Student Spotlight: Off The Record

This week, as part of The Mancunion Music’s ongoing Student Spotlight feature, showcasing the finest in student-led nightlife, we present Off the Record, a crew of Leeds boys who’ve been bringing the good times to club nights and house parties for a couple of years now. The Mancunion spoke to Matt to find out what it is that makes their nights stand out from the tech-house crowd.

“At an Off the Record night we aim to provide the all-round experience, from groovier cuts through to techno slammers. We’ve been influenced by a range of sounds, including labels such as Innervisions, Dixon Avenue Basement Jams and Aus Music”

The Off the Record team even bagged hosting duties for the Aus label’s 10 year anniversary party at Manchester’s newly opened Dolphin Warehouse, an impressive booking for any promoter, let alone a crew of first and second-year students fresh from throwing house parties & nights at Fallowfield stomping ground Koh Tao not long before. Matt tells us why, despite the step up in pressure, the OTR boys prefer playing from a booth than from a living room:

“With a club night, the main reason people are there is for the music and to get down, so you feel more of an obligation to make sure everything’s on point. Plus, with better sound and lighting than most house parties can offer, the overall experience of a proper venue edges it as far as I’m concerned.”

With a strong history of residents’ parties, Off the Record are quite happy to spin back to back with each other all night, bouncing off each other’s selections. However, come this Thursday at the newly revamped Joshua Brooks basement (complete with new Void sound system), they’ll be playing host to a killer pair of DJs. First up, Al Zanders brings an eclectic, genre-spanning approach to his own productions, and as a resident for Banana Hill you can be sure this will extend to his set. Big Miz, a rising star on Glasgow’s Dixon Avenue Basement Jams label, promises to bring a grittier sound, with his hard-nosed take on house music. Check out standout tracks from each of them below:

Al Zanders – Second to None:

Big Miz – Good Thing:

With a freshly decked out basement to check out and a banging lineup to boot, Thursday 9th of February looks set to be a night to remember. Tickets are available on Skiddle.