An ear to the ground for 2002
If you're part of Manchester clubbing culture, you're going to know a bit about the scene. So don't take it from us, take it from clubbing's movers and shakers and get your ear to the ground in 2002.
BARRY ''BAZ' ALMOND (GOOD GREEF)
''The hard house phenomenon is going to die down a bit this year. Instead, we're going to see more techno influences coming through, mixed up with a bit of trance. In London they call it hard dance, and in the north it's tech-trance - either way, it's going to be the big sound of 2002.
''I hope there's going to be less and less work for all the big, arrogant DJs. I mean, the industry is changing, and big name line-ups are starting to become boring.
''This year is going to be a testing time for some of the so-called superclubs.''
Ones to watch: ''I'm bound to say it, but our resident DJ Eddie Halliwell is going to be massive, without a doubt. Judge Jules has already tipped him to be the next big thing, and he's playing loads for Gatecrasher this year, as well as doing Galaxy mixes, stuff like that. Look out for him.''
Spellbound INKEY (SPELLBOUND)''I think nu skool breaks will become the common denominator between all the different scenes. As a form of music, it's already brought house and drum'n'bass together, which is quite an amazing achievement, not one that you kind of expected.
''That said, I don't think the breaks scene is going to blow the world to pieces, but it'll certainly have more impact as well as attract more people who are sick of the way that UK garage is turning into pop music.
''Also, my general feeling is that the south has run out of steam. Garage was the last dice for London, and it kinda suited the boom years, but now I think the impetus is going to come from the north.''
Ones to watch: ''Keep an eye on Kasa, a drum'n'bass DJ who's played for us in the past. He's just blown up huge on the Asian scene, playing everything from breaks and jungle, to bhangra. Also, look out for the continuing influence of MCs across all styles of music.''
PHIL MORSE (TANGLED)
''We'll see more reliance on resident DJs, and less on the big names, because they're pricing themselves out of the market. Musically, it's going to be house, and it's going to be funkier and more interesting again, particularly after all the boring, progressive stuff that's been polluting the scene for the last 18 months. I mean, trance has become pop, but progressive music is like trance without the good bits - it's all very trendy, but none of it is actually any good. So that's all going to stop.''
Ones to watch: ''We're going to see a lot of young talent coming through this year. DJ Rascal is definitely one to watch, as is DJ Linus, an ex-pat living in New York. He makes music somewhere between Carl Cox and Richie Hawtin - really dark, driving, up for it house - and it absolutely rocks!''
Mr Scruff MR SCRUFF (NINJA TUNE/KEEP IT UNREAL)''We'll see more and more DJs playing a wide spectrum of stuff. The first superstar DJs rose to fame playing one style of music, and so a lot of young DJs in the 90s thought that's what you had to do. Nowadays, you can play any kind of good music, which is more in line with the original hip hop and disco attitude. My only real gripe is the lack of decent venues run by understanding, sympathetic management. Manchester has got an almost endless stream of talent - 60 or so solid DJs, 20 or 30 record labels, but only four or five decent clubs -so that definitely needs sorting out. We need a few more sweaty dives where people can try out ideas and start new nights. The outlook is very sunny for Manchester.''
Ones to watch: ''There are plenty of people who've been putting the work in over the last few years, people like Sam Du Prez, who is a fantastically talented DJ. He's just brought out his first single, so I think it's going to come together for him this year. Similarly, Treva Whateva is releasing a new track later this month, and it's already tipped to be one of the biggest tunes of 2002. Also, this year we'll see a return of the collective, with DJs coming together to pool resources and put on new nights.''
DAVID VINCENT (SANKEYS SOAP)
''The key to success this year is going to be good music, and a good atmosphere, at a good price. It's more about the vibe than the DJs. We do book big name guests, but if DJs continue to charge the prices that they do, then I think it's going to break the market before too long.
''2001 saw a lot of club closures, but to be honest, I think the clubs that folded deserved to fold. In some ways it's good that the bad operators have fallen by the wayside, because the rest of us will only get stronger and help develop an even better scene. Apart from that, I truly believe that Manchester will re-affirm itself as the UK's number one clubbing city. Half the people who come to Sankeys are travelling from outside Manchester, and in my opinion, it's probably the safest city in the north at the moment. It's definitely on the up, and together, we've got a good platform to build something really big.''
Ones to watch: ''There's plenty of fresh talent coming through the club, in particular our resident Greg Vickers, who this year will be joined by our new monthly resident Victor Calderone (USA).''
DAVE WALKER (FAT CITY)
''There's going to be a rise in UK hip hop this year, with more and more artists breaking into the charts. I don't think it's going to be a massive explosion like we got with UK garage, more like a general raising of the stakes. Closer to home, what I'd like to see happen - and I say the same thing every year - but let's just have a good venue open, or better still, two or three! Ideally it would be somewhere that holds 2000 people, but could be divided up into maybe three rooms, with decent air conditioning, a decent bar, clean toilets - all the things that the places we go to don't really have. In this day and age, stuff like that is very important, especially when you've got state of the art clubs like Fabric in London.''
Ones to watch: ''If you ask me on a world level, I'd say a guy called DJ Spinbad. He's primarily a hip hop DJ, but he does these mix CDs which are a bit like the best of the 80s - chopping up the likes of Billy Idol, Janet Jackson and Madonna, but blending it all with hip hop. Very cool! We put him on at Sankeys and he went down really well, so I think he's going to be massive this year. On a local angle, I'd say our own Martin Brew - a brilliant DJ, and much underrated.''
Published: Thu, 03 January, 2002
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