XXL - Warehouse Project

On Saturday 7th October, the highly anticipated XXL event at The Warehouse Project got underway. 

The event took place in the Depot Mayfield. A once busy railway yard used for Mayfield station between 1910 and 1960. "The site was transformed in 2019 into a multi-use space for arts, music, industry and culture" in Manchester city centre. 

On 07/10/23, a sold-out Depot Mayfield was home to 10,000 ravers who danced the night (and morning) away in an intense 12-hour rave to the heaviest line-up Manchester has seen yet. With 36 of the hottest DJ's in the scene right now playing across 4 different stages, this was a dream come true for ravers who attended the event from all over the world.

My Experience:

As an avid hard techno fan, I couldn't have asked for a much better line-up for this event. As I live in Belfast, the rave scene is on a much smaller scale in Northern Ireland compared to the likes of The Warehouse Project in Manchester. So, I took great pleasure for the opportunity I had to travel to England for the weekend to attend this highly in demand event.

I am lucky to have several friends who also share the same passion of raving, so a group of us made the trip to Manchester for XXL WHP. 

The event started at 17:00 although we started to make our way to the venue for 20:00. The queue for entry was relatively big as we made our way through the gates to get tickets scanned then towards security. As we made our way in the excitement was growing as the music was getting increasingly louder. As we started to walk into the depot, the bass was sending vibrations throughout the warehouse. Subconsciously, I’m thinking that bringing ear plugs was a wise decision to protect my hearing.

The first set I seen was Paula Temple B2B SNTS. The crowd was incredibly intense, with non-stop dancing throughout. I knew we were going to be in for spectacle as there were another 7 hours to go.

Hydration and cool-off periods were key at this event. With so many people in the same place, raving like their lives depended on it, the sweat was running down the walls and dripping from the ceiling. In such a physically enduring rave, it was important to look after your body.

My personal favourite set of the night was from I Hate Models. I hate models took a different approach to his usual industrial techno DJ set. He surprised the crowd with a new sound that no one was expecting. I hate models delivered an hour and a half of brand-new, hard-hitting drums and synths. Which was met with an atmosphere like no other from the crowd who tend to enjoy these heavier sounds.

The night finished at 5am and there is no better word to describe XXL other than pure euphoria.

A 10/10 event that should be on the bucket list for all hard techno fans.

 

References:

(2023) Depot Mayfield, Available at: https://depotmayfield.com/ (Accessed: 9th October 2023).

(2023) The Warehouse Project, Available at: https://www.thewarehouseproject.com/blogs/whp23-xxl-071023 (Accessed: 9th October 2023).