Long live the spin

While the demise of the superstar DJ has long been prophesied, most of them have hung about, rather like - to paraphrase Gordon Ramsay - grannies who won't die. Slowly, however, a new A-list of DJs and live acts is emerging to overthrow the Tongs, Oakenfolds and Chemical Brothers of this world.

Foremost among them are Parisian duo Ivan Smagghe and Arnaud Rebotini, aka Black Strobe, who headline Bugged Out! at The End on Saturday with a decks'n'effects special. Smagghe looks like a weedier version of Jesus, and his synthetic, rumbling electro-house sets have built a devoted following, while the pair's Black Strobe productions have garnered acclaim for their exploration of disco's underbelly.

They are joined in the main room by acid house bleepsters FC Kahuna and JoJo De Freq, with a live performance coming courtesy of this week's electro hipsters, Sex In Dallas. In the Lounge, Trash's Erol plays whatever he damn well likes.

Over at Fabric on Saturday, the allure of the new continues, as the hotly tipped '!!!' drop in for a live gig. The Sacramento/New York seven-piece scored a cult hit last year with the cowbell-propelled disco groove Me And Giuliani Down By The School Yard and their recent album, Louden Up Now - a hook-laden punk funk extravaganza - was warmly received. DJ support comes from Andrew Weatherall and assorted Haywire techno/electro associates.

Room Three offers some enticing prospects too, with Warp's teenage Detroit protege Jimmy Edgar showcasing his techno-tinged hip hop alongside a DJ set from Freeform Five. The latter may be mathematically challenged (there's only four of them) but their forthcoming debut, Strangest Things, makes Basement Jaxx look like a Sister Sledge tribute band.

The buzz has been building around Switch for some time, thanks to an intimate atmosphere and laid-back crowd.

Spoiling clubbers for choice on Saturday, residents Nathan E Drake and Johnny Hiller are joined at Fluid by Botchit & Scarper's Mr Ben, one of the few breaks DJs that can work a floor rather than make it cry with boredom. Expect a finely chopped journey between hip hop, funk, breaks and disco, with beefed-up beats supplied by bongo master Persian Skins. Upstairs, you can sip Japanese lager and play with the vintage Pac-Man machine while DJ Jose spins an eclectic party set.

Those wishing to get truly ahead of the game are directed to sans.signal at Spitz tonight, where a showcase of French avant-electronica comes courtesy of dDamage (weird lo-fi hip hop), Heller (weird post-rock droning) and Mrs Pilgrimm (distorted cello). While it's fair to say that none of these acts will be filling the boots recently vacated by the retired Orbital, do watch out for Discom and the Pez Orchestra: the former fuse extreme digital sound treatments with sweet but ohsodisturbed pop melodies; the latter play Pez sweet dispensers, which if nothing else is likely to be considerably more gripping than the new Prodigy record.