The perhaps shocking news was announced yesterday that Sankeys will be closing its doors with an all day party on Monday May 6th, the end of a real era in dance music culture which has run each weekend for over 7 years. The iconic and legendary club which has always defied expectation, epitomised the spirit of the underground and dared to go where others have feared to tread, is signing off for the summer.

David Vincent explains, “I have decided to close Sankeys in Manchester indefinitely this summer as I focus my attention on our third year in Ibiza. I want our Ibiza project to be the best club in the world, just like what we have achieved previously in Manchester, as I get the feeling this could be our summer. But I need my production and staff from Manchester to come to Ibiza with me to achieve this goal and therefore both clubs cannot be open at the same time. Who knows when we will be back in Manchester, or if we ever will be back, or what comes next in this great city I love. I want this current chapter of the club’s history to end with a spectacular party, so we are rounding off the May bank holiday with a huge line-up. It’s an 12 hour marathon set from 1pm to 1am on Monday 6th, with a stellar cast of names and the Sankeys Manchester residents, in the spirit of our epic 12-hour Tenaglia sessions.”

The closing show features global techno legend and Rejected co-founder Joris Voorn, Berlin’s Desolat queen tINI, London legend and Fuse founder, Enzo Siragusa and Darius Syrossian all in attendance. The club’s residents, Jozef K and Us & Them, play their final sets too during this epic session, and finally Bones smakes the trip over from Ibiza, one of Sankeys’ residents there. Also there are two very special guests to be announced on the day that Sankeys are keeping a closely guarded secret.

David concludes, “I have had some truly amazing memories in Manchester, many brilliant highs including being recognised for contributing significant culture to the city of Manchester at a national museum and also quite a few challenging lows, in a journey which will continue around the world. We have made our name in Manchester as The World’s Best Club in the DJ Mag Awards 2010, and the Sankeys spirit will live on there. I want to say huge thanks all of the DJs, live acts, promoters and agents that I have worked with, and all of the Sankeys staff who have helped shape the club during the last 13 years. And most importantly, Sankeys simply wouldn’t exist without our loyal crowd who have made us what we are today, and I want to say thanks to every one of you. Finally, all I can say right now about what happens next is quite simply: watch this space.”

Sankeys Closing Party – The Full Line-Up

Date: Monday 6th May
Location: Sankeys, 4 Radium Street, Manchester, M4 6AY

Joris Voorn
tINI and Enzo Siragusa
Darius Syrossian
Jozef K
Us & Them
Bones
Two very special unannounced guests

LAST 100 TICKETS FOR THE CLOSING PARTY AVAILABLE HERE via Skiddle.
£15 advance tickets
1pm – 1am
www.sankeys.info

Fancy heading over to the party island of Ibiza this Summer but don’t know where to start? Do you not like the ridiculous entry prices at the bigger clubs on the island but feel like you’re going to miss out if you don’t pay up £30-60 a night just on entry? Want to party with the best of Manchester’s clubbing scene in the dance music centre of the planet? Look no further as DMM favourites, Venus the Club and Bitch Events, have teamed up to create an awesome Ibiza package from as little as £299.

For 5 days / 4 nights, including accommodation, pre-parties and superclub entries to keep you entertained for your entire holiday. On the Wednesday, Bitch and Venus host an official pre-party at the world famous Ibiza Rocks, followed by entry to Be at DJ Mag’s Top Club of 2012, Space. For an extra £39, a boat party hosted by the Manchester brands will entertain the VIP revellers around the beautiful island before returning to port for Cream at Amnesia in the night. A day trip to the beautiful, Playa D’en Bossa followed by yet another night clubbing in one of the islands superclubs, finished off with a day at the Ocean Beach Club and then Hed Kandi, a Venus regular, at Es Paradis back in San Antonio Bay.

With the VIP option, you are not only granted on board the boat party but are also given travel from the hotel to the venues, which can easily mount up in taxi fares, not bad for less then forty quid!

Knowing how expensive Ibiza can be, hotels, entry to all the super clubs and parties could easily set you back £500-600 alone. Add in the taxis and transfers, you’re looking at one hell of a total amount. With Bitch and Venus’ VIP package coming in at only £339, you’re saving a massive amount. More Jager anyone?

Check out the packages here!

“Conceived on South Beach Miami, born on a rooftop in Ibiza and spreading its wings upon the beaches of San Antonio; melted has now landed in the UK and about to come of age. Bringing you high quality 4-on-the-floor house music all night long.”

Reading that paragraph on the Facebook event page for a new house night at Sound Control caught our attention in a big way. Not only were we  highly intrigued by the conception story but the confidence of the night’s future success seemed high in it’s intro. So as we do, we got in touch with the guys behind it to find out more.

Aimed predominantly at students, the team at Sound Control and Melted have 9 events in the pipeline, all bringing high quality, underground house DJs from across the country. Why do we sound so confident in the night’s success? After meeting the man behind the gig, Kill Suarez, in Font last week and listening to the back-story, the passion and the knowledge that is fueling it, we were quickly persuaded.

After the polite intros, we quickly asked Mr Suarez about Melted and it’s curious beginnings. At the start of the Ibiza 2012 Summer season when looking for DJ gigs and struggling, with his first boss telling him that, “Ibiza was not for you”; Suarez took a leap of faith and decided to put on his own night. Walking up and down the beach of San Antonio Bay, selling tickets to the workers, rather than the tourists, he quickly built a cool, underground reputation, which spread to the tourists trying to attend the “cool workers parties”.

The first night took place at a poolside bar, Casa Maria, and was a big success. Combining the hard work and passion he displayed on the beaches, with his enthusiasm for the music, plus Marco Loco turning up to play on the first night bringing along revelers from his prior boat party gig along, he had a recipe for success in his hands.

A second event was quickly set up, hoping to follow in the footsteps of the first but this time, the venue’s music license was quizzed by the police half way through and what was looking to be an improvement even on the first gig, was halted abruptly. This was not the end of Melted as Suarez was then offered him a weekly spot at V-Club at the bottom of San Antonio’s infamous strip on a busy Saturday night, to which he entertained holiday-makers and workers for the rest of the season.

Upon returning to the UK, Suarez hosted a small night in Trof, Fallowfield, which for the size of the club was a huge boost to his confidence and reputation in Manchester: quickly prompting Sound Control to offer a regular spot at the city centre venue. As Suarez has a huge love for Sound Control, from the live music, the varied rooms and the grimey underground basement, he believed this would provide a perfect environment to bring Melted to Manchester. In Ibiza, he created a dirty, underground club night that was completely different but highly welcomed. In Manchester, the underground, cold, industrial basement room at Sound Control was a perfect match for his vision of the event and brand, reminding him of Hacienda back in the day.

The booking of Mark Wells and Ben Clarke for the first gig should prove to be a brilliant call. Two DJs who are both musically renown across Manchester and the dance music scene. We haven’t witnessed Mark in person but his soundcloud profile says enough for us to know we want to be at Sound Control next Thursday. Ben however, we have seen trouncing Sankeys, The Warehouse Project and various gigs, mainly with Applique; so we can promise you that Ben is a solid, ever growing DJ who is going places in the next few years.

Melted has a simple philosophy; house music, twice a month, no prejudice, just a really good party. Suarez spent last summer proving his mettle in the tough Ibiza scene and is bringing it closer to home at Sound Control. We highly recommend heading down on Thursday 31st January. Check out Kill Suarez’s promo mix below, or join the Facebook event page for more information. Tickets are £5+Bf (MOTD) on the Sound Control website. One note from the team, don’t wear your favourite trainers!

It can be really frustrating when you’ve never been somewhere and you’re trying to find out where’s best to go out, best to eat, best to stay etc… I mean, it’s your holiday and you want it to fit in with your budget, your style and your taste so why not make that a little bit easier? Charlie Chester, Jo Mills, Nic Jauncy and editor of Electronica Magazine and Tillate Magazine Iain Thomson are the guys behind the brand new website; Essential Ibiza. They are trying something that’s never been done before which will bring the people that keep the island running smoothly, together with the people who visit the island, to ultimately create a mega island with something for everyone!

Essential Ibiza is giving clubs, restaurants, hotels, bars, shops, promoters and many other leading services their chance to promote themselves on the website. Each one has its own handy little bio containing maps, photos, comments of visitors and ‘essential ibiza’s tip’ which is an added personal touch just to say, yes we’ve been there – done that and here’s what we are recommending!

Their journalists will be on the island throughout the year covering events before, during and after they happen so you get an all rounded write up of what’s happening on the best island in the world! These news pages will then be plugged directly into the club ticket system allowing people to buy tickets to that event straight away which is really quick and easy!

On hand to help the guys out with be some key media outlets that will make sure us at home will see and hear everything that’s going on! Ugroove.tv will be covering key events and carrying out interviews with selected DJ’s over the summer that will be hosted on Essential Ibiza. And if you’re lucky enough to be out there, why don’t you download the free Pacha VIP app for iPhone which Essential Ibiza has provided all the information for, you can find news, event listings, hot spots Spanish phrases and more! And of course worldwide accredited Tilllate Magazine will bring all the Ibiza news as it happens, so you can’t avoid Ibiza this year!

If you’re going to Ibiza this year and want help on where to stay, where to eat and where to go out, or you just fancy having a read of what’s happening then have a gander on essentialibiza.com. It’s organized, helpful and doesn’t take the fun out of going on holiday, with 10 year old rubbish that nobody wants to read about!

Carl Cox has been invited back to Space for his 11^th year running, in 2010 he celebrated a decade with his Tuesday nights ‘Carl Cox – The Revolution’, which saw thousands of clubbers from all over the world see the god of house music grace the decks with his massive smile and inevitability to mix like a one man musical machine. I had the treat of seeing him twice last year, both on the terrace and Discoteca in the Number 1 club in the world.

This year he returns to Space on the 3^rd of July running his incredible Tuesday night for 12 weeks up until 19^th September, only this year he’s put a little spin on it. As well as promoting his super awesome DJ friends that will be flying in to play on the incredible line-ups ahead, Carl Cox is giving the unheard talent a chance by unveiling 2 competitions that could transform them from mice to men, grapes to wine and bedroom DJ’s to superstars!

Hosting two competitions ‘The Revolution Recruits DJ Competition’ (which has now closed) and ‘The Revolution Recruits Theme Contest’ which runs till 1^st June.

Carl Cox is eager to find 4 new and upcoming DJ’s that can play with him in Ibiza either in Space or at Sands Beach Bar in Playa Den Bossa where he plays quite often. This summer, Carl Cox and friends will be bringing to you some of the hottest line-ups all under one very cool roof. Resident recruits Yousef, UMEK and Nic Fanciulli are also joining him on his quest to take over the world.

Lynn Cosgrave, who heads Safehouse says: “We’re putting all our energy behind building this night to even new heights. There will be familiar faces but also incredible new talent and styles of music.”  The line ups are immense this year with support coming from Jon Rundell, Loco Dice, Monika Kruse and Heidi make sure you get yourself a ticket to one of this years spectacular events.

Resident DJs: Nic Fanciulli + UMEK + Yousef Andy C & MC GQ | Artwork & Dynamite MC | Ben Sims | Carl Cox | Charlie Hedges | Clockwork | Cristian Varela | Deetron | Dermot C | DJ Antz | DJ Sneak | DJ T | Dubfire | Ed Moore | Elio Riso | Fatboy Slim | Green Velvet | Guti (Live) | Guy J | Heidi | Jacques Renault | John Digweed | John Talabot | Jon Rundell | Jon Ulysses | Josh Wink | Just Be | Laurent Garnier presents L.B.S. | Layo & Bushwacka! | Loco Dice | Lucca | Marco Bailey | Marco Loco | Mario Basanov | Mark Robinson | Maxxi Soundsystem | MO’ Funk | Monika Kruse | Nicole Moudaber | Pan-Pot | Philipp Straub | Pleasurekraft | Sam Walker | Sasha | Sebo K | The Mekanism | The Revenge | Tiger & Woods | Tim Green | tINI | Tom Peppe | Uner | Wildkats

And for tickets – click here.