Unit 7th Anniversary

After recruiting psychedelic rhythm machine Silver Apples and Kraut-ambient combo Cluster for their birthday parties in 2009 and 2010, respectively, the folks at Unit have managed to go one better this time around by snagging Wire. The British art-rock group are best known for the three albums they released in the late '70s – Pink Flag, Chairs Missing and 154 – but they've remained intermittently active ever since. New album Red Barked Tree drew rave reviews when it was released at the beginning of the year, with the result that the band have been touring with an enthusiasm not seen since 1978. Find out more in our Wire interview.

In a savvy bit of programming, Wire are appearing alongside one of their closest Japanese counterparts, Friction. There'll be music in all three rooms at Unit, with DJ turns from Eye, Ten and Kenji Takimi, plus a live turn by electronica artist Aoki Takamasa.