INTERVIEW: MOGWAI – Stuart Braithwaite discusses their new album, film and touring

Number one albums weren’t on the agenda when Glasgow post rock pioneers Mogwai launched their epic tunes back in 1995. Yet following on from 2023’s album ‘As The Love Continues’ going to number one in the album charts, Mogwai have released its follow up, the brilliant new album ‘The Bad Fire’. It’s an album that […]
Dev (WTSN) didn’t start his journey as an artist in the traditional sense. In fact in the beginning, he might not have called himself an artist at all. There was no moment of stepping into the spotlight, no attachment of his name, face, or persona to the music he was creating. Instead, he found solace […]

INTERVIEW – Getting to Know WTSN: Redefining UK Jazz and Hip-Hop While Dreaming of a Grammy

INTERVIEW – GETTING TO KNOW TOM B: LETTING GO OF CONTROL WITH THE REMIX OF ‘LAVENDER WATER’

When I first heard the demo that Tom b sent to me, I whacked the volume up to 100 on my headphones and began to pace around my flat. I had no idea what to expect. What I heard was a cacophony of electronic sounds and samples, beautifully interwoven into this musical tapestry that Tom […]
“There’s something in the water, you can’t deny it.” Swimming in admiration, Stephen Ng, lead singer and backing guitarist, dives into the depths of musical inspirations. That very same Mersey water rose and poured down over the rehearsal rooms in which The Kowloons reside. His brother and drummer Anthony goes on to say, “the richness […]

INTERVIEW – THE KOWLOONS

FEATURE – Earplugs: A Guide to Hearing Protection

Hearing protection is important for music lovers, and high-quality solutions are increasingly stylish and affordable. To find out more, I took recommendations from friends, spoke to a lecturer in audiology at the University of Manchester, and trawled the internet, with Hearing Advisor’s rankings Best Concert Ear Plugs in 2024: Lab Tested being a great resource. This article […]
“I think we just wanted to make a record like the ones we love.” Jamie Staples, drummer in the solo project turned band, shares just how Wunderhorse went from Cub finding its feet to beast with eight legs and a thirst for the good old days of grunge. Midas represents the second album under the […]

INTERVIEW – WUNDERHORSE

INTERVIEW: MANCHESTER’S NOW WAVE PROMOTERS / MANCHESTER PSYCH FEST

Now Wave have been promoting gigs in our city for over a decade, and have grown from a few small gigs in independent venues, to owning their own venue (Yes) as well as organising the brilliant annual Psych Fest. We caught up with Now Wave’s Gareth Butterworth to find out about the inner workings of […]
After writing a review for ‘Afraid of tomorrows,’ the opportunity to speak to Lia Metcalfe and Paul Crilly came about which I could not turn down. Coming up with questions is an easy bout even in unfamiliar territory, like a zoom call. Sitting in the room on zoom, I get in a few minutes early […]

INTERVIEW: THE MYSTERINES

FEATURE – CAMENS INTERVIEW & LIVE REVIEW AT NIGHT AND DAY CAFE

Motorbikes and car horns fill the air as we converse. The flint and steel of a lighter sparks a flame of opportunity in front of a cigarette, smoke trailing and lingering in the light of Night And Day Café’s neon glow. “Really good bands come and go but you have to just stick at it, mistakes […]
Joe Matera is an Australian journalist and musician who has been demystifying the life of the touring musician with his new book ‘Louder Than Words – Beyond The Backstage Pass’. Using interview quotes gained from several decades in journalism, along with his own experiences as a musician, ‘Louder Than Words – Beyond The Backstage Pass […]

FEATURE: JOE MATERA – DEMYSTIFYING THE LIFE OF THE TOURING MUSICIAN WITH NEW BOOK FROM MANCHESTER PUBLISHERS – EMPIRE PUBLISHING