Review: Khufu – K I N G S (Self-released)

The K I N G S EP by Leeds natives Khufu invokes atmosphere from the moment its backwards guitars give way to the driving piano on ‘Links’. These poignant pianos are accompanied by minimalist percussion, seemingly giving a nod to the likes of SBTRKT and Mount Kimbie. Khufu push just how much can be achieved with so little as ‘Links’ builds on the sparse piano and beats with non-lyric, almost whale song vocals and reverb drenched guitars that promise an interesting listen throughout the EP.

It’s followed by ‘Untitled Pt.1’, which produces Khufu’s most luscious moments with scattered dub drumming is smothered by manipulated guitars that swell and swoon around that full-bodied piano of which Khufu make us so fond.

We are then introduced to the first live drumming on the record, filtered into the title track. What we witness here is a more R’n’B sound, invoking themes similar to Frank Ocean or the end of Outkast’s The Love Below. It again features Khufu’s fondness for piano but here it is not met with sparse reverb based guitars but a guttural strumming. Which, backed by high-flying strings, produces a larger, fuller sound that breaks the tradition Khufu have created, yet shows the dexterity of the group to marvellous effect.

‘Klangers’ is possibly named so due to a faint hoot stirring memories of the TV show Clangers. Thankfully the comparison ends there, leaving upbeat hi-hats motivated by jazz piano phrases that give way to a lifting melody that wouldn’t be out of place in the clubs where this EP takes its influence.

The production of the whole album deserves praise, for it explores different themes and genres whilst maintaining a strong narrative and cohesion.

All that is left is to ask a question: when can we hear more?

Words: R Miles Sayer (Twitter: @RMilesSayer)

Not A Summer Festival @ Gullivers and The Castle Hotel, 08.02.14

It sounds like one. It appears like one, so surely it must be one. Well, it is a festival but, as the headline states, it's not a summer festival which is technically true as we are being deluged with water in February. That does compare well with Glastonbury in June or July though.

The positive part is that the music, spread over the Castle Hotel and Gullivers, will go ahead regardless of how wet it is outside. With a diversely engrossing line-up of styles and attitude available, it’s good to see that the Castle is three quarters full at 3.30, with more people queuing to purchase wristbands.

Crywank. It's one thing to have a name that will stand out, court controversy and attention, but is the talent there to support it? On this performance, James Clayton, subtlety supported by Dan Watson, who has the packed crowd entranced, does have the magnetism to draw people around him. He might just be able to reach the escape velocity beyond merely being potential.

Meanwhile, a snippet of the closing number from The Ferals’ set is inviting enough to try to catch them from the start next time. A more precise, considered musical range is displayed by MyLyricalMind.

The simplicity in structure provides a useful counterpoint to the more upfront urgings of Waltz.

A lot to encounter for the first event but hopefully the promoters will be around again, passing out the cakes along the way.

Words & photos: Ged Camera.

Moderat @ Albert Hall, 07.02.14

Manchester’s latest nightlife venue comes in the form of a Grade II listed Wesleyan chapel unearthed after 40 years in disrepair and is the latest Trof project, the same personnel behind Gorilla and Deaf Institute. A former chapel restored to minimum health and safety regulation requirements, who would host an event in such a setting? None other than ramshackle entrepreneurs Warehouse Project, having relinquished their grip on the media frenzied Victoria Warehouse this season, turn their resourceful hands to Late Night Sessions.

Tonight’s headliners are Moderat, a conglomeration of Apparat and the duo known as Modeselektor, who first collaborated in 2002. The release of their second album, aptly named II, sees them tour the UK. To set the scene for those of you unfortunate enough to have not experienced Moderat, they were voted #1 Live Act by Resident Advisor in 2009 and are not strangers to showcasing innovative special effects. Tonight was no different. A cross setup of projection screens meant that a three dimensional experience was in store for those lucky enough to fit downstairs. Views from the balcony were still show-worthy, however the stage location meant the majority of the effects were lost on half the audience.

Highlights included giant hands clasped over an emanating bright white light. In the age where so many DJs play in front of a crowd with an obscured view of a pre-released video and the top of their head, it was certainly a breath of fresh air to be struck by such visuals. Playing a set of 90 minutes with a multi-track encore, they certainly give their fans their money’s worth. ‘Bad Kingdom’ featured amongst many of their new album tracks, all performed slightly differently to recorded versions in this live setting. Vocals from Sascha Ring (Apparat) could have been louder to contrast better with the tracks, but aside from that the trio played a flawless set.

Support came from countryman Anstam and Manchester’s own Illum Sphere. It would be unfair to comment on their performances as the extravagant Moderat set-up meant both were made to play on the balcony with limited volume and effects, not to mention the audience acted much like a flash mob for Moderat’s set.

With regards to Late Night Sessions’ aim to create a unique event experience, I believe they succeeded and then some. However I’m uncertain of the longevity of the project, as a decrepit Grade II listed chapel encompassed with minimal balcony balustrades may prove too much for Manchester’s carefree music-loving crowd.

Words: Charles Veys
Photos: Jody Hartley Photography

Hobson's Choice @ Bolton Octagon, 06.02.2014

I once watched a fantastic culturally-specific adaptation of Hobson’s Choice in London a few years ago, which was set in an Indian clothes shop and portrayed by an Asian cast. I didn’t think I would get to watch an equal or better version...and yet, last week in Bolton, I did.

In this Octagon version, as the audience are seating themselves, we see the lasses busy beavering away in the magnificent set of a traditional 1880s shoe shop with its mahogany counters and shoe displays. Soon we meet the forthright and assertive Maggie Hobson (Natalie Grady), the eldest daughter in the Hobson family. She is plain-speaking and no-nonsense as she derides the process of courting, comparing it to a fancy slipper: “all glitter and no use to nobody!”

Maxwell Hutcheon plays widower Henry Hobson (“British, middle-class and proud of it”), who needs his daughter Maggie’s help, but laments his other two daughters’ dress sense and the “gradual increase” in their “uppishness” since their mother died. Attempting to assert control over his daughters, Hobson tires of berating and battling, instead choosing to escape to The MoonRaker for respite – despite it being bad for his health. But will his daughters be able to escape him before it is too late?

Not only is Hobson smarting about his daughters’ “uppishness” but he is also concerned about his workman, Willie Mossop (Michael Shelford), getting “uppish” too when he is praised for his excellent workmanship. The stars of the show are Natalie Grady and Michael Shelford as we watch them slowly and steadily work towards success, and we grow to love the initially abrasive Maggie for her respectful sincerity.

David Thacker’s humorous direction of a splendid cast with their thick Lancashire accents and dialect, along with the references to Salford and Manchester, will resonate well with local audiences in the North West. The audience were highly amused (as evident by the raucous laughter throughout the play) by the witty banter between the characters as they attempt to realise their dreams whilst living out their daily lives. Will the Hobson daughters find the perfect men for perfect marriage? Will the cantankerous Henry Hobson soften in his attitude? That is the question posed at the beginning of the play, and we go along for the ride to see where they will arrive.

A brilliant production bringing Hobson’s Choice back to its original home. An olden times play with touching and timeless themes with which we can still relate.

Words: Sadia Habib

Images:

Pangaea @ Manchester Academy, 25.01.14

This was the ninth occurrence of Europe’s largest student-run festival contained within the Manchester student empire between the two founded venues of Academy 1 and 2. A rather appropriate setting for the misty northwest metropolis was constructed overnight in the form of the Lost City, Atlantis.

More elaborate constructions by Mad Ferret Productions included a mechanised tortoise clad pavilion and submarine hub DJ booth. The student hand was still apparent throughout, however, with reams of tissue paper bunting and hybrid-umbrella jellyfish decorating the Club Academy.

Fortunate enough to be given a site tour alongside a previous General Secretary of the University, and founder of the festival itself, I was lectured about the original bohemian ideals of the event. Ones, which to much disappointment, have been lost “among professional production staff and undesirable clientele”. I can’t say I share any such sentiment, as my experience of the event has been somewhat constant throughout its bi-annual lifetime, despite the ever-cultivating set list.

Amongst said line-up was Clean Bandit. I say Clean Bandit, however only three of the quartet were present, not including the additional vocalists. Unfortunately the absent member was none other than master of all traits Jack Patterson, the bass/sax/deck/keyboard player, with whom the soul of the band and arguably their success hinges. Perhaps this is a Clean Bandit lite version available at a fraction of the cost. They certainly sounded like it.

Across in Academy 2, at the helm of an illuminated plywood submarine, emerged Kidnap Kid. A man not unknown to Now Then’s pages, and one who has celebrated a more than deserved run of form over the past year. He began with a timid intro, unfamiliar in the age of crowd pleasing egocentric DJs, inferring his character as a perfectionist and fine purveyor of upcoming music, perhaps too delicate for the 5,000 fervent students who had made it to 2am.

Manchester’s Madam X was a particular highlight in Rubadub’s Academy 3. Her talents as a DJ were complemented by an onstage entourage of MCs and what can only be described as a harem of bedroom dancers. Her hybrid take on the brash scenes of garage and grime come out as a surprising delight.

Hot Chip was the festival’s headliner. However they failed to instil too much awe in a relatively laboured DJ set that did not parallel live acts for which they are known.

Words: Charles Veys
Photos: Harry Readhead.

Review: Refusenik - Musikaliszer Pinkos (Slip Discs)

Lithuanian composer Arturas Bumšteinas, as Refusenik, inhabits the edge zone between installation art and experimental electronica. He is also a member of Quartet Twentytwentyone, Works & Days, Zarasai and Wolumen, and has spent over a decade in the european avant grade, culminating in last year's award of the Palma Ars Acoustica prize for radiophonic arts.

'Musikaliszer Pinkos' is his first recording for Slip Discs, and it collects a series of numbered pieces ('56th', '115th', et cetera) recorded on a flea market Polyvox synth. These pieces take in material from the Hebrew 'Musikaliszer Pinkos', a collection of religious hymns.

The expected tension between the folksy nature of the source material and what one might expect to be a 'futuristic' sound has been somewhat defused by 2014. The pieces are gorgeous though, and seem to inhabit a micro-history of new folk, which can be traced back to Mother Mallard and Yves Klein's Monotone Symphony: Brian Eno as Morris Man is maybe not such a strange proposition after all.

Words: Steve Hanson

Broken @ The Lowry, 28.01.14

We live our lives surrounded by gadgets and gizmos, engaging with the world through a laptop or a lens. We cocoon ourselves in synthetic fabrics and concrete houses, kept separate from nature while eating our processed dinners. But although we live in this mechanised and man-made world our bodies and spirit are anything but: we are alive, organic and part of an endless flowing continuum of life. It is this idea that Motionhouse's Broken at the Lowry explored so successfully as the dancers documented the struggles, trials and triumphs of modern humans and the Earth we are born from.

Motionhouse have become known for their highly physical shows that mix multiple mediums and Broken was no different; this was not a dance performance accompanied by film and music but a blend of all three, each element inseparable from the others. When dancers would reach for branches in the sky, unseen hands would send forth poles perfectly timed to greet their grasp. When the performers dived through the permeable film screen a cinematic splash would ripple outward in sympathy. The energy, expression and timing of the dancers was exemplary, leaving one to wonder at how they managed to sustain such levels for over an hour.

Broken does not follow a narrative structure, but rather paints abstract images through which the overall theme becomes apparent. The central motif is that of the earth and our relationship with it, be that as giver of life, as a source of mineral wealth or as bringer of destruction. The dancers flowed together, their bodies forming rigid rocks and disparate clouds with equal ease. Arms jutted out like mineral seams, fingers and hands reached upwards to become branches blooming forth from the soil, while ethereal beings edged onto the stage, like the ghosts of mother earth herself. As the piece ended in the present day our precarious place was illustrated by the power of an earthquake that shook all that had been made down into dust.

I normally find it quite easy to be concise in a review, but with Broken there is so much to say that it is a struggle. Of course that is the point of dance - it says complex, intricate and beautiful things in a way that words simply cannot. Praise must go to artistic director Kevin Finnan for assembling and directing such a strong team and harnessing their talents into this unified piece. Broken is a magnificent synthesis of many disciplines, accessible for those unfamiliar with dance and, above all, a moving and fun experience.

Words: Andrew Anderson

Images: Chris Nash

Blindsided @ The Royal Exchange, 28.01.14

The Coronation Street stars – current and previous – were out in full flow at The Royal Exchange supporting Julie Hesmondhalgh (Hayley Cropper in Corrie) in Blindsided, the fourth play written by Stockport born writer Simon Stephens, who recently adapted The Curious Incident of The Dog in The Night Time.

The star of the show is Katie West who plays the lively, energetic and passionate Cathy Heyer. We warm to her entertaining exuberance and want her to succeed as she studies for an A level in History at Stockport College, something she is very excited about. There are tiny hopes of ambition in her that we want her to pursue so she can get away from domestic drudgery and the smell of the butchers. We are drawn to her raw passion and energy…but we are not the only ones, as a new arrival in town is soon enticed by the depth of her vitality.

Cathy is yearning to feel deeply, “I feel like every bit of me is awake and asleep at the same time,” and her wildest dream is to turn into somebody, but she declares, “No matter what happens, I’ll always be who I am.” However, when John Connolly (played by Andrew Sheridan) arrives on the scene, she starts to see things differently, “Round here you need people to shake things up a bit!”

Cathy falls blindly, desperately and quickly in love with Conolly, telling him, “I can get rather attracted to somebody suddenly.” But not to him, please Cathy! Sheridan plays a smug malevolent character so brilliantly that my skin crawls each time I see him on stage.

The director Sarah Frankcom successfully portrays a play of shattered dreams and shattered lives, where the characters seek to be free of the shackles in their minds. Stockport is brilliantly presented by the concrete slabs on the stage and the rain that comes and goes during the grim days.

Blindsided is the perfect title for this new play, for we are blindsided as we watch the characters’ raw emotions and devastating pain.

Words: Sadia Habib

Images:

Bonilla presents: Genius of Time, Leif and Matt Pond @ Antwerp Mansion, 25.01.14

Going toe to toe with a plethora of heavyweight Saturday night crowd-pullers is a tough ask for anyone, so first time promoters Bonilla had a job on their hands at the weekend. Hoya Hoya, Hit&Run, Wigflex, Craig Charles and Pangaea were all turning heads, but this cosmic disco vibed line-up held a different allure and as Matt Pond’s scene setting slot drew to a close, the gathered crowd was a good size – plenty enough people to warm Antwerp Mansion’s draughty climes, but with enough space to bust a groove without tripping on anyone’s heels.

Almost immediately after taking the musical baton, the headlining Swedish duo Genius of Time shake the cobwebs from the far corners of Antwerp Mansion’s main room, swapping previous gentle taps for their hefty sub-thwomps. Although away staging a ‘Pre-launch Party’ at the new Underland venue in Ancoats (established by former members of the Mansion team), it was Hit&Run’s extra soundsystem rattling the floorboards, sending shockwaves through the Rusholme venue’s core to move bass hungry dancing shoes into action.

The set mostly comprises the cut and paste percussive dexterity of cosmic house, with occasional nods to sweeping synths and hi-hats on the drum machine. Punctuating an otherwise vocal-less set, the crowd favourite was the addition of the ‘Love Thang’ vocals by oft-sampled 70s group First Choice, but no sooner had hands been raised to their remix’s infectious rhythms, than the mix ended, hands lowered and the numbers subsided to wander the Mansion’s dilapidated rooms elsewhere.

That left Freerotation Festival favourite Leif to see out the final two hours to a fluctuating dancefloor, with a set more intriguing than his predecessors’, but perhaps less appreciated, including hints of samples as disparate as The Prodigy’s ‘Smack My Bitch Up’ and Jon Hopkins’ single ‘Open Eye Signal’, infiltrated by jazzy saxophones and a wide array of percussive styles across his record selections.

Words: Ian Pennington

The Write Night @ Lass O'Gowrie, 03.12.13

A night of mixed feelings at the Lass O’Gowrie: excitement, as Ransack Theatre production The Write Night made its debut. Sadness, as it is likely to be the last production this reviewer sees at the Lass before it closes. But let’s stick with the fun stuff first and talk about The Write Night, which showcased three short plays covering a wide range of material.

Although titled ‘Write Night’ the first play Boot Sale by Alastair Michael was actually more about the actors and directing than the writing per-se. An exercise in nervous uncertainty, Mike (played by James Warburton) proved just how much can be said without words. In fact, the biggest laughs came from mistakes – props falling over, tea being spilt – which were reacted to with a mixture of cheerful grimaces, flinches and frowns. An easy opener, not too serious but not too silly either.

The happiness was short lived though as the arrival of Box, written by Piers Black-Hawkins, took the night into a darker dimension. The unopened box on stage provided tension throughout as a sort of Chekhovian gun, while actors Luci Fish and Hal Geller were charming and chilling respectively. As to the writing, although the story worked well it felt like there were too many deeply descriptive passages which subtracted from the realism. The poetic parts were well done, but perhaps could have been used a touch more sparingly.

Final piece Enveloped In Velvet (also by Black-Hawkins) was something different altogether, documenting a funeral in fragmentary fashion through the accounts of those involved: the best friend, the former girlfriend, the deceased and (oddly enough) the dentist. Hard to pin down, it seemed to veer from taking itself too seriously to making fun of that very fact. An enjoyable piece, the structure worked well and the directing brought the best out of it.

So, a warm welcome to The Write Night, which will hopefully return with further interesting plays in the near future. Alas, it will most likely not be back at the Lass. Since moving to Manchester a year and a half ago I have seen perhaps a dozen productions there, from football games to romantic romps, all of which have benefited from its cramped charm. Goodbye to the Lass...your pints of bitter, interesting plays and snug space will be greatly missed.

Words: Andrew Anderson