Infiltrating your disco.

At this year’s Manchester International Festival, former LCD Soundsystem man James Murphy and Belgian mash-up originals 2ManyDJs debuted a bespoke rig designed for three nights of vinyl-only clubbing. Dubbed Despacio, the monster 50,000-watt soundsystem comprises eight speaker stacks each standing at 11 feet tall plus 48 amplifiers costing £22,000 apiece.

In this mini-documentary by The Vinyl Factory, Murphy and 2ManyDJs’ David and Stephen Dewaele introduce their mega-rig, ponder the state of DJ culture and explain the motivation behind the project. “There’s a limit to how cool the three of us are,” admits Murphy, adding that he wanted to use his experience and expertise to “take responsibility for the opportunities we have access to rather than complaining in business class.”

The festival is over but Despacio won’t be decommissioned, according to Murphy, who’s also been busy composing music for Broadway and producing the new Arcade Fire album. “It’s not just for three nights. It’s forever,” he hints. “The system shall live on.”

Watch the documentary above, and check out this time-lapse footage of Despacio from construction to club as it arrived at New Century Hall below: