The best way to say goodbye to January? Goa Ultrabeat’s night obviously, this time with the eastern influences of Onur Ozer. Turkish born, he started in the late 1990s to "import" house and minimal-house to his country enriching it with oriental rhythms.

February will be shorter but a very intense month (you will see).

It will welcome you on Friday with one of the most important djs from the Balkans scene -Sinisa Tamamovic- performing at Rashomon Club on 1 Feb. Now based in London, but originally from Banja Luka (Bosnia and Herzegovina), he’s part of Dubfire’s label SCI+TEC Digital Audio as well of Umek’s 1605 Music Therapy, not bad right?

Bosnia is not enough eastern for you? Let’s go to Singapore (well he lives in Germany now so if you go there you won’t find him, better you go to Goa Club for now) to listen to Xhin with his futuristic experimental and intense techno. Big names like Ben Klock and Luke Slater collaborated with him at his second work for Stroboscopic Artefacts record label.

Coming from the other side of the world this time (Chicago, US) Miss Honey Dijon will entertain you at Animal Social Club with her house, disco and tech-house influenced by NYC underground (where she’s based now). She attended many important events (from Love Parade to Winter Music Conference in Miami) and she worked with artists like Danny Tenaglia and Derrick Carter (both still relatively unknown).

In a more local dimension there will be a cool party in the centre of Rome (close to Campo de' Fiori) in an old movie theatre transformed into a party location (Lambeth Palace) and organised by Tramp crew (info at their Facebook page).

If you are not tired (and if you haven’t bought your ticket in advance, since the event seems to be sold out), Saturday is the day of David Guetta, the French superstar dj who has sold millions and millions of records all around the globe. He collaborated with many pop and hip-hop artists like Madonna, Snoop Dogg, Black Eyed Peas and Ludacris, just to mention a few. His style is definitely more house and commercial so also the location is not a usual club but a place for big events (Palazzo dei Congressi, EUR area).

Don’t like big crowds? Guetta is too commercial (and you haven’t bought the ticket in advance)? You have two more chances to have fun. Chance n.1: from Sven Vath’s Cocoon Records you can enjoy a very interesting german duo -Extrawelt- who will entertain you with their minimal techno (Rashomon Club).    

Chance n.2: International Drum’n’Bass Meeting at Brancaleone, second Roman edition of the only festival in Italy for this kind of music.

Not a bad start for February, right?

by Gaetano Luca Panetta (glpanetta@gmail.com) 

PS: For all events check if presale tickets are needed.