WHP 2016: Adam Beyer presents Drumcode review

Image Credit: Gemma Parker

The Warehouse Project has now been running for over a decade. Most of that time has been spent in Store Street, an industrial car park below Manchester Piccadilly station. The illustrious venue has it all; a large capacity, booming sound systems that spread noise to all corners of the club and a unique setting of dark, red brick tunnelled archways, fitting of a proper underground warehouse rave.

It’s always a pleasure to return beneath the streets for this one. As such, when the season lineups are announced in summer, there’s a huge hype. The promoters host a selection of label nights and more eclectic line ups. For the most part, tickets sell out rather rapidly as punters pick and choose how they will spend their WHP season. For us, Drumcode was must. This is a label that has risen from strength to strength in recent years, fronted by one of the most in demand techno DJs of the moment, Adam Beyer. 

Proceedings start relatively early at Store Street these days. Last entry for Drumcode was 9pm and we heard some grumbles about this. Personally, it was just an excuse to spend more time raving. We happily trotted in around 8:30pm and set about exploring the dark archways. This year a third room has been added, which makes for a bit of a maze - interesting to navigate, especially as it gets later into the night. 

Reset Robot rolled out deep, moody basslines in Room 2, scattered with clicks and high hats, easing the crowd in with pleasant, dark build ups. It wasn’t long before the momentum lifted into a more pounding sound and with it, hands began to rise into the air toward bright lasers neatly positioned above. The lighting in Store Street is spot on throughout - minimal in style, yet a plentiful mixture of deep, enchanting blues and reds. Both the lights and Reset Robot’s growling bass had us hooked. 

It was barely 10pm and we had already been privy to deep, dark pumping techno and the tone had most definitely been set for the rest of the night. Moving into the main room, we witnessed a late addition to the lineup, Ilario Alicante. Heavily affiliated with highly revered label Cocoon, Alicante took us on a journey through fast, percussive, choppy vocals into heavy, repetitive synths, synonymous with the organic Cocoon sound. 

The welcome addition of huge, euphoric buildups had everybody's fists pumping toward the gritty, brick ceiling, particularly during the dreamy lyrics from Ismael Riva’s remix of John Creamer and Stephane K’s ‘Forget The World’. Drumcode regular Scuba followed with a selection of more pounding techno, grounded by dark and grimy basslines coated with exquisite synths. 

By the time Adam Beyer took over, the crowd were poised and more than ready. Deep, red visuals appeared before him, spelling the name of the Drumcode don in a font shape reckoning to be that of the Star Wars logo - epic. Beyer bounced through electrifying label juggernauts in seamless fashion. Thumping bass throughout fed old skool rave synths and new label releases, including the recent remix of Moby’s classic ‘Porcelain’. 

Alan Fitzpatrick closed with more of the same Drumcode specials, his presence announced by dark red lasers stretching the length of the colossal arched warehouse. Fitzpatrick’s following in the crowd was obvious, as he dropped his anthem ‘We Do What We Want’ from his newly formed label We Are The Brave - the sea of fans chanted along to the infectiously catchy riff. Throughout it was clear he was enjoying the tunes as much as the crowd in front of him were and he kept us fixed until the end.

The night had been a celebration of a world renowned label in underground techno music. It did what it said on the tin and the music throughout was stomping in true Drumcode fashion. To the promoters at The Warehouse Project: please never leave Store Street and keep up the label showcases.

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