover between UK dub and drum' when Independent Dealers Records' unit Flynn & Flora head up a night at Liquid Room entitled Bristol Massive.

Part of the fertile Bristol scene that gave birth to acts like Massive Attack and Roni Size Reprazent, Flynn & Flaura set up their own Independent Dealers Records in 1996. They debuted with the album Native Drums in the same year and also worked on remixes for More Rockers and Creation Records' Smith & Mighty. Their DJ credits include Glastonbury Festival, Reading Festival, as well as regular appearances in Bristol's leading Versatility drum'n'bass event, and playing clubs such as The End and Creamfields. A second album from Flynn & Flaura, Background, is due out this year.

Flynn & Flaura will be in good company at Liquid Room, with leading Japanese drum'n'bass DJs of Maniac Love's Holidaze events Kaji and "Doggy" Sack providing backup...

If drum'n'bass isn't your thing, then consider heading over to the freshly re-energized Womb in Shibuya, where French techno unit Cosmophonic will be in town to promote their debut album, First Flight.

A two-man combo formed by DJ Sonic and VJ Caro, Cosmophonic came together in 1996 after the pair's separate, successful careers in, respectively, music and film. A pioneer of the techno scene in France since 1990, Sonic has played numerous clubs and raves, as well as hosting the program Chill Out on Radio FG and releasing tracks off his Omnisnous label.

Caro, meanwhile, worked as art designer on a series of offbeat films including Delicatessen, City of Lost Children and Alien Resurrection. He became interested in Vjing after being turned on to techno in the '90s, following earlier attempts to make music in the '80s.

With throbbing rhythms and noises from outer space taken from NASA archives, First Flight (Rambling Records/Casareal) is being touted as "pure house music under the space-travel concept." The label is planning to market the audiovisual project via video and web download.

The event will also feature, as special guest DJs, the irrepressible Towa Tei, formerly of '90s house unit Deelite, and Taka-Jun...

Finally, this Friday, June 22 marks the 10th anniversary of jazz funk DJ collective United Future Organization, who will be celebrating the occasion with another installment of their long-running Jazzin' events at Yellow. Pioneers of the acid jazz scene in Japan and dance music figures of worldwide renown, UFO, a trio consisting of Toshio Matsuura, Tadashi Yabe and Raphael Sebbag, will be joined by noted bassist Isao Suzuki and his New Family band in celebrating the occasion.

Bristol Massive: Liquid Room, 6/30, 11:30pm, JY3500 (adv), JY4000 (door). Tel: 3200-6831.

First Flight: Womb, 6/30, 9pm, JY3500, JY3000 (w/flyer), w/1d. Tel: 5459-3939.

Jazzin' 10th Anniversary: Yellow, 06/22, 10pm, JY3000, JY2500 (w/flyer), w/1d. Tel: 3479-0690.