Red Bull’s domination of underground music and culture continues as the energy drink manufacturer turned club kings roll into Manchester for the Red Bull Music Academy UK Tour, an extended weekend exploring the origins of house, disco, techno and more. As well as busy, bumping dance floors, music fans can expect exhibitions, Q&A sessions and production masterclasses.
Easing things in on Thursday evening, Soup Kitchen present a showcase of some of the finest record sleeve art assembled by local design house, Dr. Me, who, during their rapid ascendancy, have designed works for the XX, The Haxan Cloak, Grizzly Bear and Evian Christ. Over at the Albert Hall, Hattie Collins is in conversation with inimitable grime pioneer Skepta, who’ll later be taking the mic alongside Flowdan, JME and more at the Tropical launch at The Ritz. Accompanying DJs include garage legend Todd Edwards, and formidable dubstep pioneers Plastician and Slimzee.
Friday night is when the event truly dominates Manchester’s clubs, with three of the finest line-ups the city has seen in some time. Deep South, at yes, South, hosts Detroit prodigy Omar S, founder of FXHE records and creator of more than a handful of the finest moments in the recent history of contemporary house. Expect a classy, heads down party with further support from similarly minded Numbers signing, Doc Daneeka, as well as a troupe of local selectors in the form of Meat Free. Over in Ancoats, Red Bull take over Sankeys to pay tribute ‘Industrial City Sounds’ on both a relatively local and international scale. Detroit techno mainstay Derrick May joins Surgeon, Dana Ruh, Happa, Tin Man and Acre for an early hours salute to uncompromising dance floor sounds.
Back over at Soup Kitchen, crossover post-dubstep success Mount Kimbie take the controls for an influence-spanning DJ set, taking the club’s usual open minded crowd on what’s sure to be something of a journey, with fellow club experimentalists Braiden, Synkro and the club’s own Dan Hampson in support. The following afternoon, and in a nice addition to the hustle and bustle of Record Store Day, RBMA Radio will broadcast live from Soup Kitchen itself, featuring sets from Manchester oriented talent like Krystal Klear, Metrodome, Jon K, Ruf Dug and others. Saturday concludes out in Rusholme, with Zed Bias, perhaps the city’s grand don of bass, curating a party at the lovably grubby Antwerp Mansion, with a strong set of pals including Akkord, Paleman and Jonny Dub on the Mansion’s powerful sound system.
Finally, squeezing every last drop of the weekend’s party potential through to Sunday, there’s a Studio Science workshop from PRhyme at 2022, offering a host of production insights to budding and fellow music makers not exhausted by the possibility of three nights of world class clubbing. Drawing the event to a close from the early evening is ‘Wax Works’, featuring PRhyme himself alongside the legendary DJ Jazzy Jeff, Krystal Klear and Josey Rebelle.
For full details, times and ticket prices, head over to Red Bull Music Academy UK Tour's Official Manchester Minisite.