PROFILE: LOVE DOSE, MANCHESTER

The Warehouse Project, The BBC and Manchester UTD... The Rainy City has no shortage of institutions succeeding on an international stage. Existing as the UK's third largest urban area, commonly it's misconceived as our second largest.

It boasts a club scene that's creeping up on the capital's as it grows in size and stature. Love Dose — a collaborative project involving the promoters of Basement and For No Reason — is helping.

“People we knew kept saying that we throw really good parties, so we got together in the Crown & Anchor pub in Manchester on a hazy summer's evening, got pissed and decided between us to throw regular parties on a larger scale and in a few years, take it global,” says Basement's Peter Asiaw, a promoter who selects for the more educated dance heads of the city.

A composite of six local promoters, the Love Dose crew launched proceedings on August Bank Holiday by sending two barges blasting tunes down the Manchester Ship Canal, before stopping at basement warehouse venue, 2022NQ. Way to make an impression, especially considering it's one of the coolest, most sought-after creative spaces in the city, situated behind cast iron gates and underneath the cobbled streets of the Northern Quarter, showcasing resident DJ, Josimar, and Drop Art, a live dance act consisting of three of the night's founding members — “think Azari & III, but northern and more up for it” — alongside Seelie, 5eighty6 and Jamie Smith (among others).

Since, the event has invited PBR Streetgang and Cottam to play within Mediterranean-themed eatery-cum-music venue, The Cafe Bar.

“Love Dose is more than just a night, it's a show,” Peter adds. “Two of our residents perform live bringing diversity, energy and a bit of crowd participation to the party. Add to that the world-class bookings, in a decadent disco art gallery with a bucket full of love, and we are bringing something Manchester crowds deserve.”

Envisioned as a dour-free antidote to the chin-stroking and posturing seen in many clubs, Love Dose is all about delivering quality house/disco DJs to a city already scattered with discerning dancefloors. And with NY's M A N I K booked for the next party (16^th Feb, 2022NQ) and a record label waiting in the wings, it's most certainly a welcome — small and intimate — addition to an increasingly improving club scene, with standards set by stalwarts such as WHP, Sankeys and Joshua Brooks.