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

Warehouse Project presents: Ape vs Metropolis, Friday 22nd April 2011

As Easter rolls around again and the Great British public take full advantage of the time off and good weather, there aren't many more fitting venues in the city than the Warehouse Project to take the partying to the next level. This second night of their annual Easter weekend sessions see Ape team up with Metropolis.

Arriving in the enormous main room, it is instantly obvious why people come from all over the country for these events - the atmosphere, sound and lighting are second to none. A surprise addition to the already impressive line-up, Artwork, takes to the stage to test the soundsystem's capabilities. Artwork is probably the least well known of the Magnetic Man trio, but no less capable behind the decks. His set is an eclectic mix of dubstep, garage and housey cuts and the audience take it all with equal enthusiasm.

Artwork's production partner Skream is next up on the stage. We know exactly what to expect and, as is standard, he never fails to disappoint. A particular highlight is a full sing-along, lighters-in-the-air rendition of his new release 'Where You Should Be'.

2am rolls around and we're in full swing. The tempo is about to max out and two of the best drum and bass DJs are in the building. Head honcho of Digital Soundboy Recordings, Shy FX, is first to the stage. Bringing his A-game to the table, his relentless mixing keeps the crowd on the crest of a wave for the entire hour - definitely one of the best sets I've witnessed from the veteran.

If Shy FX is King only one man can Ace him. Ram Records owner, and all round legend of drum and bass, Andy C is topping the bill tonight. It’s a flawless set with three decks on the go at all times, making it blatantly obvious why he is still regarded as the top dog after all this time. 2,500 ravers go all out for the entirety and are left begging for more afterwards.

At the end of the night the ravers shuffle out of the makeshift club, frantically chatting about the highlights of the night (Andy C for me) and plans for later. The Warehouse doors are now closed until the annual event restarts in September.

Words & Images: Gary Brown

Arts, Music & Events Preview, April 2011 (Part Two)

Earlier this month I wrote a few words to report on the aftermath of the Arts Council England funding allocation; specifically its effect on Manchester arts groups. A major casualty, the article stated, was greenroom, which has since announced its closure to the public from the end of May. So a fitting way to start off this second instalment of April’s should-attend events waffle is with a greenroom event. Wednesday 20th is the launch of Blank Media Collective’s final exhibition at the Whitworth Street producing house, Who’s Laughing Now?, which takes on ideas within taxidermy such as personification, lasting images, death and guilt; relevant topics given greenroom’s situation.

On a lighter note, Islington Mill hosts the debut screening of Manchester based Fritz von Runte’s project merging Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey with David Bowie’s career output as a recording artist on the same night. That one will include a discussion about the film, Bowie2001: A Space Oddity, and the finer points of intergalactic references in Bowie’s music, while Thursday 21st welcomes another screening before a fancy dress disco.

Thursday 21st also beckons through another short stint for the Warehouse Project. The opening night is the pick of them with 2manydjs and Aeroplane topping the bill. More follows nightly until Sunday 24th.

Friday 22nd is another one at Islington Mill – a line-up composed of Scotland’s finest folkies. Fence Collective bring along Lone Pigeon and The Pictish Trail, while Song, By Toad Records cohort Jonnie Common offers a tune or a few in support. Red Deer Club Recordings, who’re co-promoting it, have some other worthwhile news: another Awesome Wells record (Carry On Awesome Wells), released on Monday 25th and containing wilfully askew bandstand park-fillers, whimsically oblique in its varied instrumentation and modern Animal Collective harmonies.

Back on track, there’s more to mention for the 22nd courtesy of Naive Melody residents at Charlie’s. Here’s a taster of their cosmic grooves.

Fast forward a little to Wednesday 27th and you’re met by a Bonobo show at Band on the Wall. See this if you can. Another gig the following night, Thursday 28th, is a Little Red Rabbit promotion in the form of Nick Cave sound-alikes Last Harbour at Sacred Trinity Church.

And so to the much-discussed Bank Holiday on Friday 29th. Without going too far into the anachronistically outdated reason behind the holiday, it has served up an enticing array of artistic options. Rotters Golf Club label ringleader Andrew Weatherall will take on the role of chief tune-selecter, mixing funky tech for Content at Joshua Brooks. Or there’s Mount Kimbie, who need no introduction to anyone familiar with this blog. Now Wave have booked them the Deaf Institute stage for the night.

More conjugally conscious are Islington Mill’s Off With Their Heads assorted festivities (including a tug of war between royalists and republicans) and an early afternoon Funeral Procession, a satirical stab at mourning the public services that have passed on in favour of archaic feudalism. Vive la République.

Moving onto Saturday 30th, Denis Jones headlines a show at Fuel Café, presumably partly as a warm-up for his Sounds From The Other City appearance, where he’ll be soundtracking a film on the Bad Uncle / HearHere stage. There’s plenty more besides; the festival has grown again, flexing more musical muscle down Salford’s Chapel Street.

Words: Ian Pennington

Arts, Music & Events Preview, December 2010 (Part One)

Your teeth are iced together, you can see your exhalation condensing, your gas bill is going to be astronomical, but the length of this city’s independent what’s-on list is showing no signs of diminishing in the same vein as the height of mercury in your thermometer. If you’ve been taking part then a Movember ‘tache will help mask some of the cold, but otherwise I’d recommend braving the outdoors for the following.


Welcoming in the final month of 2010 will be Trof Fallowfield’s regular Cool Runnings activism and dub reggae clubnight. Arrive early on Wednesday 1st and you’ll learn about the intentions of Manchester Social Centre and autonomous social centres in general.

Still on the political activism slant, there are a couple more educational evenings soon after on Thursday 2nd. University of Manchester-based group, Open Media, are screening Crude: The Real Price of Oil in University Place Theatre A; open for students and non-students alike. On the same night Salford’s Working Class Movement Library open their Object Lessons Part Two exhibition, in collaboration with the curators at Islington Mill, which sees the results of artists digging through the WCML archives and interpreting their findings for display. There’s no rush though since it’ll adorn those walls until the end of January.

Also on Thursday 2nd, Format invites you to its dubstep infused 2nd birthday. Billed as live and in 140bpm are Pinch and Distance, while local favourite Illum Sphere is set to fill your ears in support.

Shifting tempo and pitch a little along the dance music spectrum for Saturday 4th, Wigflex host a tech-flecked discotheque at Sound Control with Shed and Al Tourettes mixing their beats and pieces. In the arts, Kraak Gallery house a weekend arranged by local artists collective Lead Pencil under the cosmically themed Pluto & Uranus Are Missing heading.


Monday 6th at Deaf Institute is safely the gig of the month as Now Wave team up with HearHere to pair a couple of electronic forerunners in the shape of melodic minimal-tech maestro Matthew Dear and Darkstar, a trio often lumped in the post-dubstep, future-beats niche alongside Mount Kimbie (but just as often recognised as inhabiters of that music journo nightmare; a current genre void). Dear is due to DJ at the Simian Mobile Disco Warehouse Project, but Monday's live show has that extra appeal on a rare tour.

Back at Kraak, a quick turnaround is scheduled to pave the way for an exhibition whose accompanying acronym is one of the more fulfilling you’ll find. Super Awesome Fun Exhibition, aka SAFE, features the idiosyncrasies of Florian Fusco, amongst others, from Wednesday 8th. The 8th is one of those busy days with plenty to choose from, so perhaps save this one for another time before it ends on Wednesday 22nd.


Elsewhere on the 8th there’s a forum going by the poser of ‘How can the third sector help shape transport in Manchester?’ If you have the answer, then bob along to The Mechanics Institute in the early afternoon. For those who like their rave tinged with funky electro-house, Prostitutes & Policeman have pencilled in Fake Blood to paint the town red (or Sankeys at least). There’s also the first instalment of Sounds From The Other City’s winter incarnation, Sounds Like Another Christmas. Aside from being a less impressive acronym than Kraak’s (see above), SLAC is a sort of watered-down, spaced out (as in time-wise, as opposed to ‘whoa man, this is some spaced out psychedelica’) version of SFTOC. The premise is one of partnership promotions with some local music selectors, with fanzine Pull Yourself Together getting the ball rolling at Salford’s Kings Arms pub by asking Liz Green and Dinosaur Planet along to perform.

Second on the SLAC front is Bad Uncle’s planned staging of epic jammers Rangda, Howlin’ Rain and Easter. Don’t miss that.


If you thought I meant ‘spaced out’ in the psychedelic sense then you won’t be disappointed by the Now Wave/SLAC collab that brings both of Ripley Johnson’s soundwalling projects, Wooden Shjips (@ St Philip’s Church) and Moon Duo (@ Islington Mill), to the Chapel Street vicinity, separated by mere minutes. That one’s on Friday 10th; another busy slot for listings.

Another option is Chorlton recycle artists Rubbish Revamped, who take over Beech Road’s new café On The Corner, 6-9pm. Or if you’re out in town, then head to the intriguing, seasonally focussed fare at Briton’s Protection. Folk Threads have set up an open mic night a cut above many others by inviting musicians and poets to try their hand at writing original material on the subject of ‘winter’. To get involved contact the linked email, or just turn up to see the results.


Finally on that Friday, crack out the baubles and tinsel for a pair of nights loosely riffing around the proximity of Western civilisation’s favourite consumer-fest. There’s a couple of stars on top of the Dry Live tree, co-headlined as it is by both The Rook and the Ravens and Ten Bears, who’re then followed up by Revolver and Good Vibrations DJs. And not forgetting the partridge in a pear tree. Over in Withington, Red Deer Club and Cloud Sounds are generating more early festive cheer. There won’t quite be twelve drummers drumming, but with Fuel’s two floors both in action between 5pm and 2am, they’re not far off that tally; Y Niwl and Jane Weaver topping the lists upstairs and downstairs, respectively.

The closing two SLAC nights feature Helmets For Men (Saturday 11th) and Comfortable On A Tightrope (Sunday 12th) showcases. Alternatively on the 11th, Warehouse Project have another mammoth array of floor-fillers, this time curated by Modeselektor and featuring Moderat, Hudson Mohawke and a bunch of others intent on soundtracking your all-nighter.

Everything Everything move swiftly on from debut album critical plaudits by drafting in an orchestra for a one-off at the RNCM on Monday 13th. That one’s on Now Wave’s clock as well.


And last but not least: two records from local musicians worth banging against your eardrums this month. Sheffield psyche label Blackest Rainbow have matched up Mancunian noiseniks Gnod and A Middle Sex for a split 7”, while My First Moth have packaged up Neko Neko’s ‘Pesticide’ on the same format.

Words: Ian Pennington

Arts, Music & Events Preview November 2010 (Part Two)

It doesn’t seem long since the last one, but the time is right for another of our bi-monthly preview write-ups. There’s not a lot of preamble I can think of to introduce the second half of November, so we may as well dive straight in.


Continuing that vaguely aquatic theme are Red Tides, whose folky ballads are due an appearance at the Night’N’Day Café, Tuesday 16th. On the same evening there’s a Manchester Friends of the Earth initiative hosted by Nexus Art Café under the exclamatory moniker of Swap It! Stitch It! Style It! Bring at least three items of clothing to throw into the mix and leave with something brand new and unique. What’s more, you’ll feel far cleaner than you would do if you’d spent the time rushing around Primark before filling their filthy coffers.

Wednesday 17th sees a couple of gigs worth tossing a coin between. Heads says The Phantom Band @ Deaf Institute (Now Wave); tails and you go to Holy Fuck (with Buck 65) @ Academy 3 (High Voltage). Both have released sterling sophomore LPs this year.

Keep that coin handy because you’ll need it again the following night. Different kettles of fish this time, so that might ease the Thursday 18th decision. Firstly there’s local songsmith Jim Noir at Ruby Lounge, who gained infamy a couple of years ago for a pair of TV advert spots with his debut album jangles ‘My Patch’ and ‘Eanie Meany’. If that’s not for you there’s a photographic display launch night at The Art Corner. Delphine Ettinger, aka Ashes57, is showcasing her snaps of dubstep’s rise to prominence while Jehst (DJ) and the Format residents will provide some musical accompaniment. The exhibition remains viewable until mid-December.


Hip US record label Anticon have sent their signee Baths out on tour. The Manchester leg is at Deaf Institute on Friday 19th, courtesy of High Voltage. Fans of Bibio, Animal Collective and the like should make the effort. Or you could keep it local that night by visiting Fuel in Withington for a Red Deer Club conducted event, which includes Sophie’s Pigeons, Christopher Eatough and Stone Butch And The Bear.

Forget your coin for the next decision – you’ll need something closer to dice. Unless, of course, you’re better at making decisions than I am when spoilt for choice, which is quite likely. Anyway, for those who fancy leaving it to chance, roll a one and you could try getting a ticket to my pick of the Warehouse Project this season, the Kieran Hebden-invited bunch (Four Tet, Caribou, Theo Parrish, Mount Kimbie, Actress, Nathan Fake, James Holden – what a line-up that is!) Roll a two: stay at home and watch some shite ‘reality’ telly. No? Best avoiding that outcome then. Roll a three for a Friends of the Earth fundraiser at the Ram & Shackle in Fallowfield. Mount Fabric top the list of music.

Roll a four and find yourself at the 5th Carefully Planned all-dayer. They usually know their folk music so if the Castle Hotel’s walls have ears then it’ll be quite content with the nine acts from 4pm onwards. Roll a five (this is a little too Big Break now, isn’t it?) and a trip to catch the last day of Islington Mill’s current art exhibition, The Doers, The Drifters and The Dreamers. While you’re there you can sample the Contemporary Ceramic Art due to be adorning the Mill’s fresh first floor furnishings, which will have been open from Tuesday 16th. Finally, a sixth side to the die could be Golden Lab’s offerings at Fuel, which features Vibracathedral Orchestra pair Mick Flower and Neil Campbell, who’ve worked with seemingly poly-limbed percussionist Chris Corsano and Tom Greenwood of Jackie-O Motherfucker. A freak-out is on the cards at that one. All that in one day. Phew.

That’s a tough day to follow for choice, so I’ll narrow it down for Sunday 21st: Wotgodforgot have Sun Araw, Zun Zun Egui and Gnod all doing their various warped rock things under the same roof. Islington Mill’s roof to be precise.


Experimental electronic types Hoya:Hoya have kicked off as a record label. You may have already picked up their first compilation on vinyl, but if not then Monday 22nd is the day it’ll go digital.

When passing through Stretford the other day it was hard not to spot the Christmas lights proudly illuminating the night sky and my immediate thought was that they must just be getting their money’s worth. But, to be fair, that festive consumption period is looming ever closer and the folks at Islington Mill have spotted the proximity as well. Their annual crafts fair takes place on Thursday 25th.


Also on Thursday 25th in a Christmassy arts theme, Mooch N4 launches its next Street Art exhibition, Lump of Coal and a Satsuma. Otherwise, there’s music on the same night from northern noiseniks 65daysofstatic at the Academy. Support comes in the form of From The Kites Of San Quentin.

On the final long weekend of the month and Content have a tech-funk disco in store for Friday 26th at The Attic. Recloose’s name is the one commanding the entry fee with a promised melange of chilled grooves and minimal beats. Fast forward another 24 hours and you should look to Now Wave’s double portion of Ratatat. Saturday 27th at Deaf Institute sees a live set followed by the DJ guise under the ‘exactly what it says on the tin’ heading of An Evening With Ratatat.

Still want more for your month? How about harmony addled indie poppers Best Coast at Ruby Lounge on Monday 29th? Sorted.

On a related note, if you’d like to review local events like those previewed, or even just have something to say that you feel is worth publishing on subjects from politics to the arts via local issues, initiatives and good causes, then don’t hesitate to drop an email to ian [at] nowthenmagazine [dot] com.

Words: Ian Pennington