Monday 30 July 2012

The Slow Readers Club - Top 10 Albums

The Slow Readers Club released their debut album in May this year, following on from the release of the singles 'Sirens' and 'Feet On Fire' In our first 'Top 10' we asked the bands guitarist Kurtis Starkie for his Top 10 albums. Kurtis also give us an insight in to why these albums made it into his Top 10.


The Beatles – Revolver
This album has been my favourite since I first got into The Beatles and I remember learning loads of the guitar lines when I was a kid. There have been bands that I've discovered since and been obsessed with for a period of time but for me nobody has matched the Beatles or this album for song writing. The Beatles have come close :)


The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead
This is a beautiful album and I think the best by The Smiths.  All the songs are
great and it's amazing lyrically.




The Stone Roses –The Stone Roses
Coolest band ever simple as that! Musically amazing, brilliant songs and nice production too!

Nirvana – Nevermind
This was a band I really got into in my early teens. Kurt Cobain is one of my favourite writers and he conveyed emotion really well in his music. As an album it's pretty flawless, great variety and most importantly great songs.



Radiohead – Ok Computer
This is a masterpiece! Beautiful production and Radiohead's finest hour in my opinion.

Michael Jackson - Thriller
I was a mad Jacko fan as a kid, It’s brilliant pop music and this album has loads of great songs on it.remember my Dad buying this for me on vinyl at a car boot sale. I didn't stop playing it for ages. Billie Jean is still one of my favourite tunes ever. This is actually an album the other lads in the band would agree on too!



David Bowie – Ziggy Stardust
So many great tunes on this. Bowie has loads of good albums and singles too but this one is the most cohesive for me.


Pixies – Doolittle
I got into The Pixies late. I heard ‘Where is my mind’ at the end of Fight Club and thought, shit that guitar sounds amazing! I then bought Surfa Rosa which was hard to get into at first but that's what's great about The Pixies. Once you get into them you realise how clever the songs are.

Love - Forever Changes
This is really interesting album, very textured and considered but with an ambient feel. It sounds very live and is full of energy. They're only the band The Doors could have been!

Arcade Fire – Funeral
I had to stick a fairly modern band in and this is my favourite album of the last decade. They have a great sound and the album has beautiful production and flows so well as a collection of songs.


The Slow Readers Club can be found here:

Website  Facebook  Youtube  Twitter

Preview The Slow Readers Club album here on Soundcloud

The Slow Readers Club debut album is available here

Wednesday 25 July 2012

10 For Kendal Calling

We are very excited about Kendal Calling this weekend and have picked out 10 bands we reckon are worth checking out.

See you in the fields!








Hyde & Beast - Calling Out Stage Sunday

Maximo Park - Main Stage Friday

King Charles - Sunday Riot Jazz

The Carpels - The House Party Friday

James - Main Stage Sunday

Ghostpoests - Calling Out Stage Friday

Beans On Toast - Calling Out Stage Sunday

Lucy Rose - Chai Wallahs Friday

Dirty North - Riot Jazz Friday

Dizzee Rascal - Main Stage Saturday

Check out the full line up here

Tuesday 24 July 2012

CLUB PROFILE: DOTS AND LOOPS, Manchester

twitter.com/DotsAndLoopsMcrWhere can we find Dots and Loops?

The next Dots & Loops will be at Kraak Gallery on August 3rd. We start at 11pm and go on til 4am. You can expect to find us there again at some point in September.

How long have you been around?

6 years. We started out at Font and have since been in Cord, Tiger Lounge, Kro 2, Tiger Lounge again, Cord again, M20, Fuel and lots of other places. It’s certainly been interesting, if not exhausting. I remember a particularly rough evening at a place called Overdraught, I don’t think it’s still there. Some of the old timers will remember we used to be called ‘One Step More & You Die’, but I think naming it after a Mono album gave people the wrong idea. It’s not all Stars of The Lid and Mogwai yunno....

What should we expect at Dots and Loops?

A lot of drinking and a lot of Guided by Voices... Shoegaze, Indie, Electronica, Kraut-Rock,Psych, Post-Punk. Wire followed by Kraftwerk followed by Pulp followed by Loop followed by Neil Young...It’s a mixed bag. There’ll be some Reggae too, just whatever takes our mood at the time. I just found out on twitter that not everyone likes ‘You Can Call Me Al’, so maybe we will leave that at home this time. Great song though isn’t it? It’s hard to sum it up, but you can see the full list of what we play over at facebook.com/onestepmore. It’s gonna be a pretty upbeat affair this time round. After 6 years, we want everyone to be up for it from the first til the last track. I’m not sure what to play first, it’sbeen on my mind a fair bit this time. Maybe ‘How You Satisfy Me’ by Spectrum...I like the idea of kicking off with the Beastie Boys though, kinda sets the tone doesn’t it?

Do you have a dress code?

Absolutely not.

Who is behind the decks?

There are 2 of us who promote and run the night, but this month we will have guest DJs from ‘Plank!’ They’re an instrumental rock group from round here and they’re excellent.I think they’re on the BBC tonight with Marc Riley We don’t have DJ names, just James and Mat will do. I wouldn’t mind taking on the name Lion Eno though. One day...

What's special about Dots and Loops?

I hesitate a bit with this one. Not sure it’s my place to say what’s special about my own night. I’d like to think people think it’s doing stuff that some nights don’t do. Manchester is a great place for going out and hearing good music, but maybe some other nights don’t play as wide a variety of stuff. I’m not sure, it’s up to you. It’s exactly what I would be looking for in a night,so hopefully that means some other people think that too. We’ve been going 6 years, so that’s a good sign.

What's been the highlight of Dots and Loops?

We’ve done a lot of nights now, and there’s been some great evenings. I remember our 1st birthday was pretty special. Starting out when I was just 18 with not much clue about it all, I didn’t really expect to reach a year, let alone 6! I remember a night at Cord after an Animal Collective show that got really packed, that was a lot of fun. DJing with ‘...and you will know us by the trail of dead’ was pretty wild. They’re coming back over in October, maybe we can do that again... This next night at Kraak will be the highlight though, I’m 100% about that.

Anything else you think we should know?

Brian Eno’sfull name is Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la SalleEno
We ruin twitter over at twitter.com/dotsandloopsmcr
You can RSVP our event here... http://www.facebook.com/events/370627229657191/

Monday 23 July 2012

Festwich!

This September a brand new music festival arrives in North Manchester. It's been a long time in planning and on the 1st & 2nd of September 2012, the biggest rock tribute acts in the UK will appear at Festwich

The 2 day festival will take place in St Mary's Park, Prestwich. It's more than just a rock festival with something on the bill for all the family, this promises to be a great weekend.

The best news of all is that Festiwch is FREE.

We wanted to know more about Festwich and spoke to Prestwich resident and festival Director Jools Taylor.


Where did the idea for holding a festival in Prestwich come from?

I am a resident of Prestwich and live across the road from St Mary's Park, I've been doing events for nearly 20 years and I thought it would be amazing if we could do something on on our doorstep for the community. The event had to be Free though, it has taken more than two years to be able to get the event into a position whereby we can give the tickets away. The other reason why we wanted to do it for Free is because of the economic climate, I asked myself the question Why does everything have to have a price especially the high cost of Festival tickets, and wouldn't it be amazing if we could do something that was Free for the people of Prestwich to come and enjoy. There are similar events to Festiwch and they charge £80 a ticket. Also I'm very proud of Prestwich and its a good way of showing people who don't usually come into Prestwich what else is on offer and the spirit of the people.

How did you decided on the line up?

The line up had to be across the board and in some ways emulate what you would get at a usual music festival. I've worked with most of the bands on the line up over the years and know the quality of their performances and am more than confident they can deliver to huge audiences. It was important when programming the line up that we could reach different audiences and provide something for everybody at the same time being guaranteed some classic tracks and big hitters !

What's the capacity for the festival?

5000 per day

Is this a family friendly festival?

Absolutely, we have already had huge numbers of take up on the tickets for families and a lot of people have been asking whether they need a ticket for their babies, which we have asked them to get as we can monitor numbers in attendance this way.

How important is this festival to Prestwich?

It's extremely important to Prestwich, more than people realise. It is a huge confidence booster to the area and a large number of business's will also benefit from the event. It also brings Prestwich into focus and puts us more on the map, as I said earlier it will bring people over to Prestwich to see what else is going on and on offer. We have some fantastic cafes,restaurants bars and pubs in Prestwich and a fantastic village community spirit. We are going to have quite a few local smaller business's too in attendance at the festival from crafts to food and its important for these people as it gives them the opportunity to showcase their business to a new market and network.

How have the community of Prestwich reacted to the festival?

In general the community are extremely excited at the prospect of the event and cant believe they are lucky enough to have it going on, the tickets that have been allocated locally are literally flying out. On the flip side we have had some negativity from local residents who are worried about litter, parking and all the usual potential issues that an event can bring. We are working very very closely with the council and the police to deliver this event as not to cause any negative impact. Its important to both the team and I as we want to get this right for the future of Prestwich and the community.

What makes 'Festwich' different to other festivals?

The fact it is Free has had such a huge impact, people sometimes have been very suspicious at the fact it is free and asked "whats the catch?" it takes while for the penny to drop, it really is Free ! The fact its a homegrown production makes it different and in Prestwich !! It's also a question that maybe should be asked after the event with it being the first, because I truly believe the people of Prestwich will bring the energy to make it a truly memorable occasion.

Who are you looking forward to seeing on the line up?

Honestly, I think I'll be too busy to enjoy the line up, no doubt I'll get snippets, but if I was allowed to sit and watch the bands I can honestly say all of them ! I've been lucky enough to put the lineup together and its a fantasy wish list of the real deal and they are all just as good, you'll see !! ITV are currently making a documentary on the festival and the bands, it will give you an insight to how dedicated the bands and musicians are to performing.

Other than the music what can we expected at Festwich?

Festwich will have on offer great entertainment, we have installed a new stage for community based talent, we have allsorts from comedy to face painting for the kids. There is a lot of effort being put in for the children to keep them entertained, from a funfair to a 100 ft inflatable indoor paint balling experience. We are also looking at putting in a silent disco, on top of that a huge craft fair and fantastic food stalls amongst many other things.

Is this a one off or the start of an annual festival for Prestwich?

We intend to make this an annual event for Prestwich growing it annually and adding new and exciting forms of entertainment. We also have some other very exciting plans for Prestwich, so watch this space !!



For more information on Festwich visit the official website or to go straight to ticket information click here





Friday 20 July 2012

5 for Friday!

5 Songs to get the weekend started.....

The Slow Readers Club - Sirens - Listen   The Slow Readers Club  
Savages - Husbands -  Listen   Savages
Toy - Left Myself Behind -  Listen   Toy
Admiral Fallow -The Paper Trench -  Listen  Admiral Fallow
The Lake Poets - City by The Sea - Listen   The Lake Poets

Thursday 19 July 2012

Elbow - Dead In The Boot

Dead In The Boot, will be the next release from Manchester heroes elbow.
The album is a compilation of b sides from the debut album 'Alseep in the back'
up to the band's last album 'Build A Rocket Boys' The album is due for release on Monday 27th August.

It will feature 13 tracks:

1 'Whisper Grass' ('Fallen Angel' - V2 single release)
2 'Lucky With Disease' ('Newborn' - V2 single release)
3 'Lay Down Your Cross' ('Not A Job' - V2 CD Single)
4 'The Long War Shuffle' ('Leaders Of The Free World' - V2 CD Single)
5 'Every Bit The Little Girl' ('One Day Like This' - Fiction 7" single)
6 'Love Blown Down' ('Fugitive Motel' - V2 CD Single)
7 'None One' ('Newborn' - Uglyman CD EP)
8 'Lullaby' ('One Day Like This' - Fiction CD Single)
9 'McGreggor' ('Forget Myself' - V2 7" single)
10 'Buffalo Ghosts' ('Open Arms' - Fiction 10" Single)
11 'Waving From Windows' ('Grace Under Pressure' - V2 CD Single)
12 'Snowball' (From 'Help - A Day In The Life' - Warchild album release)
13 'Gentle As' ('Leaders Of The Free World' - V2 7" single)

More information on pre ordering the album can found here

Elbow's back catalogue is currently available for £4.99 on itunes.

Also watch out for a planned DVD release of the bands recent Jodrell Bank gig.

Wednesday 18 July 2012

10 Questions for A Me B

A Me B has been writing and producing her own music since the age of 12. By the age of 16 she had started playing live and is now due to play her first major festival.
Her musical style is distinctive and engaging, incorporating deftly delivered rhymes and catchy hooks for an edgy commercial sound which is hard to resist.

Championed by 'BBC Introducting' A Me B (real name Amy Burns) recently headlined the monthly
'BBC Introducing night' in Manchester. Amy has already found her music being played on a number of local radio stations and was also invited to attend the BBC Masterclass and sing accapalla in front of Tom Robinson.


At the end of the month Amy plays the 'Kendal Calling' festival in the Lake District. I caught up with Amy recently to ask her about her inspirations, thoughts on the festival and what the future holds.

What inspired you to get into music?
The main inspiration for my music is mainly life, people , experiences and thoughts. I knew wanted to do music from an early age and I love artists such as Ellie Goulding, Lana Del Ray, Jessie J, Michael Jackson, Devlin and loads more.

What was the last gig you played and how was it?
The last gig was at Warrington Music Festival and it went down well. I always enjoy performing and love interacting with the crowd and giving energy on stage.

Are you looking forward to Kendal calling?
I can't wait for it, it's going to be one of first proper festivals I've been to as well so I'm looking forward to the experience and performing.

Is there anyone else on the bill you would like to see?
Yes! I can't wait to watch Dizzee Rascal , I've seen him perform before and he's great. I'm also looking forward to seeing Ms Dynamite too!

Are you camping at the festival?
I think we will be yes as it will be more fun.

Have you played many festivals before and any that stand out?
The only other main festival I've performed at is the Beat Herder Festival which I really enjoyed. Other festivals have mainly been local such as Warrington , Manchester , Preston etc.

What's your top survival tip for a festival?
Erm , well as I've never been before I can only have a guess haha! I would probably say to have wellies lol!

Any more festival dates planned for this year?
I have another festival in August in Bury called Glaston-Bury Festival. I have quite a few gigs before then too, my next one is at Pacific Edge in London 21st July  (which is free entry), then on the 29th July I'm at Party In The Park in Wythenshawe.

What does the future hold for A Me B?
I'm not going to say too much yet but I have a lot in the pipeline at the moment :D. Expect a lot of new material and some big gigs on the way!

Where can we find A Me B's music?
You can find my music on my website: www.ameb.co.uk
Facebook: /amebofficial
Twitter: @ameb1
Youtube: ameb100

Kendal Calling runs from the 27-29 July 2012, Lowther Deer Park Cumbria. A Me B will be playing the Songsmith Solar Stage on Friday.

You can also catch A ME B at:
21 Jul 2012 - Pacific Edge - London
29 Jul 2012 - Party In The Park - Wythenshawe
27 Aug 2012 -Glaston-Bury -Bury




Tuesday 17 July 2012

Kendal Calling Looking For Merchandise Staff

Great opportunity to work at Kendal Calling

We are after a few more volunteers for our Merchandise stands, you'll be finished by Saturday night too.
email: harry@thewarehouseproject.com

Monday 16 July 2012

Watch Out for.....BBC Introducing - The Ruby Lounge

HUMANIZER + THE NUMBER + TURRENTINE JONES + LVLS

BBC Introducing Live, every last Friday of the month at The Ruby Lounge. Bringing you the finest in new talent and recorded for future broadcast on BBC Radio Manchester. 4 great bands in 1 night and best of all it's free. Get down early to avoid disappointment.

You can catch Manchester Music on Saturday nights from 9-12 and Introducing on Sunday nights from 10pm. BBC Radio Manchester 95.1FM, DAB and online

Check out Humanizer on Soundcloud - A Fine Farewell (ft Sam)