CityLife

The Content that counts

CONTENT CREW: Lee Daley, Dan McGlynn, Chris Poole, Josh Hewitt, Rashid Khan and Eddie Leader

"THE idea is fairly simple; we just want to put on a party that showcases established and new talent in an intimate environment. No frills really, just a dark room, good music and happy people."

So says promoter Chris Poole of Content, which starts on October 2 at The Roadhouse, the venue which, if you can stand the heat, is currently one of town's best club spaces - more than equipped to meet the needs of such a back-to-basics, all-about-the-music premise.

But despite the apparent simplicity of the concept, Content has been in gestation longer than your average difficult third album.

The six friends behind the night - Poole, along with Eddie Leader (Hudd Traxx), Rashid Khan (Casa Musica), Lee Daley and Dan McGlynn (FraidSo) and Josh Hewitt - met years ago and immediately began to discuss the idea of throwing a party that would not only let them share the music they love but also to create the sort of community they became part of in the clubs of their youth.

"We grew up in clubs that were more than just clubs," says Poole.

"That's something we'd want Content to be."

If any venue has the intimacy needed to foster an up-close and personal air of community bonding, it is The Roadhouse. The Newton Street basement is perfectly sized for putting on small-but-intense club nights.

Electric Chair started life there many moons ago, while current flagship night Contort Yourself continues to send sweat-drenched revellers running for the respite of the air conditioning unit.

"I think the Roadhouse is a great venue for club nights," agrees Poole. "It's small, intimate, the acoustics are great and it gets very hot 'n' sweaty.

"There have been some great club nights in there in the past. We're just happy to be a part of the history of the venue and hope we can throw some wicked parties and showcase some great DJs."

The first disc-spinner up is Detroit hero Rolando, who takes to the decks with a tag team line-up of residents.

The former Underground Resistance man will be familiar to many from the crossover Knights Of The Jaguar ("That could smash the dancefloor," warns Poole. "It always seems to get such an amazing reaction when it's played.") and as part of Los Hermanos, but the Content promoter believes it will be a rare opportunity for a master to just kick back and do a spot of what he loves.

Second nature

"He's just an awesome DJ basically. He'll always bring the party and, of course, we wanted someone for the first night who we knew was capable of generating the kind of atmosphere needed. It all comes second nature to him, he loves it and he's a joy to watch.

"His sets tend to touch on most aspects of electronic dance music, spanning Detroit techno, acid house, deeper melodic grooves and a few surprises along the way.

"He is a world class DJ and it's going to be really exciting seeing him in the intimate surroundings of the Roadhouse."

Poole has already revealed his pride at joining the list of nights to have thrown parties at the Newton Street sweat pit, but what are his thoughts on the current state of the citywide clubbing scene, and how does he feel about introducing a night to it now?

"We think it's a really exciting time at the moment and we definitely think the scene in Manchester is extremely healthy. What we've learnt from years gone by is that out of recession comes a healthy appetite for going out.

"I don't think we'd put the night on if we thought people weren't going to come out to watch these DJs with us.

"There are currently so many small, independent nights in the city bringing in some amazing artists. We think musically Manchester is definitely the most diverse and exciting city in the UK at the moment."

Now there's another name to add to that list. But how did Poole and co. come up with night's moniker, which, with its one-word simplicity, bucks the trend for new nights to have outlandish 'n' obscure names.

"Haha, that's a bit of long story really. Eventually it just chose itself. Obviously it has a double meaning too - we hope the night itself will showcase wicked music from talented artists, therefore giving it content which in turn, we hope, will make people content."

Here's hoping.

Content with Rolando and residents is on Friday, October 2 at The Roadhouse, Newton Street. 11pm-3am. £6adv/£10.