The Skinny Northwest July 2013 by The Skinny

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Northwest Issue 04 July 2013

M O N E Y “WE WANT TO MAKE SOMETHING POWERLESS”

ART Callum Sutch Marc Chagall Inne Goris on Long Grass Maurice Carlin FOOD Booze for Festivals Extreme Food FASHION London Collections: Men SS14

CLUBS Michael Mayer David Dewaele on Despacio Midland Justin Robertson Shangaan Electro FILM Greta Gerwig Doc/Fest The Future of Film Felicity Jones

TRAVEL Postcard from Venice Biennale MUSIC Fuck Buttons Embers Ultramagnetic MCs THEATRE 24:7 Nowt Part Of Shiny New Festival

Photo: Carlitos Trujillo

Photo: David Howarth

P.28 CALLUM SUTCH - THE CORRECT WAY TO POLISH A DONKEY, 2013

Photo: Dan Sims

P.15 MICHAEL MAYER

P.40 SON YAMBU - AFRICA OYÉ

P.30 CHRISTOPHER SHANNON - MEN SS14

JULY 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

Issue 04, July 2013 © Radge Media Ltd. Get in touch: E: hiya@theskinny.co.uk T: 0161 236 1114 P: The Skinny, First Floor 8 Tariff Street, M1 2FF The Skinny is distributing 23,000 copies across Liverpool and Manchester, a wide range of advertising packages and affordable ways to promote your business are available. Get in touch to find out more.

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Printed on 100% recycled paper

Contents

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

Lauren Strain Jamie Dunn Laura Howarth Dave Kerr Ryan Rushton John Thorp Ana Hine Keir Roper-Caldbeck Alexandra Fiddes Jamie Faulkner Bram E. Gieben

Production Production Manager Designer Sub Editor

Amy Minto Thom Isom Bram E. Gieben

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

Caroline Harleaux Isobel Patience George Sully Tom McCarthy Solen Collet

Lead Designer

Maeve Redmond

Editor-in-Chief Sales Director Publisher

Rosamund West Lara Moloney Sophie Kyle

July 2013

Contents UP FRONT 06

Opinion: We introduce the July issue; Soulwax/2ManyDJs’ David Dewaele tells us what it’s been like working with James Murphy to produce the perfect soundsystem; Edgar Wright picks his idol in Hero Worship, and Mystic Mark strokes the contours of 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 July.

LIFESTYLE 27

FEATURES

Manchester’s MONEY have been on the tips of local tongues for a year, but forthcoming debut album The Shadow of Heaven should cement their position as one of the UK’s most thoughtful young bands. Singer Jamie Lee explains himself. We’ve gone fringe crazy this issue, and kick off with a look at the tenth edition of the 24:7 theatre festival. The directors of Salford's Nowt Part Of and Liverpool's Shiny New Festival discuss their single-venue programmes. More theatre! But, y’know, theatre in art this time. We examine Marc Chagall’s ‘Theatre of Dreams’ at Tate Liverpool.

Fashion: Clothes for blokes! Finally! Have a gander at Spring/Summer 2014 collections from Lou Dalton, Tom Lipop and more. Food & Drink: Our new Food editor takes a stand against injecting his dinner with brine, while Phagomania marinades some bacon in rum, coke and lime, because yeah. Deviance: Are you guilty of referring to the ‘Friend Zone’? One voice wants a word; while another argues that we’re too nervous to take offence.

REVIEW

Clubs: Midland drops his new label, Graded; Shangaan Electro bring the party, and Justin Robertson picks five records currently shaping his cosmos.

Fuck Buttons’ Andrew Hung reflects on the duo’s unlikely Olympic coup, and discusses the silent language of their new record, Slow Focus.

Film: For the dreamers: Frances Ha; for the brave: A Field In England; for the bold: Wadjda; for the kids (and George Sully): Monsters University.

DVD: our picks this month include No, where Gael García Bernal’s ad man takes on Pinochet in 80s Chile, and the brilliantly named Spider Baby.

Books: The last book from the late, great Iain Banks and the release of James Agee’s 70-year-old Cotton Tenants.

Art: Maurice Carlin continues his Performance Publishing project, while Processing forms an intriguing dialogue between artist, writer and exhibition guest; plus win tickets to Liverpool International Festival of Psychedelia and Manchester Jazz Festival in Competitions.

Inne Goris presents her contribution to Manchester International Festival’s visual arts programme, while emerging writer Natasha Smith introduces us to the magic and mermaids of Andalusia.

Arts graduates from the University of Salford’s class of 2013 reveal wind-blasted tree sculptures and gold-leaf toilets in their wide-ranging, occasionally wacky degree show. The first instalment in a series of indepth investigations considering the precarious future of popular media looks at the paradigm shift faced by filmmakers in our digital world.

“People are jealous of me and Ced Gee because we’re slim”: Ultramagnetic MCs’ Kool Keith goes off on one.

Our intrepid Sheffield Doc/Fest reporter gets square eyes watching everything from the story of Pussy Riot’s jailing to the tale of a misunderstood whale.

26 Rising star Felicity Jones discusses her role in Drake Doremus’s intimate family drama Breathe In.

The Skinny

Comedy: We prepare for LOLs from the Greater Manchester Fringe Festival.

Listings: Anyone know wha gwan in Liverpool and Manchester in July? Yeah, we do!

LIVERPOOL LISTINGS JULY

03 SIC ALPS & THE LUCID DREAM blade factory with lpool psych fest

OCTOBER 11

FOSSIL COLLECTIVE leaf

JOHN GRANT east village arts club with evol

EUROS CHILDS & BILL RYDER-JONES leaf

AUGUST

07 SCOTT & CHARLENE’S WEDDING the shipping forecast with bam!bam!bam! 31 GRANT HART (HÜSKER DÜ) leaf

NOVEMBER 09

PHOSPHORESCENT the kazimier with evol

SEPTEMBER

SWEET BABOO leaf

LOW the anglican cathedral

27 - L’POOL INTERNATIONAL - 28 FESTIVAL OF PSYCHEDELIA Camp and Furnace

Music: New records from Fuck Buttons and Thundercat, and fine gigs from Daniel Bachman and Bass Clef.

you will after seeing her play the title character in new Noah Baumbach movie Frances Ha. We chat with the mumblecore queen.

Showcase: Manchester School of Art graduate Callum Sutch says he spent his entire time there “making a mess of the floor, walls, clothes and canvases.” Turn to our centrefold to see the results.

Celebrating 20 years of his influential label Kompakt, DJ and producer Michael Mayer indulges in some gentle jibing, and explains why you should put your sodding phone away.

20 If you don’t already love Greta Gerwig,

Travel: We receive a postcard from the world’s foremost visual arts festival, the Venice Biennale. Get there before it sinks.

Out Back: Slow-burning newcomers Embers bring the warmth with new single Part of the Echoes.

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

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

Contents

Editorial

ig names, world premieres and bonkers ideas involving choreographed bone dust tend to hog the limelight every other July, when Manchester International Festival (MIF)’s increasingly ambitious programme descends on Albert (‘Festival’) Square and assorted venues for a fortnight. And while we are, of course, as hyped to feel those now-familiar shivers of excitement ripple through the city as anyone – indeed, you can read about 2ManyDJs/Soulwax’s experiment with LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy in creating the perfect audio experience, Despacio, on p7, meet rising Manchester band MONEY, who play their forthcoming debut album in full at MIF, on p10, and check out our round-up of the visual arts programme, where Inne Goris shares insights into her film installation Long Grass, on p19 – we also wanted to inspect what’s going on elsewhere, when for the most part our attentions are diverted by the prospect of having an existential breakdown at the hands of Adam Curtis in a disused train station. As such, our interviews with the directors of the 24:7 theatre festival, Salford’s Nowt Part Of and Liverpool’s Shiny New Festival – and comedy picks from the Greater Manchester Fringe Festival – reveal a hive of activity in the margins, if you just know where to look. From sprawling and off-the-wall (GMFF) to specialised and contemporary (24:7), calling these series – each with their own agendas and identities – ‘fringe’ festivals seems a disservice. This issue, we also welcome on board two section editors. In the space of two weeks, new Clubs captain John Thorp managed to round up Kompakt head honcho Michael Mayer; prodigious young producer Midland, who talks about the setting-up of his own label, Graded; South Africa’s

Shangaan Electro, whose leader, Dog, shares his secrets to making people lose their minds ahead of transferring his affections to UK audiences this July; disco don Justin Robertson, who lets us in on the sounds currently wigging him out, and David Dewaele of 2ManyDJs/Soulwax, who enthuses about the aforementioned Despacio and the benefits of being massive enough to play whatever weird old vinyl you want to a crowd that’s just been moshing to Skrillex. This has obviously all been a total walk in the park for John, so next issue he is tasked with bringing us a Burial exclusive. Meanwhile, Food and Drink editor Jamie Faulkner – whose welcome/indoctrination/teambuilding/bonding exercise yielded, as byproduct, a list of Skinny staffers’ favourite disgusting food pairings to try out, including mashed potato sandwiches and curry powder porridge – takes umbrage with the continuing assault of high-end, pseudo-scientific cooking fetishes on our home kitchens, and also shares his secrets to getting drunk both stylishly and efficiently at festivals (because within seconds of meeting us, he established that this was an area we needed help with. And he was right). We hope you enjoy this edition of The Skinny. See you in whatever Northwest cubbyhole someone has decided is perfect for a seven-minute monologue soon. [Lauren Strain] Cover: MONEY, by Jennifer L Haley Jennifer is a portrait and fine art photographer currently based in Northwest England. www.jenniferlhaley.com

Shot of the Month BLACK PROPHET BY DAVID HOWARTH

Hero Worship: Sam Raimi Edgar Wright, director of Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and the forthcoming The World’s End, enthuses about his filmmaking idol, Sam Raimi

hen I was a teenager growing up in Somerset, I had wrongly assumed that directors were just born into Hollywood. I thought that someone like Steven Spielberg was just delivered to the gates of Universal Studios by a stork – this is patently untrue. But then I heard the story of how Sam Raimi made The Evil Dead. I used to watch the programme Jonathan Ross did in the late 80s called The Incredibly Strange Film Show and they did a whole hour on Sam Raimi. I was already interested in movies but that really was the flashpoint for wanting to become a film director, because it hadn’t really occurred to me until then that there was an entry level outside Hollywood. So to hear the story of this person, aged 18, making a horror film and eventually getting it seen worldwide was astonishing to me. At that point I don’t think I’d even seen The Evil Dead or Evil Dead II – I definitely hadn’t seen The Evil Dead as it was banned on video at the time – but I saw the Jonathan Ross documentary and I was staggered. I thought, ‘That’s what I want to do.’ Evil Dead II was also a big film for me when I was a teenager because of its mix of genres. On paper it was a horror film, and yet it was funnier than most comedies. That really stuck with me. I remember watching it and thinking, ‘Wow, I didn’t know you could make a film like this!’ It’s something else: a fever dream, a Looney Tunes horror

movie. That was a big inspiration when I was starting out. It just really appealed to me how go for broke it was. Not only have I met Sam on several occasions now, we’ve become friends, which is amazing. Later he actually offered me The Curse, which became Drag Me to Hell. He’d written it and he wanted me to direct it, but I couldn’t really accept, a) because I was doing Hot Fuzz and b) because it was so obvious to me that it should be Sam Raimi directing it that I said, ‘No, you’ve got to do this. If I did it, it would just feel like karaoke.’ So he ended up directing too. I visited the set of Drag Me to Hell years later. It was the second-from-last day of the shoot and Sam was shooting a scene in a graveyard. He was wearing his usual suit and tie combo but it was completely covered in flecks of mud, then he saw me and shouted across the stage, “This is all your fault, Wright.” His prankish, mischievous nature has never deserted him. He always makes me laugh, and that’s why he was a hero of mine growing up and to have become friends with him is quite extraordinary. The final part of Edgar Wright’s Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy, The World’s End, is released nationwide 19 Jul Edgar Wright was in interview with Jamie Dunn www.edgarwrighthere.com

The Skinny on Tour Our chums at Canongate Books are once again offering us a top read: this month, you could be in with a chance of winning a copy of Lolito by Ben Brooks. All you need to do is head along to www.theskinny.co.uk/about/competitions, and identify where one of our illustrator's pals went on a little spree – in between a tankard of vier and a bowl of sauerkraut* – to read a copy of our June issue. Competition closes midnight Sunday 28 July. 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 terms and conditions can be found at www.theskinny.co.uk/about/terms. *probably.

Chat

THE SKINNY

First Person: Achieving Sonic Paradise W

eâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been friends with James for a very long time and he always has sound... issues. Nothing ever sounds like he wants it to. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s always wanted to design the perfect soundsystem for himself. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s always got some sort of idea. Over the years Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve heard many different plans for, like, a hotel, or an app, or a tour bus. Being his friend, I always think, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Great to hear about this, not going to happen.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re quite obsessed with that early 1980s, true Balearic spirit of Ibiza. At that time, soundsystems were different. What we have now... we play in big clubs, on mega soundsystems, and you show off with your USB key. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not necessarily dissing that, it works for many people. But we were looking for something proper. For a long time, we were thinking of finding a real small venue, 300 or 400 people in Ibiza. The night was called Despacio as that means â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;slowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in Spanish, and we wanted to do a night where we could play, like, eight-hour sets, just three of us, no guest DJs. And it just didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t happen in Ibiza; when that fell through, MIF came to us. And we thought, if itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not going to be in Ibiza,

YULIA SOLODYANKINA, a student at the University of Edinburgh, has been missing since Friday 7 Jun. She was last seen at 4.55pm at Buchanan Street bus station, Glasgow. Her disappearance has taken Yulia's friends and family by complete surprise, and so many of her friends have been actively involved in searching for her. You can follow their #findyulia campaign on Facebook and Twitter.

YULIA SOLODYANKINA

Online Only Eyes to the website

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve a whole mess of coverage from the recent Sheffield Doc/Fest and the Edinburgh International Film Festival. www.theskinny.co.uk/film

July 2013

BALLS. David Dewaele, half of 2ManyDJs/Soulwax with his brother, Stephen, talks about the pairâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s collaboration with LCD Soundsystem and DFA leader James Murphy to produce one-off club Despacio â&#x20AC;&#x201C; an attempt to create the perfect, in-the-round audio experience

Manchester is the next best place to do it. Last summer is when we decided to do Despacio properly. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been planning it now for less than a year. Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s great about MIF is theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re willing to invest in things that are just weird. From last September until now itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been daily emails, about three pages each. James and his tech are such uber-nerds, and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m pretty clued up, but most of the time they even lose me. The thing that weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re building, everything will sound good on it. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the clichĂŠ of people saying youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll hear and feel the music differently. It has to be in the round, because we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to use anything digital for aligning it, so you have to be in the middle of these eight gigantic stacks. We havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t touched the full system at this point, but weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve heard the components. For the past three months, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been putting records aside, and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been re-editing our versions of certain tunes especially and then producing them on vinyl. We always like to do small things, little parties, and we try and play certain things. From us, people always seem to want it big and aggressive.

We have a good sense of what people want, and somethingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s happened in the past five years that people want these big tracks, big dynamics, and subtlety gets lost. So one of the things we want to do with Despacio is play slower. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re comfortable and happy doing what we do at festivals. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s amazing to play in front of 10,000 kids, and when you play and youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re on prior to Skrillex, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s as much of a challenge to play The Clash or something weird on CĂłmeme that theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve never heard. But thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s only so much of that in a day â&#x20AC;&#x201C; thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s so much music we love that we want to play otherwise. In all art you have to know where you come from, and it seems that in music recently, what makes us stand out is that we have a sense of history.

The police have also appealed to anyone who has seen or heard from Yulia to contact them immediately on 101.

than a larger than average burger. The Royal Standard, Liverpool, 13-28 Jul, Fri-Sat 12-5pm, Free

With the second ART V CANCER exhibition marked on the calendar for 30 Aug at Manchesterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 2022NQ, the organisers are now calling out for submissions from artists. Adopting the theme 'Bending Time & Space', the exhibition will feature the work of 30 artists, and each limited print will be up for grabs for a mere ÂŁ20, money that will be put towards kicking cancer square in the butt. To get involved, send your submissions as a low-res .jpg to exhibition@ raid71.com before 17 Jul. www.artvcancer.com

HONEST is the latest production from Manchesterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Library Theatre Company and hits the International Anthony Burgess Foundation on 15 Jul. Following the hardest working Sanitation Deployment Officer in the North as he makes his way home after missing the last train, Honest, written by local playwright Adam Gilmour, throws its protagonist into a world of shady night-time characters. The International Anthony Burgess Foundation, Manchester, 15-16 Jul, 7.30pm, ÂŁ5

Manchesterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s open air cinema, SCREENFIELDS, returns for its fifth year, settling in to its new home at The Lawns in Spinningfields. Every Thu throughout the summer â&#x20AC;&#x201C; weather permitting, obvs â&#x20AC;&#x201C; theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be screening a film picked by you, the trusty public. Each week you can cast your eyes to their social media to help them choose between a past yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s favourite, or a film new to their circuit. The winning film will be announced at 5.30pm on the Wed before the screening â&#x20AC;&#x201C; leaving plenty of time to stock up on popcorn. www.facebook.com/spinningfields @Spinningfields LIFEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S AN ILLUSION LOVE IS A DREAM is the latest exhibition to pitch up at The Royal Standard gallery in Liverpool. Curated by Royal Standard director Frances Disley, and featuring the work of Roderick Maclachlan, David Osbaldeston and Kaye Donachie, the show is set to reclaim the word epic and return it to its rightful place in our language â&#x20AC;&#x201C; as in, describing art or nature, rather An audience with Foalsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Yannis Philippakis is always a treat; as is a chat with new wave revivalists Phoenixâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s frontman Thomas Mars. We chinwag with both as they prepare to rock Reading and Leeds. www.theskinny.co.uk/music We look at some of the work from the most promising Manchester School of Art graduates www.theskinny.co.uk/art

James Murphy, David Dewaele and Stephen Dewaele present Despacio as part of Manchester International Festival, New Century House, Manchester, 18-20 Jul, 10pm, ÂŁ15 David Dewaele was in interview with John Thorp. Read the full interview online at theskinny.co.uk/clubs

ROLL UP, ROLL UP! Skinny illustrator Caroline Dowsett (you can see her mini burger-man in the food pages of our June issue) will be hosting her first solo exhibition throughout Jul at Oddest Bar in Chorlton, Manchester. 'Roll Up' is a collection of illustrations navigating the 1920s circus theme in a delicate and playful way. 2-31 Jul, Oddest Bar, Chorlton, Free For their latest site-specific exhibition, THE VERB PROJECT artist collective will be responding to the space in Piccadilly Place in their usual 'move in and make it their own' style. Using everything from sculpture and performance to sound installation and time-based medium, the group will be initiating actions based on the space around them, creating something rather transient. For the launch event on Thu 4 Jul there will be live performances from the artists and the audience from 6-9pm. Piccadilly Place, Manchester, exhibition continues 5-7 Jul, 12pm-3pm, Free

Comedy wants to know why newborn babies are so ugly. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t you? www.theskinny.co.uk/comedy Our Theatre focus continues with a close look at Quarantineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s The Dyas Sisters, at Contact, Manchester, 3-6 Jul, and the discovery that, contrary to the idea of theatres â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;going darkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; over summer, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tonnes going on in Liverpool, from revivals to restorations. www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre

with Mystic Mark

ARIES After weeks of paranormal torment you discover the reason your fridge barks like a Rottweiler, your walls have been bleeding, and gallons of maggots have been erupting through the phone receiver; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s your dead uncle, Frank, trying to contact you from beyond the grave to let you know everythingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fine and not to worry.

TAURUS For the female Taurus your outgoing side is reflected in the fact that youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re never afraid to get your tits out, even in the middle of a cold field.

GEMINI Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t give up! Give in.

CANCER Curious about your past lives, you go to a therapist and regress hypnotically to discover you were actually once your own grandpa.

LEO This month, after leaving them overnight in a restricted zone, your nipples are clamped by the local council.

VIRGO Life is like a dog. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hard understanding whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going on, you eat whatever comes near your mouth, fuck anything you can down the park and youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re easily replaced once dead.

LIBRA Weighing your options, you decide to book an appointment with the local backstreet bum abortionist.

SCORPIO Your masturbation sessions are so exhausting you need to load up on carbs beforehand and isotonic sports drinks during. Your personal trainer runs in at one point to massage the balls and keep them refreshed.

SAGITTARIUS When you put your mind to it, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s literally nothing you can do.

CAPRICORN Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to have to pull your finger out if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re ever going to get this job. Probably worth washing the finger as well.

AQUARIUS Your terrorist cell endeavours to harness the power of Cosmic Ordering, collectively wishing for the London Eye to spin off its moorings and crush entire packs of fleeing tourists. Please wait up to 28 days for the universe to process your order. PISCES In July youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re excited to hear our sun is about to go supernova! Enthusiastic to witness this once in a lifetime opportunity you rush outside to capture it on your phone. Experts warn, however, that looking directly at the exploding sun may lead to permanent eye damage and recommend the safest way to enjoy the event is via pinhole projection. You watch excitedly as both Earth and your precious eyeballs are utterly obliterated. Over in Books, our northern counterparts tell you everything you need to know about Unbound, the late night, free arm of the Edinburgh International Book Festival. www.theskinny.co.uk/books Director Ben Wheatley shares his warped vision for new film A Field In England with our sister paper. www.theskinny.co.uk/film

Chat

Sun 7 Jul

Mon 8 Jul

The Kazimier Vintage Summer Fair is back, taking over the Garden with stalls stacked high with vintage clothing, accessories and homeware. As well as original pieces, you'll be able to hunt out some reworked gems and plenty of upcycled oneoffs. Also on the – ahem – cards is a tarot reader, live music, face painting, puppetry, and more. The Kazimier Garden, Liverpool, 11am-6pm, Free

Throughout July, the Greater Manchester Fringe Festival will be getting dramatic in venues all over the city. Catch Suspended in Space, a darkly comic tale about a high maintenance star, an everyman extra and an obsessive fan stuck in a lift together during a sci-fi convention. Lass O'Gowrie, Manchester, 7.30pm, £6 (£5) THE KAZIMIER GARDEN

SUSPENDED IN SPACE

Sat 13 Jul

Sun 14 Jul

Mon 15 Jul

Gui Boratto makes use of the outdoor space at Liverpool’s ‘Bombed Out’ Church for an epic Freeze and Little Sister Kompakt Records party; and when the temperature dips, y’all can mosey on over to The Kazimier for an after-affair with Michael Mayer. St Luke’s Church, 3-11pm, and The Kazimier, 11pm-5am, Liverpool, £17 St Luke’s only, £10 The Kazimier only, £25 both

Just like the market days of yore – only with more embroidered moustaches on foxes and stuff – the monthly Capstan’s Bazaar will be taking to the Haus Warehouse for another urban jamboree, cramming in as much home-grown produce as one venue can comfortably hold. Support local businesses and grab some unique gubbins while you’re at it. Haus Warehouse, Liverpool, 11am-5pm, Free

Turner Prize-shortlisted artist Tino Sehgal uses Mayfield Depot for his piece This Variation, which takes advantage of attendees’ own pupil dilation to turn the space into a pulsating, sensory landscape – expect to be plunged into darkness while your senses work overtime. Part of Manchester International Festival. Mayfield Depot, Manchester, until 20 Jul, 4pm-8pm, Free

GUI BORATTO

MAYFIELD DEPOT

LAURA KATE DRAWS

Fri 19 Jul

Sat 20 Jul

Tate Liverpool offer a new way of displaying artworks for part two of its DLA Piper Series, Constellations. Five key pre-1960 works are presented in – yep – 'constellations', surrounded by pieces they have either inspired, or were themselves inspired by. Works on show include pieces by Picasso, Matisse and Man Ray. Tate Liverpool, until Spring 2015, Free

Experience the streets of Soweto as the South African rubber-limbed Shangaan dance craze takes hold of The Kazimier Garden and the music inches up to 188bpm. Shangaan Electro’s dance workshop/performance/ festival will also feature street food, carnival attire and an analogue A/V party, with sets from Auntie Flo, Thristian, Yola Fatoush, Bantam Lion. The Kazimier Garden, Liverpool, 4pm, £10.50

MAN RAY - L'ENIGME D'ISIDORE DUCASSE

TSHETSHA BOYS - SHANGAAN ELECTRO

Wed 24 Jul

Thu 25 Jul

Fri 26 Jul

Unity Theatre have lined up a double bill of comedy in the form of John Robins and James Acaster, both firm favourites on Russell Howard’s Good News. Robins’ usual brand of low key comic observations should contrast nicely with Acaster’s nostalgic romp through, er, indie discos of years gone by. Unity Theatre, Liverpool, 8pm, £8 (£6)

Be quick, and you should still be able to snag tickets for this intimate performance from Jesca Hoop – y'know, the super-talented Californian who moved to Manchester and was soon claimed as one of our own. She’ll be taking to The Castle Hotel in advance of her appearances at Cloudspotting and Womad. Expect a tight squeeze. The Castle Hotel, Manchester, 7.30pm, £10

A biennial event returning for its third run, Full of Noises takes over the industrial town of Barrow-inFurness for a two-day back-to-basics exploration of analogue sound and electronic music. Highlights include a bouncy castle rigged with sub-bass surround sound, and artist-in-residence Lee Gamble. Various venues, Barrow-in-Furness, 26-27 Jun, £15 (earlybird)

JAMES ACASTER

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JESCA HOOP

LEE GAMBLE

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Photo: Imelda Dyas/Corporation Pop

THE DYAS SISTERS

Photo: Simon Lee

LUCKY DRAGONS

Photo: Jan Chlebik

The latest metatheatrical delight from innovative company Quarantine, The Dyas Sisters blurs the lines between reality and fiction. Each night of this world premiere run sees five new local performers audition to play the roles of Grace and Veronica Dyas, two sisters writing a book about their lives. Contact, Manchester, until 6 Jul, 8pm, £5 (Wed preview only), £10 (£6)

Photo: Chris Saunders

In an art experience like no other, Deep Hedonia and Drawing Paper present Los Angeles-based performance collective Lucky Dragons in Space/Sound, an adventure on the border between art, music and tactile technology – with live visuals, new audio commissions, and the entire evening presented in immersive, quadraphonic sound. The Bluecoat, Liverpool, 7pm, £7

Photo: Dub Lab

This month we anticipate bums to be planted firmly on seats in venues across the Northwest, as the International Nowt Shiny 24:7 Fringe Festival takes hold. But if theatre and comedy ain’t your thing, there’s everything from a rave in ruins with Gui Boratto to a sonic bouncy castle at Full of Noises festival.

Wed 3 Jul

Photo: Paul Wolfgang Webster

Compiled by: Laura Howarth

Photo: Mark Rabadan

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Heads Up

Tue 2 Jul

Fri 5 Jul

Sat 6 Jul

In this first collaborative exhibition by Alistair McClymont and Sophie Clements – the result of a month-long residency up on Islington Mill’s derelict fifth floor – both artists explore the possibilities of observing and capturing natural phenomena, and question at what stage in their process this becomes an artwork. Islington Mill, Salford, until 21 Jul, Free

A festival as festivals should be: laid back, in a mucky field, with good times the primary focus. Head over to the Ribble Valley (car sharing is encouraged) for the eighth edition of Beat-Herder, which totes a line-up to please most, including Booka Shade, Chic feat. Nile Rodgers, Shackleton, and Justin Robertson. Dockber Farm, Lancashire, 5-7 Jul, £105 (weekend camping)

Sharing its name with a hush-hush Californian retreat where the rich and powerful go to misbehave, Bohemian Grove returns to Islington Mill for another intimate, strung-out night of underground sounds. This time, they’ve lined up appearances from Steven Tang aka Obsolete Music Technology in support of his new LP, and local boy Cottam. Islington Mill, Salford, 10pm, £10

BEAT-HERDER

Thu 11 Jul

Fri 12 Jul

Inspired by the Epicurus quote ‘only wolves and lions eat alone’, theatre company Unfinished Business invite you to get involved in, well, Only Wolves and Lions: an epic three-and-a-half-hour feast integrating conversation, food and storytelling. They'll provide the carbs and condiments, you bring one ingredient to add to the pot. Contact, Manchester, until 11 Jul, 6.30pm, £15 (£10)

Salford's fringe festival Nowt Part Of returns with a week-long showcase of homegrown talent, including this Teacup Theatre original by Stephanie Claire. Confessions of a Waitress is a comic observational piece about the peaks and more frequent troughs of waitressing that will ring true with anyone accustomed to the job. The Black Lion, Salford, 8pm, £6 (£5)

As part of their Regal Cinema series, The Dancehouse Theatre delve into the classics and come up trumps with a screening of 1985 beaut The Goonies. Highlights include the truffle shuffle (pictured), and, well, everything else Chunk does in this 114-minute masterpiece that constituted the bedrock of our youth. The Dancehouse Theatre, Manchester, 7pm, £5

Prepare to be moved by this harrowing tale of a woman left grief-stricken and guilt-ridden after the disappearance of her child. A heart-rending play exploring the psychological complexities of loss, Extreme Withdrawal is Manifest is part of Shiny New Festival, Liverpool’s very own fringe. The Lantern Theatre, Liverpool, 7.30pm, £7 (£4)

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

CONFESSIONS OF A WAITRESS

TRUFFLE SHUFFLE

EXTREME WITHDRAWAL IS MANIFEST

Wed 17 Jul

Thu 18 Jul

Using psychological dysphoria as a starting point for his minimalist, ambient and melancholy grooves, Youth Lagoon aka Trevor Powers brings songs from his latest album Wondrous Bughouse – and hopefully some from his 2011 debut, The Year of Hibernation – to Manchester for the first time. Gorilla, Manchester, 8pm, £11.50

Velvet-voiced lovelies Stealing Sheep play a free hometown gig because – well, because they're just so stinkin' generous. Expect medieval synths, hypnotic beats, spiralling whammy guitars and apocalyptic thunder drones. Support comes in the form of All We Are and Prides: keep it weird, Liverpool. East Village Arts Club, Liverpool, 7pm, Free (booking fee applies)

The Lantern Theatre’s Shiny New Festival serves up a unique slice of theatre told through diaries, private phonecall transcripts and letters – a mosaic of evidence that pieces together to tell the story of Bartholomew Younghusband’s bizarro affair, and allows audiences to see the world through Pornovision. The Lantern Theatre, Liverpool, until 20 Jul, 7.45pm, £8 (£6)

STEALING SHEEP

YOUTH LAGOON

Photo: Magnus Aske Blikeng

Tue 16 Jul

PORNOVISION

Mon 22 Jul

Tue 23 Jul

Today marks the last day of Manchester International Festival’s do it 20 13, an art experience 20 years in the making that turns the artist/viewer relationship on its head. The exhibition is split into four parts and includes instructions written by now deceased artists, an archive of instructions completed in the past 20 years, and video works including pieces by Gilbert & George and Yoko Ono. Manchester Art Gallery, 10am-6pm, Free

Running parallel to Tate Liverpool’s Chagall: Modern Master, the Manchester Jewish Museum presents work by 17 Jewish artists in Chagall, Soutine & The School of Paris. Highlights include Chagall’s Apocalypse en Lilas, Capriccio, painted in 1945-7 in response to the atrocities happening in Europe. Manchester Jewish Museum, until 24 Nov, 10am-4pm, Free

The 24:7 theatre festival presents a magical blend of Andalucia-inspired drama, poetry, song and dance in the form of The Legend of Tarifa, a new piece by upcoming writer Natasha Smith. Influenced by her time spent at the dreamy Southern tip of Spain, it tells tales of love and mermaids. 2022NQ, Manchester, 7pm, Free

DO IT 20 13

Photo: Fischil & weiss

Sun 21 Jul

MANCHESTER JEWISH MUSEUM

Sat 27 Jul

Sun 28 Jul

Mon 29 Jul

The much-loved Winter Arts Market takes a summertime outing for a um, Summer Arts Market, and invites more than 100 local crafters to set up shop in St George's Hall. Spend the day collecting hand-crafted treasures, nerding up on your DIY skills in workshops or kicking back in a pop-up cafe with cake. Mmm. Cake. St George's Hall, Liverpool, 10am-5pm, Free

For the 18th edition of the Manchester Jazz Festival, its organisers have lined up a wall-to-wall, ten-day programme taking in venues across the city. Band on the Wall host Brooklyn and Texas-based pioneers Snarky Puppy, a collective made up of around 25-ish musicians. Band on the Wall, Manchester, 29 Jul, 7pm, £15

Frontman turned Shakespearean actor Johnny Flynn – remember his Sussex Wit? – returns to the stage this month as a solo artist, dropping in at The Deaf Institute to play tracks from his 2012 album Been Listening, and hopefully some from his upcoming album, expected later this year. The Deaf Institute, Manchester, 7pm, £12

SUMMER ARTS MARKET

July 2013

SNARKY PUPPY

Photo: Matt Ford

Wed 10 Jul

Photo: Ian Hughes

Tue 9 Jul

Photo: Michael Pettitt

STEVEN TANG

THE LEGEND OF TARIFA

JOHNNY FLYNN

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Photo: Steve Gullick

ALISTAIR MCCLYMONT

Photo: Joby Catto

Thu 4 Jul

Hold Me Forever Newly signed to Bella Union, MONEY preview their pensive, searching debut album with two headline shows at Manchester International Festival this month. Livewire frontman Jamie Lee espouses his thoughts on death, determination, and living in The Shadow of Heaven Interview: Lauren Strain Photography: Jennifer L Haley

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here are two fundamental things that human beings don’t want: one is they don’t want to die, the second one is they don’t want to be alone,” decides Jamie Lee, dishevelled and devilish frontman of MONEY, as he discusses the title of his band’s upcoming debut album dressed in all-black and gobbing a wedge of lemon fished from his tap water. “It can literally be boiled down to those two things, and in a way they’re the same. So our ideas of how we create our gods – at least in the West and the Judeo-Christian tradition – is that we don’t wanna die, so we create a god that is immortal, and we don’t want to be alone, so we create a god that is everywhere. “And in a way,” he continues, hands paddling, “we pin all our mortal hopes to this point in the universe that, as human beings, we want to reach but can’t. Where do we put ourselves on that scale? How do we deal with the fact that we want to be everything and yet we know we’re going to die at some stage? That creates a terrible almost insolubility of two things that you have to, to remain sane, combine, and I suppose that is the reason that the record is called what it is: we’re always gonna live in the shadow of what we want to be; we’re never going to be able to acquire it fully.” Comprising Lee, guitarist Charlie Cocksedge, bassist Scott Beaman and drummer Billy Byron,

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MONEY, as you might have guessed, are a band with big ideas (as much as Lee might half-sarcastically, half-sincerely suggest that he doesn’t have “the intellectual authority that a writer does – because I’m a musician, remember? It’s all about lahv, isn’t it?! It’s all about lahv!”). But they’ve a simple sound – combining traditional guitar-band instrumentation with glassy atmospheres and profound, plunging reverb – and a clear ethos: that is, to never compromise. Over the past couple of years, what Lee describes in a later email as their “obsession for the veracious” has seen them mutate through a number of names including Meke Menete, Youth, Books, and um, Youth/Books, and participate in a variety of live experiments that have taken them everywhere from SWAYS Records’ headquarters The Bunker, a caged stage in a semi-derelict district of Salford lit by the gloaming of HM Prison Manchester, to David Lynch’s Paris haunt Club Silencio – and this month, they will perform their forthcoming LP The Shadow of Heaven in full for two headline shows at Manchester International Festival. It’s an engagement that feels like an announcement, presenting them to the world on a stage that will attract a global gaze, not just that of the looming Strangeways – though Lee is uncomfortable when it’s suggested that there might be anything either grand or neutering about being ‘showcased’

in this way. “I feel like MIF is hardly a populist or material choice,” he counters, referring to the band’s frequently stated intention to “re-create the world on our own terms” – which includes approaching performances in what might be perceived as more straightforward, ‘approved’ settings by making them their own. “It depends how extreme you want to be,” he says. “Either you can say that all representation is false because it desires to be understood and accepted in some way, or otherwise you can say that the deceitful element of representation is wholly necessary for communication to take place.” Besides, MIF feels an appropriately ambitious platform for a sonorous, swooping first record that, in its best moments, both dives into close, claustrophobic balladry (Black, Goodnight London) and seems to strive for either a higher state of consciousness or its opposite – a persistently elusive sweet relief (Hold Me Forever, Cold Water). Lee defines the album’s narrative, when pushed to identify one for a soundbite to toss to journalists, as that of “a Hell-descent – one into the modern world – where man has been told that he is both God whilst at the same time being told that he is nothing,” and it’s this idea that he’s exploring on a drab Monday lunchtime in Manchester’s empty Night & Day cafe – in between deliberating whether Johnny Marr really

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has just walked in for a slash, or if he’s going to at least buy a coffee to justify use of the toilet.

“Writing music is an attempt to create more time. To stretch it out, weigh it down. To live more” Jamie Lee

As he describes the existential discord that erupts when we realise – having spent our youth “walking around this wonderfully innocent place” – that life is perhaps not what we’ve grown up to believe it is, Lee’s eyes widen. “Suddenly this voice appears – not literally – and says, you know, you’re going to die. And you don’t quite believe it at first, and you start to realise that maybe it’s the case. And you feel this sense of betrayal, almost. I think the record is still coming out at the

THE SKINNY

back end of that feeling of betrayal, and stepping into the point of throwing off the world because it’s not good enough. “I think that [if] we could comprehend the magnitude of our own disappearance, we would certainly re-evaluate the nature of being alive in varying degrees,” he expands. “I think this is one of the things that the mad understand near perfectly – that they are going to die. Most people would rather not think about death. In British society death has lost its place in our way of life. We try to hide it, we feel awkward talking about it. It is a kind of taboo to even give it internal credence. With the loss of religion, we have lost a cathartic dialogue with mortality. Science suggests that our death will be so total that we would rather forget it’s ever going to happen. This is the state that I think most people find themselves [in] – in a kind of temporal immortality, a place where everything tells them that they will lose absolutely everything, and yet they suspect or trick themselves into thinking that they will never really die. To admit it, to understand the totality of their own death, would be too much to live with.” Finding a way to navigate this schism is a preoccupation that clearly fuels Lee both personally and artistically: “writing music,” he says, “is an attempt to create more time. To stretch it out, weigh it down. To live more. So it is both an acceptance [of] and a vehement attack against death and the cruelty of reality.” In both conversation and the texts he publishes to the band’s sites, which can take the form of rambling mini manifestos, flashes of imagery or quotes from admired writers, Lee’s verbosity careens wildly from the consciously meandering (“that doesn’t make any sense does it, I’m just babbling on, you’re looking at me like, god what the fuck”) to the concise. It’s this seemingly genuine lack of fear of fucking up in the pursuit of something lucid – something essential, something that finally hits the nail on the head – that has earned his band a devoted following; as well as detractors who, with Lee’s abstractions and dramatic behaviour as ammo, are swift to shoot them down as lyrical looseness dressed up as poetics, as all gesture and no, erm, gonads. (There was some kerfuffle over the cover of their debut single, 2012’s Who’s Going to Love You Now?/Goodnight London, which featured Lee stark bollock naked clutching a rifle. “Lots of people who see that picture think it’s stupid and provocative and isn’t very thoughtful,” he comments. “I think it has merit, y’know? I wanted it to say, I’m gonna show you what I am.”) But it’s the fans that seem to be winning, with word of gigs having gained traction outside of Manchester – the band have a number of European festival appearances lined up – and hyperbole spewing from breathless blogs like that of the anonymous Atrocity Boy, apparently founded solely to document the nascent SWAYS ‘scene’. Lee is well aware, however, of the rapidity with which something once authentically exhilarating can be commodified; he’s mortified that the promotional spiel surrounding The Shadow of Heaven describes him as ‘a fallen angel with a Macbeth haircut,’ and expresses frustration with the way external commentary attempting to

July 2013

eulogise something before it’s even properly begun can misunderstand the true origins or energy of a moment. “With the Bunker gigs, we did want to provoke, but we also wanted to do something very genuine,” he says. “Any band could play, people could express themselves freely regardless of how extreme that was, because there wasn’t a place like it in Manchester, if not in Europe, if not in the world. So when people would come from the outside and try and understand it, they would always do a bad job of it, I thought. “Our name tells you everything you want to know about us in a way,” he offers, as concession. “What is value? What do we find valuable? You go to see Van Gogh in any capital city in the West that would have a painting or two by him, and there’s this big crowd of people, and they’re engaging with the tragedy of the story... and they’re

the ones who killed him, really. They kind of represent the static values of mainstream society. That’s a crude way of looking at it, but what I want to know is, regardless of all the social or financial value that those paintings have or where you see them, what is their essential value? What does it actually mean?” To try to grasp this as an artist, he suggests, “you have to try and represent a person, a moment, whatever, as well as you can, and that mythologises it, rather than [you] imposing a mythological status on it. “I would like to be able to get to that stage with lyrics,” he says, admitting that, having barely listened to The Shadow of Heaven since its recording, he’s restless to pick up his pursuit of this idea of capturing the ineffable. “I’ve been quite lofty; not lofty in my ideas, but I’ve been looking at things from an elevated point rather

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than right on the surface, and [on the next record] I want to be able to describe the surface. “We want to make something powerless, really,” he surmises, “but that, at the same time, still has value and meaning. We don’t want to follow the same kind of conventional lines of success that a lot of people want. I think we all want to create a genuine experience – not for other people, but for ourselves, primarily. What is at the heart of the individual? “What would you say is at the very bottom of yourself? At the very bottom of the world?” MONEY play the Pavilion Theatre at Festival Square as part of Manchester International Festival, 12 and 13 Jul, 8.30pm, £12 The Shadow of Heaven is released 26 Aug via Bella Union www.lonelysexydeath.com

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Fringe Fever For a decade, the 24:7 theatre festival has been giving young playwrights and theatre-makers a platform on which to develop their skills. Executive producer David Slack looks forward to a tenth edition that includes a fiery site-specific show Interview: Conori Bell-Bhuiyan Illustration: Helen Hancocks

ine years ago, during the summer months that usually see theatres go quiet, a daring new event began to take shape in the pubs and clubs of Manchester. Jump forward to today, and the 24:7 theatre festival is no longer such a newcomer – though the work it’s showcasing is as new and fresh as it’s ever been. “I thought, there needs to be somewhere for new actors to be seen in Manchester,” says executive producer David Slack, who has overseen the founding and development of the festival completely from scratch, using sheer determination and (voluntary) hard work. “So I wrote a plan. It was to be a showcase for actors and we would do it in non-theatre spaces, in the summer while theatres were closed.” The next step up from showcasing new actors seemed to be to showcase new writers – and the week-long 24:7 festival now prides itself on giving playwrights a platform upon which to develop and produce their scripts, then see them performed in front of an audience. In turn, that audience is provided with live shows that have never been seen anywhere else. This year’s line-up is no different, with 11 world premierès carefully chosen from the pile of submitted scripts. “We started it off in July 2004, with no funding and a lot of good will on the participants’ part, and it worked,” Slack continues. “I think that we were filling in the cracks. Between the people putting on occasional shows and the established theatres there was a crevasse – more than a crack, really. This gave people the opportunity for new theatre-making, and the chance for

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everyone who wanted to get into theatre-making to gain some experience.” Over the years, 24:7 has produced and staged a total of 157 plays, giving the opportunity to hundreds of creatives and theatre-makers of all kinds – writers, actors, directors, producers, technicians, you name it – to make their debuts.

“People have met, got together and got married because of 24:7 productions” David Slack

This year is particularly special, as the festival will be celebrating its tenth edition. A lot has changed over the near decade since 24:7 came to be, but as Slack says, “in essence it’s the same. We’re just able to help more now because we have the experience and connections.” 24:7 is a festival about people working together to create something unique, and it’s that sense of collaboration and learning that makes it stand out as a theatre event. “Because everyone wants to be there it has a chance,” he says, “and there’s

a festival atmosphere every year that just happens. People meet people, and that’s what it’s all about. People have met, got together and got married because of 24:7 productions.” As the festival grows and evolves, so do its performances. One exciting change this year is the festival’s introduction of its first site-specific piece. Manchester’s Burning, written and produced by independent theatre company Milk & Two Sugars, will be hosted in the Manchester Central Fire Station in Ancoats – and yes, there will be actual fire (and ‘loud noise’). The festival team are especially excited about this performance as they believe it showcases what 24:7 – and other events like it – can achieve; how, without being limited by space, they can do things that couldn’t be achievable in a conventional theatre. Putting on a theatre show in a working fire station is a huge step forward for the company, but also a huge challenge. Rebekah Harrison, who co-directs the play with colleague Kurt Nikko, describes Manchester’s Burning as “telling the lives of the firefighters and how they themselves deal with the aftermath of such major disasters, how each individual firefighter copes in their own way. We didn’t want to do something that was like a documentary, but we still needed to make it real, since we had the real fire station as a space. We want it to have a human edge.” Harrison describes being involved in 24:7 as “a big confidence boost, and it just opens so many doors. You can be putting on stuff all the time in Manchester and feel like you’re not really getting noticed, so being

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asked to be part of 24:7 is a real affirmation. We’re just so excited.” Also a first for the festival is The Young, 24:7’s first ever devised performance. Created by Faro productions, this show aims to explore and challenge our society’s dysfunctional and perhaps even dangerous perceptions of youth, beauty and ageing. Set in a dystopian future of eternal youth, the play, according to writer Abi Hynes, “is urgent and angry about the things to do with getting older in society that we’re not doing right.” Elsewhere, there’s Temper, the debut play from writer Richard O’Neill, which tells the story of Calum, a young and apathetic man who has been living by shifting blame and hiding from reality, and Debs, the woman who forces him to confront his cowardice and find his way in life – if she can. The performances are spread across some of Manchester’s best fringe venues. The versatile Northern Quarter creative space 2022NQ will be hosting both The Young and Louise Monaghan’s My Space – the story of a “mad old man” and four teens on community service. Also in the Northern Quarter, the unique, purpose-built boutique Three Minute Theatre will be hosting Temper, Laura Kate Barrow’s quirky love story Bump and Brian Marchbank’s ‘zany comedy’ about the trials and tribulations of painting a wall, No Soft Option. Last but not at all least, New Century House will stage five productions, including the festival’s only children’s show, Billy, the Monster and ME! by Catherine Manford and Sarah Molyneux. The venue is also hosting two historical dramas: Michael Jacob’s 19th-century detective tale Daylight Robbery and Thomas Bloor’s Night on the Field of Waterloo, the story of two war widows struggling to survive in the dark and surreal world that was the aftermath of the titular battle. Also looking at the aftermath of tragedy is Alice Brockway’s Blunted, which follows four characters as they try to come to terms with the fallout of a ‘brutal, pointless murder’. Finally, Away From Home, by Rob Ward and Martin Jameson, tells the story of the relationship between a male escort and a premiership footballer in a sharp, edgy and moving one-man performance. As well as its 11 full length plays, the festival will put on a handful of script readings and ‘extras’, which will include stand-up comedy and a collaboration – hosted in the Portico Library – with scriptwriters in Canberra, Australia, exploring digital modern communication. And while 24:7 is a theatre festival, everybody loves a bit of music, so a double-bass composition, performed and written especially for the event’s tenth edition, provides the cherry on top of proceedings. With performances running several times over, across different venues and at all times throughout the day, there should always be something of interest to catch – and with the shows all clocking in at under an hour each, if you’re at one, you may as well go and watch the next one. And the next one. And the one after that. 24:7 theatre festival, 19-26 Jul, various venues, times and prices See website for full listings www.247theatrefestival.co.uk

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On the Edge Two single-venue theatre festivals contribute dystopian fantasies and a murder mystery party to this month’s fringe mania. Their directors introduce Salford’s Nowt Part Of and Liverpool’s Shiny New Festival

his month a plucky audience will gather in Salford’s Black Lion for a training seminar. The dubiously named MacGuffin Industries are set to give a lecture on ‘efficiency for the modern business’ – but at some point, someone will bite the dust. This is the unlikely premise of To Die for Entertainment’s new show, Squaring the Circle. The brainchild of Rob Ireland, it’s a bizarre mashup of murder mystery and business nonsense lingo. Squaring the Circle is one of six shows playing at Nowt Part Of, a fringe theatre festival launching this year at the Salford pub and taking place in its John Cooper Clarke Theatre. “It’s all contemporary works,” says director Mike Francis Carvalho. “We wanted to do something that was original, something different. We didn’t want to tread down the same tracks as everything else.” Carvalho says the festival’s name (not to be confused with the previously run Not Part Of) has been taken a bit too seriously. “It’s just a tonguein-cheek thing. It’s a funny word that’s part of Manchester speak. It gives us a simple identity: the festival isn’t part of Manchester International Festival or anything else. But it will be a softer kind of mirror to what’s happening at MIF.” The fledgling festival put out the word on Twitter, and Carvalho banded together a diverse mix of plays. “The rules were simple: no more than four actors with as many characters as you like and a maximum run time of one

Interview: Clare Wiley Illustration: Katie Craven

hour.” This year’s shows – all from Northwest writers – include Stephanie Claire’s Confessions of a Waitress; a comedy from the Nuts and Bolts Theatre Company called The Harpington Toad Fanciers Social; James Antonio’s work about vanity and greed, Face Value, and two one-man shows from Josh Coates and Jon Coleman, Stevie Wonder’s Stern Warning / Waiting Man. Nowt Part Of will also stage Carvalho’s own Vienna, a witty story about one man’s obsession with Ultravox and Midge Ure. “I didn’t want to make it so much of a new writing event,” says Carvalho. “You see those words, ‘new writing’ and ‘fringe’, and it scares the general public off a bit. I wanted to make it more open access, so passers-by would see the posters, come in and not feel threatened by something alien. They’re not mainstream plays, but they’re accessible and there’s something for all tastes.” In Liverpool, the Shiny New Festival is making a similar contribution to the Northwest’s homegrown fringe scene. Now in its second year, the festival, like Nowt Part Of, also takes place in just one venue – The Lantern Theatre. Director Peter Mitchelson says Shiny New was born out of a desire to give Liverpool voices a real platform. “The city has a huge amount of performers and great talent. But in some ways a Liverpool fringe has been lacking; after people have had a bit of success, they tend to move to London straight away.”

Shiny New also aims to give the city’s audiences the chance to see Edinburgh-bound work first. “There’s an excitement in that,” says Mitchelson, “it’s the first time you’ll see this show. These guys might go on to be on TV in a few years.” On the bill this summer are The Brief Afterlife of Reginald Tanner, a parody of the NHS set in a dystopian future; comedy magic from David Alnwick; musical comedy duo Jollyboat, and stand-up Sam Avery’s debut full-length show about his short-lived stint in a heavy metal band. There’s no theme, says Mitchelson, who’s taken an organic approach to programming by using his

contacts from his job as a lighting technician and freelance theatre director – and featuring new works by artists from Shiny New 2012. Compact and affordable, Nowt Part Of and Shiny New might be just the ticket for those looking for something intimate – and a little off-the-wall. Nowt Part Of, John Cooper Clarke Theatre, The Black Lion, Salford, 8-14 Jul, times and prices vary @nowtpartof Shiny New Festival, The Lantern Theatre, Liverpool, 12-19 Jul, times and prices vary www.thelanterntheatre.co.uk

Y L U J S I TH THE GREATER

MANCHESTER

FRINGE FESTIVAL

3 Minute Theatre, Taurus, Band on the Wall, Kraak, Britons Protection, TV21, O’ Sheas, Town Hall Tavern, Lass O’Gowrie, Fab Cafe, Tiger Lounge, Kings Arms greatermanchesterfringe.co.uk sponsored by

July 2013

THEATRE

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Scene Change Tate Liverpool’s summer blockbuster show re-examines the work of Marc Chagall with a particular focus on his drama and narrative. We travel through the artist’s ‘Theatre of Dreams,’ with insights from co-curator Stephanie Straine Interview: Linda Pittwood

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hy has there never been a stage production of Marc Chagall’s life? He would make an intriguing protagonist, and there was more than enough drama in his 97 years. In his paintings, cows could fly upside down on invisible wire, and when you look at his works, you can almost hear the score. There are love stories (his first wife Bella and two subsequent wives), and life-long passions and obsessions, including, well, the theatre itself – particularly in his home town of Vitebsk in Russia, where he would regularly design costumes and sets for the Vitebsk Theatre of Revolutionary Satire (TEREVSAT). As the viewer

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progresses through the rooms of Tate Liverpool’s current exhibition, Chagall: Modern Master – and by proxy, through the artist’s life – it becomes obvious that Chagall and his paintings had a special relationship to the theatre. He wasn’t alone in crossing over between fine art and the stage: Picasso produced his first set design in 1917; the Futurists outlined their ‘Futurist theatre’ in their manifesto of 1914, and Kasimir Malevich designed the set for the Cubo-Futurist opera Victory Over the Sun in 1913. But the difference with Chagall, as evidenced here, is that he used paint as though he were a playwright, set designer and

director all at once, opting for shallow picture planes, depicting rooms bursting with layers of action, telling vivid – if nonsensical – narratives and, as the show’s co-curator Stephanie Straine says, achieving “a synthesis between figuration and abstraction.” In his works, almost 3D human beings stand in symbolically loaded sets. Modern Master plots the artist’s journey through one of the most important decades of his career. After some travelling, he settled in 1911 aged 24 in the critical and avant-garde hub of Paris – despite, says Straine, not knowing the language. It was for this reason that he was so productive, focusing initially on his painting and only later on becoming a conduit between critics, poets, the literary elite and artists. In the first rooms, we see much that is familiar. This is partly because, as with many of his fellow modern artists, we have seen a lot of Chagall’s work in reproduction over the years, but it’s also because he borrows from other artists – Renoir, Van Gogh, Matisse, Picasso, the Delaunays – as though he’s producing a series of collages or sketchbooks; there’s even a painting that would look at home in the pages of the Kama Sutra. In Homage to Apollinaire, Chagall has written the names of some of his social circle over a background that is strikingly Delaunay-esque (Sonia and Robert both painted distinctive, circular abstract canvases). What is less obvious – until you see the same tortured, conjoined figure motif in Study for Adam and Eve or Homage to Apollinaire – is the Old Testament reference. In Jackie Wullschlager’s biography of the artist, she quotes him as saying, “I did not see the Bible, I dreamed it. Ever since early childhood I have been captivated by the Bible. It has always seemed to me and still seems today the greatest source of poetry of all time.” It doesn’t take long to get used to the artist’s tendency to anthropomorphise; for us to accept the animals with human faces and behaviours as and when they arise. In The Yellow Room, a cow appears to be saying something that’s made its female human companion laugh her head off, while in the background, a man walks towards the door for some fresh air, or for a chat with the man in the moon. The table at which they are all positioned seems to be upturning, but it could be a perspectival device – either way, it keeps the whole scene moving. Nearby hang some of the most harrowing and dark images in the exhibition – the gothic and bloody Birth paintings, both versions of which show a newly born infant seemingly torn from its mother. In one, a shady character is seen exiting rapidly with a baby in his arms. Straine says it is unlikely that, as a young man, the artist would have been present at a birth, but suggests that these works could have been based on accounts he heard of his own dramatic entry to the world; allegedly while a fire raged in the town. “The Birth paintings inaugurate this very flexible approach to reality; he has been called ‘phantasmagorical,’” she notes. The paintings are certainly dream-like, but at the same time, they retain the artist’s “own painting system”, which is characterised by, well, characters, and a folkloric appearance that lends itself to narrative scenes and stands as homage to his Jewish heritage. If anyone were to produce a play of Chagall’s life, the second act would probably begin with

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the unexpected end to his period in Paris. What he imagined would be a brief visit to his native Russia to attend his sister’s wedding in 1914 turned into eight years, as the onset of war prevented his return to France. His graphic pen and ink work during World War I is, Straine points out, more sombre and “numb” than the work that came before and after it; however, his output reveals he hadn’t lost his ability to find the comic as well as the tragic within human interaction (chickens provide some light relief), and his return home meant he was reunited with – and then married to – Bella. About whether he had missed his fiancée during his years in Paris, the exhibition is vague. However, Chagall painted Bella often during their 30 years of marriage – and her death apparently left him grief stricken and unable to work for several months. In Promenade, he holds Bella’s hand as she floats untethered like a helium balloon to the sky. This painting, if a little cheesy, looks and feels a lot like the sensation of love. Behind the figures, the landscape breaks up into shards, emphasising the characters’ separation from the mundanities of life.

“Chagall has been called ‘phantasmagorical’” Stephanie Straine

Before ending on a mixed-bag encore of later work – a sleepy landscape seen through an open window, a clock flying on one blue wing, a red spirit emerging from red rooftops, a ghostly party, a warring goat – we arrive, finally, in Chagall’s ‘Theatre of Dreams’, where any numbness has lifted and been replaced with a confidence probably founded on the success and recognition the artist was beginning to receive in his professional life. Here, his musicality is more obvious, as figures contort and dance for him – and comprising the exhibition’s finale are the murals he produced for the State Jewish Chamber Theatre in Moscow, where we see the end of a process of learning from other artists, and the realisation of both Chagall’s ‘singular voice’ and its appropriate application in a theatrical context. The only disappointment is that not one of the canvases is hung from the ceiling to create the fully immersive experience that the artist intended – a display method dubbed, at the time, ‘Chagall’s box’. If this focus on the theatrical element of Chagall’s work doesn’t help you overcome the feeling that you’ve seen it all before, perhaps you will appreciate that his style anticipates the current interest in outsider art, or that his painterly joy in half-remembered narratives – particularly obvious in The Poet Reclining – lives on in artists like Peter Doig. But of course, if you don’t fancy the exhibition, you could always wait for the stage show. Chagall: Modern Master, Tate Liverpool, until 6 Oct, 10am6pm, £11 (£8.25) www.tate.org.uk

THE SKINNY

No Hesitation, No Obligation This year is a big one for DJ and producer Michael Mayer, whose Kompakt label has been celebrating its 20th anniversary with a series of compilations and parties. He jokes with us about dubstep, smartphones, and German beer

MICHAEL MAYER

n the trend-determined world of dance and electronic music, imagine running a record label for 20 years. Michael Mayer, one of a community of musical devotees behind Cologne’s seminal imprint Kompakt, has managed just that. Always distinctive and yet wildly multifaceted, Kompakt has, throughout its continuing evolution, represented mind-blowing big room techno, leftfield pop experimentation and chinstroking shoegaze. It has at once been accused of being too serious and too silly, too samey and too weird, but through artists as diverse as The Field, Matias Aguayo, WhoMadeWho and DJ Koze, Kompakt has left few alternative record collections untouched. With Mayer having recently stated that “the best is yet to come,” one wonders about his secret formula to keeping life in the Kompakt community so consistent and exciting. “Every Monday morning there’s a roll call under the Kompakt banner, where the Pet Shop Boys’ Being Boring is played,” he says with typical humour, returning from Barcelona where the label has just hosted its annual beach party at the close of the city’s Sónar festival. The history of Kompakt extends back to 1988, when Mayer visited a new branch of underground record store Delirium in Cologne on

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its first day. Despite the pedigree of the store in Frankfurt, Mayer was openly dismayed by the lack of selection and quickly drew up a list of what to order. Six months and some part-time shifts later, and he was a partner alongside Wolfgang Voigt and Jürgen Paape. Nowadays, the original team, plus many more, run a communal headquarters that incorporates basement studios, a distribution warehouse and living space for staff. Kompakt’s most recent dispatch, a fourtrack remix package of Mayer’s 2012 LP Mantasy, marks its 272nd release. That’s not counting the various sub-labels and imprints also threaded through the whole two-decade operation, which, taken together, push the 500 mark. For this year’s well-earned victory lap compilations, Kollektion 1 + 2, Mayer has had a lot of music to revisit. “I wanted the collection to be more than a best of. I was aiming for a nice blend of stone cold classics and personal favourites,” he explains. Featuring a time-honoured span of releases, both packages aim for the dancefloor as well as home listening. Any pleasant surprises? “Listening to Dettinger’s Totentanz from 1999 made me laugh. It’s the first dubstep track ever made. Sorry UK, we did it first... Seriously, there are many very early Kompakt releases that still sound surprisingly current.”

While we’re sure there would be a few figures keen to contest Mayer’s presumably tonguein-cheek claim that Kompakt invented dubstep, the label has never been afraid to push things forward into new territory. Perhaps the label’s biggest success story is not only the fact that it eventually became synonymous with minimal house in the 00s, but also that it has been able to reinvent itself almost completely since.

“My heart belongs to the idea of hosting a whole night from A-Z” Michael Mayer

Despite his reputation as a thoroughly positive character (he has recently returned from a seven-date tour of the US, where he argues the scene is “very healthy away from the glowstick

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Photo: Carlitos Trujillo

Interview: John Thorp

madness”), Mayer isn’t immune to being wound up by a few aspects of the modern dancefloor. Last year’s long awaited sophomore LP, the aforementioned Mantasy, contained a direct command for fans to put their camera phones away, disguised as a wistful slice of dance pop in the form of lead single Good Times. Has his stealthy awareness campaign worked? “I’ve actually had ‘No Smartphones’ stickers made,” he reveals. “Flashing them never fails to impress... I’ve just had one of the best reactions to them ever, at a Brooklyn rooftop party. The poor guy was high like a kite, he stood right before me, filming this most interesting scene: a DJ at work. You should have seen his face when I held the sticker in front of his lens. It took him a good hour to get his shit together again. Now he’s cured from smartphonitis.” Mayer is set to continue this unique brand of community work as he tours throughout the summer, including a stop at Croatia’s beloved Electric Elephant festival, which, he concurs, is fortunately the sort of event where punters are unlikely to be waving their devices about. “Last year, there was a guy faking phone calls for an hour or so with a macaw parrot clung to his ear,” he recalls fondly. “Why not?” On his return from Croatia, Mayer will be headlining Little Sister’s Kompakt party at Liverpool’s Kazimier on 13 July (which follows fellow Merseyside promoters Freeze’s daytime performance from Kompakt labelmate Gui Boratto at St Luke’s ‘Bombed Out’ church). It’s his second visit to the city this year, following an all-nighter back in March. With 25 years of records behind him, Mayer says that, when it comes to manning the decks, these days “my heart belongs to the idea of hosting a whole night from A-Z. Anything less than three hours leaves me rather unsatisfied,” he concludes. One of Mayer’s most admirable aspects, as reflected in Kompakt, is his ability to – if we can quote drum’n’bass doc Source Delight – ‘just like, do his own thing, and all that sort of thing’. While many producers and DJs end up locked in what can appear to be a dull and creatively prohibitive cycle of production, promotion, rinse and repeat, Mayer instead presents a more freespirited personal aesthetic; his production work and remixes seem to occur in flurries, and while he’s almost always DJing, fans – who only seemed to increase in number during the period – spent the best part of a decade after 2004’s Touch waiting for his most recent full-length. Mayer agrees with this assessment of his methodology, while adding a brief proviso: “That is true,” he says, but “sometimes, I suffer from not having enough time to spend in the studio. “But between travelling, running the company and my little family, there’s not much time left for production. It’s a fact I got used to it, and I don’t regret having chosen this road. It’s still better than hiring ghost producers like so many others do. I’m taking a certain pride in my authenticity. I never thought I would say this... But in that sense my music is like German beer. Don’t you use that as a headline!” Michael Mayer headlines Little Sister’s Kompakt Records party, The Kazimier, Liverpool, 13 Jul, 11pm-5am, £10 www.kompakt.fm

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Global Scope Having had their music played to almost one billion people across the world, cosmic dance outfit Fuck Buttons are about to return to normality with third album Slow Focus. Andrew Hung plants his feet on the ground to discuss the benefits of not talking

Interview: Darren Carle

FUCK BUTTONS

t may have been less than a year ago, but it’s easy to forget the collective sense of pride that followed the Olympic opening ceremony last July. Though the indefatigable Danny Boyle was at the helm of the ceremony itself, general issues with the games’ security and typical British indifference to the international sporting event meant many were expecting, even hoping, for a false start right from the off. Yet, almost unanimously, Boyle’s Isles of Wonder spectacle was declared a success and became a water cooler discussion of some repute. Talk of the historical, political and cultural significance of it all was everywhere from Twitter to the Telegraph for weeks to come. But though equally enthralled, a smaller section of society were at least as impressed by the choice of music for the event. “Hey, didn’t they play a lot of Fuck Buttons!?” was The Skinny’s initial response. Indeed they did, with Surf Solar soundtracking film prologue Journey along the Thames while, more obviously, a reworking of the duo’s epic track Olympians accompanied The Parade of Nations. Then, during the raising of the Union Jack, the London Symphony Orchestra covered Sundowner by Blanck Mass, the musical side project of one half of Fuck Buttons, Benjamin John Power. Quite a hat-trick. One year on, and the other half of the protofuturistic duo, Andrew Hung, is able to take stock of effectively having had his wares showcased to 900 million people. “Physically, I haven’t seen any benefit from it,” he laughs, indicating that copies of Tarot Sport haven’t been flying off the shelves in any greater number since the event. “But from a mental standpoint, it’s been extremely beneficial. It’s built my confidence so much, thinking that we can reach out that far. It’s evidence that our music can go anywhere.” Putting that theory to the test is third album Slow Focus, which is due for release this month. Though hewn from much of the same

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audio equipment and tools as its predecessor, it’s a somewhat darker listening experience than we’ve had from the pair in the past. Those ethereal chimes may still sound like sunlight pulsing through a meteor belt, but they are levelled by descending, atonal keys more likely to evoke a dystopian cityscape where technological beacons sit atop the underbelly of societal decay. And where the likes of Space Mountain played out like an ever-ascending flight fantasy, album finale Hidden XS sounds more like a sun-bleached day melting and swirling into a storm drain.

“There is a language to the music but it’s not a verbal one” Andrew Hung

“That’s important for us,” agrees Hung, when we explain our rather florid, hypnagogic reactions. “I guess at the time of writing, the music is doing those things for us too. Ben and I don’t talk about it, but I’m pretty sure we have a similar kind of imagery conjured by our music, which is why we’re on the same wavelength so much. Everyone gets their own kind of ideas of what it sounds like, so it’s all valid in that sense. Whatever anyone gets from our music is valid.” This is one of several occasions during our conversation where Hung attests to the wordless interplay he has developed with his band mate, leading us to wonder if this lack of verbal communication has influenced Fuck Buttons in being a largely instrumental proposition. “I’ve never considered that until now,” he laughs. “But I think

that may actually be the case. There is a language to the music but it’s not a verbal one. So maybe it has been easier for us to communicate via that language rather than actually talking. You might be on to something there.” On that note, it seems prudent to ask about the subtle shift in tone of Slow Focus, from invoking sprawling vistas in the past, to charting more turbulent inner realms now. “It’s a palette of emotion that we haven’t really explored in our work together,” explains Hung. “It’s new to us in that sense and so it was very exciting to explore, but it’s not really a reflection of ourselves. We’re relatively happy people but we’re not afraid to indulge those emotions when it comes to our music. For me, music is a short-term experience in that sense. I don’t tend to feel depressed after listening to a depressing album.” To be clear, Slow Focus is certainly not a depressing listen, and the sense of wonder and ambition in the final product is matched by its creation. “When you make music on your own, you have a strong understanding of what your limitations are,” says Hung. “But I’m always surprised at the music Ben and I make. It’s music that’s just so striking to me and not something either of us could make on our own. For me, all of that is down to our relationship.” That relationship also entered its next phase during the recording of Slow Focus, as Hung and Power embarked on production duties for the first time. In the past they had worked with Mogwai guitarist John Cummings on debut Street Horrrsing, followed by legendary producer Andrew Weatherall for Tarot Sport. This time however, all knob-twiddling was down to the duo themselves as they realised a long-fermenting desire to get behind the mixing desk. “It was a natural and logical next step for us,” says Hung. “We’ve worked with amazing producers up until now, and it had become clear to us that production was one of our own

MUSIC

considerations during the writing process. Often we start by finding a texture that we both enjoy and then we embellish it. That’s normally a production consideration but it’s something that’s very important to us in the music. We were thinking like producers without actually realising it.” With that final stamp, Slow Focus is now shimmering on the horizon and anticipation among their followers is already stoked high. Is the eventual reception of their music a pressing concern for Hung? “Not really,” he claims. “This interim period is super-busy for us, so for the moment we’re just concentrating on getting out there after months of writing music every day. With criticism, even with compliments, I don’t think it’s possible for me to accept them outside of my trusted circle.” However, the compliments flowed in when taster track The Red Wing was released in May. “It felt like a song which had the potential to be a single I guess,” is Hung’s answer to why it was given such a leg-up. “There’s a melody there that’s very quick to the attention.” However, as you may expect given their name, Fuck Buttons - are not a group who actively pursue palatability for the masses. “With regards to the music, definitely not,” agrees Hung. “Our music has zero compromise – that’s the way I understand it.” Yet that lack of yielding, the often abrasive and unconventional sounds they make, and even that troublesome moniker have not stopped the duo from reaching a somewhat astounding global platform, no matter what the eventual outcome. If the Olympics were ever to stage an event of progressive and uncompromising music making, Fuck Buttons would surely take home the gold. Slow Focus is released 22 Jul via ATP Recordings Fuck Buttons play Gorilla, Manchester, 9 Sep fuckbuttons.com

THE SKINNY

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THE SKINNY

Where the Hidden Andalusia Trembles Ahead of presenting her latest work at Manchester’s Cervantes Institute this month, emerging writer Natasha Smith talks about her life in Spain, Andalusian culture, and studying under Jeanette Winterson Interview: Kristian Doyle

Illustration: Beth Crowley

ndalusia at first sight may not look like a particularly magical place, but its rich, romantic folklore has provided inspiration for countless writers. Chief among them is surely Federico García Lorca, and even he, a proud Andalusian, was quick to point out that his poetry was more concerned with the Andalusia of myth than reality. It “hardly expresses visible Andalusia at all,” he said, “but where the hidden Andalusia trembles.” It’s no surprise that Natasha Smith is passionate about Lorca. Her most recent work, The Legend of Tarifa, is also concerned with the ‘hidden Andalusia,’ exploring it through poetry, music, song, and dance – a Lorca-like mixture if ever there was one. Set in the Middle Ages, it’s “a tale of magic and mermaids and a young man’s quest for eternal love.” Explaining her unusual choice of subject, Smith says, “I’m fascinated by the enduring power of fairytales, so I wanted to see if I could recreate that with a modern twist. A mermaid story was a logical choice. When you live by the sea for so long, it’s impossible not to be inspired by it.” Although originally from County Kildare, Ireland, Smith spent much of the last decade living in the town of the poem’s title. “I feel very blessed to have lived in such a beautiful place and that’s part of the inspiration behind The

Legend of Tarifa,” she explains. “I wanted to write something that was a homage to it, something that could, in a way, immortalise its magic. The people of Tarifa are very down-to-earth. If I told them that I was writing about mermaids, they’d look at me as if I were mad. But from the moment I arrived there, I was transfixed by the magic, history and duality of the place.” Central to Smith’s work is the idea of sharing one culture with another. Therefore, the choice of the Cervantes Institute in Manchester – one of its aims being to spread Spanish culture – as the venue in which to debut The Legend of Tarifa with a group of musicians and dancers later this month seems perfect. This idea also played a part in her choice of collaborators: “It was really important to have a diverse group of nationalities involved,” she says. “I’m Irish, Gillian [Menichino], the composer, is American, the musicians are Greek, South African and English. We also have a guitarist and singer, Alberto Beltran, coming from Andalusia to perform specially at the event.” While the original idea is Smith’s, she wants all the participants to leave their own stamp on the performance, so that “although the poem is a Spanish fairytale, the final result, music and poetry combined, will be totally unique, inspired by the cultural background of each performer.”

Despite her love of Tarifa and its people, Smith recently gave up her life in Andalusia to begin an MA in Creative Writing at the University of Manchester. “It has been an eye-opening experience,” she says. And what’s it like to be taught by Jeanette Winterson? “She’s a pleasure to work with because she’s such a champion of the craft of writing,” Smith says. “Don’t get me wrong, she’s a tough taskmaster, she expects you to know the rules, but she encourages you to

have the confidence to stand by every word you write. I had a meeting with her back in April and she told me that she asks some student writers what they’re hiding from, but there was no need to ask me that. She said, simply, ‘keep doing what you’re doing,’ which I suppose you could take one of two ways: either I’m on the right track or I’m beyond help.” The Legend of Tarifa, Cervantes Institute, Manchester, 24 Jul, 7pm, free

Art As Experience With pulses racing for the likes of Kenneth Branagh and Massive Attack, Manchester International Festival’s visual arts strand can feel a little overlooked. We unearth an interactive programme, and talk to Inne Goris about her thoughtful film installation

ince its inception in 2007, Manchester International Festival (MIF) has challenged visitors’ assumptions about the nature of art through innovative programming. Now in its fourth cycle, the biennial event is still providing fresh and challenging cultural experiences, with many of this year’s art offerings continuing a now well-established theme of breaking down barriers between artist and viewer. One of the hidden gems of the festival is Long Grass (12-14 and 19-21 Jul), a theatrical video installation by Belgian director Inne Goris taking place in the round in the Grand Hall of Manchester Town Hall. Long Grass places the audience in the middle of the action as the story unfolds on four video screens, asking viewers to imagine themselves in the place of child soldiers and think about the difficult choices people are called upon to make at different times in their lives. “Running through my work is a preoccupation with the thin line between being a victim and a perpetrator, and how quickly that can change,” Goris explains. “I was intrigued by child soldiers as they are both victims and perpetrators, and it is interesting to find both roles in the same person, especially among such young children. With Long Grass, I wanted to show how children as young as seven and eight have to make difficult, unthinkable decisions.”

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Goris worked with white Belgian children to bring the subject matter closer to home, filming Long Grass with a group of young people aged between eight and 23. “I wanted to say that it can happen to anyone,” she elucidates. “Everyone under certain circumstances can do the same thing.” While the piece delves into a dark, cruel world, it also aims to find connections between the stories of child soldiers and the audience’s own experiences. “Child soldiers go through so many things we don’t even think about experiencing, such as hunger and cold, but there are things we all have in common, such as the desire to have a home, a place where we are safe,” Goris points out. Starkly juxtaposing harsh images with the pure, angelic voices of a children’s choir, the installation grows around the audience, requiring the viewer to use their imagination and construct their own story connecting snippets of the narrative. This year, MIF has made an extra effort to expand its catalogue of unusual venues, many of which are usually off-limits to the public – from Mayfield Depot, a ghostly former train station, to a half-built gallery extension at Whitworth Art Gallery. Tino Sehgal, who is best known for works that rely upon subtle and sometimes uncomfortable interactions between performers and members of the audience, is transforming the

NIKHIL CHOPRA - INSIDE OUT (2012)

vast, semi-derelict space of Mayfield station into a pulsating sensory landscape for his immersive installation This Variation (12-20 Jul). Also at Mayfield, conceptual artist Dan Graham’s piece Past Future Split Attention (13-17 Jul) plays with the concepts of past and future, creating a ‘feedback-feedahead-loop’ from the interaction of two performers; choreographer Mette Ingvartsen invites visitors to experience Evaporated Landscapes (15-16 Jul), an artificial dance of light, sound and bubbles, and artist Mårten Spångberg will create Epic (18-20 Jul), a mise-en-scène for nine dancers. Elsewhere, Indian’s Nikhil Chopra is the first artist to make use of the new Landscape Gallery, currently being built at the Whitworth Art Gallery, with Coal on Cotton (5-7 Jul), a gruelling, 65-hour sunrise to sunset performance drawing on Manchester’s heritage. Using the contrasting

BOOKS / ART

materials of coal and cotton – the fuel and the product of the Industrial Revolution, which transformed Manchester in the 19th century – Chopra is constructing a new environment under the gaze of an ever-changing audience. Finally, at Manchester Art Gallery, group show do it 20 13 (5-21 Jul), curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist, is based on a series of instructions written by a star-studded array of artists, including Ai Weiwei and Ryan Trecartin. Ranging from the meaningful and philosophical to the satirical and absurd, the results show that art – rather like a festival – can be many things, from expressive and provocative to celebratory. Manchester International Festival, various venues, 4-21 Jul, times and prices vary though much of the visual arts programme is free www.mif.co.uk

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Photo: Shivani Gupta

Interview: Natalie Bradbury

Persona non Greta In the last few years Greta Gerwig has graduated from the queen of the lo-fi mumblecore movement to US indie’s most exciting young actor. We speak to the star of brilliant new film Frances Ha

Interview: Tom Seymour

own mumblecore feature Nights and Weekends with Joe Swanberg. Despite their success at festivals like South by Southwest, Gerwig was close to broke when she auditioned for Greenberg, her breakthrough part and the first time she met Baumbach in the flesh. She was auditioning, and mostly failing, to get jobbing parts on TV series like Gossip Girl. Now, as she enters her 30s, her name is suddenly a byword for all things good about cinema. But if she patented a time-machine, if she could say something to her struggling 20-something self, what would it be?

“The hardest stories to write are the delicate ones. You can’t muscle through them. They have to be exactly right” Greta Gerwig

FRANCES HA

’m hunkered down in the gutter, late for an interview with Greta Gerwig, fighting with the chain of a rickety old road bike. It’s rush hour on Charlotte Street, central London, and a towering figure talking business on his iPhone bars entrance to the pavement. I try to barge past, before realising it’s Harvey Weinstein, Don of Everything. “Harvey’s here!” Gerwig exclaims. “You’re kidding?” Her face lights up like a Christmas tree. She flew in from New York yesterday, and has been sat in a windowless room fielding press all day. She’s jet-lagged, wearing a flowing satinprint dress that could have been nicked from the nearest charity shop. Throughout our interview, she folds and unfolds her legs more times than a contestant on an episode of Blind Date. She tries for a solid five minutes to break into a bottle of sparkling water. She ums and ahs as if she’s at the dentist. She tells herself she shouldn’t say something, and then says it anyway. I want to take her outside and point her towards the Hollywood mogul, just to see what she might do; on the basis of her character in Frances Ha, maybe she’d run over, trip on her dress, fall at his feet, pick herself up and extend a long, gangly arm. With Gerwig being so unlike a media-trained Hollywood starlet, Weinstein could not help but fall for her too. The 29-year-old Californian, whom the New York Times called “maybe the definitive screen actress of her generation,” is in London, along with director and partner Noah Baumbach, to promote their new film. Tomorrow they will go

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to Edinburgh for the city’s International Film Festival to introduce Frances Ha’s UK premiere: “I went to the Fringe when I was in college,” Gerwig says. “It rained, but I thought it was a beautiful city.” Frances Ha is kind of like Girls for cineastes, or Manhattan for the recession generation. Channeling Éric Rohmer and the French New Wave (Baumbach’s infant son is called Rohmer), it’s a sparkling take on a quarter-life crisis; a young girl defining herself against a city that will keep on giving, but is totally indifferent to her fate. Gerwig and Baumbach co-wrote the film, and this – in every sense of the word – is a collaboration. His deft, effortless direction proves a perfect foil to her full-blooded inhabitation of the role; as soon as you meet Frances, she feels like a long lost friend with a particular taste for living life. The dingy streets of New York, meanwhile, have rarely looked more iconic. “We’re very different people, but we share what we want things to be like,” she says of their relationship. Yet this script was not a simple process: “The hardest stories to write are the delicate ones. You can’t muscle through them. They have to be exactly right. So we don’t just beat it out. We collect moments, and we talk about what kind of direction we want to push the material in. It’s almost like – you write the scenes, and then find out what the story is underneath.” Frances Ha’s title character, Gerwig says, is a kind of alter ego. A 27-year-old apprentice at a New York modern dance company, Frances

loses her boyfriend, job and apartment. Most significantly she also loses her best friend Sophie (Mickey Sumner) to a man she doesn’t think is good enough for her. She contends with what it means to take a desk job, to keep up with the rent and to maintain complex friendships, all the while holding tight to a slipping dream of who she thinks she might be. Gerwig admits she suffers from the perception she is the person she plays in movies. She is actually anything but clumsy: she had ballet classes as a child, then took up fencing. She won trophies as a teenager, and still bouts when she’s between movies and back in New York. She’s a trained actress who can “do anything,” according to Baumbach. “I feel my acting history up to this point is more in the tradition of an on-screen persona,” she says. “But that’s a creation. It’s not the person I am, but is in the wheel-house. I feel more kinship with John Wayne than someone who I think just imitates or grandstands. I don’t like acting that feels like a trick or feels indulgent. I look for actors like Carole Lombard or Katherine Hepburn, actors that don’t need to prove anything; they’re just great.” The persona she refers to might come from the John Cassavetes-inspired, intensely-personal ‘mumblecore’ period she went through before Whit Stillman, Woody Allen, Ivan Reitman et al came calling. As well as being the mini-movement’s most recognisable star, she co-wrote most of the films she appeared in (including Baghead, Hannah Takes the Stairs and LOL) and co-directed and co-produced her

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“Trying harder to make rent would be a good place to start,” she says. “If I knew I was going to get Greenberg and that was part of my life, then I wish I would have felt better about things. I would say to myself, ‘It’s closer to working out than you know.’ “I got a lot more feedback from the world than Frances did. People were telling me it was going in the right direction, but I was very, very, very broke, and that continued for a long time. I felt like I was finding some traction in the world, but also that I didn’t fit in. I was making these movies that were getting some attention. That was exciting. But I couldn’t get hired on a normal acting job to save my life. I couldn’t even get hired as a day player on Law and Order. I felt like: ‘The only reason I’m dancing is because I made the music. Why can’t someone ask me to dance?’” Baumbach asked her to dance. When she auditioned for Greenberg’s Florence, Baumbach said she “taught him” the role, such was her connection with the part. But if she was a bolt from the blue for him, he was a fixture for her: “I remember going to see Noah speak when I was in college,” she says. “I bought a ticket to City Hall to watch him read his pieces for The New Yorker festival. I loved Kicking and Screaming and his work with Wes Anderson. I was very aware of him.” Reading the part of Florence, she says, made her feel good about everything she got into the movies for: “I thought to myself ‘God, this is the kind of writer I want to be.’ It was so beautiful and precise, sort of like how people speak, but just enough off to sound written. I just loved it.” Gerwig has, without a doubt, made Baumbach a better filmmaker. Frances Ha may depict the death of a suspended life unencumbered by reality. But it may also signal the birth of one of the most exciting filmmaking duos in the business. Frances Ha is released in cinemas on 26 Jul

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Ready for the Floor We discover a class of 2013 more than prepared to take on the real world at the University of Salford’s School of Arts & Media degree show Words: Ali Gunn

THOMAS GREENSTREET

egree shows are the final hurdle in a threeyear race to the big wide world of the creative industries. In June, the University of Salford presented Create at Salford Festival, which acted as a showcase for its creative graduates and their work. Held at MediaCityUK, home to the BBC, the festival launched students directly into the heart of the media industry. And judging by the work on display, the class of 2013 is one that is creatively confident and ready for the real world. Straight off the tram, we encounter a

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sculpture from Thomas Greenstreet: a swirling form of tree branches, it fits beautifully in its site while at the same time appearing like an alien form in among the concrete landscaping of MediaCity. On close inspection, the branches are harmoniously balanced, using the natural shape of the wood to construct the structure. Photography student Richard Meftah’s intimate portraits show a close up view of nature – the kind of images more associated with wildlife documentaries than exhibitions. The micro view

that Meftah employs allows us to look in the face of the insects that we often share space with, but rarely consider as anything more than an annoyance. Through his presentation of the insect profiles in such fine detail, we are able to look at the unique and beautiful forms of each individual subject. Amy Parker’s oversized swing dominates the space in which it is placed. The large metal structure would not seem out of place in any park, if not for the golden locks that are flowing from the seat of the swing. Echoing the female surrealist artists from the 1920s, Parker has used hair to experiment with the idea of female presence and domesticity. Swings remind us of youth, frivolity and freedom, and long hair often comes to stereotype a certain kind of femininity. Parker’s piece has strong female attitude: she doesn’t choose to present a representation of female form shackled by male oppression, but one that is independent. Constraint rather than freedom appears to be the message of Hayley Tonge’s work. Wooden pallets, painted yellow, are crudely constructed to form a tunnel with a wheelchair placed at the end. Facing the chair towards a wheelchair lift, Tonge’s work brings into question our notion of

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mobility and how we consider access, especially when it is something we take for granted. Echoing Duchamp’s Fountain, Shannen Fisher’s toilet is filled with flecks of gold leaf rather than the more unsightly things you might expect to see down the pan. Opposite the toilet, on a plinth, stands a box of tissues, and peeking out from the slit of the box is a gilded tissue; static and ready for the taking. Gold has been traditionally used to highlight the divine or important, but here Fisher chooses to focus on the things that we are more used to throwing away. Benny McCrystal Plimmer’s video piece shows the artist walking around the site of MediaCity intermittently falling over, played out in slow motion. In the context of the degree show, the piece seems to reflect the journey that an artist undertakes when producing a piece of work, right up until it is ready to be shown. The journey is long and arduous, and there are always slips along the way, but this is where valuable lessons are learned, and it is what makes creative production so exhilarating. Create at Salford Festival took place 12-16 Jun www.salford.ac.uk/create

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Paradigm Shift: Beyond the Silver Screen In the first of a three-part series on the future of popular media, Staff Writer Bram E. Gieben examines the threats and possibilities of the changes in production, funding and distribution for emerging filmmakers Illustration: Emer Tumilty

n the early years of the film industry, films were projected on to a screen embedded with particles of reflective silver or aluminium. These silver lenticular screens became a metonym for cinema itself, effortlessly capturing some of the glamour and mystery associated with film. In recent years, the return of 3D films – in a newer, technologically souped-up version, of course – brought back the relevance of the term, as silver particles became useful once more for projecting polarised 3D images. This story, in miniature, tells us something about the constant peregrinations and evolutions filmmaking has undergone to reach its current form; and, of course, it tells us that nothing is ever certain. As producer Claire Mundell, also the current chair of Scottish BAFTA, says: “William Goldman was right.” When it comes to film, “nobody knows anything.” The current changes and challenges facing the film industry are of an unprecedented scale. The cost and availability of cheap, high-quality digital cameras means the tools to make a film, one that looks professional, are easier to obtain than ever before. Crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter present the possibility of funding films without any support or involvement from studios, whether big and corporate or small and independent. Digital distribution methods – from video on demand services offered by the likes of LOVEFiLM, to streaming sites like YouTube and Vimeo – make access to audiences easier than ever before. Steven Spielberg recently gave a speech at the University of Southern California predicting the total dominance of the ‘tent-pole’ or summer event movie, while Steven Soderbergh commented: “Cinema is under assault by the studios with the full support of the audience.” Do new technologies and markets mean more opportunities for filmmakers, and greater diversity of product? Or do they reduce cinema’s magic by channeling it on iPad screens and mobile phones, and keeping all but Avengers-style blockbusters out of the theatres? In and around last month’s Edinburgh International Film Festival, I asked a selection of established and up-and-coming filmmakers to speculate on the future of the silver screen. FOLLOW THE MONEY Ben Wheatley is one director who isn’t afraid to embrace these new opportunities, but neither is his optimism blinded by the rise of crowdfunding and digital distribution. As he puts it, “I just want to make films.” His debut feature, Down Terrace, was shot on a micro-budget of just £6000. Most of

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that went on accommodating cast members who had travelled up from London for the shoot. “If we’d done it with our mates instead, it would only have cost £1000,” he tells me. “At which point, if you can get three people together, it’s hard to believe no one’s got £350 they couldn’t put into something. There you go, bosh, you’ve made a film.” For producer Claire Mundell, whose most recent film, Not Another Happy Ending, closed this year’s EIFF, “crowdfunding has become part and parcel of the producer’s job now,” and that job “is getting bigger all the time,” she explains. “You have to be a social media manager, you have to do a crowdfunding campaign, you have to understand traditional finance routes.” Crowdfunding can ensure a successful and well-financed preparation period for a film, as it did on Not Another Happy Ending. Crucially, it connects a film with its potential audience, before a single frame has been shot. “It forces you, as a filmmaker, to say: ‘Who am I making this film for?’ Ultimately, if you’re not thinking like that, why are you making that film? You make a film to connect with an audience, and to communicate something.” As a result, “people are going to have to be really sharp about what they are doing and why.” Mundell’s films are independent, with a “modest” budget of under £1 million for Not Another Happy Ending. But they are also commercial – her latest is a romantic comedy, starring Doctor Who’s Karen Gillen. Charlie Parker and Joe McTernan are at the other end of the scale – they set up their production company Broken Blonde a year ago after graduating from Napier University, and for Parker at least, the worry is that too many ‘industry’ filmmakers are getting in on the crowdfunding action. He cites Zach Braff’s successful campaign to fund Garden State 2: “There’s something quite unfair about someone running a Kickstarter from their million-dollar mansion. People like us are chewing our own feet off to make films – I literally take every penny I earn out of my own pocket and put it into indie films. I’m not financially stable, I’m spending the money I should be spending on food on making films, because it’s my passion. The chances of our campaign making the ‘front page news’ section of Kickstarter is negligible now, because you have all these big, celebrityfronted campaigns. They’ve watered it down. They presented a non-industry route, and then the industry were like: ‘Hey! We’re back!’ If I was at that stage of my career, there is no way I would use crowdfunding.”

Parker and McTernan are also critical of state funding organisations such as Creative Scotland. “A lot of filmmakers don’t even know that there are resources available for them, let alone how to apply for those resources,” says Parker. “If you are passionate about film, but come from an underprivileged background, you might never hear of Creative Scotland.” They also perceive the spectre of cronyism: “If you’ve got a proven track record, you’re more likely to get funding,” says Parker. “There’s a constant flow of new filmmakers coming in to the market each year, so they shouldn’t have time to be funding the same people over and over. It should be a case of: ‘Here’s your chance, go make something of it.’ It’s that conflict between what’s good business and what’s morally right.”

“If you’re a feckless 25 year-old filmmaker, and you have an iPhone, and you haven’t made a film, you should be asking yourself why” Ben Wheatley

Sebastian Fowler, an emerging 3D animator and director from Australia, identifies the same tension between creativity and profit in his country’s state sponsorship: “By their very nature, those bodies tend to make conservative decisions regarding what films they fund,” he offers. “The majority may have some kind of perceived cultural significance or merit, but they’re not necessarily the kind of films that the general public are interested in seeing or will pay to see.” John McKay, the director of Not Another Happy Ending, says: “It is very important that that funding be responsive to the market, and evolving. The rules of filmmaking that were true ten

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years ago are no longer true today. In a smaller economy, like Scotland, we are in an ideal position. We’re quite good at talking to each other, when we can stop arguing. We can make changes quite quickly, in a way that larger places, like, say, Creative England, or the Lottery-funded BFI, cannot.” Wheatley offers a final word for aspiring filmmakers. To paraphrase the Nike slogan, his advice is Just Shoot It. “People make up excuses not to make stuff,” he says. “The dearest thing is time, and that gets harder and harder as you get older, because you’ve got to pay the mortgage and feed the kids. But if you’re a feckless 25-year-old filmmaker, and you have an iPhone, and you haven’t made a film, you should be asking yourself why.” JUST SHOOT IT Just how easy is it to make something that satisfies your creative ambitions, and that people want to see? Scott Byrne, an emerging 3D animator, explains the principal driver behind the rising number of aspiring filmmakers. “The affordability of HD cameras (chiefly DSLR cameras with a video function) and computer editing equipment has completely levelled the playing field,” he says. “For a couple of thousand pounds you can now become a one person movie studio.” The young Broken Blonde filmmakers carried this to its logical conclusion: “We bought our own equipment, so we’re completely self-sufficient, and now we’re bringing in people with creative minds to use that equipment. What we’ve found out along the way is that the process of making fiction films at an indie level isn’t all that rewarding, so we’ve had to move into doing promotional videos, in order to make money, so we can make more films,” says Parker. Wheatley, who says that working in television “was like film school” for him, got his break directing the animated show Modern Toss. He still shoots ads in between his film projects. “I did an ad last week, and I earned as much doing that as I did from Sightseers. One day versus a year.” The distinction between ‘creative’ and ‘professional’ filmmakers seems more spurious today than it has ever been. John McKay also started in TV, and moves between TV and film to this day. “I think the career trajectory as a film director is whatever works for you,” he says. “It could be four years as a librarian, or it could be 40 years of TV. Each director works his or her mojo in their own different way. If you’re working, you have a chance of doing good work.”

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But what constitutes ‘good work’? Does the ease of access to production and editing technology open up new vistas and possibilities, or does it risk flooding the market with inferior product? Scott Byrne is enthusiastic: “Choice is only ever a good thing and quality is subjective,” he says. “Let’s open the floodgates and see it all! After all, one man’s unwatchable trash is another’s lo-fi masterpiece.” Claire Mundell does not feel threatened by the rising tide of filmmakers – she embraces it, citing the broad scope of options available for the distribution and viewing of films as an effective counter-balance to the proliferation of new creatives. “There’s so much choice, whereas there used to be one choice – it goes to the cinema, it’s there for six weeks, then it’s on DVD, then it’s on the telly, then that’s it,” she says. “Now, there are a myriad of possibilities. Lots of voices can be heard because of those different portals.”

from success on Distrify and cross over to cinemas is inherent. In that sense, this new market is only technologically different from the crossover route taken by a director like Quentin Tarantino, who transitioned from a small, Sundance-backed debut to big budgets, while retaining creative control of his output. The proliferation of new viewing platforms, from handheld devices to pop-up cinemas, streaming services and independent film festivals, should be embraced, according to Claire Mundell. It is this proliferation that allows for narrowcasting, giving filmmakers the opportunity to stick to their creative vision and still find a niche audience for the finished product. “The world has changed. Viewing habits have changed,” she offers. “You only have to get on any form of public transport and you see people watching movies on their handheld devices. Even five years ago, most people would have said, ‘Nobody’s ever going to NARROWCASTING watch a movie on a bus.’ But it has happened, and The idea of ‘narrowcasting’ is a function of these it’s only going to keep going that way. I don’t think new models of content delivery – finding niche that viewing things this way diminishes them at audiences for specific products, whether through all – thinking that it does is being in denial about film festival screenings, traditional distribution, the impact of technology.” or video on demand and online streaming. In light TV, too, offers a site for creative and independent filmmakers to strut their stuff, with the of this, says John McKay, Spielberg’s pessimism is unwarranted. “I always resist ‘end of the world’ level of quality and production value being channelled into shows over the last ten years rising quotes,” he says. He isn’t worried about the cultural dominance of effects-driven event movies. sharply. This year saw the launch of a high-profile “You’ve got to remember that cinema started as internet-only long-form drama, in the shape a special effect in a carnival tent. It didn’t start in of House of Cards, starring Kevin Spacey, with the art gallery, and it’s always had its feet in turn- its first two episodes directed by David Fincher, ing a buck. So it’s no surprise that currently we’re screening exclusively via streaming service going through one of cinema’s spasmodic periods Netflix. of spectacle, just like we were in 1955. It didn’t Wheatley brings us back to Spielberg’s comdie then, and it’s not about to die now.” ments: “I think what Spielberg was talking about Furthermore, he believes, “evequite specifically was his big historical films, ry Avengers creates a demand for something that like Lincoln,” he offers. “He was saying, ‘That isn’t the Avengers. There is a future between film, could have ended up on HBO,’ but I don’t really video on demand and TV, where people are going see why that’s so bad. Perhaps it should have to make interesting things. The John Cassavetes been on HBO. From his perspective, it seems of the future is probably already planning somelike the writing’s on the wall. But I don’t think thing, and it will be narrowcast on demand via many people are going to be as worried as he is.” something like Distrify for the people who want Wheatley is currently working on a new long-form to see it.” series for HBO, showing once again the willingDistrify, established by Edinburgh-based ness of young and talented filmmakers to move filmmaker Peter Gerard, allows filmmakers to between markets, and make films wherever and distribute, showcase and earn revenue from their in whatever format suits them best. independently-produced films online. Although still comparatively new, it offers the prospect of CASUALTIES OF SCALE a coherent and unified market for emerging film- From the comments given to us by these filmmakers, completely outside traditional chains of makers, both established and up and coming, distribution. The possibility for a film to emerge it seems that film – especially independent film

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– is in rude health. Spielberg and Soderbergh’s doom-mongering is just that – the worried mewling of ageing, threatened creatives who can only see their market share drying up, completely ignoring the expansive market opening up beyond the technological horizon. Claire Mundell reminds us that all filmmaking is inherently risky, no matter what the scale. “It’s a numbers game,” she says. “You only have to look at all the massive US studio flops, alongside the successes, to show that. The only thing you can hold on to is your absolute gut belief and instinct in what you want to do. It’s like Russian roulette, every time, but that’s what I love about it.” She emphasises the role of the producer in maintaining and caring for the creative vision of a project. “The risk is that you get quite far down the line and find out, ‘Wait a minute, I thought we were making this film, but you think we’re making that film.’ The producer’s job is to constantly take everyone with them, holding hands, checking in, asking: ‘Are we still making the same film?’ When you don’t do that, that is when you get a confused film. To achieve success, you need to be prepared to fail.” Taking the Scottish market as an example, funding body Creative Scotland claim to have doubled its investment in Scottish film over the past five years. With high-profile overseas productions such as Prometheus and World War Z shooting in the country with increasing regularity, McTernan and Parker believe the next requirement is the building of a Scottish soundstage. Plans are afoot to site one in Glasgow, backed by money from Creative Scotland and the Scottish Government. “It‘s great using Edinburgh as a backdrop, but we’re just getting treated like a postcard,” says McTernan. He welcomes the news of the potential studio’s construction, but remains critical of the priorities of Creative Scotland, and the Scottish Government. “Alex Salmond gave £6 million to Pixar to promote Brave – why, when he could have given that money to companies like ours?” he asks. “Perhaps with that money we could have made the next great British film.” The spectre of piracy, where the availability of films via illegal file-sharing sites encourages complacency in audiences, is at least, in part, responsible for declining audience figures for films without the requisite spectacle and scale. “The only reason most people will get up off their arse and go to the cinema is if it is going to be a sensational experience, one that will be very

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different from watching the same film at home,” offers Parker. “Cinema needs to be an experience in order to trump the ease of access you get from piracy.” Offering direct access to audiences, and simplifying the process of getting your name out there with a view to participating in festivals, sites like Vimeo and YouTube have become vital to up-and-coming filmmakers. Scott Byrne says: “I can get instant feedback and connect directly with my audience. For an emerging filmmaker there’s really no comparison. Film festivals are still important, but I can afford to be strategic with the festivals I choose to enter, and the application process is now seldom more than a YouTube or Vimeo link.” Sebastian Fowler agrees, and he is optimistic about his chances of being discovered this way: “Crossing over from DIY to big budget once the director has achieved some success and acclaim doesn’t seem like that big of a leap,” he says. “Everyone has to get their start somewhere and if they’ve had success with a film that people love, they know how to make a good film and people will go to see what they do next.” Whether filmmakers choose to produce intimate, experimental, character-driven narratives, like Wheatley’s latest film, A Field In England, or action-driven narratives packed with explosions is up to them, and arguably, has nothing to do with funding or scale. As Parker and McTernan tell me, they produced a crowdfunded action movie with special effects and exploding buildings for a little under £200. More filmmakers can only be a good thing, and a broader conception of the market for films is an absolute necessity to avoid the pessimism of dinosaurs like Spielberg. “We’re entering a period of great new potential, because there is more of a chance for people to make stuff they just want to make, and still get it out to people who just want to see it, without the intervention of or the need for a studio,” says John McKay. “That’s got to be good for diversity. Does it mean there’s going to be more crap? Sure. But think about it, it’s always been 90% crap. We just remember the 10% that’s wonderful.” John McKay and Claire Mundell’s Not Another Happy Ending closed EIFF 2013: www.notanotherhappyending.com Ben Wheatley’s A Field In England is released simultaneously in theatres, on DVD and Blu-ray, and VOD on 5 Jul Broken Blonde: www.brokenblonde.com Scott Byrne: www.youtube.com/user/ScottByrneSchema Sebastian Fowler: sebfowler.com Thanks to Jamie Dunn, Tom K McCarthy, Janos Honkonen and Pete Ross for additional research

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Still Ultramagnetic As his seminal hip-hop group Ultramagnetic MCs prepare to hit the UK to play their classic album Critical Beatdown, Kool Keith tells us why he doesn’t want to be called a legend

Interview: Bram E. Gieben

ULTRAMAGNETIC MCS

his has been the year of the hip-hop reunion – everyone from golden age innovators such as Big Daddy Kane to silver age heroes like Jurassic 5 have resurfaced and hit the road, playing to nostalgic fans and a new generation of rap enthusiasts. The latest group to announce their return to the live arena are the Ultramagnetic MCs, the group consisting of Kool Keith, Ced Gee, Moe Love and TR Love, who released their groundbreaking album Critical Beatdown in 1988. Comprised of rapid-fire samples programmed into the SP1200 drum machine by Ced Gee (also a key creative force behind much of Boogie Down Productions’ 1987 classic Criminal Minded) and the densely written, often surreal braggadoccio of Kool Keith, the album was a unique and powerful statement, even in the intensely creative period in which it surfaced. Despite all that, Kool Keith is not happy with being called a legend. “I’m basically current, you know. We don’t put stigmas to ourselves like that,” he explains in a laconic, relaxed New York drawl. “We don’t really want to be called legends. There are a lot of groups who came up with us who really live off of those stigmas from the past, they see themselves as legends. Me, I don’t like to be called a legend. I don’t like that drag on me.” The reasons for getting the old gang back together were less about a nostalgia for their classic albums, and more to do with wanting to create new material. They plan to follow up their first new track since 2007, Let the Bars Go, revealed online last month, with a series of singles and an EP. Keith is working on a new solo album as well, his passion for hip-hop completely undiminished. He has been dabbling in production: “I stay on new beats, I try to evolve and be brand new. That’s always been a part of me. I don’t have no ending. I’m the number one producer, and I don’t make toilet tissue music. My production rumbles.” With a fearsome reputation as a solo artist – his 1996 album Octagonecologyst, released on the British Mo’ Wax label, still crops up frequently on hip-hop all-time best-of lists, while subsequent collaborations and projects saw him

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find favour with fans on tracks with The Prodigy, Princess Superstar, Kutmaster Kurt, Tim Dog, and a whole host of others – Keith is in no danger of slowing down, despite officially announcing his retirement on last year’s Love and Danger, on a track called Goodbye Rap. “Rhyming is like basketball. If you don’t practise for a while, you get stiff,” he says. “That’s what happens to a lot of rappers from the past, they get stiff, their cadence can freeze up. I’ve always got a modern cadence, it’s always ahead of its time. There’s never a glitch in my cadence. There’s never a stiffness. I always flow smooth and modern over tracks, from day one. A lot of artists were behind, but I was never behind. They were good in their time, but they can’t adapt to the new cadence. They can’t flow with it. They just can’t play no more. They just don’t have that ability to push that ball up the floor no more. So they got to perform those old records for the rest of their life.” Hence the new recordings, which in Keith’s mind justify the reprisal of Critical Beatdown, and earn his group the right to hit the road again. “It’s cool to do old records,” he says. “You can put me in the hall of fame, but that’s not the end of it – it’s not the end of my music. I don’t need all that, because I don’t want to live off that. I don’t want to be [retired baseball players] Whitey Ford and Mickey Mantle.” His rap contemporaries, he feels, are just trading on their pasts, and ignoring the present and future. “A lot of these motherfuckers, they’re gonna live off that. And it’s sad.” There is more than a hint of the classic hiphop brag in Keith’s banter, and before you know it, he’s off on one of his famous rants. “You have to start looking modern. People are jealous of me and Ced Gee because we’re still slim, we look like we’re 20 years old. The average rapper, he got a giant big belly, he got a Yankee cap on, he got like three pig feet behind his neck. He has to look like, grey hair growing, the face like, ‘That’s it for me.’ He has that look already of like, your fellow classmates. Nobody has to do that. You see Sugar Ray Leonard, he don’t box, but he look just as young as Floyd Mayweather. You know what I’m saying?” When Keith calls rappers fat, he isn’t

spelling it with a ‘ph.’ His voice drops an octave as he mimics sad, ageing, defeated hip-hop stars: “Everybody feels like, you know, ‘I have to eat barbecue ribs and let myself go. I’m looking for a group that’s old, wrinkled, fat, overweight... I’m eating everything, not taking care of myself, going into obesity because I’m a legend. I’m old school. That’s it for me, I got my wife and kids. I’m supposed to just sit around the house and barbecue all day and all that, because I’m a legend. I’m gonna eat poorly and let myself go, let my belly grow and my beard come out...’”

“You can put me in the hall of fame, but that’s not the end of it” Kool Keith

classic solo tracks on the Ultramagnetic tour? “I might perform Blue Flowers,” he says with an audible grin. “That’s cool, but I’m really focused on Ultramagnetics. We’re focused on our modernism and everything like that. Nothing’s a comeback. Everything’s just what we are supposed to be doing. We’re not like the Five Blind Boys getting back together for the telethon. We’re not forming back up so that the climax can be a telethon show. We’re not doing all the industry stuff.” Asked about Ced Gee’s legacy as a producer, Keith reflects on the disposable nature of most modern beat-makers’ work. “I give Ced credit as a producer who could do a whole album,” he says. “Most of the producers now are just beat throwers. I still think about Cameo, doing a whole album with his sound. Back then, everybody had a sound. The Jets had a sound, the Moments had a sound, the Delfonics had a sound. Nowadays you’ve got these superstar producers who do tracks with everybody. Most of these producers now don’t want to be album producers, they want to be superstars. To me they get no credit.” Yet again, he’s on a roll: “They kill me, trying to act like they’re the best producer. They might come up with a sound that becomes a trend but they don’t have no long-term jeopardy. They’re hot for a minute, then a new person comes in. And it’s like, whoever Spuds MacKenzie [a dog used in an 80s Budweiser commercial] produced, he’s hot now; so now everybody gotta get a track from Spuds MacKenzie.” Still incredibly driven, he refuses to be drawn on his own extra-curricular activities. “I’m just writing and recording and staying current, eating well, apples and vegetables, making sure I don’t go to barbecues and cook ’til I look like the Nutty Professor,” he says with another gentle chuckle. “I’m staying in shape in case I have to smack the shit out of somebody.”

So what makes the Ultramagnetic MCs a different proposition? “We stay away from that miserable movement, like all those backpackers and all that who hate everything commercial.” His enthusiasm for the possibilities inherent in the current hip-hop landscape is infectious: “You can rap on what you want, there are no limitations. You can rap on a bassline with cowbells. It’s cool, it’s open-minded. Kids now, everybody’s open.” It hasn’t always been a smooth ride in the industry for Keith. He’s seen other rappers with less talent get rich, and even Octagonecologyst, his most successful album in European markets, passed almost unremarked upon in certain quarters of the US scene. “You’ve got people who were following us, but they don’t even know about Ultramagnetic MCs play Band on the Wall, Manchester, 11 Octagon,” he says. “They don’t know I was on a Jul, and Haus, Liverpool, 13 Jul record that sold three million. They don’t know www.twitter.com/UltraMan7000 I’m recording with Future People, and other projects... They’re so slow they’re like people walking around with an afro and a beatbox, stuck in time.” Will the UK crowds be treated to some

MUSIC

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Reel Life

We look back at the runners and riders at the 20th Sheffield Doc/Fest

icture Sheffield. What images flood your cerebral cortex? Smelting pots of molten steel? Flat caps? Pigeon fanciers? These stereotypes, and others, make up the bulk of The Big Melt, a wittily edited archive hodgepodge celebrating Steel City, which acted as the opening film at the 20th Doc/Fest. What made this film by Martin Wallace worthy of being the festival opener wasn’t its images, although they’re often powerful and surreal. It was its quixotic and at times frenzied score, performed live and led by Jarvis Cocker, a Sheffield institution more enduring that any of the clichés that provided the backdrop. Cocker was joined in the round of the Crucible Theatre by a formidable roll call of Sheffield music talent: Richard Hawley growled on guitar, members of Pulp, The Human League and The Verve followed Cocker’s eccentric conducting style (a karate kick appeared to be one of his cues) and the Sheffield Brass Band and Sheffield Youth Choir joined the ensemble for certain sections to add an epic quality to the soundscape, which whip-lashed from psychedelica to rave via traditional folk and big band. Always at the centre of it all was Cocker’s rakish figure as he spindled around his fellow artists while wailing into a voicebox. No wonder Wallace’s film felt humdrum. At the end of the blistering performance Cocker said he wanted to recreate the steel-making process, to get us worked up, and for us to melt together into a tough, hard whole. It was a touching call for togetherness and social collectivism in a city that has suffered more than most from the UK abandoning the type of heavy industry captured in The Big Melt. While walking out of the Crucible Theatre, a delegate in a southern accent exclaimed to his companion: “That was just wonderful! They simply must take it to London.” I guess Cocker’s message was wasted on some. Another rallying call was happening barely an hour later with Doc/Fest’s second opening night gala, the UK première of Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer. Mike Lerner and Maxim Pozdorovkin’s film tells the story of the Pussy Riot Three, the trio of women from the guerrilla punk-art collective who were jailed after five members stormed the altar of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow in 2012 and performed one of their atonal ditties (sample lyrics: ‘Shit! Shit! It’s god shit!’). Moving at a whip, A Punk Prayer is a slick overview of the band’s genesis (they formed the night Putin was re-elected), their kangaroo court trial, and the groundswell of support that has built up behind them. The film’s strength is its access to the three young women – Nadia, Masha, and Katia – as they shoot the breeze in the dock. Despite the grave injustice of the sentencing (their 30 second ‘fuck you’ to Putin and God got them two years hard labour), the punk spirit of these three brave, funny and defiant women remains undiminished. Such is the quality of films in Doc/Fest’s programme that perfectly fine documentaries that would sit nicely in other festivals rankle because of their lack of ambition. One such film was the pleasant, but ultimately limp Moo Man. Shot fly-on-the-wall style, it follows dairy farmer Stephen Hook as he lovingly dotes over his herd, all of whom he can identify by name. It’s all coos and moos for 90 minutes until his favourite heifer, Ida, takes poorly. If you were to catch it on telly between an episode of Countryfile and River Cottage, you’d be more than happy, though. There was another film in the programme concerned with the relationship between man and massive black and white mammals, and it did get the pulse racing. Blackfish, directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, opens in 2010 and with a horrific call to the authorities: a SeaWorld

July 2013

Words: Jamie Dunn Illustration: Camille Smithwick trainer has been killed and partly eaten by a killer whale named Tilikum, the star turn at the company’s Orlando attraction. We then flash back to 1983 and Tilikum’s capture as a calf off the coast of Iceland. The film is never less than gripping; whenever we see a trainer interact with Tilikum it induces the kind of mass intake of breath in the audience that you might get watching a horror movie. There is a problem with the film, though; it indulges in a tad too much pop-whalepsychology. Several former SeaWorld trainers suggest decades of captivity and bullying from the females in his paddock had turned Tilikum into some sort of orca Norman Bates. It’s at these moments you wish for a Werner Herzog-like figure to appear on the soundtrack to burst the anthropomorphic bubble by reminding us that nature is “chaos, hostility and murder.” The finest new work at the festival was Lucy Walker’s deeply moving Crash Reel. This film has it all: sports rivalry, You’ve Been Framed-style carnage, heart-in-mouth sports footage, family drama, and, in Kevin Pearce, an inspiration. In 2010 Pearce was one of the finest snowboarders on the planet. And then, with the winter Olympics just a few weeks away, it ended. While practising a new trick, Pearce wiped out and ended up in a coma for six days. When he woke his vision was doubled, his speech slurred and his balance, poise, grace, athleticism – all the qualities that made him a great sportsman – were gone. What hadn’t diminished, however, was his passion for the sport. The first half of the movie details Pearce’s charmed life up until his accident, the good times with his friends on the snowboarding circuit and the thrill of the sport captured through fish-eye lenses. The second half follows his recovery and shows Pearce’s determination to get back on the slopes – and, poignantly, the terror of the people closest to him that he might not be so lucky in his next spill. If this was a Hollywood movie Pearce would have overcome his adversity and lifted the gold. Real life, as it proves in Walker’s film, is far messier, far more humbling and far more heroic. Doc/Fest isn’t all world and UK premières. Each year it makes space in its programme to celebrate the work of a pioneering documentarian. The mid-career, non-fiction detour made by Shohei Imamura, one of Japan’s (and the world’s) greatest filmmakers, proved to be this year’s Doc/Fest highlight. In the 60s Imamura gave us a handful of masterpieces (Pigs and Battleships, The Profound Desire of the Gods, The Pornographers) and in the 80s and 90s he gained international recognition and joined the exclusive double Palme d’Or club (winning for The Ballad of Narayama (1983) and The Eel (1997)). But in between he abandoned fiction films to make a clutch of deeply humane documentaries concerned with Japan’s post-World War II identity. Imamura’s approach is deceptively simple – he uses handheld cameras, non-synced sound and interviews, conducted by himself, that are so casual they feel like overheard conversations – but the resulting films are brilliantly nuanced. As with his feature films, Imamura is interested in the people on the margins of society – sex slaves (Karayuki-san, The Making of a Prostitute), war criminals and disenfranchised veterans (A Man Vanishes, the Search of the Unreturned Soldier series) – and he treats their stories with immense care and grace. Any young documentarians floating around Doc/Fest looking for inspiration would have done well to pay heed of Imamura’s example. Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer is released 5 Jul Moo Man is released 12 Jul Blackfish is released 26 Jul

FILM

Feature

First World Problems Rising star Felicity Jones debates the nature of her character Sophie in Breathe In, her second collaboration with Like Crazy director Drake Doremus wanted this to be very different from Like Crazy, I wanted her to feel different. The story was different, tonally. It was a love story that was more damaging potentially and is coming out of a very difficult situation...” I stop award-winning actor Felicity Jones in full flow. A love story? I explain to her that I found the relationship her character has with Guy Pearce’s older man in Breathe In, Drake Doremus’s brooding new film and Edinburgh International Film Festival opener, to be quite different. Jones plays Sophie, an English exchange student who acts as a disruptive catalyst in the lives of her hosts, a middle-class family living in upstate New York. For me, she is a symbol of lost youth and dissolved dreams for Pearce’s character, the family’s middle-aged patriarch. And he, in turn, is the necessary figure to fill the gap in her damaged young life. Each one is simply an abstract; the other’s desire. Jones disagrees: “I felt like there was a deep, deep connection”, she insists. “There’s a film, A Place in the Sun, an Elizabeth Taylor film with Montgomery Clift, that was a real inspiration for both [Guy Pearce and I], and that film is about an intense connection with someone else that they are both navigating because their relationship doesn’t conform to what it should conform to, and that disturbs them both.” Naturally, Jones understands Sophie more than anybody – even writer and director Drake Doremus. While some filmmakers use actors as chess pieces, to be controlled like

flesh-and-bone pawns on set, Doremus is the opposite. He gives his actors space to fill out their characters, allowing them to move in their own chosen direction. This collaborative process builds a character with dimensions and history. “There was a very developed backstory of where she’d come from and why she was here,” Jones says. “I feel that Sophie is looking at a way to navigate the world. It’s interesting to see that she’s always reading these novels and looking at other characters to ask, ‘Is that how I should be?’” Just as the Raymond Carver books Jones’s character loves were famously edited down from floral prose into the succinct ‘Carveresque’ style, so Doremus could, at times, make use of a strong editorial hand. Drama occasionally slips into melodrama when extended gazing shots are emotionally scored, and these sit uneasily next to the beautiful, natural conversations spread throughout the film. There are organic pauses, a hunt for words. “Searching for words is so important,” confirms Jones, smiling a little at the ridiculous truth of her next statement; “That’s the problem with having scripted dialogue, you have to find a way of finding the search for words.” Indeed, such is the naturalism of its performances that Breathe In at times feels like an exquisitely composed documentary. “We have a treatment, like a lot of comedy works,” Jones says. “The actors improvise on the day and doing that with drama is a great way of working. We have an outline, an emotional map. How you get there is up to you.” Where they get to is a mature dissection

FELICITY JONES AT THE OPENING OF THE 67TH EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

of the banality of middle-class existence. The characters deal with a very first world problem – not of hunger or death, but of self-actualisation. There are selfish shades to both lead characters: individuals with almost everything, but their lives fall apart when their keystone desire is pulled. “I did feel it was a very American film,” Jones notes. “He [Pearce’s character] is living the ideals of the American dream: he has a comfortable life, he works, he has a family who are important to him, and all those things that are upheld by the American dream, but somehow something isn’t quite right underneath and there’s something

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more elemental that he isn’t looking after or responding to. Then this woman comes in and exposes this dissatisfaction. It feels like the film could only be made in America in that way.” Jones will reveal a different side to herself soon, when she stars in the Hollywood blockbuster sequel to The Amazing Spider-Man next year. Hopefully, however, she will not turn her back on such cracked porcelain roles.

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“I

Interview: Alan Bett

Our Art editor travels to Venice and gives us a selection of highlights from this year’s Biennale, including new work by dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei

Words: Jac Mantle

VADIM ZAKHAROV - DANAË (2013)

enice is like a giant pop-up card of incredibly ornate churches, palazzos and cafes where, on any given day, people are having a lovely time. Of course its main industry is tourism, but most of the year is also taken up with one or another strand of the Venice Biennale. The Art Biennale kicks off every other summer, and with four different pavilions originating in the UK I just had to head over there. As well as elbowing my way through hordes of sightseers and drinking my own weight in Prosecco (they pretty much force it on you), I saw a heck of a lot of art. There’s a big curated show, this year called The Encyclopedic Palace, which is just as wideranging and extensive as it sounds. And then there are the national pavilions, where each of the participating countries shows work by an artist at the peak of their career. Most of the pavilions are in a park called the Giardini, including Great Britain, represented this year by Jeremy Deller. You can read an interview with Deller over at theskinny.co.uk/art, but here are some highlights from the rest of the Giardini. Denmark Jesper Just’s show in the Danish Pavilion is one of the best in the Biennale. Entering the five-screen video installation we find ourselves in a kind of

July 2013

underground lair, with plants and purple lighting. The first video shows a man striding purposefully through rural wasteland until a city comes into view. Crawling under a fence, he enters and finds signs of devastation. It seems uninhabited. The architecture suggests Paris, but the shop signs are in Chinese. Totally compelled, we feel robbed when we realise the video is on a loop and we’re left none the wiser. The other videos add to the narrative but it remains far from the well-trodden apocalypses of mainstream cinema. Germany Much hyped for featuring Chinese dissident Ai Weiwei, Germany’s group show is surprisingly unshowy and serious-minded. In a bid to examine the significance of traditional forms of national representation at the Biennale, it is showing four non-German artists. Weiwei’s work is a sprawling stack of 886 three-legged stools – items which, once found in every household in China, were superseded with the Cultural Revolution and are now antiques. Typically symbolic, the sculpture is one you can absorb quickly and file away to think about later. Not so for the films by Romauld Karmakar and Dayanita Singh, which are fascinating but require you to set up camp and watch them in full.

Russia The Russians have had more fun. Vadim Zakharov has enacted the Greek myth of Danaë, whose seduction is an allegory for human desire and greed, and the corrupting influence of money. The pavilion is occupied by two men; tall, with severe Russian jawlines. They could almost be waxworks, so sleek are their suits. One is feeding a pulley with gold coins, which then rain onto the floor below. Male visitors can kneel on church benches to watch, while women must stay downstairs, sheltering from the coins with umbrellas. With a mischievous humour and slick execution à la Maurizio Cattelan, the illusion is broken only by the custodian of the coins telling visitors, ‘Don’t touch!’ Romania At an event where some shows were installed over two days in April, it’s an unexpected treat to see live performance. Alexandra Pirici and Manuel Pelmus’ work will be performed every day of the six-month run. Taking as its subject the entire history of the Venice Biennale, it reflects on various national pavilions in choreographed re-enactments. For instance, one is a 2007 installation which featured a PlayStation ‘so beautiful teenagers could crush each other to death.’

TRAVEL

The performers enact this in slow motion, the blows becoming dance moves. Another scenario is political, featuring the penis and the Pope and damning Papal propaganda against condoms. ‘Religion reared its ugly head,’ says a young man, rearing his own while lying on the ground. Key to its impact is the youth of the performers, whose trainers and hoodies and confident, economic movements make it seem as fresh as improv. Japan Japan’s show by Koki Tanaka is a pure headache to look at, with videos and text on every available surface. But it doesn’t really lose anything for this, as the videos document activities Tanaka has instigated rather than being works in themselves. Perceiving a need to rebuild community spirit in Japan post-Tsunami, Tanaka asked groups of strangers to collaborate on ‘collective acts’ such as giving a haircut, composing a tune to play together on the piano, and throwing a clay pot. With the boundaries of the work set by the participants rather than the artist, many of the videos are quite moving. www.labiennale.org/en/art/index.html

Lifestyle

Photo: Daniel Zakharov

Postcard from Venice Biennale

DOUBLE HEADED MONSTER WITH A MIND OF HIS OWN (2012-13)

PLAYGROUND FOR MANICAS (2013)

LIKE TWO CHRISTOPHERS IN THE SNOW (2012)

SHOWCASE

GREEN + ORANGE = (2013)

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99 PROBLEMS (2013)

Callum Sutch W

ith a BA in Fine Art, Callum Sutch graduates this year from Manchester School of Art – where, he says, he has “spent the entire time making a mess of the floor, walls, clothes and canvases.” He describes this mess as seeing him pass painting through processes, systems, roulette wheels, betting slips, conversations, writings and readings – culminating, for his degree show display, in a three-metre-square exhibition space illuminating this journey. Sutch’s degree show space presented projects from his final semester, and attempted, through the way the works were hung, to bring viewers closer to his studio and his painting process, while ensuring each piece had its own voice. During his time at the School of Art, Sutch helped to found a promotions group, PISINpresents, along with three student friends, in order to present opportunities for himself and others. PISINpresents will be organising exhibitions and events in the coming year.

“In the past I have extensively used systems as a way to allow a painting to be created with no real importance on the end result. This way of working, despite being a very productive and valuable learning method, was dissatisfying due to the lack of control over the final image. This dissatisfaction gave me something to react against and in turn was the catalyst for the work I am making currently. “I still feel that each painting carries its own contradictions of control and impulse, which is a manifestation of what I have learnt – through viewing paintings and reading critical texts – in opposition to what my natural aesthetic impulses crave. I hold the studio in high regard as a working environment and am very conscious of what happens in the studio, and what the contents of that room are when it leaves the other end.” www.callumsutch.com www.pisinpresents.com

THE CORRECT WAY TO POLISH A DONKEY (2013)

July 2013

SHOWCASE

ASTRID ANDERSEN

London Collections: Men SS14 Report This time it’s all about the boys! We check out what you’ll be wearing next spring/summer Words: Rena Niamh Smith

ondon Collections: Men, official title of London’s menswear fashion week, may be only three seasons young, but it already carries itself with an effortless charisma that belies its short history. The event was held between The Old Sorting Office, The Hospital Club, and Victoria House across three days, a schedule packed with presentations, catwalk shows and parties. The dapper gents strolling around Bloomsbury were out to see some great clothes and wear some even better ones while seeing them, with none of the elbow-shoving frantic pace of the women’s week. Shows were more or less on-time, exhibitions tastefully curated, and by way of official pass, visitors wore a subtle pin badge in place of garish lanyards. Once a dashed-through day stitched onto the end of women’s week, London Collections: Men gives the proper breathing space for the wealth of talent on offer. “It’s going really well, and I’m really proud,” model David Gandy told The Skinny at the Xander Zhou show. “It’s a really great thing to be part of and it’s going from strength to strength.” Positioned ahead of men’s weeks in Florence, Milan and Paris, attendees were bright eyed and bushy-tailed. Designer Tom Lipop reckons the position is great for business too. “I think it’s nice that we get to start off as opposed to just sitting on the end of a Fashion Week for womenswear, because by the time womenswear is here, everyone has closed their books,” he said. “There’s a lot more help and advice from London Fashion Week and the BFC, there’s definitely a lot of focus on London, which is nice.”

Lifestyle

Masculine dressing is a craft London has famously helped create, right from the first Saville Row suit. Today, on-the-rise talent is making a name for the city of London as centre for intuitive and creative design. Here, we select our ones to watch. Lou Dalton Dalton kicked off the week in the basement of Victoria House. She took direction from the RAF, inspired by the area in which she grew up, near an aircraft base. The collection mixed functional sportswear shapes with utilitarian elements and added a bohemian twist. A quilted jacket in an acid-wash cotton was stitched to resemble tyre tracks. At the same time, Jacquard added an eccentric dash of luxury, and dark greys and heavy Grenson boots were contrasted with a whimsical lilac shade. Lou’s assistant Carla explained: “This story is about a young guy with a dad in the RAF, who’s supposed to be following his footsteps but never actually gets there, goes to art school, does the whole indie kind of, you know, findshimself route, so it’s a mix of all the influences.” It was a celebration of the military look, with a subverted twist. “Lou’s always rooting for the underdog,” Carla said. “This is about a boy trying to find himself.” Astrid Andersen Danish designer Andersen is known for a masculine sports-aesthetic-specifically, basketball influenced pieces pulled off with shoulder heavy swagger. Models’ foreheads positively gleamed with sweat as they strolled out in the long shorts

and wide vests made in luxury fabrics, whether silky smooth or thick and boxy. For Summer 2014, Astrid visited an exhibition on crystal production in Italy, where she took reference from the strength and beauty of the gemstones. “There were these miners talking about the crystals in videos, and it was amazing, it was almost like they were talking about a woman,” she said. “They would do anything to find these colours or these stones. I thought it was really interesting, the contrast between something so delicate and these hard mine workers.” Working a digital realisation of crystals into a camouflage-like print onto a super-luxe nylon used in classic sports shapes, are these clothes to work out in? With those metal arm bands and lip piercings we’re not sure, but the fur rucksacks in ice white were a stroke of sweat-busting genius. Christopher Raeburn Recipient of the prestigious Fashion Forward award, Raeburn kicked up a sandstorm with his utilitarian range inspired by the Long Range Desert Group. These heroes of the Second World War fought under extreme conditions; for the modern man it's an interpretation verging at times between form and function. Satellite images of the desert were re-thought into a digital print and emblazoned on to suit jacket and shorts. Meanwhile, anoraks and rucksacks played their part. The collection included appropriated surplus military fabrics, including original 1950s rubberised cotton for a bomber and suit jacket, and parachute material paired with army mesh.

FASHION

Christopher Shannon Down at the Old Sorting Office, the inspiration for Central Saint Martin’s graduate Shannon was the anything-goes culture of clubbing in Liverpool and Manchester at Cream, Garlands and Paradise, which they described as “experimental, post-rave, pre-high street.” Think baggy silhouettes re-mixed in PVC and translucent rubber, bright greens, oranges and pinks. Models sported sprayed-in glitter in their hair; branding and psychedelic colours were emblazoned on to stand-out print sweaters. Expect a Topman knock off coming soon to a store near you: the bucket hat made a comeback, made exclusively by New Era. The 90s are back, with all the hedonism of pre-Twitter teenage kicks. Tom Lipop for River Island River Island Designer Forum has this season given a platform to emerging talent Lipop. The collection was unveiled in a film screening in the basement at The Hospital Club in which a model stumbles around the impoverished buildings in the Californian desert – a boldly creative take for the high street giant. With Lipop known for his exceptional pattern cutting techniques and a muted take on tailoring, the range includes smart classic designs with an understated edge. “I wanted to do something similar to what we do in the cutting sense but something we could offer kind of to the mainstream,” Tom said. See the film at River Island's; collection in store from early September. www.londoncollections.co.uk/men

THE SKINNY

Photos: Christopher Dadey

CHRISTOPHER RAEBURN

Photos: Christopher Dadey

CHRISTOPHER RAEBURN

Photo: Christopher James

CHRISTOPHER SHANNON

July 2013

LOU DALTON

FASHION

Photo: Dan Sims

LOU DALTON

Photo: Catwalking

TOM LIPOP

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Photo: Dan Sims

CHRISTOPHER SHANNON

Photo: Dan Sims

CHRISTOPHER SHANNON

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Extreme Food From licking paté off bricks to gingerly avoiding condoms on our plates, lately we’ve been getting the feeling that foodie extremism may have gone too far. Below, we respond the only way we know how: through peaceful protest, and marinading bacon in rum

Words: Jamie Faulkner Illustration: Vicky Ledsom

blame Heston. OK, that’s not strictly true. I also blame Nathan Myhrvold, former smarty pants at Microsoft and principal author of food bible Modernist Cuisine. Hold on, come to think of it, über-chef and Dalí of the kitchen Ferran Adrià had a part to play in all this, too. “They’re all guilty,” I conclude, as I stand in my kitchen, latex-gloved, hypodermic needle in hand, about to stick a chicken breast with salt brine. I get a flashback from Audition and pause to consider my steady descent into food mania. How did it come to this?

offering blenders made from the same material as aeroplane windows, £200 kettles with five different temperature settings, and domestic sousvide water baths for the budget-oblivious. While wacky-sounding ideas like edible packaging and eating insects might actually have a function and just save our collective bacon, parts of the restaurant world seem to have taken surreal inspiration from Mighty Boosh territory. We’ve had chef Ben Spalding serving chicken liver parfait with a side of caramel-coated brick, followed by Alvin ‘nobody-can-call-me-boring’ Leung’s ‘Sex on the Beach’ dish replete with faux ‘used condom’; while our home-grown Simon Rogan serves a salad with more ingredients than I’ve managed to cultivate in my allotment. So, I ask, has it gone too far? Will it all end in tears? Baby seal tears? Spherified and dyed black to look like caviar? (OK, if that happens, it’s a yes, a definite yes.) But in the Northwest, the answer seems to be no. If weirdness is up ahead, then we seem to have taken a merciful detour. Sure, we’re not doing everything right: we’re still riding the beef-patty-in-a-brioche-bun-with-a-side-of-TexMex tsunami; and if Red Hot World Buffet is a When I was an undergraduate in the mid 00s, barometer of taste (it’s reportedly Manchester’s before Michelin-starred chefs started cooking at highest-grossing food establishment), then every festivals, the world of haute cuisine was far from restaurant should offer the choice of 300 difthe reality of Saturday Kitchen re-runs, cafeteria ferent dishes. Nevertheless, there’s an intolerlunches, and chain-smoking. It was around this ance of pretension and gimmickry up North that time that the aforementioned Blumenthal came keeps me sane in my most ‘foodist’ of moments. along with his BBC series In Search of Perfection Perhaps that’s why ‘fine-dining’ concepts have and made everyone, chefs included, feel underyet to put down significant roots here; and why, qualified to make even spag bol. In his quest for conversely, the beerhouses, cafés, and informal the ideal iteration of classic dishes, Blumenthal dining spots are booming. The region’s new wave projected on to me and, undoubtedly, countless of street traders certainly seem to have a firm others his obsessive compulsion; and ushered in grip on reality, serving up cuisine that the public a new food order. can both understand and achieve. Years on, and things have spiralled out of This isn’t to say I don’t want to see boundcontrol like a Turkey Twizzler (or some fusilli, if ary-pushing cuisine in our neck of the woods. I you’re posher than Iceland). The restaurant kitch- just don’t want to see it done in an attempt to en and its exacting standards have spilled over make the foodie equivalent of Page Three. We all into the public domain. Preparing a roast chicken owe a debt to the fanaticism of the Blumethals is now a ritual involving syringes and a threeand Myhrvolds of this world for changing the day drying stage (for ultra crispy skin, don’t you gastronomic landscape. Good on ‘em – after all, know). And I’m not alone. The market for the food- the world of food would be a duller place without obsessed doesn’t know where to stop either, visionaries. Just don’t ask us to lick bricks.

“Will it all end in tears? Baby seal tears? Spherified and dyed black to look like caviar?”

Phagomania: Makin’ Bacon B

acon is big. Bacon is heavyweight. Bacon is perfume, condoms, vodka, dresses and pretty much any other product you care to imagine. Why do you think Kevin Bacon’s so well-connected? Footloose? No, bacon. But what could be better than bacon? Making bacon. The great news is that it is easy. When my partner-in-crime for this escapade first suggested curing meat, I was skeptical. Then he said it mostly involves leaving it for ages and you can flavour it however you want. The challenge was on. Now, most people would have gone for some sensible flavourings, perhaps some traditional spices, herbs and seasonings. But this is Phagomania, and we had to see how far we could push this bacon. My natural instinct was to go for rum, cola and lime. Cuba Libre bacon. Step one, get some pork. You can actually make bacon from just about any cut of meat from

July 2013

any animal, so the possibilities are boundless. But we wanted cheap, and picked up a large hunk of loin joint on offer at the supermarket. Now funnily enough, we had to improvise a rum, coke and lime marinade – it’s not the kind of thing you can just pick up. We chucked two litres of coke in a pot, brought it to the boil, and then essentially mulled it, tossing in cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, orange peel and whatever else was lying around. We gazed with suspense as it reduced to a thick nectar. To finish: 300ml of dark rum, the juice of four limes and 100g of muscovado sugar. It tasted like pure essence of the best Cuba Libre you’ve ever had; it was extremely difficult to part ways, so close was I to chilling the mix and slurping it over ice until I couldn’t feel feelings. But this concoction hadn’t come to town for that, it had a showdown with bacon to see through. So we wished it

bon voyage and poured it over the pork. After a week of marinating (and a couple of turns) it was time to embrace the ancient art of curing. Simply salting meat is a great preserving method, and adding sugar helps the process and flavour. With this sense of lore in mind, you’ll want around a kilo of salt, and you’ll need a big plastic tub or very small bin to coat the meat in. In addition, you’ll want around 250g of sugar. The salt and sugar play a number of chemical tricks, but mainly they draw water out and preserve the meat by slowing down oxidation. You’ll need to leave this bad boy in the cold for two weeks, so be prepared for your girlfriend/boyfriend/ spouse/flatmate to argue fridge politics. Just remember: you’re making bacon, baby. The final stage is to soak your meat. Stop sniggering. Leave it covered in water for 24 hours to draw out a lot of the saltiness. Do not do what

FOOD AND DRINK

Words: Lewis MacDonald

we did and impatiently taste the bacon before the soaking, unless your favourite things are salt and disappointment. Drum roll. The moment you’ve been waiting for. The taste test. Cut as thin and consistent a slice as you can manage, and chuck in the pan. The texture? It was both softer yet meatier than your regular bacon, almost flakey. I put that down to the marinade. However, salt sadly won the flavour battle: the edges had the lovely sweetness, especially where it had crisped up, but the centre had lost out on our ambitious flavourings. And I’ll admit it: the sharpness of lime was a bizarre, unwelcome guest, much like the last guy to leave a party. But hey, at least he had brought his own bacon. Follow Phagomania’s dubious exploits at www.theskinny.co.uk/food

Lifestyle

Food News

Around the World in 20 Drinks: Soda Special

Themes! Themes! Everywhere! This month, take part in everything from a communal dinneras-theatre-performance to a Prohibition-inspired beer festival. Or just do something normal, like chill with coffee and pancakes

We take a lap of the globe in a booze-free soft drink round-up, featuring bizarre uses of animals and ludicrous flavour combinations from the outset

Words: Naters Philip Illustration: Eva Dolgyra

f it’s warm enough to take to the yard this month and you don’t have your own, try a jaunt to the recently opened garden of the Free State Kitchen in Liverpool. Tucked away in the independent Ropewalks area, the newbie restaurant is run by husband and wife team Gary and Kate Hughes, who have their friend Dan manning the kitchen. Not only does he serve up some serious gastro-diner goodies – hello pastrami sandwiches – but he’s also ‘cheffed’ for the likes of Tori Amos. Al fresco just got real y’all. 1 Maryland Street, Liverpool, L1 9DE, www.freestatekitchen. co.uk. Ever wondered what Moose pancakes taste like? Well, those local to Liverpool should already be well aware of the all-American inspired treats of Moose Coffee, so look out, Manchester, because there’s one starting up in your neighbourhood this month. Known for its early opening and shutting times, Moose takes breakfast very seriously: we’d recommend the French toast with bacon and a ‘side-a cawfee’. If you prefer a savoury brekkie, have a gander through their sandwiches, bagels and salads – fair warning, they don’t do small portions. Doors open July, 20 York Street, Manchester, M2 3BB, www.moosecoffee.co.uk. If you’re partial to a little bit of bun while looking around some antiques, then you’re in luck in July with Cuthbert’s Bakehouse Pop Up Shop. Arguably home to the best cupcakes in Liverpool, the shop’s base in town on Mt Pleasant

is a cosy place for a cuppa amid retro surroundings – and the bakery will be presenting a quintessential afternoon tea party in the gorgeous setting of St George’s Hall as part of the Antiques and Collectors Fair on 13 July. We’ve heard of a pre-theatre dinner, but dinner as theatre? If you’re as intrigued as we are, try the Unfinished Business theatre company’s Only Wolves and Lions at Contact, Manchester. The vision of Leo Kay, a much-respected dance theatre practitioner, the event invites anyone interested to an intimate evening of repast, dance performance and storytelling. The only thing they ask of you is to have fun, and bring a raw ingredient to throw into the mix for the dinner table. Très creative. Contact, Manchester, 9-11 Jul, £15, www.contactmcr.com. It’s a terrible thing to have a flapper dress or a pair of gangster spats hanging sadly in your wardrobe, isn’t it? Well, soon you’ll have the chance to don your 1920s gladrags at The Big Speakeasy, Stockport’s All-American Beer Festival. With beers from some of the States’ best microbreweries on offer, you’ll be spoilt for choice, but if you feel like going more Prohibition-authentic then get on board with their hefty list of Bourbons and cocktails. Victorian Market Hall, Stockport, 27 Jul, £10, tickets on sale until 13 Jul and price includes a drink on arrival, follow @thebigspeakeasy for details.

Words: Peter Simpson

n honour of Phagomania’s coke-fuelled baconmaking, we thought we’d take a brief spin around this whole wide world to pick out some of the weirdest sodas available today. So strap yourselves in, because it’s going to be a rough ride. Seriously, that’s not just a poorly stretched metaphor, it’s the truth – this column may make you feel truly terrible. Don’t believe me? OK? Placenta juice. That’s right. Placenta, in a juice. It’s marketed as a health drink in Japan, and comes in a lovely golden bottle. The other ingredients actually sound quite nice: kiwi fruit, caramel, honey... All good choices, things are going well. Then you scan back and read ‘pig’s placenta’. Anyway, best not dwell on it, let’s just see what’s next on the list. Cow urine. The urine of a cow, in a glass, with some other stuff. It’s called Gau Jal, and it’s currently under development in India. Apparently, cow urine has medicinal properties, and these are what many of today’s non-urine-based soft drinks are missing. If you think this sounds strange already, here’s the stranger part: this drink is being punted by an extremist Hindu

paramilitary group. A paramilitary that has a side interest in nabbing some market share from Pepsi and Coca-Cola. Which brings us neatly on to... Yoghurt-flavoured Pepsi. Part of the notorious family of bizarre seasonal Japanese Pepsi variants, this bad boy made its way into our hearts as well as to that bit at the back of our throats that sometimes tastes of vomit back in 2011. Sadly, its crystal-clear blend of creamy yoghurt and unspecified sweetness left us too soon, like a candle in the wind – but our final offering has stood the test of time. It’s a Vietnamese speciality called the Bird’s Nest drink. What to do is: get a glass, add some condensed milk and an egg yolk, then fill ’er up with some soda water. Given the South Asian heat and the horrendous curdling, we can’t imagine a straw would do much good in the circumstances, but you could give it a go. What’s the alternative? A fruit juice? A refreshing glass of water? Pffft. Pass me a Bird’s Nest, and a knife and fork.

merely comprised a bunch of merry, strangely clad folk drinking hooch in a field. And despite attempts to dress ‘em up over the years, the basic drinks offerings at festivals – like the people – haven’t moved on that much. Ultimately, it’s all about quality spirits, and a budget doesn’t have to mean scrimping: trusty old Aldi’s range

includes several silver medal winners from the International Wine and Spirit Competition at bargain prices. Their Oliver Cromwell London Dry Gin, for instance, costs under a tenner and recently outranked its more expensive siblings at several times the price. Right, that’s your rucksacks packed. No room for clothes? Erm...

Catch up on our global drinks adventure at www.theskinny.co.uk/food

Handbags and Hipflasks Festival season is upon us, and while we’d like to say that it’s all about the music, copious drinking usually comes pretty close. So without further ado, here’s our very abridged guide to the best libations for revellers Words: Jamie Faulkner Illustration: Low Coney

ou know the feeling. Four cans into that lukewarm lager that’s been undergoing secondary fermentation in your tent and you wish you had another option. Why weren’t you better prepared, stupid? If a lingering metallic taste in your mouth is all you want in a beer – and maybe you do – then look away now. But the rest of you we’ll refer to the all-conquering Thornbridge Brewery (thornbridgebrewery.co.uk), who offer mini-kegs of their ale-y ambrosia Jaipur ideal for lugging into the middle of a field. At 5.9% it’s not your average low ABV session beer, but you don’t want that, do ya? Bonus: you can use them as seats for small children once you’re done.

Lifestyle

If you’re more partial to the grape, then you’ll probably wish you could have a handbag full of wine, right? Because you’re too good for that bag-in-box swill, we know. But surely nobody’s thought of that? Well, actually, the guys over at Vernissage (vernissagewine.com) have lovingly created a stylish and convenient receptacle for 1.5 litres of award-winning Languedoc wine, with Syrah/Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay/Viognier blends and a straight Rosé to choose from. There’s still the issue of keeping your ‘winebag’ cool, but at least you might have a shot at sneaking your goods past the pesky festival police. There was a time, we guess, when a festival

FOOD AND DRINK

THE SKINNY

Why I Love the ‘Friend Zone’

Be a nice guy all you like; that still doesn’t give you the automatic right to put your penis wherever you see fit. Welcome to the Friend Zone

Words: Matthew Bobbu Illustration: Alice Tobia

hear the term ‘Friend Zone’ used a lot these days, particularly online. If I understand it properly, it means being friends with someone you find attractive, but who doesn’t want a relationship with you beyond friendship. Personally, I love being in the Friend Zone. My friends are all beautiful people – in some cases, absolutely stunning. As a rather eccentric creative I have a lot of friends who are burlesque dancers, models, and performers. They are all wonderful people; startlingly attractive, talented as all hell, and absolutely uninterested in having sex with me. And that’s just grand. I went to one of my friend’s birthday parties just the other week. She’s a fairly well-known fetish model, with an amazing figure, long legs, and brilliant red hair. I’ve been friends with her for about half a decade, and we have supported each other through some really rough times, as well as enjoying some thoroughly wonderful events together. I find her incredibly attractive, and if she were to ask me out on a date I would bang my head on the ceiling from leaping at the chance. But you see, I don’t feel the need to be rewarded for being a good friend by someone having sex with me. The reward of good friendship is good friends, and that alone is worth all the time and effort I put into being as splendid an individual as I possibly can. So my friend remains my friend – an amazing, supportive, thoroughly valuable person in my life. And you know what? This is far more important to me than whether or not I ever get to put my penis inside her.

Of course, some people disagree with me. Some men in particular use the term as though it were some kind of curse. For some reason these chaps, always self-declared ‘nice guys,’ seem to feel that being ‘just’ someone’s friend is a bad thing. That they are somehow getting a bad deal if they befriend someone they are attracted to, perhaps even flirt with them, and then that person doesn’t want to have sex with them, even though these men are clearly such wonderful individuals by merit of the simple fact that they are somewhat friendly.

In Defence of Taking Offence I

t’s important first to clarify that despite taking exception with the particulars of Richard Dawkins’ teachings, the startling work that he does to protect the rights of those oppressed by religion mustn’t go unaddressed. Forced marriage, unnecessary hymen reconstruction surgery, genital mutilation, honour-killings, compromised sex education, and oppression of women and homosexuals are only a handful of the bitter symptoms of fundamentalist religious practice. Dawkins administers logic as the antidote to these problems and for this work alone he deserves recognition. However, perhaps, when Dawkins boldly denounces the right of the religious to take offence, we should approach the proposition more critically. A quote from his talk in UC Berkeley: “So what if my feelings are hurt? Does that give me a right to prevent others from expressing their opinion?” inspired a whole culture of offence-rejection. Comedians like Louis C.K. and Steve Hughes expressed their exasperation with the offended, which unfortunately fed a troupe of ignoramuses – who’d clearly misinterpreted the debate – exactly what they needed to excuse socially impertinent behaviour. Cue the grand finale, a cacophony of numbskulls yelling, “You didn’t like it when I laughed at you for being such a slut? Stop being so easily offended or quit listening then, dumb bitch!” But the self-centered approach to cultural difference has graver consequences. Take the inexorable westernisation of Abu Dhabi, a predominantly Muslim city. Abu Dhabi’s knitting together of East and West has led to the

July 2013

I have news for these people. You don’t get rewarded with sex for being nice. You are supposed to be nice to people – the only thing it earns you is respect. And, quite simply, not everyone who likes you as a person is going to want to fuck you. This is an immutable part of life; it is not something you can change. I don’t know why you would want it to, either. I know a lot of very large biker gents; though they are charming, and we have thoroughly enjoyable times together, the thought that they would thank me for being nice to them by shagging me is quite, quite terrifying.

But that really is the bottom line of the problem with the Friend Zone, isn’t it? It is virtually always a man claiming that a woman they are attracted to is being mean to them by not being attracted to them in return. No man would use the phrase to refer to where his male friends have placed him in their social circle. No, he would just call them his friends. So why, unless you are an unappreciative, sexist, selfish, sexobsessed imbecile, would you do anything different for the beautiful women you are lucky enough to have in your life?

Reflecting on a recent trip to Abu Dhabi, one writer discusses what she learned about the importance of taking offence – in an era that’s all too comfortable with causing it

evolution of a cultural conglomerate. Mosques designed by Britons; the heady scent of oud oil bottled and disseminated in shopping malls; Muslim women pairing traditional Abaya gowns with Jimmy Choos and come-hither false eyelashes; teenagers rebelling against the hijab with under-padding to imply concealment of lustrous hair. Traditions are diluted if inconvenient, and sprinkled with European dazzle-dust if deemed financially stagnant. That’s not to say the Euro-Arabia patchwork quilt isn’t beautiful. The panorama of locals in traditional dress gliding against the glassy cityscape is electric. Shores of the Persian Gulf transformed into hazy Parisian boulevards with terracotta skies are dreamy. But the land of juxtaposition is often a sparring ground for disagreeing cultures, and that’s when expression of offence is necessary to maintain fairness and reason. Consider the Emirati indecency code. In public it’s expected that Muslim women wear a full-length Abaya to maintain a modest appearance and that non-Muslims are covered from shoulder to knee. An influx of ex-pats, international workforce and tourists – to whom the dress-code is irrelevant – has led to frequent incidences of ignorance and opposition. Voices of those offended within the Emirati population – a 10% minority – have been hushed, leading to the creation of the @UAEDresscode Twitter, which expresses the concerns of lost tradition and the resultant offence felt. Deviants of the dress-code feel oppressed by the regulations, liberating themselves in

Words: Kate Pasola

overlooked by curators at the Louvre. You’d think such disharmony between Eastern and Western preference would encourage development of a culturally sensitive collection. Because surely there’s no need to piss off even more locals, right? Wrong. Head curator, Laurence Des Cars, has firmly stated that no artistic subject will be off-limits – including sexuality and religion. Of course. The Muslim population will be relieved, I’m sure, to hear that the collection “won’t try to shock just to be shocking.” Fingers crossed she’ll steer clear of ‘offending just to be offensive’ too. Of course, one of the main roles of art is to shock. It’s a beautiful little troll that exposes human truths to those who need to see them. It integrates cultures and catalyses social change. It’s particularly useful in combatting violation of human rights and oppression. Indisputably, encouragement of tolerance and equality are both excellent motivations for dancing with the devil and risking offence. But in the case of the On top of the dress code disputes, Saadiyat Louvre, one feels compelled to question the Island (off the coast of Abu Dhabi) is undergoing motives of the decision-makers. If the curators a tourism reconstruction project, including the aren’t “shocking to be shocking,” indeed why are commissioning of its own Louvre. The tricky little they shocking? Does it have anything to do with issue of the matter lies in religious resistance. tailoring the collection to a western audience of Islam hasn’t been overly keen on the vast majority tourists and ex-pats? Shocking to make money? of European art since Prophet Muhammad deAbu Dhabi’s cultural tussles directly exemplify the power of expressing offence. Let cided figurative design didn’t cut the mustard at Dawkins scorn the offended, let the offended feel around 622AD. Islam firmly discourages artistic depiction of religious figures and sentient beings. offended from such scolding. But, if Abu Dhabi teaches us – and Dawkins – any sort of lesson, it’s That in mind, it’s difficult to imagine an affable that we should never mute the offended in the reception to one of Picasso’s raunchiest, or a interests of making money. cheeky homoerotic Renaissance number. Now that’s just offensive. This seems to have been conveniently

western dress. Muslims feel oppressed by exposed flesh and its frequent side-order of objectification, and liberated when concealed under an Abaya. So whose offence is less valid? What constitutes liberation and equality is geographically and culturally specific. When opinions are at odds, the west-is-best attitude isn’t as fruitful or forward-thinking as we’d like to feel.

“What constitutes liberation and equality is geographically and culturally specific”

DEVIANCE

Lifestyle

Gig Highlights

Sax and the City

It's festival season, but there are plenty of bands still plugging away in the Northwest, including garage rockers Sic Alps, New York duo MS MR and Youth Lagoon, with his tearjerking dream-pop

Photo: Rasmus Baek

The festival presents San Francisco garage rockers Sic Alps, supported by Carlisle’s finest The Lucid Dream and Wiganites The Shook-Ups, at new(ish) venue Blade Factory on 3 Jul. Manchester’s film and music night Video Jam, where musicians provide live scores to silent movies, offers up an exquisite night at Islington Mill on 4 Jul. Two films sourced by record label and publishers Baptists & Bootleggers provide the backdrop for mint-fresh music from legendary Komische musician Dieter Moebius and avant garde sound artists Ex-Easter Island Head. Also heading to Salford to perform immersive soundtracks for the night are HORRID, Die Hexen and Simon Bullows, each of whom will score shorter films of around ten minutes long. Advance Base, the artist formerly known as Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, plays Manchester’s Night and Day on 11 Jul. The Casio may have been unplugged and reboxed, yet the nostalgic, wistful and often painful self-interrogation of the Chicago musician’s past project remains. His lo-fi, bearded Americana may be gazing too closely at its own naval for some, but Owen Ashworth (Mr Advance Base) has been active on the alternative live music circuit since 1997. He’s probably played more gigs than there’s been episodes of Hollyoaks (est. 1995). He’s definitely played more gigs than the Spice Girls (est. 1994). He’s a hard working man with songs about depression and tense relationships. Until Wahlbar opened last summer, Manchester’s Studentland was a barren patch DINOSAUR PILE UP for live music. The Fallowfield bar hosts the Carefully Planned Announcement Party (13 Jul), uly is usually the month when bands squeeze apparently not quite a proper all-dayer but more of a prelude to an all-dayer happening later this onto their tour buses and drive the length year. Still, there’s a fine selection of (mostly) local and breadth of Europe for the summer festival hyperactive garage bands to keep you there, yes, circuit. Gig guides may be sparser than normal, but there’s still enough happening in Manchester all day. Highlights of this highlight include folksy Songs For Walter and Just Handshakes. and Liverpool to keep gig-goers busy. Liverpool’s Shipping Forecast hosts Manchester’s always-reliable Deaf Institute Dinosaur Pile-Up on 13 Jul (they‘re also to be starts the month with indie scruffs Half Moon found at Manchester’s Ruby Lounge on 12 Jul). Run (2 Jul). The Montreal four-piece may have The trio’s grinding alternative rock may smell like been playlisted by Radio 1, but don’t let that teen spirit to anyone familiar with Foo Fighters put you off as they’re more Fleet Foxes than Rita or Deftones, but there’s a pop sensibility to their Ora. They tumble out delicate harmonies over grunge revival. equally delicate guitars. They also look like the New Yorkers MS MR will be taking to the type of men who would receive shouts of ‘GET A HAIRCUT, HIPPY’ when walking past building sites. stage at Manchester’s Academy 3 (15 Jul). The American duo are in the middle of a continentFans of feedback freakouts and percushopping promotional slog for Secondhand sive mind-melts can get their psych on with a Rapture, a debut album made of hipster pop, taster from the Liverpool International Festival synths and glitter. They may be buzzworthy of Psychedelia, which takes place in September.

Words: Jacky Hall Now in its 18th year, Manchester Jazz Festival returns to the city this month, with contemporary (singer Lizzy Plapinger co-founded label Neon upstarts and crumhorns in tow Gold, home to early Ellie Goulding, early Icona Pop and early Passion Pit), but there’s substance to the style. Liverpool’s Kazimier furthers its reputation as the Northwest’s venue of choice for esoterica by hosting Mr B (15 Jul). Mr B is a banjolele-toting gentleman rhymer and number one in the chaphop game. Chap-hop? It’s a thoroughly British rap subgenre somewhat popular on YouTube. Yes, it’s a parody of rap re-imagined for people interested in the cricket score or brewing the perfect cup of tea, but it’s an affectionate parody. Just remember to pomade your moustache. Trilby optional. Are you stuck in the awkward adolescent period when you’re old enough to go to gigs but not old enough for your mum to OK a weekend away? Try X & Y Festival, a weekend of live music planned for people who enjoy preparing Excel spreadsheets of stage times. But get your highlighter out – with 30 bands playing across three stages there will be clashes. Day one (6 Jul) takes place at Liverpool’s O2 Academy with a packed schedule of acne-scarred indie pop, from cider-fuelled Brummies Jaws to Scottish funky electronica quartet Discopolis. Dog Is Dead, a band considered pin-ups by teenage girls too smart for One Direction, headline. The second stage is headlined by Sheffield indie rapscallions The Crookes. Day two (7 Jul) moves to East Village Arts Club, where the indie pop still doesn’t stop. Acts include Made in Chelsea soundtrackers Young Kato and energetic Liverpudlian glam punkers The Thespians. Former Mormon and sometime Peter Gabriel backing singer Jesca Hoop plays Manchester’s Castle Hotel on 25 Jul. Although raised in Southern California, Jesca has lived under the grey skies of Mancland since 2009. Her home may have changed but her voice is as husky and folknoir as ever. Just be prepared to taste the sweat of strangers in the intimate backroom of this Northern Quarter pub. Finally, folk heartthrob Johnny Flynn. London-based Johnny is so talented and generally amazing that Alt-J reference him in their unavoidable song Matilda. Alt-J have won a Mercury Prize, three Brit Award nominations and enough critical praise to earn themselves financial stability. Former choirboy Johnny hasn’t won anything. Life isn’t fair. Go and see him strum his acoustic guitar and sing his anti-folk at The Deaf Institute, Manchester, on 29 Jul.

Words: Gary Kaill Illustration: Melissa Murphy

rom humble beginnings in 1995, the annual Manchester Jazz Festival has seen both its audience and status continue to grow. Now taking place over nine days and seven venues, it remains true to its original intent to showcase emerging talent while focusing on the contemporary end of the jazz spectrum. “I’m pleased we’ve managed to pull off a broad programme and belie the perception of the current fragile state of the arts,” says the festival’s artistic director Steve Mead. “We’re the jazz festival for people who don’t like jazz!” He’s right, too – this is a festival as inclusive as it is daring. While many will be drawn to the likes of the BBC Big Band with Claire Martin at The Bridgewater Hall or 70s funk legend Lee Fields with his current band The Expressions at Band on the Wall (both 27 Jul), there’s treasure aplenty for those prepared to dig a little deeper. Three must-see shows (all in the Festival Pavilion Teepee in Albert Square) catch the eye. On 29 Jul, Locus – a sextet led by Dumfriesshire’s (via New York) Leah Gough-Cooper on alto sax – offer up a bubbling set of contemporary originals. On 31 Jul, Georgia Mancio and her band play a set that should showcase the singer and lyricist’s sharp mix of popular standards and originals. The next day, head for the standout show in this year’s ‘mjf introduces’ strand, where the young Manchester quartet Kurfuffle spice jazz-fusion with big beats (1 Aug).

DO NOT MISS: Youth Lagoon, Gorilla, Manchester, 16 July azy dream popper Youth Lagoon is an Idaho whippersnapper popular on the internet. Especially the most Pitchfork-y bits of the internet. His second album, Wondrous Bughouse (awarded 8.7 by the ever meticulous American website), was produced by Ben H Allen, who has also worked with Animal Collective, Deerhunter and Washed Out. Youth Lagoon himself is somewhere between all three, plus the wavering treble and bedroom indie shimmer of Mercury Rev. Off stage, the 24-year-old is called Trevor Powers, which is surely an equally solid name for an alt.pop star. He has the look of a young man who would feel struck by the realisation that everyone surrounding him on the dancefloor

Preview

YOUTH LAGOON

at an indie club is one day going to die, then go home and write a song about it on his battered Yamaha. Probably softly weeping into his tie-dye tee while writing ‘your’ as ‘yr.’ It’s hard to imagine how songs so full of introspection will work live

and in public at Manchester’s Gorilla on 16 Jul, but among the fragility are good vibes. These are tunes for introverts aiming to become extroverts. [Jacky Hall]

MUSIC

Photo: Josh Darr

On 3 Aug, St Ann’s Church hosts this year’s ‘mjf originals’ performance. Each year, composers from the region propose new works to premiere at the festival. This year’s commission, The Felonious Monks, is a collaboration between local jazz stalwart Mike Hall and early music specialist Debbie Rogers that sees them perform as part of a unique 12-piece ensemble, fusing music from the early Renaissance with contemporary jazz. Expect players to switch period as they switch instruments, saxophonist and trumpeters moving from sackbuts to crumhorns during the performance. Typical of the festival’s determinedly catholic intentions, this one should be unmissable. Jazz aficionados will know the work of singersongwriter Sara Colman, and at the Festival Pavilion Teepee on 4 Aug she teams up with pianist Jamil Sheriff. Together they are The April Songs. Expect a laid-back – but rug-pulling – mix of compositional tradition and improvisational daring in the festival’s closing performance. Manchester Jazz Festival, various venues, 26 Jul–4 Aug www.manchesterjazz.com

THE SKINNY

AND

July 2013

Album of the Month Fuck Buttons

Slow Focus [ATP Recordings, 22 Jul]

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After the giant leap in ambition, scope and production that was 2009’s Tarot Sport, it’s entirely judicious of electro-noise duo Fuck Buttons to make follow-up Slow Focus a more confident and measured next step. Though it’s cut from a similar cloth to its predecessor, this third album is somewhat rougher in texture and darker in tone. It’s a deliberate tack, of course, and a showcase of just how refined their sprawling palette has become. The hard, percussive element that often pervades is reminiscent of debut album Street Horrrsing, with the pair’s latter production and towering synths carefully woven in, gradually unfurling in the mind after repeated listens.

Adam Stafford

Imaginary Walls Collapse [Song by Toad, 15 Jul]

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This is an album that very nearly never saw the light of day. Adam Stafford, former Y’all Is Fantasy Island main man and a respected solo artist and filmmaker in his own right, came close to quitting music last year. Those who persuaded him to reconsider are sure to have had their faith repaid with a collection of songs that ranks amongst his finest work yet. Imaginary Walls Collapse continues with the recording techniques for which Stafford is by now well-known: reverb-heavy riffs are looped, layered and built upon with beatboxing or heavy drums, but the songs never lose their essential pop hooks. His recent Americana-inflected single Please is a case in point – a prospective radio staple just waiting for a DJ to open their ears. More focussed in intent than Build a Harbour Immediately, there’s plenty of nourishment on offer here. Stafford still remains relatively unknown outside of Scotland; this could be the album that quickly changes that. [Chris McCall] www.soundcloud.com/adam-stafford

Daughn Gibson

Me Moan [Sub Pop, 8 Jul]

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On debut All Hell, Daughn Gibson triple-filters country ballads through crackles, loops and warped samples, teasing out an atmospheric production closer to the likes of Vatican Shadow or Demdike Stare than the acts to whom his stage name pays homage (namely 50s/60s cowboy crooner Don Gibson and blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan). Me Moan confidently elaborates upon this already impressive vision, with opener The Sound of Law seizing focus with gritty lyrics (opening line: “my daddy was a beast”) and a colossal, propulsive chorus. Elsewhere, Mad Ocean revels in a voodoo vibe built from bagpipe wails and Gibson’s oaken baritone, while The Pisgee Nest – based on a real-life tale of sexual exploitation – takes another step into the shadows, with distorted slide guitar wriggling under the skin. But it’s not all so unsettling, with Kissin on the Blacktop’s footloose string bends and Won’t You Climb’s romantic shimmer providing the dawn after the darkness. [Chris Buckle] www.daughngibson.com

Thundercat

Apocalypse [Brainfeeder, 8 Jul]

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A funky lovechild of Prince, Frank Zappa, Herbie Hancock and Flying Lotus (the latter incidentally co-produces this album), Thundercat, aka multiinstrumentalist Stephen Bruner, follows up 2011’s The Golden Age of Apocalypse with another noodly hybrid of an album. For much of Apocalypse, Bruner propels a straightforward pop template through an experimental meat grinder of genres; his unapologetically sugary lyrics (“I just wanna party,” etc.) belie a level of intricacy and craft you just won’t find in the average pop record. An elaborate wash of FlyLo-esque hip-hop dictates the beats; old-school Los Angeles disco sets the tone; rich layers of jazzy instrumentation fill it out. Standout track Heartbreaks + Setbacks succinctly encapsulates his approach, incorporating sitars, a syncopated beat, and a swell of soulful vocals. And, bubbling throughout, an inescapable pulse of bass, played by virtuoso bassist Bruner himself. If not quite a bass odyssey, Thundercat is certainly embarking on a fair old trek. [John Nugent] www.thundercattheamazing.tumblr.com Playing XOYO, London, 10 Jul

Yet Slow Focus is still a wide-eyed wonder of an album, particularly as it warms up; penultimate track Stalker emerges from a John Carpenter-esque sci-fi horror motif into a sky high paean, while epic finale Hidden XS is a kinetic belter of childlike melody and pumping percussion. Even though such moments are more understated than on Tarot Sport, when they come, Fuck Buttons still sound untouchable. Quite where the cosmic duo go from here seems an earthly concern. [Darren Carle] Playing Gorilla, Manchester on 9 Sep www.fuckbuttons.com

Bosnian Rainbows

Bosnian Rainbows [Sargent House, out now]

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Former At The Drive-In / The Mars Volta guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López and Les Butcherettes founder Teri Gender Bender come from distinct musical backgrounds, but their new band Bosnian Rainbows – also featuring synth-player Nicci Kasper and ex-Mars Volta drummer Deantoni Parks - is a different entity entirely. Eli is a dark, shamanistic opener; its soaring sonics reject listener preconceptions. The other tracks follow suit: the sweet sway of Turtle Neck collapses into a psychedelic hard rock jam in an instant, and The Eye Fell In Love builds up menacingly before settling into a gorgeous lead melody. It’s weird, retro-indebted pop with a sturdy, punk backbone. Teri is an alluring presence throughout; she’s passionate and fierce, cautiously echoing the most prolific performers of the 70s and 80s without sounding derivative. Rodríguez-López is infamous for his dictator approach in the studio, but he adopts a collaborative mentality here, complementing the record’s ebb and flow rather than dominating it. [Ross Watson] www.bosnianrainbows.bandcamp.com

Six. By Seven

Star & Dagger

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Love and Peace and Sympathy [Borrowed Tune Motion Pictures, 8 Jul] After a brief spell in the limelight in the late 90s in the wake of debut The Things We Make – which sat somewhere between Britpop’s darker, angst-ridden edges and Mogwai-style post-rock – Nottingham’s Six. By Seven spent a decade in relative obscurity. With Steve Hewitt (Boo Radleys, Placebo) now behind the kit, Sympathy marks a new phase of sorts, though the band’s take on reverb-heavy rock remains mostly unchanged. While the influence of acts like Spacemen 3 remains obvious, Sympathy possesses an impressive emotive power: main songwriter Chris Olley is not afraid to explore expansive rock structures, particularly on tumultuous nine-minute epic Truce. This willingness to embrace the unfashionable probably explains Six. By Seven’s decline in popularity, but it also illustrates their unwavering belief in their sound; this could be the record that reaches a new audience, repaying that faith. [Sam Wiseman] www.sixbyseven.bandcamp.com Playing Sound Control, Manchester, 26 Jul

Tomorrowland Blues [Cauldron 333, 22 Jul] Two-thirds of Star & Dagger’s membership (White Zombie’s Sean Yseult, Dava She Wolf from Cycle Sluts from Hell) should give budding listeners some idea of what to expect from their new project featuring vocalist Von Hesseling. Opener In My Blood features low-end guitar grooves, high-pitched instrumental wails and bluesy solos. Hesseling’s vocals are strong and commanding; her presence helps to fully form the image the band presumably wishes to project – bad-ass rock ‘n roll built for late nights in dive bars. Sleazy vibes are repeatedly driven home, though there’s the occasional surprise moment: the title track contains brief flashes of melancholia, and Selling All Things slows down the tempo and thickens up the tones for some retro-doom worship à la Electric Wizard. These switch-ups are well-timed, appearing just as the same old tropes begin to get monotonous. A fun novelty piece built for those about to rock. [Ross Watson] www.stardagger.blogspot.co.uk

Fists

Walton

Benin City

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Phantasm [Gringo / Hello Thor , 8 Jul]

Beyond [Hyperdub, 1 Jul]

Fires in the Park [Audio Doughnuts, 1 Jul]

Phantasm won’t be lauded for its originality, channelling as it does a scrappy fuzz-pop sound that’s grown endlessly familiar: a garage-rock lip curl here, a whammy-barred guitar twang there, with insouciance across the board and brusque distortion wall to wall. But there are plenty other reasons to salute Nottingham quintet Fists, who pack their debut with enough scuffed melodies and energy that initial feelings of déjà vu soon subside. Producer Rory Brattwell (aka former Test Icicle/current Warm Brains bloke Rory Attwell) helps bring out their best side, keeping the edges rough on bluesy opener Go but ensuring the compact hooks of tracks like Solvent (a sort of Britpopped Bleached) or Big Wave (a Fever to Tell-type rock number) aren’t swallowed by the lofi clamour. It does the trick: by the time breezy closer Try comes around, Phantasm has comfortably transcended its chosen limitations and delivered something decidedly satisfying. [Chris Buckle]

Walton moves away from the dubstep and garage sounds of his early EPs, broadening his scope to take in influences from house, techno and experimental electronic music. There’s a familiar, lived-in feel to many cuts here, with drums that evoke 808 patterns, samples chopped in a way that recall classic early dance music, and occasional nods to acid house in the basslines of tracks like Help Me Out. Polished, but never over-produced or self-indulgent – each piece is kept short and punchy, with intelligent, well thought-out structures. The highlights – from the bubbling synths and washedout female vocals of Can’t U See, to the glitchy minimalism of You & Me, to the filtered house of Every Night – have the timeless feel of music from a simpler, more dancefloor-oriented era. That knack for knowing how much is just enough is rare, meaning Beyond is something of an understated triumph. [Bram E. Gieben]

Like M.I.A.’s Kala or The Bug’s London Zoo, it’s hard to imagine Fires in the Park ’s particular blend of global influences being forged in any city other than the UK capital. The debut from the trio of Joshua Idehen (vocals), Theo Buckingham (drums) and Tom Leaper (sax/ synths/samples) is an impressively distinctive fusion of hip-hop, dancehall, jazz, dubstep and drum’n’bass; a mixture at its most effective on the kwaito-driven bounce and clatter of Faithless. Elsewhere, Idehen’s sense of urban angst dominates the tone of the record, which is awash with vaguely threatening bass rumblings, portentous sax stabs and lurching, staccato rhythms. While these attempts to generate a sense of dystopian drama sometimes misfire (see the lumbering dub of Pencils), the sheer breadth of genres drawn upon ensures that Fires never feels tired or repetitive. For all of their influences, Benin City also maintain a remarkable sense of cohesion. [Sam Wiseman]

www.fistsmusic.blogspot.co.uk

www.twitter.com/WaltonMCR

www.soundcloud.com/benin-city

Review

RECORDS

THE SKINNY

Bell X1

Lust for Youth

Gauntlet Hair

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Chop Chop [Belly Up Records, 1 Jul]

Perfect View [Sacred Bones, 15 Jul]

Stills [Dead Oceans, 15 Jul]

For their sixth album, Bell X1 shelve the Talking Heads-aping pop strut and glitchy electronics that flavoured Blue Lights on the Highway and Bloodless Coup in an effort to strip back their songwriting. It’s an understandable urge, but a dangerous one, for they’re not a particularly dynamic troupe, and removing layers only draws attention to this. Nonetheless, Chop Chop achieves moments of elegance, with warm horns elevating Diorama’s easy-listening melodies and The End Is Nigh ticking the ‘anthemic finale’ box ably. But even here Bell X1 betray a lack of personality, with the latter’s strings-hoisted passions glancing where they should pierce – and a shimmering guitar line straight out of Where the Streets Have No Name suggests they’re still keeping tabs on those other Dublin-born chart-toppers named after military aircraft. [Chris Buckle]

Perfect View is Swedish producer Hannes Norrvide’s second album as Lust for Youth, arriving hot on the heels of last year’s Growing Seeds. Actually, make that cold on the heels, for there’s little warmth to be found in these bewitching beats and frosty synths, despite a definite dialling-down of Seeds’ confrontational distortion. There’s a pop core to these compositions – in the muffled New Order-ish intro to Another Day, or bonus track I Found Love in a Different Place’s tight hooks – but it’s a damaged one, with a presiding claustrophobia neutralising any dancefloor urges. Narcotic synth lines, haunted shouts and metonymic thuds provide the three corners of its unshifting aesthetic, and while it’s effectively hypnotic, it also feels overly exposed. With its noir heart permanently shrouded, Perfect View proves to be a record to detachedly admire, rather than lust after or fall for. [Chris Buckle]

Gunning for nostalgia, Andy R and Craig Nice reunite for a second Gauntlet Hair LP. Inspired by the dark angst of favourite childhood bands, the Colorado pair unveil a gloomy album full of murky depths and jangly highs. Clocking in at a mere half hour – but continuing their signature reverb-cloaked melodies in a fuzz of drum-machine beats and muffled vocals – Stills is the brief but conflicted output of an otherwise talented band. Moving past the weak opening (Human Nature and Spew are more discordant than ambient) and allowing the foamy sound to swell into tuneful peaks reaps a few rewards. Bad Apple and New To It spin like night-time carousels, and the colourful wails of Falling Out conjure a now-standard Animal Collective nod. Ultimately, though, any worthwhile glow is lost in a shoegazey fog, and the overall impression is damp and wanting. [George Sully]

www.bellx1.com

www.facebook.com/LustForYouth.Official

www.gauntlethair.net

Laki Mera

Turn All Memory to White Noise [Just Music, 15 Jul]

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Laki Mera’s second album (third if you count 2008’s Clutter, which the band apparently doesn’t for whatever reason) emerges in the wake of two significant changes: drummer Tim Harbinson’s decision to quit the band early in the writing process, followed by the dissolution of a nineyear relationship between core members Andrea Gobbi and Laura Donnelly. Both schisms are felt in the resulting work; the former in the prevalence of processed beats, the latter in Donnelly’s lyrics, which by her own admission are punctuated with oblique references to the split, but neither’s mark is negative, with the band’s pristine aesthetic of electronic lullabies and nocturnal sophistipop benefitting, if anything, form a bit of added frisson. The album’s length is a hindrance, however, with a scattering of repetition and the occasional listless stretch. Nonetheless, tracks like Come Alone offer sufficient riches to forgive it its excesses and focus instead on its clarity and poise. [Chris Buckle] www.lakimera.co.uk

Nadine Shah

Any Port in a Storm [Fire Records, 22 Jul]

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With its gently tremulous textures and smoky intensity, Nadine Shah’s voice is a revelation on Love Your Dum and Mad, her first full-length album following a brace of acclaimed EPs. The title’s spoonerism is a red herring: across these 11 tracks, Shah selects and delivers her words with precision, affording every syllable space to register atop a crepuscular bed of despondent, predominantly pianobased arrangements. From the propulsive and dramatic Runaway to the richly gothic Dreary Town (remarkably, the first song the Whitburn-born chanteuse ever wrote), Shah evidences her compositional flair time and time again – even if the singularly lugubrious tone can at times feel arduous. Thankfully, said weight is largely alleviated through moments of crisp beauty such as the brass swells of Used it All and the final refrain of closer Winter Reigns, the latter imparting a lingering air of fragility and finesse. All in all, pretty gucking food. [Chris Buckle]

If the opening one-two of Junk Shop and Lesbian Wife didn’t offer enough cues - the former all languid guitar and sneers, the latter breezier despite lyrical loneliness – the third track on Any Port In A Storm lyrically nails Scott & Charlene’s Wedding’s schtick. “I haven’t done much changing in what I love since 1993,” drawls Craig Dermody over a top-of-theclass take on the It’s A Shame About Ray school of slacker-rock, and true to his word the influences are of a comparable vintage throughout, with Dando and Malkmus acting as key spirit guides. The second foundation of Dermody’s sound isn’t a time but a place, with the relocated Aussie continuing to display love for (and anxieties about) his adopted New York, from Fakin’ NYC’s messy pop hooks to Gammy Leg’s grisly postcard home. But despite the borrowed touchstones, Any Port… avoids feeling second-hand thanks to Dermody’s keen conviction and ear for a winning chorus. [Chris Buckle]

www.nadineshah.co.uk Playing Soup Kitchen, Manchester, 10 Oct

www.scottandcharleneswedding.bandcamp.com Playing The Shipping Forecast, Liverpool, 7 Aug

Sam Thomas

Teho Teardo and Blixa Bargeld

Ikonika

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Blind Theatre [Just Music, 22 Jul]

Still Smiling [Specula, 1 Jul]

On the cover of Blind Theatre, a young boy fashions spaceships from boxes and bottles while behind, a full-size shuttle blasts itself skywards. It’s not the most nuanced of images, but it’s apt for an album that soars with ambition whilst still conveying a palpable sense of childlike curiosity. Twenty-five-year-old composer and gifted multi-instrumentalist Sam Thomas weds rocks, both post and prog, with epic, goosebump-raising soundscapes rubbing shoulders with flights of flamboyant extravagance. Sometimes, both traits co-exist within a single track, as evidenced by opener Gift’s journey from dappled guitar ripples and sci-fi vocal snippets, through cinematic strings and crunchy, Matt Bellamy-ish distortion, to a grandiose finale straight out of a seventies rock opera – all in the space of three and a half minutes. The rest is less capricious, but no less intriguing, with Lanterns’ mountainous conclusion and Temples’ slow-burn vistas giving a clear picture of Thomas’s potential. [Chris Buckle]

This collaboration between Einstürzende Neubauten’s Blixa Bargeld and Italian composer Teho Teardo reveals a strikingly symbiotic relationship between the pair, who worked together on theatre and film soundtracks before Still Smiling was conceived. The instrumentation sets violin, cello, piano and guitar against metallic percussion, while Bargeld ponderously intones vocal contributions in English, German and Italian; the musical palette brings out a tenderness in Bargeld’s vocals that is less evident in his other projects. That said, the tone of the pieces often recalls Neubauten’s dark, nervous tension, although their sharp-edged, post-industrial aesthetic is here replaced with a hazier atmosphere – particularly on the mournful, fluttering strings of songs like Come Up and See Me. While this makes Still Smiling a less challenging and complex record than some of Bargeld’s other work, it does have a rare space and quietude, which emphasises the deadpan, melancholy humour of his lyrics and vocal style. [Sam Wiseman]

www.samthomasmusic.com

www.tehoteardo.com

Roedelius Schneider

Icky Blossoms

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Tiden [Bureau B, 1 Jul]

Icky Blossoms [Saddle Creek, 22 Jul]

Between them, Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Stefan Schneider have contributed significantly to the development of ambient music since the 70s: Roedelius through his work in pioneering electronica acts Cluster and Harmonia, and Schneider via post-rock innovators including To Rococo Rot. Accordingly, there’s an intuitive logic about their collaboration on Tiden, which comprises 13 meditative instrumentals entwining sparse, Satie-like piano with hypnotic percussive loops; at its best, the LP recalls the dreamy, reflective tone of later Labradford. While both artists’ trademarks are evident here - Roedelius’ proggy synthscapes, Schneider’s icy minimalism – it’s the latter’s influence that feels strongest. The average track length hovers around a decidedly un-Cluster-like three minutes, and the pulsing beats which ebb and flow beneath jazzy synth chords, will be familiar to fans of Schneider’s other work. Tiden is unapologetically slight, but it’s also a carefully measured, cohesive document that joins some dots between two central strains of experimental instrumentalism. [Sam Wiseman]

It’s sometimes tough to distinguish between maverick eclecticism and plain old muddlement, with Icky Blossoms exhibit A. The pedigree of its originators certainly makes extending the benefit of the doubt a temptation – with Derek Pressnall of Tilly and the Wall providing the band’s multi-instrumentalist hub, Dave Sitek producing, and sundry contributions from notable Nebraskans (including members of The Faint and Bright Eyes), there’s no dearth of talent beneath its shiny surfaces. But past form and good intentions can’t disguise the record’s inconsistency, with its triumphs (chic electro-pop opener Heat Lightning; I Am’s propulsive indie-dance fuzz; the atmospheric sweep of closer Perfect Vision, reminiscent of Sleigh Bells at their calmest) frequently cancelled out by its misjudgements (electroclash relic Sex to the Devil’s babbling mantras and tacky beats; Babes’ painfully awkward attempt at Ladytron chic). Its one-stepforward/two-steps-back nature is maddening, though there’s enough expertise in the peaks to make further investigation worthwhile. [Chris Buckle]

www.bureau-b.com/roedeliusschneider.php

www.ickyblossoms.com

July 2013

Scott & Charlene’s Wedding

Love Your Dum and Mad [Apollo, 22 Jul]

RECORDS

Aerotropolis [Hyperdub, 29 Jul] Emerging on to London’s bass scene with 2010’s Contact, Love, Want, Have, Ikonika (aka Sara Abdel-Hamid) presented an amalgamation of 80s retro-futurism, chiptune, Day–Glo synth washes and uptempo garage rhythms. That distinctive combination remains in evidence on Aerotropolis, though some of Contact ’s rougher edges have been tidied up. There’s a crisp, poppy edge here, particularly on Ikonika’s first track to feature vocals, courtesy of Jessy Lanza: the soulful, house-inflected Beach Mode (Keep It Simple). What makes Aerotropolis a different listening experience to Contact, however, is not any kind of radical development in sound, but a sense that the context has changed. Where Abdel-Hamid’s debut was an early indicator of an increasingly fragmented postdubstep landscape, its follow-up consolidates her approach; bass music continues to change at a bewildering rate, but Ikonika deliberately limits her sonic parameters, thus illustrating the value of maintaining a long-term focus. [Sam Wiseman] www.ikonika.tumblr.com Playing Fabric with KODE9, London, 9 Aug

The Top Five 1 2 3 4 5

Fuck Buttons

Slow Focus

Adam Stafford

Imaginary Walls Collapse

Thundercat

Apocalypse

Bosnian Rainbows

Daughn Gibson

Me Moan

Review

Africa Oyé

Sefton Park, Liverpool, 22-23 Jun

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After last year’s washout, Liverpool’s free, weekend-long celebration of all things African returned to Sefton Park at the end of June, with the month’s questionable weather deterring no one. The festival’s growth over the past decade has been enormous and unrelenting, and this year the crescent of clothes stalls, food shacks and activity tents that arcs around the main stage area takes 15 minutes to walk around. It’s a party, and it’s a big one. ZongZing Allstars kick off proceedings with

OSIBISA

and as they triumphantly ease into their showpiece tune Sunshine Day, everybody realises why they sounded so familiar. Day two, and the wild winds blow. It takes the truly determined to turn up at the start, dressed in preparation for the dreadful weather forecast. Later on, stalls on the downwind side of the park disappear one by one, the gusts helping them to make a speedy exit. The audience grows, however, and children fly kites and blow bubbles into the sky. Children are everywhere, it seems, including on stage, where the Beatlife Drum Troupe, down for the day from their centre in Anfield, knock out a thrilling 15-minute samba wake-up call.

a set of Congolese soukous that’s as bright and fun as their name implies. Taking their partystarting role very seriously, they lead the audience in Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes, and organise an on-stage dance-off. The gregarious mood of the weekend is settled. Son Yambu present son cubano, the AfroCuban sound, which reflects the international and multicultural ethos of the festival as a whole. With singer Yuri clad in a pink hoodie hurriedly shoved over a leopard-print dress to deter the drizzle, they get the crowd moving with a Cuban adaptation of I Will Survive. Later, Afro-pop giants Osibisa close Saturday’s business. Everyone has heard Osibisa, whether they know it or not,

Photos: David Howarth

MOVEMA DANCE LESSONS

Yaaba Funk, a party band formed at a party, sound like a sub-Saharan Basement Jaxx. Atongo Zimba consolidates Ghana’s dominance of this year’s line-up with a steadily assured set on the two-stringed koliko that sends the audience into a reverential trance despite Zimba’s invitations to dance. Dele Sosimi is the first to play Afrobeat – familiar to everyone as the music of Fela Kuti – and he presents a loose, bright and improvbased set, the best of the weekend. After an intense and aggressive set by Mokoomba, the audience disperses for another year, fingers already crossed for next year’s skies. [James Hampson]

Bass Clef

Soup Kitchen, Manchester, 19 Jun

DANIEL BACHMAN

Daniel Bachman

The Castle Hotel, Manchester, 19 Jun

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America is a big deal again these days. Every new restaurant seems to be a gourmet burger palace; we watch whatever HBO throws at us, and there has been, in recent years, an ever-growing interest in twangy, Appalachian folk guitar stylings, as exemplified in the work of William Tyler and tonight’s entertainment, Virginia’s Daniel Bachman. Two local support acts set the mood. Tom Settle opens with a set of scratchy, inhibited instrumentals played out through a deeply shy stage persona. Eventually, he begins to sing, in a soaring voice reminiscent of Elliott Smith, as he reworks a traditional folk song and a Jefferson Airplane cover in his own style. The subtly

Review

named dbh follows, with a more rigidly rhythmic style played out on classical guitar. Bachman begins his set with a rousing number performed on slide guitar. He tells us that the piece is about his sister, who is presumably loose-limbed and brazenly unpredictable, if the song represents her well. He follows it with a party tune, which starts bright and steady, then builds into a fiercely pulsating rhythmic crescendo. The evening is a short one consisting of long songs, played with entrancing concentration and humility, and Bachman mumbles his stage banter at the floor – where audience members sit, as every seat in the house is taken. He finishes with the timely and seasonal Honeysuckle Reel; the song’s sprightly, melodious folk wafts over us, like the scent of a summer night’s flower. [James Hampson]

Photo: Richard Manning

Ralph Cumbers is a multi-instrumentalist, but not a conventional one. His one-man show under the tag Bass Clef is a demonstration of brass and wind instruments teamed with a synth, all knobtwists and switch-slides. He makes a humble entrance on to the stage, the beginning of his show marked not by an introduction but with a fusion of techno and garage roaring from the speakers. His set begins in a comfortable and modest way, the tracks, as they progress, sharing with each other steady offbeats and solid foundations. The audience reacts with heavy shifts of feet, and lucid headand-shoulder sways. The pulsing beats emanating from Cumbers’ synth are soon accompanied by delayed blasts from his trombone, which mutate – along with the machine’s throbs – to faintly emulate a siren; perhaps as an alert to the audience’s subconscious that Bass Clef is a name to be remembered. This orchestral mimicry continues with him teasing his slide whistle, which amalgamates with the sound of his more shrill metal pea whistle – the two manifesting as a sort of wind section. His inclusion of non-conformist objects as

BASS CLEF

instruments lends his set several unpredictable turns, and brings with is a sense of carnival. Bass Clef’s sound is a welcome, refreshing take on techno, filled with dark but delicate glitchy beats and global sonics. Tonight’s set – part of a Slip Discs showcase – feels like it would be more fitting of a late night event, but Cumbers’ satisfied audience seem to have lost all sense of time. [Edwina Chan]

through the crowd. Winterfield, Freeman and Ma seemingly have infinite reserves of energy, and The Deaf Institute, Manchester, 20 Jun the crowd are their mirror for the evening, prorrrrr jecting as much enthusiasm as they’re given back Promoting their debut album Howlin, Jagwar Ma towards the stage. – Gabriel Winterfield, Jack Freeman and Jono Closing track The Throw sets free an array Ma – assume their appropriate positions in front of happy pop patterns, and hypes the audience of a sold-out crowd in one of Manchester’s most to the hilt: their bodies bounce as if rigged with beloved spots. Despite their Australian roots, the internal springs. It doesn’t matter that outside is band’s sound feels reminiscent of Manchester a fog of drizzle, because belters like this provide circa the late 80s – this, then, could be the most generous bursts of sunshine. fitting venue they’ve yet played. Their openBy this point, Jagwar Ma have certainly fuling track, What Love?, carries ingredients of filled their role for the evening: to entertain. The Madchester’s carefree, fluid jangles, with modern static atmosphere they’ve created remains long synth frequencies and a pinch of psychedelic after they exit the stage – and tonight’s liberation groove thrown in for good measure. of pop vibes atop thick electronic beats brings a With the audience’s full attention, the famil- reassuring suggestion of a Madchester comeiar Come Save Me courses through the speakers, back, albeit tweaked by the passing decades. its delivery sending a wave of electricity buzzing [Edwina Chan]

Jagwar Ma

MUSIC

THE SKINNY

Photo: Nick Bojdo

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Making the Grade Meet Midland, one of the UK’s most exciting producers, who this month marks the launch of his own label, Graded, with a new EP

idland, otherwise known as Harry Aguis, spent an ex-pat childhood in both Africa and Greece before ultimately settling in Leeds as a postgrad, drawn by cheap rent and a great music scene. Here, he met contemporaries such as Ben UFO and Pariah, founders of Hessle Audio along with David Kennedy (aka Pearson Sound). While Hessle blossomed, Midland has, slowly but surely, emerged as one of the most nuanced and creative young producers around, trading not in the strands of what quickly became known as ‘UK bass’, but a rich and urgent house and techno sound as well as warming up the room for bigger names all over Europe while never playing second fiddle. This summer, it’s already difficult to navigate any dance music festival without the distinctive synth line of Midland’s Trace drifting from all sorts of tents. A real breakthrough anthem, it followed a series of releases on Will Saul’s Aus label, as well as collaborations with the likes of Pearson Sound (who collaborated with Aguis on his first ever release, in 2009) and Breach. The next Midland release will drop on 15 July through his own personally curated label, Graded. Entitled Archive 01/Realtime, it could be his strongest work yet and, at this stage, surely a dream signing for any respected label. So why choose to release it on his own platform? “The idea of being able to dictate how, where and in what form the music is presented

Interview: John Thorp

is a very appealing idea,” Aguis tells us. The busy release schedule at Aus and an urgency to get his music out also informed his decision to found Graded, a name that he feels is indicative of the sound of his music in general (Midland tunes are generally rendered through cassette tape). Despite his personal analogue leanings, Graded will trade digitally, as well as on wax. “This is something I thought about long and hard when starting the label, but the more I thought about it, the more I realised it’s not my place to dictate how people should acquire and digest the music,” considers Aguis. “The focus of the label is presenting a beautiful vinyl product, and I want people who buy the vinyl to be rewarded. But I think it is unfair that someone who desperately wants to hear the music and doesn’t have turntables, should be subjected to listening to YouTube rips.” A Midland DJ set utilises a Serato and vinyl deck set-up, with Aguis estimating that he spends “around £80” a week on new or old records for his sets, which are then digitised for performance. “I am not bothered about having all the new stuff,” he says of his performances. “Everyone has that. If a song is worth playing in six months’ time then I am happy to pay for it then. For me there is nothing better than watching a room freak out to something a bit off the beaten track.” This attitude has led to some truly exciting gigs, including a forthcoming back-to-back

MIDLAND

at Space Ibiza’s We Love Sundays with Paul Woolford, as well as a recent warm-up for an unfortunately delayed Joy Orbison that stretched to nearly five hours. Even on bigger stages with more established artists, a Midland set is still all about pacing. “It’s a balancing act,” Aguis reckons. “Knowing you have these bigger tunes to play, but timing when you play them and keeping people interested in between. If you play three massive piano tunes in a row, then they lose their impact.” Despite his increasing appeal and knack for re-discovering tunes, he doesn’t see himself as a tastemaker “at all”. Once infamously retreating on a pilgrimage to Spain away from recorded music altogether, Aguis now cites the likes of Boomkat and Phonica to keep him in the loop like the rest of us, as well as “kicking round the internet, going on little tangents.” Not to mention, in the search

for transcendent records, being friends with the likes of Ben UFO does no harm. “I have massively enjoyed being involved in every part of the process, from attending the mastering and cutting the locked grooves, to shaping the artwork with our designer Alex Sullivan and beyond,” enthuses Aguis, when we insinuate that setting up a label mustn’t be an easy task in any instance, never mind while juggling production and touring. Aguis sees a potential future for Graded in which he is able to release material from producers and DJs he wishes to bring to the fore, but in the meantime, expect more releases from Midland that surpass his own ethos. Graded label’s debut EP, Archive 01/Realtime, is available on vinyl and digital 15 Jul www.facebook.com/gradeduk

Heads Down South Africa’s Shangaan Electro craze reduces crowds the world over to jibbering masses of jelly-like limbs. The movement’s head honcho, Dog, reveals the drive behind his fervid, furious dance phenomenon Interview: John Thorp DOG – SHANGAAN ELECTRO

it of a weird one, but bear with us: how fast do you like to dance? Do you prefer that top endof-night disco shuffle at 115 beats per minute, or are you more comfortable with the rather en vogue house chug of 120bpm? Perhaps you prefer things at the classic, rave-ready 128, or skirting dubstep’s template of 140 – but, to misquote Doc Brown, how do you feel about gunning it up to 188? Shangaan, a traditional South African genre, was – if legend is to be believed – reinvented in 2005 by a man from the province of Limpopo, who goes by the name of Dog (or, Richard ‘Nozinja’ Mthethwa). Taking the style’s structure and adding gleefully sugary MIDI keyboards and mind-bending vocal samples reminiscent of UK hardcore, this fresher version’s hallmark is the difficult but playful drum patterning that energises local dancers in Shangaan’s home streets. In July, Dog brings his homegrown phenomenon to the UK for a summer tour, showcasing

July 2013

some of the scene’s most influential acts, as well as Shangaan dancers, who aim to aid what may be nervous British feet in getting into the music’s fractured groove. The last time Dog was in the UK, he was collaborating with Damon Albarn (but of course), a huge fan who helped to organise the release of a Shangaan primer compilation on his label, Honest Jon’s, in 2010. Over Skype, Dog tells us that he has “many exciting new styles” to demonstrate on the tour, though when asked if he’s happy with the way his style of Shangaan has developed, he muses, “yes and no.” “I don’t like that the younger musicians don’t sing in the traditional style that Shangaan is meant to be sung,” he explains, revealing a surprisingly traditionalist bent for a man whose musical teaching seems so intent on madness. “But,” he adds, with characteristic optimism, “it shows that Shangaan is a proper musical style now – people take it seriously as with other genres.” So far, Shangaan has toured cutting-edge

festivals, such as Barcelona’s Sónar and Roskilde in Denmark with much success – but what does Dog feel the music possesses that western dance culture perhaps lacks? “Africans say it’s the combination of three things,” he supposes. “The unique sound, the dance – the speed! – and the vibrant part of the dance style, a lot of people miss that... They’ve never seen people dance at that speed for an hour, non-stop. That’s the reason the world has been watching us.” Dog will be teaching a few moves himself on tour, but will also be joined by the faintly terrifying looking Tshetsha Boys, two high-spirited dancers in clown masks who Dog reckons are designed to “appeal to the kids” – saying much for the bravery, not to mention athleticism of South Africa’s youth. “The workshops allow people to feel the spirit we are feeling,” Dog explains. At its peak, Shangaan was shifting around 50,000 units a year, and Dog says he’ll also be bringing some unique Shangaan merchandise

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along to the UK “that we’ll be able to wear at home as we dance to Shangaan.” A cultural innovator, Dog is no less a great salesman, too. Readers may wonder if Dog’s carefree cottage industry has any sort of political discourse in relation to government and governance within South Africa, or whether his endeavours are simply about freedom of the body and expression. “Shangaan is too small for politics,” he claims, neatly. “Politicians are ruthless, it’s not something I could imagine myself in. If you want stress, join politics... If you want to enjoy yourselves, join Shangaan.” Faktion, HotMilk and Islington Mill present Shangaan Electro w/Chris Menist and Joey B, Islington Mill, Salford, 19 Jul, dance workshop 6-7.30pm (free), gig and club 8pm-4am (£9) Deep Hedonia and The Kazimier present Shangaan Electro w/Auntie Flo, Thristian, Yola Fatoush, Bantam Lions and Banana Hill, The Kazimier Garden, Liverpool, 20 Jul, 4pm-late (£10.50) www.honestjons.com

Preview

Clubbing Highlights Experience James Murphy’s idea of sonic perfection and lose yourself to the furious rhythm of South Africa’s Shangaan Electro dance craze in this month’s round-up Words: John Thorp Illustration: Rachel Davey

anchester International Festival (MIF) offers a rich selection of complex, subversive and challenging works but when all’s said and done, they’re not afraid to open up their pavilion in Festival Square for an unashamed boogie either. Throughout the month, you can expect a range of free DJ sets from the likes of Dave Haslam and the funk-indebted Andrea Trout to reliable party starters such as Will TRAMP! and alternative gay scene favourites Drunk At Vogue, who are even hosting a whole opening party of their own on Fri 5 Jul (£10). Two weeks later on the 20th, and Haslam will be taking over the space with a one-off return of his classic night Yellow (£10), joined by Red Laser Disco’s inimitable Woody and MC Kwasi on the mic. Hiyahiya! On a slightly larger scale, MIF will also be presenting another one-off: Despacio, a club with a soundsystem engineered to precision by LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy. Murphy and close friends and collaborators the Dewaele brothers (better known as 2ManyDJs/Soulwax) will be piloting three nights of all-vinyl obscurities from 18-20 Jul in the faded glamour of New Century Hall (£15, 19 and 20 Jul sold out, tickets still available for the 18th). Strange venues are also the order of the day over in Liverpool, where promoters Freeze and Little Sister are pulling together on Sat 13 Jul for a party that stretches from day to night. Freeze have been putting on events that incorporate Liverpool’s unique and grandiose history and design for some time now, having previously hosted events in St George’s Hall and down below the city in the retired Williamson Tunnels. For this event, they’re bringing in Brazilian techno master Gui Boratto for what will no doubt be a spectacular daytime set (3-11pm) in the decay of the city’s ominous, Blitz-damaged St Luke’s, better known as The Bombed-Out Church. After Boratto – ably supported by Tobias Thomas and Jemmy – has completed his set shortly after sundown, most are expected to move on to Little Sister’s afterparty from 11pm into the early hours at The Kazimer to witness the man who signed Boratto himself, Kompakt head honcho Michael Mayer, currently celebrating 20 years of his label. (£17 for Boratto at St Luke’s Church, £10 for Mayer at The Kazimier, £25 for both parties.) Despite its students still roosting elsewhere, Manchester offers up a fair few parties of interest over the summer, with the affordable likes of Hoya:Hoya (27 Jul, The Roadhouse), Swing Ting and Work Them (20 and 6 Jul, both Soup Kitchen, £3 and £5 respectively) putting in shifts until it’s nearly light. Gorilla, meanwhile, continues to host big line-ups, including a taste of Offenbach when legendary Frankfurt club Robert Johnson brings some of its key figures to Whitworth Street West on Sat 6 Jul. Headlined by Roman Flügel and Gerd Janson, expect the kind of jacking house, techno, rarities, obscurities and shamelessly big tunes that the club has become known for over a decade. Flügel in particular has had a steady reign of mad records over the past ten years, including his legendary Geht’s Noch?,

Preview

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although yours truly is currently very impressed with the head-spinning More&More&More. Summer Party Tool - Tip! Support comes from Lee Rands and Scott Grant (£12). The following weekend, Jamie xx takes a little time out from his band’s ultra-exclusive MIF residency – the location of which has yet to be revealed, but our sources are strongly hinting at Australian theme bar Walkabout just off Deansgate – to grace Gorilla, courtesy of Now Wave (12 Jul, £12.50). Jamie’s re-edits and remixes are pretty ubiquitous at this point, and as a DJ he’s known to never stop digging, honouring his teenage heritage as a proper selector before he formed one of the most accidentally influential bands in the current pop landscape. Jamie will be joined by Hoya mainstay Illum Sphere, whose debut LP is out on Ninja Tune later this year – so perhaps expect a preview of various new material as well as his usual eclectic style. Club Suicide became a minor institution when it ran during a very different time in Manchester between 2000 and 2004. Embodying a ‘whatever works’ spirit that is unfortunately becoming far less prevalent in modern-day clubbing, the club saw debut performances from the likes of Patrick Wolf and MIA, while the can’tmix-won’t-mix music policy saw The Fall rub up against grime-y techno. Back for one night only at Islington Mill on Sat 13 Jul (£6), the club’s return comes with the backing of Mill founder and former Suicide regular Bill Campbell. Refusing to go retro, the night promises a range of music new and old – and they’ve even put together a superb pick of 20 tunes ahead of the night that typically stretches from Chromatics to Factory Floor and New York Dolls (dig it out at ticket outlets online). After last month’s appearance from Prosumer, Content are bringing us yet another well respected techno legend for a three-hour set – this time hailing from the US rather than Germany – with Josh Wink set to grace the basement of Joshua Brooks on Fri 26 Jul (£12). Wink’s high-energy tribal sound was the hallmark of his homeland’s rave scene in the early 90s, and he’s best known for the still inescapable anthem Higher State of Consciousness, but it’s his surefooted DJ sets that have ensured a renewed and devoted following over almost 20 years. One for the heads, without doubt. Finally, for something similarly tribal and a little different, the leaders of cult South African dance movement Shangaan Electro will be visiting both Manchester’s Islington Mill (19 Jul, £9) and Liverpool’s Kazimer (20 Jul, £10.50) to showcase their skittish, rapid-fire moves. Such is their speed, they’re even incorporating a dance lesson into each gig – and the Liverpool instalment is rendered even more intriguing with a live set from Auntie Flo of Huntleys & Palmers, whose ‘world’-indebted sessions are something of a minor wonder. Ticket prices are advance unless otherwise specified; some events may be more on the door

THE SKINNY

Under the Influence: Justin Robertson The smart sartorialist and crate-digger extraordinaire picks five records currently shaping his cosmos, ahead of his appearance at Beat-Herder Festival this month

Interview: John Thorp

JUSTIN ROBERTSON

2. Hookworms – Pearl Mystic (Gringo Records) I love this band. There’s some demented space rock stylings on this album, a really dense sound with a lot of heavy echo and sensual fuzz that lifts it out of the ordinary pastiche and creates something really unique. I’m really interested in doing some quite densely layered stuff to complement

July 2013

DEEP HEDONIA & THE KAZIMIER PRESENT

3. Inter-Groupie Psychotherapeutic Elastic Band – Floating (from the 1971 7” vinyl on BYG Records) A real beauty this one. I think Vangelis and Argiris Koulouris from Aphrodite’s Child are responsible for the mesmerising psych-cum-prochant. It just builds and builds with a cosmic feel and good vocal refrain holding it all together – a real head-turner. I’m currently writing the new Deadstock 33s album, and I’m really feeling the hypnotic vocal scat. I might liberate that idea. 4. Papir – Papir III (El Paraiso Records) I found this on a recent trip to Probe records in Liverpool. I know virtually nothing about this band, but this is really special. I think they are a Danish three-piece, with a psychedelic but very percussive sound that’s just amazingly infectious. It also has a beautiful cover, which is why I picked it up! There are so many gems out there it makes my head spin, but in a good way. 5. Albert Ayler – New Grass (Impulse!) Actually not as taxing as you might think – this album is Ayler’s pop album from 1968. A lot of people hate it, they say he sold out and was attempting to go mainstream. I think it’s a combination that makes it sound really demented in places, and pretty good fun for Albert Ayler. I actually first heard this as a background to a late-70s skateboarding documentary called Skateboard Kings: Tony Alva shredding a pool with Ayler blowing like a mad thing, great vocal by The Soul Singers; like a more wigged out Hair. Justin Robertson plays at The Beat-Herder Festival on The Fortress stage, 5 Jul

SH EL AN EC G TR AA O N

1. Mary Lou Williams – Black Christ of the Andes (Smithsonian Folkways) My mate Richard dug this one out, and he found me a copy for my birthday into the bargain. It’s from the mid-60s I think. This is devotional music rendered as something smoky and demonic. There’s some real dark beauty on this record, which is something I really dig. Melody with an uneasy undercurrent is something I try to achieve in my music.

the sparser Deadstock 33s stuff. Enveloping, mesmerising and odd, this is really inspiring.

AF ON RI E-D CA A N YC ST A RE RN ET IVA VI L O BE F S

s one of the most distinctive and enduring – not to mention best-dressed – characters in UK dance music, Justin Robertson has seen many shades of rave. His legendary Manchester club Spice was occasionally only attended by The Chemical Brothers, but soon became a minor phenomenon, with Robertson earning the status of one of the most in-demand acid and techno DJs in the UK, as well as remixing every decent alternative music act worth touching, from Wire to Midlake. Nowadays, as well as introducing a new generation of dancers to his unique sensibility, Robertson is focused on his Deadstock 33s side project, a krautrock and psychedelia inspired outfit that nonetheless has a foot on the dancefloor. Robertson’s taste in the offbeat and cosmic undoubtedly colours his mixed selection of albums and tracks below, which he describes as the records – old and new – that are best informing his current soundworld.

AU N TIE F LO, YOLA FATOUSH, TH RISTIAN DJ (BOILER ROOM), CERVO AND JVC (BANANA HILL) BANTAM LIONS AND MORE 20/07/13 - 1600 - 0300 THE KAZIMIER GARDENS TICKETS £10.50 ADV

WWW.DEEPHEDONIA.COM W W W . T H E K A Z I M I E R .C O . U K

www.soundcloud.com/justinrobertson-deadstock

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Preview

July Film Events WADJDA

Wadjda

Director: Haifaa al-Mansour Starring: Waad Mohammed, Reem Abdullah, Ahd, Sultan Al Assaf, Abdullrahman Al Gohani Released: 19 Jul Certificate: PG

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Blancanieves

Words: Simon Bland

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Director: Pablo Berger Starring: Maribel Verdú, Daniel Giménez Cacho, Ángela Molina Released: 12 Jul Certificate: 12A

Wadjda is the simple tale of a ten year-old girl whose only desire is to buy a bicycle so she can race with her friends. This précis admittedly suggests a minor work, but when you consider that this is a film made in Saudi Arabia and directed by a woman, its true complexity and courage is revealed. Haifaa al-Mansour’s remarkable debut feature conveys female experience in Saudi Arabia through the eyes of her young title character, played with wonderful spirit and grace by Waad Mohammed. Throughout the picture she exposes us to everyday examples of the oppression that women of all ages face in this particularly patriarchal society. These points are beautifully integrated into her deceptively simple story, the political aspects of which are never allowed to overwhelm the human drama. A satisfying and skilfully made film is always something to celebrate, but largely due to the circumstances from which it arose, Wadjda feels like one of the year’s most vital. [Philip Concannon]

Last year, Hollywood coughed up two takes on Snow White: one camp, one dark, neither much cop. Director Pablo Berger’s interpretation of the Grimm tale offers another angle, both camp and dark, and the result comfortably tops its bigger-budgeted contemporaries by every possible measure: it’s more fun, more stylish and decidedly more memorable. Set in 1920s Seville, the fairytale’s key components are given bold makeovers, as the orphaned daughter of a matador father and flamenco star mother joins a travelling troupe of (six) bull-fighting dwarves, with a bandana-wearing rooster named Pepe as her confidant and a wicked stepmother (played with deranged glamour by Maribel Verdú) plotting her demise. Both silent and monochromatic, Berger evokes the filmmaking fashions of the period in which Blancanieves is set, with iris-in wipes and title cards building a cinephile-pleasing pastiche. But like its iconic apple, there’s poison under Blancanieves’ skin, with happy endings replaced by a desperately sad conclusion of which the hardened Grimms would doubtlessly have approved. [Chris Buckle]

A Field In England

Frances Ha

Director: Ben Wheatley Starring: Reece Shearsmith, Michael Smiley, Julian Barratt Released: 5 Jul Certificate: 15

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Frances (Gerwig) is in free fall. At the grand old age of 27, her hopes of becoming a professional dancer hang by a ballet pump. She’s broke, has no permanent abode, and BFF Sophie (a brilliantly brittle Mickey Sumner) is spending all her time with her square boyfriend. It’s a familiar tale, but such is the mellow fizz of the performances that it feels like we’re watching the first 20-something to have her dreams curdle in New York City. Frances Ha’s twist is it isn’t a downer: when the Big Apple gives Frances lemons, she turns them to sweet, effervescent pop. Gerwig seems to have the same effect on director Baumbach, who up until now had specialised in movies so breathtakingly caustic they should be watched from behind glass – or at least through fingers. Frances Ha trades in the same cringe comedy of The Squid and the Whale and Greenberg, but Gerwig’s deft screwball timing turns every disaster into a grace note. This may be a comedy of awkwardness, but rather than curl, your toes will tap. [Jamie Dunn]

Monsters University

The Deep

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Monsters University both thrives and struggles under the strictures of a prequel. The big advantage of returning to the world of Monsters, Inc. is that it was such a well realised concept first time around. University imagines this monsters’ parallel universe in the familiar college movie genre – complete with nerds, jocks and weirdos; an Animal House with actual animals. Pixar’s humour is razor sharp, here, filling each frame with almost imperceptible sight gags and hilariously impractical monsters, like a legless slug playing hacky sack. It’s a pleasure to be back in such a fun alternate world and, by throwing every joke possible at the screen, this is not only one of the studio’s funniest films, it’s also one of the best comedies of the year. However, revisiting Mike and Sully only serves to highlight a crucial aspect that’s missing: invention. Monsters University, however funny, leaves you longing for a time when the new Pixar film was original and fresh, and not a recycled past glory. [Nathanael Smith]

Review

estival season? We’ve got that beat. On 12 and 13 Jul, the brilliant folks at Picnic Cinema will be hosting two very special screenings of Brit cult gem Withnail & I at Crow Crag, Cumbria. Here, you can experience writer/director Bruce Robinson’s darkly funny, stark, and at times sombre snapshot of generational change direct from Uncle Monty’s remote cottage. And we do mean remote. Attend this camping-only event and your neighbours will be solely Withnail fanatics and sheep. Thankfully, the Picnic Cinema team have plenty planned. In addition to BBQ food, an on-site bar and some picturesque views, you’ll be able to take part in a pub quiz before the movie starts at dusk. Think of it as a little holiday.

Director: Noah Baumbach Starring: Greta Gerwig, Mickey Sumner, Adam Driver, Michael Zegen Released: 26 Jul Certificate: 12A

Ben Wheatley’s new film is a psychedelic tale of the English Civil War, shot in stark monochrome using a combination of digital lenses, giving a rich, textured depth of field, and experimental, macroscopic close-ups. It bears several of Wheatley’s stylstic trademarks – dry, sardonically witty dialogue; stomach-churning violence; and a painterly eye for the English countryside – but achieves something quite different from his first three features. The cast is on fine form. Barratt’s foul-mouthed cockney is almost unrecognisable, coming into focus with the Dan Ashcroft-esque line: “Haven’t you ever seen a man taking a shit before?” Smiley’s grim, dark-eyed villain recalls Vincent Price in the Witchfinder General. Shearsmith, as our hapless protagonist, veers from naïve, fish-out-of-water to bug-eyed, psilocybin-fuelled maniac with an assured charm. Like in Sightseers, the countryside is the star. Wheatley’s rippling grass fields, earthy textures and – when the tripping starts in earnest – kaleidoscopic cross-cuts and dissolves create a powerful sense of the period, recalling Aguirre, the Wrath of God’s bleak naturalism and Valhalla Rising’s theatrical psychedelia. [Bram E. Gieben] Director: Dan Scanlon Starring: Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Helen Mirren, Alfred Molina, Steve Buscemi, Frank Oz Released: 12 Jul Certificate: U

This month there’s an opportunity to watch Withnail & I in a location more remote than Monty’s cottage. There’s also a chance to attend a Q&A with Ben Wheatley about his new film A Field In England and indulge in some classic 80s nostalgia

Director: Baltasar Kormákur Starring: Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Jóhann G. Jóhannsson, Þorbjörg Helga Þorgilsdóttir, Björn Thors, Walter Grímsson Released: 12 Jul Certificate: 12A Trawler fishing has enjoyed something of a cultural boom of late, with shows depicting the hi-octane escapades of burly men with magnificent facial hair popping-up on the telly with the regularity of Peter Andre on ITV3. Timely, then, that Contraband director Baltasar Kormákur should return to his Icelandic roots to tell the alarming true story of one such burly man who swam three miles to shore in the freezing North Atlantic when his vessel sank. Then walked another couple miles to civilisation over rocks of extreme jagginess with no shoes on. Eat your heart out, John McClane. Ólafur Darri Ólafsson brings quiet stoicism and sadness to the role of sole survivor and reluctant hero, Gulli, while Kormákur demonstrates great visual flair without technique ever intruding on content. The ship’s doomed crew are briskly introduced and the harshness of their surrounds and employment beautifully constructed with a pallid, frozen aesthetic. As a portrait of a lifestyle alien to many and the extraordinary resourcefulness of a very simple man, The Deep provides keen insight and empathy. [Chris Fyvie]

FILM

A FIELD IN ENGLAND

From one field in England to another: filmmaker Ben Wheatley debuts his latest offering with a couple of Northern premieres. A Field In England is his mind-bending follow-up to last year’s schizophrenic caravan slasher Sightseers and can be found at both Liverpool’s FACT and Cornerhouse Manchester on 5 Jul. Julian Barratt and Reece Shearsmith star in this twisted tale following a group of civil war deserters who embark on a psychedelic detour while in pursuit of treasure. The screenings are followed by a satellite Q&A with the director and selected cast members. With Wheatley perhaps the most intriguing UK filmmaker working today, attending this one should be a no-brainer. Transporting the spirit of New York City to Liverpool, Brooklyn Mixer host two very different takes on gritty Manhattan life this month starting with Walter Hill’s The Warriors on 3 Jul and ending with Larry Clark’s Kids on 10 Jul. The former is a dystopian look at gang culture run amok, the latter is arguably scarier: a visceral and unflinching glimpse into the dark side of teen relationships. Kids boasts performances so shockingly real that its cast, rumour has it, were plagued by angry viewers during the years following its release. Each screening is followed by a movie-inspired DJ set lasting long into the night, so start spreading the news. Meanwhile, Manchester’s Dancehouse Theatre will be going in search of One-Eyed Willie’s treasure on 11 Jul with Richard Donner’s retro kids classic The Goonies. And if it’s nostalgia you’re after, head to Liverpool’s FACT on 13 Jul for an 80s fantasy double-bill featuring Willow and Labyrinth. Skin tight spandex and dodgy muppets sadly not included.

THE SKINNY

Parker

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Director: Pablo Larraín Starring: Gael García Bernal, Alfredo Castro, Luis Gnecco Released: Out now Certificate: 15 After Tony Manero and Post Mortem assayed General Pinochet’s dictatorship through the lenses of murder drama and icy satire respectively, Pablo Larraín’s take on Chile’s oppressive past adopts a different approach. With No, Larraín practices what the film’s protagonist – advertising wunderkind René Saavedra (Bernal) – preaches: to bring a political message to the masses, you have to seduce them. It tackles Chile's 1988 plebiscite in unabashedly entertaining fashion, mirroring the way its characters formulate their antiauthoritarian media campaign. Larraín evokes the era smartly, with period detail and artfully dated visuals, creating a backdrop for his triumph-of-the-underdog narrative. But just as Saavedra’s appropriation of advertising grammar serves a political end, No’s surface conventionality sweetens a subversive core, which shows through most clearly in its downbeat coda. [Chris Buckle]

Post Tenebras Lux

Director: Carlos Reygadas Starring: Adolfo Jiménez Castro, Nathalia Acevedo, Willebaldo Torres Released: 22 Jul Certificate: 18

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Many interpreted Silent Light ’s Dreyer-referencing classicism as indicative of a shift in Carlos Reygadas’ methods; a shake-up that would temper the Mexican director’s more arcane tendencies by moving towards a comparatively conventional form of art-cinema. Post Tenebras Lux takes that assumption and shreds it, offering a bewildering array of arresting imagery – glowing devils, selfdecapitation, joyless sex clubs and public school rugby matches – that seems to confrontationally resist reconciliation. There’s no eureka moment amid these curios, no clue that allows all pieces to slide together, but unpicking its metaphors proves supremely satisfying, and with close attention a coherence (of sorts) emerges. Reygadas’ ability to imbue ostensibly simple moments with deeply affecting undercurrents is expressed in a number of scenes (most vividly the opening, in which a child plays alone as storm clouds amass), which possess such acute sensory impact that any narrative meaning seems moot. [Chris Buckle]

BOOK OF THE MONTH

Safe Haven

Director: Taylor Hackford Starring: Jason Statham, Jennifer Lopez, Wendell Pierce Released: 8 Jul Certificate: 15

Director: Lasse Halstrom Starring: Josh Duhamel, Julianne Hough Released: 8 Jul Certificate: 12

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The eponymous hero of Parker made an auspicious Hollywood debut in John Boorman’s classic existential thriller Point Blank. A professional thief with a code of honour (“I only steal from people who can afford it”), he seems a poor judge of character as, once again, he is double-crossed by his colleagues and left for dead in this new outing based on the cycle of novels by Richard Stark. With Jason Statham instead of Lee Marvin in the lead role, and journeyman director Taylor Hackford at the helm, this is inevitably a more workaday affair than the earlier film, but it has some decent procedural sequences and uses its Palm Beach locations effectively. Statham, in a role that seems calculated to push him into the big league, is unsurprisingly effective in the action scenes but lacks the charisma necessary to round out his character. Jennifer Lopez, as his unlikely accomplice, displays a charm not seen since her transformation into J-Lo. [Keir Roper-Caldbeck]

The arrival of a mysterious blonde in a small seaside town inevitably attracts the interest of the hunky young storekeeper, and it isn’t long before he is wooing her with the offer of a shot on his bike. But inevitably the path of true love does not run smoothly, especially when the two lovers are freighted down with soap-y back stories – she is on the run from a dark past, while he is the recently widowed father of two perky children. Based on a novel from the über-successful romance writer Nicholas Sparks, Safe Haven works its way through a series of predictable highs and lows, and some even more predictable dialogue (“The last thing I wanted to do was hurt you,” etc.) before the inevitable final clinch. Only a truly bonkers final twist raises us out of our stupor, if only to exclaim: “What the fuck?” [Keir Roper-Caldbeck]

Broken

Spider Baby

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Director: Rufus Norris Starring: Cillian Murphy, Rory Kinnear, Tim Roth Released: 8 Jul Certificate: 15

“Broken Britain” was the Tories favourite phrase at the most recent election, describing a 21st century dystopia of broken families, broken relationships and broken people. We can tick them all off in Rufus Norris’s coming-of-age drama in which a young girl witnesses a violent attack on a neighbour in a London suburb. But forget the kitchen sink dramas of the 1970s. This is an overly polished, terribly self-aware and self-satisfied homage to Loach. Instead of showing ordinary people living ordinary lives, Norris settles for well-worn middle-class tropes, which quickly become irritating and distracting. For what amounts to three houses in a cul-de-sac, it ultimately lacks focus. The best moments come from Cillian Murphy and Tim Roth, who give good supporting performances, but they’re buried in an unsatisfying and faintly pretentious mix of contrivance and superficial melodrama. It’s grim up North London, so don’t bother visiting. [Scotty McKellar]

Director: Jack Hill Starring: Lon Chaney, Sid Haig Released: Out now Certificate: 18

Another welcome Blu-ray release from Arrow Films, Spider Baby, The Maddest Story Ever Told (to give its full title), is a wonderful slice of 1960s comic horror. It centres on the ramshackle home of the Merrye family, a clan who make the Addams Family look like the Waltons. Afflicted by a unique hereditary condition that causes them to de-evolve into a savage, cannibalistic state as they enter adulthood, the Merryes have reached the end of the line, with only three remaining family members – or, at least, only three who are allowed out of the cellar. Working with a tiny budget, exploitation auteur Jack Hill created in this, his debut feature, a classic piece of sun-drenched Gothic shot through with moments of great invention and deranged humour. What grounds the film is its affectionate allusions to the Universal horror films of the 1930s, and it stars the Wolf Man himself, Lon Chaney, as the Merryes’ long suffering butler. [Keir Roper-Caldbeck]

The Blue Hour

Plan D

The Quarry

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By Alonso Cueto

By Simon Urban

By Iain Banks

Cotton Tenants

By James Agee and Walker Evans

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James Agee was a protean genius, mastering every literary form he tried. But in his greatest work, the monumental Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, he broke free of traditional forms altogether to create a true literary one-off. Famous Men came out of a 1936 Fortune magazine assignment, for which Agee and photographer Walker Evans were to document the lives of impoverished sharecroppers in the American South. This experience became a 400page mish-mash of philosophy, reportage, and biblical prose-poetry, accompanied by Evans’s starkly beautiful black-and-white photography. Before Famous Men, though, there was the magazine essay itself. Entitled Cotton Tenants, it was never published, and, until Agee’s daughter found it by chance, was considered lost. Biographers assumed that it was in the style of Famous Men, and was therefore rejected for being too unorthodox. Well, they were only half right: it is unorthodox, but isn’t in the epic style of Famous Men. Instead, Cotton Tenants is a compact and cleareyed work, detailing the desperate situation of the Southern sharecroppers with sober detachment. It has a timeless quality: although written over 70 years ago, it seems to have lost none of its force or relevance. [Kristian Doyle]

Winner of the Herralde Prize for the Spanish original, The Blue Hour is an unconventional love story set against the backdrop of a country recovering from a massacre and uprising that left tens of thousands dead. The lovers are an unlikely duo: Adrian is the son of Commander Ormache, a successful Peruvian Naval Officer and a patriarch of Kafkaesque proportions; Miriam is a girl once held captive and sexually abused by the Commander. Cueto’s plain, unadorned prose is a refreshing change from the magical realism with which Latin American fiction has become overly associated. The novel moves at a fast pace, though the tight plot sags a little midway as Cueto extensively details Peru’s bloody history. There are some frustratingly inadequate female characters – Miriam starts out as an almost Scheherazade-like figure who uses her feminine guile to overcome her captors, yet is later reduced to little more than a damsel in distress. In the midst of a sea of acquiescent wives and prudent mothers, the reader is left craving a female character with a little more gumption. And yet, its strenghs – an engaging protagonist and an illuminating study in recent Peruvian history – allow The Blue Hour to remain a very readable book. [Rosie Hopegood]

Out now, published by Melville House, RRP £11.99

Out now, published by Windmill, RRP £8.99

July 2013

Plan D imagines a modern day East Germany in which the Berlin Wall never fell. Trapped inside the socialist state, citizens are subject to the same close surveillance and limited goods present in the original German Democratic Republic. In Urban’s modern GDR the economy is in crisis and the state’s future rests on energy consultations with the West. However, the summit is jeopardised when a government official is discovered executed on the gas pipeline in the old Stasi style, arousing suspicion outside the wall that the state control of previous decades still holds. Plan D follows Detective Martin Wegener as he is tasked, along with a West German detective, to discover the murderer and clear the Stasi’s name. Wegener is a typical detective: lonely, world-weary and past his prime, but the plot is far from clichéd. After a slow start it offers fast paced revelations and twists that successfully harness the secrecy, surveillance and control of the old socialist state into a modern day thriller. Unfortunately, among the terror attacks and illicit meetings some of the many subplots aren’t brought to a satisfactory conclusion, but Plan D succeeds in providing an unnerving insight into life under a repressive regime. [Rowena McIntosh]

Kit, 18, and his dad, Guy, live in a house on the edge of an expanding quarry. Kit has Asperger’s; Guy has cancer. It’s quite funny, really. Or, at least, Banks uncovers the hilarity in the midst of the horror. Kit is the unflinching narrator here, applying calm, mathematical precision to defuse any threat of hopelessness or sentimentality. A group of Guy’s old uni friends descend on the house for the weekend; a pair of corporate bunnies, a media lawyer, a single mother, a stoner, and an acerbic critic. This allows for a rhythmic dialogue interleaved with Kit’s internal observations. He is neither innocent nor naïve, but has all the newness of looking at things in full for the first time. The prose is quick, brilliant, and surprising; Banks’ control is apparently effortless as he considers cancer from all sides, through all of his characters. And just as the reader settles into the comedy of social interaction on the brink of an ignored abyss, the prose turns translucent, razor-sharp, and we see over the edge: cancer is an unwilled suicide. Banks is often darkly funny, but this is being funny in the darkness of inexorable, too-soon death. [Galen O’Hanlon] Out now, published by Little, Brown, RRP £18.99

Out now, published by Harvill Secker, RRP £14.99

FILM / BOOKS

Review

Maurice Carlin: Performance Publishing

Processing

The Cornerstone Gallery, Liverpool, until 29 Sep

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Curated by Jack Welsh, Processing forms a dialogue between artist, writer and exhibition guest, aiding the parallel programme for LOOK/13 (the Liverpool International Photography Festival). The show combines fresh work by Merseysidebased photographers Kevin Casey, Stephen King and the partnership McCoy Wynne (Stephen McCoy and Stephanie Wynne) to create a diverse range of images and forge a thought process for viewers by inviting an artist, writer or journalist to respond to the series, providing a critical context. Guests are greeted by Casey’s Chamber series, an honest re-evaluation of the UK’s compression chambers. Portraits of eyes that seek escape and images of stacked personable items such as shoes and medication evoke an emotional reaction from the onlooker. The final photograph shows only the feet of a person about to enter a chamber, causing the viewer to assume themselves as the person in the situation, and therefore form a clearer picture – as guests, we place our own emotions and fears within the framework given. Writer and photographer Joni Karanka responds to Chamber through text and interview, uncovering aspects of the images that may not be obvious to viewers

on first glance – Karanka’s observation highlighting Chamber’s disparate rustic and futuristic elements, for example, is an uneasy one. In contrast to Casey’s claustrophobic study, McCoy Wynne’s Triangulation highlights stunning visual landscapes, focusing on nature and, in turn, relishing the insignificance of humans in its presence. Suggesting that people are guests of the earth provides a thought-provoking contrast to the emotional context of Chamber, where the personal connection is key. Journalist Kenn Taylor discusses Triangulation in essay form, underpinning the artist’s concepts and examining the series’ geographical frame. In a third unique documentary style, King captures Liverpool’s solitude in From Here to There, emphasising the loneliness of jaded locations across the city by encouraging an appreciation for the out-of-place assets that divide an otherwise picturesque view, or a person that disturbs a calm scene. The person is both unwelcome and yet responsible in their surroundings – echoing aspects of McCoy Wynne’s respect for nature. Critic Linda Pittwood responds through essay and app format, providing an interactive element for visitors. Processing offers an opportunity to determine the importance of critical writing in the arts, noting collaboration as a key factor for progression. [Kayleigh Davies] Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, free www.hope.ac.uk/cornerstonegallery

WIN A PAIR OF TICKETS TO LIVERPOOL INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF PSYCHEDELIA!

Regent Trading Estate, Salford, until 20 Jul

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Over several months, Maurice Carlin has been producing variations on his Corrupted Images, whereby he takes a printed reading from a surface, publishing it simultaneously. In this, Carlin uses a technique inspired by some of the most ancient forms of printing and publishing: drawing a huge squeegee across paper, dragging paint in CMYK over the bumps and dips beneath, and generating psychedelic images that record some aspect of their site. Previously, Carlin has taken Performance Publishing to Manchester’s Market Street, where buskers and street performers congregate, with passers-by of every conceivable kind constituting an audience predisposed to engage with spectacle. His current residency at the Regent Trading Estate – the cavernous warehouse in which Carlin is to make his prints and take his readings – is not so intrinsically public, and so he has devised an assortment of channels through which the work will be published and made available for consumption. For example, there is a live stream hosted on the internet, via Carlin’s site, so that viewers anywhere are able to observe and leave anonymous comments. Comparable, perhaps, to the way Performance Publishing has formerly been situated in among the hustle and bustle of everyday life, Carlin’s live stream is hosted in the midst of those linking to pet daycare and holiday homes. This, the artist comments, is appropriate to utilising the internet as a means of publishing, where wild juxtapositions are commonplace, whether by the results of a search engine,

MAURICE CARLIN

oft-bizarre targeted advertising, or an accident of hosting. The other methods of publishing utilised for this residency include a project inspired by ARTnews’ 1950s series Paints a Picture, whereby five writers are invited to respond to Carlin’s work as it happens, along with an eternally scrolling webpage where the prints will be uploaded. At an inaugural preview for the residency, Carlin’s various publishing conduits were poised for activation, with a pallet of paper in the centre of the warehouse – observable from a handy mezzanine viewing platform – the only clue. It remains to be seen what this latest incarnation of Performance Publishing will reveal and develop about the project, and whether it will prove as successful as previous expressions. What is certain, however, is that there will be fascinating alterations made to the Regent Trading Estate itself, as Carlin’s vivid Corrupted Images are produced and begin to cover the vast floor of this distinctly industrial space. [Lauren Velvick] Wed-Sat 1-6pm, and thereafter by appointment until 29 Sep, free Preview Part II, 5 Jul, 6-9pm www.mauricecarlin.com

WIN A PAIR OF TICKETS TO THE DORS!

DEAD MEADOW

Liverpool International Festival of Psychedelia is the UK's largest celebration of psychedelic sub-culture. The event returns this September for two days of worship, taking place over 27 and 28 September and three performance spaces within Camp & Furnace, one of the city’s historic workhouses. Liverpool Psych Fest celebrates artists operating at the cutting edge of today's global psychedelic renaissance, alongside visual art, film, performance and mind expanding visual delights. Moon Duo, Dead Meadow (pictured), Clinic, Fuzz, The Besnard Lakes and White Manna are among the 50-strong line-up of artists for this year’s mustsee event. We have two pairs of weekend tickets to Liverpool Psych Fest to give away. For your chance to win a pair, simply head over to

Review

www.theskinny.co.uk/about/competitions and correctly answer the following question: Dead Meadow’s Jason Simon is the nephew of David Simon, who created which successful HBO TV series? A) The Tire B) The Wire C) The Fire Entrants must be 18 or over. Competition closes midnight Sunday 28 Jul. 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 terms and conditions can be found at www.theskinny.co.uk/about/terms For more information about Liverpool Psych Fest: www.liverpoolpsychfest.com

Manchester Jazz Festival (mjf) is all about good music, great company and the best of Manchester, and this year is no exception. For 2013, mjf has put together a blistering line-up of gigs to whisk you on a mind-blowing journey of discovery through the world of jazz today. Chilled-out or challenging? Surprising or familiar? However you groove, for ten days, the coolest place to hang out in Manchester is mjf’s Festival Pavilion Teepee in Albert Square. See you down there! We have three pairs of tickets to give away to see The Dors at the Royal Northern College of Music on 2 August as part of mjf.

ART / COMPETITIONS

For your chance to win a pair, simply head over to www.theskinny.co.uk/about/competitions and correctly answer the following question: The Dors is a new UK-France collaboration uniting trioVD and... A) Donkey Donkey B) Donkey Monkey C) Donkey Kong Competition closes midnight Tuesday 23 Jul. 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 Manchester Jazz Festival: www.manchesterjazz.com

THE SKINNY

Photo: Steve Iles

MCCOY WYNNE - TRIANGULATION

Barrels and Laughs Pubs and bars across Salford and Manchester play host to the Greater Manchester Fringe Festival, featuring everything from penguins to Phill Jupitus. We cherry-pick three highlights Words: John Stansfield Illustration: Natalie Dunning

his month, Manchester International Festival brings us the Peterloo Massacre, a boxing match set on a chess board, a tragic Scottish murderstorm and Zinedine Zidane, among other worthy and highbrow cultural highlights. Unfortunately, its organisers forgot a pretty important part of entertainment: comedy. Thankfully, the Greater Manchester Fringe Festival (GMFF) returns in July for its sophomore year, and promises to deliver substantial levity with 31 days of drama, music and, most importantly, funniness. Known primarily for deadpanning his way through musical panel show Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Phill Jupitus returns to his roots as a performance poet with a preview of his Edinburgh show Porky the Poet in Zeitgeist Limbo (16 Jul, The King’s Arms, Salford). Back in the 1980s, Porky the Poet was the anarchic wordsmith who opened shows for the likes of Billy Bragg, Madness and The Housemartins, and was resurrected for a free show at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe. Make sure you bring a broom for the names Jupitus drops, but his experience gives his show some great anecdotes, and it is his insightful, silly and downright hilarious verse that is the real draw here. Being a favourite of Jimmy Carr and Michael McIntyre might crush lesser acts than James Mullinger: the weight of praise hanging over their heads like the sword of Damocles, ready to drop when they fail to live up to the fuss. Or, if you don’t like the stylings of Messrs Carr and McIntyre, then you might doubt the validity of

July 2013

their opinions. But you needn’t worry about such things. You need only go and see James Mullinger perform his own brand of stand-up and begin to believe the hype: with boundless energy and a startling sense of self degradation, Mullinger is fast establishing himself as one of the best acts in the country, and his touring show Living the Dream lands in The King’s Arms on 3 July. Live drama is a key component of GMFF and, working in conjunction with the city’s 24/7 theatre festival, it incorporates selected new works from local and emerging playwrights covering topics as diverse as a girls’ football team in 1980s Belfast, euthanasia, and diabetic penguins. It’s not the cheeriest of material, but on the slightly lighter side of the GMFF theatre line-up and mining for comedy gold in the world of science fiction conventions is Keith Temple’s Suspended in Space. A darkly comedic drama premiering at The Lass O’Gowrie pub on Charles Street (8-10 Jul), the piece draws on the playwright’s own experiences to tell the tale of a star, an extra and an excitable fan trapped in a lift at a kind of ComicCon event. Temple’s history as a writer for television included an episode of Doctor Who in 2008, so he knows a thing or two about the absurdities of fandom. This should be a hilarious, claustrophobic look at the ups and downs of fame, with a limited run of just three shows. Greater Manchester Fringe Festival, various venues, Manchester and Salford, 1-31 Jul, times and prices vary www.greatermanchesterfringe.co.uk

COMEDY

Preview

Manchester Music Tue 02 Jul

An Escape Plan (Michelle Stodart)

The Deaf Institute, 19:00–23:00, £6.50

Known for penning the tune used in a recent Ikea campaign, An Escape Plan is the brainchild of Mercury Prize-nomintated musician, Craig Brown.

Half Moon Run

Talented young trio from Ottawa, Ontario and Comox, British Columbia, working their magic across elements of indie, pop and folk. Stuart McCallum: ‘Projects’ Residency

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

Cinematic Orchestra guitarist trying out new material in the realm of beats, electronica, classical orchestration and jazz – joined by Cinematic bandmates Luke Flowers and Phil France and Manchester’s own Rioghnach Connolly on vocals. Are We Strangers Now

The Castle Hotel, 19:30–23:00, £6

Showcase event featuring some of the best up-and-coming musicians around. Twin Forks

Night and Day Cafe, 20:00–02:00, £8

Chris Carrabba, aka Dashboard Confessional, is back with a new band and vaguely new sound, serving up folky delights in the realm of The Avett Brothers et al. Kenny Rogers

O2 Apollo, 20:30–23:00, £44

The US-of-A country singer/ songwriter plays a set of hits.

Wed 03 Jul Phil Meadows

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

Saxophonist and composer Phil Meadows tours his debut album, Engines of Creation.

Cold Night for Alligators (The Colour Line + Red XIII) Retro Bar, 19:00–23:00, £3

Dark Nebula bring the Danish techcore five-piece, Cold Night for Alligators, to Manchester. The Weeks

Soup Kitchen, 19:00–23:00, £6

Alternative sludge pop five-piece hailing from Nashville embarking on a mammoth UK and US tour.

Dead Wolf Club (Jamie Harding)

The Castle Hotel, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Dark punk band hailing from Tintagel, who’ll also answer to the genre ‘geek rage’.

Thu 04 Jul

Skies Turn Black (We Like Humans + Kiefer) The Roadhouse, 19:30–22:00, £4

Manchester-based four-piece making metal since 2010. The Matt Holborn Quartet

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

A newly formed group of musicians playing contemporary gypsy jazz, with violinist Matt Holborn at the helm. Rock, Paper, ROCK! #27 (Ten Eyed Man + Twelve Gauge + Trevor Mckee + Blastronaut + Red Spektor) Retro Bar, 19:30–23:00, £5

Rock showcase night with Ten Eyed Man topping the bill. Video Jam: Dieter Moebius + Ex-Easter Island Head (Simon Bullows + Die Hexen + HORRID)

Islington Mill, 20:00–03:00, £3

Now in its second year, Video Jam returns to Islington Mill, bringing their evening of short films and musical accompaniment in the form of Swiss/German electro producer Dieter Moebius and Liverpool’s Ex-Easter Island Head.

Modern Alarms (Natalie McCool + Old House Playground + Those Rotten Thieves) KRAAK, 19:45–23:00, £4

Rock’n’roll four piece blending wolf howls with jazz drumming to craft a chaotic live experience. Goldheart Assembly

Soup Kitchen, 19:30–23:00, £7

Experimental pop five-piece from London touring with their new album, Long Distance Song Effects. Smokey Blue Grass

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

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

Listings

The Castle Hotel, 20:00–23:00, £7

Petrels (Max Bondi + Dwang + Tacet) The Bay Horse, 20:00–23:00, £5

The latest musical offerings of Bleeding Heart Narrative’s Oliver Barrett, embarking on a solo project citing a wide range of influences, from drone to modern classical. Live visuals on the night from Laid Eyes.

Metal 2 the Masses: Grand Final (Boss Keloid + Bloodyard + Brimstone + This is Turin) Grand Central, 20:00–23:45, Free

Metal-styled battle of the bands, with a chance to perform at Bloodstock and more up for grabs. Massive Attack V Adam Curtis

Mayfield Depot, 21:00–23:00, £36 (£31)

Robert Del Naja of Massive Attack joins forces with filmmaker Adam Curtis for a show that promises to redefine ‘the gig’. Part of Manchester International Festival. Michelangelo Sonnets

Albert Hall, 21:00–23:00, £35 (£30)

Peter Sellars will be taking to the long-lost Albert Hall for his Manchester International Festival directorial debut, working with Eric Owens and Cameron Carpenter to perform Shostakovich’s haunting Suite on Verses of Michelangelo Buonarroti.

Neneh Cherry (RocketNumberNine) Pavilion Theatre, 20:30–23:00, £25

The latest incarnation of Neneh Cherry’s creative force, collaborating with the London-based RocketNumberNine. Playing their latest album of shapeshifting grooves in its entirety. Part of Manchester International Festival. The Courteeners

Castlefield Bowl, 17:00–21:00, £sold out

Middleton indie-rock quartet, all of whom have known each since they were the tender age of 10.

Sat 06 Jul

The Imogen Styles (Stony Browder Jr)

The Roadhouse, 19:00–23:00, £5

Electro pop duo from Manchester, making high energy pop reminiscent of a classic TOTP performance. The Dead Betas (Oh Captive + Chapters of Eden) Retro Bar, 16:00–21:00, £4

Beefed-up synth punk from Devon. Youngblood Hawke

Soup Kitchen, 19:00–23:00, £5

Indie pop from the LA-based six-piece, touring with their debut album, WAKE UP. Quadrophenia Night (The Specials)

2022NQ, 20:00–02:00, £10

A night celebrating all things Quadrophenia with special appearances from The Specials’ DJ/Saxophonist, a film screening and a live set from The Atlantics. Live/Wire: The AC/DC Shows

Sound Control, 19:30–22:30, £13

Fri 05 Jul

AC/DC tribute act.

The Ruby Lounge, 19:30–23:00, £7

Trof Fallowfield, 19:30–23:00, £5

The Temperance Movement

Alternative, blues-drenched rock’n’rollers formed between London and Glasgow in the summer of 2011. Cabbage Alley

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

A classic quartet serving up jazz, soul and blues. Berlin Berlin

Soup Kitchen, 19:30–23:00, £6

Manchester’s very own melancholic and experimental three piece, launching their single Josef on the evening. The Pulsebeats (Emperor Zero + Radio Nasties) The Castle Hotel, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

The Pulsebeats head out on a brief jaunt across the UK with their new four-piece lineup. Raintown

Night and Day Cafe, 19:30–02:00, £8

Glasgow contemporary countryfolk duo made up of Paul Bain and Claire McArthur. Orla Gartland

Sound Control, 19:00–23:00, £sold out

18-year-old singer/songwriter from Dublin, crafting delicate quirky pop songs. Band Night

The King’s Arms, 19:30–22:00, £6

A new music night at the King’s Arms, inviting local bands to take to the stage.

Free Gig Friday (Sadie Pickering + The Folk Remedy) 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 Doors Alive: Perception

The Lowry, 20:00–22:00, £16.50

The Doors tribute act, with live visuals.

Massive Attack V Adam Curtis

Mayfield Depot, 21:00–23:00, £36 (£31)

Robert Del Naja of Massive Attack joins forces with filmmaker Adam Curtis for a show that promises to redefine ‘the gig’. Part of Manchester International Festival. Michelangelo Sonnets

Albert Hall, 21:00–23:00, £35 (£30)

Marvin (Cassie + TBA)

Montpellier-hailing trio playing an almost instrumental sorta rock with krautrock and noise influences and a slight leaning towards the rock side of electronic. Abida Parveen

Bridgewater Hall, 20:00–23:00, From £15

A rare opportunity to catch one of Pakistan and India’s most cherished Sufi singers in her first appearance in the UK since 2001. Brewed in Britain Festival

Antwerp Mansion, 12:00–00:00, £6

A mini-festival with music, BBQ, stand up comedy, body painting and a bouncy castle. The xx

Secret Location, 20:00–23:00, £35 (£30)

For the duration of the Manchester International Festival, the London-based trio The xx will be in residency in a top secret intimate venue with a capacity of just 60. Massive Attack V Adam Curtis

Mayfield Depot, 21:00–23:00, £36 (£31)

Robert Del Naja of Massive Attack joins forces with filmmaker Adam Curtis for a show that promises to redefine ‘the gig’. Part of Manchester International Festival.

Neneh Cherry (RocketNumberNine)

Pavilion Theatre, 20:30–23:00, £25

Castlefield Bowl, 17:00–21:00, £sold out

Middleton indie-rock quartet, all of whom have known each since they were the tender age of 10. Shoot the Rabbit (Waltz)

Barca Live Venue, 19:30–23:00, Free

Indie four piece hailing from North Wales.

Sun 07 Jul

No Consequences (Invocation + Linked) Retro Bar, 19:00–23:00, £3

Dark Nebula bring the best of UK progressive metal to Manchester. The Lucid Dream (Purple Heart Paradise)

The Castle Hotel, 20:00–23:00, £4

With their debut album, Songs of Lies and Deceit in tow, the four piece psychedelic bunch from Carlisle head out on the road.

John Tavener Bridgewater Hall, 19:30–21:30, From £20

An evening of new and rarely seen works by John Tavener, performed by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and guests, including the MIF Scared Sounds Women’s Choir and Abida Parveen. Part of Manchester International Festival. The xx

Secret Location, 20:00–23:00, £35 (£30)

Smokey Barbers Pavilion Theatre, 20:30–22:00, £12 (£7)

Jamal Edwards’ multimedia company SB.TV takes to the stage, showcasing the best in UK urban talent. Part of Manchester International Festival.

Wed 10 Jul Fluff

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

For the duration of the Manchester International Festival, the London-based trio The xx will be in residency in a top secret intimate venue with a capacity of just 60.

Experimental jazz trio based in Nottingham, exploring free improvisation concepts and such.

Mayfield Depot, 21:00–23:00, £36 (£31)

Retro Bar, 19:45–22:30, £5

Massive Attack V Adam Curtis

Robert Del Naja of Massive Attack joins forces with filmmaker Adam Curtis for a show that promises to redefine ‘the gig’. Part of Manchester International Festival. Michelangelo Sonnets

Albert Hall, 21:00–23:00, £35 (£30)

Neneh Cherry (RocketNumberNine)

Pavilion Theatre, 20:30–23:00, £25

Mon 08 Jul

Terence Blanchard Quintet

Band On The Wall, 19:30–23:00, £15

Internationally renowned New Orleans trumpeter, film composer and innovator in the modern jazz scene, takes to the Band on the Wall stage. Stand-up Tragedy, Poetry and Open Mic

The Castle Hotel, 20:00–23:00, £tbc

And What Army (Ex Nihilo + Fighting Bears + Desert Motel Club)

Four-strong line-up with all shades of rock – from hard rock to heavy rock, and everything in between. Aesthetic Perfection

Manchester Academy 2, 3 and Club, 19:30–22:00, £14

Industrial electronic musical project created by the LA-based Daniel Graves back in 2000. Clutch

Manchester Academy 2, 3 and Club, 19:00–23:00, £15.00

American rock band formed in 1990 fronted by guitarist Neil Fallon. The xx

Secret Location, 20:00–23:00, £35 (£30)

For the duration of the Manchester International Festival, the London-based trio The xx will be in residency in a top secret intimate venue with a capacity of just 60. Massive Attack V Adam Curtis

Mayfield Depot, 21:00–23:00, £36 (£31)

Robert Del Naja of Massive Attack joins forces with filmmaker Adam Curtis for a show that promises to redefine ‘the gig’. Part of Manchester International Festival. Smokey Barbers

Pavilion Theatre, 20:30–22:00, £12 (£7)

Jamal Edwards’ multimedia company SB.TV takes to the stage, showcasing the best in UK urban talent. Part of Manchester International Festival.

Mixed bag night of comedy and poetry and everything in between.

Thu 11 Jul

Secret Location, 20:00–23:00, £35 (£30)

California-hailing hardcore punk four piece, out on a Europe-wide tour.

The xx

For the duration of the Manchester International Festival, the London-based trio The xx will be in residency in a top secret intimate venue with a capacity of just 60. Massive Attack V Adam Curtis

Mayfield Depot, 21:00–23:00, £36 (£31)

Robert Del Naja of Massive Attack joins forces with filmmaker Adam Curtis for a show that promises to redefine ‘the gig’. Part of Manchester International Festival. Smokey Barbers

Pavilion Theatre, 20:30–22:00, £12 (£7)

Jamal Edwards’ multimedia company SB.TV takes to the stage, showcasing the best in UK urban talent. Part of Manchester International Festival.

Tue 09 Jul

Prato Bell Luckin Trio

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

A guitar, bass and drums trio, playing a series of original compositions and arrangements of standards. Gideon Conn

The Castle Hotel, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Manchester-based singer/songwriter and artist signed to Skinny Dog Records, playing a gig on his home turf. Kendrick Lamar

O2 Apollo, 19:00–23:00, £25

The Compton hip-hop emcee, formerly known as K. Dot, tours his debut album proper. The xx

Secret Location, 20:00–23:00, £35 (£30)

For the duration of the Manchester International Festival, the London-based trio The xx will be in residency in a top secret intimate venue with a capacity of just 60. Massive Attack V Adam Curtis

Mayfield Depot, 21:00–23:00, £36 (£31)

Robert Del Naja of Massive Attack joins forces with filmmaker Adam Curtis for a show that promises to redefine ‘the gig’. Part of Manchester International Festival.

Trash Talk

The Star and Garter, 19:00–23:00, £9

Tift Merritt

The Ruby Lounge, 19:30–23:00, £14

American singer/songwriter touring with her 2012 album, Travelling Alone. Ultramagnetic MCs (Krispy + In The Loop Collective) Band On The Wall, 20:00–23:00, £14

The stellar selection of Bronx hip hop veterans take to the UK as part of their world tour, celebrating 25 years since the release of their seminal album, Critical Beatdown – with Kool Keith, Ced Gee, TR Love and Moe Love all in attendance. Jon Thorne’s Sunshine Trio

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

Contemporary grooves from the Jon Thorpe led trio, playing songs from his most recent album, Watching the Well. Off With Their Heads + JD Samson Islington Mill, 20:00–01:00, £4

Off With their Heads and JD Samson join forces to curate an evening of shimmering underground acts. Young Rebel Set

KRAAK, 19:45–23:30, £5

Stockton’s Young Rebel Set play their first gig in Manchester for two years, bringing the folkish indie-rock. Honey Ryder

The Castle Hotel, 20:00–23:00, £7

London-based pop, rock and folkstraddling trio, touring on the back of their second album – recorded in a five star recording studio in Thailand, no less. Advance Base

Night and Day Cafe, 20:00–02:00, £8

Illinois-based singer/songwriter Owen Ashworth (formerly of Casiotone For The Painfully Alone) tours with his latest release, A Shut-In’s Prayer, a collection of lo-fi torch songs, waltzes and ballads.

Amanda Palmer and The Grand Theft Orchestra (The Simple Pleasure + Jherek Bischoff) The Ritz, 19:00–23:00, £17.50

The DIY songstress and her raucous new crew play their rescheduled European tour dates showcasing new album, Theatre Is Evil, in a live setting. Manchester Classics

Sound Control, 19:30–23:00, £8

Fundraising event with live music and DJs. Boxcar Blues

The King’s Arms, 20:00–22:00, Free

An evening of blues music, inspired by the state-hopping hobos of the USA. Severed Fate (De Mortuis + Bloodwork Salvation)

Grand Central, 20:00–23:45, Free

Four-piece melodic groove metal band from Manchester. The xx

Secret Location, 20:00–23:00, £35 (£30)

For the duration of the Manchester International Festival, the London-based trio The xx will be in residency in a top secret intimate venue with a capacity of just 60. Massive Attack V Adam Curtis

Mayfield Depot, 21:00–23:00, £36 (£31)

Robert Del Naja of Massive Attack joins forces with filmmaker Adam Curtis for a show that promises to redefine ‘the gig’. Part of Manchester International Festival. History of Grime: Rebel with a Cause

The Mouse Outfit Antwerp Mansion, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

9 piece hip-hop act based in Manchester, led by MC, Dr Syntax. The xx

Secret Location, 20:00–23:00, £35 (£30)

For the duration of the Manchester International Festival, the London-based trio The xx will be in residency in a top secret intimate venue with a capacity of just 60. Massive Attack V Adam Curtis

Mayfield Depot, 21:00–23:00, £36 (£31)

Robert Del Naja of Massive Attack joins forces with filmmaker Adam Curtis for a show that promises to redefine ‘the gig’. Part of Manchester International Festival. MONEY

Pavilion Theatre, 20:30–23:00, £12 (£7)

An intimate performance from the Manchester-based quartet, known for selling out performances before they'd even released an album. They'll be playing tracks from their debut album, The Shadow Of Heaven, before its release in August. Part of Manchester International Festival. Dan Weller (Lyla)

Barca Live Venue, 19:30–23:00, Free

Singer/songwriter from West Sussex, making a dreamy blend of indie folk.

Sat 13 Jul

Steve Ignorant’s Slice of Life (Andy T + Paper Town)

Shuggie Otis (Jesca Hoop)

Band On The Wall, 19:30–23:00, £19.50

Rhythm and blues legend, playing a rare spate of shows with his new band, and joined on the evening by our April Skinny cover story contributor, Jesca Hoop. Half Pint (Stikki)

Band On The Wall, 20:30–23:00, £14

Bringing his positive spirit and upbeat vibes to BOTW, Half Pint will be playing a full live concert followed by one of their famous reggae club nights. Ray Harris

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

Record Kicks artist Raymond Harris and his merry band, fusing a smooth blend of dancefloor jazz, funk and soul. Brown Brogues

The Castle Hotel, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

The ‘world touring noise duo’ Mark Vernon and Ben Mather, better known as Brown Brogues, doing that garage rock thing they do so well. Naymedici

Night and Day Cafe, 20:00–02:00, £5

Loud folk from the band of brothers, Naymedici, combining gypsy licks, Irish reels, punk riffs and pounding drums. Heaven’s Basement

Sound Control, 19:00–22:30, £8

British hard rock four-piece chock full of ambition and drive.

Free Gig Friday (Giant Hell + The Wharves + The Rosy Crucifixion + Sex Hands) 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. Taking Hayley

Manchester Academy 2, 3 and Club, 19:30–22:00, £8

The Birmingham-based quartet continue spreading the pop-rock gospel, following the 2012 release of their debut album, Tricks and Games.

Manchester Camerata (Martha Argerich + Gábor Takács-Nagy) Bridgewater Hall, 19:30–23:00, From £20

Argentinian pianist Martha Argerich will perform for the first time in Manchester with Hungarian violinist and composer, Gábor Takács-Nagy, and the Manchester Camerata, part of Manchester International Festival.

The xx

Secret Location, 20:00–23:00, £35 (£30)

For the duration of the Manchester International Festival, the London-based trio The xx will be in residency in a top secret intimate venue with a capacity of just 60. Massive Attack V Adam Curtis

Mayfield Depot, 21:00–23:00, £36 (£31)

Robert Del Naja of Massive Attack joins forces with filmmaker Adam Curtis for a show that promises to redefine ‘the gig’. Part of Manchester International Festival. MONEY

Pavilion Theatre, 20:30–23:00, £12 (£7)

Sun 14 Jul

The New Mendicants

Fri 12 Jul Leeds-based alternative rock lot led by singer and guitarist Matt Bigland.

A night of musical oddities.

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

Banter-heavy performance from Glasgow-born Norman Blake and the Massachusetts-hailing Joe Pernice, now neighbours in Canada and making music under their sublime pop The New Mendicants guise.

Dinosaur Pile-Up

David Chatton Barker

Wählbar, 21:00–02:00, Free

Sunday Acoustic Sessions (Tim & Robi + Douga)

Acoustic project of anarcho-punk singer Steve Ignorant (Crass, Conflict, Thought Crime), joined by Carol Hodge and Pete Wilson.

The Ruby Lounge, 19:30–23:00, £7.50

Wählbar, 13:00–02:00, £5

A party to announce another party, such is Carefully Planned’s style.

The Star and Garter, 19:00–23:00, £6

Pavilion Theatre, 20:30–22:00, £12 (£7)

Examining the cultural phenomena of grime, with hard-hitting artist Justin Clarke (aka Ghetts) sharing his personal story. Part of Manchester International Festival.

Carefully Planned Announcement Party (Arcs & Trauma + Cocos Lovers + Corvids + E Numbers)

The Deaf Institute, 19:30–23:00, £12.50

David Lyttle Group

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

Touring with his latest album, Interlude, which blends soul, hip hop and jazz with David taking care of the keyboards, bass, drums, cello and vocals, talented fellow that he is. Recreate Discovery Live

Gorilla, 19:30–23:00, £11.50

Known for recreating classic electronic albums with a live band, IntroducingLive turns their attention to Daft Punk’s Discovery. Hollywood or Bust (Thomas McConnell + The Crombies) The Castle Hotel, 19:30–23:00, £4

A Manchester band fond of weekends on the canals... and making alternative music. Panic Room

Sound Control, 19:30–22:30, £12

Alternative rock of the awardwinning variety.

Alternative and Burlesque Fair

Sound Control, 11:00–17:00, £5

Dubbed as ‘the ultimate alternative shopping experinece’, the Alternative and Burlesque fair is set to feature 50 stalls and 2 stages with a full programme of entertainment. Soul Saboteur (The Kipple + Eddy String + Jimmy and the Revolvers) The King’s Arms, 19:30–23:00, £6

Alternative North-Southstraddling blues rock bunch, led by James Stone. The Mend

Manchester Academy 2, 3 and Club, 19:30–22:00, £10

Brit boy band made up of Kris, Dean, Jay and Craig, deemed too successful for X Factor (as in, they had a management deal). The Hallé: Classical Extravaganza

Bridgewater Hall, 19:30–22:00, From £15.50

An extravaganza of classical music from The Hallé orchestra, with Stephen Bell conductin’ his way through everything from Brahms’ Hungarian Dance No. 5 to Debussy’s The Girl With The Flaxen Hair. Manchester Mischief

Antwerp Mansion, 21:00–04:00, £5 (£7 after 12)

The Mischief festival lands in Manchester, bringing with it live music, DJs and art exhibitions.

Band On The Wall, 18:00–23:00, Free

Guapo

Soup Kitchen, 19:30–23:00, £8

Mid-90s British experimental rock band with a whole new line up, bar original drummer Dave smith. Echobelly: Acoustic

Sound Control, 19:30–23:00, £9

Sonya Aurora Madan and Glenn Johansson take a break from their Calm of Zero project to acoustically perform songs from their Echobelly days. Mr B The Gentleman Rhymer

THE LOWRY, 8:00pm – 10:00pm, £10

Bringing his unique brand of chap hop (hip hop meets the Queen’s English) to the Northwest as part of his Mad Dogs and Englishmen in the Midsummer tour. The xx

Secret Location, 20:00–23:00, £35 (£30)

For the duration of the Manchester International Festival, the London-based trio The xx will be in residency in a top secret intimate venue with a capacity of just 60.

Mon 15 Jul Creature Comfort

The Castle Hotel, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

The Creature Comfort play a live show to launch their single, Sally Sucks. MS MR

Manchester Academy 2, 3 and Club, 19:30–22:00, £9

New York-based duo, made up of vocalist Lizzy Plapinger and producer Max Hershenow, touring with their May ‘13 album, Secondhand Rapture. Rihanna

Manchester Arena, 19:30–22:00, From £35

The US popstress plays a series of intimate, ahem, gigs at Manchester Arena. The xx

Secret Location, 20:00–23:00, £35 (£30)

For the duration of the Manchester International Festival, the London-based trio The xx will be in residency in a top secret intimate venue with a capacity of just 60.

Tue 16 Jul

The Original Rudeboys

The Deaf Institute, 19:00–22:30, £9.50

Dublin-based trio crafting genre-straddling acoustic pop rock indie hip-hop, currently out on a UK-wide tour. Skutch Manos

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

Formerly The Acoustic Conquistador, Skutch Manos is a self-taught classical/flamenco guitarist chock full of flair. Youth Lagoon

Gorilla, 20:00–23:00, £11.50

Solo project of minimal musician, Trevor Powers, making sense of his mind through music.

THE SKINNY

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros The Ritz, 19:00–23:00, £17.50

American ensemble led by Alex Ebert, who also has musical duties as vocalist of powerpop lot Ima Robot. Words for Class Heroes

The King’s Arms, 19:30–21:00, £3

A meander through time with the Salford-born performance poet, CJB Barrington. Rihanna

Manchester Arena, 19:30–22:00, From £35

The US popstress plays a series of intimate, ahem, gigs at Manchester Arena. The xx

Secret Location, 20:00–23:00, £35 (£30)

For the duration of the Manchester International Festival, the London-based trio The xx will be in residency in a top secret intimate venue with a capacity of just 60.

Wed 17 Jul Tribal Tech

Band On The Wall, 19:30–23:00, £17.50

Jazz, blues and rock from the recently reunited progressive fusion band.

Stuart McCallum: ‘Projects’ Residency

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

The Castle Hotel, 19:30–23:00, £5

Beta present their night of musical discovery, this time inviting this 22-year-old singer/songwriter from Nashville to the stage. Devendra Banhart

The Ritz, 19:00–23:00, £17.50

The Venezuelan/American singer/ songwriter and visual artist, touring with his eighth studio album, Mala. Ricky Warwick (Tony Wright)

Manchester Academy 2, 3 and Club, 19:30–22:00, £10

The former The Almighty, Thin Lizzy – and now Black Star Riders – vocalists plays as part of a special solo acoustic tour, with support from Terrorvision mainman Tony Wright. Wintersun

Manchester Academy 2, 3 and Club, 19:30–22:00, £16

Finnish metal four-piece, led by guitarist Jari Mäenpää. Tune Up & Be Heard

Antwerp Mansion, 19:30–00:00, Free

A monthly showcase of live music and home grown talent. The xx

Secret Location, 20:00–23:00, £35 (£30)

For the duration of the Manchester International Festival, the London-based trio The xx will be in residency in a top secret intimate venue with a capacity of just 60. Goldfrapp

Albert Hall, 21:00–23:00, £30

A unique opportunity to catch Goldfrapp’s newest album performed in a live setting in the majestic Albert Hall. Part of Manchester International Festival.

Los Cripis The Bay Horse, 20:00–01:00

Simple, stripped back sounds from Los Cripis, saturated with melodies and a distinct DIY spirit. Stormborn (Sansara)

Grand Central, 20:00–23:45, Free

A five-piece powerhouse of heavy metal from London. Santana

Manchester Arena, 19:30–22:00, From £38.50

Latin-influenced Grammy Awardwinning, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame rock bunch, fronted by the inimitable Carlos Santana. The xx

Secret Location, 20:00–23:00, £35 (£30)

For the duration of the Manchester International Festival, the London-based trio The xx will be in residency in a top secret intimate venue with a capacity of just 60. Goldfrapp

Albert Hall, 21:00–23:00, £30

A unique opportunity to catch Goldfrapp’s newest album performed in a live setting in the majestic Albert Hall. Part of Manchester International Festival. Delphic

Pavilion Theatre, 20:30–23:00, £20 (£15)

The Manchester trio, Delphic will present a reworking of their latest album, Collections, with the help of some musicians from around the world, radically rearranging each song. Part of Manchester International Festival.

Fri 19 Jul

Spike Island (Laughing Gravy + Gdansk81 + The Mothpopes)

The Roadhouse, 19:30–22:00, £4

English rock band hailing from South Manchester, led by Joe Warn on’t guitar. Beer n Blues Weekender (Mud Morganfield)

Band On The Wall, 19:30–23:00, £12 day (£20 weekend)

A whole weekend of live blues music, rare beers and real ales, with a lineup that includes Mud Morganfield and Chantal McGregor. Kamikaze Quintet

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

Manchester-based group playing originals and covers, with a selection of contemporary-inspired songs along the lines of The Cinematic Orchestra and Snarky Puppy. Clockwork Radio (Duke & the Darlings + Russ Erwin)

The Castle Hotel, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Ale-ternative continue on their quest to make alternative pop free to all, with this three-strong line up of pop firepower. Free Gig Friday (Muted Promotions)

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. Room 94

Manchester Academy 2, 3 and Club, 19:30–22:00, £7

Unsigned band of brothers – made up of Kieran, Dean and Sean Lemon, joined by Kit Tanton on bass – doing their pop-meets-rock thing. Djembekan + Jeremiah Ferrari

Antwerp Mansion, 19:30–00:00, £3

Thu 18 Jul

Part of the Antwerp Mansion Presents... series, showcasing two up-and-coming musical artists.

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

Albert Hall, 20:00–23:00, £25

Chris Flaherty Quintet

Jazz guitarist Chris Flaherty brings together a band of accomplished musicians to perform a set of original compositions and arrangements. Flume

Gorilla, 20:00–00:00, £11.50

Solo electronic music project of Sydney-based Harley Streten. Smokey Blue Grass

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

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

The Castle Hotel, 19:30–23:00, £5

The Londoner tours with his debut EP, Bones. Fight Like Apes (Throwing Up + City Reign)

Night and Day Cafe, 20:00–02:00, £7.50

Back after a two-year hiatus with a new EP in tow and bringing their karate infused punk electronica to Manchester.

July 2013

Mogwai: Zidane, A 21st Century Portrait

With a musical tome of beautifully-crafted post rock at their disposal, Mogwai play a rather special hometown show – performing their soundtrack to 2006 film, Zidane, A 21st Century Portrait alongside a live screening, for what will be the first time. Delphic

Pavilion Theatre, 20:30–23:00, £20 (£15)

Barca Live Venue, 19:30–23:00, Free

Manchester singer/songwriter, answering the big questions life throws at us through song.

Sat 20 Jul

Tue 23 Jul

Attic, 19:00–02:00, £3.00

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

HotchPotch

A unique event providing a platform for up-and-coming artists in the realm of performance art and multi-media. Beer n Blues Weekender (Ian Parker)

Band On The Wall, 13:00–19:00, £12 day (£20 weekend)

A whole weekend of live blues music, rare beers and real ales, with a lineup that includes Mud Morganfield and Chantal McGregor.

Beer n Blues Weekender (Chantal McGregor)

Band On The Wall, 19:00–23:00, £12 day (£20 weekend)

A whole weekend of live blues music, rare beers and real ales, with a lineup that includes Mud Morganfield and Chantal McGregor. Franny Eubank’s The Blues

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

Original Chicago blues from the Manchester-based Franny Eubank – delivering knock out performances with a harmonica and vocals.

\M//ETAL! #16 (The Colour Line + Today They Are Older)

Paul Edis Trio

The North East piano trio, led but Paul Edis, playing a set of forward thinking jazz, rooted in the tradition but with a distinctly contemporary vibe.

He’s My Brother, She’s My Sister

The Castle Hotel, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Genre-bending LA five-piece, making everything from glammed up folk to desert pop. Sam Bradley

Night and Day Cafe, 19:00–02:00, £7

Singer/songwriter from London, heavily influenced by his eight years spent in the US, adding a Americana twang to his music. The Murderburgers (The Walking Targets + Skimmer + Don Blake) The Bay Horse, 19:00–01:00

Glasgow’s own pop-meets-punk princes take to the fore with another reliably unique brand of upbeat bangers.

Wed 24 Jul

Dave Grusin & Lee Ritenour

Band On The Wall, 19:30–23:00, £27

A night of alternative revelry, with Hull’s technical hardcore band, The Colour Line, on the headline spot.

Celebrated guitarist Lee Ritenour – the man behind The Goonies soundtrack, respect – joined on stage by friend and collaborator Dave Grusin.

Gorilla, 19:00–23:00, £10 earlybird (£12 thereafter)

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

Retro Bar, 19:00–23:00, £5

The Universe: Explained

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s a science lesson in-a-punk-rock-gig that aims to explain everything you’ve ever wanted to know about the universe. Obviously. The Nankeens

The Castle Hotel, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Four-piece indie outfit from Salford, led by two brothers. Summerjam 2013

Sound Control, 14:00–23:00, £25

2 days of utter madness, with 36 bands taking over two stages – ranging from the metalcore bunch, Bury Tomorrow, to the Scottish post hardcore band, Yashin. Patty Griffin

Royal Northern College of Music, 19:30–22:00, £21.50

Robert Plant collaborating folk artist heads to our soil to share songs from here latest album, American Kid.

Mogwai: Zidane, A 21st Century Portrait

Albert Hall, 20:00–23:00, £25

Pavilion Theatre, 20:30–23:00, £20 (£15)

Sun 21 Jul

Forever & A Day (The Adelites)

Retro Bar, 18:00–22:30, £5

The Discordian Trio

Edingburgh-based trio serving up their own distinctive take on modern jazz, with elements of hand-edged fusion and free form imrpov. Nice. Molly Jones and Lee Southall

The Castle Hotel, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Folky singer/songwriter Molly Jones is joined by The Coral guitarist Lee Southall. Icon of Coil

Manchester Academy 2, 3 and Club, 19:30–22:00, £14

A grand finale to mark the end of The Hallé summer concerts. The Family Wolves EP Launch

Antwerp Mansion, 19:30–00:00, £tbc

The blues/psychedelic drone folk bunch from Manchester present their new EP.

Mon 22 Jul Snowapple

The Castle Hotel, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Three girls from Amsterdam doing a goose-bump-inducing pop/folk/ opera thing.

Locus

Johnny and his band of sexy weirdos bring their genre-straddling mash up of music, spanning everything from gypsy folk to crusty punk.

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

Sat 06 Jul

Full band line-up led by Rioghnach Connolly’s folk vocals, delivering electronic beats, loops and vocal sculpting to an already colossal sound. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival. Mount Fabric

The Castle Hotel, 19:30–23:00, £tbc

Moody rock from the Manchester lot, Mount Fabric, playing a series of shows on the run up to the release of their final EP. Six by Seven

Sound Control, 19:30–23:00, £10

Nottingham-based indie rock fivepiece, taking inspiration from My Bloody Valentine and Spacemen 3. Free Gig Friday (Clockwork Radio)

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. Hallé Youth Orchestra

Martin Harris Centre for Music and Drama, 19:30–22:00, £9 (£6)

The Hallé Youth Orchestra, a group of musicians between the ages of 13-19 present a evening of Stravinsky, R Strauss and Sibelius. DJ Doreen Edwards

Festival Pavilion Teepee, 20:00–22:00, Free

To open the Manchester Jazz Festival, DJ Doreen Edwards spins some funky grooves from her personal record collection.

Sat 27 Jul

Owiny Sigoma Band

Soup Kitchen, 19:30–23:00, £7

The result of a collaboration between a handful of London-based musicians and a group of local musicians in Nairobi, Kenya. Ed Banger & The Nosebleeds

The Star and Garter, 20:00–23:00, £8

Pioneers of the punk revival celebrate the launch of their new EP. Fresh Dixie Project

6ACRE

Michael Cretu Quartet

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

Known for weaving together contemporary, classical, folk and jazz styles, the internationally acclaimed musician and composer, Michael Cretu brings his trio of musicians to Manchester. Jesca Hoop

The Castle Hotel, 19:30–23:00, £10

Manchester-based, Californiaborn songstress rich with layered harmonies, cavernous production and slow, sombre seduction. Emily’s Army

Sound Control, 19:00–23:00, £6

Young pup four-piece hailing from Oakland, CA, with a passion for piñatas and punk rock. Ain’t we all. Sweet Taste

Grand Central, 20:00–23:45, Free

Belfast-based three piece blending funk and blues with rock’n’roll. Wu-Tang Clan (Mic Righteous + DJ Semtex + Bishop Nehru)

O2 Apollo, 19:00–23:00, £34

Sound Control, 14:00–23:00, £25

Bridgewater Hall, 19:30–22:00, From £16.50

Johnny Kowalski and The Sexy Weirdos (The Harlequin Dynamite Marching Band)

Thu 25 Jul

Fri 26 Jul

The Hallé: The Last Night of the Hallé Proms

Times 4 Festival Pavilion Teepee, 14:30–17:00, Free

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

Hip hop group from the East Coast of the US, out on a 20th anniversary tour.

2 days of utter madness, with 36 bands taking over two stages – ranging from the metalcore bunch, Bury Tomorrow, to the Scottish post hardcore band, Yashin.

Terri Shaltiel Festival Pavilion Teepee, 20:00–22:00, £12 adv. (£14 door)

Norwegian electronic project established in 1997 as the solo project of Andy LaPlegua, later joined by former Sector 9 bandmate Sebastian Komor.

Alt-rock five-piece from Manchester, bringing the stadium sized sound. Summerjam 2013

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

Party Hard

The Star and Garter, 22:00–03:00, £3

Noisy alternative club night, expect anything from Weezer, Deftones, System of a Down, Jimmy Eat World to Smashing Pumpkins. Matthew McHugh (The Folk Remedy + Edwin Miles)

The Roadhouse, 19:30–22:00, £tbc

Singer/songwriter from Lancaster, making highly melodic alternative folk-rock. Black Lights (WilD Birds + Within + Stalagmites + Rum Thief + Daddy Science)

The Ruby Lounge, 19:30–23:00, £6

A showcase of Manchester and Salford bands, with the deftly beautiful Black Lights taking the headline spot. Jazz on 3: BBC Introducing

Band On The Wall, 19:00–22:00, Free by ballot

BBC’s Jez Nelson presents a showcase of four emerging jazz bands. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival.

Five young lads from the South Easy, making hard-hitting, toetapping tunes. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival. 2022NQ, 12:00–20:00, £2 (door)

6ACRE provides a platform for up and coming fashion labels with their mini-festival of rare kicks, independent apparel, street art, music and more. Jet Pack

Sound Control, 19:00–22:30, £5

Four-piece rock band from the West Midlands, touring with their latest EP, Chasing Sunsets. Room 94

Manchester Academy 2, 3 and Club, 19:30–22:00, £7

Unsigned band of brothers – made up of Kieran, Dean and Sean Lemon, joined by Kit Tanton on bass – doing their pop-meets-rock thing. The Big Band Divas

Bridgewater Hall, 19:30–22:00, From £22.50

Award-winning jazz vocalist Claire Martin joins the BBC Big Band to celebrate the music of jazz’s leading ladies, including Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Peggy Lee. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival. Yazz Ahmet Quartet

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

The warm and atmospheric offerings of Yazz Ahmed and her London band, serving up Arabic-inspired experimental textures. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival. Trish Clowes Tangent

Festival Pavilion Teepee, 15:00–16:30, £3

BBC 3 New Generation Artist, Trish Clowes, exploring the hinterland between jazz and contemporary classical. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival. Ultra High Flamenco

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

High profile Spanish band, playing dramatic and fiery flamenco-jazz fusion with a folky, acoustic feel: tumbling rhythms, dazzling unison passages and passionate melodies. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival.

Terri Shaltiel returns to the Manchester Jazz Festival with her powerful and soulful voice, offering original 60s and 70s inspired sounds in the realm of Etta James and Roberta Flack.

One Day One Love Concert (Modern Faces + Alistair Sheerin + Section 60 + The Black Delta Movement + SPTFYR + RUCKUS + Stolen Haven + The Nankeens) Barca Live Venue, 19:30–23:00, Â£6

A mini-festival of sorts, with a line up spanning rock’n’roll to up and coming indie from across the UK.

Sun 28 Jul Snarky Puppy

Band On The Wall, 19:00–22:00, £15 adv.

With a rotating schedule of some 25 players, the US-of A collective share their unique musical enthusiasm for jazz funk and world music. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival. The Secret Folk Club

Antwerp Mansion, 20:00–00:00, Free

The Secret Folk Club present an evening of local folk.

Key 103 Live! (Olly Murs + Mark Owen + Rudimental + Scouting for Girls)

Manchester Arena, 19:30–22:00, From £25

Key 103 bring together four pop acts of the moment, including Olly Murs and Mark Owen. Deep joy. Music for Life Big Band (Mike Walker)

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

An ensemble of 25 young musicians from Cheshire, performing a specially commissioned piece written by 12 contemporary composers including Mike Gibbs and Gwilym Simcock. Emilia Martensson & Ivo Neame

Festival Pavilion Teepee, 15:00–16:30, £3

A lush interpretation of Emilia’s native Swedish folk songs delivered by two rising stars of the London jazz scene. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival. Benoit Martiny Band

Festival Pavilion Teepee, 17:00–18:30, £3

Luxembourg-hailing five-piece delivering high energy jazz with influences of garage rock and punky thrash metal. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival. Kefaya

Festival Pavilion Teepee, 19:30–21:00, £12 adv. (£14 door)

International collective exploring world folk through improvisation, electronics and contemporary influences, effortlessly fusing global influences. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival.

A rearrangement of Ken Marley’s Times Up for a chord-less quartet, giving the new pieces a world/ folk-tinged collective drive. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival.

A group of talented young things, led by the NYC-based Leah Gough-Cooper and Leeds-based Kim Macari, sharing their energetic approach to contemporary jazz. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival. Moonlight Saving Time

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

Young, dynamic band from Bristol, inspired by the likes of Cinematic Orchestra and Massive Attack, playing an atmospheric set of world rhythms and grooves cut with Emily’s rich and clear vocals. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival. Ben Cox & Jamie Safiruddin

The Midland, 14:30–17:00, £19.95

This musical duo present a selection of ballads and folk songs inspired by the duets of Bill Evans and Tony Bennett. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival. Paul Birchall Trio

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

Paul Birchall offers up contemporary pop with a subtle jazz influsion. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival.

Liverpool Music Tue 02 Jul LUCKY DRAGONS

2 Jul, 7:00pm – 11:00pm, £7

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. Take Five: Europe

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

An ensemble of innovative musicians hand-picked from France, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland and the UK perform together for the final time as part of the Manchester Jazz Festival.

The Best of Gilbert and Sullivan

Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, 19:30–23:00, From £13

An evening of Gilbert and Sullivan classics, including the one act comic opera, Trail by Jury. Walk

The Kazimier Garden, 20:30–23:00, Free

The Manchester-based sequencer blues duo bring the toe tapping beats to the Kazimier for their debut Liverpool show.

Sun 07 Jul X & Y Festival

EAST VILLAGE ARTS CLUB, 12:00–23:00, £15 adv. (wristband)

X & Y Festival – the brainchild of I Love Live Events – is back for its biggest lineup yet. Day 2 highlights include: Young Kato and The Thespians. Scott and Charlene’s Wedding

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

Will Jazz

Long-standing member of Dan Haywood’s New Hawks, Mikey Kenney, stepping out on his own to pursue a solo folk/pop/art project.

Garage rock four-piece from the US of A, signed to Drag City.

Thu 04 Jul

Ottersgear

The Kazimier Garden, 17:00–21:00, Free

Mon 08 Jul

Mello’s Jazz Collective

Mello Mello, 20:00–23:00, Free

The Manchester-based one-man band, getting all experimental with futuristic drum sounds and synthy goodness.

A live set from the resident jazz collective.

Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, 20:30–23:00, £12

STUDIO2 - Parr Street Studios, 20:00–23:00, £3 (door)

SANS

Lomax, 19:30–23:30, £12.50

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

Dark punk band hailing from Tintagel, who’ll also answer to the genre ‘geek rage’.

Blade Factory, 19:00–23:00, £6

Sic Alps + The Lucid Dream

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

Efpi Showcase (Anton Hunter Trio + Johnny Hunter Quartet + Roadrunner Honey)

Dead Wolf Club

Mello Mello, 19:30–23:00, £4

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

A group of talented multiinstrumentalists, drawing on English, Finnish and Armenian folk music to create something pretty unique.

Monday night jazz jam, all abilities welcome. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival.

Blues and country singer from Liverpool.

London-based musician and part of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, touring with his debut album, Engines of Creation.

After a two-year hiatus from the live circuit, folk-rock singer/ songwriter Johnny Flynn dusts off his guitar for a mini UK tour. Jazz Jam

Rob Vincent

Camp and Furnace, 19:30–23:00, £7

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

The Phil Meadows Group

Mello Mello, 20:00–23:00, £0.80

Johnny Flynn

X & Y Festival – the brainchild of I Love Live Events – is back for its biggest lineup yet. Day 1 highlights include: Dog is Dead, Jaws and Dexters.

STUDIO2 - Parr Street Studios, 20:00–23:00, £3 (door)

The Midland, 14:30–16:00, £19.95

The Deaf Institute, 19:00–22:30, £12

X & Y Festival

O2 Academy, 12:00–23:00, £15 adv. (wristband)

Wed 03 Jul

Paddy Steer (White Blacula + Claire Wells)

Mon 29 Jul

Curiositease

The Zanzibar Club , 20:00–23:00, £13

An evening of burlesque and curiosities, including the famous whip-cracking Diva Hollywood.

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

Hammond & Sassoon

The duo share jazz and bluestinged originals from their album, Coming Out. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival.

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

David Kitt (Margie Lewis)

Irish singer/songwriter plays a series of dates for his first UK tour in five years.

Fri 05 Jul Tea Street Band

The Zanzibar Club , 20:00–23:00, £5

A genre straddling band that invites many a reviewer to pair together the most unlikely of comparisons, as in, expect a mash up of styles. Heaven’s Basement

O2 Academy, 19:00–22:00, £8.50

British hard rock four-piece chock full of ambition and drive. Evil Blizzard

Mello Mello, 20:00–23:00, £tbc

Four bass players and a singer drummer make up this Preston/ Birmingham-hailing sonic assault on your eardrums. Metal 2 The Masses: Semi Final

Lomax, 19:00–23:30, £tbc

Metal-styled battle of the bands, with a chance to perform at Bloodstock and more up for grabs.

Tue 09 Jul Sueyo

Jazz singer hailing from Liverpool, and winner of the first ever Marion Montgomery National Jazz Diva Award.

Wed 10 Jul

The Jonathan Stafford Band (Great Plain + Johnny Panic) Lomax, 19:30–23:30, £tbc

Folk rock four-piece hailing from Plymouth, fronted by young pup Jonathan Stafford.

Thu 11 Jul

The Original Rubeboys

O2 Academy, 19:00–22:00, £9.50

Dublin-based trio crafting genrestraddling acoustic pop rock indie hip-hop, currently out on a UK-wide tour. Vomitor (Funeral Throne)

The Kazimier, 19:00–23:00, £6

Death metal from the Brisbanehailing, Dublin-based trio. Hoodlums

The Shipping Forecast, 20:00–22:00, £5

A five-piece from London making infectious indie music of the pop variety. Town Bike (Nervous Twitch + Black Snow Rodeo)

Mello Mello, 21:00–23:00, Free

Liverpool four piece making pop punk your can dance to.

Listings

Liverpool Music Marionettes (Varese’s + Three Minute Hero) Lomax, 19:30–23:30, £tbc

Aberdeen quintet doing a rather fine line in shouty indie-pop, gigging a selection of new material.

Fri 12 Jul Honey Ryder

The Shipping Forecast, 20:00–22:00, £7

London-based pop, rock and folkstraddling trio, touring on the back of their second album – recorded in a five star recording studio in Thailand, no less. Oxjam Takeover

Mello Mello, 20:00–23:00, £tbc

Part of the Oxjam music festival, a month of gigs all in aid of raising money for Oxfam. Acoustic Dustbowl

View Two Gallery, 20:00–23:00, £5 adv. (£6 door)

Bringing Americana/folk and altcountry to Liverpool. Ian Prowse

Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, 20:30–23:00, £12

The Cheshire singer/songwriter, who also fronts Pele and Amsterdam, does his solo thing.

Metal 2 The Masses: Semi Final (Blood Red Throne + Flayed Disciple) Lomax, 19:00–23:30, £tbc

Metal-styled battle of the bands, with a chance to perform at Bloodstock and more up for grabs. Spaceheads

The Kazimier Garden, 20:30–23:00, Free

Trumpet and drum duo from Manchester, formed back in 1989 and returning with their new EP, Sun Radar.

Sat 13 Jul Black Diamond

O2 Academy, 19:00–22:00, tbc

Seattle-based rock five-piece, made up of ex-members of The Purps, Petty Enemy and more. Dinosaur Pile-Up

The Shipping Forecast, 19:00–22:00, £7.50

Leeds-based alternative rock lot led by singer and guitarist Matt Bigland. Ian Prowse

Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, 20:30–23:00, £12

The Cheshire singer/songwriter, who also fronts Pele and Amsterdam, does his solo thing. With One Last Breathe

The Picket, 19:00–23:00, £6

York-based five-piece metal group, led by the very loud vocals of Sam Graves.

Shatter Effect (Triphazzard + Stolen Haven + Those Amongst Us Are Wolves)

Lomax, 19:00–23:30, £tbc

Five piece from the West Midlands making danceable rock music. Trash Talk

Blade Factory, 19:00–23:00, £9

California-hailing hardcore punk four piece, out on a Europe-wide tour.

Sun 14 Jul 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. White Nights

Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, 19:30–23:00, From £16

An evening of Russian classics, including some of Rachmaninov’s earliest works and Tchaikovsky’s Rome-inspired Capriccio Italien. The Osorno Story

The Cornerstone Gallery, 16:30–18:00, Free

An evening of acousmatic music (music composed specifically for loudspeaker playback). German composer, Reinhard Fuchs will present a series of works, The Osorno Story, composed by musicians from around the world.

Mon 15 Jul

Mr B The Gentleman Rhymer

The Kazimier, 20:00–23:00, £8

Bringing his unique brand of chap hop (hip hop meets the Queen’s English) to the Northwest as part of his Mad Dogs and Englishmen in the Midsummer tour.

Listings

Tue 16 Jul

Bam Margera from Jackass is Fuckface Unstoppable

O2 Academy, 19:00–22:00, £15

That Jackass from Jackass is turning his attention to making music, covering the likes of Turbonegro and Bloodhound Gang and bringing the punk rawk by the bucket load. Dave Edge

STUDIO2 - Parr Street Studios, 20:00–23:00, £3 (door)

Originally from the North West, this tenor saxophonist relocated to Norway and got involved with two of the most popular jazz quintets in Scandinavia.

Wed 17 Jul Emily’s Army

O2 Academy, 18:30–22:00, £6

Young pup four-piece hailing from Oakland, CA, with a passion for piñatas and punk rock. Ain’t we all. Stealing Sheep (All We Are + Prides)

East Village Arts Club, 19:00–23:00, Free (booking required)

Three otherworldly Liverpudlian lasses mixing organic and electronic sounds, all medieval synths, hypnotic beats, spiraling whammy guitars, and apocalyptic thunder drones – playing a free gig in their hometown.

Thu 18 Jul Bombshell

The Shipping Forecast, 19:00–22:00, £2

Launch event for Bombshell’s EP, Dataset. Dead Hedge Trio

Mello Mello, 20:00–23:00, £tbc

A trio from Liverpool, throwing jazz, psychedelic rock and Afrobeat into the melting pot and coming up with something kinda groovy with an improvised vibe. Jungbluth (Black Mass + In Atoms)

Drop the Dumbells, 20:00–23:00, £4 (£3)

Drop the Dumbells host the political hardcore punk lot, Jungbluth, with support from the equally heavy Black Mass and In Atoms.

The Mavericks Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, 19:30–23:00, From £34.50

The country-steeped garage ensemble do what they do best (er, that’d be country-steeped garage). Sweet Little Machine (Nylon Sky + Under The Influence)

Four-piece power pop punk band hailing from Leeds and Sheffield.

Tue 23 Jul Greg Abate

STUDIO2 - Parr Street Studios, 20:00–23:00, £3 (door)

Jazz saxophonist, flautist and composer from Rhode Island, educated at the prestigious Berklee College of Music.

Wed 24 Jul The Strange Door

Mello Mello, 20:00–23:00, Free

The Doors tribute act.

Jon Byrd (The Good Intentions + Grateful Fred)

Lomax, 19:30–23:30, £3.50 adv. (£5 door)

Nashville-based singer/songwriter delivering songs from his 2012 album, Down at the Well of Wishes.

Thu 25 Jul The Murderburgers

Mello Mello, 20:30–23:00, £tbc

Glasgow’s own pop-meets-punk princes take to the fore with another reliably unique brand of upbeat bangers. Flight of Arrows

Lomax, 19:00–23:30, £tbc

Infectious and catchy indie pop from the Preston-based four piece.

Fri 26 Jul Reva

The Zanzibar Club , 19:00–23:00, £5

Four-piece Brit pop band from Liverpool, fond of catchy choruses and big guitar sounds.

BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet

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

Fri 19 Jul

Mello Mello, 20:00–23:00, £tbc

Lomax, 20:00–23:30, £tbc

Album launch for Barney Sloane.

Sat 20 Jul

Clang Boom Steam Album Launch

Mello Mello, 20:00–23:00, £5

The much-anticipated album from Liverpool’s Clang Boom Steam finally gets a launch. Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells ‘For Two’

Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, 19:30–23:00, From £21

Who says you need 30 people crammed on stage to play Tubular Bells? Two highly talented musicians skillfully recreate the playful lunacy of Oldfield’s 1973 masterpiece with only four hands and four feet! The Hexmen (The Vinos + Free Spirit)

Lomax, 19:30–23:30, £tbc

Liverpool-based high octane pub rock/blues led by the harmonica and vocals of George Hexmen. The Crystal Horses

Sound Food and Drink, 20:00–23:00, £tbc

Rock’n’roll quintet from Liverpool, playing everything from lovelorn ballads to gypsy arias. Brazilica Carnival Parade

Liverpool City Centre, 20:00–22:00, Free

Glittering costumes and infectious Samba beats will be snaking through the streets of Liverpool for this annual celebration of Brazilian culture.

Sun 21 Jul Bernie Connor

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

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

Mon 22 Jul

Tunabunny (Mean Jean + The 10p Mixes) Mello Mello, 20:00–23:00, £tbc

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

A fine example of Cajun French music straight outta the backwaters of Southwest Louisiana.

Mon 29 Jul

Mello’s Jazz Collective

Mello Mello, 20:00–23:00, Free

A live set from the resident jazz collective.

Lomax, 19:00–23:30, £tbc

Potent and popular Cajun music driven by the spellbinding fiddle playing and soulful vocals of Michael Doucet.

Barney Sloanes Album Launch

Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys

Kassoma

New blood from Manchester, serving up intense, anthemic indie rock. Dom Newton

STUDIO2 - Parr Street Studios, 20:00–02:00, £5

A hefty blend of blues/psyche from the Liverpool native – presenting his new album, Atlantis on the evening.

Sat 27 Jul AOS3

Mello Mello, 20:00–23:00, £4

Psychedelic club punk band formed in 1990 in Sunderland – currently working on their third album. Radio City Live 2013

Echo Arena, 19:00–22:00, From £25

Previous years have seen One Direction take to the stage for this summer party of sorts – tweenies unite. Jools Holland and his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra

Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, 19:30–23:00, From £37.50

The former Squeeze piano tinkler does his thing, accompanied as ever by his 20-piece Rhythm and Blues Orchestra. Futurejack (The Temps + Hooligan Choir + Vision Thing + The Protagonists)

Lomax, 19:00–23:30, £tbc

Gypsy/folk/punk from the Liverpool-based four-piece, led by Dogstar Rose.

Sun 28 Jul

Christopher Matthew Tyler

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

A sunday selection from local DJ, Christopher Matthew Tyler. The MelloMello Right on Records Fair (Chris McBride)

Mello Mello, 12:00–23:00, Free

Vinyl junkies unite! MelloMello will be transformed into a record fair for one day only.

Manchester Clubs Tue 02 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 04 Jul Reggae Thursday

The Deaf Institute, 21:00–01:30, Free

Weekly reggae session at the institute, serving up a blend of roots, rocksteady, onedrop, dancehall and ska. 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.

Fri 05 Jul Revolver

The Deaf Institute, 23:00–03:00, £3

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

Top Of The Pops ‘13 (Dance Lady Dance + Gus Gorman)

Mint Lounge, 22:30–03:30, £2

Manchester Clubs Deadbeat (Gary Sloan) Soup Kitchen, 23:00–04:00, £5

Live at Robert Johnson Tour (Roman Flugel + Gerd Janson + Lee Rands + Scott Grant)

Continental Shift

Global beats in the basement, from the Seven Seasons bunch.

The underground club night touches down for its only UK date outside of Fabric in London, bringing with them Robert Johnson residents Roman Flugel and Gerd Janson.

FESTIVAL Pavilion, 23:00–02:30, £10

Sun 07 Jul

The Canadian techno legend drops by the basement for a rare live set, with a warm up from Manchester’s Gary Sloan. Wählbar, 21:00–02:00, Free

Drunk at Vogue

Drunk at Vogue celebrate the opening of the Manchester International Festival with The House of Popular Disco. Courteerners: Offical Aftershow

The Ruby Lounge, 23:00–03:00, £8

Liam Fray takes to the decks for the official Courteeners aftershow party.

Gorilla, 22:00–04:00, £12

Depth Charge

Wählbar, 21:00–02:00, Free

Dry Live, 23:00–04:00, £8

Still Going

Tue 09 Jul

GOO

Sat 06 Jul

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

Remake Remodel

The Ruby Lounge, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

Gold Teeth

The Deaf Institute, 22:00–03:00, £4

A night of alternative rock’n’roll shenanigans.

Thu 11 Jul

The Deaf Institute, 22:00–04:00, £4 (£5 door)

The Deaf Institute, 21:00–01:30, Free

Girls On Film

Pink lady cocktails, disco balls, glitz and glamour – a monthly club night where you’re free to let your inner 80s child loose. Crack Yr Skull

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. Funkademia (Dave Redsoul)

Mint Lounge, 22:30–03:30, £5 (£6 after 11)

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 local DJ ledge Clint Boon. Beatnik (Dexter Kane)

Joshua Brooks, 23:00–04:00, £10

Bringing the undergrounds sound as per, with Dexter Kane, Miss B and Neil Parks on the line-up. Neil Smallridge

Black Dog Ballroom NQ, 22:00–05:00, Free

Reggae Thursday

Weekly reggae session at the institute, serving up a blend of roots, rocksteady, onedrop, dancehall and ska. 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.

Patterns

Work Them

Soup Kitchen, 23:00–3:00, £5

Rob da Bank

WhoSaidWhat?

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

Trof Fallowfield, 23:00–03:00, Free

Manchester’s biggest and friendliest reggae party returns.

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. Nic Fanciulli

Gorilla, 22:00–04:00, £10

Mute! and Under join forces to bring the Grammy awardnominated producer, and driving force behind Saved Records, to Manchester.

Juicy

All party, no bullshit night of everything from classic hip-hop to disco and funk. Golden Egg

Trof Fallowfield, 21:00–03:00, £3

Mint Lounge, 22:30–03:30, £2

Pavilion Theatre, 23:00–03:00, £12 (£7)

Jamie Smith

Launch party for deep house artist, Jamie Smith, free entry and free CD, can’t say fairer. Bohemian Grove (Obsolete Music Technology + Cottam)

Islington Mill, 22:00–08:00, £10

Detroit techno from the Bohemian Grove collective, with Obsolete Music Technology, aka Steven Tang, playing in support of his new LP Disconnect to Connect.

Mint Lounge, 22:30–03:30, £5 (£6 after 11)

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

Top Of The Pops ‘13

Get your weekend off to a great start with this healthy mix of dancefloor fillers and guilty pleasures served up by resident 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. Pumping Iron

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

Mixed-bag night of nu cosmic Italio, vintage avant garde disco and lo-fi rhythmic punk funk, as you do. WhoSaidWhat?

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

Tue 16 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 18 Jul Reggae Thursday

The Deaf Institute, 21:00–01:30, Free

Weekly reggae session at the institute, serving up a blend of roots, rocksteady, onedrop, dancehall and ska. 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

Neil Smallridge

New Century Hall, 22:00–03:00, £15 (£10)

Mixed-bag night from local DJ ledge Clint Boon. 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. Woo Hah

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

Rob da Bank

Rob da Bank will be presenting an A-Z of Manchester through the decades, with visuals provided by Manchester photographer, Kevin Cummins. Part of Manchester International Festival.

Club Suicide (Aérea Negrot + Hiem) Islington Mill, 22:00–04:00, £5

Presenting their unique night of can’t mix, won’t mix, no nonsense car crash of musical styles. 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.

Xpansion + Sequential Records (Ronson + Stuart James + Matt Cox + Mike Richardson) Dry Live, 23:00–04:00, £4

A summer-long residency, inviting some of the best residents for a night of underground house and techno. Oldskool Throwback

The Ruby Lounge, 23:00–04:00, £5

Departing from its usual home at The Ritz and bringing gems from the 80s and 90s to the rock’n’roll den, The Ruby Lounge.

Sun 14 Jul

Zutekh Vs Tpot (Craig Richards + Ruthit + Adam Ross + Zutekh DJs + Thick As Thieves)

Islington Mill, 21:00–04:00, £4 (£5 door)

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

Two music collectives join forces to bring y’all a night of home grown talent and leftfield music.

Still Going

The Deaf Institute, 21:00–1:00, Free

John Loveless takes to the basement to serve up some steady grooves along with residents and guests.

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

Clint Boon

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

Mind on Fire/ This City is Ours (Flako + Bambooman)

Vinyl only session spanning Afrobeat, reggae, funk and disco.

South, 23:00–04:00, £5

Pavilion Theatre, 23:00–03:00, £12 (£7)

Juicy

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

Rob da Bank will be presenting an A-Z of Manchester through the decades, with visuals provided by Manchester photographer, Kevin Cummins. Part of Manchester International Festival.

Funkademia

The Deaf Institute, 22:00–03:00, £3

Work Then return to the Soup Kitchen basement with a mixed bag of eclectic tunes spanning disco, house and psychedelic pop. Common invite their buddies to take over the decks.

The Deaf Institute, 22:00–03:00, £5

Monthly club night tribute to 90s indie – expect Pulp, Nirvana, Suede, Smashing Pumpkins, Pixies and more.

Fri 12 Jul

Bringing together the best of the UK hip-hop scene under one club night roof – enjoy hip hop, soul and reggae.

Friends in Common

Sat 13 Jul

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

WHP resident, Krysko, taking over the decks and playing his blend of soul, disco and house anthems.

Band On The Wall, 22:30–03:00, Free (£5 after midnight)

Exium

A whole night of alternative revelry with a soundtrack of hardcore, pop punk and metal.

Deadbolt

Sound Control, 23:00–04:00, £2.50

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

Night of the Living Dread (Mikey D.O.N. + Ben Johnson + Mr Womble)

Gorilla, 22:00–04:00, £10

Process bring the Spanish producer duo, Exium to Dry Live for a night of straight up techno.

The Deaf Institute, 22:00–04:00, £3

The gesamtkunstwerk crew assemble to shred up conventional electronics and reconstruct the remains – basically just the electronic/house/techno sounds we’ve come to expect of the Mill.

Jamie xx

The Deaf Institute, 21:00–1:00, Free

Black Dog Bowl, 23:00–04:00, Free

Gesamtkunstwerk

Sound Control, 23:00–04:00, £9

A night of old school, with hip-hop DJ/producer DJ Format and the Bristol beatsmith Boca 45.

John Loveless takes to the basement to serve up some steady grooves along with residents and guests.

Effortlessly blended indie, disco, hip-hop and house served up by Neil Smallridge.

Islington Mill, 22:00–04:00, £5

DJ Format (Boca 45 + AKFX)

Alongside his appearance at the MIF, Jamie xx plays an exclusive set at Gorilla.

All party, no bullshit night of everything from classic hip-hop to disco and funk.

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

Contact, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Following the Into the Beats production masterclass, stick around for the afterparty with Zed Bias, Silkie, Madam X, Darka, T. dot, Phaze One and Fallacy.

A whole night of what they’re calling ‘deeptechdiscosomethingorother’ from residents Alex Mark and Curtis Randles.

Get your weekend off to a great start with this healthy mix of dancefloor fillers and guilty pleasures served up by resident and guest DJs. Dirty Dancefloors

The Black Sound Series: Into The Beats

Abstract Groove Wählbar, 21:00–02:00, Free

South, 15:00–00:00, £10

Despacio

Three consecutive nights of vinyl sets from James Murphy and his team, making use of the specially commissioned disco sound system. Part of Manchester International Festival. Rob da Bank

Pavilion Theatre, 23:00–03:00, £12 (£7)

Rob da Bank will be presenting an A-Z of Manchester through the decades, with visuals provided by Manchester photographer, Kevin Cummins. Part of Manchester International Festival. Club Tragicana

Islington Mill, 20:00–04:00, Free

The Islington Mill bunch attempt to recreate the Island of Ibiza and invite musicians, storytellers, magicians and artists along for the sun-drenched ride.

Fri 19 Jul

Shangaan Electro (Nozinja + Tshetsha Boys + Tiyiselani + Nkata Mawewe)

Islington Mill, 18:00–04:00, £9

Dance workshop-cum-performance in the latest South African dance craze – y’know, Shangaan Electro – built on rapid-style moves and a whole lotta assshaking. Optional workshops will be followed by a live performance. Top Of The Pops ‘13

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 resident 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. Friends in Common

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

Common invite their buddies to take over the decks. 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.

American transcendental dance pop bunch.

THE SKINNY

Despacio New Century Hall, 22:00–03:00, £15 (£10)

Three consecutive nights of vinyl sets from James Murphy and his team, making use of the specially commissioned disco sound system. Part of Manchester International Festival. Rob da Bank

Pavilion Theatre, 23:00–03:00, £12 (£7)

Rob da Bank will be presenting an A-Z of Manchester through the decades, with visuals provided by Manchester photographer, Kevin Cummins. Part of Manchester International Festival. Play (Jesse Rose + Hannah Wants)

Gorilla, 22:00–04:00, £10

Jesse Rose playing a 2 hour set as part of his European tour, joined by Food Music’s Hannah Wants. Cherry

South, 23:00–03:30, £4

Celebrating all things naughty from the noughties, with a music policy that spans 2000’s pop and houseparty anthems.

Sat 20 Jul Revolver

The Deaf Institute, 23:00–03:00, £3

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

Mint Lounge, 22:30–03:30, £5 (£6 after 11)

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 local DJ ledge Clint Boon.

Dusted (Martijn + Dudley Strangeways + Pete Smith + Carlo Gambino + Paul Stott)

Thu 25 Jul Reggae Thursday

The Deaf Institute, 21:00–01:30, Free

Weekly reggae session at the institute, serving up a blend of roots, rocksteady, onedrop, dancehall and ska. 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.

Fri 26 Jul Gold Teeth

Gorilla, 22:00–03:00, £5

Legendary bad boy, mixed-bag night that invites use of the term ‘carnage’. Top Of The Pops ‘13

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. Block Party

Trof Northern Quarter, 21:00–03:00, free

A Vertigo Festival pre party with Deep Edition.

Another Mof Glimmers night, serving up block party essentials with free house punch ‘til it’s gone.

Black Dog Ballroom NQ, 22:00–05:00, Free

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

Joshua Brooks, 23:00–04:00, £8

Neil Smallridge

Dirty Dancefloors

Reach Out Sound Control, 23:00–03:00, £1

Following on from the success of their Motown night, Sound Control serves up a night of all things 60s, expect The Kinks, Al Wilson, Stevie Wonder and Rolling Stones. 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.

Black Dog Bowl, 23:00–04:00, Free

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. Jozif (Him_Self_Her)

Gorilla, 22:00–04:00, £6

To celebrate their second birthday, The Underground have lined up a party with some of Crosstown Rebel’s rising stars.

Sun 28 Jul This City is Ours

Wählbar, 21:00–02:00, Free

A night of forward thinking electronic music from the Manchester based collective and label, This City is Ours. Still Going

The Deaf Institute, 21:00–1:00, Free

John Loveless takes to the basement to serve up some steady grooves along with residents and guests.

Woo Hah

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

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

New Century Hall, 22:00–03:00, £15 (£10)

Three consecutive nights of vinyl sets from James Murphy and his team, making use of the specially commissioned disco sound system. Part of Manchester International Festival. Psychic Rhythm Abduction

Islington Mill, 22:00–04:00, £5.00

The last party before they close their doors for the summer, going out with an otherworldly glitterbang, with a little help from Volkov Commanders and the Brooklyn-based CHERYL.

Sun 21 Jul Haxan

Common, 16:00–00:00, Free

Micheal Holland and Conor, dishing up radiophonic disco and film score techno. Still Going

The Deaf Institute, 21:00–1:00, Free

John Loveless takes to the basement to serve up some steady grooves along with residents and guests.

Tue 23 Jul Gold Teeth

The Deaf Institute, 22:00–03:00, £4

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

WhoSaidWhat?

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

Common invite their buddies to take over the decks. 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. 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. Jungle Syndicate

Antwerp Mansion, 21:00–04:00, £tbc

A night of drum’n’bass from the Jungle Syndicate lot. Content (Josh Wink)

Joshua Brooks, 22:00–04:00, £12.50

Joshua Brooks invite Ovum Recordings founder, Josh Wink, for a three hour set.

Sat 27 Jul POP

The Deaf Institute, 22:00–04:00, £3

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.

Dirty Antics

Bumper, 22:30–04:00, Free (£4 after 11)

Messy Tuesday-nighter, bring your dirty shoes.

Wed 03 Jul Revolution

O2 Academy, 23:00–03:00, £2.50

Kill Your TV

Bumper, 20:30–05:00, £2

An anything-goes affair – think indie, punk, ska, new wave, electro and more.

Thu 04 Jul Juicy

The Shipping Forecast, 23:00–03:00, £3

All party, no bullshit night of everything from classic hip-hop to disco and funk. Propaganda

Bumper, 23:00–05:00, Free (£4 after 11)

Time Square

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) Hip Hop Karaoke

Brooklyn Mixer, 21:00–02:00, £tbc

DJ and actor Craig Charles will be manning the decks until 3am, playing his picks of funk and soul. Part of Manchester Jazz Festival.

For the wannabe rappers out there, like regular old cheese-ball karaoke, but with a hip-hop twist.

South, 23:00–04:00, £5

Ease those double-dip recession woes and dance yourself silly at Chameleon’s weekly Stock Exchange.

Mixed-bag night from local DJ ledge Clint Boon.

Stock Exchange

Chameleon Bar, 20:00–02:00, Free

Gossip!

Garlands, 22:00–03:00, £4

Student night with 5 rooms of music spread over 2 floors and the occasional theme night.

July 2013

Rage

The Krazy House, 22:00–05:00, £3

Bedlam Saturday

Extravagant and flamboyant club night complete with Avant garde entertainers – where the crazy club kids of Liverpool come out to play.

Tue 09 Jul Dirty Antics

Bumper, 22:30–04:00, Free (£4 after 11)

Messy Tuesday-nighter, bring your dirty shoes.

Wed 10 Jul 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. Kill Your TV

Bumper, 20:30–05:00, £2

An anything-goes affair – think indie, punk, ska, new wave, electro and more.

Thu 11 Jul Juicy

The Shipping Forecast, 23:00–03:00, £3

All party, no bullshit night of everything from classic hip-hop to disco and funk. Propaganda

Bumper, 23:00–05:00, Free (£4 after 11)

Student-orientated night playing the best in new and classic indie music. 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) Hip Hop Karaoke

Brooklyn Mixer, 21:00–02:00, £tbc

Ease those double-dip recession woes and dance yourself silly at Chameleon’s weekly Stock Exchange.

Taking over the home of Cream, with house/electro, chart and r’n’b spread over three rooms, complete with visuals.

The Krazy House, 22:00–04:00, £2

Clint Boon

Back with more old school hip hop and 2 step garage grooves.

Nation, 22:30–03:00, £5

Medication

Funkademia

Band On The Wall, 21:00–03:00, £17.50

Jazzy Jade

The Shipping Forecast, 22:00–03:00, Free

For the wannabe rappers out there, like regular old cheese-ball karaoke, but with a hip-hop twist.

Mint Lounge, 22:30–03:30, £5 (£6 after 11)

Craig Charles Funk & Soul Club (Lee Fields & The Expressions)

Sat 06 Jul

Grab a slice of the midweek rock action with a night of alt, rock, metal, punk and emo with exclusive DJ sets and giveaways.

Student-orientated night playing the best in new and classic indie music.

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

A night of forward-thinking electronica, IDM and house from the Riddance DJ collective.

Little Sister (Micahel Mayer + Adele Moss) The Kazimier, 23:00–04:00, £10 (£25 both venues)

Tue 16 Jul

Tue 02 Jul

WHP resident, Krysko, taking over the decks and playing his blend of soul, disco and house anthems.

Brooklyn Mixer, 22:00–04:00, Free

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.

Garlands, 22:00–04:00, £10 (£5)

Smile

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

Friends in Common

Riddance

The Star and Garter, 22:00–03:00, £2 (£5 after midnight)

FESTIVAL Pavilion, 23:00–2:30, £10

Patterns

Back to back DJ set from Cobra Commander and AK47/247.

Mixed-bag blow-out night spread out over all three floors – indie, rock, alternative and dance tunes.

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

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

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

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

The Shipping Forecast, 22:00–03:00, Free

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.

Woo Hah

Effortlessly blended indie, disco, hip-hop and house served up by Neil Smallridge.

To mark the closing of the Manchester International Festival, Dave Haslam will be taking over the Pavilion Theatre with his legendary DJ night.

Cobra Commander (AK47/247)

Part 2 of the Kompakt Records party – following Gui Boratto's appearance at St Luke's Church, German DJ/producer, Michael Mayer will take to the decks at the Kazimier for their Little Sister club night.

Liverpool Clubs

Yellow

Fri 05 Jul

Stock Exchange

Chameleon Bar, 20:00–02:00, Free

Gossip!

Garlands, 22:00–03:00, £4

Student night with 5 rooms of music spread over 2 floors and the occasional theme night.

Fri 12 Jul Captain Flash

The Shipping Forecast, 22:00–03:00, Free

DJ set in the bar, serving up rare delights and other nonsense. Riddance

Brooklyn Mixer, 22:00–04:00, Free

A night of forward-thinking electronica, IDM and house from the Riddance DJ collective.

Sat 13 Jul

Freeze (Gui BOratto + Jemmy)

St Luke’s Church, 15:00–23:00, £17 (£25 both venues)

Kompakt's Gui Boratto will be making an appearance at this unique open air event, before the party moves over to The Kazimier for a set by formidable German DJ/ producer, Michael Mayer. Hustle Presents Rahaan

The Shipping Forecast, 22:30–03:00, £4

Renowned Chicago DJ returns to Liverpool for an epic seven-hour session – playing deep beats engineered to move feet. Andrew Hill

The Shipping Forecast, 22:00–03:00, Free

The Abandon Silence resident serves up a set of bass and beats.

Dirty Antics

Bumper, 22:30–04:00, Free (£4 after 11)

Messy Tuesday-nighter, bring your dirty shoes.

Wed 17 Jul

Brazilica Carnival Closing Party Haus Warehouse, 22:00–04:00, £8

Manchester

Tue 23 Jul

2022NQ

Bumper, 22:30–04:00, Free (£4 after 11)

23 Jul, 7:00pm – 9:00pm, Free

Dirty Antics

Messy Tuesday-nighter, bring your dirty shoes.

Wed 24 Jul 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. Kill Your TV

Bumper, 20:30–05:00, £2

An anything-goes affair – think indie, punk, ska, new wave, electro and more.

Thu 25 Jul Juicy

The Shipping Forecast, 23:00–03:00, £3

O2 Academy, 23:00–03:00, £2.50

All party, no bullshit night of everything from classic hip-hop to disco and funk.

Kill Your TV

Student-orientated night playing the best in new and classic indie music.

Revolution

Grab a slice of the midweek rock action with a night of alt, rock, metal, punk and emo with exclusive DJ sets and giveaways. Bumper, 20:30–05:00, £2

An anything-goes affair – think indie, punk, ska, new wave, electro and more.

Thu 18 Jul Juicy

Propaganda

Bumper, 23:00–05:00, Free (£4 after 11)

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)

The Shipping Forecast, 23:00–03:00, £3

Hip Hop Karaoke

Propaganda

For the wannabe rappers out there, like regular old cheese-ball karaoke, but with a hip-hop twist.

All party, no bullshit night of everything from classic hip-hop to disco and funk. Bumper, 23:00–05:00, Free (£4 after 11)

Student-orientated night playing the best in new and classic indie music. 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) Hip Hop Karaoke

Brooklyn Mixer, 21:00–02:00, £tbc

For the wannabe rappers out there, like regular old cheese-ball karaoke, but with a hip-hop twist. 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 19 Jul Carl Combover

Brooklyn Mixer, 21:00–02:00, £tbc

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 26 Jul

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. Circus

East Village Arts Club, 22:00–04:00, £15

Long running club night, started by DJ Yousef back in 2002, bringing together world-renowned DJs and producers at the forefront of house music. Riddance

Brooklyn Mixer, 22:00–04:00, Free

The Shipping Forecast, 22:00–03:00, Free

A night of forward-thinking electronica, IDM and house from the Riddance DJ collective.

Riddance

Sat 27 Jul

60s rock’n’roll and raw r’n’b from the Go Go resident, Carl Combover. Brooklyn Mixer, 22:00–04:00, Free

A night of forward-thinking electronica, IDM and house from the Riddance DJ collective.

Sat 20 Jul

Shangaan Electro (Auntie Flo + Thristian + Yola Fatoush + Bantam Lions) The Kazimier Garden, 16:00–23:00, £10.50

The Shipping Forecast, 22:00–03:00, Free

House, hip hop, latin and funk from Jess Gascoigne. 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.

Theatre

To mark the closing of Brazilica 2013, Samba performers and DJs will take to Haus Warehouse to give it the send-off it deserves.

Julian Perez (Him_Self_Her + Carlo Gambino + Noisy Audio + Lauren Lo Sung + Infinate Soul + Sam Power) The Kazimier Garden, 22:00–03:00, £7 earlybird (£14 thereafter)

A cross label event from Motion and Rehab, brining together artists from Viva Music, Crosstown Rebels and Hotwaves Discoteca Poca

The Shipping Forecast, 23:00–03:00, £3

Five hours of house from The Shipping Forecast resident DJs and friends. No Fakin

The Shipping Forecast, 22:00–03:00, Free

Selector set from the No Fakin DJs, spanning hip hop, funk, soul and reggae. 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.

The Legend of Tarifa

Local writer Natasha Smith presents an acoustic performance of her Andalucia-inspired theatre piece, blending drama, poetry, song and dance as part of the 24:7 theatre festival.

Albert Hall

The Masque of Anarchy

12–14 Jul, times vary, £15

Actress Maxine Peake and director Sarah Frankcom will deliver a provocative interpretation of Shelley’s The Masque of Anarchy, a poetic response to the Peterloo Massacre of 1819. Part of Manchester International Festival.

Bridgewater Hall Carpark Macbeth: Big Screen Relay

20 Jul, 8:30pm – 11:00pm, £8

Since tickets for Macbeth sold out in record time, you can catch Kenneth Branagh in pixels on the big screen for one performance only, with picnics actively encouraged. Part of Manchester International Festival.

Campfield Market Hall The Machine

10–21 Jul, times vary, From £25

Written by Matt Charman and directed by Josie Rourke, The Machine follows the plight of two geniuses who stake their reputations on a chess tournament between man and machine. Part of Manchester International Festival.

Contact

Quarantine: The Dyas SisterS

3–6 Jul, 8:00pm – 10:00pm, prices vary

The world premier of the latest work from Quarantine – each night will see five different performers audition to play the roles of Grace and Veronica Dyas, two sisters writing a book about their lives. Unfinished Business: Only Wolves and Lions

9–11 Jul, 6:30pm – 10:00pm, £15 (£10)

Inspired by the Epicurus quote ‘only wolves and lions eat alone’, Contact invite you to join them in a epic three-and-a-half hour feast and immersive experience as you enjoy conversation, food, and story-telling. Rasta Roots

13 Jul, 7:30pm – 10:00pm, Free

A celebration of the roots and origins of Rasta, presented through a blend of theatre and music.

Fab Café Rehearsal Space

14–16 Jul, 7:00pm – 10:00pm, £4

A warming comedy about the people on the set of the low-budget sci-fi show, Professor Calamity. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival.

Instituto Cervantes

The Legend of Tarifa

24 Jul, 7:00pm – 9:00pm, Free

A magical blend of Andaluciainspired drama, poetry, song and dance in this new theatre piece, The Legend of Tarifa, by upcoming writer Natasha Smith.

International Anthony Burgess Foundation Honest

15–16 Jul, 7:30pm – 10:00pm, £5 (£3)

Honest is the story of one man navigating a minefield of characters one evening on the way home from his new job as a sanitation deployment manager – will he make it out of town in one piece?

Lass O’Gowrie Chaos By Design

20-21 JUl, 19:30-21:00, £5 (£3)

An electrifying, evocative drama that follows the struggles of two women in the Democratic Republic of Congo, who must fight to escape the conflicts without becoming victims of the worst weapon of war. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival. Life

25-26 JUL, times vary, prices vary

Three sisters: one married with children, one married to her job, and one saddled with their aged mother. So is that it? Life, death and frocks – a touching and extremely funny examination of our modern lives. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival. Meanwhile

2–3 Jul, 7:30pm – 9:00pm, £8 (£5)

A new play by Colin Connor; set in Belfast in 1981 and telling the tale of a girls football team and their relentless drive to win despite their hostile surroundings. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival. Diabetic Penguins

5–7 Jul, times vary, Free

An exciting new drama exploring everything from belly buttons to diabetic penguins. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival. Suspended in Space

8–10 Jul, 7:30pm – 10:00pm, £6 (£5)

A darkly comic tale about a high maintenance star, an everyman extra and an obsessive fan stuck in a lift together during a sci-fi convention. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival. Wine of India

11–14 Jul, times vary, £8 (£6)

Set in a future world where we’ve achieved eternal youth, but must then submit to a government controlled euthanasia programme. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival. Rotten Apples

14 Jul, 18 Jul, 19 Jul, times vary, £6

A new adaptation of a black comedy drama that hasn’t had an airing since 1989; set in 1989 Belfast, and chock full of dodgy informants and hapless police officers. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival. New Dawn Fades

15–17 Jul, times vary, £8 (£6)

A new play by actor/writer Brian Gorman, telling the story of how Joy Division got together and soon became one of the most influential bands of our time. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival. The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre

26 Jul, 9:00pm – 11:00pm, £10 (£6)

Songs and sketches from socks with a sci-fi theme from the YouTube favourites. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival.

Oldham Coliseum Theatre Birdsong

1–6 Jul, times vary, From £11.50

Sebastian’s Faulks’ acclaimed story of love, courage and sacrifice during wartime is brought to the stage in a critically-acclaimed new adaptation. First Break: Paradise Street

11 Jul, 7:00pm – 9:00pm, Free (booking required)

A script from the First Break Playwriting Competition, written by one-time Oldham resident, Tommy Warburton and telling the story of the goings on in a fictional Northwest terrace town. Congress Players: Grease

9–13 Jul, times vary, £15 (£12.50)

New rendition of the frothy musical favourite, presented by the AmDram group, Congress Players.

Opera House Midnight Tango

23–27 Jul, times vary, From £15

Strictly Come Dancing’s Vincent Simone and Flavia Cacace present their very own live tango show, set in a late-night bar in downtown Buenos Aires.

Listings

Manchester Theatre Opera House GHOST

2–15 JUL, NOT 7, 14, TIMES VARY, FROM £10

Theatrical production based on the 90s movie of the same name, where yer man Swayze got all excited with the pottery kiln.

Palace Theatre SOFIA NATIONAL BALLET: DON QUIXOTE

22 JUL, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, FROM £9.75

The Spanish classic is brought to life on stage with the help of the Sofia National Ballet, telling the tale of Don Quixote and his fantasy world or brave knights and beautiful ladies. SOFIA NATIONAL BALLET: GISELLE

23 JUL, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, FROM £9.75

Classical ballet about love and betrayal, brought to life with mesmerising sets and lavish costumes by Sofia National Ballet. SOFIA NATIONAL BALLET: SWAN LAKE

24 JUL, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, FROM £9.75

The acclaimed Bulgarian ballet company perform their own reimagining of Tchaikovsky’s classic love story. THE OLD WOMAN

4–7 JUL, TIMES VARY, FROM £23

An adaptation of the Russian novel of the same name by Daniil Kharms, directed by pioneer Robert Wilson and starring Mikhail Baryshnikov and Willem Dafoe. Part of Manchester International Festival. THE WHO’S QUADROPHENIA

14 JUL, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, FROM £11

A stage musical based on the Who’s album of the same name, with music by Pete Townshend. This will be a charity performance with proceeds going to the charitable work of NK Theatre Arts. MOMENTOUS MUSICALS

25 JUL, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, FROM £18

Gareth Gates sings and dances his way through an homage to music theate, with Rachael Wooding by his side.

Royal Exchange Theatre THE BIRTHDAY PARTY

24 JUN – 6 JUL, NOT 30 JUN, TIMES VARY, FROM £10

The first full length play by Nobel Prize-winner, Harold Pinter, The Birthday Party is a jaunt into the absurd, set in a seedy boarding house on the English coast. Two sinister strangers visit, and Stanley has no choice but to celebrate his birthday. 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. PAGES FROM THE SONGBOOK

19–20 JUL, TIMES VARY, £12 (£10)

The Alligator Club have brought together North West playwrights and local musicians to explore how music and stories can intertwine for an exciting theatrical display. PREVIEW: DARK VANILLA JUNGLE

25–27 JUL, TIMES VARY, £12 (£10)

The frenzy of the 1819 Peterloo Massacre will collide with Manchester’s late 80s acid house scene in an immersive theatrical experience, taking the audience deep into the world of underground raves.

The Black Lion FACE VALUE

8 JUL, 12 JUL, 13 JUL, TIMES VARY, £6 (£5)

A play about vanity and greed, telling the story of Cindy as she puts her dreams before her family. Part of Nowt Part Of. THE HARPINGTON TOAD FANCIERS SOCIAL

8 JUL, 11 JUL, 13 JUL, TIMES VARY, £6 (£5)

A new comedy from the Nuts and Bolts Theatre Company, introducing the Harpington Toad Fanciers Society. Part of Nowt Part Of.

STEVIE WONDER’S STERN WARNING / WAITING MAN 9 JUL, 11 JUL, 13 JUL, TIMES VARY, £6 (£5)

Josh Coates and Jon Coleman present a duo of one-man shows, exploring loss through the ukulele, and musing on waiting. Part of Nowt Part Of. SQUARING THE CIRCLE

9 JUL, 14 JUL, TIMES VARY, £6 (£5)

The worlds of murder mystery dinners and efficiency seminars collide in this dark comedy from To Die For Entertainment. Part of Nowt Part Of. VIENNA

10 JUL, 12 JUL, 14 JUL, TIMES VARY, £6 (£5)

Gerundagula Productions present the tale of Barry, Ultravox fan, faced with a dilemma and asking; what would Midge Ure do? Part of Nowt Part Of. CONFESSIONS OF A WAITRESS

10 JUL, 8:00PM – 9:30PM, £6 (£5)

Stephanie Claire presents a new show drawing inspiration from her experiences as a waitress. Part of Nowt Part Of.

The Britons Protection THE GAMBIT

17–20 JUL, TIMES VARY, £6

Political drama telling the tale of two old friends reunited over a game of chess, but with more than just their friendship on the line. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival.

The King’s Arms DEATHBED

4 JUL, 15 JUL, 9:00PM – 11:00PM, £5

A charming and arrogant millionaire must confront his mortality after learning he only has weeks to live, resulting in awkward confessions. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival. DIVAS ENSEMBLE

7–8 JUL, 7:30PM – 9:00PM, £6

Three divas unite to right the wrongs created by the youth of today – through a series of musical hits, obviously. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival. STATIC

8–9 JUL, 9:00PM – 11:00PM, £5

Coming of age story spanning a decade. This is the story of how a generation grew up with the world at their fingertips, how they learnt to switch off their screens, and got up on their feet. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival. JACKIE & EDDIE. EDDIE & JACKIE

8 JUL, 9 JUL, 11 JUL, 7:30PM – 9:00PM, £6

Royal Northern College of Music

GOING IN & COMING OUT

A tale about two struggling actors dealing with bad auditions, imaginary cats, friendship and fading dreams. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival. 10–11 JUL, 9:00PM – 11:00PM, £5

A medley of dance and vocal pieces from students at the Centre Pointe dance school, to include The Snow Queen, Matilda and Masquerade.

Simon Ramsden, Ellen-Grace Tomlinson and Dave Lloyd take to the stage to discuss their accounts of sexuality with some cringe-worthy gems to share. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival.

Secret Location

20–21 JUL, 4:30PM – 7:00PM, £8 (£6)

21 JUL, TIMES VARY, £14

MACBETH

5–20 JUL, 8:30PM – 11:00PM, £SOLD OUT

Kenneth Branagh returns to the stage as Macbeth – under the direction of Rob Ashford – in what will be his first Shakespeare performance for more than a decade. Part of Manchester International Festival.

Listings

24 JUN – 6 JUL, NOT 30 JUN, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

Catch an exclusive preview of Dark Vanilla Jungle before it heads North for the Fringe Festival – a new drama by Philip Ridley about the lengths one girl will go to for a family and a feeling of home.

CENTRE POINT SUMMER SHOWCASE

MANCHESTER SOUND: THE MASSACRE

POSH TRAMPS AND PAPOOSES

Another surreal political satire from the MAD theatre company, following the Longbottom family and their dysfunctional holiday to Chorlton, on the tram. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival.

THE MA-TRIO-SKA 23–24 JUL, 9:00PM – 11:00PM, £10 (£7)

Italian style cabaret performance from three Italian actors and lots of improvised sketches. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival. I WOULD I KNEW THY HEART

21 JUL, 7:30PM – 9:00PM, £5

Shakespeare’s classic Richard III gets a reworking, shifting the perspective to the woman behind the feud. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival.

The Lowry

MR B’S CHAP-HOP HOORAH!

14 JUL, 8:00PM – 10:00PM, £10.00

The gentleman rhymer returns to Edinburgh (along with Carshalton, his butler) armed with more vintage beats, banjolele-thrashing and songs of chivalry, cricket, nympholepsy and interfering with livestock. Panic not, it is educational. IF THE SHOE FITS

28 JUL, TIMES VARY, £8.50

The hit comedy, popular with all ages, takes to the Liverpool stage once again. The play follows the story of one chaotic day in the up market shoe shop Good 2 Shooz. INSIDE

11-12 JUL, 20:00-22:00, £10

Inspired by astonishing true stories, Inside explores the psychological effects of Stockholm Syndrome on a kidnap victim desperate to keep hope. To find a way out, she’ll have to break through something much stronger than just the basement door. STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL

8–21 JUL, NOT 14, 15, 19, 20, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

Lisa Riley takes us on a whirlwind romp through the sequined and spray tanned world of Strictly Come Dancing. The joys. SIEGFRIED

6 JUL, 4:30PM – 11:00PM, FROM £17

Wagner’s epic 384 minute drama – split into three parts so you don’t starve – following the plight of Siegfried in his quest to rescue Brünnhilde.

Liverpool Theatre SOFIA NATIONAL BALLET: DON QUIXOTE

2 JUL, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, FROM £10

3 JUL, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, FROM £10

The acclaimed Bulgarian ballet company perform their own reimagining of Tchaikovsky’s classic love story. STRICTLY CONFIDENTAIL

23 JUL, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, FROM £10

Lisa Riley takes us on a whirlwind romp through the sequined and spray tanned world of Strictly Come Dancing.

Epstein Theatre HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL

4–6 JUL, TIMES VARY, £12.50 (£9)

The LHK Theatre Group deliver their take on the all-singing alldancing Disney Channel musical – tweens and Glee fans unite! STAGE AND SCREEN

7 JUL, TIMES VARY, £12.50

Sing Live present an evening of the best music from the Stage and Screen, including musical numbers from Mary Poppins, Titanic, Les Miserables and Mamma Mia. ANNIE: CHILTERN YOUTH THEATRE

21–23 JUL, 6:15PM – 9:00PM, £9

Contemporary musical favourite telling the tale of little orphan Annie.

Liverpool Philharmonic Hall THREE PHANTOMS

11 JUL, 19:00-22:00 FROM £13

A triple bill performance featuring Giselle, West End to Broadway and A Very British Ballet. 21 JUL, 7:15PM – 10:00PM, £15

The Capstone

12–14 JUL, TIMES VARY, FROM £10.50

SHOWCASE 2013

Over 200 singers from eight musical theatre societies present a musical journey from the West End to Braodway, with all proceeds going to The Christie. MY GAY BEST FRIEND

21 JUL, 8:00PM – 10:00PM, £12

A frivolous, camp comedy starring Louise Jameson (of Doctor Who fame) and her gay best friend, Nigel Fairs.

The Town Hall Tavern HAND OVER FIST

2–4 JUL, 7:30PM – 9:00PM, £5 (£4)

A darkly comic tale about the colourful life of Emily as she struggles through the limits of her memory to recall the events that lead to her current romance. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival. THE JEWELLERS WIFE

9–13 JUL, 8:30PM – 10:00PM, £4

A one act play that’s half comedy and half drama, exploring actions, consequences and everything in between. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival. CUTS FROM THE FRINGE

18–20 JUL, 7:30PM – 9:00PM, £5 (£4)

A showcase night for new pieces of theatre drawn from the Northwest fringe pool of talent.

Three Minute Theatre BUMP

16–25 JUL, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

A one act play from the writer behind Trolley-Shaped Bruise, set in a church where Louise and Matt went looking for some alone time. Fate has other plans. Part of 24:7 theatre festival. THE JESTER

12–13 JUL, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, £6.50 (£5)

A new cross disciplinary performance blending folk and world music with poetry and theatre.

A THOUSAND MURDERED GIRLS 4–6 JUL, 8:00PM – 10:00PM, £10 (£7)

A gay comedy about dating in the digital age, chock full of gratuitous nudity. MAD: A LIFE IN THE LIFE

Empire Theatre

Three ‘phantoms’ (Earl Carpenter, Matthew Cammelle and Stephen John Davis) perform excerpts from various musicals, including Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables.

BALLET TRIPLE BILL

UP4AMEET 29 JUL – 1 AUG, TIMES VARY, £16

RAKESH CHAURASIA + ANIL SRINIVASAN + KOUSIC SEN + SUJATA MOHAPATRA

27 JUL, 7:30PM – 9:00PM, £10 (£8)

A double-bill performance from two of India’s highly acclaimed classical musicians and one of the finest Odissi dancers of recent times. Part of Milapfest. MORNING RAGA

28 JUL, 8:00AM – 9:30AM, FREE

A free concert in the Angel Field Garden, with a performance from the sarod maestro Ranajit Sengupta. Part of Milapfest.

NISHA RAJAGOPAL + PRIYADARSINI GOVIND + ANJANA ANAND

28 JUL, 7:30PM – 9:00PM, £10 (£8)

A double-bill performance as part of Milapfest, featuring the Carnatic vocals of Nisha Rajagopal and duet from some of the very best Bharatanatyam dancers. RANAJIT SENGUPTA + SANJUKTA SINHA

29 JUL, 7:30PM – 9:00PM, £10 (£8)

A double-bill performance as part of Milapfest, with a performance by renowned sarod player Ranajit Sengupta and the Kathak dancer, Sanjukta Sinha.

The Lantern Theatre

3 JUL, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, £6

The Merseyside Academy of Drama (MAD) take us on a distorted journey through a dying man’s memories. ALASTAIR CLARK

WHEN I WAS A GIRL I USED TO SCREAM AND SHOUT

13 JUL, 6:00PM – 7:00PM, £7 (£5)

11–13 JUL, 8:00PM – 10:00PM, £10 (£8)

NO NAMES

18–20 JUL, 8:00PM – 10:00PM, £12 (£10)

A riches to rags story charting the highs, lows and numerous cockups of your typical philosophy graduate, Alastair Clark. Part of Shiny New Festival. 13–16 JUL, TIMES VARY, £8 (£6)

A zombie comedy drama in which two unlikely survivors find themselves trapped in a house together as the undead walk the streets – personalities will clash. Part of Shiny New Festival.

THE BRIEF AFTERLIFE OF REGINALD TANNER

14–20 JUL, NOT 17, 18, 19, TIMES VARY, £8 (£6)

New writing produced for the Shiny New Festival and on its way to Edinburgh, set in a future world where resurrection in an option on the NHS, and there’s a Ministry of Mortality keeping tabs. A one act play from the writer behind Trolley-Shaped Bruise, set in a church where Louise and Matt go looking for some alone time. Fate has other plans. Part of 24:7 theatre festival. PORNOVISION

17–20 JUL, TIMES VARY, £8 (£6)

Meet Bartholomew Younghusband and get ready to see the world through his eyes, through letters, diaries and phone call transcripts. Part of Shiny New Festival. JOLLYBOAT

17 JUL, 20 JUL, 9:00PM – 10:00PM, £7 (£5)

A new show from the awardwinning musical comedians, Jollyboat – part of Shiny New Festival. PINHOLE PICTURES

19 JUL, 6:30PM – 7:30PM, £6

Salford Arts Theatre young performers present this new play about Ethan and how he helps his younger sister, Ruby, overcome a death in the family using a pinhole camera. Part of Shiny New Festival.

80 MILES FROM HOME

26–27 JUL, 7:00PM – 10:00PM, £5.50

A charming tale about wartime England, written by Lyn Wakefield and directed by Maureen Bryan – telling the story of eight Liverpool evacuee’s and their time on Auntie Flo’s farm in the Welsh countryside.

Manchester Tue 02 Jul

PEACOCK & GAMBLE (ANDY WATSON + ROB COLEMAN + MATTHEW ELLIS) JABEZ CLEGG, 19:00–23:00, £5 (£3 MEMBERS)

Comedy nice boys Ray and Ed bring the idiocy and handsomeness (so say they) to Manchester. THE WORST COMEDY NIGHT IN SALFORD

THE KING’S ARMS, 20:00–22:00, FREE

Keeping expectations low with this open mic night of stand up, all are welcome to give it a bash.

Wed 03 Jul

JAMES MULLINGER: LIVING THE DREAM

THE KING’S ARMS, 21:00–23:00, £6 (£4)

The critically acclaimed comedian is back with more uplifting and hilariously honest material. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival. SMUG ROBERTS

THE KING’S ARMS, 19:30–21:00, £3

QUEERTET 2013

Thu 04 Jul

Queertet return with four fabulously decadent plays, all with a LGBT theme – kick starting this year’s Pride celebrations. THE OVERBURY CONSPIRACY

5–6 JUL, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, £10 (£7)

A true, historical account of the murder of the 17th-century courtier and poet, Sir Thomas Overbury, leading the audience through the Jacobean court chatter and romantic scandals that lead up to his death.

BIG VALUE THURSDAYS (TOBY HADOKE + MICKEY D + BRYAN LACEY + PETER BRUSH + MICK FERRY) THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–23:00, £9 (£6)

A Frog flagship event offering up four great acts and a compere for stonkingly great value. STAND UP THURSDAY (MANDY KNIGHT + ROB DEERING + MICK FERRY)

THE COMEDY STORE, 20:00–23:00, £10 (£5)

The Playhouse

Cheat life and get that Friday feeling one day early with a night of comedic delight, from some circuit funny folk.

24 JUN – 6 JUL, NOT 30 JUN, TIMES VARY, £12

THE KING’S ARMS, 19:30–21:00, £7 (£5)

THE KITE RUNNER

BEN MOOR: EACH OF US

Matthew Spangler presents a reworking of the epic novel by Khaled Hosseini – a tale spanning cultures and continents, telling the story of two motherless boys in Kabul and an event that will tear their worlds apart.

Fringe favourite Ben Moor returns with a show telling three interlinked tales about love, friendship and human connection. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival.

Unity Theatre

BARREL OF LAUGHS (TOBY HADOKE + MICKEY D + CHRIS STOKES + MICK FERRY)

HOW TO RELAX IN ANDALUCIA

2 JUL, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, £10 (£8)

CAIN

In the darkness beyond the gates of Eden, the first born son of man holds nothing but contempt for the God that expelled his parents from the sacred garden - until the angel Lucifer appears, offering salvation ... at a price.

A new comedy by John Evans – after a series of baffling events, a psychic medium is called in to help.

25–27 JUL, 7:30PM – 9:00PM, £8.50 (£6.50)

3 JUL, 8:00PM – 10:00PM, £8

19 JUL, 19:45-22:00, £7 (£5)

IS THERE ANYBODY THERE?

Manchester comic delivering a healthy dose of down to earth comedy. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival.

12 JUL, 19:00-22:00, £7 (£4)

Follow the traumatic experiences of a mother left drowning in the wake of her daughter’s disappearance. Part of Shiny New Festival.

A coming-of-age tale about a young girl, her best friend, her repressive mother and some youthful misconceptions about sex.

BUMP

16–25 JUL, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

A new production written by John Waterhouse, following one man’s plight to get some peace and quiet by the pool in Spain – his peaceful existence is interrupted by various characters to comic effect.

EXTREME WITHDRAWAL IS MANIFEST

A beautiful and harrowing play written by Darren Guy and directed by Mikyla Durkan, exploring the world of Women Resistance Fighters in Greece from 1944 through to 1949, challenging perceptions of WW2 and Britain’s involvement in Greece. Intense.

IMPROVAGEDDON!

A battle of improvisation with cues taken from the audience to likely hysterical effect – four teams will enter, but only one will survive (ok, they all survive, but only one will win the chance to donate all proceeds to their charity of choice).

Fri 05 Jul

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. THE BEST IN STAND UP (MANDY KNIGHT + ROB DEERING + MICK FERRY + ROB ROUSE + NICK PAGE)

THE COMEDY STORE, 20:00–23:00, £18 (£9)

Regular night of stand up with five world-class comedians. COMIC FX (ALEX BOARDMAN + KIRI PRITCHARD-MCLEAN + JOE WHITE)

ROYAL EXCHANGE THEATRE, 18:00–19:00, FREE

An evening of free stand up comedy, with this edition bringing young gun Alex Boardman to the stage.

THE SKINNY

Comedy The Houghton Weavers Waterside Arts Centre, 19:30–22:00, £14 (£12)

A comedy folk band, keeping audiences amused with their family friendly anecdotes.

Sat 06 Jul

Barrel of Laughs (Toby Hadoke + Mickey D + Chris Stokes + Mick Ferry) 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. The Best in Stand Up (Mandy Knight + Rob Deering + Rob Rouse + John Warburton + Jason Cook)

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 (Mandy Knight + Rob Deering + Rob Rouse + John Warburton + Jason Cook)

The Comedy Store, 21:30–23:00, £20 (£10)

Leg 2 of The Best in Stand Up – starting at a later time, so if you missed out on tickets to the earlier show, fear not! Lancashire Hotpots

The Lowry, 20:00–21:00, £14

Five northern blokes in flat caps singing songs about the wonders of modern day life. 3 Gobby Cows

Taurus Bar, 19:30–21:00, £5

A comic play written and performed by Louise Twomey, Kate Henry and Deborah Brian, three very different women offering their perspective on love, loss, video dating and life-changing bus journeys. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival. SOS (Peter Slater, Lee Fenwick, George Cottier)

Three Minute Theatre, 19:00–22:00, £5 (£4)

Superstarts on Saturday presents a whole evening of silly character sketches.

Sun 07 Jul King Gong

The Comedy Store, 19:30–21:30, £6 (£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. Gary Colman: GRIND

The King’s Arms, 21:00–23:00, Free

Reluctant hedonist and professional snowboarder has it all. Then gets married, gets kids, gets an ulcer. A joyous, uplifting show about the crushing banality of life. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival. Wet Feet Open Mic

Lass O’Gowrie, 20:00–22:30, Free

A new open mic comedy night at the Lass. Dan Nightingale: Love In The Time of Cholesterol

Lass O’Gowrie, 20:30–22:00, £3

The star of John Bishop’s Only Joking brings his slant on love, life and existence. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival.

Mon 08 Jul

Beat The Frog (Alex Boardman)

The Frog and Bucket Comedy Club, 19:00–23:00, £5 adv (students free)

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. Laugh for A.L.L.

Waterside Arts Centre, 20:00–22:00, £12 (£10)

Fundraising event in support of Leukaemia Research and the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, with stand-up Rob Deering taking to the stage.

Tue 09 Jul

Edinburgh Preview: Ian D Montford (Rob Rouse + Danny Sutcliffe) Jabez Clegg, 19:00–23:00, £5 (£3 members)

The latest character from stand up comic Tom Binns, Edinburgh fringe favourite. Prepare to be amazed by Sunderland’s psychic, Ian D Montford.

July 2013

Sun 14 Jul New Stuff

The Comedy Store, 19:30–21:30, £3

Wed 10 Jul

A chance for those on the circuit to test out some new, never before heard or seen material, with MC Toby Hadoke.

The Lowry, 20:00–22:00, £10

The King’s Arms, 19:30–23:00, £5

Funny Women Awards Semi Final 2013

The funny women awards is back for its 11th year, shining a light on the ever-talented female voices of comedy. Princess Guide to Dating

Taurus Bar, 19:30–21:00, £5

MJ Hibbett: Total Hero Team

A two man musical featuring superheroes, pirates, and kittens. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival.

Tiger Lounge Comedy (Jonathan Mayor + David Stanier + Brennan Reece + Kevin Shevlin)

An inspirational how-to guide to bagging your Prince Charming for the 21st-century wannabe princess. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival.

Tiger Lounge presents an evening of stand up. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival.

Thu 11 Jul

Mon 15 Jul

Big Value Thursdays (Barry Dodds + Joel Dommett + Rob Coleman + Vince Atta + Andy Askins)

The Frog and Bucket Comedy Club, 19:00–23:00, £9 (£6)

A Frog flagship event offering up four great acts and a compere for stonkingly great value.

Stand Up Thursday (Sean Meo + Jimmy McGhie)

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.

Fri 12 Jul

Barrel of Laughs (Barry Dodds + Joel Dommett + Andy Askins) 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.

The Best in Stand Up (Justin Moorhouse + Jimmy McGhie + Zoe Lyons + Dave Williams + The Noise Next Door)

The Comedy Store, 20:00–22:00, £18 (£9)

Regular night of stand up with five world-class comedians. Seymour Mace

The King’s Arms, 10:15–13:00, £3

A trip around the delightfully weird mind of Marmaduke Spatula. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival. Mike Newall

The King’s Arms, 19:45–21:00, £3

Mike attended six weddings in eight months and applies what he’s learnt from an expensive and emotional year to his own hopes and fears of settling down. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival. Ian Fox: Shutter Monkey

The King’s Arms, 21:00–23:00, £3

Edinburgh Fringe regular presents his Shutter Monkey show. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival.

Sat 13 Jul

Barrel of Laughs (Barry Dodds + Joel Dommett + Andy Askins) 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.

The Best in Stand Up (Justin Moorhouse + Jimmy McGhie + Zoe Lyons + The Noise Next Door)

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 (Justin Moorhouse + Jimmy McGhie + Zoe Lyons + The Noise Next Door)

The Comedy Store, 21:30–23:00, £20 (£10)

Leg 2 of The Best in Stand Up – starting at a later time, so if you missed out on tickets to the earlier show, fear not! Daniel Bye: The Price of Everything

The Lowry, 20:00–22:00, £10.00

Daniel Bye takes his audience on a whistlestop tour of bizarre facts and attempts to answer some of the more urgent questions in life in his typically sad but comic style – and you get a free glass of milk. Comedysports

Waterside Arts Centre, 18:30–22:00, £6 (£4)

Two teams, locked in a battle of wits, with sketches, scenes and songs, and audience participation strongly encouraged.

Tiger Lounge, 19:30–21:00, £7 (£5)

Beat The Frog (Dave Williams)

The Frog and Bucket Comedy Club, 19:00–23:00, £5 adv (students free)

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. Cackle & Chorus

Apotheca Bar, 19:30–22:00, Free

A showcase of new work from the writers, performers and artists behind Young Enigma. Jokes from the Hood

Pavilion Theatre, 20:30–22:00, £12 (£7)

Kojo of Choice FM presents an evening of comedy from five upand-coming urban comics. Part of Manchester International Festival.

Tue 16 Jul

Edinburgh Preview: Joe Lycett (James Meehan + Jonnie Price + Toby Hadoke) Jabez Clegg, 19:00–23:00, £5 (£3 members)

Iszi Lawrence: Publicity Stunted The King’s Arms, 21:00–23:00, £7 (£5)

Iszi Lawrence brings on the funny as she explores the general relativity of happiness. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival.

Fri 19 Jul

Barrel of Laughs (Phil Ellis + Bennet Arron + Kane Brown + Rob Rouse)

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. The Best in Stand Up (Sean Collins + Tony Burgess + Andy Askins + Ben Norris + Danny McLoughlin)

The Comedy Store, 20:00–22:00, £18 (£9)

Regular night of stand up with five world-class comedians.

Sat 20 Jul

Barrel of Laughs (Phil Ellis + Bennet Arron + Kane Brown + Rob Rouse)

The Frog and Bucket Comedy Club, 19:00–02:00, £17 (£10)

The Comedy Store, 19:00–21:00, £20 (£10)

Regular night of stand up with five world-class comedians. The Best in Stand Up (Sean Collins + Tony Burgess + Andy Askins + Ben Norris + Danny McLoughlin)

Charming and fresh faced young thing, Joe Lycett brings the jokes.

The Comedy Store, 21:30–23:00, £20 (£10)

The King’s Arms, 12:00–15:00, Free

The Wrong Side of Right

The Worst Comedy Night in Salford

Keeping expectations low with this open mic night of stand up, all are welcome to give it a bash. PhilL Jupitus: Porky the Poet in Zeitgeist Limbo

The King’s Arms, 21:00–23:00, £10

Phill Jupitus returns with a new collection of poetry exploring the phrase ‘how low can you go?’ Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival. Jokes from the Hood

Pavilion Theatre, 20:30–22:00, £12 (£7)

Kojo of Choice FM presents an evening of comedy from five upand-coming urban comics. Part of Manchester International Festival.

Wed 17 Jul

Kevin Dewsbury: Out Now

The King’s Arms, 19:30–21:00, Free

Kevin Dewsbury aims to debunk stereotypes of the ‘gay’ scene through song, jokes, stories and some tales of a more graphic nature. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival. An Edam Odyssey: Goes Well With Cheese

The King’s Arms, 21:00–23:00, £5

Goes Well With Cheese returns with their new sketch show/ vogage through time, space and laughter. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival. Jokes from the Hood

Pavilion Theatre, 20:30–22:00, £12 (£7)

Kojo of Choice FM presents an evening of comedy from five upand-coming urban comics. Part of Manchester International Festival.

Thu 18 Jul

Big Value Thursdays (Phil Ellis + Javier Jarquin + Christian Schulte-Loh + Rob Rouse) The Frog and Bucket Comedy Club, 19:00–23:00, £9 (£6)

A Frog flagship event offering up four great acts and a compere for stonkingly great value. Stand Up Thursday (Sean Collins + Tony Burgess + Andy Askins)

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. Kevin Dewsbury: Out Now

The King’s Arms, 19:30–21:00, Free

Kevin Dewsbury aims to debunk stereotypes of the ‘gay’ scene through song, jokes, stories and some tales of a more graphic nature. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival.

Regular night of stand up with five world-class comedians. The King’s Arms, 14:00–16:00, £6

Danielle Meehan brings her debut comedy piece to the Manchester Fringe Festival, in which she explores trying to fit in to an industry that tells you to ‘stand out’. The Real McCoy Part 2

The Lowry, 20:00–22:00, £20

Part 2 of the international comedy clash, The Real McCoy. Tapped

Lass O’Gowrie, 21:30–23:00, £5

Character stand up from a bunch of Southerners, promising the surreal and the sublime. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival. Norris and Parker: All Our Friends Are Dead Lass O’Gowrie, 18:00–20:00, £5

Thu 25 Jul

Big Value Thursdays (Pete Otoway + Pierre Hollins + Luke Graves + Ed Easton + John Lynn)

The Frog and Bucket Comedy Club, 19:00–23:00, £9 (£6)

A Frog flagship event offering up four great acts and a compere for stonkingly great value.

Stand Up Thursday (Dave Johns + Otiz Cannelloni + Mick Ferry) 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. Comedy at the Kings

The King’s Arms, 19:30–23:00, £3

An evening of live stand up comedy and a cake raffle, what’s not to love? Edinburgh Nights

The Lowry, 20:00–22:00, £12

Gag Reflex present a show packed with hand-picked Edinburgh shows, meaning you don’t have to go far to get a bit of the Fringe action.

The Ray Harryhausen Skeleton Orchestra

The Town Hall Tavern, 19:30–22:00, £4 (£3)

A brand new sketch comedy that doesn’t actually involve any skeletons. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival.

Fri 26 Jul

Barrel of Laughs (Pete Otway + Pierre Hollins + Mike Newall + John Lynn)

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. The Best in Stand Up (Dave Johns + Otiz Cannelloni + Ian Moore + Mick Ferry + Sean Meo)

The Comedy Store, 20:00–23:00, £18 (£9)

Regular night of stand up with five world-class comedians. The Ray Harryhausen Skeleton Orchestra

The Town Hall Tavern, 19:30–22:00, £4 (£3)

A brand new sketch comedy that doesn’t actually involve any skeletons. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival.

Sat 27 Jul

Barrel of Laughs (Pete Otway + Pierre Hollins + Mike Newall + John Lynn)

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.

Dark and surreal sketch comedy from Katie Norris and Sinead Parker. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival.

The Best in Stand Up (Dave Johns + Otiz Cannelloni + Ian Moore + Sean Meo + Andrew Ryan)

Sun 21 Jul

Regular night of stand up with five world-class comedians.

Alex Boardman’s Young Guns

The Comedy Store, 21:30–23:00, £4

Alex Boardman, one of the writers involved with John Bishop’s Britain on BBC1 presents some fresh blood. Be nice. Wet Feet Open Mic

Lass O’Gowrie, 20:00–23:00, Free

A new open mic comedy night at the Lass.

Mon 22 Jul

Beat The Frog (Katie Mulgrew)

The Frog and Bucket Comedy Club, 19:00–23:00, £5 adv (students free)

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 23 Jul

Edinburgh Preview: Daniel Simonsen (Ruth E Cockburn + Wayne the Weird + Toby Hadoke)

The Comedy Store, 19:00–21:00, £20 (£10)

The Best in Stand Up II (Dave Johns + Otiz Cannelloni + Ian Moore + Sean Meo + Andrew Ryan)

The Comedy Store, 21:30–23:00, £20 (£10)

Leg 2 of The Best in Stand Up – starting at a later time, so if you missed out on tickets to the earlier show, fear not! Morning Glory: With Dick and Debs

The King’s Arms, 14:00–16:00, £5 (£3)

Two TV presenters take the audience on a slapstick adventure littered with the occasional piece of journalism. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival.

Full Stage Splash: A Comic Look at the Comic Book

The King’s Arms, 16:00–18:00, £6 (£4)

Jabez Clegg, 19:00–23:00, £5 (£3 members)

The history of comic books condensed into one hour of comedy, complete with explosive sound effects and angry puppets.

Wrong: The Musical

A cruise ship entertainer loses her voice but finds her redemption as a highly gifted spiritual healer.

On the road to the Edinburgh Fringe and trying out some material, Norwerigan comic Daniel Simonsen does his stand up thing. Taurus Bar, 20:00–23:00, £5

All your favourite musical classics, just a little bit, er, wonky. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival.

Suzanna Gonzo: Dark Lady

The King’s Arms, 19:30–21:00, £3

Picture of Cats

Lass O’Gowrie, 18:00–21:00, Free

Behold, as a 38 year old man child rants about not having kids, money, marriage, happiness and all that. May contain pictures of cats. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival.

Let’s See What Happens Lass O’Gowrie, 20:30–22:00, £3

Improv from the members of CszUK – using audience suggestions a comedian will tell a story based on this, followed by imrpovised sketches from a troupe of actors. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival. The Ray Harryhausen Skeleton Orchestra

The Town Hall Tavern, 19:30–22:00, £4 (£3)

A brand new sketch comedy that doesn’t actually involve any skeletons. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival.

Sun 28 Jul

Laughing Cows (Dana Alexander + Lynne Ruth Miller + Kerry Leigh) The Frog and Bucket Comedy Club, 19:00–23:00, £7 (adv) £9 (otd)

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. New Stuff

The Comedy Store, 19:30–21:30, £3

A chance for those on the circuit to test out some new, never before heard or seen material, with MC Toby Hadoke. Full Stage Splash: A Comic Look at the Comic Book

The King’s Arms, 16:00–19:00, £6 (£4)

The history of comic books condensed into one hour of comedy, complete with explosive sound effects and angry puppets. I Am Happy!

The King’s Arms, 19:30–22:00, £8 (£6)

An energetic show about the secret to happiness from Ishi Khan-Jackson. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival. Strange World Odd People

Lass O’Gowrie, 21:00–22:00, £5 (£3)

Rod Tame ventures into a world of cult TV and geeky pop culture references. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival.

Liverpool Comedy Sat 06 Jul

Four Candles (Noel James + Danny Deegan + Jim Smallman)

House, 21:00–23:00, £15

Weekly showcase of funny folk – they tell the jokes, you do the laughing.

Fri 19 Jul

Wayne Deakin (Rob Rouse + Ryan McDonnell + Toby Hadoke)

Comedy Central at Baby Blue, 18:30–23:00, £15

Four top-notch circuit comedians (one of ‘em will be the compere) gathered together for an evening of hilarity. Gavin Webster (Mick Ferry + Christian Schulte-Loh + Ste Porter)

The Slaughter House, 20:00–23:00, £15

Steve Gribbin (Ian Moore + Gareth Richards + Jamie Sutherland)

Triple headline show with a delightfully hilarious line-up of circuit funny-folk.

Comedy Central at Baby Blue, 18:30–23:00, £18

Sat 20 Jul

Ivan Brackenbury (Ste Porter + Lloyd Langford + Chris Cairns)

Weekly showcase of funny folk – they tell the jokes, you do the laughing.

Four top-notch circuit comedians (one of ‘em will be the compere) gathered together for an evening of hilarity.

The Slaughter House, 20:00–23:00, £17.50

Triple headline show with a delightfully hilarious line-up of circuit funny-folk.

Thu 11 Jul

John Warburton (Andy Askins + Jack Evans + Jan Maree)

Comedy Central at Baby Blue, 18:30–23:00, £15

Four top-notch circuit comedians (one of ‘em will be the compere) gathered together for an evening of hilarity.

Fri 12 Jul

John Warburton (Andy Askins + Kai Humphries + Jan Maree)

Comedy Central at Baby Blue, 18:30–23:00, £15

Four top-notch circuit comedians (one of ‘em will be the compere) gathered together for an evening of hilarity.

Joe Lycett (Keith Carter as Nige + Danny McLoughlin + Neil Fitzmaurice) The Slaughter House, 20:00–23:00, £15

Four Candles (John Scott + Vince Atta + Sam Avery) House, 21:00–23:00, £15

Wayne Deakin (Rob Rouse + Ryan McDonnell + Toby Hadoke)

Comedy Central at Baby Blue, 18:30–23:00, £18

Four top-notch circuit comedians (one of ‘em will be the compere) gathered together for an evening of hilarity. Christian Schulte-Loh (Gavin Webster + Andy Askins + Ste Porter)

The Slaughter House, 20:00–23:00, £17.50

Triple headline show with a delightfully hilarious line-up of circuit funny-folk.

Tue 23 Jul

Markus Birdman, Vikki Stone

Unity Theatre, 20:00–22:00, £8

A double headliner gig, with Markus Birdman presenting his perspective on love and loss, and the UK’s answer to Zooey Deschanel – Vikki Stone – delivering an hour of song, stand-up and maybe a dancing dog.

Wed 24 Jul

John Robins, James Acaster

Mon 29 Jul

Triple headline show with a delightfully hilarious line-up of circuit funny-folk.

The King’s Arms, 19:30–22:00, £6

Sat 13 Jul

Amadeus Martin: Me Etc

Weekly showcase of funny folk – they tell the jokes, you do the laughing.

Smug Roberts (Steve Shanyaski + Damion Larkin + Dave Twentyman)

Comedy Central at Baby Blue, 18:30–23:00, £18

Four top-notch circuit comedians (one of ‘em will be the compere) gathered together for an evening of hilarity.

Man Feelings

An exploration of ‘man feelings’ through hilarious sketches of varying degrees of ridiculousness. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival. Lass O’Gowrie, 21:00–22:30, £5

Amadeus Martin presents a new show, chock with farce-paced storytelling and darkly quirky observations. Part of Greater Manchester Fringe Festival.

Liverpool Wed 03 Jul 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 04 Jul

Steve Gribbin (Gareth Richards + Kiri Pritchard-McClean + Tom Wrigglesworth) Comedy Central at Baby Blue, 18:30–23:00, £15

Four top-notch circuit comedians (one of ‘em will be the compere) gathered together for an evening of hilarity.

Fri 05 Jul

Steve Gribbin (Ian Moore + Gareth Richards + Tom Wrigglesworth) Comedy Central at Baby Blue, 18:30–23:00, £15

Four top-notch circuit comedians (one of ‘em will be the compere) gathered together for an evening of hilarity. Lloyd Langford (Ste Porter + Ivan Brackenbury + Chris Cairns)

The Slaughter House, 20:00–23:00, £15

Triple headline show with a delightfully hilarious line-up of circuit funny-folk.

Four Candles (Nik Coppin + Duncan Oakley + Chris Brooker)

House, 21:00–23:00, £15

John Warburton (Andy Askins + Kai Humphries + Jan Maree)

Four top-notch circuit comedians (one of ‘em will be the compere) gathered together for an evening of hilarity.

Keith Carter as Nige (Danny McLoughlin + Neil Fitzmaurice)

The Slaughter House, 20:00–23:00, £17.50

Triple headline show with a delightfully hilarious line-up of circuit funny-folk. Jimmy Carr: Gagging Order

Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, 20:00–23:00, From £25

Carr tours his new solo show, packed with one-liners, stories and jokes done in his own admitted ‘sick’ sense of humour. David Alnwick

The Lantern Theatre, 21:00–22:00, £7 (£5)

A badass magic show from comedian David Alnwick, full of awesome with no fucking about. Part of Shiny New Festival.

Sun 14 Jul David Alnwick

The Lantern Theatre, 21:00–22:00, £7 (£5)

A badass magic show from comedian David Alnwick, full of awesome with no fucking about. Part of Shiny New Festival.

Thu 18 Jul

Wayne Deakin (Rob Rouse + Helen Keeler + Toby Hadoke)

Comedy Central at Baby Blue, 18:30–23:00, £15

Four top-notch circuit comedians (one of ‘em will be the compere) gathered together for an evening of hilarity.

Unity Theatre, 20:00–22:00, £8

Double headline stand-up show with each comic taking the stage for one hour – catch the low key John Robins alongside the nostalgia-loving James Acaster.

Thu 25 Jul

Comedy Central at Baby Blue, 18:30–23:00, £15

Fri 26 Jul

Smug Roberts (Steve Shanyaski + Katie Mulgrew + Ray Peacock) Comedy Central at Baby Blue, 18:30–23:00, £15

Four top-notch circuit comedians (one of ‘em will be the compere) gathered together for an evening of hilarity.

Steve Hughes (JoJo Smith + 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.

Sat 27 Jul

Four Candles (John Warburton + Dana Alexander + Scott Bennett) House, 21:00–23:00, £15

Weekly showcase of funny folk – they tell the jokes, you do the laughing.

Smug Roberts (Steve Shanyaski + Katie Mulgrew + Ray Peacock) Comedy Central at Baby Blue, 18:30–23:00, £18

Four top-notch circuit comedians (one of ‘em will be the compere) gathered together for an evening of hilarity.

JoJo Smith (Steve Hughes + 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.

Sam Avery’s Rock and Dole

The Lantern Theatre, 21:00–22:00, £8 (£6)

Liverpudlian stand up comic, Sam Avery presents his show in which he recalls dreams of being a rock and roll legend, and the reality of doing a paper round. With bad hair.

Listings

Art

Manchester

2022NQ ARTCRANK MCR

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 12 JUL AND 3 AUG, TIMES VARY, FREE

An exhibition of bike-inspired posters by Manchester artists, with signed and numbered prints available for £30.

Castlefield Gallery SPACESHIP UNBOUND

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 26 JUN AND 28 JUL, 1:00PM – 6:00PM, FREE

A new exhibition of works cocurated with MadLab, exploring the issues of survival in a post apocalyptic world and taking inspiration from Margaret Atwood’s novel The Year of the Flood.

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. JENNIFER YANG: FIRST STEP

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 25 JUN 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.

CUBE Gallery

MARK DEVEREUX PROJECTS: MEANS OF FEEDBACK

12–17 JUL, NOT 14, TIMES VARY, FREE

Celebrating and nurturing the DIY approach to an arts education, the Mark Devereux Projects presents an exhibition by its inaugural artists Nicola Dale, David Ogle and Nicola Ellis.

Contact

BLANK MEDIA COLLECTIVE: HANDMADE FUTURE

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 24 JUN AND 7 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE

Collaborative project between Blank Media Collective and Contact, showcasing six up-andcoming 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 25 JUN AND 18 AUG, TIMES VARY, FREE

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. ADAM HEISS AND MARTENE ROURKE: NETWORK TRACES

25 JUN – 9 JUL, NOT 1 JUL, 8 JUL, TIMES VARY, FREE

A series of photographs that explore the abandoned and forgotten railway lines of Britain, capturing how nature encroaches and claims back the space, or how the lines now exist with an alternative use. A FROG IN MY BAR-B-QUE SAUCE

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 11 JUL AND 20 AUG, TIMES VARY, FREE

An exhibition of new works on paper, including drawings and paintings, by artist, Anna Beam.

Gallery of Costume

CHRISTIAN DIOR: DESIGNER IN FOCUS

24 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

24 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.

Islington Mill

ALISTAIR MCCLYMONT AND SOPHIE CLEMENTS

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 6 JUL AND 27 JUL, 1:00PM – 6:00PM, FREE

Venture up to the fifth floor of the Mill to experience the light, volume and texture of the space as it would have been 200 years ago in this immersive new artwork by Alistair McClymont and Sophie Clements. PERFORMANCE PUBLISHING: REGENT TRADING ESTATE

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 26 JUN AND 20 JUL, 1:00PM – 6:00PM, FREE

In this ongoing piece, artist Maurice Carlin will spend three months in a vacant 8000 sq ft warehouse, exploring the ground between print, place and performance, taking over 400 individual CMYK relief prints from the surfaces of the building.

Manchester Art Gallery RADICAL FIGURES: POST-WAR BRITISH FIGURATIVE PAINTING

24 JUN – 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. DO IT 20 13

5–21 JUL, TIMES VARY, FREE

A group art show that turns viewing into doing, altering the relationship between artist and visitor. do it 20 13 is a growing series of written instructions from artists, entirely open to interpretation. Part of Manchester International Festival. HOME, LAND AND SEA: ART IN THE NETHERLANDS 1600-1800

24 JUN – 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.

Manchester Craft and Design Centre FORMING WORDS

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 13 JUL AND 9 NOV, 10:00AM – 5:30PM, FREE

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.

Listings

DAN GRAHAM: PAST FUTURE SPLIT ATTENTION

13–17 JUL, TIMES VARY, FREE

A simple yet psychologically complex live work, creating what the artist calls ‘a figure-eight feedback-feedahead loop of past/ future.’ Mind bending. Part of Manchester International Festival. METTE INGVARTSEN: EVAPORATED LANDSCAPES

15–16 JUL, TIMES VARY, FREE

An artificial land constructed from light, sound, bubbles and foam by the Danish choreographer Mette Ingvartsen. Experience choreography in a new context, as Ingvartsen explores perception and sensation. Part of Manchester International Festival. ESZTER SALAMON: DANCE FOR NOTHING

18 JUL, TIMES VARY, FREE

Inspired by John Cage’s influential Lecture on Nothing, Eszter Salamon presents a work using the text as the rhythm template for her choreographic work. Part of Manchester International Festival. TINO SEHGAL: THIS VARIATION

12–20 JUL, 4:00PM – 8:00PM, FREE

Taking advantage of the viewers dilating pupils, This Variation plunges the visitor into an immersive and pulsating sensory landscape, constantly shifting and transforming before the eye. Part of Manchester International Festival. MÅRTEN SPÅNGBERG: EPIC

18–20 JUL, TIMES VARY, FREE

Epic is a choreographic mise-enscène for nine dancers, featuring superimposed alien lifeforms and objects in an abstract landscape. Part of Manchester International Festival.

Nexus Art Café HAPPINESS

24 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 29 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.

Piccadilly Place THE VERB PROJECT

4–7 JUL, TIMES VARY, FREE

The Verb Project return with another site specific piece, this time responding to the space at Piccadilly Place through installation, performance, sound, time based medium and drawing.

Salford Museum and Art Gallery CAROLINE JOHNSON: THERE’S A RAINBOW IN THE ROAD

24 JUN – 7 JUL, TIMES VARY, FREE

The first solo exhibition by Salford-based artist Caroline Johnson, presenting her graceful paintings and drawings that capture the sublime beauty and gritty core of the Manchester and Salford regions.

The Didsbury Parsonage Trust IF NOT HERE WHERE

8 JUL – 21 AUG, 12:00PM – 4:00PM, FREE

Manchester Jewish Museum

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?’

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 24 JUN AND 24 NOV, TIMES VARY, FREE

The Holden Gallery

CHAGALL, SOUTINE AND THE SCHOOL OF PARIS

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.

Mayfield Depot

The International 3 RACHEL GOODYEAR: ARTIFICIAL NIGHT

TURNING FACT INSIDE OUT

24 JUN – 25 AUG, TIMES VARY, 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.

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.

The Lowry

Fallout Factory

24 JUN – 15 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE

25 JUN – 4 JUL, NOT 30 JUN, 1 JUL, 11:00AM – 6:00PM, FREE

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 29 JUN AND 2 AUG, 12:00PM – 5:00PM, FREE

MY GENERATION: THE GLORY YEARS OF BRITISH ROCK

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

24 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.

The Manchester Museum

WARRIORS OF THE PLAINS: 200 YEARS OF NATIVE NORTH AMERICAN HONOUR AND RITUAL

24 JUN – 3 NOV, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

An exhibition of Native North American artefacts and photographs of them in use, bringing to life the ritual and warfare from 1800 to the present day.

The Portico Library

YOURS SINCERELY: THE RISE AND FALL OF THE LETTER

24 JUN – 26 JUL, NOT 30 JUN, 7 JUL, 14 JUL, 21 JUL, TIMES VARY, FREE

An exhibition celebrating the art of letter writing, taking place around a conference of the same name and in advance of the Manchester Literature Festival in October.

Whitworth Art Gallery

NIKHIL CHOPRA: COAL ON COTTON

5–7 JUL, 4:48AM – 9:37PM, FREE

An exhibition held continuously over 65 hours – with the gallery staying open for the duration – exploring the connections between Mumbai and Manchester through their history of cotton and textiles. Part of Manchester International Festival.

WHEREFORE ART THOU

A joint exhibition by Sue Lucine and Terry Kane.

International Slavery Museum GEORGE OSODI: OIL BOOM, DELTA BURNS

24 JUN – 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. WHITE GOLD: THE TRUE COST OF COTTON

24 JUN – 31 DEC, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

A colloborative exhibition with the Environmental Justice Foundation exploring how the cotton supply chain works and our roles as consumers in this chain.

Lady Lever Art Gallery THE DRAWINGS OF EDWARD BURNE-JONES

Liverpool Arena Studios and Gallery ANA CADE: MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS

4–13 JUL, NOT 7, 8, 9, 10, TIMES VARY, FREE

A folded paper installation by local artist Ana Cade, exploring the possibilities of contemporary illustration and print.

Bridewell Studios

PRINTIPRINTER: DEAD SLOW RESULTS SERVICE

27 JUN – 6 JUL, NOT 1 JUL, 2 JUL, 3 JUL, TIMES VARY, FREE

An exhibition of unique lino prints created by artist and Liverpool FC fan, Printiprinter; for an entire football season he created a new print to reflect the outcome of every match Liverpool played.

Eggspace

TEXTILES AND MIXED MEDIA 2013

24 JUN – 7 JUL, TIMES VARY, FREE

A group exhibition of textiles and mixed media.

8 JUL – 16 AUG, WEEKDAYS ONLY, 10:00AM – 4:00PM, FREE

12 JUL – 4 AUG, TIMES VARY, FREE

DRAWING AND ILLUSTRATION 2013

A group exhibition of drawing and illustration.

EVA STENRAM: DRAPE VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 25 JUN 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.

Sudley House

20TH CENTURY CHIC: 100 YEARS OF WOMEN’S FASHION 24 JUN – TBC, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

A collection of 12 evening outfits spanning 1900 to 2000, charting the changing role of women in society throughout this period, and how these changes were reflected in the fashion of the time.

Tate Liverpool MOYRA DAVEY: HANGMEN OF ENGLAND

24 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

24 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.

DLA PIPER SERIES: CONSTELLATIONS

24 JUN – 12 JAN, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

19 JUL – 31 AUG, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Merseyside Maritime Museum

The Bluecoat

A collection of 26 drawings by the Pre-Raphaelite master, comprising of independent drawings, preparatory studies and designs for stained glass.

TITANIC AND LIVERPOOL: THE UNTOLD STORY

24 JUN – 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.

Museum of Liverpool

MERSEYSTYLE: PHOTOGRAPHS BY THE CARAVAN GALLERY

24 JUN – 27 OCT, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

MORTALITY: DEATH AND THE IMAGINATION

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.

FACT

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.

Next Door Projects BEAUTIFUL THINGS

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 28 JUN AND 21 JUL, 12:00PM – 5:00PM, FREE

A group exhibition hosted in a new pop-up gallery space, curated by Richard Meaghan and featuring the work of Phill Allen, Dan Coombs and Kevin Hunt. Beautiful Things celebrates craft and the smaller gems of the art world.

Open Eye Gallery

CHARLES FRÉGER: THE WILD AND THE WISE

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 25 JUN 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?

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 Pollack.

The Liverpool Walker Art Academy of Arts Gallery MARIE MCGOWAN AND MARC JONES

15 – 26 JUL, WEEKDAYS ONLY, 12:00PM – 4:00PM, FREE

An exhibition of works by abstract artist Marie McGowan and new works by Marc Jones. FIGURE, FORM, FUNCTION

16 – 25 JUL, WEEKDAYS ONLY, 12:00PM – 4:00PM, FREE

Marie McGowan, Marc Jones and June Lornie present a selection of new works exploring – you guessed it – figure, form and function.

EVERY MAN AND WOMAN IS A STAR: PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARTIN PARR AND TOM WOOD

24 JUN – 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

24 JUN – 15 SEP, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE CURTAIN

16 – 25 JUL, WEEKDAYS ONLY, 12:00PM – 4:00PM, FREE

Lynne Fitzgerald and Crissy Rock depart from their roots in theatre and television to explore their passion for painting in this debut exhibition from the pair.

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. ALIVE: IN THE FACE OF DEATH

24 JUN – 8 SEP, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

The Royal Standard

LIFE’S AN ILLUSION LOVE IS A DREAM

13 JUL, 19 JUL, 20 JUL, 26 JUL, 27 JUL, 12:00PM – 5:00PM, FREE

A group exhibition featuring the work of Roderick Maclachlan, David Osbaldeston and Kaye Donachie, exploring the ‘epic’ within art, and the artists’ relentless attempts to create something that will fulfill expectations.

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.

Victoria Gallery and Museum THE QUEEN, THE CHAIRMAN AND I

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 25 JUN 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.

SANDER/WEEGEE: SELECTIONS FROM THE SIDE PHOTOGRAPHIC COLLECTION

24 JUN – 14 JUL, TIMES VARY, FREE

A joint exhibition with Side Gallery, Newcastle, featuring the classic works of August Sander (18761964) and WeeGee (1899-1968). The collection features portraits from 1920s and 30s German society and photographs of New York in the 30s and 40s. I EXIST (IN SOME WAY)

24 JUN – 14 JUL, TIMES VARY, FREE

An exhibition of the work of 11 photographers, exploring the concept of personal and collective identity in the contemporary Arab world. Part of Look/13.

LAWRENCE GEORGE GILES: MEMORY OF A MEMORY

24 JUN – 14 JUL, TIMES VARY, FREE

An exhibition of collective memory, inviting individuals to submit a photograph with a description of the memory it brings to light. 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. 20:20

24 JUN – 28 JUL, TIMES VARY, FREE

An exhibition of work by printmakers involved in the 20:20 Print Exchange, organised by Salford’s Hot Bed Press.

The Cornerstone Gallery PROCESSING

Are you putting on an event? Send us the details at events@theskinny.co.uk Listings run on www.theskinny.co.uk and in the print magazine. It’s all free.

@theskinnyNW

24 JUN – 27 SEP, WEEKDAYS ONLY, 9:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

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. Part of LOOK/13.

/TheSkinnyMag

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

THE SKINNY

Kick Up the Fire They’ve played fewer than 20 gigs, but with cinescope scores and grand ambitions, Manchester-based band Embers look set to ignite. They explain why ‘aspirational’ doesn’t have to be a dirty word

EMBERS

ast November, just six months after their debut live show as part of Salford’s Sounds from the Other City festival, Embers made two live videos available online. In their unflinching grandiosity and boldness, the performances set out an early statement of the band’s intent and character. Recorded in Gorton Monastery, a Grade II listed building, Hollow Cage and Part of the Echoes were full-bodied constructions that shook the dust from – and matched the towering augustness of – the walls around them. The two songs drew on a heavyweight, cinematic approach, but channeled it into structures that lent themselves to the possibility – and indeed subsequent reality – of mainstream radio play; the choir-heavy Part of the Echoes has gone on to become the group’s new single, out this month on blog label Killing Moon. Manchester isn’t shy in terms of acts presenting themselves within a defined aesthetic; but if you take, for example, the likes of SWAYS Records and those associated with it – whether the since-progressed MONEY and PINS, or Ghost Outfit and Kult Country – there’s a certain muddiness to their sound and sense, evocative of and perhaps influenced by the wider spread of rough’n’ready lo-fi bands that continue to make up much of the city’s music community. In contrast, Embers have presented themselves in high definition; they cite Sigur Rós and soundtrack composers Hans Zimmer and John Murphy as influences, and from the off they’ve looked to use visuals in their work. “When I write songs I visualise imagery with them in my mind anyway, so it seems quite natural to actually bring that out into reality,” says the group’s guitarist Steven McInerney, in an ale house around the corner from their rehearsal space, Sunshine Studios. “I love how music can completely change the tone of a scene in a film, but I want the visual side to change the tone of our songs too.” Keen to push an emotional intensity, Embers are of a maximal

July 2013

school of thought that seeks to make everything as big and multi-layered as possible, so that the intended rush pours forth amplified and uncoded. They frequently use extra musicians beyond their orthodox four-piece set-up (the two Gorton videos feature McInerney, vocalist/ guitarist George Agan, bassist/keyboardist Will Clutton and drummer Nathan Howard, as well as two choir singers, a cellist and violinist), even when it means struggling to fit everyone on stage – as they discovered during cramped support slots with The Invisible, Halls, and Esben and the Witch.

“Every band should have an idea of what they want to be” George Agan

Such is the cynicism of an online music press grown weary of supposed shadowy figures – and false myth exposed as folly – that some critics have questioned the validity of this apparently wet-eared new band creating a pair of astonishingly slick videos with high-end production values, but Embers refute any claims of their having any secret backing. “We just saved up and paid for it ourselves, in truth,” explains Agan, “and we called in favours. We were just really lucky that we had some friends who were able to create something of such quality. It actually made us look a lot more professional than we were at that point!” The four core members had been working in private long before they revealed themselves in late 2011, rehearsing and writing fervently

until they’d created a body of material that was, they felt, developed enough to introduce to the world. “We knew what we wanted to be and so we just worked away at it ourselves,” says McInerney. “We instantly wanted to challenge ourselves musically too, and it would’ve felt a bit naïve to put out songs that felt under-developed.” “It’s never been a situation where we’ve sat down and written a manifesto,” Agan adds, “but I think every band should have an idea of what they want to be and what it is they want to achieve.” For Embers, ‘ambition’ is one of their biggest motivators – the word occurs repeatedly as we converse. It’s an uneasy subject for many artists, particularly during a time where so many are touring into a financial black hole and seeing Spotify squeeze their royalties. Set against the wider social backdrop in the UK and the political decisions that have divided – and enhanced the gulf between – social classes, admitting aspirational desires can invite accusations of careerism at the cost of artistic compromise. But Embers are startling in their honesty as to where they’ve set their sights: “We want to go far, because… look, who doesn’t want to play in front of a lot of people?” snaps McInerney, when asked what drives them. “Who doesn’t want the chance to play interesting gigs and the chance to work with better musicians and producers? That comes from artistic integrity and wanting to better yourself in that sense. That’s nothing to do with wanting to become rich and famous.” The affront McInerney expresses is reassuring because, though defensive, it evidences a furious pride in his band, as well as the depth of personal catharsis he finds in their music. His conviction gives faith that, as Embers enter the music industry tilt-a-whirl, they should reemerge from it with their sense of self intact. “We just like to challenge ourselves constantly,” McInerney continues. “It’s about always trying

MUSIC

new things. The search to try and excite ourselves as a band is what pushes us on.” “There’s nothing more we despise in a band than mediocrity,” Agan emphasises, “which is… a lack of conviction and sincerity. It’s a situation where something about it feels half-baked. Whether you like our music or not, there is always passion in what we’re doing.” Embers’ commitment to maintaining creative control is clear: through dead end jobs, they endeavoured to save up enough to record not only those two videos, but also to self-release in September 2012 their debut single, Tunnel Vision/Sins Unknown, as a 7”, which quickly sold out. Despite recently signing to Brontone Management (who list Muse among their clients) and getting a booking agent, they’re still committed to calling the bulk of the shots, down to who produces them and how. Former Hope of the States man Anthony Theaker worked with them on Part of the Echoes, and they recount much to-ing and fro-ing between parties during the process, not least because of their own bullish stance regarding how the track should be sculpted. “Our identity hasn’t changed in spite of all these people,” insists Agan. “It just means we don’t have to write as many emails.” A soaring, seven-minute arc of layered elements that coalesce and rise to create a gargantuan atmosphere, it’s Hollow Cage that – so far, anyway – offers the best representation of what Embers can be. Ostentatious without webbing the bare bones of hurt beneath, it is an opus that, for all its majesty, is also endearingly shackle-free and without pretension. “We’re not cool at all,” McInerney laughs. “But what we’re doing is us, and hopefully there’s enough conviction in that.” Part of the Echoes is released in a limited edition run of 7” vinyl on 8 Jul on Killing Moon Records Embers play Sacred Trinity Church, Salford, 11 Jul, 7.30pm, £4 www.embersembers.com

Out Back

Photo: Sebastian Matthes

Interview: Simon Jay Catling