GIG GUIDE – FEBRUARY 2025

While it may be the shortest month of the year, February always feels like a slog to get through! Whilst the weather is slowly getting hotter, the night still comes way too early, what’s better than to hide away inside a venue and listen to some amazing live music, here’s what’s coming up in Manchester […]
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

ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 31 JANUARY 2025

January ends with a flurry of new releases. Here is our guide. Eddie Chacon               Lay Low             Best known for the Charles and Eddie mega hit ‘Would I Lie To You’, his third solo album is a thoughtful strain of R&B that muses on intimate themes like mortality, failure and experience. Geologist & D.S.         A Shaw […]
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 […]

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

ALBUM REVIEW – GNONNAS PEDRO & HIS DADJES BAND: ROI DE ‘LAGBADJA MODERNE 1974-1983

Gnonnas Pedro and His Dadjes Band sometimes became known as ‘The Band That Speaks All African Languages’ for their ability to sing in Fon, Mina, Yoruba, French, English and Spanish. Combined with their masterful blend of Agbadja, Cuban fon, jerk, highlife, and other African rhythms, it gives the sixteen tracks on the latest release from […]
Two years after her melting EP A comforting notion, Heartworms (the solo project of Jojo Orme) releases Glutton For Punishment, under the production of Dan Carey and his Speedy Wunderground label (Black Country, New Road, Tiña, Lazarus Kane among many others). So many times I listened to the record, that the promotional album I was […]

ALBUM REVIEW – HEARTWORMS: GLUTTON FOR PUNISHMENT

LIVE REVIEW: PAGAN FEST – VICTORIA WAREHOUSE – 18/01/2025

Alestorm are currently one of the busiest bands on the road. It has not even been a year since they last toured the UK, and so despite this, when they were announced as the headliners for the returning Pagan Fest tour, the reaction was overwhelmingly positive. I have been following the lads on tour vlogs […]
A bonanza of a week, high in both quality and quantity of new releases. Here is the Silent Radio guide. Samba Toure                 Baarakelaw    A vivid mix of traditional northern Malian Songhoy music, blues-rock tracks with psychedelic overtones, ballads and love songs. In addition to the music, it is noteworthy for its theme – all […]

ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 24 JANUARY 2025

ALBUM REVIEW – C DUNCAN: IT’S ONLY A LOVE SONG

From its earliest days, pop music’s number one topic has been love. Now in an era where politics and social interactions seem ever more divisive and views are screamed with greater vehemence into echo chambers, the need to take solace in love songs is understandable. The fifth album from Chris Duncan, ‘It’s Only A Love […]
Norway is a country steeped in music, and musical history.  Wardruna, is a legacy collective of Norwegian musicians who in the past have had some of the nation’s biggest alternative artists contribute to their one-of-a-kind pagan and aboriginal sound. Each member of this collective brings their own expertise and sound to the table, this time […]

ALBUM REVIEW – WARDRUNA: BIRNA