Meet Larishka – the DJ making her mark on Manchester’s Garage scene

It’s time to meet Larishka – Audio North’s Artist of the Month for October.

For Larishka, music has always been around her in some form. Growing up surrounded by classical and rock music, she never expected her route into electronic music to begin with a Parklife set from Carl Cox, before eventually becoming a DJ, promoter, and co-owner of Manchester’s Ghosts of Garage.

Today, she runs events, DJs across House, Garage and Bass, and is helping build a community around one of Manchester’s most exciting electronic music brands.

From promoter to DJ

Larishka actually started out as a promoter while doing an apprenticeship at a music booking agency. She always knew she wanted to work on the events side rather than bookings, but felt like she wasn’t going to make many connections within the industry while living in Oldham.

Her plan was to go to university to study music, with the hope of learning to produce while also moving into Manchester and making connections within the city’s music scene.

Quite quickly into her studies, she joined Ghosts of Garage. After about a year, she had something of a lightbulb moment.

“I was studying music, I run my own nights, and I was always on the aux at house parties, so why have I not learned to DJ yet?” she explained.

That realisation came while she was sitting on MATTIK’s living room sofa, where she asked if he would teach her. Before long, she was calling him every day asking if they could go to the studio and practise mixing.

“I owe it to him really, he was a brilliant teacher.”

“I get it” – the Parklife moment that changed everything

Larishka’s introduction to electronic music wasn’t exactly the traditional one.

“I grew up on classical and rock music – my dad was a sound engineer in the 70s so that was his thing really, and my mum played the piano every single day so that’s what I was constantly around.”

She first heard house music when she was around 15 or 16, after a friend sent her a track they had found on SoundCloud.

“I listened to it out of my phone and didn’t really get it, it was too repetitive.”

A few years later, everything changed. After hearing Parklife from her window every year growing up, Larishka eventually went to the festival for the first time and watched Carl Cox close The Valley. He played ‘Finder’ by Ninetoes, and it was the first time she had experienced electronic music on a huge sound system.

“I remember being in absolute awe and turning to my friend and saying ‘I get it’ and from then, I was just absolutely hooked.”

It became a genuine turning point.

“I had my A Level exams that following week and when I was revising all I was listening to was house music and I remember my Dad coming in and saying ‘Is this you forever now?’ and I said ‘Yeah I think it is'”.

Why Manchester means so much

“I mean it’s home, and always has been.”

Having become part of the city’s music scene, she says she feels incredibly lucky to have found a community around her.

“There’s a certain camaraderie that exists here that I don’t know that you’d find anywhere else.”

For her, that sense of community is what makes Manchester’s music scene so special.

“Seeing people you know everywhere you go, you kinda feel like you’re never alone and that you’re actually part of something.”

That spirit extends beyond electronic music, too.

“And it’s not just in electronic music either, that spirit exists across all genres – Manchester music history is so rooted across such a broad spectrum of genres, and to see that still prevailing today is something we should all be proud of.”

Building Ghosts of Garage

It’s impossible to talk about Larishka’s journey without talking about Ghosts of Garage.

She’s a co-owner of the brand, having joined in 2021, and works across its marketing, bookings and creative direction alongside Rich Reason. For her, one of the biggest things that makes a Ghosts of Garage night stand out is its commitment to the music.

“The music and lineups truly never miss, which is a credit to Rich. The guy knows how to program a lineup.”

The team makes a conscious effort to champion new talent, often including at least one Manchester or UK debut on a lineup.

“A big part of each event is making them unique while keeping the brand consistent – each event has to have its own USP or else the nights get boring and people think they can just skip this one and go to the next and it’ll be the same.”

Community is a huge part of the brand.

“We’re also big advocates of community and want to create the gap between audience and DJ as little as possible, so try to get the crowd involved as much as possible through things like our WhatsApp community.”

The aim is to make people feel like buying a ticket means becoming part of something bigger.

“We want people to feel like if you buy a ticket for our event, then you’ve unlocked a key to be part of something.”

Larishka’s advice for getting into Manchester’s music scene

For anyone hoping to break into Manchester’s music scene, Larishka’s advice is simple – go out.

“I’m way more likely to book you if we’ve met and we’ve had a good chat because it means I can put a face to a name and I know what you’re like.”

For her, being part of the community is about more than simply sending messages and asking for opportunities.

“Being an active member of the community means you’re already part of the night, so booking you to DJ just makes you even more part of it than you already are, rather than someone I’ve never met before who’s in my DMs.”

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Ultimately, it comes back to the same thing that has shaped so much of Larishka’s own journey – showing up, meeting people, and becoming part of something.

Featured Image – Supplied