Chris Luno - Manchester

Free From Sleep bring one of melodic house music's fastest-rising names to Manchester. Chris Luno touches down at Joshua Brooks for an afternoon session under the bricked arches.

The Berlin-based producer has built his reputation through releases on some of the most respected labels in the melodic house world. He's released on Anjunadeep, Lane 8's This Never Happened, Nora En Pure's Purified Records, and most recently on Gorgon City's REALM Records with an official remix of their single Mitsubishi. His own label Life on Moon, distributed through [PIAS], has been a home for his more personal productions since 2023. With over 400,000 monthly Spotify listeners and half a million YouTube subscribers, his audience has grown rapidly — but it's the label affiliations and festival appearances at Ultra Miami and Burning Man that speak to where he sits in the scene.

Joining him on the day is Sam T Harper, a Lancaster-based progressive house producer and A&R at Aether Recordings. He's released across labels including Elation Industries, 1980 Recordings, and Prognosis Records, and has picked up DJ support from the likes of DOSEM and Mark Knight. His sound sits in that sweet spot between progressive house and melodic techno — a natural fit for the afternoon.

Manchester's own Caralus opens proceedings. A new name on the local circuit working in melodic and deeper techno territory, he rounds out a lineup that covers the full spectrum of the sound.

Joshua Brooks' basement is purpose-built for this kind of music. The Void Acoustics sound system fills the room without overwhelming it, and the low ceilings and exposed brickwork create the sort of close, absorbing atmosphere where melodic house actually connects.

FFS have been programming this room since 2021, bringing acts like Guy J, Lee Burridge, Patrice Bäumel, and Marsh through the same space. They know what works down there.