The sounds of MCR, curated by salute

Having earned a stellar reputation for stellar selections and sets full of dancefloor favourites and cheeky nods, salute has become one of Manchester's best DJ exports. Born in Vienna, but now based in the Northern powerhouse, salute - aka Felix Nyajo - is undeniably influenced by the city they call home — incorporating delectable house, UKG and some good old fashioned Manny rave into his productions, including last months two-tracker 'Shield' on Technicolour.

Ahead of their appearance at this weekend's Parklife festival, which kicks off tomorrow at Heaton Park, Manchester — salute has compiled a selection of sounds from Manchester – to the all-out high energy of Anz to harmony and percussion from Marcus Intalex. Enjoy!

It’s only right that I kick off this list with Anz, a person who in my opinion is one of the best DJs and producers this country has to offer. I still haven’t recovered from the all night long set she did at The White Hotel a few months ago and this new tune she just put out is, as you’d expect, so so ridiculous.

Glimji has spent the last couple of years making sticky sweet house music and Flicker is his best work yet. I love a good slice of fun, cute and bright dance music and this is exactly that. Particularly love that synth lead that comes in half way through the chorus, very nice.

This wouldn’t be a Sound Of Manchester playlist without big IPC, one of the sweetest people in dance music. I love how the bassline in this tune warps and shifts, so good. His tunes capture that old school feeling so well without feeling boring or too nostalgic which is something a lot of people miss the mark on, in my opinion. Also a big fan of how cool Zach looks behind the decks, very effortless.

To say that aya is extremely good at making music is an understatement. I’ve had so many jaw drop moments with her music that picking a tune for this article was tough but I settled on this fun as fuck slice grime / funky she crafted. Her production envelopes Mez’ vocal in the coldest way possible, I love it.

The fastest horse going. Super sporty mix of the Kerri Chandler classic that I’ve been playing in my sets for a while now, it’s crazy sick. Also a really good DJ, highly recommend going to see him live. His take on techno is so refreshing and cool, and it blows my mind that he literally just turned 21. Also the biggest of sweethearts ever. Team FH all day, baby.

Originally from Norway and now living in Manchester, SUCHI is someone everyone should be familiarising themselves with if they haven’t already. This tune is so hard, the rhythm in that bassline is sexy as hell. Can only imagine how nuts it would sound on a proper big system. Full points, thank you SUCHI.

Manchester legend and 2 B Real boss Finn has so many sick tracks to pick from but I always find myself coming back to Trick Trick. I listened to this tune so much over lockdown that I have very specific memories attached to it (this tune is in a lot of my running playlists, so it often reminds me of doing 10Ks along Ashton Canal). Very very sweet bit of music.

Out of anyone on this list, Marcus Intalex is the person I’ve been listening to for the longest time, mainly because I used to be hugely into drum & bass as a teenager. I used to listen to this tune most mornings on the tram in Vienna going to school, it almost put me in a sort of meditative state. I’ve always been obsessed with the kick drum in this track because it adds another harmonic layer to the tune despite mostly being percussive (obviously). I also hum the bassline to myself pretty regularly. RIP to a legend!

Kahwe makes some of the most emotional and gutwrenching house music I’ve ever heard, he’s next level. I wish I could show you some of the unreleased stuff of his that I’ve had the pleasure of listening to but this tune summarises perfectly why I rate him so much. Soft sunshine music at its best.

Rounding this list off with Children Of Zeus felt very necessary, anyone who’s from Manchester (or an adopted Mancunian like myself) that knows anything about good music will tell you Children Of Zeus are where it’s at. All their music feels like a warm embrace, I love it. Also so much fun to see live. The production, flows and vocals in this tune are so so sweet. Just an amazing slice of r&b.

salute will be appearing at Parklife this weekend, alongside a jam-packed line-up of some of the best artists from Manchester and beyond, check out the full line-up and get your hands on last-minute tickets here.