Each week we get behind the decks with the very best resident DJs from across the Manchester club scene, chatting about the newest releases, the best clubs and the picks of the month. This Friday one of the city's best loved parties returns to its rightful home at South Nightclub. Led by resident DJs Keiran Sharples and Dan Sanders, Mute! looks ready to kick off its biggest season ever. We caught up with Keiran as he talks tunes, £2 cocktails and his favourite club night in Manchester.
Name: Keiran Sharples
Age: 28
Club Night: mute! @ South
What do you love most about the clubbing scene in Manchester?
I love the camaraderie. It’s not just that everyone comes together in a room for ‘only’ the music. The majority of the clubbers, DJs and promoters in town genuinely love meeting up with everyone else and enjoying each other's company.
What makes Manchester so important to the UK club scene?
Simply having a longstanding reputation of being at the forefront of the underground and acid house scene. It draws in the new people all the time and having one of the largest student populations in the UK keeps the scene fresh. It also attracts artists, whether they are up and coming or well established, everyone wants to play in Manchester.
What’s one of the best club nights you have ever been to in Manchester?
Micron. It’s basically what drew me and Daniel (my partner at mute!) to Manchester. It also gave us a benchmark to measure anything we did against and encouraged us to emulate them. We can never duplicate what they did at Micron, nor would we want to, but having a core crowd who partied together in and outside our actual events was what we always wanted. That and a reputation for being loads of fun.
Favourite place to party in Manchester?
I honestly love South. We do think of it as our club and we don’t think we’d ever leave to go elsewhere. It also has an incredible atmosphere, basic layout and probably the best soundsystem in the city. I’ve never had anything but a great night there.
Favourite Manchester bar for pre-club drinks?
The Black Dog Ballroom is always a good shout as it is always full of people up for the night ahead. Font is also great ...for the £2 cocktails!
What's your favourite tune of all time to hear in a club?
I would never play it out but every time I’ve ever heard ‘Go’ by Moby it always sends shivers down my spine. Hard question that, it’ll change next week.
If you could throw a club night with any two DJs going back to back in your own living room for 20 of your mates, who would you choose?
I won’t go for the obvious here. Two of my favourite DJs since I was a kid have always been Fatboy Slim and A-Trak. It’s a little bit different from the sort of music me and my mates would go out for usually but for 20 of us in my front room, it’d be an unreal party. So them.
Pick of the month?
Clubnight: Under @ Gorilla. They manage to pull underground bookings out of the bag while still keeping a young, cool crowd and filling the biggest club in town. Good work lads.
Track: Alix Alverez – Fayall (Nathan Barato Edit) A great big room techy bomb on past mute! guest Argy’s ‘These Days’ label. Ace tune.
Finally, if you could choose one club in the world to go to for the rest of your life, which would it be?
Amnesia terrace. Best room ever.
