Founding Editor- Megan Barton
Managing Editor- Megan Barton
Features Editor- Megan Barton
Digital Editor- Megan Barton
Art Direction & DesignMegan Barton Advertisements- Megan Barton ContributorsIanthe Warlow for all images of The Maddocks, Alex Tollerfield, Levi Mulholland, Matthew from Soup! and Meg CrowtherLomax for the images of Soup!
So here we are at the end of the University road! And I didn’t drop out! What a bonus. DYRTI came to me in a dream in my first year and working on this extended project throughout the last three years whenever I could really has been a labour of love for me. I’m proud to present the first ever edition of the DYRTI! magazine. I wanted to bring it back up north and highlight the music that is coming from the centre of the earth (Manchester, duh.) Get your teeth into it and go mad fer it.
Special Thanks
A special thanks goes out to everyone who has supported me and inspired me to keep writing and creating. Thanks to my Mum and Dad who gifted me with a love of music and an impressive music taste as my foundations. I also want to say thanks to my lecturer Simon, you’ve taught me a lot and making this magazine wouldn’t be possible without your guidance. Also thank you to all my colleagues and friends who give me inspiration and encouragement. I really couldn’t have done it alone.
P. 9
P. 11 Featured EP P. 20 Reviews
Blossoms frontman, Tom Ogden is opening a new bar with his wife Katie in their hometown of Stockport. Bohemian Arts Club is set to open in early 2023 and will be a multi floor venue. Through a hidden entrance on a cobbled street on Cooper’s Brow explore an intimate cocktail bar sprawling over two floors. The ground floor will become home to a second site of Bohemian Salon Katie Ogdens brand and will be fully manned by a team of experienced stylists and hair colourists.
The currently rundown building is undergoing a massive renovation taking inspiration from speakeasies the couple have visited while travelling the world. We can’t wait to be sipping on cocktails in the hottest bar in Stockport some time soon!
A new Joy Division inspired bar has opened up in the Northern Quarter. Inspired by the Manchester masters of the miserable, Disorder is home to a reproduction of graffiti artist Akse’s Ian Curtis portrait which was unfortunately painted over last year in a PR stunt mix-up, giving Manchester music nerds a new stop on their music history walking tour. Although named after one of the band’s hits, the bar is more subtle in its interior design. No Unknown Pleasures album artwork here. Taking inspiration from Japanese Izakayas, Disorder will serve an array of Japanese food such as gyoza, meat and veg skewers and Shokupan sandos. The bar officially opened on February 17th, but eventually the downstairs area of the will become a live music venue. Watch this space for news regarding gigs!
Zane Lowe and The 1975s lead singer Matty Healy, paid a visit to Manchester venue Night & Day, endorsing their current campaign to stay open. I don’t know about you but I’m team #SaveNight&Day.
Rumour on the street is that Good ol’ Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is working on getting us some new locally controlled buses as part of the Manchester Bee Network scheme. The new buses will be trialled in Wigan and Bolton this autumn. Catch me riding around town on a little yellow bee bus.
Bundobust. I recently became very aware of my lactose intolerance, turning my vegetarianism into more of an enforced veganism. Now while Bundobust isn’t a Mancunian creation there are two of them in town making them one of the most accessible, wallet friendly and most importantly tasty places to eat.
Our friends Over at Night & Day have once again received a noise complaint, which may lead to them closing. Why move next to a live music venue and then complain when live music happens? I’ll never know.
Piccadilly Gardens. Shit as always the place could really use a facelift. I’m sick of seeing all the un-turfed grassy areas looking gross and muddy again. Manchester council get that turf down.
Students at the University Of Manchester are once again holding a rent strike over the shit management of the uni and unfair treatment of its students. Come on Nancy, pay those students their rent!
I know you lot living in the Fallowfield slums will relate to me on this one. Messy housemates. And I mean like at the catastrophic level. I sometimes wonder how these people have gotten to their big age without accidentally killing themselves. And it’s not like we’re first or even second years. We’re third years now for crying out loud. The Kitchen is the worst. Imagine Kitchen Nghtmares but the kitchen belongs to a large humanoid rat that obviously doesn’t have any hygiene standard because it’s a rat. Our kitchen is always flooded and I have no clue where the water comes from but on some occasions when I’m up to my tits in it I’ve subjected our Henry Hoover to the absolute horror of having to suck the water up its little nose. And don’t even get me started on the sink itself. I live with this American right and she just doesn’t seem to know how to portion food and as a result cooks everything in bulk. Which in turn clogs up all the space in the fridge and starts to go off. I’ll tell you this, in late October, early November she made lasagne. Left the lasagne out on the kitchen worktop for three weeks before ultimately deciding to put it in the fridge. A lasagne contains meat! It needed to be refrigerated straight away. Anyway it’s sitting out on the side rotting and I realise no one else is going to deal with it, so I put my big girl rubber gloves on and get to cleaning. The way I didn’t puke will forever amaze me. Nice, A clean kitchen before Christmas break,no mould, no mess and most importantly no lasagne. I came back 2 weeks later to find a whole new host of mouldy dishes had spawned in. And sitting there almost taunting me. A box of four month old furry lasagne.
MP for Ashton-underlyne Angela Rayner showed off her skills on deck at the annual Mayoral DJ battle, raising £20,000 for the mayor’s charity, A Bed Every Night in the process. The money raised will fund over 600 nights accommodation with food for the regions most vulnerable.
Matty Healy, we love him, we hate him. We love to hate him. The problematic frontman is once again being just that. In a recent clip from his appearance on the Adam Friedland show, healy makes racist and misogynistic comments regarding the up and coming rapper Ice Spice.
Manchester Psych Fest have announced their 2023 line up! The multi-venue festival will be taking place across the city on Saturday 2nd September 2023. Headlined by The Brian Jonestown Massacre the line-up also sees the likes of Los Bitchos, Sorry, The Lovely Eggs and Panic Shack with many more artists waiting to be announced. Tickets are on sale now.
Andy Burnham has vowed to protect a “new era of Manchester music.”
Manchester mayor made a pledge while speaking at an event for Independent Venue Week. Burnham was speaking at an intimate launch event for the local band The Slow Readers Club upcoming album.
Manchester’s golden boy, Marcus Rashford stays positive after losing 7- 0 to Liverpool. Manchester United’s ace suggested that fans stick together and trust the process. Even in defeat Rashford can do no wrong.
Noel Gallagher is once again proving to us how uncool he’s become in his old age. In a foul-mouthed rant Gallagher takes aim at modern pop stars and repeatedly misgenders singer Sam Smith, calling them the “Biggest idiot around.”
Previous covers
Is it really a surprise that Morrissey once again makes this list. In a recent post on his Morrissey Central website, he hits out at Capitol Records accusing the label of not releasing his new album and instead promoting Sam Smith’s ‘Satanism.’
Adidas is hosting a free exhibition at Circle Square in town. The exhibition will have an array of shoes on display worn by iconic football players, such as David Beckham and Edwin van der Ser, in a celebration of the footwear brands decades-long involvement with the beautiful game.
The exhibition also displays many of the now popular Adidas ‘Samba’ and ‘Gazelle’ shoes, which were both originally proposed as football training shoes but have since been appropriated by mainstream culture. Alongside the exhibition a whole host of performances will take place in Manchester venue Canvas. Artists such as The Happy Mondays, Liam Fray, Confidence Man and Pastel are involved. The tickets are free but do need to be reserved online.
What was the first album you bought?
Demon Days by Gorillaz
What was your first band T-shirt?
The Smiths – The Queen is Dead
Who was your first celebrity crush?
Fabien BarthezWhat was the last song you listened to?
Song About Love by English Teacher
Have you ever been recognised by a fan? Not to my knowledge, people often shout things on the street, but I don’t think that is to do with this to be honest.
Last person who left you awestruck?
Stephen Malkmus from Pavement
If you could do a tour with one band or artist who would it be and why?
Pavement – great tunes and I reckon they get a good buffet backstage.
We caught up with Manchester Post-Punk band Soup! to talk about all things past, present and future. From first gigs to latest albums bought to greatest achievements and beyond.
What’s your guilty pleasure?
KylieDo you have any non-musical hobbies?
Rob is a keen indoor skydiver, Ben is dedicated to turning himself into a master of handto-hand combat, Hayden plays Harry Potter video games, Connor eats scones daily and Matt hibernates like a polar bear whenever we aren’t doing music stuff.
What’s your greatest achievement?
We played at Blue Dot festival and it was by far the largest crowd & stage we’d played. We really took it in our stride, enjoyed the occasion and everyone had a great time. It was good to cement ourselves as an act that can perform in such an extensive setting, not only to audiences but to ourselves.
Last album you bought?
Food for Worms - Shame
What was your first gig?
Attended: Kaiser Chiefs on Blackpool Promenade
Played: The Spinning Top in Stockport
And the last gig you went to?
Warmduscher at YES
The Isaiah EP is the first release from Manchester band Pastel who have quickly solidified their place in the current musical economy of the city. Signed to The Spirit Of Spike Island record label, the music that Pastel create is very reminiscent of the sound of Manchester in the early nineties taking obvious inspiration from Madchester bands such as The Stone Roses, Oasis and The Happy Mondays. Comprising four tracks, the Isaiah EP is the first extended release from the band and gives listeners a solid introduction to the bands stylistic choices and sound. However, don’t make the mistake of passing off Pastel as an Oasis rip-off band. In the title track Isaiah, there are points which are almost shoegaze in nature created by implementing layered sounds to give the song an overall fuzzy and almost misty vibe.
The EP also features a previously unreleased song, Two Fools, which takes more of a heavy approach than Pastel’s usual approach. All while still utilising their usual sleazy, nineties-esque signature guitar sound and chord patterns. And not to forget singer Jack Yates vocals that sound like they could be taken straight from the Madchester scene.
The EP was originally released on streaming platforms and the later released on vinyl with the records selling out within minutes on the Spirit Of Spike Island website. Copies of the record are now being sold on Discogs for a whopping £160!
After a UK tour supporting label mates, Afflecks Palace earlier this year, we can’t wait to see what Pastel do next.
Stockport’s newest exports come in the form of The Maddocks. A raucous four piece who imbue their Postpunk sound with danceable, jangly-indie pop.
Sick. Cool. All born in the same Stockport hospital at the turn of the millennium, The Maddocks formed in the spring of 2022 after meeting each other at school almost a decade earlier. Since their formation, alongside honing their live sound and selling out a hometown headline gig, the quartet have been working hard on their first release, which takes shape in the form of the stomping, attention-grabbing sounds of This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things.
The four met many moons ago, bonding over cake and biscuit Friday in GCSE music (if you know, you know. Apparently.)
Over the years they had all been in various other bands and finally decided to work together on The Maddocks project earlier last year. As far as the name goes, after an encounter with a Johnny Vegas lookalike with the surname Maddocks the name just stuck. Although in old English,
Maddock means maggot. Perhaps an earworm would be more fitting!
In terms of music The Maddocks are a band that are not bound by genre. Influenced by bands such asFontaines DC and Wolf Alice to Tame Impala and Queens of The Stone Age. Mixing postpunk with jangly indie and beyond Each of their particular musical tastes shines through in their music.The Maddocks have quite
“First we’ve ever heard of it, but that’s quite funny. One time we did a gig and someone’s guitar case got covered in beer and when we went back to the rehearsal room, the spillage had attracted a swarm of maggots, so maybe it’s an omen?”
a collaborative creative process with all members being extremely musically skilled. Usually someone will come in with an idea, whether that be a bass line, a set of chords, or even a drum beat, and then they
all work around it until it develops into a song.
Alex Tollerfield (rhythm guitar) adds, “Most of our song names (and some lyrics) emanate from random things we say or overhear. For instance, our debut single “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things” was named after what I said when George dropped a pot noodle all over the floor at our second ever rehearsal. It makes the song writing process pretty interesting and always keeps things fresh and challenging!”
Earlier this year The Maddocks released their debut into the world, ‘This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things.’ The response to the track has been immense and better than any of them could have expected, obtaining airplay on both Radio X and Amazing Radio. Also being covered by various music blogs around the country and even being picked up by a Swiss radio station. But the band remains humble, Tollerfield says, “Most importantly it was received well by
the people in our hometown, which is humbling as it’s always nice to have that local support.”
As a band they are already making waves in the local live scene with headline gigs at Syndikat in Stockport and Gullivers in Manchester. The feedback the band have had so far has been amazing, with the crowds being better than at any other gig they played to while previously being in other bands. Backed by local supporters a hometown first headline at Syndikat which sold out, going down a treat. Their connection with the crowd is electric allowing adequate room for enjoyment and importantly dancing. Their second headline show at Gullivers also sold out which was a gig and also a celebration of the single release. The crowd was able to really get into and engage with the music which we suppose indicates that The Maddocks are releasing music that people can connect to, and
“We say we’re from Stockport because that’s where we live; we were all born at Stepping Hill Hospital and have grown up in the town. We’re proud of it.”
that’s starting to be reflected at their shows.
Thinking back to their Gullivers headline, Tollerfield states that, “Gullivers has definitely been a highlight so far, as the whole night was pretty much perfect; it could’ve been a lot worse if the guitarist of The Lanks (the opening act) hadn’t been rescued from a mountain that morning by their lead singer (we love you lads).”
at least two new tunes by the end of the year.
“Banger after banger after banger after banger… In all seriousness, we’ve got a few things up our sleeves and some exciting plans for the summer, so keep your ear to the ground.”
“When we got the phone call we jumped around screaming (Toller was away so we had to send him a voice note to tell him and it was so loud it hurthis ears).”
GEORGE EDWARDS on vox and lead guitar
Fave Track: Layla by Unknown Mortal Orchestra
Siobhán Lally on bass
Fave Track: Girlfriend Is Better by Talking Heads.
Looking to the future, The Maddocks will be playing the Tim Peakes Diner at Kendal Calling this summer, their first festival slot as a band! We can also expect
Ed Gibbins on drums
Fave Track: Her Hippo by Dry Cleaning
Alex Tollerfield on rhythm guitar.
Fave Track: I can’t think of a particular song, but I’ve been listening to loads of Depeche Mode recently
The Maddocks debut release, ‘This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things’ is ultra cool. In a rewriting of genre it takes elements of indie, post-punk and an absolutely ace bassline to create the total spectacle that the song is. Written, recorded and mixed by the band at their Fallowfield rehearsal room, the track was mastered by Geoff Pesche (Yard Act, Lily Allen, Blur) at Abbey Road Studios. With hints of jangle-pop and Edwards sharp yet rounded vocals laid over the top, it’s an easy listen but has enough about it to stand out from the crowd. It is truly the best debut I’ve ever heard.
I spent 24 hours of utter chaos in the city of Manchester as a homage to Michael Winterbottom’s iconic film, 24 Hour Party People.
He’s just set fire to my drink. I swear to god I saw him use a full on flamethrower to set fire to the top of it. The drinks in question are a rather undrinkable colour, something looking too green to be suitable for consumption and even less so with the current wildfire that’s taking place on the top of it. Make sure you blow out the fire before you put a straw in it, says the ratty looking barman. It’s not even that late on in the evening and it’s not even a suitable day for going out. A Monday. But any day can be a day to go out when you are seriously falling behind in everything you’re doing.
We’d been drinking pretty steadily from Friday,a civilised cocktail after one of the weirdest fucking films I’ve ever seen turned into a night of one too many and staggering home in the early hours of saturday. And the cycle repeats. Wake up. Shower. Food. Head Out. stagger back home in the early hours of Sunday. And again. “Why don’t we go to Manchester? Have a night out?,” what the fuck do you mean, “Well you know, You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours. Let’s go out.” Right but I have a lecture at 9am. “Train at 10:30 then.” Yeah okay then.
10am Monday we make our way to the corner shop, pick up a couple cans of Dragon Soop. Medicinal tasting and quite honestly vile. But it’s alcohol and caffeine that’ll keep us going for a while. The walk to the station is miles longer than recalled. A usual 20 minutes at a brisk pace seems near impossible but we must press on to make the train. It’s for the story after all. That’s it, the story. What’s the story again? Oh yeah, the film. 24 Hour Party People, Michael Winterbottom’s 2002 film featuring Steve Coogan as
the great Saint Anthony Wilson. A film so great that you wouldn’t even know it was made a whole twenty years earlier. Maybe that is until you actually get back into Manchester.
As I recall, there’s a scene in which Tony or should I say Steve is talking about musical trends and is at this time standing atop some building in Manchester. Perhaps somewhere near Oxford Road because you can see the Principle Hotels clock tower or is it the Kimpton Tower now? Who knows, I certainly don’t. And pulling into the station it’s completely overshadowed, hidden somewhere amongst all the high rise buildings. I swear it wasn’t this cramped the last time I was here. Barely a month ago. 20 years later and the city is unrecognisable, its brutalist facelift lording over all.
All I can think about is food. I’m hungry, maybe even starving. When was the last time I actually ate something substantial? We go underground to this Indian place, you see my accomplice isn’t a picky eater as such just has a rather refined and small circle of foods that they can or can’t eat. I’m no use myself either, can’t eat meat or dairy anymore. Makes me ill. Not the best for this kind of outing. Anyway we eat so much food it comes in these little pots. I couldn’t tell you what I ate but it scratched the itch for the time.
Now what? A walk. Should we walk it off? We walk it off, all over I’m not sure how long we walk for and then we look in shops. Tons of them. Do we buy anything? No. We’re delirious. I try to take in as much as I can. I notice the people walking the streets, the people sat on the streets. I’m scared of tripping over. My feet hurt. How long have we walked for? I change my shoes and off we go again. To another bar. A gaming bar it would seem. They appear to
Image CreditsLevi Mulholland
be popping up all over the show, these places where you can drink and rent a console for a period of time. No point renting a console. It would be wasted on me I can barely see in front of me. I just had a drink. Or two or three or maybe even four. Down they go into the acidic tank in my centre.
Full of glitter and vodka and fire and lime juice. Vile stuff if you ask me. But it’s all for the story. What story? Oh yeah the one where we get absolutely bladdered in Manchester and pretend we’re someone else. How did we end up in a nightclub?
Oh yeah, a trip to Wetherspoons, two more pitchers down. I’d hate to be me tomorrow. Only bald, fat, red middle-aged men look on in bemusement. What the fuck are they doing that drunk on Monday night? Their guess is as good as ours.
Somehow we blag our way into Factory. Fucking hell they must be struggling letting anyone in like that. Once home to the infamous Factory Records office, the club has now devolved into a place that puts of quids in nights and plays genericindie and the same shit wedding reception music that has become a genre of its own. Cheese. This truly is my personal hell. Why did we even come here? Somehow we force ourselves to stay. Stood in a sweaty club on Monday night. I’m not even drinking because I can’t bring myself to spend money in this shithole. I can’t let this destroy Wilson’s legacy, well the one in my head. I’m quite fickle, I’m told.
Anyway, Tony’s rolling in his grave, my feet are sticking to the floor, maybe I should leave. Yeah that seems like the right thing to do at this point. The music is shit anyway. So we leave.
Where can you go at 4am? A casino. Obviously. They’re pretty much the only places that are perpetually open. We don’t have any money. I’m also almost certain that I have an addictive personality and I really am not quite sure that I want to put that to the test. They provide us with orange juice in plastic cups. A refreshing breakfast drink but this is the least refreshed ‘ve ever felt. I can feel my insides rotting away and my brain turning to sludge.
At 6am we are saved. My mouth is watering. I’m stood in the queue. Greggs. The food of legends, heroes and drunk northerners who can’t eat kebabs. I’ll have not one but two vegan sausage rolls and something to wash it down with. Wrong choice. The acidic slop is creeping its way back up my throat. Keep it down. We make it onto a train.
An hour later I’m sat on my awful red sofa, in my dirty student house. How did I make it back here? Wait, what was the point of the last 24 hours? Oh yeah, the story. 20 years after Michael Winterbottom’s film Manchester has turned to shit, a run of the mill night out or maybe I’m just a run of the mill person. I should’ve just gone to a gig. Why bother clubbing? Why bother with any of it? Why bother reading the ramblings of a drunk? Because at the end of the day you never know how much of it you can trust. A wise man once said, when forced to pick between truth and legend, print the legend.
19-Razorlight, Albert Hall
20- Aldous Harding, Albert Hall
-DMA’S, O2 Apollo -Billy Noumates, New Century Hall
After Manchester punk band Cabbage reached their final destination, from the ashes rose Gaol Bird. Lee Broadbent, former Cabbage lead singer, offers up a new single, I Know Who Banksy Is. Unfortunately though the track is painfully average and almost indistinguishable from previous Cabbage songs. With the same calibre of lyrical content and instrumental sound the only obvious difference is a change in how the vocals are approached and even that is less interesting than before!
All I See, is Dirty Laces first release of the year. The Manchester rockers provide us with a heavy dosage of Pink Floydesque tuneage and overall it is a good song. Although, it does take some time to really get into the track and then it does seem to get lost in places. While the overall sound is amazing, the direction of this song isn’t their best.
Big fish small pond is a catchy tune from Spirit Of Spike Island’s own Afflecks Palace. This track has light and fluttery instrumentals with lead singer Jay Fender providing driving lyrics and a memorable refrain, it’s a song that’s sure to get stuck in your head. Deeply-rooted in Mancunian culture Fenders accent shines through and adds a certain comfort to the feel of the track.
The Killing Fields is a ripping track from Sinclair that tackles issues of environmental disaster and post-modernism. Accompanying these rather devastating lyrics offered up by front man Ollie Crompton, is it’s heavy guitars and chunky bass which can almost make you feel claustrophobic when listening as it’s a total overstimulation of the senses. The track is quite obviously trying to campaign and it succeeds in doing so making listeners feel uncomfortable, yet empowered to take action.
Like A Ghost comes after a three year hiatus from band Satyr Play. Once again providing a catchy yet simplistic indie track. Lead singer Fred Farrell provides haunting vocals to accompany the slow-burn track. For a first release back it’s a very safe choice but sometimes that’s the best way to be. Compared to their previous more lively releases, Like A Ghost comes across more thoughtful and introspective, and feels like it has been heavily influenced by The 1975s newer stuff. After such a break it may signal a new era for the band, taking a softer direction for future releases.
Clementine is definitely a song for the summer. Sugary and refreshing it feels like the sort of track you’d hear on an advert for a cool, hip, millennial-ran sorbet company. Despite never stepping out of the shade of its influences, its concise runtime and the sweet and fruity vibe of the song allow it to melt into your mind like a Solero on a summer’s day.
The hottest sounds coming from the rainy city!
Words: Meg Barton
This month’s featured venue is Night & Day. Located on Oldham Street in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, the venue opened in 1991 in a former fish and chip shop and has since evolved into the live music venue we know and love today.
Night & Day has played such an important role when it comes to Manchester’s music scene, supporting artists and bands such as Elbow and even appearing in Johnny Marr’s music video for his song ‘Dynamo.’
From The Arctic Monkeys to Kasabian to Jessie J, all kinds of performers have taken to the stage in Night & Day. And even in the face of adversity and various noise complaints, the venue stays resilient, regularly putting on gigs and having their in-house DJs perform multiple times a week.
