The Warehouse Project @ Beneath Picadilly Train Stn, Manchester (Fri Sep 26, 2008)

Launch weekend - Part 1

So here it is. The first instalment of 31 parties, taking place every weekend for the next three months. Whatever your persuasion, whatever your looking for, its all here. From techno to drum n bass, hip-hop to house, dub - step to electro and rock to pop. Music to make you smile, music to make you rave, music to make you lose your mind.

For our final three months at Store Street, we are pulling out all the stops to ensure it’s another memorable chapter in Manchester's fine musical heritage. With a greater range of artists than ever before and with the addition of a second, more intimate space, this is the biggest and most ambitious run of events we have ever undertaken. For 12 weeks The Warehouse Project returns, and for 12 weeks, this city is ours.

Sasha

Amongst the smoke machines, strobes and crazy dancing of the legendary Hacienda, a young Alexander Coe caught the bug. Odd visits became weekly trips, the pony tail was grown and a trial set was blagged through next door neighbour, Jon Da Silva. By his own admission, the set was awful. Someone spotted the potential for brilliance however, as he was asked to play again. Alexander became Sasha and the rest, as they say, is history.

Since his beginnings at The Hacienda, Sasha has remained a DJ revered by huge numbers of DJ’s, music fans and followers of club culture. His spells at Shelley’s, and later Renaissance, did much to popularise the notion that DJ's could and would be as influential as pop and rock stars had been in the years before. It was also at Renaissance that Sasha began his long and successful musical relationship with John Digweed. The duo's "Northern Exposure" mix series remains hugely popular and is cited by many to be a cornerstone of the development of progressive house, both in the UK and abroad. Other Sasha releases like "Airdrawdagger" and the "Xpander" EP catapulted the DJ to a true international success that few UK DJ's have matched. Indeed, his popularity stateside was rewarded with a residency at seminal New York club, Twilo. Today, Sasha's continuous musical evolvement means he manages to maintain a position at the forefront of dance music whilst keeping fans both new and old happy. With his previous sets at The Warehouse Project proving to be awe inspiring occasions, it is fitting that Sasha marks the beginning of a new run of Warehouse Project events. For us, there was simply no other choice.

Links:
www.djsasha.com
www.myspace.com/djsasha

Loco Dice

Loco Dice is part of the new wave of young German DJ's and producers who's sound blurs the lines between house, techno and minimal. His warm, warped, tripped out style references his love of deep, grooving house music aswell as embracing the minimalist approaches of his Berlin based compatriots. Its the diversity in his sound that has attracted a range of fans. Richie Hawtin signed his "Seeing Through Shadows" track to his Minus label for example, whilst Innervisions head honcho Dixon name checked "Tight Laces" as a key record of his current sets. Similarly, such is the broad appeal of Dice's music he is able to take his sound to a variety of clubs - Cielo and Smart Bar in the US one weekend, Circo Loco and Coccon in Ibiza the next. This will be Dice's first appearance at Store Street and he should prove the perfect addition to our opening night celebrations.

Links:
www.myspace.com/locodice
www.locodice.com

Paul Woolford

One of the most respected and most loved DJ's on the circuit, Paul Woolford has carved a career for himself after years of his much muted residency at Back2Basics. Each and every Saturday "Wooly" regularly stole the thunder from the so called star guests with his no nonsense mix of quality house and techno. Those killer sets have been steadily backed up for sometime with the type of top notch releases that have begun to see Paul recognised as much for his productions as his DJ sets. Little wonder when it’s the likes of 'Erotic Discourse" that's being talked about. These days, Paul is resident throughout the summer at We Love...Space in Ibiza and reports are that he's upto his old tricks again...That is, ripping it up every week, upstaging superstar DJ's and proving right the many people who said 2008 would be his year.

Links:
www.myspace.com/paulwoolford