Lily Wallen reports back from the no-photos nightclub
Two years ago I was on a night out at Canvas - the club space below Circle Square that is now the much-hyped Ambers nightclub which operates a much-publicised no-photos policy.
The DJ, Jyoty, was mid-set when she launched into a TED Talk-style tirade against the sea of phones raised in front of the crowd’s faces. A real atmosphere killer.
Almost two years on to the day I had been granted an opportunity to redeem myself at Amber’s opening night. With a sticker over my phone camera, I had no other option but to - in the words of Amber’s themselves - “ open my mind and honour the concept.”
The lovechild of Rinse FM’s resident DJ Hutch, brothers Lawrence and Jeremy Abbott of Nothing Forced Creative, and restaurateur Sam Grainger of Madre and Medlock Canteen, Amber’s has a stacked lineage with a singular mission - to bring meaning back to the art of raving.
With that in mind, Amber’s venue does well to tuck itself two flights of stairs below Symphony Park’s corporate neatness. Spread across two industrial-style rooms, each with a DJ, bar, and stairs to a mezzanine, the interior design could not be further from that of Canvas, which effectively looked like a hotel foyer. Now that its appearance is industrial, edgy and unkempt, it’s far less photogenic, which I guess is a good thing.
Room 1 boasts Boiler Room-style immersion, with the DJ ‘in the round’ and swamped by the crowd. But despite the raised platform to the back of the decks, everyone is on an equal footing. Room 2 is comparatively intimate, featuring a single-level setup where dancer and DJ are merely an outstretched arm apart, both flanked by towering speakers.
DJ Hutch, co-founder and resident selector, baptised Amber’s inaugural crowd with a tech house performance that felt like it was delivered by a good friend in your mate’s kitchen. There was a mastery about Hutch that exploited the intimacy of the room to its fullest. Come the crescendo of his set at midnight, there was a gentle magnetism to the booth that pleasantly blurred the boundaries between artist and audience. Cheers of congratulations, pats on the back, and then Hutch disappeared into the crowd to become one of them, another part of the partnership. It seems everyone can have a slice of Amber’s if, again, they “honour the concept”.
Opening night undoubtedly boasted an exceptional cast of DJs. The remaining residents - Aletha, Zuri, and Jeremy Abbott - were joined by big names from the scene like Mr Scruff, MC Kwasi, NIKS and Or:la. And it’s true, music really can speak for itself. Amber’s has an admirable ethos that is certainly needed in this turbulent time of night-time monopolies and disempowered DJs. But there did feel like a significant piece of the puzzle was missing.
For a club named Amber’s with a PR drive that washed like volcanic lava through Manchester’s Instagram, there just wasn’t enough orange. I was expecting a venue drenched in warmth and sensuality, the hue of a thousand embers in a basement in central Manchester.
It’s not that it was detrimental to the experience - after all no club is harmed by leaning on stripped-back industrial darkness - but the aesthetics of the place seemed to be something that Amber’s were keen to get people excited about. So when an urban starkness came to dominate the vibe of the place I felt as if there was a miscommunication of the club’s central theme somewhere along the way.
What never felt confused, though, was Amber’s devotion to music and dedication to the crowd. With £5 tickets (£10 on the door) unannounced performers, and a total ban on filming, Amber’s has done something quite interesting to clubbing; paring it down to its essentials and delivering on its mission - to reinvigorate the sanctity of the nightclub. Music-focused, commitment-led, Amber’s is a love letter to raving by creative minds who chase substance over style.
Amber’s, 3 Symphony Park, Circle Square, Manchester, M1 7FS
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