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Music

Manchester's Warehouse Project is Back, and Saturday Night Was the Perfect Welcome

Highlights included Daphni dropping all nine minutes of Eric Prydz' "Opus"...honestly.
All photos by Jody Hartley.

WELCOME TO WAREHOUSE

Sweaty bodies under arches and wrapped around pillars, the consistently mammoth queue for an overflowing smoking area, one of the most powerful sound-systems going and a line-up featuring the biggest DJs in the world; it can only mean one thing in Manchester — the return of The Warehouse Project.

Back home at Store Street, a former air-raid shelter, now a car park-space, the autumn night series is the perfect cure to the inevitable post-summer-festival-season come down. Offering another series of unbelievably good line-ups right up until New Years Day - ranging from Skepta to Marcel Dettmann to Hudson Mohawke and even New Order, it's where you'd choose to spend every Friday and Saturday night if you could.

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This being my first WHP, Welcome to the Warehouse, aside from the name, seemed an appropriate introduction. With music kicking off from 6pm, punters face the daunting challenge of an 11 hour session, plus another two or three for the afterparty survivors; but when you've got Seth Troxler and The Martinez Brothers heading up the bill, with Joy Orbison, Jackmaster, Daphni, Tom Trago AND Jasper James ready and waiting to smash their sets with ease, both rooms were destined to be rammed from the off.

HERO OF THE NIGHT: JACKMASTER

Banger after banger, once again Jackmaster provided the standout set of the night; something he seems to achieve wherever and whenever he plays really. Shrouded in clouds of smoke, with a few thousand before him all bathed in red strobes, the Glaswegian mixer turned international jet setting DJ turned out a typically masterclass set of house, techno and some disco fun.

The biggest moments, though? When he dropped Doorly's piano laden Ibiza afterparty friendly 'Sunrise Reprise' of Mario Cruz's "Little Thing" everyone just lost it in arms up, feet stomping, incredible scenes. Equally with Adesse Versions' "Pride" and a brilliant dub of Snilloc's "Elso" - certified smashes, the former bringing his set to a well perfected close.

TRACK OF THE NIGHT: ERIC PRYDZ — "OPUS"

Entrancing the crowd right from the first beat, Daphni's choice to play "Opus" in all its immense nine-minute glory before midnight was a brave but brilliant one. Building up the anticipation and intense atmosphere to the ravey drop, it was a moment of euphoria as not one person could tear their eyes away from Dan Snaith, especially the girl in the silver tin foil dress up on her friends shoulders having the time of her life, along with everyone around her, arms stretched out to record the memory on their phones. A real moment.

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HEADLINE HIGHLIGHT: TUSKEGEE

Seth and The Martinez Brothers' back-to-back was

seriously impressive.

Dropping Floorplan's "Never Grow Old" in the last hour, they worked everyone's lungs to the last breath trying to compete with the screaming female vocal. The light show, especially, was incredible – a weird kind of waterfall cascade effect, hypnotic to say the least.

WHAT THE CROWD SAID

Speaking to a pair of lads who travelled up from Scotland for the weekend: "It's the biggest rave in the UK, this - we come every year!" Similarly, an Irish lad… "My Tummy's a bit upset, like. I've been drinking for basically all of the past month. I was in Ibiza then a festival in Ireland with duke Dumont. I'm trying to keep up with my mates, like, but it's a struggle. I'll power through though!" Warehouse Project continues next weekend. Follow Ben on Twitter.