In a coup for the city’s clubbing scene, a huge venue in Manchester has been shortlisted as one of the best of its kind in the UK by this year’s DJ Mag awards.
Depot Mayfield, the home of Manchester’s infamous party series The Warehouse Project, is the only club in the north of England to make the shortlist – sitting alongside London venues Fabric, KOKO and Printworks, and Glasgow nightclub SWG3.
First opened in 2019, the 10,000 capacity venue has been home to some huge events – including MIF and Skepta’s mind-blowing futurist rave DYSTOPIA987 and Manchester Pride’s inaugural music event Pride Live, as well as innumerable shows for WHP over the past few years.
With three separate stages – Depot, Concourse and Archive – it has been home to an eclectic run of Warehouse Project shows, attracting ravers and gig-goers of all musical persuasions.
Image: WHP MCR
Image: WHP MCR
Now it has been recognised as one of the best large venues in the UK as part of the annual DJ Mag awards, widely considered to be one of (if not the) biggest authorities on the UK dance music scene.
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The award ceremony takes place this December 15 in London’s The Steel Yard, in what is the first IRL award show since the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns of 2020 and 2021.
This year marks the 16th edition of the awards, an annual celebration of UK talent. Positioned as a counter-balance to the global Top 100 DJs poll, DJ Mag’s Best Of British awards are a chance to shine a spotlight on the homegrown talent that continues to place the UK scene at the forefront of electronic music.
The 2022 nominations are split across 22 categories, and the awards show in December will also see the return of three editorial choice categories, Outstanding Contribution, Innovation & Excellence and Game Changer.
Also shortlisted in this year’s awards is Manchester’s ‘Baddest of them all’ producer and DJ Interplanetary Criminal, whose BOTA remix with Eliza Rose went viral this year and hit number one in the UK singles charts this September.
Interplanetary Criminal is up for two awards this year – Best Producer and Best Track – showing that Manchester is still at the forefront of the UK music scene, decades after its Hacienda heydays.
You can see the full list of DJ Mag’s 2022 awards and nominations below.
Best DJ
Anz Djrum Palms Trax Patrick Topping Tiffany Calver
Congo Natty Dance System Interplanetary Criminal Loraine James M1onthebeat
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Breakthrough Producer
Breaka CeeBeaats Meg Ward Nia Archives Soul Mass Transit System
Best MC/Vocalist
Bandokay MC Chickaboo Ivorian Doll Knucks Novelist
Breakthrough MC/Vocalist
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Bemz Chinx (OS) Iceboy Violet Jim Legxacy ShaSimone
Best Label
AD 93 ec2a Phantasy Sound Trick XL Recordings
Breakthrough Label
All Centre Over/Shadow Pretty Weird Sondela Recordings Time Is Now [Shall Not Fade]
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Best Album
DJ Q ‘Est. 2003’ [Local Action] Hagan ‘Textures’ [Python Syndicate] Hudson Mohawke ‘Cry Sugar’ [Warp] Kelly Lee Owens ‘LP.8’ [Smalltown Supersound] TSHA ‘Capricorn Sun’ [Ninja Tune]
Best Compilation
PinkPantheress ‘to hell with it (Remixes)’ [Parlophone] V/A ”Club Entry’ Vol. 1′ [Borne Fruits] V/A ‘Hospital Mixtape: Lens’ [Hospital Records] V/A ‘Luke Una Presents É Soul Cultura’ [Mr Bongo] V/A ‘Touching Bass presents: Soon Come’ [Touching Bass]
Best Track
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Eliza Rose & Interplanetary Criminal ‘B.O.T.A. (Baddest Of Them All)’ [Warner Records x One House] Hamdi ‘Skanka’ [DUPLOC] Joy O ‘pinky ring’ [XL Recordings] LF System ‘Afraid To Feel’ [Warner Music] Nia Archives ‘Baianá’ [HIJINXX / Island]
Best Remix/Edit
KH ‘Looking At Your Pager’ [Ministry of Sound/Three Six Zero] Michael Bibi ‘La Murga (Michael’s Midnight Mix)’ Nick León ‘Xtasis feat. DJ Babatr (Pearson Sound Remix)’ [TraTraTrax] Tessela ‘Hackney Parrot (Bailey’s Techno Tool)’ Tirzah ‘Tectonic (FAUZIA Remix)’ [Domino]
Best Rap Album/Mixtape
CB ‘A Drillers Perspective 2’ [mayowahd] FLOHIO ‘Out Of Heart’ [AWAL] Horrid1 x Sav’O ‘Violent Siblings’ [CGM Records] Jeshi ‘Universal Credit’ [Because Music] Loyle Carner ‘hugo’ [EMI]
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Best Rap Track
Darkoo ‘Always feat. Black Sherif’ (Prod. by Albert kweku Koranteng) [Atlantic Records UK] Giggs x Tiny Boost ‘The Family’ (Prod. by RichMadeRecords) [Self-released] Kojey Radical feat. Lex Amor ‘War Outside’ (Prod. by Swindle & Kztheproducer) [Asylum Records UK] LD x C1 ‘Hillside Demons’ (Prod. by JS OTP & Hilzz) [24 Hour Ent] Nemzzz ‘2MS’ (Prod. by Wydsonni) [Motown Records UK / EMI]
Best Radio Show
Emma Jean Thackray, Worldwide FM Ellie Prohan, KISS FM Felix Joy Breakfast Show, SWU Pure Spice with DJ Manara, BBC Asian Network Soup To Nuts, NTS
Best Large Club
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Depot Mayfield, Manchester fabric, London KOKO, London Printworks, London SWG3, Glasgow
Best Small Club
Colour Factory, London Night Tales, London Strange Brew, Bristol Sub Club, Glasgow Ulster Sports Club, Belfast
Best Club Event
Club Blanco Distant Planet PXSSY PALACE Teletech Small Talk
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Best Festival
Houghton Festival Naked City Festival Otherlands Music & Arts Festival Outlook Festival UK Queen’s Yard Summer Party
Best Boutique Festival
Field Maneuvers Freerotation KALLIDA Festival No Bounds Festival Watching Trees Festival
Underground Hero Recognising the champions of grassroots music communities
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Double O & Mantra Jeremy Sylvester Lo Shea Man Power Sarah McBriar
Feature image – WHP MCR
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Tame Impala at Co-op Live, Manchester – lasers, lights, and a bit of a hangover
Daisy Jackson
The coolest man in the southern hemisphere has finally made his way back up north, for his first Manchester gig in a decade.
That cool man in question is Tame Impala, the music project of what-the-hell-can’t-he-play multi-instrumentalist Kevin Parker.
Sure, last year’s single release ‘Dracula’, and then its remix re-release with K-pop megastar Jennie, may have propelled Tame Impala up towards the top of the UK singles chart for the first time, but he’s got almost two decades-worth of music to dig through beyond that too.
It’s a hefty discography and it leads to a setlist that seems to almost peak about six times.
‘How could it possibly get better than this?’ we seem to ask as he plays The Moment, Elephant, Dracula, and Let It Happen pretty early on – but better it does indeed get.
It doesn’t seem to matter whether he’s up on the main space-ship-esque stage surrounded by lasers and lights, or sat on the floor of the B Stage playing around with a keyboard, Tame Impala has an irresistible, enchanting charisma. A lot more charisma that you’d expect from a man called Kevin.
Early on, he confesses that he’s quite severely hungover from last night’s show, where he had Dua Lipa (he wrote and produced her Radical Optimism album) as a surprise guest.
But you can see the hangover clear from his eyes in real time as 23,500 Mancs scream in his face. Which might not sound like a likely hangover cure, but who am I to argue with the evidence in front of me?
Although Kevin writes, produces, and records his music solo, he’s got half a dozen musicians up on the main stage with him, which looks like a convoluted space ship that fires confetti out of its thrusters (FOUR TIMES!).
With revolving lights, dancing lasers, and a metal grid base spewing out dry ice, it’s really one hell of a production.
It’s a light show designed to give us all a glimpse of his synesthesia (meaning he sees colours when he hears music (Billie Eilish has it too)) – essentially, if you couldn’t hear a thing and could only see the stage, you can still tell exactly what song is playing.
Still, when he saunters straight through the crowd to his smaller stage to mix tracks solo – no lasers, just a few lamps – flopping down onto a tangle of wires like a mad magpie building himself a nest, it’s a chance to remember this guy’s composing prowess.
A lot of the songs performed tonight are almost orchestral in their complexity, so that the whole show merges into one thundering, bewitching night of dancing and being blasted in the face by confetti.
It’s genius.
So can you not leave it another decade before you come back, Kevin?
Kahiki Soundhouse – the new Mint Lounge site is living up to the old name and its live music legacy
Danny Jones
If you went out in town back in the day (pretty much any time from the late 90s to the 2010s), or indeed have sampled a Funkdemia over the past couple of decades, chances are you tried or at least heard of Mint Lounge – but did you know it’s been replaced by a new kid on the block, Kahiki?
Kahiki Soundhouse, to give it its full name, is the new live music venue bar that has opened up the old basement space on Oldham Street in the Northern Quarter.
In truth, it’s now more of a classic lounge than ever before.
The large open-plan floor, which used to be filled with people standing/two-stepping inside a fairly barebones club room with no air conditioning, has now been traded up for a stylish space lined with plush padded seats, classy low-lit tables perfect to share a glass or two over, and lots of new features.
Perhaps the biggest change is that the old soundbooth/stage area that used to be way at the back has now been swapped for a central 360° podium that changes up each night.
It really is the star of the all-week-round Kahiki show, if you ask us.
This also means that no matter where you are in the main venue (there are other rooms, but we’ll get to that), be it tucked in a booth to the side, at the bar, or even ‘behind’ whoever’s playing, you’ll have a virtually unobstructed view of what’s happening from noon until night.
Seriously, thanks to their already jam-packed schedule, the reviews aren’t just off to a great start only a few days in, but people have been turning up in the early evening and staying well into the early hours of the next day.
They’ve got duelling pianos, live bandaoke, acoustic nights and straightforward DJ sets for those who still fancy a taste of the previous vibe.
Kahiki’s maiden Manchester city centre venue definitely harks back to the good times had in the Mint Lounge days, but the team, who possess decades of experience between them, have combined a retro feel almost more akin to 1960s speakeasies, cocktails and evening venues.
It’s no secret that clubbing and the UK nightlife scene have changed quite a bit since the pandemic, but these guys look to have found that perfect blend of more relaxed seating, along with plenty of room to get up and boogie; there’s even a raised mini-stage/dance cage for your main character moments.
Better still, if you do want something a little bit away from the crowds of punters that are continuing to make this one of the liveliest new additions to NQ, they also have adjustable karaoke rooms where bi-folding doors can make room for up to 50 of you and your lot to party in privacy.
Let’s just say the spirit of the Lounge is alive and well in the Soundhouse.
Just one corner of KahikiYour podium awaitsOne of the smaller karaoke rooms
Georgina Pellant -
30th November 2022 
