The Skinny North May/June 2017 by The Skinny

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May/June 2017 North Issue 44

Everything Is Illuminated Your guides to LightNight, Manchester International Festival, Leeds Indie Food & more

P.24 Leeds Indie Food Festival

Illustration: Xenia Latii

P.53 Mariana Enriquez

P.40 Lindsey Bull

P.60 Pumarosa

May/June 2017 I N D E P E N D E N T

C U LT U R A L

J O U R N A L I S M

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Editorial Commissioning Editor Film & Contributing Editor Events Editor Music Editor Books Comedy Deviance Travel

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Contents

THE SKINNY

Contents UP FRONT

40 Showcase: Manchester-based painter Lindsey Bull and London collective Plastique Fantastique combine for Castlefield Gallery’s new exhibition.

Doctor turned comedian Adam Kay's new show takes the government's treatment of junior doctors as a major theme.

The Mighty Boosh’s Julian Barratt plays a pompous TV actor in the endearingly silly comedy Mindhorn.

Michaël Dudok de Wit on animation The Red Turtle, the first collaboration between Japan's Studio Ghibli and a Western filmmaker.

We celebrate the idiosyncratic, herkyjerky joy of stop motion animation.

Mercurial French filmmaker François Ozon is back with Frantz.

06 Chat & Opinion: Some unholy doom predictions, Jock Mooney’s gastronomic cartoon, a chance to win lovely books from Canongate and a guide to what’s online.

08 Fury: We ask why are so few

women visible in public spaces? Plus, why you can’t give in to voter fatigue this general election.

09 On the Cover: Meet our cover artist Luis Pinto.

Heads Up: Cultural highlights for May and June.

EVENTS GUIDE

Art & Theatre: Whet your appetite for Museums at Night, the annual afterhours celebration. Gigs: Meet art-pop sensation Josefin Öhrn + The Liberation; hear Getintothis’s Peter Guy reflect on the role of local media ahead of this year's GIT Award; and get your live music recommendations for May and June. Clubs: Manchester producer Anz talks grime, growing up and the grim realities of playing the clarinet. Plus, your don’tmiss club nights this season.

20 Comedy: The duo behind Leeds' pre-

mier live comedy chat show The Not So Late Show discuss the search for the perfect bowl of ramen.

Film & Books: We explain why American cinema desperately needs a David Lynch comeback. Plus, our pick of bookish events and film screenings.

50 We chat to Emma Cline about her debut novel The Girls.

Mariana Enriquez introduces Things We Lost in the Fire.

Argentine author César Aira discusses his unique approach to writing.

Eclectic Australian psych-rock outfit Pond talk producing with Kevin Parker for their seventh album The Weather.

Comedian Katy Brand discusses her past as a teenage Christian, while musical comedy duo Johnny & the Baptists talk challenging audiences.

60 Pumarosa frontwoman Isabel Munoz-

Newsome on touring, history, spirituality, and the release of their debut album, The Witch.

We interrupt Metronomy’s rehearsals ahead of their upcoming tour to talk about Robyn, Mix Master Mike and their latest album Summer 08.

Ahead of their Africa Oyé appearance, Jupiter & Okwess International reveal some of the tunes that inspired them.

LIFESTYLE

Food & Drink: Leeds Indie Food festival, drinking wine in Yorkshire, and Laynes Espresso’s favourite food and drink hangouts.

Travel: What’s it like living in Florence?

Deviance: YouTubers are drawing attention to the link between alcohol and social anxiety.

FEATURES

REVIEW

Music: Weirds discuss Leeds' lively music scene and the cult for psychedelic sounds ahead of the release of their debut album, Swarmculture. Plus, reviews of new records from Peaness, Slowdive, Lush Purr and more.

Clubs: The 12-inch record matters more than ever in an age of streaming – find the best places to buy them in Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester.

Film: Deadpan Finnish genius Aki Kaurismäki returns with The Other Side of Hope and Anne Hathaway is destroying Tokyo in leftfield comedy Colossal.

Merseyside’s dark electro genius Forest Swords talks politics and the creative ways in which he gets his music heard.

Mike Hadreas aka Perfume Genius on Album of the Month No Shape.

Manchester International Festival’s new artistic director John McGrath introduces the 2017 edition.

Books: Reviews of Eli Goldstone’s Strange Heart Beating, and John Darnielle’s, Universal Harvester.

We chat to the artists who’ve made new commissions for LightNight, Liverpool's annual late-night culture crawl.

Stir-causing duo Her's talk about their origins, the joy of the humble drum machine and Pierce Brosnan.

Competitions: Win tickets to LIMF Summer Jam and HOPE & GLORY festival.

Listings: What’s on in Liverpool, Leeds and Manchester throughout May and June.

The Last Word: Wheatus frontman Brendan B Brown's party playlist.

May/June 2017

Contents

Shout Out

Crystal Balls With Mystic Mark

ARIES In May when the new Tory Sleepworking Initiative comes into force, job-seekers will need to prove they were looking for work even during REM. For hated unemployed such as yourself you’ll need to start keeping a detailed dream diary of locations in your subconscious you dropped off a CV or asked for work, recording all the nightmares about job interviews you had. You should also note that any dream money made during sleep is deductible from your giro. TAURUS You can’t even comprehend the level of my arrogance.

Quays Culture

Celebrate Trof’s 10th birthday This May one of our favourite Manchester bars, Trof NQ, celebrates its tenth birthday with a weeklong celebration! From 25 May-1 Jun we’re promised something mind-blowing each night, from Albert Hall’s award-winning club night La Discotheque doing a mini two-floor takeover to a mega open mic night with a huge special guest – and don’t miss a Stay Fresh live band all-dayer with some of the best new music in the North right now, all on one bill. As well as that there’ll be the Brass Swingers, a speakeasy prohibition-era jam with live band and special moonshine cocktails, a funk & soul You Dig? pre-party, and a chilled-out Sunday Roast & Records special. It’s party time! trofnq.co.uk

Call-out for artists Are you an artist keen to explore what it means to live in a post-Brexit Britain? Sky Arts have launched Art 50 to invite artists of all kinds, from all walks of life, from all artistic genres, to create a piece of work which says something important about what it will mean to be British when (or is it if?) we leave the European Union. The closing date for the first commissioning round is 29 May. skyartsart50.tv

More names for Manchester Jazz Festival Awarded for adventurous programming, this year Manchester Jazz Festival (28 Jul-6 Aug) offers 100 gigs and 100+ hours of entertainment, with big Help Leeds Art Gallery celebrate their names like Joshua Redman at RNCM and Dave reopening Maric, Phronesis and Engines Orchestra at The Art lovers can help bring one of Lothar Götz's most Stoller Hall – and things get off to a blistering start ambitious commissions to date to Leeds Art Gallery, with Riot Jazz Brass Band’s infectious, funked-up by contributing to a crowdfunding campaign. The favourites. Artists from the US, France, Holland, work would see the building's striking Victorian Iceland and Denmark are joined by the best of staircase immersed in vibrant colour, painted direc- emerging talent from the Manchester and Leeds tly onto the walls, ready for the grand reopening of jazz scenes, and other highlights and surprises the gallery in October. Leeds Art Gallery is seeking include a special new hub venue, premieres of new to raise £17,000 by 18 May via the Art Fund charity's work and jazz brunches. Keep an eye out for the Art Happens crowdfunding platform. Donate here: full programme, announced in early May. artfund.org/get-involved/art-happens/leeds-art-gallery manchesterjazz.com New food and drink market for Liverpool We love the sound of Baltic Market, a new food market coming to a warehouse space in the Baltic Triangle’s iconic Cains brewery, from the folk behind Independent Liverpool. Billed as a place to “eat, drink and dance,” the market will welcome some of the city’s best food, with up to ten food traders each week that will change on a monthly basis. There’ll also be a cocktail bar, local beers, live music and DJs. Opens this summer. facebook.com/BalticMarketLiv Help rebuild CRUK at the Christie Following a large fire at the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute at the Christie Hospital at the end of April, a fundraising appeal has been launched to rebuild the facility. Celebrated for its pioneering work in creating more effective and kinder treatments for cancer patients across the UK and worldwide, Cancer Research has stressed the importance of getting the centre back up and running as soon as possible; to donate visit fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/ manchester-institute

Chat

GEMINI Life is like a sausage in a microwave. Make the right holes in the right places and you will be fine. Don’t, and you will shower everything around you in molten sausage like a flesh firework. CANCER First it rains then out of the clouds the colossal, tearful countenance of God appears in the sky to tell you He doesn’t believe in Himself anymore, everything He does turns to shit. You try and reassure Him through prayer, to give Him a confidence boost by praising His name and reminding Him that He created the universe and is Lord of heaven for ever and ever. He sniffles and smiles, but then darkens as He remembers every horrible moment of the last 5000 years and blows his omnipotent brains across the Solar System.

LEO We are all in the gutter, but some of us have upgraded to Gutter Premium®. VIRGO I wish you were out of breath because it stinks. LIBRA This month you get rich quick writing a book called How to Get Rich Quick by Writing How to Get Rich Quick Books. SCORPIO This month while wiping your bum clean you catch a glimpse of the toilet paper and discover the perfect tint of ochre for your new kitchen renovation. Popping the tissue in a tupperware you nip down to B&Q to see if they can match the colour at their Dulux MixLab station. SAGITTARIUS Sagittarius’ ruling element is fire, which you harness through the medium of cigarettes. CAPRICORN After years of research, your team are finally ready to demonstrate Shark Cannon to the assembled Military Chiefs at BAE Systems. AQUARIUS God made man in His own image, and chimpanzees 98% in His own image. Bananas are 50% in His own image. PISCES Listen to your gut. It’s trying to tell you something: “Stop eating microwaveable burgers.”

Quays Culture bring illuminated animals to MediaCity Look out for some endangered species around MediaCityUK this May, as Quays Culture brings a series of gigantic sculptures to the waterside for their Unnatural Borders exhibition (20-29 May). The commission sees the Netherlands' Sober Industries present four sculptures – of a polar bear, whale, red squirrel and a bee – which will inhabit the area for ten days and be illuminated by stunning visual projections at night. There are many other activities planned for visitors too – check out the programme at quaysculture.com

Trof Exterior

By Jock Mooney

THE SKINNY

Online Only

theskinny.co.uk/film The 80s are back and World War 3 is but a Twitter rant and some “beautiful chocolate cake” away. Since it’s time for a crash course in mutually assured destruction, we count down the films to watch before the four minute warning sounds. theskinny.co.uk/festivals Sheffield’s mighty Doc/Fest, the UK’s biggest celebration of nonfiction filmmaking, reveals its 2017 line-up on 4 May. We’ll be picking out the best docs theskinny.co.uk/books and events from the sure to be bursting programme. Horror and sci-fi author Ever Dundas takes on the preset gender narratives society imposes on us, and theskinny.co.uk/food we talk to the author about her new novel Goblin. Harrogate’s new Nordic-inspired dining room Norse talk us through their Northern European larder to theskinny.co.uk/travel prove it’s not all about hygge when it comes to our What’s it like setting off on holiday with no idea enduring love for all things Scandinavian. where you’re going? One writer finds out…

Credit: Alberto Alonso

theskinny.co.uk/music We chat to Aidan Moffat about 1948 –, his fifth and final offering from solo project L. Pierre, and have an in-depth chat with Depeche Mode’s Andrew Fletcher; Leftfield tell us about the tracks that helped shape their seminal LP Leftism, which turns 22 this year; we hear from Duglas T Stewart on the return of Scottish indie-pop icons BMX Bandits; plus all the record reviews we couldn’t squeeze into the mag, including the latest from At the Drive-In, Black Lips, Do Make Say Think, Feist and more.

Ask Auntie Trash:

I R Disappoint Ever been disappointed in life? Trash is a theatre critic, she knows all about it Illustration: Stephanie Hoffmann

Hi Trash, I’ve had a couple of setbacks recently. Some have been bigger than others, but they’ve all hurt in their own way. As someone who, for want of a better description, regularly destroys other people’s dreams with her reviews, how do you deal with disappointments? Thanks, I’m not bitter, honest!

Spot The Difference Purrealism Set your melting clocks and get off your high elephants, because this month's difference-spotting test is a real burning giraffe. We've unearthed two archived photos of moustachioed surrealist Salvador Dalì, famous for his mind-bending painting and eccentric lifestyle, but our art historians have identified some very subtle discrepancies between them. Like a swan floating on a lake,

sometimes the reflection isn't quite what you'd expect – like an elephant. To be in with a chance of winning There Are Little Kingdoms by Kevin Barry, courtesy of our pals at Canongate, simply navigate your device of choice to theskinny.co.uk/competitions and tell us which bread crucifix lobster telephone.

Competition closes midnight Sun 28 May. The winner will be notified via email within two working days of closing and will be required to respond within 48 hours or the prize will be offered to another entrant. Our Ts&Cs can be found at theskinny.co.uk/about/terms

May/June 2017

ey my bitter friend, Awwwww, it sounds like you’re having a bit of a bad time at the moment. I mean, why else would you contact a perfect stranger and mention my habit of utterly decimating the dreams, lives and hopes of others? I don’t know if a review of mine has ever made someone reconsider their career path, because as much as I hope for hate mail, it never comes (where is it? Oh, hate mail, how I long to receive and frame you on The Skinny’s wall). In all honesty, I hope I never have, but if I have ever written something that made you quit, I am very, very sorry. Anyway, disappointments are like an arsehole; everyone has one. Disappointment is a universal thing; you didn’t get that job you wanted, the play you’d really been looking forward to turns out to be a heap of crap, the person you like reveals their true colours, it happens to us all. What matters is how you decide to deal with the disappointment, because you cannot let it define you. Rejection is horrible, it hurts like hell, but it is not an excuse to hide yourself or your work from the world. Whenever I face bone-crushing, soul-destroying disappointment – and believe me, it happens more than you would think – I do this wonderful thing: I allow myself to feel how I’m feeling. That’s a groundbreaking bit of advice, I know, but some

of the worst advice I ever got was when I was going through a break-up, and someone close to me insisted that it was best if I didn’t give my ex the “satisfaction of knowing that I was hurt.” This is a terrible thing to say, because what they were really saying was that I shouldn’t feel the way I was feeling because it was an inconvenience to someone who wasn’t even there! Your feelings are never an inconvenience. Never believe that by expressing how you feel in a healthy way that you are making life hard for other people. You will only make yourself feel worse, you will suffer for longer and it leads you to believe that your feelings are worth less to everyone around you. This is not true. Whenever I suffer a setback, I go with the flow. If I feel like crying I’ll have a proper howl into my pillow, or even better, my friend Ann, who has let me cry on her numerous times and has never complained. If I’m angry, I’ll go somewhere and scream, or break something inconsequential; buy lots of plates, you can always buy more. Sometimes just getting up and moving around, like going for a walk, or dancing (hurling myself around the room with no real majesty or purpose) to the angriest, angstiest music that I can find, does the job. I’m not saying all the bad feelings go away overnight, but it gives them less power. One last thing, some days you will feel bad, some days you will feel good. On another day, you may feel like how you did at the beginning, but never fear, this is only temporary. This too shall pass, the sun will rise again, tomorrow is a new day. I will find you and destroy you. Much love, Trash the Redeemer Got a problem? Email trash@theskinny.co.uk

Opinion

Rising Up? A bronze sculpture of Emmeline Pankhurst is to become only the second statue of a woman in Manchester. While this may represent progress for women’s representation, the messaging behind this new public art work is rather more complex Words: Lara Williams the project as an unambitious exercise in limited, self-congratulatory white feminism. Of the sculptors shortlisted, four were male and three were female; a nominal male bias, though for a project of this nature (and in the particularly problematic realm of women and sculpture), why not an exclusively female shortlist? Why an exclusively white shortlist?

“ There is a lot of rightful outrage regarding women and public art; how few women are made visible in public space, which women and how they are depicted”

Fury

Tick in a Box As a snap general election is announced shortly before we go to print with this issue of The Skinny, our writer considers the prospect of voter fatigue – and argues for the importance of staying motivated and engaged Words: Chris Ogden

There is a lot of rightful outrage regarding women and public art; how few women are made visible in public space, which women and how they are depicted (mostly royal, semi-naked or fictional) – and so this addition is no doubt radical. Looking at Reeves’ proposed sculpture I can’t help but think of the current source of debate in public art – that of Charging Bull and Fearless Girl in New York. Fearless Girl: with her ponytail, and her flippy skirt, a cautious and calculated manifestation of female strength; the performative posturing precocious and ultimately non-threatening. She may well place her hands on her hips, jut forward her chin, but that bull is going to knock her off her feet. Alternately, there seems something symbolic and complicated about Reeves’ decision to sculpt Emmeline Pankhurst standing on a chair. It has a somewhat problematic ‘Lean In’ quality; but also, it is hard for women to take up space, to campaign for change, to stand on the damn chair. Her hand extends out, straight ahead of her – and I wish it reached down.

Hazel Reeves, Rise Up women

Illustration: Tony Mckay

culptor Hazel Reeves was recently announced as the artist who will produce a statue of Emmeline Pankhurst for Manchester. Of the city’s existing 17 statues, only one is female: Queen Victoria, in Piccadilly Gardens. The independently funded campaign WoManchester Statue conceived the project, with a longlist of 20 women to be sculpted, all of whom made a significant contribution to Manchester. The list included proto-feminist novelist Elizabeth Gaskell, social justice and anti-racism campaigner Louise Da-Cocodia and, of course, leader of the suffragette movement Emmeline Pankhurst – who was selected via public vote, with Reeves and her proposed sculpture Rise Up, women also winning the popular vote and that of a selection panel. The statue will be unveiled on International Women’s Day in 2019. It will be the first new statue of a woman, in Manchester, in 100 years. Emmeline Pankhurst is quickly synonymous with radical Manchester (though she didn’t spend a huge amount of time in the city), and is already the subject of artist Charlotte Newson’s work Women Like You – a photo-mosaic of inspiring women, crowdsourced from the public (my grandma is one of the women). Newson’s work telegraphed something universal: an image of both the women that came before Emmeline and the women that came after, it is an expansive celebration of female strength that venerates the movement over the woman. Reeves’ quietly graceful statue of Emmeline Pankhurst has a different message: she is standing on a chair with her arm extended, she is mid-oration. This is Emmeline the galvaniser, Emmeline the enabler, Emmeline the human being. Visibility of ‘strong women’ is often rendered via a masculinised notion of ‘strength’: bellicose, physical, aggressive. There is something excitingly radical about the femaleness of Reeves’ design; Emmeline’s strength characterised as determination, composure and eloquence. But Emmeline Pankhurst is not without baggage; a conservative revolutionary with militaristic tendencies, she threw herself behind the First World War. The more radical choice might have been her daughter Sylvia: a socialist who set up home unmarried, with an Italian anarchist; who fell out with her mother, horrified by her support of the war. However, neither feel particularly prescient or relevant; boorishly disingenuous of intersectional feminism (there is just one statue of a named black woman in the UK). Of the longlisted subjects for the statue, only one woman is a person of colour; it is easy to see

Credit: Sue Anders

t feels as though there has been a surfeit of politics in our lives lately. Since 2015 the North has endured the outcome of an astonishing general election, the fractious EU referendum last summer, and a round of local elections. This year that binge of box-crossing will be followed by even more local elections, inaugural Metro Mayoral contests in Greater Manchester and Liverpool as part of their devolution deals, and now (ugh) another general election. Elections haven’t exactly been quiet on the global news front either. We’ve had a worldwide shockwave in the election of Donald Trump. On the continent, Austria chose its first ever Green leader, Alexander Van der Bellen. And at the time of going to press, we’re waiting to find out which brave new world the voters of France will enter after dismissing their main left and right parties at the polls. It is as though politics has taken over, as though we have reached saturation point. Thanks to a 24/7 media we are now hyper-aware of elections and the depths of their ramifications. As a political activist myself, who gets embarrassingly excited by the prospect of discussing voting systems and swing seats, even I’m growing weary of it. When faced with this bombardment of invitations to put your paper in the ballot box, it’s hard to resist the urge to hide under the covers and feel that these constant votes are somehow making us more divided. The irony here is that politicians are often portrayed as aloof arrivistes, distant from everyday life. Now they’re pitching up on our doorsteps and we’re getting even more sick of them. Could the situation be creating fatigue and burnout to the point where we risk switching off at the very moment we should be more engaged? We need to remember that all this engagement actually offers an unprecedented opportunity. As maddening as it is that Brexit has taken over public life recently, and is likely to do so for years to come, it is surely healthier that way than having such a crucial process be undertaken without scrutiny. We may never again be asked to express our opinion so often. There are of course many places in the world where people struggle

to get asked at all. The voting system we have in the UK may be terribly flawed – last year’s referendum even more so – but at least it indicates a system that resembles democracy.

“ We should use this chance to inform ourselves of the political situation and share that conversation throughout our communities” This endless voting might even improve our awareness locally, making us more knowledgeable about the problems we face and how selecting our representatives offers us different ways of solving them. For example, the mayoral election in Greater Manchester has flown under the radar for many but has caused some great debate around the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework, the city’s housing plan for the next 20 years, touching upon issues such as jobs, climate change and homelessness. We should use this chance to inform ourselves of the political situation and share that conversation throughout our communities. It’s obvious that people are struggling up and down the North – what ideas do we have to make lives better? Now that we’re talking to one another about the Big Questions again – across our regions and across the world – we have to work to keep it that way. As politicians love to say: it’s our choice. The 2017 UK General Election will be held on 8 Jun. The deadline to register to vote is 22 May

THE SKINNY

On the cover this month:

Luis Pinto

uis Pinto is a Graphic Designer & Illustrator originally from Mexico based in Guatemala. He usually works on a broad range of projects, from digital/traditional painting to vector icons and lettering. As a graphic artist he gets most of his work from personal sketches. He loves to generate ideas from a concept, and usually finds sketches are the best way to conceive that graphic magic. Carpe Diem is a phrase that is present in everything he does, and it always makes him put effort and passion into his work. Featured in Printed Media: Creative Gaga / Revista Itch / Revista Capiusa / Revista Panela / THY Magazine / Karma Magazine / Picnic Magazine / LACABEZA Fanzine / Revista Buriñón

Web: Ballpitmag / NiceFuckinggraphics! / 99designs / Abduzeedo / Hang Around The Web / Colectivo Bicicleta / Creative Bloq / Ilustracional / Designers of Tumblr / Room 181 / Inprint Magazine / FuriaMag / Behance Network / Zachary Jones (Zambombazo) / 8ctopuz | Graphic Design Inspiration / Weareanimal.co / Kampion Cards / Spacio Diseño Clients & Friends: Little White Lies Magazine / The Skinny / Grupo Buen Rollo / Like the Wind Magazine / Popshot Magazine / Ediciones Invisible / Revista Capiusa / Tigo / CCE Guatemala / WWE Magazine / The Influence / Procter & Gamble / Pepsico / Bayer / Mcdonalds / Santillana Editorial / Alavi Bros. Inquiries & Commissions: info@luispintodesign.com luispintodesign.com

May/June 2017

Cover Artist

As temperatures rise, your events calendar looks set to follow suit, hotting things reet up with Manchester International Festival, Leeds Indie Food, Africa Oyé and more.

Returning for its seventh year, LS6 Beer Festival will be welcoming the likes of Magic Rock, North Brewing Co, Northern Monk, Ilkley Brewery, Leeds Brewery, Saltaire and Wharfedale, along with a range of British ciders, street food vendors, live entertainment and games. Prices include your first drink, a festival programme and a souvenir glass, with all money raised going to support the development of Left Bank Leeds. 4-6 May, Left Bank Leeds, times vary, £7

Francesca Martinez

National Festival of Making

LS6 Beer Festival

Set in the "producing heartland" of Blackburn, the first National Festival of Making will bring the streets to life with music, markets, street food, art, performance, tours, talks and more, celebrating making in all its forms – whether it's making history, making a living or making tastes, noises and things. 6-7 May, various venues, Blackburn, times vary, free

National Festival of Making

Leeds Vintage Weigh and Pay

Brace yerselves for the eighth Liverpool Annual Improvathon, Impropriety Comedy's 33.5-hour improvised soap opera, this time themed on 'The Space Age' for extra weird points. Starting on 13 May, the event will run continuously for 17 two-hour long episodes, including a special children's hour on Sunday 14 at 11am, and will also feature live improvised music to accompany the onstage off-the-cuff silliness. 1314 May, Invisible Wind Factory, Liverpool, 1pm, £6-£30

At Leeds Vintage Weigh and Pay the premise is simple: browse through six tonnes of vintage gear from the 1960s onwards, before paying £15 per kilogram. Entry's also free (early bird admission costs £3), leaving you with more money to rifle through rails of pre-loved clobber and collectable oddities. 13 May, Leeds Beckett University, 11am, free

Liverpool Annual Improvathon

Photo: Andrew AB

Liverpool Annual Improvathon

Photo: Zuza Grubecka

Liverpool Disco Festival Celebrating 30 years of popular soul music party Southport Weekender, Liverpool Disco Festival fires up the glitter cannon with a line-up of internationally renowned house, disco and gospel/soul maestros including Glitterbox, David Morales, Jazzy Jeff, D-Train, Ultra Naté, Tony Humphries, Joey Negro, John Morales, Mr Scruff and more. 6 May, various venues, Liverpool, 12pm, £50

Jazzy Jeff

Manchester After Hours

Leeds Vintage Weigh and Pay

WOW Festival

Lou Lou's Vintage Fair

Sound City

The global Women of the World (WOW) festival comes to Chester with a line-up of inspirational talks, performance, comedy, panel discussions, music, a marketplace, networking, workshops and film screenings. Not only is it your chance to help celebrate women and girls and examine the obstacles that hold them back, it's also the perfect opportunity to check out Chester's brand new multi-arts venue. 20-21 May, Storyhouse, Chester, 9am, £5-£10

The award-winning Lou Lou's Vintage Fair will be helping us all get kitted out for the (fingers crossed) sunny weather with a summer special, which will boast 40 stalls of vintage fashion along with homeware, collectables, a tea room, a hair and beauty salon from Russell and Browns and live entertainment. 21 May, Adelphi Hotel, Liverpool, 10am, £2

Sound City festival celebrates a decade in the biz this year, roping in The Kooks, The Cribs, Metronomy, The Kills, Cabbage, Peaches, White Lies, Local Natives, Tim Burgess and more to help mark the milestone. The Human League will also be performing a special set, while John Cale pays homage to The Velvet Underground and Nico with a sold-out 50th anniversary show. 25-28 May, various venues, Liverpool, times vary, £35-£65

Sonita

Lou Lou's Vintage Fair

The Garden Party Part 2

Two of the world's most popular tipples go head to head with the Leeds Gin and Vodka Festival, dishing out 80 gins and 40 vodkas for you to work your way through. The Trinity Kitchen street food lot will also be keeping you well fed, while live music, masterclasses and tasting sessions will ensure you're entertained. 27-28 May, Trinity Kitchen, Leeds, times vary, £10

Another year, another round of Garden Party shindigs, this May bringing the second instalment to Canal Mills for "one of the biggest garden parties to date." The main room will be headed up by Manchester duo Solardo, joining Waze and Odyssey, Mele and Aussie export Mall Grab, while elsewhere you'll find The Martinez Brothers, Midland, Gerd Janson, Pender Street Steppers and People Get Real. 28 May, Canal Mills, Leeds, 12pm, £40

Chat

Credit: Creative Commons - Wikipedia

Leeds Gin and Vodka Festival

Photo: Dexter D. Cohen

Compiled by: Jess Hardiman

Celebrating writing, diversity, tolerance, storytelling and humour through controversy, inquiry and debate, this year's Writing on the Wall (WOW) festival includes a panel discussion on punk culture, a celebration of independent publishing with speakers and workshops, and an evening of comedy and spoken word with Francesca Martinez and Akala. 1-31 May, Liverpool, various venues, times and prices

MAY

As part of the nationwide Museums at Night, Manchester After Hours is your chance to explore the city's culture by dark, letting you access places and spaces usually closed as the sun goes down. Keep those eyes peeled at manchesterafterhours.com for a full rundown of events, or just take the opportunity to check out some of the participating venues or exhibitions. 18 May, various venues, Manchester, times vary, most events free

Wouter Van Veldhoven

The Kills

Midland

THE SKINNY

Photo: Gobinder Jhitta

Heads Up

LS6 Beer Festival

Writing on the Wall

Pilot Light TV Festival

Eat Me

Manchester's television festival Pilot Light has pulled quite the blinder of a line-up this year, promising celebrations of cult TV series like Mad Men, Sugar Rush and Brass Eye – the latter of which will be screened in full, alongside a new documentary on the show from director Michael Cumming. 4-7 May, Manchester, various venues, times and prices

Ever been to a three-course gourmet dinner presented by a troupe of the Northwest's finest artists? Course you ain't, which is why the latest production from Bearded Child, Eat Me, sounds like *quite* the feast. The meal is then followed by a queer basement disco promising a "genderfucking mecca for self expression, regression and exploration." Count us in. 5 May, Invisible Wind Factory, Liverpool, 7.30pm (disco 10pm), £20 (disco £6)

Brass Eye

Liverpool Tattoo Convention

Eat Me

Leeds College of Art Degree Show

Over in Liverpool, meanwhile, it's all about LightNight, the city's annual after-hours celebration of its arts venues and museums. With a theme of Time, events this year will investigate the past, present and future of Liverpool, along with the influence of time on art, science and philosophy. Head to lightnightliverpool.co.uk to see what's on the agenda. 19 May, various venues, Liverpool, times vary, free

Witness the work of Yorkshire's rising talent with Extra-ordinary, a series of exhibitions of work by graduating students from Leeds College of Art. The degree shows will be divided into two legs, each displaying work from different disciplines: 19 May24 May at the Vernon Street building and 10-15 Jun at the Blenheim Walk and Vernon Street buildings. 19 May-15 Jun, various venues, Leeds, times vary, free

LightNight Liverpool

Hotly tipped Liverpool dreampop duo Her's are set to appear at Gold Sounds festival at the Brud, where they'll be joined by the equally ferocious Shame, LA artpop outfit Gothic Tropic, Bristol's Swimming Girls, Brisbane garage rockers Dune Rats, Nottingham grunge trio Kagoule, Leeds alt-rockers Narcs and more. 20-21 May, Brudenell Social Club, Leeds, 3pm, £9-£13

Leeds College of Art Degree Show

Her's

Electric Weekender

Liverpool School of Art and Design Degree Show

Honeyblood

Photo: JayJay Robertson

The UK's beloved multi-venue, multi-city music festival Dot to Dot rolls back into town with Sundara Karma, Amber Run, The Growlers, Louis Berry, Honeyblood, Pinegrove, The Slow Readers Club, Tom Grennan and many others, kicking things off up North before heading down South to Bristol and Nottingham. 26 May, various venues, Manchester, 2pm, £12

DJ duo the Unabombers are teaming up with Ibiza institution Pikes and Croatian festival Love International for an Electric Weekender at The Refuge, featuring New York's François K, Jazzanova DJ Alexander Barck and Balearic DJs Alfredo and Leo Mas, along with pop-up food from local chef Robert Owen Brown and Ramsbottom restaurant Levanter. 26-28 May, The Refuge, Manchester, times vary, François K tickets £20, otherwise free

Leeds Comedy Festival

Enter Shikari

Leeds promoters Super Friendz are throwing a party! A biggun, too – with Floating Points, Nao, BadBadNotGood, Submotion Orchestra, Anna Meredith, Romare, Jordan Rakei and Yussef Kamaal all on the bill for one-day festival World Island. There'll also be afterparties at Belgrave Music Hall and Headrow House with Jessy Lanza, Sailor & I and more. 28 May, Leeds Town Hall, 12pm, £39.50

Yussef Kamaal

MAY

Photo: Larissa Araz

World Island

Slam Dunk Festival

Photo: Tom Joy

Gold Sounds

Dot to Dot

Liverpool School of Art and Design Degree Show

May/June 2017

Credit: Andy Mckeown. Photo: Walker Photography

LightNight Liverpool

Laynes Espresso

Photo: Ryan Jafarzadeh

Eat New York

Oh Leeds Indie Food, we're hyped as hell for you, buddy! And with 18 days celebrating independent food and drink through pop-ups and supper clubs, workshops and film screenings, foraging and chocolate making (and so, so much more), who wouldn't be, eh? Turn to pages 2427 for more info, and some prolonged gushing that we're not even remotely ashamed of. 11-28 May, Leeds, various venues, times and prices

The ever-expanding Leeds Comedy Festival is back at it, this time featuring over 50 comedians including James Acaster (who brings a trilogy of shows over three consecutive nights), Sara Pascoe, Andrew Maxwell, John Robins, Gina Yashere, Barbara Nice, Adam Kay, Sarah Kendall, John Kearns and Spencer Jones... 30 May-11 Jun, Leeds, various venues, times and prices

James Acaster

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Photo: Edward Moore

Castlefield Bowl gets filled right up to the brim with chef demos, cooking competitions, live music and food and drink, as Castlefield Food Festival arrives for its third shebang. Along with street food from the likes of local bods Eat New York and Dim Sum Su, there'll also be gin masterclasses aboard a drybarge and a series of Famous Five-inspired cook-outs with chef Robert Owen Brown. 11-14 May, Castlefield Bowl, Manchester, times vary, free

Get ready to rock out with your socks out (or summat like that), as Slam Dunk Festival takes on Millennium Square, First Direct Arena, O2 Academy and Leeds Beckett Uni for a totally gnarly day of punk rock alternativeness from Enter Shikari, Bowling For Soup, Less Than Jake, Reel Big Fish, Neck Deep, The Bronx, Don Broco, The Ataris, Memphis May Fire and others. 28 May, various venues, Leeds, 1pm, £44

Liverpool Tattoo Convention

Leeds Indie Food

Castlefield Food Festival

The annual Liverpool School of Art and Design Degree Show is a showcase of graduating students in architecture, fashion, fine art, graphic design and illustration at Liverpool John Moores University, spanning public performance, fashion catwalk shows and more. 26 May-9 Jun, John Lennon Art and Design Building, Liverpool, 10am, free

Celebrating its 10th anniversary, the Liverpool Tattoo Convention will play host to over 250 UK and international top tattoo artists, plus live music, fire shows, burlesque and the UK Tattoo Awards celebrating the best in the biz. You'll be able to get yourself a tat, get pierced or just soak up the culture that surrounds it, before heading home to explain that it's "an art form, mum". 5-7 May, Adelphi Hotel, Liverpool, 11am, £17-£30

Yorkshire Food and Drink Show

Abandon Silence and 24 Kitchen Street are buddying up for shiny new festival the Baltic Weekender, a multi-venue melting pot of sounds from Axel Boman, Gerd Janson, Move D, Ghetts, Moxie, Lobster Theremin featuring DVS1, Swing Ting, P Money, Mele and more, all coming together to showcase Liverpool as the electronic music-loving hotbed that it is. 2-4 Jun, various venues, Liverpool, 4pm, £15-£25

Gorge on some of the region's finest eats at the Yorkshire Food and Drink Show, a three-day whopper featuring stalls from Kukoos, Zouk, Tarte and Berry, The Pit, YO Bakehouse and many more, plus local booze from Leeds Brewery, Masons Dry Yorkshire Gin, Kirkstall Brewery and others. 2-4 Jun, Millennium Square, Leeds, 11am, free

Moxie

Photo: Vicky Grout

Baltic Weekender

Yorkshire Food and Drink Show

Manchester School of Art Degree Show

Leeds Wool Festival Let's just think outside the box for a mo with a tentative suggestion of Leeds Wool Festival, a celebration of all things... woolly. Along with market stalls there'll also be demonstrations of spinning, felting and more, along with a pop-up cafe, performances, film screenings, workshops and even livestock (we're assuming the latter means sheep). Look, wool ewe just give it a go? 3 Jun, Leeds Industrial Museum, 10am, £3

Illustration Veronica Grech

Degree show season is upon us, saluting the North's rising talent before sending them off out into the world to make it on their own. Manchester School of Art Degree Show always comes up trumps, showcasing the final year students across its Benzie, Grosvenor and Chatham buildings. 10-21 Jun, various venues, Manchester, times vary, free Leeds Wool Festival

Parklife Each year the Parklife line-up somehow manages to outdo itself, this year pulling a blinder with the elusive dreamboat that is Frank Ocean. He'll be joined by the likes of A Tribe Called Quest, Little Dragon, Sampha, Chaka Khan, Loyle Carner, Fatboy Slim, Jagwar Ma, Two Door Cinema Club, Joe Goddard and Anderson .Paak. Frank Ocean tho! 10-11 Jun, Heaton Park, Manchester, 10am, £59.50-£119 Little Dragon

Africa Oyé

Mokoomba

Odemba

2017's a good year because it's a Manchester International Festival year! Browse the full programme at mif.co.uk, or just pitch up in Albert Square to soak up those lovely sunny MIF vibes that we've missed. 29 Jun16 Jul, Manchester, various venues, times and prices

Manchester International Festival

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Delia Derbyshire Day

Following last year's inaugural bash, Manchester Beer Week returns to celebrate the city's vibrant beer scene and doff a cap to the 70+ breweries operating in the Greater Manchester area – yup, that makes it the biggest hub for the brewing industry outside of London. Expect tastings, a CAMRA Beer Festival, Pilcrow's Summer Beer Thing and more. 23 Jun-2 Jul, Manchester, various venues, times and prices

Manchester Beer Week

Pier Head Village

Manchester International Festival

Electronic music pioneer Delia Derbyshire would have turned 80 this year, a milestone that's being marked with Delia Derbyshire Day, a special event featuring music, talks and art inspired by her work including a discussion with her former BBC Radiophonic Workshop colleagues and a talk about how the Dr Who theme tune was created. 10 Jun, Band on the Wall, Manchester, 7pm, £10

Manchester Beer Week

Photo: Erik Van Nieuwland

The UK's largest free celebration of African music and culture, Africa Oyé marks its 25th anniversary by inviting favourite names from previous years' bills, including Dizzy Mandjeku & Odemba OK Allstars, Jupiter & Okwess International, Mokoomba, Dobet Gnahoré and Bonga. Now just get those fingers crossed for sunshine! 17-18 Jun, Sefton Park, Liverpool, 12.30pm, free

Photo: Ross Gilmore

Delia Derbyshire Day

Liverpool's summer-long festival Pier Head Village is back for three months of live music, bars, trampolines, orbs, thrill rides, artisan market stalls, a Brazilian festival, a purpose-built art gallery from Liverpool Art Fair and more. Project-managed this year by the folk behind Sound City, things sound like they'll be in safe hands. From 30 Jun, Pier Head, Liverpool, times vary, free

JUNE

Pier Head Village

THE SKINNY

Northern Short Story Festival

Manchester's first and only rum festival – aptly titled Manchester Rum Festival – launches this June, promising over 40 types of rum from well-known brands like Bacardi and Sailor Jerry to the lesser-trodden paths of Mezan, La Hechicera and others. You can also start the day with special one-off Caribbean-style rum brunches at Home Sweet Home and The Pen and Pencil. 3 Jun, Revolución de Cuba, Manchester, 12pm, £15

A joint venture between Leeds Big Bookend Festival and the Carriageworks theatre, Northern Short Story Festival celebrates Northern writers and homegrown talent while also promoting the short story form through workshops and events with popular published authors, editors and small press publishers. 3 Jun, Carriageworks, Leeds, times and prices vary Manchester Rum Festival

Positive Vibration

Terrible name, but there's little not to like about what's on the menu at Absolutely Fabulous Gin Festival, tying in nicely with World Gin Day on 10 Jun. A range of gins will be available, paired with Fever Tree tonics, garnishes and a programme of live entertainment. 9-10 Jun, Croxteth Country Hall, Liverpool, times vary, £10 Absolutely Fabulous Gin Festival

Credit: Creative Commons - Wikimedia

Absolutely Fabulous Gin Festival

Prince Fatty and Horseman

Touring retro festival Let's Rock will be welcoming new wave pioneers The Human League to Leeds this June, ramping up the nostalgia with others including Flock of Seagulls, Tony Hadley, Howard Jones, Nick Heyward, Roland Gift, Kid Creole & The Coconuts, Technotronic, From the Jam, Hue & Cry, Hazel O'Connor, Imagination and Dr & The Medics. 17 Jun, Temple Newsam, Leeds, 11am, £40

Great Yorkshire Vegan Festival

Leeds Waterfront Festival

Wade through thousands of retro games, consoles, computers, artwork, imports, accessories, toys, bartop arcades and more at the Super Retro Games Fair, where big kids can relive their well-spent days of yore in the hands of Atari, Nintendo, Sefa and co. 24 Jun, Leeds University Union, 11am, £2

Super Retro Games Fair

Whether you're after some good-hearted family-friendly action or just in need of a sunny waterside pint, Leeds Waterfront Festival will be bringing participating venues and locations – including The Tetley, Leeds Dock, Thwaite Mills, Leeds Industrial Museum and Castleton Mill – to life in celebration of the history and culture of Leeds' waterways. 24-25 Jun, Leeds, various venues, times and prices

Photo: Creative Commons, Tim Green

Super Retro Games Fair

The Human League

Photo: Beth Chalmers

The bi-annual Great Yorkshire Vegan Festival brings together food, ethical products and live entertainment to promote the vegan life as one that's not only kinder to animals and the environment, but also healthy, affordable and fun. Expect everything from vegan marshmallows, soy candles and organic skincare to yoga classes, cookery demos and speed dating. 17 Jun, First Direct Arena, Leeds, 11am, £5

Gin Festival Leeds

Arcade Fire

Photo: Pete Dunlop

Sounds of the City

May/June 2017

Join the likes of Jah Shaka, The Selecter, Channel One, Don Letts, Prince Fatty, Horseman and others for Positive Vibration, Liverpool's award-winning festival of reggae music and Jamaican heritage. Accompanying the live music are workshops, a reggae Q&A and the returning Art of Reggae exhibition, which will showcase 100 reggae-inspired posters from across the world. 9-10 Jun, various venues, Liverpool, times vary, £14-£22

Let's Rock Leeds!

Great Yorkshire Vegan Festival

Castlefield Bowl's concert series Sounds of the City is back for another summer of big names, this time welcoming Richard Ashcroft, Levellers, The Waterboys, Billy Bragg, Arcade Fire, James and Blossoms, along with a Haçienda Classical show with Grame Park, Mike Pickering and the almighty Manchester Camerata Orchestra. 30 Jun-8 Jul, Castlefield Bowl, Manchester, times and prices vary

Illustration: George Morton

Manchester Rum Festival

There's that gin love again, though this time with a decidedly less ridic name. The Gin Festival pitches up in Leeds' regal town hall with over 100 gins, including exclusive tipples you won't find elsewhere like Leeds Gin White Rose, which boasts the scent of fresh white roses. 30 Jun-2 Jul, Leeds Town Hall, times vary, £9.50

JUNE

Gin Festival Leeds

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THE SKINNY

EV EN

Trip the Night Fantastic

Every year in May, venues and galleries around the country come to life after hours as part of Museums at Night. Here's our guide to activities in Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester

Manchester After Hours Crepuscular arts festival Manchester After Hours (18 May) has another doozy of a line-up this year, with some of the city’s best loved galleries – as well as some more unusual spaces – opening their doors ‘til late. The programme spans 15 original and largely free cultural events, including gigs on wheels, video installations and live musical experiences staged within the city’s treasured libraries. Our highlights include: Thursday Lates: NTS Takeover The cult music station brings DJs and visual artists to the award-winning Whitworth for a night of leftfield music and video projections. 18 May, Whitworth Art Gallery, 7-11pm, free

Tony Cragg

useums at Night is a twice-yearly occasion when UK galleries, museums and heritage sites throw open their doors until late, and ‘showcase their treasures in unexpected ways.’ Instigated by cultural publisher Culture24, the idea has snowballed into hundreds of events up and down the country, with many arts collectives organising their own festivals such as Liverpool’s enormous LightNight. Here are some of the events to have caught our eye in Yorkshire and the Northwest. Late-night larks in Leeds and Yorkshire Nostell at Night Explore Nostell Priory house after hours, with a pop-up craft beer bar and a vinyl DJ set. Experience artist John Harrison’s 2000-clock installation Harrison’s Garden by twilight, and make your own

piece of clock jewellery to take home. 19 May, Nostell Priory, 6-9pm, normal admission prices, adults only, nationaltrust.org.uk/nostell Caught in the Russian Revolution Discover Leeds University Library Galleries’ collections of artefacts highlighting the British community’s experiences during the Russian Revolution at this after-hours event accompanied by music, drama and drinks. 19 May, Treasures of the Brotherton & Stanley and Audrey Burton Gallery, University of Leeds, 6-9pm, £3 (covers two drinks), ages 18+, library.leeds.ac.uk/treasures Yorkshire Sculpture Park Enjoy sculptor Tony Cragg’s biggest ever UK exhibition with an in-depth tour led by Yorkshire Sculpture Park senior curator Helen Pheby

(6-7.30pm, £8, for ages 18+); join the Park’s Heritage Team for a twilight lake walk and learn more about the historic grounds as the sun goes down (7.30-9pm, £6, all ages); or witness the sunset from James Turrell’s underground Deer Shelter, where, through an aperture in the ceiling, viewers are offered a heightened vision of the sky (8.3010pm, £6, ages 11+). 19 May, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, West Bretton, ysp.co.uk LightNight Liverpool Liverpool is dominated by LightNight, the city’s annual, free one-night arts festival – a culture crawl with over 100 special events for all ages from 5pm and venues like Tate Liverpool, Open Eye and the Walker Art Gallery all taking part. Turn to page 37 for our full LightNight preview, and find more online at theskinny.co.uk/art. 19 May, lightnightliverpool.co.uk

Photo: Charles Duprat

Bad Language The lively literature night hosts a promenadestyle evening of storytelling at Elizabeth Gaskell’s beautiful neoclassical villa, with some of the region’s finest scribes walking you through the rooms reciting pieces written for the occasion. 18 May, Elizabeth Gaskell’s House, 5-9pm (performances 6.30-9pm), free Breaking the Sound Barrier: The Delia Derbyshire Legacy A special line-up of musicians whose sound and method echoes that of the late Delia Derbyshire pays homage to the great electronic music pioneer. 18 May, John Rylands Library, 7-9.15pm (performances 7pm & 8.30pm), free Now You See Me Now You Don’t Islington Mill’s Engine House Collective team up with the Museum of Science and Industry for an audiovisual installation that sees them projecting directly onto the Air and Space Hall’s enormous Avro Shackleton aircraft. You’ll even be able to create your own visual designs. 18 May, 7.3010pm, Museum of Science and Industry. (Special live music performance 9.30pm), free There are plenty more highlights, too; for the full programme and listings, head to the website. 18 May, manchesterafterhours.com Museums at Night, 17-20 May museumsatnight.org.uk

Ode to Leeds

The Beggar’s Opera

Following open auditions for young artists from across Yorkshire earlier this year, writer Zodwa Nyoni returns with new play Ode to Leeds. A moving and amusing coming-of-age tale, it blends music, words, heart and soul to chart the pursuits of five young poets from Leeds as they compete at the world’s most prestigious poetry slam competition in New York. 10 Jun-1 Jul, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds, times vary, £13.50-£30, wyp.org.uk

Storyhouse – Chester’s brand new cultural centre featuring two theatres, a cinema, library, restaurant and bar – launches this May with an opening season of four home-produced shows, the first of which is poet Glyn Maxwell’s adaptation of The Beggar’s Opera. Billed itself as a ‘pox-ridden musical comedy’, the show has been especially written for the centre’s opening, and promises a filthy and hilarious take on the first ever popular musical. 11 May-19 Aug, Storyhouse, Chester, 7.30pm, £10-£45, storyhouse.com

Made in Translation Unity Theatre

Artists and writers have responded to texts found on the Portico Library’s shelves to create collaborative exhibition Made in Translation, featuring work inspired by subjects as varied as Captain Cook’s travels, hot air ballooning and plant collecting. Bringing the contents of the library to life through new objects, photographs, documents and performances, the exhibition is also accompanied by a book, available to buy throughout. Until 3 Jun, Portico Library, Manchester, times vary, free, theportico.org.uk

It’s a big night in Liverpool on 19 May, as the annual LightNight festival sees museums and galleries throw open their doors ’til late – and one of the highlights will be the reopening of Unity Theatre, which kicks off a fresh programme under its new artistic director with a celebratory ‘awakening’ of the building by artist Aleasha Chaunté, who’ll lead a procession followed by an all-night sleepover vigil. 19 May, Unity Theatre, Liverpool, 6.30pm11pm (free), 11pm-4am (£15), unitytheatreliverpool.co.uk

Ode to Leeds

May/June 2017

ART / THEATRE

The Beggar's Opera

Events Guide

Photo: Mark Carline

Made in Translation

Unity Theatre ‘reawakening’

Get Free With Dot to Dot festival fast approaching, we check in with everybody’s favourite art-pop sensation Josefin Öhrn + The Liberation Interview: Chris Ogden

he name Josefin Öhrn + The Liberation has been on a lot of people’s lips of late. Gaining attention on the back of their excellent second album Mirage, the psych-pop six-piece have seen a lot of radio play on BBC 6Music thanks to their singles Rushing Through My Mind and Sister Green Eyes, led by Öhrn’s mysterious vocals. When we speak with Öhrn, her band have just been announced as part of this year’s Dot to Dot festival line-up, which is set to take over Manchester’s Northern Quarter on 26 May before moving on to Nottingham and Bristol. We ask her what she’s been up to lately, and to reveal her hopes for the festival.

Manchester’s the first night so presumably we’ll get the most energetic set... Manchester has such a good energy. A party town, right? Totally! Dot to Dot often sees bands playing quite late in the evening, and we see that most of Mirage was written at night. Is playing so late natural to you? Yeah, I think our music suits the night. It fits the day as well! It’s always fun playing at night in the dark. I think that sometimes it’s really nice to shut the day out and be absorbed by the music.

The Skinny: Hello Josefin! How is your day going so far? Josefin Öhrn: I came home from Portugal last night so I’m just doing nothing!

“ Sometimes it’s really nice to shut the day out and be absorbed by the music”

You’re based in London now – you were in Stockholm before that. How have you found living in the English capital so far? It’s been really good. It still feels like I’ve just got here, you know? But I’ve been coming here quite a lot for the past two years so it feels really nice to spend more time here. It’s such a big city; there’s so much music, so much art and [so many] interesting things going on, so I look forward to exploring. Earlier in the year you toured around the UK (including a stop at Soup Kitchen in Manchester). What did you enjoy about that tour? I was so happy. It was my first UK tour and so many people showed up to the gigs. I had such a great time; I think the British audience is really good. The songs are very different live to the studio versions on Mirage. Do you try to embrace the spirit of the moment when you’re playing live? Yeah, I think it’s really about that: to make it organic and to have this energy. You’re just in the moment and it’s different each time you play. It’s often about the space you’re in in the venue.

Josefin Öhrn

What are your plans for the rest of this year? Are you going to start working on a new record? Are you already working on a new record? We’re going to play Glastonbury, which I’m looking forward to, and Way Out West [in Gothenburg], some other festivals… We’re writing new material so the focus will be to play live and write new songs. You recorded a lot of Mirage when you were touring. Do you try to stay true to that original idea of the song or do you see the studio as a way of refining a song and making a definitive version? Hmm… The idea and the vision when you write something is really, really important, but then I guess when you go into the studio a song can have a life of its own, you know? Unexpected things can happen; it’s about the people you work with, the atmos-

If you’re constantly playing, you’ll still have the energy from playing live to go into new material... Exactly. It’s a really good thing to be just living in the music, both playing live and writing – to be really in it!

phere in the studio… I like how things turned out. You’re playing Dot to Dot festival in May – have you played a festival like that before, with the same line-up travelling to different places? It’s the first time I’ll do something like that. It’s really exciting. I think it’s a really cool concept – it’s going to be fun to just live in that world for [a few days]. It’s nice, I think, when you play a lot of shows after each other; to just get in the rhythm of doing it.

Dot to Dot festival comes to Manchester’s Northern Quarter on 26 May Mirage is out now via Rocket Recordings dottodotfestival.co.uk josefinohrn.com

Angel Olsen

If you’ve been on the planet this long and still not seen Melt Banana, now might be the time to reconsider your priorities. Not just a noise rock band, nor merely a grindcore band, the Tokyo veterans are a joyous force for good. It takes some chutzpah to merge abrasive noise and blastbeats with electronics in such a forcefully catchy manner, but even after 25 years MB remain as gutsily, spine-tingingly essential as ever. 14 Jun, Brudenell Social Club, Leeds, 7.30pm, £13.50, @Nath_Brudenell

Ears have been pointed firmly in the direction of Angel Olsen since her collections of off-kilter Americana began to appear at the start of the decade – last year’s My Woman, however, was when she truly arrived. Her take on “the complicated mess of being a woman” struck multiple chords, while her musical versatility and way with a commanding hook reached new heights. A surefire winner. 23 May, Leeds University Stylus, 7.30pm, £14, @AngelOlsen

Seu Jorge

Events Guide

Melt Banana

“Colossal” is how we described The Besnard Lakes’ fifth studio album A Coliseum Complex Museum earlier this year, and anyone who’s previously borne witness to the Montreal sextet’s live shows will understand why. Expect sky-searing epics and shimmering melodies, all bathed in a sense of wide-eyed wonder that makes their take on classicist psych-pop feel completely human and kinda euphoric, all in the intimate confines of The Magnet. Sounds perfect. 23 May, The Magnet, Liverpool, 7.30pm, £12.50, @ Harvest_Sun

Music

Angel Olsen

THE SKINNY

Photo: Claire Maxwell

The Besnard Lakes

Seu Jorge Enjoy Portuguese covers of David Bowie classics from Brazilian musician Seu Jorge – whose acoustic riffs on Bowie songs you’ll recognise from the soundtrack to Wes Anderson’s The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. Jorge will be paying homage to the late singer, while also recreating the soft-hued retro dreamworld of Anderson’s 2004 comedy by displaying images from the film and also screening it in full. 25 May, Albert Hall, Manchester, 7pm, £32.50, @Alberthallmcr

The Besnard Lakes

Photo: Stuart Moulding

Melt Banana

Community Music Peter Guy reflects on the role of local media ahead of this year’s GIT Award, celebrating the best new music on Merseyside Interview: Will Fitzpatrick

t’s really important, knowing your community,” muses Peter Guy, and well he might. It’s been ten years since he first set up Getintothis, a blog designed for the specific purpose of shining a light on music in Liverpool. It’s given a sense of narrative to an increasingly diverse community of bands and artists, with contributions as likely to come from participants in the music scene as writers or reviewers. “It’s kind of like how, on a local football level, there’s not enough referees to go around,” continues Guy, warming to his theme. “The erosion of community is massive in this country. The government is neglecting small communities. That sometimes has a knock-on effect for journalism where we’re covering a bigger, more nationally-focused interest – sometimes regional things get lost.” It’s precisely this loss of regional coverage – perhaps an inevitability in an age where the internet has widened the pop lens to the extent that only the biggest and brightest stars seem visible – that inspired Guy to take Getintothis to another level, with the launch of the GIT Award. Designed to recognise “the very best new music in Merseyside”, the award is open to all artists from the region, with entrants whittled down to a shortlist of 12. The victorious act will collect a prize of £1000 towards their future development, as well as recording time at Parr Street Studios: past winners have included Baltic Fleet, All We Are and Forest Swords. You could be forgiven for thinking that it’s just a bit of fun; a self-congratulatory extension of the blog. Guy insists, however, that it was simply a reflection of the excitement surrounding the city when the award was first launched in 2011. “Liverpool was absolutely incredible at the time,” he says. “You had a real organic ecosystem of promoters, writers and other creative people, and as a result, artists were able to really flourish. I just felt that it needed something to really push it outside the city.” That kick proved worthwhile, too, as the London-based music press began to take note. “The first year that we did it, The Guardian’s New Band of the Day ran nine artists [from Merseyside] in a row,” Guy recalls, fondly. “This is a music

press that hadn’t been covering Liverpool music since the days of The Coral and The Zutons; in the scheme of things that’s almost a decade later! “When you see all 12 [nominees] on a piece of paper, that’s more important than the winner. The winning element and the prize money, that just adds extra intrigue. It’s always one big party. It’s a great night for everyone to come together and go, ‘Bloody hell, we really are making some special music.’”

She Drew The Gun

“ The GIT Award is a great night for everyone to come together and go, ‘Bloody hell, we really are making some special music’” Peter Guy

For proof, see previous years’ shortlists, where newer artists have been included alongside Clinic, Circa Waves and Dan Croll, all of whom have yet to take home the award itself. It does beg the question, though, of whether acts with an established profile really need the attention. “That’s a really important thing to answer,” says Guy. “It would be a dereliction, I think, of the judges to discount any artist or band who’s released great music during the last year and say, ‘they’ve been there and done it’. Anyone should be championed for something that they’ve done a good job at.” True to form, this year’s shortlist features the aforementioned Coral, following the success of last year’s Distance Inbetween LP. They’re joined by Aystar, Louis Berry, God Colony, Immix Ensemble, Ohmns, Or:la, She Drew The Gun, Suedebrown,

Baltic Fleet

XamVolo, The Vryll Society and past winner Baltic Fleet – all of whom seem as likely as each other to emerge victorious. This year’s ceremony is due to be held at Constellations in the city’s Baltic Triangle district on Saturday 13 May. Additional prizes will be given, as usual: the One to Watch title will be bestowed upon a promising newcomer, while the Inspiration Award will recognise the year’s outstanding services to Liverpool’s music industry. There are also plans for an all-day spectacular, ahead of the award ceremony itself later in the evening, including live performances from some of the best new acts on Merseyside: amongst others, Rongorongo, I See Rivers and Pixey will all appear as part of an

event that Guy promises will be “something special.” By the time you read this, the winner of the 2017 GIT Award may well have been announced already (and you can keep up to date with those revelations over at theskinny.co.uk/music). But do remember to take a good look at the rest of the names on the shortlist – if previous years are anything to go by, this won’t be the last we’ll hear from any of them. And of course, they’re all winners in the eyes of their hometown’s tight-knit musical community. The GIT Award ceremony takes place at Constellations, Liverpool on 13 May. Tickets are £10 adv / £15 OTD getintothis.co.uk

Gallops, Werk and BÊTE

Kamasi Washington

Join Wrexham’s Gallops as they head to Salford’s favourite waterside gig hole The Old Pint Pot to serve up a springtime dose of contemporary experimental electronica. They’ll be joined by local industrial types Werk and their fellow Mancunians, four-piece BÊTE, for an evening of homegrown sounds from across the North and over the Welsh border. 12 May, The Old Pint Pot, Salford, 8pm, £8, @PintPotSalford

Known to many as the Kendrick Lamar collaborator on 2015’s lauded To Pimp a Butterfly, American saxophonist Kamasi Washington heads back our way after blowing our tiny little minds last summer, when he was still riding high from his own critically acclaimed release, The Epic. Prepare to be truly entranced by powerful contemporary jazz of the highest order – all bound in rather timely fashion by an undercurrent of love, peace and unity. 30 Jun, O2 Academy, Liverpool, 7pm, £25.50, @KamasiW Gnoomes

Gnoomes

Gallops

May/June 2017

Werk

Seems funny, doesn’t it, that a genre aiming for the stratosphere should end up with a moniker as clunky as ‘shoegaze’. That’s why Russian trio Gnoomes prefer the term ‘stargaze’ – it perfectly encapsulates the sensations conjured up by their layered textures and melodies. Fans of Neu!, Mogwai and early Spiritualized will find much to love here, but there’s far more to their sound than mere apery. Dive in and discover for yourself. 9 Jun, Wharf Chambers, Leeds, 7.30pm, £7, @greylanternmcr

Music

Kamasi Washington

Events Guide

Photo: Claudia Arnold

“I

Mission Statement Nominated as one of our ones to watch for 2017, Anz is now preparing to release her debut EP – here the eclectic Manchester producer tells us about grime, growing up and the grim realities of playing the clarinet

“M

aybe I’ll make the best tune of my life because I’m scared,” Anz says as we sit down at her Manchester flat/studio. The London-born producer has just told The Skinny that she’s been asked to take part in Red Bull’s prestigious Riddim Rally, a competition where 32 of the UK’s most promising beat-makers are pitted against each other, tasked with making three tracks in three hours. Although the date of her heat is still some weeks away, Anz (aka Anna-Marie Odubote) is getting down to diligent daily practice. This methodical approach is undoubtedly why 2016 saw her track Mission featured on grime MC Jammz’s mixtape Underdog Season Vol 1, as well as soundtracking an Adidas football ad – and all this a mere two years into her nascent career. Anz proves the sweetest host, making some delicious tinto de verano as she recounts the inventive ways in which she landed a string of coveted copywriting jobs after graduating from an English Literature and Spanish degree. But despite having many different interests, from writing to illustration, music was always in the background. It’s now firmly in the foreground.

“ The way someone says something will remind me of a drum pattern” Anna-Marie Odubote

“I started piano aged four and then at school I’d go to the music room at lunchtime and try out all the different instruments,” she tells us. “They had drums, violin, cello, double bass. I tried everything except the clarinet.” Why? “Well, I had a friend and she was so beautiful but she looked so terrible when she played the clarinet that I thought I definitely wouldn’t get away with it.” Ultimately, the 25-year-old explains, playing from sheet music was never very satisfactory: “I did jazz piano at 13 but I didn’t have much patience with grade exams. I just got on with it at my own pace – that is, until I discovered the sesh. When I

came back to it I asked my parents for this drum pad thing for my birthday. I don’t know why, but I didn’t use it straight away. Then I was ill one night and I thought, ‘Oh fuck it, I’ll try make a tune,’ and that’s when I made Eclipse. I think I saved it as Poorly Jam.” The fruit of that first foray into producing caught the attention of London-based DJ/producer Murlo, but it wasn’t fever-fuelled beginner’s luck – soon Anz was accruing backing from more industry heavyweights including Amy Becker and Elijah of record label Butterz. Both as producer and DJ, Anz is a storyteller, using the connotations of specific genres to create dramatic crescendos within her rich, vibrant moodscapes. “If you like the exact same music as when you were growing up then have you really grown up?” she asks. Nevertheless, her sets often pay homage to the different stages of her musical progression, simultaneously nostalgic and of the moment, and crucially a lot more daring than some of her contemporaries. Anz’s mixes don’t shy away from a gun-finger-worthy banger either, with her Autumn/Winter showcases from 2015 and 2016 serving as excellent examples of this and the strong narrative drive characteristic of her output. “Whatever I do, I’m not going to do just grime and it’ll either work for me or against me,” she says. “It’s always more interesting to go [from] grime to funky or whatever.” This jostling between genres and tempos is evident on the previews of her self-titled debut EP, to be released in June on Manchester record label Chow Down. That Anz has been chosen as the artist to launch the label, which itself evolved from the six-year-old Soup Kitchen club night of the same name, comes as no surprise given her popularity as resident. In fact, it’s the eclectic tastes of the night’s loyal crowd that inspired much of the record. Panrico, the bassline and funky-referencing steel percussion opener, arrives with an urgency that will see you pushing into the centre of the dance. Gentler second track Clanger slows to a half-time 808 but holds on to your attention, while third track Loa is all dense polyrhythms and closing track Fencin showcases the producer’s acumen in sparkling synth-work. The stylistic balance of the EP brings to mind the minimalism of Ernest

Interview: Kamila Rymajdo

Hemingway’s Iceberg Theory, which proposes that the quality of a piece rests on its ability to evoke context without having to state it. Before we leave, our discussion returns to the impending Riddim Rally. “With lots of the tunes that I make, someone will say something and the way they say it will remind me of a drum pattern,” Anz explains. “Or sometimes it’ll be the end credits of a film. Usually there’s a lot of wrong turns, but

One Night With... Move D

Fiesta Bombarda 5th birthday

Those good hearts at Leeds’ Wire club continue their intimate ‘One Night With...’ series, letting you get up close and personal with some of dance music’s finest selectors, playing all night long. This time it’s the turn of revered German producer David Moufang aka Move D, playing a disco-only set and digging up all kinds of vintage, analogue rarities. Bring your best sparkle to match the mirror ball. 26 May, Wire, Leeds, 11pm, £10, @wireleeds

Touring carnival-style party Fiesta Bombarda celebrates its fifth year of throwing wild events in its original (and spiritual) home of Liverpool. Sefton Park’s beautiful Victorian Palm House will be filled with the heavy, swinging rhythms of Red Eye HiFi, Bethlehem Casuals and many more, while there’ll be plenty of activities to add to the colourful atmosphere from face painting to tropical set design. 2-3 Jun, Sefton Park Palm House, Liverpool, 7pm, £17, @fiestabombarda

it’s alright to have these wrong turns as that’s how it evolves. With this there’s a greater set of gambles. I’ve got five minutes to pick a genre, build a tune – it’s a lot more focused. But whatever happens, I’m just looking forward to a nice day out in London.” It’s probably safe to bet the producer’s going to come away with a lot more than that. Anz EP is released on 12” vinyl by Chow Down Records on 12 Jun soundcloud.com/yung-anz

Avalon Emerson Byron the Aquarius

No Bounds festival launch party

Byron the Aquarius

Move D

Events Guide

Responsible for bringing some of the world’s most vibrant underground sounds to Manchester, promoters Banana Hill smash it once again with this booking, welcoming synth wizard Byron the Aquarius for his city debut. Having journeyed through hip-hop and house, working with the likes of Flying Lotus and releasing through Theo Parrish’s label, he pushes his own distinct and highly danceable brand of Atlanta-spawned weirdness. Get in there early. 28 May, Soup Kitchen, Manchester, 11pm, £8, @banana_hill

CLUBS

Fiesta Bombarda

The centripetal force of Sheffield’s clubs scene, Hope Works presents a frankly astonishing (and notably women-led) line-up for the first ever No Bounds festival: Helena Hauff, Avalon Emerson, Lena Willikens, a live AV set from Kaitlyn Aurelia Smyth, a performance from bracing experimental percussionist Joby Burgess and much more. There are also talks, live coding/modular synth workshops, installations and all sorts of things to blow your mind. 9 Jun, Hope Works, Sheffield, times vary, £15-£30, @HopeWorksSheff

THE SKINNY

May/June 2017

Events Guide

Spotlight: The Not So Late Show Hosts of Leeds’ premier live comedy chat show, Ross and Josh tell us about their biscuits, beefs and search for the perfect bowl of ramen

hat shows have been a mainstay of television entertainment since families first gathered around a flickering cathode ray tube, but they’ve never really made a successful backwards leap onto the stage. One show bucking the trend is The Not So Late Show, a live chat and comedy show at Leeds’ Wardrobe theatre, hosted by Ross Brierley and Josh Sadler. In different hands, it would collapse into a dull sludge, but the pair’s work is big, daft and inventive, betraying a talent for turning the conventions of the TV genre on their head and embracing the anarchy of the live environment. They’re also really fucking funny. Having nailed down the format for their Wardrobe performances, they’ve turned their chat show into a road show, performing all over the North, and they’ve also sculpted an excellent YouTube channel – the highlight being their ‘UK Garage Horse Racing’ sketch. They’re currently working on taking the show to the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe, so we got them on our comfy sofa for a good chinwag. First gig: “Ross’s was doing a Michael Jackson dance medley at Ruda Holiday Camp in 1989. Josh’s was selling biscuits from his tiny, malnourished hands at

Events Guide

Interview: Jon Whiteley

Chesterfield market from the age of six through to 18, when he finally clubbed together enough money to get a bus to Birmingham. To buy more biscuits. “Our first gig together was at the Hull Comedy Festival in November 2014. We practised for three days in the damp attic room of Ross’s house and then unleashed 60 minutes of nonsense on 30 people above a pub.” Influences: “Vic & Bob, Gennaro Contaldo, the hell scene from Event Horizon, The League of Gentlemen, Big Train, The Fast Show and Bruce Forsyth’s silhouette.” Aspirations: “‘It’s Channel 4, it’s Friday night, it’s… THE NOT SO LATE SHOW.’ Outside of comedy, Josh wishes to find the perfect bowl of ramen and Ross aspires to eight, good solid hours of sleep. Consecutively, if possible.” Circuit favourites in the North: “We have an overwhelming amount of love and concern for Peter Brush, and Joby Mageean is ‘the nicest man in comedy’ and hilarious to boot. Our invented rivalry with nonsense peddlers Chris Cantrill and Amy Gledhill – aka The Delightful Sausage – keeps us awake at night.”

What would you be doing if you weren’t doing stand-up? Ross: “Gambling on horse racing and selling gold bullion on QVC.” Josh: “Knocking back cans of Skol and rebuilding Old Whittington Top Club in Minecraft.”

What’s the largest animal you think you could beat in a fight? No weapons. Josh: “Gerbil.” Ross: “The St. Bernard from Beethoven.” Josh: “I think he’s dead, mate.” Ross: “Well, I’d definitely beat him then.”

“ Ross’s first gig was doing a Michael Jackson dance medley at Ruda Holiday Camp in 1989”

Does being funny make you more attractive? And to whom? Ross: “Yes it does, and to people who are attracted to latent narcissism and a shocking lack of empathy.” Josh: “I have the physical dimensions of a young Danny DeVito and smell like wild onions, yet have a girlfriend, so I can only assume yes.”

Josh Sadler

If you could be haunted by anyone, who would it be and why? Ross: “Josh. Though if he could hold out until after Edinburgh, that’d be great.” Josh: “Fat Elvis.”

COMEDY

Question from past Spotlighter Tom Lawrinson: Who was the hardest in your school and could you take them on now? “Danny Dixon. And no because Josh is still scared by the reminder of his existence, never mind the actual prospect of hand to hand combat. Plus, he’s significantly bigger than a gerbil. Danny Dixon that is, not Josh.” The Not So Late Show is at The Wardrobe, Leeds, 2 & 9 Jun as part of Leeds Comedy Festival; and Pleasance JackDome, Edinburgh, 2-28 Aug, as part of the Fringe rossandjosh.co.uk

THE SKINNY

David Lynch: The Art Life

The Return of David Lynch

documentary The Art Life (released 14 Jul), got us thinking about how American cinema has missed Lynch’s twisted genius. Here are three reasons why we desperately need him back.

It’s been eleven long years since David Lynch’s last movie – the blistering Inland Empire. But 2017 sees him back with a vengeance with the resurrection of Twin Peaks. There’s also a new documentary, The Art Life, to look forward to. We’re delighted Words: Stephanie Whalley

avid Lynch is a manipulator par excellence, but perhaps the most nail-biting cliffhanger he ever pulled off is his protracted hiatus from cinema, and the directing game in general. His last moving image project was Inland Empire, his dark and delirious portrait of Hollywood from 2006. Since then, sightings have been scarce. David, we miss you. We miss you very much. There are hipsters out there crying through their wire frame spectacles straight into their double shot Americanos for heaven’s sake. But there’s good news for you neo-Lynchians out there (and even better news for longstanding fans): the big man is back in business in a huge way this year and coming to a screen near you very, very soon. As the twisted mind behind seminal films such as Blue Velvet, Lost Highway and Wild at Heart, we knew Lynch could hold his audience in suspense, but he’s turned it into a surreal artform as he’s been slowly drip feeding us clues for months

ahead of the imminent revival of Twin Peaks, the wildly original TV show the maestro crafted in collaboration with Hill Street Blues scribe Mark Frost. The original series followed the investigation into the murder of smalltown Homecoming Queen Laura Palmer, which was told in an inimitable style that danced between gloriously kitsch and utterly macabre. It’s celebrated as much today as it was way back when it aired in the early-90s, when coffee was damn fine and people chewed gum in style, a time when talking to logs was a perfectly acceptable form of problem solving. (RIP Catherine Coulson aka Log Lady, you will be sorely missed this season.) Starring Kyle MacLachlan as the idiosyncratic Agent Cooper, Ray Wise as the illusive Leland Palmer and Sheryl Lee as his fallen and beloved daughter, Laura, the all new Twin Peaks premieres 22 May on Sky Atlantic and we – along with the rest of the world – are more than a little bit excited. The show’s return, as well as upcoming Lynch

American cinema looks pretty square without Lynch Since his debut feature Eraserhead, aptly described by the director himself as “a dream of dark and troubling things,” Lynch has been one of the most original voices in American cinema. The term Lynchian is often thrown around in modern film criticism, but the truth is few filmmaking weirdos have followed in Lynch’s wake. There have been pale imitators like Richard Kelly (Donnie Darko, The Box) and Darren Aronofsky (Pi, Black Swan), but their visions look almost quaint next to Lynch’s nightmarish movies. The vividly original worlds created by Charlie Kaufman come closest, perhaps, but a sighting of a project from the Synecdoche, New York writer-director has now become as sporadic as one by Lynch. In today’s political climate, we need a filmmaker scratching away at our collective subconscious and putting America’s dark heart on screen, and no one does that better than David Lynch. Lynch creates fascinating roles for women Scan the logline of most films made in Hollywood and you’d think the only legitimate stories to tell on the big screen involved white men. It’s no wonder that during the past decade or so, our great movie actresses have increasingly looked towards television for interesting roles. Unlike the majority of his fellow male auteurs in the bro canon (think Scorsese, Spielberg, Linklater, Fincher, Wes and PT Anderson), Lynch has been as interested in female stories as he has been in male ones. If you need reminding of this fact, just

The new series of Twin Peaks premieres 22 May on Sky Atlantic The Skinny presents a special screening of Inland Empire at HOME, Manchester, 13 Jun

Granta’s Best of Young American Novelists

Inspired by FACT’s current exhibition How much of this is fiction, which explores the boundary between fiction and reality in our ‘post-truth’ world, this film screening and panel event from Radical Film Network considers the role of the filmmaker as activist and seeks to counter the largely fictional (and often hysterically inaccurate) narrative on Syrian refugees put forward by the mainstream media. 17 May, FACT, Liverpool, 6.30pm, £4(£3), fact.co.uk

Literary magazine Granta publishes its lists of the Best Young British, and Best Young American Novelists every ten years – two major events training the publishing world’s eye on those names for the next decade. This spring they reveal the next 20 US writers they’re tipping for great things, and Waterstones welcomes a panel to discuss those included as well as American fiction more broadly. 24 May, Waterstones Deansgate, Manchester, 6.30pm, £3, @WaterstonesMCR Tomorrow

Getting to the Root of It

Hari Kunzru with Nikesh Shukla

May/June 2017

Lynch’s films look and sound like no others Sit down in front of a Lynch production and you’ll find yourself sucked into it like quicksand and spat back out at the end with a refreshingly skewed perspective of this humdrum dimension we’ve dubbed reality. He tampers with your thoughts through his use of sound and image like few other filmmakers, creating worlds that are simultaneously sweet and sinister. You’ll notice that the typical Lynchian colour palette is always unsuspectingly saturated and quite often suggests a world that’s entirely ‘normal’, but it’s his off-kilter character and dream-logic narratives that reveal hidden depths to the films’ apple pie surfaces. And let’s never forget how strange Lynch’s films sound thanks to those magnificent, haunting soundtracks created in alliance with his longestablished composer Angelo Badalamenti. We want those eerie opening credits and bespoke film scores back and we want them now.

Activist Filmmaking on Dislocation

Nikesh Shukla

Catch author Hari Kunzru in what’s sure to be a fascinating discussion with fellow writer and The Good Immigrant editor Nikesh Shukla, as they touch on Kunzru’s latest novel White Tears, which has been described as a “ghost story that warns against cultural appropriation.” Set in New York, this neo-noir follows two naïve hipsters who become obsessed with an old blues song forgotten by history. 25 May, Central Library, Manchester, 6.30pm, £8(£6), manchesterliteraturefestival.co.uk

look at the recent cinema resurrection of another Lynch classic, Mulholland Drive. Released back in 2001, it’s still one of the most pivotal offerings in feminist cinema this century, and its star Naomi Watts, despite being elevated to A-list status off her breakthrough performance in the film, is still waiting for a role to match it. Lynch’s favourite collaborator, Laura Dern (the star of Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart and Inland Empire), has been similarly poorly served in Hollywood, but is currently finding acclaim on TV series Little Big Lies. Both will crop up in undisclosed roles in Twin Peaks alongside other kickarse women like Ashley Judd, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Amanda Seyfried, Monica Bellucci and many more.

TMX Engineer Battalion

What’s the best way to solve the Earth’s impending ecological and social crises? Unlike most social justice documentaries, Tomorrow doesn’t just put the problems up on screen, it offers solutions. Vegan bakers That Old Chestnut host a screening of the film, which will hopefully inspire their own community-led solutions to climate change. As well as the movie, expect some ethically conscious grub and a lively discussion. 14 May, Hyde Park Picture House, Leeds, 12.30pm, £7(£5), leedsindiefood.co.uk

FILM / BOOKS

Credit: Emily Nash

Mulholland Drive

Events Guide

LE Y ST FE LI

Feasts for the Senses Widely regarded as one of the North’s greatest celebrations of food and drink despite being a fairly new addition to the scene, Leeds Indie Food is a month-long salute to the independent culture of Leeds and beyond. We look at this year’s tasty programme

fter making its debut in 2015, following a successful crowdfunding boost via Kickstarter, Leeds Indie Food (LIF) festival has fast become a lesson in how it should be done. Each year it promises a diverse programme that mixes intelligent, ambitious ideas with the kind of laid-back approach (and beautifully playful branding) needed to bring it back down to earth. The programme for its third edition reads like a genuine ode to the best that Leeds has to offer – and, crucially, it’s accessible to all, with everything from special tasting menus and pop-ups to film screenings and art exhibitions, all under the three strands of ‘Eat’, ‘Drink’ and ‘Do’. Here’s our rundown of some programme highlights. Eat: Following a LIF special edition of Belgrave Feast, which helps get the festival’s first week underway on 13 May, you can get a good feeding with a lobster-centric three-course dinner by experimental kitchen Workshop and cocktail aficionados Hedonist Project (17 & 18 May, Hedonist Project); a foraging session and tasting menu with Wild & Wall (19 May, Cafe 164); a vegetable-focused menu from Carl Fleischer and Steve Nuttall (19 May, Laynes Espresso); five courses of donuts matched with beer at North Bar (25 May), and Nordic-inspired fine dining from Norse (12-13 May, Corn Exchange). Or, you can simply have Breakfast for Dinner at Laynes (25 May). Drink: Witness The Decanter and Yorkshire Wine School battle it out in the Grape Debate (22 May, The Decanter) or see some serious coffee skills in

Words: Jess Hardiman

action at Pump n Grind’s Latte Art Throwdown (13 May); try some drinks expertly made by coffee and cocktail bod Dan Fellows at Oakwood’s beautiful Scandi-inspired cafe Stories (12 May); try out a pub crawl with a difference by boarding a bus for The North Bar Magical Mystery Tour (12 & 19 May), and see the festival off with the Meet the Merchants Wine Fair (28 May), which will welcome the likes of Latitude Wine, Ham & Friends, Wino, Alpine Wines and Martinez to the Corn Exchange to help you sample your way through tipples from some of the region’s finest independent traders. Do: Get clued up with a food styling and photography workshop with Food&_ (13 May, Ham & Friends); succumb to the Willy Wonka vibes of an edible wall at the PLANT GROW MAKE EAT exhibition (11-28 May, The Gallery at Munro House); catch some food and drink-related flicks including Danish classic Babette’s Feast (20 May, Arch Cafe) and documentary Sour Grapes (25 May, Left Bank Leeds); learn how to make your own chocolates with Tyto Leodis (14, 18 & 20 May, 200 Degrees), or pit your food knowledge against others’ with the Big Fat Food Quiz of the Year (16 May, Northern Monk). That’s just the tip of the iceberg for this year’s LIF, and while some events have already sold out there’s still plenty to sink those teeth into. Head to leedsindiefood.co.uk for the full programme, and read our chats with two of this year’s participants, Latitude and Laynes Espresso, across our Food and Drink pages. HOLY MOLY WE’RE EXCITED. Leeds Indie Food, 11-28 May #LIF17 | leedsindiefood.co.uk

A Wine Drinker’s Guide to Yorkshire With lots of grape-focused events on the calendar at Leeds Indie Food, we speak to specialist shop Latitude for some tips on drinking wine in Yorkshire – from Leeds’ best wine bars to finding bottles from local vineyards

hether you’re a wine connoisseur or just developing your palate and want to learn more, Latitude Wine & Liquor Merchant should be one of your first calling points in Leeds. Stocking a selection that prioritises ‘the unique and boutique’, Latitude also run ‘Tasting Room’ sessions to help you understand more about what’s in your glass, and they’ll next be popping up at Leeds Indie Food festival: at Lambert’s Yard for a ‘Minimum Miles Travelled’ dining experience with chef Richard Walton-Allen, and at Farsley’s The Mill Kitchen, celebrating locally sourced food and drink. Ahead of their events, we asked proprietor Chris Hill for his guide to wine in Leeds and Yorkshire – from local growers and varieties to what you should be looking for in a good wine bar. Yorkshire’s vineyards “Yorkshire sits on the 53/54th degree of Latitude. Conventional winemaking thinking would say not to bother trying to grow grapes further north than 50 degrees; winemaking in Yorkshire is tough, but a few are trying. “The most established vineyard in Yorkshire is Leventhorpe, near Rothwell, east of Leeds. George Bowden was a Chemistry teacher who noticed the potential for this small, south-facing slope in 1985, when he purchased the land and started experimenting with white grape varieties.

Lifestyle

Many years later he has managed to harness this unique micro-climate to produce some really interesting, characterful wines.” Local wine to try “The core varieties that are grown on the Leventhorpe Vineyard are Seyval and Madeleine Angevine. Both are white varieties that have been developed to ripen early in Europe. When planted in Yorkshire, the cool climate means that they can mature fully to produce fresh and elegant wines. The Leventhorpe site is a natural amphitheatre and sun trap with great drainage; this means that the vines have to dig deep for water, a process that imparts a unique minerality to the wines.” Pairing your local wine with food “The Seyval is a delicate white, with green fruit, crisp acidity and subtle fennel seed aromas. We will be matching it at our Latitude Tasting Room event for Leeds Indie Food with grilled mackerel fillet, with a fennel and green olive salad. The Madeleine Angevine is a little more bold, with apricot fruit and a hint of ginger, and also loves seafood, perhaps with a bit of Thai spice.” Great wine bars in Leeds and Yorkshire “Friends of Ham have managed to create a really good wine bar concept where many have failed

before in Leeds. I think this is partially because they do really good beer as well, so can please both markets. Zucco in Meanwood and the Ox Club at Headrow House both offer really interesting food and wine.

“Leeds has a unique attitude towards wine” Chris Hill

“But if you are really serious about wine, head for the more established places in Leeds, such as the Reliance, Brasserie 44 and the Foundry, who have all been serving great food and top quality wine for decades.” Leeds’ wine scene: demanding and inquisitive “Having worked for decades in the wine trade in Leeds, as well as occasional stints down south and in Manchester, I can conclude that Leeds has a unique attitude towards wine. The Yorkshire

FOOD AND DRINK

temperament does not accept any bullshit, so concepts and products that are all show and bluster never get much of a look-in. “The Leeds wine lover is constantly looking for great value, and while this can be a challenge, it means that we at Latitude are always striving to find wines that over-deliver on quality. Our customers can be very demanding, but they are also very inquisitive. If we can deliver exciting wines at the right price, they are also very loyal.” Leeds Indie Food wine events: Cheese and Wine Pairing at Ham & Friends, 17 May, 7pm, £sold out, check for returns Minimum Miles Travelled: Pop-up Dining Experience, Lambert’s Yard, 19 May, 7pm, £sold out, check for returns Grape Debate: The Decanter vs Yorkshire Wine School (at The Decanter), 22 May, 7pm, £30 Yorkshire Food and Wine Pairing, The Mill Kitchen, 25 May, 7pm, £40 Only Natural with Tutto and Gergovie Wines, The Reliance, 26 May, 5.30pm, book ahead or just walk in Meet the Merchants Wine Fair, Corn Exchange, 28 May, 12pm, £20 leedsindiefood.co.uk latitudewine.co.uk

THE SKINNY

May/June 2017

THE SKINNY

New in Food What’s the latest on the food and drink scene in Yorkshire and the Northwest, you ask? Funnily enough, we have the answer Words: Jess Hardiman

Photo: Tom Joy

Norse

Laynes’ Leeds favourites Regularly voted one of the best coffee houses in Leeds, Laynes Espresso spread the love by naming some of their favourite food and drink hangouts in the city ahead of their event at Leeds Indie Food

ommuters to Leeds have been thanking their lucky stars since 2011, when Laynes Espresso set up just across from the train station offering some of the city’s best coffee, a friendly environment and a focus on fine ingredients. Newly refurbished for 2017, Laynes also boast a delicious food menu to take you from earlymorning breakfast through lunch, alongside cakes and sweet treats – and the kitchen now regularly hosts special, one-off events too. Don’t miss their upcoming evening with chef Carl Fleischer and drinks expert Steve Nuttall of The Reliance, as part of Leeds Indie Food festival – Fleischer will be rustling up a vegetable-centred menu, accompanied by organic/biodynamic wine and beer chosen by Nuttall. Run by Dave and James Olejnik, Laynes aims to be informative: there’ll be no sneering here if you don’t know your macchiato from your piccolo. With more than 15 years’ experience between them, the pair even run courses to help you get to grips with all things caffeinated, from basic barista training to making great coffee at home. Here are some of Laynes’ favourite food and drink spots in Leeds, as chosen by Dave Olejnik. Favourite pubs and bars “If I’m in the city centre, after a couple of drinks I’ll most often head to The Reliance, sometimes stopping by North Bar on the way. The Reliance have been doing a great job for years and a quick drink here can easily turn into sticking around for hours, ordering dinner in their restaurant and bumping into friends ’til the later hours. Many, many years ago I worked next door but one, and this was my lunchtime hangout spot too. This place has rightly earned its place as a real kingpin of Leeds’ food and drink.”

May/June 2017

Favourite local brewery “There are so many I could mention here – I have to start with Magic Rock. I first found out about them not long after we opened Laynes in 2011 after a regular customer named Jude mentioned a friend’s small brewery in Huddersfield that they were getting up and running. This brewery turned out to be Magic Rock and they just keep getting better and better. “The guys behind North Brewing Company are long-time friends of Laynes and we’re fans of theirs, and keeping an eye on Zapato Brewery is no bad thing either.”

“If you do the simple things better than anyone else, you’ll get customers” Dave Olejnik

Favourite cafe “Tall Boys – coffee, food and beer in a decent setting with great staff. Happy days all round. Although I’m more likely to be here quizzing the staff over their huge range of bottled beers, it’s more than easy to stick around longer and take a seat upstairs with a coffee and a decent sarnie. It’s awesome that somewhere like this exists just off Briggate.” Favourite food and drink shop “Latitude have been looking after me and the staff of Laynes for years when it comes to expert advice and offering an amazing selection of wines. It’s

always been a case of quality first here and although you can really spend up if you want to, I’d say this place is one of the best for quality versus cost value.” Favourite food on the go “Caravanserai on Crown Street, just next to the Corn Exchange. A lot of love for this place, the staff, the food and the mint tea they offer while you wait next to the service hatch out on the street. Its position in a corner building facing onto Call Lane is just so great and I love the look of the place. Having been a customer of Kadas going back over 15 years it’s great to still be able to get top quality food on this street.”

Waterside drinking in Leeds and Nordic-inspired nosh in Harrogate Having already proven their worth with lauded Leeds venues Belgrave Music Hall and Headrow House, those lads Ash Kollakowski, Simon Stevens and Ben Davy are at it again with Water Lane Boathouse in the historic Canal Wharf area – set across two floors with an outdoor area that boasts incredible views of the canal. Small Victories have been taken on board for a menu of sourdough pizzas, sandwiches and salads, while the bar will serve up craft beer, natural wines and gin. Open now, Canal Wharf Originally housed in Harrogate’s Baltzersen’s cafe, Nordic-influenced restaurant Norse now has its very own digs on Swan Road. Here it’s less about hygge (don’t even get us started) and more about refined, elegant cooking that celebrates the fresh flavours of Scandinavia, with small and large plates like charred mackerel with chicory, pickled rhubarb and roe scraps. Open now, Swan Road Cuban eats in Liverpool Cuban street food slingers FINCA have launched their first full restaurant in an outdoor space at Constellations, bringing a taste of Havana to the Baltic Triangle with their cubanos, croquettas and sweet potato fries – all now favourites among Liverpudlians, who’ve had a taste with FINCA’s previous residencies at the Botanical Gin Garden and The Merchant. They’ll also be curating a series of unique outdoor food events throughout the summer – keep those eyes peeled on @FincaLpool for more deets. Open now, Greenland Street

Favourite restaurant “Does Bundobust qualify in this bit? As a vegetarian fan of Indian food and good beer I have no complaints ever and the guys that work there are proper decent folk. If Bundobust is pushing the boundary of ‘restaurant’ I’ll declare my love for Thai Aroy Dee. There may not be a ton of frills but there’s a ton of flavour. Going back to when they had a tiny little place on Vicar Lane I’ve never had a bad meal here… I’ve had testing meals here when I’ve gone for the triple chilli options, but they’ve never been bad.”

MasterChef winners and GRUB’s new digs in Manchester Street food bash GRUB has outgrown its home at Alphabet Brewery and, in very exciting news, is upgrading to a new pad at the historic Mayfield site, which opens to the public for the first time in over 30 years this May. The new events space will welcome GRUB as directors of the weekly street food fair at the Mayfield, which will host local favourites like Holy Crab, Yakumama and The Ottomen along with traders from across the country. Opens Fri 19 May, Baring Street The Northwest’s only MasterChef winner Simon Wood has announced he’ll be opening a restaurant. Wood – named as such for obvious reasons, but also taking inspiration from nature through wooden design features – will open in the First Street complex this summer, serving up seasonal produce from an open kitchen with tasting, a la carte and lounge menus all available. Opening date TBC, Jack Rosenthal Street

Leeds Indie Food: Carl Fleischer and Steve Nuttall at Laynes Espresso, 19 May, several sittings from 6pm, £42.50

Find the best new openings across Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester at theskinny.co.uk/food

Favourite newcomer “Pizza Fella is great. At Laynes we’ve always had the fundamental idea that if you do the simple things better than anyone else you’ll get customers, and that’s just what Pizza Fella do. Small menu but great pizza and located right in the centre of Leeds.”

leedsindiefood.co.uk | laynesespresso.co.uk

FOOD AND DRINK

Lifestyle

Living in Florence Our living abroad series continues with the Tuscan capital. Visiting offers the ultimate cultural tourism experience, but moving there means it’s time to put away conventional advice and guides

uphoria, palpitations and visions are symptomatic of hyperkulturemia, the rare ‘disorder’ triggered by the close proximity of renaissance art. It’s more commonly known as Stendhal syndrome, after the 19th-century French writer who recorded these feelings while staring at a Florence fresco. If great minds can collapse at the sight of a big painting, what chance do the rest of us have? In Florence, it’s easy to get carried away. Dante was born here, da Vinci scored his first job here and Galileo lived most of his life here. With Michelangelo and Botticelli on hand, works of art and sculpture that’d otherwise be star attractions tumble down the ‘must see’ list – a visitor in Florence has no choice but to skip through the renaissance’s greatest hits. To stay any longer means working out what it is you can do here that is actually of any use. This means that the usual options for travellers rocking up with Empire levels of confidence have been exhausted. But let us not grow despondent. We may as well make full use of our current working rights and freedoms before they are rescinded. The gates of paradise If you’re a monoglot arriving in Florence holding some belief your rent and expenses will be met through schooling the natives as an English teacher, then Florence, where bilingualism is common, is not for you. Florence is a competitive city. Machiavelli himself wrote The Prince here – still the handbook on embracing our inner ruthlessness and getting ahead of the pack nearly 500 years later. Stepping off the train armed with a teaching certificate it took just four weeks to obtain does not grant key worker status here. It just announces an ignorance the size of Brunelleschi’s dome. To be very frank, when the air cools in the early evening it becomes apparent Florence is home to many more dogs in want of regular exercise than it is of people needing an English lesson. The pedestrianised city centre transforms every Piazza into a walkies heaven. Bitter, bitter experience informs us few can sustain a lifestyle on dog walking alone, but advertising ourselves with competency in this area would at least demonstrate we’re thinking about what skill-set we can bring to the table.

Lifestyle

Tour guiding with assassins and cannibals Having put down your guidebook it may occur to you to turn the tables and become the guide. Tour guiding is a saturated market but not necessarily a stagnant one. Your expertise about the comings and goings of the di Medici family is unlikely to see you installed as the master guide at the Palazzo Vecchio on day one – absolutely nothing about this knowledge would stand out here. But as Florence is a regular location for novels, films and video games, there is sometimes room for new tours or fresh takes on existing ones. Few would’ve foreseen how Assassin’s Creed II has stylishly opened up Florence for fans who’d then visit the sites of the game’s violent altercations and find out more about the real historical figures woven into the story. Since its release in 2009, a number of corresponding tours to meet this demand have sprouted to dissect the fact from the fiction. Your scholarly knowledge of the Medici’s loss of power to Savonarola would have suddenly become very valuable to tour operators. Hannibal Lecter sparked enthusiastic visitors in the early 2000s. Thomas Harris’s novel Hannibal and Ridley Scott’s 2001 film adaptation were both arguably most successful for the memorable Florence sequences. After a pointless and then an unbearable prequel, the character’s appeal lost some allure. However, the recent TV adaptation – the first half of season three filmed in Florence – has revived Lecter for a new generation of location tourists. Meat is back on the menu, as the ‘Fannibals’ say. Tour guiding to popular tastes does all rely on being in the right place at the right time, and keeping an eye on the waxing and waning of fashions. But a successful venture might end up becoming more than just a fun way to make ends meet, lengthening your stay and utility. Over the Arno It’s about time we crossed the River Arno. We’ll do so via the Ponte Santa Trinita rather than the better known Ponte Vecchio and head straight into the bustle and narrower winding lanes of Oltrarno. There is gentrification around Piazza Santo Spirito capturing some of the tourist trade, but this area is still the beginnings of the side of Florence where people actually live. Here it’s

rewarding to pay attention to unassuming buildings and not to walk past artisans of all kinds beavering away in their workshops. If you have craft experience, especially in that of art restoration or textiles, ceramics and jewellery, you may already feel at home here. How easy it is to actually work here depends not just on a vacancy or your ability, but also on creating a good first impression and perhaps securing a recommendation. You do have an advantage in that this group of professionals are easy to meet and chat with – their workshops are normally open to the public. If you have diligently listened to Michel Thomas’s Italian audio course you may still want to build on his firm scaffold a little longer before bursting into someone’s workspace like the deranged embodiment of an unsolicited email. It’s best to treat your first walks around this district as a recce. In the meantime read The Prince, although beware it’s something of an upgrade from a seminar on networking and putting Machiavelli’s suggestions into action is probably an activity best left for week two.

“ It’s easy to get carried away: Dante was born here, da Vinci scored his first job here...” Finding a flat The Florentine newspaper and services such as EasyStanza are good places to start when finding a room. A detailed search will soon reveal what’s true for another city doesn’t always hold in Florence. Take student areas and accommodation – it isn’t necessarily cheaper than residential locales because many international students in Florence are extremely well-heeled with a budget set by what their parents can easily afford. Do look outside of the old city walls. Florence

TRAVEL

Words: Ben Venables Photo: Fraser Colquhoun Douglas is so compact that all sense of what constitutes being out in the sticks has been lost. The area where ACF Fiorentina – the city’s football team – play is just to the east of where many tourist maps end. Apart from on match days, Campo di Marte is considered a tranquil kind of place, but it is still only minutes from the historic city centre. You don’t have to live out in the surrounding hills or commute from the Tuscan countryside to find somewhere affordable. Back to our old friend Hannibal Lecter. He was fortunate to find live-in accommodation with his appointment as curator of the Capponi Library on Via de Bardi. However, it took the ‘elimination’ of the incumbent, a false identity as Dr Fell and the ability to translate medieval manuscripts to secure such arrangements. He put up with all this because he wasn’t bored in Florence, having enough to engage him and keep his murderous impulses in check. Likewise, you must also be prepared to make sacrifices. Beyond a flat share, rental contracts tend to be complicated and oblige a lengthy stay. Unlike Dr Lecter, you won’t want to leave Florence in haste once your enemies catch up with you. Reneging on a rental deal will only create new foes and engulf you in an eternal bureaucratic nightmare. Most contracts last for four years in Italy and require six months notice by both tenant and landlord. There are slightly more flexible ones about, and students or temporary workers might find themselves eligible for rentals spanning less than a year. However, these have fewer rights to renew and are dependent on student or working status. If you are in Florence for the long haul, as a tenant you’ll be expected to take on more of the running and upkeep costs for an apartment than would be common in the UK. Look out for service and maintenance charges. It is not unusual to find yourself responsible for plumbing and the drains, how eco-friendly the boiler is and whether the communal stairs are clean. But of course, what is most crucial to check is if you are allowed a dog. If you work and live in an area like Oltrarno and walk a dog through the old centre and back to your apartment in the evening, then you can truly call Florence your home. theskinny.co.uk/travel

THE SKINNY

Shitfaced & Interesting Using alcohol to relax in social situations is deemed normal in Britain, but as social anxiety plagues a generation of digital natives, drinking can quickly become a crutch. It’s time to talk about it

chool discos were the highlight of my pre-teen years. I was an extrovert with a bedroom full of glittery platforms and a heart full of Avril Lavigne song lyrics; those Fridays spent necking Panda Pops and performing worryingly accurate Pussycat Dolls choreography were made for me. There was only one problem – without fail, every time my parents dropped me off I’d be momentarily paralysed by a fizzy dread in the pit of my belly. What if that girl in the year above rolled her eyes at something I was wearing again? What if I was asked out and dumped in the space of a Scooter song again? Those trivial flickers of nervous energy were the start of a mild anxiousness that stuck with me for over a decade, through high school house parties and Freshers’ ice breakers; graduation balls and professional networking events. A tiny little voice that grew over a decade into a distracting bellow: “But what if you make a tit of yourself?” It was only recently that I learned this feeling has a title: social anxiety. My anxiousness is comparatively mild, and when I’ve found a nice seat and a friendly pal it often dissipates – though it can be reactivated instantly by a side-eye or faux-pas. For those occasions there are remedies: escaping with the smokers into the night air, an unnecessary trip to the human-free environs of a toilet cubicle or deciding I urgently need to check my phone. But the best remedy I’ve found? Alcohol. The greatest, tastiest and most unsustainable of social lubricants. More on that later. The paradox of both dreading and relishing social interaction is a frustrating one, but surprisingly common. We’re a generation who grew up able to socialise remotely and passively; hours spent on MSN Messenger turning into Facebook stalking and WhatsApping, Instagram posts and Snapchats. We’re nested in our own isolating havens, so the idea of actually meeting up with a friend or entering a room full of real life faces and voices can be pretty intimidating. It’s even worse

May/June 2017

if you’re juggling social anxiety with other mental health problems. There is no more bountiful a place for discussion of this matter, and the mental health of young people generally, than YouTube. Because vlogging places a camera lens and editing software between the speaker and their audience, it makes for a pretty handy medium for anxious people who enjoy connecting with others, whether you’re the vlogger sharing your stories or the viewer learning that you’re not alone. The YouTuber’s trademark sign-off “let me know in the comments below!” indicates a consistent dialogue between video-makers and their audiences. YouTubers are shown just how meaningful and relevant their input really is, and the cup of mental health vlogs now truly runneth over. Even the YouTube-uninitiated have usually heard of Zoella, a mega-famous internet celeb who’s become the subject of ridicule for slapping her name on mediocre candles and body butters. What’s been ignored, though, is her contribution to the destigmatisation of mental health; specifically anxiety. She broadcasts to a huge demographic spanning tiny pre-teens to the middle-aged and has provided earnest discussions about her own mental health, extensive Q&As and footage of her debilitating panic attacks. Because YouTube’s algorithms now have me down (quite accurately) as ‘millennial who’s low-key anxious and dabbles in hair tutorials and TED talks’, my suggested videos are saturated with mental health vlogs and discussions. Within the rainbow of thumbnails I’ve noticed there’s one topic YouTubers are absolutely smashing – alcohol. More specifically, how drinking habits intersect with mental health. British 22-year-old Lucy Moon was one of the first vloggers to break the taboo in her video Hi, I’m Lucy, in which she discussed her disordered relationship with alcohol, and how alcoholism is easily normalised and often invisible: “I’d drink

entire bottles of vodka, but I wasn’t worried about it because everyone was doing it, and everyone was doing it to the same degree that I was… From the age of about 18 I’ve known I’ve had some sort of alcohol problem, but it’s always been talked out of me by friends.” The video circulated globally, and many other influential YouTubers followed suit. Shortly after, 22-year-old musician and vlogger Dodie Clark, who’s known for her earnest coverage of depersonalisation, anxiety and depression, posted a video entitled ‘alcohol’. The vlog shows footage of Dodie “shitfaced”, mid-vomit and hungover. It’s a pretty recognisable state of affairs, the sort of behaviour that tends to be praised, or at the very least joked about, in British youth culture.

“ Alcohol – the greatest, tastiest and most unsustainable of social lubricants” That in mind, it feels like a bucket of cold water when the vlog snaps back to a clean-cut, sober Dodie questioning whether her relationship with alcohol is a healthy one. “I noticed it was a problem. My drunk self just has no empathy for my sober self – it would lose all of its inhibitions, and it’s as if there was a voice in my head being like, ‘She’ll forgive you!’” But it was Savannah Brown who posted one of the first vlogs discussing alcohol within the context of anxiety. An awkwardly charismatic poet and vlogger from Ohio, Brown has covered everything from misconceptions about introverts to

DEVIANCE

Words: Kate Pasola Illustration: Louise French

eating disorders. In February she released a video called 'alcohol & anxiety', charting her growing reliance on alcohol within social interactions since her first drink at the age of 16. “Drinking made me feel normal for the first time. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, is this how everyone feels in social situations?’... When I’m drunk it’s like, ‘talking to people is the most fun thing I could do right now’, which is so unlike me.” She goes on to explain a short period of time where she’d take a flask of alcohol when she had social plans, “because I was like, ‘I’m not gonna be able to talk to this person if I’m not a little bit tipsy’, which is so messed up”. Hearing Brown’s familiar tale of tipsiness transforming an intimidating social situation, I wondered whether my own use of alcohol as a social crutch could mutate into a bigger problem, especially as I progress through life; taking on bigger responsibilities, attending more nerveracking events and parties, trying to impress hypothetical in-laws. I’ve never talked or written about this before because doing so feels self-indulgent, like I’m exaggerating a minor issue. But really, it’s a problem. We tend to view mental health and alcoholism as a binary; you suffer from mental health problems or you don’t, you’re an alcoholic or you’re not. While it’s important not to trivialise the struggles of those with severe mental health problems and substance dependencies, there’s an area between that we’re failing to discuss. This silence and absence of solutions is a problem for those with mild mental health challenges, for those developing unhealthy alcohol habits, and doubly so for those addressing their mental health problems with alcohol – perhaps without even realising. Though vloggers like Savannah Brown, Lucy Moon and Zoella are leading a fine online discourse, the deadline for bringing this conversation from YouTube to IRL is well overdue. If you need help with dependency or addiction, visit mind.org.uk for support and guidance

Lifestyle

Swiping Rights From relentless fetishisation to unsolicited threesome requests, queer femmes have a tough time of it when it comes to using Tinder. Here’s how things need to change... Words: Megan Wallace Illustration: Sonny Ross

-I-N-D-E-R. Those six letters are sure to conjure up mixed feelings for many – as well as memories of a whole barrage of unwanted dick pics – but we have a lot to thank dating apps for. Certainly, it’s never been easier to experiment sexually or expand your dating roster. However, while apps are increasingly integral to our romantic lives they’ve only been A Thing for a few years, meaning they’ve still got a few glitches needing straightened out. Beyond poorly worded one-liners and the subsequent awkward bar dates, there’s an ongoing problem with how queer women experience these digital spaces, and it’s something which we need to address. Queer dating is tricky, particularly for femmes (i.e. someone who identifies with femininity or presents in a feminine way) as they don’t necessarily have the same dating culture as male-identifying members of the community. While apps like Grindr have in excess of five million active users, the leading female equivalents (Her, anyone?) have only a fifth of that… not to mention the fact that Tinder, in contrast, has fifty million users. To add insult to injury, femmes don’t have as strong a presence in alternative LGBTQI+ spaces, leaving them stranded to face the crashing waves of queer-erasure and heteronormativity. Due to the scarcity of spaces which are both LGBTQI+ and femme-friendly, we don’t really have much choice but to integrate into spaces which aren’t designed to cater for us. And this is precisely the reason why Tinder can be a bit problematic – it functions on a heterosexual bias, with all the gay stuff tagged on at the end. And while it might help us connect with other queer femmes, it doesn’t necessarily constitute a safe space. When an essentially heterosexual space tries to stretch to be more LGBTQI+ inclusive, without undergoing some radical changes, it’s always going to fall short. Admittedly, Tinder made a massive step forward by introducing more representative gender options last November. However, this doesn’t rewrite its pretty rocky history – namely, trans users having their accounts reported and deleted for being ‘fake’. And besides, the very fact that Tinder had to add more than two gender options just reinforces the fact that it was conceived with cis individuals in mind. Furthermore, the absence of instantaneous feedback and the emotional distance present in phone-to-phone dating can create an aggressively sexual atmosphere, leading to uncomfortable or inappropriate situations. While sex is a lot more available, it doesn’t yet come without judgement or – as is definitely the case with many queer femmes – fetishisation. When femmes try to use apps like Tinder to date more than one gender, they form the intersection between the heterosexual and queer virtual communities and, because there isn’t exactly a ‘not a homophobic asshole’ filter, they have to put up with a lot of inappropriate behaviour from the people who don’t necessarily ‘get’ their sexuality. However, contrary to what you might be expecting, it isn’t really straight guys who are the problem. Rather, it’s the couples – namely, the relentless unsolicited invitations to participate in threesomes. Most individuals who present in a feminine way will experience various forms of sexual harassment in every walk of life, but it’s

Lifestyle

only on Tinder that they will encounter a specific category of male and female duo with their winkface messages and pursuit of ‘fun with an adventurous lady’. This sort of request tends to end up objectifying queer women (yep, treating someone as an accessory to your sex life, to pick up and put down when it’s convenient for you is objectification). Now, this is not to say that sexual experimentation with your partner is a bad thing – on the contrary; it’s healthy and it’s great. I’m not about to go on some kind of poly-bashing rant. Furthermore, some queer women are genuinely interested in these propositions and that’s good for everyone involved. However, so many people fail to recognise that being into more than one gender does not automatically make you any more down for threesomes than straight people. So where does this perplexing misconception comes from? Most probably the hyper-sexualisation and fetishisation of bisexual women. Due to the way that bisexual women are represented in the media and in porn, queer femmes are associated with heightened sexuality created and performed for the male gaze. Also, just by differing from the hetero norm, femmes attracted to more than one gender are bracketed with the taboo, the forbidden, the provocative and accordingly looked down upon. And it doesn’t stop there. Even from within the queer community, polysexuality (i.e. being attracted to more than one gender) is associated with promiscuity, duplicity and an inability to commit. However, polysexuals don’t necessarily have more sex than anyone else and it’s pretty nonsensical that the idea of a healthy, non-monogamous sex life is met with hatred and disgust.

“ When an essentially heterosexual space tries to be more inclusive without undergoing radical changes, it’s always going to fall short” Couples on Tinder will often say that they’re looking for a ‘fun, open-minded girl’ which is shudder-worthy for a couple of different reasons. Firstly, why the focus on ‘girls’? This actively excludes the many non-binary individuals who make up the queer community online and IRL and betrays a pretty selective understanding of what it is to be LGBTQI+. It really isn’t all cisgender, sex-positive, bisexual women – despite what porn makes you want to believe. Furthermore, the way that these propositions are made implicitly suggests that if you don’t want to have a threesome, you’re automatically prudish, obstinate, backwards. Herein lies a big problem. You shouldn’t be made to feel bad or lesser for rejecting sexual advances, no matter who they come from. But sadly, a large proportion of society has been brainwashed to view queer and bisexual femmes not as

real people with their own feelings and sexual needs, but as sexual deviants there to satisfy the emotional and sexual needs of others. It’s worth pointing out that if you want someone to have sex with you and your partner and don’t want to employ a professional, there’s a lot to bear in mind. Similarly to sleeping with a person one-on-one, you need to make sure that they have a good time, you need to respect their boundaries and, above all, you need to remember that you are in no way entitled to their body. It’s also a good idea to be using the right apps – you wouldn’t

DEVIANCE

go on Grindr if you were a hetero woman look ing for a hook-up, would you? Check out Feeld (formerly 3nder), an increasingly popular dating app specifically aimed at enabling threesomes – that way you can find people who won’t instantly unmatch. Everyone is comfortable with different things. Each case is different; one day someone might want to join you in the bedroom, and another day they might not. However, no matter what their sexual orientation, or their sexual interests, they deserve your respect.

THE SKINNY

March/April 2017

THE SKINNY

FE U AT

Sketches of Something

RE S

The dark genius of Merseyside electro, Matthew Barnes aka Forest Swords talks politics, pragmatism and second album Compassion

t the end of March, Matthew Barnes was bored. At least he knew how his fans felt. He’d spent four years keeping his proverbial finger in as many different pies as possible, but what his followers really wanted was another record as Forest Swords – his second. His debut under that moniker, Engravings, was a violent maelstrom of sounds and ideas, shimmering in its ambience one minute and disturbing in its cacophony the next. Barnes, in the immediate aftermath, had the music world at his feet. He turned left. He disappeared. Not properly, of course. He just turned his hand to other things. Barnes is a master of the multidisciplinary and in his so-called time off, he penned new music for the Assassin’s Creed video game series, scored a contemporary dance piece co-conceived by Boiler Room and the arts organisation Metal, chipped in towards new Massive Attack material and provided the musical backdrop for a documentary on drones that the BFI produced, In the Robot Skies. But, as we said, he was bored. Not just that – he was frustrated. Barnes is about to finally release his sophomore full-length as Forest Swords, Compassion, but by late March it seemed like he couldn’t wait to get it out there, into the hands – and ears – of his ardent supporters. He tweeted a phone number, the idea being for fans to hit him up if they wanted new music sent to them directly via WhatsApp. Barnes expected maybe 50 responses. He ended up with well in excess of 700.

climate that we now find ourselves in the thick of. “I just don’t think it can really be helped at the minute,” admits Barnes. “I don’t think you can make an album – or any piece of art – without that atmosphere somehow seeping in. We all know what the specifics are, but I was very eager to make sure that a) it wasn’t a super-political statement of some sort and b) that there was some sort of light at the end of the tunnel. We’re in this right now, but looking forward is really important, I think. I wanted to make a record that was forwardfacing and that thought about different ways of communication, and different attitudes in terms of how we treat each other. I think I managed that.” There’s no question that it was this line of thinking that would ultimately feed into Barnes’ radical WhatsApp concept. As fluid as that might make his creative approach and process seem, he’s nothing if not pragmatic; when it came to channeling the disarray of the world surrounding him into his music, he took a straightforward, logical approach. “I think I realised that it’s hard for artists of any kind to make any major change in the world,” he explains, “and that led to me looking at how we can drill down to a hyper-local level. What can we do in our communities to make things better? How can we be part of these subtle shifts to improve our situation? I didn’t want to make something politically heavy – if nothing else, I certainly don’t need to be touring something like that – but there are plenty of echoes of our current environment in there.”

Interview: Joe Goggins

Much of this dramatic reconfiguration was born out of Barnes’ creative anxiety; whatever he did, he was never going to go back and repeat himself. “That’s the thing. I don’t think I’m ever going to change too wildly album to album; I’m a human being, so I’m not going to be a completely different person now, with Compassion, than I was with Engravings three or four years ago. The difference lies in the feel of the songs; I had real fun deconstructing things this time around. Engravings was quite tight, and there wasn’t much space. The tracks really breathe on Compassion.” That careful, measured balance is evident right on the front cover. Compassion’s artwork features a man, on his back, holding up an enormous rock with the sort of effort that suggests every fibre of his being is involved. Look at his face, though, and you see that he looks – if not impassive – relaxed, almost happy. “I spotted it in an old magazine,” Barnes elucidates. “It just fit. I’m a graphic designer originally, and I enjoy cultivating that relationship between visuals and sound. That image was so striking; it’s ambiguous, but it perfectly summed up everything that was going on in the songs themselves. I’d tried out a few things, but they weren’t quite right, so when I saw something that just was so perfect, I had to go for it, and we went down that road of licensing it and everything else. It’s pretty wild, but I love it.” Compassion itself embodies that outwardsfacing attitude. Unlike its predecessor, it came together all over the world, with Barnes embarking

upon writing trips to Bangkok, Istanbul and, in the later stages, the Scottish highlands. “Engravings was very specifically about a certain place, and I had to set that against the fact that I was going to all these cool towns and cities on tour that I never really got the chance to have a look around and soak up. That’s why I made the decision to go back to a couple, in an attempt to come up with something that was more universal. I didn’t want to write another intense love letter to just the one place.” The next step for Compassion, of course, involves taking it out on the road. For anybody else, that might involve replication, but Barnes is an artist first and a musician second – as a thoughtful fellow, he has plenty of ideas in the pipeline for October’s clutch of UK headline shows. “I’ve got a few festivals booked, so that should be a good opportunity to test stuff out. What I need to run through is the different configurations of the live show – there are different musicians involved, and an audio-visual show to go with it, too. I’ve been listening to a lot of jazz recently, and it’s made me realise that a lot of the songs are almost designed to be played live, because of the way that they break down and deconstruct. I used to like the immediacy of playing the tracks just like they are on record, but I want things to be more careful this time.” Compassion is available from 5 May via Ninja Tune. Forest Swords plays Headrow House, Leeds, 20 Oct and Gorilla, Manchester, 21 Oct forestswords.co.uk

“ It’s hard for artists of any kind to make any major change in the world” Matthew Barnes

“I had a lot of unreleased stuff,” he says over the phone from his native Merseyside. “Not necessarily finished songs, but sketches and ideas that I quite wanted people to hear. As a musician, there’s a lot of hoops that you have to jump through to get your music to people. If you put it on Spotify, it might just end up getting buried. If you upload it to SoundCloud, that site might die one day and then your songs have gone. “The thing with WhatsApp was that it felt so much more intimate. I guess it’s because people use it to speak to family and friends every day, so instantly it’s different from Twitter or Facebook. I got some really deep, personal messages. And that was great – it felt like there was something punk about such a direct connection.” Barnes was ready to go, and that in itself was a touch out of character. In terms of his creative endeavours, he’s always been a cautious fellow in relation to both conception and execution. “I generally like to take my time. It would’ve been really easy to dive straight back into another album rather than take on any other projects, but I’m glad I didn’t. I’ve learned a lot from all the other stuff I did, from setting music to visuals to understanding how best to let my ideas breathe. I’m glad I had the discipline to head down that road.” After years of keeping the idea of another full-length on the back burner, Barnes finally broke ground on the project last September. What that means is that we’re getting a very different Forest Swords album to the one we might have heard had he jumped into making it two or three years ago – not least because of the nightmarish political

May/June 2017

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The Pursuit of Happiness Perfume Genius tells us about trying to feel happiness and rebelling against himself on new album No Shape

Interview: Nadia Younes

Photo: Inez and Vinoodh

so bad though. Hadreas worked with Dutch photography duo Inez and Vinoodh on the artwork for No Shape, which sees him facing away from the camera looking upon a picturesque landscape. “When we were doing all the pictures, I thought for certain we would use the one that was a more traditional portrait and I even had to fight my label after for this one,” he says. “I felt like it fit with the songs, having this warmer energy but then underneath there’s always some discomfort.” Interestingly, Too Bright is the only Perfume Genius album to use a portrait shot on the artwork, while both Learning and Put Your Back N 2 It used images where faces are masked or covered up in one way or another. “I think for [Too Bright] having that picture felt really rebellious. It felt more defiant to be on the cover of that one, the way that it was,” he says. Hadreas has never shied away from his sexuality and he openly deals with queer issues in his music. “I can’t get too mad about constantly talking about my sexuality, because if I didn’t want to then I probably shouldn’t have made three albums about it,” he says. But that’s not to say you must be queer to identify with his music. The emotions and feelings dealt with in Hadreas’ music are universal, but being labelled a queer artist can create unfair prejudices.

ike Hadreas, aka Perfume Genius, is known to bare his soul in his music but once a tortured soul has expelled all their demons, can they ever achieve real happiness? ‘Let all them voices slip away,’ sings Hadreas on Slip Away, the lead single from new album No Shape. The track is indicative of Hadreas’ new writing style and, seemingly, his current state of mind. “I was writing more in the moment about how I feel or how I wanted to feel, as opposed to going over old stories of things that have already happened to me,” he says. Hadreas’ first two albums as Perfume Genius, Learning and Put Your Back N 2 It, introduced us to some of his deepest, darkest secrets: battling drug and alcohol addiction, teenage sexual abuse and struggling with his sexuality, to name a few. But 2014’s Too Bright really felt like Hadreas’ coming out; his departure from lo-fi piano-playing, singer-songwriter to fully fledged queer icon. Hadreas’ music is heart-wrenchingly honest and on each album, we’ve listened to him processing different issues in his life, with Too Bright feeling like the moment he finally unleashed all that lingering internal anger. Now that he’s shed that skin, on new album No Shape he has been able to explore more positive themes. “I never really get happy, but I’m really trying to,” he says. “There’s a lot of rebelling against my own self and my own brain in some of the songs.” Writing optimistic songs doesn’t come easy to Hadreas, who is more accustomed to

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drudging up dark moments from his past. “I find it really easy to write something really disturbing,” he says. “Even the happier moments have a dissonant thread underneath but there is something vulnerable about it because you’re just admitting that you have no idea what’s going on.” Despite his previous material dealing with darker issues thematically, there has always been an underlying sense of hope in Hadreas’ writing; a desire to reach the light at the end of the tunnel. With his life in a much less tumultuous state nowadays, he had to make a conscious effort to tackle new ground musically and emotionally for his latest effort and it appears he has finally come to terms with his own contentment. “I thought about it all together, not just the emotional content but how to push myself farther in the structure of the songs and the chords that I went to,” he says. “Happy chords for me felt fresh, just to try more major keys.” While Too Bright had its experimental moments, and toyed with the idea of a bigger sound, No Shape is much more boldly cinematic and epic. Hadreas enlisted Grammy-nominated producer Blake Mills to assist on the songs, taking his music to another level of grandeur. “I kind of let everybody go to town on the songs,” he says. “I knew I was writing these anthemic, stadium songs so I wanted it to have that kind of feeling and I knew working with Blake would take it there.” Much of Hadreas’ music is created at home. His debut album Learning was recorded in his

mum’s house outside of Seattle, following a stint in rehab, and the songs for every album since have been created in his own home. Taking his music from such a personal space into a big studio may have taken some getting used to at first but for No Shape, Hadreas knew he wanted a fuller sound right from the beginning. “I wrote this album knowing much more than before that that was going to happen,” he says. “I knew that the piano was a placeholder and I wrote the songs knowing that the sound was going to be completely created after the demo.” Hadreas’ boyfriend Alan Wyffels is the somewhat unsung hero of Perfume Genius. The pair first met during a period when Hadreas had relapsed and Wyffels helped him get sober again. They have now been together eight years and live a very normal, peaceful life together in Tacoma, Washington with their dog. But Wyffels is much more than just Hadreas’ muse, if you could even call him that in the first place. Wyffels, a classically trained musician, has seen Hadreas through every step of the making of his last three albums – every album apart from Learning – and has lent a helping hand on each one along the way. “I write the music but he’s played every single live show with me and he helps figure out how to translate the songs live,” Hadreas tells us. “It’s nice to be talking about him more because even though he’s been here the whole time, I’m always the one getting my picture taken.” Sometimes getting your picture taken isn’t

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“ I can’t get too mad about constantly talking about my sexuality, because if I didn’t want to then I probably shouldn’t have made three albums about it” Mike Hadreas

“People are allowed to steal ideas, or to play with the same things that queer people play with, but as long as they’re not actually queer then it’s seen as subversive and exciting and somehow people can be thrilled by it, but not feel like they need to be uncomfortable and that can be really frustrating,” he says. “Some people think listening to a queer artist means something about their sexuality, and sometimes it does and it can then be a really powerful thing, but you don’t have to qualify before you like my music.” You begin to get a sense that Hadreas really does struggle to allow himself to be happy, but it seems that, in many ways, he is also his own worst enemy. Although he makes steps towards a more positive, uplifting sound on No Shape, there are still plenty of cracks to be found underneath the surface and those demons appear to still be there, even if they aren’t as obvious as they once were. Whether Hadreas will ever be able to reach that light at the end of the tunnel is uncertain, but one thing’s for sure: he’ll never stop trying. No Shape is out on 5 May via Matador Perfume Genius plays Heaven, London, 8 Jun perfumegenius.org

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May/June 2017

A Festival for Everyone

he first artist credited in the programme for Manchester International Festival 2017 is you. ‘Created by the people of Manchester’ and directed from an idea by Jeremy Deller, What Is the City but the People? will see Piccadilly Gardens turned into a catwalk unlike any you may have encountered before. In a celebration of diversity and character, individuals from across Manchester will take to a 100-metre runway, creating a living, spontaneous self-portrait of the city. It sets the scene for a festival that artistic director John McGrath rightfully claims is “for everyone,” bookmarked by three big, participatory public performances: What Is the City...?; German-Egyptian artist Susan Hefuna’s ToGather, in which residents new to Manchester from as far afield as Iran and Sierra Leone will trace paths across Whitworth Park echoed by dancers from Company Wayne McGregor; and Turner Prizenominated artist Phil Collins’ Ceremony, a multimedia welcoming party for a statue of Friedrich Engels, retrieved from the former Soviet Union and driven across Europe to be installed in Manchester city centre.

“ A festival is a time of wonder and joy, coming together in unexpected combinations” John McGrath

“The piece will be nothing like anybody would expect a welcoming ceremony for Engels to be!” laughs McGrath, describing Collins as “a very political but also a very playful artist.” Having relocated to Manchester from Berlin for the year-long project, Collins has been collaborating with the city’s workers to make “extraordinary films” telling their stories, which will be combined with music by artists including Oscar-nominated composer Mica

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Levi in a public celebration marking the return of one of Manchester’s most radical thinkers. Such inclusive projects are McGrath’s speciality. The founder and director of National Theatre Wales until he assumed the reins of MIF from Alex Poots in 2015, McGrath led the building-less NTW to international recognition for its large-scale, site-specific work: staging a 96-hour performance of Michael Sheen’s The Passion in Port Talbot involving more than 1000 people from the town; gaining special access from the Ministry of Defence to take Aeschylus’ tragedy The Persians into a military training ground deep within the Brecon Beacons; and bringing Brecht’s Mother Courage and Her Children to a Labour Club in the South Wales valleys. “For me the important thing [about participatory work] is that it should always be driven by the same and even greater artistic curiosity, and artistic ambition, as a work that you would see standing by itself in a gallery or on a stage,” McGrath says. Reflecting on the effect that a production like The Passion had on the community, he adds: “What made that work was the artistic commitment of Michael – and Owen Sheers the writer, and Bill Mitchell the co-director – to that space, and the generosity and honesty with which they then came to the people in the town and said, ‘We’re interested in telling this story, can you help us?’ “There’s got to be the ambition and artistic drive but that’s got to be paired with a real capacity to listen to the place that you’re in and treat people as peers. It’s an interesting combination: that push, always, to the most extraordinary artistic thing, with that sensitivity to the place and the people.” MIF17: “Taking the temperature of the world” Perhaps the most striking aspect of this year’s MIF programme is its timeliness. Migration is a prominent concern, from Hefuna’s ToGather through to HOME1947, an immersive installation by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy looking at the experiences of people who left their homes during the Partition of British India in 1947.

Also recurrent is the idea of a community trying to be heard, as in Fatherland, a multi-voiced exploration of identity, nationality and masculinity in 21st-century England, and German theatre titan Thomas Ostermeier’s Returning to Reims, in which a man visits his hometown to find it radically changed, his family having switched allegiance from Communism to the far-right Front National. Elsewhere, there are visions of apocalypse and utopia – interactive show Party Skills for the End of the World will ‘teach you how to get by when the end finally comes’, while Tilda Swinton narrates Last and First Men, a film by Arrival composer Jóhann Jóhannsson based on the sci-fi novel by Olaf Stapledon, offering a ‘requiem for the final human species in civilisation’. McGrath emphasises that the Festival makes no demands in terms of theme. Entirely artist-led, the programme is a result of what its participants want to say, and how they want to say it. “We just ask artists, ‘What are you interested in doing?’ Of course what then happens is, you end up taking the temperature of the world that we’re in,” he observes. “And some people, including Thomas Ostermeier actually, have completely changed their project over the last six months because of the way that the world has changed.” Meanwhile, a piece like Yael Bartana’s What If Women Ruled the World – a reversal of the ending to Kubrick’s Dr Strangelove that tasks a different group of women each night with solving a global emergency – had already been in development for almost two years but quickly assumed new relevance: “We weren’t originally going to announce it [in November],” explains McGrath, “but it had just been the American election and it felt that the question was so ripe that we had to let people know we were doing it.” While there are weighty issues at play in this year’s programme, they are met with a variety of approaches – fun and creative, often wild and full of movement. “A festival is a time of wonder and joy and coming together in unexpected combinations and excitement,” McGrath says. So although Party Skills has a dystopian theme, it will be “very, very enjoyable and surprising,” and something like So it goes.. – a collaboration between New Order and visual artist Liam Gillick that will see

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Interview: Lauren Strain

Party Skills for the End of the World

them deconstruct, rethink and reassemble material from throughout the band’s career – is “just deeply full of the joy of a new collaboration.” Manchester’s musical legacy The New Order project and its accompanying exhibition, where artists including Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Leckey will show work influenced by New Order and Joy Division, also marks a deep engagement with Manchester’s musical heritage, which has always been something of a backdrop to MIF but perhaps not so thoroughly assessed. “I just felt this was the time to really put it at the heart, because it’s of massive international interest, that story, that body of work,” McGrath says. The fact that it is to be interrogated and reimagined is key, offering the opportunity to say, “Here’s Manchester at this moment that feels full of transformation, and here’s this creative force that still exists – how should we look at it in new ways?” It is very deliberate that, on the opening night of the festival, the baton is passed: following the world premiere of New Order + Liam Gillick: So it goes.., Manchester grime crew Levelz will be the first artists to play Dark Matter, a series of live events curated by Mary Anne Hobbs. That legacy, of course, finds its future in the name of MIF’s new purpose-built venue, The Factory, which will open in 2020 and enable the Festival to present “work of scale and substance” all year round. Two ‘Factory Trailblazers’ in this year’s programme offer a sense of the vision for this new £110m space: Ostermeier’s Returning to Reims, and Available Light, a new production of a 1983 collaboration between choreographer Lucinda Childs, architect Frank Gehry and composer John Adams, “these great giants, really, of the second half of the 20th century.” “Those would be the kinds of figures that we’d want to invite to show work, even if it was existing work,” enthuses McGrath. “I felt that those two pieces would be a good example of what a weekend in the Factory might look like.” We would say roll on 2020 – but there’s that small matter of MIF17 in the diary first. Have you been learning your lines...? Manchester International Festival 2017, 29 Jun - 16 Jul mif.co.uk

THE SKINNY

Photo: Donald Christie

Festival Square

Credit: Richard Tymon

The world’s first festival of exclusively new commissions, Manchester International Festival returns for 2017 under the leadership of new artistic director John McGrath. He tells us about a programme of enormous ambition, with firm local roots

Speed of Light The theme for this year’s LightNight festival is ‘Time’. We ask some of the commissioned artists about time capsules and alternate dimensions

The Super Sonic Assembly Community choir facilitator Tracey Carmen is working with DJ Greg Wilson to host a huge vocal jam celebrating “the basic human joys of singing and dancing... bringing people together within the spirit of connectivity and communion.”

iverpool’s annual late-night culture crawl, LightNight this year invites artists to respond to the idea of ‘Time’ in unlimited ways – covering everything from the city’s past, present and future to the influence of time on art, science and philosophy. Alongside the hundreds of free events across town, with galleries, museums and art spaces throwing open their doors until late, LightNight also makes a number of commissions each year – and the eight new works for 2017 range from a light installation accompanied by music from Arvo Pärt to an audiovisual piece that the audience can control through data from their brainwaves and heartbeats.

The Skinny: Would you travel backwards or forwards in time? Greg Wilson: The passage of time has always been an area of intrigue for us and Alan Moore has recently put forward some interesting ideas in his Jerusalem novel. He views the passage of time as an illusion, arguing that all time exists simultaneously. He compares it to a film reel, which exists all at once but as it’s passed over the light source (our consciousness) it gives the false perception of passing by. In this philosophy, the concept of reincarnation wouldn’t be a linear thing but instead a complete replay of your life from start to finish – so you'd better make it a good one! [Liverpool Cathedral, 6.45-8.30pm choirs, 8.45-11pm Greg Wilson DJ set]

“ Time is such a vast idea, something we just live inside”

Jonathan Raisin Musician/composer Jonathan Raisin’s sound installation ‘Where the Time Goes...’ invites you to reflect on the history of a calm and meditative space hidden amidst the bustle of the festival.

Learn more about the work from the artists opposite, and read the full interviews online at theskinny.co.uk/art. LightNight Liverpool, 19 May lightnightliverpool.co.uk

Work by Paperwork Theatre, one of this year's commissioned artists

Photo: AB Photography

Jonathan Raisin

The Skinny: How does your work for LightNight respond to the festival’s theme, ‘Time’? Jonathan Raisin: Time is such a vast idea, something we just live inside, and I was drawn to ideas of memory and ‘timelessness’, of places that contain memory and seem to resist the change around them. For LightNight I’m working in the LJMU John Foster garden. It’s the old garden of the Notre Dame convent and seems to be one of those places that people have either never visited, or know and love. It is a haven of timelessness and quiet, and the piece I’m making will hopefully add a few reflective layers to this. [LJMU John Foster Gardens, 5-11pm] Friend or Foe Artists Friend or Foe stage one-off performances that incorporate music, visuals and software. For LightNight 2017 they’re making an audiovisual environment, ‘Bloom’, which creates a fluctuating sense of space and time. The Skinny: How does your work respond to the festival’s theme? Friend or Foe: The catacombs at St George’s Hall are part of the world’s oldest air-conditioning system. The way the system works is very different from when it was first developed but the function of the space is still the same. Spending time in the space made us feel like we were in the breathing lungs of the building, almost like a giant living organism. Our ideas for this project consider our own individual perception of time, based on a lifetime of shifting, changing and reinventing. Nothing is permanent. In seemingly repetitive actions such as walking to work, washing the dishes or even taking a breath, nothing is ever really the same twice. We will be staging our performance four times through LightNight. As the evening progresses, elements of each performance will transform, distort and decay, to evolve into something new. No performance will sound or look the same twice. What one item would you put in a time capsule? Lock Trump in a time capsule. [St. George’s Hall, 5.30-9pm]

Andy Mckeown - Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral

May/June 2017

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Photo: Walker Photography

Andy McKeown For LightNight 2017, new-media artist Andy McKeown is making a suspended light installation which will recreate Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral’s ‘crown’, marking 50 years since its consecration. The Skinny: Tell us a little bit about your practice, and how your project for LightNight relates to it? Andy McKeown: I have a passion for kaleidoscopes, stained glass, cathedrals, machine noise, industrial and avant-garde music and am currently working on a series of programmed animations and immersive, generative sound and light installations. The installation for the Metropolitan Cathedral, rotation eighteen269 (18,269 days from the Cathedral’s consecration on May 14 1967 to LightNight May 19 2017), is a multi-layered projection enveloping the Cathedral’s central Sanctuary, with light revolving on 50 to 60 shards and splinters of white fabric hung from the sanctuary canopy to create an abstract of the lantern tower glass. The Cathedral choir will be visible through this new lantern space. Music for the installation is a mix of Thomas Tallis, Arvo Pärt and a multi-layered voice piece, reiteration. [Metropolitan Cathedral, 6.30-9.30pm (performances at 7pm, 7.45pm & 8.30pm)]

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It Takes Two A year on from their debut single, stir-causing duo Her’s tell us about their origins, their love of Pierce Brosnan and the advantages of drum machines

he humble apostrophe has a mixed legacy when it comes to pop music. For every Aphrodite’s Child or Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci there’s a Hear’Say or Dumpy’s Rusty Nuts. The less said about Ned’s Atomic Dustbin the better. Trying to address this balance somewhat are Liverpool-based duo Her’s, whose jangle-pop could become the soundtrack to your summer – if indeed we make it that far and are not swept away by a tsunami of political spin and statesponsored skullduggery. Not that Her’s would care, of course; their songs are the domain of beaches, romance and the heady abandon of youth. It’s dreampop for dreamers and the giggling twosome know it. “We found we had a similar philosophy in regards to music,” says Barrow-born Stephen Fitzpatrick. “There was a common ground when it came to particular bands. We’re almost like a product of the bands that we most agree on – we both like The Smiths and Ariel Pink, for example.” While the musical references are overt, less obvious is the importance of the pair’s geographical background and the influence it’s had on their sun-bleached sound – especially when you consider that Fitzpatrick comes from England’s wettest county and bandmate Audun Laading from Norway. “We both swapped coastal sleepiness for Liverpool,” chuckles Laading. “We have similar kinds of minds, possibly because of where we come from – it’s the waves, I think. We definitely recognised we were both from quite sheltered, closed-minded places and moving to Liverpool was a good shock for us – it was nice and rough

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around the edges and now we call it home.” With both arriving by the Mersey as students at Sir Paul McCartney’s Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, an instant bond was formed, as much about what they didn’t want to be as what they did. “We didn’t want to be session musicians,” says Fitzpatrick when we ask about LIPA’s erstwhile reputation for churning out muso bores, arguably dispelled by the recent emergence of Dan Croll, Pink Kink et al. “People like to pigeonhole bands from here but we had a good time and we met Paul McCartney so I’m not embarrassed. We don’t really feel like a product of LIPA – Her’s was something we were doing outside of uni and was our ‘freedom project’ in many ways. We could do what we really wanted to.”

“ Drum machines drink less than real drummers” Stephen Fitzpatrick

Having clocked close to a million streams between the two tracks on their debut single, Dorothy and What Once Was, success seems to have come as something of a surprise to the dynamic duo. “It happened gradually,” says Fitzpatrick. “It was slow and steady and we weren’t really taking

Interview: Jamie Bowman

it seriously. We had the same schedule for a year and began to hang out. Eighteen months later we were like, ‘Maybe we should play some guitar together,’ and that’s what we do most days now.” Key to the band’s sound is their humble drum machine, which has become such an important part of the group that it takes centre stage and

has the honour of being adorned with pictures of the pair’s favourite actor, Pierce Brosnan. (“Our band spirit animal. Our third member,” explains Fitzpatrick. “A friend of mine printed out loads of pictures of him and he handed me one on a night out. He’s been with us ever since.”) “I had a drum machine that my dad bought me when I was 10,” he continues. “I’d never properly used it before and we were jamming. It just seemed a magical thing to use. I thought, ‘there’s our niche’ – they drink less than real drummers too and cost less and it means we make more money. You don’t have to put them in bed with you in your Travelodge when you’re on tour. “I like to think of it as freedom in restriction – we can embrace the one beat going on in the song without overthinking it, so you’re bound to do simple stuff and when that happens it’s very poppy. We’ll never play to intense click-tracks – we’re just not cut out to be a prog band.” While the knicker-based graphics of their artwork suggests a band intent on raunch, a truer picture of their intentions is revealed on the likes of I’ll Try, which comes on like Mac DeMarco guesting with Aztec Camera – all lovelorn balladeering atop sprightly indie basslines, with shades of jangle-pop in the production. Her’s have now compiled a rollicking record of their infant career so far: Songs of Her’s will be released on 12 May, including all their recorded output to date plus six new songs to make for the most complete introduction to their slacker world yet. “Our manager said to call it ‘a collection of songs,’” says Laading. “It’s everything we’ve put out so far but it’s not a full stop. We’ll still play them live and they might end up on our first proper record!” “There’s a lot of humour, a lot of romance and I hope there’s a lot of ambiguity and melancholy too,” adds Fitzpatrick, as the band prepare to head out live with Happyness, following previous jaunts with Wild Nothing and Dutch Uncles. “It was always the aim from the start to play gigs – we knew it would be easy because we could just press play on the drum machine.” Songs of Her’s is released 12 May via Heist or Hit. Her’s play Gold Sounds festival, Brudenell Social Club, Leeds, 20 May

Her’s’ favourite pop duos Santo & Johnny Brooklyn-born brothers Santo and Johnny Farina are best known for their gold-selling 1959 instrumental Sleep Walk, written in collaboration with Ann Farina. They continued to record for a further decade, but never again matched the success of their first hit. Beach House Formed in Baltimore in 2004, the pairing of Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally specialise in a lusciously arranged take on dreampop, as best exemplified by their delightfully woozy LP Teen Dream. “Every record is a different world,” Legrand told us in 2010, and they’re all worth visiting. The Drums Jonathan Pierce and Jacob Graham first met at Bible camp as children, and the friendship that ensued bore rich fruits with their colla-

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boration as C86-inspired jangle-pop outfit The Drums: witness their 2010 self-titled debut for proof. Pierce remains the band’s sole constant member as of 2016. Tears For Fears Bath’s Tears For Fears scored some of the biggest hits of the 1980s with songs like Shout and Everybody Wants To Rule The World. With over 30 million album sales under their belts, the core duo of Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith continue to work together to this day. The Garden The brainchild of Californian twins Wyatt and Fletcher Shears, The Garden’s take on frazzled, electro-spattered garage rock has been blowing hearts and minds since 2011, with last year’s Another Word For Joy LP cementing their reputation. Catch 'em live, whatever you do.

THE SKINNY

May/June 2017

Castlefield Gallery T

his summer’s major exhibition at Castlefield Gallery marks an interesting new chapter for the space under the vision of recently appointed director Helen Wewiora. From 22 June, the gallery presents a new body of work by Manchesterbased painter Lindsey Bull, alongside an installation and performance by London-based collective Plastique Fantastique – artists who share an interest in characters outside of mainstream culture. A Liverpool Biennial associate artist based out of Rogue Studios, Bull works from source materials including witchcraft journals, fashion magazines and books on rituals and religion, and captures something of a mystical relationship between her figures and their environments. Often found among untended foliage, they seem coolly indifferent to being discovered while caught in a moment of contemplation or some undisclosed activity. Imagined as a group of human and inhuman avatars, Plastique Fantastique are interested in what they term ‘myth-science’ – producing alternative fictions to the ones that dominate reality. An evolving group, they’re led for this exhibition by Alex Marzeta and Vanessa Page in creating a new mixed-media piece that references the twins and doubles in Bull’s work, who are similar in appearance but, more importantly, share a potent mental connection. Plastique Fantastique will be drawing upon the idea of the twin as trickster, and the image of The Hanged Man from Tarot cards, to present a ritual or ‘séance’ on the opening night which will attempt to invoke the agency of ‘digital spirit’ – an algorithm, computer virus or whistleblower, a revolutionary traitor symptomatic of our time. Lindsey Bull and Plastique Fantastique, Castlefield Gallery, Manchester, 23 Jun-6 Aug (preview 22 Jun 6-8pm)

Lindsey Bull, Smoke

SHOWCASE

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Lindsey Bull, Evergreen

Lindsey Bull, Conductor

UPCOMING PROGRAMME HIGHLIGHTS 2017 AND A 123 (22 Sep-5 Nov, preview 21 Sep) Work by seven artists from across the UK, exploring the relationship between everyday objects, routines, repetition and spectacle. Just for Fun (8 Dec-4 Feb, preview 7 Dec) A group show of regional, national and international artists that will contribute to a reappraisal of folk art, demonstrating how folk and contemporary art interact. 2018-2019 ‘Radical Places, Radical Times’ The years 2018-2019 mark a number of significant anniversaries, which bring our contemporary situation into context with radical historical events that demanded greater freedoms and increased suffrage. These include the centenary in February 2018 of the Representation of the People Act 1918; the centenary of the establishment of the first Republic of Czechoslovakia and the 50th

May/June 2017

SHOWCASE

anniversary of the 1968 ‘Prague Spring’; and the centenary of the Peterloo Massacre. Castlefield Gallery aims to bring artists and audiences together to engage with today’s changing worldwide context through a series of exhibitions and events that reflect on what we might learn from the past as we go forward into uncertain times. Programme highlights include a Head to Head exhibition between artists Ruth Barker and Hannah Leighton-Boyce, opening on International Women’s Day; a collaboration with Manchesterbased Czech artist Pavel Büchler, who will select a group of artists from the Czech Republic to exhibit at Castlefield Gallery and a group of artists from the Northwest to exhibit at DOX, Prague; and The Ground Beneath Your Feet, a group exhibition of UK and international artists who deal with subjects such as immigration, refugees, borders, nationalism and sovereign identities. castlefieldgallery.co.uk

THE SKINNY

The Comedian Will See You Now Ahead of his appearance at Leeds Comedy Festival, doctor turned comedian Adam Kay talks about the government’s treatment of junior doctors and the upcoming publication of his medical diary

“I

quite enjoy the fact,” says Adam Kay, “that it makes people assume they’ll be getting the lowest common denominator smut. I wasn’t sure people would come to see a former doctor reading from his diaries and going into a polemic about the NHS.” The medical themes within Kay’s show are rather well concealed by its provocative title, Fingering A Minor on the Piano. Though he needn’t have worried anyone would stay away. It was undoubtedly one of the best shows at the 2016 Edinburgh Fringe, and deserving of all its acclaim. After its recent sell-out run at Soho Theatre, Kay now brings the show to Leeds Comedy Festival. And, with regard to polemics, it isn’t a show that feels political. Both the day-to-day realities of being a doctor, and the wider social context, are woven through the hour with subtlety. It’s a fun show too, with lots of Kay’s medically adapted lyrics from popular songs, and diary entries which often record his more memorable encounters with patients. Described in vivid and visceral detail, certain stories sear into the memory. After hearing one tale, men may never remove a pair of gloves from their hands again, not without a swoop of unease in more private peripheries. But, little by little, Kay reveals the side of life as a doctor we don’t see, or expect. “People don’t think of doctors as being normal people, with friends, relationships and with a house that they go to.”

Medical series aren’t renowned for their truthfulness, though – would he find that difficult? “Artistic licence is always taken. If I was a dectective watching Line of Duty I dare say I’d be screaming at the telly. If you watch any sitcom you can quite easily say, well that wouldn’t happen in real life. But you suspend disbelief. And, actually, sometimes you go to work and it’s even more ridiculous... “In fact there was a scene in House MD – which I greatly enjoyed – where a woman had asthma. House asked her to demonstrate her inhaler technique. She sprayed it on her neck like it was Chanel. “Now, that seems ridiculous. But, I had a patient who had an inhaler for a dog-hair allergy. She sprayed the inhaler on the dog. And then another patient – and this was before you could buy the morning after pill over the counter – told me she’d slept with three guys the night before. She then asked if one pill would be enough.” This Is Going to Hurt Also on the back of Fingering A Minor on the Piano, Picador are publishing Kay’s diaries. This Is Going to Hurt is set for release in September. “I wasn’t expecting [a publishing offer] at all,” he admits. “It hadn’t occurred to me, but as soon as it was suggested, it did make sense. And once

again, it can spread the story to a bigger audience than I could hope to achieve by standing up on a stage saying it to a couple of hundred people a pop. With 80,000 words for my day-to-day witterings as a doctor, I can hopefully get an idea of what it’s really like across.

“ People don’t think of doctors as being normal people, with friends, relationships and with a house that they go to” Adam Kay

“I think it’s a great genre,” he says of popular medical literature. “For a lot of doctors it’d be a bit of a busman’s holiday. But my favourite is Atul Gawande, who is an American surgeon and now a very popular writer. He writes beautifully and accessibly about what it’s like to be a doctor. And

Interview: Ben Venables at the end of last year I read When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi. “This makes my book sound very worthy,” he says, pausing for a moment to remember these books are not comedic. “I hope my writing style is funny, and I present it in a vaguely readable way.” While confidentiality is carefully ensured, does Kay ever feel uncomfortable telling stories about patients, just on the level that the original consultation wasn’t a set-up for a comedy anecdote? “Do I feel I’m using people for routines? Yes, there’s no getting away from the fact that if I recount a story, even though it is all anonymised, I am using it for my gain to get a laugh and to sell tickets. “But, for every one thing where a patient says something stupid there’s maybe five where I have done so. I was very conscious of [that when] putting the show together, and particularly the book. It isn’t just an episode of ‘Patients Say the Funniest Things’. Every story is there for a reason, which paints a picture of a life in medicine. I hope that does a bigger thing, or a good thing for the medical profession.” Adam Kay: Fingering A Minor on the Piano is at Leeds Comedy Festival, The Wardrobe, 3 Jun, 6pm This Is Going to Hurt will be published by Picador on 7 Sep leedscomedyfestival.co.uk

Solidarity with junior doctors Kay’s grounded experience helps us to appreciate what was at stake in the junior doctors’ dispute last year. “The strike was because the government were imposing a new contract on junior doctors,” he says. “It was making working conditions significantly worse. But, the way the government sold it, it was all about money.” He adds: “As if doctors were being greedy – and that’s the thing that stuck in my craw. “It became obvious that politicians have a loud voice and doctors have a quiet one. Plan A with my show was just to amplify the doctors’ voice a bit. “You don’t go into medicine because you’re greedy. People going into medicine have good A-Levels, and a choice of any number of careers. Some that pay a lot more money. It sounds corny, but doctors go into medicine because they want to help people. “When you go to work for 14 hours, and you come home exhausted, covered in blood, and your mind can’t switch off, at least you know you have made a difference.” A rewarding outcome for the show is the feedback Kay has received from those still working in the field. “I didn’t notice any difference in how doctors react to comedy,” he says. “But, they would come up to me and say, ‘I wish more people knew what doctors go through.’ It was one of my favourite things about the Fringe. Colleagues who are still in medicine told me I was performing a useful function.” When truth is stranger than fiction Kay is a prolific script editor and writer for TV. His prison-set sitcom Crims, co-written with Dan Swimer, premiered on BBC Three in 2015. Has he never wanted to write a medical comedy or drama for the small screen? “When I made my transition from doctor to a writer, I deliberately didn’t talk about medicine,” he says. “But the reaction I’ve had now has been amazing. The majority of my adult life has been in medical school or working as a doctor. I guess good comedy comes from the heart and it was truthful to me and my life.”

May/June 2017

COMEDY

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The Mighty Barratt Beloved curmudgeonly comic Julian Barratt makes a jump to the big screen with the endearingly silly Mindhorn, in which he plays a washed-up actor caught up in a murder plot. He talks about the pomposity of actors and a possible return of The Mighty Boosh

ovie actors are a funny old lot. Essentially they’re big kids who’ve been paid handsomely to raid the dressing up box, but to hear them talk you’d think they were curing cancer. Comedian, musician, writer and actor Julian Barratt finds his fellow thespians’ self-importance endlessly hilarious. “It’s so hard to not sound like an arse when you talk about acting,” he says down the phone from London. “So it’s a very rich territory for comedy.” You can see this self-seriousness at work on shows like Inside the Actors Studio and those round table discussions The Hollywood Reporter do around the time of the Oscars. “Oh, those round tables are just great,” Barratt chuckles. “They’re full of people trying to make out they don’t care about acting and it’s just a job. ‘We’re just like plumbers, but working with different materials; the plumber works with pipes, I work with human emotions.’ Or when you talk about how privileged you are to work with whoever – even that comes across as annoying.” Barratt channels some of this pomposity into Richard Thorncroft, the protagonist of Mindhorn, his inspired new comedy, which he co-wrote with Simon Farnaby. At the start of the film we discover Thorncroft enjoyed some low-level fame in the 80s as the title star of Mindhorn, a cheesy detective show in which the titular sleuth uses his bionic eye to literally see the truth; his ocular gift helped him interrogate bad guys, but it also came in handy while seducing women. We see snippets of the show – which comes across like a mashup of Bergerac and The Six Million Dollar Man – throughout this feature-length comedy, but the majority of the action takes place in the modern day, where Thorncroft has become a grotesque has-been; overweight and toupeed, he reaches a career nadir when he loses his latest gig, a TV ad for orthopaedic socks, to John Nettles (of Bergerac fame). Thorncroft is a joke, but Barratt can certainly empathise. “He is very much a version of me after a couple of bad decisions,” laughs Barratt. He reckons all actors are a few poor choices away

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from Thorncroft’s predicament. “I don’t think it takes much: make the wrong career move here and there, and a couple of bad relationships, and suddenly you’re on your own and you’re grasping at straws.” Barratt is being modest, surely. The 48-yearold has been a key player in some of the 21st century’s most feverishly adored British comedies. With Noel Fielding he created the wildly surreal The Mighty Boosh, in which he played “jazz maverick” Howard Moon, a character even more pompous than Richard Thorncroft. Then there’s Dan Ashcroft, the self-loathing journalist who finds himself inside a maelstrom of idiocy in East London’s hipster scene as depicted in Chris Morris and Charlie Brooker’s prescient sitcom Nathan Barley. He also had a recurring role in spoof supernatural medical drama Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace. And that’s not to mention Will Sharpe’s brilliant Channel 4 show Flowers, from last year, in which Barratt gave his darkest – and finest – performance yet as a suicidal children’s book author. Despite this success, Barratt insists a Richard Thorncroft-style fall from grace is a real worry. “Sure, I’ve made shows that have connected and that I’m very proud of, but you’re always trying to think of the next thing you’re going to do. You have to keep asking, ‘Do I still have it in me to do another thing that people want?’ I have friends who never got into show business at all, and they have proper jobs – they do their job and they’re not constantly thinking, ‘What can I do next?’ ‘How can I make it valid?’ ‘Is this going to work?’ ‘Are people going to be interested?’ They just do a job and then at the end of the week they turn off and go out. I sometimes envy them that sort of life.” We’re glad he’s stuck with comedy, as Mindhorn contains some of Barratt’s most gut-bustingly funny material. With his career in the toilet, Richard Thorncroft is given a reprieve. When a deranged serial killer on the Isle of Man tells the police he’ll negotiate, but only with Mindhorn, whom he believes to be a real detective, Thorncroft is given a cushy gig resurrecting his old character

to try and solve the murders. Files the film with ¡Three Amigos!, Galaxy Quest and Tropic Thunder, the other great comedies about actors being mistaken for their characters and pulled into real-life peril. The initial idea came from Barratt’s friend and co-star Simon Farnaby. “Really nerdy fans of The Mighty Boosh will know that Mindhorn is the name of a half-man, half-fish creature that appears in one of the Boosh’s songs,” Farnaby explains when we meet him in Glasgow ahead of the film’s Scottish premiere at Glasgow Film Festival. “He’s very obscure, he appears in one of the songs from the radio show, I think. Julian had given me the CD and I heard the name Mindhorn and I just wrote it down because it sounded like an 80s detective show, you know, these one word shows like Wycliffe or Spender.”

“ It’s so hard to not sound like an arse when you talk about acting” Julian Barratt

The pair clearly love this very particular genre; you have to love something to satirise it as well as Barratt and Farnaby do in Mindhorn. But the film isn’t simply a nostalgic piss-take in the mould of, say, MacGruber, Will Forte’s hilariously crude parody of MacGyver, the action-adventure American equivalent of the shows Mindhorn send up. Barratt came up with the twist that the films should be about the actor who used to be in Mindhorn, and Richard Thorncroft was born. This was over a decade ago. “Originally Julian thought he was too young to play Thorncroft,” says Farnaby. “Whoever played the character had to

FILM

Interview: Jamie Dunn

be old enough to be believable as an aging hasbeen. We thought: let’s get someone like Ben Kingsley to do it!” But so slow was the writing process that Barratt soon found he was approaching the perfect vintage to take on the role. “He likes to tell people he put on weight for the part,” chuckles Farnaby, “but he didn’t, he just carried on doing what he normally does.” Barratt is far more complimentary about his writing partner: “Simon is great because he’s very pragmatic. He’s great at just getting to the end of things. I’ll get really caught up with the problems and the details, agonise over them a lot, so we were a good team.” How does he feel about writing on his own? “I can’t stand it to be honest. I’ll do it. I mean, I like to write with someone and then go off and write a bit on my own and bring it back. But writing on your own is lonely, it’s bloody awful.” Talking of writing partnerships, Barratt is still best known for his wildly inventive stage show and BBC sitcom The Mighty Boosh, which he co-wrote and co-starred in with Noel Fielding. It was a classic chalk and cheese double act: Fielding’s Vince Noir was a glam rock dadaist with a childlike spirit of adventure while Barratt’s Howard Moon was a curmudgeonly jazz-enthusiast and the butt of almost every joke. Rumours of a revival, or even a feature-length project, have been floating around since the pair’s last official Boosh performance in 2009. Barratt sounds open to the idea. “I don’t want to start any rumours, but we never finished with the Boosh,” he says. “We parked it essentially. So it’s like a crazy old car that we drove around in, and it’s still there. We could get it out, we could look at it, try and get the engine going again, give it a new coat of paint. Sometimes you think it’s best just to leave something where it was and not try and recreate that magic, but who knows?” He gives a long pause and chuckles. “We’ll probably run out of money at some point and you’ll see us doing it.” Mindhorn is released 5 May by StudioCanal

THE SKINNY

Feature

Wordless Wonder Michaël Dudok de Wit’s extraordinary new film The Red Turtle marks the first collaboration between Japan’s Studio Ghibli and a Western filmmaker. The Dutch animator recalls working with the legendary anime house and the moment he realised his film should be wordless

ver a decade has passed since Michaël Dudok de Wit received a letter that changed the course of his life. It was an invitation from Studio Ghibli, the venerable Japanese animation studio, to make a film with them. It was a bolt from the blue for the Dutch animator, who had won an Oscar in 2001 for his short Father and Daughter but had no experience in feature filmmaking. “I had a very vague ambition but it looked like it was a mountain, not so much physically making the film but convincing producers that the film is worth investing in and convincing them that all my ideas are the best ideas,” he says when recalling that extraordinary summons. “What I’m saying is that I hear of colleagues who go to the States with proposals for a feature, and even if the feature is accepted it’s taken over by the producers. I say this without judgement. It may be a good decision or a bad decision, but that is not my idea. I’m very much into directors’ movies. So when Studio Ghibli wrote to me, I knew from their work that they would respect the artistic choices of the director.” The Red Turtle is certainly a film that would never have survived the process of approvals and test screenings involved in a typical studio production. It’s easy to imagine nervous financiers and producers asking Dudok de Wit to add a backstory for the main character, beef up the plot with a little more action, or allow us some insight into the protagonist’s thoughts with narration. Instead, The Red Turtle resists all conventional storytelling choices as it tells the tale of a castaway, washed up on a desert island, whose every attempt to return to civilisation is stymied by the mysterious creature of the title. It’s a gentle, patient piece of storytelling that has the timeless quality of a fable, and much of its strange power comes from the complete lack of dialogue, although this wasn’t always Dudok de Wit’s plan for the film. “There was some dialogue in the script, actually,” he tells us. “I really believed the film needed

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some sentences for two reasons: there are some moments when it clarifies things about people’s motivations, and the other thing is that I felt it would add an extra level of empathy to the characters.” Dudok de Wit’s earlier shorts are all sans dialogue, and his attempt to express himself in words here proved to be a major stumbling block. “In the script it worked and intellectually it worked, but it didn’t feel right. Even though there were very few words in total, thirty or forty, I imagined that it would be a question of finding the right words, almost like the right words for a poem.” Ultimately, it was the director’s Japanese producers who encouraged him to drop the dialogue completely, a decision that proved to be liberating. “Something switched in me and I realised I was wrong, we don’t need the dialogue, and then I was really excited because it’s a challenge, especially when some members of the audience see a non-dialogue film as too arty and it’s a challenge to communicate these basic things very clearly. The sensitive scenes received much more time from the animators, we spent a lot of time getting the body language right. Since we made the decision to drop the dialogue I never looked back. I’m really pleased we did that.” Although Dudok de Wit was determined to make a ‘director’s film’, it’s hard to ignore advice when it is coming from some of the greatest names in the history of animation. It was Isao Takahata, the director of Grave of the Fireflies and The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, who first instigated contact with him having seen and loved Father and Daughter. (In fact, he loves it so much he now regularly teaches the film in his university courses.) Takahata has remained a close collaborator throughout this process, being credited as an artistic producer on The Red Turtle, so did Dudok de Wit gain any insight into his working practices? “He was very generous when talking about the different cultural things he has observed and

admired, so we talked a lot about these things that interest him, but I have no insight into how you can become such a big director when you don’t draw at all,” he says. “You need the mind of an animator to direct an animated film, and he has that, I saw that very clearly in our conversations. I think it grew in him, and [Hayao] Miyazaki is interestingly totally the opposite, he can’t stop drawing and his drawings ooze charisma, and they are translated in his films. Takahata has the freedom to change styles completely because he doesn’t create the style, he just finds the right collaborator to get a new style for his film.”

“ I just love the slightly imperfect quality of handdrawn animation” Michaël Dudok de Wit

Dudok de Wit’s own style has evolved over the years through his short films and The Red Turtle, but he remains committed to traditional hand-drawn animation as his medium of choice. “I stay with hand-drawn because that is my joy, that is what I enjoy doing,” he says. “I admire computer-animated films a lot, especially ones that break new ground – I respect them a lot and there is a lot of talent in that. But I just love the slightly imperfect quality of hand-drawn animation. You can see the weaknesses of the artist, and in a way they are not called weaknesses any more, they are the charming qualities.” The Red Turtle utilises some computer imagery – the turtle would have been impossible to animate

FILM

Interview: Philip Concannon

otherwise, he explains – but in general it harkens back to a bygone age of animation and feels out of step with modern practices. In fact, one wonders what the future holds for traditional animation techniques when Studio Ghibli’s status remains uncertain and the Hollywood studios have almost completely given up on 2D animation, throwing in their lot with polished computer-generated fare. “We’ve seen the CG films, they work, we enjoy them, they make a massive profit, but it’s not the only way of making animated films. There is a thirst for other things, such as Aardman films or Studio Ghibli films,” he says before citing a recent visit to the Cartoon Movie convention in Bordeaux, where new projects were being pitched, as a reason to be hopeful. “A lot of them won’t be made but I looked at most of the projects being pitched, mostly European, and there were a lot of handdrawn films, and a lot of adult animated films with very serious subjects about refugees, war, etc. That’s a new trend that I find very interesting. I think there is a thirst for new directions in animation.” It remains to be seen where Michaël Dudok de Wit’s career will go next. He’s finally reaching the end of the road with The Red Turtle, after ten years in production and a full year of promotion, but can he imagine another feature-length commitment or will he return to short filmmaking? “I really wish I knew the answer, because I like both,” he says. “I know this is coming to an end and I need to sit down and think about another project, and a short film is something incredible because it is so individualistic and they can have so much character. I’m not sure what my next step will be but making a feature has given me a flavour. I’ve grown a lot, not just as an artist but as a collaborator, someone who has to delegate and work with other people. I learned a lot from that and I would enjoy that experience again.” The Red Turtle is released 26 May by StudioCanal

THE SKINNY

Return to Form Why the palpable reality of stop motion animations like My Life as a Courgette is essential in our age of fakery

ince George Méliès first launched his band of intrepid adventurers into a winking moon, cinema has been a way to explore the great frontiers of form. Welles worked in light and shadow, Kubrick’s medium was perspective. Yesterday’s auteurs are remembered, not for the stories they told, but for the ways in which they evolved the form to tell them truly. Today, the advancement of CGI means limitless freedom of texture, hue and scale. Filmmakers are no longer hampered by the material. Colossal planets are conjured at the wave of a cursor, oceans swell into biblical torrents, and tornadoes… are stuffed with sharks.

It’s beautiful, because we know a deft pair of hands made it so. Someone battled with the medium, skillfully refining and practising the folds before imbuing the paper with life as Kubo does, one animator to another; a small meta-miracle. Or Charlie Kaufman’s Anomalisa (2015), which proves that raw materials can produce raw pathos. The story follows a lonely customer service expert facing an existentially derelict world that’s lost its light for him. Puppets, so malleable, so dependent on another’s determination to be brought to life are the ideal vessels for such a bruising, adult tale.

For children, the world of stop motion is an important place to explore too – sometimes more relevant than the sterile domain of minions and talking cars, a place to discover new and challenging themes. My Life as a Courgette delves into real-world issues: broken families, adults that are less than perfect, and death. It’s also a place to surrender disbelief; an extension of the world of fingerpaints, Playdough and glue. To enjoy Fantastic Mr Fox (2009) is to buyincompletelytoourtitlecharacter’sbristlingwhiskers, natty tie and perfectly hemmed corduroys,

Words: Kirsty Leckie-Palmer

to feel as if he could step out the frame and into the palm of your hand. Which is why, in this world of manipulated reality, we should be grateful for something real to hold on to. Stop motion is a pure relationship between form and content; one cannot progress without the other. As a medium, it can never hold up a mirror image of the world, yet it feels anything but artificial. It’s a place to innovate form, process ideas and tell stories more truly. And that’s exactly what we need right now. My Life as a Courgette is released by Thunderbird on 5 May

“ In this world of manipulated reality, we should be grateful for something real to hold on to” Yet the more we’re bombarded with new worlds and fantastical creatures, the closer we cling to the organic; the small; the imperfect. We retreat towards the ordered, colour-block symmetry of Wes Anderson, the simple aesthetic of films like Tangerine, the raw materials that feel like they can be traced by a fingertip, breathed in, tasted. After all, you can’t leave a fingerprint on a pixel. Take Kubo and the Two Strings (2016). This Kurosawa-inspired, stop-motion epic depicts a young boy who can bring paper to life by playing a magical shamisen, painting vivid stories in the air to a captive audience. Kubo harnesses the artistry of puppetry, origami, sculpture and epic fable. It took five painstaking years to be made. Paper swarms into the air, folding and refolding into birds, warriors, dragons, horses.

My Life as a Courgette

Anomalisa

Fantastic Mr Fox

May/June 2017

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Kubo and the Two Strings

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THE SKINNY

Challenging Convention Prolific French auteur François Ozon is back with post-WWI period drama Frantz. He discusses the thrill of shooting in black-and-white and why he rarely repeats himself

he one consistent factor in François Ozon’s career has been his capacity to surprise. Frantz is the prolific director’s 16th feature in less than two decades, and while his genre-hopping oeuvre looks incredibly eclectic on the surface, encompassing an extraordinary range of styles and tones, there’s a common authorial voice and thematic thread uniting these films that ensures they all feel distinctively his. Ozon’s explorations of relationships have been alternately playful, romantic and haunted by the spectre of death, and he is capable of delivering a satisfying narrative while subverting genre expectations and commenting on the act of storytelling itself. In this light, Frantz feels like a natural fit for the director, even as it marks the biggest stylistic departure of his career to date. Set in Germany in the aftermath of the Great War, Frantz is the story of Anna (Paula Beer), a young woman who discovers the mysterious Adrien (Pierre Niney) laying flowers at the grave of Frantz, her late fiancé. She takes him into the family home when she learns of his deep friendship with Frantz, and the romance that blossoms between them is perhaps predictable but, typically for Ozon, the path that the narrative follows is not. “The challenge for me was to tell a story with a twist in the middle of the film,” Ozon explains when we catch up with him during the London Film Festival. “That was quite dangerous but exciting for me, because it’s unusual. The twist is usually at the end of the film. In the case of this story, I wanted the film to be in a mirror structure, between the two countries and the two languages, and yes it was a real challenge.”

Frantz is an adaptation of Maurice Rostand’s 1930 play L’Homme que j’ai tué but the director also credits Broken Lullaby, the 1931 screen version directed by Ernst Lubitsch. “A friend of mine told me about this play written in the 20s about the First World War, and I really enjoyed it. I loved the story about this French guy who goes to Germany to put some roses on the grave of a German soldier,” he says. “I began to work on it but I realised Lubitsch made an adaptation, so I was very disappointed and depressed. I watched Lubitsch’s film, and I really enjoyed the film, but I realised that this film was in the perspective of the French guy and my idea was to tell the story from the perspective of the German girl. So I realised my film would be quite different.” Ozon eventually appropriated a powerful scene invented by Lubitsch for his film, when Frantz’s grieving father chastises a group of crowing Germans and reminds them that the French’s pain over losing their sons is just as deep as their own. Beyond the central love story, Frantz is a film about prejudice and people learning to overcome their deep-rooted nationalism to see the humanity of others, and as a result it reflects very contemporary concerns. Did Ozon realise he was writing a piece that would chime with 21st-century Europe in such a striking way? “It was not my first idea, but as I worked on the historical context I realised that there are a lot of things that resonate with today so I developed that, especially when she goes to France and we realise that nationalists exist in France too,” he explains. “I wrote the script just after the terrorist attack in Charlie [Hebdo], and I had all that in mind. You know the

scene in the café when there is La Marseillaise? I wanted to give the opportunity to the French to hear this song in another way, with the violence of the lyrics and the context of the war, from the point of view of the German girl.”

“ I know that my film will maybe be seen on a telephone very soon, but it doesn’t stop us from trying to make the most beautiful film” François Ozon

Inevitably, any film that features the singing of La Marseillaise in a café instantly recalls Casablanca – in Ozon’s words, “It awakens your cinephile memories” – and Frantz is very much a film rooted in cinema history. Ozon, who so often fills the frame with colour, made the abrupt decision to shoot in black-and-white just before

Interview: Philip Concannon

production began, and the gamble paid off, with Pascal Marti’s 35mm cinematography giving Frantz the look of a classic from a bygone age. “It was very surprising for me because when I’m shooting I’m watching my actors in colour, and when I go to the monitor to see them it was in black-and-white, and I think, ‘Oh my god! It is a film of Max Ophüls, or Dreyer, or Bergman!’” he says with evident delight. “Watching Paula in black-and-white, it was like I had Gene Tierney in my film, and the father has a very beautiful, strong face and he looked like Max von Sydow in Bergman movies. It was perfect.” Nevertheless, Ozon couldn’t entirely let go of his complete visual palette, and at key points in Frantz the monochrome image is augmented with beautiful hints of colour. “It was difficult for me to forget colour because I love colour, and usually I use it as part of the mise-en-scène,” he says. “I decided to shoot in black-and-white to involve the audience more in the story, but I couldn’t get my head around the idea of not filming in colour. When we saw the location it was so beautiful I thought it was a pity not to show it in colour, so I decided to put in some colours in moments, like the blood coming back into the veins of the characters.” The result is a film that deserves to be seen on the big screen, although one wonders how many will have the opportunity in this age of limited release windows and streaming platforms. “I’m sad but what can I do? I can’t fight against everybody, you know,” Ozon says when this issue is raised. “I know that my film will maybe be seen on a telephone very soon, so we don’t have the choice, but it doesn’t stop us from trying to make the most beautiful film and always thinking of the big screen. In France I think there is still cinephilia and people still go to cinemas, and maybe less in the UK.” In fact, Frantz has already done good business in France, although Ozon admits he hasn’t always enjoyed an amicable relationship with audiences and critics. “I think I was lucky from the start to be hated and loved at the same time,” he says. “From the start some people enjoyed my films and some people said I was terrible, so I have always had that, I have never had a consensus. I am used to that and in a certain way it’s better than indifference.” Doesn’t the criticism hurt? “Of course, it is difficult for me when everybody says your film is shit!” he says with a laugh. “I say, ‘Maybe in time, you know...’” Ozon is not somebody who tends to waste time reflecting on the past, however. As soon as he’s finished one project he’s ready to push off into new territory. “After a strong experience – because to shoot and make a film is something very powerful, and takes a lot of energy and work – I don’t want to repeat the same thing. So yes, of course I want to take another direction, but it’s not a conscious choice. I think it comes very naturally. After a drama you want to go to comedy, you know. It’s quite natural and I follow my unconscious.” At the time of our meeting, he was already looking ahead to the cameras rolling again, although he wouldn’t drop more than a few hints about what he had planned. “I begin a new shooting in two weeks and it will be a thriller, in French,” he tells me as we walk to the door. “See you next year!” (Postscript: That film turned out to be L’Amant Double, which competes for the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes. We can’t wait to see it.) Frantz is released 12 May by Curzon/Artificial Eye

May/June 2017

FILM

Feature

Cult of the Author Emma Cline’s debut novel The Girls, in which teenager Evie Boyd becomes drawn into a Manson-like cult, was published to much acclaim last year. As the paperback hits shelves, we asked Cline about the book’s origins and her future plans

t survived the hype. Or rather: the oh-so-predictable buzz quickly gained substance, morphing into a wave of critical acclaim and commercial success. Ultimately, Emma Cline’s readership was less interested in her alleged advance, or that she had managed to write a novel while still in her twenties, than by the possibilities presented by her tremendous debut. The Girls is, one hopes and suspects, a springboard for what is to come; though in and of itself, it is a compelling horror story for our times, a probing – and prescient – examination of how a man of little substance, wholly lacking in courage, can somehow fashion enough fascination around so little to lead others to carry out unthinking acts of violence. The girls of the story ultimately kill for Russell (this much is revealed within the novel’s first few pages). But how they rationalise their actions, how they construct the hazy allure that attracts young Evie Boyd to want to join their group: this is the dramatic backbone of Cline’s story. A complex character study that shed new light on the complexities of social acceptance and the draining trials of youth. When it was published in hardback in 2016, The Girls proved to be one of the year’s finest literary debuts. In anticipation of the paperback release this May, The Skinny caught up with Cline by email to talk about the book’s genesis and reception, and what might come next.

“ I wanted to write a character that resisted an easy reading” Emma Cline

The Skinny: From the start, The Girls operates from the springboard of a retrospective opening, one in which the victims know that the ‘sweet dailiness of their lives is gone.’ How important was it to create that thread of dread that runs the length of the book? As a reader, you feel almost complicit simply waiting for a return to the opening. Emma Cline: I liked the idea of introducing the crime very quickly, almost to redirect the attention of the reader towards the more emotional and psychological crimes that take place in the book. You know in the first few pages what happens, and even, generally, who commits the crime. That leaves the question of why it happened, and why Evie feels culpable – questions of psychology and intent, not criminal fact. What were your intentions regarding Evie: specifically how, as readers, we might view her? From the point of view of audience sympathy, and how those around her (the men in particular) treat her, are any of her actions to be criticised? There’s nothing fun about a blameless narrator. I wanted to write a character that resisted an easy reading – in many ways, Evie is what we’d think of as a ‘victim’ of the people around her, but as a writer, a character who is only at the mercy of others doesn’t keep my attention. I found it interesting to explore the ways in which Evie was drawn to violence and a certain kind of milieu, and how she

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Interview: Gary Kaill

felt partly responsible for her own manipulations. She seeks out certain types of people and situations, and I think that desire for heightened experience, heightened attention, often makes her feel like she’s called her own pain into being, or that she’s an active participant in it. Do you think that in some quarters, the novel has been reviewed against the distraction of the backdrop of your own story – and, therefore, unfairly? Ultimately, I think the book works as a character study, and to snipe at it (as some reviews have) for lacking, say, modish form is to perhaps miss the form the story actually requires? The narrative is relatively straightforward – the book’s complexities lie in the language, the relationships, its thematic intent. I think it’s tricky to write about a subject that’s somewhat sordid while trying to actually foreground emotion and character. Anyone expecting a traditional mystery or thriller novel would have been disappointed by the book, I’m sure. I knew what my project was in writing this book, what themes and modes I was circling around, so if a review doesn’t take the actual book I wrote into account, and instead reviews a book I could have written or should have written, it’s easy to separate myself from those things. Russell is a strange kind of demon. He’s not much of a man, not a particularly compelling figure. But like weak, exploitative men throughout the ages, he seems to know how to create a community of belief around him – to allow his ‘followers’ to project onto him. I liked the idea of draining the cliché of the charismatic cult leader of any real charisma – as an adult, looking back, Evie can see what a pathetic character Russell is, banal in his evil and manipulations. The reader can see it, too. But as a teenager, attuned to attention and narrative, the myths he spins are attractive and potent. Still, though, I wanted him to remain a peripheral character – the real draw of the group for Evie is Suzanne, not Russell. It’s easy to default to postulating on how a new novel might work onscreen. There are several desirable roles for female actors in the book but does Russell present a slight problem in that respect? You would have to ensure that a ‘large’ actor/performance didn’t turn him into a charismatic lead. Because he’s not that, is he? Exactly – as a character, he really pales alongside the women who form the heart of the book. I found that an interesting part of being interviewed about the novel, when questions focused on Russell, mistaking him for the main character. I think that’s a function of how these narratives are usually structured around men, and how we expect them to be at the center of the story. The novel is at its most gripping when it examines the complex negotiations of girlhood: the close-quarters social politics of female adolescence. As a male, my experience mirrors to some degree that of the guileless and dismissive youths in the book who lack the emotional intelligence and social skills to properly intrigue Evie and, perhaps, the reader? I liked, again, this idea of teenage girls, who in so many ways are seen as powerless or manipulated by others, who actually are deeply vivid and potent beings, attuned to myth-making in a way the teenage boys around them can’t be. Keeping the men and boys peripheral was also a way to talk about

female friendship, to focus on the murky ambiguities and power structures that underline those relationships, rather than a more traditional love story. Hopefully the male characters aren’t one-dimensional, but certainly they are kept purposefully in the background, and aren’t meant to draw the reader’s interest in the same way the women and girls do. We leave Evie as an adult. She exhibits an almost brutal, continuing self-assessment, and fear, also. Do you find yourself examining her as a continuing character, and what she might become? She strikes me as a victim still working hard on how not to be one. I think there is such a familiar story about victims and redemption – that trauma will improve you as a person, or teach you important lessons. I liked writing a character who doesn’t fit that narrative, and who, this many years later, still hasn’t “learned”

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anything. In many ways, Evie is stuck in this moment of adolescence. Her life hasn’t gotten better and better – it’s stalled. It’s discomfiting, to think we might not ever get over certain things, but to me, it felt more true to how life operates, which is often without moral, reason or corrective. What did writing The Girls teach you about yourself as a writer and how has that manifested itself in the creative process for your next novel? It was interesting to look at the book after I’d finished it – to see what themes and symbols recurred without me being consciously aware of writing them. There is something comforting about trusting that, by following your interests and attention, a book will naturally hit on themes and narratives that don’t require any formal effort. It’s nice to trust the subconscious, in that way. The Girls is published in paperback on 4 May by Vintage, RRP £7.99

THE SKINNY

May/June 2017

THE SKINNY

Black Magical Realism Things We Lost in the Fire could be the most dark and thrilling short story collection you ever encounter, blending the sociopolitical horrors of dictatorship and domestic violence with supernatural terror. Mariana Enriquez explains her literary cocktail

“T

he poor men.” Mariana Enriquez’ words drip with glorious sarcasm, and I imagine her slowly shaking her head down the line from Buenos Aires. But, it must be said, the men get it tight in her modern gothic short story collection, Things We Lost in the Fire. While chatting with the Argentine author, I’m naïve enough to bring this point up. “The poor men,” she deadpans back. “But they’re not evil, I think?” No, I concede, impotent rather than evil. “It’s been pointed out to me a lot,” she replies. “I remember having a conversation with a friend and saying, ‘But you never complain when men are portrayed as corrupt politicians, violent cops, serial killers. Why is that a representation you’re comfortable with? But a representation of a husband that doesn’t make his wife happy – something that happens all the time – you’re so uncomfortable with.’ And he says to me, ‘I think it’s because we don’t own the narrative. The voices of the women are so powerful that we’re left on the side, and that’s kind of disturbing. Why can’t we be the protagonists here?’” Meet Mariana Enriquez, Argentine journalist and author, whose short stories are of decapitated street kids (heads skinned to the bone), ritual sacrifice and ghoulish children sporting sharpened teeth. Of murdered teens who return from beneath dark polluted waters. The setting – in the troubled wake of the Argentine dictatorship – makes their underlying influence seem obvious, but sometimes the origins of horror can surprise you. “I mean, one of the places where I had the most fear in my life was a Backstreet Boys concert,” Enriquez says, with no hint of mockery. “I was reporting as a journalist, and I hated them. But I saw these 30,000 girls screaming all the time. It was something biblical. It was like, what’s the power that these girls are conjuring?” We’re discussing her talent for forming fantastical horror from the twisted scar tissue of Argentina’s recent past: police torture, political persecution, the disappeared and the Dirty War – the latter a period of state terrorism where right-wing death squads tortured and killed leftwing guerrillas, and often anybody sympathetic to their cause. These stories blend the real-life horrors of domestic and state violence, homelessness and economic uncertainty with the supernatural; ghosts, demons and witchcraft. They inhabit the same plane, stalk the same prey; both are offered equality in terror. But, of course, her inspirations occasionally arise from those more innocuous sources: “The girls, that kind of stayed with me. Not the only one… but that I can assure you; that was weird. They never stopped screaming. Never. It was like the Furies. And for those boys? [But] it wasn’t about the boys, it was about them, feeding off each other, their energy, and trying to release something. I just wrote a review of the concert, but on another level, I always have antenna for this weirdness.” No matter how weighty her themes, Enriquez readily references genre fiction and popular culture in her work; films such as Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s dread-soaked internet ghost story Pulse and the new flesh of Cronenberg’s Videodrome. This unpretentiousness translates well to our surprisingly laid-back conversation, considering the subject matter – black magic, torture and death – being discussed at this early hour. “A very good Sunday morning talk,” suggests Enriquez, and sounds like she means it. I had opened by complimenting this cocktail of politics and cult horror in her work. “OK, nice,” is her reply. “So we share interests then?” It’s refreshing to encounter somebody so political and ‘literary’ who, instead of turning from genre, adopts it to save her work falling into

May/June 2017

preaching or pamphleteering. Horror is the drop of blood that flowers in the clear water of her social commentary. Fear, as an emotion, the ultimate puppeteer. “I don’t have a problem about being called a horror writer,” she answers directly when I ask. “My favourite writers have written horror; Robert Aickman, Shirley Jackson, Stephen King… I don’t have a problem because I think I’m in good company.” Considering her writing’s overlap between Borges and King, Ocampo and Jackson, an accurate term might be ‘black magical realism’, and it’s possible this strange genre brew is a result of Enriquez’ historical vantage point; born just prior to the coup but too young to be complicit, or even fully aware. “I was born December ‘73, so was two years old when the dictatorship came, so I really don’t remember it rationally, I remember it emotionally… I can’t remember anything more than a climate of fear in my house. Then, when I was a bit older, 8 or 9, this was the time when the crimes of the dictatorship came [to public knowledge]. It was everywhere, it was on TV, it was in magazines. My parents let me read everything, and it really read like horror, especially if you were a child that didn’t know the distinction between fiction and reality so clearly. There were terms that you didn’t understand, like political prisoner, or detention camps.” In one story, The Intoxicated Years, a trio of adolescent girls go feral during the vacuum, post dictatorship, when hyperinflation was accelerating and the country’s infrastructure failing. These rudderless, narcotically charged delinquents cast dark shadows in the nation’s flickering light: ‘I walked slowly over to him and tried to imitate the look of hatred in the eyes of the girl in Parque Pereyra. The electricity made my hair stand on end; I felt like it had turned into wires…’ “There’s something about the friendships of girls when they’re teenagers that to me is totally scary, is totally witchery, is totally mysterious,” Enriquez says. “Even for me and I’ve been there.

But there’s something powerful and secretive about them. And when they are left to themselves, because there’s a crisis that is quite over their heads and nobody’s paying attention to them, god knows what they can do alone.”

“I don’t have a problem being called a horror writer… because I think I’m in good company” Mariana Enriquez

The collection’s most darkly thrilling story is Under the Black Water, a Lovecraftian tale of two boys tortured by the police and made to cross a polluted river. “For some reason that river to me always hid something very ancient, very evil,” suggests Enriquez, “a cosmic evil. The evil of that police officer wanting to make the boy try to swim in a polluted river when he knows that he’s going to die. What makes you do something like that? What got into you? From where?” The most disturbing element to this is its source material, like much of Enriquez’, drawn from news headlines. “Yeah, yeah. It was a crime that was pretty big. I distorted things of course, but mostly it was two boys, they lived around the slum near the river and they were caught by the police and tortured in the street – they simulated shooting them.” And then they were told to swim the river. This is a police force tainted by recent history, an aftershock of a violent past. “The police brutality, I think yeah, if you have to choose something as an

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Interview: Alan Bett Illustration: Xenia Latii

echo of that [dictatorship]. Because even if it’s a long time ago, even if they are trained as a democratic force, there’s still a sediment there of that brutality and impunity – the power that they used to have over the people that somehow is still there.” The collection’s translator, Megan McDowell, states so perfectly in an excellent afterword: ‘The horror comes not only from turning our gaze on desperate populations; it comes from realising the extent of our blindness.’ This feeds well into Enriquez’ reply to me when asked why she focusses on the darker side of her country. “I love the country, but I think that’s why I’m harsh with it… I’m harsh because I care about it and I want it to change.” I mention speaking with Argentine author César Aira just the week previous. He wouldn’t touch politics, or football. A fact that made him feel very un-Argentinian. “Yeah, I’m sure,” agrees Enriquez matter of factly, “because we’re all about politics and football.” The fact that Enriquez has no such qualms is in some ways thanks to Aira. “What he separated from Argentinian literature was the obligation to be solemn, to talk about politics… to put imagination aside because these things were too serious to be contaminated by genre, let it be horror, fantasy, humour, whatever… I can cross it (the socio-political situation) with genre and not be scared and think, ‘Ah, I’m going to talk about the disappeared in a horror story, this is totally disrespectful.’ And I think that’s an effect of César Aira’s literature.” Then, after some chit chat and pleasantries (a reference to Dawn of the Dead amongst them), she’s off to prepare for some sort of party later in the day, which it seems is being approached in the style of her writing: “It’s a BBQ basically, but brutal.” Things We Lost in the Fire is out now, published by Portobello Books, RRP £12.99

Feature

Literary Toys for Adults Argentine author César Aira is like nothing you’ve read before. As a light is shone on a small corner of his work – translations of The Proof and The Little Buddhist Monk – he discusses why each of his stories are highly distinct from one another

t’s a tough gig interviewing César Aira, Argentina’s most impishly playful avant-garde man of letters. Firstly, his writing consists of more than 80 works, yet only a small percentage have been translated into English. Then, when combining these backcatalogue black holes with the hugely diverse nature of this translated writing (each work wildly different to the last), it is simply impossible to tie him down as a writer. So, you seek a second opinion from those in the know, but his critics polarise into the disparaging (‘Slippery’ – The Nation; ‘too smart’ – New York Sun; ‘infuriating’ – New York Times; ‘a writer of perplexing episodes’ – NYRB) and the adulatory (‘[the] most original, shocking, subversive Spanish language author of our day’ – Ignacio Echevarría; ‘one of the three or four best writers working in Spanish today’ – Roberto Bolaño). Patti Smith simply proclaims ‘Hail César!’ In order to understand the work of Aira, think of the alchemy of Borges, take a left towards Calvino and stride past the surrealist thought of Duchamp. It’s a complex literary map, but Aira is a perplexing writer. He can twist narrative structure inside out and turn a story on a sixpence. Even the end of a sentence can seem to forget where it originated from. He moves easily across plots and timelines and tense.

A literary chameleon, Aira cuts his stories from cloth of varying size and style, meaning that of the over 80 works he has written, many are around the 20-30 page mark (yet are published individually rather than as collections). Many others fit weighty themes into compact 100-page novellas – like The Proof (a tale beginning with the word ‘wannafuck’, as two punk girls, Mao and Lenin, allow their proposal of love to blossom into ultraviolence) and The Little Buddhist Monk (a seemingly absurdist interpretation of the Western gaze onto Eastern exoticism – I think). Both are translated into English for the first time by Nick Caistor and form the beginning of our conversation when Aira speaks to us from Buenos Aires. The Skinny: The two books now being published in the UK (The Proof and The Little Buddhist Monk) are new to English language readers, but are actually pulled from the annals of your back catalogue. What are your memories of writing both books and how do you feel about them now? César Aira: In hindsight, I see all my books as a kind of experimental test. All are different due to dissatisfaction. After writing one, I am so discontent that I want to try something completely different, in theme, in tone, in form. I do not

remember the exact circumstances of these two books, but I suppose that after writing a well-mannered book, and feeling that this was not my best style, I wanted to do something brutal and transgressive like The Proof. After writing a novel of psychological seriousness, and feeling that I had failed regrettably, I wrote a cartoon-like book like The Little Buddhist Monk. And in turn, both The Proof and The Little Buddhist Monk also felt like failures that drove me to different things. I think if I ever felt satisfied with something I wrote, it would end this fun odyssey of genres and aesthetics that has been my literary life. When, for example, you begin The Proof with the word ‘wannafuck?’ do you have any idea where the story might take you? There’s always an idea, I need it to get started. In this case, the idea was to bring to the world of contemporary adolescents – in addition to that, punks – the romantic, chivalric theme of the test of love. But I need the idea to be naked, just an idea, a support, that allows me to improvise the development on the run.

“ In my stories I allow myself all freedoms” César Aira

Is it liberating then, to face the page without any restrictions? Freedom is perhaps the reason why I write. And in my stories I allow myself all freedoms. Sometimes, rarely, I write an essay, in which I must take care of what I say, be intelligent, coherent, and I do it so as to better appreciate the freedom that gives the narrative, when I do not need to take care of anything, nor be coherent or intelligent. I might compare it to someone who spends a day locked in a basement just to better appreciate the air and sun the next day. But it’s not only tone and style which feel unrestricted, many of your stories run to just over the 100-page mark and others 20 to 30; both are unconventional and uncommercial lengths for literature. Do they simply run their natural course? In my youth, I wrote novels of a conventional length, because I wanted to be published. When I had enough prestige to impose my will, or my whim, I narrowed myself to the limits that seemed to me most suitable for the poetic and imaginative density of what I write. There is something else, which may seem a bit ridiculous. All my friends and influences during my youth were poets, and published these slender elegant books, beside which the thick volume of novels seemed clumsy and primitive. I was not, nor am, a poet, but over time I managed to make my books slim and elegant also. And despite the separation of your writing (both physically, as individual publications, and in continually developing thematically), is there a bigger picture to be built from your body of work? A fresco, painted through grand design or chance? I’m the last one to be able to see the big picture, because I am making it brushstroke by brush-

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Interview: Alan Bett

stroke, and I intend to continue doing this while I live. I observe in me an intuitive opposition to any kind of totality or totalisation. When I feel that there begins to form a recognisable figure, I immediately do something to deform it. When I hear, say, that I have some influence on young writers, I wonder how it is possible, if my work seems (or it seems to me) made by ten different writers. The only influence I can exert is that of my insistence on freedom. The current publisher, & Other Stories, seem to be gladly pushing the negative reviews as much as the glowing praise. Do you enjoy being such a provocative and divisive writer? I think the best compliment is the existence of that division. Good literature does not form a consensus. If it satisfies the whole world it is because it has condescended to one or another mediocrity. There is often humour and absurdity in amongst very serious themes in your work. Is this deliberate technique or just a natural process? It’s natural. I think there is a constant veil of irony, so that the reader has to think twice if I am saying things seriously or jokingly. Philosophy, History, Journalism, are bound to be serious, Literature is not. Is there something specific to Argentine literature that defines or influences your work? For many in the UK, Borges is the name that rings out, but who else should we be aware of? Borges was how I discovered literature, I mean the literariness of literature, when I was a teenager. And his work is very present among my influences up until today. I once said (exaggerating, but not so much) that everything I have written is a footnote to Borges’ work. Borges set a very high water mark for Argentine literature. I think the only ones that were up to the challenge were Osvaldo Lamborghini and Alberto Laiseca, both untranslated, I’m afraid. Remaining on the theme of nation, you’ve lived and written over changing social and political periods in Argentina, some turbulent. Does this seep into your work? I guess it’s inevitable, but in my case at an unconscious level. I was more affected by reading Lautréamont than by a dictatorship. But I warn those who question me in advance, that I never speak of politics or football, which makes me less Argentine than I should be, because these are the two great passions of my country. English language speakers can, at the moment, only access a small percentage of your work in translation. As your writing is so diverse in theme and style, it can be hard then to pin you down. How would you describe your work more broadly? I have a provocative (but sincere) definition for my books: ‘Dadaist fairy tales’. I recently found a much better one: ‘Literary Toys for Adults’. And I think I can justify it. ‘Toys’, because the intention is always playful; ‘literary’, because they operate with the mechanisms of literature, not with those of reality (we all grew up loathing metaliterature, but the sad truth is that literature is metaliterature); and ‘for adults’ because I endeavour to be read by readers who have gone all the way, from Jules Verne or Salgari to Kafka. The Proof and The Little Buddhist Monk are both published by & Other Stories, out now, RRP £7.99. Both are translated by Nick Caistor

THE SKINNY

May/June 2017

THE SKINNY

Let’s Talk About The Weather Pond guitarist Joe Ryan talks impending nuclear threat, colonialism, and producing with Kevin Parker ahead of the Aussie group’s seventh album The Weather

Interview: Claire Francis

here’s a huge squirrel right next to me,” Joe Ryan exclaims down the line from his hotel room in LA’s Silver Lake. “It’s the biggest squirrel I’ve ever seen in my life. He’s bloody huge, he must be getting fat from people dropping stuff from the food trucks everywhere.” The guitarist and founding member of the eclectic psych-rock outfit Pond landed in the city the day prior to this interview. “I haven’t had my morning cup of tea yet,” he warns, adding that the jet lag has “got me by the balls.” The Aussie quartet are at the beginning of a two-month-long international tour in support of their seventh album The Weather. As with their 2015 release Man, It Feels Like Space Again, the forthcoming record was produced by Tame Impala frontman and former Pond member, Kevin Parker. “We actually finished recording [The Weather] in January 2016,” he laughs, “but you may have heard of this little band called Tame Impala, who got bloody huge after their album Currents... So Kevin and Jay [Watson], who is in both bands, were off quite a bit, and we didn’t want to force old KP with deadlines. So we were pretty much just sitting on it for a while.” The album was recorded in Parker’s newly renovated studio in Perth, Western Australia – “I think we were the first of the bands to jump in there and actually use it to record” – and in Pond’s typically collaborative fashion, it features the input of band members both past and present. “We got our mate Richard Ingham, who plays in a number of Perth bands – the latest of which I can’t even pronounce, it’s some crazy, crazy mixture of letters – but he also played in our original band Mink Mussel Creek. So he was basically the engineer, and Kevin would sort of poke his head in every couple of days and be like, ‘You’re not breaking anything?’” he laughs. “It was a bit of a team effort, but it was cool. We were only in the studio for two weeks or so, and then over the course of a year until [Kevin] mixed it we just added a couple of overdubs, maybe changed a couple of lyrics here and there. But for the most part it was recorded and written as we did it over those two weeks.” The lead single Sweep Me Off My Feet is perhaps one of Pond’s most pop-leaning tracks to date, and though the album retains the psych-fuzz jams that have won them a cult following, elsewhere it explores a more electronic tone than on any of their previous releases. “It’s definitely got a few more synthesised sounds on it,” Ryan agrees. “We can’t keep making the same album again and again and again, otherwise it gets a bit monotonous for ourselves. And I’m sure people who listen to the albums want a bit of variety anyway, you know? I certainly do.” When The Skinny suggests that Parker’s influence can be heard in the similarities between their latest record and the synthesised, R’n’B elements of Tame Impala’s most recent album, Ryan pauses. “Oh yeah, I could see that… I guess you’re right,” he laughs after a moment of consideration. “I think [Parker] is more refined in his sound, like he’s spent hours and hours and days working on one particular sound to make it his own. [Whereas] we’d just be like, ‘Yeah that, that’ll do, that sounds pretty good!’” he admits. “It was kind of cool though; we didn’t actually have a working bass guitar so a lot of the sounds you’ll hear are [from] a really small synth, as small as can be, [with] a gnarly, gnarly low-end. So once we discovered that little beauty we were pretty much using that for every sub-bass part on the album.”

May/June 2017

Photo: Matt Sav

“T

As for Ryan’s favourite track from the forthcoming album, “I think I’m going to have to go with Edge of the World Pt. 1,” he responds without hesitation. “It’s just got that one bit in the middle where it goes up into this Beach Boys kind of French horn, staccato bit, and it’s like train tracks and cop cars whizzing around, and then it just enters space! “It [goes] from this really mellow, timpani bit into this luscious cacophony of harmonies,” he continues. “I think when we were doing that one I sort of looked up from the guitar desk and looked around at the boys and was just like…. ‘Fuck! This is going to be a sick album!’” he explains with a laugh. A semi-concept album of sorts, thematically The Weather traverses such grave topics as nuclear armageddon, the impact of colonialism, and white privilege. Of the band’s writing process, Ryan explains: “We though it would be good if Nick [Allbrook] wrote most of the lyrics, even for the songs that were [mine and Jay’s], just to make it seem like some continuity ran through the album. I guess that it’s kind of loosely about Perth, Western Australia, but more broadly about the world at this kind of boiling point. As for the creative benefits of being based in Perth – a city not traditionally regarded as a cultural hub – Ryan expands: “Back in the day, before anyone knew who the hell we were, it was like – and still is – a little piece of paradise out there. I mean, our winter’s like... at the most you get down to three degrees for half an hour at 3am; the summers are great, you’ve got beautiful beaches; and it’s very, very isolated as well.

“When we were kind of honing our skills and our tastes, it was the isolation of the whole city that really contributed a lot to it,” he continues. “It became like a little microcosm of the world. No one was really influenced by any particular kind of scene or ego that goes with different cities in different parts of the world. It’s just a beautiful, organic, lovely place with no consequences for being a bit bold or daring.”

“ It’s like train tracks and cop cars whizzing around, and then it just enters space!” Joe Ryan

Going back to the aforementioned ‘boiling point’ of the world at large, this tension is referenced throughout the album in the form of news broadcast snippets and references to figures such as the infamous mining mogul Gina Rinehart. Surely, we ask Ryan, this is the most openly political work that Pond have recorded? “I’d say so actually, now that you mention all those parts. It’s still not like…” He pauses. “It’s too early in the morning, I can’t even think of the most

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politically driven album I know,” he laughs, “but I’d say to date it’s our most overtly political. It doesn’t really feel like it until you read the liner notes and you’re like, holy shit, Nick’s talking about all this pensive stuff. “I actually read his lyrics when we were getting the artwork together for the vinyls, and I was like, ‘Holy shit! You’re a lyrical surgeon mate, I didn’t even know you were saying half this stuff.’” Another track released as a single, the cosmic album opener 30000 Megatons is the album’s most direct meditation on impending nuclear threat. Yet Ryan is still emphatically hopeful that the song is heard as a warning, and not a prophecy: “Let’s hope not, hey? That would be pretty fucking shit!” he exclaims. “But yeah, we did drop [the track] the night Trump was announced as the winner. Kevin was mixing the album and he was like, ‘Finish this song – now’s the time to drop it!’” The Weather certainly takes aim at the strange state of the world – a state that Ryan believes has gotten “even stranger” in the year-and-a-bit since the album was first recorded. Of life in 2017, he muses in typically laid-back Antipodean style: “I’ve just been putting it out of my mind and enjoying my cup of tea every morning. When you’re out on the road with your best mates it’s easy to just put it out of your mind and enjoy the moment, you know? When everything’s out of your hands, you’ve just got to push on through.” The Weather is released on 5 May via Marathon Artists Pond play Leeds University Stylus, 17 Jun and Gorilla, Manchester, 20 Jun pondband.net

Feature

Preaching to the Non-Converted I

f we start a conversation about wealth inequality here, on the pages of an arts magazine, it’s bound to set some eyes rolling. The same applies to comedians discussing it in well-furnished theatres where the beer costs as much as the bar staff ’s hourly wage. For Jonny & the Baptists, this means that their new show, Eat the Poor, had to be more than a collection of songs to tickle angry lefties. “It’s very easy, especially in satire, to have a show that says, ‘Here’s a problem, what a shame,’” says Paddy Gervers. “We wanted to have something that at least tried to say, ‘Here’s one way of dealing with it.’” Eat the Poor is half collected satirical songs and half storytelling, eventually turning into “a kind of musical-theatre-comedy-horror apocalyptic dream sequence.” We see an hour-long story of a loving friendship torn apart by greed, chance and Andrew Lloyd Webber. In a dystopian view of the future, Jonny Donahue is wildly rich, while Paddy Gervers has become homeless and ignored by his former partner. “The second you become homeless, one of the first things that goes is communication and feeling like you’re connected with the world around you,” Gervers says, speaking from experience gleaned from running music groups at Oxford’s Crisis homeless centre. The pair are planning on running similar groups around the country both for research and to spend some time playing music. “No one is labelled as homeless or vulnerable,

you’re just a group of people hanging out. From what we’ve learned, that’s one of the things that is really missing.” As well as taking the time to understand the world they’re singing about, the pair have made a concerted effort to find audiences who don’t vote the same way as them. “We’ve been accused of preaching to the converted by both The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph, and I think that sentence shows a real misunderstanding of what it is they do. We previewed this show only in right-wing strongholds. It holds up as a show and people don’t come out feeling targeted. We want to start finding common ground and finding things that we can all share our opinion on in a forum that is comedy.” This forum is something that Donahue and Gervers create in their shows: “At the end, we say if anyone has anything they want to talk about, you’re welcome to, and that has been fascinating. It’s a great opportunity to have a discussion and to learn about each other. You get that little bit of local knowledge that helps you get a better picture of the rest of the country.” So what can we non-millionaires do about wealth inequality in the UK? Gervers and Donahue recommend personal action as a solid starting point: “We propose giving up your inheritance so we can all get back to a level playing field. The show confirms that that’s what Jonny and I are going to do.” These relatively small actions that build up can create a bottom-up solution rather

Jonny & the Baptists

than a top-down governmental one. “When everyone in power is looking the other way, you have to start with yourself.” Trying to stay positive while detailing the lives of the least fortunate in our society is a tricky job, but Jonny & the Baptists manage to do it. Their material moves from fact-checked headline statistics to down-to-earth analysis via good old-fashioned surrealism, and all with a fantastic soundtrack made up of songs which merit listening to outside of the show as well. “Because of Brexit and Trump and having a country that is hugely divided over what seems to be a sort of schoolboy argument that got out of

Following a Star

“I

Interview: Cara McNamara

Katy Brand

Feature

Photo: Karla Gowlett

Katy Brand chats about religion and space travel as she tours her hit Fringe show, while also writing her next one

Interview: Jenni Ajderian

t was desperate – we were all scoring our shoes, hacking great chunks out them.” Performing the Single Ladies dance for Sport Relief 2010 is seared into Katy Brand’s memory. “The live show had an audience of eight million people, and I’m wearing a black leotard and not much else,” she continues. “However, the main thing was that we’d been given only one chance to rehearse, and the stage floor had been buffed up to such a high shine that we all kept falling over... and I don’t just mean me, once, I mean all of us, continuously. But that was our one and only slot, then... see ya later. Standing behind those sliding doors was the most intense feeling of stage fright I’ve ever had.” Brand doesn’t strike you as someone who gets cowed. In casual conversation she works through concepts, phrasing and rephrasing with thoughtful quality control. Her current show, I Was a Teenage Christian, is partly so funny due to her rampantly self-assured source material. “I liked feeling important, significant, that I had something that I needed to do,” she says, “and there’s something about religion that can make you feel invincible. Teenagers have sort of rigid thinking, but they’re starting to get a sense of subtlety, trying to hold onto something black and white, and the hard edges of feeling right – and certain – is appealing. “I’m not sure whether I ever wholly believed in God. God as some intelligence or force with a consciousness, yes. But did I believe in the virgin birth, heaven and hell? I’d be a bit more ambivalent. I definitely told people they wouldn’t go to heaven if they didn’t believe. I wasn’t always an exemplary Christian, I had doubts; my humour was quite irreverent and I wanted a purpose – and that’s still in me. But I look back and it’s so cringey. Preaching at people from school. It’s not raw, though. It’s sort of hilarious.”

COMEDY

hand, it’s incredibly tough to point out anything more ridiculous,” Gervers says. “We [as comedians] have had one of our powers taken away – the power to make things ridiculous through humour.” Can comedians and comedy fans do other things to challenge the status quo? “We have to find different ways of doing that. Perhaps one of those ways is engaging more with the community around you.” Jonny & the Baptists: Eat the Poor is at The Lowry, Salford, 27 May and The Civic, Barnsley, 26 May Paddy Gervers also co-hosts Podshambles jonnyandthebaptists.co.uk

In parallel to the Teenage Christian tour, Brand is also working on her next Fringe show. It too contrasts big questions with earthly limitations. “It’s about becoming an astronaut. I’m absolutely fascinated by space and astronomy, incredibly enthusiastic with virtually zero competence. So I’m thinking about one-way trips – if you could reinvent yourself, would there be multiple versions of you? About fate – what might have been, if I’d been better at maths. A friend said to me, ‘If your last show was I Was a Teenage Christian, and this one is I Could’ve Been an Astronaut, what will the next one be?’ I just haven’t figured out who I am yet.” Brand strikes a smart balance. She invites people to belly-laugh at her, but she’s already dissected her stories all ways before putting them back together. This care towards her experiences acts like a protective shield and prevents her becoming a caricature. It’s not an easy trick to pull off. “A friend once said something really useful to me: that comedy’s like a game of golf,” Brand says. “You don’t play the other players, you play the course. “I want to tell the truth, but I’d like to tell my own style of truth – examine and analyse and present the findings rather than relive it on stage. I mean, I’ve felt what I’m saying on stage, but to present emotions I’ve not worked through is not my style. I’ve seen it before in comedy and it’s been admirable, and artistically interesting, and it could be the start of something brilliant... but it can be exhausting, and you just want to put your arm round them and say, ‘I think you’re OK.’” Katy Brand: I Was a Teenage Christian: is at The Lowry, Salford, 25 May and The Dukes, Lancaster, 27 May Katy Brand: I Could’ve Been an Astronaut, Pleasance Courtyard (Above), 2-26 Aug, 6:20pm, £7-13.50 mickperrin.com/tours/brand-teenage-christian

THE SKINNY

Photo: Anna Soderblom

As musical comedy act Jonny & the Baptists tour their hit show Eat the Poor, the satirical duo’s Paddy Gervers tells us about deliberately taking a political show to people and places with different views

May/June 2017

Flesh and Blood We speak to Pumarosa frontwoman Isabel Munoz-Newsome about touring, history, spirituality, and the release of their debut album, The Witch

sabel Munoz-Newsome is extremely peoplefocused. When we call the lead singer and guitarist of London-based ‘industrial-spiritual’ fivepiece Pumarosa, she is out and about in central London, having popped out for essentials after a day of song-writing at home. Friendly and thoughtful, she works hard to find a quiet place to chat with us ahead of the band’s upcoming UK and European tour and the release of their debut LP The Witch on 19 May via Fiction Records. Pumarosa have already made a strong start to 2017, having finished a whistle-stop tour of Australia and Japan in late February and early March. As it was the band’s first visit to Australia, they were made to do as much as possible in two days by their Australian imprint: shuttling around to meet industry figures, being interviewed by reputable alternative radio DJs. “It was like being in a proper band for a few days… [Or being] treated like one anyway,” MunozNewsome laughs in her light-hearted tone. While Munoz-Newsome heralds the wonders of Australia, which she found to be “saturated in colour” – the turquoise sky, the verdant splendour of high-rises next to parks and tropical trees – it sounds as though Pumarosa are still adjusting to the industry machine, still feeling as green as the plants they found down under. Does she feel comfortable being part of it yet? “I don’t know really… When we’re doing all that kind of stuff, I do. Sometimes I enjoy it and I’m like, ‘Yeah, this is great! They’re buying us things!’ and sometimes I really resent it and I’m like, ‘I don’t want to meet another person!’ Luckily, because we’re not hugely popular, we don’t have to do too much of that.” It’s just as well that Pumarosa are enjoying discovering the right people and publications, as with the release of The Witch, one can’t imagine that they will remain unknown for much longer. Since their first songs dropped in late 2015, the five-piece have met comparison with indie’s bighitters, their sound combining the ominous rock of PJ Harvey with the nocturnal grooves and electronics of Björk or Warpaint. It’s a comparison justified by The Witch’s hard-hitting lead single Dragonfly, on which we hear the band slowly casting off its moody synth skin to land a haunting chorus built around crashing guitar and MunozNewsome’s soaring vocals. Fascinated as she is by the logistical lull period between The Witch’s completion and its release, Munoz-Newsome admits being simultaneously nervous and excited about people hearing the LP for the first time. She is particularly interested in how fans will respond to The Witch’s title track, which she teases as a “lyrically intense” unusual song on the album. While stressing that the song doesn’t define the record ideologically or tonally, she says that the track does quietly inform The Witch with thoughts swirling her mind for the past few years concerning the control of history and womanhood. “We don’t know our history,” she explains. “It’s not taught to us really. If you want to know it you have to really dig, because what we’re taught in school is essentially the Second World War, the First World War, and maybe some stuff about the kings and queens from before then. “We take it as read that this is just the natural way things have evolved, whereas actually it’s this long history of quite violent repression. It’s only when you start really researching where you come from – not specifically [your] ancestors, but how Europe and America have been shaped – that

Interview: Chris Ogden

[you start] to work out a lot of these tensions and suddenly it’s like ‘Ah, but of course!’” However, Munoz-Newsome’s instinctive empathy with those separate from aristocracy, church and nobility, particularly women, is not based in anger. Instead, she stresses that she feels enlightened and grateful to have learned more about them, leading us to ask more about her newfound wisdom. “I don’t know if I’m someone who has wisdom,” she laughs. “Maybe call me back in 25 years! But awareness, I suppose. I’m not just singing about reaching the stars; I’m singing about people I know in general and people I haven’t met 200 years ago. It’s very much rooted in people: flesh and blood.” Continuing the theme of mystical women, in the run-up to the release of The Witch Pumarosa have released a remix of their first ever single Priestess, cutting it down from the meandering seven-minute form in which it appeared in 2015 into a more radio-friendly four minutes. While standing firm that the original is the “definitive version” of the track, Munoz-Newsome says that the remix stemmed from the band’s desire to rerelease the song in a more “edible” form.

“ I’m not just singing about reaching the stars; I’m singing about people I know in general and people I haven’t met 200 years ago” Isabel Munoz-Newsome

Pumarosa seem acutely aware of how they will be perceived right now, begging the question of whether this has been a change in their mindset since they formed. While Munoz-Newsome admits admiring the talent of being able to reach more people with a brilliantly succinct pop song, and has accidentally written something like one recently, we shouldn’t expect an all-out pop turn from Pumarosa just yet. “I think a song should be as long or short as it needs to be,” she says. “With the songs of ours that [came] from jams initially – something like Snake on the album, or Cecile, [or] Red – they’re really long because that’s how those sessions unfolded. Who knows? Maybe we will release an album with those golden digits but definitely not on this album.” With The Witch released this month, Pumarosa are now embarking on their UK and European tour, refining the order and flow of their live sets now they have twice as much time on stage, and the performance of them too. Munoz-Newsome relates how her sister, a choreographer, helped prepare her for the video for Dragonfly by making her do different exercises, making her more aware of the body’s connection to the mind. While acknowledging the difficulty she still has in being totally present and free, Munoz-Newsome emphasises the stabilising comfort of knowing every note completely inside out, with every concert constantly changing in mood and location.

“The last tour we did, some [gigs] were sold out; some were ill-attended but they were all brilliant and they were all completely different,” she says. “Actors say when you perform on stage they’ll do a run for however many nights but it’s different every time. It’s the same thing when you’re doing gigs… Every night’s really different. You kind of have to approach it [differently] each time.” Once the tour is over Pumarosa will spend this summer continually dipping into the festival bubble, with their destinations including Glastonbury, Green Man, and Reading and Leeds: “I just hope we don’t have cans of beer thrown at us!” she jokes. Although looking at the calendar makes Munoz-Newsome stressed and horrified right now, she’s confident that the band will adjust to the flow, helped by the relative comfort they will encounter at festivals in Europe. “One thing is that when you go abroad, the way you get looked after is on another level: you get a table with bottles of rosé and knives and forks made of what looks like silver. It’s quite pleasant,” she jokes. “[Here], they put you in a sort

of shipping container with one packet of crisps!” All this discussion of playing in front of others leads us back to our previous discussion about The Witch and Pumarosa’s ‘spiritual’ tag. Is Pumarosa’s motivation in making music the act of trying to inspire that attachment: in the hour they spend jamming together in rehearsals, in the communal experience of concerts? At this point this becomes clear: the East London five-piece attempt to tap into the transcendental while remaining attentive to the real world at the same time. “I suppose that sense of communality or spirituality without a specific doctrine or church is something you can find in music,” Munoz-Newsome concludes. “That’s something that everyone’s a bit like ‘Ugh, embarrassing! Ugh, gross!’, but why bother existing if you’re just doing general dayto-day things all the time when you can find beauty and something mysterious in existence? That can only be good.” The Witch is released on 19 May via Fiction Records Pumarosa play Liverpool Sound City, 25 May facebook.com/pumarosamusic

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Music

THE SKINNY

Touring Not Touring We chat to Metronomy’s Joseph Mount about latest album Summer 08, working with Robyn and Mix Master Mike, and not touring as we interrupt rehearsals ahead of their, um, upcoming tour dates

riginally formed by Joseph Mount in 1999, it’s hard to believe Metronomy have been active for almost 20 years – at 18, the band itself is now old enough to drink. However, they didn’t release their debut album Pip Paine (Pay the £5000 You Owe Me) until 2006, and it wasn’t until the release of 2008’s Nights Out when they really came into their own. In the same year, they toured the album, playing an intimate 250-capacity show at Edinburgh’s Cabaret Voltaire – Two Door Cinema Club were the tour support – and the whole night was bloody brilliant. Metronomy played as a threepiece, Mount accompanied by Oscar Cash, who still plays in the band now, and ex-bandmate Gabriel Stebbing. They wore all black, had Iron Man-esque IKEA touch lamps mounted to their chests, and did ridiculous dance moves. Postcards of the local area were on their rider. It was fun. There was no pressure. Since their 2006 debut, the path leading to 2014’s Love Letters (via Nights Out and 2011’s The English Riviera) felt like a very natural stream of consciousness, but 2016’s Summer 08 saw Mount almost take a step back to “the good old days.” As he puts it: “I suppose it was the first record that I’d done after having children and finding the time to make music had become a different type of thing. I wanted to basically just make a very thoughtless record. “It wasn’t exactly how I used to make music but [I was] definitely trying to have the same attitude I did when I was 22, consciously trying to put myself in the same position I was in then.” The result was an album reminiscent of the band’s 2008 breakthrough: “It’s quite a difficult thing to do, but I wanted to make something very relaxed, and I think that’s what the sound of Nights Out is – just me not really thinking much about it.” Summer 08 was the first Metronomy record since Pip Paine... to be recorded without any contribution from Mount’s bandmates. “Part of the reason why I did it in the way that I did,” he explains, “[is that] English Riviera and Love Letters; the processes of recording each one were quite thoughtful. So in a way Summer 08 was the first record that I did without wanting to learn anything, it was just very simple – ‘this is the song, this is how it should sound. Do it’. “It was done in a studio with Ash [Workman], the same engineer who’s done the last three albums now, but I guess it’s really subtle differences; subtle changes in approach that can end up making quite big differences. I did demos at home and then I just took what I liked. I didn’t redo them for the sake of it. It was a very self-proficient process. It’s those little things which just take away a level of self-analysis.” The fifth Metronomy record was also the first since Pip Paine… to feature a guest vocalist – so how did Robyn end up on Hang Me Out To Dry? “I’ve known her for three or four years and we’ve been writing together for her music, and then it got to the point of that song and I wanted to have a female vocal on it. “I was thinking about people I could ask, and although she was the most accessible for me, and probably the most famous, I just didn’t really think about it. Then in the end I was like ‘of course, I should just ask her’ and she was happy to do it. Once we’d done it I was like ‘Oh god! It should’ve always been her.’ I don’t know why I didn’t immediately think of her.” Mix Master Mike, aka the Beastie Boys’ DJ, also features on the album, popping up for scratch

May/June 2017

duty towards the end of lead single Old Skool. “When I was a teenager I was obsessed with the Beastie Boys, and obsessed with him, and I wanted there to be scratching on the song. I just thought ‘Ah, well fuck it let’s just see what he says’ so it was lucky really – I’ve still not met him, it was all done over the internet – the teenage me was very happy about it. For Summer 08, Metronomy chose not to follow the usual template for putting out a new record: release album, tour album. In this day and age, touring in a way is a band’s bread and butter so not touring Summer 08 was a risk, and Mount admits it “was kind of a self-indulgent thing.” He goes on to tell us “the main [reason] was that I wanted to release the record but I wanted to spend a decent amount of time with my family. I’ve got two quite young children so I didn’t want to just disappear, but I wanted to keep working.” The other reason, Mount emphatically tells us, is “the music world has changed insanely since I started being involved in it and there’s always this pressure to release records and tour records, and to do it in this tried and tested way, and I guess I just felt like ‘Do you have to tour a record with that intensity, is it something that you have to do?’ Or is it something that a record label has to get you to do for them to have success for the record?

genuinely going to be very excited and happy to be doing it again, so I think fans can expect to have a really good time,” he laughs, “and I’m hoping we’ll be able to play a few new songs as well so there’s that to look forward to.” What about the classics? Will you play Radio Ladio? “Oh yeah yeah, it’s going to be a greatest hits kind of set,” he says excitedly. Do you still request postcards on your rider? “Yeah, we’ve still got postcards on there,” he tells us, “but the interesting thing we try and get

is socks, because it’s quite nice to have some fresh socks. And then the best addition was scratch cards.” Have you won anything yet? “Yeah, I think the most is a tenner, but the dream is to win half a million then cancel the gig,” he laughs mischievously, “that’s the dream!” After a couple of years out of the live limelight, let’s hope they don’t win big this summer. Metronomy play Albert Hall, Manchester, 17 May, Liverpool Sound City, 27 May, and Sheffield Tramlines, 23 Jul

“ I just thought ‘Ah, well fuck it let’s just see what he says’” Joseph Mount

“I was just thinking, ‘Well I wonder how important it is really’ and I guess now I’ve learned...” he pauses, concluding through laughter, “...how important it is. I guess what you learn is that while the music industry is still changing, the world of press still operates [but] they need a reason to write about you, and if you’re not touring, the press slows up much quicker because there’s not this continued presence, but in a way that’s what I wanted. “When you do release a record and you tour it, you feel saturated a bit, or you feel a bit too omnipresent. So now when we come back in May – and then we’re doing these festivals – I think we will be genuinely refreshing rather than tired and ubiquitous.” It’s been almost two years since the Metronomy bus has been on the road and beyond their very brief four-date UK tour this May, summer ’17 is looking good for the four-piece. But what can we expect from their upcoming live shows? Will the staging be as elaborate as when they toured Love Letters, which saw a more refined, retro look from the band, all members dressed from head-totoe in white? Or will it reflect the more laid-back processes of Summer 08? “It’s going to have an equally strong aesthetic [as Love Letters], but part of the aesthetic is that it’s supposed to look relaxed,” Mount explains. “It’s always, for us, as important as anything else – I think the way that you present yourself gives so many people a subconscious, or incredibly obvious, intention, and I think to set up the mood, or to help set up people’s expectations of how a show’s going to be [is] incredibly important. “It’s the first time that we’ll have played a show [together] for almost two years so we’re

Music

Photo: Grégoire Alexandre

Interview: Tallah Brash

Feature

Under the Influence This year Africa Oyé festival celebrates its 25th anniversary, and invites a number of artists who’ve played in the past back on stage. Eagerly anticipated returning act Jupiter & Okwess International tell us about some of their inspirations

upiter Bokondji stands in the fire. The leader of Kinshasa pioneers Jupiter & Okwess International, the charismatic catalyst is bringing his troupe back to Liverpool’s Africa Oyé festival this summer. In 2011, after a decade spent spreading the word across Central Africa, the band – who hail from the Democratic Republic of Congo – took part in an Oxfam project driven by Damon Albarn, which led to their fusion of traditional and Western rhythms and melodies being featured on the resulting DRC Music – Kinshasa One Two album. Since then, Bokondji has stayed true to his aim: to honour the idea of reactivating and reinvigorating the forgotten rhythms and melodies of Congo. “What matters now is to lay the foundations for our children and grandchildren,” he says. “But I’m not too interested in the past.” Bokondji’s is a past that doesn’t hide from the political and economic troubles of his country, however. “Following independence in 1960, the country was in good condition and utilities worked,” he says. “But our parents were unable to pass the independence ‘test’... and they blew it. They were given the chance but they messed up and sacrificed a generation.” Tough words, but that’s what you get from an artist who refuses to compromise. Yes, there’s a Western fusion in the music of Jupiter & Okwess International, but their international debut album (2013’s Hotel Univers) sacrificed nothing owing to their origins.

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Since then, Bokondji and his band have toured extensively and injected the urban groove of modern Congo into hearts and feet around the world. “When I return to the daily hustle and want time off from the streets of Kinshasa, I rent a room at Hotel Univers,” he says. “Many of the ideas for my songs are made up between my room there and the bar – I get a whisky and go meet the characters that inhabit my songs.” We asked him to provide us with a guide to the sounds that shaped his outlook, and to let us in on what Western music to have made it to Congo might pass his acid test. Alpha Blondy – Cocody Rock and Jérusalem [Cocody Rock!!!, 1984; Jérusalem, 1986] “I love the reggae sound of Jérusalem, but I didn’t understand the language so well. To me, the album represented the conflict between Jerusalem and Palestine. I discovered Alpha Blondy through Cocody Rock!!! though and that remains my favourite – it’s so powerful. The lyrics throughout the album are amazing and the social commentary and commitment moved me. I really felt this album.” Steel Pulse – Handsworth Revolution [Handsworth Revolution, 1978] “I love what Steel Pulse bring to reggae… I call them ‘crazy reggae’ because of their energy. I remember giving my friend a copy of a disc, because I only had cassette and vinyl players! I’ve been listening

to Steel Pulse for a long time and also bands like Third World, too, who brought a more ‘rocky’ sound to reggae music. Everything about Handsworth Revolution still inspires me nearly 40 years on – after all these years I can still feel the same love and passion that created the record. It’s very peaceful to me.” Claude François – Le Téléphone Pleure and Magnolias For Ever [Le Mal Aimé, 1974; Magnolias For Ever, 1977] “Le Téléphone Pleure was such an important song when I was young. It’s disco, but you can hear elements of funk, soul and salsa… which is what disco music is! Everybody loves the energy of disco, don’t they? Magnolias For Ever is a lot of fun, but it’s more pop music than funky disco…” The Doors – Light My Fire and The Rolling Stones – Jumpin’ Jack Flash [The Doors, 1967; Jumpin’ Jack Flash single, 1968] “I don’t know the music of these bands that well, but we got to hear the songs in Congo when we were younger and it was ‘noise’ to us… and we liked ‘noise’! Our fathers also told us not to listen to this music as it was influenced by alcohol and the devil.” Bob Marley – Catch A Fire [1973] “The man became ‘the singer’ and a star after Catch A Fire, but I discovered reggae music with

Music

Interview: Alan O’Hare

Jimmy Cliff and Peter Tosh – they were my first reggae loves. I don’t have a favourite album by Jimmy or Peter, though, I listen to everything they’ve done and groove with all the rhythm and melodies.”

“ After all these years I can still feel the same love and passion that created the record...” Jupiter Bokondji

Pygmy music “My link with Pygmy music is truly eternal. The polyphonic song people far in the forests keep it real, but the modern kind of Pygmy music plays in the city and stays very close to those origins. For me, Pygmy music is the origin of music…” Jupiter & Okwess International play Africa Oyé’s 25th anniversary festival, Sefton Park, Liverpool, 17-18 Jun, free africaoye.com

THE SKINNY

RE V IE

Album of the Month

Perfume Genius No Shape [Matador, 5 May]

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rrrrr Shite rrrrr Boring rrrrr Solid

Only Perfume Genius could conjure a fairy tale from these troubling times. No Shape documents deep lows and the most glittering of highs; harsh and lush in equal brush strokes, Mike Hadreas’ fourth album celebrates the raw strength it can take to break free and find a new normality. The Seattle musician is beloved for his radical, intimate documentation of depression, drug abuse and enduring homophobia, and his three previous albums grew from spectral vulnerability into powerful, confrontational frustration. Three years later, No Shape steps out as Hadreas’ brightest and most lavish record to date but, as in all the best fairy tales, it’s haunted by as many ghosts as it is populated by princes. Darkness lurks on the fringes and seeps through the cracks between Hadreas’ intricate melodies. Slip Away, the album’s first single, is a thrilling, urgent anthem that unfurls like a sunrise: ‘Don’t look back / I wanna break free,’ Hadreas urges, ‘…if we only get a moment, give it to me

rrrrr Brilliant rrrrr Life-changing

now.’ Just Like Love waltzes through raindrops as the lyrics illustrate a towering, toxic love that ‘smothered them with velvet,’ and Go Ahead draws on the sparsity found on Hadreas’ older records, using a simple, driving drum beat to reinforce crisp vocals which tell of triumph and vengeance. ‘If you need, you can even say a little prayer for me,’ he offers over innocently tinkling bells. Unabashedly romantic, No Shape documents (mis)adventure and vulnerability, charting self-growth as it searches for comfort – Die 4 You is a naked, woozy, trip-pop ballad, while Sides invites Weyes Blood to contribute elegant, morbid harmonies: ‘Baby, cut the cord and set me free.’ The centrepiece of the record, Wreath, is a semi-title track dedicated to fluidity. ‘I wanna hover with no shape,’ he muses. ‘I’m gonna call out every name until the one I’m meant to take / sends a dove.’ A whirling, spinning, breathless testimony to Hadreas’ unique vision and aesthetic, Wreath sparkles with power, beauty and

Mac DeMarco

Pumarosa

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This Old Dog [Captured Tracks, 5 May]

Mac DeMarco’s reputation precedes him; these days he’s known more for his quirky banter than his off-colour jangle pop. The tunes here are wistful and sobering, but the more acoustic and strippedback approach taken on This Old Dog suggests time may be catching up with the 27-year-old. Those who wanted evolution from DeMarco have it in tone, if not necessarily in his songwriting. Lead single My Old Man is simple to a fault, with a three-chord progression that repeats throughout the entire track, but it also boasts some of his most pensive lyricism. His past albums were sombre and introspective at times, but not in the lethargic way This Old Dog is. On The Level is the drowsy younger brother of Salad Days standout Chamber of Reflection, sharing its earthy synths and reverbdrenched vocals, but like most sequels it’s not as effective. Amid this listlessness, flashes of levity shine bright. The juvenile charm of Baby You’re Out is infectious, and DeMarco searches for silver linings on One Another, a refreshingly chipper take on a break-up. Still, there’s no escaping that This Old Dog finds DeMarco at his most despondent – his subdued delivery on album closer Watching Him Fade Away wilts into silence, suggesting it’s perhaps time to grow up. [Alexander Smail]

Listen to: Baby You’re Out, One Another, My Old Man

May/June 2017

Perfume Genius

truth. Perfume Genius’ magic lies in transforming struggle into folklore, mythologising a daily endurance against patriarchal bullshit. These are vital hymns to unite and strengthen, and his press release states in no uncertain terms that Hadreas intends to change your life. It feels an almost outdated artistic intention in pop’s current

PWR BTTM

The Witch [Fiction, 19 May]

Pageant [Big Scary Monsters / Polyvinyl, 12 May]

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Pumarosa have a flair for the dramatic. They paint intense, vivid soundscapes, tapping into visceral feelings of alienation, still managing to breathe a certain warmth into a genre that is famed for its cold aloofness. Their on-stage prowess has been lauded, and transferring that to the studio isn’t always easy, but with the help of quirky London-indie producer Dan Carey, the bombastic, theatrical dynamic of the band remains largely intact on The Witch. It’s clear from ethereal opener Dragonfly that this is an album to bask in. Almost every track is longer than it needs to be – allowing for extended intros, bridges, codas. This brings a sense of spaciousness to the music with each tangent followed down its respective rabbithole; whether it’s the intermittent electronics of My Gruesome Loving Friend or the sprawling, Caribou-esque indulgences of the title track. Sometimes this can get a little meandering (Red being the worst offender), but it meshes perfectly with the ‘industrial-spiritual’ ethos of the band. Frontwoman Isabel Munoz-Newsome steals the show with her haunted-chanteuse vocals, generally floating and ephemeral, but always powerful. The arrangements complement her tales of love, sex and identity, and while some elements are almost entirely designed for the live experience, The Witch still serves as a fine introduction for one of the most exciting, new bands. [Lewis Wade] Listen to: The Witch, Priestess

Any PWR BTTM fans hoping for more of the same fun, upbeat pop-punk anthems as heard on their debut Ugly Cherries will be surprised by what they hear on Pageant, but in a good way. All the album’s tracks remain under three minutes in true PWR BTTM style, sticking to their punk-rock roots, but there’s more of a sense of self-reflection on Pageant. There are still the thrashing guitar riffs, like on the epic glam-rock opener Silly, and the classically humorous lyrics: ‘I sweat out seven pounds

Slowdive

Slowdive [Dead Oceans, 5 May]

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It pays to be wary when bands of yore come reforming, the suspicion all-too-often one of bank balance replenishment posing as creative renaissance. This is not a concern applicable to Slowdive; their first album since 1995’s Pygmalion is deep, textured, relevant and necessary. While the sonic palette is familiar from first time round, any (lazy) accusation of shoegaze revivalism is nimbly side-stepped by the contemporary context underpinning each of the eight compositions found on Slowdive. Opener Slomo is pinioned to its subtle loops, subjugating the floated guitar and all that

RECORDS

economic climate, but this revolution isn’t necessarily one of grand gestures. Alan – the album’s closing lullaby – comforts, soars and then slips away, asking, ‘Did you notice, we slept through the night?’ [Katie Hawthorne] Listen to: Slip Away, Wreath, Alan

in water weight / Just asking for your number,’ found on Answer My Text; but there are more moments of melancholy on Pageant. Tracks like LOL and Now, Now show a more self-deprecating side to the band, telling tales of identity struggles and battling your inner demons, while Oh, Boy and Wash reminisce about past loves. On the other hand, Sissy and Big Beautiful Day are modern-day queer anthems and two massive fingers up to the haters. If Ugly Cherries was PWR BTTM’s fun-loving, footloose and fancy-free effort then Pageant is their moment to be recognised as serious musicians, who have much more to talk about than just wanting a boy to keep the bed warm during numerous different situations. [Nadia Younes] Listen to: LOL, Sissy fragmented tenderness, while lead track Star Roving is uncharacteristically pacey, with Rachel Goswell’s breathy vocal acting as the counterpoint to Halstead’s channelled understatement. When it comes to the quintet’s sound, contrast has always been a focal point; deep-seated and frequently subtle, unfurling with delicate grace. The final two tracks pull this contrast to the centre-stage: Go Get It positions its shimmering verse against a cinder-block bassline and the bruising urgency of the chorus, while Falling Ashes is a stark, ghostly, bittersweet ballad constructed around a piano motif. So; a successful comeback? Well, yeah… but it’s also something more than that. Slowdive represents an awareness of legacy, and the importance of not pissing all over it; to that extent, it’s an essential addition to canon. [Duncan Harman] Listen to: Sugar for the Pill, Falling Ashes

Review

Her’s

Songs of Her’s [Heist or Hit, 12 May]

Every time someone says ‘Mac DeMarco’, another group of chorus pedal-bearing, 20-something slackers form a band... or so it would appear. Spend three minutes in the company of Songs of Her’s and you’ll think the curse has struck again. Spend any longer with the Liverpool pair’s debut mini-LP, however, and you’ll be riveted to the edge of your seat, gleefully awaiting whatever they’re going to do next. Sidestepping the tricky issue of that jarringly awful apostrophe in their name, here Stephen Fitzpatrick and Audun Laading bear out critical assertions that the hype surrounding them is justified. Yes, the spirit of DeMarco hangs heavy over some of their woozier moments (Cool With You and You Don’t Know This Guy in particular), but they show enough imagination and carefree abandon across the rest of the album to suggest they can step out of the Canadian’s imposing

shadow. I’ll Try closes out the album with a delightfully Smithsian flair, and the throwaway Cop Theme lives up to its eponymous promise, but ultimately their cross-genre dabbling always feels like the product of a singular narrative, and one that (you’d hope) can only get better. It’s almost a tragedy that the best moment here – opener Dorothy, which rolls in on a loping, addictive bassline that suggests some glorious hybrid of The Cure, New Order and Wild Nothing, and nearly trumps them all – should prove such an outlier; none of the eight songs which follow can quite match up to that standard. Still, there’s compelling evidence here to support the theory that this drum machine-led duo could become more than merely a band with potential: these stars are surely set to rise. Or should that be star’s? [Will Fitzpatrick] Her's

Listen to: Dorothy, I’ll Try, Marcel

Lush Purr

Cuckoo Waltz [Song, by Toad, 5 May]

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If you like your noise pop lo-fi, off-kilter and a bit rough around the edges, Lush Purr have got your back. Their debut album Cuckoo Waltz is testament to this, combining a dreamy atmosphere with clanging guitars and obscure lyrics to create an experimental sound clearly indebted to shoegaze bands like My Bloody Valentine, where softly mumbled lyrics float over a loud cloud of sound.

While tracks like Bananadine and Bear at Midnight mix unexpected synth textures and suddenly shifting dynamics, I, Bore and Mr Maybe are smoother and more sedate, proving that the band is capable of producing variety even from within a very specific musical genre. Furthermore, an irreverent sense of humour – immediately evident from song titles like Horses on Morphine – gives tracks a distinctive edge and stops the album from being too serious. However, Cuckoo Waltz is something of an acquired taste. Transitions between songs often feel a bit too sudden, even jarring, particularly where the fade-out at the end of (I Admit It) I’m a Gardener meets the droning synth of Bear at Midnight. Often lyrics are barely discernible over

the loud backing track and while this is natural for this style of music, it’s not so good if you like having words you can sing along to. Cuckoo Waltz hits some bum notes – Stuck in a Bog springs to mind – but it’s an album you can listen to again and again, one whose shimmering distortions offer up moments of sublime sonic beauty for those willing to listen for them. Cuckoo Waltz can only be enjoyed if you appreciate each song individually. Indeed, it’s tempting to think that opening track Wave is an instruction to let each song wash over you — to submerge yourself in the album, rather than half-heartedly put it on in the background. [Megan Wallace] Listen to: Bananadine, Mr Maybe, I, Bore

Pond

Weirds

Peaness

Forest Swords

Penguin Cafe

Girlpool

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The Weather [Marathon Artists, 5 May] Psychedelic princelings Pond are back with their most conventionally named album yet – but don’t let that fool you. Cosmic and colourful, The Weather is an evocative testament to not giving a shit. With production handled by musical compatriot and Tame Impala mastermind Kevin Parker, Pond draw on everything at their disposal with exciting – even chaotic – results. Screeching fuzz guitars jostle with kitschy pop falsettos and gurgling sawtooth synths on an album that, despite getting messy, is always focused in a sort of deliberate confusion. Imagine what the Stranger Things soundtrack would have sounded like if the kids stopped playing Dungeons & Dragons and dropped acid instead. [Alastair Atcheson]

Listen to: Sweep Me Off My Feet, Paint Me Silver, A/B

Review

Swarmculture [Alcopop! Records, 12 May] Leeds four-piece Weirds aren’t really that weird. They describe themselves as psych-grunge but their sound is more reminiscent of old fashioned metal. Weirds are absolutely at their best when they start to crunch out the riffage like some gigantic dinosaur from a Chewits advert in the 80s. All of their promise lies in their ability to turn that noise up to 11. There are times, sure, when the vocals on Swarmculture are a little high in the mix and a few of their lyrics might make you wish for muddier production, but this is a fledgling effort and you don’t stamp on a twinkling stone you suspect might be a diamond in a puddle, right? You say, keep working at it, boys. [Pete Wild]

Listen to: Things that Crawl, Valley of Vision, Phantom

Are You Sure? EP [Alcopop! Records, 5 May] Given the mess that is the current turbulence of the social and political climate of the world – Brexit-based worriment, Trump torment and all – it’s not surprising that the title of Peaness’ new EP is the embodiment of worry. Are You Sure? is that rare breed of five-track wonderment that captures the combination of disheartenment and appetite for change that comes when the little people are sick of being crushed under the boot of the ruling elite. Brimming with sunshine melodies and a gritty, sugar/salt vocal undercurrent, this EP is infectious and massively moreish. Surprisingly, it’s not half as uncertain as its title suggests; Are You Sure? urges its listeners to overcome uncertainty, to be heard, and above all, to be happy. [Rosie Ramsden] Listen to: Same Place, Ugly Veg

Compassion [Ninja Tune, 5 May] It’s hard to place Compassion, the third album by Merseyside-based producer Matthew Barnes aka Forest Swords. Apparently something of a gateway to a variety of forthcoming multidisciplinary projects centred around it – including contemporary dance, performance art, film and publishing – as a record it feels like the context is yet to play out. However, there’s a lot of movement within these cornerstones, while the ambition of this album shouldn’t be confused with obtuseness. Poignancy overrides abrasion, such as on the mournful bleakness of Sjurvival, and hooks rise above the textural murkiness – Panic’s urgent refrain of ‘I fear something’s wrong, the panic is on’ lingers in the memory. Compassion may not feel complete yet, but it’s an exciting portent of what may yet come. [Simon Jay Catling] Listen to: Panic, Sjurvival

RECORDS

The Imperfect Sea [Erased Tapes, 5 May] Arthur Jeffes’ decision to resurrect the name and sound of his late father’s iconic instrumental project (Penguin Cafe Orchestra) in 2009 seemed an unlikely proposition, but eight years on and the music now very much matches the sentiment. On The Imperfect Sea, opener Ricercar sounds typically jaunty with its replication of the sort of acoustic dance music that has become so popular with TV advert directors. Elsewhere more filmic, ambient sounds pervade the album which features covers of electronic works by Simian Mobile Disco and Kraftwerk. The Penguins’ music always defied easy definition and Jeffes’ determination to keep the band’s trademark sound, careering its way from traditional folk and pop styles to minimalism and South American music, is admirable in the extreme. [Jamie Bowman] Listen to: Ricercar, Franz Schubert

Powerplant [ANTI-, 12 May] Girlpool’s sophomore record and ANTI- debut, Powerplant blisters with the heat of Harmony Tividad and Cleo Tucker’s stripped-back emotions; a burn made all the more torrid as they are wedded with the sentiments their latest album coaxes from its listeners. While the L.A. duo haven’t drifted from their characteristic vocal layering and bittersweet harmonising, Powerplant sees Tucker and Tividad give fresh adiposity to their sparse sonic stylings with a full band sound and fuzzy guitars. Ardently absorb all that there is to feel in this LP, and expect its lullaby-like melodies to draw from you that which is so deeply buried you don’t even know it exists. [Rosie Ramsden]

Listen to: It Gets More Blue, Static Somewhere

THE SKINNY

Photo: Ryan Jafarzadeh

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Psych Analysis Ahead of their mind-bendingly raucous debut, Weirds share their thoughts on Leeds’ fertile scene and the ongoing public fascination with psychedelic sounds Interview: Rosie Ramsden

s they prepare to release debut album Swarmculture, Leeds psych-rockers Weirds chatted with us about the sonic bricolage of psychedelic music, the genre-evading nature of their musicality – and how this acts as a piece of the puzzle that makes up the UK’s wider cultural landscape.

The Skinny: How would you characterise Swarmculture? Do you think it establishes a specific ‘Weirds sound’? Aiden Razzall (vocals): “It’s a dark, heavy, psychedelic album. We wanted to write something that trod the line between weirdness and poppiness. We still wanted it to be heavy and angrysounding but we also really like pop melodies.” Matt Vaughan (bass): “We also wanted to push the dancey stuff. That’s a big part of our sound.” What do you think of the Leeds scene at the minute? MV: “There’s a band we played with the other week called Mush – they’re really good. They’ve got a Brian Jonestown Massacre kind of thing about them.” AR: “They have a Lou Reed thing going on; subdued vocals and New York guitars. We like Team Picture too – I guess some of their sound is psych, a lot of their songs are quite stylistically different.” How has the scene developed since you’ve been a band? AR: “I feel like there was a period a few years ago where Hookworms, Menace Beach, Cowtown etc., although all sonically very different, were cultivating a scene. But I think the good thing about Leeds is the wide variety of bands. I heard a quote by John Peel about how there’s no other place in the country that’s got as many bands in a square mile as LS6. I think it’s true. On our street there’s three bands: us, a soul band, and some electronic people two doors down. Being in an environment where there are so many different types of music all the time...” MV: “...Kind of gives you the freedom to do whatever you want.” How would you say psych fits within the UK’s wider cultural landscape? MV: “I couldn’t describe what a psych band is. But you could look at lots of things that are going on now internationally and pick out elements that sound a bit psych. I think everyone is getting very

May/June 2017

interested in manipulating sonic structures and making stuff that you don’t necessarily hear as much anymore; people will listen to it because it sounds really odd.” AR: “Maybe it’s because we live in a digital age where you can make a song on your iPad... people want something that expresses the materiality of writing a song a bit more. Because everything is so instant and so easy to access now, people are actually looking to the past to…” MV: “...Find a way to personalise their sound?” AR: “Yeah, to give it some more meaning.” Dave Nash (drums): “The vinyl revival probably helped as well.” AR: “It’s almost become a hybrid thing with that, because you can get those packages that will cater for your tastes: three random vinyl a month based on your Spotify listens. Maybe the vinyl revival did start out as a fad, but it’s now part of a wider thing where people want something more physical rather than instantly getting a song. People want more of that; waiting for the mystery of the record to come in the post.” How do you think psych crosses over into other genres? Could it be seen as a flipside to politicised punk? MV: “I don’t think it’s as binary as that.” Zach Thomas (guitar): “There’s loads of DIY psych bands and, if anything, that’s a pretty ‘punk’ way of going about making music. We’re not too precious. If someone wants to call us punk we’re fine with that. If someone wants to call us psych we’re fine with it.” AR: “Even someone like Sleaford Mods, who you could say are punk, are quite progressive because their music is really simple but has a krautrock, psych influence: basic beats and some weird keys, and then that almost punky vocal over the top. I think people get caught up in trying to label stuff, but if you like the music, just fucking listen to it. It doesn’t really matter, does it?” MV: “Nothing is that black-and-white anymore. As Aiden said, people are making the music they wanna make because they are interested in it, rather than saying, ‘I’m going to make a punk, psych, Alt-J-inspired synth band.’” DN: “That sounds terrible!” Swarmculture is released on 12 May via Alcopop! Records Weirds play Gullivers, Manchester, 31 May and Brudenell Social Club, Leeds, 7 Jun @weirdsband

MUSIC

Review

Why the 12-inch Record Still Matters In an environment of downloads and streams, what explains the enduring appeal of the 12-inch single? Our writer argues that, far from being obsolete, it’s the perfect format for browsing, buying and listening Words: Tom Hodgson

ith the recent, nonchalant arrival of record players in big-name supermarkets, it’s now widely accepted that the 21st-century vinyl resurgence is no longer a novelty story to slot clumsily at the end of a news round-up. Vinyl has become just another part of life and musical consumption in 2017; people are willing to pay more to listen in a more focused, more refined way, and so more vinyl albums are being bought. But what about those big, oversized 12-inch singles that are almost always priced a little higher than you’d prefer? Why are people paying, compared to an MP3 download or stream, what seems like a lot of money for one to five songs? The 12-inch: an artistic statement Pressed to contain longer ‘club’ mixes of songs and with a higher sound quality due to more space on the disc, the 12-inch had a very certain and secure place in the pre-digital world – but is it still relevant today? I like to think it is; in fact, I’d go so far as to say that the 12-inch single is the epitome of the vinyl medium, the perfect format for browsing, buying and listening. This is especially true in the electronic music scene. With small, bespoke labels releasing limited runs of 12-inches, often featuring only a couple of songs, the medium becomes a sort of ‘captured art-form’ that represents much more than the music cut into the grooves. It represents the label as an independent, small business and a statement against traditional labels and institutions; the (often underground) artist’s work on the cover

as a visual expression of music culture; and then finally, the music itself as a lasting physical statement of creative work in a world that champions quick, easy and free online self-publishing.

“ By reaching, shuffling and searching through my record collection, I’m giving meaning to what I choose” A voyage of discovery Then there’s the joy of browsing. So non-committal is the larger single format that it’s much easier to take a chance on a Brazilian soul artist whose name you haven’t encountered, or to risk parting with a small amount of money on that new German minimal techno imprint that doesn’t have any words or design on the sleeve, only a robotic series of numbers and hashtags. With most vinyl singles you’re simply not spending as much as you would on an album, and as a result you can be more liberal and spontaneous with your choices – which is what shopping for new music is all about, isn’t it?

It would, at this point, be a faux pas not to mention the cult of the white label. No other format can conjure up so much intrigue, mystery and hype as this label-less pre-release. These objects of obsession and desire are holy grails to the many Discogs-hunters and wax consumers who search endlessly online after watching their favourite DJ spin musical blanks on the latest Boiler Room episode, desperately posting, “Track ID - 33:42?... Anyone?” in the YouTube comments at four in the morning. And when you find it, it’s absolutely worth it; you are now in control of the enigma next time your mates come round and you put ‘that record’ on. The satisfaction of collecting Owning 12-inch singles is also what I’d imagine collecting one-pound notes was like once upon a time: you can have a lot of them for little relative cost, especially if you dig for second-hand bargains. There’s that satisfying feeling of having a much more eclectic and varied record collection when you’ve got a crateload of physical sleeves to choose from; and as you flick through the sleeves deep in the groove, switching the disc with every track, it’s a feeling of pleasure that can’t be matched – as you

play them back-to-back to your audience of zero! While in one sense the single is a more casual format than the LP, there’s also a certain weightiness to it that separates it from an MP3 download or Spotify stream. Whenever I’m selecting a playlist for a radio show or simply setting aside songs that I want to play to myself on a Saturday afternoon, there’s something real about picking out ten records and physically selecting music. By reaching, shuffling and searching through my record collection, I’m giving meaning to what I choose, considering the other songs that will bookend it... all this feels right with the 12-inch single. In a world where the instant, rapid consumption of media is a 24/7 affair, something as substantial, physical and well-crafted as the 12-inch single is a true artistic statement that lasts beyond a quick listen. It’s also a great way to support independent labels and record shops, as well as expand your collection into more genres and avenues than you potentially would if you only stuck to albums. Here’s to the 12-inch vinyl single: long may it sit in our record shops and on our shelves. Check out our guides to record shopping in Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester at theskinny.co.uk/music

Our Favourite Record Shops Now that you’ve read all about the joys of vinyl, here are some of the best places to buy it in Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester Record shopping in Leeds Think of Leeds’ music scene and you’ll likely think of its two longstanding independent record shops: Jumbo (in the Merrion Centre) and Crash (on the Headrow). But there are some other great spots for crate-digging, too: here are some new kids on the block. Woo Together Priding itself on being ‘the only record shop in Hyde Park’, the recently opened Woo Together operates out of events space/cafe/hangout Hyde Park Book Club. Working closely with producers and artists linked to the city, they’ve got a strong local focus as well as stocking music from around the world. Headingley Ln, facebook.com/ wootogether.leeds SingleShot Helping fuel the vinyl revival in Leeds is SingleShot, who – you might’ve guessed from the name – also supply some seriously strong coffee. Browse the racks of vintage wax with a gooey brownie in hand (your non vinyl-grabbing hand); buy tickets for local gigs, and catch some live music in the basement. Central Rd, @SingleShotLeeds

Review

Noiseisforheroes The brainchild of Chris Coulthard, formerly of Huddersfield’s Vinyl Tap record shop and various record fairs who decided it was time to set up a permanent home, Noiseisforheroes has a good showing of punk but the selection is by no means limited, with Coulthard buying across all genres as long as the music is interesting. Great George St Liverpool’s vinyl vaults Jacaranda Records Following a huge refurb of Liverpool’s popular Jacaranda drinking establishment in 2015, the city’s music-buying public now have a new place to cruise vinyl on the bar’s first floor – and they’ve taken the concept of ‘try before you buy’ one step further with their specially crafted listening booths. Slater St, facebook.com/ jacarandarecords Dig Vinyl Opened in 2014 as “a local response to the tireless talking down of physical record shops and the corporate commodification of music,” Dig Vinyl has quickly become one of Liverpool’s most popular haunts. Although Dig handles plenty of

new releases, the jewel in its crown is a remarkable selection of second-hand LPs and 7-inches. Bold St, @digvinyl 3B Records Know a vinyl-based dance music DJ in Liverpool? Chances are they owe a debt to 3B in one form or another, whether through working behind the till or simply from having spent their formative years flicking through the racks. It’s a local institution, specialising in house, techno, disco, nu-disco, soul, funk, balearic and electronica. Slater St, facebook.com/3B.Records

Piccadilly Records Arguably the most famous of Manchester’s vinyl hotspots, Piccadilly Records is an undisputed Northern institution, having served music lovers since 1978. Along with vinyl (and CDs and, sometimes, cassettes), the shop also hosts events including in-store live sessions, DJ sets and exclusive album playbacks. Mostly, though, it’s just a great place to spend an afternoon digging, with pretty much every genre under the sun generously represented. Oldham St, @PiccadillyRecs Read more guides and favourites at theskinny.co.uk/music

Our favourite record shops in Manchester Eastern Bloc As one of the only shops in the UK to import dance records when it opened back in the mid 80s, Eastern Bloc has enviable credentials as Manchester’s best techno, drum’n’bass, house and electronic vinyl stockist. Some three decades later it’s also become one of the most soughtafter pre-party venues in the city, regularly hosting warm-up sessions. Stevenson Sq, @Easternbloc1985

CLUBS / MUSIC

THE SKINNY

In Cinemas The Red Turtle

My Life as a Courgette

Director: Michaël Dudok de Wit Released: 26 May Certificate: PG

Director: Claude Barras Starring: Gaspard Schlatter, Sixtine Murat, Paulin Jaccoud Released: 5 May Certificate: PG

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The Red Turtle is a Studio Ghibli film, but not as we know it. For the Japanese studio’s first international co-production they have enlisted Michaël Dudok de Wit, an Oscar-winning animator here making his feature debut, and he has brought a vision that makes this film feel both a perfect fit for Ghibli’s philosophy and something wholly unique. The film begins with a strikingly convincing portrait of a man surviving a shipwreck in a raging storm and washing up on a deserted island, before following the arduous process of his attempts to build a raft and escape his lonely fate. Being alone, naturally, he doesn’t say a word, but one of the many astounding things about The Red Turtle is that no words are spoken throughout the film’s entire 80 minutes. The Red Turtle is a masterclass in visual storytelling. Dudok de Wit and his team establish a leisurely pace that allows us to spend time with this character and get to know the island as he does, so the magical events that take place later feel entirely consistent with the internal logic of the world that has been created for us. That the world is rendered so beautifully certainly helps; Dudok de Wit’s commitment to traditional hand-drawn animation techniques gives

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The Red Turtle

both the characters and the island a texture and sense of life that is wondrous to behold. To describe the bare bones of The Red Turtle’s story might make it sound slight, but the film’s cumulative power sneaks up on the viewer. Like Dudok de Wit’s shorts, the film is essentially about the cycle of life, the choices we make, and

the way we approach the end. As such, it has a transcendent quality that feels timeless, and coming at a time when the iconic figures behind Studio Ghibli are hanging up their paintbrushes, the film might indicate a still-bright future for that great company. [Philip Concannon] Released by StudioCanal

Berlin Syndrome

The Other Side of Hope

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Director: Cate Shortland Starring: Teresa Palmer, Max Reimelt Released: 9 Jun Certificate: 15

Director: Aki Kaurismäki Starring: Sherwan Haji, Sakari Kuosmanen Released: 26 May Certificate:

Australian auteur Cate Shortland has a knack for casting promising young women in complex lead roles and drawing out powerful, authentic performances. Her latest meditation on female resilience, the bone-chilling Berlin Syndrome, follows the (mis)fortunes of wide-eyed backpacker Clare (Teresa Palmer), whose interest in GDR architecture has brought her to photograph Kreuzberg, Berlin. A modern day flâneuse, Clare’s radiant joie de vivre piques the interest of local Andi (Max Riemelt), who seduces and traps her in one of her beloved, abandoned Soviet buildings. The genre mechanics of Berlin Syndrome’s overlong kidnap narrative, the visceral nausea felt by the audience – the will she or won’t she escape – almost eclipses the formal qualities of Shortland’s cinema, but not quite. The way light is used to reflect Clare’s freedom or lack of it, the queasy shots of seemingly unlevel walls once Clare is locked in, the foregrounding of female gaze and banally psychopathic Andi’s obsession with its containment. As such, it’s a film that warrants repeat viewings, though only if viewers can cope with reliving Clare’s gruelling ordeal. [Rachel Bowles]

The Other Side of Hope begins with Khaled (Sherwan Haji), his face and body completely camouflaged in sparkling soot, emerging like a divine, alien entity in a harbour. A Syrian refugee, Khaled has come to Finland to both seek asylum and find his sister, one of his few surviving family members. The friendless Wikström (Sakari Kuosmanen), a gambling man, decides to buy a restaurant; upon seeing homeless Khaled sleeping rough in the alley, he offers the refugee a job, a fake ID and an underground storage unit to live in. Kaurismäki’s cinema in Hope bares all his trademark fingerprints: a vintage colour palette; a strangely retro, technophobic 21st century setting; deadpan humour; still, single-shot scenes. The director has apologised for making an “issues” film in Hope, trying to frame the current refugee crisis as a depoliticised humanist issue, with Helsinki offering a somewhat drab utopia for both Khaled and Wikström. Unfortunately, apolitical is still political, and Hope’s happy ending runs on the oppression inherent in that of class and racial politics. [Rachel Bowles]

Released by Curzon Artificial Eye

Colossal

Mindhorn

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Director: Nacho Vigalondo Starring: Anne Hathaway, Jason Sudeikis, Dan Stevens, Austin Stowell, Tim Blake Nelson Released: 19 May Certificate: 15

Released by Thunderbird

Director: Sean Foley Starring: Julian Barratt, Essie Davis, Simon Farnaby, Russell Tovey, Steve Coogan Released: 5 May Certificate: 12

Spanish writer-director Nacho Vigalondo (Timecrimes) makes a bid for the American mainstream with Colossal, a high-concept indie that’s part character study, part blockbuster audition. Gloria (Hathaway) is a down on her luck writer, who retreats back to her quiet hometown from New York City after her boyfriend (Stevens) evicts her. Half-heartedly trying to get her life together, she accepts work at the bar owned by childhood friend Oscar (Sudeikis). Following a late night bender, world-changing news comes from across the globe: a giant monster (of the kaiju mould of Godzilla or Pacific Rim) has attacked Seoul. Gloria’s horrified enough by the far-flung catastrophe, but things get even worse when repeat attacks suggest that she, through very specific circumstances, may be controlling the creature. While never less than engaging, and often fairly witty, Colossal is certainly muddled, veering awkwardly between darkness and goofiness. Vigalondo also never quite decides whether the film’s allegorical thrust is more concerned with alcoholism or toxic, closeted misogyny, with mixed metaphors rendering the finale’s attempt at catharsis somewhat lacking. [Josh Slater-Williams]

From To Be or Not to Be to Tropic Thunder, the idea of actors being inadvertently pulled into real-life jeopardy has served as a durable comic premise for years, and Mindhorn is a particularly English spin on that concept. Richard Thorncroft (Julian Barratt) is a washed-up actor whose one big hit, the 80s detective series Mindhorn, is now long forgotten, but he’s given an opportunity to revive his career when a delusional killer on the Isle of Man tells the police that he will only negotiate with the legendary Mindhorn himself. He believes Mindhorn actually exists, and Barratt and his co-screenwriter Simon Farnaby (who also appears as Thorncroft’s skimpily dressed love rival) make every effort to make him feel real, showing a valuable attention to detail in their portrait of naff 80s television conventions and merchandising. While the thin plot starts to feel overextended in the final third, the absurd gags come fast enough to ensure the film is always entertaining and occasionally hilarious, and Barratt’s excellent central performance is almost Partridge-esque in its clueless pomposity. [Philip Concannon]

Released by Entertainment Film Distributors

Released by StudioCanal

May/June 2017

Icare, a bobble-headed boy who prefers to go by the moniker Courgette, has a shock of blue hair and eyes that betray a life of anxiety and fear. He lives in a stop-motion world realised in a wash of pallid greys with only rare splashes of vibrant colour. When his mother dies in a freak accident, little Courgette is taken into care. He has two souvenirs from his past life: an empty beer can, and a kite he made with a picture of his father as a superhero on one side and then a giant baby chicken on the other – a bittersweet detail of childlike naïvety of his parents’ failed marriage due to his father’s obsession with ‘chicks’. The children at the foster home all have their own tragic tale. There is a girl who was abused by her father, another whose mother was deported back to Africa when she was at school, and a young girl on whom Courgette develops a crush, Camille, who witnessed her father kill her mother before committing suicide. Suffice to say, this isn’t material you would expect to find in most children’s films, at least not displayed so openly. Courgette’s frankness – that ranges from sexual awakenings (jokes about exploding penises) juxtaposed with hard-hitting moments about domestic violence – is what gives the film its emotional resonance, drawing us into the plight and lives of the residents of this foster home. It’s a frankness that comes, in part, from the skill of Claude Barras and the screenplay written by Girlhood’s Céline Sciamma. For all the sadness of this story, at the core is a defiant message of hope, teaching us that a tragic beginning doesn’t have to lead to a tragic end, and that for all the failings of society, a mere act of kindness can go a long way. [Joseph Walsh]

FILM

My Life as a Courgette

Review

20 Years of Brass Eye With Manchester TV festival Pilot Light celebrating Brass Eye’s 20th anniversary, we look back at Chris Morris’s seminal show and realise we need his blistering satire more than ever

very joke is a tiny revolution, said George Orwell. Given the current state of the world – Brexit, Trump, the reformation of Steps – a revolution is exactly what we need. Political comedy is often the best place to start; in dark times, satire serves an almost medicinal purpose – a valve to release the pressure. And no comedy in recent memory delivered this public service better than Chris Morris’s fearless media satire Brass Eye. Astonishingly, this year marks the 20th anniversary of the show that earned Morris the title “most loathed man in television.” The roots of Brass Eye lie in the comedian’s pre-television work. From a young age, Morris had an enthusiasm for pranks, and parlayed this into a local radio career. No Known Cure, a late 80s Saturday morning show on Radio Bristol, saw Morris bending broadcasting rules with bizarre parodies, disorientating sound effects, and a series of feedback reports in which he would spring unsettling questions on members of the public. In 1991, Morris hooked up with producer Armando Iannucci for acclaimed Radio 4 news parody On the Hour, which introduced his alterego “Christopher Morris”, the combative, Paxmanesque news anchor. On the Hour migrated to BBC Two, with much of the same creative team, as The Day Today, a scalpel-sharp satire of news speak and media intrusion. The Day Today revelled in surreal language and ridiculous on-screen graphics; it was received with across-the-board acclaim. Brass Eye, Morris’s next project, would prove a more incendiary comedy bomb. Iannucci was possibly a tempering influence. The Scottish satirist had no involvement with Brass Eye, leaving Morris free to travel into dangerously challenging new territory. Using a current affairs-

Review

style TV format, each of the show’s episodes addressed a different issue from a perspective of moral panic. Morris, in a series of elaborate disguises, interviewed numerous celebrities – including Peter Stringfellow, Phil Collins, and Babylon Zoo one hit wonder Jas Mann – and convinced them the stories his research team had ‘uncovered’ were real. Paul Daniels asked viewers to help a German elephant with her trunk stuck up her anus; Steven Berkoff warned of the dangers of “heavy electricity” leaking out of cables. The detailed subterfuge included fake organisations like S.H.A.D.T (Schools Heighten Aversion Drug Therapy), and A.A.A.A.A.A.A.Z (Against Animal Anger and Autocasual Abuse Atrocities in Zoos), each with its own company address and letterhead. Drugs, one of the show’s most notorious episodes, concerned a fake Eastern European street drug called “Cake”, which tragically caused users to lose all concept of time. “Well, it almost sounds like fun,” a duped Noel Edmonds says gravely in the episode, “unless you’re the Prague schoolboy who walked out into the street straight in front of a tram. He thought he’d got a month to cross the street.” Controversial broadcasting is nothing new. Peter Watkins’ The War Game – a terrifying doc on the probable effects of nuclear war – was banned for 20 years, while Dennis Potter’s dark psychological thriller Brimstone and Treacle was on the broadcasting shelf for 11. Brass Eye did not receive a ban, but Channel 4 postponed the transmission date for several months because of legal concerns. Morris has never been afraid of causing trouble, of course: he falsely announced the death of Jimmy Savile on his Radio 1 Christmas show,

and there was a similar story about MP Michael Heseltine. But nothing could have prepared him for what happened after Brass Eye finally landed: this was less a comedy show, and more a cultural shock wave. Several celebrities threatened to sue. Tory MP David Amess was concerned about Cake reaching UK shores, and went so far as to raise a question about it in Parliament: upon discovering the time-altering illegal substance was a hoax, he attacked Channel 4, describing the entire enterprise as “beneath contempt”.

“ The Daily Mail called it ‘the sickest TV show ever’ but clearly missed the point” Paedogeddon!, the show’s infamous 2001 special, attracted even more complaints, with politicians queuing up to froth at the mouth (even though most hadn’t seen the programme). The Daily Mail called it ‘the sickest TV show ever’ but clearly missed the point. Paedogeddon! wasn’t a comedy about paedophiles, more a hysterical representation of the media’s hysterical reporting around the issue. As a father, Morris was angry at the climate of fear the media was cultivating; parents have enough to worry about, he reasoned, without being told on a near-daily basis:

FILM

Words: Steve Timms

“Your child could be next”. This was comedy with an uncompromising moral purpose. In America, political satire is currently as strong as ever, with the likes of The Daily Show, SNL and late night hosts like Seth Meyers, Stephen Colbert and Samantha Bee regularly ridiculing the Trump administration with righteous fury. Where is the British equivalent? It’s not like we’re short of targets. Since his blistering 2010 comedy Four Lions, following a quartet of clueless jihadi terrorists, Morris has been oddly quiet (apart from directing a few episodes of old pal Iannucci’s political comedy Veep). We need Brass Eye 2 as a matter of urgency; without Chris Morris, the revolution will not be televised. Brass Eye at Pilot Light Manchester TV festival Pilot Light had its inaugural edition last year, and the undoubted highlight was a rapturously received screening of Chris Morris and Charlie Brooker’s hipster-baiting satire Nathan Barley. Pilot Light’s sophomore edition brings four more days of cult shows, Q&As, and panel discussions to Manchester, and features another Morris show, Brass Eye. This special event will screen all six episodes from the first series, followed by the world premiere of Michael Cumming's Oxide Ghosts: The Brass Eye Tapes – a special documentary edited from hundreds of hours of unseen material from the show. Cumming, who directed the first series of Brass Eye, will attend for a post screening Q&A. Brass Eye, Gorilla, Manchester, 7 May, 2pm-8pm For more on Pilot Light TV Festival, head to pilotlightfestival.co.uk

THE SKINNY

Strange Heart Beating

By Eli Goldstone

RRRRR

The Things I Would Tell You

Edited by Sabrina Mahfouz

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

A Festival with Feeling From the team behind Audio Farm comes One Tribe festival, a five-day experience with 24-hour entertainment and music. Co-director Stephen Chesters tells us what makes it unique

Recently bereaved English academic Seb is struggling with the loss of his wife Leda, so visits her native country to learn more about her and divert his encroaching pit of grief. By uprooting from his safe haven of intellectualism in London to the visceral rawness of rural Latvia, Seb finds Leda had an identity and past entirely discrete from the one he thought he knew. At the same time, Goldstone lets us into the head of Seb’s dearly beloved through excerpts from her adolescent diary. The facility with which she flits between the two very different points of view shows a chameleon-like technical ability, while her beautifully simple phrasing often reveals far more than the words themselves. Whether delivered from the lips of the teenage Leda or the grieving Seb, Goldstone’s prose is laden with meaning, dark wit and a rich undercurrent of melancholy. Leda was killed by a swan – a death that’s implausible, slightly ridiculous and utterly tragic all at once. In fact, these epithets are fair descriptions of the book as a whole; by turns the reader might find themselves scoffing in mock disbelief, smiling wryly and fighting back true emotion. With this compact, compelling and very powerful debut, Goldstone has signposted herself as a talented chronicler of human emotions and of the terrifying void that awaits us at the end of life’s journey – both for the dead and for those left behind. [Jonny Sweet]

‘Woman like no one is ever going to read you. Woman like you have everything to say.’ In The Things I Would Tell You, edited by Sabrina Mahfouz, British Muslim women write. It is a vibrant collection on everything from Islamic Tinder to friendship, from desire to religion, from war to representation; ‘an alternative to the current homogenous narrative of British Muslim identity’. Each piece chips away at this monolith, which shatters into a thousand shimmering shards. Muslim women’s bodies are a battleground of competing definitions but in these pages women write their own. Ahdaf Soueif’s Mezzaterra lances skewed perceptions and exposes political motivations behind the Western misrepresentation of Muslims. In Imtiaz Dharker’s The Right Word, outside is a ‘terrorist’, ‘freedom fighter’, ‘a child who looks like mine’ – she asks, ‘Are words no more than waving, wavering flags?’. In Uomini Cadranno, Seema Begum questions: ‘Tell me if in this endless cold, endless storm, endless torture, endless war, endless genocide, a sweet beauty will blossom from the seeds of this’. It is time to listen – truth be told, it is long past time. Hibaq Osman writes, ‘you are lucky/ to be able to detach yourself from stories like this, to enter and exit conversations as you wish’. At times sensual, humorous, piercing and heartbreaking, The Things I Would Tell You is an absorbing read. It is also important, and never more relevant than now. [Ceris Aston]

Out 4 May, published by Granta Books, RRP £12.99

Out now, published by Saqi Books, RRP £12.99

Compass

By Mathias Enard, translated by Charlotte Mandell

RRRRR

On a single sleepless night in Vienna, musicologist Franz Ritter revisits moments from a life spent studying and exploring the Middle East, winding through memories and half-dreams of Aleppo, Damascus, and Tehran, always circling back to his love of Sarah, a French scholar who is even more intelligent than our narrator, and rarely pausing for anything so pedestrian as a full stop. In 2015 this novel won France’s top literary award, the Prix Goncourt, and has just been shortlisted for the Man Booker International prize: it is a loose outing in the stream of consciousness tradition, following in the footsteps of Proust and Joyce and so on. Our narrator is an insomniac, but these are not your average night thoughts. Dr Ritter’s stream of consciousness is untroubled by the tributaries that deal with shopping lists, bills and whether the cat’s been fed. Instead, we delve deep into Orientalism, the relationship between East and West, the interlinking and interdependence of cultures, the idea that there is otherness in us all. We come across academics, musicians, artists and authors, and we run through many pages that would be better suited to a lengthy essay. There are moments of humour and selfdeprecation, which come as a relief. Charlotte Mandell’s translation is impeccable. But dispensing with plot and dialogue turns the novel down to a slow burn of showy intelligence, at risk of sending its readers into the deep, blissful sleep of which Dr Ritter is so deprived. [Galen O’Hanlon]

Universal Harvester

By John Darnielle

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Jeremy works in a video rental store in the small Iowan town he’s lived in all his life when one day his routine is interrupted by the discovery of something spliced into several of the tapes – something which disturbs him so much that he’s compelled against his cautious nature to follow the trail of grainy clips back to their source. This mystery makes up one half of the novel – the half which propels it forward and forms its central plot – but it’s the other, quieter half where Darnielle’s rapidly growing powers as a novelist really take effect. Mostly, Universal Harvester is a picture of life in the kind of small town where nothing happens fast. There’s rarely real news, locals talk less to exchange information than just to meet eyes and spend a moment recognising each other. It’s not a story about the need to get out of a boring, workaday town before it grinds you down or a romantic tale of the simple life found outside the big cities. It’s just a picture of a certain way of living. Progress between Darnielle’s first and second novel forms a narrative of its own which stretches tantalisingly into the years to come – the sense of someone rapidly feeling their way towards something masterful. [Ross McIndoe]

Interview: Jess Hardiman

eading and Leeds for the rockers and moshers, Bestival for the sequin-clad disco lovers, Glastonbury for the hippies and free spirits: historically we’ve all had our tribes, even if these days our ever-expanding obsession with the festival circuit has paved the way for less distinct parameters out in the fields. Billing itself as “an immersive cocoon of energy and positivity,” One Tribe is a unique and forward-thinking festival of music, art and culture that brings the tribes together. Harking back to the roots of festival culture, it comes from the good bods behind Audio Farm, a collective known for their days at the forefront of the free party scene. One Tribe: the line-up Set in the beautiful grounds of Cholmondeley Castle in Cheshire – easily accessed from Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds and North Wales – the festival will welcome 25 collectives, with themed open air and forest stages including the focal Mandala stage, reminding us of our place in the cosmos through live folk, gypsy folk, ska, funk, electronic and world sets from the likes of Wild Marmalade, The Turbans, Afriquoi and Olive Tree Dance. There will also be a Home of the Drum stage, hosted by Meat Free, 303 Liverpool and Eastern Bloc; the Forest stage, hosted by Freerotation, SP23, Zutekh, Micron and Mango Club; the Psychedelic stage, hosted by Furthur Progressions Records and Illuminaughty; the Depths of Bass stage, hosted by Soul:ution, Hit & Run, Unity Sessions, Roots Project and Pressure Sounds Wales and even a 24-hour Ambient stage. Enthusing about the ISO artist line-up, one of the festival's group of directors Stephen Chesters says: “We’ve got Juan Atkins coming over from Detroit, who’s one of the founders of Detroit techno music and part of the Belleville Three, and we’ve got the likes of Boddika, our in-house maestro Move D – who’s going to be helping with the Freerotation takeover – D.A.V.E. the Drummer, Lone, Psychemagik, and then on the drum'n'bass side of things the two big names are Calibre and DJ Hype, who’s doing a three-hour history of drum'n'bass music.” What makes One Tribe different? Along with the music, One Tribe has a strong holistic core, with talks, workshops, family-friendly activities, yoga and meditation, vegan food, a communal sleeping area and nearly 100 circus and fire performers, as well as drumming circles

– an aspect that Chesters sees as a reflection of Audio Farm’s rich roots within the free party scene, urging festival-goers to bring their own instruments to join the likes of Beatnik Drumming Collective and Drum Machine. The most noticeable difference between One Tribe and other festivals, however, lies with its overall ethos. “We feel as though we want to go back to the roots of festivalism, which is all about creating a safe space and a place of love, and a place where we’re not draining people or the industry of money but actually putting something back into a positive project,” Chesters explains.

“ We want to go back to the roots of festivalism, which is all about creating a safe space and a place of love” Stephen Chesters

Specifically, all profits from the festival will be going towards the Green Paw Project, an international charity dedicated to the welfare of animals. Going against the grain of corporate ‘festivalism’, proceeds from One Tribe will instead help to fund a project in Malawi, where Green Paw are planning to build an animal sanctuary for orphaned or injured wildlife, seeing them rehabilitated before being released back into the wild. “We’ll also have a domestic facility so we’ll be going round and educating schools in Malawi how important all the parks are,” Chesters adds. “We’ll be going into the local towns and cities and carrying out spaying and neutering programmes and rabies vaccinations for free, and also [giving] any free veterinary care.” One Tribe festival, Cholmondeley Castle, Cheshire, 3-8 Aug, £50-£145 onetribefestival.org

Out now, published by Scribe, RRP £8.99

Out now, published by Fitzcarraldo Editions, RRP £14.99

May/June 2017

BOOKS / MUSIC

Review

Win a pair of VIP Experience tickets to LIMF Summer Jam L James

Win a pair of tickets to HOPE & GLORY festival H

OPE & GLORY, which takes place in the heart of Liverpool on 5 and 6 August, has been billed as a festival of anthems and it's not hard to see why. Artists such as James, Ocean Colour Scene, Razorlight, The Fratellis, and the 70-piece Haรงienda Classical with special guests Shaun Ryder, Bez and Tim Booth all on the bill, along with relatively new acts The Shimmer Band, The Blinders and Dantevilles plus many more. To be in with a chance of winning a pair of tickets to HOPE & GLORY, simply head to theskinny.co.uk/competitions and correctly answer this question: Which of the following is the name of a classic

IMF Summer Jam is back in Liverpool 20 to 23 July with an eclectic line-up, including artists Gorgon City, Corinne Bailey Rae, Naughty Boy, Cast and more. LIMF is offering five pairs of VIP Experience weekend tickets, which give up close and personal views of the main stage. Lucky winners will also receive a drink on arrival to the VIP area, plus a bundle of LIMF branded merchandise including T-shirts, mugs and lanyards! To be in with a chance of winning a pair of VIP Experience tickets to LIMF Summer Jam, simply head to theskinny.co.uk/competitions and correctly answer this question: In which park does LIMF Summer Jam

take place? a) Sefton Park b) Reynolds Park c) Princes Park Competition closes midnight Sun 2 Jul. Entrants under 14 years old must be accompanied by an adult at the event. Winners will be notified via email within two working days of closing and will be required to respond within 48 hours or the prize will be offered to another entrant. Winners are responsible for their own accommodation. Our Ts&Cs can be found at theskinny.co.uk/about/terms More info: limfestival.com

James hit? a) Stand up b) Sit down c) Lie down Competition closes midnight Sun 2 Jul. Entrants must be aged 14 or older. Winners will be notified via email within two working days of closing and will be required to respond within 48 hours or the prize will be offered to another entrant. Our Ts&Cs can be found at theskinny.co.uk/about/terms More info: facebook.com/HopeAndGloryFestival

We are recruiting

Head to theskinny.co.uk/about/get-involved to find out more @theskinnymag /TheSkinnyMag

COMPETITIONS

Illustration: Michael Arnold

Do you have sales experience? Can you think on your feet? Are you interested in arts and culture?

THE SKINNY

Leeds Music Tue 02 May EX-CULT

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £7

Memphis punk band making their UK debut. GEKO

THE WARDROBE, 19:00–22:00, £12

Young rapper hailing from Manchester, who started writing raps at the age of 10.

Wed 03 May

DJ FORMAT AND ABDOMINAL

THE WARDROBE, 19:00–22:00, £12.50

For 14 years, DJ Format and rapper Abdominal have been entertaining crowds from Toronto to the UK. Now the hip-hop stars are back at it in 2017 with their new album Still Hungry. HOOPS

HEADROW HOUSE, 20:00–23:00, £7

Bloomington, Indiana based fourpiece signed to Fat Possum.

Thu 04 May HAYSEED DIXIE

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £17.50

US novelty metal legends playing a mixture of hard rock cover versions and original compositions. WILLIAM MCCARTHY

THE WARDROBE, 19:30–22:30, £12.50

William McCarthy of New York’s Augustines and Pela heads out with his solo work.

Fri 05 May ULI JON ROTH

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £20

Inimitable German guitarist of 70s hard rock group the Scorpions.

Sat 06 May MAIA

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £10

Vandal-signed Leeds band specialising in sci-fi folk and psychedelic pop. CATTLE AND CANE

THE WARDROBE, 19:30–22:30, £7

Life-affirming indie-folk from the Teeside five-piece, made up of members of the prodigious Hamill family (plus Paul Wilson). PETER KAY’S DANCE FOR LIFE

FIRSTDIRECT ARENA, FROM 18:00, £28.50

The Farnworth comedian hosts a touring three-hour charity dance-a-thon.

DEAR FRIENDS (KNUCKLE + GOOD GOOD BLOOD + ADAM TAYLOR)

HEADROW HOUSE, 19:00–23:00, £6

Acoustic indie folky-blues from Cleckheaton.

AIR DRAWN DAGGER (KILL THE INTERMISSION + THE SLUMDOGS + DUTCH RUDDER)

HYDE PARK BOOK CLUB, 19:30–23:00, £6

Alternative rock band from Sheffield.

Sun 07 May

KATATONIA (GHOST BATH + THE GREAT DISCORD)

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £20

Nope, not the Cerys Matthewsfronted Welsh types, but the progressive metal lot from Stockholm. Bit of a difference. ANDREW COMBS

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £12

Nashville songwriter Andrew Combs returns to the UK for an intimate tour. WRECKLESS ERIC

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £10

English rock’n’roll singer/songwriter, out and touring without his usual partner in crime, Amy Rigby.

Mon 08 May HOWIE PAYNE

BELGRAVE MUSIC HALL AND CANTEEN, 20:00–23:00, £10

Singer-songwriter formerly of The Stands, who’s previously worked with the likes of Paul Weller, Noel Gallagher and Bill Ryder-Jones. PROTOJE (SEVANA)

THE WARDROBE, 19:30–22:30, £16.50

The reggae revivalist and his band do their thing.

Tue 09 May GNARWOLVES

THE PHYSICS HOUSE BAND BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £7

Brighton-based math-rock trio with a hardcore following of loyal fans.

Wed 10 May

TOKYO SOUND LAND (ANCHORSONG + DAISUKE TANABE + AMETSUB) BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £PAY AS YOU FEEL

A triple billed package of three of Japans leading live producers.

JAMES LEG AND THE BONNEVILLES

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £10

The frontman of Black Diamond Heavies brings his guttural vocals and bittersweet growly blues our way. VULGARIANS

HEADROW HOUSE, 20:00–23:00, FREE

Hull outfit, whose sound is drenched in reverb and feedback.

Thu 11 May

DUCKTAILS (JAMES FERRARO + TYPHONIAN HIGHLIFE)

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £8

Solo side project of Real Estate’s Matt Mondanile, making shimmery guitar pop sounds. MY VITRIOL

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £16.50

London-based alternative rock lot. THE UNTHANKS

CITY VARIETIES MUSIC HALL, 19:30–22:30, £20.50 - £48.20

Following their acclaimed reinterpretations of the works of Robert Wyatt and Antony and The Johnsons, the mavericks of British folk music The Unthanks perform the extraordinary songs of Molly Drake, mother of Nick Drake. ASH MAMMAL

HEADROW HOUSE, 19:30–22:30, £6

Teen four-piece from the Midlands.

Fri 12 May

THEME PARK (THE TIN PIGEONS + SHANGHAI BLUES)

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £9

Unique brand of electronic indiepop from London-way, formed by twin brothers Miles and Marcus Haughton. STONE FOUNDATION

THE WARDROBE, 19:00–22:00, £13.50

Soul, jazz and funk outfit from The Midlands led by Neil Sheasby and Neil Jones. THE SELECTER & THE BEAT

O2 ACADEMY, 19:00–22:00, £25

Co-headline tour from the 2-tone ska revival band and fellow ska collective The Beat, who released fourth album Bounce (their first in over 30 years) last September. THE UNTHANKS

CITY VARIETIES MUSIC HALL, 19:30–22:30, £20.50 - £48.20

PROGZILLA

Tue 16 May

THE FOGHORN STRINGBAND

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £13

The Portland sting band alight on UK soil. THE MOLOCHS

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £6

The band of singer-songwriter Lucas Fitzsimmons. KANE STRANG

HEADROW HOUSE, 19:00–22:00, £6

The New Zealand singer and guitarist traverses the globe with a world tour.

Wed 17 May GOLD CLASS

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, FREE

Raw post-punk from the shores of ‘straya. JIM JONES AND THE RIGHTEOUS MIND

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £12

Rock’n’roll artist Jim Jones plays a set in Broadcast with his new(ish) band The Righteous Mind. SAMPA THE GREAT

HEADROW HOUSE, 20:00–23:00, £8

Hip hop-inspired poet and singersongwriter born in Zambia and raised in Botswana.

Thu 18 May LUKE SITAL-SINGH

BELGRAVE MUSIC HALL AND CANTEEN, 20:00–23:00, £12

Promising young London singersongwriter with an innate ability to capture the raw emotion of a moment in song. PUPPY

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £6

Formed from the ashes of Jock Norton and Billy Howard’s previous band Polterghost. SOUND OF THE SIRENS

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £10

Folk-rock Devonshire duo, aka Abbe and Hannah.

Fri 19 May SLOW READERS CLUB

BELGRAVE MUSIC HALL AND CANTEEN, 20:00–23:00, £10

Electro/indie outfit from Manchester, churning out everything from catchy upbeat indie tunes to introspective ballads. GRANDMASTER FLASH

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £18

One of the main players in hiphop’s development as a worldwide musical culture. THE TUTS (BABE PUNCH + AUTOBODIES)

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £7

Uxbridge DIY group The Tuts bring their raucous pop-punk rock up North as part of their Something Worth Voting For tour. JAH WOBBLE

Jah Wobble takes a Stereo crowd on a tour through his tastes, fromo Eastern and global to postpunk bass and dub.

Sat 13 May

FIRSTDIRECT ARENA, FROM 18:30, £25 - £65

ELVANA

Elvis-fronted Nirvana, obvs.

THE RIFLES (MAN AND THE ECHO)

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £15

Four piece indie rock band all the way from Chingford, playing a special acoustic set. DAN CROLL

THE WARDROBE, 19:30–22:30, £10

Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts graduate and winner of the Musicians Benevolent Fund’s National Songwriter of the Year Award continues his ascent. JOE LONGTHORNE

CITY VARIETIES MUSIC HALL, 19:30–22:30, £22 - £49

The singer, impressionist and regular Royal Variety performer returns to the stage.

Mon 15 May ELEANOR MCEVOY

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £15

HEATERS BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £10

LA-based electronic musician, activist and former drummer for M.I.A.

BELGRAVE MUSIC HALL AND CANTEEN, 20:00–23:00, £10

MADAME GHANDI HEADROW HOUSE, FROM 17:00, FREE

THE WARDROBE, 19:30–22:30, £15

HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE IN CONCERT

A full live orchestra score the film adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s muchloved first Potter adventure.

Sat 20 May

GOLD SOUNDS FESTIVAL (CABBAGE + DUNE RATS + SHAME + KAGOULE + GOAT GIRL + GOTHIC TROPIC + THE COATHANGERS + THE BLINDERS + HER’S + SWIMMING GIRLS + NARCS + CARO + FLING + THE BOXING) BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £15

A festival dedicated to shoegaze, punk, psych, noise and grunge. SWANS

LEEDS UNIVERSITY STUDENT UNION, 19:30–22:30, £20

NYC-based post-punk lot, built on Michael Gira’s affecting baritone, unprecedented levels of volume and oodles of sheer visceral bloody energy. SMOOVE AND TURRELL

THE WARDROBE, 19:30–22:30, £12

Geordie duo of vocalist John Turrell and DJ/producer Jonathan Watson, deftly putting their seductive spin on all genres of soul.

THE FENTON, 19:00–01:00, £TBC

Rock/metal gig.

Sun 21 May

SHAKIN’ STEVENS: ECHOES OF OUR TIMES

LEEDS GRAND THEATRE, 20:00–23:00, £22.50 - £35

The Welsh singer/songwriter embarks on his biggest ever UK tour in support of 12th studio album, Echoes of Our Times. RYLEY WALKER

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £12

After releasing a brand new album, Golden Sings That Have Been Sung, Ryley Walker treats us to a night of folky goodess. PRIESTS

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £7.50

AOIFE O’DONOVAN (BLAIR DUNLOP)

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £14

Aoife O’Donovan tours sophomore album, In the Magic Hour.

SCOTT QUINN (HALEM + IZZY FLYNN + RIVET CITY) THE WARDROBE, 19:00–22:00, £6

Pop singer-songwriter.

Fri 26 May

JULIE BYRNE (JIM GHEDHI)

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £9

The Seattle vocalist and guitarist plays a set of her hushed and mysterious tunes. THE BESNARD LAKES (OLIVER WILDE)

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £11

The American punk group tour their first full-length LP released on Sister Polygon Records.

The Montreal indie outift unleash new EP, The Besnard Lakes Are the Divine Wind.

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £9

THE WARDROBE, 19:00–22:00, £20

HOMESHAKE

Pseudonym of Edmonton-born, Montreal-based musician Peter Sagar.

Mon 22 May WHEATUS

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £17.50

THE BLOCKHEADS

The Blockheads (once known as Ian Dury And The Blockheads) are now fronted by one of Ian Dury’s best friends, Derek ‘The Draw’, the band’s vocalist and wordsmith. CHARLIE STRAW

HEADROW HOUSE, 20:00–23:00, FREE

The teenage dirtbags hit us up with their well-known riffs and smartaleck lyrics.

Wirral-born and Leeds/Londonbased, Charlie Straw takes inspiration from the likes of Jeff Buckley and Justin Vernon.

HEADROW HOUSE, 20:00–23:00, £6

Sat 27 May

ISAAC GRACIE

Since touring with Michael Kiwanuka, Isaac Gracie’s broken hearts with his soulful, lo-fi, scratchy love songs. Get yours broken too!

Tue 23 May

KOLARS + GABRIELLA COHEN

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, FREE

Co-headline show from pop/rock/ disco group Kolars and Gabriella Cohen. MONSTER MAGNET

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £20

New Jersey-based stoner rock unit led by Dave Wyndorf. ANGEL OLSEN (TIM DARCY)

LEEDS UNIVERSITY STUDENT UNION, 19:30–22:30, £14

Jagjaguwar’s dreamboat Angel Olsen returns following the release of her highly acclaimed album, My Woman. BELLA UNION 20TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR (PAVO PAVO + MAMMUT + WILL STRATTON)

HEADROW HOUSE, 20:00–23:00, £10

British independent record label Bella Union celebrate a milestone with a special tour, featuring three of their most cutting-edge acts.

Wed 24 May SAM AIREY

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £8

Alternative folk singer-songwriter SLY DIGS (NEON DOLLS + SEAGULLS)

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £6.50

Warrington rock’n’roll band.

BRIAN POOLE AND THE TREMOLES

CITY VARIETIES MUSIC HALL, 19:30–22:30, £21.50 - £50

An evening of nostalgia taking you back to the Swinging Sixties. MIYA FOLICK

HEADROW HOUSE, 19:30–22:30, £7

Rising alt-rock artist from LA who’s on the rise after a recely toured with Sleigh Bells. BLYSS (KATA RAYNA + THE HARRINGTONS + ORMSTONS)

OPORTO, 19:00–23:00, £6

DOCTORS OF MADNESS (THE WHARF STREET GALAXY BAND)

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £10

Formed in Brixton in the mid 70s by composer and lead singer/guitarist Richard Strange. SOUL CLUB (TEN MILLENIA)

THE WARDROBE, FROM 22:00, FREE

Leeds’ hottest funk and soul party, featuring live music and DJs. WILL’S BIRTHDAY BASH

THE FENTON, 19:00–01:00, £TBC

An evening of live music from a lineup of bands.

REGAN (GINGER TOM + ROOM TO LET)

HYDE PARK BOOK CLUB, 19:30–23:00, £6

Bradford alt-rock five-piece giving grunge a melodic edge.

Sun 28 May PEACHES

BELGRAVE MUSIC HALL AND CANTEEN, 20:00–23:00, £17.50

Find out exactly what’s in the teaches of Canadian electro legend Peaches.

LABOURFEST #2 (THE UKRAINIANS + NERVOUS TWITCH + NOAH BROWN)

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £10

Their name sounds like an illconceived WWE tag team, but The Ukrainians are are in fact sevenpiece folk rock band, headlining this fundraiser for Headingley and Weetwood Labour Party. WHY ME?

CITY VARIETIES MUSIC HALL, FROM 19:30, £25.60 - £58.20

An inspirational story of three powerful real black women as they turn their lives around and create the lives around and create the lives they deserve. WORLD ISLAND

LEEDS TOWN HALL, FROM 12:00, £39.50

Super Friendz present a day-long festival with Floating Points, Nao, BadBadNotGood, Submotion Orchestra, Anna Meredith, Romare, Yussef Kamaal and more. THEY. (JAY PRINCE)

HEADROW HOUSE, 20:00–23:00, £10

OPORTO, 15:00–22:00, £6

Leeds-based quartet promising “Post-Everything music for the reactionary generation”.

Tue 30 May COASTS

BELGRAVE MUSIC HALL AND CANTEEN, 20:00–23:00, £12

The Bristolian-four piece play Bongo. CHERRY GLAZERR

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £10

LA rock outfit.

Wed 31 May

BARRENCE WHITFIELD AND THE SAVAGES

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £10

American soul-meets-r’n’b outfit led by vocalist Barrence Whitfield, now taken under the wing of Bloodshot Records. STRIKING MATCHES

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £15

With their T Bone Burnett produced debut album, guitar-wielding duo Striking Matches creates an unexpected and unique sound that defies easy categorization. THE GROWLERS

LEEDS UNIVERSITY STUDENT UNION, 19:30–22:30, £16

American ensemble known for blending fuzzy surf with sexy psychedelia, throwing in some hypnotic melodies and tripped out lyrics for good measure.

Thu 01 Jun

Find full listings at theskinny.co.uk/whats-on

Fri 16 Jun ALL WE ARE

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £10

Thu 08 Jun

Andrew Weatherall and Sean Johnston’s rather ace London night takes a trip to the North.

FROTH

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £7

The art pop experimentalists play a headline set.

SEEGER/MACCOLL FAMILY FT. PEGGY SEEGER + NEILL & CALUM MACCOLL

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £18

One of folk music’s most wellloved dynasties fronted by singer, songwriter and feminist icon Peggy Seeger. ELTON JOHN

FIRSTDIRECT ARENA, FROM 18:30, £50 - £85

Good ol’ Elton plays a set of hits from his five decade career. Should keep him in flowers for a little longer, anyway. EYEDRESS

HEADROW HOUSE, 20:00–23:00, £7

MERRILL OSMOND

CITY VARIETIES MUSIC HALL, 19:30–22:30, £25.50 - £58

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £7

Lead singer of The Osmonds.

THE COURTNEYS

Fricken cool fuzz-pop trio.

HEADROW HOUSE, 20:00–23:00, £7

Sweet, nostalgic pop from Pennsylvania, tipped for big things for 2017.

Fri 02 Jun

HYDE PARK BOOK CLUB, 19:30–23:00, £7

Minneapolis punk rockers fronted by brothers Jim and Mike Blaha.

JOE PURDY

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £7.50

Known to fans of sci-fi series Lost for soundtracking a brief moment of calm on the beach, wistful folk singer-songwriter Joe Purdy returns with new album, Who Will Be Next? SYMPATHISER

HYDE PARK BOOK CLUB, 19:30–23:00, £6

Alt Leeds-based group made up of Ollie Deans, George Genn, Rob Lamont and Sam Pycroft.

Sat 03 Jun

MINUS THE BEAR (JOAN OF ARC)

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £16

Seattle indie-rock lot made up of ex-members of Botch, Kill Sadie and Sharks Keep Moving. LOW ROAR

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £9

MANNEQUIN PUSSY

HEADROW HOUSE, 19:00–22:00, £7

CHLOE CHADWICK

SAM SWEENEY’S FIDDLE: MADE IN THE GREAT WAR

CITY VARIETIES MUSIC HALL, 19:30–22:30, £15.60 - £38.20

Eight years ago Sam Sweeney, fiddle player with folk big band Bellowhead, bought a violin in Oxford with the with date 1915, which inspired him to develop a unique show to retell its story. KAITLYN AURELIA SMITH

HEADROW HOUSE, 20:00–23:00, £10

Up-and-coming composer, heading our way with a live show that’s certain to impale your senses with her beguiling creations. REGGAE ALL DAYER

THE FENTON, 15:00–23:00, FREE

Tue 13 Jun

Sun 04 Jun

SUGARHILL GANG (GRANDMASTER MELE MEL + SCORPIO’S FURIOUS 5)

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £20

NOTS

Memphis-based garage punk.

Sat 17 Jun

GLASS MOUNTAIN & BROODERS (HARRY WHITTACKER) BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £5

Bradford-based four-piece.

DIRTY OTTER SUMMER PICNIC (PILE + PEACERS + BODYHOUND + GRIEF TOURIST + BEARFOOT BEWARE + MODERN RITUALS + BRONZED) BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £10

Explosive Boston-based four-piece Pile headline a day of post-punk, noise and fun. SONS OF PITCHES

CITY VARIETIES MUSIC HALL, 19:30–22:30, £25.10 - £30.10

A cappella lads, known for being winners of BBC2’s 2015 show The Naked Choir. LET’S ROCK LEEDS

TEMPLE NEWSAM, FROM 11:00, £40

Touring retro festival welcoming new wave pioneers The Human League, Flock of Seagulls, Tony Hadley and others.

Sun 18 Jun ARBOURETUM

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £10

CITY VARIETIES MUSIC HALL, 19:30–22:30, £18 - £41

Montreal foursome, equal parts girls and guys, delivering a raw punk take on AM studio pop.

Top Manchester metal band Vice on tour to support their debut album.

Sat 10 Jun

POSITIVE VIBES

TOPS

VICE (DEIFIED + I SAW THE WORLD BURN)

THE FENTON, 20:00–01:00, £TBC

Alternative-rock lot from Baltimore.

Reggae and dub played on a massive rig in the back garden of The Fenton.

HEADROW HOUSE, 20:00–23:00, £7

A LOVE FROM OUTER SPACE

HEADROW HOUSE, FROM 20:00, £15

British Americana singersongwriter from Newcastleupon-Tyne.

Icelandic outfit peddling haunting dream pop.

Charity cabaret concert.

THE STRAWBERRIES

Rock’n’roll band from Hyde Park in Leeds.

Hypnotic psych-rockers from Leeds, out peddling debut album, Swarmculture.

Fri 09 Jun

THE BLIND SHAKE

BEATLEMANIA

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £14

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £4

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £12

The former Libertines chap takes to the road with his all-new band, The Jackals.

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £7.50

May/June 2017

Hardcore Andalucian delta blues outfit.

Electronic bedroom producer from the Philippines, aka Idris Vicuña.

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £6.50

Contemporary Irish singersongwriter, currently with 11 critically-acclaimed albums to her name.

GUADALUPE PLATA

CARL BARAT AND THE JACKALS (BLACKWATERS)

Mon 05 Jun

Austin-based singer-songwriter who recently released debut album, Please Be Mine, via Captured Tracks.

WHY?

BELGRAVE MUSIC HALL AND CANTEEN, 20:00–23:00, £15

THE WARDROBE, 19:00–22:00, £6

Mon 29 May MOLLY BURCH

Wed 07 Jun

WEIRDS

HEADROW HOUSE, 20:00–23:00, FREE

Brooklyn’s no wave-inspired postpunksters.

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £10

A mirage of shimmering guitars, stadium-sized castanets and herculean drumming, Mystic Braves’ desert psychedelia is descending on Sneaky Pete’s.

Martin Smith’s new alt-rock band

One of Ireland’s best-known entertainers hits the road with Lisa Stanley to explore the musical heritage of their homeland.

Performing the best of Sgt Pepper and other classic Beatles hits.

Tom Hingley and the Kar-Pets play the hits of the Inspiral Carpets. MYSTIC BRAVES

ARMY OF BONES

BELGRAVE MUSIC HALL AND CANTEEN, 20:00–23:00, £10

DOMINIC KIRWAN AND LISA STANLEY

CITY VARIETIES MUSIC HALL, 19:30–22:30, £22.50 - £52.20

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £10

Best known for their 1978 hit, Rapper’s Delight, the New Jerseyhailing rap outfit take to the road for a reunion tour of sorts.

BELGRAVE MUSIC HALL AND CANTEEN, 20:00–23:00, £10

Tue 06 Jun

New folk-styled musical project of guitarist Ben Chasny.

PILL

Punk rock sounds from Enter Shikari, Bowling For Soup, Less Than Jake, Reel Big Fish, Neck Deep, The Bronx, Don Broco, The Ataris, Memphis May Fire and others.

TOM HINGLEY AND THE KAR-PETS

Young songwriter from south London also known as Hannah Rodgers.

Liverpudlian psychedelic boogiemeisters, self-described as ‘The Bee Gees on diazepam’.

TOM WILLIAMS

Thu 25 May

SLAM DUNK FESTIVAL

SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £8

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £8

Formerly Tom Williams & The Boat, the singer songwriter comes to land for his latest tour.

American R&B duo touring the UK with debut studio album Nu Religion: Hyena. VARIOUS VENUES, FROM 13:00, £44

PIXX BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £7

The Cincinnati-bred gents (aka Yoni Wolf, Josiah Wolf and Doug McDiarmid) tour on the back of their new LP, Moh Lhean.

Rising alt/indie rock quartet from Leeds; for fans of Arctic Monkeys, Muse, The Wombats and Rage Against the Machine.

Hard rock trio from Brighton.

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £10

Combining a seemingly constant output of “reverb-coated, fuzz-studded, hard-driven garage psych” with a kaleidoscopic, hip-shaking live set, Heaters are quickly forging something new and exciting from 60s-inspired sounds.

OTHER PEOPLES LIVES (WUZI + VUROMANTICS)

SOLSTAFIR

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £13

The Icelandic metalheads brings their uniquely melodic brand of the heavy stuff to the UK.

Wed 14 Jun MELT BANANA

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £13.50

Noise rock band formed in Japan in the early 90s. THE BATS

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £15

New Zealand outfit celebrating the release of ninth LP - and the 30th anniversary of their first LP - with a European tour.

Thu 15 Jun

MIK ARTISTIK’S EGO TRIP

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £8

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £7

TEI SHI

Argentine indie-popstress, trailing debut album, Crawl Space.

Mon 19 Jun BOUNCING SOULS

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £15

New Jersey punk-rock lot who’ve entered that landmark 20-yearsin-the-biz zone, all done under their own admirable DIY style.

Tue 20 Jun WHITNEY

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £13.50

Chicago’s indie-rock group formed shortly after the breakup of Max Kakacek and Julien Ehrlich’s band Smith Westerns. KOOL G RAP

THE WARDROBE, 19:30–22:30, £15

The skilled MC heads out on his first UK tour in 25 years.

Wed 21 Jun TOM CLARKE

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £SOLD OUT

English multi-instrumentalist known as the lead vocalist of the British indie rock band The Enemy, acoustically celebrating 10 years of We’ll Live & Die in These Towns. BOOZE AND GLORY

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £12

Classic Oi-street punk from the longtime veterans of the scene, with suitably lairy support. THE MANFREDS

CITY VARIETIES MUSIC HALL, 19:30–22:30, £21.60 - £50

Playing with both lead singers from the 1960s group, the band play through their old hits.

Punky comedic musical icon.

Listings

Thu 22 Jun DAVID FORD

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, FROM 19:30, £15

The award-winning songwriter tours the UK this summer with forthcoming album Animal Spirits. DAVID FORD (MICHELE STODARD + JP RUGGIERI)

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £15

The award-winning songwriter tours the UK this summer with forthcoming album Animal Spirits.

Sat 24 Jun

SOUL CLUB (DANA ALI BAND)

THE WARDROBE, FROM 22:00, FREE

Leeds’ hottest funk and soul party, featuring live music and DJs. LATE NIGHT LEGACY (CITRUS HEIGHTS)

HEADROW HOUSE, 19:00–23:00, £7

Funk-rock band based in Leeds.

Wed 28 Jun

THE LEGENDARY SHACK SHAKERS

BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, 19:30–22:30, £11

The American goth rockers bring the rammy, led by hellraiser of a frontman JD Wilkes.

Thu 29 Jun

KABAKA PYRAMID AND THE BEBBLE ROCKERS

THE WARDROBE, 19:30–22:30, £15

Kingston, Jamaica native blending reggae and hip hop.

Liverpool Music GARRICK OHLSSON ST GEORGE’S HALL, 19:30–22:30, £25

American pianist Garrick Ohlsson returns to Liverpool for a programme of works by Beethoven, Schubert and others. MNOZIL BRASS: CIRQUE

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC HALL, 19:30–22:30, £25.50 - £31.50

A musical flea circus with Elysianstyle music from Viennese septet, billed as “the strangest brass ensemble ever”. JOANNE HARRIS: #STORYTIME

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC MUSIC ROOM, 20:00–23:00, £6 - £12

The Chocolat author heads to the Phil for a show featuring tales from her new book and a live band, stemming from her live storytelling on Twitter. SOUTHPORT FESTIVAL: THE JAZZ OF DUDLEY MOORE (CHRIS INGHAM QUARTET)

THE ATKINSON, 20:00–23:00, 15

A sixteen-track quartet album of Dudley Moore compositions.

Sat 06 May

ALABAMA 3 (TONY STEEL AND THE MASSACRE)

O2 ACADEMY, 19:00–23:00, £23

Liverpool Music

Legendary Brixton collective, best known from the theme tune of TV show The Sopranos. They combine techno beats with country instruments in a way that’s best sampled live. IDLE FRETS

Tue 02 May WILLIAM MCCARTHY

ARTS CLUB, 19:00–22:00, £12.50

William McCarthy of New York’s Augustines and Pela heads out with his solo work.

Wed 03 May

THE KING BLUES (BROKEN 3 WAYS)

O2 ACADEMY, 19:00–23:00, £13.60

London ska-meets-punk trio, taking in everything from folk to doo-wop as they go. WHILE SHE SLEEPS

ARTS CLUB, 19:00–22:00, £17.50

The Sheffield metalcore troops bring their usual racket. J HUS

O2 ACADEMY, 19:00–23:00, £15.50

East London rapper known for going viral with 2015’s single Dem Boy Paigon.

GRATEFUL FRED’S: THE KENNEDYS (THE KENNEDYS) THE ATKINSON, 19:30–22:30, £10

Critically acclaimed American duo.

Thu 04 May

POST WAR GLAMOUR GIRLS

MAGUIRE’S PIZZA BAR, 19:00–22:00, £5 - £7

Alternative Leeds quartet, taking a decidedly heavier bent of late. DMA’S

O2 ACADEMY, 19:00–22:00, £11

Nostalgic garage pop straight from the heart of Newtown in Sydney. MARIANAS TRENCH (CLUB DRIVE)

O2 ACADEMY, 19:00–23:00, £13.60

Award-winning Canadian rockers named after the deepest part of the world’s oceans. SOUNDS LIKE SHAKESPEARE

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC HALL, 19:30–22:30, £15 - £42

Featuring musical tributes to an unlikely hero: Shakespeare’s Falstaff. PATSY CLINE AND FRIENDS (SUE LOWY)

ST HELENS THEATRE ROYAL, 19:30–22:00, £10 - £18

Tribute concert to Patsy Cline, Hank Williams and Jim Reeves.

Fri 05 May

IRON WITCH (ARCHELON + DROUGHT)

MAGUIRE’S PIZZA BAR, 20:00–23:00, £5

A spectrum of rock sounds from Liverpool and Sheffield. THE VAMPS

ECHO ARENA, 19:30–22:30, £25 - £49.50

Acoustic-driven British pop unit led by singer Brad Simpson. THE NIGHT CAFE

O2 ACADEMY, 19:00–23:00, £SOLD OUT

Liverpudlian quartet out on their UK tour.

ARTS CLUB, 19:00–22:00, £5

Protégés of Sir Paul McCartney’s illustrious Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts, this quartet is well on its way to becoming the latest in a long line of success stories from the city. JOHN POWER (THE BOHOS)

ARTS CLUB, 19:00–22:00, £16.50

The Cast and The La’s frontman takes his rock’n’roll solo project out on the road. SHIRLEY COLLINS

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC HALL, 19:30–22:30, £24.50 - £30.50

The legendary folk singer returns with new album Lodestar - her first in 40 years. OF SAILORS AND WHALERS

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC MUSIC ROOM, 20:00–23:00, £12

Listings

THE ATKINSON, 13:00–16:00, FREE

Spend the afternoon in The Atkinson’s stunning foyer accompanied by three brilliant folk and acoustic bands

Mon 08 May BOB DYLAN AND HIS BAND

ECHO ARENA, 19:30–22:30, £55 - £65

The legendary American singersongwriter returns to the UK for what could be the last time. JONATHAN AASGAARD & IAN BUCKLE

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC MUSIC ROOM, 13:00–14:00, £8

Lunchtime concert of Beethoven and Shostakovich.

Wed 10 May PROCOL HARUM

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC HALL, 19:30–22:30, £29.50 - £50

The prog-rockers head out on a 1967-2017 tour, celebrating 50 years since the release of A Whiter Shade Of Pale, which continues to be one of the best-selling singles of all time.

Thu 11 May THE FUREYS

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC MUSIC ROOM, 20:00–23:00, £21

The longstanding folk-based outfit play a selection of classics spanning their 35+ year career. BACH CONCERTI

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC HALL, 19:30–22:30, £15 - £42

A programme of Bach also featuring two of Stravinsky’s salutes to the Baroque era.

Fri 12 May

BOO HEWERDINE (FINDLAY NAPIER)

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC MUSIC ROOM, 20:00–23:00, £15

Boo Hewerdine, aka Mark Hewerdine is an English singersongwriter. LANKUM

ARTS CLUB, 19:00–22:00, £18.50

Irish four-piece traditional folk group formerly known as Lynched.

Sat 13 May

Celebrate Liverpool’s maritime history with shanties and songs of river and sea.

ST HELENS THEATRE ROYAL, 19:30–22:00, £22 - £23

THE ATKINSON, FROM 14:30, £7 - £12.50

THEH SOLID SILVER 60S SHOW

SOUTHPORT FESTIVAL: JOANNE HARRIS #STORYTIME

LET’S HANG ON

The music of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons

A unique live show featuring tales from Harris’ book, Honeycomb, along with original music and songs.

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC HALL, 19:30–22:30, £29.50 - £38

MAGUIRE’S PIZZA BAR, 20:00–23:00, £TBC

AND PIZZA FOR ALL

BILLORDO (TREMOLO GHOSTS)

Anti-folk lo-fi sounds from Argentina.

LIVERPOOL DISCO FESTIVAL - 30 YEARS OF SOUTHPORT WEEKENDER (D-TRAIN + ULTRA NATÉ + DAVID MORALES + DJ JAZZY JEFF + TONY HUMPHRIES + JOEY NEGRO + JELLYBEAN BENITEZ + DANNY KRIVIT + JOHN MORALES + NICKY SIANO + MR SCRUFF) VARIOUS VENUES, 12:00–04:00, £25 - £45

After its spectacular debut last October, the Liverpool Disco Festival returns in May 2017, this time uniting with the Southport Weekender across their 30th anniversary year, set across the renascent Baltic Triangle district of the city.

Sun 07 May STEVE HACKETT

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC HALL, 19:30–22:30, £27.50 - £35.50

A gig spanning Hackett’s full discography with solo material and Genesis classics. AL STEWART

ECHO ARENA, 20:00–23:00, £35 - £39

Along with buds Dave Nachmananoff and Tim Renwick, Al Stewart performs his legendary debut Bedsitter Images and other bestof numbers. CALAN (DAN WILDE)

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC MUSIC ROOM, 20:00–23:00, £14

Young Welsh band breathing fire into the old traditions of their native music.

SOUTHPORT FESTIVAL: FOLK IN THE FOYER (WAYFARERS CHORUS + RAG TAG MISFITS + UNTRAINEDMELODY)

The UK’s first show of its kind, still going 30 years strong as a tribute night crammed full of 60s hits. MAGUIRE’S PIZZA BAR, 19:00–23:00, £4

Enjoy live music from Serperus, Riptide, Devil’s Henchmen, Beyond Recognition and Crossroads to go with your pizza.

Sun 14 May

THE UKULELE ORCHESTRA OF GREAT BRITAIN

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC HALL, 19:30–22:30, £24 - £30

The all-plucking orchestra take in Liverpool as part of their current world tour. TOBY HAY & DAVID IAN ROBERTS

LEAF, 20:00–23:00, FREE

Toby Hay - who makes instrumental music inspired by the landscape, people and history of mid-Wales is joined by voalist and fingerstyle guitarist David Ian Robert.

BAD MEFF PRESENTS… (BRUNCH + MODERN RITUALS + DISASTRONAUTS + ARMS&HEARTS + MIXTAPE SAINTS) MAGUIRE’S PIZZA BAR, FROM 15:00, £5

An evening of awesome melodic music.

Mon 15 May IMELDA MAY

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC HALL, 19:30–22:30, £25 - £35

The sultry songstress and her rockabilly blues band play tracks from new LP, Life Love Flesh Blood.

FOY VANCE ARTS CLUB, 19:00–22:00, £SOLD OUT

Bangor-based musician influenced by the southern states of America, touring with his latest album, The Wild Swan.

Tue 16 May TOM CHAPLIN

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC HALL, 19:30–22:30, £18.50 - £35

Keane’s frontman strides out with his solo debut, The Wave, a selfpenned album “revealing the real man behind the songs.” Deep.

Wed 17 May ANNA AND ELIZABETH

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC MUSIC ROOM, 20:00–23:00, £14

Ballad singer Elizabeth Laprelle joins talented multi-instrumentalist Anna Gevalt-Roberts for a mesmerising contemporary folk show. BUZZ RODEO (DEAD HOUSES + UNWAVE + UNCLE JANE)

MAGUIRE’S PIZZA BAR, 20:00–23:00, £TBC

An evening of the finest underground, alternative music brought to you by two of the most enthusiastic exponents of the DIY music scene, Yeah Buddy and Sounds From Nowhere.

Thu 18 May

HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE IN CONCERT

ECHO ARENA, 19:30–22:30, £25 - £65

A full live orchestra score the film adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s muchloved first Potter adventure. JAZZ CAFÉ: THE ANGRY MEN

THE ATKINSON, 20:00–23:00, £8

Jazz fusion featuring tight grooves, complex yet beautiful harmonies and tuneful melodies.

Fri 19 May

THE MISSION (THE SKELETAL FAMILY + PAULINE MURRAY) O2 ACADEMY, 19:00–23:00, £SOLD OUT

Embarking on a UK tour in support of their new studio album, Another Fall From Grace. NASHVILLE IN THE ROUND (SARAH DARLING + JENN BOSTIC + MICHAEL LOGEN)

THE ATKINSON, 19:30–22:30, £12 - £14

GUITAR CONCERTO LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC HALL, 19:30–22:30, £15 - £42

One of the world’s leading classical guitarists, Craig Ogden plays his way through Walton’s First Symphony and more. ULTIMATE BOWIE

VARIOUS VENUES, TIMES VARY, £35 - £65

The longtime British folk-rockers draw on classic songs old and new, on the go now for an impressive 50 years. THE GRUMBLEWEEDS LAUGHTER SHOW

ST HELENS THEATRE ROYAL, 19:30–22:00, £6 - £35

Join legendary comedy act The Grumbleweeds for an evening of laughter, music, magic and more.

Mon 22 May

SIMPLE MINDS (THE ANCHORESS)

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC HALL, 19:30–22:30, £SOLD OUT

The Jim Kerr-led classic rock outfit take to the stage for an acclaimed acoustic show spanning all the hits. TAKE THAT

ECHO ARENA, 19:30–22:30, £55 - £95

Mark, Gary and Howard continue to pretend that Take That still exists without Jason and Robbie, the frauds.

Tue 23 May TAKE THAT

ECHO ARENA, 19:30–22:30, £55 - £95

Mark, Gary and Howard continue to pretend that Take That still exists without Jason and Robbie, the frauds.

SALLY BARKER & BROOKS WILLIAMS

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC MUSIC ROOM, 20:00–23:00, £14

Collab between two singersongwriters, folk singer Sally Barker - known for a recent turn on The Voice - and American artist Brooks Williams.

Reimagining classic Beach Boys songs live on stage.

Sat 20 May FAIRPORT CONVENTION

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC MUSIC ROOM, 20:00–23:00, £27

The longtime British folk-rockers draw on classic songs old and new, on the go now for an impressive 50 years. KING KING

THE ATKINSON, FROM 19:30, £20

British bluesbreakers and multiaward winners at the British Blues Awards. KING KING

THE ATKINSON, 19:30–22:30, £20

British bluesbreakers and multiaward winners at the British Blues Awards. THE SIMON & GARFUNKEL STORY

ST HELENS THEATRE ROYAL, 19:30–22:00, £19.50 - £20.50

50th anniversary tour, direct from its success in London’s West End. CLEAN CUT KID

O2 ACADEMY, 19:00–23:00, £9.50

New Liverpool fuzz-pop band out on their UK headline tour. RYLEY WALKER

ARTS CLUB, 18:30–22:00, £12.50

After releasing a brand new album, Golden Sings That Have Been Sung, Ryley Walker treats us to a night of folky goodess. IRON MAIDEN

ECHO ARENA, 19:30–22:30, £SOLD OUT

Heavy metal legends Iron Maiden head out on a European arena tour.

SHEER ATTACK (DYSTERIA + HORSEBASTARD + ABOMINATE)

MAGUIRE’S PIZZA BAR, 19:00–23:00, £5

Scouse sludge/grunge rock types.

Sun 28 May DAMIEN DEMPSEY

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC HALL, 19:30–22:30, £20 - £26

Irish contemporary folk at La Belle. THE MONOCHROME SET

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC MUSIC ROOM, 20:00–23:00, £15 - £17.50

The Monochrome Set and were heavily influential in the “post punk” scene, and feature original members Bid, Andy Warren, Steve Brummell and John Paul Moran. EMMA BLACKERY

O2 ACADEMY, 19:00–23:00, £14.10

YouTuber with over a million subscribers who’s managed to release a good handful of EPs and records by the age of 24. SOUND CITY

VARIOUS VENUES, TIMES VARY, £35 - £65

Sound City celebrates its 10th birthday with The Kooks, The Cribs, Metronomy, The Kills, Cabbage, Peaches, White Lies, Local Natives, Tim Burgess and more across several days.

Tue 30 May LIZANNE KNOTT

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC MUSIC ROOM, 20:00–23:00, £12

Blue Drag Music returns with the third Django’s Legacy concert, showcasing the music of legendary gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt. TOTALLY TINA (JUSTINE RIDDOCH)

EPSTEIN THEATRE, 20:00–23:00, £20

An internationally acclaimed, award-winning tribute show to the ‘Queen of Rock’, Tina Turner.

BALTIC WEEKENDER (AXEL BOMAN + GERD JANSON + MOVE D + GHETTS + STEFFLON DON + FLAVA D + P MONEY + ELIJAH AND SKILLIAM + RUDE KID + SWING TING + DENIS SULTA + DVS1) VARIOUS VENUES, TIMES VARY, £15 - £25

A brand-new festival is taking place in Liverpool set across a diverse range of venues, boasting one of the most forward-thinking lineups curated over the last few years in the city.

Sun 04 Jun CARMINA BURANA

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC HALL, 20:00–23:00, £6.50 - £27

Liverpool Welsh Choral is joined by the renowned Birmingham Festival Choral Society and the Belvedere Chamber Choir to perform Carmina Burana. MY DARLING CLEMETINE

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC MUSIC ROOM, 20:00–23:00, £15

Husband and wife Americana/ country duo, out with fourth album Still Testifying.

Award-winning Philadelphian songstress infused with a delicate soulful sensibility.

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC MUSIC ROOM, 20:00–23:00, £15

Wed 31 May LEAF, 19:00–22:00, FREE

Mon 05 Jun

COOPE, BOYES & SIMPSON

The trio embark on their farewell tour, performing material from across their entire repertoire.

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC HALL, 19:30–22:30, £15 - £42

THE BEACH BOYS STORY

Sound City celebrates its 10th birthday with The Kooks, The Cribs, Metronomy, The Kills, Cabbage, Peaches, White Lies, Local Natives, Tim Burgess and more across several days.

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC MUSIC ROOM, 20:00–23:00, £20

Wed 24 May

ST HELENS THEATRE ROYAL, 19:30–22:00, £18.50 - £20

EPSTEIN THEATRE, 20:00–23:00, £17

SOUND CITY

A celebration of Sgt Pepper and the Summer of Love.

A brand-new festival is taking place in Liverpool set across a diverse range of venues, boasting one of the most forward-thinking lineups curated over the last few years in the city.

Thu 25 May

An internationally acclaimed, award-winning tribute show to the ‘Queen of Rock’, Tina Turner.

DJANGO’S LEGACY III: JOHN JORGENSON & JOHN WHEATCROFT

Sun 21 May FAIRPORT CONVENTION

IT WAS 50 YEARS AGO TODAY

THE ATKINSON, 19:30–22:30, £15 - £20

JUAN MARTÍN: ARTE FLAMENCO PURO

Paying homage to the late, great glam rocker.

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC MUSIC ROOM, 20:00–23:00, £27

Sat 03 Jun

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC HALL, 19:30–22:30, £SOLD OUT

A new flamenco programme of music, song and dance direct from Spain.

EPSTEIN THEATRE, 20:00–23:00, £17

Nashville in the Round will comprise three Nashville residents and wonderful female voices performing together and individually whilst supporting each other. TOTALLY TINA (JUSTINE RIDDOCH)

KING OF POP ECHO ARENA, 19:30–22:30, £23.50 - £35

Michael Jackson tribute artist Navi teams up with MJ’s guitarist Jennifer Batten.

NEW ATLAS

MAGUIRE’S PIZZA BAR, 19:30–23:00, £3

Indie-pop project launching brand new single, Twins. THE DREAM TEAM RETURNS

The dream team that’s achieved when conductor Vasily Petrenko and pianist Simon Trp?eski come together. SOUND CITY

VARIOUS VENUES, TIMES VARY, £35 - £65

Sound City celebrates its 10th birthday with The Kooks, The Cribs, Metronomy, The Kills, Cabbage, Peaches, White Lies, Local Natives, Tim Burgess and more across several days.

Fri 26 May

THE DREAM TEAM RETURNS

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC HALL, 19:30–22:30, £15 - £42

The dream team that’s achieved when conductor Vasily Petrenko and pianist Simon Trp?eski come together. SOUND CITY

VARIOUS VENUES, TIMES VARY, £35 - £65

Sound City celebrates its 10th birthday with The Kooks, The Cribs, Metronomy, The Kills, Cabbage, Peaches, White Lies, Local Natives, Tim Burgess and more across several days.

Sat 27 May

THE MAGIC OF MOTOWN

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC HALL, 19:30–22:30, £27.50 - £32.50

In praise of the finest sounds to come out of Detroit and beyond in the Motown period. JON GOMM

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC MUSIC ROOM, 20:00–23:00, £15

The acoustic singer-songwriter hits the road again after a break from gigging to do “life stuff.” Expect new material as well as golden oldies.

JORDAN MACKAMPA

Kinshasa-born, London-bred singer-songwriter. IT WAS 50 YEARS AGO TODAY

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC HALL, 19:30–22:30, £SOLD OUT

A celebration of Sgt Pepper and the Summer of Love.

Thu 01 Jun THE MERSEY BEATLES

EPSTEIN THEATRE, 20:00–23:00, £13 - £15

Performing a Sgt Pepper 50th anniversary show.

EMILY SMITH & JAMIE MCCLENNAN ANNIVERSARY TOUR

THE ATKINSON, 19:30–22:30, £10

Scottish folksinger Emily Smith and New Zealand born Jamie McClennan celebrate 15 years of making music together

Fri 02 Jun

SGT PEPPER AT 50: GETTING BETTER?

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC MUSIC ROOM, 19:30–22:30, £12

DJ Spooky (aka Washington DCborn composer, artist and author) presents an evening of music inspired by Getting Better and other songs from the Sgt Pepper album, complete with a string quartet, MC and vocalist on stage. CAKE & CLASSICAL: CLOUDS HARP QUARTET

THE ATKINSON, 12:30–13:45, £12

A lunchtime concert with classical music, a cup of tea and slice of cake.

Tue 06 Jun THE KATONA TWINS

ST GEORGE’S HALL, 19:30–22:30, £25

THE JOHNNY CASH ROADSHOW (CLIVE JOHN) ST HELENS THEATRE ROYAL, 19:30–22:00, £20

The only show to be endorsed by the Cash family. ELEPHANT SESSIONS

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC MUSIC ROOM, 20:00–23:00, £14

Award-winning neo-trad quintet forged in the Highlands of Scotland. GEORGE HARRISON: THE STORY OF THE BEATLES AND INDIAN MUSIC

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC HALL, 19:30–22:30, £22.50 - £28.50

A celebration of George Harrison’s discovery of Indian music, and the huge impact it had on The Beatles. WASTED LIGHTS

O2 ACADEMY, 19:00–23:00, £8.05

Five-piece stoner outfit from Bingen, Germany.

Sat 10 Jun POSITIVE VIBRATION

VARIOUS VENUES, FROM 12:00, £14 - £22

Double-dayer in the Baltic Triangle, celebrating Jamaican music, food and culture. GLORIA!

LIVERPOOL METROPOLITAN CATHEDRAL, 19:30–22:30, £25

A special concert commemorating the 50th anniversary of Liverpool’s second cathedral on Hope Street. CARLEEN ANDERSON

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC HALL, 19:30–22:30, £19.50 - £25.50

Gilles Peterson-endorsed singersongwriter, blending jazz, soul, gospel, opera and classical chamber music.

PEOPLE POWERED #OURNHS (MICHAEL HEAD + HOOTON TENNIS CLUB + STEVE PILGRIM + EDGAR JONES) O2 ACADEMY, 19:00–23:00, £20

Local Liverpool legend Michael Head is joined by Hooton Tennis Club and more to raise awareness of the current plight of the NHS.

Thu 15 Jun

CONCERTO FOR ORCHESTRA

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC HALL, 19:30–22:00, £15 - £42

Three of Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra’s string players come together for a late night performance of Bach’s Goldberg Variations.

Juraj Val?uha and Evgeni Bozhanov both make their Liverpool debut. GOLDBERG VARIATIONS

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC HALL, FROM 22:00, £10

Fri 16 Jun CONNIE LUSH

ARTS CLUB, 19:00–22:00, £12.50

British Blues bastion and local lass brings her dynamic band to Liverpool. Her powerhouse performances and soaring blues vocals have had her tagged as the UK’s answer to Janice Joplin. JO HARMAN & COMPANY

THE ATKINSON, 20:00–23:00, £13 - £15

Soul, blues, gospel and Beatlesworthy pop make up Jo Harman’s People We Become, a modern album rooted in the classic, timeless music of past generations.

The acclaimed duo perform bring their brand of Classical, Flamenco and Modern guitar to the stage.

Sat 17 Jun

The acclaimed French-American jazz singer, songwriter and guitarist takes to a live setting for a set of her reworked and contemporary classics.

Wed 07 Jun

ECHO ARENA, 20:00–23:00, £SOLD OUT

Formed a decade ago in New Orleans.

Africa Oyé, the UK’s biggest festival of African music and culture, returns to Sefton Park with an eclectic mix of artists, workshops, DJs and delicious food from around the world.

MADELEINE PEYROUX

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC HALL, 19:30–22:30, £29.50 - £42.50

PHIL COLLINS

How can you just walk away from me, when all I can do is watch you leave? ‘Cause we’ve shared the laughter and the pain, and even shared the tears... You’re the only one who really knew me at all. SO TAKE A L— Aah, it’s sold out, soz.

A brand-new festival is taking place in Liverpool set across a diverse range of venues, boasting one of the most forward-thinking lineups curated over the last few years in the city.

GRATEFUL FRED’S: GAL HOLIDAY AND THE HONKY TONK REVUE (GAL HOLIDAY AND THE HONKY TONK REVUE)

THE ATKINSON, 19:30–22:30, £10 - £12

Thu 08 Jun MERRILL OSMOND

THE CAVERN CLUB, FROM 20:00, £25

Lead singer of The Osmonds.

IT WAS 50 YEARS AGO TODAY

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC HALL, 19:30–22:30, £SOLD OUT

A celebration of Sgt Pepper and the Summer of Love. THE TEMPERANCE SEVEN

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC MUSIC ROOM, 20:00–23:00, £16

Eccentric British troupe playing their way through jazz classic and original songs.

Fri 09 Jun POSITIVE VIBRATION

AFRICA OYÉ

SEFTON PARK, FROM 12:30, FREE

THE CHRISTIANS

THE ATKINSON, 20:00–23:00, £20

After forming in Liverpool in 1986, The Christians went on to gather a pretty huge following with their blend of soul, gospel and heartfelt acoustic pop. HANS ZIMMER

ECHO ARENA, 19:45–22:45, £39.50 £69.50

Hollywood’s most in-demand film music composer performs some of his most well-known scores alongside other cinematic soundtrack greats. ANDY CUTTING

THE ATKINSON, 19:30–22:30, £12 - £14

A soulful and technically outstanding melodeon practitioner with an ear for a fine tune.

VARIOUS VENUES, FROM 21:00, £14 - £22

Double-dayer in the Baltic Triangle, celebrating Jamaican music, food and culture.

THE SKINNY

Sun 18 Jun AFRICA OYÉ

SEFTON PARK, FROM 12:30, FREE

Africa Oyé, the UK’s biggest festival of African music and culture, returns to Sefton Park with an eclectic mix of artists, workshops, DJs and delicious food from around the world. GENESIS CONNECTED

EPSTEIN THEATRE, 19:30–22:30, £17

A tribute show celebrating the music of Genesis

Thu 22 Jun WHITE NIGHTS

Manchester Music

THE UNDERCOVER HIPPY (HOBOCHIC)

Tue 02 May BRUNO MARS

NIGHT AND DAY CAFE, 20:00–23:00, £14

SOUND CONTROL, FROM 18:00, £9

ANDREW COMBS (PAUL CAUTHEN)

Fri 23 Jun

SOUND CONTROL, FROM 18:00, £10

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC HALL, 19:30–22:30, £19 - £45

Featuring works by Stravinsky and Tchaikovsky.

Sat 24 Jun

CHARLIE DORE WITH JULIAN LITTMAN

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC MUSIC ROOM, 20:00–23:00, £12.50

Singer-songwriter Charlie Dore teams up with multi-instrumentalist Julian Littman of Steeleye Span to perform material from her album, Dark Matter.

Tue 27 Jun

ROGER MCGOUGH WITH ENSEMBLE 10/10 LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC MUSIC ROOM, 20:00–23:00, £22.50

Roger McGough’s classic poetry is set to music from new music group Ensemble 10/10.

Wed 28 Jun

ROGER MCGOUGH WITH ENSEMBLE 10/10 LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC MUSIC ROOM, 20:00–23:00, £22.50

Roger McGough’s classic poetry is set to music from new music group Ensemble 10/10.

Thu 29 Jun

THE WOMBATS (THE NIGHT CAFÉ)

LIVERPOOL GUILD OF STUDENTS, 19:00–23:00, £27.50

The Liverpudlian indie-rock scamps return bigger, brighter, and with their new album in tow. JACKSON BROWNE

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC HALL, 19:30–22:30, £39.50 - £51

The Californian singer-songwriter returns with his full band and a back catalogue of 14 studio albums. KAZ HAWKINS & HER BAND

THE ATKINSON, 20:00–23:00, £14

Belfast blues and jazz singer.

Fri 30 Jun

CATFISH AND THE BOTTLEMEN

ECHO ARENA, 18:30–22:00, £22 - £25

Indie rock’n’roll quintet full of guitars and songs about love an’ that. KAMASI WASHINGTON

O2 ACADEMY, 19:00–23:00, £25

Inimitable jazz saxophonist, composer and bandleader.

THE MAGIC GANG

Energetic Brighton-based indie-pop. CHARLIE COOPER QUARTET

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:00–00:00, FREE

Vintage soul headed up the deep, husky tones of Charlie Cooper, who’s joined by a band that channels their inner Booker T and the MGs. KINETIC

INTERNATIONAL ANTHONY BURGESS FOUNDATION, 19:00–22:00, £3 - £7

Enjoy some insight to current movements in UK chamber music, as some of Manchester’s most innovative young composers come together to present a night of exciting new music, including the likes of Lucy Armstrong, Patrick Brennan, Cally Statham and more. FLOOD MANUAL (JADED + HOME SCHOOLED + SUMMERHOUSE)

GULLIVERS, 19:30–22:30, £4

Manchester-based indie punk rock group.

Wed 03 May BRUNO MARS

MANCHESTER ARENA, 20:00–23:00, £37.50 - £75

WILL JOSEPH COOK

Fresh-faced Tunbridge Wells singer-songwriter, out touring his new EP.

THE HALLÉ: PURCELL, RYAN WIGGLESWORTH AND BRUCKNER

BRIDGEWATER HALL, 19:30–21:30, £13.50 - £41

The Ninth Symphony Bruckner’s Ninth Symphony is played alongside Purcell’s Funeral Sentences for Queen Mary and Ryan Wigglesworth’s Locke’s Theatre, an adaption of the music of the great English dramatic composer Matthew Locke. LE TOOT AND THE KANSAS CITY FOUR

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:00–00:30, FREE

Leeds based Be-Bop/Hard-Bop quintet. MATTHEW HALSALL & DWIGHT TRIBLE

BAND ON THE WALL, FROM 19:30, £16.50

Manchester based trumpeter, composer, arranger and bandleader Matthew Halsall teams up with legendary LA vocalist Dwight Trible. J HUS

ALBERT HALL, 19:00–23:00, £15

East London rapper known for going viral with 2015’s single Dem Boy Paigon. I KEPT THE WOLVES AWAY (FEZ + TRIEDDENIED)

THE CASTLE HOTEL, 19:30–22:30, £6

QUEEN ANNE’S REVENGE (JONNY OATES BAND + NAZCA + THE HARRINGTONS + SHAUN REDLAKE) FACTORY 251, 19:00–22:30, £6

Four piece hard rock band based in Manchester.

Sun 07 May SOUND OF THE SIRENS

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 19:30–23:00, £10

Folk-rock Devonshire duo, aka Abbe and Hannah. ANTHONY JOSEPH

BAND ON THE WALL, FROM 19:00, £14

Poet, novelist, musician and lecturer, creating a hypnotic blend of rapturous spoken word and groove fusing the rhythmic speech and music of the Caribbean.

Mon 08 May JAZZ JAM

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:00–00:00, FREE

Open jazz jam led by Johnny Hunter, inviting musicians to join the house band for an evening of impromptu sets. PROCOL HARUM

BRIDGEWATER HALL, FROM 19:00, £22.50 - £50

The prog-rockers head out on a 1967-2017 tour, celebrating 50 years since the release of A Whiter Shade Of Pale, which continues to be one of the best-selling singles of all time. DECONTAMINATION #10 (EMILY HALL + PETER ABLINGER)

ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC RNCM, 20:00–21:30, £8

SOUND CONTROL, FROM 18:00, £10

Fri 05 May

GULLIVERS, 19:30–22:30, £8

JOSE JAMES

BAND ON THE WALL, FROM 19:30, £16

American singer with an impressive set of pipes, performing work from his stunning new LP, Love in a Time of Madness. ANDCHUCK

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:00–00:00, FREE

Modern jazz quartet formed at Royal Northern College of Music, playing original compositions with a few jazz classics thrown in for good measure. ASTON MERRYGOLD

GORILLA, 19:00–23:00, £16

The former JLS star smoulders his way into a solo career. DAN PATLANSKY

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 19:00–23:00, £15

South African blues artist bringing new album Introvertigo out on a European tour. TANGOMOTION: TANGO SIEMPRE (TANGO SIEMPRE)

From virtuoso displays of traditional tango dance in stunning costumes to the sounds of 1930s Buenos Aires, Tangomotion is a journey into the heart of Tango Argentino. CABLE CONCERTS LAUNCH NIGHT (LUMER + VIOLET DISGUISE + VOODOO VAL) THE CASTLE HOTEL, 19:30–22:30, £4

An evening of music from Hull’s Lumer, Halifax’s Violet Disguise and more.

Thu 04 May SNARKY PUPPY

O2 APOLLO, 19:00–22:00, £22

With a rotating schedule of some 25 players, the US-of A collective share their unique musical enthusiasm for jazz-funk and world music. JAPANDROIDS

GORILLA, 19:00–23:00, £14

The Vancouver garage rock duo step the energy levels up a gear, as per.

THE DOORS ALIVE

WATERSIDE ARTS CENTRE, 19:30–23:00, £12.50 - £14.50

The Doors tribute act. RAT BOY

MANCHESTER ACADEMY, 19:00–23:00, £14

Parlophone Records mischief maker Rat Boy (AKA Jordan Cardy) brings his Jamie T vibes to the stage. PROTOJE AND THE INDIGGNATION

GORILLA, 18:30–22:00, £16.50

The reggae revivalist and his band do their thing. THE AFTER HOURS

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:30–00:30, £5

CATTLE & CANE

Life-affirming indie-folk from the Teeside five-piece, made up of members of the prodigious Hamill family (plus Paul Wilson). THE DIRTY BOMB

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:00–00:00, FREE

Instrumental funk four-piece from near Liverpool. MARIANAS TRENCH

GORILLA, 19:00–23:00, £12

Award-winning Canadian rockers named after the deepest part of the world’s oceans. STORM THE PALACE (FAITALA + HANNAH ASHCROFT)

THE CASTLE HOTEL, 19:30–22:30, £4

Electro swing enthusiasts weaving 1920s New Orleans jazz, swing and Balkan tunes with modern dance styles.

Edinburgh and London based five-piece combining elements of baroque-pop and traditional folk with menacing melodies.

O2 RITZ, 22:00–22:00, £27.50

Wed 10 May

MORGAN HERITAGE & ETANA

90s reggae band formed by five children of reggae artist Denroy Morgan.

TEMPLARS (HOLLOWS + SYMPATHISER + JAMES SILAS AND THE STRANGERS)

FACTORY 251, 19:00–22:30, £6

Stockport-based alternative/ indie lot.

Sat 06 May DEFTONES

O2 APOLLO, FROM 19:00, £35

Having tapped another rich creative vein with seventh album Koi No Yokan, Chino Moreno et al make an all too rare Scottish soujourn (i.e. you may well have to beg, borrow or steal your way in). THE RAINBAND

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 19:30–23:00, £10

The Mancunian four-piece piece, founded in 2009 by lead singer Martin Finnigan and guitarist Phil Rainey, tour their latest release, Satellite Sunrise.

THE ATTIC DOCTORS (DEEPSHADE + SONS + CLEAN BREAK)

RETRO BAR, 19:00–22:30, £6

Bolton’s rising indie foursome. THE SOUL RAYS

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:30–01:00, £5

Liverpool ten-piece funk band all about the groove.

GORILLA, 19:00–23:00, £10

Dark and dreamy synth-heavy soundscapes from the young solo artist less cryptically known as Amber Bain.

A TRIBUTE TO OTIS REDDING (WITH MUDIBU & THE JEZEBEL SEXTET)

BAND ON THE WALL, FROM 19:00, £12

Experience the incredible sound of Otis Redding’s music as two of the UK’s most exciting raw soul acts join forces to mark 50 years since his untimely death in 1967. TEENCANTEEN

THE CASTLE HOTEL, 20:00–23:00, £8

Glasgow’s e’er sparkly power poppers TeenCanteen celebrate the release of new EP Sirens, which follows the success of debut album Say It All With A Kiss. TOM TOWNSEND

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:00–00:00, FREE

Multi-instrumentalist fusing New Orleans-style grooves with Latin jazz and more.

Fri 12 May THE CRIBS

MANCHESTER ACADEMY, 19:00–23:00, £SOLD OUT

The Wakefield indie-rockers do their guitar-heavy and frantic thing. THE RIFLES

GORILLA, 19:00–22:00, £15

The singer, violinist and composer continues his solo orchestral project – known for playing around with a dazzling array of vocal and violin loops.

Tue 09 May

LA duo of Asa Taccone and Matthew Compton fuelled on funked-up pop choruses.

THE JAPANESE HOUSE

Four piece indie rock band all the way from Chingford, playing a special acoustic set.

Infectious groove-laden indie from the Sheffield three-piece.

ELECTRIC GUEST

GULLIVERS, 19:30–22:30, £10

Former drum ‘n’ bass DJ and MC Billy Rowan takes his five-piece, interactive live project on tour.

For the latest event in the RNCM’s Decontamination series, they re-locate all of the action to the theatre stage - including the audience.

Mainstream American singer/ songwriter and producer, aka Peter Gene Hernandez.

ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC RNCM, 19:30–22:00, £15 - £18

May/June 2017

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 19:30–23:00, £11

Mainstream American singer/ songwriter and producer, aka Peter Gene Hernandez. Nashville songwriter Andrew Combs returns to the UK for an intimate tour.

WHITE NIGHTS

BLANCK MASS

Fuck Buttons co-founder Benjamin John Power tours new album World Eater, which has been given The Skinny seal of approval with our four-star review.

MANCHESTER ARENA, 20:00–23:00, £37.50 - £75

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC HALL, 19:30–22:30, £19 - £45

Featuring works by Stravinsky and Tchaikovsky.

THE ALARM O2 RITZ, 19:00–23:00, £22.50

Welsh new wave rock quartet, heavily influenced by Welsh language and culture.

STUART MCCALLUM RESIDENCY

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:00–00:00, FREE

Monthly experimental improv compositions from The Cinematic Orchestra’s Stuart McCallum. SIVU

EAGLE INN, 19:30–23:30, £6

The Cambridge-born, Finnishnamed singer/songwriter does his tremulous quaver of a thing. DR. ROBERT

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 19:30–23:00, £12.50

The Blow Monkeys frontman continues on the solo path with Out There. ASH MAMMAL

NIGHT AND DAY CAFE, FROM 20:00, £6

Teen four-piece from the Midlands. DJ FORMAT & ABDOMINAL

GORILLA, 19:30–23:00, £14

The dynamic duo are back with new album, Still Hungry, which they’re bringing to a live setting after performing their first UK dates in a decade last year. HYPED.

Thu 11 May

TEENCANTEEN (EMME WOODS)

THE CASTLE HOTEL, 19:30–22:30, £8

Delightful riot of massive beats, swooning harmonies and the gutsy-sweet wonder of front woman Carla Easton and Co.

Find full listings at theskinny.co.uk/whats-on

KISHI BASHI

SOUP KITCHEN, 19:00–22:00, £12

RNCM JAZZ COLLECTIVE

ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC RNCM, 19:30–22:00, £10

The RNCM Jazz Collective cuts loose on six big band standards alongside new works by RNCM composers, inspired by these classic tunes and tonight will be the first outing for their work. C DUNCAN

BAND ON THE WALL, 19:00–22:00, £12.50

Glasgow-based muso, composing e’er beautiful choral harmonies and acoustic instrumentation in his bedroom-studio set-up. CLEAN CUT KID

SOUND CONTROL, FROM 18:30, £9

New Liverpool fuzz-pop band out on their UK headline tour. THE SWING COMMANDERS

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:30–00:00, £5

Lancashire quintet whose mission apparently is to promote sophisticated harmonies, hot solos and pretty dresses. GEORGE CLINTON & PARLIAMENT FUNKADELIC

O2 RITZ, 18:30–22:00, £26.50

The Godafther of funk – er, that’d be George Clinton – takes to Glasgow with ParliamentFunkadelic (aka P-Funk). DIANE BIRCH

SACRED TRINITY CHURCH, 19:00–23:00, £9

Diane Birch channels Ambrosian hymns, moody soul, Debussy and R’n’B, brought together with an unflagging attention to classic pop and the intricate possibilities of piano. LOWLY

GULLIVERS, 19:30–22:30, £TBC

The Aarhus noise-poppers swing by.

Sat 13 May FROM THE JAM

GORILLA, 19:00–22:00, £22.50

Featuring Bruce Foxton from the original line-up, From the Jam head out on their 40th anniversary tour for In the City. OUR FOLD (THE JADE ASSEMBLY + PROLETARIAT)

BAND ON THE WALL, FROM 19:00, £7

Ahead of the release their muchanticipated debut album this year, Our Fold showcase if live and in full.

THE LUCID DREAM (HEY BULLDOG) THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 19:00–22:15, £10

Fusing layered, heavily affected guitar sounds with the futuristic punk awareness of Vanishing Point and general nonchalance of 70s art rockers Suicide, TLD have an incendiary and occasionally visceral take on psychedelia. JULIE DEXTER

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:30–01:00, £5

Award-winning vocalist who crosses genres from jazz to soul and world music. THE HALLÉ: FINLANDIA

BRIDGEWATER HALL, 19:30–21:30, £13.50 - £43

This concert features works from the two giants of Scandinavian music, with Grieg’s Piano Concerto and Peer Gynt Suite alongside Sibelius’s Karelia Suite, Valse Triste and Finlandia. TOM CHAPLIN (AINSLIE WILLIAMS)

ALBERT HALL, 19:00–23:00, £SOLD OUT

Keane’s frontman strides out with his solo debut, The Wave, a selfpenned album “revealing the real man behind the songs.” Deep. HENRY BOTHAM

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 17:00–18:00, FREE

Pianist Henry Botham plays a mix of New Orleans classics, old time blues, traditional spirituals and original music.

MISFIRES (IDLE FRETS + BRAVE THE NORTH + WONDERLAND TRIP)

FACTORY 251, 19:00–22:30, £6

Swindon indie quartet heading out on a UK headline tour. KATALINA KICKS (BEDSIDE MANNERS)

RETRO BAR, 19:00–22:30, £6

DIY alt rock outfit formed in Shepherd’s Bush.

THE DANIEL WAKEFORD EXPERIENCE (DANIEL WAKEFORD THE JEFFEREY SINGH BAND PSYCHEDELIC BRAIN CELLS) ISLINGTON MILL, 19:00–23:00, £5

Brighton-based singer-songwriter from the UK’s burgeoning disabled muisc scene.

Sun 14 May

GLENN MILLER ORCHESTRA

BRIDGEWATER HALL, FROM 15:00, £29.50 - £32.50

A nostalgic conert of 40s tunes and classic wartime chart-toppers, with bandleader Ray McVay. DAN CROLL

SOUND CONTROL, FROM 18:00, £10

Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts graduate and winner of the Musicians Benevolent Fund’s National Songwriter of the Year Award continues his ascent. MEADOWLARK

THE CASTLE HOTEL, 19:30–22:30, £7

Bristolian folk duo out trailing new EP, Nocturnes. SHAWN SMITH

GULLIVERS, 19:30–22:30, £14

Seattle-based singer/songwriter who’s also a member of Brad, Satchel, Pigeonhead, Malfunkshun, and The Twilight Singers. Busy chap. NATALIE IMBRUGLIA

GORILLA, 19:30–23:00, £SOLD OUT

ELEANOR MCEVOY GULLIVERS, 19:30–22:30, £15

Contemporary Irish singersongwriter, currently with 11 critically-acclaimed albums to her name. THE BODY (UNIFORM)

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 19:00–22:15, £11

Chip King and Lee Buford tour latest album, No One Deserves Happiness, delivering themes of despair and isolation through the unlikely pairing of the Body’s signature heaviness and 80s dance tracks. HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE IN CONCERT

MANCHESTER ARENA, FROM 18:30, £25 - £65

A full live orchestra score the film adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s muchloved first Potter adventure. MONKFISH

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:00–00:00, FREE

Mike Mellor, Stu Morrison and Gordy Bowyer blend gypsy jazz with bop, Latin groove and blues.

Wed 17 May METRONOMY

ALBERT HALL, 19:00–23:00, £SOLD OUT

The Joseph Mount-led electro-pop pleasurists return, this time trailing last year’s fifth studio album, Summer 08. BLIND MONK TRIO

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:00–00:00, FREE

An evening of Indian music, includes classical raga based Tarana, Chants of Shiva, Hymns of Vedic traditions and famous Indian music compositions.

Mon 15 May KANE STRANG

GULLIVERS, 19:30–23:00, £7

The New Zealand singer and guitarist traverses the globe with a world tour.

Tue 16 May GAVIN DEGRAW

O2 RITZ, 19:00–22:00, £23

New York-based singer-songwriter of the blue-eyed, charming and soulful variety.

O2 RITZ, 18:00–22:00, £15

Washington DC metallers return to the UK, their influence on the metal landscape looming large. AGBEKO

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:30–01:00, £5

11-piece afrobeat and Ethiojazz collective, performing original music and instrumental arrangements of Ethiopian and Ghanaian hits. BABEHEAVEN

GULLIVERS, 19:30–22:30, £7

West London band touring the UK with debut album So Long Forever. M/F - THE CONCERT (NEW COMPOSERS)

INTERNATIONAL ANTHONY BURGESS FOUNDATION, 19:30–21:30, £4 - £6

A concert of brand new music inspired by Anthony Burgess’s novel M/F, which sees four composers present specially commissioned work for violin, cello, flute, clarinet, percussion, with spoken word and visuals. SUNFLOWER THIEVES

BRIDGEWATER HALL, FROM 19:00, £25 - £35

THE HALLÉ: SMETANA, CHOPIN AND DVO?ÁK

A Slavic-themed programme that sees Andrew Tyson make a welcome return to The Hallé in Chopin’s Second Piano Concerto, the gifted James Feddeck conduct Dvo?ák’s ebullient Sixth Symphony and much more. DECLAN MCKENNA

GORILLA, 19:00–23:00, £SOLD OUT

The fresh-faced winner of Glasto’s 2015 Emerging Talent Competition. BRAD MEHLDAU TRIO

ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC RNCM, 19:30–22:00, £25

Mehldau has forged a unique path of jazz exploration, and are out on the road playing music from their latest album, Blues and Ballad. MISHKA SUBALY

THE CASTLE HOTEL, 19:30–22:30, £10

Veteran singer-songwriter, who has shared the stage with The Strokes, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Decemberists, ad is often compared to Tom Waits, Johnny Cash, and Leonard Cohen.

Thu 18 May

JAMIE BROWNFIELD QUARTET

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:00–00:00, FREE

Jazz four-piece headed by British Jazz Awards rising star, Jamie Brownfield. AKUA NARU

BAND ON THE WALL, FROM 19:30, £13.50

BRIDGEWATER HALL, 19:30–21:30, £13 - £41

SHIVOHAM

PERIPHERY (THE CONTORTIONIST + DESTRAGE)

BRIDGEWATER HALL, 14:15–16:15, £13 - £41

EAGLE INN, 19:00–23:00, £7

THE LOWRY: QUAYS THEATRE, FROM 17:00, £12.50

The Piccadilly Records 2014 album of the year artist brings her krautinfluenced psychedelic sounds to increasingly larger audiences.

The Derby/Nottingham acoustic duo play a free gig.

Hip-hop, spoken word and soul powerhouse Akua Naru stops by this spring.

Trio of celebrated Nova Scotian songwriters from Cape Breton.

JANE WEAVER

BAND ON THE WALL, 19:00–23:00, £10

The classic sax, bass and drums trio format is updated with elements of everything from alt-rock to Eastern folk.

Aussie singer-songwriter who found fame in the greatest soap of all time: Neighbours. PORT CITIES (JAMES STEPHEN + TAFF JR + THE WAITRESS)

SLYDIGS THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 19:00–22:15, £8

Pure unadulterated rock’n’roll from the Warrington quartet, as per.

THE HALLÉ: SMETANA, CHOPIN AND DVO?ÁK

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 19:00–22:15, £12.50

DJ Food presents a live audio/ visual set of pieces from the Aphex Twin back catalogue, in the wake of the recent 25th anniversary of his Selected Ambient Works. ELI WEST

GULLIVERS, 19:30–22:30, £12

Seattle-based singer and multiinstrumentalist drawing on old folk sounds.

Fri 19 May MAXÏMO PARK

ALBERT HALL, 19:00–23:00, £20

The North Eastern indie lot celebrate the 10th anniversary of A Certain Trigger, while also showing off their sixth album, Risk to Exist.

LEAF, 18:30–21:30, FREE

Sat 20 May IMELDA MAY

The sultry songstress and her rockabilly blues band play tracks from new LP, Life Love Flesh Blood. LLAREGGUB BRASS BAND

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:30–01:00, £5

Bronx hip hop-inspired, New Orleans-tinged brass band formed in the deepest, darkest (and wettest) of North Wales. CLAY (CASSIA)

GORILLA, 18:30–22:00, £8

Leeds export and serious up-andcomers Clay create a fusion of Factory Records-style indie with a falsetto groove. WHISKEY MYERS (BUFFALO SUMMER)

O2 RITZ, 18:00–22:00, £15

Southern American rockers from Texas. JEREMY SASSOON

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 17:00–18:00, FREE

A free early evening gig from Manchester-based singer and pianist Jeremy Sassoon.

SHARKMUFFIN (KANTEEN + SLOWHANDCLAP + NEW COLUMBIA)

EAGLE INN, 19:00–23:00, £7

American rock ‘n’ roll troupe peddling “optimistic pop fuzz glam grunge shredwave”.

SOUL II SOUL PRESENTS A NIGHT AT THE ACADEMY (SOUL II SOUL + JAMES TAYLOR QUARTET + JAZZIE B)

MANCHESTER ACADEMY, 19:00–01:00, £25

The multi Grammy award-winning soul outfit return with their inimitable Funki Dred style.

Sun 21 May ÁSGEIR

GORILLA, 19:30–23:00, £15

Icelandic singer/songwriter crafting an idyllic blend of folk, indie and electro, touring with hissophomore album, Afterglow. CHRONIXX

O2 RITZ, 18:00–22:00, £25

Recently ascended to reggae’s front line, the son of the legendary Chronicle drops by for a hit-filled set. THE UKULELE ORCHESTRA

THE LOWRY: LYRIC THEATRE, 19:30–22:30, £27.50

The all-plucking orchestra take on another massive tour. THE HALLÉ: SMETANA, CHOPIN AND DVO?ÁK

BRIDGEWATER HALL, 19:30–21:30, £13 - £41

Listings

PHIL RUDD BAND ON THE WALL, 19:30–22:30, £27.50

Australian drummer Phil Rudd played in several Melbourne bands, such as Buster Brown and the Coloured Balls, before joining up with rock giants AC/DC in 1975.

Mon 22 May LUKE SITAL-SINGH

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 19:30–23:00, £12

Promising young London singersongwriter with an innate ability to capture the raw emotion of a moment in song. SHUGGIE OTIS

THE RUBY LOUNGE, FROM 19:00, £20

Classic psychedelic soul singersongwriter most famous for 1971 song Strawberry Letter 23. MEW (WARHAUS)

O2 RITZ, 19:00–22:00, £19.50

Danish trio known for their experimental otherworldliness, with lead singer/whiner Jonas Bjerre at the helm.

MATT AND PHRED’S ALL STAR JAM (THE DREAMER) MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:00–00:00, FREE

Mancunian funk, soul and disco group Dreamer host the monthly jam. HAZEL ENGLISH

THE CASTLE HOTEL, 19:30–22:30, £8

Indie-pop musician from Oakland, California. MIYA FOLICK

EAGLE INN, 19:30–23:30, £7

Rising alt-rock artist from LA who’s on the rise after a recely toured with Sleigh Bells.

Tue 23 May NEIL C YOUNG TRIO

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:00–00:00, FREE

Grammy-nominated composer playing feel-good music. LISA MITCHELL

EAGLE INN, 19:30–22:30, £6

Aussie singer/songwriter out touring Europe.

MO KENNEY (HUGO KENSDALE)

THE CASTLE HOTEL, 19:30–22:30, £8

The Canadian singer/songwriter plays a set of hits. HOMESHAKE

GORILLA, 19:30–23:00, £8

Pseudonym of Edmonton-born, Montreal-based musician Peter Sagar. BRENT COBB

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 19:00–22:15, £8

Country singer-songwriter from Georgia, out trailing new album Shine On Rainy Day. BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE

ALBERT HALL, 19:00–23:00, £22.50

The Canadian experimental indie rock collective, formed by Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning, head to Manchester for one of just two UK dates.

Wed 24 May ANDREW MCMAHON

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 19:30–23:00, £SOLD OUT

Better known as the piano-pounding frontman from Something Corporate and Jack’s Mannequin, now doing his solo synth-pop thing. WARD THOMAS

O2 RITZ, 19:00–22:00, £17.50

Folk duo made up of twin sisters Catherine and Lizzy, who tour in support of new release, Cartwheels. MATT ANDERSEN

NIGHT AND DAY CAFE, 20:00–23:00, £13.50

He’s mad popular on YouTube, winner of a 2013 European Blues Award and Best Solo Performer at the Memphis Blues Challenge. Maybe worth seeing him do his thing IRL? SAM HEALEY TRIO

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:00–00:00, FREE

Sam Healey of Beats and Pieces branches out with his new band, performing a bold blend of new music built up on two lead instruments. LIVE ON MARS

THE LOWRY: QUAYS THEATRE, FROM 20:00, £29

A bold new stage production celebrating iconic pop hero David Bowie; his music, artistry, style and showmanship.

Thu 25 May

THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART

NIGHT AND DAY CAFE, 20:00–23:00, £15

Reassuringly textbook indie-pop from NYC, of late brighter, bolder and evidencing sharpened songwriting skills. MICA MILLAR

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:00–00:00, FREE

Sun 28 May ERASURE

ALBERT HALL, 19:00–23:00, £SOLD OUT

Legendary 80s electropop duo made up of Vince Clarke and Andy Bell, out and touring their 17th – yep, 17th! – LP release, World Be Gone.

MATT AND PHRED’S BANK HOLIDAY SPECIAL

Songwriter weaving through soul, jazz, gospel and hip hop to tell tales of love, loss, social and political influence and life through musical expression.

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 20:00–00:00, FREE

ALBERT HALL, 19:00–22:00, £32.50

An acclaimed singer-songwriter with a fragile, understated voice and a knack for penning minimalist, intimate songs, showcasing new album, The Last Rider.

SEU JORGE PRESENTS THE LIFE AQUATIC

Paying homage to the late David Bowie, Brazilian musician Seu Jorge heads to Manchester’s Albert Hall for a live set of his Portuguese-language Bowie covers, as featured in cult Wes Anderson film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.

May bank holiday special with New Orleans band The Nightcreatures. RON SEXSMITH AND BAND

ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC RNCM, 19:30–22:30, £27.50

ESKA: ARE YOU HERE?

BAND ON THE WALL, FROM 19:30, £12.50

Israeli rock musician and founding member of British art rock band Blackfield.

To mark the finale of Brighter Sound’s Artistic Directors Series #008, ESKA will lead 15 musicians, performers and visual artists in a live premiere of original music created during the residency at a special, one-off event.

GULLIVERS, 19:30–22:30, £5

Mon 29 May

AVIV GEFFEN

O2 RITZ, 19:00–23:00, £20

T.E. YATES

Album launch celebration for Silver Coins and White Feathers.

Fri 26 May

DOT TO DOT FESTIVAL (SUNDARA KARMA + AMBER RUN + THE GROWLERS + LOUIS BERRY + HONEYBLOOD + PINEGROVE + CHERRY GLAZERR + TOM GRENNAN + PICTURE THIS + MORE)

VARIOUS VENUES, 14:00–04:00, £12

The multi-venue all-day festival pitches up for another year, this time with anthemic indie rock lot Sundara Karma and rising Nottingham quartet Amber Run among headliners. FRANNY EUBANK’S BLUES BAND

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:30–01:00, £5

Fuelled by the blues of Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson. THEY

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 19:00–22:15, £10

American R&B duo touring the UK with debut studio album Nu Religion: Hyena. THE AFGHAN WIGS

MANCHESTER CATHEDRAL, 19:00–22:00, £15

From their rough-hewn beginnings with their Big Top Halloween LP, to the enduring elegance of 1965, Greg Dulli et al show y’all how it’s done.

Sat 27 May SKUNK ANANSIE

O2 RITZ, 18:30–22:00, £25

The Skin-fronted quartet tour their latest album, Anarchytecture, an amalgam of heavy metal and black feminist rage (so say they). JAH WOBBLE’S INVADERS OF THE HEART

THE RUBY LOUNGE, FROM 19:00, £15

The PiL man is joined by some-time Stone Roses guitarist Aziz Ibrahim to celebrate his illustrious career as a musician. ANASTACIA

O2 APOLLO, FROM 19:00, £37.50 - £50

American singer-songwriter with a mighty pair of lungs on ‘er. TARZAN BROS

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:30–00:30, £5

Brothers Theo and Greg Tantanozis perform material from their latest release along with a full live band.

TUBULAR BELLS (TUBULAR BRASS + HANNAH PEEL + MARY CASIO)

ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC RNCM, 19:30–22:00, £18.50

Music Net presents Mike Oldfield’s classic album Tubular Bells, performed live by Tubular Brass – a 28-piece brass band featuring some of the UK’s finest players.

GYPSY JAM

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:00–00:00, FREE

An evening of gypsy jazz - the acoustic jazz styles first popularised in the 1930s by Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli - led by violinist Matt Holborn and his quartet.

Tue 30 May CHAMPS

BAND ON THE WALL, FROM 19:30, £8

Alt-pop bros from the Isle of Wight. THE BLIND SHAKE

GULLIVERS, 19:30–22:30, £9

Minneapolis punk rockers fronted by brothers Jim and Mike Blaha. JORDAN MACKAMPA

LEAF, 19:00–22:00, FREE

Kinshasa-born, London-bred singer-songwriter. WALKLATE & FUSCHI

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:00–00:00, FREE

Classic 50s and 60s blues, R&B and a little ska from British Blues Harp Champion Mat Walklate on harmonica and vocals and Paolo Fuschi on guitar.

Wed 31 May THE STAVES

GORILLA, 19:30–23:00, £SOLD OUT

Headline set from the Communion Records folk harmony trio, composed of Watford-born sisters Emily, Jessica and Camilla. MARIKA HACKMAN

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 19:30–23:00, £11

Sweet-voiced young folk singer/ songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. VICTOR BROX DREAM TEAM

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:00–00:00, FREE

Once described by Jimi Hendrix no less as his favourite white blues singer, the Lancashire vocalist brings his distinctive style to Matt and Phred’s along with his Dream Team. MOLLY BURCH

SOUP KITCHEN, 19:00–22:00, £7

Austin-based singer-songwriter who recently released debut album, Please Be Mine, via Captured Tracks.

Thu 01 Jun DAMIEN DEMPSEY

O2 RITZ, 19:00–23:00, £18

Irish contemporary folk at La Belle. MINUS THE BEAR (JOAN OF ARC)

GORILLA, 19:30–23:00, £16

Seattle indie-rock lot made up of ex-members of Botch, Kill Sadie and Sharks Keep Moving. COASTS

SOUND CONTROL, FROM 19:00, £12

GIGANTIC THE WEDDING PRESENT… (EMF + POP WILL EAT ITSELF + JIM BOB + THE PRIMITIVES + THOUSAND YARD STARE)

The Bristolian-four piece play Bongo.

MANCHESTER ACADEMY, 13:30–23:30, £31

The Welsh singer/songwriter does his acoustic folk thing.

10 hours of live music and an allday real ale and cider festival. SCOTT LLOYD

GULLIVERS, 19:30–22:30, £3

Manchester-based indie-folk singer-songwriter.

MARTYN JOSEPH

BAND ON THE WALL, FROM 19:30, £16

INTO THE ARK

FALLOW CAFE, 19:30–22:30, £7

The South Wales duo unveil a selection of new material.

LEIKO QUINTET

MUSICAL STRINGS SHOWCASE

RNCM SESSION ORCHESTRA

THEE OH SEES

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:00–00:00, FREE

THE LOWRY: QUAYS THEATRE, FROM 19:00, £12.50

ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC RNCM, 19:00–22:00, £15

MANCHESTER ACADEMY, 19:00–23:00, £21

Current and past students of Royal Northern College of Music, influenced by everything from 1920s traditional jazz to Ghanaian Afrobeat. THE ABRAMS

GULLIVERS, 19:30–22:30, £10

Canadian outfit comprising fourthgeneration muscian bros.

Fri 02 Jun

THE MAGIC OF MOTOWN

THE LOWRY: LYRIC THEATRE, 19:30–22:30, £26 - £28

In praise of the finest sounds to come out of Detroit and beyond in the Motown period. NEW YORK BRASS BAND

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:30–01:00, £5

Listings

Mon 05 Jun

STRINGS AT NIGHT WITH GREGORY SCOTT

THE DANCEHOUSE THEATRE, 19:30–22:00, £24

Music from stage and screen including Game of Thrones, alng with new instrumental versions of music from icons George Michael, David Bowie and Michael Jackson.

Tue 06 Jun VINTAGE TROUBLE

O2 RITZ, 19:00–22:00, £21.50

North Yorkshire’s only contemporary New Orleans-inspired brass band, featuring an eight-strong line-up of percussion, sax, trumpets, trombones and sousaphone.

R’n’B and soul project of Canadian duo Ty Taylor and Nalle Colt, brought to life in their basic home studio in Venice Beach.

VICTORIA WAREHOUSE, 19:00–22:00, £30

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:00–00:00, FREE

FAT FREDDY’S DROP

Heavyweight (geddit?) purveyors of soul and danceable music. HALEY REINHART

GORILLA, 18:30–22:00, £15

The singer-songwriter and noted guest singer in Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox takes to the stage. Fun fact: her single Can’t Help Falling in Love With You was featured in an Extra chewing gum advert. Ring a bell? THE SKIDS - 40TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW

O2 RITZ, 18:30–22:00, £22.50

40th anniversary tour for the Scottish punk group.

THE SKIDS - 40TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW

O2 RITZ, FROM 19:00, £22.50

40th anniversary tour for the Scottish punk group.

THE SKIDS - 40TH ANNIVERSARY

O2 RITZ, 18:30–22:00, £22.50

A 40th Anniversary Tour show from the Fife punk rock and new wave band.

WAR OFFICE (THE HAPPY FUTURE)

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 19:00–22:15, £7

Manchester-based indie/alternative rock band.

Sat 03 Jun

NORTH WEST CALLING (THE TOY DOLLS + THE EXPLOITED + ANGELIC UPSTARTS + DIRT BOX DISCO + PETER AND THE TEST TUBE BABIES + THE OUTCASTS + 999 + ABRASIVE WHEELS + FIRE EXIT + LOADED 44 + THE CUNDEEZ) O2 RITZ, 12:00–22:00, £30

All day punk-a-thon featuring veterans like The Toy Dolls, The Exploited and Angelic Upstarts. DANA ALI BAND

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:30–00:30, £5

Neo-soul band based in Honley, formed by hubbie and wife Dave Hewitt and Dana Ali. SYD ARTHUR + MORGAN DELT

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 19:00–22:15, £10

Young psychedelic pin-up hailing from Canterbury, Syd Arthur shares a co-headline spot with Morgan Delt. EIVØR

THE CASTLE HOTEL, 19:30–22:30, £TBC

Hailing from the Faroe Islands but now based in Denmark, Eivør tours her 10th album, Slør.

Sun 04 Jun THEA GILMORE

ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC RNCM, 19:00–22:00, £24.50 - £27.50

Thea Gilmore appears with her live band, featuring husband and Producer Nigel Stonier on guitar and keyboard, in support of 18th album, The Counterweight.

THE HALLÉ AND BBC PHILHARMONIC: SHOENBERG, GURRELIEDER

BRIDGEWATER HALL, 18:30–19:30, £13.50 - £41

The Hallé season reaches the grandest conclusion possible with a rare performance of Schoenberg’s gigantic Gurrelieder, featuring an all-star vocal line-up, massive choral forces and the combined resources of the Hallé and BBC Philharmonic. NOW WAVE SUNDAY SESSIONS (WHITNEY + BILL RYDER-JONES + TOPS) O2 RITZ, 16:00–22:00, £13.50

Bill Ryder-Jones plays a solo acoustic set, sharing the bill with Whitney, Tops and special guests.

From the raw metallic sounds of AC/DC to soothing love songs from Adele, star music students celebrate their talents in a huge summertime showcase.

DAVE LUVIN PRESENTS THE JAZZ SINGERS

Bi-monthly gig with backing music from the Dave Luvin Group. JULIEN BAKER

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 19:00–22:15, £SOLD OUT

Gut wrenching lyricism and rousing acoustic songwriting from Memphis-based Julien Baker. SUGARHILL GANG WITH GRANDMASTER MELE MEL AND SCORPIO’S FURIOUS 5

GORILLA, 19:30–23:00, £20

Pioneering rap band whose track Rappers Delight was the first ever rap song to hit the top 40 charts.

Wed 07 Jun TYCHO

ALBERT HALL, 19:00–23:00, £16.50

Formerly the output of one man, Scott Hansen, Tycho is now the ambient music project of several, who recently released their latest album, Epoch.

SMN #22 (DIKEMBE + OTHER HALF + PIPEDREAM + PATTY HEARST)

GULLIVERS, 19:30–22:30, £7

An evening with Floridian emo rockers Dikembe, who make their Manchester debut, and others.

Thu 08 Jun

NIKKI LANE (RUBY BOOTS)

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 19:00–22:15, £12.50

South Carolina native Nikki Lane grips sixties Americana country and coolly yanks it into the present day. See it live in action as she hits stages this spring. SHYFINGER

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:00–00:00, FREE

Four piece peddling “head-nod shit” packed with funky riffs.

Fri 09 Jun WHY?

GORILLA, 19:00–22:00, £15

The Cincinnati-bred gents (aka Yoni Wolf, Josiah Wolf and Doug McDiarmid) tour on the back of their new LP, Moh Lhean. RAINTOWN

GULLIVERS, 19:30–22:30, £10

Multi award-winning Scottish duo. EMMA STEVENS

THE CASTLE HOTEL, 19:30–22:30, £12

Country pop-styled Surrey singer/ songwriter who began her musical journey when she was bought her first guitar at the age of 3. STRINGER JONES AND THE BUZZTONES

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:30–00:30, £5

Six-piece soul/jazz combo from Liverpool. WEIRDGXNG

REBELLION, 19:00–22:30, £7

A collective of Northwest-based hip-hop artists marging various sub-genres into one psychedelic mix.

Sat 10 Jun CHINESE MARBLES

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:30–01:00, £5

Nine-piece jazz line-up, playing a free blend of jazz, funk, soul and ska. PARKLIFE

HEATON PARK, FROM 10:00, £59.50 - £119

Parklife pulls another blinder with Frank Ocean headlining, alongside A Tribe Called Quest, Little Dragon, Fatboy Slim, Sampha and many more.

Featuring tunes by Sia, Jess Glynne, Billy Joel and Jill Scott, as well as nods to Michael Bublé, Chic, Jamie Cullum, Sting, Chaka Khan and many more. MANCHFESTER 4.5 (APOLOGIES, I HAVE NONE + SAM RUSSO + KAMIKAZE GIRLS + HOT MASS + BROADBAY + THROWING STUFF + HAPPY ACCIDENTS + PALE KIDS + CRYSTAL PISS + AERIAL SALAD)

GULLIVERS, 19:30–22:30, £10 - £15

Marking Moving North’s 100th gig.

DELIA DERBYSHIRE DAY: HONOURING THE 80TH BIRTHDAY OF ELECTRONIC MUSIC PIONEER DELIA DERBYSHIRE

BAND ON THE WALL, FROM 19:00, £10

A special event honouring the 80th birthday of electronic music pioneer Delia Derbyshire (1937-2001), who would have been 80 years old on 5 May 2017.

Sun 11 Jun PARKLIFE

HEATON PARK, FROM 10:00, £59.50 - £119

Parklife pulls another blinder with Frank Ocean headlining, alongside A Tribe Called Quest, Little Dragon, Fatboy Slim, Sampha and many more. CHASTITY BROWN

GULLIVERS, 19:30–22:30, £12

Minneapolis-based banjo-playin’ soul singer, melding bits of soul, jazz and rootsy Americana into her mix. JANE MCDONALD

THE LOWRY: LYRIC THEATRE, 19:30–22:30, £33 - £38

The former seafaring warbler takes another turn around the UK. KNUCKLE PUCK

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 19:00–23:00, £11

Pop-punk from Chicago’s southern suburbs.

Mon 12 Jun JAZZ JAM

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:00–00:00, FREE

Open jazz jam led by Johnny Hunter, inviting musicians to join the house band for an evening of impromptu sets. MELT BANANA

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 19:00–22:15, £13.50

Noise rock band formed in Japan in the early 90s. MANNEQUIN PUSSY

GULLIVERS, 19:30–22:30, £7

Sweet, nostalgic pop from Pennsylvania, tipped for big things for 2017.

Tue 13 Jun PAUL FARR TRIO

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:00–00:00, FREE

Manchester native, Paul Farr – known for touring with the likes of Lily Allen and Corinne Bailey-Rae – joined by a reduced backing line-up. RNCM END OF YEAR SHOWCASE

BAND ON THE WALL, FROM 19:00, £5

The RNCM’s Popular Music students return to Band on the Wall for their summer showcase, with 13 amazing bands performing over two nights. THURSTON MOORE GROUP

GORILLA, 19:30–23:00, £15

Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore and pals tour new record Rock n Roll Conscious. DARREL HIGHAM

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 19:00–22:15, £TBC

Rockabilly guitarist who’s performed with Imelda May, Kat Men and others.

Wed 14 Jun KYLA LA GRANGE

NIGHT AND DAY CAFE, 20:00–23:00, £8

Watford singer/songwriter in possession of a heartstopper of a pop vocal. NATIVES

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 19:00–22:15, £8.50

Hampshire-hailing pop-rockers formerly known as Not Advised. STUART MCCALLUM RESIDENCY

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:00–00:00, FREE

Monthly experimental improv compositions from The Cinematic Orchestra’s Stuart McCallum. KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZARD WIZARD

ALBERT HALL, 19:00–23:00, £16.50

Melbourne psychniks evoking the eclectic rock experimentation of Frank Zappa.

Psychedelic garage rock outfit formed by John Dwyer, formerly of Coachwhips, Pink and Brown and The Hospitals.

Thu 15 Jun

RNCM END OF YEAR SHOWCASE

BAND ON THE WALL, FROM 19:00, £5

The RNCM’s Popular Music students return to Band on the Wall for their summer showcase, with 13 amazing bands performing over two nights. TOOTH & NAIL

EAGLE INN, 19:00–23:00, £7.50

LITTLE STEVEN AND THE DISCIPLES OF SOUL MANCHESTER ACADEMY, 19:00–23:00, £36

Steven Van Zandt continues with his solo thing. ALEXI TUOMARILA TRIO

BAND ON THE WALL, FROM 19:30, £14

Alexi Tuomarila is one of the finest pianists on the European Jazz scene, known predominantly for his work with Polish ECM trumpeter Tomasz Stanko.

Mon 19 Jun

SMN #23 (PILE + COWTOWN + LEATHERNECK)

GULLIVERS, 19:30–22:30, £7.50

Noise rock trio from Saginaw, Texas.

Featuring explosive Boston-based four-piece Pile and others.

Fri 16 Jun

Tue 20 Jun

BAND ON THE WALL, 20:00–23:00, £16

GORILLA, 19:00–23:00, £16

HACKNEY COLLIERY BAND

Formed in 2008 out of a desire to play music that appealed to the feet as much as to the ears, the Hackney Colliery Band is east London’s unique take on the brass band. JAMES BROWN IS ANNIE

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:30–01:00, £5

Jazz-funk group, who take their name from an Eddie Murphy Saturday Night Live sketch. SPUNGE

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 19:00–22:15, £10

The ska punk veterans celebrate a scarcely believable 22 years of throwing a load of brass and woodwind on everything. HOUSE OF PAIN

O2 RITZ, 18:00–22:00, £18

The Jump Around lot head out on a 25th anniversary tour.

POND

Aussie psychedelic rock band featuring memebers of Tame Impala. HUNTER AND THE BEAR

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 19:00–22:15, £11

Melody-rock driven four-piece Hunter & The Bear have supported many artists, most notably Eric Clapton on his 2014 UK Arena tour.

Wed 21 Jun MARK LANEGAN BAND

O2 RITZ, 19:00–22:00, £20

Alt-rock singer-songwriter signed to Heavenly Recordings. STANDARD TIME TRIO

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:00–00:00, FREE

With Jeff Guntren on tenor sax, Paul Baxtor on double bass and Johnny Hunter on drums. KIKAGAYU MOYO (BONNACONS OF DOOM)

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 19:30–23:00, £10

Sat 17 Jun

Japanese psychedelic band trailing new album, House in the Tall Grass.

THE LOWRY: QUAYS THEATRE, 20:00–23:00, £15.50 - £17.50

Thu 22 Jun

CHARLIE COOPER AND THE CCS

Powerful music-makers formed in 1974, who set out with the aim to avoid all the contraints and templates of genre. Praise be.

THE LANCASHIRE HOTPOTS

Five northern blokes in flat caps singing songs about the wonders of modern day life.

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:30–01:00, £5

Vintage soul headed up the deep, husky tones of Charlie Cooper, who’s joined by a band that channels their inner Booker T and the MGs. NASHVILLE IN CONCERT

MANCHESTER ARENA, FROM 18:00, £32.50 - £55

The stars of TV show Nashville perform a mix of hits from the series and original material.

BIG BAMBORA (TITORS INSIGNIA + FEZ + ARMY OF PEOPLE)

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 19:00–22:15, £7

Indie rock quintet from Skelmersdale. MOUSES + BLOOMS

THE CASTLE HOTEL, 19:30–22:30, £6

Billingham’s lo-fi punk-rock outfit Mouses share the bill with local shoegaze lot Blooms.

Sun 18 Jun

DAVID FORD (MICHELE STODART + JP RUGGIERI)

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 19:00–23:00, £15

The award-winning songwriter tours the UK this summer with forthcoming album Animal Spirits. DAVID FORD

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, FROM 19:30, £15

The award-winning songwriter tours the UK this summer with forthcoming album Animal Spirits. IDINA MENZEL

BRIDGEWATER HALL, FROM 19:00, £35 - £85

The Tony Award-winning star performs her first Scottish date, backed by a 25-piece orchestra live on stage. ELKIE BROOKS

THE LOWRY: LYRIC THEATRE, 19:30–22:30, £25.50 - £30

The jazz singer celebrates her 70th birthday with a set that explores all five decades of her career. RNCM YOUNG EXPLORERS CONCERT: SYMPHONIC DANCES (PICCADILLY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA)

ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC RNCM, 14:00–16:00, £5 - £12

For the latest in their Young Explorers Concert Series, RNCM present an energy-fuelled, instantly recognisable programme, featuring Stravinsky’s The Firebird, Copland’s evocative Fanfare for the Common Man and more.

THE ENID

BAND ON THE WALL, FROM 19:30, £17.50

JAMIE BROWNFIELD QUARTET

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:00–00:00, FREE

Jazz four-piece headed by British Jazz Awards rising star, Jamie Brownfield.

Fri 23 Jun MANSION OF SNAKES

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:30–01:00, £5

12-piece behemoth from Leeds stirring up afrobeat, funk and cosmic psychedelia.

CHLOE CHADWICK (MONDEGREEN + JAMES STEPHEN)

THE CASTLE HOTEL, 19:30–23:00, £8

British Americana singersongwriter from Newcastleupon-Tyne.

ST JOHN PASSION: J S BACH (RNCM CHAMBER ORCHESTRA + RNCM CHAMBER CHOIR + NICHOLAS MULROY)

ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC RNCM, 19:30–22:00, £14 - £17

An intimate ensemble of RNCM soloists, choir and chamber orchestra will bring Bach’s most emotional and dramatic Passion to life under the baton of David Hill and Nicholas Mulroy.

Sat 24 Jun TERRI SHALTIEL

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:30–01:00, £5

Terri Shaltiel returns to Manchester with her powerful and soulful voice, offering original 60s and 70s inspired sounds in the realm of Etta James and Roberta Flack. OLD CROW MEDICINE SHOW

O2 RITZ, 18:00–22:00, £24

Americana string band from Nashville, fusing all-acoustic old-time instruments with original songwriting.

Sun 25 Jun

SOULFEST NORTHWEST (DOUGIE JAMES SOUL TRAIN + GROOVEMENTAL + SOULVATION + HAMILTON BROWNE + BABALOLA + DJS) O2 RITZ, FROM 17:00, £10

An evening of Northern soul and Motown in support of Cancer Research UK, Kidney Patients Association and Help Musicians.

THE SKINNY

JP RUGGIERI THE CASTLE HOTEL, 19:30–22:30, £7

Folk singer-songwriter from New York.

Mon 26 Jun JOSEPH

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 19:30–23:00, £12.50

Portland sister trio, heading to the UK armed with new album I’m Alone, No You’re Not.

WIDER OPPORTUNITIES CONCERTS

THE LOWRY: QUAYS THEATRE, FROM 19:30, £5 - £7

Featuring over 1000 young musicians from across Salford, highlighting the talents and skills that have evolved throughout this school year. Earlier performances available each night. MATT AND PHRED’S ALL STAR JAM

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:00–00:00, FREE

Mancunian funk, soul and disco group Dreamer host the monthly jam. KIERFER SUTHERLAND

GORILLA, 19:00–23:00, £SOLD OUT

Jack Bauer takes a less high-risk post as musician.

Tue 27 Jun THE NIGHTCREATURES

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:00–01:00, FREE

New Orleans classics, old school blues and more.

WIDER OPPORTUNITIES CONCERTS

THE LOWRY: QUAYS THEATRE, FROM 19:30, £5 - £7

Featuring over 1000 young musicians from across Salford, highlighting the talents and skills that have evolved throughout this school year. Earlier performances available each night. SPOON

GORILLA, 19:00–23:00, £22.50

Texan rockers now on their ninth album, Hot Thoughts. JAMES HOUSE

RNCM SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA (JUANJO MENA) BRIDGEWATER HALL, 19:30–22:00, £15 - £18

For their annual end of year Symphony Orchestra concert the RNCM returns to The Bridgewater Hall for an evening of high drama and emotion under the baton of Juanjo Mena. WIDER OPPORTUNITIES CONCERTS

THE LOWRY: QUAYS THEATRE, FROM 19:30, £5 - £7

Featuring over 1000 young musicians from across Salford, highlighting the talents and skills that have evolved throughout this school year. Earlier performances available each night.

Clubs

Five Manchester musicians in their early 20s. DARK MATTER: LEVELZ TAKEOVER

GORILLA, 19:00–22:30, £15

Curated by BBC Radio 6 Music tastemaker Mary Anne Hobbs, Dark Matter is a series of immersive shows as part of the programming for 2017’s Manchester International Festival. SCENERY

THE CASTLE HOTEL, 19:30–22:30, £6

Progressively-minded rock, soul and blues. TONY MOMRELLE

BAND ON THE WALL, FROM 19:30, £14

O2 Academy SATURDAYS

PROJEKT, 22:00-04:00, £5

An 2700-capacity indoor festival vibe each week, with Co2 jets, confetti cannons, pyrotechnics and dancers, with residents PBH and Harley Sanders playing deep house, future house and classic club anthems.

Attic

SATURDAYS

Incognito vocalist and singersongwriter who’s worked with the likes of Gloria Estefan, Whitney Houston, Sir Elton John, Take That and most recently Sade.

Long-running indie night, serving 28 cities across the UK, Ireland and Australia; expect The Libertines, The Fratellis, Kate Nash and such.

Fri 30 Jun

Canal Mills

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:30–01:00, £5

BONGO’S BINGO, 18:00-23:30, £5

THE JEREMY SASSOON BAND

The Manchester-based pianist and singer performs alongside his band.

PROPAGANDA’S ATTIC, 22:30-04:00, £4-£5

WEDNESDAYS

A bingo rave with DJs, dance-offs and, of course, bingo.

HiFi

FRANK MCCOMB

20 years of weekly soul – and counting – with DJ Matt Bolton.

GORILLA, 19:00–22:30, £18

GIN & JUICE, 23:00-LATE, £TBC

Wed 28 Jun REAL ESTATE

O2 RITZ, 19:00–22:00, £16.50

Psych-pop styled indie offerings from the New Jersey foursome, all jangly guitars and catchy melodies. KYLA BROX

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:00–00:00, FREE

BAND ON THE WALL, FROM 20:00, £14

DARK MATTER: HOLLY HERNDON

Curated by BBC Radio 6 Music tastemaker Mary Anne Hobbs, Dark Matter is a series of immersive shows as part of the programming for 2017’s Manchester International Festival. BLOND BLOOD

FACTORY 251, 19:00–22:30, £6

Surf-punk group from Manchester.

WEDNESDAYS

MOVEONUP, 23:00-LATE, £3-£4

THURSDAYS

Resident DJs drop the biggest hip hop beats and breaks of the last 30 years. FRIDAYS (EVERY FOURTH OF THE MONTH)

SOUL CONTROL, 23:00-LATE, £TBC

Residents’ party playing an eclectic mix of sounds from across the dance spectrum. THURSDAYS (EVERY FOURTH OF THE MONTH)

CLARKS, 23:00-LATE, £4

The daughter of blues singer Victor Brox, with several albums to her name.

A heady cocktail of dancehall, soca and R'n'B.

THE LOWRY: QUAYS THEATRE, FROM 19:30, £5 - £7

FSN, 23:00-LATE, £TBC

WIDER OPPORTUNITIES CONCERTS

THE LOWRY: LYRIC THEATRE, 19:30–22:30, £25 - £28

A night paying homage to one of music’s most famous duos, where live performances are complemented by audio-visual footage from interviews and movies. RNCM BIG BAND WITH LAURENCE COTTLE: PORTRAIT OF JACO PASTORIUS

ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC RNCM, 19:30–22:00, £15 - £18

Laurence Cottle collaborates with RNCM students to pay tribute to the legendary American bassist Jaco Pastorius.

FRIDAYS (EVERY FIRST OF THE MONTH)

Playing everything from house and disco to global beats, with past guests including Romare, Awesome Tapes From Africa, Onra and Horse Meat Disco. FRIDAYS (EVERY THIRD OF THE MONTH)

DANCEHALL SCIENCE, 23:00-LATE, £TBC

Step into the laboratory of dub. From the team that bring you SubSub and Outlook Festival (Disrupt Live). SATURDAYS (EVERY FOURTH OF THE MONTH)

APPLEBUM, 23:00-LATE, £4-£8

Arts Club FRIDAYS

MEDICATION, 23:00-04:00, £6

Weekly student dance night, known to regulars and cool kids as ‘Med’.

Brooklyn Mixer WEDNESDAYS

NO-WAVE SOCIAL CLUB, 22:00-03:00, FREE

Join the No-Wave DJs as they play hip hop, r’n’b, funk, soul and indie each week.

Camp and Furnace THURSDAYS

BONGO’S BINGO, 18:00-23:30, £5

A bingo rave with DJs, dance-offs and, of course, bingo.

LEAF

WEDNESDAYS

SPOTIFY WEDNESDAY, 20:00-LATE, FREE

Every Wednesday LEAF lets you indulge in some of your favourite tracks, old and new, via the most contemporary of all the world’s jukeboxes, Spotify. THURSDAYS

CRACKLE AND DUST, 17:00-21:00, FREE

A vinyl-only analog excursion into hip hop, boogie, electronica, funk and disco.

Level

WEDNESDAYS

LOVE WEDNESDAYS, 22:00-04:00, £TBC

Billing itself as Liverpool’s biggest weekly student event, with three levels of house, r’n’b, hip hop, party anthems and guilty pleasures. FRIDAYS

#HASHTAG, 22:00-04:00, £TBC

Three levels of nostalgic pop, dance anthems, r’n’b and hip hop, topped off with stilt walkers, dancers and trapeze artists. SATURDAYS

LEVEL SATURDAYS, 22:00-04:00, £TBC

Laser shows, trapeze artists, acrobatics, fire eaters and more complement the EDM, dance, progressive house and pop anthem soundtracks from the past and present.

Modo SATURDAYS

STYLE SATURDAYS, UNTIL 04:00, FREE

A celebration of hip hop and R'n'B culture.

Two floors, three DJs and a whole lotta, er, style – allegedly.

Sheaf Street Cafeteria

The Attic

FRIDAYS

THE FRIDAY RESIDENCY, 17:00-00:00, FREE

CHEAP TRICK (STONE BROKEN)

Weekly after-work sesh featuring everything from ‘post-Drake’ hip hop, trap and grime to neo soul, Afro/ Latin and future beats.

MANCHESTER ACADEMY, 19:00–23:00, £27.50

The Warehouse

Cult Illinois rockers, now inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

A weekly student night playing the very best in house and techno.

Leeds Clubs Liverpool Clubs

Upright bassist, vocalist, producer, composer and arranger.

BAND ON THE WALL, FROM 19:30, £15

SUNKEN MONDAYS, 22:00-04:00, £1-£15

ARTEPHIS

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:00–00:00, FREE

MILES MOSLEY & THE WEST COAST GET DOWN (BETTER DAYS DJS)

Vocalist and pianist combining Ssoul, jazz, blues and pop.

MONDAYS

Find listings below for weekly and monthly fixtures at clubs across Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester. For regularly updated listings including one-off club nights and the best parties from independent promoters, head to theskinny.co.uk/whats-on

GULLIVERS, 19:30–22:30, £10 - £12.50

California-born country music artist.

Hidden

FRIDAYS (EVERY LAST OF THE MONTH)

4MATION, 22:00-03:00, FREE

4Mation returns with a free night of underground house and tech house.

FRIDAYS

STICKY FEET, 23:00-02:00, £TBC

Manchester Clubs Albert Hall TUESDAYS

LEAF FRIDAYS

CRACKLE AND DUST, 17:00-21:00, FREE

An evening of rare vinyl records brought to you by the best local DJs, who’ll take you on an analog excursion into hip hop, boogie, electronica, funk and disco.

Mint Lounge FRIDAYS

TOP OF THE POPS, 22:30-04:00, £4

Get your weekend off to a great start with this healthy mix of dancefloor fillers and guilty pleasures served up by residents and guest DJs. SATURDAYS

FUNKADEMIA, 22:30-04:00, £5-£6

Mancunian nightclub institution – delivering a chronological history of soul on a weekly basis, courtesy of their DJ collective.

A bingo rave with DJs, dance-offs and, of course, bingo.

Night and Day Cafe

Band on the Wall

ELECTRIC JUG, 23:00-03:00, £3

BONGO’S BINGO, 18:30-23:00, £5

SATURDAYS (EVERY FIRST OF THE MONTH)

MR SCRUFF KEEP IT UNREAL, 22:00-03:00, £12

No less than a DJ mastermind, known for playing marathon sets, mixing a junk-shop bag of sounds and bringing his beats to life with squiggly, scribbled animations.

Black Dog Ballroom NQ FRIDAYS

LOVE FRIDAYS, 22:00-03:00, £2-£3

Hark back to the Soul Train and Studio 54 days with chic disco and grooves. SATURDAYS

SATURDAYS AT BLACK DOG, 22:00-03:00, FREE-£3

Black Dog’s resident DJs spin everything from disco and house to hip hop and chart smashers.

Black Dog Ballroom NWS MONDAYS

MONDAY CLUB, UNTIL 4AM, £TBC

Party hip hop, grime, r’n’b, dancehall and much more down in Black Dog’s downstairs club, UnderDog. TUESDAYS

INFERNO TUESDAYS, UNTIL 4AM, £TBC

Party vibes aplenty with Co2 cannons, confetti guns and balloons, all soundtracked by r’n’b, bass and house tunes. FRIDAYS

FIZZ FACE FRIDAY, 17:00-04:00, FREE BEFORE 11PM

Black Dog's weekly club night, which sees the end-of week thirst of Manchester's 9-5ers quenched by £12 bottles/£3 glasses of Prosecco.

Eastern Bloc FRIDAYS AND SATURDAYS

EASTERN BLOC IN-STORES, TIMES VARY, FREE

Every Friday and Saturday the well-loved record store becomes an intimate setting for local club nights, record labels, guests and residents.

Factory 251 MONDAYS

QUIDS IN, 23:00-04:00, £1-£2

Cheap as chips Monday student night, where the price of various drinks match the alluring entry fee (which rises to £2 after midnight, btw). THURSDAYS

F//CK TH//RSDAY, 22:30-05:00, 99P-£5

Student Thursday-nighter, with resident DJs Steve Davies, Bill Murray's Rock n Soul club and Nicola Bear serving up anything from retro classics to electro mashups across three rooms. FRIDAYS

#FRI251, 22:30-05:00, 99P BEFORE MIDNIGHT

FRIDAYS (EVERY THIRD OF THE MONTH)

Serving up the best of the 60s, ranging from psych and rock'n'roll to Britpop and soul. SATURDAYS (EVERY LAST OF THE MONTH)

THIS FEELING, 20:00-03:00, £5

Indie club night featuring tunes from Arctic Monkeys, Blur, Courteeners, David Bowie, The Smiths and much more.

FRIDAYS/SATURDAYS (EVERY SECOND OF THE MONTH)

ANTIX, 23:00-03:00, £3

Cult indie, electronica, psychedelia, retro anthems and more from the Antics residents and guest DJs. SATURDAYS (EVERY LAST OF THE MONTH)

CADILLAC, 23:00-04:00, FREE-£3

DJs spin funk, disco, boogie, soul and groove into the small hours.

Playing treats from the UK’s underground alongside flavours from across the globe, including dancehall, reggaeton, afropop, r’n’b, hip hop and trap, all spread out across Deaf’s two floors. SATURDAYS

GIRLS ON FILM, 22:00-03:00, £3-£6

Pink lady cocktails, disco balls, glitz and glamour – a club night where you're free to let your inner 80s child loose.

The Thirsty Scholar

THURSDAYS (EVERY THIRD OF THE MONTH)

TOTALLY WIRED, 20:00, FREE

DJ Rob Gordon spins the best new wave, post-punk, Madchester and Britpop.

THURSDAYS (EVERY SECOND OF THE MONTH)

REGGAE THURSDAYS, 20:00-01:30, FREE

With originals and rarities, dubplate and up-to-date.

The Ruby Lounge SATURDAYS (EVERY FIRST OF THE MONTH)

REMAKE REMODEL, 23:00-03:30, £4

A night of alternative rock'n'roll shenanigans.

FRIDAYS (EVERY FIRST AND THIRD OF THE MONTH)

DEADBOLT, 23:00-03:00, £5

FRIDAYS (BIMONTHLY; EVERY LAST OF THE MONTH)

Projekt, 23:00-03:30, £4-£8 Indoor festival atmosphere with stage entertainment, pyrotechnic displays, Co2 jets, confetti cannons and more, and deep house, future house and big room anthems from the main stage.

Power ballads and dad rock anthems, from AC/DC to ZZ Top.

SATURDAYS

Rebellion SATURDAYS

REVOLT, 23:00-03:30, £3

A night of rock and metal with beer pong matches all night. FRIDAYS

GET DOWN, 23:00-03:30, £2-£3

Funk, indie, Motown, soft rock, alt anthems, pop punk and pyahhh guilty pleasures.

Sacred Trinity Church

FRIDAYS (EVERY FOURTH OF THE MONTH)

ARA, 21:00-02:00, £5

Clubbing in a church? FOR REALZ? Better believe, honey: ArA is Manchester's alternative club night event in a 17th-century church, with the best in goth/metal/EBM/punk/80s. It’s BYOB, too.

Soup Kitchen MONDAYS

REMAKE REMODEL, 23:00-03:00, £2-£4

A night of alternative rock'n'roll shenanigans.

SATURDAYS (EVERY THIRD OF THE MONTH)

The White Rabbit

SATURDAYS

JUICEBOX, 21:00-02:00, FREE

THE BIG WEEKENDER, 23:00-4:00, £2 BEFORE MIDNIGHT

Texture

THURSDAYS

TUESDAYS

FINE WINE, 22:00-03:00, £2-£5

Cabaret-themed night of avantgarde and alternative entertainment.

Always summery vibes from the Swing Ting boys, pushing their street and soundsystem numbers.

FUZZY LOGIC, 23:00-LATE, £2-£4

The Deaf Institute

Club night sweeping the nation, offering up nothing but power ballads. It's like one big communal karaoke night.

BEVERLEY KNIGHT

Wire

STYLUS, KLEPTO & GUESTS, UNTIL 04:00, FREE-£3

Hip hop, r’n’b, house and ping pong going strong until 4am.

PEEPSHOW, 23:00-03:00, £12

FRIDAYS (EVERY THIRD OR LAST OF THE MONTH)

THE LOWRY: LYRIC THEATRE, 19:30–22:30, £22 - £37.50

Three rooms of commercial dance, indie and deep house, powered by Funktion One Sound.

SATURDAYS

ULTIMATE POWER, 22:30-03:00, £8

Student Friday-nighter, with mashups in room one, indie, funk and Motown in room two, and electro house in room three.

Indie night spanning alt rock, 60s, Northern Soul,

LEE MAJORS AND BAD OSIRIS, UNTIL 04:00, FREE-£3

Residents Lee Majors and Bad Osiris spin hip hop, r’n’b, disco, garage and house throughout the night.

O2 Ritz

Leeds’ biggest weekly bass night, powered through monstrous Funktion One dance stacks. SATURDAYS (EVERY FIRST OF THE MONTH)

FRIDAYS

Ruby Lounge regular, often seen throwing special themed parties.

Thu 29 Jun Contemporary soul singer returning with a brand new album set for a spring release this year.

Twenty Twenty Two

SWING TWING, 23:00-03:30, £5

SATURDAYS (EVERY SECOND OF THE MONTH)

BREAK STUFF, 23:00-03:00, £3

SATURDAYS (EVERY THIRD OF THE MONTH)

HOWLING RHYTHM, 23:00-03:00, £5

The 60s soul and Motown-centric night returns for another outing, serving up even more Northern soul and funk courtesy of the Howling Rhythm residents. SATURDAYS (EVERY LAST OF THE MONTH)

ABSOLUTE SHITE, 23:00-03:00, £4

Proudly one of the worst nights in Manchester; expect some of the worst tunes known to humankind.

Leeds Theatre CarriageWorks Theatre SALONICA

2 MAY, 7:30PM, £8 - £10

With reportage and storytelling in English, Serbian and New Zealand Sign Language, this boldly physical new play is accessible for both Deaf and hearing audiences. SORRY! NO COLOUREDS, NO IRISH, NO DOGS

5 MAY, 7:30PM, £10.50 - £12.50

Two strangers find themselves in a room of suitcases, books and stories that take them on a journey of discovery, reflection and tragedy, bringing the events of hundreds of years past bang up to date. FOR YOU, WE DANCE

12-13 MAY, 7:00PM, £15

A breath-taking new show from the talented young cast of dancers from ElliTe Studios. Matinees available. JEKYLL & HYDE: THE MUSICAL

16-20 MAY, 7:30PM, £14 - £16

Based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic thriller, Jekyll & Hyde is the gripping tale of a brilliant mind gone horrifically awry. Matinee performances available. LETTERS TO MYSELF

18 MAY, 7:45PM, £8.50 - £10.50

Created from letters written by real people, Letters to Myself is Becci Sharrock’s heart-warming and humorous look at the best advice we never had.

SCOTTISH FALSETTO SOCK PUPPET THEATRE DO SHAKESPEARE

19 MAY, 7:45PM, £10

This is the Socks’ ninth show, fresh from the 2016 Edinburgh Fringe. Following their sellout success with Socks In Space and Minging Detectives, this year they’ve risen to the challenge of Shakespeare. SAND CASTLES

25-27 MAY, 7:30PM, £10 - £12

Bob Larbey’s play about British seaside politics and holidaymaking. MEDUSA

25 MAY, 7:45PM, £PAY WHAT YOU FEEL

Following the success of Nosferatu, join Proper Job Theatre Company for a rehearsed reading of Medusa, the second part of the Monster Trilogy. With live original music by Rod Beale and poetry by Helen Mort. RISE OF THE SHADOW STEALERS

1 JUN, 2:00PM, £6 - £8

This remarkable new adaptation for family audiences, based on the original book by Daniel IngramBrown, explores themes of identity and home. TARZANNE

2-3 JUN, 7:00PM, £6 - £8

Tarzanne tells the story of a young girl lost to the jungle as a toddler, growing up with an adoptive family of apes. Matinee performances also available. IN THE SPOTLIGHT

24 JUN, TIMES VARY, £10.50 - £12.50

A variety evening of dance and musical theatre by the students of the Rachael Swann School of Dancing. TWO PIANOS

30 JUN, 7:30PM, £12 - £14

A musical journey back in time to celebrate the rock ‘n’ roll roots of Memphis and New Orleans, performing classic hits from Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Elvis, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly and many more.

Leeds Grand Theatre EVITA

16-20 MAY, 7:30PM, £19.50 - £40.50

The creative lovechild of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber which tells the story of Eva Peron, wife of former Argentine dictator Juan Peron. Matinees available.

SATURDAYS

SECLUDED, UNTIL 03:00, FREE

Anthemic house music from the Secluded residents, Kirk Paten, Fi La Funk, Lee Freeland, Francois Jean, Jake Angelo and Diana McNally.

Leeds’ favourite indie night, playing dance floor anthems all night long.

May/June 2017

Find full listings at theskinny.co.uk/whats-on

Listings

Theatre THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG

ODE TO LEEDS

22 MAY-10 JUN, 7:30PM, PRICES VARY

10 JUN-1 JUL, 7:45PM, £13.50 - £22

Comedy mashing up the theatrical side of Noises Off with the farcical qualities of Fawlty Towers, following a polytechnic drama society as they attempt to stage a 20s murder mystery. Matinees available. MAMMA MIA

30 MAY-8 JUL, 7:30PM, £25 - £58.50

One of the biggest grossing musicals of ever returns, featuring the songs of everyone’s favourite Swedish pop group, Abba. Matinees also available. GANGSTA GRANNY

3 MAY-11 JUN, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

David Walliams’ theatrical adaptation of his 2011 children’s book Gangsta Granny. Matinees available.

Riley Theatre MAPDANCE

4 MAY, 7:30PM, £5 - £8

University of Chichester’s MA dance touring company performs a repertoire by up-and-coming choreographers, this year with new works by Shobana Jeyasingh, Lea Anderson, Cai Tomos and Hagit Yakira.

Stanley & Audrey Burton Theatre MK ULTRA

9 MAY, 7:30PM, £5 - £12.50

A high energy, supercharged mix of dance, music and imagery from Rosie Kay Dance Company, inspired by the bizarre realm of mind control conspiracies. DANCE INSPIRATIONS UK AND IRELAND TOUR

28 MAY, 10:00AM, £16

A national dance competition searching for the most inspirational dance act. BEATBOX TO BOLLYWOOD

2 JUN, TIMES VARY, £10 - £12

A showcase production featuring the dance, drama and singing talents of over 50 local students from the Razzamataz Theatre School in Leeds.

Writer Zodwa Nyoni returns with this funny and moving coming of age story that’s a celebration of Leeds, language and an ode to the art that changed her own life. Matinees available. MISS MEENA AND THE MASALA QUEENS

13-17 JUN, 7:30PM, £13.50 - £30

Charles Webb’s seminal comingof-age novel - most famous for its 1967 film adaptation starring a wee Dustin Hoffman - is brought to life in a new black comedy. Matinees available. THE WHO’S TOMMY

4-13 MAY, 7:30PM, £13.50 - £22

Gary Mullen’s acclaimed Queen tribute act, bolstered by tricksy staging and lighting effects. THE ELO EXPERIENCE

8 JUN, 7:30PM, £12 - £45

HOME

St Helens Theatre Royal

HOME presents the first UK revival of Martin Sherman’s award-winning Rose, which premiered in 1999 at the National Theatre.

SOMEWHERE IN TIME: AN AUDIENCE WITH IAN WAITE AND NATALIE LOWE

10 JUN, 7:30PM, £26

24 JUN, 7:30PM, £21 - £24.50

Unity Theatre

City Varieties Music Hall

Stage adaptation of the Adam Sandler-starring film about the New Jersey wedding singer, Robbie Hart who loses his love of matrimony after being left at the alter...

THE FULL MONTY

16-20 MAY, FROM 19:15, £20 - £53

New stage adaptation of the BAFTA award-winning film about six steelworkers with nothing to lose - well, except their clothes. Matinees available. VELVET CURTAIN CABARET

27 MAY, FROM 19:30, £14.50 - £22.50

Leeds Burlesque present The Tom Show, Fulcrum Circus, Pepetual Motion, Coco Malone, Rusty Von Chrome and Carrie-Ann.

Liverpool Theatre Epstein Theatre THE LAST FIVE YEARS

7 JUN, TIMES VARY, £15 - £23.50

THE CARPENTERS STORY

A musical dedication to the life and times of The Carpenters. THE WEDDING SINGER

30 MAY-3 JUN, 7:30PM, PRICES VARY

THE RED SHOES

27 JUN-1 JUL, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

Matthew Bourne’s magical new adaptation of the iconic Powell and Pressburger film, where life imitates art with fateful consequences. Matinees available.

Lizzie Nunnery presents a powerful play with songs about finding the magic formula to the problems of life. Matinees and earlier performances available.

Invisible Wind Factory EAT ME

5 MAY, 7:30PM, £20

Immersive evening that sees a three-course gourmet dinner presented by a troupe of drag artists.

PHYSICAL FEST: DOUBLE BILL

30 MAY, 8:00PM – 9:30PM, £10 - £12

After being awarded last year’s bursary, Tremarco returns to Physical Fest with a double bill of Stuff and Dying on My Feet. THE DAMNED UNITED

17-18 MAY, 8:00PM – 9:30PM, £10 - £12

1-4 JUN, 7:00PM, PRICES VARY

THE NEXT STEP

A brand new live show that celebrates dance in a concert-like setting, for fans of the ‘hit’ TV show. BARRY STEELE AND FRIENDS: THE ORBISON STORY

6 JUN, 7:30PM, £12 - £45

Roy Orbison tribute.

18 MAY, 7:30PM – 10:30PM, £17 - £45

THE SUM

Based on a true story, this theatrical fantasy is a tale of living with severe autism, as a family and an individual.

19 MAY, 6:00PM, £15

10-27 MAY, 7:30PM, £12 - £53.50

Everyman Theatre 27 MAY-7 JUN, TIMES VARY, £10 - £30

20 MAY-21 JUN, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

The story of that Geordie lad who just wants to dance, dad. Matinees available.

BILLY ELLIOT

Liverpool Philharmonic Hall

ROMEO & JULIET

CARTOONOPOLIS

Adapted from David Peace’s ingenious novel, The Damned United takes you inside the tortured mind of a genius slamming up against his limits, and brings to life the beauty and brutality of football, the working man’s ballet.

Multi award-winning musical that takes the audience on an emotional rollercoaster through the heartrending relationship of two young New Yorkers.

6-20 MAY, 7:30PM, £10 - £30

2-27 MAY, 7:45PM, £13.50 - £22

ONE NIGHT OF QUEEN

22 JUN, 7:30PM, £12 - £43.50

UNTIL 20 MAY, 8:00PM, £13 - £22

OPERA NORTH’S TURANDOT

Puccini’s final opera, set in ancient Beijing and telling the tale of Princess Turandot, who decrees she will marry the prince who can solve three riddles. KEVIN & KAREN DANCE

8 JUN, 7:30PM – 10:30PM, £24.50 - £48.50

Strictly sweethearts Kevin and Karen Clifton tour the UK for the first time.

Liverpool Philharmonic Music Room HENRY NORMAL

3 MAY, 8:00PM – 11:00PM, £6 - £12

Co-writer of The Royal Family, The Mrs Merton Show and The Parole Officer and producer of Gavin and Stacey, Moon Boy and Alan Partridge (among others) returns to his first love: poetry.

THE HANDLESS PROJECT: JOURNEY

An all-night vigil and 24 hour pilgrimage inspired by the fairy tale The Handless Maiden - an enigmatic tale about a girl whose father cuts off her hands to save himself from a bad deal. OLIVER IN THE OVERWORLD

20 MAY, 2:00PM – 3:00PM, £6

The first ever musical created from scratch with sign language, telling the tale of a deaf boy who travels to The Overworld, The Land of Machinery, seeking the parts to mend the memory of his best friend Oliver the Grandfather Clock. PHYSICAL FEST: FEST LIVE 17

1 JUN, 8:00PM – 9:30PM, £10 - £12

Fest Live is a selection of extracts of new work from local, national and international artists, featuring Viva!!! by Duncan Cameron, SURPRISE! by Lauren Silver, Siren by Katie-Anne Bellis, Borned by Unity Youth Theatre and more. PHYSICAL FEST: HAPPY HOUR

2 JUN, 7:30PM – 9:30PM, £12 - £14

A poignant, fast paced, comedy exploring our 21st century obsession with happiness and success, combining Tmesis Theatre’ trademark physicality with humour, music, and text from long-term collaborator Chris Fittock. PHYSICAL FEST: I AM A TREE

3 JUN, 8:00PM – 9:30PM, £10 - £12

Jamie Wood previews his new Edinburgh show. OMNIBUS

7 JUN, 8:00PM – 9:30PM, £10 - £16

Multi-award winning musical written by Pete Townshend, featuring all of the hits from the classic album. Matinees available.

The world premiere of the winner of the prestigious Hope Playwriting Prize, this is a fast moving farce about modern life, relationships and prize nutcases with guns.

16-18 MAY, 7:30PM, £12.50 - £17.50

17 JUN, 6:00PM – 7:00PM, £5

FROM SHORE TO SHORE

A cast of seven actor-musicians and blends English, Mandarin and Cantonese to tell the stories of Chinese communities in the UK today. Matinees available. THE GRAPES OF WRATH

24 MAY-10 JUN, 7:30PM, £13.50 - £30

A timely new production of John Steinbeck’s classic novel, telling the tale of survival, equality and justice as the Joad family hit the road in search of work. Matinees available.

Listings

Manchester Theatre

A black comedy by Martin McDonagh, the writer and director of the deeply darkly funny film In Bruges. Matinee performances also available.

The Strictly stars present a dance showcase spectacular.

2-13 MAY, 7:00PM, £12.50

THE GRADUATE

Liverpool Empire Theatre

THE LONESOME WEST

ELO tribute act.

West Yorkshire Playhouse True story of two fifteen year old girls, Bess Walder and Beth Cumming, who in 1940 spent 19 terrifying hours in the water on an upturned lifeboat.

Impropriety Comedy’s 33.5-hour improvised soap opera, running continuously for 17 two-hour long episodes on the theme of ‘The Space Age’.

Royal Court Theatre

New production from the company behind Laila the Musical, The Deranged Marriage and Happy Birthday, telling the tale of drag queen Miss Meena as the future of her nightclub hangs in the balance.

Shakespeare’s classic tale of teenage feels gets a new Northern backdrop in a vibrant new production. Matinee performances available.

LIFEBOAT

LIVERPOOL ANNUAL IMPROVATHON 13 MAY, 1:00PM, £6 - £30

STANDARD:ELITE

Winner of the WriteForTheStage Award in 2016, featuring a branching narrative that changes based on audience interactions, with each new audience creating a unique performance. FOUR PLAY

22-23 JUN, 8:00PM – 9:30PM, £10 - £12

Commissioned by Old Vic New Voices and first performed in a reading starring Richard Madden and Jeremy Irvine, Four Play is a new comic play about sex and commitment in the 21st Century.

GANGSTA GRANNY 7-11 JUN, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

David Walliams’ theatrical adaptation of his 2011 children’s book Gangsta Granny. Matinees available. OUT OF ORDER

ROSE

25-27 MAY, 7:30PM, £10 - £26.50

TANK

4-6 MAY, TIMES VARY, £12.50

Inspired by the Dolphin House experiments, Breach’s Fringe First Award-winning Tank explore the difficulties of bridging cultural divides, the politics behind the stories we tell, and what happens when you inject a dolphin with LSD. JACK ROOKE: GOOD GRIEF

17-19 MAY, TIMES VARY, £12.50

Celebrating finding happiness after tragedy, Rooke’s critically acclaimed debut blends comedy, storytelling and film to explore how we treat the bereaved and the state of welfare for grieving families. HEADS UP

18-20 MAY, 7PM, £12.50

Multi award-winner Kieran Hurley weaves a picture of a familiar city at its moment of destruction, asking what would we do if we found ourselves at the end of our world as we know it. Matinees available.

Islington Mill

CHRISTOPER WOLLATON PRESENTS BRAWN

29 MAY, 7:00PM – 10:00PM, £4

Christopher Wollaton debuts his new play BRAWN at Islington Mill, a portal into the world of young man named Ryan - a world consumed by image and obsession.

Octagon Theatre Bolton I CAPTURE THE CASTLE

2-6 MAY, 7:30PM, £11 - £27.50

A brand new musical based on the coming-of-age novel by Dodie Smith, following 17-year-old Cassandra and her eccentric family. Matinee performances also available. WINTER HILL

11 MAY-3 JUN, TIMES VARY, £11 - £27.50

Timberlake Wertenbaker’s new play explores how a group of seemingly ordinary women endeavour to protect their local community, no matter the cost. Matinees available. TALKING HEADS

8 JUN-8 JUL, TIMES VARY, £11 - £27.50

Poignant and wonderfully observant, Alan Bennett’s masterful collection of monologues are beloved by many, and this is a rare oportunity to see A Chip in the Sugar, Lady of Letters and A Cream Cracker under the Settee live on stage.

Opera House THE CRUCIBLE

8 MAY, 7:30PM, £19.25 - £30.25

Arthur Miller’s famous Tony Award-winning re-telling of the 1692 Salem witch trial hysteria, a powerful modern tragedy of one man’s search for self. Matinees also available. THE MOUSETRAP

27 JUN, 7:30PM – 9:30PM, £16.90 - £38.40

Agatha Christie murder mystery, famous for being the longestrunning show of any kind in the history of British theatre. Matinee performances also available. THE WEDDING SINGER

15-20 MAY, 7:30PM, PRICES VARY

Stage adaptation of the Adam Sandler-starring film about the New Jersey wedding singer, Robbie Hart who loses his love of matrimony after being left at the alter... NOT DEAD ENOUGH

22-27 MAY, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

Shaun McKenna’s adaptation of the third thriller in Peter James’ award winning Roy Grace series. Matinees available.

30 MAY-3 JUN, 7:30PM, £12 - £36.50

When a Government Junior Minister plans to spend the evening with one of the Opposition’s typists in the Westminster Hotel, things go disastrously wrong… THE SOLID 60S SHOW

7 MAY, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

An evening dedicated to the sounds of the 60s with The Merseybeats, Dave Berry, Wayne Fontana and Vanity Fare.

Palace Theatre THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE

23-27 MAY, 7:30PM, £17.50 - £40

1920s-set musical based on the classic Julie Andrews’ movie, all flapper girls, dashing chaps and singalong merriment. Matinee performances also available. AIDA

5-6 MAY, 7:30PM, £26.50 - £38

A tragic story of war, jealousy and revenge at whose heart is the doomed love of the beautiful Ethiopian slave girl, Aida, and the Egyptian hero, Radames. BEYOND THE BARRICADE

21 MAY, 7:30PM, £26.50 - £38

A selection of West End/Broadway tunes, brought to the stage in a variety-style performance. LA BOHEME

3 MAY, 7:30PM, £26.50 - £38

Puccini’s romantic opera is brought to the stage under the direction of Ellen Kent, telling the tale of the doomed Mimi, dying of consumption while falling in love. THE CHICAGO BLUES BROTHERS

28 MAY, 7:30PM, £23.25 - £27.75

All your favourite Blues Brothers classics and some, as the touring show continues its reign.

Royal Exchange Theatre TWELFTH NIGHT

2-20 MAY, 7:30PM, £5 - £16.50

Shakespeare’s rowdy comedy tackles questions of gender, identity, love and loneliness. Matinee performances also available. PERSUASION

25 MAY-24 JUN, 7:30PM, £5 - £39

A bold new adaptation of Jane Austen’s persuasion for its bicentenary year, where the novel’s wit is brought to life on stage - without a bonnet in sight. Matinees available. FATHERLAND

1-22 JUL, 7:30PM, £16.50 - £39

A bold, ambitious show about contemporary fatherhood in all its complexities and contradictions created by Frantic Assembly’s Scott Graham, Karl Hyde from Underworld and playwright Simon Stephens. Matinees available.

SOMETHING TERRIBLE MIGHT HAPPEN 18 MAY, 8:00PM, £10 - £12

Join Uncanny for an off kilter look at fear, how scared we are, some reasons why, and what might happen next. ARDEN SCHOOL OF THEATRE BA DANCE SHOWCASE

23 MAY, 5:30PM, £5 - £8

15 dancers present a collage of versatility, passion and changing relationships, where storeys become stories. HUSH HUSH

26 MAY, 8:00PM, £PAY WHAT YOU FEEL

We’ve said too much already. Move on. Nothing to see here. IMBALANCE

2 JUN, 8:00PM, £10 - £12

Combining exciting acrobatic skills and athletic dance, this energetic, thought-provoking performance explores our obsessive dependence with technology.

The Dancehouse Theatre

The Lowry: Lyric Theatre

A ma-hoo-sive musical inspired by the famed recording session which united Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins for the first (and last) time. Matinees available.

8 JUN, 8:00PM – 10:00PM, £15

19-20 MAY, 7:30PM, PRICES VARY

Ever felt like you should be better at feminism? Join comedian Deborah Frances-White and a guest host for her comedy podcast, recorded in front of a live audience.

The world’s biggest festival of hip hop dance theatre, showcasing the very best from around the world and around the corner.

UNNECESSARY FARCE

13-17 JUN, 7:30PM, £26.50 - £47.50

30 MAY-3 JUN, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

11 JUN, 7:30PM – 9:30PM, £10 - £12

An award-winning tale centring on eccentric gay couple, Geogres and Albin. Matinee productions available.

BORIS: THE MUSICAL

19-24 JUN, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET

15-20 MAY, 7:30PM, £16 - £38

BUDDY: THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY

THE GUILTY FEMINIST PODCAST LIVE

A feel-good West End show featuring two hours of Buddy Holly bangers, charting his rise to fame and legendary final performance in Clear Lake, Iowa. Matinees available.

A new comedy theatre piece by Paul Slade-Smith. Farce, confussion and crime slam into each other in this bawdy, raucous comedy.

4 MAY, 7:30PM, £26.50 - £38

In these upsetting times, it’s important to have something to laugh about. Hence, “Boris - The Musical”, the satirical tale of Britain’s finest politiclown. Watch the rise, fall and (unfortunate) rise again of our new Foreign Secretary.

NABUCCO

Giuseppe Verdi’s opera of four acts, featuring the famous Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves, presented by Ellen Kent. KING OF POP: THE LEGEND CONTINUES

29 MAY, 7:30PM, £23.25 - £27.75

A full-cast Michael Jackson tribute show led by impersonator Navi, who even managed to get a standing ovation from the late, great MJ himself.

15 JUN, 8:00PM – 10:00PM, £10 - £12

The Lowry: Aldridge Studio THE MIKADO

30-31 MAY, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

Royal Exchange Studio

One of the most famous and celebrated Gilbert and Sullivan operattas, re-imagined by Sale Gilbert and Sullivan Society.

16 -17 MAY, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

10 MAY, 8:00PM, £10 - £12

CARTOONOPOLIS

Based on a true story, this theatrical fantasy is a tale of living with severe autism, as a family and an individual. HOW MY LIGHT IS SPENT

2-13 MAY, 7:30PM, £10 - £12

SPRING REIGN

Originated and directed by Benedict Power, Spring Reign is based on real-life accounts collected from Syrian refugees, aid workers, activists, and journalists. DECLARATION

Winner of the Judges’ Award in the 2015 Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting, How My Light is Spent is a funny, hopeful play about loneliness, longing and being left behind. Matinees also available.

24 JUN, 8:00PM, £10 - £12

14-17 JUN, 7:00PM, £10 - £12

25 MAY, TIMES VARY, £8 - £10

BEARS

With autobiographical storytelling, comedy, and conversations with audiences, Declaration asks you to roll around in your weirdness, make a hat out of it and dance. CONTAINED

A self-destructive, visceral examination of our role in climate change from Manchester-based Powder Keg. Matinee performances available.

Contained is a vibrant, compelling and personal new show from England’s largest professional learning-disabled theatre company, weaving nine true stories.

19-20 JUN, 7:30PM, £10 - £12

17 MAY, 8:00PM, £PAY WHAT YOU FEEL

WHAT IF I TOLD YOU?

Blending dance and theatre, Pauline Mayers explores how people have made assumptions on her based on gender, background and race.

THE ROAD TO HUNTSVILLE

Stephanie Riding’s Edinburgh Festival Arts Award Voice-winning exploration into unconventional love, state homicide and cats.

BREAKIN’ CONVENTION

LA CAGE AUX FOLLES

SHIRLEY VALENTINE

Jodie Prenger stars in Willy Russell’s heart-warming tale of a Liverpudlian housewife in a rut and her life-changing trip to Greece. Matinees available. THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG

6-10 JUN, 7:30PM, PRICES VARY

3-6 MAY, 7:30PM, £26 - £32.50

Throw caution to the wind. Be led into temptation. Unmask Casanova with Northern Ballet. Matinee performances also available. THE TOAD KNEW

10-11 MAY, 7:30PM, £12 - £18.50

A seamless mix of mechanical marvels, music, surreal humour and acrobatic finesse, The Toad Knew is a unique theatrical experience from multi-talented performer and director James Thierrée. SUKANYA THE OPERA

14 MAY, 7:30PM, £17 - £43.50

This special event combining myth, music and dance will bring Ravi Shankar’s Opera to life for the very first time. MILONGA

16-17 MAY, 7:30PM, £15.50 - £25.50

Milonga is the term for a tango dance party, and, inspired by the late night milonga scene of Buenos Aires, Cherkaoui draws on traditional influences and adds a contemporary twist.

THE SKINNY

The Lowry: Quays Theatre KIN

21-22 JUN, 8:00PM, £13 - £16

Ben Duke and Company return with a brand new show exploring group dynamics and how it feels to jostle for attention, camaraderie and affection. TRAINSPOTTING

6-10 JUN, 7:00PM, £22 - £27

This punchy production recaptures the passion and controversy of the famous novel and globally successful film, and repackages it into an immersive production. Later productions also available. OUT OF THIS WORLD

30-31 MAY, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

A genre-defying action packed theatre from acclaimed writer and director Mark Murphy, set within a world of projected film and animation, BURLESQUE AT THE LOWRY

30 JUN, 8:00PM, £11.50 - £20.50

The Slippery Belle returns for a sensational night combining vintage glamour, retro decadence and good old fashioned debauchery. LA STRADA

15-20 MAY, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

A new musical adaptation inspired by Federico Fellini’s iconic tale of love and loss. Matinees available. SUPER SUNDAY

3-4 MAY, 8:00PM, £13 - £16

Comedy

Leeds Comedy Attic FRIDAYS

JONGLEURS, 20:00-22:00, £15.50-£16.50

Four top comedians come together for one night of solid laughs. SATURDAYS

JONGLEURS, 20:00-22:00, £16.50-£17.50

Four top comedians come together for one night of solid laughs.

Headrow House FRIDAYS (EVERY FIRST OF THE MONTH)

GROUP THERAPY COMEDY CLUB, 19:0022:00, £12

9 MAY, 8:00PM, £12 - £14

HiFi

STEPMOTHER/STEPFATHER

REUNIÓN

12 MAY, 8:00PM, £17.50 - £19.50

Ana Morales and David Coria - two of the most celebrated and exciting flamenco performers today - bring this brand new production Reunión to UK audiences for the first time. DRACULA: THE BLOODY TRUTH

13 MAY, TIMES VARY, £14.50 - £16.50

Exeter based Le Navet Bete take audiences on a journey across Europe from the dark and sinister Transylvanian mountains to the awkwardly charming seaside town of Whitby. SYMPHONIE DRAMATIQUE

23 MAY, 8:00PM, £12.50 - £16.50

Symphonie Dramatique is a humorous look at the mythical couple of Romeo and Julie, geared to audiences 10 and up. STRANGE FACE

1 JUN, 8:00PM, £14 - £16

A quirky, funny and poignant award-winning solo show - a celebration of life, coincidences and the legacy of singer-songwriter Nick Drake.

The North’s favourite comedy night, always bringing stellar guests from the national and international circuits. SATURDAYS

COMEDY SESSIONS, 20:00-23:00, £10-£12

The HiFi’s weekly evening of funny stuff.

The Fenton

SATURDAYS & SUNDAYS (EVERY FIRST OF THE MONTH)

DISCOUNT COMEDY CHECKOUT, 19:30, FREE

An evening of 100% raw improvisation comedy, taking inspiration from the weird and wonderful minds of its audience.

The Wardrobe

REGULAR TUESDAYS/WEDNESDAYS

THE NOT SO LATE SHOW, 19:30-23:00, £6-£7

The UK’s finest alternative comedy TV-style chat show, with special guests, sketches, short films, music and all-round fun.

Liverpool Comedy Baby Blue

THURSDAYS, FRIDAYS & SATURDAYS

LIVERPOOL COMEDY CENTRAL, 18:0022:00, £15

An immersive world of magic and mystery, showcasing some familiar fairy tales including Aladdin, Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella, as well as traditional fables from around the world.

Manchester Comedy Ape and Apple

THURSDAYS (EVERY FIRST OF THE MONTH)

Gorilla

The King’s Arms

GROUP THERAPY COMEDY CLUB, 19:0022:00, £10-£12

THE WORST COMEDY CLUB IN SALFORD, 20:00-23:00, FREE

The Old Monkey

SATURDAYS (EVERY FIRST OF THE MONTH)

MURDER INC. IMPROV, 20:00-22:30, £5

Manchester’s much-loved monthly comedy club, known for bringing in the big guns of the national and international circuit.

Camp and Furnace

Frog and Bucket Comedy Club

Gullivers

MONDAYS (EVERY FIRST OF THE MONTH)

STAND UP FOR MONDAYS, 19:30-22:15, £6

All-female stand-up night with great headliners fresh from Edinburgh and beyond. SATURDAYS

LIVERPOOL COMEDY CLUB, 19:30-23:00, £13.50

Promising the cream of the international comedy crop.

The Holiday Inn, Lime St FRIDAYS & SATURDAYS

HOT WATER COMEDY CLUB: BOILING POINT, 20:00-23:00, £10-£15

New and established comics take to the stage, for an evening of chuckles with their resident compere leading the way. SUNDAYS

HOT WATER COMEDY CLUB: TESTING THE WATER, 20:00-23:00, £1.50-£3

Showcase night for up-and-comers and undiscovered stars, offering a great value night out if you don't mind being a comedy guinea pig.

The Jacaranda WEDNESDAYS

NEW MATERIAL, 7PM, FREE

Verve FREE COMEDY TUESDAYS, 20:00-23:00, FREE

The Magnet

Serving well at doing exactly what it says on the tin, with weekly free comedy to ease you into the week.

FAIRY TALES AND FANTASY

UNTIL 31 DEC, TIMES VARY, FREE

Improvised murder mystery comedy show that the audience helps solve. With free pizza!

Hot Water Comedy Club take to The Jac with new material from pro comedians from across the UK.

TUESDAYS

Abbey House Museum

Regular triple headline show, with three comics lined up to tickle your funny bone.

SATURDAYS

LIVERPOOL COMEDY CELLAR, 20:30-23:30, £13.50

The Liverpool Comedy Cellar features the cream of the international comedy circuit “up close and personal” every Saturday.

The Slaughterhouse WEDNESDAYS (MONTHLY)

THE LAUGHTER FACTOR, 20:00-23:00, £3-£5

A monthly event giving comics the chance to try out new material before the weekend shows – it helps if you think of yourself as a comedic guinea pig. FRIDAYS

LAUGHTERHOUSE, 20:00-23:00, £10-£15

Triple headline show with a delightfully hilarious line-up of circuit funny-folk. SATURDAYS

LAUGHTERHOUSE, 20:00-23:00, £17.50

Triple headline show with a delightfully hilarious line-up of circuit funny-folk.

May/June 2017

Leeds Art

Find listings below for weekly and monthly fixtures at comedy clubs across Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester. For regularly updated listings including one-off shows and the best nights from independent promoters, head to theskinny. co.uk/whats-on

Super Sunday is the newest super-fun show from Race Horse Company, the acclaimed all-male Finnish circus troupe with a reputation for madcap brilliance. Award-winning Director and Choreographer Arthur Pita, in collaboration with HeadSpaceDance, presents a wickedly gruesome, darkly surreal double bill of dark dance.

Art

MONDAYS

BEAT THE FROG, 19:00-23:00, FREE-£3

A ten-act long heckle-fest inviting a handful of amateurs to take to the stage and try to Beat the Frog, and the audience decides who stays – brutal! TUESDAYS (EVERY LAST OF THE MONTH)

LIP SYNCIN’ BATTLE, 20:30-23:00, £3-£6

Comics, guest celebrities and the general public all battle to become the best Lip Sync in the city. WEDNESDAYS (EVERY SECOND OF THE MONTH)

WORK IN PROGRESS, 20:30-23:00, £3-£5

Headline comedians treat us to brand spanking new material. Not for the cupboard-lover comedy fan, this night showcases material which is most definitely a work in progress. THURSDAYS

THURSDAY NIGHT LIVE, 19:00-23:00, £7-£13

Watch four top class comics, sat comfortably at a table while enjoying your comedy with food and drinks. FRIDAYS

BARREL OF LAUGHS, 19:00-23:00, £13-£19

Pepper your weekend with laughs from four top class comics, sat comfortably at a table while enjoying your comedy with food and drinks, followed by Frog and Bucket's classic cheesy disco until late. SATURDAYS

BARREL OF LAUGHS, 19:00-23:00, £15-£22

LAFF TIL YA FART, 20:00-23:00, £7

Trevor Lynch presents the latest in a series of comedy nights, aptly titled Laff 'til Ya Fart. SUNDAYS (EVERY THIRD OF THE MONTH)

THE DISCOUNT COMEDY CHECKOUT, 19:0022:30, £5

100% raw and unscripted improvisation is on the menu, as weird and wonderful suggestions are taken from the audience. SUNDAYS (EVERY LAST OF THE MONTH)

LAUGHING COWS, £7

All-female line-up of comics from the Laughing Cow bunch; a group that has helped the likes of Sarah Milllican and Jo Brand launch their careers.

Find full listings at theskinny.co.uk/whats-on

WEDNESDAYS (EVERY THIRD OF THE MONTH)

THE DELIGHTFUL SAUSAGE, 19:45, £4

TUESDAYS (EVERY SECOND AND LAST OF THE MONTH)

Keeping expectations low with this night of open mic standup, opening up the stage to anyone willing to give it go. WEDNESDAYS (EVERY SECOND OF THE MONTH)

TRAPDOOR COMEDY, 19:30, £3-£5

The Delightful Sausage brings together the finest names in alternative comedy for an evening of silly, surreal fun. Already building a cult following.

One of the North’s favourite comedy clubs.

Solomons

The rather ace comedy night continues with its usual Tuesday night shenanigans.

TUESDAYS (EVERY SECOND OF THE MONTH)

TRAPDOOR COMEDY, 19:30, £5

Literal underground comedy night with stellar line-ups.

Soup Kitchen

The Pub/Zoo TUESDAYS

XS MALARKEY, 19:00-22:00, £3-£5

The Railway

MONDAYS (EVERY SECOND OF THE MONTH)

TRAPDOOR COMEDY, 19:30, £5

THURSDAYS (EVERY FIRST OR SECOND OF THE MONTH)

Big acts, small price, tiny room. Bosh.

SHAM BODIE, 19:30-22:00, £5

Waterside Arts Centre

A-grade gags from the Sham Bodie crew and local and touring comedians, bound together by live music and hotdogs.

The Comedy Store THURSDAYS

STAND UP THURSDAY, 20:00-23:00, £8-£12

Regular night of standup with a line-up of five top circuit comedians. FRIDAYS

THE BEST IN STAND UP, 20:00-23:00, £12-£18

Regular night of standup with a line-up of five top circuit comedians. SATURDAYS

THE BEST IN STAND UP, 19:00-21:30, £16-£22

Regular night of standup with a line-up of five top circuit comedians.

SUNDAYS (EVERY FIRST OF THE MONTH)

KING GONG, 19:30-22:30, £4-£6

A night of standup from some fresh-faced comics trying to break on to the circuit – be nice.

SUNDAYS (EVERY SECOND AND LAST OF THE MONTH)

NEW STUFF, 19:30-22:30, £2-£4

MC Toby Hadoke presents a showcase of new, never seen before material from established acts of the circuit. SUNDAYS (EVERY THIRD OF THE MONTH)

NEW COMEDIANS, 19:30-22:30, £2-£4

Alex Boardman's New Comedians series continues.

The Dancehouse FRIDAYS (EVERY FIRST OF THE MONTH)

D.A.F.T, 20:00-23:00, £8

Comedy's strangest and strongest acts come together for an evening of silliness hosted by Randolph Tempest (Phoenix Nights, Ideal, The Detectorists).

SATURDAYS (EVERY THIRD OF THE MONTH)

BEST OF BUZZ COMEDY, 20:00-00:00, £10-£12

The Waterside's regular comedy night, featuring one of the UK comedy circuit's up and coming stars. SATURDAYS (EVERY LAST OF THE MONTH)

COMEDYSPORTZ, 19:30, £5-£7

Comedy improv show with two teams battling it out for the biggest laughs, serving up sketches, songs and scenes with audience participation playing a k

Leeds Industrial Museum WOMEN, WORK AND WAR

UNTIL 24 SEP, TIMES VARY, £3 - £3.80

Honouring the vital role women played in the First World War, through stories of women working in the city’s munitions manufacturing - which began in Armley and expanded to the Barnbow site in East Leeds. FLOOD RESPONSE

UNTIL 1 JUN, TIMES VARY, £3 - £3.80

Co-curated by the people of Leeds, Flood Response marks a year on from one of Leeds’ most significant and devastating floods since records began, re-told through photographs, stories and artistic responses.

Gallery at Munro Lotherton Hall FASHIONABLE YORKSHIRE House THE ILLUSTRATOR

19 JUN-12 AUG, TIMES VARY, FREE

Turkey-based Leeds College of Art graduate Maria Brozozwska presents her first solo show, a collection of works depicting scenes where reality and fantasy merge, creating a whole new world of magical realism. PLANT GROW MAKE EAT

UNTIL16 JUN, TIMES VARY, FREE

UNTIL 31 DEC, 10:00AM – 4:00PM, £4.40 - £5.50

Explore the history of fashion through the clothes and personal stories of a selection of Yorkshire women, from an art student of the 1970s to a rich merchant’s daughter in the 1600s. POTS AND PEOPLE

UNTIL 31 DEC, 10:00AM – 4:00PM, £4.40 - £5.50

For Leeds Indie Food Festival the Gallery at Munro House explore the vast and beautiful patterns that reside in our food, with an exhibition of specially commissioned artwork exploring pattern in food, including a real, living, edible green wall installation.

Discover how Yorkshire ceramics have changed and adapted to serve different uses, tastes and parts of society, with historic examples displayed along contemporary equivalents from the likes of Rebecca Appleby, Loretta Braganza and James Oughtibridge.

Henry Moore Institute

13 MAY-29 OCT, 10:30AM – 5:00PM, £5

BECOMING HENRY MOORE

UNTIL 22 OCT, TIMES VARY, FREE

To coincide with the 40th anniversary of the Henry Moore Institute founding, this exhibition gives an insight into the influences at play in the mind of Britain’s foremost modern sculptor during his formative years. ALEKSANDRA DOMANOVIĆ: VOTIVES

UNTIL 11 JUN, TIMES VARY, FREE

A new commission of sculptures by Aleksandra Domanović investigate how technological advances impact on communication and culture. GHISHA KOENIG: MACHINES RESTRICT THEIR MOVEMENT

25 MAY-13 AUG, TIMES VARY, FREE

This exhibition brings together drawings and sculptures made between 1951 and 1985 to explore Koenig’s commitment to sculpting industrial labour in South-East England around St. Mary Cray, one of the first housing estates built outside of London.

Leeds City Museum FOR ALL SEASONS

UNTIL 27 AUG, TIMES VARY, FREE

An exploration into how the world around us changes with the seasons, from storing food away for a long winter to packing clothes to keep you cool while on your summer jollies. DYING MATTERS

UNTIL 30 JUL, TIMES VARY, FREE

A community display featuring objects related to death from a range of cultures, as part of the national Dying Matters initiative, which promotes public awareness of dying, death and bereavement.

Leeds College of Art EXTRA-ORDINARY

19 MAY-15 JUN, TIMES VARY, FREE

Leeds College of Art degree show.

Temple Newsam SILVER CENTREPIECES

Showcasing the continuation and reinvention of traditional silversmithing techniques, while also celebrating women in silver as both makers and owners.

The Hepworth Wakefield

A CONTEMPORARY COLLECTION

UNTIL 30 SEP, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Continuing Wakefield’s tradition of supporting contemporary artists through exhibitions and acquisitions, and of the legacy founded in 1923 with The Wakefield Permanent Art Collection, which sought to champion those who used art to reflect contemporary experience. DISOBEDIENT BODIES: JW ANDERSON CURATES THE HEPWORTH WAKEFIELD

UNTIL 18 JUN, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

A major exhibition curated by one of the world’s most innovative contemporary fashion designers, exploring the human form in art, fashion and design, and how it has been reconceived by artists and designers across the 20th and 21st centuries.

The Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery

KENNETH ARMITAGE: SCULPTURE AND DRAWING OF THE 1950S

UNTIL 15 JUL, TIMES VARY, FREE

A selection of works by Kenneth Armitage, one of Britain’s most important post-war sculptors, taken from the centenary retrospective at the Victoria Art Gallery, Bath in 2016.

The Tetley

REFINDING: JESSIE FLOOD-PADDOCK WITH KENNETH ARMITAGE

6 MAY-30 JUL, TIMES VARY, FREE

Bringing together new and recent works by London-based artist Jessie Flood-Paddock, with the Oak Tree series of sculptures, drawings and prints by the celebrated 20th century sculptor, the late Kenneth Armitage.

Listings

Yorkshire Sculpture Park

TONY CRAGG: A RARE CATEGORY OF OBJECTS

UNTIL 3 SEP, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

New sculptures, drawings and works drawn from nearly five decades of Cragg’s practice will survey and demonstrate the artist’s pioneering and continued mastery of materials. ANNE PURKISS: SCULPTORS

UNTIL 4 JUN, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Anne Purkiss is a photographer whose portfolio includes portraits of artists, scientists and personalities as well as landscape photography. This exhibition presents portrait photographs of sculptors in their studios, with particular emphasis on those who have worked with YSP over the last 40 years. KALEIDOSCOPE: SEQUENCE AND COLOUR IN 1960S BRITISH ART

UNTIL 18 JUN, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Bringing together exceptional examples of painting and sculpture from the Arts Council Collection, and augmented with major loans from important UK collections, Kaleidoscope examines the art of the 1960s through a fresh and surprising lens, one bringing into direct view the relationship between colour and form, rationality and irrationality, order and waywardness. [RE]CONSTRUCT: A NATIONAL PARTNERS PROGRAMME EXHIBITION FROM THE ARTS COUNCIL COLLECTION UNTIL 25 JUN, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

This exhibition explores ways in which artists have incorporated architecture into their work using a process of deconstruction and reconstruction in order to interrogate and manipulate its forms. TREASURES REVEALED: FROM THE NATIONAL ARTS EDUCATION ARCHIVE

UNTIL 3 SEP, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

In celebration of YSP’s 40th anniversary in 2017, artists, supporters and volunteers have chosen 40 inspirational objects, collections and ideas from the National Arts Education Archive (NAEA).

ZAK OVÉ: BLACK AND BLUE: THE INVISIBLE MAN AND THE MASQUE OF BLACKNESS

UNTIL 3 JUN 18, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

An extraordinary assembly of 80 sculptures by British-Trinidadian artist Zak Ové, a mass of identical two-metre-tall figures facing forward to confront the viewer en masse. KALEIDOSCOPE: COLOUR AND SEQUENCE IN 1960S BRITISH ART

UNTIL 18 JUN, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Bringing together painting and sculpture from the Arts Council Collection and important UK collections, Kaleidoscope examines the art of the 1960s to explore the relationship between colour and form, rationality and irrationality, order and waywardness.

Liverpool Art FACT

HOW MUCH OF THIS IS FICTION.

UNTIL 21 MAY, TIMES VARY, FREE

In a world increasingly goverened by ‘post-truth’ politics, a group of politically-inspired media artists explore the radical shift in the boundary between fiction and reality through work involving the direct use of deception, tricks, hoaxes and hacks... THE NEW OBSERVATORY

22 JUN-1 OCT, TIMES VARY, FREE

The New Observatory transforms FACT into an observatory, bringing together an international group of artists whose work explores new and alternative modes of measuring, predicting, and sensing the world today.

Huyton Central Library CHERIE GRIST: PEOPLE

UNTIL 20 MAY, TIMES VARY, FREE

Exhibition from Liverpool-based artist and co-founder of 104 Duke Street Studios Cherie Grist, who’s focused her interest on people and their behaviour, and how situations in life change people for the better and for worse.

International Slavery Museum

UNTIL 29 MAY, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Exhibition of works by the pioneering American artist, who died in 2015, where newly bequeathed pieces will be displayed alongside 20 paintings, prints and reliefs from the Tate collection.

TRACEY EMIN AND WILLIAM BLAKE IN FOCUS

UNTIL 3 SEP, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Tate Liverpool directs its focus to the work of Tracey Emin and William Blake to reveal surprising links between the two famed artists, including a shared concern with spirituality, birth and death. The exhibition will welcome – for the first time in the North of England – Emin’s My Bed (1998), the unflinching self-portrait told through stained sheets and detritus that was to become the controversial and iconic artwork she’s most known for. My Bed, along with drawings by Emin from the Tate collection, will be presented alongside pieces by visionary British poet and artist William Blake, including The Blasphemer (c.1800) and The Crucifixion: Behold Thy Mother (c.1805). UK/CHINA CULTURAL EXCHANGE II

8-14 MAY, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

As the festival draws to a close, LOOK/17 (Liverpool International Photography Festival) presents a week long programme of events which explores urbanism and exchange through the universality of photography.

PORTRAYING A NATION: GERMANY 1919–1933

UNTIL 18 JUN, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Presenting the faces of Germany between the two world wars told through the eyes of painter Otto Dix (1891–1969) and photographer August Sander (1876–1964) - two artists whose works document the radical extremes of the country in this period.

A collection of over 30 posters produced by the Organisation in Solidarity with the People of Africa, Asia and Latin America (OSPAAAL), revealing the idealistic spirit of the Cuban Revolution intent on fighting imperialism, globalisation and defending human rights.

Liverpool John Moores University

LIVERPOOL SCHOOL OF ART AND DESIGN DEGREE SHOW

26 MAY-9 JUN, TIMES VARY, FREE

A showcase of graduating students in architecture, fashion, fine art, graphic design and illustration at Liverpool John Moores University.

Merseyside Maritime Museum

IN SAFE HANDS: LIVERPOOL PILOTS

UNTIL 4 JUN, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Exploring the development of the Liverpool Pilotage Service, from the explosion of growth in the 18th and 19th Centuries, decline in the mid to late 20th Century, through to the thriving port of the 21st Century.

REEL STORIES: LIVERPOOL AND THE SILVER SCREEN

UNTIL 3 SEP, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

As the UK’s most-filmed city outside of London, this exhibition shines the light on Liverpool’s cinematic history through around 40 original film posters from the 1950s and beyond.

Open Eye Gallery

CULTURE SHIFTS GLOBAL

UNTIL 18 JUN, 10:30AM – 5:30PM, FREE

In collaboration with the University of Salford, Open Eye invite Hong Kong photographers Luke Ching and Wong Wo Bik to make work in Liverpool, while also supporting British Hong Kong-born photographer Derek Man to revisit Hong Kong, together exploring the city and urbanism seen through outsiders’ eyes. Part of LOOK/17: Liverpool International Photography Festival, titled ‘Cities of Exchange: Liverpool/Hong Kong’.

Listings

ELLSWORTH KELLY IN FOCUS

ART OF SOLIDARITY: CUBAN POSTERS FOR AFRICAN LIBERATION 1967-1989

Museum of Liverpool

Tate Liverpool

23 JUN-15 OCT, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, £12

ALEKSANDRA MIR: SPACE TAPESTRY

23 JUN-15 OCT, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Inspired by the Bayeux Tapestry and the anonymous artists who depicted Halley’s Comet in 1066, Space Tapestry: Faraway Missions is a large-scale wall hanging made by artist Aleksandra Mir (b. 1967) and 25 collaborators, aged 18-24.

The Atkinson SEFTON OPEN

UNTIL 7 MAY, TIMES VARY, FREE

A vibrant exhibition showcasing talent from across Sefton, welcoming back groups who have previously exhibited alongside new artists. GOLF AND GLAMOUR: FASHION ON THE FAIRWAY FROM THE NINETEENTH CENTURY TO TODAY

20 MAY-28 AUG, TIMES VARY, FREE

Exploring the ever-changing styles of the sportswear that has showcased on the famous Fairway from the blazers, top hats, corsets, and bonnets of the late nineteenth century to the more functional fashion of the present day. WHY LOOK AT ANIMALS?

20 MAY-11 MAR 18, TIMES VARY, FREE

Looking at our relationship with animals at a time when we tend to think of them only as zoo creatures, pets or a food source. JOHN ARMSTRONG: DREAM AND REALITY

3 JUN-3 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE

Diverse work shows the influence of Surrealism on John Armstrong, who was never a Surrealist himself, instead forging a very personal style that attacked conventional ideas and beliefs with ironic wit and personal symbolism. HOLE IN ONE!

20 MAY-28 AUG, TIMES VARY, FREE

A chance to browse (and buy) unique golfing cartoon artwork from some well-loved illustrators, including William Heath Robinson, Louis Wain and Lawson Wood.

The Bluecoat LOUISA MARTIN

6 MAY-24 JUN, TIMES VARY, FREE

British artist Louisa Martin presents a new installation supported by The Elephant Trust in Bluecoat’s first floor gallery. The artist shares Larissa Sansour’s interest in research and inter-disciplinary based practices.

LARISSA SANSOUR: IN THE FUTURE, THEY ATE FROM THE FINEST PORCELAIN 6 MAY-24 JUN, TIMES VARY, FREE

Palestinian artist Larissa Sansour returns with a major solo show across the ground floor galleries; an extension of her current project In the Future, They Ate From The Finest Porcelain.

The Royal Standard

THE ‘THINKING-BUSINESS’

5-28 MAY, 12:00PM – 5:00PM, FREE

An exhibition of two halves, bringing together the work of two female artists, Paloma Proudfoot and Rebecca Ounstead for the first time. Both artists have exhibited extensively in the UK, never once having met one another in person prior to this project.

Various Venues LIGHTNIGHT LIVERPOOL

19 MAY, 6:00PM, FREE

The city’s annual after-hours celebration of its arts venues and museums, this year with a theme of ‘Time’.

Victoria Gallery and Museum BEYOND DREDD AND WATCHMEN: THE ART OF JOHN HIGGINS

UNTIL 31 OCT, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

The first major retrospective of the work of Liverpool-born artist John Higgins, who found global success as a comic book artist and writer for 2000AD, DC and Marvel.

Walker Art Gallery VICTORIAN TREASURES

UNTIL 7 MAY, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Exploring the work of leading 19th-century classical artists such as Frederic Lord Leighton, Lawrence Alma-Tadema and Edward John Poynter, as well as pioneering Pre-Raphaelite artists including John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and William Holman Hunt, to show how the Victorian period marked an important change in the way people used and viewed art. FASHION ICONS: CELEBRATING GAY DESIGNERS

UNTIL 1 JUL 18, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Celebrating the work of some of the best-known fashion designers including Christian Dior, Yves St Laurent, John Galliano, Karl Lagerfeld and Dolce & Gabbana, some of whom were forced to hide their sexuality in order to protect their careers. ALPHONSE MUCHA: IN QUEST OF BEAUTY

16 JUN- 29 OCT, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, £0 - £7

A major touring exhibition about Czech-born Art Noueau artist Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939), exploring explores the work of the artist around the theme of beauty – the core principle underlying his artistic philosophy.

Manchester Art Castlefield Gallery ANDREW MCDONALD

3 MAY-11 JUN, 1:00PM – 6:00PM, FREE

A significant solo show of works in animation by artist Andrew McDonald, where a selection of existing pieces will be presented alongside two new works in the medium that has been an integral part of his practice for two decades.

Centre For Chinese Contemporary Art

EASON TSANG KA WAI: A LOOK AT LOOKING

12 MAY-18 JUN, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Exhibition from Eason Tsang Ka Wai, who uses photography and experimental media to create artworks on the theme of living in the modern city, exploring poignant issues faced by city-dwellers including the desire for escape from the crowded urban environment and hidden anxieties about excessive modernisation. A PRIVATE PUBLIC

12 MAY-18 JUN, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

For over 20 years German photographer Michael Wolf has captured the hyper-density of the city of Hong Kong through his large-scale photographs.

Common

TENDER COMPULSIONS

UNTIL 5 OCT, TIMES VARY, FREE

An exhibition of new work by Brighton-based illustrator Lucy Sherston, whose pieces have been specially created for the bar-cumart space: “I wanted the theme to reflect the communal environment of Common, a space to gather and connect.” The exhibition will include prints, textiles and wooden pieces, using soft colours and tactile processes.

Gallery Oldham MESH

UNTIL 3 JUN, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

The UK’s first national exhibition of 3D printed fine art sculptures, featuring work by Keith Brown, Annie Cattrell, Bruce Gernand, James Hutchinson, Jon Isherwood and Sumit Sarkar.

Gallery of Costume

MARY QUANT: FASHION ICON

UNTIL 5 NOV, TIMES VARY, FREE

Featuring 22 outfits dating from the late 1950s to the early 1970s, illustrating how Quant’s designs exemplified a shift in fashion’s focus and inspiration to a younger consumer through bold mini dresses, PVC, patterned tights and more.

HOME LA MOVIDA

UNTIL 16 JUL, TIMES VARY, FREE

This pioneering contemporary visual art group exhibition takes the artistic and socio-cultural movement La Movida (literally “the movement”) of post-Franco Spain as its thematic heart. EDEN KÖTTING & ANONYMOUS BOSCH

21 JUN-30 JUL, TIMES VARY, FREE

Part of Edith Walks, a 60-minute 66 second feature film inspired by a walk from Waltham Abbey in Essex via Battle Abbey to St Leonards-on-Sea in East Sussex.

Islington Mill

LARRY GOTTHEIM’S CHANCE AND DANCES FOR HANDS

24 MAY, 7:00PM – 10:00PM, £3

Fat Out’s Burrow and Impatv present Larry Gottheim’s Chants and Dances for Hands

Macclesfield Silk Museum INHABIT

UNTIL 2 JUN, 10:00AM – 3:00PM, FREE

Artist Yvette Hawkins has created a bio structural installation using silk woven by a colony of silkworms, using this to explore the idea of migration and cultural identity through her UK and South Korean heritage.

Museum of Science and Industry

WONDER MATERIALS: GRAPHENE AND BEYOND

UNTIL 25 JUN, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Manchester Art Gallery

Combining science, art and history, Wonder Materials tells the story of graphene - the world’s first two-dimensional material that was isolated by scientists in Manchester, and is one of the strongest, lightest and most conductive materials in the world.

UNTIL 24 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE

Paper Gallery

JAI REDMAN: PARADISE LOST

A selection of new and existing oil paintings and watercolours, which function as contemporary interventions within the historic collections, from Jai Redman, whose work combines modern materials with a passion for traditional painting techniques. STRANGE AND FAMILIAR: BRITAIN AS REVEALED BY INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS

UNTIL 29 MAY, TIMES VARY, FREE

Curated by iconic British photographer Martin Parr, this exhibition celebrates work from the likes of Henri Cartier Bresson, Bruce Davidson, Rineke Dijkstra, Bruce Gilden and Evelyn Hofer to consider how international photographers from the 1930s onwards have captured the social, cultural and political identity of the UK. SHIRLEY BAKER: WOMEN AND CHILDREN; AND LOITERING MEN

19 MAY-28 AUG, TIMES VARY, FREE

Baker’s photography documented the poverty and resilience of communities under siege while conveying her compassionate affection, empathy and indignation for the plight of her subjects. TRUE FAITH

30 JUN-3 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE

Curated by Matthew Higgs, Director of White Columns, New York and author and film-maker Jon Savage with archivist Johan Kugelberg, True Faith explores the ongoing significance and legacy of New Order and Joy Division through the wealth of visual art their music has inspired.

PAPER #36: SHARON LEAHY-CLARK

6-13 MAY, 11:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Solo exhibition from Sharon LeahyClark, who allows her work to grow organically without editing so that the poetic qualities of the materials used is shown and all working processes and natural accidents are left visible; nothing is erased.

People’s History Museum NEVER GOING UNDERGROUND: THE FIGHT FOR LGBT+ RIGHTS

UNTIL 3 SEP, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Curated by members of the local LGBT+ community, detailing the development of an LGBT+ movement, showing the internal and external struggles, the different party political approaches to equality and the social and historical context of the last 60 years of activism.

LUCIENNE DAY UNTIL 11 JUN, TIMES VARY, FREE

An exhibition celebrating Lucienne Day, who was an enthusiastic gardener, whose textile designs were heavily inspired by plant forms. The show is part of the Whitworth’s GROW project, which promotes the benefits of engaging in horticultural activities to improve mental wellbeing. BARBARA BROWN

UNTIL 31 DEC, TIMES VARY, FREE

In partnership with Design Manchester, Manchester Modernist Society and the Friends of the Whitworth, the Whitworth welcomes the first major solo exhibition of the work of Barbara Brown, deemed the ‘golden girl’ of Heal Fabrics in the 1960s and early 70s. JOHN AKOMFRAH

UNTIL 28 AUG, TIMES VARY, FREE

Vertigo Sea, a three-screen film, first seen at the 56th Venice Biennale as part of Okwui Enwezor’s All the World’s Futures exhibition, is a sensual, poetic and cohesive meditation on man’s relationship with the sea and exploration of its role in the history of slavery, migration, and conflict. SOONI TARAPOREVALA

UNTIL 1 JAN 18, TIMES VARY, FREE

The first UK solo exhibition of photographer Sooni Taraporevala.

The Holden Gallery

RUSE: THE ARTFULNESS OF DECEIT

1-19 MAY, TIMES VARY, FREE

As the television and the media increasingly become saturated with their own constructed take on ‘reality’, RUSE explores the grey areas between reality and illusion.

The Lowry

EDIT 01: PADDY HARTLEY

UNTIL 14 MAY, TIMES VARY, FREE

Residency from London-based artist Paddy Hartley, whose works revolve around themes of remembrance and make use of bio-tissue assembly, digital embroidery, photography, ceramics, installation and sculpture.

Manchester Craft and Design Centre The Portico MODERN TWIST: STEAM BENT Library FURNITURE BY JOSHUA TILL UNTIL 20 MAY, 10:00AM – 5:30PM, FREE

Joshua Till puts a contemporary twist on a traditional craft with his nature-inspired steam bent furniture. ATHLETICALLY PLEASING: EXPLORING THE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN DESIGN AND SPORT

25 MAY-2 SEP, 10:00AM – 5:30PM, FREE

A showcase of products exploring how craft, design and innovative technology are being used to enhance both athletic performance and aesthetic appeal in sport.

MADE IN TRANSLATION

UNTIL 3 JUN, TIMES VARY, FREE

A collaborative project between Manchester Metropolitan University’s Faculty of Arts and Humanities and The Portico Library, responding to texts in subject areas including natural history and meteorology to colonialism and the Industrial Revolution. CUT CLOTH

10 JUN-5 JUL, TIMES VARY, FREE

Manchester Metropolitan University

Sarah-Joy Ford’s exhibition and publication Cut Cloth celebrates and critically examines the shifting role of textiles within contemporary feminist practices, also incorporating lectures, workshops and more.

10 -21 JUN, TIMES VARY, FREE

Various Venues

MANCHESTER SCHOOL OF ART DEGREE SHOW

Showcasing the final year students across its Benzie, Grosvenor and Chatham buildings.

Manchester Museum AFTER THE BEES

UNTIL 1 JUL, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

A series of artworks exploring a poignant narrative of loss, responding to Einstein’s chilling words: ‘If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left.’

MANCHESTER AFTER HOURS

18 MAY, 6:00PM, FREE

An evening of events, exhibitions and more as part of the nationwide Museums at Night. Head to manchesterafterhours.co.uk for a full rundown of what’s on.

Whitworth Art Gallery DEANNA PETHERBRIDGE

UNTIL 4 JUN, TIMES VARY, FREE

A solo show of pen and ink drawings from across the 45-year career of Deanna Petherbridge, who pioneered critical thinking on drawing and its place in art and architecture. NEW SCULPTURE

UNTIL 12 JUN, TIMES VARY, FREE

Presenting a dynamic selection of contemporary sculpture recently acquired by the Whitworth, including works by leading contemporary artists such as Sara Barker, Brian Griffiths, Roger Hiorns, Michael Landy and Helen Marten.

Find full listings at theskinny.co.uk/whats-on

THE SKINNY

Wheatus: Guest Selector Ahead of a string of UK dates, we speak to the original Teenage Dirtbag and band frontman Brendan B. Brown to get the lowdown on what you can expect to hear on his stereo at a party

Rush – The Trees [Hemispheres, 1978] This is the first tune that got me thinking about duality, workers’ unions, monarchy, inherited wealth, the poor and death, our great equaliser... Heavy stuff for a 14-year-old dingus from Long Island. Oddly, I never drew the connection to the Ents or Fangorn Forest. It was the 80s when I discovered it and it felt very contemporary and political. We learned it a few years ago and did it live a few times – we even got it right here and there – it has the trickiest guitar solo breakdown ever. It’s my favourite 70s Rush tune… but it’s the kinda thing where, if I played it at a party I’d need everyone to read along on printed lyric sheets. Dr. Dog – Bring My Baby Back [The Psychedelic Swamp, 2016] Dr. Dog have been a relentlessly solid band for something like a decade now, and they’ve recorded at least a dozen songs that are mind-blowingly great. Oh, and their live show is even better. This is one of their more recent, subtly infectious masterpieces that gets better with every listen. It’s one of those songs that will make people stop what they’re doing, turn to you and say, “This is GREAT! Who is this?!” – as party host, this is your finest moment. Ani DiFranco – Untouchable Face [Dilate, 1996] If you’re an earthling and you have not yet experienced the exquisite agony of getting mad at your crush for

May/June 2017

being unavailable when you’re pretty sure the flirt is going well, then I highly recommend it. Alternatively, you could just get Ani DiFranco’s album Dilate and disappear into it for the rest of your life,’cause that’s what happens with that record. She’s also an incredible guitarist and producer. No one can squeeze the sugar out of profanity like Ani can. This is the song that made me want to make our second record sound the way it does. The nasty horrors of life wrapped in candy. Band of Horses – Casual Party [Why Are You OK, 2016] I have felt what this song expresses so many times and felt I had to fight back... but Ben [Bridwell] has this easy way of empowering himself with departure. It’s not retreat, to me he’s just saying, ‘I prefer to spend my precious life minutes elsewhere.’ I’m fairly certain I’m misinterpreting the chorus lyric to some degree, but as an atheist I find it appealing. Whatever he’s ACTUALLY ‘saying’, I feel like blind faith is indeed a form of blind rage. My guess would be that he doesn’t mean that or that he is simply taking advantage of a possible dual meaning. I have avoided reading anything about the song because I don’t want to colour the way it hits me. Regardless, it also has a light power to the recording. As a producer I know how hard it is to make a song do that and it kills me, in a good way. Childish Gambino – Redbone [“Awaken, My Love!”, 2016] This is one of the more special new tunes I’ve heard in a while. I had some mixed feelings about Childish Gambino in the past, but this last album is full to the brim with deeply inspired retro funk and soul. The groove in this song is just so deep and

Interview: Tallah Brash

smooth you can’t help but move with it. Is this the type of party where the vibe is so good people are actually dancing? Well, if it wasn’t, it is now. Andrew W.K. – She Is Beautiful [I Get Wet, 2001] Having a party and not inviting Andrew along for the ride should be some sort of crime. Look, there’s plenty of time for cool and interesting music to analyse and then discuss with your equally opinionated music friends. And that’s all definitely happening at our little shindig. But if we can’t take three minutes and 34 seconds to headbang and pump our fists in the air... we shouldn’t dare call our gathering a ‘party.’ D’Angelo – Sugah Daddy [Black Messiah, 2014] Harmonies, harmonies, harmonies, harmonies, harmonies, harmonies... This song is what harmony is, not simply alternate notes in the chord, or even complementary complications; yes, all that, but D’Angelo uses it to lead us through the narrative, the sex of it and the caution. It’s so rich it’s insane. I believe if you had no knowledge of the language of the song or the words used you’d still know what he was getting at in your heart. Songcraft. D’Angelo. Jesus. LCD Soundsystem – All My Friends [Sound of Silver, 2007] A song about how sad it can be partying all the time? But also a song that’s an epic seven-and-a-halfminute build up that gets exponentially more

Music

thrilling with each passing minute? But ALSO a song where you and your friends can all dance in a circle facing each other screaming the lyrics “WHERE ARE YOUR FRIENDS TONIIIIIIIIGHT???” Yeah, that sounds like a party to me. Death Grips – Anne Bonny [Government Plates, 2013] This is a great track to play when it’s getting a little bit late in the night. Throw this on nice and loud and watch the reactions. You’ll likely scare away a few friends, and that’s okay. I’m sure they’re nice people... but they just don’t get it. Once they’re gone and you’re left with the people who DO get it, you can keep listening to arguably the most unique and interesting act currently making records. Mock Orange – Song in D [Captain Love, 2008] My fave song on the list. When you listen to it the first time it feels distracted, spaghetti-splattered, incomplete thoughts and images but there’s an abstract narrative that you can form. It makes you work to make sense of it. Again, when I come across a tune this perfect I try hard not to ruin it by googling the story. I just want to make my own sense of it and think of it what I naturally do, misunderstood or not. Just stop reading this and go listen. Honourable mentions: Every Richard Ashcroft solo record – he’s a genius, and every record by The Tragically Hip. Wheatus play Sound Control, Manchester, 9 May. Brudenell Social Club, Leeds, 22 May wheatus.com

The Last Word