Warped resident and techno enthusiast Concierge MCR is leading the charge for episode 44 with a pulsating 50 minutes of techno.
Hey Jake, welcome to AMF thanks for putting a mix together for us. I like to start these interviews by asking our guests to give us a quick rundown of their musical history. Can you tell us when you started DJing and why?
Growing up I had always played classical instruments from the ages of 5 to 14 but unfortunately never really took to it or had any strong urge to improve. My sister always had an instrument in her hands so I followed her footsteps. This was all rather forced when I look back but I’m thankful now as it has become the foundation for what I do today.
The djing came a little later on for me, the pivotal moment that led to me jumping on a pair of bashed up cdj100s was when I pulled down a clothes rail containing over £1000s worth of Barbour jackets at a clothing store after putting up with months worth of verbal abuse from a money-hungry boss… I digress, I started working at a nightclub, the day after I walked out and naturally the opportunity presented itself to me.
As for why 7 years down the line I’m still doing it, the answer has got to be because it’s always changing and there’s always a new avenue to explore which keeps this hobby so exciting for me.
Concierge MCR is an interesting moniker, what’s the deal with that name?
The name… well, the creative well ran dry when I chose it but I’m actually very fond of the name now. My day job/night is, in fact, a concierge for over 1000 people and I’ve met some very interesting musical individuals. Probably the most notable is the lovely and hard-working founder of AMF (I was not paid to say this). I had played gigs under my previous alias but the residents of my buildings I work in started recognising me behind the decks and thus DJ Concierge was born. Unfortunately I had to lose the prefix ‘DJ’ as it just reminds me too much of a mobile DJ much like the terrible ones we had during school discos.
You run the Manchester club night called Warped. How and when did that get started and how have you found being a promoter?
Warped was born out of frustration. In September 2018, myself and the 3 other lovely gents who run the club night were tired of promoters booking a DJ and a room with no added thought to the visual and audio aesthetic.
We wanted the atmosphere to be a little more immersive, which is why we kit out every venue with decor. It gives everyone a talking point and we’d like to think this helps connect people, especially as we live in a world where interaction is seemingly so scarce.
Being a promoter is both extremely exciting and stressful at the same time. There’s a lot of uncertainty with how events will turn out and we have quickly had to adapt and learn. There’s a lot of work behind the scenes to every club night, and when you have multiple events on, or in the works, you really do stretch yourself thin. Fortunately, there are 4 of us at Warped so the workload is evenly spread and we have a very solid relationship with each other which is why we can put on the number of nights we do.
You’ve got a big night coming up in the new year with Total Science, Objectiv and more. How long has that been in the pipeline? Excited for the event?
The Total Science & Objectiv night was actually quite quickly put together. We’re still on a buzz from our Drums night back in mid-November at hidden and this has compelled us to give everyone round 2!
We spoke to Harry from Rebellion a fair few months before so the venue was already in place which is often the biggest hold up for organising a night given that not every space can be accommodating to our needs. Its needless to say we are very excited, especially as Rebellion has been off the cards for a long time as the old team at the club were not so keen on DJ club nights. But now under a new GM, the floodgates have opened, the only difference is we got there first!
Do you have any advice for other budding promoters looking to break into Manchester?
I’d strongly recommend asking yourself why you want to do it. People are involved for different reasons; money, passion or an opportunity to play out more. There is a lot of risk in putting on a night. There’s a lot of competition and it can be hard to compete with big promoters which have a strong foothold in the Manchester scene. Setting yourself apart is becoming increasingly difficult. People will always choose the safest option when handing over money for entry to a club night.
For us, at Warped, running events is definitely a passion. We’re not too concerned about profit or loss as long as we continue to grow as a brand and the financial risks don’t eclipse our ability to continue. If you’re thinking of running a night my main takeaway is: ask yourself a lot of questions before you embark on a world of bullshit!
Let’s move on and talk about your mix. It’s 50 minutes of pounding techno. How do you approach recording mixes and djing? Was this mix a typical example of how you like to DJ or have you done something a bit different from the norm?
It’s always hard putting together something that best represents you in the space of an hour, or in fact, any time scale. I enjoy, playing and collect such a wide range of music, and it’s all so varied in tempo, mood, and energy. But I think at the root of all that I love, there’s a deep fondness for fast hypnotic techno and bass-heavy electro which is what the mix is comprised of.
This will sound so daft, but a little secret of mine is: I use an app on my phone to DJ which allows me to use songs from Spotify. I cue the songs and practice on there before I buy the tracks. I will then transfer all my cues to Rekordbox and take it to my home studio where I’ll iron out any creases on a pair of cdjs.
This mix is probably a true reflection of what I like to play. Often I cannot play a lot of what I love as its very much peak hour material. Unfortunately, I’ve not quite earnt my packed out 2am slot at The White Hotel just yet but I’m always learning and shaping my sound. That being said, nothing gets me moving my body quite as much as 140bpm techno and electro.
Closing things off: Asides from your event on 31st what else do you have in the pipeline you can tell us about?
Dependant on when this article is released, we have a night at Cotton in February with 2 rising stars in the Electro scene, Assembler code and 96 Back, with support from local hero Tom2Trax, HØLEIGH and myself.
I may have just shown our hand but we have many more surprises in store. We have a live stream night at Hatch in an 80 capacity venue, free of charge, so anyone is welcome. We have a couple more exciting bits but they’re a little too big to be spilling just yet! Check our facebook for upcoming events as we plan to be putting on a lot of nights in 2020 stretching across a multitude of genres, something for everyone!
