Blood & Thunder is an 18 hour insane-a-thon of a party. Dreamt up by Derek Plaslaiko and Spinoza for NYE 2006, the first Blood & Thunder at the legendary subTonic space was an experiment in afterhours dance party endurance that we had no idea would actually work. The first year was amazing, but things really bloomed last year when Blood & Thunder II was held at Galapagos Art Space (now Public Assembly), and was considered the techno party of the year by pretty much everyone in attendance. It's hard to top a party like that, but we're giving it our best shot with a killer lineup, a bone rattling sound system (if you've been to House-N-Home you know what to expect), and a much improved venue infrastructure.

Jan Krueger has been involved in the German techno scene since the mid-90's, doing everything from DJing, to throwing parties, to a recent stint as sales manager at the highly respected distributor Word and Sound. He recently left Word and Sound to focus on his DJ career and Hello?Repeat, the label he started with Daze Maxim. Jan has already made quite a name for himself in Berlin, appearing regularly at Watergate, Panorama Bar, and Club Der Visionäre. His rise to fame in North America has happened incredibly quickly. His first North American gigs were in Detroit on DEMF weekend at the Need I Say More 3 afterparty at the Old Miami, and the Accelerate closing party at The Works on Monday. He made quite an impression at both gigs, and kinda stole the show from bigger name DJs. He's completely torn the roof off of The Bunker both times he's appeared since than, and has become one of the hottest acts on the North American techno circuit. When he was here in October to play The Bunker we jokingly suggested he come play at Blood & Thunder III, and to our surprise he gladly accepted. Those of you who had the pleasure of hearing Jan tagteam with Derek in October know that having him on board tonight is really going to help us push things over the edge in true Blood & Thunder style.

Chicago-based Kate Simko is a University-trained classical pianist turned left field house and techno producer. Releasing music on labels such as Traum, Kupei Musika and Spectral Sound, Kate draws from a wide range of influences, combining her sense of melody and structure with her background in Chicago house and Detroit techno. Whether playing live or DJ'ing, Kate's musical selection maintains a warm, soulful character, full of funky bass lines and loose rhythms. Gaining attention from labels and DJ's around the world, Kate has performed at festivals such as Mutek (Montreal and Chile), the Detroit Electronic Music Festival and Worldtronics (Berlin), and has played beside a myriad of genre defining artists throughout the United States, Europe and South America. This year has been pretty massive for Kate, with several well received releases on Spectral, a successful North American tour, an appearance at the Sunday School for Degenerates party in New York, and a European tour that included a set at the legendary Fabric club. Tonight Kate treats us to her new live set.

We decided we couldn't do Blood & Thunder this year without our Russian techno brothers, alka_rex. Their live sets are increasingly rare, and they only pull them out for very special occasions. While they've appeared at The Bunker many times, it's been far too long since we've had them play for us. These guys have gotten international praise for their cutting edge releases and live sets with insanely intricate sound design that constantly tests the limits of just how strange electronic music can get and still remain danceable. They hold down the weekly Less party, and are staples of the scene.

It definitely wouldn't be Blood & Thunder without Derek Plaslaiko, ringleader of late night party antics. What can we really say about him that you don't already know? He pretty much blows up The Bunker every single week, usually outshining the special guests. 2008 has been a huge year for Derek, with a successful 15 date Spectral Residency Tour of North America, very well received podcasts for Resident Advisor and XLR8R, and appearances at DEMF, Igloofest in Montreal, and Daikanyama Unit in Tokyo. He also launched his GO!!! monthly at APT, bringing in guests like Magda and Heartthrob. We expect a lot from him, but in 2009 you can expect much more as Derek focuses more energy into his own productions and finally releasing some music. Also, his mix of all Spectral material will be part of the upcoming Spectral 50 release, on, you guessed it, Spectral Sound.

Bryan Kasenic (aka Spinoza) is known in the electronic music world for throwing many successful parties, playing adventurous DJ sets, launching an influential newsletter, and starting Beyond, his own booking agency. His set at the Resolute party thrown for Derek Plaslaiko's birthday floored everyone still in attendance, and kept the party rocking well past it's scheduled stop time with everyone dying for more at the end. His DJ sets this year have been rare, but always a special treat. Best known for throwing the weekly Bunker party for almost 6 years now, Bryan has a ton of experience throwing loft parties and afterhours as well, and is really excited about the new House-n-Home project he founded alongside Anthony Parasole. The first two parties were hugely successful, and created a lot of buzz leading up to the next party with Move D on January 17.

Anthony Parasole has been having a really big year. He launched both the Novel Sound and Deconstruct record labels with Levon Vincent. NS-01 by Levon Vincent and Jus Ed has already sold out of it's first pressing, and immediately put the label on the map, being charted by Marcel Dettmann, Shed, and Jan Krueger. The first Deconstruct sold out almost immediately, and has stores like Hardwax in Berlin clamoring for more. Trust us, you will be hearing a lot about these labels in 2009, and you'll probably be hearing a bunch of the unreleased tracks in Anthony's set tonight. In 2009, you'll be hearing Anthony play at Made Events' new Save The Cannibals party, where he's opening for Cassy on Valentine's Day.

Another local on the rise playing tonight is Eric Cloutier. We've watched Eric come a long way since we brought him to The Bunker for his first NYC gig in late 2006. He's moved to the city, established a residency and picked up a ton of local gigs, done excellent podcasts for Ghostly and The Bunker, and traveled the US to play in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Detroit, Philly, and upstate NY. We think it's safe to say he is truly a rising star to keep an eye on. Eric is currently working on 4 new podcasts for 2009, has started getting serious about production, and will be opening for Steve Bug in January.

Last but not least is our good friend Atomly, who probably holds the record for most Bunkers attended in 2008. It's been awhile since we had Atomly play at The Bunker, but we've seen him play very impressive sets at Resolute, Wolf + Lamb, and other parties around the city this year. Outside of NYC, he's played in Philadelphia, Detroit, and Chicago this year. If there's one person who we're sure is going to make it through the entire 18 hours, it's Atomly.