The MN Collective is excited to host a very special weekend with one of our all-time heroes, Mike Huckaby, which will take place over two venues on the 20^th/21^st May.

“Detroit legend” is a term often bandied about, however, through amazing productions, his days serving the public at the highly influential Record Time store, his work-shops & schools set-up to share his in-depth production knowledge and his raw passion for the music, this son of the Motor City earns his reputation. And for those of you not yet lucky enough to witness this man mix records, trust us, from once the tone-arm hits the first record, you’re in for a special treat, a journey through raw, deep, energetic & soulful music.

Over the weekend Mike will be joining us for a special set to celebrate the birth of our favourite philosophizing, futurist Jazz musician from the depths of outer space, Sun Ra. During his near fourscore years visit to destination earth, Sun Ra injected a new philosophy and approach to music and art. When one delves into the enigmatic world of Sun Ra, it’s easy see why Huckaby holds a place so dear in his heart for the eccentric composer. Sun Ra brought some of the earliest electronic music to our planet and not just through the keyboard solos and synths he incorporated into his music, but also the themes of space, mythology & the future which became staples for modern electronic music.

Gmos – Sun Ra Mix by Amen Brother

The Sun Ra birthday celebrations will begin in the Grand Social where Amen Brother will be screening a series of Sun Ra documentaries to set the tone for the evening, we’ll also be showing “Space is the Place” as a backdrop for Huckaby’s set. This fictional film offers a nice flavour of the Sun Ra oeuvre, depicting his internal dilemmas, the thematic resonance of his music, and most importantly the music itself. We will be providing cocktails deals (well we feel obliged to at least try and haggle some sort of deal on a Cosmo for the night), Sun Ra giveaways, a couple of signed copies of Huckaby’s reel-to-reel Sun Ra edits for giveaway (if we can source them in time) and a couple of free weekend passes too for those of you who were more attentive during the movie sitting, more details to follow.

Later on in the night, Amen Brother will be continuing the celebrations upstairs. We are delighted to have Fatty Fatty resident,  GMOS involved having witnessed him mix up all sorts of jams in the past around the capital from electro-funk to some of our favourite house records, GMOS is also a contributor to one of our favourite no nonsense hard-hitting blogs, infinitestatemachine.com.

Barry Walsh will also take to the decks on the night. We first met Barry down at the brilliant “Sunday Times” party in Cork. It’s easy to see from his blog that Barry has a penchant for Jazz and a keen enthusiast of the avant-garde experimental compositions of Sun Ra. After Barry, Mike Huckaby will step up to the decks and he’ll not be coming empty-handed, bringing with him his own reel-to-reel for a very special set to celebrate Sun Ra’s birthday. We checked a similar set out last October when he brought it over to Berlin and he didn’t disappoint with a unique set full of energy and charisma, a true ode to Sun Ra himself. We hope to see you all down there to celebrate Sun Ra’s birthday celebration in style.

Mike Huckaby – Paris One Reverse – October 2010

If all the Sun Ra celebrations get too much, try and get some sleep that night/day because day two of the Huckaby weekender promises to be equally brilliant and another unique affair. Mike will be joining us in the Ormond Wine Bar for an MN Presents… set that we hope will run from twelve o’clock long into the early hours. MN residents Niall Kirk and Damien Waters will be spinning a few records beforehand to set the mood then Mike will be taking us on a journey through the world of house music for what promises to be a special set. The man brings his knowledge, musical taste and influences creating a set with ease that flows with a quality only a few of his contemporaries can achieve. For those who haven’t been down to the Ormond Wine Bar yet, it’s a fine venue and much needed addition to the Dublin club scene with plush surroundings and a separate chill out area upstairs. We’ll also be kitting the place out with a top class soundsystem so you can hear Mike’s set in the sound quality it deserves.

We understand that not everybody can afford two door charges over a weekend which is why we’ll be offering special weekend concession tickets for €15. These can be purchased through RA or by getting in touch with a member of the MN collective. We’ll have more details to follow on the weekender soon with a series of mixes to come from the guests playing over the weekend so keep an eye out on our mixcloud and mntothat.com.