LIVE: AFTERSHOCK 10 WITH NITIN SAWHNEY – 24/03/2012

– BAND ON THE WALL, MANCHESTER – Band on the Wall are playing host to a pretty special night. Tonight is close to the 10 year mark of the original Aftershock event that began in Manchester during the Commonwealth games. Aftershock represents a collaborative smorgasbord of musical talent, with the sense someone shook up the genres, threw […]
The Pretty Things’ 1967 album ‘S. F. Sorrow’ is the tragic story of the life of Sebastian F. Sorrow (“nobody knew what the ‘F’ stood for, and nobody really cared”); from humble beginnings, interrupted by war and destroyed by the death of his life-long love. It has been referred to as “the first rock opera” […]

Album Review: Fruits de Mer Records – Sorrow’s Children

Album Review: Hal – The Time The Hour

After a 7-year hiatus that apparently saw main man David Allen ply his trade around the US on his own, Hal returned in February with a 4-track EP, Down In The Valley. Their second album, The Time The Hour, combines that EP’s best track and worst track with eight other new songs. It’s my sad […]
‘Wonky’ is the work of true masters in their field. Or in any field (speaking geographically). Many will be familiar with Phil and Paul Hartnoll’s story, as prominent producers of early 90’s ambient techno. Lying on an Ibiza beach as the sun comes up, listening to ‘Belfast’, was high on everyone’s list of things they’d […]

ALBUM REVIEW: ORBITAL – WONKY

LIVE: BBC MANCHESTER INTRODUCING LIVE – 30/03/2012

– THE RUBY LOUNGE, MANCHESTER – So the premise: get unsigned acts, the undiscovered and under the radar talent to bigger audiences. The Beeb do the filtering and venues get the benefit of seeing something different to what PR types and labels might be promoting. Great! We’re in the Ruby Lounge and expecting to do […]
– THE DEAF INSTITUTE, MANCHESTER – The Deaf Institute is the home to all things band at the moment. I find myself checking their online diary to see who is playing, and then immediately checking them out and sorting out heading to the gig. This last week I discovered Strange Boys, listened to a few […]

LIVE: THE STRANGE BOYS – 29/03/2012

LIVE: BRETON – 29/03/2012

– ISLINGTON MILL, SALFORD – By going through these doors, we agree to let ourselves be filmed for a commercial. I was under the impression that this gig would be a little shy on punters tonight, so the scenes inside the mill come as a complete surprise. Breton‘s debut album ‘Other People’s Problems’ was released through […]
Salford’s finest festival of new music, Sounds From the Other City, returns for the 8th time on Bank Holiday Sunday 6th May with its freshest line up yet. For 2012, established Manchester promoters like Faktion (who’ve put on Demdike Stare, Blackest Ever Black label showcase), Now Wave (Sleigh Bells, the XX, Money, Alt-J) and Hey! […]

NEWS: SOUNDS FROM THE OTHER CITY – FULL 2012 LINE UP

NEWS: CITIZENS! ANNOUNCE DEBUT ALBUM

CITIZENS! have announced details of the release of their debut album. Here We Are will be released through Kitsuné onMonday May 28th 2012. The 11-track album was recorded in Scotland in the autumn of 2011 and produced by Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand. The tracklisting of the album is as follows: 1.  True Romance 2.  Reptile 3.  Caroline 4.  Love You […]
Images (part of the series ‘Reflections of Debussy in the Mirror of the East’) – THE BRIDGEWATER HALL, MANCHESTER – This show is based on the theme of musical representations of the visual, as part of a wider series focussed on the works of the influential turn-of-the-(20th)-century French composer Claude Debussy, his influence by the […]

LIVE: BBC PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA – 24/03/2012