Amber’s Club has opened on Oxford road, and it’s offering a brand-new concept: unreleased lineups and a no-phones policy, with tickets priced at just £5 on Saturdays, promising “some of the best artists in the world”. The club has been gaining traction since its inception in October, with articles from Resident Advisor, Mixmag, Dj Mag, and others, all anticipating its launch weekend.
It is uncommon for a club to generate this much attention before even opening its doors, but Amber’s roots are undeniably steeped in experience. Created by the collaborative forces of Fabric resident DJ James Hutchins, better known as ‘Hutch’, Sam Grainger, chef and partner of Madre and Medlock Canteen in Deansgate, and Sam Tunstall, co-director of Salford’s Un.titled Studio. The team have drawn from both local and wider clubbing scenes to create a space that refreshingly places DJs at the heart of its operation.
After reading about its opening, I immediately bought tickets for the first ‘Saturday at Amber’s’, as an intriguing departure from the usual name-grabbing and often pricey Manchester clubbing nights. As we hopped off the bus on Oxford Road and joined the growing queue along Circle Square, a palpable buzz surrounded the anonymity of the evening; not only was the music a mystery, but so was the venue. This was thankfully just enough to momentarily distract us from the blistering northern weather.
After passing through several security checks to enter, our phone cameras were promptly covered – an indication of how seriously the no-phone policy is enforced. In fact, everything about Amber’s seemed intentionally designed to exude secrecy. Even the room names are deliberately vague. As we reached the entrance we were offered the simple options of ‘Room 1’ or ‘Room 2’.
The space had a clean yet definitively industrial feel to it, with glowing orange lights infused through the minimalist metal interiors. We ventured into Room 1 first. The space was big, with a 1,000 person capacity, L-Acoustics sound system, DJ decks at crowd level and a bar at the back. Whilst the energy was thriving, the room lacked any real visual intrigue, with simple blacked out walls and a balcony overlooking the crowd.
Room 2 offered a somewhat more sterile experience. High ceilings, unsuccessfully obscured by decorative orange lights, and a bar area bigger than the crowd made for an amusing contrast to Room 1, but nevertheless provided a comfortable respite from the party next door. Perhaps the venue is just brand new, but it felt yet to be graced by the usual grit of scuff marks and forgotten nights typically found in Manchester’s dance music venues.
Given the club’s unremarkable interior, covering people’s cameras felt like overkill. However, what Amber’s is attempting goes beyond simply gatekeeping the club’s aesthetic. In Berlin, for instance, most of the city’s clubs participate in a similar no-phone policy aimed at preserving the authenticity of the dance scene.
Some venues in Manchester have also opted to cover phone cameras on entry. The Loft, which sits just outside the city centre in Monsall, takes great lengths to protect the authentic experience of warehouse clubbing. On their Instagram (@theloft_mcr) they state: “No Phones is the Playground”, alongside a rather strict dress code which includes, “strictly no active wear, no gym tops/no dri-fit/no tracksuits”. Whilst I would say this dress code policy is non-inclusive and hence fails to reflect the values held by many party-goers, it does highlight the real threat that clubs feel to their spaces.
In essence, what Amber’s Club and The Loft are offering is an opposition to The Warehouse Project. With tickets no less than £35 and line-ups twice a weekend boasting some of the biggest artists in the world, what we now see is The Warehouse Project all over Instagram and TikTok. Personally, I don’t mind people taking a video of their favourite song to remember the night by, but it undoubtedly impacts the clubbing experience and puts warehouse raves into the mainstream, ignoring its roots.
A customer at Amber’s told us, “I think the no-phones policy is a good thing, when people use flash cameras in the crowd, it feels exposing.”
While the uploading of videos from The Warehouse Project and similar venues does undermine the authenticity of the rave scene, it poses an even greater ethical issue for ravers who simply want to let loose and enjoy themselves with friends. Many now worry about waking up the next day to find their image circulating on TikTok or Instagram accompanied by hundreds of comments. This problem has been highlighted recently by online accounts filming women in Manchester city centre after nights out, often without their consent. Although the owner of one such account was recently arrested for non-consensual filming and posting, more needs to be done to protect the privacy of those who don’t wish to appear on social media. Amber’s club, however, seems to be taking the right action to address this issue.
Similarly, The Warehouse Project’s eye-catching line-ups leave little room for other clubs to compete as a result of their exclusivity clauses. There are provisions in The Warehouse Project contracts which prevent artists from appearing at other events in Manchester for months before or after their The Warehouse Project or Parklife appearances. The monopolising effect this has on Manchester’s nightlife is immense. Many students are abandoning some of their favourite nightclubs in order to attend The Warehouse Project. Friends of mine have previously said, “I’m just going to save all my clubbing nights for Warehouse Project this year.”
But how could you blame them? Why would any student choose an alternative when they can see the likes of The Prodigy, Disclosure, Nia Archives, Fatboy Slim and many more all within the span of just two weekends?
Hence, Amber’s unreleased line-ups are certainly an eye-catching feature. It frames the club’s values in opposition to venues such as The Warehouse Project by exposing smaller DJs to eager crowds waiting to experience the unexpected.
“We’re totally aware of the climate right now when it comes to nightclubs and venues in trouble,” said James Hutchins in Mixmag, “so we aim to foster an environment where promoters, artists and attendees can thrive and grow together.”
Concealing line-ups is a refreshing step that clubs can take in the right direction. It helps preserve the scene by ensuring people come for a good time, rather than just big DJ names, and certainly not for an Instagram post. However, The Warehouse Project’s exclusivity clauses even impact a club like Amber’s. The first thought that crossed my mind when reading about the unannounced line-ups was that I knew exactly who wouldn’t be there. Gone are the days you could catch Interplanetary Criminal in Hidden, or Girls Don’t Sync in XLR during university seasons. Manchester resident DJs now remain veiled in the very city they began, only to be seen at The Warehouse Project or Parklife.
Nevertheless, Amber’s goal is not to promote the biggest artists they can get their hands on; the club’s focus is solely on its sound, not the names behind it. Even on the night itself, there were none of the usual visuals displaying the DJ’s name; their identity remains hidden. Thankfully, Amber’s Instagram provided answers the next day, tagging the artists who kept us dancing all night with their unique and delightfully hard-hitting house and techno.
I would recommend Amber’s club for an experimental night out and as a fantastic addition to the already thriving Oxford Road. Yet, whilst the crowd was warm and lively, it was varied. Amber’s has taken some bold steps; it seems the club needs more time to cultivate and hone its following for the concept to be fully realised. Nevertheless, it’s exciting to witness innovation like this in dance culture, and I’m sure Amber’s will settle in nicely to become a landmark in Manchester’s nightlife scene.
