Our latest mix comes from Behind The Groove co-founder Bobby Thorpe. An early doors house workout perfect full of mellow, minimnal and moving analog house sounds. You can catch our interview with him below.
Hey Bobby, thanks for coming on the blog on behalf of Behind The Groove. I’d love to get into the story of your club night but before we do, could you tell us a bit about your DJ’ing journey, when did you start playing records and how did you get involved in the Manchester scene?
To keep it short, I grew up playing bass in bands. Then went to uni in Liverpool, caught the bug for dance music and everything that surrounded it. After uni, I worked for two years in Amsterdam, fell even deeper into it, buying vinyl and getting lost in that crate digger world whilst working another part time job in a record shop (Zwart Goud) . Then I lost my main job, moved back to my hometown of Warrington, and then wanted to start playing out all the records I’d been collecting.
The bar that booked me first (RIP Auction rooms) had one condition, I could only DJ if I put on a night. And that’s how Behind The Groove was born. We had a solid few years in Warrington throwing parties, and being part of a tiny but proper local scene. Then, after Covid, we decided to take the leap and start throwing parties in Manchester.
Behind the Groove consists of myself, Saul Good (Saul Wilson) and Bijon (Ben Jackson) plus many more people who’ve been involved over the past 8 years (you know who you are).
Can you tell us a bit about Behind The Groove too? When did you start the club night, what was the spark that got you thinking “I should run a club night” and what did you want to bring to the Manc music scene?
I came back from Amsterdam with a suitcase full of wax and a buzz to start DJing. Honestly, I never had that lightbulb moment of thinking, ‘I should run a club night.’ I never set out to be a ‘promoter,’ and to this day, I still find the whole promoter world a bit cheesy and naff.
But I wanted to DJ, so putting on my own night was the right idea. I quickly realised that throwing your own parties with your mates and crafting your own sound as a crew is the best path in the DJ world and way more fulfilling than trying to go down the whole ‘solo DJ’ route. Over time, we’ve built a solid community around the night, with an ethos that doesn’t take itself too seriously but simultaneously seriously cares about the music and dancefloor. This is heavily reflected in our artwork and image too.
This approach has helped us fit in nicely with the Manchester scene. We’ve made our resident DJs the backbone of every party and brought in guests we genuinely admire, no chasing ‘big names’ for silly fees. Sure, we’ve played the long game (we’ve now thrown 50+ party’s over the past eight years) but we’ve done it on our own terms without any cheap shortcuts, maybe it’ll pay off one day…
It’s pretty tough out there at the moment for new event promoters trying to find their feet and run successful club nights. Do you have any advice for people keen to run a party but unsure where to start? Are there any big pitfalls you wish you knew about when you got started?
It’s easy to feel a bit pessimistic about the UK nightlife scene at the moment. People have less disposable income, venues/clubs are facing crazy operating costs, and there’s this hyper-obsessive focus on healthy living that makes a lot of people see partying as a negative for their health rather than a benefit to their life.
But as a promoter, it’s your job to stay optimistic. At the end of the day, everyone needs a good party, no matter the economic climate. I genuinely believe that going out is good for you. Right now, you’re hearing news about us being in the middle of a loneliness epidemic, and I think partying and fostering a sense of community are some of the best remedies for the isolation that our individualist, convenient , sit-in-a-onesie-all-day society is creating.
My advice to new promoters? Keep it simple. Be bold, and don’t make things unnecessarily complicated with ticket tiers, social media drivel (if you’re going to talk to the camera then do it right) and booking big names.
Keep it DIY, and use this to your advantage. Find a small space, around 100 capacity; it doesn’t even need to be a traditional venue, just somewhere you can set up a decent sound system. Book a local act for a reasonable price (or even play yourself), get your mates involved with promo and working the door, and focus on building a strong identity, community and sound for your night. That identity is everything, it’s the ethos of your night, and it’s what’ll make people want to come. In my opinion, that’s far more important than splashing out on big-name guest DJs.
And if you’re planning to play yourself, put the hours in for practising. I’m not saying you need to be a master, but make sure you’re at a level where you can properly move a dance floor. Push yourself, test yourself and take risks with your selections (your crowd will appreciate it).
When I was starting out, I wish I’d realised how underpaid we were for some of those early free events we threw. We had a few parties where the bar made an absolute killing off the crowd we brought in, but because we’d agreed an upfront fee, we ended up taking home peanuts in comparison. Back then, we were just buzzed to play…
We’ve never been about the money and let’s face it, there’s hardly any money in small-time promoting these days, but don’t let yourself get ripped off. If you’re putting on a free event, agree upfront that you’ll be paid fairly for the value you’re bringing. If the bar’s making bank, agree fairly your share.
Moving on to your mix, can you tell us a bit about the mix, how did you put it together and are there any standout tracks on the mix you wouldn’t mind sharing with us? Any records you really love at the moment and can tell us a bit around why you like them?
Our resident DJ Bijon lives in Berlin, and last November, he set up our first overseas party at Orangerie. It was a blast, and it was great seeing Behind the Groove fit so well in the party capital. The tracks in this mix are all pulled from a playlist I used that night during my opening warm-up set (mellow, trippy, early doors house business).
Standout tracks from the mix would be ‘Shanghai Street’ and ‘Papertrip’ by Wallace, one of my favourite producers of the past few years. I really rate his work so much that we’ve even booked him to play Behind The Groove next month. You can tell he’s been quietly and confidently honing his craft over the years, sitting on his productions and releasing them at the right moment on the right labels (producers take note!). His productions have this pedigree and originality to them, and the way he makes electronic music feel so natural is a proper skill in itself. He also played an 8 hour set at Panorama bar on New Years Day, so he must be good, right?
Another record I really like at the moment is a fairly recent reissue from Jason’ Boardman’s ‘Before I Die’ label by the Dub/post punk act Kharttomb. The whole record keeps me zen whilst working from home during the week. – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtWiP6ge9MQ
Finally, can you tell us a bit about what you and Behind The Groove have coming up in 2025? Do you have any club nights, events or mixes coming out you can tell us about? Where can we catch you next?
We’ve got a solid run of parties lined up from now until the end of March, with guests including Wallace at Soup (14 Feb), Lena C at Ramona (15 March), and Ian Pooley and Manuel Darquart at Low Profile Studios (22 March).
After that, we’re heading back to Berlin for our second party at Orangerie (can’t wait for that one). We’re also playing at a few local festivals and might even throw a party at everyone’s favourite pub-rave boozer in Todmorden 😉
