The Skinny Northwest August 2013 by The Skinny

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Northwest Issue 05 August 2013

FOOD AND DRINK SPECIAL EATING RAW 2014 SURVEY LAUNCH FILM I WANT YOUR LOVE MOVIES AT LIVERPOOL PRIDE FASHION KATIE DAVIDSON ART MIKEY COOK TRAVEL JAKARTA TO BALI COMEDY EDINBURGH FRINGE SURVIVAL GUIDE MUSIC DAVID BYRNE & ST. VINCENT OUTFIT SHIGETO THE FUTURE OF MUSIC JULIANNA BARWICK OWEN PALLETT CLUBS RON MORELLI SIMON REYNOLDS NTS RADIO

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LONDON • MANCHESTER • NEW YORK SYDNEY • MELBOURNE • BRISBANE

Have the of your

Tyne Life

Summer Tyne is booming with food and live music!

Visit NewcastleGateshead as EAT! arrives in Toon this summer. Relish a fiery festival of adventures in food and drink – 16 days of eclectic events... Uncover our speakeasy, drink along to Casablanca, fish off Tynemouth pier or eat your way around the Food Heroes Tasting Market. Don’t miss EAT! Street & The Boiler Shop Steamer (Thurs 5 – Sun 8 Sept); enjoy live music, regional ales, exotic food and a warm Geordie welcome on tap! EAT! NewcastleGateshead 23 Aug – 8 Sept 2013

www.NewcastleGateshead.com/citybreaks

Book your train in advance at eastcoast.co.uk for their lowest fares. Terms & conditions apply. Subject to availability.

Hotel Indigo EAT! special offer: £79.00 bed and breakfast (valid 1 August – 8 September). Quote ‘EAT13’ when booking. www.hotelindigonewcastle.co.uk 0191 300 9222 Terms & conditions apply. Subject to availability.

Photo: Ryan Pfluger

Photo: David Howarth

P.23 FOOD AND DRINK SURVEY – ILLUSTRATION CAROLINE DOWSETT

Photo: Jose Cardoso

P.13 OWEN PALLETT

P.38 YOUTH LAGOON

P.32 KATIE DAVIDSON

AUGUST 2013 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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Contents

Editorial Northwest Editor Film & Deputy Editor Events Editor Music Editor Books Editor Clubs Editor Comedy Editor Deviance Editor Fashion Editor Food Editor Travel Editor Staff Writer

Lauren Strain Jamie Dunn Laura Howarth Dave Kerr Ryan Rushton John Thorp Bernard O’Leary Ana Hine Alexandra Fiddes Jamie Faulkner Paul Mitchell Bram E. Gieben

Production Production Manager Designer Sub Editor

Amy Minto Thom Isom Kristian Doyle

Sales/Accounts Northwest Sales & Marketing Manager Northwest Sales Executive Northwest Sales Executive Scotland Sales Executive Scotland Sales Executive

Caroline Harleaux Issy Patience Rob Hannible George Sully Tom McCarthy

Lead Designer

Maeve Redmond

Company PA

Kyla Hall

Editor-in-Chief Sales Director Publisher

Rosamund West Lara Moloney Sophie Kyle

THE SKINNY

Contents UP FRONT 06

Opinion: We introduce the August issue; prodigious techno tot Howes indulges in Hero Worship, some stand-up friends head north for the Fringe and Mystic Mark consults his BALLS. Plus: Shot of the Month, Stop the Presses, Skinny on Tour, and Online Only.

08 Heads Up: Your daily guide to the best events in Liverpool and Manchester throughout August.

FEATURES

Danish l'enfant sauvage Nicolas Winding Refn sits down with us to discuss his hallucinatory revenge flick Only God Forgives, starring Ryan Gosling. Refn shared a womb with Gosling, you know. See if you can spot who’s who from the on-set photo. Art pop dream team David Byrne & St. Vincent talk collaboration, creationism and the art of cycling while on tour. Composer and performer Owen Pallett voices his thoughts on illegal downloading, and lets slip some tantalising info about a future project. Paradigm Shift: Until The Music Stops: The second segment of our three-part series on the future of the creative industries, with comments from Simon Raymonde (Bella Union), Shaun Koplow (Anticon), the Chemikal Underground team, plus artists RM Hubbert, James Graham (The Twilight Sad) and Adam Stafford. Thinking of being a comedy reviewer at the Edinburgh Fringe? Before you book that overpriced hotel, we advise you first take a dry run with our Choose Your Own Goddamn Fringe Adventure. We preview the films at this year’s Liverpool Pride and speak to Travis Mathews, whose I Want Your Love is the festival's most controversial cinematic offering. Wanna know how to turn heartbreak into a stonking album inflected with chiming techno and soft elemental edges? Of course you do. Meet Shigeto.

Our Food editor blows some food myths out of the water and we round-up the best eating and glugging related events happening around the Northwest.

Uncooked, unprocessed... unthinkable? Foodie Pablo Spaull tells us why a raw food diet can be fun! Honest.

After last month’s lesson in bacon manufacturing, Phagomania tackles another pork product: chorizo.

Showcase: Welcome to artist Mikey Cook’s alternate reality of Yorkshire, where the distinction between fact and flummery becomes increasingly blurred.

EUROS CHILDS, BILL RYDER-JONES & LAURA J. MARTIN leaf

NOVEMBER 09 PHOSPHORESCENT the kazimier with evol

SWEET BABOO leaf

JULIA HOLTER leaf

LOW the anglican cathedral

CRYSTAL STILTS the shipping forecast

WAVE PICTURES the kazimier with bam!bam!bam!

Travel: Bali is a traveller’s nirvana. But before you get there you have to go through Jakarta. Is it worth suffering to get your Eat, Pray, Love on?

OCTOBER 11 FOSSIL COLLECTIVE leaf

REVIEW

DEPTFORD GOTH leaf with bam!bam!bam!

SEPTEMBER 14 MICK FLANNERY leaf

27 - 28

Fashion: Liverpool John Moores University graduate Katie Davidson incorporates themes of identity and lineage – and motorbikes – in her work.

ALLAH-LAS leaf

Deviance: Has Manchester Pride betrayed its origins? We consider an increasingly commercial event against its grassroots alternatives.

L’POOL INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF PSYCHEDELIA Camp and Furnace

PINS leaf

JOHN GRANT east village arts club with evol

DECEMBER 04 YO LA TENGO east village arts club

Music: New records from Forest Swords and MONEY, and we get our groove on to Shangaan Electro and stumble speechless from one of The xx’s secret gigs at Manchester International Festival.

Clubs: L.I.E.S. label don Ron Morelli slams New York and bigs us up, while Simon Reynolds is secretly more into EDM than he’s letting on.

Film: Are you sitting down? Michael Bay has made a good movie – it's called Pain & Gain.

DVD: As the new De Palma film (Passion) goes straight to DVD, so one of his classics (Dressed to Kill) debuts on Blu-ray.

Books: Our book of the month is Adelle Waldman’s The Love Affair of Nathaniel P.

MOON DUO. FUZZ. CLiNIC. DEAD MEADOW. THE BESNARD LAKES.

Art: Reviews of Turning FACT Inside Out and Tate Liverpool's unveiling of Constellations.

PEAKING LIGHTS SOUND SYSTEM. WHITE MANNA. THE HOLYDRUG COUPLE. PSYCHIC ILLS. NIGHT BEATS. HOOKWORMS. THE LIMIÑANAS. JACCO GARDNER. MUGSTAR. SINGAPORE SLING. CARLTON MELTON. MMOSS. KLAUS JOHANN GROBE. YETI LANE. THE PAPERHEAD. LORELLE MEETS THE OBSOLETE. WARM DIGITS. THE RESONARS. MASTON. THE OSCILLATION. NOVELLA. SAUNA YOUTH. COLD PUMAS. THE WANDS. Ekoplekz. BARON MORDANT. Vindicatrix. Zeke Clough.

with Joseph Stannard, who brings his spooked audiovisual project The Outer Church to Manchester this month with VHS Head in tow.

Theatre: We shine a spotlight on Liverpool’s Unity Theatre, plus reviews from MIF and Manchester Fringe.

Julianna Barwick discusses, bewitching new album Nepenthe.

Listings: Things to do and all that jazz.

LIFESTYLE

Out Back: Two of Outfit’s far-flung bandmates shed some light on Performance, their highly-anticipated debut album.

Competitions: Win a pair of tickets to Liverpool Food and Drink Festival and we've tickets to give away to the British Cycling National Track Championships.

Food & Drink: Got a favourite watering hole? What’s your go-to restaurant for a first date? Which greasy spoon offers the top hangover fry up? Seriously, we want to know, ‘cause we’re launching our inaugural Food and Drink Survey.

AUGUST 07 SCOTT & CHARLENE’S WEDDING the shipping forecast with bam!bam!bam!

20 We get together to trace sonic ley lines

LIVERPOOL LISTINGS

Tickets on sale from ONLINE: Ticketweb / Bido Lito! / Ticketline IN PERSON: Probe Records (School Ln) & The Brink (Parr St) FOLLOW ON TWITTER: @HARVEST_SUN @LPOOLPSYCHFEST

LIVERPOOL INTERNATIONAL F E S T I VA L O F P S YC H E D E L I A camp and furnace / blade factory. liverpool

2 7- 2 8 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 3

PLANKTON WAT. THE LUCID DREAM. THE KVB. THE WOKEN TREES. HELICON. ALFA 9. EAT LIGHTS; BECOME LIGHTS. MO KOLOURS. KULT COUNTRY. NEGATIVE PEGASUS. DEAD HORSE ONE. THE SOFT WALLS. THREE DIMENSIONAL TanX. DELTA MAINLINE. OS NOCTAMBULOS. ALIEN BALLROOM. MIND MOUNTAIN. PSYENCE. BONNACONS OF DOOM.

TROUBLE IN MIND RECORDS STAGE / MORDANT MUSIC MIASMA

Djs RICHARD NORRIS. TROUBLE IN MIND. SONIC CATHEDRAL. PETE FOWLER. Akoustik Anarkhy. THE BLACK MARIAH. BERNIE CONNOR. FAUX vs GRINGO. GREAT POP SUPPLEMENT. BAD VIBRATIONS. JOE McKECHNIE. liverpoolp sychfest.com + Twitter:@LPoolPsychFest 2 Day Tickets £40 For Limited Period From bidolito.co.uk, t i c k e t w e b . c o . u k , P r o b e R e c o r d s ( L iv e r p o o l ) , P i c c a d i l ly R e c o r d s (Manchester), Jumbo Records (Leeds).

August 2013

Contents

Editorial

Hero Worship: Matthew Herbert

his month I’ve put in neither the time nor the effort to come up with a topic that serves as a neat jumping-off point for the discussion of wider concerns, so I’m simply going to take you through what’s inside this, the fifth issue of The Skinny Northwest, because editorials traditionally consist of one of three things: 1) the editor detectably swelling with self-satisfaction as they herd a series of disparate subjects into one thematic enclosure like a jumped-up sheepdog; 2) the editor simply taking you through what’s inside the actual magazine, or 3) the textual equivalent of a black-box recording of the editor in the final throes of a psychosis so complete as to be almost transcendent. Over the last few months we’ve done a lot of the former and at least one of the latter, so this time I reckon we just get on with it. If you’re not aware of director Nicolas Winding Refn as a result of either his breakthrough 2011 film Drive or Mark Kermode spending most of that year aggressively lambasting anyone who didn’t know how to pronounce either Winding or Refn, then fortunately enough you can find out exactly who he is in our cover story interview, which concerns his new feature film, the ultraviolent revenge fantasy Only God Forgives. Shot in underworld Bangkok and lit with sickly neons, it’s a hallucinatory fever dream, a waking nightmare “in which Ryan Gosling sleepwalks” – and it sounds shit-scary if we’re being honest. Elsewhere, David Byrne and Annie Clark aka St. Vincent admit that it’s basically really super cool to be David Byrne and St. Vincent and get to work with each other; Shigeto, Julianna Barwick and Outfit all chat to us ahead of dropping magnificent albums; the second piece in our three-part series considering the future of the arts in a digital age looks at the implications for music-makers and distributors; our Film editor explores some refreshing programming at

Liverpool Pride, and there are tips on navigating both the Edinburgh Fringe and Jakarta, because come now, how are we supposed to know what your holiday plans are? We also launch our inaugural annual Food and Drink Survey this issue – which is where you, yes you, can nominate your most treasured/underappreciated hangouts over at tinyurl.com/ foodsurveyNW. Think surveys are dull? There are questions like ‘Best place... for a first date!’ Hell, when we publish the results in January, we might even turn you into a first class lothario. You’d think a five-week month bookended by a bank holiday would allow for a bit of slacking off, but that’s just not our style. Instead, we’re going to be providing rolling coverage from Beacons festival – with whom we’re pleased to be media partners – in Skipton from 16-18 August. See you in the fields. This issue of The Skinny was brought to you by Yeezus. [Lauren Strain] This month's cover was created by illustrator Eva Dolgyra. She moved to Glasgow from Athens to study Illustration at the Glasgow School of Art and now lives and works in the city as a freelance illustrator. She says, "While illustration is my strongest attribute and the element I feel most at home with, I am passionate about all facets of art and design. My influences cover a wide spectrum, with a particular fondness for weird facts and imaginary scenarios. Something strongly reflected in my work is my soft spot for traditional printmaking; however, I believe there is a correct tool for each job and enjoy using my laptop just as much as a chisel." www.evadolgyra.co.uk

Shot of the Month SHANGAAN ELECTRO BY MIKE SHEERIN

Chat

MATTHEW HERBERT

first heard Matthew Herbert on 6 Music when I was about 16; the track Leipzig stuck out to me. I had that feeling of familiarity you get when you hear something new that ticks all of the right boxes, something that you can’t believe you lived so long without. A little bit of googling and downloading later and I had one of those great experiences where a whole new world of sound opens up right in front of you. I remember reading the manifesto on his website, ‘No drum machines, no synthesisers.‘ I’ve been doing it wrong all this time, I initially thought. ‘The sampling of other people’s music is strictly forbidden.‘ This is the point at which I was ready to give up. All my preconceptions and discoveries made when first making music had been undermined by the manifesto of an experienced artist working in the field I wanted to move towards. I dug deeper into the back catalogue, through Wishmountain and Doctor Rockit, through minimal techno and big bands, microhouse and jazz. One day it all finally clicked. The manifesto and extremely varied discography is not about

me at all – it’s one man’s personal journey into a world he cares about deeply. I don’t need to make a big-band album to justify myself; neither do I need to ban synthesisers. What I should focus on is challenging my own clichés and laziness. The creation of electronic music becomes more convenient each day and it’s inspiring to see one man take action. Herbert’s refusal to repeat himself means he never reaches his pinnacle; instead he opts to make consistently innovative and intelligent records that challenge his fan base. Now head of the BBC’s New Radiophonic Workshop, Herbert continues to release politically-fuelled experimental electronic music. His latest album, The End of Silence, is composed of a single five-second sample of a plane dropping a bomb in Syria, and before that was Tesco, a Wishmountain album sampling sounds from top-selling supermarket products. But even when tackling political issues or taking a stand against capitalism, Herbert has a knack for making really galvanising techno. Howes’ debut EP TD-W700/Leazes is out now on Melodic www.matthewherbert.com www.soundcloud.com/melodic-records/leazes

The Skinny on Tour Those Canongate peeps are once again offering you the chance to win a copy of a book: this month. It’s The Novel Cure: An A to Z of Literary Remedies, by Ella Berthoud & Susan Elderkins. For your chance to win, just tell us where this Skinny reader went postal on her très chic city break.

Competition closes midnight Sun 1 Sep. Winners will be notified via email within two working days of closing and will be required to respond within one week or the prize will be offered to another entrant. Full T&Cs can be found at www.theskinny.co.uk/about/terms.

THE SKINNY

Photo: Youssef Nabil

Mancunian minimalist Howes tells The Skinny why sonic whiz Matthew Herbert’s relentless innovation inspires him to challenge his own laziness

First Person: Due North

TWO WICKED GIGS that we couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t fit anywhere else are happening at fresh-faced new Fallowfield haunt, Fallow CafĂŠ (formerly a Trof joint and now under the management of the live music-loving bunch from The Ruby Lounge). Grey Lantern present Cyril Snear, Cauls and Boddickers on Sat 17 Aug at 7pm (tickets ÂŁ4 plus booking fee), while From Another Place give us forward-thinking music from Plantagenet 3 and Jesus Knievel on Sat 10 Aug at 8pm (tickets ÂŁ4). www.fallowcafe.com.

A trio of Fringe-bound stand-ups share their thoughts ahead of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s biggest comedy festival Interview: John Stansfield

or those heading to Edinburgh this month to soak up the best in comedy, spare a thought for those going with high hopes and fanciful dreams to perform there. Below gather three such brave souls, who all hope to make a big impact at this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s festival/tournament/death match. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be checking back in with them after August to see if theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re still standingâ&#x20AC;Ś up.

Mark Davison a.k.a Mr Susie (@MrSusieComed) â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was still new to stand-up in 2010 when I went to a weird night in a cellar run by the amazing Doctor Brown. He encouraged me to go onstage without a single idea in my head to see what happened, and my character â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Mr Susie â&#x20AC;&#x201C; was born. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an alien, far away from home, wide-eyed and innocent, eager to help but pretty clueless about everything. I am introducing a new character in Edinburgh this year. The show is still 75% Mr Susie, but he meets Ricky Tin, an old man who lives in a bin and who thinks heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s street. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m also playing with story, music and emotion more in 2013, which Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m very excited about. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve only done one preview in London so far and it was so hot that 30 people LITERALLY melted and I went on fire. But Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be ready for the Festival!â&#x20AC;?

BRENNAN REECE

show will help give me a little â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;me timeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; away from my full-time job. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve never performed for the whole month before. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m hoping itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be a brilliant learning experience for me. In previous years Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve not been up or Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve not gigged very much and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve watched my contemporaries come back unbelievably match fit and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been a bit jealous. This year Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m going to be performing 25 times in as many days so I should see a difference in myself over that time.â&#x20AC;? Kiri Pritchard-Mclean & Pete Otway, Laughing Horse at The Newsroom, 1-25 Aug, 1.15pm, Free

Brennan Reece (@BrennanReece) â&#x20AC;&#x153;So this year at Edinburgh I am doing two things. I am doing straight stand-up in CKPâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s package show The Lunchtime Special. My stand up is energetically awkward stories with a bit of an odd take on the world. It is basically like seeing the world from an innocent eye...s...eyes. The other thing I am doing is a double act â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Ellis & Reece Do a Show. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is the first time I have ever taken part in one, written one, thought about one. Me and my friend Hayley Ellis just thought, we should do Mr Susieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s To Earth With Love, Just The Tonic at The Caves, something different, surely that is what the festi1-25 Aug, 2.40pm val should be about... risk? Prep shows have been Kiri Pritchard-Mclean (@kiripritchardmc) mostly helpful and fun, but at one we performed â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m a Welsh, Manchester-based comic and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve to nine people and one fell asleep. A ninth of the been regularly performing stand-up for three and audience. a half years now. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve done about ten previews â&#x20AC;&#x153;I want to immerse myself in the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s biggest arts festival, and find out how far I can push so far and, touch wood, theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been OK. (Well, theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve ranged from lukewarm to brilliant fun.) Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m the boundaries... and then if it is shit, who cares, splitting an hour with Pete Otway so half an hour nobody knows who I am.â&#x20AC;? is really just an extended set, but Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m keen for it Brennan Reece, The Lunchtime Special at The Tron, 1-5 to be something Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m proud of, for it to flow and Aug, 12.30pm; Ellis & Reece Do a Show, Espionage, 1-13 Aug, not just be disparate â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;bitsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be up in Edinburgh 12pm, Free working as a producer (of over 11 shows), so this www.edfringe.com

Eyes to the website

Having busied himself with acting and illustration in recent years, the inimitable David Yow marks a slight return to the music world by literally dropping his 'accidental' debut solo album like a slab of concrete this month. Don't expect any ballads.

August 2013

THE WAREHOUSE PROJECT has finally unleashed its three-month programme kicking off 27 Sep, resulting in a collective gasp and an immediate scramble to chuck our two cents into the social media-sphere. And so we begin the inevitable list of nights weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re excited about: picks include Modeselektion (Fri 11 Oct) from WHP and 50 Weapons, and the Four Tet- and Caribou-curated night (Sat 2 Nov) with Joy Orbison, Floating Points and Evian Christ. Other notable â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;uns include the return of Nicolas Jaar on Sat 19 Oct (hubbahubba), and a solitary performance from Julio Bashmore (Sat 26 Oct). www.thewarehouseproject.com

We speak to the former Jesus Lizard frontman. theskinny.co.uk/music Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve also got an interview with Neil and Rob Gibbons, the writers behind Alpha Papa, on penning Alan Partridge and never knowing where the Norfolk broadcaster ends and Steve Coogan begins. theskinny.co.uk/film And thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an extended edit of our piece with Joseph Stannard, head of Brightonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s audiovisual experiment The Outer Church â&#x20AC;&#x201C; which releases its first compilation on Manchesterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Front & Follow label this month â&#x20AC;&#x201C; on haunted audio and favourite ghost stories. theskinny.co.uk/music

LOVE YOUR CITY? Already know about Fallow CafĂŠ? Does a great night out usually involve discovering a pop-up speakeasy in a cave? Well, then THE SKINNY NEEDS YOU! Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re looking for intrepid urban explorers to join our team as Venues editors for Manchester and Liverpool, writing unbiased and engaging venue profiles â&#x20AC;&#x201C; if this sounds right up your street, head to www.theskinny.co.uk/about/get_involved for more details. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re also on the lookout for individuals with their fingers firmly on the pulse to take care of our Theatre, Art, and Books sections â&#x20AC;&#x201C; check the same webpage for more information. If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve already applied for any of these roles already, donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t worry, we havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t dismissed you; your applications are being considered. CORRECTION Apologies to Emer Tumilty, whose amazing illustrations accompany our Paradigm Shift series and who was mistakenly credited last issue as 'Emily'. We can blame only our addled minds. You can see more of her lovely artwork on the cover of this month's Scottish edition of The Skinny (pictured).

BALLS. with Mystic Mark

ARIES Finally you go on that holiday to Thailand hoping to find yourself. Instead you end up finding bits of yourself in the hotel shower plug hole after contracting a voracious tropical disease. TAURUS Even before Morpheus has finished his speech youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve already gobbled down both pills and given him a wink. As the effects take hold you start to wish youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d just asked him for a dab of speed instead.

Online Only Our Scottish contemporaries have produced an 80-page issue in admirable/masochistic dedication to the Edinburgh Festival and Fringe, so weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got a metric tonne of content online, including, in Comedy, Bo Burnham explaining why Stewart Lee hates him, Juliette Burton on haranguing family members for Kickstarter funding, and wildcard Chris Dangerfield telling us how he was reduced to fucking a dog. theskinny.co.uk/comedy

ITâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S YOUR LAST CHANCE to grab tickets for BEACONS FESTIVAL, which returns for its second year this month (16-18 Aug), enticing town folk out to the rolling Yorkshire dales for three days and four nights of festival frivolity with a lineup that reads like a whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s who of Skinny cover and feature stars (Gold Panda, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re looking at you!). Spanning seven stages, highlights include: SBTRKT, Sky Larkin, Vondelpark and Julia Holter. Fancy dress theme for the Friday has also been announced: Frontiers of the Future â&#x20AC;&#x201C; time to dig out the silver lamĂŠ everything. Weekend tickets are available for ÂŁ99.50 plus booking fee. www.greetingsfrombeacons.com

GEMINI In this life you have found it almost impossible to find your soulmate. You have however met several soul-acquaintances, as well as the occasional soul-fuck-buddy.

CANCER A bell-end is like a beautiful flower. Once the stalk has grown to a sufficient length without succumbing to disease or being eaten by hungry animals, the protective membrane peels back, releasing a cheesy musk into the air, which in turn attracts bees from the local area who carry its seed to nearby budding orifices.

LEO This month after damaging your ankles again you decide to just have them scooped out and replaced with old bits of dog. VIRGO You spend far too much time in R.E. class contemplating the size and texture of the Lord Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mighty and omnipotent sphincter.

LIBRA Devoid of friendships, you decide to put googly eyes on everything in your house, turning it into an anthropomorphised silent hell of staring, judging eyeballs.

SCORPIO Scorpios are known for the sting in their tail. After contracting a sexually transmitted disease this month it feels like youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re pissing whitehot rolls of barbed wire.

SAGITTARIUS Saturnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ring appears so swollen this month, it can be seen with the naked eye. Astronomers advise parents to take care while stargazing with young children.

CAPRICORN With your relationship in tatters you explain tearfully how you wish you could unfuck all those people. How you wish you could just spindle all the semen back into your balls like nothing ever happened.

AQUARIUS Astronomers recommend you regularly check Uranus with a telescope to see if it has been entered by Cancer. PISCES At work you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t feel like you fit, often it seems like youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re just a square dildo being hammered into a round hole.

Chat

Thu 1 Aug

A double-bill performance as part of the Manchester Jazz and Literature festivals, What Do You See When You Close Your Eyes? builds a bridge between music and literature. Billy Moon use words as a starting point to embark on musical journeys, while the Moss Project invites writers and poets to respond to music. Festival Pavilion Teepee, Albert Square, Manchester, 7.30pm, £5

Headlining this month’s Bad Language event will be Quietus Editor and VICE columnist John Doran, who recently decided he would write a novel with an opening sentence so powerful it could knock a grown man floorwards. Lucky for us, he’ll be reading that first sentence on the night. You’ve been warned. The Castle Hotel, Manchester, 7.30pm, Free

Poet, writer and one fifth of Manchester’s Flashtag writing collective Fat Roland presents his Electric Shorts – a literary themed evening with a twist. Writers are challenged to tell their story using Microsoft Powerpoint. Participants include Socrates Adams and David Gaffney. International Anthony Burgess Foundation, Manchester, 7pm, Free

BILLY MOON

JOHN DORAN

FAT ROLAND

Mon 5 Aug

Tue 6 Aug

Wed 7 Aug

Although a pot of Bosnian Marka’s got nothing on a pot of gold, we are still, without doubt, excited to welcome Bosnian Rainbows to our fair isles. Residing in El Paso, Texas, and sitting pretty on the Sargent House roster, the alternative rock bunch will do the music, you’ll do the raucous applauding. The Deaf Institute, Manchester, 7.30pm, £9.50

Landing somewhere between rock music and spoken word, Listener is made up of bassist and vocalist Dan Smith, guitarist Christin Nelson and drummer Kris Rochelle. The outfit has evolved from a solo hip-hop meets spoken word project, to a present day incarnation that blends killer riffs with deft lyricism. Kraak, Manchester, 7pm, £7.50

Impeccably named after Erinsborough’s hottest couple – who celebrated their 26th anniversary last month, don’tcha know – lo-fi slacker pop outfit Scott and Charlene’s Wedding bring their recently released album, Any Port in a Storm, to The Shipping Forecast for a likely packed-out and sweaty show. The Shipping Forecast, Liverpool, 7.30pm, £5

BOSNIAN RAINBOWS

SCOTT AND CHARLENE’S WEDDING

LISTENER

Mon 12 Aug

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Some folk are so talented they make you sick, and then they release an album titled He Poos Clouds... And you realise you can’t fault them. Owen Pallett – Canadian baroque pop multi-instrumentalist and composer – is set to return to Manchester complete with full band and support in the form of Buke and Gase. Band on the Wall, Manchester, 7.30pm, £13.50

Poutfest – a collaboration between Cornerhouse, Manchester Pride and Sexuality Summer School – kicks off today. To begin proceedings, there’s a screening of the super racy I Want Your Love; a deeply intimate film about a reunion between ex-lovers before one skips town. Cornerhouse, Manchester, 8.40pm, £7.50 (£5.50)

Childhood swing by the Soup Kitchen basement for their first Manchester headline show. Formed in Nottingham during their time at university, the fourpiece pop outfit now reside in London where they make shimmering, stunning sounds. Support comes from Manchester’s own Kult Country, signed to local label SWAYS. Soup Kitchen, Manchester, 7.30pm, £5

If you missed them – or particularly enjoyed them – supporting Owen Pallett earlier in the month, here’s another chance to catch the quirky Brooklyn-based experimental duo Buke and Gase, aka Arone Dyer and Aron Sanchez, who build their sound on a variety of handmade instruments (six-string former baritone ukulele, anyone?). The Kazimier Garden, Liverpool, 8pm, Free

OWEN PALLETT

KULT COUNTRY

I WANT YOUR LOVE

BUKE AND GASE

Wed 21 Aug

Thu 22 Aug

For one of their only UK dates that isn’t a festival (Beacons and Green Man are both on the cards), Moon Duo will be dropping by The Deaf Institute to share tracks from their 2012 album, Circles. The San Franciscan duo – made up of Wooden Shjips guitarist Ripley Johnson and Sanae Yamada – will provide the dreamy, distorted soundtrack to your summer evening. The Deaf Institute, Manchester, 7.30pm, £10

Californian rock four-piece, Allah-Las – led by Miles Michaud’s guitar twanging and vocals – will be popping in to Leaf for an intimate show as part of their first headline tour of Europe. Their trademark sound is built up on harmonies, well-worn Fenders, Ray Bans and suntans, and it’s the closest you’ll get to going away without leaving the city. Leaf, Liverpool, 7.30pm, £8

As part of the Liverpool Pride festival, head over to FACT to catch a screening of Les Invisibles, a documentary by French director Sébastien Lifshitz featuring 11 elder individuals talking candidly about their sexuality and being openly gay in a less-than-accepting pre-war France. FACT, Liverpool, 6.30pm, £9.10 (£7.60)

MOON DUO

Photo: Page Bertelsen

Tue 20 Aug

LES INVISIBLES

ALLAH-LAS

Thu 29 Aug

Fri 30 Aug

Humblecore punk three-piece Skaters will be stopping by Liverpool as they make their way around Europe on the festival circuit and then on to a headline tour. The New York City natives don't skateboard, but they do make infectiously catchy, singalong tunes – check out I Wanna Dance (But I Don't Know How). The Shipping Forecast, Liverpool, 7pm, £7.50

S’all about the touring Americans this month, and next up are San Diego-hailing duo Brandon Welchez and Charles Rowell, aka Crocodiles, bringing their scuzzy rock’n’roll vibes – a fitting sound for the dirty den setting – to The Ruby Lounge as they tour in support of their new album, Crimes of Passion, which drops on 20 Aug. The Ruby Lounge, Manchester, 7.30pm, £8

Putting her group project The Fiery Furnaces – a band she started with her brother, Matthew – on hold, Eleanor Friedberger returns with her second solo album, Personal Record. Taking it out on a jaunt across the UK, she’ll be joined in Manchester by members of Field Music to underline some suitably 70s inspired vibes. Night & Day Cafe, Manchester, 7.30pm, £8

Adopting the theme ’Bending Time and Space’ – think: Back to the Future, Time Bandits or Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure – Art V Cancer pitches up at 2022NQ for a print sale, with proceeds going towards kicking cancer square in the backside. Selected artists will be selling limited edition prints for £20. Gerronit! 2022NQ, Manchester, until 11 Sep, Free

SKATERS

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CROCODILES

ELEANOR FRIEDBERGER

Photo: Roger Kisby

Wed 28 Aug

Photo: Jacob Lillis

Tue 27 Aug

BEN THE ILLUSTRATOR

THE SKINNY

Photo: Helen Power

There’s a bank holiday on the horizon, promising late-night revelry with the likes of meandyou and Homoelectric, along with festivals Beacons, FestEVOL and Summercamp. Throw a couple of print fairs – Greetings from Inprint and Art V Cancer – into the mix and you’ve got a pretty smashing month.

Photo: Bad Moon Publicty

Compiled by: Laura Howarth

Wed 31 Jul

Photo: Ryan Pfluger

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Heads Up

Tue 30 Jul

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Sun 4 Aug

As the Manchester Jazz Festival draws to a close – officially ending on 4 Aug – we welcome a unique collaboration between the UK and France in the form of The Dors. Comprising two thirds of trioVD alongside improv-loving duo Donkey Monkey, they’re set to put on a knockout show. Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, 8pm, £10

Normally content to stay dahn sahf in Brighton, everodd live A/V night The Outer Church lands in Kraak for the evening to celebrate the release of a compilation on Manchester’s Front & Follow label with a line-up worth parting with a kidney for. Catch tape splicer and dicer VHS Head alongside Old Apparatus member Harem, Kemper Norton and more. Kraak, Manchester, 7pm, £7

Following on from their vintage fair at The Kazimier Garden last month, Curious Orange are back with another retro-themed event, this time calling it Kilo Sale Numero Uno. You can snag a kilo of hand-picked vintage threads for a mere £15, which should get you around four to five items. Clear out your wardrobe, fill your boot(s). Drop the Dumbells, Liverpool, 1-7pm, Free

THE DORS

Photo: Jonathan Carpenter

Fri 2 Aug

KEMPER NORTON

CURIOUS ORANGE KILO SALE

Thu 8 Aug

Fri 9 Aug

Sat 10 Aug

Sun 11 Aug

Ted Joyner and Grant Widmer, formerly of The Eames Era fame, are heading out on a mini jaunt across the UK, taking their album Heza along for the ride. Formed in New Orleans in 2008, Generationals are now signed to Polyvinyl along with the likes of Deerhoof and Xiu Xiu. Support comes from Ireland's Windings. The Castle Hotel, Manchester, 7.30pm, £6

The play that inspired The Royle Family – that festive TV staple in many a UK household – returns to Liverpool for a three-night run. Breezeblock Park tells the story of a typical family Christmas on a Liverpool housing estate in the 70s, with petty squabbling and dark secrets lurking beneath the tinsel and cheer. The Lantern Theatre, Liverpool, 7.30pm, £10.50 (£8)

Liverpool bands unite! For part two of this weekendstraddling mini festival of sorts (catch part one on 3 Aug), FestEVOL have lined up a whole day of live music, spilling out from The Kazimier and into the Garden. Expect everything from jangly pop courtesy of By The Sea to sulky sounds from Bird. The Kazimier and Garden, Liverpool, 4pm, £10 (£15 both days)

The latest Launch Pad exhibition ventures into pareidolia (seeing faces in clouds and such) and mondegreens (mishearing phrases). Some Misunderstanding includes the work of Cory Arcangel, Anton Bruhin and Jenny Core, with each artist finding humour, or even deeper understanding through misapprehension. Castlefield Gallery, Manchester, until 18 Aug, Free

GENERATIONALS

THE ROYLE FAMILY

BY THE SEA

MAYA ERDELYI - DUDES (2012)

Fri 16 Aug

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Beacons festival returns to the Yorkshire Dales this year, sprawling out over Funkirk Estate in Skipton for three days of music, art, film, food and all manner of cultural delights. Kicking off today, the forward-thinking music programme boasts highlights including SBTRKT, Floating Points, Wolf People and James Holden. Funkirk Estate, Skipton, 16-18 Jul, £99.50 (weekend)

If your world’s looking a tad drab, you’re in luck as Liverpool-based print fair Inprint are joining forces with Manchester's Generic Greeting collective to throw an extra ginormous print fair – Greetings From Inprint – pooling their collective creativity to offer all manner of printed wares. East Village Arts Club, Liverpool, 11am4pm, Free

As part of the Manchester Pride Fringe festival of events, artists Jez Dolan and Joseph Richardson are embarking on a mission to protect and preserve an endangered language. The Polari Mission examines how LGBT groups identify with Polari today, and offers the opportunity to learn the language and take part in its preservation. John Rylands Library, Manchester, until 2 Feb 2014, Free

The countdown begins to the end of Turning FACT Inside Out, a provocative summer programme inviting artists to explore some of the more hefty issues facing us today. The exhibition includes an in-your-face representation of fracking, and Steve Lambert’s touring Capitalism Works For Me! True/False installation. FACT, Liverpool, until 15 Sep, Free

“How bona to varda your dolly old eek!” TURNING FACT INSIDE OUT

THE POLARI MISSION

GREETINGS FROM INPRINT

Sun 25 Aug

Mon 26 Aug

House and techno heads meandyou have been throwing parties in Manchester for five years – starting out in the Palace Hotel before settling into the Soup Kitchen – so it’s high time they celebrate. To help them blow out the birthday candles they’ve invited L.I.E.S. boss Ron Morelli over from his native Brooklyn, along with DJ Qu. Soup Kitchen, Manchester, 10pm, £12

Running parallel to the Liverpool International Music Festival, a new bank holiday filler has cropped up in the form of Summercamp, utilising the expansive space at Camp and Furnace for a family friendly few days of music, art and food. Highlights include Mount Kimbie, Merchandise, Delphic and Dutch Uncles. Camp and Furnace, Liverpool, 24-25 Aug, £30 day (£50 weekend)

To get in on the long weekend madness, the Homoelectric bunch are getting all sleazy for their Bank Holiday Showdown. Taking place in line with Manchester Pride, revellers can expect the usual all-welcome vibe, with three floors of musical deviance. Fac251, Manchester, 10pm, £12

At this stage in the month, your cash-strapped behind will likely be overjoyed to hear that MelloMello is hosting a Bank Holiday Free Weekender. Expect anything from ska-punk to doomcore, with highlights including ambient swirlscapes from Aberdeen’s Haiku Salut and folkpunk from Russia’s T.C. Costello. MelloMello, Liverpool, 24-27 Aug, Free

DJ QU

DELPHIC

HOMOELECTRIC

Photo: Malc Stone Photography

Sat 24 Aug

Photo: Cameron Alexander

Fri 23 Aug

SICK MONKEYS

Sat 31 Aug

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Today will be your last chance to catch an exhibition of new work comprising carvings and collages by Scottish artist Cameron R Scott; employing a playful and dynamic energy, his works create narratives inspired by human experience and everyday life. The Portico Library & Gallery, Manchester, 11am-3pm, Free

Today is your last chance to See All The Art before the Whitworth closes its doors for a refurb, returning in 2014. For Whitworth Weekending you can catch some weird and wonderful art exhibitions, and at dusk on Sunday artists Nick Crowe and Ian Rawlinson will wow crowds with Six White Horses. Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, until midnight, Free

A new exhibition of photography and film work by sisters Brigitte and Marian Lacombe, Hey’Ya: Arab Women in Sport features female athletes from 20 different countries, with the aim of offering a path to better understanding and discourse about the role of gender in sports in the Arab world. National Football Museum, Manchester, until 13 Oct, Free

ABERDEEN/FLORENCE: LISTEN FOR MALCOLM’S FOOTSTEPS

August 2013

WHITWORTH WEEKENDING

HEY'YA: ARAB WOMEN IN SPORT

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Photo: Mark Page

BEACONS

Bangkok Fever Dream He’s made movies about Vikings, video store clerks and criminals. He made Ryan Gosling an icon. He even directed Geraldine McEwan in Marple. We sit down with the mercurial Nicolas Winding Refn to get the lowdown on his latest film, Only God Forgives Interview: Tom Seymour

REFN AND GOSLING ON SET

shadow passes the waiter’s face as he approaches our table; you get the impression that he’s been dealing with Nicolas Winding Refn’s left-field refreshment requests for a little longer than he’d like. “Do you have a carrot juice – a freshly made glass of carrot juice?” Refn enquires. Surprisingly, they don’t. “Do you have steamed milk?” They do have steamed milk. “Then I’d like a cup of hot chocolate with steamed milk.” Refn, who doesn’t touch the hot chocolate once, speaks slowly, purposefully, with a slight Danish accent and an impish, mischievous look behind his hipster glasses. He wears a white shirt and grey cardigan beneath a custom black Adidas zip-through top, and on his back slinks a scorpion – the same scorpion Ryan Gosling’s unnamed character wore in Drive. Known in his native Denmark as ‘l’Enfant Sauvage’ (‘the Wild Child’), he’s an intimidating person to interview. He doesn’t just keep you on your toes, he makes you dance; even he seems unsure of what he’s going to say next. Always outspoken, sometimes bizarrely tangential, and often as open as a bad clam, his press tactics are as mercurial as his films. “I needed to destroy everything I’d built in order to recreate everything again,” he says of his most recent work, Only God Forgives, a strange and breathtakingly poised fever dream of a film.

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“I could have easily made a much safer choice, a formula that had worked before. To avoid doing that, I had to go away and explode.” When asked how, exactly, he ‘exploded,’ he throws his arms in an arc and puffs his cheeks out, creating a blast loud enough to catch a quick glance from the adjacent table. After the sparse, hyper-stylish thriller Drive, which saw Ryan Gosling play a brooding stunt driver who saves his beautiful neighbour (Carey Mulligan) and her young family from the hands of murderous hoodlums, Refn had Hollywood on a plate. Tinseltown was desperate to make the Danish-American director its own, a sort of commercially-safe version of Lars von Trier, a director who could inject derivative material with European high-stylings and an ice-cool fetish for violence and sex. The industry wanted more of the same, but Refn fobbed them off, returning home to Denmark before announcing he was to shoot a French-Danish co-production in Bangkok, a Kurosawa-inspired exile-revenge drama from a screenplay he wrote years ago. “I decided: if Drive was really good cocaine, then Only God Forgives was going to be really fucking good acid,” he says. Inspired by The Evil Cameraman, a fantastically violent short film by underground New York filmmaker Richard Kern – which Refn describes

as “frightening, but erotic. Vulgar but sexy” and “nihilistic but very alive” – Only God Forgives follows Julian, an American exile in Bangkok who runs a Muay Thai boxing club with his brother, Billy (Tom Burke). The club is just a front, however, for a massive drug-smuggling operation, which is overseen by the brothers’ fearsome mother (Kristin Scott Thomas) back in the States. When Billy brutally murders an underage prostitute, we meet Lieutenant Chang – known as the “Angel of Death” – who hands out bloody justice via a sword he keeps concealed behind his back. As the trailer makes clear, Chang’s dance of death with Julian is the film’s inevitable conclusion. “You create your alter-ego,” Refn says of channelling Gosling into Julian, a character capable of the most destructive violence while remaining almost suicidally submissive. “I said to him it feels like we came from the same womb. Gosling commits hard, he’s very pure. He knew that he had to do something very different from Drive; Drive was about his strength, and this is all about his weakness.” For the karaoke-singing, sword-wielding Angel of Death, Refn street-cast the unheard-of actor Vithaya Pansringarm: “Thailand doesn’t have much of a film industry, and the actors that do work look very westernised. I wanted someone who looked authentically Thai,” he says. “I had to

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go into the openness of Bangkok; it was like grabbing a needle from a haystack. I had no idea what the character was going to be like until I saw him.” Only God Forgives is a meditation on the obligation to family, on what it is to be a foreigner in a strange country, and on the way violence inevitably begets further violence. It turns Bangkok into a neon-warped, somnambulist’s vision of hell, a city teeming with people, governed by a monster and unmoved by twisted, vigilante justice. “Bangkok is like a gateway, a borderline, between West and East,” Refn says. “During the day it’s like Disneyland, but when Bangkok turns into night, it becomes a magical city of Asian mythology. I wanted to make a fairy tale, so I needed a city with a twilight sensibility. People talk about the magic hour in LA, but it’s nothing compared to Bangkok. It’s a film about the world of the dead, in which Gosling sleepwalks.” The strongest scene in the film comes when a father must beg Chang to spare his disabled child’s life, while taking his own. The child’s taut face as he stares at Chang, the almost imperceptible movement he makes that seems to suggest Chang should unsling his sword, is one of the most unsettling moments in film this century. “I found him in an orphanage,” Refn says apologetically of casting the disabled child. “The idea of

THE SKINNY

the character was the dawning of cause and effect – that his father has already been marked.” When Only God Forgives had its world première at Cannes in May, it was the festival’s hottest ticket. Yet it got trashed, brutally, by critics who were expecting, and probably hoping for, another Drive. ‘This picture isn’t so much about who, what, where, when, and why as much as posing Gosling just-so in front of exotic orangey Oriental-print wallpaper, or allowing the camera lens to travel lovingly across the length of a sword about to be used to perform horrible deeds,’ reads the review from The Village Voice’s Stephanie Zacharek. ‘Without a brand name like Refn’s at the helm, there’s no way this project would be in competition at Cannes, or would even find its way out of your local bargain bin,’ reads the verdict of Film School Rejects. They should know better. “People forget that Drive was very polarising when it was first released,” Refn says. “It got a lot of heat. But we all know that criticism fades very quick. People liked it, and that’s what stays.”

“I decided: if Drive was really good cocaine, then Only God Forgives was going to be really fucking good acid” Nicolas Winding Refn

Refn has always had an anti-establishment ethos, a determination not to meet expectations. Both colour blind and dyslexic, he was a contrarian and a trouble-maker at school. At the age of 18, he got thrown out of acting school in America for throwing a chair through a window, and at film school in Denmark he lasted less than a month: he dropped out after realising that his tutors were only interested in teaching him how to make “products.” “Fuck acting school, man. Fuck the system. Fuck the enemy,” is his comment on that experience. Refn’s first flush of success came at the age of 24. He had independently written, directed and starred in a short film that aired on an obscure Danish cable TV channel. It was spotted, and he was offered 3.2 million kroner to turn it into a feature. Pusher was the first in a long line of dark, noir-centric films that have come to characterise millennial Scandinavian cinema; but he was far from set. In his early 30s, he declared himself bankrupt – owing his bank £1 million – and had to close his production company, Jang Go Star, after the commercial catastrophe that was his third feature, Fear X: “That film ruined me completely – creatively and financially,” he says. “It was made out of ego and vanity and it still haunts me every day.” He ended up in London, “flat broke and indifferent,” trying unsuccessfully to get his surreal Charles Bronson biopic, Bronson, into production and eventually agreeing to work, believe it or not, on the glamorous set of Marple: Nemesis, ITV’s TV-movie adaptation of the Agatha Christie novel. “If I could say something to the Nic that was making Marple, I would tell him he’s so fucking

August 2013

lucky he’s experiencing his downfall at an early age,” Refn says. “Because he had the strength to get through it.” The doldrums have served Refn well. His collaborators talk of a humble, open director who rarely says what he wants. He’ll ask his production designer, his editor or his cinematographer to do what they think would work best for the scene. “You have to utilise your talent,” he says. “I’m more interested in what other people think than what I think, because usually there is a better version of what I want to do.” The 42-year-old director has never worked with a substantial budget. Drive, his most expensive film by far, cost only $13 million – nothing in the world of Hollywood – and Only God Forgives cost roughly a third of that. But he likes working this way. “Money feels great, but it’s your burden,” he says. “The more money you spend,

the more the movie has to make. The only way you can make more movies is by being commercially successful. You can’t lose money in this industry. So the more expensive your films are, the more enslaved you are to what the film should be.” This dash for cash is most pointed in LA: “The return on an investment in cinema can be so enormous that Hollywood’s equation is constantly, ‘How much money can we make?’” he explains. “That’s why they don’t do small films anymore, because financially it’s better to do big movies – or at least that’s what they think. It’s a sad place.” But what would happen if a big studio came to him with $100 million? “I would take it as a great challenge,” he says with a half-smile, “but knowing I would have to make a certain type of movie. I’m much more interested in doing that after Only God Forgives, actually. I deconstructed myself in this movie,

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and it feels I’ve opened up new possibilities.” It’s difficult to imagine Refn answering to anyone. He’s a director working only on his own terms, writing his own rule of law. It makes for a cinema exhilarating in its unfamiliarity, compelling in its inscrutability, and audacious in its lack of concern for the tried and tested methods of ‘product’ filmmaking. “A lot of people want to be in control in the cinema, to be made to feel secure,” he says. “I go against those conventions, for good or bad. I want to create a permanent state of unease. I want the audience to ask, ‘What the fuck is going on?’ If they ask that, they can start to let go a bit. Some people don’t. Some people can’t. But if you go with it, then trust me: you’re in for a ride.” Only God Forgives is released in cinemas 2 Aug by Lionsgate

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Pull Up the Roots We catch up with art pop dream team David Byrne and St. Vincent to discuss collaborations, creationism and the art of cycling while on tour, prior to their visit to these shores later this month

Interview: Colm McAuliffe

Photo: Andreas Laszlo Konrath

more obvious and the more obscure create an invigorating and vibrant live show. “Oh my god, it’s so fun playing David’s songs live,” laughs Annie. “I have to pinch myself – I’m actually playing these songs with David.” “It’s like a music fan’s dream,” laughs Byrne. “You get to sing along like you do in an audience but people can actually hear you sing.” The last time The Skinny saw David Byrne live, he was tentatively giving a lecture in New York on the lineage of acoustics in music venues through the ages. This eventually fed into How Music Works, his remarkable book on the myriad places in which music exists. Has this level of scholarship influenced the venues in which he now plays? “A little bit, yes,” he confirms. “We get the venues we are being offered to us before we say ‘yes’, so we know what we are getting into. If there is a venue that has a reputation for really bad sound or is excessively formal, then we might have a question about that. But we also streamline our set when we play festivals – too many ballads in an outdoor festival is probably not a good idea. But if you’re playing to a seated audience in an orchestral hall you can put some in and save the rave-up stuff ‘til the end!” Furthering his reputation as a renowned polymath, Byrne, through the advent of his blog DAVID BYRNE AND ST. VINCENT and Bicycle Diaries, has become a committed activist in the world of urban cycling, advocating the others I’ve done. In others, I’d just write the the two-wheeler as a fully-fledged means of daily words, or top-line melody, or sing it. This one, transportation. So, in the midst of this mammoth there could be parts where Annie wrote one sec- tour, presumably he has managed to maintain tion and I wrote another. Although once we were his cycling exploits… “Wait a minute,” Byrne says, in the studio, with all the musicians, it was too interrupting. “Are you saying I try and influence late to collaborate! They had the music in front of where we play dependent on where there’s good them at that point.” cycling routes?” Absolutely. “Ha! No, it’s all been The pair’s collaboration originated in a sepretty random. I’ve been really enjoying Middle ries of hazy encounters, which were initially the America! We’re finding incredible places to genesis of Housing Works – a New York non-profit explore and things to see wherever we go. The organisation that was promoting a series of dual other day we went to Cincinnati and visited the performances (Björk and Dirty Projectors are Creation Museum [Annie: “Woah…”] which is a similar offspring) – Byrne attending St. Vincent’s museum made by a religious group to counter New York shows and, bizarrely, a visit to the the Darwin Theory of Evolution and counter the White House. “We got invited by NPR,” says Byrne, idea that life on earth is millions of years old. It’s “the non-profit radio chain in the US, to attend fascinating and much bigger and slicker than we the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. NPR expected. It wasn’t like dioramas in someone’s are really supportive of artists like ourselves and barn, it was a big deal.” it was a way for us to show support for them too; “Yeah, the idea begins with dinosaurs in the they’re under siege from certain parts of the po- Garden of Eden. It’s a $27 million endeavour. Very litical spectrum.” evangelical,” says Clark. So, on tour they’ve been The duo’s live performances have been enjoying Middle America and visiting pious history re-creations? honed and sharpened from the past year spent “I wasn’t totally convinced,” retorts Byrne. on the road. While the Brass Tactics EP fea“But, you know, I was towing along, I was following tures a faithful version of Talking Heads’ Road the arguments… until there was a skip in logic, To Nowhere, the standout track is Marrow, which was like ‘Woah! Wait a minute! We just which originally featured on St. Vincent’s 2009 went from Adam and Eve and the Fall straight on album Actor. While the original slid and slinked to Mein Kampf!” along with heavily compressed beats, this new One of St. Vincent’s standout tracks from version shimmers and soars, adorned with allStrange Mercy is Year of the Tiger, which detailed new arrangements, the righteous brass allowa particularly troubled year in her life. Is she finding Clark to breathe, freed from the suffocating ing 2013 – the Year of the Snake – a more pleasant production on record. “Well, that was one of the experience? “Oh wow!” she gasps. “We’ve been more obvious songs of mine to do live…” Clark watching a lot of David Attenborough documenbegins before Byrne interrupts. taries about reptiles! But yeah, it’s been perfect. “No, I agree.” he says. “I think that song And this tour feels like a vacation. It’s really fun, comes across really well live.” there’s field trips, nobody’s arguing – well, in that The current tour has an even distribution sense it’s not like a vacation! But it’s summerof St. Vincent, Talking Heads, and collaborative time, we’ve been all around the US, and Europe songs. So, Burning Down The House rubs shoulwill be fun too.” ders with Cheerleader from St. Vincent’s 2011 album Strange Mercy, and Byrne’s other collaboPlaying The Roundhouse, London on 27 Aug; Symphony Hall, rative work – Strange Overtones from his 2008 al- Birmingham on 28 Aug; Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow on 29 bum with Eno and Open the Kingdom from Philip Aug and End of the Road Festival, Larmer Tree Gardens, Dorset, on 30 Aug Glass’s 1986 album Songs From Liquid Days, to www.lovethisgiant.com which he contributed lyrics. This melange of the

y the time Annie Clark, aka St. Vincent, was born in September 1982, David Byrne’s Talking Heads were at work on their fifth album Speaking In Tongues. The band were about to enter their MTV-embracing commercial breakthrough, an era arguably defined by Byrne’s staggering physical performance replete with over-sized suit and webbed shoulder pads in the concert film Stop Making Sense. Thirty years on and the pair are in the midst of a three year collaboration which has produced one storming album, Love This Giant, innumerable tours and a new EP, Brass Tactics, comprising unreleased tracks, remixes and live cuts. As with any collaboration, particularly one between a veteran male icon and a younger female artist, there’s a certain mystery and intrigue at play: Who wrote what? Do they really get on? And what the hell is the story with those ridiculous Photoshopped images of each other on the album cover? Of course, everything with David Byrne seems unfeasibly meta, as if it’s part of some wider cultural context that only he is fully tuned into. And as a songwriter and singer, Byrne is a master in employing non-verbal languages: his Talking Heads back catalogue is infested with yelps and yowls and all manner of urgent cries. Conversely, or perhaps perversely, Byrne is articulate to the point of loquacious, while Clark is comparatively reserved and content to amuse herself at her collaborator’s verbal perambulations. Clark has had a long apprenticeship within the music world; as a teen she performed with her uncle’s jazz duo and regularly toured with The Polyphonic Spree, Glenn Branca and Sufjan Stevens before creating St. Vincent in 2006, an increasingly elaborate vehicle for her florid and ornate stories of twisted, personal catharsis. Align these two disparate talents and what do you get? A brass jungle of horns and percussion and mildly absurd lyrics that may or may not be about love and beasts and self-improvement through watching TV. Of course, such conceptual tomfoolery can result in artifice rather than art, but there’s a warmth and wonder to Love This Giant that is also

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evident when speaking to Byrne and Clark; their discursive rapport is filled with good humour and joy, and it all seems to make sense when you least expect it to. “David and I both had the experience of telling people ‘we’re working together!’” reflects Clark, “and you could see it in their eyes, they were thinking ‘this is going to be some experiment, this is going to be really esoteric and I probably won’t like it!’” she laughs. “And the album did start out a little bit more abstract but, as we kept going along and working on the songs, it got really open to a more art pop direction.”

“We’ve been watching a lot of David Attenborough documentaries about reptiles” Annie Clark

While both Clark and Byrne are rampant collaborators, the process of creating Love This Giant was a more fruitful occasion for both musicians. “It was very collaborative,” Clark continues. “We’ve both worked in situations where the roles were more stratified, like: ‘OK, you write lyrics and I write music,’ but with this, we were both writing music and sending ideas back and forth.” “There were electronic files sent back and forth initially,” Byrne confirms, “but the recording was very old-fashioned, a lot of jazz players, percussionists, all in the same room or group of rooms, reading musical charts. And I felt the same as Annie and I’ve done a lot of collaborations! The borders were more fuzzy than some of

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THE SKINNY

Under Wraps Returning to Manchester for the first time in three years, erudite composer and performer Owen Pallett voices his thoughts on the consumption of music and a certain project he shouldn’t be talking about

OWEN PALLETT

“Y

ou should just steal all the music that you can and you should buy all the music that you afford,” announces a jetlagged Owen Pallett, paraphrasing SPIN music writer Chris Martins. The morning sun is streaming through his hotel window in Lisbon, Portugal, where he’s stopping off during a short European tour – but despite his fatigue, Pallett is articulate, a comfortable chatterer. He’s also opinionated. When the violinist and vocalist’s forthcoming, fourth full-length solo album In Conflict is released, it will enter a world where, for many, music is consumed through laptop speakers or smartphones using online streaming services. Pallett’s “official opinion” on whether artists are getting a good deal from outlets like Spotify “is just like the opinion of any label: ‘go ahead, mate. Do whatever you want,’” he says. “But statistically Spotify are an entirely self-serving organisation answerable only to their shareholders.” His words slow down as he considers their meaning. “As long as people are actively consuming as much as they can and spending money responsibly then it’s OK,” he continues, emphasising that “Spotify is allowing people to do neither of these.” “I have a very active relationship with my turntable,” he says. “It’s such a completely different experience both aurally and psychologically.” Lovingly placing an LP on to a record player and letting the stylus slip into the groove does indeed sound so respectful of the artist’s intentions – but many just don’t have the inclination, or the money, to buy vinyl. “I come from a position of privilege because I can afford that kind of stuff,” he admits, cautiously adding: “Anyway, it’s just my opinion.” Pallett’s career began in his home of Toronto, where he played and recorded with various bands, including Les Mouches. Having gained attention beyond the Canadian city for performing with Arcade Fire, he released his first two solo albums – 2005’s Has a Good Home and 2006’s He Poos Clouds – under the name Final Fantasy.

August 2013

Photo: Ryan Pfluger

Interview: Jacky Hall

For Heartland (2010), he reverted to using his real name. Though now living in Montreal, he still has a lot of affection for the city he called home for 15 years – and seems to feel its music scene was underestimated. “As time’s gone on, people talking about Toronto in the 2000s are basically talking about Death From Above 1979, Feist, Metric and Broken Social Scene,” he explains. “Bands like The Hidden Cameras are overlooked as far as I’m concerned. You could read what I’m saying as being somewhat self-aggrandising because I was a member of that band, but I wasn’t a musical force in it – it was primarily Joel [Gibb, Hidden Cameras frontman]’s gig. I just feel like a lot of bands like that got kind of marginalised.” Alongside his solo work, Pallett has long been an in-demand arranger, having graduated from the University of Toronto with a bachelor’s degree in music composition. He’s worked with artists including the Pet Shop Boys, Mika and Robbie Williams, and more recently has been sending ideas back and forth with Norwegian disco don Todd Terje. An arranger, he feels, is called in when a flatlining track “needs CPR.” Does he have any memorable anecdotes from his work with other artists? “It’s fun and exciting, but they’re clients and it’s my occupation,” he asserts with a stoic professionalism. The internet proffers very little detail concerning In Conflict, originally mooted for release in the autumn. “Well, there was going to be a single out by now and everything, but... I ended up getting a job offer that I couldn’t refuse,” Pallett explains. “I’m going to be doing that instead and push my album back indefinitely.” Sounds intriguing. What exactly is the job? “Playing with the Arcade Fire again.” Exciting. So he’s probably going to be out on the road with them a lot over the autumn and winter, right? There’s a pause. “I’ve already said stuff I shouldn’t.”

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MUSIC

Feature

Paradigm Shift: Until the Music Stops In the second of our three-part series on the future of the arts, Staff Writer Bram E. Gieben speaks to a range of leading lights from all tiers of the independent music industry about labels, revenue and sustainability in the digital age. Is this a brave new world, or a broken dystopia?

he changes the music industry has undergone since the turn of the century have been seismic. The collapse of key markets and formats, and the growth and emergence of new ones which have failed to directly or adequately replace the old models (at least so far), left the industry atomised. The proliferation of boutique, short-run and digital-only netlabels have ushered in a wealth of new talent, but often without an ability to effectively market or monetise the artists they represent. The death knell for high street chains such as HMV has sounded – they will struggle on, no doubt, in some reduced form, but the way we buy and consume music continues to evolve and change. We spoke to label bosses, artists and promoters in an effort to take the pulse of the music industry, both in the UK and internationally. The picture that emerges is one of intense creativity, massive opportunity in terms of potential audience reach, and myriad threats to the traditional idea of the successful artist and label; of people who are passionate, fractious, and prepared to sacrifice everything to pursue creative fulfilment. Alun Woodward of Scotland’s leading independent label Chemikal Underground says: “Technology has been great for bands to get their music heard, and a fucking calamity for people who have to listen to it.” Is this a brave new world, or a broken dystopia?

LIFE BEYOND LABELS?

oodward is unapologetically a traditionalist. “I like to be told what to listen to by labels and bands I trust,” he says. “We have a relationship. They release records and I buy them.” Looking beyond the UK, Shaun Koplow, manager of respected independent US label Anticon, has a similar view. “I’ve read on social media about how new artists don’t see the idea of a label holding the same weight as it once did. I disagree. Our logo is a stamp of approval.”

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What can an established label offer that a self-distribution platform like Bandcamp cannot? “Throwing a new artist into a label’s machine hopefully means they immediately have a publicist, a distribution network, better chances at finding a booking agent, people to shop their music for sync licensing, radio PR, and a litany of services they will not take care of on their own until they’ve had a bit of experience in the industry,” says Koplow. Rising songwriter Adam Stafford has dealt with labels and distributed his own work over the years. The key thing a label can provide, he feels, is “reach.” RM Hubbert, recipient of the 2013 Scottish Album of the Year Award and a key player in the Chemikal Underground stable, has nothing but praise for his label. He feels “a responsibility” towards them, encouraging him to achieve as much as possible with his music, which he describes as “a bizarre form of therapy.” “The first thing Chemikal asked me to do was to not change anything about what I do,” he says. Working with Chemikal “makes a huge difference to how much time I can spent writing and touring. I don’t think I could do it without them at this stage.” Not all artists experience the warm glow Hubbert describes. “We had people working for us who we felt would benefit the band but ultimately didn’t give a fuck about us, and we were just a number or a name on their roster,” says James Graham, vocalist with The Twilight Sad. “The past 7 years have been a constant uphill battle... There have been some bad decisions and some missed opportunities, and we take a lot of the responsibility for that.” Growth is necessary for The Twilight Sad to survive: “We can’t sustain a career with the way things are at the moment and our next album is definitely the most important album of our career.” For Simon Raymonde, founder and owner of Bella Union, there is simply no substitute for the existing model: “Labels have infrastructure and relationships built up over years that you cannot put a monetary value to. Labels can promote an

artist to a level no self-releasing artist could do... not without at least a team of people to help set it up. That team is called a label.” Bella Union do not ask artists to commit to long-term, exclusive contracts: “We borrow their stuff, help them progress, then if they want it back it’s theirs at the end of a short period.” For Raymonde, “Bandcamp pages are like frogspawn. I’ve been hearing for years about how labels are now redundant with the self-release, Bandcamp phenomena, but I see this mostly as trying to give credence to something [by] knocking the status quo.” Former Delgado Emma Pollock, one of the co-founders of Chemikal Underground, identifies the problems with self-distribution: “It’s very time consuming and extremely hard work to write material, record it yourself at a good enough quality and then do the back-breaking work of promoting it yourselves,” she says. When a band is signed to an established label, she argues, this eases the burden. By helping Chemikal to emerge, and being closely involved with their ongoing efforts to develop and support independent musicians outwith the label, she and her colleagues have created an alternative to the mainstream. But the music industry is now so atomised, and Chemikal so established, that there exists an alternative to that alternative – hence the rise of boutique and netlabels. Established in 2009, Clan Destine Records have built a small but dedicated following, with limited-edition runs of 200 or fewer tapes or vinyl consistently selling out, and a strong track record of breaking new artists. “It’s all about sustainability,” says owner and manager Carl Clan Destine. “I prefer to do things ethically. I get feedback from distributors and customers, so from the grassroots I can tell if I need to re-press a record.” He has recently signed a distribution deal with online distributor Boomkat, and deals with independent shops. Manchester’s Aural Sects is an example of an internet-only label whose releases are mostly free, with occasional forays into physical releases. Co-owner Bunny compares the function

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Illustration: Emer Tumilty

of netlabels to zines or the alternative press: “A label is just another place a listener goes to find new music of a certain ilk.” His label’s strategy involves encouraging collaborations between artists, releasing compilations, and driving engagement through social media. His artists have “total control.” Forays into physical releases are driven by a desire to break even, rather than make money.

SEEKING SUSTAINABILITY

lthough the perception of a band like The Twilight Sad might be one of relative international success, with countless successful US and European tours under their belts, James Graham paints an enlightening picture of what that means in financial terms. “Making money from recorded output is very unlikely for a band our size,” he explains. “We’re not selling tens of thousands of records so making money after recording and marketing costs has been unheard of with us. Touring is expensive when you’re a band of our size and ambition.” If album sales and touring revenue are no longer the most profitable parts of a band’s income, what has replaced them? Much controversy has been generated this year over the revenue payments given to artists by streaming sites, but Marcus Scott, manager of ground-breaking London-based electronic label Hyperdub, says that streaming revenues now account for 25% of the label’s digital income. “As user numbers grow revenue for labels will grow,” he argues. “Consumers create the demand for these things and you can’t swim against the tide or hope it will stop,” despite the fact “the amounts paid are not high enough at the moment.” Streaming does not seem to have a deleterious effect on digital sales, either – according to Scott, they are an additional stream. Stewart Henderson, who co-runs Chemikal with Woodward, offers some cutting insights into streaming platforms: “I’m concerned that

THE SKINNY

streaming sites are all about the platform and the convenience of the consumer with the value of the music itself coming a distant third,” he says. “Access to all music, all of the time is now considered by many as an inalienable right rather than an artform deserving of the consumer’s patronage.” The money spent on subscription fees used to be invested directly into bands, but now, the majority goes to the streaming sites. “It’s like putting it into a woodchipper. Let’s face it, the last thing in the world streaming sites want is people buying albums.” Shaun Koplow agrees: “What bothers me the most is that it continues the devaluation of music as a product.” There seem to be few voices defending the right of musicians to make a decent living. As Greg Hurst puts it: “You never hear anyone worrying about losing our musicians to a foreign country if we don’t pay them big enough bonuses.” Another income stream that has become hugely important for artists is the ‘sync’ stream – revenue from music sold to advertising, film and TV. For many bands, this revenue far outstrips album sales and touring revenue. Established labels like Chemikal are wary of the ‘sync’ stream becoming too important to their business model. “I think it is important but you can’t rely on it as a core part of running a label or a band,” says Woodward. Koplow takes a similar approach: “We are totally fine with sync licensing. Most of the potential licenses that grace our desk are tasteful proposals. Sync licensing only becomes questionable when a particular license is an obvious sellout move.” James Graham is actively looking for more opportunities to sync his band’s music, “so I’m able to write more music and keep doing this. Eventually life catches up with you and you have to be able to afford to actually live.” Sync deals can provide a crucial income for bands whose sales do not provide a liveable income. For Simon Raymonde, this element of personal choice for the artist when arranging sync deals is crucial: “This label is for our artists, not

August 2013

for me,” he says. Marcus Scott of Hyperdub also offers a word of caution: “If you’re a publisher or label and you’re basically signing music for sync then you should stop releasing music.”

ENDS AGAINST THE MIDDLE

f course, to even stand a chance of a sync deal there’s often a prerequisite to have paid dues and shimmied up the tiers of the music industry; Adam Stafford offers a plausible model of what those tiers are in 2013. First off, there is: “The Lowly Tier – DIY, self-funded, small-time bands and artists with a limited fan base or small appeal... usually self-released or on a small label, with no booking-agent and a day-job to subsidise the music – I would include myself in this category.” Next up there is the “Mid-Tier – musicians who release on mid-size or large indie labels, are able to tour regularly off the back of supporting a more well established act, can command a decent fee, can make a decent earning from merchandise, and are likely to get good coverage in major blogs and magazines.” This tier would presumably include musicians like The Twilight Sad, in Stafford’s view – and yet as we have seen, even they are struggling to make ends meet. Then there is the “Top Tier – the indie concern, artists who have built up a huge fanbase over the years, probably signed to at least a big indie or major, [making] regular comfortable earnings from touring, merchandise and sync deals.” Who does Stafford see on this level? “Your Biffy Clyros, I suppose.” As James Graham points out: “Artists who were ‘underground’ then had a quick rise to popularity via the internet... are now mainstream artists.” Talk of an ‘underground’ often leads to a kind of naïve idealism about music as a sustainable independent business, not to mention a healthy dose of nostalgia for the ‘good old days’ of the late 80s and 90s. “A lot of the independent labels from that era, like Domino and Sub Pop, are either

major-label funded now, or they have been at some point,” Carl Clan Destine points out. “The indie labels had to take a lot of shit as a result. I’d never become a subsidiary of anybody. The word speaks for itself – it’s a subservient position.”

“This label is for our artists, not for me” Simon Raymonde, Bella Union

Underground music has a “simpler aim,” according to Emma Pollock. “The underground artist is usually the artist that has been given the freedom to make the music they wanted to without too much interference from the label they are making it for. The sheer lack of money that most independent labels have can lead to a much freer environment for the artist to work in... That allows the artist’s vision to come through and very often that’s what makes the most compelling and unique record; the one that stands the test of time.” Her Chemikal colleague Stewart Henderson agrees there must be balance between these two poles. “The originality and quality of the music is always going to be central to any decision we take in terms of signing. As far as marketability is concerned, it’s important that we have as much to work with as possible but it’s not necessarily a prerequisite to getting signed – the music will always be the driving factor.” Simon Raymonde confirms this: “Some labels look at things clearly and work out marketing spend on a projected sales budget for each artist,” he explains. “Years of doing this have taught me it’s utterly futile. I look more at personality

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and how we get on with and relate to the artist and management.” For Carl Clan Destine, his thoughts about the marketability of his roster echo what many of the artists tell us about their motivations. “I work all the time on the label, because I love it,” he says. “I have no ambitions to drive a Ferrari. I’m happy to just put records out and live a normal life.” For Marcus Scott of Hyperdub, it’s all about: “Music that gives us a little electric shock and a sense of intrigue. Marketability and potential sales power are irrelevant at that point.” Although Henderson talks of a need for “an increasingly bespoke approach” for releases, and describes his label’s recent runs as “increasingly conservative” in their numbers, he is still convinced that the right bands, signed because of their quality, and marketed sensibly and creatively, can sell physical products, despite the rise and rise of digital markets. Koplow agrees too: “People still appreciate being able to walk into a store and hold a record.” For Raymonde, the debate over digital and physical formats is simple: “As soon as we can’t make vinyl records any more,” he says, “I won’t be running a label.” It seems that whether we are talking about a long-established label like Bella Union, or an emerging curator like Aural Sects, many of the challenges that exist for labels and artists alike are broadly similar. For all their ideological differences, these bands and artists are all united against the mediocrity and repetition they see characterising the commercial music business. They share a passion for music, and a distaste for pre-packaged, overly-marketed musical ‘product.’ Sustainability is their key to success. The enduring picture is one of passionate creatives prepared to take the industry as they find it, grateful for the successes they can achieve with limited means. Thanks to Dave Kerr for additional research

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ILLUSTRATION: ELENA BOILS

THE SKINNY

Choose Your Own Goddamn Fringe Adventure Not funny enough to be an actual comedian? Thinking about heading to the Edinburgh Fringe to try your hand at this ‘arts criticism’ lark? If you satisfy these very particular criteria, consult our indispensable guide to surviving the month up North

It’s August the 1st and The Fringe has just started. This is bad news for you, because YOU are a comedy reviewer for The Skinny. Your phone rings. “HI, IT’S ROS, YOUR EDITOR. I EXPECT TWO REVIEWS ON MY DESK BY 8PM TONIGHT.” You put the phone down and try to think over the sound of your own, wordless scream. Do you: • Pull your shit together and start reviewing. Turn to 3. • Fuck the Festival. Start drinking. Turn to 2.

To hell with the Festival. A month of experimental theatre, street acts and David fucking Baddiel is somebody else’s problem. You grab the vodka from your bedside table and decide to keep drinking until everyone has fucked off back to London. By the 15th day, your liver is welcomed into Valhalla. “FUCK YOU, FRINGE,” you think, as oblivion embraces you. YOUR GODDAMN ADVENTURE ENDS HERE.

Trying desperately to figure out exactly where your life went wrong, you start to gather together some clothes to wear. Do you: • Dress for bad weather. Turn to 4. • Dress for summer. Turn to 5.

It’s summer in Edinburgh, of course the weather’s going to be shit. You throw on a jumper, waterproofs and a warm coat and hit the streets. FUCK YOU, Edinburgh. You’re prepared. Outside, it’s a cloudless 31°. In desperation you shed your jacket and jumper and soldier on. With the Royal Mile in sight, you realise you haven’t phoned the editor back. Do you: • Use a nearby phonebox to update Ros. Turn to 6. • Keep heading towards the Mile. Turn to 8.

It’s the middle of August, it’s bound to be sunny. You throw on a t-shirt and shorts and hit the streets. As the snow begins to strip the flesh off your arms, your thoughts wander to whoever invented the disposable poncho. While you’re dying on the streets, the guy who figured out how to sell a

August 2013

bin-liner with holes cut in it is probably a millionaire, hunting hobos for sport on his own private island. YOUR GODDAMN ADVENTURE ENDS HERE.

You decide to call in your progress to Ros, hopefully postponing her third tension-related stroke. Entering the callbox with more semen in it than an entire season of Law & Order: SVU, you realise that your recently-ditched jacket contained the loose change you’d need to make the call. Do you: • Ask a passer-by for change. Turn to 7. • Keep going up towards the Mile. Turn to 8.

You catch the eye of a passer-by and ask him if he’d possibly lend you 50p to call your editor. He is actually a plain clothes police officer, tasked with chasing all vagrants out of Edinburgh. Before you know it, you’ve been relocated to a private tropical island, where a man with an elephant gun greets you. “I HOPE YOU LIKE RUNNING AND BEAR-TRAPS, ASSHOLE,” he shouts while adjusting his infrared-goggles and bin-liner poncho. YOUR GODDAMN ADVENTURE ENDS HERE.

As you work your way towards the Royal Mile, the crowds of people ambling about triples in size. You battle forward through what feels like Thunderdome with maps and iPads. You are approached by someone giving out flyers for the shows. You accidentally make eye contact and they thrust a flyer in your direction, insisting that the garish bullshit advertised on it is “really, really good.” Do you: • Take it. Turn to 9. • Punch them in the thorax. Turn to 11.

They thank you for taking the flyer. As they move on, they are quickly replaced by another person thrusting a flyer at you. Turn to 10.

10 11

Once again, you take another goddamn flyer. Turn to 9.

The punch does the job. Flyer-people startle easily, but will be back in greater numbers. Stepping over the body, you take a deep

breath and press on. Turn to 12.

As you force your way through the crowds via a series of crotch punches and spinning elbows, you enter a clearing in the road where a street act is performing. “DO WE HAVE A VOLUNTEER?” he cackles while clutching seven juggling machetes and a can of petrol. Do you: • Volunteer. Turn to 13. • FUCKING RUN. Turn to 14.

Words: Fred Fletch Illustration: Joachim Sperl hour of watching a comedian doing the stand-up equivalent of replying to emails for dick enlargement cream. Return to 14 to pick your next show.

You feel safe in the hands of a well-known comic. 97% of their act is stuff from their Christmas DVD, 2% were jokes they did on last week’s Mock The Week and the remaining 1% is a howling bitter resentment that turns laughter into centipedes. Return to 14 to pick your next show.

Your last thought as the flaming machete You break the first rule of reviewing and enters your face is “I hope my coroner has an agree to pay for a ticket. They swipe your option for ‘dumbass’ on the cause of death form.” credit card and usher you inside. YOUR GODDAMN ADVENTURE ENDS HERE. Weeks later, living homeless under a bridge and nursing five broken ribs that the debt collecYou have made it to the heart of the Fringe. tor gave you, you think back to that show you paid There are 9,453,238,375 shows to choose to see. It was shite. from and most of them look so terrible, it’s like YOUR GODDAMN ADVENTURE ENDS HERE. trying to choose a glory hole at a bee-farm. You’ll On the way home you pass about need to see at least two shows before you can go 5,454,782 posters for The Ladyboys of home. Will you watch: Bangkok, a show about things that you don’t ex• New act cutting his teeth at the Fringe. Turn pect to have penises, HAVING PENISES. to 16. “They should do this show EVERY YEAR,” you • Shocking, edgy show. Turn to 17. think, as you take a long swig from your hip flask. • Established act doing their 17th consecutive Turn to 21. Fringe show. Turn to 18. You make it home. You are a fucking mess • A really great act, but you can’t get a review but the job is done and you can spend toticket. Turn to 19. morrow in bed watching all five Die Hard movies. • Something else. Turn to 15. The phone rings. It’s Ros. “THANKS FOR THE • Two acts, then fuck off home. Turn to 20. REVIEWS, ONLY 700 MORE TO GO!” You notice a large poster with Ben Elton on You reach for the vodka. it. It proudly announces ‘DAVID BADDIEL: YOUR GODDAMN ADVENTURE NEVER ENDS. FUNNY, ONCE.’ You realise you’re making a terrible mistake. Classic TV adventure Knightmare will come to life at the Return to 14 and pick a proper show. Fringe, allowing lucky audience members to wear the

20 21

dungeoneer’s helmet

You sit through some fresh-faced comedian’s hour-long apology to his parents. The venue’s atmosphere of Toilet Duck and despair melds seamlessly with a stuttering routine that would have been less painful if he’d just taken comedy out into the street and shot it in the face. Return to 14 to pick your next show.

www.edfringe.com/whats-on/comedy/knightmare-live

www.edfringe.com/whats-on/theatre/choose-your-owndocumentary-by-nathan-penlington

COMEDY

You choose the cutting edge shock-comedy act ‘KKK RAPER,’ which turns out to be an

John Robertson’s The Dark Room returns to the Fringe for a second year. Can you escape? www.edfringe.com/whats-on/comedy/john-robertson-thedark-room And with 1,500 pieces of footage to select from, audiences will be able to play Choose Your Own Documentary every day

Feature

Unsimulated Once in a while a film comes along to remind us how conservative the industry really is when it comes to sex on screen. Travis Mathews’ I Want Your Love is one such work. The San Francisco-based filmmaker talks to us about explicit cinema

Interview: Jamie Dunn

Out and About We preview the LGBT films screening at Liverpool Pride Words: Jamie Dunn

I WANT YOUR LOVE

n 26 June, the US Supreme Court dissolved the country’s Defense of Marriage Act, a federal law that denied benefits to same-sex couples legally married in their states, including social security, immigration rights and family leave. It was a huge leap forward for gay rights in the States. How did the New Yorker celebrate this sea change? With a cover depicting Bert and Ernie, Sesame Street’s eternally bickering ‘roommates’, snuggling up on the couch to watch the ruling. It’s a sweet image and well-meaning gesture, but it’s typical of the depiction of gay relationships in mainstream media. At best, the use of Bert and Ernie as a symbol for homosexual love is euphemistic – a nudge-nudge, wink-wink to everyone who’s suspected those best of buds were more than just friends. But at worst, it infantilises gay people, turning them into felt puppets that don’t exist below the waist. If you want a tonic for this desexualisation of gay relationships, look no further than Travis Mathews’ I Want Your Love, a low-key, looselimbed tale of the lives and loves of half a dozen gay men in San Francisco. There’s no soft peddling when it comes to these boys’ sex lives. Over its brisk, 71-minute running time, you’ll find more money shots than on a numismatist’s Tumblr. Some have labeled it porn – the Australian Film Classification Board banned the film from playing at festivals in Melbourne and Sydney – but for Mathews, it’s essential that the (unsimulated) sex in his film was shown in all its sweaty, raw, spittle-flecked glory. “It’s important for me not to shy away from sex if I’m going to try and be honest about these characters’ lives,” says Mathews down the phone from Los Angeles. “Sex was always something that I knew was going to be an integral piece to the story.” The graphic sex scenes in I Want Your Love do more than add veracity to the semi-improvised drama playing out on screen, however. Mathews argues that the more colourful the characters’ sex lives, the richer the storytelling. “The sex that we are accustomed to seeing in films in general is pretty limited,” he says. “I’m interested in this whole continuum and what it says about story and character once you introduce

Feature

sex. Having sex is sometimes awkward or sometimes playful, or sometimes confusing, or sometimes very sweet. All of these ways of having sex I rarely see in gay films, and partly me wanting to [show sex realistically] is me wanting to connect with people and make them feel like, OK, I’m not alone in these different sexual experiences.”

“When I was 15 I was starved for images and representations of gay men that felt in any way relatable to my own life” Travis Mathews

What feels most radical about Mathews’ film, though, isn’t its bracing attitude towards doing the nasty, but its lack of the kind of clichés that burden the vast majority of LGBT films. I Want Your Love centres on Jesse (Jesse Metzger), a performance artist in his early 30s who’s going through an existential crisis that, refreshingly, has nothing to do with his sexual orientation. His problems are financial and professional: he’s not making ends meet as an artist, so he’s moving from his bohemian paradise of San Francisco to live with his parents back in his less glamorous hometown in Ohio. “I wanted the movie to be like you just drop into this world,” Mathews explains, “and any sort of crisis or any sort of drama is not around the familiar gay tropes that we’ve seen a million times. It’s not a coming out story. It’s not a bullying story. It’s not a gay marriage story. It’s some guys in their mid-20s or early 30s who are trying to figure

their shit out and they are having sex, like a lot of people do.” Think of it, then, as a gay, male, West Coast version of Lena Dunham’s Girls, or, as one reviewer wittily dubbed it, mumblehardcore. Mathews, whose forthcoming film Interior. Leather Bar is an intriguing collaboration with James Franco that re-imagines the infamous 40 minutes of hardcore gay scenes edited out of William Friedkin’s Cruising, grew up, like his protagonist Jesse, in small town Ohio before moving to the cultural hub of San Francisco. He suggests he’s making these films concerned with sex and sexuality – which also include the series In Their Room, a collection of short documentaries that look at the sex lives of gay couples around the globe – for his younger, Ohio-trapped self. “When I was 15 I was starved for images and representations of gay men that felt in any way relatable to my own life,” he tells me. “I’m wanting to create movies that can show queer people in different ways and that feel more relatable and natural and inviting.” He isn’t the only one. Not since the early 90s has queer cinema been in such rich form, with films such as Andrew Haigh’s Weekend, Ira Sachs’ Keep the Lights On and the still to be released Blue Is the Warmest Colour, which won the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes, among the fine LGBTthemed films breaking out of niche LGBT festivals and into the mainstream. “I think what’s happening is that we’re at a time as gay filmmakers, and also audience members and even beyond that the bigger society, where we’re interested in gay stories that aren’t necessarily driven by the familiar gay crisis plot points,” suggests Mathews when asked why queer films seems to be in such rude health. “I mean, there are so many stories that just have never been told about gay characters who aren’t the sidekick or killer or victim, and what I see is there’s a sophistication that’s emerging with the ways in which stories are being told with gay characters – we’re just making better films, quite honestly.” I Want Your Love screens 13 Aug at Cornerhouse, Manchester, and 15 Aug at FACT, Liverpool

FILM

Want Your Love (15 Aug) is the agent provocateur in Liverpool Pride’s programme of LGBT cinema, but reputations can be deceiving. You might go to Travis Mathews’ San Francisco-set film for the hardcore sex scenes but you’ll stay for its fine-grained depiction of a group of young gay men “trying to figure their shit out”. Look left to read our interview with Mathews. You'll need some tissues for Any Day Now (29 Aug), as it’s a weepy. It’s set in 1979, but its subject, a gay couple attempting to adopt a child, echoes loudly as similar battles happen in courts across the world today. Alan Cumming is dynamite – in that slightly showy, look-howgreat-I-am-at-acting kind of way – as Rudy, a New York drag queen trying to make it on LA’s cabaret circuit, who takes an abandoned teenager with Down’s syndrome under his wing. Garret Dillahunt, as Rudy’s closeted lover and attorney, is the third corner of this misfit family unit. It can’t be a coincidence that director Travis Fine chose to set Any Day Now in the year in which Kramer vs Kramer, that great hetero-custodybattle melodrama, walked home with its bucket full of Oscars. Robert Benton’s movie did a lot of good work for fathers’ rights that year. Perhaps Any Day Now can be a similar catalyst for the rights of two-father families. If Any Day Now is Pride Liverpool’s tear-jerker, then Les Invisibles (22 Aug) is its heart-warmer. Documentarian Sébastien Lifshitz turns his compassionate camera on the faces of 11 older gay people living in rural France and gives them space to tell their stories. Lifshitz has a knack for getting his subjects to open up – one randy bisexual goat herder is perhaps too open – and while they relay the struggles they had to face while growing up, the joy of the film is the way in which their happy, present-day lives are lovingly observed. As seems to be the case for most LGBT festivals, stories about gay men dominate. By way of compensation, two lesbian-themed classics have been brought in as ringers. Desert Hearts (8 Aug), from 1998, is a period piece set in Reno in 1959. Helen Shaver plays a buttoned-up divorcee and Patricia Charbonneau is the younger woman she falls for. As a love story, it’s electric, but it doesn’t have much to say about homophobia in small towns. This is likely to be addressed, however, in the other revival film in the programme, The Journey (15 Aug; The Light, New Brighton), from 2004, which centres on two teen girls who cause outrage in their Indian village when their relationship becomes public knowledge. If I were to make one complaint about the gay films screening at Pride, it would be that, in general, they’re all a bit, well, straight; their content may be queer, but the forms they take – love stories, straight forward documentary and indie dramas – are pretty conventional. Thankfully, then, there’s also Maja Borg’s bold, idiosyncratic Future My Love (31 Jul), in which the Swedish director muses over a past relationship and meets quixotic futurist Jacque Fresco to discuss the fate of humanity. Blending Super 8 film, archive footage and contemporary interviews with Fresco, Borg ingeniously juxtaposes her curdled relationship with our crumbling global economy to create a poetic and moving response to life’s biggest questions. All screenings at FACT, Liverpool, unless otherwise stated

THE SKINNY

One Step Back, Two Steps Forward Zach Shigeto Saginaw needed a fresh start after time spent in New York and London – but, as he tells us, he found it in one of the most unlikely places

t takes conviction to step back into your past so that you might move forwards again; it also takes a great deal of self-discipline to convince yourself that it’s right to return to a place where you run the risk of walking in your own shadows. That Ghostly International’s Shigeto would return to his native Michigan earlier this year, having spent a decade or so in between New York and London after growing up in Ann Arbor, isn’t perhaps so surprising when hearing his previous records and listening to him speak. The producer – whose stage name is both his middle name and grandfather’s first name – holds strong family values, and his family still live locally. “Michigan is home, and having a sense of that is what makes me comfortable,” he explains from Paris, where he’s out on tour with Ghostly label-mate Com Truise. “It’s like what religion must be for some people I guess, having that something you can always go back to.” Yet this homing trait sits at odds with Shigeto’s latest record, No Better Time Than Now. His previous material grew to be inflected with sonic clippings denoting his past, paeans for home evident in the staple Detroit sounds of Motown and blues, jazz and disco; they zigzagged through the jarred electronics of his EPs, 2010 LP Full Circle and last year’s Lineage like lightning forking black skies. Now that he’s home, however, No Better Time Than Now sounds like it’s travelling back out the other way. It cuts loose from previous home-doting homage and instead glimmers in a whole new light, with the likes of Ringleader and Ritual Howl informed by the sort of chiming techno and soft elemental edges found on influential European labels like Border Community and Kompakt. The LP title, meanwhile, suggests an artist whose creative direction is very much on a progressive trajectory, even as his physical one has reverted. “I think going back into my history ultimately made this progression easier on me,” he reflects.

August 2013

Interview: Simon Jay Catling

“I wanted to go home so that I could build something bigger for many reasons: personal life, wanting to save money – I need to start getting health insurance and all that sort of stuff.” He was careful, though, not to succumb fully to comfort and return to his boyhood Ann Arbor, instead opting for its bigger neighbour, Detroit. “It didn’t feel like backtracking, it still felt new because I’ve never lived in the city itself; and because it’s affordable I suddenly had all this space for the first time. I’ve got a separate studio now and so the record was recorded more like a band because I could just leave everything set up.” Shigeto had actually moved back to Michigan with his fiancée – who he’d met before he’d even started exploring electronic production – with an intention to settle down, buy a house and start a small business. “Long story short? We split up,” he says curtly. However, although admitting he was “heartbroken,” the break allowed him to see his familiar surroundings through new eyes, free of the shared perception of life that one can take on when involved in such a deep relationship. “I don’t want to speak for her out of respect, but for me, when we broke up my mother said ‘you look so much happier.’ It was like I had this glow and I think what it is, is you spend all these years loving someone and you seek approval all the time from them because you want them to love you; but when that was gone I could stand back and really see what I’d actually achieved, and what I was doing in life. It was like a new mirror after that, every time I looked I saw a different me.” Shigeto is used to forging fresh creative paths against the backdrop of love dashed. Smitten with jazz music as a 10 year-old, the young son of a deli owner set being a jazz drummer as his ultimate goal. “Drumming remains what I feel I can express myself best with,” he says, and it still plays a major part in his live set. However, upon closing in on his jazz aspirations, with a place at The New School in New York to

study jazz performance, he found the terrain of his promised land to be somewhat beige. “It was this thing that I considered to be this most free expression and had the least amount of rules,” he recalls dolefully, “and then this University environment put it in black-and-white, right and wrong terms. I just found it really saddening.” Disillusioned, he dropped out and found himself drifting, his confidence in picking a new direction to take shattered, given the disappointment his previous choice had caused.

“I wanted to go home so that I could build something bigger” Shigeto

Gladly accepting an exit route in the form of a job in a London café, offered to him by a family friend, Shigeto found internal solace, embracing the sense of being hidden among the inattentive millions. “I’d come out of this jazz scene where everyone knew each other and competed for the same slots,” he says. “Before that I’d lived in Ann Arbor all my life with my closest friends and family. But in London no one knew me! But when no one’s paying attention you get the space and time to really work out who you are and what you’re doing with your life. And I really dug those little feelings you get when you’re living somewhere else, which tell you that this isn’t home. They gave me a sense of independence I’d never had previously.” It was in London that he started to furtively explore electronic production as a new creative

MUSIC

release; his first EP under his current moniker came out on Ann Arbor label Moodgadget in 2008 (around the same time, he also released an EP on the same label under the name Frank Omura). Moodgadget is closely linked with Ghostly International, and was founded in 2004 by Jakub Marek Alexander and Adam E. Hunt out of a desire to promote electronic music driven by narrative and process, as opposed to being created for the club scene. Shigeto’s union with them and ultimately with Ghostly, makes sense, given that he winds his own personal narrative intrinsically around the music he makes, which sets him apart from many of his peers, who are more reticent in admitting any intended thematic dialogue in their work. “I’d say that without making a personal narrative I wouldn’t be able to make music,” he says. “I couldn’t be a persona with an aesthetic, it’s just easier for me to be me; and although it can hurt being more open, it’s not enough to not want to do it. I mean, this album’s about me! I guess it’s a diary of the last year of my life, the move and the break-up.” “I’m not a techy guy,” he continues, “and to be honest for the past couple of years I’ve really struggled with how I want to convey my identity through my music. But I feel that I use these electronics only as a vessel, so if someone says it sounds like there’s a human behind it then that’s fucking perfect for me!” Shigeto describes the autobiographical No Better Time Than Now as the third in a trilogy, with 2010’s Full Circle referencing his teenage life, and Lineage a tribute to the Japanese side of his family. “But then,” he points out “this is also the first from this new space, so it really could be the start of something too.” Such is the on going evolution of an artist whose ultimate direction always remains forward. No Better Time Than Now is released 19 Aug via Ghostly International www.ghostly.com/artists/shigeto

Feature

Photo: Anthony Ciannamea

SHIGETO

Ghost in the Machine With tape splicer VHS Head at the helm, Joseph Stannard’s Brighton-based night of spooked sonics, The Outer Church, comes to Manchester this month. We are happily indoctrinated into his diocese Interview: Lauren Strain

Illustration: Natalie Dunning

hat do you imagine when you hear the word ‘hauntology’? The term has, over the last couple of years, been oft-misused in the music press; but for Joseph Stannard, head of Brighton’s regular audiovisual foray into the unchartered, The Outer Church – which makes its first trip to Manchester this month to celebrate the release of a 28-track compilation on local label Front & Follow, bringing with it some of the record’s featured artists, including Blackpool’s VHS Head and avant-folk experimenter Kemper Norton – it denotes an uncanniness, a notion of the ‘other’ (or, indeed, the ‘outer’), a sense that ‘something weird is stirring in modern music’. Having been among the first to showcase acts that have since gone on to garner wider attention, such as Bobby Krlic’s The Haxan Cloak, Stannard’s night of ‘unheimlich audio’ and video – pairing found footage and overlooked film with shadowy, uncompromising artists from Anna Meredith and Ekoplekz to Alexander Tucker’s Grumbling Fur (Tucker provides the album artwork) – has seemed to pre-empt a crescendoing curiosity in contemporary music to listen to voices from the beyond. “I’d noticed the seepage some years earlier, but by 2009” – when he founded the night – “it had become unavoidable,” Stannard explains. “Broadcast and The Focus Group released Witch Cults of the Radio Age, which seemed to signal the conclusion of a primary phase. The marriage of Trish and James’s songcraft with Julian House’s signature cut-up

production style resulted in a genuinely magical piece of work. Aside from that, it felt like things were broadening and diversifying after the initial burst of interest in all things hauntological: Mordant Music and Demdike Stare were perfecting their own distinct forms of mossy weirdness and there was a surge of interest in horror and science fiction soundtracks. In the US, Zombi’s Steve Moore was making progress with his solo career while Umberto released his debut album From The Grave. Something that had initially resembled a parochial trend was revealing itself to be an international phenomenon.” As to any reasons why this willingness to engage with the uneasy might be increasing, he speculates: “I suspect a widespread denial of reality is taking place. I’d characterise this as a gnostic phenomenon, the refusal to accept the world as it seems because it simply doesn’t ring true. “It’s not just happening in music,” he continues. “Horror is big again, on TV and at the cinema... Art that hints at the unknown is always going to be attractive to a lot of people, but especially when the known is so numbingly omnipresent.” For Stannard, a fascination with the otherworldly and occult goes back to his childhood. “It’s in my blood,” he states. “Both of my parents love ghost stories and horror films. My dad would let me stay up late to watch Nic Roeg and Ken Russell films with him and my mum has had a few uncanny experiences that I still love

hearing about. I was brought up to acknowledge the possibility that what we perceive as real is not all there is, that there might well be something else concealed behind it all.” This lifelong diversion began to coalesce into the founding of a Church when, among other gradual awakenings, he “started getting a series of garbled telephone calls that I chose to interpret as instructions – to some extent The Outer Church is an attempt to appease forces I still don’t fully understand.” Above all, he wanted to build something that would acknowledge Brighton’s “very strong experimental/noise/improv scene” but also establish its own identity, being “more preoccupied with narrative and atmosphere.” With a unique

aesthetic somehow built on elusive, inexplicable impulses, The Outer Church certainly seems to have achieved the latter; and, with intentions to take it yet farther afield, Stannard appears set to only encounter more followers. “Collectively,” he says, of his many and lasting collaborations over the past few years, “they have confirmed my suspicion that magic works.” The Outer Church Compilation Launch, with VHS Head, Harem, Kemper Norton and The Wyrding Module, Kraak, Manchester, 3 Aug, 7pm, £7 The Outer Church compilation is out 5 Aug on Front & Follow Read the full interview online at theskinny.co.uk/music www.theouterchurch.co.uk

“With all the talent that’s here and the outstanding facilities I didn’t want to go anywhere else.”

Your music career starts here at Trafford College’s Manchester Music Base. With expert tutors, industry links, guest performances, and gig opportunities apply now for entry this September.

Alex Dodd Course: HND in Music Job: Music Producer

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MUSIC

THE SKINNY

Half Dark Her acclaimed second album The Magic Place made Julianna Barwick’s haunting, looped vocals the go-to comfort for long, lonely summer nights. She returns this month with the lighter but no less beguiling Nepenthe

ulianna Barwick’s first experience of a cappella singing was in church, in the American South where she grew up. “My dad was youth minister,” she explains, sitting outside London’s Southbank Centre, where tonight she’ll perform as part of Yoko Ono’s Meltdown festival. “Our congregation would sing together. It was two decades of growing up, two or three times a week singing with people in a room with no accompaniment. I was always singing.” Years later, in Brooklyn, she began experimenting with recording vocal loops on “this little pedal. I was just trying stuff out, it was more about the sound, making these crazy, choral, experimental little pieces. It wasn’t about any message, just about the sound of it, and it still is.” Barwick’s music lies somewhere between that of Grouper and Enya (bear with us), both otherworldly and new-agey, each track layering abstract vocal loops in joyous – and occasionally melancholy – union. Her 2011 album, The Magic Place, was named in honour of the farm where she was raised, and she describes her upbringing in Louisiana and Oklahoma as “super mellow. Slow paced, easy going, pretty much the antithesis of New York. Hazy, sunny, summer days.” This haziness passes over into her music; a world of repeating cycles and drifting harmonies. “I like

August 2013

things that repeat,” she says. “When I started making loops, it just became addictive.” Ten years after seeing Sigur Rós play in 2002 – an experience she describes as “still one of the best concerts I’ve ever seen; I couldn’t get it out of my system for days, I couldn’t even talk afterwards” – she found herself fielding a call from producer Alex Somers, one half of the Sigur Rós side project Jónsi & Alex, asking if she’d like to record with him in Iceland at the band’s Sundlaugin studio built into an abandoned swimming pool. The intensity of the process led Barwick to the title of her third and forthcoming album, Nepenthe: an ancient Greek word that describes a ‘drug of forgetfulness’. “Part of the recording process was really heavy,” she recalls. “I mean, it was glorious – I was in Iceland, I was with great people – but some of the time I felt really isolated. It was cold. I just liked the idea of something that could be used to make all of that go away – feeling alone, and the heaviness of some of the process.” Nepenthe was written and recorded during two trips to Iceland, one of which was cut short due to a family bereavement. “The second time I was alone, for five or six weeks,” she explains. “It was a long time. I was thinking about some pretty heavy things when I was there. It all worked together to be pretty powerful and intense.” But

JULIANNA BARWICK

despite its dark context, the record makes, like Barwick’s previous work, for an uplifting experience. Featuring members of Múm and Amiina, it has more shades of light than dark. Does purely vocal music – be it choral singing, or singing alone at home – tend towards catharsis? “It always does, that’s what it is,” she insists. “That’s how I feel every time I make music. Even when the feeling of the music is coming from a sorrowful, sad place, I still love to make beautiful music. My

MUSIC

favourite musical combination is sad and pretty. But I guess it doesn’t always have to be sad, it can just be pretty.” Julianna Barwick plays St Giles Church, London, 29 Aug, and End of the Road, Larmer Tree Gardens, Dorset, 1 Sep Nepenthe is released 12 Aug through Dead Oceans www.juliannabarwick.com

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Photo: Shawn Brackbill

Interview: Sam Lewis

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Do You Eat? Do You Have Opinions? Words: Jamie Faulkner Illustration: Caroline Dowsett

Then The Skinny Food and Drink Survey 2014 needs you

h, Food. The Universal Language. Everyone remember June’s G8 summit where Ireland communicated entirely in colcannon and the French fulminated in foie gras? Whole speeches were composed of different types of wursts and multipacks of Walkers crisps. Lough Erne Resort, Fermanagh, had never seen the like of it. You can only imagine the mess. Except that didn’t happen, did it? No, this is just us riffing on a half-baked (woah-hoh!) idea to introduce our annual Food and Drink Survey, where, from now until end November, we ask YOU for YOUR favourite hangouts or best-kept secrets of either a culinary or lubricating nature (or both) in the Northwest. Early December, we’ll take a well-needed break to sift through the votes and then, in our January 2014 issue, publish – and playfully interpret – the results. So what makes our survey so great? Categories. That’s right. Categories. As an example of what to expect, we asked some local notables to answer a selection of them for you, with varying degrees of sincerity. BEST PUB? Dulcimer, Manchester (Andy Proudfoot, Dutch Uncles): “We’ve recently added a bit of routine into our debauched and decadent rock’n’roll lives. The Inn-Quizition pub quiz is a welcome break from just talking to each other. Top rounds: Geography and British Prime Ministers.” The Ship & Mitre, Liverpool (Julian Shepherd, Scenery Records): “The selection of ales is mindboggling. Last time I was in it was so hot I nearly became a boil-in-the-bag ready meal for one. So I drank some more to get over it.” The Temple of Convenience, Manchester (Jozef K, DJ): “The draft pints are always class and the jukebox is mega too. It’s safe to say that The Temple eats soulless chain pubs for breakfast then has 10 pints of Krombacher from its own pump after it. For me it’s hands down the best boozer of all time.” BEST LOCAL BREWERY? TicketyBrew (Pasta Paul, DJ): “A newcomer to the scene, they make two fantastic ales. It’s all hand made and hand labelled too. They’ve just started selling it on draft in a few places, including Kosmonaut (Manchester).” BEST CAFE? Bold Street Coffee, Liverpool (Andrew Ellis, Samizdat): “The coffee is exceptional, they have possibly the world’s greatest bacon sandwich and they play a lot of ESG. Also of note are their ventures into live music: Stan the renowned Liverpool harpist plays in the shop every Wednesday.” BEST NEWCOMER? Takk, Manchester (Steven McInerney, Embers): “Admittedly I only wondered in because of the Sigur Rós-related name, but it’s a lovely little place. All quaint and charming, desks adorned with graffiti... probably stolen from some local school but they introduced me to Portishead so I’ll forgive them.” “The best new place of 2013 is probably Korova. I haven’t been yet but I reckon it’s gonna be the new Korova.” (Jon Davies, Deep Hedonia) BEST FOOD OR DRINK SHOP? “You can have all the gourmet food shops in the world, but there is only one Asda. Literally.” (Jon Davies)

August 2013

BEST PLACE... WHEN HUNGOVER? Koffee Pot, Manchester (Steven McInerney): “I tend to find my band’s dark and dank rehearsal room below Sunshine Studios tends to do the job, but most people don’t have a key to there so I’d probably go with Koffee Pot. They provide a perfectly hearty and sufficiently greasy wake up.” “Unashamedly Dominos.co.uk” (Andrew Ellis)

“Perhaps you’re fed up with the hegemony of a certain Americanised form of sandwich?” BEST PLACE... FOR A FIRST DATE? Pinkies Diner, Afflecks, Manchester (Tom Ragsdale, Ghosting Season): “They do a milkshake challenge, which I tried and failed, but if you can succeed you’re sure to pull.” Drop the Dumbells, Liverpool (George Maund, Big Effigy): “You can do literally whatever you like in there, e.g. a spinny kickflip on a snowboard, and people will applaud you.”

BEST PLACE... WHEN YOU’RE IN A RUSH? Mr Chilli, Liverpool (Julian Shepherd): “A quick and efficient service bringing what I believe is the most authentic Sichuan cuisine there is to be had in the city. I’m in regularly and am always excited by the particularly extreme menu, after the initial anxiety attack – chilli frogs legs anyone?” Hot Chillis, Liverpool (Garvan Cosgrove, Clang Boom Steam): “For the best chicken kebab (at 3am) and proprietor with the best memory in Liverpool. He can recall everyone I’ve ever been in there with. Seriously, thats about six years’ worth of deviants and drunks.” AROUND THE WORLD: THE AMERICAS “Forget all the hype about these places that you queue up for two hours just to get a table to be treated like shit. The best burger is at The Molly House in the Village (Manchester). It’s a great place, too. Almost feels like you’re on set for a BBC Victorian period drama in there.” (Pasta Paul) AROUND THE WORLD: ASIA Umami, Manchester (Wesley Killerbee, Now Wave): “I’M OBSESSED WITH THAT PLACE IT’S SO CHEAP AND TASTY. MY NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION LAST YEAR WAS TO GO TO UMAMI 52 TIMES.” Fuzion, Fallowfield, Manchester (Steven McInerney): “Easy. They do strawberry lemonade and it’s delightful. I’d argue that when combined with their spicy prawn crackers and a Thai red curry it basically equates to the perfect meal.”

FOOD AND DRINK

Yuet Ben, Liverpool (Andrew Ellis): “Often overlooked due to hiding just out of sight from the Chinatown strip of Chinese restaurants. Run by the same family for as long as anyone can remember, this is the jewel in the crown of Liverpool’s Asian food selection. You’ll be greeted by the owner, Terry, who knows all the regulars well and once you’ve been once you’ll inevitably join the regulars crowd. Great, fresh food, no bright orange sauces, no pre-packaged pancakes.” AROUND THE WORLD: INDIAN SUB-CONTINENT “THIS N THAT IN THE N.Q. (Manchester). EASY EATING. GOOD LUNCH TIME TACKLE.” (Wes) AROUND THE WORLD: EUROPE “The Spanish guys who come into my work cook up a paella that makes me feel like I’m on holiday.” (George Maund) This is a chance for you to have your say. Perhaps you’re fed up with the hegemony of a certain Americanised form of sandwich and want to big up your local curryhouse instead? Maybe you think Liverpool’s brewers have got it locked down, or that Manchester is the beating heart of the ale scene? There’s room for all opinions, all sides of the debate. But y’know, we’re walking contradictions. We like to think of ourselves as gourmands but you’ll still see us down Chicken Cottage at 3am. Tuck in. Voting has begun! Tackle The Skinny Food and Drink Survey 2014 at www.tinyurl.com/foodsurveyNW

Lifestyle

Food News If you thought summer camp was only for Americans and gardening was something that old people do, then prepare to have your minds well and truly blown by this month’s eating and slurping round-up

ow do you feel about gardening? Ambivalent at best? Well, Manchester is aiming to change all that by going on a paint-the-city-green mission with the Dig The City Urban Gardening Festival. One hundred tonnes of soil and a cornucopia of plants will transform parts of the city centre into garden, with Exchange Square becoming an urban forest – we sense some sort of epic hide-and-seek carry-on. There’ll also be talks from food and horticultural experts about everything from foraging to making your garden a Mecca for wildlife, and you can expect pop-up gourmet food stalls from some fine local restaurants, ensuring you won’t go hungry over the course of the festival’s nine-day stint. Various venues, 3-11 Aug, various times and prices, www.digthecity.co.uk. To pursue the horticultural theme, 2013 is witnessing a peculiar phenomenon: businesses are branching out to set up shop in parks. Well, two of them are. Caffeine & Co (@caffeineandco) have opened a café-cumcommunity kitchen in Stretford’s Longford

Words: Naters Philip

Park – perfect if you want more than a lukewarm can of pop and an extortionate ’99 – and they’re teaming up with Hulme-based Uprising Bakehouse bread co-op to bring us artisan loaves and buns. The team spirit continues across south Manchester as West Didsbury’s resident cake-bakers And The Dish Ran Away With The Spoon partner with local care group Didsbury Good Neighbours to take over the Didsbury Park Pavilion, bringing their famed brownies with them. There’ll be savoury lunch offerings, as well as an extensive event calendar (expect classes along the lines of flower arranging, vintage clothes sales and, er, baby massage). Pavilion, Didsbury Park, Manchester, Thu-Sun until end Sep, 11am-5pm, www.dishandspoonfood.co.uk. Over in Liverpool, the awesome music lineup of Summercamp is trying its darnedest to overshadow the festival’s foodie offerings, but we’re on a mission to ensure that the epicurean delights get their 15 minutes. Sunday morning stalwart Simon Rimmer is bringing Brum’s best,

Glynn Purnell, up North to create two ticketed gourmet dinners over the weekend. There’s also a naughtily named ‘Tree Huggers banquet’ to ensure the non-meat eaters out there get a look-in, and for those of you who prefer your festival food without airs or graces, there’ll also be CHEESE AND APPLE SHERBERT DOUGHNUTS. Yes, you read that right: they seem to be a signature dish courtesy of the creative chaps over at Camp and Furnace – who, incidentally, are hosting the entire weekend. Camp and Furnace, Liverpool, 24-25 Aug, tickets £30 adult (day), £55 (weekend), www.summercampfestival.co.uk. With a bank holiday looming at the end of the month, why not begin August the way you mean to go on? For an evening making best friends with the grape, we recommend looking no further than Liverpool’s Albert Dock wine gem, Vinea. Set against a stunning backdrop of water and tall ships, evenings here seem wonderfully long with a glass in your hand. If you’d like a bit more structure to your night of swilling, then pop along to their Regions of Chile Wine Tasting.

The night will have you sampling six wines in total – three Sauvignon Blanc and three Shiraz. These nights are incredibly relaxed and – great news! – you’re not forced to spit the wine into buckets. Word from the wise, though: you may actually want to, as they’re very generous with their servings. Vinea, Liverpool, 9 Aug, 7.30pm sharp, £15, www.vinealiverpool.co.uk. Gazing ahead, we’re looking forward to the Liverpool Food and Drink Festival, where a staggering 160-plus Merseyside chefs and regional producers will gather at the altar of nosh for masterclasses, demonstrations, a self-contained beer festival of more than 50 real ales and ciders, sleb chefs including Levi Roots and Aiden Byrne, and something called a ‘heavenly chocolate garden’, which we’ve started queuing for already. And if you can’t make the weekend, its spirit lives on in a programme of events at venues across the city from 7-15 Sep. Sefton Park, Liverpool, 7-8 Sep, from £5 (kids go free), www.liverpoolfoodanddrinkfestival.co.uk.

Such claims made by the food media are partly responsible for inculcating a culture of ‘orthorexia’ whereby people obsess over eating according to what they think is the ‘healthiest’ or most ‘green’ dietary system. The truth, I propose, is that the media extols certain diets and vilifies others while falling back on scientific foundations that are shaky at best. If I told you carcinogens found in grilled meat were bad, you’d probably agree. But why? Because the papers said so? Guess you missed the Leveson inquiry. HCAs (or, heterocyclic amine mutagens), produced when meat browns during the Maillard reaction, do cause greater instances of cancer in rats; but what is true for rats isn’t necessarily true for us. Besides, man has been eating cooked meat for millennia, so it would be reasonable to assume we’ve become accustomed to it. Professor Richard Wrangham, a primatologist, has even speculated that it was precisely the shift to cooking meat that gave early humans increased brain size. Perhaps this is why strict raw food diets have been seen to have negative impacts on health – most worrisome of which is

amenorrhea (or, lack of menstruation). What about good old sodium chloride? Eating a low-salt diet will protect against heart disease. Right? Well, the jury’s still out on that one. And MSG, that most infamous of flavour-enhancers, should be avoided? Studies have found it to be safe. And, hands up, who still thinks the French have a diet high in saturated fat but, paradoxically, have low rates of heart disease? Don’t be shy. This notion falls under the same category of myth as the ‘Mediterranean diet.’ Bad statistics and over-zealous advocates, it seems, have been the cause of these ideas. The French do have reasonably high rates of heart disease, but this is not necessarily down to saturated fat. As recently as February this year, the British Medical Journal reported on the health risk of replacing saturated fats with ‘healthy’ omega-6 polyunsaturated vegetable fats. You’re getting the picture. But these ideas have been planted, Inceptionstyle, in our brains. Finally, there’s the local/organic debate. To blend food journalist Jay Rayner’s argument down to a shot of bitter truth: buying locally isn’t going

to solve future food crises, and buying organic isn’t going to make you healthier. The ‘organic’ label has become little more than a marketing tool for a multibillion pound industry. Steven Poole, in his book You Aren’t What You Eat: Fed Up With Gastroculture, thinks that buying locally might be more about connecting with your community and supporting nearby business than saving the planet. Nothing wrong with that; just don’t go bragging about reducing your food miles. An oft-cited 2006 study showed that lamb imported by sea to the UK from New Zealand had a smaller carbon footprint, owing to more environmentallyfriendly farming practices, than UK-raised lamb. Lest someone take me for some sort of nutritional antichrist, I’m not advocating eating ‘badly’, whatever that means. Nor am I giving carte blanche to start living off cronuts. I’m just stating the rather inconvenient truth that, judging by the evidence, most dietary systems don’t work as intended. But then again: don’t just take my word for it.

Eat Serious With Steven Poole and Jay Rayner taking the sacred cows of the food industry to slaughter, our Food and Drink editor jumps on the bandwagon for a cull of received wisdom Words: Jamie Faulkner Illustration: Nikki Miles

1. EXT. GARDEN – DAY An English summer barbecue. Pink visages, handheld fans, wasps drowning in half-drunk beers. ADAM (flipping a grilled beef patty into a bun and smothering it with processed cheese and storebought ketchup) Nomnomnom! GILLIAN (observing smugly, eating salad) Don’t you know how bad that is for you? Just think of all the carcinogens, the fat, the salt. And I bet the meat’s not even locally sourced! ADAM (meekly, guiltily masticating burger) Oh, I know, but it tastes so good! No, Adam! That’s not what you say. You say: “Give over, Gillian!” Or better still: “Keep your ill-informed proselytising to yourself; there’s little evidence to support your claims.” It depends, Adam, on how many frozen margaritas you’ve had. Did you see what I did there? Crafty, I know. I used the barbecue as a platform to address some popular/tenacious misconceptions surrounding food and diets. I hear them all the time. Antioxidants in broccoli help fight cancer. Eggs raise ‘bad’ cholesterol. High-fibre diets protect against colorectal cancer.

Lifestyle

FOOD AND DRINK

A referenced version of this article can be found at www.theskinny.co.uk/food

THE SKINNY

Get Cooked Uncooked, unprocessed... unthinkable? Following a raw food diet can seem faddy, fussy and no fun – but then Pablo Spaull told us it could involve chocolate. And conching. We find out more, and ask why the Northwest hasn’t yet caught on

t a time when so many of our peers appear obsessed with what they eat – counting calories, 5:2-ing, emphasising protein, vilifying carbs – there’s a lot to be said for embracing all the world of cuisine has to throw at us. Except, perhaps, for insect hors d’oeuvres. Or spirulina. Yet we’re constantly surprised by how tasty certain foods can be when the ingredients we know and love are snatched away from them. Vegan cakes do indeed sometimes surpass their dairy-based counterparts, and even lover of hand-reared, personally slaughtered meat Hugh FearnleyWhittingstall has written an entirely animal-free cookbook with a view to placing vegetables at the forefront of every meal. For those restricted not by choice but by health – diabetics, coeliacs, the lactose-intolerant and more – there are more ‘free from’ options than there have ever been. And then there is the raw food movement – perhaps the most limiting dietary plan of all. Raw foodists believe that heating food above 40-50 degrees celsius destroys enzymes that aid digestion. It’s thought to have begun way back in 1897, when muesli inventor Maximilian BircherBenner took to munching on raw apples while recovering from jaundice. He felt so revitalised that he was inspired to open a medical centre in his native Switzerland named Vital Force, which continues to treat patients to this day. Stamping out illness-related bacterial nasties is one thing, but existing merely on piles of fruit and vegetables? Didn’t Ashton Kutcher almost destroy his pancreas earlier this year doing something similar? Surely it’s been proved time and again by both nutritionists and the various unpleasant side effects of fad diets that our bodies need a combination of carbohydrates, fat and protein to function normally. And good grief, no raw food plan is going to allow us to eat, I don’t know, desserts, is it? Enter Pablo Spaull, a raw foodie and believer that, for many people, chocolate is the ultimate gateway to the raw food lifestyle. Sampling raw chocolate at a friend’s birthday party led to a fascination with the stuff – and upon chatting to his friend Dilwyn Jenkins, who had been helping the

August 2013

Peruvian Ashaninka export their damn fine coffee for around 30 years, Spaull decided to enquire as to whether the tribe grew cacao too. They did, as it happened. Fast forward four years, and Spaull is using the Ashaninka’s rare Criollo beans (or “golden magic” ones, as he puts it) to make small batches of raw chocolate bars fashioned from a mere three ingredients for his company, Forever Cacao. We were “raw-curious”, as Spaull would say – or perhaps more raw-skeptic – when we attended his chocolate masterclass, held at Manchester’s Northern Quarter stalwart Teacup in association with its sister business Bonbon Chocolate Boutique on 13 Jun. As he talked us through the health benefits of raw chocolate, it sounded almost too good to be true. Chocolate’s flavonol antioxidants, said to be anti-ageing, help boost metabolism; magnesium for the heart and brain may promote “clarity and focus”, and then there are the mood-elevators serotonin, dopamine, anandamide (the ‘bliss chemical’) and phenylethylamine. Even the coconut palm sugar sweetener Spaull uses is choc-full (sorry) of minerals and vitamins. Supposedly, Forever Cacao bars allow you to experience all this healthful euphoria without any of the negative bodily impact you may encounter from factory processing, added fats and refined sugars. The proof of the pudding was, of course, in the eating. We sampled the chocolate itself, handmade using only cacao nibs, the aforementioned coconut palm sugar and cacao butter. Spaull’s priority is to achieve the crisp snap and melt-in-the-mouth texture of your usual chocolate bar, and this takes over 20 hours of low temperature conching followed by hand-tempering and moulding. That’s some effort, and it pays off. It tastes delicious, and the only notable difference between Spaull’s chocolate and the 70% cocoa dark bars of Lindt or Green & Blacks is that Forever Cacao carries with it a slightly grainy, crunchy (but far from unpleasant) texture from the unmelted sugar. Otherwise, it breaks off and yields at body temperature, just as Spaull desired.

The difference in price, however, is significant. A 45g bar of raw chocolate will cost you a whopping £4.50 – but this is, we acknowledge, a figure that covers time, labour and ingredientsourcing, as well as taking into account the rainforest safeguard Forever Cacao is responsible for by working with Ecotribal, Cool Earth and Size of Wales; what Pablo refers to as “viral conservation”. All budding Swampys can therefore rest easy about biting into a block of this.

“Existing merely on piles of fruit and vegetables? Didn’t Ashton Kutcher almost destroy his pancreas?” Our raw-curiosity was piqued, then, but let’s face it; the Northwest of England isn’t exactly at the forefront of specialist food movements. In Manchester and Liverpool we have a mere handful of vegetarian restaurants and even fewer entirely vegan ones, and ingredient-intolerants rarely get more than one choice of dish in any given eatery. Spaull informed us that Brighton is renowned for being the UK’s raw chocolate epicentre with its popular Raw Chocolate Co., whose products are distributed by 12 UKand Europe-wide stockists. Meanwhile, back in 2009, Time Out magazine described London’s raw food scene as ‘exploding’. Spaull’s masterclass was an insight into something the Northwest hasn’t yet properly considered, and for that reason, it felt educational. Many raw foodists admittedly crave cooked food, but the movement offers compromises. Nathan Myhrvold of Modernist Cuisine states that ‘techniques, such as marination, can achieve

FOOD AND DRINK

Interview: Emma Madden Illustration: Rachel Davey

cooked textures without the application of heat’. He also happens to be an advocate of dehydrated watermelon as a meat substitute (Time Out did note that dehydrators are ‘the ovens of the raw food world’). Ironically, however, the fruits and vegetables that taste better in their natural state can be better for us cooked. You might prefer, for example, to throw fresh tomatoes in your salad or dunk an uncooked carrot stick into hummus, but believe it or not, the nutritious lycopene and carotene in these two particular items are actually better absorbed by your body if they’ve been heated. Now put that on your crudité plate and (h)eat it. We can tell that maintaining an entirely raw diet would be extremely difficult, but our short foray into the movement has taught us a lesson. Arnaud Hauchon, head chef at Aloka, a rawvegan restaurant in Brighton, tells the blog Get Rawcous, ‘I ask people to question their habits, and then I want to say to people, “OK, you are a pleasure seeker, you are a hedonist, but you can still be healthy. You can still be ethically correct.’”’ While Hauchon believes in the ‘vibrancy’ and the ‘many benefits of raw food’, he deems extremes counterproductive. ‘I worry sometimes that people who are trying to be 100% raw are having food psychosis... You need to be happy. Love what you eat, your body will respond to that.’ Wise words. Clearly, any toe-dipping into raw foodism is a personal journey, and we shouldn’t feel consumed with guilt if we find ourselves cooking up a batch of winter stew when the temperatures begin to dip (apparently, cooking food at lower temperatures for longer helps preserve those precious enzymes; an excuse for leaving the slow cooker on in the morning if ever we heard one). Meanwhile, if you want to feel virtuous when chomping on your square of edible serotonin, Spaull’s clever creations might be just the golden ticket. Find out more about Pablo Spaull and Forever Cacao at www.forevercacao.co.uk Keep an eye out for upcoming events at Bonbon Chocolate Boutique at www.bonbonchocolateworkshop.com

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Food

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Music

Art

This Month –

07.08 Elliot Eastwick's World Famous Pub Quiz 08.08 Pica-Sounds present Andy Pye (Balearic social radio) 09.08 MAG Art Exhibition Launch

arter

rn Qu e h t r o N r iste

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29.08 1st Birthday Celebration with Pasta Paul & Friends TBA + Regular Dj's throughout the month, check our website for more details

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PIEMINISTER 53 CHURCH STREET MANCHESTER M4 1PD This voucher cannot be refunded for money just for delicious pies and drinks. This voucher may not be used in conjunction with any other offer. Can only be used at Pieminister in Manchester. Only one voucher per person.

15.08 Black Hole Acoustic Night with We Are Willow & Elle Mary

Kosmonaut –

10 Tariff Street Northern Quarter Manchester M1 2FF

– www.kosmonaut.co @kosmonautMCR

THE SKINNY

Phagomania: Jerkin’ it Our adventures in the wide world of meat production continue with homemade chorizo, despite the unhelpful nature of some of our equipment and the unexpected warmth of some of our cupboards

hose of you wise enough to read last month’s escapades of Phagomania will know two important things. First, that we enjoyed the thrills of making bacon (and saying ‘making bacon’ a lot), including experimental and semi-successful Cuba Libre bacon. Second, we promised the prospect of smoked bacon and chorizo. Well, lots of exciting smoked things actually. However, the smoker is still in the process of construction, and you really can’t rush these things. However, we do have Chorizo. Homemade chorizo. And now you’re not annoyed anymore. If you are, along with the majority of the population, of the mindset that anything is made better by the addition of chorizo, you have come to your Garden of Eden. And here’s the scoop: making your own chorizo makes it vastly cheaper, and it won’t look like the supermarket stuff that’s both anaemic and luminescent at the same time. Following on from last month’s baconmaking, myself and partner-in-crime Alistair

Words: Lewis MacDonald Illustration: Pedro Martinez

(armed with a hefty delicatessen knowledge) put ourselves in the firing line for you, dear reader. The thing I forgot about when eating things like salami or chorizo is that you are essentially eating raw meat. What we are dealing with here are fermented sausages where the salt and ageing give us our lovely meaty goodness, but when you leave raw meat hanging about, the proposition of chomping on it feels a bit daunting. But we did it for you. You’re welcome. First things first: pork meat. We went for the easy option and bought minced pork. But with any good salami, you want those chucks of fat in there, so we bought pork belly slices and put them through a blender. For a better quality product you want to finely chop up shoulder meat. Next it is recommended to go for 25g of salt for every kilo of meat. We just went on visuals and tossed a load in there. Now for the key flavouring: lovely smoked paprika. As some of you know, you can get some pretty fancy-pants and pricey paprika out there,

Around the World in 20 Drinks: The Netherlands

but in the interests of making this advice useful to everyone/being cheapskates we grabbed some Tesco smoked paprika and used a ton of that. We also added garlic powder, chilli powder, ground coriander, dried oregano and sugar. As a bonus, we finely diced some dried, smoked chipotle chillis and chucked them in there. Get your hands dirty and mix it up, and prepare for the most innuendo-rich paragraph in the history of food writing. As we were air-drying and not making fresh sausages, we went for an unusual but effective casing – tights. Hand stuff it and squeeze it in there, using gravity as your friend. You’ll end up with a freaky, long, thick, orange, dangling sausage on your hands. You can leave it to hang whole but if you know how to link sausages, this would be a handy time to (ahem) whap out your sausage skills. At this point, our two chorizo looked great, and as we watched our meat-packed tights swing we wished we had some regular sausage casings

Our global drinks trolley rolls into the Netherlands, with options for rappers on a budget, hardcore gin enthusiasts and those of you who want a slightly thicker beverage

t has to be said that the millionaire playboy stars of the hip-hop game have it tough. OK, they get to perform to adoring fans and stage lavish parties, but think of all that money they have to waste on ‘ON-TREND BEVERAGE X.’ Thankfully, the Dutch have their back with Vieux, or Dutch Brandy. Vieux started life as a direct rip-off of Cognac, albeit a bit cheaper and without the same glamour. When the French got wind of those pesky Dutch rip-off artists calling their spirit Cognac, the Dutch drop’s name was changed to Vieux – the French word for ‘old’. The drink did the 1960s equivalent of going viral, Dutch distillers managed to nick some French prestige and get away with it, and now hip-hop has a low-cost alternative to Courvoisier. Everyone’s happy (if you ignore the French). Jenever on the other hand is basically a prototype for gin that’s still hanging around even

August 2013

FOOD AND DRINK

to cook up a fresh taster. But here’s where we may have gone wrong. We left them to dry out in a boiler cupboard. After a month of patience, the chorizo had really dried out. And I mean dry. Ever done the cinnamon challenge? Or the water cracker-eating challenge? Or been ship-wrecked on a desert island? That dry. Turns out we had successfully made jerky chorizo. Hey, it was pretty tasty stuff, if a tad overly salty. And no one died of food poisoning. If you are interested in our experimental jerkizo then that’s great, try it, but I believe we should have stored it somewhere with more circulation, such as a garage or even outside in a cage. For serious candidates, there are many well-deserving online guides, but I’d recommend the Guardian’s salami guide, with our above adjustments on the flavourings. But then they probably won’t tell you to stuff your meat into a pair of tights – we’re different like that. Catch up on Phagomania’s mini-series on making your own meat at theskinny.co.uk/food

Words: Peter Simpson Illustration: Ben Kither (OWT creative)

though the finished product is everywhere. There are two varieties – young Jenever, which has your standard clear-spirit hallmarks (neutral smell and a hefty kick), and old Jenever, which is darker, smoother and less of a slap in the face than its younger counterpart. But what if you fancy something even smoother, viscous even? Well, the Dutch have got a present for you. Yes, it’s that favourite of the old lady’s drinks cabinet Advocaat. The bright yellow colour and weird consistency are odd enough, but the fact that the ingredients list is basically custard plus brandy just makes things even stranger. Oh, then there’s the fact that thick advocaat seen across the region is often consumed with a spoon. That’s not really how you do drinking, Dutch people, but you have given us a brilliant idea for a nightclub scene in Jay-Z’s next video.

Lifestyle

THE JULIE MYTHOS (install detail 2, 2012), found newspaper cuttings on velveteen

THE JULIE MYTHOS (2013)

BOLDLY & FRANKLY (detail, 2013), plaster on screenprinted board

SHOWCASE

THE SKINNY

NYMPIS (2013), polyurethane foam on screenprinted plinths

Mikey Cook M

ikey Cook graduated from Glasgow School of Art in 2013 with a BA (Hons) Fine Art: Painting and Printmaking. "A Synchronicity is the occurrence of two events which are apparently mutually acausal or unlikely to occur together by chance, yet do so in a revelatory manner. Synchromysticism is the worldview that everything in the universe is connected. My current practice concerns the fabrication of a simultaneously fictitious and factual Yorkshire: an alternate reality (or more aptly, realities) of God's Own County where the distinction between fact and flummery becomes increasingly blurred. These microcosms are concocted through the exploration, exploitation and documentation of the weird and unheimlich, or uncanny, within the consensus reality via a synchromystic filter. Although

August 2013

the degree of truth retained is often subject to intense undulation, fact of some sort never ceases to remain a common denominator, whether it be historical, social or scientific. It is these perpetually fluctuating 'truths' which become the basis for fictional narratives, tall tales and absurd characters created through a process of uncovering a plethora of far fetched and often irrational links – a demented Six Degrees of Separation more suited to the serendipitous endeavours of a boondoggling detective or apophenia-ridden conspiracy theorist. "A recent trip back to Yorkshire resulted in the discovery of several Biro scrawled newspaper cuttings, their positions undeniably premeditated, their reference to 'Julie' a common denominator and their handwriting identical, both to each

other and cuttings discovered around the area since pre-puberty, unsavoury signifers of the transition of commodification in correlation to coming of age. I have discovered innumerable synchronicities between these cuttings; pre-teen porn collecting; Castleford's rich Roman heritage; lineage of nomenclature traced back to the Goddess of love and sex, Venus (reappropriated from the Greek's Aphrodite, or Cytherea – an alias now adopted by a porn star); the mythical Siren (in early Christian etymology Siren was a euphemism for prostitute); and linguistic contortion. Collectively these synchronicities culminate in the fabrication of a highly speculative yet eerily plausible universe, a uchronic Castleford enriched in the omnipresent 'Julie Mythos.' This holographic microcosm is then used as a platform from which

SHOWCASE

to synthesise a body of work involving the reappropriation and subsequent deformation of a plethora of relics from an imagined Castleford. Perverting paraphernalia from its Roman past to the work of its most famous son, Henry Moore, up to its present infatuation with pound shops, markets and bargain centres, semi-fictional souvenirs incite unhinged doppelgängers of classicism. Impeccable antiquity is subverted as once elegant objects are transformed and contorted by Poundland cheap and low brow construction: items which were once opulent in their antecedence metamorphose to suit today’s postThatcher Castleford. " info@mikeycook.co.uk www.mikeycook.co.uk

Beyond the Barriers With high ticket prices and a commercial sensibility, does the fenced-off Manchester Pride exclude much of the community it’s supposed to represent? Our Deviance editor investigates, and takes a look at other ways to celebrate

Interview: Ana Hine Illustration: Camille Smithwick

t seems that there are two sides to Manchester Pride: the official, regulated and corporate ticketed events organised by the monolithic Manchester Pride Ltd, and the parties, protests and alternative events grown from the grassroots in response. Originally a way for the LGBT community (and other sexual minorities) to protest police brutality in New York, ‘Pride’ is a bit of a catchall term to describe the major annual gay rights event(s) of a city. In Manchester, jumble sales around Canal Street in the early 90s – established to raise money for local HIV and AIDS causes – evolved into a Mardi Gras and later into what we know as Manchester Pride; a ticketed and private party. The marches and events over the years have varied in their political relevance and accessibility, with some years featuring many non-commercial things and some years featuring virtually none. The year 2007 saw a week-long series of free events entitled Get Bent: its efforts have been immortalised at get-bent-manchester. com, a static version of the original interactive site from the time that describes Get Bent as a ‘celebration of queer diversity’. This included talks on the situation facing queer activists in Poland and LGBT bullying in schools, as well as an event called ‘Gay Village or Gay Ghetto?’, which invited participants to discuss the role and purpose of the gay community in Manchester. Collectives such as Kaffequeeria were part of efforts in 2009 to ‘Reclaim the Scene’; this was a year that saw a ‘Pride is a Protest’ bloc during the main march. But Kaffequeeria is no more, its co-founders Humaira Saeed and Clare Tebbutt having gone on to focus on gender studies PhDs instead of organising parties. Singer-songwriter Ste McCabe has played at a number of alternative Prides, but singles out Get Bent as one of the best for its blend of radical politics, quality performers (of the “weird and wonderful” variety) and great parties. “Manchester’s queer alternative culture tends to work in waves due to the population being quite transient,” he says. “There’ll be loads of DIY queer stuff happening one year, and then not much the next. Manchester really needs queer alternatives as the main ‘Pride’ event is probably the most soulless, empty, expensive and corporate one in the UK.” The mainstream Manchester Pride certainly has a reputation for being oversaturated and commercialised. For the march itself, on Saturday 24 August, groups and organisations can’t just turn up on the day – they must register in advance by late July. Registration for nonLGBT/HIV groups and organisations can cost upwards of £200. Access to Canal Street and the surrounding area (commonly known as the gay ‘Village’) is restricted over the ‘big weekend’ of 23-26 August, with wristbands to get past the barriers and bouncers costing anything from £10 (day ticket, Monday) to £90 (for a ‘Platinum Pass’). When entry to other Pride marches in the UK – like Pride Scotia – is completely free, this is a shocking amount of money. Manchester Pride Ltd claim that the high entry fee covers administration, as well as their HIV welfare fund and free condom and lube initiatives throughout the city. Unfortunately, earmarking some of the money for community support doesn’t undo the damage caused by excluding the less well-off members of the community from an empowerment march in the first place. Director of the Queer Youth Network, David

Lifestyle

Henry – who has worked with young people in the LGBT community in the Manchester area for around 12 years – says he has felt excluded from the main celebrations for financial reasons, commenting: “I was out of work for a year and found it’s almost impossible to participate in the mainstream festival on a low income.” He talks of how Pride has changed, saying, “My first Pride was ‘Mardi Gras 1999’ when I had recently come out. I sat on the Stakeholder Group (a sort of community-consultation group) for Europride 2003 when it was taken over by Marketing Manchester and became more corporate – with barriers being re-introduced around the gay village.” Henry describes the current arrangements as a “hypercommercial carnival” where large charities dominate the Saturday march and smaller, underfunded groups are pushed to the margins. In particular he feels that the LGBT and queer communities aren’t allowed space to express their anger about their continued mistreatment in society. “The political messages of the past are diluted,” he says, “but they’re still relevant today.” Yet alternatives do exist. There’s still a HIV/ AIDS Candlelit Vigil in Sackville Gardens, which is held on the closing night of Pride each year. The Vigil is free and doesn’t require an official Manchester Pride ‘Big Weekend’ wristband. Then there’s Queer Show #4 in the new Penthouse art space in the city’s Northern Quarter, featuring

film screenings and an exhibition. An open and inclusive event, the Queer Show is also free (though donations are welcome), and on 24 August a jumble auction is being planned for an to-be-confirmed HIV charity. Rosanne Robertson, one of the organisers and co-founder of The Penthouse with Debbie Sharp, explains that this is “to act as a reminder of how people started something [in Manchester] in the first place, and why – for community and charity.”

“The political messages of the past are diluted, but they’re still relevant today” David Henry

Continuing the idea of alternative community fundraising (as opposed to the ‘official’ Manchester Pride events), a collection of various clubnight organisers and friends have come together to form Queer Alt Manc. Greg Thorpe,

DEVIANCE

who’s involved in the collective, says: “I don’t go to Pride so I’m always glad there’s an alternative.” He explains that those involved in Queer Alt Manc all have different personal opinions on Pride, but the events they have planned aim to provide another option besides the Village to members of the LGBT and Queer communities. “Some of us are doing parties over Pride weekend, but it’s not just about that,” he says. “We want Manchester to be exciting for queer folk all year round.” Although the official launch will be after The Skinny goes to print, Thorpe promises a varied programme of parties over the August bank holiday weekend with names like Drunk At Vogue, Bollox, BANG!, Pop Curious? and a four-queerclubnights-in-one package called Off The Hook vs Black Angel vs Chew Disco vs Akbar.Umm. So, even if you can’t afford to attend the main ‘big weekend’ events in the Village, rest assured that the underground queer scene is putting together its own Pride – and this one has no barriers. Just remember to pop a little bit of change in the tins for charity and remind yourself why we march and dance and protest every summer in the first place. Have pride. The Queer Alt Manc group doesn’t yet have a website or Facebook page, but keep an eye on www.facebook.com/ drunkatvogue Drunk At Vogue, Kraak, Manchester, 23 Aug, details tbc www.thepenthousenq.com

THE SKINNY

The Pleasure-Pain Principle Is time spent in the Indonesian capital the price to pay for paradise?

ife is defined by pursuing pleasure and avoiding pain, some guy called Freud once said. Even hardcore hedonists struggle to achieve both these goals. Exploitative internships lead to dream jobs, months of cake-avoidance and sit ups lead to abs, long haul flights lead to paradise – pain is an unavoidable obstacle in the pursuit of pleasure. This frustrating joy/pain struggle often strikes backpackers – those insatiable pleasure junkies – on the way to Bali. The Indonesian traveller nirvana, with its golden beaches, turquoise waters, drinks promos and half-naked randy Aussies is high on the ‘desirable destinations’ list for those braving Asia. Sadly not everyone can afford to fly directly into Bali, geographically or financially. If you’re counting pennies and can only fly through Jakarta, you must earn your week of getting high and laid by surfers by putting in some miserable time in the pain-zone. Jakarta is the grotesque, smoggy purgatory you must bide your time in before enjoying a cold beer on Kuta Beach. The Indonesian capital is a sprawling, landlocked farrago of skyscrapers, slums and shanty districts. There is no definable centre, nor many green spaces, and catastrophic transport infrastructure allows a ten-minute taxi journey to take four hours. The latter usually occurs in a cab with no air conditioning, driven by a man suffering from flatulence and hell bent on swindling you. The general ambience of Indonesia’s capital is one of foreboding and control, by comparison to the yoga-on-the-balcony, ‘yeah, bro I’m just here to, like, work out what I wanna do’ incensetinged atmosphere of Bali. Jakarta is a chaotic

August 2013

Words: RaRa

metropolis, slowly asphyxiating beneath viscous smog, soundtracked by the guttural cry of its mosques. Most people stumble out of Soekarno-Hatta airport with their rucksacks on and head straight for Jalan Jaksa – the only backpacker-friendly area named in traveller bible Lonely Planet. The street is not a ‘get-a-free-shot-on-arrival-andgo-home-with-a-sexy-stranger’ kind of backpacker zone, unless the shot in question is a stray firework to the face and the sexy stranger is a prostitute. Instead, Jaksa is a one-way street of ramshackle bars, none of them particularly appealing. Most people stopping over in Jakarta take a quick look around Jaksa, then opt to stay in their hostel and plead time go faster. If you’re over-eager (or a North American tourist) and are determined to be productive during your Jakarta stop-over, you could always celebrate the white European invasion by visiting the Dutch quarter of Kota Tua. Here you can cycle gaily around the square on colourful rented bicycles and admire the slow decay of buildings that were once Asia’s grand centres of commerce. There’s also a puppet museum where you can watch delicate Wayang shadow-puppet shows performed with handmade models – some of them centuries old. Alternatively, you can visit Jakarta’s extremely low budget Disney rip-off, Taman Mini Indonesia Indah. Creaking cable cars, eerie fairground music and attractions such as an aquarium of mutant fish will have you wondering when Scooby and the gang are going to rock up to save the day. Huge, furry Taman Mini mascots wander around in 40 degree heat waving dutifully at kids,

but are more often seen with their animal heads off, smoking cigarettes and sweating profusely. Monkeys in chains wearing masks perform tricks for visitors, beating their drums and skating on mini monkey skateboards. It’s a surreal, verging on nightmarish cultural experience.

“Jakarta is the grotesque, smoggy purgatory you must bide your time in before enjoying a cold beer on Kuta Beach” Taman Mini may be your only chance to stroke a real-life Komodo dragon, which is an opportunity difficult to pass up (unless you are an anti-zoo activist and hardcore animal lover, in which case – Indonesia might not be for you). The 20-year-old captive Taman Mini dragon is approximately seven feet long and docile enough to be petted – visitors are actively encouraged to get in the pen and stroke him. There is also a nearby water park called Snow Bay (Florida’s

TRAVEL

Blizzard Beach ring any bells?) where you can splash down the rides – but ensure you wear Islam-friendly swim gear so as not to upset local families. The warnings at the top of the flumes read ‘No Smoking and No Jeans.’ At night the choice for backpackers is simple – warm, cheap beer outside a 7/11 on an uneventful ‘backpacker strip’ or clubbing at Stadium. Visitors to this predominately Muslim metropolis may be shocked by what goes on inside the latter. It’s a five-floor nightclub that throbs with trance and progressive house, in which the waiters deliver your ecstasy tablets in a menu board with a glass of water (should you be brave enough to risk both Indonesian chemistry and law.) Food is served until 9am, not like you’ll be needing it, and there isn’t much of a dress code unlike other snooty Jakarta clubs. If the idea of a five-storey vice den doesn’t get your pulse racing, there are lots of high-end clubs such as Immigrant and Embassy (dress code is film star, not backpacker) and there are Ladies’ Nights in venues every night of the week if girls want to drink for free and guys don’t mind paying full price. For people living here – mainly English language teachers locked into annual contracts, or older white men with smoking hot Indonesian wives – this hectic, polluted city is what it is, for all its faults. For backpackers passing through, by the time you sink your toes into the sand at Bali’s Jimbaran beach and get your Eat Pray Love kicks in Ubud, you will be glad you put in the time within the borderline intolerable, yet fascinating, Asian capital of Jakarta.

Lifestyle

Photo: Prayitno

JAKARTA

Homage to Heritage Liverpool John Moores University graduate Katie Davidson incorporates themes of identity and lineage in her highly personal, structured pieces. One of a strong class of 2013, she talks about her plans for her label, KMDdesigns

KMDDESIGNS

he oldest school of art in England outside of London is having a moment. Liverpool’s John Moores University (LJMU, established 1825, in case you were wondering) offers both undergraduate and postgraduate courses in a variety of art and design specialisms – and their latest crop of fashion graduates has just returned from the prestigious Graduate Fashion Week (GFW) 2013, which was founded in 1991 as a way to promote new talent and bridge the gap between graduation and employment. Every June, over 20,000 guests attend; they’re a mix of industry experts, journalists, editors and fashion fans from around the world, and all are dedicated to scoping out new designers destined for great things. On day two of GFW, it was LJMU’s turn to take to the stage. The students showed work of an extremely high standard, with an interesting mix of collections, some demostrating traditional garment structure and others showing more futuristic and innovative cutting styles. One of our favourite newly graduated designers, Katie Davidson (of KMDdesigns) – who has just recieved a first class degree from LJMU – showed a striking Scottish-inspired collection named Sapienter si Sincere (roughly translated to mean Wisely if Sincerely), which comprised avantgarde nude printed bodysuits layered underneath historical-looking dresses. Davidson’s stag, skull and text-printed catsuits gave the impression that the models were adorned with tribal tattoos from a bygone age;

Lifestyle

these were then layered underneath powerfully structured dresses made in green, red and blue ‘Ancient Davidson’ tartan. The traditional Scottish fabric was combined with contrasting bursts of eye-popping orange detailing and lashings of sheer black in the form of headscarves and trailing skirts. We loved the nipped-in waists, structured shoulders and the juxtaposition of fabrics. “The inspiration for the collection was my own direct paternal lineage,” Davidson explains, “as the phrase Sapienter si Sincere is the Davidson family motto.” This personal link to, and interest in, Scottish clan history and culture meant there was a lot of “historical referencing through the shapes,” which were then “fused with modern techniques and prints.” Davidson adds that she “spent time on research and playing with themes and ideas, mapping out a story and theory to base the collection on.” Davidson is full of praise for her alma mater, citing the university’s support as a catalyst for her growing success as a designer. “LJMU has been really wonderful in supporting me during my time there,” she says. “From the academic and support staff right down to the resources available to all students, the university has been a major stepping stone in my career path.” She adds that “the Fashion course culminated in two live catwalk shows, one at the university, and then another at Graduate Fashion Week in June.

The tutors were amazing with both shows, and the quality in the end spoke for itself.” Creating a collection to be shown in a traditional runway format as well as in an exhibition – both seen by hundreds of industry experts who are judging every stitch – gives new graduates an insight into the reality of the fashion industry and how daunting but also rewarding it can be.

“By the time my name came up on the projector, I was shaking so badly that I nearly fell off my seat” Katie Davidson

“The catwalk show was the ultimate satisfactory moment,” Davidson says. “My collection was the last to be shown on the LJMU catwalk, and thanks to the fantastic team behind the scenes, I actually got to watch the show live in the audience – by the time my name came up on the

FASHION

projector, I was shaking so badly that I nearly fell off my seat. It was an amazing experience to see my work up there on such a professional level, though, and it’s one I’m hoping to repeat many times over.” Unlike many art colleges and creative courses, LJMU offers business advice and guidance regarding steps to take after graduating in the form of an Enterprise Fellowship Programme, run by the institution’s Centre for Entrepreneurship team. So what’s next for Katie Davidson? “Right now, I am doing all the behind-the-scenes work to get my label, KMDdesigns up and running officially in time for the launch of the first collection, Sapienter si Sincere, in September,” she tells us. “I will be releasing bi-annual pret-a-porter collections through our online boutique from now on.” “I think as a womenswear designer, my ultimate dream is to eventually hear a celebrity walking down the red carpet answer that old question, ‘Who are you wearing?’ with a simple ‘KMDdesigns’. I think I would explode!” she says, sweetly explaining that “I just want to make women feel and look amazing.” With an attitude like that, combined with focus, ambition and talent, we’re expecting Davidson to go far. www.facebook.com/KMDdesigns @KMDdesigns

THE SKINNY

Photos: Jose Cardoso

Interview: Alexandra Fiddes

August 2013

AUG & SEP

LI V E Fri 2nd

THE TAPESTRY

SAT 3rd

SUZUKI METHOD

Wed 14th CHILDHOOD + KULT COUNTRY Wed 21st ARBOURETUM Fri 23rd

DUCKTAILS

Wed 28th SKATERS Tue 3rd

FRONTIER RUCKUS

Wed 4th

JETPLANE LANDING

Fri 13th

THE ORWELLS

Thu 18th THE BORN RUFFIANS Mon 23rd BROKEN HANDS Fri 27th

WAVE PICTURES

Sat 28th

BC CAMPLIGHT

Mon 30th YETI LANE + LORELLE MEETS THE OBSOLETE

CLUB Fri 2nd

BEAT BOUTIQUE feat. AL KENT

Sat 10th

REVOLVER & YOUR MAMA’S COOKIN’

Sat 17th

SWING TING feat. MURLO, JOEY B, PLATT and SAMRAI

Fri 23rd

meandyou. 5 YEARS feat. RON MORELLI, DJ QU

Sat 24th

BLONDES New York live House duo

Fri 30th

REBEL MUSIC

Sat 31st

EASTERN BLOC

Sat 14th

REVOLVER & YOUR MAMA’S COOKIN’

Tue 17th NXNW Thu 19th REBEL MUSIC Fri 20th

WET PLAY

Sat 21st

SWING TING

Fri 27th

LOST CONTROL feat. YOUNGSTAR

Sat 28th

NOSHUN feat. SEB WILDBLOOD, DANUKA & Residents

KI TC HE N Fri 2nd

JASON BOARDMAN

Sat 3rd

DJ SAMRAI

Wed 7th

MIND ON FIRE FUTUREPROOF

Thu 8th

TEASERS PLEASERS

Fri 9th

ANNABEL FRASER DJ

Sat 10th

MATTHEW & DAVID (Wasps Nest)

Wed 14th MIND ON FIRE FUTUREPROOF Thu 15th KRAUT UND OWT Fri 16th

LEVI LOVE DJ S

Sat 17th

JON K DJ

Wed 21st MIND ON FIRE FUTUREPROOF Fri 23rd

MACCA + GUEST

Sat 24th

ROBERT PARKINSON (Teasers Pleasers)

Wed 28th MIND ON FIRE FUTUREPROOF Thu 29th THUMBS UP with RUF DUG Every 2ND & LAST Sunday PSYCHEDELIC SUNDAYS Wed 4th

MIND ON FIRE FUTUREPROOF

Thu 5th

TEASERS PLEASERS

Fri 6th

JASON BOARDMAN (Aficionado)

Sat 7th

DJ SAMRAI

Wed 11th MIND ON FIRE FUTUREPROOF Thu 12th YOU DIG? Fri 13th

ANNABEL FRASER DJ

Sat 14th

MATTHEW & DAVID (Wasps Nest)

Wed 18th MIND ON FIRE FUTUREPROOF Thu 19th KRAUT UND OWT Fri 20th

LEVI LOVE DJ

Sat 21st

JON K (Hoya:Hoya)

Wed 25th MIND ON FIRE FUTUREPROOF Thu 26th THUMBS UP with RUF DUG Fri 27th

MACCA + GUEST

Sat 28th

ROBERT PARKINSON (Teasers Pleasers) Every 2ND & LAST Sunday PSYCHEDELIC SUNDAYS 3pm - 8pm

soup-kitchen.co.uk facebook.com/SoupkitchenMcr #showsatsoup | @Soupkitchen_Mcr

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THE SKINNY

Gig Highlights If history teaches us anything, it’s that not many people have had a month named after them; props to Emperor Augustus for achieving this feat some two thousand years ago. Here's our pick of the hottest gigs this month – a selection to make Gus proud

Lighting the Way

Words: Daniel Jones

Beacons festival's second outing amps it up in terms of both acts and art

Words: Laura Swift

BRAIDS

live act across the US. A day later at Camp and Furnace (17 Aug), and Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts grad Dan Croll will look to add to his growing legion of fans by performing a free show to support the launch of single In/Out. He’s got a Miike-Snow-mixed-with-Darwin-Deez thing going on. Liverpool International Music Festival gets into full swing on 18 Aug when Neil Young & Crazy Horse come to the Echo Arena. The tour features support from Band of Horses, and represents Young’s first UK dates with Poncho, Talbot and Molina since 2001. A few days later, and California’s surf-rock revivalists Allah-Las are back at Leaf on Bold Street for the second time in less than a year (21 Aug); their chiming guitars and sneering harmonies are framed by a sturdy rhythm section to form a sort of Beach Boys/Byrds pastiche, which, while not being too innovative, is still pretty groovy. Back in Manchester, composer, violinist and Polaris Prize-winner Owen Pallett (the artist formerly known as Final Fantasy) brings his fiddle-looping live show to Band on the Wall on 12 Aug. Pallett’s portfolio of work boasts orchestral

arrangements for the likes of R.E.M., The National, Beirut, and The Last Shadow Puppets – quite the CV. Keep a keen ear out for his one-man rendition of Caribou’s Odessa – and any lovers of bass ukulele won’t want to miss support from Buke and Gase. Controversial hip hop supergroup Slaughterhouse are expected at NQ Live on 20 Aug off the back of their second studio effort, Our House, out on Shady Records last year and produced by Slim himself. Royce da 5’9”, Joe Budden and co are the latest collective to hit Manchester this year, following appearances from The Pharcyde, Slum Village and Jurassic 5. Pickings are slightly slimmer towards the tail end of the month, probably due to the fact that festival season is just about reaching its climax. But come 31 Aug, and you’ve still got a distinctly Canadian choice to make: witness songsmith supreme Leonard Cohen at the Manchester Arena for the black market price of a kidney, or gaze on as Calgary art-rock three-piece Braids offer up tracks from new album Flourish // Perish at East Village Arts Club, Liverpool. Choose wisely.

DO NOT MISS: Lonnie Liston Smith & the New Cosmic Echoes, Band on the Wall, Manchester, 29 Aug

piano man by trade, Lonnie Liston Smith earned his stripes in the 60s wading through the murky waters of improvisation alongside fellow free jazz bigwigs Pharaoh Sanders and Miles Davis. He emerged at the turn of the decade with a Fender electric organ, a mastery of odd time signatures and his very own troupe of spacedout funk soul brothers, The Cosmic Echoes, whose brand of astral jazz is fused with colourful strains of R&B and disco: try to imagine what John Coltrane might have sounded like after a

August 2013

three-month acid binge on the moon. Smith’s back catalogue (1973-85) has since become a gold mine for hip hop artists across the board, with Madlib, Doom, Mary J. Blige, Nas, Rick Ross and Joey Bada$$ all among the raiders. Killer track Expansions also made an appearance on Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, where it provided a great soundtrack to mowing down pedestrians in a stolen fire engine. We’re sure the scenes will be a tad more sociable come 29 Aug, when the man from Richmond, Virginia, comes to Manchester’s Band on the Wall for a rare UK performance. Expect insane bass solos, impromptu whooping and the occasional pissed-up dad. [Daniel Jones]

MUSIC

Photo: Victoria Masters

arly offerings this summer include a showcase from Brighton-based audiovisual promoter The Outer Church at Manchester’s Kraak Gallery on 3 Aug. The outfit’s 28-track double LP, released 5 Aug by Manc imprint Front & Follow, will feature unreleased tracks from numerous OC alumni – including movie-sampling connoisseur VHS Head, who tops the bill on the 3rd supported by slurtronic folk proponent Kemper Norton and – wait for it – The Geography Trip DJs, among others. Down at the other end of the Ship Canal, fresh-faced skiffle boys The Hummingbirds will continue to follow in some very big footsteps when they take to the Cavern Club stage on 2 Aug (they come to Manchester on 18 Sep and 11 Oct at the Night & Day and The Ruby Lounge, respectively). Elsewhere, you can catch Cold Cave – aka Wesley Eisold – at East Village Arts Club (9 Aug) for a few hours of moody Depecheesque synth pop (he also plays The Deaf Institute, Manchester, on the 11th). Having recently parted ways with Matador Records, nothing major has been announced regarding the follow-up to 2011’s Cherish The Light Years, but Eisold has released a few singles so far this year on Heartworm, so we imagine he’ll be testing the water with some new material. Back across the M62 and there’s more reggae on offer at Manchester’s ultra-plush Sheridan Suite (9 Aug), where Lovers Rock forefather John Holt will be joined by a cohort of legends including Barrington Levy, Ken Boothe and Freddie ‘Big Ship’ McGregor. Skank in swanky surroundings as four old-timers unearth a treasure trove of rocksteady beats for rude boys with a sensitive side. The following night (10 Aug) is a big one, as Martha Reeves brings The Vandellas to town for a one-night-only Motown extravaganza at The Ritz. Nice bit of booking work here from One Inch Badge – we’d love to see Martha’s face as she peers through tinted windows at the yellowing Whitworth Street West facade to discover that The Ritz doesn’t provide quite the red carpet shindig she had in mind. Better yet, if this weather keeps up, then expect a highly topical crowd rendition of the Holland–Dozier–Holland classic (Love is Like a) Heat Wave. We feel your pain, Martha. On 16 Aug, Liverpool’s Blade Factory – the latest development of the Camp and Furnace site – hosts one of few bands who fall under the banner of Chilean Krautrock. Föllakzoid’s spacey sophomore album II was released on Sacred Bones back in January, and the trio have spent a large chunk of this year taking their psychedelic

ne glance at Skipton’s Beacons festival’s line-up might give those without their finger on the pulse the heebie jeebies: a seemingly effortless balance of interesting indie and on-point electronic acts, not niche but hardly mainstream either, it would seem painfully cool if it weren’t also an event executed with the kind of warmth and rough’n’ready, we’re-all-in-it-together welcome that’s missing from so many of today’s super slick summer shindigs. Last year’s maiden voyage felt ‘boutique’ and cared for without being sanitised – indeed, after dark it was the opposite of pedestrian, the genuine undercurrent of naughtiness whipped up by the headline DJs valiantly kept alive through the small hours and into the mist-moistened Northern mornings by increasingly weird, impromptu performances in the 24-hour Impossible Theatre tent at the edge of the campsite. Running 16-18 Aug, this year’s programming ups things a notch, with unmissable names including the prodigious James Holden, fresh from the release of his scything, vertiginous new LP The Inheritors; Spanish producer John Talabot, responsible for perhaps the album of 2012, Fin, making one of his infrequent live appearances, and our June cover star, Gold Panda, whose humid Brazil, the lead track on kaleidoscopic new record Half of Where You Live, is proving the stealth hit of the summer – we can’t wait to hear its clipped beats, needling atmospherics and choked vox played out live in the, er, suitably sweaty tropics of a low-lying farm in Yorkshire (no, really). Mindful of providing some replenishing respite from all the disgusting raving you’ll be doing – hello five-hour Theo Parrish and Andres backto-back set – the festival team have expanded on last year’s relatively minimal theatre, art and film programming with a decent crop of movies and Wacky Shit to Do, from Ben Wheatley’s Sightseers showing at midnight on the Thursday (because that’s definitely what you want to put you at ease having just set up camp in the middle of a vast expanse of flat land, with only a thin layer of flammable material between you and several thousand other potential nutters) to daily whisky tasting sessions and something on the Sunday called the er, Vegetable Based Competitive Games, courtesy of performance duo the Reetso Embassy. Our tips? It’ll be a celebratory weekend for Domino’s Julia Holter, whose Loud City Song, the follow-up to the giddily received Ekstasis, is released on the 19th. Her hypnotic, quixotic vocals will likely still a recovering Saturday crowd; as may the two soaring choruses of the year, in the form of Heaven, How Long – the standout track on the debut EP from the Quietus Phonographic Corporation’s fledgling act East India Youth, aka young Londoner William Doyle – and Vondelpark’s California Analog Dream. There are some difficult clashes – Ghostpoet vs Move D, Holden vs Savages – but you can just ignore them by buggering off back to your tent and dissolving into gin. Beacons festival, Heslaker Farm, Skipton, 16-18 Aug, £99.50 (weekend), £35/£40 (day)

LONNIE LISTON SMITH

www.greetingsfrombeacons.com

Preview

Album of the Month Run The Jewels

Run The Jewels [Fools Gold, Out Now]

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With Run The Jewels, El-P and Killer Mike deliver an object lesson in the first principles of hip-hop, its beats walking the line between sick, infectious loops, and breaks and bridges that mirror and emphasise the stress-points of the lyrical content. In short, it sounds like the duo are having tremendous fun. And yet, acutely observed social commentary is not avoided: the final track, A Christmas Fucking Miracle, offers an unflinching depiction of poverty and struggle, and some rare notes of hope. “Don’t fret little man, don’t cry,” raps El-P, “they can never take the energy inside you were born with.” It’s a fable about overcoming adversity, and a compelling statement about an over-populated,

recession-afflicted, conflict-ridden world. Then there are moments like the bubbling, none-moregangsta 36” Chain, the rambling, psychedelic tour journal Sea Legs, and the deceptively simple ‘mission statement’ raps of Get It, which feel entirely unburdened by either artist’s long and expectation-loaded career. Collaborations, including one with Big Boi on the 80s electro-bumping Banana Clipper, add depth – but it’s the duo’s confident swagger that puts Run The Jewels so many leagues ahead of most of this year’s hip-hop. [Bram E. Gieben] Available now for free download - wwww.foolsgoldrecs.com/runthejewels

Moderat

Forest Swords

Barbarossa

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Moderat II [Monkeytown Records, 5 Aug] There were seven years between Moderat’s first EP and album, with the Modeselektor duo and Apparat’s Sascha Ring putting the gap down to “artistic differences”. It’s taken another four years for them to record a follow-up and as with its predecessor, it’s the creative dissonance that acts as the adhesive holding the record together and which ultimately makes it such a thrill. Apparat’s navel-gazing, soulful songwriting (although this year’s excellent Krieg Und Frieden showcased a more experimental bent) sits beautifully on top of Modeselektor’s marauding, electronic tub-thumping. The salubrious Gita, with its chopped backing vocals and warm, droning harmonies, is the biggest collaborative success. But on the epic, 10-minute Milk – which takes Modeselektor’s beats down a road well-travelled by Orbital – and the introspective Damage Done, both place their own indelible stamp on the record. It’s marginally more cohesive than I, and an excellent listen from start to finish. [Finbarr Bermingham]

Engravings [Tri Angle, 26 Aug] From its opening notes, Forest Swords’ debut album – after last year’s well-received mini, Dagger Paths – is an understated and hauntingly beautiful experience. Combining guitar, drums, field recordings and delicately sampled and treated vocals, it is a perfect fit for groundbreaking NYC label Tri Angle, who brought you the likes of Holy Other, Haxan Cloak and Evian Christ. More pastoral and natural in feel than these artists, Liverpool-based Forest Swords has more in common with an earlier Tri Angle artist, Balam Acab – his music evokes the countryside of his native Wirral, with titles such as Thor’s Stone referencing the psychogeographical history of the region, engaging with its Norse and pagan history. With traces of hip-hop, folk and shoegaze in its musical DNA, the album pulls off that very Tri Angle trick of referencing populist musical forms while journeying in spectral, undiscovered sonic realms. [Bram E. Gieben] www.forestswords.tumblr.com

www.moderat.fm

Bloodlines [Memphis Industries, 5 Aug] ‘We can’t forget where we’re coming from,’ sings James Mathé (aka Barbarossa) on single Pagliaccio, and he’s right: appreciating the new direction shown on Bloodlines requires a bit of context. Five years ago, Fence debut Chemical Campfires offered string squeaks and finger-picked lullabies; now, the acoustics have been (largely) replaced with a battery of electronics, with drum machines, keyboards and synths joining reverb-treated guitar lines. What seems on paper a comprehensive aesthetic overhaul in reality sounds far more natural, possessing the same intimacy and pop outlook as before, just painted in fresh tones. From Turbine’s crisp funk to the hip-hop-referencing beats of The Load, Bloodlines exudes stylistic freedom, and with lines like ‘I would break and shatter every bone to work this out’ (from S.I.H.F.F.Y), there’s lyrical intrigue to match the impressively varied arrangements. A marginal slump in the latter half aside, Bloodlines is a slow-burning triumph. [Chris Buckle] www.barbarossamusic.com

Shigeto

David Yow

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No Better Time Than Now [Ghostly International, 19 Aug]

Tonight You Look Like a Spider [Joyful Noise, 25 Jun]

Japanese-American producer Shigeto, aka Zachary Saginaw, has a lot in common with the Brainfeeder stable of beat-makers – his productions are mercurial and wide-ranging, with an understated but complex musicality, frequently using field recordings in the drum patterns. He also bears comparison to early trip-hop pioneers like DJ Krush, with whom he shares an affection for traditional Eastern sounds, using wooden chimes and shamisen-like strings. At its base, his music is rooted in a hip-hop and electro aesthetic, never falling into the trap of sounding like abstract, formless ambient, and always tied to inviting, danceable rhythms. Ringleader coalesces into gently pulsing house and Perfect Crime’s deconstructed electro hits all the right notes, while Ritual Howl has more in common with a Dilla instrumental. Restlessly inventive, but never showy or over-cooked, his beats are flawlessly constructed. One of Ghostly’s lesser-known artists, he deserves wider attention. [Bram E. Gieben]

Fourteen years on from the Jesus Lizard’s demise (excluding reunion tours), David Yow has finally released a solo debut which was purportedly conceived even before the breakup. The long gestation process has not, however, resulted in the kind of taut, intense precision with which the Jesus Lizard are associated. Tonight You Look Like a Spider was apparently inspired by Mike Patton, and the LP is a bleak trawl through a loosely-structured Patton-esque soundscape of paranoia and abrasiveness. There are occasional echoes of the Jesus Lizard in the visceral, grinding basslines on Roundhouse and Bleth My Thoul, but for the most part Spider relies upon doom-laden synths, scattered low piano arpeggios, whining feedback and low-mixed saxophone squalls. The absence of vocals or traditional rock structures will alienate some fans of Yow’s former work; yet the menacing tone is instantly familiar, manifesting his unmistakably acerbic persona in an entirely new form. [Sam Wiseman]

www.ghostly.com/artists/shigeto

www.joyfulnoiserecordings.com

Georges Vert

An Electric Mind [Melodic, 26 Aug]

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Having started his musical life as a transposer of classical scores, before a sudden, ephiphanic swerve into synth composition, France’s Georges Vert has constructed a debut LP which reveals the attentiveness of that classical training in every groove. An Electric Mind, however, is not characterised by complexity of structure or melody, being content to chug along in a mixture of Italo, motorik and funk rhythms; the detail, instead, lies in Vert’s awareness of his musical lineages. Thus, the opening title track flawlessly captures the atmosphere of 80s synth-arpeggiated film soundtracks, overlaying reverb-heavy guitar lines to complete the effect; while cheesy, squelching moogs and rolling funk percussion dominate on pieces like Jovan Freak and Sue Le Vif. That variety does mean that An Electric Mind lacks a sense of direction and cohesion; instead, it feels like a series of vintage collectibles, anachronisms crafted with an unusual sense of history and precision. [Sam Wiseman] www.soundcloud.com/melodic-records

Kill the Captains

No Age

Newsted

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Sounds Mean [Armellodie, 12 Aug]

An Object [Sub Pop, 19 Aug]

Heavy Metal Music [Spinefarm, 5 Aug]

Pleasingly difficult to pin down, Kill the Captains’ second album Sounds Mean skips around pigeonholes dextrously and with a discernible sense of humour. With darting melodies, wonky guitar lines and vocalist Leon Carter’s upfront croon, the Sheffield quartet veer from propulsive dance-punk (Disco Nazi) to chugging, rough-edged indie-rock (The Trial) to straight-up hushed balladry (The Taking Of) – each appealing in its own way. Admittedly, once you grab hold of the slippery so-and-so and give it a proper gander, some of the initial thrills subside somewhat, as a handful of tracks reveal their plodding side, while occasionally clumsy lyrics start to grate on repeat exposure (in particular, Share the Load’s geopolitical sloganeering – a neat idea, awkwardly executed). Better to focus on the tracks of more unequivocal merit, with opener Umami proving especially enjoyable thanks to its quirk-filled midpoint breakdown. [Chris Buckle]

Los Angeles-based duo No Age’s previous albums explored the boundaries between noise, punk and melodic indie-rock, with frequently beatific results. Their fourth, An Object, finds them on rather more jagged territory, guitarist Randy Randall’s washed-out noisescapes scaled back to angular rhythms and taut riffs. Drummer and singer Dean Spunt yelps the words out with force and conviction, with the album sounding markedly less produced than previous outings. On opener No Ground Spunt screeches ‘I don’t care what you say / I don’t work for you,’ the chanted, didactic lyrics recalling Crass or Minor Threat. But it’s the dreamier, more personal numbers (see Running From A-Go-Go: ‘long drive / tears in your eyes / I wanna be off that road again’) that define No Age as a great band, still capable of pulling heart strings, as well as challenging both ears and mind. [Sam Lewis]

The rock journeyman finally releases his solo debut. It’s just over a decade since Jason Newsted called time on his 15 years with Metallica, a gig he landed after the tragic death of original bassist Cliff Burton. Since then he’s become one of the most prolific players on the circuit, including stints with Ozzy Osbourne and thrash legends Voivod. Jason ‘New Kid’ is 50 now, and Heavy Metal Music – there’s some statement of intent – is as solid as his lengthy CV would lead you to expect. Its chugging riffery and Newsted’s near-spoken growl pinpoint largely legacy influences – the nu metal crowd might find it a little too trad. But at its best, as on the churning …As the Crow Flies, or on the crunching, Sabbath slowburn of Futurereality, it’s a blast, and his sure-footed backing (including Staind guitarist Mike Mushok) play up a storm. Hugely likeable, highly recommended. [Gary Kaill]

www.killthecaptains.bandcamp.com

www.noagela.blogspot.com

www.newstedheavymetal.com

Review

RECORDS

THE SKINNY

Pinkunoizu

Laura Veirs

Ras_G

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The Drop [Full Time Hobby, 12 Aug]

Warp and Theft [Bella Union, 19 Aug]

Back on the Planet [Brainfeeder, 12 Aug]

There’s more than a whiff of prog about The Drop, the second LP from this Danish quartet, from the disorienting, pitch-bent synths of opener The Great Pacific Garbage Patch to the concept-heavy titles and lyrics (The Swollen Map was inspired by the Borges story about a map that grows to be larger than the landscape it represents). On closer inspection, however, the more salient reference points lie within the lineage of 70s krautrock. Thus, a motorik beat underpins much of the record, as on Necromancer and Tin Can Valley; but in both cases, the template is twisted to accommodate bold, epic chord progressions, varied percussive textures, and elements of psych-rock. When Pinkunoizu eschew this eclectic, free-spirited take on their influences, The Drop loses some of its gleeful, restless energy; but it never descends into self-absorbed indulgence. [Sam Wiseman]

Laura Veirs’ ninth studio album tells of bad men, jazz musicians, and the sights and sounds of summer ending. Heavily pregnant with her second son during recording, Veirs’ mind is clearly on the world her child is about to enter. The pretty, plaintive chorus of America distracts from a disturbing tale of “men packing heat” and “founding fathers rolling in their graves,” and the “motherless children” of Dorothy of the Island speak for themselves. Dubious characters with equally dubious motives seem to feature throughout Say Darlin’ Say and Finister Saw the Angels. Featuring collaborators including producer/husband Tucker Martine, Jim James from My Morning Jacket and k.d. lang, it’s a sombre party – though an attractive brand of melancholy holds it all together, and Veirs’ understated electric and slide guitar stop the record from becoming too bleak. [PJ Meiklem]

Ras_G’s first album for Brainfeeder since 2009’s Brotha From Another Planet is a perfect, psychedelic hybrid of dusty LA beat-scene boom-bap and the cosmic jazz excursions of the Sun Ra Arkestra. One of the original talents behind the Low End Theory nights, and a core member of its spiritual predecessor Project Blowed, Ras_G is a stalwart of the LA scene, one of its founding fathers just as surely as Flying Lotus. Like FlyLo, his music is inspired as much by past epochs and movements as it is by modern technology and sample-craft, and this is very much in evidence here. With snatches of vocals taken from soul, jazz, funk and black power movements both political and spiritual, the album manages to be both an abstract, off-thewall excursion into sonic adventure, and a positive statement about African-American identities. [Bram E. Gieben]

www.pinkunoizu.com

www.lauraveirs.com

www.soundcloud.com/ras_g

Crocodiles

Zola Jesus & JG Thirlwell

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Crimes of Passion [Zoo Music, 19 Aug]

Medicine

Versions [Sacred Bones, 19 Aug]

To The Happy Few [Captured Tracks, 5 Aug]

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Since the lo-fi guitar fuzz of early albums Summer of Hate and Sleep Forever, San Diego’s Crocodiles have cleaned up their sound immensely. Their shoegaze leanings have been parked, replaced by an altogether sunnier disposition. Maybe those shades welded to their faces may now even be put towards outdoor use? The honky tonk piano and groove of opener I Like It In The Dark could pass for Primal Scream in Stones mode, while the big hooks and backing vocals of drummer Anna Schulte on Marquis de Sade help Crocodiles explore ‘radio friendly pop hit’ territory for the first time. Brandon Welchez’ vocals revel in surfing on top of the mix rather than being buried in distortion and there’s even some big brass on Heavy Metal Clouds. Edging away from their Mary Chain revivalist roots, Crocodiles now feel like kinsmen to Danish exiles The Raveonettes, maintaining a detached retro cool while never losing sight of melody. Their most engaging excursion yet. [Stu Lewis]

Zola Jesus, aka Nika Rosa Danilova, collaborated with veteran producer Foetus, aka JG Thirlwell, on these neo-classical arrangements of her understated, gothic electronic compositions for a show at New York’s Guggenheim. These tracks, the studio versions of their collaborations, take her melancholic, cinematic songwriting and strip away the more experimental aspects, revealing the fragile and intense songwriting at their core. Thirlwell, who has worked with a plethora of artists from Nine Inch Nails to Pantera and Swans, brings an assured touch to the clean, beautifully-produced tracks, for the most part simply stripping away the drums and synths and replacing them with gorgeous, towering string arrangements. Danilova’s voice is also placed front and centre, elevated out of the miasmic wash of the original productions to stand naked and bold. For fans, it will prove an emotive experience; the uninitiated may want to explore the original renditions before approaching Versions. [Bram E. Gieben]

Reunited by Captured Tracks to release their back catalogue, 90s LA shoegazers Medicine decided to record a new album, and the result is far from the wallof-sound approach taken by other returned ‘gazers such as My Bloody Valentine. As the title suggests, To The Happy Few is full of light and euphoric celebration – all backed by a heaving barrage of guitars and kinetic, dance music-influenced drumming. It’s Not Enough engages with the kind of vocal harmonies more often found in uplifting indie pop, losing none of the feral intensity created by the FX-laden guitars. Burn It is more melancholic in its themes, but with its pulsing electro backbone and stop-start, crescendo-laden drum rolls, it’s also an infectious foot-stomper. Complex time signature changes and experimental vocal processing illuminate Butterfly’s Out Tonight, while album closer Daylight’s lounge-lizard cool is buried under a haze of heavenly distortion. A welcome and quite surprising return. [Bram E. Gieben]

www.facebook.com/killcrocodiles

www.zolajesus.com

www.capturedtracks.com

Washed Out

Julianna Barwick

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Paracosm [Weird World, 12 Aug]

Sarah Neufeld

Nepenthe [Secretly Canadian, 20 Aug]

Hero Brother [Constellation Records, 19 Aug]

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A paracosm is a psychological term for a spectacularly detailed imaginary world – think Tolkien’s Middle Earth or Westeros in George RR Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire books. This, the second record record from Georgia-based producer Ernest Greene under the Washed Out banner, is his attempt to create the aural equivalent, but instead of dwarves and elves think lazy beats, languid vocals and samples which sound culled from some heavenly all-night summer party. Beneath the electronica wooziness, Don’t Give Up hides a great chorus and an infectious drive; Weightless makes you feel like you’re exactly that, lush and dreamy; while closer All Over Now could soundtrack the scene in a hundred 80s movies where the hero rides across a strange dreamscape. Greene reportedly used more than 50 different instruments to bolster his computer and synths, and one listen is enough to believe it; the sound is so textured you could dive right in and fall without ever reaching the bottom. [PJ Meiklem]

Nepenthe was an antiquated potion of forgetfulness (literally, “anti-sorrow”), and this second album from ethereal songstress Julianna Barwick is similarly intoxicating. Awash with swells of warm synths and vocals so layered they often lose their human shape, the record is at times so homogenously fluid it almost feels like one singular journey. Finding herself in unfamiliar Iceland for Nepenthe’s production, Barwick communicates the beguiling landscapes in her arrangements, such as the frosty majesty of Crystal Lake, or the surging beauty of Forever. And the ubiquitous layered vocals (Labyrinthine or One Half being prominent examples) ensure a consistent undercurrent, and allow her sparse lyrics to float up like shimmering whirls in a stream. These sounds are so enchanting, so intricately observed (she’s enlisted a teenage choir and a string ensemble), and so drawn from genuine grief and hopefulness, that bathing in this album – succumbing to this heady medicine – is a balm. [George Sully]

Best known as violinist in Arcade Fire but having also supplied her talents to Bell Orchestre and The Luyas, Sarah Neufeld’s debut solo album is a natural fit for the Constellation Records roster (home of Godspeed, et al). Across Hero Brother ’s ten compositions – each consisting almost exclusively of layered violin playing – her often avant-garde instrumentals prove nuanced and haunting, triggering unexpectedly intense emotional responses from a minimalist setup. From the light, airy ‘ooohs’ that settle across They Live On’s dusty pizzicato repetitions to the gentle piano trickles offsetting Forcelessness’s piercing, descending refrain, Neufeld appears to instinctively know when to introduce another texture and when to leave well alone and let her bowing have the spotlight. Whether quivering and echoing on opener Tower, screeching and wailing through Dirt, or frenziedly skipping through Sprinter Fire, Neufeld revels in her instrument’s versatility, ensuring Hero Brother an appeal beyond its ostensible niche. [Chris Buckle]

www.washedout.net

www.juliannabarwick.com

www.sarahneufeldmusic.com

MONEY

The Civil Wars

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The Shadow of Heaven [Bella Union, 26 Aug]

The Civil Wars [Sensibility Music/ Columbia Records, 5 Aug]

Exploring The Shadow of Heaven is like walking around a cold, cavernous, stately mansion. The ecclesiastical architecture gives space for the tracks to resonate, and Jamie Lee’s soft crooning echoes down its corridors, seeking out musings on mortality and isolation. Gloom permeates; the deeply melancholic Goodnight London, with insistent piano its only accompaniment, evokes an urban loneliness; likewise Black treads mournfully into night as the album ends. By contrast, there’s a calm jubilance to opener So Long (God Is Dead), and when the pressure breaks on Cold Water, the resultant echoic clangs and crashes are uplifting. Who’s Going To Love You Now even recalls a buoyant (though haunting) Funeral-era Arcade Fire; light versus the gloom. Indeed, the LP’s strength is in its immiscibility, its irreconcilability. By turns bleak and yearning, Mancunian quartet MONEY embrace that conflict, and share with us a searching, dissatisfied record, restlessly pawing at shadows for resolution. [George Sully]

With three Grammys on their mantelpiece, The Civil Wars’ slick output has no shortage of admirers. The secrets of their success are obvious: both Joy Williams and John Paul White have expressive voices that harmonise beautifully, and when their muses align they have an instinctive feel for timeless country-soul songwriting (for instance, tumultuous ballad The One That Got Away – made more interesting in light of the duo’s public fall-out last year, which led to tour cancellations because of “internal discord and irreconcilable differences”). However, for every drop of glossy appeal there’s a gallon of blandness to swallow first – and when they get it wrong (e.g. an insipid cover of Smashing Pumpkins’ Disarm), they get it very wrong. Ultimately, for a duo whose professional partnership was already assumed fractured beyond repair, it’s the workmanlike-aspects of this state of the union address that prove most damning, suggestive as they are of a musical relationship coasting on fumes. [Chris Buckle]

www.lonelysexydeath.com

www.thecivilwars.com

August 2013

RECORDS

The Top Five 1 2 3 4 5

Run The Jewels

Moderat

Moderat II

Forest Swords

Engravings

Barbarossa

Bloodlines

Shigeto

No Better Time Than Now

Review

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The launch of Liverpool-based Clang Boom Steam’s self-titled debut album proves diverse and intense in equal measure, with the audience treated to an evening of smouldering, postapocalyptic Nick Cave-esque lyricism paired with swashbuckling, foot-tapping rock ‘n’ roll. Support comes in the form of an array of Liverpool talent. Alex Gavaghan, one half of The Cubical, the first to take to the lamp-filled stage, charms us with thoughtfully crafted songs and an enthusiasm that refuses be stifled by the oppressive heat. The drawn-out, hypnotic sounds of quartet Owls*’ Gravity Sweetheart reverberate around the room; next, indie-shoegaze act Memory Men, clearly influenced by classic American pop of the 60s and 70s, provide an ideal

precursor to the headline act with their dreamy, sun-drenched final song, Clarabella. Clang Boom Steam open with a special preview of their new music video, Fort St. Gabriel, a haunting piece made up of retro black-andwhite film clips and showing lead singer Garvan Cosgrove offering an invitation into the dirtier world of rock’n’roll. Taking to the stage, the charismatic Cosgrove looks every bit the part with his slicked-back hair. The band’s set, showing the clear influence of Johnny Cash, The Bad Seeds and QOTSA, has the audience hooked; The Good Ship, with lyrics like ‘We’ll instil in you the delusion of control and the culture of fear’, shows their mix of contemporary cynicism and sleazy blues swagger. Yells of ‘You don’t move me’ paradoxically have the audience in spurts of frenetic movement – as does a joyous encore of Bowie’s China Girl. [Natasha Linford] SHANGAAN ELECTRO

Shangaan Electro

The Kazimier Garden, Liverpool, 20 Jul

MONEY

Pavilion Theatre, Festival Square, Manchester International Festival, 12 Jul

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Last issue’s cover stars MONEY confirmed their love affair with Manchester by unveiling their debut album as part of the Manchester International Festival. In a pavilion in Festival Square (The Square Formerly Known as Albert Square), the band played The Shadow of Heaven in its entirety, save for some off-piste interludes. Despite being such fervent Mancophiles – ‘Manchester is Paradise’ propaganda is distributed shamelessly throughout the show – the scope of their reference points makes it wrong to consider them an anomaly in relation to the festival’s ‘international’ agenda. In fact, the album, and thus the live show, draws inspiration from even further afield – lyrics are laced with metaphysical poetry and theological musings, yet are still grounded in intensely personal emotional conflict. Accompanied by dreamy and disparate back projections, the band run an impeccably tight

The xx

Secret space, Manchester International Festival, 6 Jul

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She breathes; we breathe. The quick sting of her plectrum against steel – it reaches us before its amplified echo finds its way out of the speakers. Lit from beneath, The xx’s Romy Madley Croft carefully treads a square of glowing, translucent floor that’s thick like ice, reinforced with a crisscross of metal braces. Sixty people, assembled around its perimeter, track her with a uniform gaze – equal parts disbelieving and transfixed – as she and bandmate Oliver Sim circle each other in a languid game of cat and mouse. Their chemistry is an alarming, arresting force; they court and joust almost in reverse, lying in wait, retreating in deference. This is the second of 18 in-the-round performances that bring a new meaning to the idea of the ‘intimate’ gig, and make for perhaps the most impressive feat – in terms of execution of artistic vision – that Manchester International Festival has realised in its four biennial instalments since

Review

ship all the way through their “hell-descent” of an album, despite the maverick roaming of frontman Jamie Lee. The extended rendition of debut single Bluebell Fields, with its sweeping, synth-laden landscapes, unravels and reconstructs itself without ever losing direction. Current single Hold Me Forever, with its piercingly bittersweet instrumentation, showcases Lee’s much-documented choirboy vocals, which provide an element of piety that is somewhat offset by the likes of So Long, a song that insists ‘It’s a shame that God is dead.’ The relatively unheard Cold Water perhaps signals more strident things to come, eschewing tenderness for wholehearted delirium. If the album is a “hell-descent,” then this is the hysterical return to earth. Considering the show’s drag queen compère and the a cappella accosting of audience members, it’s clear that MONEY have a desire to unnerve – or at the very least upset the balance. But if an institution like MIF can handle them, it might just beckon a new tide of guitar bands with eloquence and conviction. [Lucy Holt] 2007 (Adam Curtis and Punchdrunk’s immersive theatre nightmare It Felt Like a Kiss, from 2009, runs a close second, though that was a visceral experience for entirely different reasons). As the purposely constructed space – a soft enclosure curtained by billowing white sheets – begins to expand, contract and shape-shift during a delicate lightshow that manipulates audience members’ spatial awareness, the full extent of the imagination behind this ‘in residence’ show is revealed. When the fabric falls at the juddering climax of a tectonically bass-heavy Shelter, and when measured, throbbing strobes reach out into the darkness beyond like searchlights, we understand we’re in an altogether other environment – a vast cavity, in fact; the foundations of Chetham’s School of Music. Suddenly, there’s a chill; the band slow to a halt, like wind-up figurines out of potential. As we exit the way we entered – through fusty, mouldering emergency access tunnels beneath Victoria train station – most are beaming, speechless; others tremble. Blink – and you dreamed it. [Lauren Strain]

Photo: Lee Baxter

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One! Eight! Seven! One! Eight! Eight! One! Eight... NINE! It’s a sweltering day’s dusk and Shangaan Electro’s Nozinja is hyping a crowd decked in headdresses and wrecked on absinthe into a wet swarm, none of us still totally au fait with the aggressive yet liquid hip-swivelling we’d been introduced to at the earlier workshop but, now lubricated by booze, trying our darnedest anyway. The South African group’s music takes traditional Shangaan and ups it to – you guessed it – a delirious 189 beats per minute and works sickly, attention-deficit keyboards and samples into gunshot drums, tying them together with repeated motifs of love lost and won delivered by singers Nkata Mawewe and Tiyiselani Vomaseve. It’s a style somehow both wild and wise, pairing sheer physical stimulation with plain, humanistic messages – as Nozinja explains in an informal Q&A tagged on to the workshop, it’s performed everywhere, from competitions to weddings to funerals; whenever there’s togetherness, and the

need for relief and release. After his mask-clad, elastic-acrobatic Tshetsha Boys – who incidentally get way better moves than the women, all lunges and highkicks and walk-like-an-Egyptians, but on the flipside are apparently obliged to strap on bulbous fake bellies and arses – have reduced us to giggles and rapturous, sweaty applause, Glasgow’s highlife pioneer Auntie Flo and partner Esa plough a deeper, dirtier furrow into the night with an analogue hardware set-up that sprouts wires and disgorges a more feasibly danceable, freshly flayed bpm. Having painted the Garden in symbols of orange and green – and trussed it with swatches of shorn fabric bunting for the occasion – it’s clear the promoters have poured thought and dedication into making this day an experience, not just a gig; and the appreciation is palpable as a tuff enuff roster of DJs, including Abandon Silence’s Andrew Hill and Boiler Room’s own Thristian, takes us into the small hours down Rat Alley, a thrown-together disco-lit shack between the Garden and the venue. One eight nine, indeed. [Laura Swift]

YOUTH LAGOON

Youth Lagoon

Gorilla, Manchester, 16 Jul

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Given that the past few years have seen Manchester’s self-proclaimed ‘promoters extraordinaire’ Now Wave inch towards a monopoly over the city’s most exciting live shows, it’s pretty surprising that tonight is the first time Youth Lagoon has played here. On record, Youth Lagoon is merely the stage name of solo artist Trevor Powers, whose sonic palette comprises woozy synths, chiming guitars and filtered vocals. Live, though, Powers has made the shrewd decision to flesh things out with a full backing band, making his project an altogether different proposition on stage. Powers has a little bit of lost time to make up for, which is perhaps the motivation behind opening his set with Mute, the shimmering standout on his superb sophomore LP, Wondrous

MUSIC

Photo: Michael Sheerin

MelloMello, Liverpool, 20 Jul

Bughouse. It’s a move that doesn’t totally come off, though; the band are on shaky sonic ground for the first few songs, with the guitar too high in the mix and the vocals almost inaudible. Once those issues are straightened out, however, we’re able to appreciate the amount of consideration Powers has given to bringing his songs to life in front of an audience. The addition of live drums proves as important as it did on Bughouse, infusing the likes of Raspberry Cane and Dropla with real energy and verve, while the increased clarity of Powers’ vocals – which are without the distortion present on record – gives his songs a humanity their studio versions rarely possess. It’s refreshing to see an artist with bedroom-pop roots take his live craft so seriously, and it makes tonight a strong contender for the year’s most compelling Manchester debut. [Joe Goggins]

THE SKINNY

Photo: Richard Manning

Clang Boom Steam

The Dirty Dozen On a day off from recording, Bruce Wallace and Mandy Clarke of Super Adventure Club battle hangovers and heatwaves to debate the summer’s singles. “The horse will be here in five minutes,” Bruce casually explains, “but we can get started…”

Interview: Chris Buckle Photography: Michael Gallacher

Superchunk – Me & You & Jackie Mittoo [from I Hate Music, out 19 Aug, Merge] Mandy: This sounds like American film music – it makes me think of teenagers in the back of a car, and everyone’s dead happy. It’s making my hangover a bit worse… Are they a new band? The Skinny: Not at all – they’ve been doing this kind of thing since at least the early 90s… Bruce: That maybe explains it then. It sounds like 90s music – it gives me the same feeling as Semisonic and The Supernaturals and stuff like that. It’s not really my cup of tea – it’s just really squeaky clean. The vocals put me off quite a lot as well. I’m quite particular about vocals. M: The more I hear this the worse it gets… B: 4 out of 10. Washed Out – Don’t Give Up [12 Aug, Weird World Records] B: It sounds like lo-fi Lemon Jelly or something. M: I loved this when it first came on, but it’s a bit, eh, wishy-washy... B: It’s quite middle of the road… 5? M: 6? The Horse, who arrived just as the song began: 7? B: Nah, I like the overall sound of it, but it isnae doing much. Stick with 6. MONEY – Hold Me Forever [12 Aug, Bella Union] B: The production’s really cool but I’m not really enjoying the tune. There’s something a wee bit Bono about the vocal as well, that’s putting me off. M: I quite like the way his vocals over-do it a wee bit. Are those steel drums? Horse: Or marimba? B: It could just be an effect on the guitar… M: I think they’d be really good live, with the steel drums. B: Well it depends if that’s what it is…. M: True – 6, but if there are steel drums, 7. Deer Tick – The Rock [12 Aug, Partisan Records] M: I think this would sound good at a festival. B: I’d be intrigued to hear more by them – there are a few surprises, a few bar changes I didn’t expect. It sort of reminds me of Supergrass. 7? Horse: If that gets a 7, Ghostpoet should get a 9… B: You’re going to have to change the Horse’s Ghostpoet score now… Blondes – Elise [from Swisher, out 5 Aug, RVNG Intl.] M: This isn’t the sort of music I really listen to, so it’s hard to really rate it. B: Yeah, it’s alright, but just a 6. [skipping ahead] That’s quite a nice breakdown… This would be nice in a club. Or maybe as the soundtrack to some movie with Ryan Gosling driving around looking moody, where nothing happens. [sighs] I was so disappointed by that film… Eels – Kinda Fuzzy [2 Sep, E Works/V2] We try streaming the track from YouTube, but initially get a Kopparberg advert instead. B: 3 out of 10! M: I’d love a Kopparberg right now… The song starts; in the video, E wanders around dressed as a miserable clown. B: Is that one of Adam and Joe? Wow, he looks different… Well obviously, he does, he’s in clown makeup… I like this. Eels kind of just do the same thing, but it’s something I like. Though actually

August 2013

SUPER ADVENTURE CLUB

there’s a bit more going on here than in a lot of their stuff. There’s something a bit more lush about this, with a bit more range as well. M: That’s definitely an 8. His autobiography is amazing – I cried. B: This makes me want to listen to more Eels. Nothankyou – Know Yourself [5 Aug, Moshi Moshi] The Skinny: This is a collaboration between Tom Vek and Olga Bell. B: I kind of like some of Tom Vek’s ideas, but I don’t really like him overall. Who’s the other person? The Skinny: Olga Bell – she plays keyboards in Dirty Projectors. B: Ah, right. There’s one Dirty Projectors song that I really love – I can’t remember its name, but it prompted me to check out their other stuff and I was disappointed. This is alright though. I’d be interested to hear more. But I’m going to go for 6, just because I reckon that if I did check their other stuff out it might not be very good. Dunno why, I’m just being utterly biased. M: But you should be judging just this one song! I like her voice, it’s cool. B: Let’s go with 7 for that song then, and 6 for my expectations of what their other stuff will sound like. Texas – Detroit City [12 Aug, [PIAS] Recordings] M: I hoped they’d stopped. Everyone’s going for that real 80s vibe at the minute eh? B: Yeah, it kind of sounds like they’re reaching for something current and not really getting it. I quite like early Texas stuff – I think it’s well-crafted pop music. It’s kind of bland but it’s well-put

together. But this? This is just… bad. 2. The Skinny: As someone who used to listen to Superchunk a lot, I’m glad they’re no longer the lowest scorers… M: You like them? Ah but you were young then, you didn’t know any better. I used to like Pitchshifter, you know what I mean? Horse: My worst crime was buying a Linkin Park album… M: If I could go far enough away, I would probably listen to that quite loudly just now. [sings] ‘Craaaaaaawling in my skiiiiiiiin!’ Lovechilde – Sweat Lodge [22 Aug, Rough Trade] M: It sounds like it’s not finished. B: I don’t even know what to compare this to. There’s kind of an industrial thing going on, but it’s almost too watery to say that. I don’t have anything to say about this: I just don’t like it. M: It’s like they’re not all playing the same song. B: It kind of sounds like music you would get in the club scene in The Crow or something like that. It’s bad. The Skinny: Texas-level bad? M: Nah, they definitely feel it, whatever it is… B: Give it a 3 then. Bleach Blood – H.O.P.E [12 Aug, Transmission Recordings] B: This is minging. Ab-so-lutely minging. The Skinny: Apparently it’s about being hungover… B: It sounds like a hangover – turn it off, it’s really bad. M: This might tip me over the edge… B: That gets zero. It starts out like Lightning Seeds and then turns into, I don’t know… a

RECORDS

Chumbawamba meets Jennifer Lopez anthem. The Skinny: That makes it sound kind of awesome… B: It’s absolutely disgusting. Disclosure – F For You [19 Aug, PMR Records] B: It sounded like it was maybe going to get interesting for a wee moment there. But nah. M: That wee techno sound in it is annoying me. Who is this? The Skinny: Disclosure – they had a number 1 earlier this year with AlunaGeorge. M: Really? Wow – how does that one go? We cue up White Noise and get instant, unimpressed recognition. M: Ah shit, that? Man… I hate this tune. The Skinny: Actually Wikipedia’s just informed me I’m mistaken – it was a number 2, not a number 1. B: It’s a number 2 alright. Their new song can have 4 though. TRACK OF THE MONTH: Ghostpoet – Cold Win [26 Aug, Play It Again, Sam] B: I’ve heard things by Ghostpoet before, I quite like it… [has a wee listen]. Garage is coming back as well, in quite a big way. M: Is it definitely? B: It is – gonna do that cover of Sweet Like Chocolate aye? [sings said hit’s title] M: I love that song! I like this too, this is cool. B: Yeah, it’s good, I like that quite a lot actually. 8. www.armellodie.tumblr.com

Review

7-8 SEPTEMBER 2013 OLYMPIA CONFERENCE CENTRE

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Tell Me No L.I.E.S. With his Long Island Electrical Systems imprint forging a defiantly individual path through modern dance music, label boss Ron Morelli talks keeping it in the family, ‘knackered house’ and the lack of good wax Interview: John Thorp Illustration: Natalie Dunning

.I.E.S. serves as an acronym for Long Island Electrical Systems, a name indebted to the lengthy island strip north of Manhattan where label boss Ron Morelli spent his youth, and where he now resides, in Brooklyn. L.I.E.S. is also an electronic label like few others. Owing a debt to Morelli’s formative musical education in everything from hip hop to metal and beyond, it has the attitude and aesthetic of a punk label, and, over the course of fewer than 25 releases, has helped introduce the world to a relatively slight underground scene that has become increasingly revered. With almost impossible flow, each L.I.E.S. release – by the likes of Steve Summers, Terekke and Morelli’s own project, Two Dogs in a House – may either be heartbreakingly fragile or absolutely head-spinning, the dots connected by an analogue sound at distinct odds with present dance music culture in the USA. “Truth be told, I was never going to big clubs,” stresses Morelli, deep in label work during a rare gap in touring. “Growing up I’d hear Kraftwerk and Hashim on breakdance mixtapes, and house music and freestyle on the radio. So I was informed about dance music, but I thought clubbing was kind of corny.” Morelli was then inspired in the early 00s by the likes of seminal Detroit group Underground Resistance and, crucially, Dutch label Bunker Records, headed up by legendary and prolific producer, Legowelt. “They were basically squatter punks from the Hague, just making this fucked up party music,”

Morelli says. A decade later and, neatly, Legowelt has himself contributed to the L.I.E.S. back catalogue. As L.I.E.S.’ impact grows, DJs and writers alike are as keen as usual to attribute a genre to its sound, whether that be ‘knackered house’ or even ‘outsider house’. As a man with a very specific vision for his label’s sound and aesthetic, is Morelli happy with the reception thus far? “I don’t think the descriptions are off the mark,” he acknowledges. “But saying lo-fi isn’t always on the mark, there’s plenty of stuff on the label that’s not saturated,” he points out. “There’s stuff that sounds like it came from a tape buried for 20 years, but also stuff that sounds like it comes from a professional studio. Steve Summers is very clean, Jahiliyya Fields’ music is rough but clean. It doesn’t sound like it was dragged across the floor and killed or anything. It’s not my job to tell the artist what to record – if I like it, I’ll put it out. You could check out anything on the label and see how it makes sense next to something else.” Despite a recent resurgence in the feel of an underground scene in New York, Morelli – who is refreshingly straight-talking – has his qualms. As a vinyl-focused label, L.I.E.S. has had serious trouble obtaining good quality wax in a city with a music scene that once thrived on it, forcing the label to import from abroad. “There’s only one vinyl pressing plant in all of New York City. I don’t see it getting better, as it takes a lot of money to

run a plant and the reality of it is the return just isn’t enough. The hip hop industry would press so much as it was a 12-inch market, and that world crashed with the dawn of the digital age, and it’s the same thing with dance music. Labels like Strictly Rhythm would press 20,000 copies of a record, and even if you had a sort of moderate underground hit in the 90s, you’d press 5000. Nowadays you’re lucky to press 1000, and if you press 2000, your record did damn good.” Morelli runs a tight ship of artists, mostly Brooklyn-based. “Generally speaking I don’t really want to work with people I don’t personally know,” he says, commenting on the local feel of the label. “For me, I’m more comfortable working with people I have a long-standing relationship with. Someone can put out amazing music but be a complete asshole or difficult to deal with. I want a generally somewhat close relationship with people I work with, to know what their

agenda is or purpose for making music.” He expresses similar misgivings concerning his own neighbourhood’s tendency to hype – and as well as playing parties in London and Amsterdam this summer, he returns to Manchester’s meandyou at Soup Kitchen over the August bank holiday weekend. “It’s great to see that in London and Manchester there’s people keen to put out artists,” he says. “That doesn’t happen in New York. There will be bullshit of course, but it’s so encouraging that people give a fuck. Because here, honestly, nobody gives a fuck. It looks good on paper, but as far as support for artists and DJs goes, it doesn’t work like that unless a big international act comes out.” Five years of meandyou feat. Ron Morelli and DJ QU, Soup Kitchen, Manchester, 23 Aug, 10pm, £10 www.meandyoumanchester.co.uk www.soundcloud.com/l-i-e-s

Maiden Voyage Influential station NTS Radio held its first party outside of London in Manchester last month. Our intrepid clubber reports back

ithout overstating it, NTS isn’t just a radio station: it’s also one of the most successful outlets for independent music and culture in the whole of the UK. Founder Femi Adeyemi established the Dalston-based station back in April 2011 as a sort of spin-off of the Nuts To Soup blog – and the project’s growth over the past two years has been prodigious, with the station not only reaching much further than the South but also accumulating legions of die-hard followers along the way. If you’re unaware, forget locking down your aerials and sitting through a lairy MC – this is NTS, and they do things differently. They even make Rinse sound almost 2009. (Sorry. Er, no, not sorry.) Given the richness and diversity of music broadcast by the station, it would follow that any party NTS might throw would be of a similar calibre, and previous nights have boasted a roster of electronic connoisseurs, including Martelo, Moxie, Mamiko Motto and 92 Points, to name a few. With their date in Manchester on 13 July being their first party outside of London,

August 2013

NTS couldn’t have picked a better spot in Soup Kitchen. Hoya:Hoya resident, Fat City affiliate and general don Jon K was the first to take to the tables. Mr Kraus is well known for culling a plethora of wax to get the movers and shakers of this rainy city down, and tonight this was portrayed krystal klear – with or without the tall, awkward-looking guy (niche Manchester bass-scene joke alert!). As both a label and clubnight, Hoya:Hoya pride themselves on less talkin’ and more doin’, and tonight Jon K represented this vision 100%, his eclectic audio comprising a bit of disco, punk, new jack swing, kraut, dancehall and house, satisfying pretty much every last soul in the Spear Street basement. The presence of the godfather of house, Marshall Jefferson – possibly the most influential and iconic man of 80s dance music – obviously promised a good evening. It’s an overused term, but to call Jeff a godlike genius isn’t far wrong. With the sounds of Hot Mix 5 and Trax throughout his set, the crowd indulged in an

HOYA:HOYA

abundance of Hacienda-fuelled dance moves; Move Your Body provided a piquant point of the evening, and went some way towards encapsulating the atmosphere – there was an echo of ‘gotta have house music, all night long’, followed by a disco clap and some 90s 2-step shuffle from the partygoers. Jefferson vs Noosa Heads’ 1998 Airtight release Mushrooms also proved a crowd-pleaser. Next up, Steve Tony Julien – more commonly known as FunkinEven – delivered a set completely on point, making him the hero of the evening; perhaps even upstaging Jefferson. Last year’s

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Chips/Sweets, the follow-up to his first EP on his own Apron label, packed a punch – and tonight he impressed on a different scale, amalgamating his own distinctive sound with techno and analogue tracks. Running ‘til 6am, the eight-hour party atmosphere felt acidic and very 90s happyhardcore: eyes were peeled for Ellesse trainers and inappropriately loud-coloured harems. Refreshing and efficacious, it was hopefully the first of many NTS appearances in the Northwest. www.ntslive.co.uk www.soundcloud.com/n_u_t_s

Preview

Photo: Gary Brown

Words: Becca Kennedy

Clubbing Highlights Sweating is great! We love sweating. Here, find out about some places to sweat in this month, or even better, some people to sweat alongside, from Adam Shelton to Ron Morelli, to Theo Parrish at Beacons. Then get a lovely sweaty bear hug off The 2 Bears Words: John Thorp Illustration: Noa Snir

ummer is here in scorching form, fulfilling its purpose of melting away whole sections of motorway and filling in awkward gaps of trivial conversation with colleagues; well, at least at the time of writing. Is it still sunny? Is this paper wet? There’s a litmus test for you. Alternatively, you’ve dropped it in the toilet, and you’re currently scrabbling at the soggy ink with your fingernails, desperate and hungry for seasonal clubbing selections. That is exactly how I want this column to be read, after all. With festival season in full swing, all of your favourite DJs are probably earning far more money than usual – and than you – elsewhere, which leaves a slightly emptier than usual column this time around. This seems especially true of Liverpool, where the majority of listings seem to focus on charity Psychic Evenings at this time of year. While we’re all keen to reconnect with the dead, please instead connect with me at john@theskinny.co.uk, and in the meantime accept my apologies for the relative lack of Merseyside raving content. Zutekh’s outdoor parties in Manchester, during headier temperatures and otherwise, have gained a cult following, and the always reliable tech house promoters are once again combining with similarly-minded party planners Tpot to host Ibiza legend Adam Shelton on 4 Aug in the Courtyard at South (£10). With the whole thing running from 3pm until midnight, Shelton’s fourhour set will be bookended by the heads from Zutekh and Tpot themselves. If a lovely stroll home as it’s getting light rather than after dark appeals, you could do much worse than attend the return of Wet Play to Kraak on the evening of 3 Aug, where local style icon and bubbling synth master Ste Spandex will be taking his new and improved live show for what’s bound to be a soaking psychedelic ride (£4). With Manchester’s once-thriving DIY indie nights becoming less and less prevalent on the scene, those invested in the darker, dancier side of things might do well to pop down to Dancing and Laughing on 15 Aug (£4) in the underutilised basement of Retro Bar, once reportedly a very particular type of fetish club but now all mopped up for a night of ‘post-punk, synthpop, minimal wave and dark indie music.’ Alongside local live acts including the tellingly named Factory Acts, the eclectic promised playlist ranges from Bauhaus to Crystal Castles, and, as it’s a weeknight, all punters may be totally wired by midnight at the latest. Those willing to take a short trip through the hills may be very interested indeed in Beacons festival at Skipton’s Heslaker Farm (16-18 Aug). After a satisfying start in 2012, the event’s sophomore year sees one of the best line-ups of specialist electronic music in the UK, bringing together crowd pleasers such as Bonobo and SBTRKT (performing a DJ set) with RA-friendly talent such as Move D and Ben UFO – and climaxing with a five-hour back to back session between Theo Parrish and Andres, creator

Preview

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of last year’s euphoric and ubiquitous anthem New For U. As festivals go, it’s a snip at just under £100, and that country air will do you no harm I’m sure. Few DJs have remained as in-demand in Manchester as Greg Wilson, who first took twodeck DJing to television on The Tube in 1983. Despite a two-decade long sabbatical since, Wilson has enjoyed huge success on his second run. A sort of professor of dance, his considered sets blend the old school electro-funk forgotten classics he was originally known for, as well as a series of devastatingly effective edits of modern pop. He was one of the few selectors to be offered three hours at Glastonbury recently – a set that’s available for download at his suitably prolific SoundCloud. The first batch of tickets for his set at 2022NQ on 17 Aug has gone, but you can still grab one for under a tenner. Celebrating five years of service, as well as the golden reputation that precedes them, meandyou return to the recently refurbished basement of Soup Kitchen on 23 Aug, where the better-than-ever soundsystem will bring an extra crisp edge to the rough and ready techno that the night is best known for. Not so secret resident Joy O is, well, resident, and alongside other regular Juniper you can expect a double headliner when forward-thinking Strength Music boss DJ QU joins L.I.E.S. records founder Ron Morelli for an off-kilter but doubtlessly satisfying pairing of two of the finest, most out-there underground labels in the world today (£10). Elsewhere, Homoelectric continues its search to find a venue to replicate the sleazy madness that was once guaranteed at Legends, which is now a tear-inducing hole in the ground awaiting a Travel Inn. This time, the legendary disco for ‘Homos, Don’t Knows and Disco ASBOs’ heads to Fac51, which should allow the club to return to its multi-room roots (25 Aug, £12). Guests are topped by Rory Phillips, and you can expect one in each room going head to head with more than reliable residents Jamie Bull and Trash-ORama, plus the anything-goes atmosphere that might well cause a few raised eyebrows and quivering lips among any of the venue’s usual Manc indie lad clientele who happen to drop in. You have been warned/wholeheartedly encouraged. Meanwhile over in Liverpool (you guys!), things finally get going for Summercamp festival, an inner-city two-day event hosted by Camp and Furnace that makes up for a sparse month in just two nights (24-25 Aug). The line-up encompasses the likes of Mount Kimbie and Delphic, and climaxes each evening with a well-curated cluster of DJs including Optimo and Ewan Pearson, as well as Joe Goddard and Raf Daddy’s retro-house leaning side project, The 2 Bears (£50 adult weekend pass). Ticket prices are advance unless otherwise specified; some events may be more on the door Putting on a night we should know about? Email john@theskinny.co.uk

THE SKINNY

Rave It Up and Start Again

ramsbottom festival The F Fu utureheads Richard Hawley SinéadO’Connor Sinéad O’Connor

A new edition of Simon Reynolds’ 1998 book Energy Flash, expanded with fresh material, taps into the recent co-option of rave by America’s brash, commercial EDM movement – but he refuses to be too down on the kids

13 | 14 | 15 | September 2013 | Ramsbottom Cricket Club

Interview: John Thorp Illustration: Michael Arnold

Junip • Public Service Broadcasting The Unthanks • The Beat • The Tapestry Walk • Lazy Habits • Moreland & Arbuckle Twisted Wheel • Parlour Flames • & more... Three stages • Funkademia silent disco Family friendly • Delicious food • Real ale Day tickets from £23 • Full festival £65 • Children and family discounts

information & tickets

ou’re probably aware of Skrillex by now. Even if you’ve not heard his aggressive, festivalbaiting wobble (or indeed his baffling collaboration with The Doors), then you’ll have seen the much-circulated footage of him accidentally whacking his head on his oversized robot DJ booth, or the admittedly amusing GIF of his dancing, doctored to look as if he’s being attacked by a huge cartoon bee. In fact, Skrillex himself resembles a sort of real life GIF for the EDM (‘electronic dance music’) generation. EDM – the big room, no-holds-barred sound of America, much derided by the real heads in the game – has become the focus of Simon Reynolds, the British-born music journalist who has just reissued his essential cultural history of rave, Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture, with an additional section on the phenomenon. Having himself witnessed the birth of acid house in the UK, but now residing with his family in LA, it’s fair to say that Reynolds is one of those real heads in the game – and then some. The book’s title is a nod to Joey Beltram’s seminal anthem of the same name, Reynolds’ favourite techno track of all time. He’s also known for Rip It Up and Retromania, two similarly thoughtful, not to mention weighty, titles dealing in post-punk and nostalgia in popular culture respectively. The rise and evolution of rave culture in the UK is a timeless story, documented in flawless detail throughout the book, but Reynolds has been most surprised by the dominance of dubstep in the past five years. “I don’t think anyone would have anticipated it,” he says. “You know, to find it now in Justin Bieber songs and Jay-Z records? Even Muse did dubstep. I never used to have a gung-ho opinion of the genre, I kind of liked it but I didn’t think it was the future, but in this new edition I’m able to rectify that.” Cutting (and grinding) his teeth in the late 80s and early 90s, circling the M25 looking for parties, Reynolds – one of jungle’s early champions in the press – remains characteristically curious regarding the US’s more commercial ideals. “I kind of like the nastier end of dubstep,” he admits. “It was a mass outbreak of a sort of constructive riot, people going crazy, wild behaviour,

August 2013

and the fact that brostep and EDM has that value gets me excited. I like the fact it’s creating this mass energy.” Mass energy is one term for its current effect on the American economy: the recent Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas drew 335,000 punters over one weekend. Its promoters are said to be investing in an EDM Disneyland, although apparently Belgium has beaten them to it. While Reynolds is keen to document the past, as a “professional enthusiast” he feels a drive to always look towards the future. Energy Flash, though, contains perhaps more spirited recollections than any of his other work, and, it must be said, some touching portrayals of getting off his tits. Does he ever fall prey to the ghosts of music past? “Oh god yeah, I have multiple nostalgias!” he says. “There’s this whole period when I was a teenager and I was writing about bands like My Bloody Valentine, and there’s rave nostalgia, and I expect soon I’ll get the grime nostalgia... Whereas my family makes up much of my life, my career is my passion, and you can’t really expect to maintain the same level of intensity over long periods. There will be ups and downs.” With nearly a quarter of a century of firsthand knowledge of dance music behind him, Reynolds, unlike many other genre aficionados, is keen to let popular culture simply unfold. “I tend to find that the real sort of taste police are the people who hold music back, and it’s the great unwashed ignorant masses who tend to push things on,” he says. The question of whether the future lies with dubstep, techno, post-dubstep, nu-disco or any other genre offers little to faze him. “I think what’s missing from writing is stuff about the sort of initiation on the dancefloor, and just the shared experience of it,” he adds. The new edition of Energy Flash offers a distinctive and open-minded perspective on what’s happening on the world’s dancefloors, best of all, it’ll likely leave you wishing you were right in the middle of one.

organised by

www.ramsbottomfestival.com sponsored by

The expanded edition of Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture is out now, published by Faber, RRP £20 www.blissout.blogspot.com

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Review

August Film Events PAIN & GAIN

Pain & Gain

Director: Michael Bay Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Mark Wahlberg, Anthony Mackie Released: 30 Aug Certificate: 15

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From Up on Poppy Hill

Director: Gorō Miyazaki Starring: Sarah Bolger, Anton Yelchin, Gillian Anderson (English language version) Released: 2 Aug Certificate: U It’s 1963, and high school student Umi wakes each morning to raise signal flags to the drifting tugboats of postcard-pretty Yokohama. When local boy Shun writes a poem about her ritual in the school newspaper, she tumbles into the joyous, dilapidated community of the Latin Quarter, and sets about helping Shun save its shambling clubhouse from demolition. The glowing, hand-drawn backdrops and warming themes of diligence and rejuvenation are assuredly Ghibli. But through their singularly subtle story of adolescent longing and gentle domesticity, From Up on Poppy Hill’s protagonists emerge as unexpectedly facetless, especially from a studio with such a vibrant and morally complex back catalogue. While the virtues of good, honest work have provided much of the charm of films like Kiki’s Delivery Service and Spirited Away, the distinct absence of a snarling dragon or skyward broomstick to form its counterpoint makes all of this quaint domesticity feel a little bit of a chore. [Kirsty Leckie-Palmer]

Paradise: Hope

Foxfire

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Director: Laurent Cantet Starring: Raven Adamson, Katie Coseni, Madeleine Bisson, Claire Mazerolle, Lindsay Rolland-Mills Released: 9 Aug Certificate: 15

The third film in Ulrich Seidl’s Paradise trilogy is the most heartfelt and uplifting of the three, which comes as both a surprise and a blessed relief. Set in an amusingly draconian fat camp, the film follows 13-year-old Melanie (Melanie Lenz) – the daughter of Love’s Teresa – as her flirtatious relationship with the camp’s affable doctor (Joseph Lorenz) develops into an allconsuming crush. Seidl’s film has plenty of watch-through-the-fingers moments of awkwardness and tension (and he’s not above finding comedy in the sight of tubby kids exercising), but the director also displays a commendably light touch in his negotiation of this tricky territory, and the picture is buoyed along by the marvellously authentic and endearing performances he elicits from his young cast. The quality of the filmmaking (with cinematography team Ed Lachman and Wolfgang Thaler again doing stellar work) will come as no surprise, but the sensitivity and empathy with which Seidl explores the pangs of first love might catch many viewers off guard. [Philip Concannon]

An adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates’ feminist novel Foxfire might seem like an unlikely choice for Laurent Cantet, but the material actually feels like a continuation of themes he explored in his Palme d’Or-winner, The Class. Both films depict a group of teenagers rebelling against authority, testing their own boundaries and finding their place in the world. Cantet’s American debut doesn’t feel as fully formed, but it still has fleeting moments of power. Cantet’s vision of 50s small-town America is loose but evocative, and the scenes in which his film’s girl gang takes revenge against the town’s menfolk are superbly handled. However, while Foxfire starts and finishes well, the film suffers from a dramatic lull in the centre of the picture that drains much of the story’s energy and momentum. Tighter editing could have elevated this from a respectable adaptation into something with an incisive edge, but at least it’s a better take on the book than the misguided 1996 version – and in the pivotal role of Legs, Raven Adamson is a real find. [Philip Concannon]

The Lone Ranger

What Maisie Knew

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Director: Gore Verbinski Starring: Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer, Tom Wilkinson, William Fichtner, Barry Pepper, James Badge Dale Released: 9 Aug Certificate: 12A Bloated, hubristic and an awkward mish-mash of wildly conflicting tones, it’s easy to see why US critics lined up to give Gore Verbinski’s The Lone Ranger a kicking. But there’s also a good bit of fun to be had in this lolloping behemoth. Handsome but bland Armie Hammer dons the mask and Stetson, and Johnny Depp puts a Native American spin on his list of eerily similar oddballs to essay Tonto. Thrust together by a shared need for vengeance against a brutal outlaw (William Fichtner), the pair bicker their way through a cartoon Old West, uncovering a broader conspiracy into the bargain. While the often funny slapstick and sub-Python surrealism sit uneasily alongside some surprisingly strong violence and ill-judged attempts at historical commentary, there’s also great spectacle to enjoy. A few exciting set-pieces might be the least one expects in a 150-minute summer blockbuster, but the prolonged locomotive-set denouement in particular deliciously captures the spirit of the Boys’ Own serials to which Verbinski’s film aspires. A shame they couldn’t have trimmed the fat. [Chris Fyvie]

Review

Words: Simon Bland and Jamie Dunn

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Michael Bay has never given the impression of being a filmmaker particularly interested in irony. His bombastic oeuvre features all the self-awareness of your average shower mat. But now we have Pain & Gain, a scabrous satirical swipe at not only the knuckle-headed machismo the director seems so enthralled by, but also at an America crippled by consumerism. He even takes a swipe at his own back catalogue. Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson and Anthony Mackie are excellent in this real-life story of a trio of bodybuilders who kidnapped and extorted a Miami businessman (Tony Shalhoub) in search of their own American Dream: pots of cash. This violent, ill-fated criminal enterprise is presented with such over-the-top Bayness that one can’t help but smile. Super slow motion, an excruciatingly lurid colour scheme and a plethora of those trademark 360 degree pans all but wink; while the jet-black, perfectly absurd script recalls the Coens at their most vicious. Is this a bold new direction, or is something more distressing afoot… could Bay have been kiddin’ us on all along? [Chris Fyvie] Director: Ulrich Seidl Starring: Melanie Lenz, Verena Lehbauer, Joseph Lorenz, Michael Thomas, Viviane Bartsch Released: 2 Aug Certificate: 15

This month, Cricfest proves that cinema has the power to make a sport as boring as cricket compelling, while Picnic Cinema offer up two movies about going nuts in the great outdoors

Director: Scott McGehee, David Siegel Starring: Onata Aprile, Julianne Moore, Steve Coogan, Alexander Skarsgard Released: 23 Aug Certificate: 15 An adaption of Henry James’ 19th-century novel of the same name, What Maisie Knew has undergone modernising alterations but retains the same pitiable core: a child passed from pillar to post by divorced parents, repeatedly let down by those in whom she places the most trust. Anchoring the film and appearing in every scene, seven-year-old Onata Aprile is superb as the titular moppet, naturalistically weathering the many disruptions and disappointments carelessly sent her character’s way. As the warring narcissists responsible, meanwhile, Julianne Moore and Steve Coogan play to familiar strengths (displaying neurotic histrionics and haughty arrogance respectively) but never let their roles become two-dimensional monsters; though both parties are deeply selfish, they’re too pathologically pathetic to be boo-hiss hateable. Tonally the film plots a slightly unsteady course, with an encroaching mawkishness taking it a hair’s breadth from Nicholas Sparks territory. But pat resolutions aside, What Maisie Knew squares its emotions believably, provoking upset and anger at its scenes of collateral damage, but also inspiring respect for the resilience of youth. [Chris Buckle]

FILM

t’s test cricket season. Test cricket is rubbish: five days of men standing in a field that often end in a draw. Films about cricket, on the other hand, are surprisingly thrilling, as anyone heading to Cricfest at A Small Cinema in Moston will discover. Included in the cricket-themed mini-festival are two docs and a feature. From the Ashes (1 Aug) takes us back to the summer of 81, when “Beefy” Botham’s England knocked the Aussies for six, while Out Of The Ashes (2 Aug) tells the story of Afghanistan’s cricket team and their phenomenal rise from the rubble-strewn pitches of post-invasion Afghanistan to the world stage. But the pick of the trio is P’tang, Yang, Kipperbang (3 Aug), Jack Rosenthal’s sweet drama about a cricket-obsessed teen looking for that coming-of-age-movie holy grail: his first kiss. If all that sport makes you want to get out of darkened cinemas and into our balmy summer heat, be sure to stop by Picnic Cinema. They’ve got a couple of outdoorsy belters this month, including Ben Wheatley’s schizophrenic caravanning slasher Sightseers (at The Pencil Museum, Keswick, 3 Aug) and a trip into the heart of darkness with Apocalypse Now (at Gisburn Forest, Clitheroe, 24 Aug). While miles apart in story, Wheatley and Coppola’s movies share common themes of madness and landscape. Watching them on Picnic Cinema’s airy outdoor screen would be a real trip. London’s David Bowie Is exhibition culminates this month with a synchronised screening of David Bowie is happening now on 13 Aug at Manchester’s Cornerhouse, Liverpool’s FACT and other cinemas across the country. Boasting special guests and insight into objects taken directly from the David Bowie Archive, it’s your last chance to view the exhibit before it disappears on an international trek. Oh, and while you’re at the Cornerhouse, be sure to catch Studio Ghibli’s new one, From Up on Poppy Hill, which is showing from 2 Aug. This colourful teen drama follows a group of youths trying to save their clubhouse from demolition and is worth seeing for Ghibli’s trademark charm and beautiful animation. As this guide comes to a close, so does Richard Linklater’s Before trilogy. The concluding chapter of Jesse and Celine’s fateful relationship, Before Midnight, hit cinemas back in June but Liverpool’s FACT invites you on a trip down memory lane with a Before Sunrise and Before Sunset double-bill on 11 Aug. Meanwhile, in Manchester, the Printworks’ Flashback Film Series resurrects a slew of classic films each Monday throughout Aug, with Total Recall (19 Aug) and American Psycho (26 Aug) being our personal picks.

THE SKINNY

Dressed to Kill

Serial Mom

The Gatekeepers

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Director: Brian De Palma Starring: Angie Dickinson, Nancy Allen, Michael Caine Released: Out now Certificate: 18 Brian De Palma’s skill as a director is matched by his glorious bad taste. Several filmmakers have had the gall to mine laughs out of serial killer material, but Dressed to Kill remains the pinnacle of this murder-sex-comedy sub-genre. The film opens and closes with soft-focus fetish fantasies, each belonging respectively to Dressed to Kill’s two female protagonists (Angie Dickinson’s sexually frustrated housewife and Nancy Allen’s cheery prostitute), and the rest of the film plays as one long De Palma wet dream that’s part erotic melodrama, part giallo and part mixed-matched buddy movie. Scene after scene De Palma dazzles with his bravado camerawork and elaborate plot machinations – you can almost hear him cackling off-set when Dickinson’s character discovers her lover has the clap. This is a hothouse for voyeurs and cinephiles, an uncouth pulp thriller elevated into an artwork of sound and image. In other words: this is pure cinema. [Jamie Dunn]

Director: John Waters Starring: Kathleen Turner, Sam Waterston, Ricki Lake Released: 5 Aug Certificate: 18 Beverly Sutphin is the perfect wife, the perfect mother, and “f*cking nuts!” Queer cinema hero John Waters’ deliriously dark slice of serial killer mayhem has Kathleen Turner butchering anyone who stands in the way of her family’s happiness. Despite the gore, Serial Mom is a broad farce and Waters is at home sending up the ridiculousness of suburban America and the country’s love of true-crime and court TV. With its over-the-top violence and instantly quotable dialogue, Serial Mom is impossible to take seriously and often very funny. Turner is especially good, throwing herself into the part as the demented bird-obsessed hausfrau. Some fans may complain that Waters is selling out, but with a respectable budget, Serial Mom remains one of the director’s most accessible works. The film deserves more love than this bare-bones Blu-ray but this is still essential viewing for filth mongers and foul-mouthed perverts everywhere. [Scott McKellar]

Director: Dror Moreh Starring: Ami Ayalon, Avraham Shalom, Avi Dichter, Yaakov Peri Released: 12 Aug Certificate: 15 Even by intelligence agency standards, Israel’s Shin Bet is a secretive institution, with its ranks anonymous and its accountability murky. The only members whose identities are publicly known are the select few to have occupied the top job of director – a position of power in which every decision has the potential to radically alter the geopolitical landscape. In The Gatekeepers, Dror Moreh interviews six former directors, and their candid disclosures are both fascinating and disheartening. Using source footage, Moreh plots a narrative of powder-keg relations starting with the Six-Day War. Throughout, the tone is cool and collected (one testy exchange over the killing of handcuffed prisoners aside), with interviewees tending to frame their decisions pragmatically, and demonstrating comparatively little patience for emotional or moral examination. Committedly averse to drawing glib conclusions, The Gatekeepers is a weighty contribution to an ever-pressing debate. [Chris Buckle]

The Comedian

Runaway Train

Passion

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Director: Tom Shkolnik Starring: Edward Hogg, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Elisa Lasowski Released: Out now Certificate: 15 Don’t let the title fool you. This character study by newcomer Tom Shkolnik is no laughing matter. For his feature debut, the Israeli-born director explores the world of a Londoner caught in a mid-life slump. Ed (Edward Hogg) is a telesales zombie by day and struggling stand-up by night who, after a particularly terrible gig, strikes up an impromptu relationship with audience member Nathan (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett). What starts as a passionate love affair quickly spirals into confusion and chaos as Ed’s newfound fling threatens his work and personal life. Improv-heavy and shot chronologically, The Comedian has a naturalistic, vérité feel. Sadly, this fly-on-the-wall technique starts to weigh it down; the film loses narrative momentum by focusing too much on the minutiae of each spur-of-the-moment scene. It may do a decent job of capturing the dreary hopelessness of modern urban life, but it’ll also leave you feeling like its troubled protagonist: a little lost and in need of a few answers. [Simon Bland]

BOOK OF THE MONTH

Director: Andrei Konchalovsky Starring: Jon Voight, Eric Roberts, Rebecca De Mornay Released: Out now Certificate: 15 A surprise contender at the 1986 Academy Awards, Andrei Konchalovsky’s thriller Runaway Train transcends its potentially trashy B-movie premise with committed performances and first-rate direction. Jon Voight and Eric Roberts leave no scenery unchewed as the escaped convicts who hitch a ride on a train that’s soon careering out of control, but both actors find an unexpected amount of emotional depth in their characters as the film progresses. Konchalovsky establishes and sustains a suitably relentless forward momentum with intelligent staging and tight editing, and the old-school stunt work on display as the characters cling to the side of the snow-covered train is frequently astounding. You can’t help but wonder what the great Akira Kurosawa, whose unproduced screenplay inspired the film, would have made of it all. One suspects he would have appreciated the craft and conviction exhibited by all involved, and the profundity that the film achieves with its genuinely remarkable final image. [Philip Concannon]

Kiss Me First

By Lottie Moggach

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Director: Brian De Palma Starring: Rachel McAdams, Noomi Rapace Released: 12 Aug Certificate: 15 The last De Palma film to not receive a theatrical outing in the UK was 2002’s feverish noir Femme Fatale. With Passion making its debut on the small screen, have cinemagoers been denied another masterpiece by shortsighted distributors? In a word, no. But there are pleasures to be had in this corporate satire-cumsapphic thriller. Chief of these is Rachel McAdams, who plays an icy ad executive who begins a war of attrition with her unassuming underling (Rapace). Their cat and mouse battle over an “edgy” viral marketing campaign (which is so unedgy as to suggest De Palma has never used the internet before) makes for an airless first half. When Rapace’s fragile character eventually cracks under pressure, however, so too does the film, allowing the self-styled master of the macabre to pull out every baroque set-piece in his repertoire, including a jaw-dropping use of split screen. So this is half a good De Palma film, which means it’s still superior to most movies. [Jamie Dunn]

The House of Journalists

Four New Words For Love

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By Tim Finch

The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P.

By Michael Cannon

By Adelle Waldman

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A product of a post-feminist, politically-correct upbringing, Nathaniel Piven is conscientious, intellectual and successful. He is also self-absorbed, snobbish, shallow and in denial about most of the above. Waldman, like Jeffrey Eugenides, has no small talent for detailed character sketches, here skewering the chat of the New York literary intelligentsia and their obsessive analyses of personal relationships. The Love Affairs works its way through the women that Nate has known, filtering their appearances, quirks and personalities through his critical viewpoint. Waldman’s irony is to bestow on Nate intellectual snobbery and a profession to prefer rational, abstract argument, while the novel focuses on the deeply personal, in which lust, guilt and emotion win over logic and objectivity. This is a wonderfully capable, humorous debut that gets under the skin of its protagonist to an uncomfortable degree. Nate is not easily likeable – yet you cannot help but wince in recognition or nod in sympathy. Waldman pokes fun at the human tendency to pretend that we’re caring, superior members of society when really, we’re all creatures of self-obsession. [Alice Sinclair] Out now, published by Heinemann, RRP £14.99

Leila is a socially isolated young woman who lives alone after the death of her mother. When the charismatic leader of an internet forum contacts with a very special favour, Leila starts to take over the online identity of Tess, a wild child with a chequered past. At first, it is all too easy; no one has any reason to suspect that Tess is not who she is. But how much can Leila live through Tess without her own identity becoming blurred? Leila is an interesting narrator, an outsider who observes and doesn’t fully understand social interactions (she is, perhaps, mildly autistic), yet who becomes the perfect online mimic. Leila’s logical view of the world can be discomfiting; the dismissal of her generation’s shallow status updates and their herd-like fashion habits, plus her romantic naïvety, cannot translate to real life. Moggach has written a uncomfortable story for our social media times, suggesting a modern affliction where we do not really exist without the validation of others – those ‘likes’, retweets and replies are what create us. The tone is far from preachy, but is it a warning that we spend too much time online and not IRL? [Alice Sinclair] Out now, published by Picador, RRP £14.99

Located in a London terrace, the House of Journalists is a refuge for writers exiled from their home nations due to conflicts of interest with their oppressive regimes. Tim Finch’s novel traces the story of the house’s inhabitants, just as mysterious new lodger AA arrives on the scene. One of the most impressive aspects of the book is the ease and authenticity with which the author manages to slip into a character’s voice: from the overbearing leader of the organisation, Julian, through to the elderly Mr Stan, body crippled through genetics and corporal punishment, and the unwanted intruder Edward Crumb, an outside journalist sceptical of the house’s validity and with more than a touch of Christopher Hitchens in his pronouncements. The realism of the political aspects of the book come as no surprise when one learns Finch works for London think-tank The Institute for Public Policy Research, and was a BBC political journalist. His prose is efficient and engaging, and the unfolding story of a rupture at the heart of the house is well-handled. There are moments when it feels as if things could move faster, or that it’s missing a greater sense of drama, but generally The House of Journalists is an engaging debut. [Ryan Rushton]

“Things don’t cost what you give for them, they cost what you give up to get them.” So says Gina, an intelligent and resourceful young Glaswegian, who has pulled herself away from a pair of alcoholic parents to make something of her life as an independent single mother. She’s the first voice we hear in this emotionally compelling novel of platonic love and friendship across generations and class; indeed, she remains the core of the novel, even when we shift from her effective firstperson narrative to the more distancing, and far less engaging, authorial third-person story of Christopher, a suburban London pensioner who has unexpectedly outlived his wife in a loveless, constrained marriage and is now learning to live and love again. Both Gina and Christopher have been damaged by the constraints on their lives, but Michael Cannon is brave enough not to suggest that two wrongs can easily make a right; Christopher, out of ignorance of the facts, makes several mistakes, not least his attempt to engineer a reconciliation between Gina and her mother. But they are both good-hearted people, and that is the link that binds them, despite having grown up in very different worlds. [Paul Cockburn] Out 5 Aug, published by Freight Books, RRP £8.99

Out now, published by Jonathan Cape, RRP £16.99

August 2013

DVD / BOOKS

Review

Turning FACT Inside Out

DLA Piper Series: Constellations

FACT, Liverpool, until 15 Sep

HEHE

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Liverpool’s Foundation for Art and Creative Technology (FACT) reached double figures this year and is marking its tenth birthday with – true to form – an artists’ takeover that explores artistic possibilities in a post-digital era. Now with an extended run until 15 Sep, Turning FACT Inside Out presents new work, or work that’s never been exhibited in the UK, from six emerging and established artists. The pieces sprawl through the building, and some do a pretty good job of actually, well, turning FACT inside out. Invisible ARtaffects by international collective Manifest.AR – who seek to transcend the boundaries between reality and the virtual – is a case in point. Commissioned especially for the exhibition, all six of its contained projects represent augmented reality as an art form, and invite visitors to engage with the creative opportunities offered by technology. FACT Sky Museum, by Will Pappenheimer and Zachary Brady, is a virtual skywriting app whereby you can create drawings and messages in airplane trails, extending the exhibition into the space above the building; while the charming and insightful Things We Have Lost project, conceived by John Craig Freeman and Scott Kildall, recorded people on the city’s streets revealing things they had misplaced (everything from youth to dignity, family members to keys). Via an app, these were then created as virtual objects and placed at the GPS coordinates of the location where the recordings were made.

Nina Edge’s Ten Intentions is a fascinating communications experiment consisting of a robot that turns speech into writing, and a tent that offers visitors a quiet place to discuss their hopes or expectations for the future – with reference to any of the ten weighty themes, which include justice, power, growth, and loss. Brilliantly, the work uses the voice recognition technology Siri, which often mishears, leading to misunderstandings. Ten Intentions is a provocative work, showing that while technology is continually advancing, relying too heavily on gadgets to interact with one another can end up having a negative impact on communication. Elsewhere, Spain’s Uncoded Collective offer you the opportunity to exercise your quadriceps with their TransEurope Slow virtual bike ride, via which you can explore the streets of Liverpool, Rotterdam and Madrid – while Steve Lambert’s Capitalism Works For Me! (True/False), a curiosity that wouldn’t look out of place at a carnival, encourages visitors to express their distaste or support for capitalism, and instantly displays the results. As with the other pieces in the show, the idea behind the latter's inclusion is to facilitate debate and reiterate FACT’s role as a forum for contentious topics. [Frances Barrett] Mon-Fri, Sun, 12-6pm, Sat 11am-6pm, free www.fact.co.uk

Tate Liverpool, ongoing

HÉLIO OITICICA

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What do Man Ray, Paul Nash, Christo, and Simon Starling have in common? The answer is something a bit tangible, a bit art historical, and a bit subjective – connections Tate hopes to reveal by displaying them in a room together. At the end of July, Tate Liverpool unveiled the final section of a re-hang of its permanent collection, using ‘trigger’ works to create nine groupings; an approach it’s calling Constellations. Assistant curators Stephanie Straine and Eleanor Clayton say that developing Constellations has allowed them to position artworks from “different art historical paths” alongside each other, “making visible hidden connections and involving audiences in formulating the reading and understanding of art.” Once they saw the works side by side, some surprising relationships emerged – such as the “physical and performative” interplay between Isa Genzken’s Two Loudspeakers and Claude Cahun’s I Extend My Arms. To help explain the theory behind each grouping, the curators use diagrams and a list of key words (an interesting precursor to an exhibition called Keywords, opening at the gallery next spring). For Man Ray and co these words include: surrealism, readymade, staging, bodily, and fetish. Arguably many more items in the Tate’s collection could be described using these words; however, a huge amount of work has obviously gone on behind the scenes to hone each

cluster of pieces, and it isn’t only the rejection of chronological or thematic groupings that makes Constellations different. To continue the starsin-the-sky motif, some of the pictures hang on specially made structures in the middle of the room instead of on the wall. This clear Perspex backing allows the reverse of the frame to be seen, providing a privileged glimpse of something usually hidden that should interest the geekier art visitors among us; the revealed stickers and stamps are like each picture’s personal passport. Not every ‘constellation’ makes complete sense on first viewing – some connections even seem a little contrived (Picasso to Wolfgang Tillmans? Not sure) – and the groups can be a slight distraction from some intriguing works that haven’t been on display in the city before, including a series of Louise Bourgeois etchings, a tea urn from Jeremy Deller and Alan Kane’s Folk Archive, and traces from the Marina Abramovic performance Rhythm 0. But perhaps the show just needs a few revisits. [Linda Pittwood] Mon-Sun, 10am-5.50pm, free www.tate.org.uk

Whitworth Art Gallery

Whitworth Weekending Fri 30 Aug___Sun 1 Sept

We're having a party – please join us. Three extraordinary days in Whitworth Park. #WhitworthWeekending Whitworth Art Gallery The University of Manchester Oxford Road, Manchester M15 6ER www.manchester.ac.uk/whitworth

Review

Whitworth Weekending is our final and free weekend of art, music and performance in Whitworth Park. From 4pm on Friday until late on Sunday, celebrate with us the last days of the Whitworth as we know it, before we close to extend and transform the gallery. We re-open in Summer 2014.

ART

THE SKINNY

Venue of the Month: Unity Theatre

Liverpool’s Unity Theatre may look humble, but with its long and noble history of using theatre to engender social change, it’s anything but. We look ahead to its autumn season

Interview: Jacky Hall Illustration: Beth Crowley

sliver of Georgian architecture between the city centre and Toxteth, Liverpool’s Canning area has at its heart Hope Street, a promenade linking the city’s two cathedrals. It’s the kind of street where cafés offer a selection of loose leaf teas, and the local hotel lobby has a grand piano. Just off Hope Street is Hope Place, a residential row of grand townhouses boasting original sash windows, front doors maintained with licks of Farrow & Ball, and smartly trimmed box hedges. It’s also home to one of Merseyside’s most innovative performing arts venues: the small yet perfectly formed Unity Theatre. Founded in the 1930s as the Merseyside Left Theatre by Gerry Dawson and Edgar Criddle, the original company was born out of the Workers’ Theatre Movement. In an era before mass consumption of television or newspapers, the Movement aimed to engage and politicise working class Brits using theatre, exploring issues such as unemployment or the rise of fascism in vibrant, immediate plays. Liverpool’s Unity Theatre was one of around 250 branches developed from the original Unity in Kings Cross, London – and Hope Place has been its base since 1980, when the company moved into a former synagogue. The building was refurbished in 1998, and today the theatre’s sculptural steel-andglass exterior contrasts with the surrounding brick townhouses, marking out the building as progressive and forward-thinking – qualities also on display in its autumn 2013 season, which continues the venue’s long-standing tradition of producing radical shows and providing a platform for emerging artists through its youth theatre and community work. After the Write Now Festival from 18-21 Sep (writenowfestival.co.uk) – a series of six new oneact plays plus script-in-hand readings of works from Liverpudlian writers – the theatre presents a staging of Mikhail Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita (1-12 Oct). A complex and fantastical satire of Soviet Russia, its characters include a pistol-toting black cat called Behemoth and the devil himself. Max Rubin’s stage version sees him tackle an ambitious project already attempted by theatre impresario Andrew Lloyd Webber, who scrapped an operatic version in 2007. (He told

Wine of India

Lass O’Gowrie, Manchester, 11 Jul

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early 30 years into the future and ageing is a thing of the past. Perfect health and perfect youth are easily obtainable. There’s no growing old, no sickness and no poverty. The catch? Everyone dies on time. Government-controlled euthanasia is the norm, and life-span is licensed, rather than natural. This is the premise of Wine of India, a play by screenwriter Nigel Kneale which aired as part of The Wednesday Play series on BBC One in 1970. It was never repeated, however: the tapes were wiped and the play lost for decades. But now director Dan Thackery has taken on the formidable task of bringing it back to the live stage for the 21st century. Taran Knight and Morag Peacock take lead roles as long-time couple Will and Julie, who have gathered with their family for a bizarre combination of funeral and cocktail party as their ‘life contracts’ are about to expire. A bewildering collection of family members surrounds them, and in this ageless society it takes more than a little concentration to discern between parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren. Standout performances come from Will Hutchby as Sam, a (genuinely) young man seeking

August 2013

The Stage, “it’s undo-able. It’s just too difficult for an audience to contemplate.”) Unity’s artistic director Graeme Phillips promises it will be a “phantasmagorical production... enhanced by the use of extraordinary computer imagery and animation to bring this epic tale to technicolour life.” Other dramatic works will be Theatre Ad Infinitum’s award-winning Translunar Paradise (25 Oct), and Beauty and the Beast (22-23 Nov), an adult fairytale exploring our concepts of beauty, starring former Miss Exotic World, Julie Atlas Muz. In November, Homotopia returns to celebrate its tenth year. For 2013, the LGBT festival

has an impressive programme encompassing theatre, visual art, dance and comedy. Events take place across Liverpool, but as Homotopia’s headquarters are at the Unity, the theatre remains the festival’s hub. Highlights include Chelsea Hotel (1-2 Nov, chelseahotel.org.uk), a dance piece from Cardiff-based company Earthfall exploring those decadent and bohemian New York City digs. Postmodern performance artist Dickie Beau hosts Lost in Trans (6-7 Nov), incorporating found sounds, drag and lip-synching in a work inspired by Ovid’s epic Latin poem, Metamorphoses. Avant-garde cabaret legend David Hoyle appears on 9 Nov joined by Julie Holestar and poet Gerry

knowledge from his grandparents and raising some distinctly unwelcome questions, and Carole Bardsley, who plays unwanted guest Bee, a woman from Will’s past who has chosen to forgo this society’s permanent youth. Thackery and Lass Productions/Scytheplays seem to have stayed as true to Kneale’s original script as possible, with the play being a homage to the original production as well as its own stand-alone piece of theatre. Some clever staging and direction manages to fit a cast of nine people into the Lass O’Gowrie’s small theatre space without it seeming overcrowded. And while the somewhat retro styling and props mean the production lacks a modern sci-fi feel, the issues the play raises are more relevant than ever. As the play draws to a close, Will and Julie face the state’s preferred method of euthanasia: they must drink the Wine of India. And as the coldly official ‘undertaker’ Adam (Quentin Knight) makes a closing reference to the state-controlled manipulation of his ‘clients’, surely not a single member of the audience can leave without considering some of the challenging and timely moral questions to which Wine of India demands answers. [Conori Bell-Bhuiyan]

The Masque of Anarchy

www.greatermanchesterfringe.co.uk

Potter, plus Nigerian singer Le Gateau Chocolat performs in autobiographical work Black (14-15 Nov). As the Unity approaches its 35th year on Hope Place, the theatre’s commitment to producing vital and engaging works is as strong as ever. Phillips asserts: “I think that there is a resurgence of interest in political theatre and satire. It can be seen in the range of exciting new plays being staged and even influences the way the classics are interpreted and made relevant to modern audiences.” www.unitytheatreliverpool.co.uk

its beauty remains humble, with the only decoration being a mass of candles in front of its aweinspiring organ. Following some sinister-soundrrrrr ing musical crescendos, Peake, serene in white, icture the scene. It’s 1819, it’s August, takes to the stage carrying a candle of her own to and you’re one of 60,000 impoverished place with the others, before launching into 40 Mancunians exasperated by the state’s indifferminutes of memorised verse. ence towards your plight. But on this summer’s Never has Manchester International day, you’re not going to riot for parliamentary re- Festival’s motto, ‘Made for Manchester, Shared form. Instead, you’ve dressed up in your Sunday with the World’, seemed so apt. The production best, packed a picnic and taken your family to St oozes locality, from the venue to the choice of Peter’s Field for a day of peaceful protest. Your director Sarah Frankcom, who’s also an artistic calm excursion is, however, met with paranoia director of Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre. and fear. Armed cavalry are sent by magistrates And although Shelley may have been a southerner to arrest the protest’s speakers and diffuse the who was in Italy when the massacre took place, The Masque of Anarchy remains one of the city’s crowd; armed cavalry that end the lives of 15 attendees and seriously injure hundreds more. The – and perhaps even the world’s – most important event becomes known as the Peterloo Massacre – political poems. As the poem sweeps from an interpretaa pivotal moment in Manchester’s history. tion of the peaceful protest and massacre into a It’s no wonder, then, that when reciting diatribe upon the cowardice of those responsible the haunting, confrontational 91-verse epic The Masque of Anarchy – written by Percy Bysshe for the latter, Peake’s performance is suitably Shelley upon hearing of the massacre – Boltonanimated. She gesticulates, addresses us diborn, Westhougton-raised and Salford-educated rectly and allows anger to raise her voice to fearsome heights. At the poem’s conclusion, however, actress Maxine Peake allows her voice, wrought with emotion, to both roar and tremble. Her per- her words soften; she takes a candle and calmly formance is staged in Manchester’s Albert Hall on makes her way through the standing audience, Peter Street, a venue that has remained inacces- who part without taking their eyes off her. [Emma sible to the public for 40 years. It’s a breathtakMadden] ingly beautiful building, but for this production Albert Hall, Manchester, 12 Jul

www.mif.co.uk/event/the-masque-of-anarchy

THEATRE

Preview

Manchester Music Tue 30 Jul We Are Scientists

Gorilla, 19:00–23:00, £sold out

California-based indie-rockers with a penchant for big riffs, on the road showcasing a selection of new songs. CUSP

Festival Pavilion Teepee, 14:30–17:00, Free

Four creative individuals making music, built up from a string section duo. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival. Johnny Hunter Quartet

Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, 21:30–01:00, £5

Blind Monk Trio drummer, Johnny Hunter, branching out with a new project, offering up fresh, contemporary jazz. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival.

Stuart McCallum: Channel Four

Band On The Wall, 20:00–22:00, £10 adv. (£12 door)

For the final date of Stuart McCallum’s short Northern tour he’ll add his string quartet into the mix as they perform acoustic jazz versions of some of McCallum’s Distilled material. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival. John Ellis Trio

Bridgewater Hall Foyer, 13:00–16:00, Free

The Markov Chain

Taiwa

Festival Pavilion Teepee, 14:30–17:00, Free

Festival Pavilion Teepee, 19:30–21:00, £5

A dialogue between three musicians focussing of the freer side of jazz. Part of Manchester International Festival. Georgia Mancio Quartet

Festival Pavilion Teepee, 19:30–21:00, £5

With musical influences as broad as her background, the UK-born Georgia Mancio draws on her Italian and Uruguayan heritage and affinity with languages in this collaboration with song writing partner Tim Lapthorn. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival. Eulalia Peris & Angel GoniMoreno

Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, 14:30–17:00, £19.95

A passionate mix of jazz and flamenco to be enjoyed during afternoon tea as part of the Manchester Jazz Festival. Gypsies of Bohemia

Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, 21:30–01:00, £5

Britney Spears, Beyonce and Iron Maiden get the new gypsy jazz treatment in this toe-tapping performance. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival. Trio Riot

The Mancunian trio take a musical journey through township, soulful songs and Manchester folk heritage. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival.

Royal Northern College of Music, 18:30–22:00, £6

Festival Pavilion Teepee, 17:00–19:00, Free

ortoPilot (Paul Usher + MyLyricalMind + Dan Fable + Chantelle Elliott + Debbie Richards)

The Weave

An ensemble of established musicians from the Liverpool jazz scene, playing warm and melodious home-spun tunes. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival. Billy Moon

Festival Pavilion Teepee, 19:30–21:00, £5

What Do You See When You Close Your Eyes? is a new music and literature collaboration featuring the work of six award-winning writers commissioned to respond to pieces of music. Part of Manchester Jazz and Literature festivals. Blue Ejder

The Midland, 14:30–17:00, £19.95

Enjoy afternoon tea with a musical accompaniment from this Nordic, folk and modern poetry-inspired duo. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival. Matthew and the Atlas

The Castle Hotel, 19:30–23:00, £7

A trio inspire by the punk scene of the 70s and 80s, taking inspiration from Ornette Coleman and free jazz pioneers. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival.

The Roadhouse, 19:30–23:00, £4

Solo project of Manchester-based multi-instrumentalist Matt Hutchinson, playing alternative, acoustic rock.

Trembling Bells and Mike Heron (Ravens) Manchester Academy 2, 3 and Club, 19:00–23:00, £12.50

Original Incredible String Band member Mike Heron teams up with Glasgow’s own kings and queens of modern folk, Trembling Bells, to perform new arrangements of some ISB classics.

Huffin’ Paint (Chevin + Holiday + Old Skin) Wählbar, 20:00–23:00, £4

A four-strong line up of thrash and heavy punk, with the Midlands’ Huffin’ Paint topping the bill.

Dreamy Americana from the Aldershot-born, London-based musician.

Thu 01 Aug

Wed 31 Jul

An evening of live music and DJs spanning folk, Americana, rhythm and blues.

Night & Day’s Local Showcase (Chesqua + Lucy Camba) Night and Day Cafe, 20:00–02:00, £5

Live music showcase, giving a stage to local up-and-coming performers. Turkey Circus

Festival Pavilion Teepee, 17:00–19:00, Free

A new-ish addition to the Northern Jazz scene, led by bassist Ed Harrison. Part of Mancheser Jazz Festival. Efpi Showcase (Anton Hunter Trio + Johnny Hunter Quartet + Roadrunner Honey)

Royal Northern College of Music, 18:30–22:00, £6

Mancunian promoters and record label, Efpi present a series of gigs showcasing some of their most recent additions to their roster. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival. Pete Lyons LX:V Quintet

Bridgewater Hall Foyer, 13:00–16:00, Free

Sheffield’s Pete Lyons celebrates his 60th birthday with a suite embracing modal influences from John Coltrane to the harmonies of Kenny Wheeler. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival. Los Sombreros

Festival Pavilion Teepee, 12:30–14:00, Free

James Hardwick and Russell Parkin allow their love of guitar music of all genres to lead the way, taking them on a journey through Latin, fusion, blues and rock. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival.

Listings

Smokey Blue Grass

Trof Northern Quarter, 20:00–01:00, free

GoGo Penguin + Matthew Halsall Sextet

Band On The Wall, 20:00–22:00, £12 adv. (£14 door)

Gondwana Records celebrates recent releases from two of Manchester’s most vibrant homegrown groups. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival. Kurfuffle

Festival Pavilion Teepee, 12:30–14:00, Free

A young Manchester band grounded in jazz-fusion with Eastern European and Mediterranean influences. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival. Andy Stamatakis-Brown Trio

Festival Pavilion Teepee, 14:30–16:00, Free

Blending influences from contemporary American with a European twist, Andy Stamatakis-Brown will be demonstrating his musical risk taking for his debut piano trio. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival. Kevin Figes Quartet

Festival Pavilion Teepee, 17:00–19:00, Free

Bristol-based quartet fusing a variety of influences to produce highly personal music in a fearless and evolving way. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival.

A tribute to the work of late pianist Moses Molelekwa, a leading pioneer in a generation of South African jazz musicians born into apartheid. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival. Alligator Gumbo

Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, 21:30–01:00, £5

Leeds-based jazz musicians playing a mix of styles inspired by early jazz/swing music in New Orleans – which has surprisingly little to do with large reptilian-based stew. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival. Ed Kainyek & George King

The Midland, 14:30–16:00, £19.95

A blend of rare jazz, pop and soul tunes from the perfectly matched duo. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival. Antonio Serrano

St Ann’s Church, 13:00–15:00, Free

The UK debut of world-renowned harmonica player Antonio Serrano, accompanying himself on the piano for a magical recital. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival.

Circle Takes The Square (Codeorangekids + Full of Hell) The Star and Garter, 19:00–23:00, £7

US-of-A-hailing experimental screamers singing punk-rock tunes about the end of the world as we know it. Candidate23 (Robert John + Empire)

The Bay Horse, 19:30–23:00, £3

Indie/pop five-piece hailing from the Northwest of England, touring with their recently released EP Recurring Dreams. Gulp

The Castle Hotel, 20:00–23:00, £5

Made up of various members of Super Furry Animals and Race Horses, the fuzzy folk quartet – who previously toured with Django Django – head out on a solo tour with second single, Play, in tow. Hardware: Part 3 (Petrol Bastard + Violent Vivkie + Ill)

Retro Bar, 21:00–02:00, £5

A triple threat of bands, with the electronic punk rock Leeds outfit, Petrol Bastard, topping the bill.

Footprints in the Custard (Deathtrip + A Ritual Spirit]) Grand Central, 20:00–23:55, Free

Punk metal five-piece hailing from Crewe, making music together since 2006.

Fri 02 Aug

We Were Promised Jetpacks

The Deaf Institute, 19:30–23:00, £10

More rolling drums, big guitars and massive effing finales from the WWPJ’s gang, playing a couple of headline shows between festival appearances. Free Gig Friday (Suburban Spotlight)

The Bay Horse, 21:00–01:00, Free

Fill your Friday night with free live music – guests and DJs selected by a different band each week. Apes Grapes

Festival Pavilion Teepee, 12:30–14:00, Free

The last in the MJF Introduces series places the spotlight on recent RNCM graduates, working with experimental textural soundscapes drawing on influences from Indian music, electronica and beyond. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival. Laura Jurd Quartet

Festival Pavilion Teepee, 14:30–16:30, Free

The London-based outfit, led by Chaos Collective co-founder Laura Jurd, fusing European folk with jazz and classical influences. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival. John Fleming Quartet

Festival Pavilion Teepee, 17:00–19:00, Free

Winner of the Young Scottish Jazz Musician of the Year award, John Flemming leads his group through contemporary originals and standards as part of Manchester Jazz Festival.

Ikestra

Texas Is The Reason

Festival Pavilion Teepee, 20:00–21:00, £12 adv. (£14 door)

Manchester Academy 2, 3 and Club, 19:00–23:00, £16.50

A potent mix of edgy funk and groove awash with Indian influences from the Leeds-based group of musicians. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival. Skamel

Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, 21:03–01:00, £5

Jazz, ska, dub, reggae and free improvisation from the Manchesterbased Skamel, launching their new album as part of Manchester Jazz Festival. Shatner’s Bassoon

Royal Northern College of Music, 18:30–21:00, £6

A group young musicians from Leeds, drawing on influences as varied as John Zorn and Frank Zappa to create music that spans the beautiful to the sinister. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival. The Dors

Royal Northern College of Music, 20:00–22:00, £10

Powerful sound collisions from the UK-France collaboration, uniting four musicians at the forefront of contemporary improvisation. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival. Edward Barnwell

St Ann’s Church, 13:00–14:30, Free

Performing music from his recording A New Journey – a musical nod to Manchester, his home and source of inspiration for nearly two decades. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival. The Tapestry

Soup Kitchen, 20:00–03:00, £6

Manchester pop quartet, influenced by the likes of Pixies and Neil Young. Gareth Icke

The Castle Hotel, 19:30–23:00, £sold out

Singer/songwriter from the Isle of Wight, touring with his 2012 album, A Brand New Battle.

Sat 03 Aug

Night & Day’s Local Showcase (El Gazelle) Night and Day Cafe, 20:00–02:00, £5

Live music showcase, giving a stage to local up-and-coming performers. New York Brass Band

Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, 21:30–01:00, £5

North Yorkshire’s only contemporary New Orleans inspired brass band performing as part of the Manchester Jazz Festival. Cloudmakers Trio

Festival Pavilion Teepee, 13:00–15:00, £3

Falling somewhere between New York’s downtown sound and the modern European tradition, the London-based Cloudmakers Trio deliver agile and lyrical originals in an energetic and intelligent style. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival. Dice Factory

Festival Pavilion Teepee, 15:00–17:00, £3

Jazz quartet devoted to exploring the more challenging methods of both composition and improvisation, resulting in an exploratory yet melodic sound. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival. Paradox Ensemble

Festival Pavilion Teepee, 17:00–19:00, £3

Beats & Pieces trumpeter-led band, inspired by everything from Gill Evans to Aphex Twin, blending electronics, live effects and samples with an earthy groove. Part of Manchetser Jazz Festival. Kirsty Almeida & The Troubadours (Riot Jazz Brass Band)

Festival Pavilion Teepee, 20:00–21:00, £13 adv. (£16 door)

To close the Manchester Jazz Festival in style, local songstress, Kirsty Almeida and brass monkeys Riot Jazz Brass Band will be providing the toe-tapping, headbopping beats. The Felonious Monks

St Ann’s Church, 18:00–21:00, £8 adv. (£10 door)

Fusing early Renaissance music with contemporary jazz using a mixture of modern and replica instruments from the 16th-century, and playing their world premier at the Manchester Jazz Festival.

American emo post-hardcore ensemble founded in 1994 by former Shelter guitarist Norm Arenas and 108 drummer Chris Daly.

The Outer Church (VHS Head + Harem + Kemper Norton + The Wyrding Module + The Geography Trip DJs) KRAAK, 19:00–23:00, £7

The Outer Church celebrate the release of their compilation album, on Manchester label Front & Follow, with a line-up of experimental electronic producers doing whacked out things with ex-rental videos and the likes.

The Headbangers Balls Tour (Xentrix + Reign of Fire)

Manchester Academy 2, 3 and Club, 19:00–23:00, £10

Hardstyled fundraiser night designed to raise awareness for testicular cancer, with profits going to the Teenage Cancer Trust. The New Ages (City of Lights)

Barca Live Venue, 19:30–23:00, Free

Alternative funk rock band from Birmingham. El Gazelle

Night and Day Cafe, 19:30–01:00, £5

Psychedelic rock’n’roll/garage bunch hailing from Manchester, known for local shows and running their own club night. Curated #1 (Go Native + Two Eyes)

The Castle Hotel, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Go Native curate the night, inviting along Two Eyes along for the night, offering a contrast of sounds.

Sun 04 Aug

Iain Ballamy & Gareth Williams

Festival Pavilion Teepee, 13:00–14:30, £3

A duo capable of turning any song, obscure or classical, into a moving and compelling interplay with their contrasting yet complimentary styles. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival. Journal Intime

Festival Pavilion Teepee, 14:45–16:00, £3

For their debut UK visit, the pocket brass band celebrates, without imitation, the rhythm and groove of their muse, Jimi Hendrix. Part of Manchester Jazz Festval. The April Songs

Festival Pavilion Teepee, 16:30–18:00, £3

Sara Colman and Jamil Sheriff close the Manchester Jazz Festival with their built up loops and bed of sound which enrich the expression and communication of their songs. An Evening With Jon Anderson

Band On The Wall, 19:00–23:00, £24.50

The YES frontman returns to the stage, drawing on a back catalogue of classics. The Castro’s (Skinny Roller + Marivaux + Iseeangels) Barca Live Venue, 12:00–17:00, Free

Liverpudlian four piece making rockabilly indie.

Dirt Box Disco (Maximum RNR + Choking Susan + Skurvi)

The Star and Garter, 16:30–21:00, £5

Mishmash of alternative/rock/garage/glam vibes from the Midlands. Storytime Festival Vol II

Antwerp Mansion, 15:00–00:00, £3

The Storytime Festival returns for a whole day of music, art, visuals, craft, poetry and, er, hula hooping. Birdie Jackson and The Arbour (Becca Williams) The Castle Hotel, 19:30–23:00, £5

Ethereal and dark folk from the Newcastle-based quartet.

Mon 05 Aug Bosnian Rainbows

The Deaf Institute, 7:30–11:00, £9.50

Alternative rock lot hailing from El Paso, Texas, made up of ex The Mars Volta members, keyboardist Nicci Kasper, and the inimitable Teri Gender Bender providing vocals. Blues Jam

Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, 21:00–00:30, £5

Monday night blues jam, all abilities welcome. XisForEyes (Black Tongue + In Exhile)

Retro Bar, 19:00–23:30, £tbc

Pretty much as dark as it gets – black deathcore sounds from the Newcastle-based five-piece, led by the very shouty Mr Luke Moffat.

Tue 06 Aug

Daniel and the Scandals

The Deaf Institute, 19:00–22:30, £7

Brighton-based pop-meets-rock lot who began tinkering with music by the seaside in late 2010. Listener

KRAAK, 19:00–23:00, £7.50

Talk music from the US of A outfit, touring with their latest album Time is A Machine, released on Tangled Talk.

Pitbull Global Warming Tour 2013 Manchester Academy, 19:00–23:00, £29.50

Armando Pérez, aka Pitbull, touring with his 2012 album, Global Warming. Anta (Pigshackle + Rapid Pig)

Wählbar, 19:30–00:00, £3

The Bristol-based prog leviathans take to the road, showcasing their new album, Centurionaut. Beverley Beirne

Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, 21:00–00:30, Free

Jazz singer effortlessly blending deftly arranged standards with fresh interpretations of other genres. White Clouds & Gunfire

Retro Bar, 19:00–23:30, £5

The Castaways

Monopoly Child Star Searchers

Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, 21:30–00:30, £5

KRAAK, 19:00–23:00, £5

Macclesfield-based seven-piece band, bringing the old school sounds of the Caribbean to the stage. Ale-ternative #11 (Duke and the Darlings + Mog Stanley)

BrewDog, 19:00–21:30, Free

A free night of alternative pop courtesy of the Duke and the Darlings bunch, gathering steam over the past year and offering a stage to up-and-coming talent.

Blair Murray & The Butterflys (Danny Liptrott) The Castle Hotel, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, 21:00–00:30, Free

John Holt

Sat 10 Aug

Martha Reeves and The Vandellas The Ritz, 18:30–22:00, £25

The mighty Motown legends play a set of hits.

Live music showcase, giving a stage to local up-and-coming performers.

Ceremony (93MillionMilesFromTheSun) The Roadhouse, 19:30–23:00, £4

Virginia-based duo serving up love songs with a aggressive shoegazeesque twang. Samuel C. Lees

Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, 21:00–00:30, Free

Gypsy guitar playing, emerging as one of the leaders in the UK scene, playing a blend of originals and covers of modern classics.

Thu 08 Aug

Night & Day’s Local Showcase (The Twisted Dolls + Juniors) Night and Day Cafe, 20:00–02:00, £5

Live music showcase, giving a stage to local up-and-coming performers. Boxcar Blues

The King’s Arms, 20:00–23:00, Free

An evening of blues music, inspired by the state-hopping hobos of the USA. Perri & Neil

Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, 21:00–00:00, Free

Jazz, folk and progressive rock quartet, drawing on free improvisation and r’n’b influences.

Pine Barrens Album Launch (Wide + Blastronaut) The Bay Horse, 20:00–23:00, Free

Manchester-based crust metalinspired hardcore four-piece.

Autumn Ruin (Thunderground + Test Transmission + Left to Burn) Dry Bar, 19:00–22:45, £5

Bury-based rock and metal five-piece, drawing on varying influences, from Killswitch Engage to Bring Me The Horizon. Generationals

The Castle Hotel, 19:30–23:00, £6

Ted Joyner and Grant Widmer, formerly of The Eames Era fame, head out on a mini jaunt across the UK, taking their album Heza along for the ride. Cale Lane (Sacrament)

Grand Central, 20:00–23:55, Free

Hardcore metal from Wigan and Bolton, punctuated by the screams of Danny and Elvis.

Fri 09 Aug Mohawk Radio

The Deaf Institute, 19:00–22:30, £7

Manchester-based punk/rock/soul group led by the powerful vocals of Mia Chambray. Free Gig Friday (Nig Richards & the Primates)

The Bay Horse, 21:00–01:00, Free

Fill your Friday night with free live music – guests and DJs selected by a different band each week.

The B-52’s

Manchester Academy, 19:00–23:00, £30

Sheridan Suite, 20:00–23:00, £35

Reggae singer par excellence arrives in Manchester with a line-up of legends, bringing the rock steady beats to the Sheridan Suite.

Wed 07 Aug The Bay Horse, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Tue 13 Aug The longstanding new wave ensemble play a set of dance rock favourites.

Night & Day’s Local Showcase (The Bedroom Hour + The Reveres + Narcosis)

Swedish songstress, and driving force behind the Dark Skies Association DIY label, bringing the nostalgic pop vibes with a suitably evocative style.

Owen Pallett (Buke and Gase)

Band On The Wall, 19:30–23:00, £13.50

Canadian baroque pop multiinstrumentalist and composer; known for his lush orchestral arrangements for the likes of REM and Arcade Fire.

EP Launch for the Manchesterbased folk rock bunch, crafting stories through music.

Peterborough-based alternative pop/rock four-piece, touring with their new album, For All The Non Believers. Molly Nilsson

Former Skaters member embarks on a solo project, exploring infinity through a repetitive, intertwining sort of cosmic layer cake. Or something.

Hugo Corbin

A trio of Northwest musicians, performing compositions and arrangements written by Hugo Corbin.

Wed 14 Aug Blind Monk Trio

Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, 21:00–00:30, Free

Three Northwest musicians putting a fresh spin on the classic, chordless jazz trio format.

Night and Day Cafe, 20:00–02:00, £5

Joshua Burkett (Chalaque + Gristed Petunia)

Smokey Blue Grass

The American musician and pioneer of the lo-fi psychedelic scene will be playing a few UK dates as a precursor to the re-issue of his 1998 album, Life Less Lost.

Trof Northern Quarter, 21:00–01:00, free

An evening of live music and DJs spanning folk, Americana, rhythm and blues. Brown Brogues

The Castle Hotel, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Mark Vernon and Ben Mather, better known as Brown Brogues, doing that noisy garage rock thing they do so well.

The Lottery Winners (Brouhaha + Flores) Manchester Academy 2, 3 and Club, 19:00–23:00, £8

KRAAK, 19:00–23:00, £4

Childhood (Kult Country)

Soup Kitchen, 19:30–23:00, £5

The London-based four-piece, formed at Nottingham University in 2011, bring their indie pop sound to the Soup Kitchen basement, along with SWAYS Kult Country.

Thu 15 Aug

Night & Day’s Local Showcase (Joel Gregory) Night and Day Cafe, 20:00–02:00, £5

Indie-pop outfit hailing from Leigh, fuelled by romance.

Live music showcase, giving a stage to local up-and-coming performers.

Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, 21:30–01:00, £5

Trof Northern Quarter, 21:00–01:00, free

S.E.L

Standing for Soulful Emma-Louise, S.E.L brings the formidable vocals and songwriting passion by the bucket load.

Talk of the Town 2013 (Jeramiah Ferrari + The Hugo Kensdale Band + Soul Sabateur + The Romleys + The High Nines + Ruby Tuesday + The Richie Syrett Band) The King’s Arms, 14:00–17:00, £5

Seven band line-up, including the Manchester reggae outfit, Jeramiah Ferrari.

A Page of Punk (Pei Pei + Well Weezer + Her Parents)

The Star and Garter, 13:00–23:00, £8

All dayer at the Star and Garter, with Japanese punk bunch, A Page of Punk taking the headline spot. The Manchester Cunning Folk Festival (One Five Eight Collective + Paradox + Politburo + Stranger Son) KRAAK, 19:00–23:00, £10

The Alleyway bunch bring their festival and art exhibition to KRAAK gallery.

Sun 11 Aug

Sunday Acoustic Sessions (Matthew Gray + The Awful Truth + The Voice Collective) Band On The Wall, 18:00–23:00, Free

An evening of free acoustic music showcasing emerging talent from Manchester and the surrounding areas. Cold Cave

The Deaf Institute, 19:30–23:00, £8

The New York-based misfit continues to hone his addictive, irrepressible take on 80s goth and electro – one angsty synth-pop gem at a time.

Mon 12 Aug Jazz Jam

Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, 21:00–00:30, Free

Monday night jazz jam, all abilities welcome.

Smokey Blue Grass

An evening of live music and DJs spanning folk, Americana, rhythm and blues. No Good Beatniks

Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, 21:00–00:00, Free

A collective of musicians operating as a jam band playing around with distorted jazz and improvisation. Pteroglyph

Grand Central, 20:00–23:55, Free

Solo project of ex-Mishkin member, Jimmy MacGregor, making progressive metal and touring on the run up to the release of his new EP, The Great Unseen.

Fri 16 Aug

Free Gig Friday (Jolanga)

The Bay Horse, 21:00–01:00, Free

Fill your Friday night with free live music – guests and DJs selected by a different band each week. John Mackie (Dan Solan + Jess Harwood)

Barca Live Venue, 19:30–23:00, Free

Glasgow-born, Manchester-based singer/songwriter, playing acoustic lovelies with emotive lyrics. Sonu Nigam: 100 Years of Bollywood

O2 Apollo, 18:30–22:00, From £25

The voice of countless Bollywood movies comes to Manchester to share some of his greatest hits.

Electronically Tested (Helmets Factory Acts + Positronik Exchange)

The King’s Arms, 19:30–23:00, £5

The live music-loving Helmets for Men bunch are back with a series of gigs.

Sat 17 Aug Moon Duo

The Deaf Institute, 19:30–23:00, £10

The San Franciscan rock duo (aka Ripley Johnson and Sanae Yamada) all lazily advancing solos and eccentric organ meanderings.

Rock It (The Joints + the Moods + Bi:Lingual + Broken Dialect)

KRAAK, 19:00–03:00, £tbc

Four-strong line-up, including the Manchester-based The Moods, and rock’n’roll/hip hop outfit, Bi:Lingual.

THE SKINNY

The Blue Orchids + John Herring The King’s Arms, 19:30–23:00, £5

The live music-loving Helmets for Men bunch are back with a series of gigs. CityLights

Retro Bar, 18:00–21:30, £5

St. Albans-resiging four-piece, dropping by Manchester as part of their headline tour.

Sun 18 Aug

Twin Planets (Guardians + Edits)

The Castle Hotel, 19:00–23:00, £5

Shimmering alternative rock from the Ormskirk-based four-piece.

The Merrylees + Morrissey & Marshall The Castle Hotel, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Double headliner thing with the country-tinged Edinburgh trio, The Merrylees, bringing the retro vibes, chock with hallucinogenic riffs and a load of reverb, while the Dublin-born, London-based duo, Morrissey & Marshall, offer up some folk and rock vibes. Leviathan (The Bastard Sons)

Grand Central, 20:00–23:55, Free

Five-piece progressive/melodic death metal bunch from Bonn, Germany.

Revolution: Pussy Riot Sentencing Commemoration Festival

Fri 23 Aug

KRAAK, 15:00–23:00, £6 Sun/£8 Mon (£12 both)

The Bay Horse, 21:00–01:00, Free

To mark the one year anniversary of the Pussy Riot sentencing, ShatterJapan are hosting a two-day music festival to celebrate freedom of expression.

Mon 19 Aug Bad Religion

The Ritz, 19:00–22:00, £18.50

Punk rock with teeth; formed in 1979 in Los Angeles, and known for their soaring three-part vocal harmonies and intellectual lyrics. Revolution: Pussy Riot Sentencing Commemoration Festival

KRAAK, 19:00–23:00, £6 Sun/£8 Mon (£12 both)

To mark the one year anniversary of the Pussy Riot sentencing, ShatterJapan are hosting a two-day music festival to celebrate freedom of expression.

Tue 20 Aug Twenty | One | Pilots

The Deaf Institute, 19:00–22:30, £8

Ohio-born synthpop duo on the Fueled by Ramen roster.

Magdalena Reising & Blue Cafe Jazz

Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, 21:00–00:00, Free

A musical journey through Tin Pan Alley jazz standards and originals with a trio of talented musicians. Slaughterhouse

Gorilla, 19:00–23:00, £18

Hip hop supergroup, pieced together by Eminem and featuring a line-up of rap heavyweights, including Joe Budden, Royce Da 5’9", Joell Ortiz and Crooked I.

Wed 21 Aug

Stuart McCallum: ‘Projects’ Residency

Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, 21:00–00:00, Free

Cinematic Orchestra guitarist trying out new material in the realm of beats, electronica, classical orchestration and jazz. Nick Oliveri

The Deaf Institute, 19:30–23:00, £10

Solo project of Ex-Queens of the Stone Age member, embarking on a small European tour, taking to the stage unplugged. Arbouretum

Soup Kitchen, 19:30–23:00, £5

Alternative-rock lot from Baltimore, touring with their 2012 album, Coming Out of the Fog.

Thu 22 Aug

Brendan Benson (Leah Mason + Future Monarchs)

The Ruby Lounge, 19:30–23:00, £12

The US singer/songwriter and sometime Raconteur (with pal Jack White) takes to the road solo in support of his new album. The Cookin Pots

Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, 21:00–00:30, Free

Four-piece offering a fresh twist on the timeless classics of the 30s and 40s jazz and swing era. Merchandise

The Deaf Institute, 19:30–23:00, £8

Florida-based band of rockers, riding along on interestingly experimental punk and hardcore soundscapes. Super Luxury (Massicot)

The Bay Horse, 19:30–23:00, £3 (£4 door)

Leeds-based noise rock bunch, known for their out on control live shows.

Free Gig Friday (Velocets + Mammals)

Fill your Friday night with free live music – guests and DJs selected by a different band each week. Weekend Sun Music

Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, 21:30–00:30, £5

Blending old with new; from 90s sample-heavy hip hop, to old, dancable jazz.

Kill Pretty (Monkeys in Love + Poppycock) The King’s Arms, 19:30–23:00, £5

The live music-loving Helmets for Men bunch are back with a series of gigs. Ducktails

Soup Kitchen, 19:30–22:30, £10

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

The Castle Hotel, 20:00–23:00, £5

I Am Amity tour lands in Manchester, funded by fans through PledgeMusic.

Sat 24 Aug Suzuki Method

The King’s Arms, 19:30–23:00, £5

The live music-loving Helmets for Men bunch are back with a series of gigs. Abattoir Blues Festival

The Castle Hotel, 14:00–23:00, £4 day (£7.50 weekend)

Local blues label, Abattoir Blues serve up a whole weekend of music, cramming in 24 acts over 2 days.

Sun 25 Aug

Die! Die! Die! (Whales In Cubicles)

Night and Day Cafe, 20:00–02:00, £5

The Bay Horse, 19:00–23:00, £5

Stoner sludge rock from Pete, Chris and Dicky, straight outta Knebworth.

Thu 29 Aug Eleanor Friedberger

Night and Day Cafe, 19:30–01:00, £8

Putting her group project, The Fiery Furnaces, on hold, Eleanor Friedberger returns with her second solo album, Personal Record. Taylor Birds

Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, 21:00–00:30, Free

UK-born Sophie Kinston, once known for supporting folk/blues artists on the road and in the studio; now embarking on a solo project under her Taylor Birds moniker.

Lonnie Liston Smith & the New Cosmic Echoes

Band On The Wall, 19:30–23:00, £15

The man best known as the Godfather of jazz funk and smooth jazz takes to the stage with his New Cosmic Echoes band. Evening Hymns

The Castle Hotel, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Musical project of songwriter Jonas Bonnetta – joined by a rotation of occasional band mates – taking his delicately crafted pop out for a spin.

Fri 30 Aug

Free Gig Friday (Corinne Gibbons & Friends) The Bay Horse, 21:00–01:00, Free

Fill your Friday night with free live music – guests and DJs selected by a different band each week.

Sat 31 Aug

Our Fold (Last of the Dogs)

Barca Live Venue, 19:30–23:00, Free

Indie rock four-piece from Bolton. Leonard Cohen

Manchester Arena, 20:00–23:00, From £25

Leonard Bloody Cohen, guys! The Canadian singer/songwriter with a career spanning six decades is back on the road. One in Ten (Spandex Rising + the Risin’ Tides) The Ruby Lounge, 19:30–23:00, £6

Energetic rock bunch from the Northwest, playing a mixture of feel-good rock/metal covers. Andy Ellison

New Zealand pop-punk hellraisers known for their vitriolic live cacophony of noise.

Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, 21:30–00:30, £5

Band On The Wall, 20:00–23:00, £20

H.O.T

Black Uhuru

Reggae band par excellence return to Manchester for a August bank holiday weekend special, bringing the sound of Kingston, Jamaica along for the ride. Abattoir Blues Festival

The Castle Hotel, 14:00–23:00, £4 day (£7.50 weekend)

Local blues label, Abattoir Blues serve up a whole weekend of music, cramming in 24 acts over 2 days. Bound By Exhile + Nexilva

Retro Bar, 19:00–23:00, £5

Death/slam metal five-piece hailing from the Southwest.

Mon 26 Aug Mundo Jam

Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, 21:30–00:30, Free

An anything goes kinda jam session, fusing styles from any musical tradition.

Wed 28 Aug

Classic swing meets new wave jazz from Andy Ellison and his band. The King’s Arms, 19:30–23:00, £4

Three-piece Italian alternative/ indie outfit and sometime Amanda Knox collaborators Summer Picnic Proms

Jodrell Bank, 20:00–23:00, £29.50

The majestic setting of Jodrell Bank will play the role of suitably impressive backdrop for the Halle’s concert, drawing inspiration from the planets and sci-fi films. Transmission 006 (Sigur Ros + Daughter + Polica + Nik Colk Void)

Jodrell Bank, 14:00–23:30, £29.50

The Icelandic ambient post-rockers par excellence tour their latest LP, Valtari, against the majestic backdrop of Jodrell Bank.

Liverpool Music

Skaters

Soup Kitchen, 19:30–22:30, £7.50

New York-residing plasma-punk outfit, comprised of lead singer Michael Ian Cummings and drummer Noah Rubin (both formerly of The Dead Trees), and guitarist Joshua Hubbard (who’s played in The Paddingtons and Dirty Pretty Things). Crocodiles

The Ruby Lounge, 19:30–23:00, £8

San Diego garage rock duo made up of Brandon Welchez and Charles Rowell, touring their new LP, Crimes of Passion, which drops in August. The Jamil Sheriff Trio

Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, 21:00–00:30, Free

A dynamic piano trio, led by Jamil Sheriff.

August 2013

Trippy Wicked (Wight + Bright Curse + Ten Foot Wizard)

Tue 30 Jul

Young Musician of the Year Performance

The Capstone, 19:30–22:00, £10 (£8)

As part of Milapfest, six highly accomplished musicians will perform for a panel of judges to be named young musician of the year. Suzahn Fiering

Studio 2, 19:30–01:00, £3

Jazz singer, guitarist and composer hailing from new York City, and currently based in Nashville.

Wed 31 Jul

Spooky Men’s Chorale

Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, 19:30–23:00, From £16.50

A unique choir tackling everything from Georgian style chants to hilarious spoofs of Queen’s Flash and ABBA’s Dancing Queen.

Mike Smith’s Ginger Tunes Quartet MelloMello, 20:00–23:00, £tbc

Jazz fusion four-piece hailing from Liverpool. Young Dancer of the Year Performance

The Capstone, 19:30–22:00, £10 (£8)

As part of Milapfest, six highly accomplished dancers will perform for a panel of judges to be named young dancer of the year.

Thu 01 Aug Morning Raga

THE CAPSTONE, 08.00-10.00, Free

A free concert in the Angel Field Garden, with a performance from the sarod maestro Ranajit Sengupta. Part of Milapfest. Cowtown (Peter Smyth + Coltsblood) MelloMello, 20:00–00:00, £0.80

FestEVOL: Day One (Dogshow + All We Are + Loom + The Wild Eyes) The Kazimier, 16:00–04:00, £10 (£15 weekend)

A lazy afternoon of acoustic music and free BBQ, courtesy of Heebies and some local musicians

Will Jazz

The Shipping Forecast, 16:00–20:00, Free

A lazy afternoon of jazz, selected by the Planetary Jazz founder, William S Whittle. Jon Anderson

Unity Theatre, 19:30–22:00, £24.50

Bumper, 18:00–05:00, Free

The City That Rocked the World Aftershow

Following on from the première screening of The City That Rocked the World, Camp and Furnace host a after party of sorts. Classic Plastic

Lomax, 19:30–23:55, £tbc

Melodic, indie brit-pop from the Brighton-based four piece. Silent Sleep

Leaf, 20:00–23:00, £2

Returning from a Australian tour and heading straight to Leaf with their début album, Walk Me to The Sea – best of luck with the jet-lag folks!

Fri 02 Aug

Lalgudi GJR Krishnan + Leela Samson

The Capstone, 19:30–22:00, £10 (£8)

A double bill performance featuring the Carnatic musician Lalgudi GRJ Krishnan and Bharatanatyam soloist Leela Samson. Part of Milapfest. Anthroprophh (Anta & Pigshackle)

Blade Factory, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Solo project of The Heads frontman, Paul Allen, moving in the realm of psyche space rock with analogue electronics. Cup of Tea

Lomax, 20:30–23:55, Free

Lomax’s very own open mic night, offering a chilled way to spend your Thursday evening. The Cavern Today

The Cavern Club, 20:00–00:00, Free

Dave Monks from BBC Merseyside presents an evening of live music from three Liverpool bands, including fresh-faced young things, The Hummingbirds.

They’re Coming to Get You Barbara

Alt-rock four piece residing in Liverpool, taking their name from a Night of the Living Dead quote. Liverpool Pride: Loud and Proud

Lomax, 19:30–23:55, £tbc

The live music arm of Liverpool Pride, spanning two stages, including an acoustic ‘un.

Tue 06 Aug

Out of the Bedroom: Open Mic Night with Johnny Sands

Leaf, 20:30–23:00, Free

Liverpool’s reigning King of acoustic presents a weekly open mic night. Jackie Lomax

Studio 2, 19:30–01:00, £3

English singer/songwriter, best known for his musical links to George Harrison and Eric Clapton.

Wed 07 Aug Hatebreed

O2 Academy, 19:00–22:00, £15

A lazy afternoon of acoustic music and free BBQ, courtesy of Heebies and some local musicians Bumper Showcase (Poets of Anarchy + Run Tiger Run + The Willz + Mike Cooney) Bumper, 18:00–05:00, Free

Showcase event going on till late, with the Liverpool-based funk rock’n’roll four piece, Poets of Anarchy topping the bill.

The Most Terrifying Thing (The Mighty Saguaro + Code Break) Lomax, 19:30–23:55, £8.50

The Most Terrifying Thing re-unite for the first time in six years, bringing the sounds spanning everything from new wave to punk.

Heebie Jeebies, 15:00–18:00, Free

Shannen Bamford

Bumper, 18:00–05:00, Free

Young and fresh-faced Liverpudlian, giving her newly released EP, Paper Planes, an airing.

FestEVOL: Day Two (By The Sea + Outfit + Baltic Fleet)

The Kazimier, 16:00–04:00, £10 (£15 weekend)

FestEVOL have lined up a whole day of live music, for this weekendstraddling mini festival – spilling out from The Kazimier and into the Garden – day two holds shimmering pop sounds from By The Sea, and Paul Fleming performing under his Baltic Fleet moniker.

Sun 11 Aug Bernie Connor

The Shipping Forecast, 16:00–20:00, Free

Liverpool DJ serving up musical treats to fill your Sunday afternoon and evening. Cup of Tea

Loop-based experimental folk singer/songwriter pondering the the difficulties of relationships and emotional awkwardness via song. Scott and Charlene’s Wedding

The Shipping Forecast, 20:00–23:00, £5

Lomax, 19:30–23:55, £tbc

Mon 12 Aug

Mello’s Jazz Collective

A live set from the resident jazz collective.

Tue 13 Aug

Out of the Bedroom: Open Mic Night with Johnny Sands

Leaf, 20:30–23:00, Free

Studio 2, 19:30–01:00, £3

Acoustic Recovery

Lomax, 19:00–23:55, Free

Blackout (RogerSeventyTwo)

Revolution (St Peters Square), 22:00–04:00, £4

Blackout bring one half of TWR72 to Liverpool for this very special event. Cold Cave

East Village Arts Club, 19:00–23:00, £8

The New York-based misfit continues to hone his addictive, irrepressible take on 80s goth and electro – one angsty synth-pop gem at a time. Mello’s Mix Tape #2

MelloMello, 20:00–00:00, Free

An evening of live performances, spanning music, art, film and everything in between. Cup of Tea

Lomax, 20:30–23:55, Free

Lomax’s very own open mic night, offering a chilled way to spend your Thursday evening. Hannah Rose Platt

View Two Gallery, 20:00–23:00, £6

American-fused contemporary folk from the London/Nashvillebased singer/songwriter Hannah Rose Platt.

Zoe Chiotis

Deeply soulful singer/songwriter with a passion for jazz and improvisation.

Wed 14 Aug

The Speakeasy Bootleg Band

MelloMello, 20:00–00:00, Free

Hailing from New Orleans, this tin pan alley three piece bring the sounds of the turn of the 20thcentury to Liverpool.

Thu 15 Aug Buke and Gase

The Kazimier Garden, 20:00–23:00, Free

Dan Croll

Camp and Furnace, 19:00–00:00, Free (booking required)

Liverpool’s very own Dan Croll takes a break from touring to show off his latest single, In/Out. Twin Planets (Soul Saboteur + The Sailmakers + Jyrojets)

Lomax, 19:30–23:55, £tbc

Shimmering alternative rock from the Ormskirk-based four-piece.

Sun 18 Aug Mellowtone DJs

The Shipping Forecast, 16:00–20:00, Free

Enjoy a laid back selection of grooves from the Mellowtone bunch, serving up the obvious alongside the obscure.

Neil Young and Crazy Horse (Band of Horses) Echo Arena, 19:30–23:00, From £39

Acoustic Recovery

Lomax, 19:00–23:55, Free

Tue 20 Aug Half Moon Run

The Shipping Forecast, 20:00–00:00, £6.50

Talented young trio from Ottawa, Ontario and Comox, British Columbia, working their magic across elements of indie, pop and folk. Out of the Bedroom: Open Mic Night with Johnny Sands

Leaf, 20:30–23:00, Free

Liverpool’s reigning King of acoustic presents a weekly open mic night. Ed Kainyek

Studio 2, 19:30–01:00, £3

Manchester-based saxophonist and legend of the local scene, citing Dexter Gordon and Charlie Parker as some of his influences.

Two days of music, art and food, hosted by the fine folk at Camp and Furnace. Day 1 highlights include: Ghostpoet, Martha Wainwright and Mount Kimbie. Johnny Sands Presents...

Heebie Jeebies, 15:00–18:00, Free

A lazy afternoon of acoustic music and free BBQ, courtesy of Heebies and some local musicians My Sweet George

Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, 19:30–23:00, From £20

As part of Beatleweek 2013, The Cavern present three shows at LPH, including this tribute to all things George Harrison.

Free Rock & Roll Weekend (The Wizards of Twiddly + Faintest Idea + Two Sick Monkeys) MelloMello, 20:00–00:00, Free

MelloMello fill your bank holiday weekend with free music, can’t say fairer. Deaf School

The Citadel Arts Centre, 19:30–23:00, £17.50

The 1973 Liverpool rock band, Deaf School, get back together for a couple of shows. ZS + The Royal Wedding + Blackhoods

The Kazimier Garden, 19:00–23:00, Free

Deep Hedonia and The Wet Room join forces to fill your evening with a plethora of live acts, ranging from the ambient math metal bunch ZS, to doom jazz from The Royal Wedding.

Sun 25 Aug Summercamp

Camp and Furnace, 16:00–01:00, £30 day (£50 weekend)

Two days of music, art and food, hosted by the fine folk at Camp and Furnace. Day 2 highlights include Dephic, Lunar Modular and Steve Mason.

Free Rock & Roll Weekend (Our Man In The Broze Ade + Etai Keshinki + Haiku Salut) MelloMello, 20:00–00:00, Free

MelloMello, 20:00–00:00, Free

Writers Block with Garry Maginnis

Mixed-bag night of open mic and open slots.

An evening of free jazz from the resident ensemble. Lomax, 19:30–23:55, £tbc

An opportunity for songwriters to get up and test run some new material.

Wed 21 Aug Allah-Las

MelloMello, 20:00–00:00, Free

Leaf, 19:30–23:00, £8

Thu 22 Aug

Hooker (The Mismade)

A night of ukulele music, dancing and er, cake – all to raise funds for DRIP Uganda.

Free Rock and Roll continues with a double headliner thing from Hooker and The Mismade.

Fri 16 Aug

Lomax, 20:30–23:55, Free

Lomax, 19:00–23:55, £10

Summercamp

Camp and Furnace, 16:00–01:00, £30 day (£50 weekend)

MelloMello fill your bank holiday weekend with free music, can’t say fairer.

The Royal Wedding Ensemble

Studio 2, 19:30–23:00, £3

Hardstyled fundraiser night designed to raise awareness for testicular cancer, with profits going to the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Sefton Park, 19:00–21:30, Free

Sat 24 Aug

A lazy afternoon of acoustic music and free BBQ, courtesy of Heebies and some local musicians

Los Angeles-based rock quartet keeping true to their Californian roots, building their sound on fuzzy harmonies, well-worn Fenders and suntans.

Headbangers Balls (Reign of Fury + Lazarus Syndrome + Bludvera + Sa-Da-Ko + Ravenface)

Summer Classics in the Park (Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra)

Johnny Sands Presents...

Heebie Jeebies, 15:00–18:00, Free

Brooklyn-based experimental duo made up of Arone Dyer and Aron Sanchez, building their sound on a variety of bizarre handmade instruments (six-string former baritone ukulele, we’re looking at you). Charity for Uganda: African Strings

As part of the Liverpool International Music Festival, Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra take to the lush setting of Sefton Park for an evening of classical music.

The Liverpool Philharmonic entertain crowds in the park under the chief conductor Vasily Petrenko.

Birmingham-based hip hop artist, fresh from supporting everyone from Chipmunk to Professor Green.

Black Soul Jack (Death of a Hero + The J.T.A)

Mixed-bag night of open mic and open slots.

Thu 08 Aug

MelloMello, 20:00–00:00, Free

Connor Harris

Classic FM Summer Live Sefton Park, 19:30–23:00, Free

O2 Academy, 19:00–22:00, From £7

Mixed-bag night of open mic and open slots.

Acoustic Recovery

Liverpool’s reigning King of acoustic presents a weekly open mic night.

This month’s installation of Free Rock and Roll features hip-hop from Rikky Wiley and the debut performance from Elmo and the Styx guitarist Probert.

Dynamic Edinburgh quartet riding along on 60s-tinged rock, dark beats and brooding electro cello, with support from art-rock experimentalists Mount Analogue.

Lomax, 19:00–23:55, Free

The impeccably-named lo-fi/ slacker pop outfit, touring with their latest album, Any Port In A Storm.

Rikky Wiley (Porbert + Stevie Banks)

Cosmonauts (Temples Songs + Spring King)

The Canadian singer/songwriter heads out on tour with his band, Crazy Horse, and his 35th studio album, Psychedelic Pill. Support comes from the ever melodic Band of Horses.

Lomax, 20:30–23:55, Free

Lomax’s very own open mic night, offering a chilled way to spend your Thursday evening.

MelloMello, 20:00–00:00, Free

Fri 09 Aug

Johnny Sands Presents...

MelloMello, 20:00–00:00, Free

David Thomas Broughton (Trouble With Books)

O2 Academy, 19:00–22:00, £6

Heebie Jeebies, 15:00–18:00, Free

An evening of classic rock anthems from years gone by.

Rock & blues four piece made up of Chris, Callum, Adam and Adam.

Mixed-bag night of open mic and open slots.

Four-piece hard rock line-up hailing from the Wirral, Merseyside, led (and managed) by the multitalented Graham Fryearson.

Studio 2 Rocks

Studio 2, 20:00–02:00, Free

Hardcore metal hailing band from Connecticut, entertaining riled up audiences since back in’t 1994.

Sat 03 Aug

Undiscovered Society

The Shipping Forecast, 20:00–23:00, £8

Sun 04 Aug

The Capstone, 19:30–22:00, £10 (£8)

Camp and Furnace, 21:00–01:00, £8.00

Lomax, 19:30–23:55, £tbc

Four-strong line-up, with power pop punk outfit, Sweet Little Machine, topping the bill.

The YES frontman returns to the stage, drawing on a back catalogue of classics.

A double bill performance featuring world-renowned sitar player, Guarav Mazumdar and Kathak dancer, Prashant Shah. Part of Milapfest.

Sat 17 Aug

Sweet Little Machine (Six Towns + Hot + Little Pixie)

FestEVOL have lined up a whole day of live music, for this weekendstraddling mini festival – spilling out from The Kazimier and into the Garden – expect everything from skuzzy to sulky sounds, with Clang Boom Steam and Bird on the line-up.

Leeds-based post punk trio, touring to support their new LP, Dudes Vs Bad Dudes. Guarav Mazumdar + Prashant Shah

Sat 10 Aug

Cup of Tea

Lomax’s very own open mic night, offering a chilled way to spend your Thursday evening.

Fri 23 Aug Stones

Eric’s Live, 19:30–23:30, £8

Rolling Stones tribute act.

The Cavern Club Beatles

Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, 19:30–23:00, From £20

Beatles tribute act.

Acoustic Recovery

Lomax, 19:00–23:55, Free

ItsLiverpool: Tomorrow (All We Are + Merki + Boonacons of Doom + Dogshow + Ady Sulieman + The Loud + The Wild Eyes + Ghostchant) Sefton Park, 12:00–20:00, Free

A selection of trailblazing Liverpool bands, curated by Get Into This editor, Peter Guy. LIMF Bandstand (Joe Maddocks+ Jez Wing + Hey Carrianne + David Hirst + The Mono LPs)

Sefton Park, 12:00–19:00, Free

A free afternoon of acoustic performances and DJ sets, curated in association with promoters, Mellowtone. Liverpool Music Awards

St George’s Hall, 18:30–01:00, £150

Award show celebrating those in the Liverpool music scene, and those working behind the scenes. Summer Acoustic

The Bluecoat, 12:00–17:00, Free

Head out to The Bluecoat gardens for an afternoon of acoustic music. World Music Stage (Machel Montano + DJ Robbo Ranks + Portico Quartet)

Sefton Park, 12:00–20:00, Free

A line-up of international musicians, spanning jazz, reggae, folk, afro beat and latin music.

Listings

Liverpool Music Mon 26 Aug

Freeze (Greg Wilson + Tea Street Band + By the Sea + The Fallows + Barney Soares)

St George’s Hall, 14:00–00:00, £29.50

Freeze join forces with the Liverpool International Music Festival and take over St George’s Hall with a stellar line-up of live bands. Neil Innes and Friends

O2 Academy, 14:00–18:00, £tbc

The English comic musician – best known for his work with the Monty Python bunch – takes to the stage with some special guests. The Cavern Legacy Show (The Overtures)

Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, 19:30–23:00, From £20

An audio visual treat, with Beatleweek favourites, The Overtures taking centre stage.

Free Rock & Roll Weekend (Monster Killed By Laser + Liberation) MelloMello, 20:00–00:00, Free

MelloMello fill your bank holiday weekend with free music, can’t say fairer.

ItsLiverpool: Legends of Music (The Christians + Deaf School + John Pig + The Mersey Beat Collective) Sefton Park, 12:00–16:00, Free

Legends of the Liverpool music scene take to the stage as part of the ItsLiverpool series, and Liverpool International Music Festival. LIMF Bandstand (Sparkwood& 21 + Mike Badger + Natalie McCool) Sefton Park, 12:00–16:00, Free

A free afternoon of acoustic performances and DJ sets, curated in association with promoters, Mellowtone.

Tue 27 Aug

Out of the Bedroom: Open Mic Night with Johnny Sands

Leaf, 20:30–23:00, Free

Liverpool’s reigning King of acoustic presents a weekly open mic night. Skaters

The Shipping Forecast, 20:00–23:00, £7.50

Black Dyke Brass Band Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, 19:30–23:00, From £19.50

Described as the SAS of musicians by Sir Elton John, this award winning brass band bring the classics, drawing on 150 years of rich musical history. Bandicoot (Laurie Wright)

Lomax, 19:30–23:55, £tbc

Psyche rock bunch from Kent, with support from the London-residing Laurie Wright.

Sun 01 Sep Acoustic Recovery

Lomax, 20:30–23:55, Free

Mixed-bag night of open mic and open slots.

Manchester Clubs Amen Brother

Woo Hah

Antwerp Mansion, 12:00–03:00, £5 earlybird (£8 thereafter)

Trof Northern Quarter, 21:00–03:00, Free (£1 after 10pm)

The Amen Brother team return with another of their now infamous jungle parties, with a headline set from Breakage.

New Saturday-nighter spanning old school, hip-hop, soul and funk.

Black Dog Ballroom NWS, 22:00–04:00, £2

Deep house night hosted by Jamie Smith.

WhoSaidWhat?

Regular Friday-nighter, packed with disco, house and funk, with a dash of hip-hop and reggae for good measure.

Limbo (DJ W!LD + H2 + 5eighty6)

South, 23:00–05:00, £10

Manchester Clubs

Limbo returns with a summer event bringing DJ W!LD (of Robsoul Recordings and Catwash Records fame) to Manchester. Well Future

Common, 21:00–02:00, Free (£2 after 10)

Tue 30 Jul Gold Teeth

The Deaf Institute, 22:00–03:00, £4

Legendary bad boy, mixed-bag night that invites use of the term ‘carnage’.

Thu 01 Aug Murkage

South, 23:00–04:00, £3

House, hip-hop, grime and garage from the Murkage residents. Skint

42nd Street Nightclub, 22:00–04:00, £2

Aren’t we all? A night of super cheap drinks for the financially challeneged, with music provided by the Large Ride Tribe DJs. Play Doubt

Mint Lounge, 22:00–03:00, £3 (£5 after 11)

New monthly event moseying on to the nightlife scene, offering up hip-hop, dubstep, garage and more. Stop Making Sense

Common, 21:00–02:00, Free

Start the weekend early with Common’s regular club-in-a-bar night of shameless hipster bullshit pedalling. Neil Diablo

Black Dog Bowl, 22:00–04:00, Free

Mr Diablo, of El Diablo’s Social Club, serving up balaeric groovers and disco hits. Cosmic Farm

Dry Bar, 19:00–01:00, Free

Chilled out Balearic groovers with some electronica/psychedelia thrown in for good measure.

Guest DJs on the decks, bringing you music from the past, present, and well, future. House Sauce

KRAAK, 22:00–03:00, £3

A new house and techno night for Manchester, with Sauce residents Dave Owen and Curtis Randles. Spotifriday

The Deaf Institute, 17:00–22:00, Free

A modern day jukebox where you pick the tunes. 12:51

Dry Bar, 21:00–04:00, Free

Indie and alternative hits served up by DJ Wrighty. Unown (Huerco S + Means&3rd Radley)

2022NQ, 22:30–04:00, £5

Unown invite Huerco S down to 2022NQ for their inaugural event, before he heads off on a tour of Europe, showcasing his debut album, Colonial Patterns. Under (Radioslave)

Gorilla, 22:00–04:00, £10

DJ set from the musical mastermind, known for mixing a junkshop bag of sounds and bringing his beats to life with squiggly, scribbled animations. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival. Wet Play

KRAAK, 23:00–3:00, £4 (£5 door)

Studio 2, 19:30–01:00, £3

Thu 29 Aug

Dragged Into Sunlight

Blade Factory, 18:00–22:00, £7

The extreme doom metal noisemakers bring the sonic destruction, as per the Dragged Into Sunlight law. You Slut!

MelloMello, 20:00–00:00, £tbc

Rifftastic math rock from the Derby and Nottingham-residing four-piece. Cup of Tea

Lomax, 20:30–23:55, Free

Lomax’s very own open mic night, offering a chilled way to spend your Thursday evening.

Sat 31 Aug Braids

East Village Arts Club, 19:00–23:00, £8

Montreal-based art rockers, touring with their second album, Flourish // Perish, due to be released in late August. Johnny Sands Presents...

Heebie Jeebies, 15:00–18:00, Free

A lazy afternoon of acoustic music and free BBQ, courtesy of Heebies and some local musicians

A new Friday-nighter offering up smooth soul and elevating disco. Revolver

The Deaf Institute, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£4 after midnight)

Manchester’s premier 60s party, now a bi-monthly reason to get excited. Expect 60s pop, garage, motown, rock’n’roll. Crack Yr Skull

The Fallow (Formerly Trof Fallowfield), 21:00–03:00, Free

Like a killer mix tape, Crack Yr Skull will keep you guessing with their mixed bag selection of records. Top Of The Pops ‘13 (Christopher Dresden Styles (Pop Curious?) + Loz Newly) Mint Lounge, 22:30–03:30, £2

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. The Morrissey Smiths Disco

The Star and Garter, 21:00–02:30, £5

Long-standing Mancunian nightclub, likely to sell out, so arrive early. Dirty Dancefloors

42nd Street Nightclub, 22:00–04:00, £3 adv. (£6 door)

A sweaty night of indie, rock, dance and party classics – about as unpretentious as they come.

Remake Remodel

A night of alternative rock’n’roll shenanigans. Girls On Film

The Deaf Institute, 22:00–04:00, £3 (£5 door)

Pink lady cocktails, disco balls, glitz and glamour – a monthly club night where you’re free to let your inner 80s child loose. Funkademia (Dave Redsoul Wareing)

Listings

Weekly club night serving up Katy B, Example, Tine Tempa and other bangers of the club variety. Disco Electronica

2022NQ, 22:00–03:30, £8

Disco Electronica returns with a late night house and techno shindig, inviting Winter Son, Od Muzique and more to join them.

Ritual Manchester (Voidless + Derlich + Casual Violence + CWS + Leon Mitternacht) Q Cavern, 21:00–04:00, £10

A night of forward thinking, experimental sounds from a troupe of techno and industrial artists.

Sun 04 Aug Zutekh Vs Tpot

South, 15:00–00:00, £10

A limited capacity event in the courtyard, bringing with them Fabric main man, Craig Richards.

Mint Lounge, 22:30–03:30, £5 (£6 door)

Murkage

South, 23:00–04:00, £3

Skint

Aren’t we all? A night of super cheap drinks for the financially challeneged, with music provided by the Large Ride Tribe DJs. Stop Making Sense

Common, 21:00–02:00, Free

Start the weekend early with Common’s regular club-in-a-bar night of shameless hipster bullshit pedalling. Neil Diablo

Black Dog Bowl, 22:00–04:00, Free

Mr Diablo, of El Diablo’s Social Club, serving up balaeric groovers and disco hits. Cosmic Farm

Dry Bar, 19:00–01:00, Free

Chilled out Balearic groovers with some electronica/psychedelia thrown in for good measure.

Fri 09 Aug Melting Pot

Trof Northern Quarter, 21:00–03:00, Free (£1 after 10pm)

A new Friday-nighter offering up smooth soul and elevating disco. Panic!

The Function Room, 22:00–03:00, Free

Mancunian nightclub institution – delivering a chronological history of soul on a weekly basis, courtesy of their DJ collective.

Alternative clubber’s mix of pop-punk, emo, rock, screamo and the like.

South, 23:00–04:00, £5

The Deaf Institute, 22:00–03:00, £3 (£5 door)

Clint Boon

Mixed-bag night from legend of the Manchester DJ scene, Clint Boon. Urban Legends

42nd Street Nightclub, 22:00–04:00, £4

The best of pure indie, rock’n’roll, motown, classic dance and funk. Neil Smallridge

Black Dog Ballroom NQ, 22:00–05:00, Free

Effortlessly blended indie, disco, hip-hop and house served up by Neil Smallridge. Patterns

Black Dog Bowl, 23:00–04:00, Free

WHP resident, Krysko, taking over the decks and playing his blend of soul, disco and house anthems. Friends in Common

Common, 21:00–02:00, Free (£2 after 10)

Common invite their buddies to take over the decks.

GoGo

The Ritz, 22:30–03:30, £5

42nd Street Nightclub, 22:00–04:00, £2

Mr Scruff

Melting Pot

Trof Northern Quarter, 21:00–03:00, Free (£1 after 10pm)

A twitter-fuelled juke box – send requests to @deafinstitute with the @bandname, song title and #TweetMyBeat

Band On The Wall, 21:30–03:00, £11 adv. (£12 door)

The Ruby Lounge, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

Melodic jazz from the saxophone/ flute/clarinet wielding brother of renowned flautist, James Galway.

The Deaf Institute, 17:00–22:00, Free

House, hip-hop, grime and garage from the Murkage residents.

Fri 02 Aug

George Galway

#tweetmybeat

Sat 03 Aug

A whole night of David Byrne tracks courtesy of From Here To Eternity.

The Gaslamp , 21:00–02:00, Free

On the run up to CutLoose’s fifth birthday, they’re flying in Amsterdam natives Abel and Tako for back to back sets of underground dance.

Thu 08 Aug

New electronic project of violinist Sophia Kinston, built on her crazy violin sounds, vocals, guitars, accordian and piano.

MelloMello, 20:00–00:00, £tbc

From Here to Eternity: David Byrne

CutLoose (Abel and Tako)

The Roadhouse, 23:00–03:00, £5 adv. (£7 door)

Under present a night of house and techno, with Radioslave leading the way.

Wet Play returns, this time serving up a Summer Sensual Massage – complete with sweat t-shirt competition – with tunes provided by Ste Spandex, Il Bosco and the Full Beam! Crew.

Tailor Birds

Jamie Smith

The Fallow (Formerly Trof Fallowfield), 23:00–03:00, Free

Juicy

All party, no bullshit night of everything from classic hip-hop to disco and funk. Golden Egg

The Fallow (Formerly Trof Fallowfield), 21:00–03:00, £3

Bringing together the best of the UK hip-hop scene under one club night roof – enjoy hip hop, soul and reggae.

Top Of The Pops ‘13 (Justine Alderman (Across The Tracks) + Gus Gorman)

Mint Lounge, 22:30–03:30, £2

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.

Dirty Dancefloors 42nd Street Nightclub, 22:00–04:00, £3 adv. (£6 door)

A sweaty night of indie, rock, dance and party classics – about as unpretentious as they come.

Sun 11 Aug Woo Hah

Trof Northern Quarter, 21:00–03:00, Free (£1 after 10pm)

New Saturday-nighter spanning old school, hip-hop, soul and funk.

Thu 15 Aug

Dancing and Laughing (Naevus + The Hipshakes + Factory Acts)

Retro Bar, 20:00–01:00, £4

Common, 21:00–02:00, Free (£2 after 10)

Four-piece from London, Naevus are Lloyd, Hunter, Ben and Arther, making experimental rock since 1998.

WhoSaidWhat?

House, hip-hop, grime and garage from the Murkage residents.

Pumping Iron

Mixed-bag night of nu cosmic Italio, vintage avant garde disco and lo-fi rhythmic punk funk, as you do.

Black Dog Ballroom NWS, 22:00–04:00, £2

Dry Bar, 21:00–04:00, Free

Abode Musique Launch Party

Joshua Brooks, 22:00–04:00, £5

A new house, deep house, tech house night for Manchester, with Filthy Rich taking the helm for the launch night.

Sat 10 Aug GOO

The Deaf Institute, 22:00–04:00, £3 (£5 door)

Aren’t we all? A night of super cheap drinks for the financially challeneged, with music provided by the Large Ride Tribe DJs. Common, 21:00–02:00, Free

Start the weekend early with Common’s regular club-in-a-bar night of shameless hipster bullshit pedalling. Neil Diablo

Black Dog Bowl, 22:00–04:00, Free

Mr Diablo, of El Diablo’s Social Club, serving up balaeric groovers and disco hits. A Level Results Party

42nd Street Nightclub, 22:30–03:30, Free (£3 after 11.30pm)

A results day party for all the fresh faced young things discovering their A Level results. Cosmic Farm

Monthly club night tribute to 90s indie – expect Pulp, Nirvana, Suede, Smashing Pumpkins, Pixies and more.

Chilled out Balearic groovers with some electronica/psychedelia thrown in for good measure.

Mint Lounge, 22:30–03:30, £5 (£6 door)

Fri 16 Aug

Funkademia (John Busstop)

Mancunian nightclub institution – delivering a chronological history of soul on a weekly basis, courtesy of their DJ collective. Clint Boon

South, 23:00–04:00, £5

Mixed-bag night from legend of the Manchester DJ scene, Clint Boon.

Dry Bar, 19:00–01:00, Free

Melting Pot

Trof Northern Quarter, 21:00–03:00, Free (£1 after 10pm)

A new Friday-nighter offering up smooth soul and elevating disco.

Dirty Dancefloors

Effortlessly blended indie, disco, hip-hop and house served up by Neil Smallridge.

A sweaty night of indie, rock, dance and party classics – about as unpretentious as they come.

Black Dog Bowl, 23:00–04:00, Free

Black Dog Ballroom NWS, 22:00–04:00, £2

WHP resident, Krysko, taking over the decks and playing his blend of soul, disco and house anthems. Friends in Common

Common, 21:00–02:00, Free (£2 after 10)

Common invite their buddies to take over the decks. #tweetmybeat

The Deaf Institute, 17:00–22:00, Free

A twitter-fuelled juke box – send requests to @deafinstitute with the @bandname, song title and #TweetMyBeat GoGo

The Ritz, 22:30–03:30, £5

WhoSaidWhat?

Guest DJs on the decks, bringing you music from the past, present, and well, future. Spotifriday

The Deaf Institute, 17:00–22:00, Free

A modern day jukebox where you pick the tunes. 12:51

Dry Bar, 21:00–04:00, Free

Launch night for a new Manchester house/deep house night, with D.O.D topping the bill. The Official Manchester Carnival After Party (DJ Seani B + Team Shellinz DJs) The Ruby Lounge, 22:30–04:30, £7

Keeping the carnival vibes going well into the night, head down to The Ruby Lounge for an after party with DJ Seani B. Doctor Dru & Larse

Gorilla, 22:00–04:00, £6

Underground return for their second installment, inviting Doctor Dru of Jeudi and Exploited to share some underground gems.

Meat Free

House, techno and bass from the Manchester-based collective – leave your worries at the door and dance. Amine Edge & DANCE

Gorilla, 22:00–04:00, £18

A three-hour set from South of France-hailing # duo, Anime Edge & DANCE, with warm up sets from Matt Fear and more.

Sat 17 Aug Ultimate Power

The Ruby Lounge, 22:00–03:00, £6

A new club night sweeping the nation, offering up nothing but power ballads. It’s like one big communal karaoke night. Revolver

The Deaf Institute, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£4 after midnight)

Manchester’s premier 60s party, now a bi-monthly reason to get excited. Expect 60s pop, garage, motown, rock’n’roll.

A modern day jukebox where you pick the tunes. 12:51

Dry Bar, 21:00–04:00, Free

Indie and alternative hits served up by DJ Wrighty. 5 Years of meandyou (Ron Morelli, DJ QU) Soup Kitchen, 22:00–04:00, £12

The Manchester-based collective celebrate five years of house and techno nights, inviting L.I.E.S. boss Ron Morelli over from his native Brooklyn.

Exhibit (Nick Curly + Rekreation + Flux Groove) Gorilla, 22:00–04:00, £8 earlybird (£10 thereafter)

Exhibit returns for a bank holiday special, with German DJ and producer Nick Curly snagging the headline spot.

Sat 24 Aug

Funkademia (David Dunne)

Mint Lounge, 22:30–03:30, £5 (£6 door)

WHP resident, Krysko, taking over the decks and playing his blend of soul, disco and house anthems.

Mancunian nightclub institution – delivering a chronological history of soul on a weekly basis, courtesy of their DJ collective.

Common, 21:00–02:00, Free (£2 after 10)

South, 23:00–04:00, £5

Friends in Common

Clint Boon

Woo Hah

Mixed-bag night from legend of the Manchester DJ scene, Clint Boon.

Trof Northern Quarter, 21:00–03:00, Free (£1 after 10pm)

42nd Street Nightclub, 22:00–04:00, £4

Common invite their buddies to take over the decks.

New Saturday-nighter spanning old school, hip-hop, soul and funk. #tweetmybeat

The Deaf Institute, 17:00–22:00, Free

Urban Legends

The best of pure indie, rock’n’roll, motown, classic dance and funk. Neil Smallridge

Black Dog Ballroom NQ, 22:00–05:00, Free

A twitter-fuelled juke box – send requests to @deafinstitute with the @bandname, song title and #TweetMyBeat

Effortlessly blended indie, disco, hip-hop and house served up by Neil Smallridge.

The Ritz, 22:30–03:30, £5

Black Dog Bowl, 23:00–04:00, Free

GoGo

Patterns

Weekly club night serving up Katy B, Example, Tine Tempa and other bangers of the club variety.

WHP resident, Krysko, taking over the decks and playing his blend of soul, disco and house anthems.

2022NQ, 22:00–02:30, £8

Common, 21:00–02:00, Free (£2 after 10)

Greg Wilson

Haxan

Common, 16:00–02:00, Free

Micheal Holland and Conor, dishing up radiophonic disco and film score techno.

Thu 22 Aug Murkage

South, 23:00–04:00, £3

House, hip-hop, grime and garage from the Murkage residents. Skint

42nd Street Nightclub, 22:00–04:00, £2

Common, 21:00–02:00, Free

Well Future

Joshua Brooks, 22:00–04:00, Free

Joshua Brooks, 23:00–04:00, £5 earlybird (£8 thereafter)

Patterns

Black Dog Bowl, 23:00–04:00, Free

Common, 21:00–02:00, Free (£2 after 10)

Soup Kitchen, 21:30–03:00, £5

Drop Institute Launch (D.O.D + Gavin Herlihy )

Effortlessly blended indie, disco, hip-hop and house served up by Neil Smallridge.

Aren’t we all? A night of super cheap drinks for the financially challeneged, with music provided by the Large Ride Tribe DJs.

Indie and alternative hits served up by DJ Wrighty.

The launch of a new 50s club night, with a free lindy hop lesson between 10-11pm.

Neil Smallridge

Black Dog Ballroom NQ, 22:00–05:00, Free

Regular Friday-nighter, packed with disco, house and funk, with a dash of hip-hop and reggae for good measure.

Weekly club night serving up Katy B, Example, Tine Tempa and other bangers of the club variety. Rock ‘n’ Roll Music

Band On The Wall, 22:00–03:00, £8

Sun 18 Aug

42nd Street Nightclub, 22:00–04:00, £3 adv. (£6 door)

Patterns

The best of pure indie, rock’n’roll, motown, classic dance and funk.

Mint Lounge, 22:30–03:30, £2

Black Dog Ballroom NQ, 22:00–05:00, Free

Neil Smallridge

42nd Street Nightclub, 22:00–04:00, £4

Intimate set from Greg Wilson, returning after his NYE performance.

The best of pure indie, rock’n’roll, motown, classic dance and funk.

Urban Legends

Top Of The Pops ‘13 (Gus Gorman + Blue Rinse)

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.

42nd Street Nightclub, 22:00–04:00, £4

Mixed-bag night from legend of the Manchester DJ scene, Clint Boon.

A night of glamour and drop dead gorgeous dance floor-filling tunes.

Stop Making Sense

Indie and alternative hits served up by DJ Wrighty.

Clint Boon

South, 23:00–04:00, £5

Skint

The Deaf Institute, 17:00–22:00, Free

12:51

Mancunian nightclub institution – delivering a chronological history of soul on a weekly basis, courtesy of their DJ collective.

Soul Boutique (Tuff DT + Delite + Soul Master D + Bizzy B and Paul Mac)

Murkage

42nd Street Nightclub, 22:00–04:00, £2

A modern day jukebox where you pick the tunes.

Spotifriday The Deaf Institute, 17:00–22:00, Free

South, 23:00–04:00, £3

Regular Friday-nighter, packed with disco, house and funk, with a dash of hip-hop and reggae for good measure. Spotifriday

Funkademia (Les Croasdaile) Mint Lounge, 22:30–03:30, £5 (£6 door)

Stop Making Sense

Friends in Common

Common invite their buddies to take over the decks. Woo Hah

Trof Northern Quarter, 21:00–03:00, Free (£1 after 10pm)

New Saturday-nighter spanning old school, hip-hop, soul and funk. Smile

The Star and Garter, 22:00–03:00, £2 (£5 after midnight)

Turning 20 this year, Smile is Manchester’s longest running alternative rock’n’roll disco. Check Facebook for the secret passwork for free entry, and be sure to say it like ya mean it. #tweetmybeat

The Deaf Institute, 17:00–22:00, Free

A twitter-fuelled juke box – send requests to @deafinstitute with the @bandname, song title and #TweetMyBeat GoGo

Start the weekend early with Common’s regular club-in-a-bar night of shameless hipster bullshit pedalling.

Weekly club night serving up Katy B, Example, Tine Tempa and other bangers of the club variety.

Black Dog Bowl, 22:00–04:00, Free

Factory 251, 22:00–04:00, £15

Neil Diablo

Mr Diablo, of El Diablo’s Social Club, serving up balaeric groovers and disco hits. Cosmic Farm

Dry Bar, 19:00–01:00, Free

Chilled out Balearic groovers with some electronica/psychedelia thrown in for good measure.

Fri 23 Aug

Top Of The Pops ‘13 (Dj Loz Newy + Gus Gorman) Mint Lounge, 22:30–03:30, £2

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. Dirty Dancefloors

42nd Street Nightclub, 22:00–04:00, £3 adv. (£6 door)

A sweaty night of indie, rock, dance and party classics – about as unpretentious as they come. WhoSaidWhat?

Black Dog Ballroom NWS, 22:00–04:00, £2

Regular Friday-nighter, packed with disco, house and funk, with a dash of hip-hop and reggae for good measure. Well Future

Common, 21:00–02:00, Free (£2 after 10)

Guest DJs on the decks, bringing you music from the past, present, and well, future.

The Ritz, 22:30–03:30, £5

Reunion Party

A night of nostalgia as Factory 251 hosts its 20th Anniversary Reunion, inviting back some of the DJs, hosts and promoters who made the club what it is.

Sun 25 Aug

Oldskool Throwback Live Part 2

The Ritz, 22:30–03:30, £12.50 earlybird (£16.50 thereafter)

Following on from last month’s Throwback; showcasing some of the legends of the 80s and 90s.

HomoElectric Bank Holiday Showdown (Jamie Bull + Will Tramp! + Trash-O-Rama)

Factory 251, 22:00–04:00, £12

Offering up a melting pot of disco, house, techno, garage with a sprinkling of rock’n’roll attitude and a dash of glamour. Love Dose

Secret Location, 14:00–08:00, £5

A new night on the scene, prescribing an evening of big love and big beats in equal measure. Juicy Bank Holiday Special

Gorilla, 22:00–03:00, £tbc

Juicy’s usual mix of all party, no bullshit, serving up everything from classic hip-hop to disco and funk, but with added bank holiday vibes.

THE SKINNY

Thu 29 Aug Murkage

South, 23:00–04:00, £3

House, hip-hop, grime and garage from the Murkage residents. Skint

42nd Street Nightclub, 22:00–04:00, £2

Aren’t we all? A night of super cheap drinks for the financially challeneged, with music provided by the Large Ride Tribe DJs. Stop Making Sense

Common, 21:00–02:00, Free

Start the weekend early with Common’s regular club-in-a-bar night of shameless hipster bullshit pedalling. Neil Diablo

Black Dog Bowl, 22:00–04:00, Free

Mr Diablo, of El Diablo’s Social Club, serving up balaeric groovers and disco hits. Cosmic Farm

Dry Bar, 19:00–01:00, Free

Chilled out Balearic groovers with some electronica/psychedelia thrown in for good measure.

Fri 30 Aug Gold Teeth

Friends in Common Common, 21:00–02:00, Free (£2 after 10)

Common invite their buddies to take over the decks. Woo Hah

Trof Northern Quarter, 21:00–03:00, Free (£1 after 10pm)

New Saturday-nighter spanning old school, hip-hop, soul and funk. 1 Step Forward 2 STEP BACK

The Deaf Institute, 23:00–03:00, £3

Taking things back to the 90s with a night of yesteryear hits. #tweetmybeat

The Deaf Institute, 17:00–22:00, Free

A twitter-fuelled juke box – send requests to @deafinstitute with the @bandname, song title and #TweetMyBeat GoGo

The Ritz, 22:30–03:30, £5

Weekly club night serving up Katy B, Example, Tine Tempa and other bangers of the club variety. Soul Innit

The Arch, 20:00–03:00, £7

Various Northwest soul nights unite to creating something pretty special.

Gorilla, 22:00–03:00, £4

Legendary bad boy, mixed-bag night that invites use of the term ‘carnage’.

Top Of The Pops ‘13 (Justine Alderman (Across The Tracks) + Gus Gorman)

Block Party

Trof Northern Quarter, 21:00–03:00, free

Another Mof Glimmers night, serving up block party essentials with free house punch ‘til it’s gone. Dirty Dancefloors

42nd Street Nightclub, 22:00–04:00, £3 adv. (£6 door)

A sweaty night of indie, rock, dance and party classics – about as unpretentious as they come. WhoSaidWhat?

Black Dog Ballroom NWS, 22:00–04:00, £2

Regular Friday-nighter, packed with disco, house and funk, with a dash of hip-hop and reggae for good measure. Well Future

Common, 21:00–02:00, Free (£2 after 10)

Guest DJs on the decks, bringing you music from the past, present, and well, future. Spotifriday

Liverpool Clubs Wed 31 Jul Revolution

O2 Academy, 23:00–03:00, £2.50

Grab a slice of the midweek rock action with a night of alt, rock, metal, punk and emo with exclusive DJ sets and giveaways. Medication

Nation, 22:30–03:00, £5

Taking over the home of Cream, with house/electro, chart and r’n’b spread over three rooms, complete with visuals.

Thu 01 Aug Time Square

The Krazy House, 22:00–04:00, £2

Staple student night at the Krazy House, with a mix of music across the three floors (think: rock, indie, alternative, dance and a sprinkling of cheese) Stock Exchange

Chameleon Bar, 20:00–02:00, Free

Ease those double-dip recession woes and dance yourself silly at Chameleon’s weekly Stock Exchange. Gossip!

Garlands, 22:00–03:00, £4

A modern day jukebox where you pick the tunes.

The Deaf Institute, 17:00–22:00, Free

Student night with 5 rooms of music spread over 2 floors and the occasional theme night.

12:51

Dry Bar, 21:00–04:00, Free

Fri 02 Aug

Indie and alternative hits served up by DJ Wrighty.

Sat 31 Aug Caged Asylum

The Ruby Lounge, 23:00–03:00, £6

Straight up rock and metal night with DJ Mikee Diablo on decks and a dress code that encourages fancy dress. POP

The Deaf Institute, 22:00–04:00, £3 (£5 door)

Pop classics in the music hall and glitzy girly disco in the main bar – all of which is designed to keep you dancing all night. Funkademia (Traffort Lovething)

Mint Lounge, 22:30–03:30, £5 (£6 door)

Mancunian nightclub institution – delivering a chronological history of soul on a weekly basis, courtesy of their DJ collective. Clint Boon

South, 23:00–04:00, £5

Mixed-bag night from legend of the Manchester DJ scene, Clint Boon. Urban Legends

42nd Street Nightclub, 22:00–04:00, £4

The best of pure indie, rock’n’roll, motown, classic dance and funk. Neil Smallridge

Black Dog Ballroom NQ, 22:00–05:00, Free

Effortlessly blended indie, disco, hip-hop and house served up by Neil Smallridge. Patterns

Black Dog Bowl, 23:00–04:00, Free

WHP resident, Krysko, taking over the decks and playing his blend of soul, disco and house anthems.

August 2013

Sat 17 Aug

Revolution (Albert Dock), 22:00–04:00, £3

The Krazy House, 22:00–05:00, £3

Subvert invite Birmingham-based, up-and-coming house DJ, Hannah Wants to the decks.

Sun 04 Aug Will Jazz

The Shipping Forecast, 16:00–20:00, Free

A lazy afternoon of jazz, selected by the Planetary Jazz founder, William S Whittle.

Thu 08 Aug Time Square

The Krazy House, 22:00–04:00, £2

Staple student night at the Krazy House, with a mix of music across the three floors (think: rock, indie, alternative, dance and a sprinkling of cheese) Stock Exchange

Chameleon Bar, 20:00–02:00, Free

Ease those double-dip recession woes and dance yourself silly at Chameleon’s weekly Stock Exchange. Gossip!

Garlands, 22:00–03:00, £4

Mint Lounge, 22:30–03:30, £2

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.

Hannah Wants (Grum + DJ Lewis Jardine)

Andrew Hill

The Shipping Forecast, 22:00–03:00, Free

The Abandon Silence resident serves up a set of bass and beats. Wavy #4 (Black The Ripper)

The Zanzibar Club , 21:00–03:00, £7

The fourth instalment of Wavy, with Black the Ripping topping the bill.

Sat 03 Aug Rage

The Krazy House, 22:00–05:00, £3

Mixed-bag blow-out night spread out over all three floors – indie, rock, alternative and dance tunes. Bedlam Saturday

Garlands, 22:00–04:00, £10 (£5)

Extravagant and flamboyant club night complete with Avant garde entertainers – where the crazy club kids of Liverpool come out to play. Sam Tawil & Friends

The Shipping Forecast, 22:00–03:00, Free

A Bold Street Coffee takeover, with Sam Tawil serving up disco, soul and Italo. James Morgan

The Shipping Forecast, 23:00–03:00, £3

Hustle and Co bring a night of deep house and disco to the hold. Kerfuffle

Bumper, 23:00–05:00, Free (£4 after 11)

Indie, rock and classics spread across two rooms.

Student night with 5 rooms of music spread over 2 floors and the occasional theme night.

Fri 09 Aug

Blackout (RogerSeventyTwo)

Revolution (St Peters Square), 22:00–04:00, £4

Blackout bring one half of TWR72 to Liverpool for this very special event. Cobra Commander + AK47/247

The Shipping Forecast, 22:00–03:00, £1

Back to back DJ set from Cobra Commander and AK47/247.

Sat 10 Aug Rage

The Krazy House, 22:00–05:00, £3

Mixed-bag blow-out night spread out over all three floors – indie, rock, alternative and dance tunes. Bedlam Saturday

Garlands, 22:00–04:00, £10 (£5)

Rage

Mixed-bag blow-out night spread out over all three floors – indie, rock, alternative and dance tunes. Bedlam Saturday

Garlands, 22:00–04:00, £10 (£5)

Extravagant and flamboyant club night complete with Avant garde entertainers – where the crazy club kids of Liverpool come out to play. Rich Furness

The Shipping Forecast, 22:00–03:00, Free

Disco, funk and a dash of classic hip hop in the bar, courtesy of Rich Furness. Kerfuffle

Bumper, 23:00–05:00, Free (£4 after 11)

Indie, rock and classics spread across two rooms.

Sun 18 Aug Mellowtone DJs

The Shipping Forecast, 16:00–20:00, Free

Enjoy a laid back selection of grooves from the Mellowtone bunch, serving up the obvious alongside the obscure.

Thu 22 Aug Time Square

The Krazy House, 22:00–04:00, £2

Staple student night at the Krazy House, with a mix of music across the three floors (think: rock, indie, alternative, dance and a sprinkling of cheese) Stock Exchange

Chameleon Bar, 20:00–02:00, Free

Ease those double-dip recession woes and dance yourself silly at Chameleon’s weekly Stock Exchange. Gossip!

Garlands, 22:00–03:00, £4

Student night with 5 rooms of music spread over 2 floors and the occasional theme night.

Fri 23 Aug Carl Combover

The Shipping Forecast, 22:00–03:00, Free

Extravagant and flamboyant club night complete with Avant garde entertainers – where the crazy club kids of Liverpool come out to play.

60s rock’n’roll and raw r’n’b from the Go Go resident, Carl Combover.

The Shipping Forecast, 22:00–03:00, Free

The Krazy House, 22:00–05:00, £3

Jazzy Jade

Back with more old school hip hop and 2 step garage grooves. Kerfuffle

Bumper, 23:00–05:00, Free (£4 after 11)

Indie, rock and classics spread across two rooms.

Sun 11 Aug Bernie Connor

The Shipping Forecast, 16:00–20:00, Free

Liverpool DJ serving up musical treats to fill your Sunday afternoon and evening.

Wed 14 Aug Revolution

O2 Academy, 23:00–03:00, £2.50

Grab a slice of the midweek rock action with a night of alt, rock, metal, punk and emo with exclusive DJ sets and giveaways.

Thu 15 Aug Time Square

The Krazy House, 22:00–04:00, £2

Staple student night at the Krazy House, with a mix of music across the three floors (think: rock, indie, alternative, dance and a sprinkling of cheese) Stock Exchange

Chameleon Bar, 20:00–02:00, Free

Ease those double-dip recession woes and dance yourself silly at Chameleon’s weekly Stock Exchange. Gossip!

Garlands, 22:00–03:00, £4

Student night with 5 rooms of music spread over 2 floors and the occasional theme night. A Level UV Party

Revolution (St Peters Square), 21:00–04:00, £4 (£5 door)

UV party for those young enough to be getting their A Level results.

Fri 16 Aug Captain Flash

The Shipping Forecast, 22:00–03:00, Free

DJ set in the bar, serving up rare delights and other nonsense.

Sat 24 Aug Rage

Mixed-bag blow-out night spread out over all three floors – indie, rock, alternative and dance tunes. Bedlam Saturday

Garlands, 22:00–04:00, £10 (£5)

Extravagant and flamboyant club night complete with Avant garde entertainers – where the crazy club kids of Liverpool come out to play. Jess Gascoigne

The Shipping Forecast, 22:00–03:00, Free

House, hip hop, latin and funk from Jess Gascoigne. Kerfuffle

Bumper, 23:00–05:00, Free (£4 after 11)

Indie, rock and classics spread across two rooms.

Sun 25 Aug No Fakin

The Shipping Forecast, 22:00–03:00, Free

Selector set from the No Fakin DJs, spanning hip hop, funk, soul and reggae.

Gossip! Garlands, 22:00–03:00, £4

Student night with 5 rooms of music spread over 2 floors and the occasional theme night.

Fri 30 Aug

The Monthly Review

The Shipping Forecast, 22:00–03:00, Free

Presenting new sound alongside the best of pop and dance, all courtest of DJ’s Ellis and James Binary.

Sat 31 Aug Rage

The Krazy House, 22:00–05:00, £3

Mixed-bag blow-out night spread out over all three floors – indie, rock, alternative and dance tunes. Bedlam Saturday

Garlands, 22:00–04:00, £10 (£5)

Extravagant and flamboyant club night complete with Avant garde entertainers – where the crazy club kids of Liverpool come out to play. Thompson & Thompson

St.Werburgh’s Church

The Real Magritte + The Real Inspector Hound

15 Aug, 7:30pm – 9:00pm, £6 (£4)

An evening of surreal and absurd humour with two of Tom Stoppard’s hilarious plays, presented by the Chorlton Players.

The King’s Arms Tommy

4 Aug, 3:00pm – 4:00pm, Free

Drama telling the story of Tommy Rogers, growing p in a working class town in the North and caring for his alcoholic mother. ‘Yoof of Today

5 Aug, 7:30pm – 9:00pm, £5

Britain’s lost generation enlighten us with a series of monologues centred around the “Yoof of Today” – not for the easily offended.

The Lowry Blood Brothers

various dates between 2 Jul and 7 Sep, times vary, From £24

John Rylands Library CYAC: La Biblioteca

1–3 Aug, times vary, Free

A promenade performance presenting the John Rylands Library in a new light using Commedia Dell’Arte – theatre characterized by masked performers.

Manchester Arena

Peter Pan: The Never Ending Story

16–18 Aug, times vary, From £20

Peter returns from London to the Lost Children who recount his adventures in Neverland. Will he stay or join Wendy’s family and grow up? Starring Stacey Solomon as Tinkerbell.

Oldham Coliseum Theatre Political Will

31 Jul – 3 Aug, 7:30pm – 9:00pm, From £6

Old enough to pay taxes, but too young to vote, Political Will tells the story of one 16-year-old’s fight for the right to vote.

Opera House 9 to 5: The Musical

20-24 AUG, times vary, £?????

Musical tale of the buxom blonde queen of country-tinged pop, based on the film of the same name.

The Lantern Theatre Up4aMeet

29 Jul – 1 Aug, times vary, £16

A gay comedy about dating in the digital age, chock full of gratuitous nudity. Breezeblock Park

8–10 Aug, 7:30pm – 10:00pm, £10.50 (£8)

The play that inspired The Royle Family comes to the Lantern Theatre, telling the story of family drama and bickering on a council estate in 70s Liverpool.

Unity Theatre

Jackie & Eddie. Eddie & Jackie

2-3 AUG, 8:00pm – 10:00pm, £10 (£8)

Biting musical satire looking at the corporate world and office politics, making its way off a run on Broadway and out on tour. Faulty Towers: The Dining Experience

30 Aug – 5 Sep, not 2 Sep, times vary, From £38.50

A two hour interactive performance inviting you into the snobby world of Basil Faulty to enjoy a three course meal.

Three Minute Theatre

The Wild Wood of Widdershin

2 Aug, 7:00pm – 10:00pm, £5

The Worst Comedy Night in Salford

The King’s Arms, 19:30–23:00, Free

Keeping expectations low with this open mic night of stand up, all are welcome to give it a bash. O’Shea & O’Gaukroger

The King’s Arms, 21:00–22:00, £6

A new show from the comedy duo, looking at what might have happened if their career paths had been different. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival.

Wed 31 Jul

O’Shea & O’Gaukroger

The King’s Arms, 21:00–22:00, £6

Thu 29 Aug Time Square

The Krazy House, 22:00–04:00, £2

Staple student night at the Krazy House, with a mix of music across the three floors (think: rock, indie, alternative, dance and a sprinkling of cheese) Stock Exchange

Chameleon Bar, 20:00–02:00, Free

Ease those double-dip recession woes and dance yourself silly at Chameleon’s weekly Stock Exchange.

Too Clever By Half

10 Jul – 17 Aug, not 21 Jul, 28 Jul, 4 Aug, 11 Aug, times vary, From £10

A new biting satire from the Told by an Idiot theatre group, telling the story of Gloumov and his rise through the ranks of society at, well, everyone’s expense.

Royal Northern College of Music Benefits

24–25 Aug, 7:30pm – 11:00pm, £8

A new play written by Dante Harker and directed by Christopher Graham, set in a Job Centre in Manchester.

Fri 09 Aug

The Comedy Store, 20:00–23:00, £18 (£9)

Regular night of stand up with five world-class comedians.

Barrel of Laughs (Steve Gribbin + Steve Shanyaski + Dave Williams) The Frog and Bucket Comedy Club, 19:00–02:00, £16 (£8)

Three top-notch comics, a sprinkling of Frog compere funnies and a late night disco courtesy of the resident DJ.

Sat 10 Aug

The Best in Stand Up (Ian Stone + Josh Howie + Steve Gribbin + Justin Moorhouse, ) The Comedy Store, 19:00–21:00, £20 (£10)

Regular night of stand up with five world-class comedians. The Best in Stand Up II (Ian Stone + Josh Howie + Steve Gribbin + Justin Moorhouse, )

Thu 01 Aug

Barrel of Laughs (Steve Gribbin + Steve Shanyaski + Dave Williams)

The Green Room

A day in the green room of one of the nation’s favourite soaps, following three stars – one a bully, one a drunk and one with a penchant for getting into fights – as one of them is facing the axe. Twisted Tales

15–17 Aug, 7:30pm – 9:00pm, £8 (£7.50)

A reworking of the famous Grimm Fairy Tales, but with a grown up twist – including the tale of a young girl who loses her phone and looks to a stranger for help, and the inevitable trip to Grandma’s house.

Liverpool Theatre

Big Value Thursdays (Imran Yusuf + David Longley)

The Frog and Bucket Comedy Club, 19:00–23:00, £9 (£6)

A Frog flagship event offering up four great acts for stonkingly great value. Fat Roland’s Electric Shorts

International Anthony Burgess Foundation, 19:00–23:00, Free

9 to 5: The Musical

Musical tale of the buxom blonde queen of country-tinged pop, based on the film of the same name.

Regular night of stand up with five world-class comedians.

The Frog and Bucket Comedy Club, 19:00–02:00, £17 (£10)

Three top-notch comics, a sprinkling of Frog compere funnies and a late night disco courtesy of the resident DJ.

Sun 11 Aug

New Stuff (Toby Hadoke)

A literary evening with a twist where poet, Fat Roland, challenges writers to tell their story using the wondrous possibilities offered by Microsoft Powerpoint.

A chance for those on the circuit to test out some new, never before heard or seen material, with MC Toby Hadoke.

Fri 02 Aug

Mon 12 Aug

Royal Exchange Theatre, 18:00–19:00, Free

The Frog and Bucket Comedy Club, 19:00–23:00, £5 (£3 DOOR)

Comic FX

An evening of free stand up comedy, with this edition bringing Jayne Bickerton to the stage.

The Frog and Bucket Comedy Club, 19:00–02:00, £16 (£8)

Grab a slice of the midweek rock action with a night of alt, rock, metal, punk and emo with exclusive DJ sets and giveaways.

A Frog flagship event offering up four great acts for stonkingly great value.

8–10 Aug, 7:30pm – 9:00pm, £7.50

30 Jul - 3 Aug, times vary, From £10

Royal Exchange Theatre

Big Value Thursdays (Steve Gribbin + Steve Shanyaski + Dave Williams)

The Comedy Store, 21:30–23:00, £20 (£10)

8-10 AUg, times vary, FROm £12.50

Revolution

The Comedy Store, 20:00–23:00, £10 (£5)

Cheat life and get that Friday feeling one day early with a night of comedic delight, from some circuit funny folk.

A dark and chilling account of the Pendle Witch Trials, in which a 13 year-old girl condemns her family to death for witchcraft – devised by CraftyMoon Theatre.

Drop the Dumbells, 15:00–23:00, £donation

O2 Academy, 23:00–03:00, £2.50

Stand Up Thursday (Alan Cochrane + Ian Stone)

A new show from the comedy duo, looking at what might have happened if their career paths had been different. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival.

Barrel of Laughs (Imran Yusuf + Andy Watson + David Longley)

Wed 28 Aug

Thu 08 Aug

Tue 30 Jul

How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

Empire Theatre

Young performers aged 11-21 take on the frothy musical favourite.

Nice Peter

The Deaf Institute, 19:30–22:30, £10

Comedian and musician, Peter Shukoff, known for co-creating Epic Rap Battles of History.

8–10 Aug, 8:00pm – 10:00pm, From £10

Palace Theatre

An alternative to Creamfields to fill your bank holiday weekend.

Wed 07 Aug

Manchester Comedy

If I Can Dream

Cuntfields

Stage Experience: Grease

A 10-act long heckle-fest, as a handful of amateurs take to the stage and try to Beat the Frog – you decide who stays – brutal.

The Best in Stand Up (Ian Stone + Josh Howie + Steve Gribbin + Justin Moorhouse, )

2–3 Aug, 7:30pm – 10:00pm, From £6

Manchester Theatre

A day of improvised theatre workshops from the Impropriety Theatre Company.

Musical tale of one boys struggle to make sense of a world punctuated by violence and lies, told through the hits of Elvis Presley.

Kerfuffle

Indie, rock and classics spread across two rooms.

4 Aug, 12:00pm – 9:00pm, £2

Beat The Frog

The Frog and Bucket Comedy Club, 19:00–23:00, £5 (£3 DOOR)

The Frog and Bucket Comedy Club, 19:00–23:00, £9 (£6)

The favourited musical tale of separated-at-birth twins who grow up on opposite sides of the tracks.

Bumper, 23:00–05:00, Free (£4 after 11)

Impropriety Big Day

Mon 05 Aug

A tale about two struggling actors dealing with bad auditions, imaginary cats, friendship and fading dreams.

The Shipping Forecast, 22:00–03:00, Free

Straight up dance floor vibes in the bar, spanning 80s bombs and 90s bass.

The Kazimier Garden

The Comedy Store, 19:30–21:30, £3

Beat The Frog

A 10-act long heckle-fest, as a handful of amateurs take to the stage and try to Beat the Frog – you decide who stays – brutal.

Tue 13 Aug

The Worst Comedy Night in Salford

Soul Sister

Three top-notch comics, a sprinkling of Frog compere funnies and a late night disco courtesy of the resident DJ.

Keeping expectations low with this open mic night of stand up, all are welcome to give it a bash.

various dates between 3 Dec and 10 Aug, times vary, From £10

Sat 03 Aug

Thu 15 Aug

Touring West End musical inspired by the life and times of Ike and Tina Turner, following the highs and lows of their careers and personal lives. Stage Experience: Grease

22-24 Aug, times vary, From £10

Young performers aged 11-21 take on the frothy musical favourite.

Epstein Theatre The Sunshine Boys

various dates between 15 Aug and 7 Sep, times vary, prices vary

Laugh out loud comedy about a vaudevillian double-act, reunited for a comedy special in 1972 New York – tempers will flare and egos will clash.

The King’s Arms, 19:30–23:00, Free

Barrel of Laughs (Imran Yusuf + Andy Watson + David Longley)

Stand Up Thursday (Adam Bloom + Justin Moorhouse)

The Frog and Bucket Comedy Club, 19:00–02:00, £17 (£10)

Cheat life and get that Friday feeling one day early with a night of comedic delight, from some circuit funny folk.

Three top-notch comics, a sprinkling of Frog compere funnies and a late night disco courtesy of the resident DJ.

Sun 04 Aug

Comedy Much? (Annette Fagan + Jamie Howard + Felix Dexter)

The Frog and Bucket Comedy Club, 19:00–23:00, £10 (£7)

Comedy Much? returns with a bang, featuring a line-up of Comedy Central and MTV comedians.

The Comedy Store, 20:00–22:00, £10 (£5)

Big Value Thursdays (Tudur Owen + Paul Tonkinson + Danny McLoughlin)

The Frog and Bucket Comedy Club, 19:00–23:00, £9 (£6)

A Frog flagship event offering up four great acts for stonkingly great value.

Listings

Fri 16 Aug

The Best in Stand Up (Steve Shanyaski + John Warburton + Andrew Ryan + Justin Moorhouse) The Comedy Store, 20:00–22:00, £18 (£9)

Regular night of stand up with five world-class comedians.

Barrel of Laughs (Tudur Owen + Sean Moran + Paul Tonkinson + Danny McLoughlin)

The Frog and Bucket Comedy Club, 19:00–02:00, £16 (£8)

Three top-notch comics, a sprinkling of Frog compere funnies and a late night disco courtesy of the resident DJ.

Sat 17 Aug

The Best in Stand Up (Adam Bloom + Steve Shanyaski + Alun Cochrane)

The Comedy Store, 19:00–23:00, £20 (£10)

Regular night of stand up with five world-class comedians. The Best in Stand Up II (Adam Bloom + Steve Shanyaski + Alun Cochrane)

The Comedy Store, 21:30–23:00, £20 (£10)

Regular night of stand up with five world-class comedians.

Barrel of Laughs (Tudur Owen + Sean Moran + Paul Tonkinson + Danny McLoughlin)

The Frog and Bucket Comedy Club, 19:00–02:00, £17 (£10)

Three top-notch comics, a sprinkling of Frog compere funnies and a late night disco courtesy of the resident DJ.

Sun 18 Aug

Alex Boardman’s Young Guns

The Comedy Store, 19:30–23:00, £6 (£3)

Alex Boardman, one of the writers involved with John Bishop’s Britain on BBC1 presents some fresh blood. Be nice.

Mon 19 Aug Beat The Frog

The Frog and Bucket Comedy Club, 19:00–23:00, £5 (£3 DOOR)

A 10-act long heckle-fest, as a handful of amateurs take to the stage and try to Beat the Frog – you decide who stays – brutal. Sidekick Comedy

Via, 19:00–23:00, £3 (£2)

A monthly comedy gig with a line up of delightfully hilarious circuit funny folk, this time offering up an extra special Manchester Pride show.

Thu 22 Aug

Stand Up Thursday (Alun Cochrane + Paul Thorne + Andre Vincent) The Comedy Store, 20:00–22:00, £10 (£5)

Cheat life and get that Friday feeling one day early with a night of comedic delight, from some circuit funny folk. Big Value Thursdays (Steve Harris + Jonathan Mayor)

The Frog and Bucket Comedy Club, 19:00–23:00, £9 (£6)

A Frog flagship event offering up four great acts for stonkingly great value.

Fri 23 Aug

The Best in Stand Up (Pete Johansson + Steve Williams + Andre Vincent)

The Comedy Store, 20:00–22:00, £18 (£9)

Regular night of stand up with five world-class comedians.

Barrel of Laughs (Steve Harris + Rob Heeney + Jonathan Mayor)

The Frog and Bucket Comedy Club, 19:00–02:00, £16 (£8)

Three top-notch comics, a sprinkling of Frog compere funnies and a late night disco courtesy of the resident DJ.

Sat 24 Aug

The Best in Stand Up (Pete Johansson + Steve Williams + Andre Vincent)

The Comedy Store, 19:00–21:00, £20 (£10)

Regular night of stand up with five world-class comedians.

Barrel of Laughs (Steve Harris + Rob Heeney + Jonathan Mayor)

The Frog and Bucket Comedy Club, 19:00–02:00, £17 (£10)

Three top-notch comics, a sprinkling of Frog compere funnies and a late night disco courtesy of the resident DJ.

Listings

Sun 25 Aug

Stand Up Sunday (Pete Johansson + John Warburton + Andrew Ryan + Andre Vincent)

The Comedy Store, 20:00–23:00, £10 (£5)

See off your weekend with a few hours of comedy fun. Laughing Cows (Kerry Leigh)

The Frog and Bucket Comedy Club, 19:00–23:00, £7 (£9 DOOR)

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.

Mon 26 Aug Beat The Frog

The Frog and Bucket Comedy Club, 19:00–23:00, £5 (£3 DOOR)

A 10-act long heckle-fest, as a handful of amateurs take to the stage and try to Beat the Frog – you decide who stays – brutal.

Tue 27 Aug

The Worst Comedy Night in Salford

The King’s Arms, 19:30–23:00, Free

Keeping expectations low with this open mic night of stand up, all are welcome to give it a bash.

Thu 29 Aug

Stand Up Thursday (Mick Ferry + Mike Gunn + Jarred Christmas)

The Comedy Store, 20:00–23:00, £10 (£5)

Cheat life and get that Friday feeling one day early with a night of comedic delight, from some circuit funny folk.

Big Value Thursdays (John Ryan + Seymour Mace + Toby Hadoke) The Frog and Bucket Comedy Club, 19:00–23:00, £9 (£6)

A Frog flagship event offering up four great acts for stonkingly great value.

Fri 30 Aug

The Best in Stand Up (Mick Ferry + Mike Gunn + Prince Abdi + Jarred Christmas) The Comedy Store, 20:00–23:00, £18 (£9)

Regular night of stand up with five world-class comedians. Barrel of Laughs (John Ryan + Rhys Matthewson + Seymour Mace + Toby Hadoke)

The Frog and Bucket Comedy Club, 19:00–02:00, £16 (£8)

Three top-notch comics, a sprinkling of Frog compere funnies and a late night disco courtesy of the resident DJ.

Sat 31 Aug

The Best in Stand Up (Mick Ferry + Mike Gunn + Prince Abdi + Jarred Christmas)

The Comedy Store, 19:00–21:00, £20 (£10)

Regular night of stand up with five world-class comedians.

The Best in Stand Up II (Mick Ferry + Mike Gunn + Prince Abdi + Jarred Christmas) The Comedy Store, 21:30–23:00, £20 (£10)

Regular night of stand up with five world-class comedians. Barrel of Laughs (John Ryan + Rhys Matthewson + Seymour Mace + Toby Hadoke)

The Frog and Bucket Comedy Club, 19:00–02:00, £16 (£8)

Three top-notch comics, a sprinkling of Frog compere funnies and a late night disco courtesy of the resident DJ. Group Therapy (Michael Legge)

Gorilla, 19:00–23:00, £10 (£8)

Get your giggle fix and see off the week in Group Therapy – often includes award winning funny folk.

Sun 01 Sep King Gong

The Comedy Store, 19:30–21:30, £3

The night when ordinary folk can have a bash at stand up-all in hope of being crowned King Gong, until next month. Prestigious.

Liverpool Comedy

Thu 15 Aug

Daliso Chaponda (Paul Tonkinson + Rachel Fairburn + Lou Conran)

Comedy Central at Baby Blue, 18:30–23:00, £15

Thu 01 Aug

Imran Yusuf (Rob Heeney + Chris Brooker + Dave Williams)

Comedy Central at Baby Blue, 18:30–23:00, £15

Four top-notch circuit comedians take to the Comedy Central stage for an evening of fresh comic material.

Fri 02 Aug

Chris Cairns (Joseph Wilson + Danny O’Brien + Ste Porter)

The Slaughter House, 20:00–23:00, £15

Triple headline show with a delightfully hilarious line-up of circuit funny-folk.

Imran Yusuf (Keith Carter Presents P-Man + Rob Heeney + Dave Williams)

Comedy Central at Baby Blue, 18:30–23:00, £15

Four top-notch circuit comedians take to the Comedy Central stage for an evening of fresh comic material.

Sat 03 Aug

Danny O’Brien (Joseph Wilson + Chris Cairns + Ste Porter)

The Slaughter House, 20:00–23:00, £17.50

Triple headline show with a delightfully hilarious line-up of circuit funny-folk.

Imran Yusuf (Keith Carter Presents P-Man + Rob Heeney + Dave Williams)

Comedy Central at Baby Blue, 18:30–23:00, £18

Four top-notch circuit comedians take to the Comedy Central stage for an evening of fresh comic material.

Mon 05 Aug

MelloMello Comedy Knight

MelloMello, 20:00–00:00, £1

Mello Mello’s very own alternative comedy night, dishing up original new comedy.

Wed 07 Aug The Laughter Factor

The Slaughter House, 20:00–23:00, £5 (£3)

A monthly event allowing comics to try out new material before the weekend shows – it helps if you think of yourself as a comedic guinea pig.

Thu 08 Aug

Ste Porter (Peter Brush + Danny McLoughlin)

Comedy Central at Baby Blue, 18:30–23:00, £15

Four top-notch circuit comedians take to the Comedy Central stage for an evening of fresh comic material.

Fri 09 Aug

John Fothergill (Noel James + Neil Fitzmaurice) The Slaughter House, 20:00–23:00, £15

Triple headline show with a delightfully hilarious line-up of circuit funny-folk. Ste Porter (Tudur Owen + Danny McLoughlin)

Comedy Central at Baby Blue, 18:30–23:00, £15

Four top-notch circuit comedians take to the Comedy Central stage for an evening of fresh comic material.

Sat 10 Aug

Noel James (John Fothergill + Neil Fitzmaurice)

The Slaughter House, 20:00–23:00, £17.50

Triple headline show with a delightfully hilarious line-up of circuit funny-folk. Ste Porter (Tudur Owen + Danny McLoughlin)

Comedy Central at Baby Blue, 18:30–23:00, £18

Four top-notch circuit comedians take to the Comedy Central stage for an evening of fresh comic material.

Fri 16 Aug

Phil Butler (Susan Murray + Duncan Oakley + Chris Cairns)

The Slaughter House, 20:00–23:00, £15

Triple headline show with a delightfully hilarious line-up of circuit funny-folk.

Junior Simpson (Paul Tonkinson + Phil Walker + Lou Conran)

Comedy Central at Baby Blue, 18:30–23:00, £15

Four top-notch circuit comedians take to the Comedy Central stage for an evening of fresh comic material.

Sat 31 Aug

Sol Bernstein (Ste Porter + Kevin Dewsbury + Mick Ferry)

The Slug and Lettuce, 20:00–23:00, £17.50

Triple headline show with a delightfully hilarious line-up of circuit funny-folk.

Ste Porter (Sol Bernstein + Mick Ferry + Chris Cairns)

The Slaughter House, 20:00–23:00, £17.50

Triple headline show with a delightfully hilarious line-up of circuit funny-folk. Keith Carter as Nige (Vikki Stone + Rich Wilson + Barry Dodds)

Comedy Central at Baby Blue, 18:30–23:00, £18

Four top-notch circuit comedians take to the Comedy Central stage for an evening of fresh comic material.

Sat 17 Aug

Manchester

The Slaughter House, 20:00–23:00, £17.50

2022NQ

Susan Murray (Phil Butler + Duncan Oakley + Chris Cairns)

Triple headline show with a delightfully hilarious line-up of circuit funny-folk.

Junior Simpson (Paul Tonkinson + Phil Walker + Lou Conran)

Comedy Central at Baby Blue, 18:30–23:00, £18

Four top-notch circuit comedians take to the Comedy Central stage for an evening of fresh comic material.

Thu 22 Aug

Steve Harris (Holly Walsh + Paul Smith + John Warburton)

Comedy Central at Baby Blue, 18:30–23:00, £15

Four top-notch circuit comedians take to the Comedy Central stage for an evening of fresh comic material.

Fri 23 Aug

Paul Tonkinson (John Lynn + Chris Cairns + Neil Fitzmaurice)

The Slaughter House, 20:00–23:00, £15

Triple headline show with a delightfully hilarious line-up of circuit funny-folk. Steve Harris (Holly Walsh + Jamie Sutherland + John Warburton)

Comedy Central at Baby Blue, 18:30–23:00, £15

Four top-notch circuit comedians take to the Comedy Central stage for an evening of fresh comic material.

Sat 24 Aug

John Lynn (Paul Tonkinson + Chris Cairns + Neil Fitzmaurice)

The Slaughter House, 20:00–23:00, £17.50

Triple headline show with a delightfully hilarious line-up of circuit funny-folk. Steve Harris (Holly Walsh + Jamie Sutherland + John Warburton)

Comedy Central at Baby Blue, 18:30–23:00, £18

Four top-notch circuit comedians take to the Comedy Central stage for an evening of fresh comic material.

Thu 29 Aug

Keith Carter as Nige (Vikki Stone + Adam Rushton + Barry Dodds)

Comedy Central at Baby Blue, 18:30–23:00, £15

Four top-notch circuit comedians take to the Comedy Central stage for an evening of fresh comic material.

Fri 30 Aug

Mick Ferry (Ste Porter + Sol Bernstein + Chris Cairns)

The Slaughter House, 20:00–23:00, £15

Triple headline show with a delightfully hilarious line-up of circuit funny-folk. Keith Carter as Nige (Vikki Stone + Rich Wilson + Barry Dodds)

Comedy Central at Baby Blue, 18:30–23:00, £15

Four top-notch circuit comedians take to the Comedy Central stage for an evening of fresh comic material.

Artcrank Mcr

Art Jennifer Yang: First Step various dates between 18 May and 14 Sep, 10:00am – 5:00pm, Free

A new installation by Taiwanese London-based artist and Central St. Martins graduate, Jennifer Yang. Kaleidoscope is a large-scale work comprised of paper origami that plays with colour and light depending on the viewpoint.

Contact

Blank Media Collective: HandMade Future

various dates between 7 May and 7 Sep, times vary, Free

Collaborative project between Blank Media Collective and Contact, showcasing six up-and-coming artists and offering a new perspective on hand-made crafts.

Cornerhouse

Anguish & Enthusiasm: What Do You Do With Your Revolution Once You’ve Got It various dates between 13 Apr and 18 Aug, times vary, Free

An exhibition of bike-inspired posters by Manchester artists, with signed and numbered prints available for £30.

Collection of new and recent contemporary art from around the world, exploring the concept of a successful revolution and asking important questions about what defines this success.

20–27 Aug, not 25, 26, 12:00pm – 5:00pm, Free

various dates between 11 Jul and 20 Aug, times vary, Free

various dates between 12 Jul and 3 Aug, 12:00pm – 5:00pm, Free

Gays of Manchester

A new exhibition of work by Manchester-based photographer Lee Baxter, in support of George House Trust, a charity supporting those living with or affected by HIV. This is Manchester 2013

9–17 Aug, not 11, 12, 12:00pm – 5:00pm, Free

An exhibition of photography by a group of photographers from varying disciplines exploring Manchester in pictures. Art V Cancer

30 AUG–11 SEP, Various Times, Free

Art V Cancer return with their second exhibition of custom prints in which each artist responds to the theme Bending Space and Time. Limited edition prints will be sold, with proceeds going to cancer charities.

Bench Self Made Gallery The Alchemy Collection

20 Jul – 4 Aug, times vary, Free

Bench Self Made gallery presents a new experimental collection of ceramics, produced in real time by Manchester creative, Liam Hopkins and his team between Sat 20 Jul and Sun 4 Aug.

Bureau

Yelena Popova: Lobachevsky’s Dream

5 Jul – 30 Aug, weekdays only, 8:00am – 6:00pm, Free

A solo exhibition by Nottinghambased Russian artist, Yelena Popova, working with a range of media, including painting, installation and video to explore the concept of balance.

Castlefield Gallery Launch Pad: Some Misunderstanding

9–18 AUG, Various Times, Free

The latest Launch Pad group exhibition, this time venturing into pareidolia (seeing faces in clouds and such) and mondegreens (mishearing phrases), with each artist finding humour, or even deeper understanding through misapprehension.

Chinese Arts Centre

Lee Mingwei: A Quartet and A Living Room

various dates between 28 Jun and 17 Aug, 10:00am – 5:00pm, Free

A new solo exhibition by artist Lee Mingwei, in which he will present two works, a participatory installation of a living room, and the Quartet Project, exploring the sentiments of migration.

A Frog in My Bar-b-que Sauce

An exhibition of new works on paper, including drawings and paintings, by artist (and June Skinny cover illustrator) Anna Beam. Michelle Harrison and Stuart Farr

various dates between 22 Aug and 1 Oct, times vary, Free

The Cornerhouse projects series continues as Michelle Harrison explores the invasion of the lens into our lives through painting, while Stuart Farr presents a series of acrylic on plywood pieces, resting somewhere between the absurd and the real.

Gallery of Costume

Christian Dior: Designer in focus

12 Jun – 12 Jan, times vary, Free

A unique exhibition of Christian Dior’s work, including London and Paris couture with highlights including a piece from his New Look collection, a 1949 black ribbed silk cocktail dress commissioned by the Duchess of Windsor, Wallis Simpson.

Imperial War Museum North Sean Smith: Iraq

4 Jun – 2 Feb, 10:00am – 5:00pm, Free

A photographic exhibition by the award-winning British war photographer, Sean Smith, documenting the collision of two worlds as local Iraqis and military personnel are forced to co-exist.

Manchester Art Gallery Radical Figures: Post-war British Figurative Painting

16–16 Mar, times vary, Free

A new collection of works that explore the role painters such as Francis Bacon, Lucien Freud and David Hockney played in the reinvention of figurative and realist art in post-war Britain. Home, Land and Sea: Art in the Netherlands 1600-1800

24–23 May, times vary, Free

Bringing together over 50 paintings from the Manchester City Galleries’ 17th and 18th century Dutch and Flemish collection, including portraiture, landscapes and seascapes from Pieter de Hooch, Gerard ter Borch and Jacob van Ruisdael. Between the Wars

13 Jul – 13 Oct, times vary, Free

An exhibition of work exploring the creative landscape in Britain between the First and Second World Wars; from the nostalgia of 1920s landscapes to the development of abstract and surreal work in the 1930s.

Art in Hard Times 14 Jul – 8 Sep, times vary, Free

See The Walk to Dover by Turner prize-nominated artist Spartacus Chetwynd, alongside some of the UK’s most popular 19th-century paintings, including von Herkomer’s Hard Times. Channel Crossings

11 Jul – 6 Dec, times vary, Free

An exhibition of English and French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings, exploring the allure of French art for a generation of English and Scottish painters. The Tallest of Tales

27 Jul – 10 Nov, times vary, Free

British artist, Alison Erika Forde, presents a collection of previously unseen work, crafting unique objects from mass-produced pictures and rescued charity shop items, all of which will be presented in a specially built hut.

Manchester Craft and Design Centre Forming Words

various dates between 13 Jul and 9 Nov, 10:00am – 5:30pm, Free

The International 3 Rachel Goodyear: Artificial Night

various dates between 29 Jun and 2 Aug, 12:00pm – 5:00pm, Free

A new exhibition by Rachel Goodyear, and her third solo exhibition with the International 3 gallery, in which she presents a dark and haunting parallel reality.

The Lowry

My Generation: The Glory Years of British Rock

18 May – 15 Sep, times vary, Free

A collection of around 60 photos by resident Top of the Pops photographer Harry Goodwin – documenting some of the most important musical stars and performances between 1964 – 1973, including Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix and The Supremes. Unseen Lowry

22 Jun – 29 Sep, times vary, Free

A unique opportunity to see an unseen collection of Lowry paintings and drawings from a private collection including some landscapes and early mill studies.

A group exhibition in which the artists explore different aspects of text, words and the meaning of communication, using everything from embroidery to jewellrey to explore these themes.

The Manchester Museum

Manchester Jewish Museum

An exhibition of Native North American artifacts alongside photographs of them in use, bringing to life the ritual and warfare from 1800 to the present day.

Chagall, Soutine and the School of Paris

various dates between 20 Jun and 24 Nov, times vary, Free

An exhibition showcasing work by some of the most famous Jewish artists in history, including work by Marc Chagall, Chaim Soutine, Lazar Berson and Sonia Delaunay.

National Football Museum

Hey ‘Ya: Arab Women in Sport

26 Jul – 13 Oct, times vary, Free

A special exhibition, part of Qatar UK 2013 Year of Culture, featuring pictures and film of over 90 Arab sportswomen – many of them Olympians – by photographer Brigitte Lacombe and her film-maker sister, Marian Lacombe. True Colours: Stuart Roy Clarke

12 Jul – 31 Dec, times vary, Free

A raw and gritty collection of photographs shot by Stuart Roy Clarke, captured throughout the 2012/13 season, capturing the passion, joy and loyalty of fans.

Nexus Art Café Happiness

13 Jun – 11 Aug, times vary, Free

An exhibition of local artists’ work exploring the theme of happiness.

Paper Gallery

PAPER #7: Performing Paper

various dates between 22 Jun and 3 Aug, 11:00am – 5:00pm, Free

An exhibition featuring the work of live art and performance artists responding to the theme Performing Paper, using paper as the starting point for documenting performance and allowing it to exist beyond the act itself.

The Didsbury Parsonage Trust If Not Here Where

8 Jul – 21 Aug, 12:00pm – 4:00pm, Free

A contemporary group art exhibition celebrating life, hosted within the Didsbury Parsonage. Each artist questions and explores the question ‘if not here, where else would you wish to be?’

The Holden Gallery

Mortality: Death and the Imagination

8 Jul – 16 Aug, weekdays only, 10:00am – 4:00pm, Free

A new group exhibition bringing together the work of Ian Breakwell, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Douglas Gordon, Julian Opie, Cornelia Parker, Bob and Roberta Smith and Sam Taylor Wood to explore the challenging theme of death.

Warriors of the Plains: 200 years of Native North American honour and ritual

24 May – 3 Nov, 10:00am – 5:00pm, Free

The Penthouse Olivia Glasser: Open Studio

7 Aug, 6:00pm – 10:00pm, Free

Manchester-based artist, Olivia Glasser hosts an open studio, using the space at Penthouse as a base for her artistic explorations into the lifestyle choices of the artist and the effect their surroundings will have on this.

The Portico Library

Cameron R Scott: Carvings and Collages

2–31 Aug, not 4, 11, 18, 25, times vary, Free

An exhibition of lively and energetic artwork by Cameron R Scott, using carvings and collages to tell stories inspired by everyday life and human experience.

Whitworth Art Gallery

Revolutionary Light: Blake, Kapoor, Turner

5 Jul – 1 Sep, times vary, Free

An exhibition of work on paper, bringing together everything from William Blake’s religious imagery cut with explosive light, to the darky glowing work of Anish Kapoor, and works by JMW Turner, renowned for capturing sunlight. Continental Drift: Themes in European Art

5 Jul – 1 Sep, times vary, Free

An exhibition of European artworks alongside work by British artists with links to the continent; including prints by Picasso and Renaissance engravings and woodcuts by Italian and Northern European artists. Wall to Wall

5 Jul – 1 Sep, times vary, Free

A collection of historic wallpapers ranging from the 18th-century to the modern day, marking the culmination of five-years of Heritage Lottery funded acquisitions. Highlights include rare French hand-painted arabesque panels from around 1795. Alison Wilding: Deep Water

5 Jul – 1 Sep, times vary, Free

One of a group of sculptures by Lancashire-born, Turner Prizenominated artist, Alison Wilding, known for combining harshly opposing qualities: light and dark, soft and hard, masculine and feminine. Construction

5 Jul – 1 Sep, times vary, Free

As the Whitworth prepares for their overhaul and remodelling, they present an exhibition comprising abstract works from their collection, all of which explore the mathematical principles of nature.

THE SKINNY

PAVEL BÜCHLER: IDLE THOUGHTS 5 JUL – 1 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE

For a whole year, Pavel Büchler kept a daily diary using only twelve pages; January on one page, February on the next, continuing for a whole year, resulting in glossy pages of layered biro. WHITWORTH WEEKENDING

30 AUG – 1 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE

Before they close for their refurb – returning in early 2014 – the Whitworth host a celebratory weekend of unusual events, with Nick Crowe and Ian Rawlinson closing the event with Six White Horses, an enchanting and beautiful display.

Liverpool Arena Studios and Gallery EURO 2013

26 JUL – 4 AUG, NOT 29 JUL, 30 JUL, 31 JUL, 11:00AM – 4:00PM, FREE

Brian Lawrence Dickson explores the beautiful game in this solo exhibition, hosted alongside a series of screenings of classic, heart-stopping football matches at other venues around Liverpool.

Art and Design Academy PEGGY BUTH: DESIRE IN REPRESENTATION

25 JUL – 20 SEP, WEEKDAYS ONLY, TIMES VARY, FREE

The first solo UK exhibition by German artist, Peggy Buth, building on her research at the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Tervuren, outside of Brussels. She presents a collection of sculptures, photographs, video works and a site-specific piece.

Arts Hub 47

WHITE GOLD: THE TRUE COST OF COTTON

HOPE

1 JUN – 31 DEC, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 25 JUL AND 28 AUG, TIMES VARY, FREE

A colloborative exhibition with the Environmental Justice Foundation exploring how the cotton supply chain works and our roles as consumers in this chain.

An exhibition of diverse work by homeless individuals who were part of the Shaw Street Project in Everton, a project aiming to help the homeless rebuild their lives.

Lady Lever Art Gallery

East Village Arts Club

THE DRAWINGS OF EDWARD BURNE-JONES

GREETINGS FROM INPRINT

14 JUN – 12 JAN, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

17 AUG, 11:00AM – 4:00PM, FREE

A collection of 26 drawings by the Pre-Raphaelite master, comprising of independent drawings, preparatory studies and designs for stained glass.

Liverpool’s Inprint are joining forces with Generic Greeting Collective to host a mammoth print fair.

Eggspace

Liverpool Cathedral

DRAWING AND ILLUSTRATION 2013

12 JUL – 4 AUG, TIMES VARY, FREE

A group exhibition of drawing and illustration.

TOM WOOD

15 JUL – 26 AUG, 8:00AM – 6:00PM, FREE

A collection of photographs by Tom Wood, taken from the recent exhibition, Every Man and Woman is a Star, aiming to inspire those entering the City of Contrasts competition.

PRINTMAKING, DRAWING AND ILLUSTRATION 2013

9 AUG – 15 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE

A group exhibition of printmaking, drawing and illustration.

FACT

Merseyside Maritime Museum

TURNING FACT INSIDE OUT

13 JUN – 15 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE

For the summer season at FACT, international artists are tackling some of the world’s most pressing, and literally groundbreaking political issues of today, with a take over event that will see the FACT building and surrounding areas transformed.

TITANIC AND LIVERPOOL: THE UNTOLD STORY

30 MAR – 31 DEC, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

A collection of previously unseen archive footage and materials that document Liverpool’s central role in the Titanic story. The exhibition marks the centenary of the sinking of the Titanic.

International Slavery Museum

Museum of Liverpool

GEORGE OSODI: OIL BOOM, DELTA BURNS

16 MAR – 1 SEP, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Exhibition by internationallyrenowned Nigerian photographer George Osodi, who spent six years documenting the effects of the oil industry in the Niger Delta. Osodi’s aims are not to offend or incite guilt, but to inspire change.

Open Eye Gallery

CHARLES FRÉGER: THE WILD AND THE WISE

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 17 MAY AND 25 AUG, 10:30AM – 5:30PM, FREE

Part of LOOK/13. This collection of works by French artist Charles Fréger and Swedish artist Eva Stenram both explore the theme of identity by responding to the festival title: who do you think you are? EVA STENRAM: DRAPE

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 17 MAY AND 25 AUG, 10:30AM – 5:30PM, FREE

A series of works by Eva Stenram in which found images – of vintage pin ups and old centrefolds from magazines – are scanned and then manipulated to unusual and jarring effect. The background takes centre stage, leaving the subject as an afterthought. Part of LOOK/13.

Tate Liverpool MOYRA DAVEY: HANGMEN OF ENGLAND

8 JUN – 6 OCT, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

An exhibition by New York-based photographer, Moyra Davey, known for capturing everyday objects to tell a story, and then mailing them back to the city of origin. In this exhibition she presents a series of photographs taken in Manchester and Liverpool. CHAGALL: MODERN MASTER

8 JUN – 6 OCT, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, £10

A collection of paintings by the Russian Jewish artist Marc Chagall, exploring the universal themes of love, loss and suffering through his unique and poetic style – bold, brightly hued and influenced by folklore and his rich heritage.

MERSEYSTYLE: PHOTOGRAPHS BY THE CARAVAN GALLERY

10 MAY – 27 OCT, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

A new exhibition from the mobile Caravan Gallery, featuring photographs that explore the many elements of the Merseyside and Wirral identity. Part of LOOK/13.

DLA PIPER SERIES: CONSTELLATIONS 19 JUL – 31 AUG, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

An exhibition featuring ‘trigger’ artworks surrounded by groups, or constellations, of artworks from the same period. With the first floor open you’ll be able to see five ‘trigger’ artworks from before 1960, from artists including Picasso and Pollock.

The Bluecoat PORTFOLIO NW

26 JUL – 15 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE

A group exhibition featuring the work of eight Northwest artists, including Rebecca Chesney, Tadhg Devlin, Dave Evans, 0point3recurring (David Henckel, Dan Wilkinson & Leon Hardman), Hannah Wooll and Kai-Oi Jay Yung. CLAIRE WEETMAN: VIDE

26 JUL – 15 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE

Following her recent residency in Shanghai, St Helens artist, Claire Weetman presents a new animation work inspired by the movement of escalators and directional signs.

Victoria Gallery and Museum THE QUEEN, THE CHAIRMAN AND I

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 18 MAY AND 24 AUG, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

A visual project by Kurt Tong, exploring his heritage and family roots through photographs and writing. Part of LOOK/13.

Walker Art Gallery

EVERY MAN AND WOMAN IS A STAR: PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARTIN PARR AND TOM WOOD

20 APR – 18 AUG, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Photography exhibition that explores the similarities and differences between the work of Martin Parr and Tom Wood – comprised of photographs taken in the late 70s and early 80s in Liverpool and Ireland. DOUBLE TAKE: PORTRAITS FROM THE KEITH MEDLEY ARCHIVE

17 MAY – 15 SEP, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

PROCESSING

Photography exhibition from the Keith Medley archive featuring portraits of Merseysider’s from the 1960s. Each sitter was shot twice using the same glass plate negative, resulting in an eerie composition of double images.

7 JUN – 27 SEP, WEEKDAYS ONLY, 9:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

17 MAY – 8 SEP, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

The Cornerstone Gallery A group exhibition by photographers Kevin Casey, Stephen King and McCoy Wynne in which they present new work and ideas and engage in critical reflection with written contributions from Joni Karanka, Linda Pittwood and Kenn Taylor.

The Liverpool Academy of Arts

ALIVE: IN THE FACE OF DEATH

World-renowned photographer, Rankin explores the theme of death and mortality by capturing images of people with limited time left. Their inspirational accounts will be available to read alongside the images.

More listings online theskinny.co.uk/listings @theskinnyNW /TheSkinnyMag

THE MUSIC OF MERSEYSIDE

13–29 AUG, WEEKDAYS ONLY, 12:00PM – 4:00PM, FREE

An open exhibition around the theme of music in Merseyside.

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

ILLUSTRATION: ELENA BOILS

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I N D E P E N D E N T

C U LT U R A L

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J O U R N A L I S M

ILLUSTRATION: JONATHAN SUMMERS-MUIR

August 2013

Listings

Dress to Impress Three years, two cities and finding out who they are – as well as who they’re not – have fed into Performance, the anticipated debut album from Liverpool’s Outfit. We meet a band dedicated to interrogating the intangible

Interview: Lucy Holt

he concept of identity, and the pursuit of it, motivates everything Outfit create. You need look no further than the lyrics of single Two Islands: ‘I go out to find out who I am, I go out to find out who I’m not.’ This idea also weaves itself through any discussion with the band’s frontman and spokesperson, Andrew Hunt. Via a temperamental Skype connection to New York, he makes frequent references to personal discovery and “the importance of keeping hold of yourself amid the noise of our lives.” It makes sense for this conundrum to be a central preoccupation of theirs – circumstances have aligned for Outfit in a way that would make anyone reconsider their place in the world. First, there’ve been the various permutations of the band, intertwined with Liverpool music’s recent past. Sharing bloodlines with Balloons, Indica Ritual, et al – and subject to the omnipresent journalistic habits of parallel-drawing and comparison-making – Outfit could easily have found themselves placed in the centre of a tangled, homogenised web; or, even worse, a ‘scene’. Then, there’s Liverpool itself: a city that is all but consumed by a veneration of its musical heritage. As inhabitants of that environment, they might have found it difficult to avoid the binary of local traditionalism or awkward defiance. And finally, in a more immediate sense, the band are about to release a shiny new debut record into the big wide world. Performance, out this month on Double Denim, is the product of an extremely isolated and solitary recording process – and now, they have to let it go. It’d be easy to understand if Outfit were suffering a crisis of confidence. Yet they are barely fazed by any of the above factors. Whether through blithe ignorance or level-headedness, they seem to exist entirely outside of their own context. Thomas Gorton, the band’s keyboardist and co-lyricist, views Liverpool with fondness, but not as a defining characteristic, thinking the significance placed on hometowns in general is excessive. “You’re less likely to ask someone from Derby what it’s like coming from Derby,” he emails. “They’re just places, with buildings and people in them, and we tend to look outwards rather than in.” The idea of Performance being at all interwoven with the band’s past projects is also dismissed with a similar, polite conviction. They’ve spent a lot of time in London (they moved there en masse, before returning to Liverpool). They’ve built their own studio. They’ve refined a sound. So you believe Hunt when he says, “this record is definitely Outfit.” Performance has this precise strain of quiet confidence at its core – but that does not negate variety. Hunt talks about the importance of deviance, and how working with the album form – as opposed to an EP – gives more freedom to explore while retaining a sense of coherence; and Performance’s downbeat, existential pop sways from creeping, fragile instrumentation to yearning aural sweeps, punctuated with tight, synthetic glitches and distant vocals. In the band’s infancy, on the track Everywhere All The Time they sang, ‘I want to be everywhere, all the time, and I just can’t decide.’ With Performance, they’ve had the opportunity to stray from the beaten path without getting lost. There are tracks that, on first listen, seem to plunge to the depths of minimal, rhythmic despondency. Take Spraypaint, which is almost sinister in its use of abstruse musical textures, sharp, unsettling keyboard parts and nearly whispered vocals,

Out Back

OUTFIT

and Two Islands, which is in the same vein, with oceans of lyrical loneliness in the simple declaration of ‘I don’t know anyone else, I don’t know anyone else in here.’ So far, so bleak, but both Gorton and Hunt, separately, insist the album is optimistic – at least more so than their previous work. “Songs like Nothing Big and The Great Outdoors have quite a strident ‘everything’s alright’ feel,” says Gorton.

“The subjects we try to write about are moments in your life when you’re dissatisfied, but motivated to make a change. We’re writing about moments of potential” Andrew Hunt

“There’s a melancholy to our music a lot of the time,” Hunt adds. “We try and create a melancholy atmosphere but lyrically look for something positive. The subjects we try to write about are

moments in your life when you’re dissatisfied, but motivated to make a change. We’re writing about moments of potential.” It seems that where most would see crisis, Outfit see a catalyst for change. Hunt goes on to explain that “anything that is expressing loneliness also has a comfort in it. If you listen to it having experienced similar things, it can end up being a positive. If you’ve felt ostracised in a social dynamic, it’s comforting to hear someone has felt the same way. In that sense, it’s quite empowering.” They talk about themes like finding group therapy through mutual understanding, but would still consider themselves, as Gorton puts it, “independent Beyoncés at heart” – and it’s this independence, this tendency towards selfsufficiency and detachment from Liverpool, that could well be another reason Outfit stand out from their peers. They have strategically avoided hammering their home turf with live shows, conscious of people becoming bored of them – and Hunt expresses a glimmer of pride that they’ve reached a point where they can do everything on their own, wary of the idea of having to rely on anyone else for recording and production. But perhaps the most important aspect of their quasi-exile is Lathbury House, an empty concrete block of flats that’s been central to the creation of – and that’s depicted in the cover art for – Performance. With the building’s brutalist exposed stairwell and looming water tower, it’s hard to imagine a setting less likely to nurture Outfit’s enduring optimism, yet the reverence both Hunt and Gorton express for it is hard to overstate. “It was our place where no-one else could go, where we were locked away,” Gorton says. “Our souls are all over it. It reeks of our souls. But they smell okay.”

MUSIC

It all makes for an intense-sounding creative process – something their lyrics pay testament to. Gorton is wary of getting too cathartic, but identifies some over-arching themes as “ambition, fear, loneliness, euphoria and reflection.” Such emotion-spanning must take its toll, which is perhaps why, as the band find themselves with a month off prior to the record’s release, they are scattered about the globe; Hunt in New York, Gorton in London, Dave Berger (drums/production) in Switzerland and Nick Hunt (guitar) and Chris Hutchinson (bass) in Liverpool. Quite the definition of getting some space. This ‘hard to pin down’ sentiment applies to what seems to be a deliberate ambiguity with which they shroud themselves – vague terms like ‘performance’, ‘spraypaint’ and, most notably, ‘outfit’ might give the impression they’re aiming for deception and theatrics. In fact, it’s quite the opposite: they want people involved. “We love the name Outfit because it allows someone the opportunity to interact with the name, dress it up in their own way,” clarifies Gorton. As they've taken great pains in the recording process to make the record sound “human”, despite the band’s arguable penchant for the opaque Performance is not alienating – and it is this friction between the grandiose and the introspective that warms the heart of Outfit’s music. Gorton describes “the endless search for something that might not exist,” and Hunt talks of a desire to sound both “iconic and ambiguous.” This compulsion to achieve both may just be Outfit’s greatest advantage. Performance is released 12 Aug through Double Denim Outfit play FestEVOL at The Kazimier and Garden, Liverpool, 10 Aug, Electrowerkz, London, 12 Sep, and Festival No. 6, Portmeirion, Wales, 14 Sep www.everynightidressupasyou.com

THE SKINNY

Photo: Andrew Ellis

WIN A PAIR OF TICKETS TO LIVERPOOL FOOD AND DRINK FESTIVAL

WIN A PAIR OF TICKETS TO THE BRITISH CYCLING NATIONAL TRACK CHAMPIONSHIPS

BRITISH NATIONAL TRACK CHAMPIONSHIPS

LIVERPOOL FOOD AND DRINK FESTIVAL

...and a meal at Free State Kitchen! We have one pair of tickets to give away to Liverpool Food and Drink Festival’s Sefton Park event on 7-8 September, where TV chefs Gizzi Erskine, Levi Roots and Aiden Byrne will be topping the bill. The lucky winner will also get to experience one of the city’s coolest new eateries with a meal for two at Free State Kitchen, to be enjoyed any time in September. For your chance to win the pair of tickets, simply head over to www.theskinny.co.uk/about/competitions and correctly answer the following question:

August 2013

Which of these chefs is not appearing at Liverpool Food and Drink Festival? A) Gizzi Erskine B) Spongebob Squarepants C) Aiden Byrne Under 18s must be accompanied by an adult (to Liverpool Food and Drink Festival). Competition closes midnight Sun 25 Aug. 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. Full terms and conditions can be found at www.theskinny.co.uk/about/terms. For more information about Liverpool Food and Drink Festival: www.liverpoolfoodanddrinkfestival.co.uk

...and a GB Cycling team jersey! Long a feature of the East Manchester skyline and a symbol of the regeneration of that part of the city, Manchester Velodrome is in rude health as it roars through its second decade. This autumn, the expanded National Cycling Centre, home to British Cycling and its stellar cast of world beating athletes, plays host to two major cycling events, the British Cycling National Track Championships in September and the UCI Track Cycling World Cup in October. For your chance to win a pair of tickets to the Saturday night of the National Track Championships on 28 Sep and a GB Cycling team jersey, simply head over to www.theskinny.co.uk/ about/competitions and correctly answer the following question:

COMPETITIONS

When was the Manchester Velodrome first opened? A) 1994 B) 1996 C) 1998 Entrants must be 16 or over. Competition closes midnight Sun 1 Sep. 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. Full terms and conditions can be found at www.theskinny.co.uk/about/terms. For more information about British Cycling National Track Championships: www.nationaltrackchamps.co.uk

Out Back

25-29 September National Cycling Centre, Manchester nationaltrackchamps.co.uk

FIRST BRITAIN, THEN THE WORLD 1-3 November Track cycling takes centre stage in Manchester this autumn If you've never been to the home of British Cycling, now is a great time to get your first taste of the excitement of the velodrome. The National Track Championships is the first gig of the autumn as the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best chase the Red, White and Blue bands of National Champion. Then in November the best cyclists in the world head to Manchester for the UCI Track Cycling World Cup where the cream of British talent take on the rest of the world.

Grab your seats now, visit ticketmaster.co.uk/britishcycling

National Cycling Centre, Manchester trackworldcup.co.uk