Episode 55 has been lovingly put together by Manchester DJ and radio regular Mike O’Mara. We caught up with Mike to chat about his musical influences, clubbing post-COVID and we discussed what it takes to run a great night.
Hey Mike, thanks for putting a mix together for AMF, we’re really excited to have you on the blog. We always like to start these interviews by asking our guests to give us a bit of a rundown of their DJ career. What made you start DJing and do you have any career highlights you can share with us?
Thanks for having me. I started DJing about 20 years ago, I’d been going out every weekend dancing in clubs with mates and naturally started buying records. Growing up one of my best mates Marc was DJing when he was 16 in clubs and I used to love going to watch him play. Through him I started getting offered backroom and bar gigs before I could properly mix as I had a half decent record collection.
I worked in a record shop on Tib Street for 2 ½ years in the early 2000’s and started getting a few decent gigs from that. In the mid 2000’s I got asked to be the backroom resident for my friends Development party at Mint Lounge which was a really fun period. In the main room they’d have the likes of Ron Trent, Joe Claussell, Benji B and Kerri Chandler with me playing allsorts in the tiny backroom.
In terms of highlights. I was lucky to DJ with Dan J in Sheffield when I lived there for a few years. We had a two year spell where we were busy most weekends and got to play with some amazing DJ’s. Closing parties after Midland and Hunee plus the two times we played Hope Works main room on NYE are all up there as highlights.
My favourite memory though was me and Dan playing all night in the third room at a party from 11-7am for a night called Cargo. We had 100(ish) people in this tiny room and the atmosphere was just the warmest friendliest thing I’ve experienced. One of those weird nights where pretty much everyone in the room left the gaff as mates (I’m fully aware how corny that sounds…)
You’re a founder of Inside Out Mcr, can you tell us a bit about setting up that club night? I think you started way back in 2015, what’s that journey been like? Do you have any plans for the future? I know you’ve been a bit quiet for a while. Are you working on other projects?
Inside Out was myself and Chris Feinmann. We’d been mates for years and fancied throwing some parties when I moved back to Manchester from Sheffield. We booked some amazing guests with varying degrees of success.
In the last year of us throwing parties John at Soup was asking us to do residents nights rather than booking guests as he really liked what we both played. The parties were good fun but they didn’t pull anywhere near the numbers needed to keep a residency going at Soup and the night ended there.
In terms of the journey it took me a fair few years to realise that I can’t hack the stress and anxiety involved in throwing parties, I don’t think I was much fun to be around on the night we were throwing them! Even when we’d sold out prior to the event I’d be running around stressing all night and not really enjoying it.
As for other projects, Foy & Szajna asked me to get involved with Alga-rhythms last year and that’s been ace. We’ve a monthly show on Reform Radio and will hopefully be doing another free party at Eastern Bloc once the lurgy has subsided.
You’re a veteran of the Manchester clubbing scene. In your experience what do you think gives a club night longevity? How do you withstand the setbacks (cough cough Covid) and create a sustainable night?
Every night I’ve been involved with has fizzled out after ⅔ years so I might not be the best person to ask about longevity!
The parties that do well in Manchester are built on the residents and the vibe of the party. People will turn out for them no matter who they have on, they don’t rely on booking the current hyped up big thing to fill a dancefloor.
In terms of post-covid nightlife it’s a chance to move away from paying a fortune to fly someone in who is nowhere near as good as the DJs we have already in the city. That’s definitely a mistake I’ve made in the past when promoting nights. Clubs are going to be packed no matter what once this is all over so hopefully we’ll see a shift to more emphasis on local talent.
As for the “veteran” bit that just means old doesn’t it…!? Was mortified when I got called a “seasoned selector” for a gig last year in Liverpool. It’ll be “decrepit dj” on flyers if I’m still doing this in five years’ time!
Let’s chat about the mix you put together for us. It’s a very nice selection of house tracks? What’s your creative process when putting a mix together? Do you meticulously plan your sets or just ad-hoc them out?
Glad you like it. Macca from Soup Kitchen sent me over a mix he’d made of lovely old Nu-Groove bits a few months back. I ended up going back and listening to lots of my old 90s house and garage records and wanting to do a mix from that era myself.
In terms of the process on this one I spent quite a while going through records from that period and trying to whittle them down. Was massively tempted to carry on for another hour with more of the late 90’s UK stuff but was already at two hours!
I did plan it out to a degree but ended up adding in a couple of bits and switching it up a bit whilst recording. Couple of iffy mixes where the gloves are off but I think that adds authenticity.
Can you share any standout tracks from the mix? Are there any tracks in it you come back to time and again? Or are there any records that hold a special significance to you?
Aaron Carl – Make Me Happy (1997)
This is just about the perfect vocal house record for me. First heard DJ Spinna play it many moons ago and managed to get a copy. The term soulful gets applied to lots of records that have zero soul about them but this one is packed with it.
Golden era NYC/New Jersey garage bizznizz. Bottom Line Records don’t get the same props as the likes of Nervous, Strictly Rhythm or other better-known labels but they’re back catalogue is as good as any other label from that period.
Towa Tei – Luv Connection (Masters At Work Dub) (1995)
I first heard this at a Southport Weekender years ago, was starting to flag a wee bit in the early hours of Sunday morning and Ame dropped this in the B-Bar. Instantly brought me back to life! My favourite Masters remix.
Finally, I’d like to ask you about any projects you’ve got in the pipeline. Have you got any other projects you’re working on you could tell me about?
I’m starting a master’s degree in Public Health Addiction in September which is probably going to take up a big chunk of my life for the next couple of years. Not sure there will be much time for any other projects!
We are hoping to do an Alga-Rhythm live stream in September though, we’ve got some mega guests lined up from around the country, just working on the logistics of it all.
