Music has been at the heart of Manchester’s cultural heritage for decades, with dance music in particular sitting at the forefront. In recent years, the team behind The Warehouse Project have created some of the most memorable events in the city, hosting varied line-ups that cover the whole spectrum of sound.

This season the team have outdone themselves with this latest venture. Now residing in Manchesters historic Mayfield Depot, the vast space was opened this week to a night curated by electronic music pioneer Aphex Twin. Heavily techno orientated, the line-up was headed up by the man himself, alongside Nina Kraviz, Aleksi Perala, and many other innovators of the genre.

The expansive space is divided up into three stages, all catering to differing variations of the sound of the night. The ‘Archive’ and ‘Concourse’ spaces offer some of the more experimental artists on the line-up, warming you up for the headliners at the end of the night in the enormous ‘Depot’ room. The entire space can hold up to 10,000, and makes for an incredible atmosphere no matter who’s on the line-up.

Aphex Twin played through his new incredible audio/visual show, created in collaboration with A/V artist Weirdcore. The show incorporates a panning camera that moves along the front of the audience, picking out faces and adding them into twisted AFX visuals that warp and morph as Weirdcore mixes them along to the music. Throw in a few high-powered lasers and you’ve got a mind-blowing set that caters to the senses.

Nina Kraviz finished off the night to a packed out ‘Depot’ room of almost 8000 ravers, dancing amongst the high-rise pillars that give the venue so much of its character. 

Each week we’ll be reporting from the Warehouse Project, speaking to artists on the eclectic line-up each week, seeing what everyone’s wearing on foot, and showcasing the spectacle that is the Depot.