So once again the DMM team headed down to the Victoria Warehouse for our 3rd WHP night of autumn 2012, this time for one of the biggest house music nights to hit Manchester this year with Laidback Luke, Eddie Halliwell, Sandro Silva, Gareth Emery and a horde of amazing DJs leading the party. Accompanied by Ashley Taylor Dawson aka Darren from Hollyoaks, the DMM team hit the dance floor and hit it hard for a night of madness and raving.

We arrived quite early at about 10pm but already the place was packed and the party was in full swing as we fought through the crowds of fellow ravers to get a good spot for Dutch DJ and producer Sandro Silva, the man behind one of our favourite tracks of the last few years, “Epic”. As this was our first experience with Sandro’s sets, we were not sure what to expect but were definitely not disappointed. Sandro hit us with a massive, main room house set that would have been capable of filling stadiums, never mind a warehouse and had the crowd bouncing for 2 hours. #EpicStomp

The crowd this week seemed more up for dancing and the party vibe was already setting the standard for our favourite WHP night of the year. After getting psyched up by Silva we went to check out Junior J’s set in the more intimate room 3. We  saw J for the first time a few weeks ago, playing for Bitch’s Halloween Special at Venus the  Club and were literally blown away by his set so we were keen to see how his approach to the Warehouse Project would compare. As before, the young but incredibly talented Irish DJ put on a passionate performance, raving along to the beats with the crowd, enhancing the electric atmosphere. Once again we were really impressed by the variety, track listing, technical ability and enthusiasm J brings to the decks so if you haven’t seen / heard much about him yet, keep your eyes pealed for his upcoming gigs. #FutureIrishSuperstar

Taking over room 3 next were a group we’ve talked about a lot recently, B3. The three Bitch residents, Martyn Russo, Pete Mobey and Lempo played out to the same high standards we’re almost taking for granted these days as they seem to raise the bar every gig they play. A lof of the Venus / Bitch faithful had turned up to support the lads and alongside hundreds more WHP revellers, provided for a familiar friendly but exciting rave. After recent antics, mainly from the eccentric Mr. Russo at both Mint Festival and Venus, the DMM team were anticipating some form of silliness during the set. Without fail, Knife Party’s, “Internet Friends” was blasted over the sound system to a crowd full of clubbers mimicking Russo’s infamous, “wellington boot phone” actions from the festival, many holding up their shoes to their ears in time with the ringing phone. #wellyphone

During the B3 set, SpamellaB, Kurt-Lee, Laura (LJK), Jen (Russo’s lovely Mrs), Ash and myself initiated a mini dance off in true DMM style and to much amusement for the near-by ravers, the hula-hoop dance being a very uncool but funny spectacle! To me, the crowd this week seemed much friendlier, much more outgoing and enthusiastic about enjoying the night, so we jumped around room 3 like frogs on a diet of Red Bull, speed and blue smarties. Gotta say, Ash did have the moves, think we need to get him and @JimmyNooNoo together for a big dance off finale. (We just want to say here thank you to Ash for letting us use his photo above of B3 – good work lad!)  #DMMDanceOff

Heading over to the main room, another Dutchman, this time by the name Laidback Luke, was already half-way through a memorable set to an adoring crowd, packed to the rafters so they didn’t miss out. I think the one track in particular that will stick in our minds, has to be the insanely good, “Break The House Down”. The pumping drop and catchy as hell riff had us jumping side stage. Have to say, I’ve not seen thousands of people, packed into a warehouse rave go mental like they did during the Luke set, so full credit to the maestro on stage. In fact, a couple of guys got a little too carried away, jumping on their mates shoulders and lighting two flares mid-rave. Fair to say they didn’t last long but I’m sure a lot of the crowd will hold that in their WHP memories for a long time. #WHPFlare

After the crowd threw their last double-L’s, Lancashire’s Eddie Halliwell graced the stage for a show that we knew would keep the bass thumping. Eddie’s experience and superior talent provided for yet another awesome performance, proving that Lancashire is not only good for it’s hotpot. (SpamellaB made me write that…I wanted to take it out I promise…)

Another f***ing awesome night at WHP. Just leaving you on this one with a tweet from a reader that sums up this season’s Warehouse Project so far:

“@Sachawhp @WHP_Mcr just read @dancemusicmcr review on Saturday night, you make memories #epicmemories.” @JenniJoynt

With over 35 of the world’s biggest DJ’s in house, techno, dance and drum’n’bass on the line-up, we were pretty excited to experience the first annual Mint Festival at Lotherton Hall near Leeds, one of the UK’s leading boutique festival sites. Hosted by the team behind Mint Club and Mint Warehouse and with the festival season coming to a close after a wash-out summer, we were hoping this to be a mad, messy and memorable one to remember and a success for all involved.

Feeling a bit worse for wear thanks to an incredible Rong at Venus the night before, we arrived back again a few hours later to meet 150 other festival-goers for our coach there – Jager for breakfast was on the menu! We rocked up at the impressive Edwardian grounds around lunchtime to no crazy queues, a field full of tents and plenty of wellies after some of the worst flooding in years – but thankfully it was no Creamfields, the sun was shining – maybe more festivals should be held at this time?

As part of their 6th birthday celebrations, Bitch were proud to host an arena and we headed straight there after stocking up on drinks from the bar in the tent – sensible idea to avoid missing your favourite artists/ DJs!. Dale Castell kicked it off, getting the crowd going with some decent vibes before B3 took over. We’re good pals of the 3 DJs that make up B3 and were hyped to see them for only their second set as a collaboration… and wow did they blow the tent up! Smashing out big tunes like Coldplay ‘Fix You’ and Otto Knows ‘Million Voices’, and remixing and bootlegging to get the crowd going crazy, they worked it and we were going mad for it. We’re already buzzing to see them again at Venus for the Halloween Bitch night – bring it on!

Genuinely our favourite party of 2012. Incredible atmosphere, really well organised, top notch DJs, crowd, music and beer.

The guys were followed by a string of more awesome DJs; Riley & Durrant, DOD and Felix Leiter, who all kept the Bitch tent raving as the crowd grew and the messiness increased. The festival was just the perfect size, you could easily get from one tent to another, bars were easy to get served in and provided a really relaxed party atmosphere. The Bitch tent itself was packed but not too crowded. It’s not the best when you can’t move and dance your wellies off but no such problem at Mint. Blasting out classics that everyone recognised but mixed, mashed and meddled with – in a good way of course! – everyone was having a great time.

By now hours of raving had passed, much alcohol consumed and we were still all going mad for it – especially as Kryder took to the stage, smashing out his trademark heavy tracks like ‘Scorpio’ there was no excuse to be stood still. And what a warm-up for superstar DJs, Michael Woods, Eddie Halliwell, Danny Howard and John Dahlback – epitomising everything Bitch stands for in the house music world. It’s fair to say this was the arena to be in at Mint Festival, even though of course the other tents also had so much on offer.

Our coach arrived a bit earlier than finishing time at 1.30am, but we were all smashed, raved out and ready to head back to Manchester… to carry on the party at Venus for Bitch’s 6th birthday – there really ain’t no rest for the wicked! If Mint Festival returns next year we will definitely be back for more awesome house / dance / drum’n’bass from some of the best DJs worldwide – may it get bigger, better and more… MINT!

Quick edit from James – We cannot stress any more, how much we loved Mint Festival. SpamellaB and myself partied with loads of friends from arrival all the way until the coaches left. Between us, we’re at most festivals, WHP gigs, Venus, Sankeys, loads of clubs and parties and this was our favourite night of 2012 by a country mile. The atmosphere, music, bars, food and crowd were phenomenal. Incredible to say that this was the first Mint Festival, bring on 2013. Huge thank you to the teams at Mint, Bitch, System and Flux, the DJs, the staff and anybody involved. Awesome night.

On another note, I text the B3 lads on the night to say how genuinely proud I was to just be their mates. They were simply outstanding.  They will be superstars, so watch out for them at Venus for Halloween, Warehouse Project in November and smashing clubs and festivals Worldwide in the near future. 

Check out this insane video from the festival, says a lot really: 

Check out Mint Festival on Facebook

Huge thank you to Eddy Gosht from Oh My Gosht Photography for the photos, one of the best club / festival photographers around, head over to Oh My Gosht Photography on Facebook or view the rest of the Bitch album here!

 

On Saturday 29th September, Manchester’s biggest monthly house night celebrates it’s 6th Birthday with one hell of a party in store for those attending. We’re big fans of Bitch and Venus the Club at Dance Music Manchester and since we popped our Bitch cherry we’ve only missed one event so far. This is purely down to the fact we love the crowd, the club and the music so we massively recommend heading down to Venus on the 29th for what promises to be an incredible night.

Have we forgotten something? Oh yes… Not only have the Bitch Events team booked the legend that is Michael Woods to headline the event alongside the awesome squad of resident DJs for the club but they are also hosting a full arena at the brand new Mint Festival in Leeds, a one day event with some of the cream of the crop from the DJ World in attendance.

In June, the at the time unknown entity B3 was finally revealed, with Bitch residents Lempo, Russo and Pedro combining into a super-group that well and truly shocked the club with a stormer of a set. One of the best set’s we’ve witnessed at DMM, judging by the crowd reaction, atmosphere, variety and technicalities involved, the trio used their knowledge of the Bitch crowd and performed a memorable set to the Venus faithful. As their second ever gig together is at a festival, the lads will go far and have our every faith that they will make the festival-crowd go wild. If you missed their debut, make sure you head over to Leeds so you can witness B3 before they’re huge and in the future you can say, “Yes, I was there!”

The same night as the birth of B3, Bitch launched their new music label, announcing their first release as Felix Leiter‘s, “Your Future is Digital“. A track that made the crowd go wild and Felix’s set raised the bar for what was a truly memorable Saturday night. You can catch Felix at Mint Festival, to see what the fuss was all about.

After smashing it out at Creamfields, with SpamllaB, Kurt Lee, Party Animal and myself throwing some mad shapes at the front of the crowd, Manchester based DJ, Kryder, will be bringing the bass with what will be an unmistakably eclectic set, mixed with his new releases, remixes of classics and on-trend floor fillers, as he always does, whatever the venue. Hopefully, the Mint staff will have checked the smoke cannons are working or the fire extinguishers will be coming out once more!

Leading the charge the Bitch Arena, is the legend known as Mr. Eddie Halliwell after kicking the living daylights out of dance floors across the globe this year, from India to Croatia and at the end of September we will be graced with his presence in Lotherton Hall, Leeds. I don’t think we need to explain how good an Eddie Halliwell party is, do we?

A “special guest announcement” will be made shortly with another World class headline act that will impress even the most dedicated of ravers. We’re privileged enough to know who this is and my God this act is HUUUGGEEEE! Trust your DMM friends on this one! Radio 1 DJ, and Bitch favourite, Danny Howard will join forces with the incredible Third Party, Bitch regular D.O.D., Riley & Durrant, Dale Castell and Mikey Nelson completing the Bitch Arena.

Over the next few days, we’ll be doing a preview on each of the arenas, so watch this space as there are some awesome acts involved including Jamie Jones, Seth Troxler and Reboot (and that’s just the System and Flux Arena!)

Tickets for Mint are still on sale, if you’re heading over from Manchester, the lovely folks at Bitch are providing a coach from Venus, to Leeds and back again, just in time for Bitch @ Venus! As another gift, they’re packaging up a ticket to the festival, the return travel and a ticket to the club for just £60. Who fancies a party from midday to 6am? We know we do!

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Deemed at the future Swedish House Mafia, AN21 & Max Vangeli have soon become two of the most exciting and dynamic music duos on the scene! Known for their ever impressing electro sets and progressive house backgrounds, the pair are well on their way to huge levels of success, as they put their knowledge and skills together to create some immense big room tunes! With their highly anticipated date with Eddie Halliwell on 14th August for Fire It Up at Papaya, on the island of Pag, Croatia and the hint of an album on the way… We chat to the lads to see what else has been happening and what they are getting excited about this year.

So, firstly have you guys had the pleasure of visiting Croatia before?

Of course! It’s an AMAZING place!!!

For anyone who hasn’t witnessed an AN21 & Max Vangeli set, what can they expect from you guys?

Lots of energy and drinks being poured in the booth! It’s all about energy from us!

One track you’re sure to play for Fire It Up?

Our collaboration with the AMAZING Julie McKnight – “Bombs Over Capitals”

What’s happening with Size Records this summer?

Big things but the main thing is our album of course! Steve has a lot of amazing records he is going to push as well on his end!

With the end of The Swedish House Mafia imminent, do you think Steve will be spending more time on the label?

OF COURSE! That’s going to be the main focus for sure!

Dance music will need a new DJ super-group soon, who do you think has got the goods

Well we don’t like to consider ourselves as a full time group as we do a lot of shows separately. But who knows, lets hope it’s someone from the SIZE family J
What’s been the highlight of 2012 for you guys so far?

Working on and finally finishing our album! Super excited to finally have the fans hear it.

If you could bring back someone from the dead to work with on a track who would it be?

Hmm probably the King of Pop himself, just so we can say we did something with such amazing talent! All the girls will be ours J

If you could go back in time five years and give yourself some advice, what would it be?

Learn to play an instrument from day one!

What’s the greatest EDM track of all time?

Probably “Daft Punk – Da Funk”

Who’s the bigger studio geek?

Both equal geeks, but Antoine is more of a geek in general haha

Who’s got the best footwear?

Hmm probably both of us

Best dance moves?

The fist pump vs the air piano at the same time synchronized?

Who moans the most?

DEFINITLY, Antoine!

Who would win in a boxing match?

Haha it will all depend on how drunk Max is probably.

One of you is late and missed a flight, who is it?

haha “no comment”

Finally a message to the fans that are hyped up to see you at Papaya?

Love you guys soo much!  Can’t wait to see all of you!!!

For all the information on the Fire It Up dates at Papaya -

http://fireitup.co.uk/croatia/

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