With Edinburgh’s clubbing revival continuing to bloom, the town’s appetite for techno has intensified. Lighting the way with their focus on quality over quantity is Unseen, reliably prescribing pitch black techno on a monthly basis back in one of the homes of Edinburgh’s original techno scene, Studio 24. We spoke with Neil Templar (one of the 3 creators of Unseen) on the eve of the next instalment about the club night he helped create, new ventures and plans for the future.

The focus of this underground success is on the less visible DJs/producers, offering a regular night that pays particular attention to playing good, contemporary techno. Neil goes onto explain, ‘we’re not relying on obvious big international names to do the work of building a crowd for us. We want our crowd to grow with an understanding that no matter who’s playing, they can expect a certain degree of quality from us.’

He continues, ‘there will be guests that are virtually unheard of. The guys (and girls) who play week in, week out, at clubs all over. Passionate and talented folk. It’s the resident DJs that truly make a club, so you can expect to be seeing some names on our posters you’re completely unfamiliar with.’

Although, obviously not adverse to inviting the odd legend (Unseen 01.06.2012 – Adam X) along for the ride every once in a while, they still insist on keeping to the plan of great/modern techno. Speaking of Adam X’s appearance in June, he admits ‘we knew it was risky, but we deliberately had him do his Traversable Wormhole material. Much deeper, way more sparse “sci-fi techno”. Its contemporary sound is what’s happening on the global techno scene right now’.

A similar idea followed in early August when hosting Berlin’s Tresor in the capital for a night. Deliberately avoiding the big names and opting to bring the backbone of the club to the capital, the resident DJs, Pacou & Marcel Heese. ‘That’s what we’re about, bringing the most up-to-date techno artists to Edinburgh’.

Neil’s need for a creative outlet in his life, led in part to the creation of Unseen, but now onto the creation of a new night, ‘IN-Side(s)’. The new venture kicks off on Saturday 6^th October at the Outhouse, Edinburgh (Broughton Street), and offers something different to those who have the stamina for a second night in a row.

Billed as a series of events exploring the deeper aspects of techno and electronic music, it can be thought of as the after-after-party for Unseen, or as the warm up for those who woke up fresh on Saturday morning! Having enjoyed all aspects of techno and electronic music, not just the tracks designed for the dance floor, Neil explains that IN-Side(s) is ‘an opportunity for me and the guests to play the stuff that we don’t get to play at our club nights. A chance to explore the more thoughtful, fun, chilled or experimental elements of our collections. The focus is on quality first and foremost.’

For those finding it hard to get back up to speed following Friday, this laid back night should ease you back and be pretty entertaining too, especially if you’re not yet in the mood for dancing.

So what about the future? Well, for fans of the Unseen night, there would seem to be plenty to look forward to. More great guests are to be expected as well as a collaboration or two with other clubs whose ethos treads a similar path. As for 2013, Unseen will be bringing some exciting artists to Edinburgh, and the UK, for the first time. Neil stops short of spoiling any surprises though, ‘we are Unseen, so I’m giving away no names at this point…’ UKB

Unseen 05.10.2012 takes place at Studio 24 with Casual Violence.
IN-Side(s) 06.10.2012 takes place at the Outhouse, Broughton Street with Neil Templar (Dogma/Unseen), Darrell Harding (Pulse) and Bruno FK (Compakt).