Ossia

All My Friends Ep#13 Ossia

Written By – Liam Donoghue

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This week’s guests need no introduction. Ossia have been at the forefront of Manchester’s nightlife for several years. Eschewing nightclub normality they’ve always strived for eclectic, forward thinking, and, most importantly, fun bookings. Previous guests that have graced their turntables include; Sassy j, Mall Grab & Crazy P.

The team behind Ossia have put together a terrific two hours of music. Capturing the hazy sun of early August the mix is perfect for beers in the park, chilling on a balcony or just cutting about the house doing the big Sunday chore list. Musically it slides from hip hop to downtempo electronica and world music through to breaks. Certainly one for the heads and pretty much perfect for any situation.

 

 

Let’s start at the beginning. How did Ossia form? When did you start playing music together and what was the catalyst that made you all say ‘hey let’s put on some parties?

 

We have, as a collective, been through a couple of different iterations before we settled down as Ossia. It all started off a long time ago as a series of pretty nuts house parties we had run (back before the council started cracking down on them ) that gave us the bug. We pulled off some pretty unreal shubs back in the day – a highlight being a rave in an old Tudor mansion in longsight. It was so much fun we decided it was something we all wanted to do on the regular!
 

Has there been any specific party of event that holds a special place in your heart? An event where everything’s clicked and you’ve thought this is sick I wanna put on events all the time.

 
In our first year as Ossia we put on Bradley Zero b2b Auntie Flo in the now defunct space that is the Dolphin Club. We were up against Giles Peterson on the night unfortunately and lost A LOT of cash, but the vibe, the crowd and the space were so amazing it made it more than worth it. That party made us realise that we had the concept nailed down – we just needed to be more canny about the logisitics of each show!
 

Ossia have been all over the country this summer. You’ve recently played shows in Leeds and London. It must be pretty exciting getting to take your music all over. How are you finding hopping around the country?

 
We’re absolutely loving it! Fortunately as there are so many of us involved in the project it’s not becoming too taxing getting people on the ground at each show. The best thing about starting off in new cities is the new relationships and community we are building each time.
 

You have a refreshingly diverse roster of booking. Bjørn Torske b2b telephones. Dan Shake. Mall Grab. Sassy J. The list goes on. When you’re looking at booking a guest DJ what criteria do artists need to fill.

 
There is no real set criteria for thus – other than a capability behind the decks. We set our act’s ability on the 1s & 2s above their production each and every time – we will never just book an act just because they have written a couple of bangers
 

Your two hour mix takes in lots of different tempo’s, emotions and genres. How did you approach your show? Did you see it as a chance to play some records you don’t normally get to spin out in clubs?

 
We all do a fair bit of radio at the station and thoroughly enjoy the opportunity to play music that isn’t always primed for dancefloors. I put this mix together on the train down from London to Manchester – the idea behind it is to give people something to listen to while watching the world go by.
 

You have an event with Dan Shake fast approaching. Have you got any other big events in the pipeline you can tell us about?

 
A whole bunch! We have Dan on again up in Manchester b2b with Romare, alongside Eclair Fifi and a few more TBA. We have some incredible shows in Leeds lined up too – Mall Grab, Young Marco & Tama Sumo to name but a few!

 

Check out regular Ossia collaborator and Cult resident Josh De Silva’s mix for more music 🙂 

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