LIVE: KENDAL CALLING 2011

Saturday Waking up from possibly the worst night’s sleep and feeling like a microwave meal – it was so hot in the tent I burst out before I exploded; I feel far from ‘top of the morning’.  Although we are in the quiet family camping area large groups of teenagers and lads camping together seem […]
– LOWTHER DEER PARK, PENRITH – The final weekend of July sees the 6th Annual addition of Kendal Calling Festival.  Continually growing in strength and size it managed to bag the Best Small Festival award for 2010 and with only 13000 tickets for 2011 it sold out in record time. Since a move in 2009 […]

LIVE: KENDAL CALLING 2011

ALBUM: I BREAK HORSES – HEARTS

‘Hearts’ is the product of 2 years of refining and experimenting from the Swedish duo. The sound, which now cascades from my speakers like a pure, hot spring, wastes no time in elevating you to a lofty vantage point. Waves of reverb emerses you and the Cathedral-esque organs inspire while the light guitar adds sparkle. […]
– THE RUBY LOUNGE, MANCHESTER – Manchester’s roller coaster weather is at one of its brief peaks and I’m off to go and sit in the dark basement that is Ruby Lounge. Monday evenings don’t get much better… But at least it’s cool and the place has really shaped up in to a decent venue […]

LIVE: YACHT – 25/07/2011

LIVE: OFF WITH THEIR HEADS – 22/07/2011

– ISLINGTON MILL, SALFORD – Salford: Home of The Smiths, LS Lowry and at one time The Ting Tings! Their original home was Islington Mill a converted mill founded by Bill Campbell as a space for artists and musicians with a performance area on the ground floor. This year Campbell received an honorary MA from The […]
It’s quite a hard task, even for some of the experienced synthesiser generals present here, to remix well-known, established songs. Sometimes the concept evokes square-pegs-in-round-holes, as the remixer attempts to force the song in a direction it was never intended to go in – sometimes this is a good thing, often it is not. Sometimes […]

ALBUM: DEPECHE MODE – REMIXES 2 81-11

LIVE: VIVIAN GIRLS 17/07/2011

– THE RUBY LOUNGE, MANCHESTER – It’s a rain-drenched Sunday night and murky, grey Manchester looks like it’s turning into mud.  The promoter at The Ruby Lounge is anxiously looking up and down the street for his crowd, but there’s barely a soul about. Discouraging, perhaps, is the fact that the only other person who turns […]
The extravagantly named ‘Kelly Price w8 gain vol.II’ EP comes from Hype Williams. In all honesty I’ve never heard of him before, but I trust Hyperdub’s taste explicitly and opened my ears to some very new sounds indeed. Hazed out ‘Rise Up’ starts up the A side, Inga Copeland (one of the two) lays down soft […]

EP: HYPE WILLIAMS – KELLY PRICE W8 GAIN VOL.II

LIVE: WU LYF – 16/07/2011

– THE TUNNEL, MANCHESTER – Despite the presence of world renowned artists Bjork and Snoop Dogg in the city over the last couple of weeks, for many, the potential musical highlight of this years Manchester International Festival is the prospect of seeing one of the city’s own acts. Wu Lyf’s slot at the festival is […]
– FERRIOUS, MANCHESTER – Three words attracted me, and probably many others, to this event tonight – wine, song and garden. Another draw is the unlikely setting, as the Not Part of Festival-organised event is held in uber-cool furniture store Ferrious, underneath a railway arch on the edge of the River Medlock. After arriving at […]

LIVE: WINE & SONG IN THE GARDEN (NOT PART OF) 14/07/2011