HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE
MURMUR issue three January 2018
Manchester’s monthly newsletter
Editors: Olivia Havercroft Nicole Peeters Design: Lisa Lorenz
MURMUR
issue three // January 2018
Illustration: Maisy Lewin-Sanderson Insta: @maisysummer www.maisysummer.com Find Maisy’s cards/zines on Etsy/Depop @maisysummer
murmurmanchester@gmail.com Get in touch to be featured in MURMUR.
Welcome to MURMUR: Your alternative guide to Manchester’s independent, radical & inclusive events
Happy New Year to you all. We look forward to guiding your plans this year. We know January is universally derided as the worst month, so we have curated a small selection of mostly free/cheap events for you to emerge slowly and recover into 2018.
L I S T E N 11 January DENTCHA Presents: II/Fruit Tones/Slow Knife/Grave Diggers Union/Barbara Wilde @ Deaf Institute
DENTCHA is a new live events company providing art and music line-ups to ‘stimulate all senses’. They continue their cultural exploration with some sinister dark and doomy post punky fuzzy lofi joy. Pay as you feel / 7 - 11pm
12 January False Advertising, Bleached Bones, iLL & Freakout Honey @ Band on the Wall Four exciting bands to help you forget the pain of 2017 and start 2018 right. Political, frenetic, fuzz, surreal DIY innovation - if you want to feel something, this is the gig for you. FREE, 7 - 11pm.
12 January Imitation Solero @ Soup Kitchen A banger line-up
to start 2018 with: including DUDS, Sweaty Palms, The Birth Marks , The Yossarians and a rare Manchester appearance of Jamie Lee. Broken Grey Wires presents Imitation Solero,
a night of music, art and poetry in response to mental health. Price TBC, tickets OTD, 6pm - 2am.
16 January Polo / Loux / Sequin Sally @ Jimmy’s Indie-electronic trio Polo are headlining SHE at Jimmy’s, a night aimed at promoting female musicians. Support from Loux and Sequin Sally. £4 - 5 / 7.30 - 10.30pm.
20 January Asian Dub Foundation ‘La Haine’ Live Soundtrack @ Band on the Wall
Listen to Asian Dub Foundation play the soundtrack to the French cult classic ‘La Haine’ while watching the film. An immersive experience, you are there while Paris burns. £20, 7pm.
25 January An Evening Celebrating The Music Of… Tom Waits @The Art of Tea
An evening celebrating the music of Tom Waits. Expect to hear a vast array of songs from Tom’s extensive and diverse back catalogue, played by a variety of local musicians. FREE, 7pm.
26 January Wand @ Soup Kitchen
This LA quintett will come over you like a fuzzy warm wave of purpleblue plums. Wand bring you a 100% collaborative work of love filled to the brim with surprising twists and turns. £11 / 7pm
27 January Tilted Music Festival @ The Peer Hat Thirteen innovative
and exciting acts spanning everything from Synth Pop, Hip Hop, Electronica, Psych, Ambient, Lo-fi, Math Pop and Post Punk. Live bands, poets and DJs, all at £6 advance, 1pm-3am.
FEATURE MAISY SUMMER This month’s cover illustration depicts a scene at Manchester’s staple venue “Night & Day” by Maisy Lewin-Sanderson. Maisy is an illustrator and printmaker with a soft spot for humour, yellow, and finding narratives within the everyday.
D A N C E 7 January An Afternoon with David Bowie @ Night People
An afternoon dedicated to David Bowie to mark his 71st birthday. Dance to hits and rarities or chill in the David Bowie Cinema room. £7.50, 3 - 8pm.
13 January Floats/Boats & Friends @ Old Abbey Taphouse A
free night of friendly dance organised by Floats/Boats all rounders. Expect “dungeon disco, righteous house, twisted synth, balearic kisses and other such non genres.” Free / 9 - 3am.
19 January Jane Fitz x Gwenan @ Soup Kitchen
Both resident DJs at London’s Oval Space and The Pickle Factory, Jane Fitz and Gwenan will take over Soup Kitchen for a night of trippy, hypnotic techno that sways from ambient to deep house. £8, 11pm - 4am.
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23 - 24 January Only Speak When Spoken To : PUSH 2018 @ HOMEmcr
14 January Deaf Institute’s Creative Market @ Deaf Institute
Meraki Collective present ‘Only Speak When Spoken To’ a dance theatre show, which calls itself ‘an exploration into social etiquette with wigs and wit’. 7pm: 23rd; 9pm: 24th, £12.50/£10.50
Deaf Institute presents a creative market filled with local sellers. Expect zines/prints/records/clothing. At least one of the murmur team will be there! Come down to say hi, and let us know if you’d like to get involved! FREE, 6-9pm.
27 January Return To Legend with Greg Wilson & Colin Curtis @ Refuge The Haçienda owes much
17 January From Ibiza to the Norfolk Broads @ The Lowry
of its success to Legend, that ‘other’ big night club in Manchester in the 80s that introduced Britain to Chicago house. Former residents & guest DJs Greg Wilson and Colin Curtis will play both originals and reworked versions of old Legend club tracks. £7.50/10, 10pm - 4am.
27 January Kiss Me Again w/very special secret guests @ Soup Kitchen This first KMA
of 2018 is still all wrapped up in mystery but promises an outstanding late night of dancing with your pals to two exquisit DJs. Get your tickets at the door, they’re almost sold out! £5 OTD 11pm - 6am!
31 January One Deck Wednesday with Maxine Peake @ Electrik
Manchester’s favourite stage & screen legend Maxine Peake also turns out to be pretty decent at spinning the decks! Expect a mix of electronic, punk, new wave, reggae, northern soul and more. FREE, 8.30 - 11.30pm.
D O 13 January Ladybarn Flea Market @ Ladybarn Community Centre Ladybarn Cultural Society organise their first local f lea market. Vintage & preloved clothes, quirky stuff, cake and tea for sale... all under one waterproof roof! FREE / 1 - 4pm
13 January Stiched Up Clothes Swap @ Stitched Up Chorlton
Bring all your unworn or unwanted clothes and swap them for new-to-you garms to refresh your wardrobe the eco-friendly way. No worries this is no second-hand clothes scrum! It’s a boutique shopping experience with a difference. If you have spare stamps at the end, you can bring them along to the next swap. £5 / 1pm - 4pm
Adrian Berry’s hugely acclaimed David Bowie homage 8pm / £16.50
22 January Centenary Launch Party! @ The Pankhurst Museum
Girl Gang Manchester have teamed up with the Pankhurst museum to celebrate 100 years of women’s suffrage, with live music, drinks, and more! Donation, 7 - 10pm.
25 January Port Street Beer House’s 7th Birthday @ Port Street Beer House Featuring
Cloudwater mega Tap-Takeover. PSBH have teamed up with Cloudwater, Blawd and the King Wizard, serving up Wizard King Stout. A world premier, a night you and the Wizard King will never forget. FREE, 7 - Midnight.
26 - 28 January GRUB ExtraVEGANza Part IV @ Fairfield Social Club
Doing Veganuary? GRUB is holding its 4th vegan food festival at Fairfield Social Club. Enjoy some of the best vegan street food you’ve ever tasted, freshly made on site by 6 quality traders. There’ll also be a mini handmade food produce market for you to replicate dishes at home and even the bar is vegan-friendly! FREE, 5pm : 26th; 12pm: 27th & 28th.
A R T 11 January The Things That Look Back @ Portico Library
Exhibition launch with Nicola Dale: A sculpture and performance art exhibition developed through research undertaken at the Portico Library, considering the parallels between the digital age and the past. FREE, 6 - 8pm.
11 January TINY @ SLOE Gallery
This group exhibition invites the audience to ref lect on themes such as politics, popular culture and history through a variety of mediums (including installation, photography, sculpture and sound). FREE, 6 - 9pm.
11 January Exhibition Launch: Doubt @ Leica Store Manchester
Filmmaker Erik Knudsen’s creative retrospective of films, poetry and photographs, explores the theme of ‘doubt’ - a feeling and force that has shaped his work. FREE, 7 - 9pm.
19 January Preview: Break in Transmission @ Holden Gallery
An exhibition inspired by the transmission of information and the pleasures and pitfalls of language, communication and meaning. FREE, 5.30 - 7.30pm.
19 January The Morning Has Gold in Its Mouth @ Great Northern Tower Another arts
occupation of dead retail space by collaboration exhillerator COLLAR. FREE, 7 - 10pm.
25 January The Light of Day @ Plant Noma Yet again the new
generation of final year BA students of Manchester School of Photography showcase their outstanding, exciting projects of documentary photography. No part of the exhibition has ever seen the light of day but it will certainly illuminate your dark January day. The Light of Day runs until Thursday 1st February 2018. FREE, 6 - 9pm.
W A T C H 12 January Basic Income Night: Film and Discussion Panel @ St Clements Church Chorlton
A free screening of Christian Tod’s Free Lunch Society, a documentary exploring the possibilities of an unconditional basic income. Followed by a Q&A with industry experts. FREE, 7.30 - 10.30pm
13 January England is Mine Screening and Q&A @ Stretford Public Hall Hate him or love him,
but if your love for Manchester goes deep, Morrissey’s biopic England is Mine (15+) is essential watching. This screening will take place at Stretford Public Hall where it was filmed (!) and is followed by a Q&A with director Mark Gill. £3, 6 - 9.30pm.
13 January Spit That Out 2018 @ HOMEmcr A selection of experimental films by artists from the North West and Manchester presented for PUSH 2018. £5.50, starts 1.30pm.
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17 January Film Screening Red October: Revolution in Russia @ Working Class Movement Library A documentary containing rare archive footage of the Russian Revolution, its cultural legacy and impact on Britain. FREE, 2 - 6pm.
21 January Bigger Than Life Presents: Blow-Up @ Stockport Plaza. Bit of a retro-fetishist? You
will love this 35mm screening of this all-time classic where a murder was accidentally caught on film, and a fashion photographer gets caught up in a web of intrigue and conspiracy. £7.50, 7 - 10pm.
W O R D 14 January Secondhand Book Fair @ Elizabeth Gaskell’s House
Go and have a look around the house of Manchester’s most celebrated authors, and maybe pick up a few books while you’re there. £4 entry to the house, 11am-6pm.
18 January Christina Rossetti presented by the Societa’ Dante Alighieri @ Portico Library
Famous for her allegorical poetry about temptation and female agency, Christina Rossetti is one of the greatest poets of the Victorian era. Portico is celebrating the first Italian translation of her work with readings, music, nibbles & wine. £5.83, 6.30-8.30pm.
22 January Danez Smith: Don’t Call Us Dead @ International Anthony Burgess Foundation
IABF welcomes American poet Danez Smith, twice a finalist of the Individual World Poetry Slam. His new poetry collection ‘Don’t Call Us Dead’ centres around the American black, male body in the face of a HIV positive diagnosis and police brutality. £5/7, from 7pm.
25 January Lemn Sissay presents Something Dark @ Oldham Coliseum Theatre The grand finale
of Lemn Sissay’s U.K. reading tour. Something Dark tells the true story of the author who as a baby was given up by his parents in the 1960s. Norman Greenwood, Chalky White, then Lemn Sissay eventually left the brutal suburbs of Lancashire for the bright lights of Manchester where he became a celebrated performance poet. £15, 7.30pm
MURMUR E A T S Great British Pizza Company Didsbur y
‘questa pizza è decente’ - our Mancutalian review. Been three times in the space of a month and I want one right now! Great sauce coverage, thin crisp base, local toppings!! (always a bonus), good alcohol + ice cream selection - and all this with the benefit of it being cheap too! Can get a pizza for a fiver on Mondays. Could eat ten of these - I think last time we did.
L E A R N 13 - 14 January The Beginners Guide to Applying for Funding PUSH 2018 @ HOMEmcr
Crucial for artists in this day and age: does your project need funding, what are your options and how do you apply? The workshop is run by Miriam O’Keeffe, former Director of the BBC Performing Arts Fund and is part of PUSH 2018. £7/6 concessions, 4pm on the 13th, 1.30pm on the 14th.
14 January Don’t Forget to Look After Yourself: Wellbeing for Freelancers - PUSH 2018 @ HOMEmcr When you work in an area
you are passionate about and are a freelancer, it’s easy to tip the work/ life balance in favour of work and lose energy, sleep, self-esteem and confidence. How do you make sure you take as much care of your well being as you do of others you work with? £7, 3.45pm
15 January MCR Talks: Escobar - The Real Story @ Texture MCR
Shaun Attwood is a former stockmarket millionaire and Ecstasy distributor who will be speaking about the life of Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, America’s war on drugs and its devastating consequences. £12, 7 - 9.30pm.
We hope you will love our features. Let us know if you enjoyed anything in particular! Get in touch if you’d like us to feature your own project for next month’s edition. Just a little note at the side:
23 January A Room of One’s Own: Artist Studio Space - PUSH 2018 @ HOMEmcr A truth-spilling
conversation about what really goes on in a selection of artist studios across Manchester, including who and where they are, specialisms and artist mix, the financial costs, the upsides, the downsides of sharing a communal sink, and how to get the most out of these micro communities should you wish to take the plunge. £5.50, 6.30 - 8pm.
27 January MCR Talks: The Future of Humanity & Tech @ Texture MCR A talk by Mike
Ryan, ‘Manchester’s first futurist’, discussing emerging technology that will transform the way we live and work. Will include not wholly unnecessary tips on how to survive the next decade! £12, 7 - 9pm.
MURMUR R E V I E W S We Wish You a DIY Crimbus Partisan Collective
Partisan Collective became one of Manchester’s most established fixtures so quickly it feels like they’ve been here forever. But creating an organisation this innovative and inclusive doesn’t come without effort. We want to thank Partisan for all they’ve done to create one of the best venues Manchester has to offer. DIY Crimbus featured a dazzling array of musicians, blew us away from start to finish. Partisan has spared no effort in making themselves one of the most welcoming venues in Manchester - as soon as you enter you feel safe and included. Particular highlights were the endlessly dreamy and uncomfortable sounds of Anna Peaker and Brighton’s tinsel bedecked one part heartracingly erratic and one part heartbreakingly lovely Porridge Radio. It’s hard to find a venue like Partisan and they rely on people to go to gigs, spend money, make donations, buy merch and vocally support to keep it going. It is a treasure make sure we don’t lose it.
We, the editors of MURMUR, can take no responsibility for the words said and events spiralling from any of the listing. Please stay mindful, share the love and respect the ones around you. Until next month! MURMUR xoxo
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