Behind the scenes of ArA: the gothic club-like night set in a Salford church

Pretty in Punk

For years, Friday-night crowds have been known to descend on the oldest church in Salford – coming together for an evening of Gothic music, DJs and dancing: ArA. 

Running since 2003, this is a club-like night which usually takes place on the fourth Friday of the month at Sacred Trinity on Chapel Street, very close to the Manchester-Salford border.

This is an opportunity to enjoy an alternative club-like event in 17^th century surroundings (a church on the site was established as early as 1635), with expressive and enchanting music on the decks including Goth, Metal, EBM, Punk, 80's and much more. 

People regularly attend ArA in all their Gothic finery, whilst the bring your own alcohol policy also adds to the communal feel of the evening. And that is evidently a good feeling – as audiences enjoy themselves whilst respecting the area, the church still opening for Sunday services as usual. 

Matt Carson was one of the founders of ArA, which he established with Kolyn Amor along with two other wonderful people. Kolyn Amor now continues the running of the club-like night with the help and support of friends in the Gothic community and beyond. 

Matt and Kol were also two of the people who set up M:GAG (Manchester Gothic Arts Group), which has since welcomed new members. M:GAG has an upcoming exhibition as part of the International Gothic Association conference in Manchester (July 31 – 3 August).

January ArA

And the Gothic credentials don’t stop there. ArA has also been involved in the Gothic Manchester Festival, which in 2017 included a special ‘Gravedance’ edition of their club-like night at Sacred Trinity, around the time of Halloween. 

HAUNT was fortunate enough to chat to Kolyn Amor himself, as well as Andy Salmon, the Priest-in-Charge at Sacred Trinity, who allows the church to be utilised for a range of communal uses, including gigs, film screenings, viking re-enactment, samba, vampire roleplayers and of course, ArA…

New Voice

Hello Kol! When was ArA founded and what was the inspiration?

“We reckon it was January 2003 (and nobody came)! It’s always been in Sacred Trinity. Through various circumstances, I’d ended up renting an art studio here and the vicar previous to Andy was also a nice chap. 

“Around that time I’d been talking with some friends through a church I used to attend in Hulme, when we realised there was a gap for ‘alternative church’ activities – so we came up with the idea for ArA, a sanctuary for alternative people. I asked the vicar, thinking he’d say no – and he said – ‘yeah, that’s fine’! It was four of us that started it off, and we didn’t really know what we were doing… but because we’d talked and dreamt about it for so long, we were going to carry it on regardless. It was quiet at first, then eventually word of mouth started to kick in… and that was an important thing, as 15 years ago there was no social media, but we had a website and fliers. Momentum started to pick up and it kept going. People seemed to like it.”

How would you describe the genre?

“Definitely a reflection of my personal tastes. And Matt too! We’d never DJ-ed before, so it was either dangerous… or stupid! I’m a kind-of 80s trad Goth, Matt is similar but a bit more metal. Then we had to get our heads round EBM, as we’d not listened to that much of it but we knew the cyber goth crowd liked it. 

“Also, getting feedback was important – we were always open to for requests, so we could play what people wanted. If we’d got it we’d play it… we’ve never been precious about a ‘special set’ or anything like that. There’s been a mixture of DJs over the years who bring their own style or flavour which keeps it fresh, and we generally get a positive response about the music and atmosphere.”

Post Mayan Mayhem

Do you have a lot of regulars? 

“It kind of comes and goes in phases –there are people who will come for a few years and then disappear. Then there’s a hardcore crew who’ve been here not the whole time but for over 5 years at least, and then other people find us randomly by Facebook or word of mouth. It’s always nice to see new people coming through. And yes, it is pretty broad in terms of people who attend – the average age would be sort of thirties-ish.  We don’t get that many students (though that could always change!) and we’ve had some attendees in their 60s too, which is great – I like the mix. The night seems to attract a mixture of styles and subcultures too, and everyone generally seems to get on… it’s often more talking than dancing, with people chilling out and enjoying the space.”

Do you have to be goth to come along?

“There is no requirement at all! Of course, we have some people who will get really dressed up which is cool, other people come fairly dressed own – whatever goes. There is no dress code.”

Do you have any future plans? 

“I don’t think we have any drastic plans to change? It’s hard enough to maintain doing it! It started out with four of us and now it’s usually just me to set it up, host, run the night (but with help and support from a small but great little team) – then clear it up afterwards. So it is a lot to do in itself. But it is absolutely rewarding and I try to throw things into the mix from time to time – like poetry readings.

“Another interesting thing that happens, considering all the loud music and bright lights going on – is that we do get people wandering in going like ‘what’s going on?’. I’ve also had some people say to me: ‘you can’t have a goth night in a church’! Not many, but some. But I just say that I’m trying to be inclusive, welcoming and provide a sanctuary for people – isn’t that what a church is?”

Would you Adam and Eve it?

Do I have to be religious in order to attend? 

“Not at all. People are welcome, right across the board. I’ve had interesting conversations with lots of different people regarding their beliefs… including Pagans, Satanists, Atheists, Buddhists, people of no faith. I hope that the night gives off the vibe that everyone is welcome, and they don’t have to tick any boxes.”

Return to Eden

Priest-in-Charge of Sacred Trinity Andy Salmon then joined us to discuss the innovative use of the church: 

How do you feel about having a goth night here and why is that a good thing?

“People often ask me why we have a goth night in a church, simple answer is – that we were asked! Do I think it’s a good idea? Yes, I think it’s a great idea, and though there are often complex negotiations, we often surprise people with how much we think is acceptable. I think the church building is a place for gathering… for worshipping God as its primary purpose as well as supporting each other and living our lives the best we can. But as a place of gathering, we like to think it is the heart of a community and it provides space to meet. We’re close to the heart of the city, so people come from all over, which means we have lots of overlapping communities. 

“For example, we were discussing: do the Goths and Vikings ever meet?  I say this because a Viking group meets here, as well as the Goths, there’s an LGBT+ service once a month, bell ringers… the variety of people that can be here at any one time is certainly a good thing. 

“We are a place that welcomes people, that is a crucial part of what we are about. It’s Kol that makes it work, the immense amount of effort he puts into being welcoming, setting up, organising. Schools often talk about their ethos, and it is the ethos of ArA that makes it work so well– there are expectations, yes, but just like there are expectations in a club. Bottling someone is not on, for example! But also, there’s a real ethos of acceptance that goes beyond what you would find in a standard club night and people really feel valued here.”

Kol – “I think there is a sense of community that can develop over time, even just over the course of a night – new people meeting new people. A sense that everyone gets on and wants to share their stories. People are not there to show off…”

Andy – “Oh, I think there is a lot of showing off!”

Kol – “(talking about himself in the third person) “He says sitting here with a blue Mohican(!)…  What I mean is, it isn’t a case of showing off in an arrogant way. People are here to dress up, dance and have fun.”

Why do you think it is important to utilise the church in such a diverse number of ways?

Andy – “People often ask me: ‘when did the church start putting on gigs and music?’. I say, ‘Well, about 1635’– as there has always been a connection between church and music. Doing rock music is perhaps a step further – but we love the cross-over that we have here. We’ve even had Irish folk music meets Jewish folk music, and it was brilliant to dance to… based on the music of immigrants who had arrived to Manchester in the 19^th century. 

“We’ll do full-on rock and indie stuff too– Marina and the Waves and Everything Everything have performed here in the past… and those are just some examples. Music that often works best though is where the music works with the venue. That doesn’t necessarily mean quiet music though; just usually anything with a meditative, ambient quality. For example, we’ve had drone from Moon Duo which worked well, as well as electronic and ambient stuff. 

Kol – “The building is ideal for a Goth night. People would spend hours trying to decorate somewhere to look like this, it with the genre go so well and people appreciate that. The building kind of speaks for itself… you know you are in a church.”

Andy – “We have our own little rule. That we don’t use the space behind the Altar Rail for anything else. Not for particularly strong theological reasons. It is meant to remind people… that we are a church. Have fun, enjoy yourselves, but this is a living church.”

Kol – “Being in a church brings up interesting conversations about belief and faith that might not happen in an average club too. It began, not to ram my personal beliefs down people’s throats, but to express the sharing and gathering that is an expression of the faith I happen to be part of.”

Andy – “After all, it is important to have conversation and to talk to people who might not agree with us on everything. It can be easy to surround ourselves with people who affirm our views, but extending conversation is important. In a church setting we have the whole mix of humanity.”

ArA

4th Friday of the month - 9pm till 2am - Entry £5

Sacred Trinity - Chapel Street - M3 5DW

Free soft drinks and snacks - BYOB - Please drink responsibly

Management reserve the right to refuse admission - House Rules apply - Over 18's only

Photo credit to: Katie Sutton and Marek Isalski