Skee Mask at The White Hotel

Johnny James, Managing Editor

Book now

Skee Mask

2 December 2022

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Skee Mask
Book now

Skee Mask, one of the most wildly adventurous techno producers around, performs at The White Hotel on 2 December, alongside the founders of the revered Ilian Tape record label to which he’s signed: the Zenker Brothers.

Born in 1993, Bryan Müller AKA Skee Mask was raised in Emmering, a small village near Munich. He grew up playing in indie bands, before teaching himself to make electronic music using Ableton Live in 2010. At breakneck speed he began releasing electro-house and techno tracks under the moniker SCNTST, catching the attention of Boys Noize, who snapped him up as a signee of their eponymous label. Before long, Müller started shaking up his output with more experimental music, which caught the ears of Zenker Brothers, leading lights of Munich’s electronic music scene who had recently founded the now-iconic Ilian Tape label.

Released under a new moniker – Skee Mask – Müller’s debut album for Ilian Tape offered up a collage of breakbeat techno with a warm, human heart at its core. “With alluring melodies, rich atmospheres and a superlative way with breakbeats and drum programming, Shred proves that techno can be as much about songwriting as dance floor functionality”, said Resident Adviser about the record, which saw Skee Mask become known as Ilian Tape’s wonderkid.

In 2018, less than two weeks after the release of the third SCNTST full-length, Müller released his second full-length as Skee Mask. Compro offered an expansion in every sense; more widescreen in its sonic ambition, more exploratory in its approach to genre, and more hyper-detailed than ever. Its hybrid of breakbeats and ambient textures naturally took cues from the likes of Aphex Twin and Boards of Canada, but never in a way that felt like pure nostalgia; tracks like ‘Soundboy Ext’ and ‘Dial 274’ brimmed with a posthuman energy all of their own.

Fast forward five long years and Skee Mask’s surprise third full-length, Pool, crash landed to earth in 2021, its eyes fixed on the future. Ranging from 130bpm up to 170bpm+ and without ever settling into any tangibly recognisable genre templates, Pool leaves Müller’s early, techno-centric releases in the dust. Its 18 tracks, totalling an hour and 45 minutes, seem to tap into the frequencies of some alien planet, zipping between vignettes of various mechanical beasts convulsing in the freezing fog.

There’s a real physicality to the record, perhaps owing to many of the tracks being born in live hardware jams. Every element has the feeling of being in a perpetual state of flux; drum patterns never play quite the same way twice; synth lines writhe and squirm in and out of different sounds… the whole record sounds less like a programmed sequence of events than a living thing. “The plan is that there is no plan and the story goes on!”, says Müller in his explanation of the album, describing it as “18 tracks about distinct moods, patterns and the pure joy of creation itself.”

That joy in creation is abundantly evident in everything Skee Mask does, including his DJ sets, which, in his own words, aim to create “a deep trip, constituted of organic grooves and diverse clang accompaniments.” This approach is shared by his label bosses, the Zenker Brothers, whose cosmos-leaning, acid-dusted techno similarly takes influence from ’90s IDM, dub and breakbeat, while also digging into the sound of Detroit – but not without taking the odd hammer to convention, which seems to be a pre-requisite for anything that gets released by Ilian Tape.

As December rolls around and nights out start to take the formulaic shape that comes with the festive period, this one promises to bring something a little different.

MusicManchester
John Talabot at The White Hotel

A quietly radical force in contemporary club culture, John Talabot returns to The White Hotel for one of his signature all-night sessions.

From £13.00

Where to go near Skee Mask at The White Hotel

Stables Tavern
City Centre
Restaurant
Stables Tavern

The Stables Tavern is an olde style pub in the St John’s neighbourhood of Manchester, where the Rovers Return once stood.

Manchester
Restaurant
Ban Di Bul

Ban Di Bul is a longstanding Korean restaurant in the very centre of Manchester.

Bridge Cottage
Port Sunlight
Gallery
Bridge Cottage

Bridge Cottage is one of Port Sunlight’s most charming and architecturally distinctive Arts & Crafts homes. Often hold art Exhibitions and Tours.

A projected image of the Stockroom.
Stockport
Library
Stockroom

Stockroom is Stockport’s new centre for culture and creativity, with a library, a children’s play area and a whole host of exciting events.

Inside main hall Birch Community Centre, showing high hammer-beam ceiling.
Manchester
Theatre
Birch Community Centre

Housed in a striking neo-Gothic former parish hall, Birch Community Centre is a hidden gem on Brighton Grove, just opposite Platt Fields Park. Its vaulted wooden ceiling and arched windows…

A series of microphones hang from the ceiling with a muted warm light in the background.
Rochdale
Event venue
RISE Inavate Centre

RISE Inavate Centre will be used for a thought-provoking sound installation by Shilpa Gupta at Manchester International Festival 2025.

Interior Decorations - Viet Deli
Manchester
Café or Coffee Shop
Viet Deli

Viet Deli is a small venue, not the kind of place for a sit down meal. Serving only bánh mì, traditionally street food in Vietnam.

Levenshulme
Restaurant
My Nawaab

Eye-catching banqueting hall in Levenshulme, with a wide-ranging buffet showcasing freshly-prepared Indian and Pakistani cuisine.

SB_BreweryTour - Taproom One
Manchester
Brewery
Seven Bro7hers Brewery & Taproom

Discover the heart of Salford’s craft beer revolution at the Seven Bro7hers Brewery & Taproom—a spirited, family-run brewery where the brewing kettles gleam and the atmosphere buzzes with energy.

What's on: Music

Aisla dancing and Dj'ing
ActivityAncoats
Become A Superstar DJ

Get hands on with the decks in this funk and soul superstar DJ workshop from BBC Radio 6’s Ailsa.

Free entry
A youth band playing guitars Slam Dunk & Launchpad Youth Showcase
Music
Slam Dunk & Launchpad Youth Showcase

Launchpad & Slam Dunk have teamed up for a new Youth Showcase event, featuring 5 artists all aged 18 and under based in West Yorkshire performing at one of Leeds

From £8.00
Music
MusicStockport
That Night In Manchester

Join the electrifying musical ‘That Night in Manchester’. Immerse yourself in the vibrant Manchester indie scene. Step into the Madchester time machine as you hear a father recount the highs and lows of his life to his only son during the Madchester era spanning his life through the 70’s 80’s & 90’s as you experience the music performed live on stage.

Culture Guides

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

Experimental performance, thought-provoking new writing and our picks of Manchester International Festival - here’s what’s taking centre stage this summer.

A painting called Daphne, 2021, by Carolien Walker. The painting features Caroline’s own daughter as a toddler.
Exhibitions in the North

Captivating, urgent and intimate - we bring you our top exhibition picks, with even more art festivals, artist-led shows and new venues.

Cloudwater Production One
Tours and Activities in the North

Go forth with wild abandon to dance the pavements, dabble with the paint and down the pints in this month's tours and activities guide.

Classical Music in the North

Read our latest highlights from the live classical music offer in Manchester and the North, taking in a number of the region's most cherished orchestral forces and venues.

A young boy with a white sash around his left arm cries.
Cinema in the North

Outdoor cinema announcements, a major retrospective at HOME, and the best of indie cinema.

Music in the North

Gigs are coming in hot this spring – from long-awaited returns to one-off happenings you’ll blink and miss if you're not careful.