We first encountered Werkha’s Tom Leah as one half of Bug & Leaf, an ambient electronic duo in the Mount Kimbie mould formed with his fellow University of Salford music student Rick Hartley, who now performs under the moniker of (murmur). But his first real taste of musical recognition arrived when Gilles Peterson picked up Cube & Puzzle, Leah's debut EP as Werkha, to play two of its exquisite tracks on his BBC Radio 6Music show towards the end of 2012.
Manchester MIDI School’s Sessions series is to stage its second ever workshop and has invited Manchester folkie-turned-electronic music experimenter Denis Jones to share his experiences and skills as an independent musician specialising in modern production and electronic music.
XXYYXX (aka Marcel Everett) may have only turned 17 on Hallowe'en last year, but since the turn of the year has seen more of the world than many would have done by the age of 70. Having already trodden venues in Canada, USA, Australia and New Zealand in 2013, he's currently plotting a path across Europe.
In equal parts Bibio, Nicolas Jaar and Lapalux, Everett sits comfortably alongside some of the world's best beat-makers. His knack for kneading together subtly crafted samples has led to compiling a full album along with shorter EPs and remixes, selling out shows in his Orlando hometown and beyond, with the ensuing global attention, all while still being able to see daylight between his late teens and 20s.
His is an often breathy, rustic distortion permeated by glitchy minimalism and shot in shadowy sepia, but with occasional deft nods to anyone from Flying Lotus to James Blake, Shlohmo to Shigeto. Most like fellow production prodigy Jaar, though, his default synthetic lilts often glide through the downtempo realm; music to drift to rather than dance to (see 'About You'), but can equally raise the bpm to Boiler Room level.
He's being joined on this European leg of the tour by fellow US soundwave-makers Giraffage, Beat Culture and Slow Magic - all with promising recordings to their name, including Giraffage's collaborative jam with XXYYXX, 'Even Though', and the Slow Magic / Beat Culture combo effort, 'Once'.
Words: Ian Pennington.
We have a pair of tickets for the Manchester show on 17th May at NQ Live, Tib Street. To enter the competition, just like and share this gig poster that we've shared via our Facebook page.Here is the event info, and here is the ticket link.
Our next live music outing is now only a week away. We've invited a selection electronic maestros along to Shebeen Festival, an eclectic all-dayer that ticks plenty of genre boxes across six venues, from dub reggae to folk; jazz to hip hop and blues to psychedelia.
Here, in sonic form, is what to expect on our stage, at Trof Fallowfield, in the form of a mix melded in the fires of Acrobat gadget wielder Samuel Twidale's mind:
Below is more information about all the musicians performing on the Now Then stage:
Jason Singh (AV show). Beatboxer, vocal sculptor and sound artist. The Age Of Glass. Trad sounds plugged into the digital vortex, turned up to rhythmical riot. Acrobat (AV show). The mesmeric improvisational side-project of Sam Twidale (Sun Drums/Deep Hedonia). From The Kites Of San Quentin. Twisted glitch-tronica pilfered from a sci-fi techtopia. Beatsum. Hip hop from the heads behind Manchester's Golden Egg Collective. Forged Motif. Downtempo soundscapers skilled in the subtler arts of electronic production. Torotoroka. Live electronica fused in the same smouldering effervescent vapours as Múm. $?.?? Symbolism and mystery abounds. (murmur). Remixology and sampladelica from the acclaimed university project freed into the wild. KA/VAN. FTKOSQ guitarist LSN’s prog-tronica solo project. Mind On Fire DJs. Tune selectors extraordinaire who are about to embark on their ninth year.
For more info about other stages, locations and tickets, click here.
If an electronic artist turns the heads of three of the area’s top promoters, then it’ll be worth sitting up and paying attention. Mind On Fire, Groovement and Hoya:Hoya, have clubbed together to make sure Kidsuke will be calling in Manchester as part of their European tour this month.
Words: Ian Pennington
We have a pair of tickets up for grabs for the show at Roadhouse on Wednesday 21st November. Just email ian@nowthenmagazine.com with ‘KIDSUKE’ in the subject line to add your name to the hat. Otherwise, tickets are available for £5 adv. Click here for more information. A version of this post appeared on the Manchester Mule website (the competitions are separate, though).
The name itself is curious enough without introduction to the open-minded approach to musical composition lying beyond. Even the name ‘Veí’ has evolved during its lifespan, as Dean explains. “I started working on my own material whilst I was still playing keys for Kin, but I was quite keen to start writing with someone else rather than it remain a solo project. I worked on a few tracks initially with Paul Mckie (formerly of From the Kites of San Quentin) and I was trying to think of a suitable name for the collaboration. As we lived opposite one another at the time I thought it would be interesting to see whether the word 'neighbours' had a quirky ring to it when translated into another language. The Catalan word for neighbours is 'Veïns' which I loved instantly and we stuck with that.”
His tracks have been included on compilations and a debut digital EP, Thank You For Talking, was supported by forward-thinking music collective Mind On Fire. It could be said that recorded music is all about capturing a moment to be repeated as an exact copy; a live show is about recreation of that in person. Veí has until recently struggled with this dichotomy and there were always issues with preserving his improvised live show as a recording, given that reproducing the same song was a rare occurrence. That EP now remains distinctly in the past as Dean has adapted his live show by trimming down the wealth of flashing LEDs and bulky hardware at his disposal in favour of a simpler – and easier to control – laptop-based set-up. “I love improvised music and the processes associated with it,” he states, “but I personally feel that in the long run there is only so far you can take it.”
He admits that the equipment progression has afforded him more freedom then before and has in turn affected the recreation of tracks for an audience. “My old live setup was primarily based around limitation. With the set-up I put together it meant that there were things that I couldn't do easily, but that in turn forced me to be creative and think of ways around those shortcomings and also focus on the things that I could do well with it.”
It was a Now Then Manchester gig in December 2011 that became the first road test for that new, less improvised set using laptop software, supporting thebrokendoor and Jason Singh at a show, ironically, focussing on improvised and semi-rehearsed musical accompaniment to previously selected films. Although uncertain at first, he can reflect on having made the right move. “I felt at first as though I had abandoned my roots to an extent, but the tracks were really well received and I felt like I had definitely made the right decision.” His selection was a walkthrough for the Limbo computer game and the differentiation from the rest of the show in terms of improvisation mattered little, as Branching Dialogue’s reviewer afterwards expressed “an urgent need to buy the game and to see every gig Veí does from here on out”.
The switch was in part due to an affiliation with the new Baptists & Bootleggers label, which provided the platform for his new production ideas. “I had been thinking about switching from improvisational shows to writing some actual tracks for a few months anyway,” says Dean. “But when B&B asked me to do the EP I thought that would be an ideal opportunity to make the transition.” His physical self-titled EP launch at the start of 2012 was a part of the launch of the Baptists & Bootleggers label as a whole, where his performance acted as further evidence of his move away from the unplanned and chaotic constructs of old.
For example, another of Veí’s involvements with B&B was contributing one of the five tracks on the main launch record, ...Of The Wolves, which comprises a multiple arts smorgasbord centred around Dante’s Inferno, the 1930s film based on Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy. His fifth of the record – an interpretation of the same 8 minute 12 second visual clip selected for each musical act – is named ‘Decaying Bodice’, a typically serene piece of music even in response to a film whose fiery despair erupts loud and ferociously through the other musicians’ versions. It is almost detached from the imagery; accepting of the depicted hell and tapping into a quiet place, watching the bedlam from afar. Such is the paradox of Veí; a neighbour by name, but with a street to himself where music is concerned.
He first became involved with the label after being introduced to its co-founder Callum Higgins at the launch event for a Mind On Fire and OneFiveEight collaboration, Hear No Evil, See No Evil, the CD for which features tracks by both Veí and Higgins’ solo music project, Yes Blythe. 
Since that meeting and subsequent support, Veí is growing in confidence and looking to the future. “I just wanted to show what else I am capable of. I still use elements of my old methods in the writing process but for now I definitely feel as though I'm moving in the right direction and don't plan on taking a step backwards.”
Veí will perform next at Dulcimer bar in Chorlton as part of a Now Then Manchester and Baptists & Bootleggers co-promotion featuring three electronic musicians re-soundtracking the 1980s sci-fi film Dark Star. He will take on the final section of the film, after Christopher William Anderson and Yes Blythe have performed live soundtracks the first two thirds. The gig takes place on Sunday 22nd April from 5.30pm.
Chantelle Scott doesn’t come across as a bit of a diva or someone thriving on the belief that the world revolves around their whims and wishes, so I’d like to confirm that the 25 minute delay to Vieka’s appearance is entirely down to the previous act who seemed to think that his two minutes to finish was the musical equivalent of Fergie time, where he could play until someone scored next. I think he modelled the role on the Wigan game when Fergie’s team could have played until midnight and not have scored.
Trumpeter Will Lewis sets the tone for the evening’s performance, delivering single notes, held until you think he will turn blue. Sometimes a mute is added before the keyboards, or “technology”, via Lewis Edwards are introduced. This dark and brooding show is simply a change from the livelier tempo they are capable of delivering. Mirroring the more restrained but concentrated performance, Scott keeps the limiters on a voice that’s capable of being heard three streets away. Yet the threat and emotion are still present, so when she recites “Never again will you touch me”, I feel scared – and I’ve never spoken to her.
The restrained performance seems to suit the late night setting and those that have stayed warmly applaud each song, causing Scott to break into warm smiles.
Stickman’s three-track EP on 12” vinyl follows earlier Mindset Records output by the likes of xxxy, Synkro, Hatti Vatti and AnD, many of which were debut physical recordings by a Manchester record label willing to take chances with electronic music producers they believe in.
The music itself often seems manic, belying its subtle minimalism that remains darkly ambient despite the persistent pulses. It varies across each of its three parts though. ‘The Verge’ welcomes tinny shuffles before expanding into an uptempo march of squashed and fizzing synths.
I could write this review in fifty words. The opening track, ‘The Future Boards of Cheadle’, neatly surmises the relevant reference points in a nutshell; Boards of Canada meets The Future Sound of London as produced in the Stockport suburb of Cheadle.
Within a mindset that is altogether mellower than his previous bassy garage template, Cogidubnus still fluctuates from ambient textures by introducing dynamism to the wispiness. The tempo picks up at various points in a way that Boards of Canada rarely would. ‘Dudeslice’ fires off zaps and lasers into an insecure sci-fi battlefield of drum and bass and squelches while the Sipp remix of ‘Autoslouch’ pushes its chest out and raises its clenched fists to the air with a pomp in stark contrast to the Burial-esque dark electronica of the original Cogidubnus version.
Cogidubnus next performs his new set at Dulcimer bar in Chorlton on Thursday 12th April, supporting Vieka. Memorabilia is available to buy via digital download at brokenbubble.bandcamp.com.
For its creator, Graham Shortland, Neko Neko’s other meaning – “someone who has creative ideas that are damaging or get in the way of normal life” – was too fitting with his musical outlook to resist as a moniker.
The path has so far led from listener to composer and on to performer, with many and varied modes of musical production, which is what keeps Shortland interested. Sitting in front of flashing LEDs and digital complexities, he has a simple intention: “to create something with soul.”
It’s also always a risk to rework any song considered sacred to many, but that didn’t stop Neko Neko taking on the Pink Floyd classic album The Dark Side of the Moon in its entirety, finding right amount of clever embellishments, tempo shifts and idiosyncrasy to make it something distinct enough from the original to take on a new life. Its title of Orange Side of the Moon is typical of his abstract and light-hearted approach to making music, with the orange part a reference to an unreleased album of his named My Favourite Sound is Orange.
What does merit inclusion in the Neko Neko live set varies between subtle clips and better known remixes, such as the B side to his latest single, ‘Ya Playin’’, with its lyrical nod to Jeru The Damaja. Now sought after by his peers, Shortland sets himself a high standard in remixology but, aside from his own material, he can appreciate anyone who achieves a composition “where the remix ends up standing up as a good song in its own right, like the Machinedrum remix of Bonobo’s ‘Eyesdown’.”
His realigned soundwaves are scheduled to be featured on the forthcoming record by Frameworks and BluRum13, while a recent gig supporting local trip hop trio From The Kites Of San Quentin at Salford’s Sacred Trinity Church proved an opportunity to air remixes completed last year for an EP by The Electronic Exchange. There are plans to develop this further in imminent performances as The Electronic Exchange’s vocalist, Najia Bagi, will make the step from an electronic sample to a live appearance in collaboration alongside Neko Neko. The first opportunity to see the results will be a Now Then gig with My First Moth Records on Thursday 8th March.
It is a sign that Neko Neko is an evolving artist with a busy year in the pipeline. Shortland admits that his current guise is by no means the finished product so there is plenty to look forward to in the foreseeable future. “This year there’ll be an album, another beat tape, a remix for Frameworks’ album, an EP and some possible collaborations with a local mc, but that's early days yet. I'm also planning to step up the live set, hopefully introducing some live instruments.”
I say ‘creaks into life’ because there’s a downtempo, static feel to the opening stages. Dayse & Aver are painting their lyrical imagery in ‘Human Zoo’, backed by beats merchant Omas in a reserved start for an initially passive audience with the soundsystem noticeably quietened and restrained. But static is the TNC offshoot’s style; facing each other, mics poised, lyrics fired to and fro. Their movement is cerebral; their skill is in satire, dissecting the world in which they live with references from dystopian sci-fi to the gritty realism of this CCTV state, via technological age epigrams by Moondog. ‘Dark Matter’ and ‘No Exit’ are highlights with their discordant funk and jazzy refrains scratched and skewed by Omas.
A string section in a trip hop band can hardly be described as pioneering these days, but one assembled, instructed and practised online is perhaps with traits less widespread.
The original duo is enhanced by the safety in numbers. Najia Bagi’s soulful vocal is aptly matched to the classical and glitch trip hop hybrid on show, while Tullis Rennie’s processed beats and samples synonymous with his output via Concrete Moniker are aided by extra pieces to the puzzle. Bagi in particular, who also sings with The Beats & Pieces Big Band, To Sophia, The Ground and solo, has no problem adapting her voice to the new scenario.
There’s opportunity for ambient interludes and instrumental flexibility, as sticksman Dave Johnson is only too happy to exemplify in frenzied fashion. His disregard for the prepared template is more applauded than derided, even if Bagi is forced to wait for her cue a little longer than expected. The bar-raising ‘Country Murder’ produces one of those moments you tend to remember. Its thickened sound builds and climbs atop a lofty summit before diving head-first into a huge drop; ripping open sonic cortices in the thundering rapids of drum and bass below.
Roughly a year after the eponymous debut EP, the pair returned with Second Shift, multi-layered carvings melding Thom Yorke’s mind-warps to Mount Kimbie’s metallic echoes that may appear more direct and with a lighter ambient spirit but is equally glitch-ridden. My First Moth producer Neko Neko was recruited to remix ‘Fit Right’ and ‘Shapeshifter’ for the record and has already successfully entwined those into his live set with his addition of a Burial-esque dusky dimness, matching more elements of the 2010 EP, The Electronic Exchange, than Second Shift.
Now Then Manchester returns to the scene where Najia Bagi, Tullis Rennis and new live drummer Dave Johnson discuss the latest project and tour, the development of the ‘electronic exchange’ composing technique and ‘toolshed dub’.
I think we've progressed and broadened our scope and sound. 'Fit Right' for example is the first time I’ve strayed into using actual electronic drum sounds.
Manchester has battened down the hatches in readiness for the forthcoming storm. The chill wind is blowing along the deserted streets. Yes coming up is Black Friday, i.e. the one where every office Christmas party descends upon the bars and eateries in the centre, purportedly in support of a good time. Yes, I will indeed be somewhere in the mêlée the evening, but the consequence is a bleak Tuesday night. The paucity of numbers tends to indicate that I may be the only paying customer in the Night & Day, or at least one of the first.
Sat to one side of the stage, facing the side wall, the solo performer that goes under the name Flashing Astraptes is creating weird though not always wonderful sounds with his guitars and foot pedals. At times there is a comforting rhythm to the output, but with the amplifier ramped up to max, the distortion kicks in and self control seems to wane as the noises start to override any ambience.
Swansong consists of another solo artist, who has been playing the local venues, honing his keyboard skills and sounds, in a similar manner to xxxy. He is even wearing a t-shirt advertising another promising Manchester act, From the Kites of San Quentin.
Hunched over the synths, the icy rhythms dispensed are wrapped in a deliberately created warmth, just like an Arctic roll (ask yer mum!). It’s crisply dispensed and his lyrics roll freely from the stage. For all his body twisting and efforts though, on a night like this it’s going to be difficult to get anyone up and moving as the music deserves. Rather, it forms a pleasing backdrop for the evening’s conversations. When he finishes, the silence is quickly filled with genuine applause.
The band forces their performance onto the listeners, attempting to dispel any pre-Christmas lethargy with vibrant, effective songs that certainly require a second listen. The unwanted technical “hitch” – a stray, repetitive burst of noise plaguing a song – fails to detract from an impressive performance.
