Manchester Records of 2010 (Part Two)

Acrifolia - Lament
[Self-Released]
Nov 2010
This aptly-titled debut offers contemplative combinations of lonely piano and guitar over echoing, swirling backing drones. Lament as a theme is obvious throughout, but, like the introspective emotion to which the word refers, there is little joy in some areas of the record.

The sense of loss is tangible, and that loss is a bassline or percussive element that would help the musical scenes progress. But in a sense it is within these desolate soundscapes that a reflection of lamentation’s stagnant depth as an emotion is strongest. Nuance of volume change is the Manchester duo’s answer to a lack of beats, illustrated on opener ‘Peace Within’, which welds Walls-esque electronic crackling to aching acoustic ivories. The mood largely continues through ‘Inscape’ and ‘Caldera’, as piano mixes between anxious and subdued, while the latter switches to a smattering of restrained optimism akin to Moby’s more cerebral tracks.

Long-held notes lend a sort of half-speed Boards of Canadian interlude feel; perhaps into a beat-less Move D & Pete Namlock or Eno/Moebius/Roedelius should they have favoured sparse monotony over intricacy on more of After The Heat.

While Lament predominantly shuns too much build or development, the final two, lengthiest, tracks have more time to fluctuate under Acrifolia’s downtempo template; succeeding better in holding attention through ringing guitar effects and simple, shimmering beauty manifested through waves of foamy, fuzzy undercurrents. An intriguing debut.



Dan Haywood's New Hawks
Timbreland Recordings
Dec 2010
Manchester’s Timbreland Recordings’ double-disc release of chief raconteur Dan Haywood’s folky stories includes work recorded over more than four years. Fans of The Decemberists should lean in closer at this point; Haywood doesn’t necessarily share the Canadian quintet’s passion for the concept album, but does deliver a similarly engaging collection of tales, hinged together by his lone explorations of remote, rural Scottish coastlines.

The double disc format would test any listener’s attention span, never mind that of the mp3 shuffle generation, but perseverance is rewarded; the songs grow in stature, while Haywood’s distinctive vocals – think Gideon Conn merged with The Decemberists’ Colin Meloy – are cushioned by some dextrous musicianship. Amongst his assembled New Hawks are former 808 State, and current Homelife and solo, multi-percussive talent Paddy Steer, whose shuddering timpani rolls are noticeable in the more free form tangents of ‘Middle Nowhere’.

Elsewhere, the mellow sways and slide guitar of ‘Drinking In The Big Towns’ are welcome comfort against bittersweet vocal tones and the subsequent ‘Spate River’ is a standout; darkly creeping up in its dramatic and scathing narrative; lyrically crisp and eloquently articulated. Settings are generally sparser through the flip CD side, briefly losing musical accompaniment altogether for the a cappella ‘Ghost Post’.



Denis Jones – Red + Yellow =
Humble Soul
Oct 2010
Around the turn of the last century, The Hives proclaimed themselves to be Your New Favourite Band. Whether you agreed with them or not depends on your expectation of what a band should be. With the same degree of certainty, Denis Jones could take that attitude and profess to be your new favourite: 'solo electro-acoustic loop pedal connoisseur'; 'avant garde glitchcore bluesman'; 'folky beatbox live producer’, depending on when and where you may've seen him. It may seem like a wide variety, but it’s a fair response when you’re faced with a veritable deluge of cacophonic sounds, bombarding your eardrums with similar multi-modulation and apparent imprecision.

While his debut humdrum virtue showed potential, its mixed reception was in part indicative of the room for improvement. But there is also a certain glass ceiling for Denis Jones, in that the concept of a song with defined boundaries suffocates his aptitude for irrepressible freeform tangents; the experimentation in soulful electronica is what earned him the accolade of the inaugural beneficiary of Futuresonic's (now FutureEverything) artist development program. Last year’s sophomore Red + Yellow = has taken that on board and aimed to channel the aforementioned live show gusto through its eight tracks.

Many compositions, such as a modification of Tom Waits’ ‘Clap Hands’, the fidgety ‘Sometimes’ and a beautifully crafted homage to the impersonator ‘Elvis’, are familiar to anyone who’s seen his sterling live set; these versions do go some way further to capturing and retaining that raw feel of layered reverberation. ‘Rage’ in particular manages to box in the sheer pounding intensity and intimidating vocal rhythms synonymous with its live production. However, you still feel that boxing this music into recorded format is to its detriment.

A rare collaborative performance at Band on the Wall last January displayed how the latter, more widely instrumental, recordings fit alongside a recognisable acoustic accumulation. The shift into the realms of full-band glitch jazz through ‘New Note’, ‘Conception, Consumption and Radiation’ and ‘Bastion of Blood’ offer a conversely minimalistic approach to the thicker, industrially delivered early-album solo looping.

Ultimately Red + Yellow = follows the same mantra as humdrum virtue in that the most uplifting is saved until last. ‘Blengin’ is very much this album’s ‘Beginning’; indication that better still is to follow. The future’s bright; the future’s Red + Yellow =.


Words: Ian Pennington

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

Like a bleary eyed mid-morning on a lie-in day, 2011 is creaking into action. If you’ve already broken that New Year’s resolution then here’s another: check out more of the many events in and around the city. Here are some pointers...

There’s a discussion this evening (Wednesday 19th) on the relevance of poetry in our society; covering some recent attempts to rebrand the spoken and written verse as well as its appearances in other aspects of popular culture such as film and music. Manchester Salon host it in the Blackwell University Bookshop, inviting along Angelica Michelis and Anthony Rowland to shape the open conversation. If you can’t make it, then feed your thoughts on the intriguing subject with their selected background readings.

A reminder that Mooch N4 will bite the dust in a couple of weeks, so grab the opportunity to browse while it’s still standing.

Remember Dot Dash? It was a popular alt-indie clubnight in the Scubar (RIP) basement a couple of years ago. The only reason I mention it is that the Big Scary Monsters Records playlist at Trof on Saturday 22nd is shaping up with a similar ring to it.

As mentioned earlier this month, The Castle Hotel has been setting out its gigging stall as its New Year's revolution. They continue on Monday 24th with a night of folky balladeers headed by Dana Falconberry and curated by local folk troupe The Travelling Band.


Fast forward to Thursday 27th and Blank Media Collective open the doors to their new BLANKSPACE venue with an introductory exhibition under the banner of BlankExpression. Situated at the former home of student arts group Easa on Hulme Street, BLANKSPACE’s four walls are to be adorned by work from 27 artists. The doors remain open until 9pm on that launch night, at which point you could venture across to New Wakefield Street's Sound Control with ample time to catch one of the triumphs of 2010 in the form of cosmic disco groover Aeroplane, who tops the Drop The Mustard promotion.


But keep in mind the latest organised cycle with Bike Friday the following day; don’t tyre (geddit?) yourself out by staying out drinking too late. But if you can ‘handle bars’ (too much?) then I’m sure it’ll be fine. More info on the when and where is here. Too cold for a pedal around town? Another option on Friday 28th is to warm your cockles next to the proposed Manchester Artists’ Bonfire at Islington Mill, where submitted pieces will be ritualistically burned as a symbolic response to the swingeing arts cuts. Described as ‘an event for artists, by artists’, you’re asked to write 250 words explaining your reaction to the event and its motives in order to take part, and the deadline to do so is Wednesday 26th.


Doing some more burning – this time of the midnight oil – that night will be the mouth-watering results of a tech house promoter merger. Über Disco and Untold Motion become Über Motion for the purposes of staging Sascha Dive at Sound Control. Mind On Fire will also be DJing in the building.

Saturday 29th is one of those where everything is scheduled to happen all at once. Well, not everything, but there’re a few options. First off, a toss-up between two political avenues. Those favouring direct action, say aye – and head out to the latest anti-cuts march, starting at Manchester Museum at 1pm before cruising down to Platt Fields for a rally. Don’t let a one-off fire extinguisher incident, and the subsequent undergrad degree-length jail sentence, put you off. Those who’re naysayers to the question of a stroll down Oxford Road while the temperature’s still a bit iffy may favour the Manchester Trades Union Council Conference at Friends Meeting House, where there’ll be stalls (including Manchester Friends of the Earth), and aims to assist workplace and community cuts and to mobilise ahead of a demonstration on 26th March.


In music that day there’s a Friends of Mine all-dayer packed with should-see local bands, from Jim Noir to Air Cav, via The Janice Graham Band, Lucy & The Caterpillar and Rook & The Ravens. That one’s shared between Jabez Clegg and Kro Bar, and acts as a warm-up to their field-based Friends of Mine Festival in May. And if your eyes are still open after all that then there’s the first in Hoya:Hoya’s Secret Series. They’re at the Roadhouse, but just who ‘they’ are will remain a mystery until you arrive. Expect a night of off-kilter glitch-tronica.

Call the Sunday a day off after all that, but Monday 31st sees one worth venturing out for. Veí (who appeared at our Now Then Manchester event in October) takes his electronic orchestra to Tiger Lounge for the Big Dig showcase that also features Leonard Rossiter; free entry.

Finally, the 31st is also pencilled in for the release of local Idlewild soundalikes City Reign's sophomore single, 'Out In The Cold', on their own Cat Boot Records label.

Words: Ian Pennington
Image 1: Michael Thorp
Image 2: Rebecca Wild
[Images 1 & 2 appearing as part of BlankExpression 2011]

Manchester Records of 2010 (Part One)

Before pressing full-throttle on with a fresh twelve months of music, compiling any hype-driven ones to watch lists (which we won't be doing) and jumping on any bandwagons, it’s worth a gaze back to last year. There’ve been a few albums queued for review for a while now and grouping them under this stipulated three-part umbrella seems a reasonable call.

Looking at the the drownedinsounds, pitchforks, etc of this world’s picks, there’s not a lot of cohesion in tastemakers’ mp3 folders; plenty of new niches have emerged, lighting up the eyes of many a genre architect. Needless to say, Now Then’s raison d’être differs, so we’re adding another niche, and there has been no shortage of Manchester musical stirrers who haven’t made it onto the blogosphere’s buzz band shortlist. Here are some local full-lengths to peruse and discover, in no particular order.



caro snatch – Til You’re No Longer Blinkered
[Self-released]
Nov 2010
This, caro’s second long playing collection of compositions, follows intergalactic concepts across its nine tracks, which take on both the near and far; otherworldly interpretation through introspection.

‘Mammoth Mountain’ is a sparse, yet lyrically sensual, entry into an operatic universe, which develops in the subsequent tracks, ‘Mary Rose’ and ‘Sense Ability’, into dystopia as industrial mechanism shudders around caro’s articulately expressed spoken word delivery. In fact, her eloquent use of puns is a constant highlight, but the ever-changing instrumental scene-setting cannot be ignored for its role in sustaining the storyline. There’s televisual static in a near-vacuum on ‘To Do List’, while ‘Heart Knock Schule’ relies on a thicker backdrop of bluesy guitar and album-closer ‘She Is Her Kink’ (a remix of a Frau Aike song) offers squelchy beats fidgeting in the shadows of dark electronic echoes.

Often a solo performer (and occasionally without instrumental accompaniment, as at our own event in October), a stage-full of collaborators is promised for a show early next year.



Illum Sphere - Long Live the Plan / The Plan is Dead
Fat City
Feb/Dec 2010
Year of the Sphere – this two-part album has devastated the start and end of my 2010. It’s an intelligent, tightly controlled narrative that creeps up on you, leaving you feeling raped by drones. ‘Psycho’ is definitely one of the deepest songs of 2010. Its disturbingly calculated restraint pits aching sub-bass throbs against distressed high-pitch hiss, tearing your ear drums apart from any sense your mind’s making. For all the malevolence, Ryan Hunn does let you fall into carefully constructed, shimmering episodes – the bossa nova of ‘One For Dimlite’ and slow-burning outro ‘Aftermath’.


The Plan... is also explosive in parts – take two minutes into ‘Shadowman’ – and especially on ‘An Old Escape (Kill Them Kill)’, it holds up some of the heavy dancefloor synth you’d expect from the hip-hop honcho of Manchester’s most forward-thinking electronic night Hoya:Hoya. That doesn’t mean it’s ever far from beats so unhinged they can only just about support the tracks. Don’t let that mistake you into thinking anything other than Illum is in total command.



John Fairhurst – Band
Debt Records
Oct 2010
Don Van Vliet’s recent death brought back to the fore his relentless pursuit of invention and unbridled virtuosity. Echoes of that spirit can be found within this second full-length from the well-travelled Wigan bluesman, John Fairhurst.

While his debut, Joys of Spring, was compiled on the back of some extensive worldly adventures, many of Band’s growls hint towards more homely tribulations. From the barroom bawls of ‘Daylight’ to the swaying deep sighs of a reworking of Mississippi John Hurt’s ‘Pay Day’, which adopts more of a Howlin’ Wolf vocal makeover, the lyrical content grounds a diverse musicality in familiar settings.

The Beefheart comparisons don’t end with Fairhurst’s husky intonations, the most noticeable development from an acclaimed debut. Although not as audaciously avant-garde as the Captain’s most lauded work, Fairhurst blends an array of traditional folk and blues learnings into his own brew befitting some of Van Vliet’s other work, such as that composed during the Virgin Records years.

With his wandering troubadour vibes, Fairhurst conjures scenes of an energetic boogie through a fast-paced stomper, ‘Big Dig’, and sing-alongs (for the chorus of “...on the barren ground...”) on ‘Lost My Mind’, before returning to a heart-warming fusion of sax and slide guitar for the lyric-less ‘Earworm’.


To be continued...

Words: Ian Pennington (intro, caro snatch, John Fairhurst) & Sam Bass (Illum Sphere)

Arts, Music & Events Preview, January 2011 (Part One)

If you’ve been consulting your Gregorian calendar lately then you’ll no doubt have spotted a couple of things. Namely, we’re slowly rolling into another year and this preview feature is a few days overdue. The former significantly more obvious than the latter, perhaps, but both indicative of the sleepy nature of Januarys in general.

That’s not to say there isn’t anything to sink your creative teeth into this month. Oldham Street’s refurbished Castle Hotel hosts Welsh linguists Colorama following their session on the airwaves for Marc Riley’s 6music show – all this evening, Wednesday 5th. And later on, Now Wave’s DJs pick up where they left off in 2010, spinning their tips for 2011's buzz bands to fill the Deaf Institute floor.


Saturday 8th brings another Carefully Planned All-Dayer, albeit a rescheduled one due to pre-Xmas snow. That’ll also take place at the in-demand Castle Hotel with eight more hand-picked musicians from the world of indie-folk. For a more chilled affair that evening, the electronic types at This City Is Ours continue their monthly slot at An Outlet, with tunes selected by Anytime, Blood Boy, LSN and Borland DJs.

The Art Corner launches a new exhibition with a preview night on Monday 10th, capturing the zeitgeist with an artistic interpretation of everybody’s favourite fad, ‘austerity Britain’. They’ve called it Cuts & Grazes, roped in a palette of artists and set an end date at 30th of this month.


Onto the world of film, the curtain comes down on the New British Cinema Quarterly’s run at the Cornerhouse on Tuesday 11th with a screening of brilliantlove, which stars local Manc actor Liam Browne in the role of a besotted character named Manchester. Produced by North Eastern champions of outsider cinema Pinball Films, the film has already been met by independent cinema kudos and an impressive-looking soundtrack includes Sol Seppy, Wild Beasts, David Holmes and James Yorkston.

There’s a seminar worthy of your time on Wednesday 12th (you might want to double-check the date - I've read conflicting info) if you’re prone to a whinge about the frequency of buses. The GMITA (Greater Manchester Integrated Transport Authority) will discuss their forthcoming budget at the Town Hall, but to attend you have to book yourself in by Friday 7th.

Islington Mill bursts into life on Thursday 13th with a trio of alt-rockers in the form of Charles Hayward, Barberos and Gnod.

Over the weekend of 15th and 16th, an alternative political group currently known as ‘Network X’ will hold discussions with the aim of homogenising the activities of similar-minded groups, both local and national. Expect to be involved with planning strategies, defining the shared points of a political ideology and structuring methods of achieving aims. If you’d like to make your voice heard then that’s the time to do it. Contact them for details.


Finally, Chorlton Arts Festival may seem a fair way off in the distant future as yet (19th-30th May), but they’re planning events as I type and will continue to accept submissions for ideas until Monday 17th. Forms can be downloaded here and for more info the contact is Philip.

Words: Ian Pennington

Capital, Workers & Democracy

"We’re All In It Together…"

How often have we heard this phrase, presented as a statement of fact by political leaders? It seems to have become the ‘must have’ phrase, to be repeated ad nauseam every time some new round of ‘austerity’ is to be inflicted on the majority of citizens. Certainly it’s the phrase of the moment for the likes David Cameron and George Osbourne.


But are we?

We all know how badly most people have been affected – and are about to be affected – by the largest global financial ‘crash’ since the Great Depression following 1929. Unemployment, falling wages, reduced benefits and welfare across the board – with much more on the way.

But what about the rich? How are they doing, and what are their prospects? Don’t know about you but I’ve found that any facts and figures for this minority, who hold the vast majority of society’s wealth, seem to be so far under the Politics and Media radar as to be deeply subterranean.

However, Daniel Raventos of US Political Newsletter ‘Counterpunch’ has come to the rescue. He cites a report by Merrill Lynch, a bank owned by Bank of America, whose target clients are the 9 million or so persons, worldwide, who are either rich (HNWI – High Net Worth Individuals with assets of $1M+) or super rich (‘Ultra’ HNWI - assets of $30M +) [‘Assets’ here exclude primary residence, ‘consumer durables’ or ‘collectibles’]. So, that would include, oh, David Cameron, certainly Tony Blair with his reported £20m ‘consultancy’ for JP Morgan (bank), most, if not all, political leaders and a great many politicians anywhere in Europe or the US. Probably a lot of the senior TV media ‘journalists’ and presenters too.

So how are they all doing in our ‘we’re all in it together’ financial crisis?

Yep, you guessed it! Not badly at all. Aside from a sharp, temporary, dip when global shares fell at the onset of the crisis in 2008, their aggregate wealth is back pretty close to where it was before the crash – back up to $39 Trillion by 2009. Sure, they lost a couple of years of ‘growth’, but not to worry, things are looking good. Merrill Lynch are confident in their projections for the next 3 or 4 years that they can help them along to an average 5% year on year growth in ‘net worth’. That’s ‘net worth’ of course after, you know, life’s mundane essential consumables and consumer durables have been deducted – restaurant bills, a few designer rags to knock about in, the his‘n’hers Ferraris, toilet paper, that kind of thing.


So maybe we’re not all in it together then? If you’re wondering why, read on…

Surely it's time we looked at the fundamental driving forces deep underneath all the propaganda and BS? Simply put, there are two utterly opposing interests at work. On the one hand, Owners of Capital, who primarily live off renting (or investing) money or other assets and the Workers whose primary income is derived solely from their Labour.

Yes, it really is that basic. The fewer Workers can be paid for their Labour, the more wealth the Capital Owners gain and vice versa.

But here's the rub with Democracy. Intrinsically the Workers are in the majority – always. So a democratic system that actually represents their interests is fundamentally at odds with the interests of Capital Owners whose main desire is to own ever-increasing, limitless Capital. Which is without a shadow of a doubt where the evidence leads. How many Owners of Capital have we heard say that they have 'enough'? Virtually none. Over the last few decades the wealth of the rich has risen dramatically whilst the wealth of Workers has stagnated or decreased, with real costs in health and peoples' lives, to say nothing of unrealised potential. And the divide is increasing.


Of course, both sides need each other. Entrepreneurial drive is very often a good thing and works to the benefit of all. Crucially, such worth to all is the very thing that ultimately guarantees the consent of Workers for Owners of Capital to operate and even be highly rewarded. But if the system of democracy worked properly, the welfare of the majority would place limits on the accumulation of wealth. It clearly doesn't. The 'banking' system has been shown to be a casino, run by Owners of Capital, where they retain the profits but vast losses must be paid off by Workers nearly exclusively.

Most of us recognise the need for both 'sides'. This is entirely consistent with what, in a single phrase, might best describe the route for all of us to our maximum fulfilment and happiness – “...to each according to their needs, from each according to their abilities...”

Furthermore, most us know what psychological and sociological studies have confirmed. ‘Needs’ are different from 'wants'. Needs make us happy, wants really don't. And the freedom and opportunity to pursue our abilities is also vitally important.

Some of us need to live life on a ‘bigger stage’, some don't, and all can be equally rewarding. What we need is society that reflects this truth whilst ensuring equality of opportunity.


So a balance must be struck between Capital Owners and Workers. In a democracy, this is the job of Politics and equally importantly those who should enable us to be accurately and fully informed, primarily the Print and TV Media, but also Science and Academic research. It should be obvious that these institutions need to be as independent as possible from both competing primary driving forces. But by our own foolish consent, corruption, both legal and illegal is endemic in Politics and Media and, partially so, but increasingly, in Academia.

Demonstrably, Capital Owners have become so wealthy and powerful that both Politics and Media are effectively owned by them. Greed is something that can and does infect us all and it is certainly at the core of the most powerful Capital Owners we have today. The speed with which humanity is degrading the very planet and ecology that gives us life is the absolute evidence of this. The best, untainted and overwhelming evidence we have from Science is that the wipe-out of 95% of all species, including our own, is a serious possibility that may become irreversible within less than a few decades; a result of climate change. And that is far from the only resource or pollution catastrophe that awaits us imminently.

The only way out of the impending demise is for the key institutions of democracy to be removed from the hands of the Owners of Capital. By definition, those representing the majority (Workers) cannot also be members of the minority (Owners) club. This does NOT need to be, nor should be, state, beaurocratic control or ownership of everything, but simply a system where 'rules' – rule of law – applies fairly to all. We are told no such system can exist. Don't believe it. A system that removes corruption by State, Private or other 'concentrated' interests is perfectly possible. It is absurd to believe otherwise of a species that has developed such immensely more complex systems in science and technology. We simply need to devise appropriate employment rules and terms in the same way we have for other 'special' categories of employment, such as police or military.


Remember, none of the basic welfare provisions that have been won (and are now being rapidly eroded) have ever been voluntarily 'gifted' by the Owners of Capital (now owners of Politics and Media) – nor can we expect them to be. Since the Owners now own Politics and Media virtually entirely, any attempt to work within the present system is no more than rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic. The system must change.

To the younger generation of Workers (or the unemployed or underemployed): good luck – you'll need it. Sad as it is to have seen the mere fledgling attempts at democracy so badly undermined, your lives, either way, will be nothing like mine.

Words: Mike Hall
Images: Tabz O'Brien-Butcher

Matthew Dear @ Deaf Institute, Monday 6th December

There’s a fine line between neat progressive layers and melody-less dirge. It may seem an odd opening statement when the musician in question is Matthew Dear; author of 2003’s melodious minimal tech masterclass, Leave Luck To Heaven, and an attentive scholar of Detroit techno. But tonight’s performance shows a desire to take the development towards Brooklyn's brooding electronic pop cool in his subsequent albums, 2007’s Asa Breed and this year’s Black City, and rest it atop ear-shattering strata of miasmic noise.

The start is delayed due to the weather that you can’t fail to have noticed of late, but thankfully the Deaf Institute curfew is flexible enough to allow full sets from both tri-synth Hyperdub signees Darkstar and the headlining Matthew Dear’s live band.


Darkstar bring with them an earthy gloom in the form of thick, smoggy soundscapes, which are permeated only by glistening clean piano tones. They preach an urgency through atmospheric electronica as if soundtracking impending doom in all its stark desolation. Aside from downtempo treats such as the Moby’s ‘My Weakness' sound-alike, ‘Deadness’, with its Mount Kimbie-esque sampled shakes, there’s a variety of possible reference points. There’s a vocal likeness to Secret Machines' Brandon Curtis on the atmospheric ‘When It’s Gone’, while Portishead’s ‘Machine Gun’ is recalled as the following track winds up with a tinny monotony, like a toy drummer marching into an organ-fuelled warzone. And their remix of Radiohead’s ‘Videotape’ is an ample set-closer; in limbo between halfbeat Eurythmics whimpers and echoes of the sound it makes when you run your finger round the rim of a slightly filled glass.


It’s a lesson in simple-sounding complexity, and vice versa, until Matthew Dear takes the stage, dressed in a half-buttoned white shirt with a black jacket and met by a strip light shining upwards onto him like an expansion of torch-lit tales of terror. The scene befits his full-band swagger (he operates under different pseudonyms, with the others swerving closer to the tech/house groundings of the Ghostly International and Spectral Sound labels). Once there, he enforces a beefed-up scuzz, largely masking the trumpet that occasionally enhances recorded structures. This isn’t always a bad thing, by any means. The krautrocky constancy is intoxicatingly groovy as stubborn basslines infiltrate heads’ ability to stay still, nodding instinctively as they do. But vocals are lost, perhaps deliberately, in the vapid layers of echo and feedback.


When the density relents you’re left with highlights, such as the swirling haze of ‘Shortwave’, and when you can make out the intricacies within the constructions then even the musically polluted are palatable. Thunderous processed beats welcome in ‘You Put a Smell on Me’ before Dear redirects the dazzlingly bright strip light towards an entranced audience. There’s a brief rest from rib-shaking beats for the ‘Little People (Black City)’ intro, which is short-lived as soon the latest record’s lead single builds to ear-bending proportions. En route the bass slides and deep monotonic vocal delivery cannot be faulted, but the tendency for every crescendo to reach the apocalyptic is a little grating.


The encore begins with a melancholic solo performance of ‘Innh Dahh’, but the house-addled version of Asa Breed’s ‘Don and Sherri’ only serves in the end to drill home the target of concrete walls of sound, until the walls subside and crumble as Dear’s band depart, leaving prepared loops rolling through the void of a personnel-less stage; ending the set how it began.

Words: Ian Pennington
Images: Simon Bray

HldTght Interview

HldTght are a new curation collective in Manchester. Now Then hung out with one half of the founding duo ahead of their debut exhibition at Soup Kitchen this week. Until the beans were spilled last week they kept their identity hidden – even from their best friends. You might say that sounds hella pretentious when combined with their vowel-less name, but it stems from a certain necessity. Which all makes it seem really serious, especially when you have to write it down in an interview.


"It's not serious. The exhibition is fun, but generally the part of the art world in Manchester we work in is really constrictive. As you would get working in such a social community, everyone knows everyone. And the same people are being put in exhibitions together time after time. Then it can go two ways – either everyone starts feeding off each other in a progressive way, or people just start seeing the same influences and don't push themselves in the positive directions their talent deserves. You get disillusioned and uninspired and obviously it takes the fun out of making art. HldTght is about encouraging artists to work outside of their normal practice, with no pressure attached to selling their work or for the work to fit in with their 'aesthetic'.”

What’s gone wrong in Manchester particularly?

“There is a lot of talent in Manchester, but there are very few venues or organizations that will put on shows of artists’ work if they don’t feel any of it will sell, and they don’t have funding to cover their costs. Free For Arts Festival is starting to go some of the way towards making things happen - motivating artists to get up and find unusual venues for events, but it only goes on for one week in October, and everyone who takes part is supported under the welcoming arm of the Free For Arts press machine. Sketch City and Upper Space have both faded into the dust and soon Mooch N4 Street Art Gallery will be gone. All these projects prove that there is a lot of interest [in the city], but unless there is someone there to drive the talent and push things to happen, nothing will. HldTght is starting something new, completely funded out of our own pockets. We want to prove to ourselves and to Manchester that you can put on big shows, with big names for little to no money if you have the drive.”

“HldTght is about immediacy, it’s about not waiting for a gallery or bar to call you up and ask you to hang some work. We saw a space we liked and decided to put a show on. Six weeks later I am surrounded by people spray painting on the walls and hammering structures together. There needn’t be red tape and proposals and funding applications, there just needs to be the desire to give the city something it is missing out on, and something to talk about.”


So why the secrecy over who you are?

“We knew if we'd said it was us from the start some people would have doubted how ambitious it is, seeing as we're friends with many of the artists. Creating a name and theme was what we needed to do first, then by keeping our personalities hidden it allowed us to be anyone, someone ‘important’ even, and see what great ideas the artists had in return because they really felt they'd need to step up because they had been contacted by a 'curation collective', not by 'their mate they saw last night'.”

That makes it sound like it’s the same group of people you said were being put in exhibitions together all the time...

“Of course it's not just about putting on people we know, we've got 30 great artists in different disciplines, really big names like Agent and Penfold [who curated July 2009's edition of our big bro magazine Now Then Sheffield]. We've got elements no-one should expect like performance artists as well.”


How do the pieces come together then? Should we expect something totally unrecognisable from the artists we know well?

“We just told people the basic concept and invited them to come up with fresh suggestions and new work that would fit. From the start the emphasis of the exhibition has always been on trying new things, pushing yourself and working outside of your normal discipline. I’m not asking an illustrator to make a sculpture or performance artists to paint, but I am asking maybe a spray paint artist to work more with brushes, painters to try Poscas rather than acrylics, or to try painting different subjects and ideas within their work that wouldn't normally fit into their practice's portfolio.”

Joyride Playground – we don’t want to come up with some ridiculous thesis that probably ends up using the rubbish word ‘juxtaposition’, can you tell us about the concept?

“Joyride Playground is about playing with something too much until you reach a good or bad point. If you joyride a car, chances are you’re bound to have fun, but you have stolen something that is not yours with the intention of pushing it until you crash or burn it out. Most joyriders are underage and do not have a license, just like all the artists choosing to use new mediums for the show aren't practiced or professionals; they are joyriding on the back of an entire movement created by graffiti and aerosol art when picking up a spray can. We basically want people to stick two fingers up and say ‘fuck you, I don’t know how to use it but I’m going to give it a go and I’m going to have fun doing it.’”


Talking about having fun doing it, it’s fairly rare to get an open studio – is that just because it’s all actually being created on site?

“Having an open studio is really important for us to allow people to come and see the process. I’m always amazed by time-lapse videos of exhibitions, but why watch a video, come down to the open studio and meet the artists, ask them questions and find out how they do things, getting stuck in; it's all about everyone being on the same level. By taking away artists’ safety nets of working under their usual practice, everyone becomes slightly vulnerable. Artists you may have been following on flickr or through blogs become just the same as you and everyone starts to work together, pooling advice and skills.”

nd th nm?

"We liked the idea of 'hold tight' because of the association with playgrounds and fun fairs. The abbreviation [HldTght] makes it sound a little less like something your dad would say to you when he pushes you on a swing in the park, because, let’s face it, we only hang out in parks to drink and smoke these days.”

Joyride Playground exhibition @ Soup Kitchen
30 illustrators, artists, sculptors, performance artists and graffiti writers
Open studio // 13-16th Dec // 12-8pm
Launch party // 17th Dec // 7-10pm // after party babies 10-2am
Runs from Sat 18th Dec ‘til mid-February. Open Mon-Sat 12-5pm

Interviewer: Sam Bass
Images: HldTght

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

No doubt about it now – the year is fast dwindling away. The events keep on rolling though, and here’s our pick of the remaining bunch for a final preview of 2010.


First of all there’s a week’s worth of live art down in the Soup Kitchen’s basement. Hld Tght is the moniker, and it'll showcase a long list of artists, including one-time Now Then magazine featured artist, Mr Penfold. From Monday 13th ‘til Thursday 16th there’s a chance to see work in progress before the week culminates with music and performance art at their launch event on the evening of Friday 17th.


While on the subject of art, one69a have filled the old Babycakes clothes shop’s disused space on Edge Street (NQ) with a pop-up-artists vibe. Grotto, as it's known, will only be there in the run-up to Xmas, so Yule (sorry...) have to be quick to browse what’s on offer.

There are a few live shows worth your time this week before the inevitable slumber as the sun reaches its lowest point in the sky between 22nd and 25th. Celebrate that one how you will, but warm up with 1960s folk messiahs Pentangle’s guitarist on Thursday 16th as John Renbourn shares the Band on The Wall-promoted stage at greenroom with steel string blues strummer Johnny Dickinson.


Otherwise, in what seem to be predominantly folk-themed options for Thursday, Dan Haywood’s New Hawks embark on the third stop of an album launch mini-tour. Salford’s Sacred Trinity Church is the location and my hunch is that the band / venue combo will be a perfect match. The raconteur – signed to the ever-reliable local Timbreland Recordings – has the storytelling edge of The Decemberists along with occasional hints of homage to Neil Young in sonic structuring.


A third choice is a tongue-in-cheek belter named Swamp Planet Christmas at the Anthony Burgess Foundation. The tagline of Seasonal Stories From Outer Space gives you a clue as to what to expect; literary readings bridging Yoda with Yuletide, tinsel with tangent universes and aliens with angels, such as William Gibson’s Cyber-Claus and Arthur C. Clarke’s The Star.

Next a change of genre for Friday 17th Ruby Lounge where the pop pickers at No Future Club have organised the presence of funky swing rehashers The Correspondents, then on Saturday 18th This City Is Ours kick off their fresh residency at An Outlet with a collection of electronic music slanted tune-selectors and the 2/3rds of From The Kites of San Quentin offshoot, Ord Mantell. The latter is free of charge.


If you can make it over to Wigan without too much hassle (or if you happen to be there in the first place!) then make sure you drop by The Tudor House Hotel on Sunday 19th, where briefly Manchester-based promoters Imploding Acoustic Inevitable have lined up the enviable ensemble of Paddy Steer, Liz Green and John Stammers for the bargain entry price of zero pennies.

As mentioned, there’s a lull for s few days, but Mind On Fire rear their hip-hop heads the soonest as they infiltrate The Nook’s airspace with reggae and ska oriented Sunday Sessions on 26th. They’ve also teamed up with Herbal Sessions, Drum Music and Dub Smugglers for a mammoth NYE party at Dry Bar.


And finally, on a related note, MOF’s brand new label compilation, Great Minds Vol.1, will be available to buy from both those events, as well as Eastern Bloc and Piccadilly Records before being released further afield in the new year. Perfect if you’re after an amalgamation of Arabian flavoured dubstep, uptempo tech-tonics, chilled ambient compositions or classical-flute-meets-hip-hop. Quite a mixture across eight producers.

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

Baths @ Deaf Institute, Friday 19th November

Just a day before Kieran Hebden took to the WHP with a Jurassic line-up of brooding glo-fi, Warp-esque hand-picked acts, Will Wiesenfeld aka Baths was showcasing his altogether more fragile, West Coast development of the ethereal (yeah, I know, can we think of a more clichéd word?) glitch movement in Manchester. Refreshingly lacking the self-awareness of much of the house/glitch-step direction that UK acts seem to be taking, Baths is even a mercurial breath of fresh air to the west-coast glitch-hop Low End Theory scene.

It was Daedelus who introduced Baths to Anticon and Low End Theory, and for all Wiesenfeld's stunning tinkles and rushing beats – and hefty facial chops, check – that keep his brand of heavy romanticism from straying into ambience, you can see why. But Baths is a wreck on stage. Being grounded in hip-hop, it’s great to be totally taken by surprise by a supercute and cuddly little bear on stage, as openly gay as Quentin Crisp.

Introducing himself to Man-chest-hair is a good way to go down [yuppers, sniggers intended]. But after this quick pre-thought intro his falsetto vocal delights are accompanied by uncontrollable body flapping, throwing himself into the passions of giddy childhood dance. ‘Animals’ is even given extra delight by paw lashes, scampering across stage. It’s a real shame he hasn’t invested in some decent live effects kit though, because if you know how special and individual the cuts and jilted pitches are on each of his tracks, the endless tampering with the same filters and phasers really kind of ruined it for me. Hell, though, when you finish with a touching dedication to Hugh Jackman, who cares?

Compared to Saturday, which was sold out in its thousands months earlier, Wiesenfeld played to just over a hundred people. WHP really missed out here, and I can’t help but think they only did it because Baths just wouldn’t fit in to all that macho posturing. Perhaps he’s actually more man than any of them to just go out and radiate his essence.

Words: Sam Bass
Picture: Laurent Du Bus