One of the people behind Salford’s White Hotel tells us more about the importance of Salford’s underground experimental scene.
Like every other secret, the White Hotel is carefully hidden somewhere in Salford for the most adventurous to find.
Opened four years ago as an MOT garage, it can be easily mistaken for one of the derelict buildings and commercial warehouses that are surrounding it.
The garage has been split up into two main rooms. After going down a very short staircase, guests land on a concrete floor to find themselves in the middle of the first room.
It’s a small lobby fitted with a smaller bar where people can unwind inbetween shows in front of a projector screen. The omnious lighting helps set the right atmosphere for such a mysterious venue.
Room number two is where the magic happens.
This is where all the guests are seated on a few dining tables to the side, on a couch in the corner or on a single seat right next to the dancefloor.
The way the chairs are right next to the performers creates an intimate and immersive relationship between musicians and audience.
The concrete floor thematic continues in here as well, making you feel like you are about to lift some heavy crates, but as soon as the show begins you are taken to a different dimension.
This dimension is where media contact for the White Hotel Austin Collings says the venue has existed well before opening “4 human years ago”.
The sheer atmosphere of the White Hotel is perhaps what attracts so many different artists here. Even some overseas bands have previously performed here, such as the Atlanta-based Black Lips.
On what makes it such a desirable spot, Mr Collings says:
“The attitude of the place is unrivalled and unparalleled. We do not exclude, rip
off, look down or bore. From The White Hotel, you never come back.”
Mr Collings further noted the importance of the White Hotel in putting Salford on the world experimental music map, branding it “as important as HEINZ tinned spaghetti is to a hangover”.
The last musicians to perform there were Manchester Collective(MC), a Manchester-based arts organisation critically acclaimed and praised for their work around Europe.
MANCHESTER @RNCMvoice – OCT 15
LONDON @clfartcafe – OCT 16
ZOFINGEN – OCT 17
LEUK – OCT 18
RUSSIKON – OCT 19
LUCERNE – OCT 20— ManchesterCollective (@manc_collective) 5 September 2019
Their performances of new experimental music, theatrical plays and classical tunes have toured in 18 cities across Europe and the UK.
Their work has also been featured on the BBC and in various other national news outlets.
We’re live on air with @BBCRadio3 and @BBCInTune – it’s Chesaba feat @Abel_Cellist, bringing the grooves from @LeedsUniMusic ??? Can’t wait for week two of #Sirocco ? Last tix for Hull, @LakesideArts, @clfartcafe, @RNCMvoice, and @UoYConcerts at https://t.co/itFyHcbYPI. pic.twitter.com/MGqJ0D137d
— ManchesterCollective (@manc_collective) 4 October 2019
Now in Salford, Manchester Collective executive Adam Szabo tells us more about what it’s like to perform in an underground experimental music venue such as the White Hotel.
Manchester Collective’s latest production is called “The Centre is Everywhere”. It is a product of MC’s own string orchestra in collaboration with composer Edmund Finnis who is famous for his work with the London Contemporary Orchestra.
Depending on his shifting visions and ideas on what their next project should look like, Mr Szabo recruits different upcoming musicians for each one.
Manchester Collective performed “The Center is Everywhere” for the first time this summer at the Southbank Centre in London, touring the country afterwards and choosing the White Hotel in Salford for their final show of their tour.
One of the newest additions to the Collective’s twelve solo string players touring lineup is violin player Steve Proctor.
He spoke with Salford Now about his long-term aspirations to be a musician, as well as what it’s like to play around the UK alongside Manchester Collective:
“I started to play when I was about 8. I had lessons just at my local school and took to it instantly really. I then started going to the RNCM Manchester where I continued to build on my passion. I guess music has been a part of me for my whole life really.”
On how does it feel to be a part of such a new, bold and exciting group such as Manchester Collective, Steve said:
“I was aksed to play for Manchester Collective on this project, it’s the first project that I’ve done with them. It’s been really thrilling. An amazing experience to play with so many fantastic musicians. We’ve had six performances so far, all have been great.”
On playing at the White Hotel, Steve said:
“It’s such an unusual place for us to play. It’s obiously not your default setting for hearing classical music but the intimate setting of it and the diverce audience makes it an unforgettable setting to play in.”
As a part of “The Center is Everywhere”, Steve and his colleagues from Manchester Collective performed classical masterpieces from virtuosos such as Vivaldi, Bach and Strauss, adding a bit of their own flavor to them.
Bach chorales, Vivaldi and Ligeti with tai chi mash up was inspired. Loved it! The unpredictability of it made it more exciting. A mix of familiar and unfamiliar sitting next to each other like friends. Great theatre and drama. Thanks @manc_collective ?
— Karen Vaughan (@KarenVa67999569) 28 November 2019
Being sitted right next to them, the emotion that an orchestra player puts in his work when performing was fully transferred to us as an audience. Take a look at what I mean.
The White Hotel is truly a venue of many wonders with an atmosphere unmatched by any of the clubs I have been before. It’s situated at the end of Dickinson Street in Salford, which in order to find you have to go through a huge parking lot right next to it.
You can check some of their next shows here. They also have their own production label and make their own music, which you can purchase on here.
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