For students who are serious about bass and heavy house, who want a night purely about this (plus decent priced-drinks), the guys behind Rum & Bass may have the answer. Launching on 2nd February, Antwerp Mansion, the former Belgian embassy-turned-squatters-mansion will be transformed, every other Saturday, into a haven for bass heavy house lovers, offering surprise additions and appearances from guest DJ’s.

Rum & Bass

We were chuffed and intrigued when we got a tweet from the guys at Rum & Bass (@RumNBassMCR) inviting us to come down for the opening night. The Gig Room is all about Rum & Bass residents and the best MC’s, with the best tracks from Julio Bashmore, Disclosure, Eats Everything, Mark Knight, Jamie Jones and many more.

Over in The Ball Room, you’ve got ‘The Best of Bass Music – Exposure DJ’s Takeover’ with popular tracks by the likes of Redlight, Sub Focus, Netsky, Magnetic Man and Rudimental, to name but a few.

This all sounds well up our street and it’s good to see a venue outside of the city centre putting on what is expected to be a decent night for music. This fits in with the ethos of Antwerp Mansion, a renovation project striving to turn a beautiful but run-down Victorian Mansions into a music, art and photography haven. This fortnightly Saturday night event looks like it’ll help the venue achieve this for music, bringing in students and those passionate about house/bass.

Launch night poster

So, if you like the sound of a ‘strictly bass heavy’ night at a unique venue out of town and fancy something a bit alternative, come down and join us at the launch of Rum & Bass…we’ll be the ones at the front starting a DMM Dance Off most likely!

Saturday 2nd February @ Antwerp Mansion, 9pm – 3am
Website: rumandbassmanchester
Tickets: Fatsoma website

Our 4th WHP this autumn, the infamous Annie Mac Presents tour paid a visit to Manchester on Saturday 30th November, bringing with it a huge host of names to smash up the Warehouse Project – and in true style, Ms Mac certainly succeeded, living up to her name as one of the best female DJs/presenters out there.

Annie Mac Presents

Long before being on the Radio 1 airwaves, our favourite Irish curly haired lass has been showcasing top, world-class line-ups around the UK and Europe, and let’s not forget her dominance on the Ibiza scene during summer and her promoter residence at Koko, London. There’s no stopping the Queen of Dance Music and we can confidently say her line-up at WHP was no exception in her repertoire of MASSIVE events for music lovers everywhere.

So before we go into the night itself, let’s just give you a run-down on who was there on the night to highlight just how epic the line-up was: Magnetic Man, Justice (DJ set), Annie Mac herself, Redlight, Disclosure (DJ set), Rudimental (also DJ set). Dirtybird Records presented us with Claude VonStroke, alongside Catz N Dogz, Justin Martin and Shadowchild, and finally Skreamizm (another massive tour going round), showcasing Skream himself, Breach, Krystal Klear, Bobby Tank and Dismantle *stops to catch breath* So there you go, a pretty big night for electro/drum’n'bass/dance fans. Of course we didn’t get to see and rave to everyone but here are some of our DMM stand outs…

Reebok Room Shenanigans
When we got there Victoria Warehouse was packed by 10.30pm, electrifying vibes bouncing off the brick walls and a buzz about the place already; standard for a WHP night, but even more so tonight. We headed straight over to Room 4, where sponsors Reebok were hosting their own exclusive room, and were met by the delicious house sounds spiked with funk, drum’n’bass and hiphop influences of a certain Mr Claude VonStroke. As mentioned in our preview, the guy of Dirtybird Records is a bit of a hero of ours, and proved effortlessly how he can control the room with his DJ-ing. As predicted, we were treated to dirty, sweaty, nasty set, which even saw James’ infamous ‘Higgy Wiggle’ make an appearance (trust me, it was a sight not to miss!).

Claude VonStroke in Reebok Room

AMP – Raving Not Behaving
It would be rude to not pay the Main Room a visit despite falling in love with VonStroke just a little bit more, so when Magnetic Man came on we were – literally, like a magnet – drawn to the heavy, bassy, immense drops and crashing beats of probably one of the biggest trios in electro music: Skream, Benga and Artwork. As a threesome, these guys know EXACTLY how to put on a storm of a set and wow, did they exceed that. ‘Anthemic’ went off like an absolute bomb, while other hits like ‘I Need Air’ could have easily blown the roof off. Massive set from a massive collaboration; blown away.

Magnetic Man

Annie Mac, like the absolute babe and dance music queen she is, completely flirted with, teased and dominated the crowd with her insane mixes of the best tracks out there; old and new, heavy and slow, deep and bassy, light and dancey. This woman is a legend and from what we remember (admittedly!), for the duration of her set, relished it, embraced it, and proved why the ‘Annie Mac Presents’ tour has the reputation it is so notorious for. Ms Mac may well be a mummy next year, but right now she shows no sign of slowing down.

Annie Mac

Justin Martin uses & abuses Room 2
As we said before, on the average WHP night there’re so many amazing artists and DJ’s that unless you plan your time to military precision, you’re bound to miss people. We thought we’d see how the other half of Dirtybird Records, Justin Martin, would take on his set in Room 2 and boy, did he smash it up, whipping out unapologetically heavy house, electro, tech sounds and making the crowd go crazy. We enjoyed raving with DJ mates Lempo + Japwow (aka Ninjury, who’ll be gracing this very place at Skrillex night on Thursday!) and were pretty impressed with this San Franciscan’s mega set of melodic filth to end our night off.

Yes, we missed the Skreamizm set and DJ sets from Disclosure, Rudimental and Justice, but we certainly weren’t complaining at the end of the night. Another WHP, another immense night. Thank you Annie Mac (and Reebok!).

One of the most exciting moments in a Mancunians life is waking up to see The Warehouse Project line ups revealed for the coming autumn. That moment of uncertainty and mystery to who’s been booked and who’s playing together… This WHP season is possibly the most interesting to date with the reveal of the brand new venue in Trafford Park. Those who didn’t manage to get tickets for the Easter weekend earlier in the year, prepare to be completely amazed, the venue is absolutely massive… kind of like Store Street’s almighty big brother!

With the recent announcement from The Warehouse Project just two weeks ago, we are once again ready to fill our boots with more spicy names!  Friday 28^th September is the Rinse 18^th birthday special which see’s Katy B, Skream, Diplo, Jackmaster and Ben UFO awaken the old dog with some heeeaaaavy bass. Welcome To The Warehouse follows on the Saturday with an interesting appearance from Nicolas Jaar, Seth Troxler, Maya Jane Coles b2b Heidi and Maceo Plex.

WHP Presents sees partners in crime, Carl Cox and Richie Hawtin grace the decks, with fellow masters in techno; Loco Dice, Nina Kraviz and Yousef.  While SBTRKT curates and headlines the Saturday bringing us an african beat with the voice of an angel to assist. Four Tet, Caribou, Pariah and XXXY are also on this very electrifying bill.

The weekend after hosts possibly my favourite night, Bugged Out! On the 12^th October, with Boys Noize, Simian Mobile Disco, Eats Everything, Fake Blood, Space Dimension Controller, Erol Alkan and Green Velvet all under one roof! With so many huge names, I think I might just explode when I get in there. The Saturday welcomes a much bassier carte du jour, with Sub Focus, Benga, Doom and Shy Fx all playing at the Ape Birthday special.

The Friday sees Bloc Party take to the stage on the Friday with Armin Van Buuren, Markus Schulz and Paul Van Dyk playing to all the Trance fans on the Saturday. Friday 26^th October presents The Halloween special – curated by TEED, who will be stopping in as part of his UK tour. The 2 Bears, John Talabot and Drop The Mustard DJ’s are also set to trick and treat the guest’s with this truly spooky spectacular, making us scream with nothing but sheer excitement!

November starts off with an exciting night from Cocoon, expect some dirty underground vibes from the likes of Sven Vath, Ricardo Villalobos, Adam Beyer and Cassy. While the mainstream D&B and dubstep fans can expect one hell of a bass emporium with Chase & Status, DJ Fresh, Skream & Benga, Beardyman and Ms Dynamite playing till the early hours.

Thursday 8^th November hosts a one of performance from Animal Collective while the Friday offers a very electronic and experimental line up, Flying Lotus, Jamie XX, Illum Sphere and Hessle Audio are amongst some of the acts at the WHP X RBMA event. Saturday night is for all the progressive house lovers out there with Laidback Luke, Eddie Halliwell, Steve Aoki and Sandro Silva set to take the night up up up and away!

Next weekend see’s things get heavy again with Hospitality presenting a drum and bass fuelled night with the likes of Netsky, Andy C & GQ, High Contrast and Camo & Krooked. Then knocking it down a post or two, Hot Creations Presents Paradise see’s deep house daddy; Jamie Jones play alongside Maceo Plex, Kerri Chandler, Miguel Campbell and Danny Daze.

Another favourite to DMM, Annie Mac Presents is on for a winner with Justice, Disclosure, Annie Mac, Claude Von Stroke, Cats n Dogz, Justin Martin and Skream all in the bag. Can’t wait for this! While Saturday gets deep with the sounds of Orbital, Modeselektor, Julio Bashmore, Scuba and Blawan.

Getting cooler into December, the 8^th presents The Chemical Brothers in a no doubt captivating DJ set and the week after sees the ledged Fatboy Slim, join forces with some of the biggest names around. Pete Tong, Madeon, Basement Jaxx and Riva Starr join the king, for a fun night of funky beats. Crosstown Rebels host the last event on the calendar… but not the very last! With Damien Lazarus, Maceo Plex, Art Department, Amirali and Subb-An.

I could list names for days making us “eeee” with anticipation but you may as well check it for yourself over at www.thewarehouseproject.com where tickets can also be bought

Jess and Lauren

In just 72 days; the tents will be up, the bars will be stocked, the stages set up and the staff eagerly waiting for the flood of people ready to come through the gates for this year’s most anticipated festival! On July 27^th – 28^th Global Gathering returns to Long Marston Airfield, Stratford Upon Avon and in it’s 12^th year running, we think it’s going to be it’s biggest year yet! With headline performances from Armin Van Buuren, Skrillex, Chase and Status, Nero and Friendly Fires.

The festival has just announced new additions to the already colossal line up that is bursting at the seams with incredible live acts and DJ’s from across the globe! Now, in the brand new arena ‘House’ headlining the event is the incredible Nicky Romero, the hard partying Australian DJ and Producer Tommy Trash, Dada Life, R3hab – electro house lover who has made successful remixes for the likes of Lady Gaga, Calvin Harris and Lil’ Wayne. The upcoming star Rob Guson will be doing exactly what it says on the tin and playing some really tasty house music. Having featured at the festival only once before, it’s going to be a brilliant addition to the festival!

Also new this year is the Ec-lectricity Arena, who simply believe in good music no matter what genre it is! They have booked melodic music craftsmen James Zabiela, Redlight, Hessle Audio (consisting of Pearson Sound, Ben UFO and Pangaea) the bass heavy Breakage, DJ and producer Mosca who binds dancehall and tech house to create a mash up concoction – perfect for Ec-lectricity Arena. Jackmaster, Rockwell, Disclosure, George Fitzgerald and the incredible vocalist featured in SBTRKT’s – Pharoah; Roses Gabor will also be playing, live and fierce!

This year is going to be huge for Global Gathering, they literally have something for everyone and when I go this summer, I’m going to make sure I see people other than just my favourites. Definitely the year to be adventurous and mix it up a bit! The Electric Arena is standing out for me the most; Annie Mac, Fake Blood, Jackbeats (DJ set.. Pretty cool) and Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs… I can just imagine the vibrant, fun, bass fuelled beats being pumped around the tent and it’s going to be a dancing sensation being inside there!

A State of Trance and Godskitchen are two arenas I’ll be checking out, after watching Armin Van Buuren at Global Gathering in 2010 I was blown away, the atmosphere was so uplifting there was a possibility we might of taken off and flown into space, truly incredible and a must see again! Armin will also be broadcasting his show ‘A State of Trance’ live from the festival to millions of listeners all over the world – an absolute first for Global Gathering!

There is much more going on and for the full line up here, there is literally every genre under the sun, I recommend doing a lucky dip and going wherever it takes you. There is so many incredible DJ’s and live acts just waiting to be discovered so take a chance and have fun!

Tickets are still available and start at £105 + fees for standard weekend camping! Buy tickets for Global Gatehering Here

Theres a lot of good music gracing our ears (or kicking the hell out of them with deep bass) at the moment, DMM’s tune of the week is from the Disclosure boys and will be getting hammered across the country every weekend at the moment, especially after the brilliant response they got after appearing on Pete Tong’s Radio 1 show last Friday. Expect big things from them in the near future.