Around midnight, we pull up to Six Trees Bar and Kitchen, nestled within the heart of Manchester’s industrial estate. It’s a venue nobody could stumble upon by accident, a secret rave cave where only those in search of the juiciest wobs would spend their Friday night.
Home to resident event runners Soundscape, Manchester’s freshest group of party organisers, the space has been transformed weekly into an intimate dance floor that truly captures the essence of rave culture and an authentic warehouse vibe that their commercial competitor a few miles away could only dream of.
Securing progressive underground selectors and pioneers who’ve shaped the electronic scene, in their short 9 months running, Soundscape has hosted everyone from Truly Madly to the newest edition of their DJ family, Lukas Wigflex last Friday, a wax wizard who treated attendees to a 4-hour extended set of exclusive vinyl tracks.
Ascending the stairs, we push the door open to the upstairs room, a pair of decks rest at the far end and a simple but effective lighting display of lasers welcomes us into the small bubble of ravers gathered around them moving to the sounds of opening mixer Mason Wild.
Thanks to Soundscape’s soulful selection of artists, the crowd has an inviting energy, with every dancer there wholey for the music. As we weave towards the front, I clock a few solo ravers carving out their space on the dance floor, safe to express their eccentric moves freely, while others soak in the frequencies behind sunglasses. 10 people become 20, and as more bodies trickle in, a buzz begins to build, Lukas Wigflex hops behind the decks, igniting his first ciggie of the night, cementing the casual carefree nature of Soundscape’s events and unleashing a flow of heavenly house that carries us through until 4am.
Following Wigflex is Sunny D & Buddy, who welcome in the early morning, as the first rays of light seep through the windows signalling an incoming 6am close. We depart from the venue with a renewed sense of excitement for Manchester’s rave scene, for anyone in search of a real underground rave in the city, you can keep up to date Soundscape’s upcoming events here.