Competition: Win Tickets To Mr Scruff's 17th Birthday @ Old Granada Studios

Back in 1999, Mr Scruff couldn't have known the reach and longevity of his sophomore studio effort, Keep It Unreal, in particular its foot-tapping wonders like 'Get A Move On'. 17 years on, the Stockport native is a household name for anyone with a mind open to jazz, soul and funk DJing. His crate digging has introduced many a hip shaker to long-forgotten records, providing the soundtrack to countless revellers' nights out.

 

For his 17th birthday jive at Old Granada Studios, he's joined behind the turntables by house and disco tune-peddler Francois K, and between them the former Corrie corridors will be alive with shoulder-jutting grooves. Refreshingly, it's billed as a non-mobile disco, so put that phone away and enjoy.

 

The show isn't a solitary one for the Old Granada Studios venue, with DJ Yoda and the Craig Charles Funk & Soul Club with Candi Staton lined up for later in June.

We've teamed up with Old Granada Studios to offer a pair of tickets for Mr Scruff's 17th Birthday gig on Friday 3 June to a lucky winner. To be win with a chance of winning, simply email ian at nowthenmagazine dot com with your favourite Scruff song, as well as your full name. The competition closes at 3pm on Thursday 2 June and the winner will be notified later that day.



Words: Ian Pennington

9pm-3am on Friday 3 June, 2016 Old Granada Studios.
Tickets are available from oldgranadamcr.nutickets.com

Preview: HEALTH @ Gorilla, 27.10.15

HEALTH blur the lines between art, virtual reality and the tangible world. Producing a sound that blasts itself past pigeonholes and genres, they instead create a new movement, floating in a realm where the unreal becomes real and the darkest depths of the human mind are projected onto the whitest canvases.

Their return to the UK with Death Magic should bring a whole new experience for HEALTH fans attending the Manchester show/exhibition/performance. The mystery surrounding their three-day residency at the Echo in LA only creates more velocity and hype, pushing HEALTH further out there into the unknown realms of music and arts. I imagine the residency will be a progression both musically and visually, given that each album has remained true to the ethos of transgression, sounds, contorted reality and the deliverance of their art.

I am intrigued to find out where exactly HEALTH are going on this ride with Death Magic, the residency, the mini tour, then the closing ceremony when they hit Pitchfork in Paris.

Words: Cameron Broadhurst

HEALTH headline Gorilla on Tuesday 27 October.

Competition: Fingathing @ Sound Control

Combining an MPC and turntables with live double bass and unique cartoon visuals, Peter Parker, Sneaky and Chris Drury have built up a strong reputation within the field of leftfield live hip hop under the banner of Fingathing.

They bring their legendary live show to Manchester's Sound Control this Saturday 22 March as part of a spring tour of the UK.

Support comes from local drum and bass band Red Sky Noise and Hoya:Hoya resident Jonny Dub.



We've teamed up with Sound Control to offer Now Then Manchester readers a pair of tickets to the show, so for your chance to see some astoundingly dexterous live hip hop, like and share the image via this link (making sure it's public).

We will notify the winners on the evening of Friday 21 March. Good luck!

Fundraising Event for St. Mary’s Hospital @ Ruby Lounge, 31.10.13

Ghoulish figures moved deftly across the floor of the Ruby Lounge on this Halloween night. That’s nothing to do with trick or treating for the kids, this is the real thing. People who haven’t been seen for years have gathered together for the fundraising event that’s hoping to contribute towards a scanner for St Mary’s baby unit, and is linked in with the initiative set up by Clint Boon and his family.

The live sets are short and sweet, allowing the likes of Cornelius Crane to show off the contents of their goodie bag with songs from the past, present and future.

It’s not laughs that the Chevy Chase impostors deliver, but beguiling and enchanting Americana tinged melodies. Supported by the clear soundsystem they draw the ever-increasing crowd closer to themselves, the listeners eager for more.

In between sets, the vast expanse of the musical field is criss-crossed by DJs whose knowledge of the respective scenes is displayed in their record bags. Mark Burgess strides onto the stage to take his place amongst the other musicians, including Yves Altana on guitar, ready to start.

His disgust that this sort of event is required in the first place is revealed before the band starts up. Despite shouts of “In Shreds”, Mark stays away from his Chameleons back catalogue apart from one relatively obscure and seldom played number.

His voice is in fine form as he delivers lines such as, “It’s a long time since I was this fucked out of my tree / It’s a long time since I swam this river.” Difficulties are dealt with as a matter of routine, so that when a drummer can’t make it, two others swap between songs. It seems that as long as the Burgess/Altana axis is there, everything else will flow sweetly around it.

Is it really 11 years since I last saw Dub Sex play, when everyone else is quoting 24? Ah well, the advantage of taking pictures proves I’m right and I caught them at the Roadhouse in 2002 playing at Alex’s birthday bash. Despite having seldom played or released new music in over 20 years, the band can still draw upon a fervent support to witness them. After that period of time, changes to the line-up are inevitable, and for this performance Mark Hoyle, Cathy Brooks, Chris Bridget and Mark’s son Stefan are all included in the line up.

‘Instead of Flowers’ begins proceedings and it’s clear that the intensity and passion is still present within Mark Hoyle. His face contorts whilst his upper body twists with the menace that can still generate fear. Even asking “Are you having the time of your life?” seems to be a threat.

The band has been practicing for a few weeks, still respectful of putting on a decent performance for those who have paid. ‘Swerve’ is last up and is met with cheers of recognition from friends and followers who think they can do no wrong. It’s only a six-song set, and with the possibility of more gigs to tie in with a forthcoming compilation release, there may be more dubious sexual pleasures to be had in the near future.

Words & photos: Ged Camera

Un-Convention @ Manchester School of Art, 12.10.13

Free CDs. Free live music. Free discussions. What’s not to like about ‘free’? Once again the Un-Convention event has returned to Manchester and in their typical fashion of trying to keep things fresh it took place at the recently constructed, airy and naturally lit Manchester School of Art.

The events were free entry (via pre-booking) and attracted healthily sized crowds to hear three discussions, which were focused around Manchester and the North West. One reflected on the role Ringway (aka Manchester) Airport played in helping to set Manchester up as the next preferred social city outside of London, while another covered the essential social networking required to survive and flourish, exemplified by the Murkage Cartel.

With well-respected figures from the Manchester music environment such as the promoter Jay Taylor, Dave ‘Murkage’ who set up the Murkage club night events, City Life editor Luke Bainbridge, Mike Burgess (HeavyFeet) and band member Rick Boardman (Delphic), there was enough diversity and knowledge present to keep the audience entertained.

The pool of experience was broadened even further with the introduction of Dr Aravind Vijayaraghavan who was involved with the development of graphene.

Never an event to talk down to its audience, crowd members included people involved with the burgeoning Antwerp Mansion community and young musicians seeking some crumbs of advice as they take their first tentative steps into a new career.

The music comprised a CD created and recorded on the day from artists including Walk, JP Cooper, Kirsty Almeida and Jo Dudderidge, who each contributed one or two tracks. When Dudderidge finished at about 5pm, the organisers’ promise was that the CD would be available with six songs by 6pm. And it was. Speed didn’t breed blandness though as each CD cover was individually crafted on the day – some by students at the School of Art, others by attendees.

It’s perhaps a pity that time pressures prevent any inclusion of music from the closing band, Hope and Social, who played a storming set. With a bit more time than the previous acts, they start with a stylish swagger and fulsome sound, quickly converting the discussion hall into a dancing venue with people getting up and jiving in the alcoves.

Simon Wainwright is an engaging frontman, chatting easily with the crowd between numbers as the musicians rotate instruments and positions. He makes inevitable comparisons between their native Leeds followers and those present: “If this was in Leeds, you’d have smuggled some beer in”.

It’s an onslaught of bright passionate music that may have been free for the audience, but is definitely valuable.

Words & photos: Ged Camera.

Johnny Marr @ Manchester Academy, 12.10.13

If you aren't tired of hearing the words ‘Smiths reunion’ by now then you probably should be, and if the revelations in Morrissey's autobiography (released last week) are as explosive as expected there's every chance you won't be hearing them for much longer anyway.

However, Johnny Marr's hometown show at Manchester Academy earlier this month was enough to make even the strongest objector begin to wonder whether one of the unlikeliest of mooted pop reformations perhaps wouldn't be such a bad idea after all.

It's not that Marr and his band performed badly on the night (they were actually very good) or that he isn’t still capable of electrifying a room with his trademark brand of technical brilliance, but there was something about the event that just didn't quite add up.

The bulk of the set-list was comprised of tracks from last year's well-received debut solo album, The Messenger, and was at its best with the likes of romping, stomping, indie-rock cliché ‘The Right Thing Right’, set-opener ‘Upstarts’ and 'New Town Velocity', the album's highlight, characterised wonderfully by its promotional video in which Marr strides confidently along Wythenshawe's colourless concrete corridors (an act of extreme courage in itself).

But Johnny Marr is a smart man and knows full well that the vast majority of his audience bought tickets to see Johnny Marr of The Smiths as opposed to Johnny Marr of The Messenger (and definitely not Johnny Marr of The Healers). This was sadly, but perhaps best, exemplified by the distinct lull in the room's general energy during Marr's solo efforts, immediately and dramatically bursting back into life the moment the opening bars of any of the several Smiths songs performed on the night filled the air.

It may sound harsh, but it almost feels appropriate to refer to Marr's Smiths renditions as cover versions, such is their immediate and obvious detachment from the original songs. When the man responsible for writing the lyrics and singing the songs decides to do so with a different backing band (as Morrissey often does) he gets away with it, but when the guitarist does the same – no matter how instrumental he may have been in the creation of the source material – it suddenly feels watered down.

Marr's cause isn't aided by the fact he isn't a great singer (though, some would argue, neither is Morrissey) and, despite his best efforts, isn't much of a frontman either. He’s a deft exponent of every rock'n'roll posture there is to know, has bucket loads of that abstract concept some call ‘cool’ and still looks pretty much the same as he did in 1985 (thanks, in no small part you suspect, to the good people at Just For Men) but being lead singer simply isn't his forté and probably never was.

Johnny Marr is undoubtedly one of the finest guitarists and arrangers this country has ever produced and the song writing partnership he and Morrissey formed all those years ago was as good as any. Neither man’s solo work in the intervening period has hit anywhere near the heights of the music they once created together and perhaps now is as good a time as any to finally repair that most severed of alliances and write off the last 25 years as a bad mistake.

After all, if they’re going to give us Johnny Marr from The Smiths and Morrissey from The Smiths, they might as well just go ahead and give us The Smiths.

Words: Dan Burke.
Photo 1: Lindsey Wilson.
Photo 2: Pamela Schofield.

Johnny Bramwell @ Manchester Food & Drink Festival's Pavilion Tent, 06.10.13

“My set list has just turned into a wet list,” announces Johnny Bramwell, whose pint has spilled over said list. With a mischievous smile he continues: “Luckily I have another pint.”

Before he walks on, Hot Vestry take to the stage. Having supported the likes of New Order at Jodrell Bank earlier this year, the band appear comfortable in front of a crowd that is rapidly filling the tent. Mind you, I doubt if they will have been impressed with the changing area which leaves them in full view of passers-by. Once dressed in their paisley print shirts, the Macclesfield based four-piece plug in and play.

Numbers can veer from the 60s-type layered psychedelia to the attractively intense end of shiny aggression. The focus is on the resultant sound, with the addition of lyrics seemingly the more difficult part of their song construction.

The set contains the energy and enthusiasm of a group of teenagers who, despite a career to date of 150+ gigs, are still savouring the gigging experience and have developed into a taut, strident unit.

Guitarist, vocalist and sometimes bassist Harry Ward attempts to engage with the audience, even feeling in control of the situation enough to take his guitar out amongst the crowd – as far as his guitar lead will extend – before departing the stage and returning to the cobbled streets.

The set-up of long benches and tables with people sat forming orderly rows is more reminiscent of an army barracks than a gig venue but it’s a relaxed atmosphere nevertheless. By the time Johnny finally has the sound to his liking, all the spaces around the stage have been filled by people standing.

The comfort zone is quickly breached with Bramwell’s opener, ‘Twist’ – a tale of love, lust and death. Still, it beats staying in for Dancing on Ice. His voice is clear and cutting, both tonally and lyrically. ‘Storm Warning’ is followed by ‘86 TVs’ as his listeners take advantage of this free acoustic performance a week before I Am Kloot appear at the nearby Apollo venue.

Bramwell is one for whom the lyrics are the cornerstone of his songs, setting the mood and then allowing the musical atmosphere to follow. Judging by the warmth generated in the applause, there’s a lot here who want to savour that effect.

Words and photos: Ged Camera.

Daniel Bachman @ The Castle Hotel, 19.06.13

A good example of the appeal of this all-seater affair at The Castle Hotel is when, during headliner Daniel Bachman’s set, attendees without chairs were filling in all the nooks and crannies by crouching, kneeling, reclining and resting behind and betwixt the furniture and in the aisle.

It was a busy, yet attentive, one from the start, as a pair of Manchester’s most active musicians, Tom Settle and Dan Bridgewood-Hill – aka dbh – set the scene in the Oldham Street alehouse’s back room. The former, a soft spoken finger picking guitarist whose strings collection extends tonight to a mandolin, compiles a collection comprising his own work and Jefferson Airplane’s ‘My Best Friend’, evoking the spirit of that 60s psyche band’s ballad by inviting the latter to join him to perform a rendition of Shirley Collins and Davy Graham’s ‘Hares on the Mountain’. Underneath the spotlights of a web of fairy lights that dangles overhead, dbh carries the appearance of an Eisenberg-Cera hybrid, with the pair’s gently strummed songs resembling Juno’s final scene.

When he takes centre stage, dbh can be seen in better light, showing the Eisenberg-Cera fusion to be no more than whimsical myopia on my part. His set is more forceful, with each note immaculately considered despite being short-lived amidst the fluid arpeggios of flamenco and Americanised acid-folk. While often searching and introspective, his closing tune, ‘Fix’, hits the major notes to offer a happy ending.

The main attraction – the touring American Daniel Bachman – sits just as the other two before him: quietly and politely in voice, but the most intensively of the three in sonic terms. This time launching in with his lapsteel guitar and a bottleneck slide before reverting to type with an acoustic guitar, whose open low-E string shudders in discord with other elegantly selected notes, the whole set is turned up a notch on the speedometer.

Between songs, he re-tunes, red-faced in concentration.

Then liftoff, again, with a style that isn’t quite strumming, and is far from finger picking; notes that often seem to be merged, yet are audibly separate. The catch, if there is one, is in the divergence from the core technique; beyond the opening bottleneck slider, there’s little to differentiate his songs, and a set continuing any longer would merit another direction the break up his favoured style. His chord shapes are no more inventive than anyone else’s, but with a playing technique so vigorous there’s enough to mesmerise the gathered audience.

Words & photos: Ian Pennington.
Poster design: Fliss Horrocks.

The next Crowfoot Records gig is scheduled for tomorrow, 24th July, at Kro Bar on Oxford Road, and will feature L’Etrangleuse, McWatt, Irma Vep and David M Birchall.

Van der Graaf Generator @ RNCM, 28.06.13

Sturm und drang, crash and bang; Van der Graaf Generator collide with the RNCM in Manchester and fashion a nerve tingling victory. This trio of distinguished looking elder gents simply do not conform and on a weekend when the Stones slickly karaoke their way around a field in Somerset, it's a pleasure to see a band nearly of their vintage splinter and twist their catalogue into a new whole.

The band is now a trio of Peter Hammill, Hugh Banton and drummer Guy Evans and they began their career at the University of Manchester in 1967. They have always embodied the shifting definition of art rock and have somehow managed the Tony Benn trick of getting more radical as they get older. This show has two poles: a version of the instrumental ‘Flight’ and a semi-improvised, semi-lunatic version of 'A Plague of Lighthouse-Keepers' from their 1971 album Pawn Hearts, and between them there is much improvisational messing to enjoy.

The greatest joy for me and the capacity love-struck, middle-aged crowd is the interplay between the musicians. Evans has a drumming suppleness and casual swing that just doesn't seem right and his empathy with vocalist Hammill is a wonder to behold. Peter Hammill's singing is intriguing as he often seems to reach the limit of his range then push past it, and then push past it again. Special mention goes to Hugh Banton, a Cheshire based builder of organs who plays keyboards, triggers special effects and negotiates a bewildering range of bass pedals, while looking to all like a vicar in a BBC daytime drama.

Van der Graaf are simultaneously prog and punk, witty and frightening. Their leader wears the ‘shuffling to the paper shop’ uniform of tracksuit bottoms and smart shoes, whilst singing with a voice that sounds like Brian Ferry being prodded by hot pokers in hell, blasting forth from his tiny frame. Stunningly wonderful.

Words: John Wigley.
Live photograph: Monique Devic.
Press photo: courtesy of vandergraafgenerator.co.uk

Holy Esque @ Dulcimer, 13.06.13

“I heard them during the sound check and they blew me away,” says one of tonight’s promoters, Tru Luv, about Holy Esque. Preceding their show at Glastonbury this year, they prepared by making an appearance at Dulcimer in Chorlton.

The seemingly hermetically sealed, completely blacked out, compact room upstairs hardly seems to be an ideal preparation for a forthcoming gig in the large naturally aerated tent in a field but for those not at Glasto we can take solace in thinking this could be a more fitting venue to witness Holy Esque in.

Veladrome launch tonight’s proceedings. A couple of weeks ago they opened an all day event in Fallowfield and their vibrant, intense sounds were only witnessed by a handful of people.

Tonight, with the room approaching capacity, disaster struck. On that day in May, it was a fascinating contrast between the sharp, cutting, vocals of Lisa and the aggressive guitar and effects attack from Tom. With a barely perceptible, croaky, utterance, Lisa tries to confirm the all too obvious fact that her voice has ceased to function. The duo will give it a go though. First song, ‘Seeger (Part 1)’, is a deeply resonating, threatening instrumental affair, so it’s so far so good.

For the second number, ‘Violent Deer’, Lisa gives the vocals a go. The musical mood lightens a touch with this song, but the strain is too much and it signals the inevitable conclusion to this brief yet warmly received set.

“Come closer. Let’s make this interesting,” utters Pat Hynes, vocalist and guitarist with aforementioned Holy Esque. Interesting for whom?

Hynes has a set of vocal chords designed for the type of powerhouse rock that the band generates. His, bruising, gritty, exhortations fill the nooks and crannies of the venue, before spilling out into the surrounding streets and bars. It can make you wonder if paying the entrance fee to be inside the venue is necessary at one of their gigs as the sound quality is still pretty respectable outside.

Helping construct the platform for Hynes’s performance are guitarist Keir Reid, drummer Ralph McClure and guitarist Hugo McGinley. Most bands that play loud, aggressive music and have a Glaswegian connection such as Holy Esque will inevitably be tagged as having been reared on a Jesus And Mary Chain diet. If so, then this quartet has melded on a muscular framework that sweeps out in front of them.

Hynes wants the crowd to enjoy the gig as much as the band appear to, repeatedly enticing the audience forward, which, in a slightly uncertain but knowingly enjoyable fashion, they do.

Well, now that I’ve seen them, perhaps Glastonbury was the ideal place after all.

Words & photography: Ged Camera.

Steve Howe @ Bury Met, 21.06.13

Prog rock: so often a bucket for music critics to fill with bile (even post-Muse) is really a genre where influences from all points clash and intertwine. Yes, for example, have over their 45 years been a broad enough church to welcome everything from icy Icelandic classical sounds to 80s disco rock and make the resulting hymns sound like nothing other than themselves.



It was intriguing to see Steve Howe filter that breadth back through the prism of his formative influences of jazz and particularly flamenco. Shorn of the current origin story/tribute act version of Yes, he did cut a slightly lonely figure on stage. In addition, his bold attempts to express the many, many layers of early Yes tunes through just a simple and unadorned acoustic guitar led to the odd fret buzz and timing issue. But there was a glory to it, occasionally ragged, but definitely glorious. His own tune 'Surface Tension' was especially lovely and the piece written for his wife – selling CDs like a charismatic market trader out in the foyer – had a sentiment and not sentimentality. He also somehow imparted something new to Mason Williams’ whiskery, brown flared corduroy 'Classical Gas'. The best moment was the excerpt from Tales from Topographic Oceans, so often a big stick used to beat his group. Here it was lovely and jazzy and on which Mr H displayed a model singing voice; a surprise to many, perhaps even him.

Words: John Wigley.

Grey Lantern Presents @ Trof Fallowfield, 25.05.13

Who’d be a promoter, eh? One minute you’re organising a festival across two venues and the next so many bands have pulled out that you might as well cram everything into one. So congrats to the Grey Lantern team who did create a fine roster at Trof.



The duo that forms Veladrome is first up on a Saturday with the sun beaming down. Lisa and Tom would appear to make an unusual combination; her with the clear, pristine vocals and him with the dirty, distorted bass noises. In delivery, the incongruous combination works well. “Keep on walking,” Lisa recites with sufficient ambiguity as to wonder if it’s a threat to one’s personal safety or merely offering friendly directions.



The incestuous nature of the Manchester music network frequently sees people appearing in multiple guises and displaying different facets of their musical tastes. Mike McKnight appears today as Sphelm. The number of Cyril Snear t-shirts on display is a sign of solidarity from his other band mates. Today he’s slightly nervous; a new toy bought to enable him to demonstrate his musical catalogue isn’t working as it should. Also, the PA is creating weird, unintentional sounds so we only hear four songs, but they are good ones. He will use almost every part of the guitar to create sounds and beats. His hands gently caress the neck of the guitar whilst his slightly rough edged vocals align themselves nicely to the overall sound.



For those who have witnessed the incendiary performances of Queer'd Science, Dinner Time are faster and seemingly more intensive. Hard to believe, I know. The Ramones played songs lasting less than two minutes, and so do Dinner Time. Shouty, fast and relentless they are not songs you are likely to hear on Radio 2, but who cares. I wonder if the pace of the set has anything to do with the fact that they are playing another gig at Kraak in 40 minutes?



Tribal Fighters take the event along a slightly different, more melodic avenue. The trio don’t do vocals, but will take a wander across the floor to the full extent of their guitar cables, all the while dispensing attractive numbers.

As someone stated, “You can't put a price on fun”.

Words & photography: Ged Camera.

NOISEstock feat. Sam Duckworth @ People's History Museum 18.05.13

Surprises can be nice, such as finding an unlikely setting for a gig that works beyond expectation, and tonight’s events are such an occasion. Sam Duckworth is providing a contribution to the Noisestock Festival, an initiative that’s celebrating the art of protest. The People’s History Museum in Manchester is as significant a location as any, with the site of the Peterloo Massacre being not far away. There’s no massacre tonight, everything being conducted in a civil yet relaxed manner, even allowing alcohol to be purchased. The brick lined room is laden with all manner of items from the current exhibition entitled ‘The Art of Protest’, including a sign informing us that ‘The Plebs Are Coming’. Mind you, with notable contributors to the NOISEstock festival including Billy Bragg and Mark Thomas, I’m on the side of the plebs.



To emphasise the informality of the event, chairs are missing and the relaxed atmosphere leads to a mixture of people sitting in small groups whilst others stand or lean against the walls. The performance featured songs from his Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. era, supplemented with other, later musical musings.

At times Duckworth supported other artists on the line up such as Josiah Mortimer and Mushana, a female vocalist from London.

Between songs, Duckworth outlines his personal political views. Coming from Southend via Burma, it’s pleasing to note that Duckworth doesn’t just ask the standard, “How’s Manchester tonight?” question, but is aware of local issues. He displays his pleasure that the last elected BNP Councillor has gone, losing his seat from the nearby area of Oldham.



The standout moments are when he is accompanied by the violinist, Tristan Parsons. The tall, open spaces of the venue lend themselves well to allowing the mixture of guitars, violins and voices being crisply delivered. Each song is received in silence and rewarded with warm applause.

When he recites “Tired of the sound? / Don’t let it get you get you down” from his GCWCF repertoire – ‘Once More With Feeling’ – the consensus is that the crowd isn’t and, for this evening, it hasn’t.

Words & photography: Ged Camera.

Competition: XXYYXX @ NQ Live, 17.05.13

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.

Team Ghost @ Soup Kitchen, 11.04.13

Well turned out for a mid-month Thursday in a disappointingly dismal April, Soup Kitchen laid host to the Manchester's Mount Fabric supporting their Parisian counterparts Team Ghost.



A relative stranger to both bands and almost duped by an erroneous set times poster, it was all the more pleasing to see a support band capitalising early on their slot with such poise and confidence. As Mount Fabric's opener came to a ferocious conclusion, with yelping vocals reminiscent of The Faint and a well balanced sucker punch of reverb crashing against the audience, complimentary murmurs could be heard seeping through the crowd.

Throughout their five song set there was a noticeable stylistic shift in their new material, from the typically explosive, driving post-rock of 'Curves and Corners' to latest single 'Heuristic Fits', which lacks quite the same angular nature, ending up like a Horrors B-side, but without the hook.



The tendency to drench the vocals of the new material in layers of effects actually does somewhat of an injustice to the outrageously good, falsetto voice of frontman Alex Marczak, his natural soaring tones having a much more euphoric impact when not distorted beyond recognition. The dreamier, electronic tinged, mid-set tracks were proficient enough, but it was the moody, combustible moments of the finale which brought back the rapturous applause and animated discussion we had first heard amongst the audience.

Team Ghost were swift to follow suit. Buoyed by some home support in the crowd, they rifled through a number of tracks from last year's Dead Film Star EP; psychedelic-pop worn on a synthesized sleeve. Former M83 man Nicolas Fromageau's lyrics full of woe, tragedy and passion, intertwined with Placebo-esque sonic distortions and noisy brooding chords. The songs are tightly bound bringing a visceral, unpretentious alt-pop punch embodied by 'Dead Film Star' itself, but at other times it can come across relentless and draining.



Although the improvised mid-track harmonisations between Nicolas and keyboard player Benoit de Villeneuve showed an intimate relationship and a cocksure confidence and swagger, Fromageau's limited vocal timbre was at times lost in the mix; his dulcet Parisian tones drowned out by those of his arguably stronger fellow musicians with a regularity suggesting this is not accidental.

There is undoubted potential here – the oblique, droning 'Curtains' hurtled towards a wonderfully violent conclusion but it seems that Fromageau and Co are still finding the perfect balance and structure to truly reap the benefits of their respective talents.

Words: Dan Coultas.
Team Ghost photo, top: Emma Le Doyen.

Galoshins @ Gulliver's, 13.04.13

Tonight we embark on a twisted voyage through the warped psyche of Scottish peculiarists Galoshins.

It’s jazz, but not as we know it. No laboriously self-absorbed solos or needlessly fidgety fretboard twiddlery, but a wonderfully involving and upbeat rampage across the realms of funk, rock and electro, with a delightful and disorientating dash of glitch to melt what remains of your fleeting sanity.



Backstage the befuddlingly talented drummer can be seen giving lessons to supporting acts - dressed appropriately as an African priest - whilst onstage their chemistry burbles with the madness of a shamanic vision quest, the wide-eyed keyboard/vocalist egging on an enraptured and boisterous audience.

It ought be mentioned that never before have I been hit with such simultaneous bouts of dancing and laughter, as the comic undertones of the three-piece’s performance lift them leagues above most of their jazz contemporaries.

Gasping and perspiring, they finally succumb to the rambunctious demand for an encore, and we’re plunged into yet another wormhole of majestic sonic turbulence; the cacophonic clamour of keys, strings and drumskins bombinating the skeletons of all within range.

It’s a mind-bending ruckus, sometimes soaring, sometimes bewildering, but always fun. And that’s what we came here for, right?

Words: Tom Richardson.

Simon Joyner @ Kraak, 06.04.13

Simon Joyner is someone who has been critically acclaimed by the likes of John Peel and Conor Oberst, yet has a relatively low profile in the UK. Within the US – in particular his hometown area of Omaha, Nebraska – he has been known to organise tours on the basis of playing a gig in someone’s house in return for a bed for the night. That type of approach will have prepared him for the intimate surroundings of Kraak.



He has also taken a similarly unorthodox, and some may say financially limiting, approach to releasing his new record, Ghosts, which is in the vinyl format only. He announces proudly on his website that, “No digital technology was used in making this record,” although digital downloads are available.

There’s just about enough space for all six members of the band on the Kraak stage, with the drummer standing to one side whilst the pedal steel guitarist, Mike Friedman, has to be heard rather than seen, but it’s the sound that counts and it is a rather glorious.



Supplemented on some numbers by Megan Siebe, who plays agreeably violent violin, the style is very much located within the Americana genre, comprising of slow burning stories that develop and build to carefully created climaxes.

Wearing what appears to be a Stetson hat, Joyner leads from the front and that may be the one area in need of attention, as his occasionally flat and dry delivery, in the manner of a low-key Nick Cave, can seem at odds with the pristine sound. There are a lot of biblical references (“When you’re in pain / sing Hallelujah”) along with some intriguing word play (“I can barely carry / never mind bury / the past”).



When the rousing choruses are reached it almost seems like summer is around the corner. Almost.

Words & photography: Ged Camera.

Letters To Fiesta @ Roadhouse, 29.03.13

Just as a flame seems to flicker more brightly towards the end and the wick folds into the remnants of the wax, the club event that Underachievers Please Try Harder has used to light up both the live music and club night atmosphere of Manchester is slowly drawing to a much regretted close. Like George Best, you might as well go out leaving fond memories, and the best wishes of those who have taken part in the event, behind.



So let’s enjoy the fare that Dave and Kirsty have laid on for us. First up is Letters To Fiesta, who feature the pure, clear voice of Anna-Louisa Etherington. Her performance resembles an intelligible version of Liz Frazer, who fronted the Cocteau Twins. Strong yet delicate, the vocals seem to frame how their set is delivered.

Whilst her voice is the first thing that grabs attentions, the musical detail supplied by Tom Brydon (guitar), Andy Fletcher (bass) and Daniel Houghton (drums) provides a splendid platform to work from. Ethereal in tone and subtle in delivery, they could be Sigur Ros on steroids.



The band is being hailed as the latest in a long line of outfits to emerge from Manchester, and as the next band that must be twittered about. Yet, like the other band on the bill, they've been making music for several years – albeit with slightly differing line-ups. This overnight recognition of abilities seems to take several years. On tonight’s performance that opinion seems justified. Let’s hope they are allowed the time and space to flourish.



So it's onto to the very danceable tunes of Kid Canaveral who have travelled down from Scotland. I hope they weren't swayed by the fact that Manchester is closer to the equator and as a result it will be warmer than their nominal home base of Edinburgh. It’s a pity that the weather outside cannot match the warmth of their sounds.



By now there's now a large crowd in the Roadhouse some of whom are waiting for the club night to start rather than catching the bands. It could have been a challenging occasion for Kid Canaveral, but it wasn't. From the front David MacGregor guides the four-piece through a merry romp, armed with a repertoire of instantly catchy songs. Quickly they have a core of dancers in front of them and the smiles on people’s faces are enough indication of how well they’ve been received.

Words & photography: Ged Camera.