Just imagine it. You wander up some grimy, twisting stairs, leading deep into the bowels of what is - to put it mildly - an architectural balls-up.
Throbbing, robotic music pulsates through the stairwell and anticipation wells up inside you. At the top you spill out into a room full of the oddest, yet warmest individuals you could hope to meet.
Welcome to Tangled, one of Manchester's longest-running clubs and easily one of the best nights in town. The punters at this place sure know how to party and waste no time in getting into the vibe and down with the music.
11-years-old and going stronger than ever, Tangled's been held at the Phoenix every Saturday night for the last seven years.
The talented twosome behind the club, Phil Morse and Terry Pointon, take charge behind the decks at the beginning and end of every night, giving the assembled revellers the weekly dose of house, prog, trance and techno that keeps the place packed to the rafters week-in, week-out.
But it's the Tangled crowd that makes the place so very unique and special. Students mix freely and easily with bug-eyed and beer-bellied seasoned ravers in a way you just don't see at other nights.
Grey-haired, bearded clubbers exchange hugs and compare day-glo accessories with fresh-faced newcomers to the clan.
This is Manchester, but not as we know it. It's one of club land's best-kept secrets and this week warmly welcomes one half of feted production duo Futureshock to its open-minded and passionate midst.
"Yeah - it's just going to be me and my records and I've no doubt it's going to be huge," Phil Dockerty beams.
"It's always refreshing to play at a place that's as unpretentious as Tangled - I played there last year and had a really great time. The people there are just up for having a good party and hearing some fantastic music."
His set, he says, is bound to include deep, tribal sounds along with some tougher and more techno influenced elements. "It's quite difficult to sum up my sound I think, other than calling it electronic house," he explains.
"A lot of it tends to be doctored versions of other people's tunes. We remix or re-edit them ourselves so they've got that trademark Futureshock sound."
Futureshock DJ at Tangled on Saturday, July 3. 10pm-4am. £8 (£6).
CIARA LEEMING