“We like to go full throttle with it… last year we went as Kevin & Perry” Olli Ryder & Luke Welsh talk Ants Halloween costume ideas and Warehouse Project residency

Lydia Ransome | 23rd October 2017

Manchester born and bred Olli and Luke have been making moves on the Manchester underground music scene over the past few years and are back again for their residency at Warehouse Project. This year they’ll be playing five shows across the calendar, joining the likes of MK, Andrea Oliva, Hot Since 82 and Kölsch.

Coming back round from ADE festival… We got back on Friday and were working at Warehouse Project at the weekend. But yeah, coming back round! Olli answers the phone and describes the duos most recent antics. It seems even when they’re not performing, they don’t stray far from the electronic music scene.

It’s Ants Halloween this weekend – are you looking forward to it?

Yeah, Halloween is always a good call for us. We like to go full throttle with it… I don’t know if you’ve seen, last year we went as Kevin & Perry. It’s kind of our thing

Ahh! Do you think you’ll do it again this year?

Oh yeah. We’ve got something up our sleeve anyway…

So how did you two meet?

We actually met in school. We always knew each other through mutual friends. After school we went to Ibiza together and that’s where it all started to kick off – we just clicked! That was about six or seven years ago now

Are you both from Manchester originally then?

Yeah both from Manchester. From Glossop but now live in Salford

When you first started what sort of clubs and venues did you perform at?

When we first started we started on Manchester’s smaller nights like Joshua Brooks and what not… It started to kick off when we were playing at Sankeys. We worked our way to Sankeys where we had our residency in 2016

When Sankeys shut down was that quite a big deal for you then?

Yeah it was. It was a big deal for everyone. Sankeys was a big part of everyone’s sort of… getting into the scene in Manchester. We were there as it started to decline. Obviously it holds a special place in our hearts. We partied there ourselves – it was wicked

I only came to Manchester last year and went to Ibiza for the first time this summer. Just as Sankeys and Space closed down – I’ve got into it too late!

You’ve got the curse haven’t you!

 

 

Speaking of curses… WHP’s Halloween show is this weekend.

Hosted by Ants, the duo will be joined by some of the biggest DJ’s in the world including Andrea Oliva, Eli & Fur, wAFF and Groove Armada for an unmissable night at Store Street.

 

Click here for the full line-up

 

This is our second time at WHP. Last year we played four shows, this year is our residency which was… well. Two Manchester lads, born and bred – It’s like two united fans walking out at Old Trafford. So far we’ve played Welcome to the Warehouse on the Friday and MK and we’ve got loads coming up. Ants this weekend, Knee Deep in Sound and Solardo on boxing day. It’s pretty unheard of to play 5 nights over the season, so yeah!

Do you enjoy playing at Warehouse then?

It’s unreal. It’s the best place to play in the UK – there’s nothing bigger. Fabric maybe, that’s up there as well

And Ants is a pretty big one to play for as well

Yeah Ants is the best event I’ve been to in Ibiza in the past couple of years so it’s great to play for them. It’s a great line-up. We’ve officially sold out now!

Do you think Warehouse Project is a kind of post-Ibiza event for people to go to.

Yeah I think people see Ants as an Ibiza reunion

What are you expecting from Saturday?

Obviously people get down nice and early. To play to a large amount of people – you get a rush from it, it’s wicked

Out of the line-up who are you most looking forward to playing with?

wAFF. wAFF definitely – we played with him at Glasto, he’s always a good laugh!

What is it like to play with all the big DJ’s? Do you get to know them?

Yeah – everyone’s just sound! You can’t take yourselves too seriously. There’s not really any egos there, everyone’s just there to make a living and have a good time while they’re at it. To play with the biggest DJ’s just makes you thrive more. Every time we come out and play we’re performing to our best

Has anyone given you any tips or advice?

Don’t be a dick! Keep our feet very firmly to the ground, obviously we’re still young into this. Work hard and good things will come

 

 

On the theme of Halloween, what are your biggest fears?

Heights. Spiders. Anything with big legs

There’s been a few club closures in Manchester like Hacienda and Sankeys… If you could throw one last haunted rave, where would it be and who would you go with?

Probably Hacienda. Yeah Hacienda 100%…with Bez from Happy Mondays

Brilliant. Thank you so much and look forward to seeing you this weekend!

Amazing, thanks so much!

For set times, calendar and more visit thewarehouseproject.com