| Words & pictures
by
In the 1990s, Manchester became the New York of the
UK, gaining a reputation as the coolest place to go
clubbing in and always "keeping it real".
Lately,
Manchester's thriving house and hip hop scene has been
getting some competition from the breaks nights.
There is a healthy scene developing in Manchester,
and all promoters seem to be supporting each other.
One of the longest running breaks nights in Manchester
has been the back room at Tangled
(see photo on the right). Resident Steve Thorpe has
been pushing breaks at the hard house nite for over
two years now.
Another of Manchester's tried 'n' tested nights is
the excellent Airtight.
At first they struggled to maintain momentum, but since
they've taken over the back room at the infamous Sankeys
Soap (hosting breaks for the tribal sessions) they have
become a real highlight of Mancunian nightlife. Airtight's
appeal has seen its residents receive a slew of requests
to guest at clubs in other cities.
As well as these established nights there are new
ventures such as Blend
taking a leaf out of the required combination of house
& breaks book that the aforementioned nights have
fallen back upon, Blend promoters Olly & Steve have
purposefully gone for a combination of the two from
the off.
Blend (see photo below) is a nite to watch, with residents
on rotation being two names  that
will hit big in 2003: Jonathon Lisle and Botchit &
Scarper's Backdraft. After a run at the legendary Paradise
Factory, Blend has now moved to Music Box (the home
of Grand Central and Mr. Scruff) and could take the
city by storm.
With a few of the cooler bars also featuring breaks
alongside the usual hip hop & house DJs, it looks
like Manchester could be this year's city to party in.
Adam Freeland, Phantom Beats, Stanton Warriors and other
top breakbeat deejays certainly think so.
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