The Skinny Northwest January 2016

.CO.UK

INDEPENDENT FREE

CULT U R A L

J O U R N A L I S M

January 2016 Liverpool and Manchester Issue 34

Food & Drink Survey 2016 BOOKS Hollie McNish When Books Become Films 2016 Literary Calendar FILM 22 Films of 2016 MUSIC Tortoise Saul Williams SOAK Daughter

The Results: From best beer to your date location of choice, presenting this year's winners

ART Amy Stevenson Follow at FACT CLUBS Alex Smoke Party for the People THEATRE Mighty Heart Theatre COMEDY Alex Boardman

MUSIC | FILM | CLUBS | THEATRE | TECH | ART | BOOKS | COMEDY | FASHION | TRAVEL | FOOD | DEVIANCE | LISTINGS

BOOK NOW: 0161 832 1111 MANchesteracademy.net NECK DEEP

+ STATE CHAMPS + CREEPER + LIGHT YEARS THURSDAY 4TH FEBRUARY

BLOC PARTY, DRENGE, RAT BOY AND BUGZY MALONE

FORMERLY THE MDH

NME AWARDS TOUR 2016 WITH AUSTIN TEXAS SATURDAY 6TH FEBRUARY

BOWLING FOR SOUP

+ THE DOLLY ROTS + LACEY + MC LARS FRIDAY 5TH FEBRUARY

HURTS FRIDAY 12TH FEBRUARY

MARINA & THE DIAMONDS

THURSDAY 18TH FEBRUARY

SOUL II SOUL FT. JAZZIE B & CARON WHEELER

+ JAMES TAYLOR QUARTET + AFTER SHOW DJ SET FROM NORMAN JAY MBE SATURDAY 20TH FEBRUARY

SABATON / ALESTORM SATURDAY 27TH FEBRUARY

AN EVENING WITH MACHINE HEAD TUESDAY 8TH MARCH

WOLF ALICE

THURSDAY 10TH MARCH

CHRIS RAMSEY: ALL GROWED UP

WEDNESDAY 11TH MARCH

BOYCE AVENUE

SUNDAY 13TH MARCH

AN EVENING WITH LULU SATURDAY 26TH MARCH

BEN HAENOW FRIDAY 15TH APRIL

TROYE SIVAN

MONDAY 18TH APRIL

HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD FRIDAY 22ND APRIL

LUSH SATURDAY 30TH APRIL

IMPERICON FESTIVAL 2016 MONDAY 2ND MAY

GIGANTIC VOL 3 FT: THE WONDER STUFF

FORMERLY THE CELLAR

NAKHO & MEDICINE FOR THE PEOPLE

RON POPE & THE NIGHTHAWKS

THERION

FRIDAY 22ND JANUARY

SATURDAY 16TH JANUARY

ESCAPE THE FATE

+ KIM CHIRCHILL

BAABA MAAL

SATURDAY 23RD JANUARY

THE CADILLAC THREE SUNDAY 31ST JANUARY

THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS MONDAY 1ST FEBRUARY

TESSERACT

+ NORDIC GIANTS FRIDAY 5TH FEBRUARY

SATURDAY 16TH JANUARY

+ TREVOR HALL + TRUETT

THURSDAY 28TH JANUARY

CANCER BATS

BEZCZEL / BZUKU

SATURDAY 23RD JANUARY

PEARL JAM UK

SATURDAY 6TH FEBRUARY

SYMPHONY X

SATURDAY 13TH FEBRUARY

FRIDAY 29TH JANUARY

KING CHARLES THURSDAY 11TH FEBURARY

THE JADE ASSEMBLY

SHUGGIE OTIS FRIDAY 19TH FEBRUARY

BOY & BEAR

SUNDAY 21ST FEBRUARY

RHINO’S REVENGE

TRAGEDY: ALL METAL TRIBUTE TO THE BEE GEES AND BEYOND

TUESDAY 17TH FEBRUARY

SATURDAY 12TH MARCH

FLOATING POINTS

THE SHERLOCKS

DAN REED NETWORK + TYKETTO

FRIDAY 12TH FEBRUARY

SATURDAY 20TH FEBRUARY

SUNDAY 13TH MARCH

RICH HOMIE QUAN

SNUFF

CAGE THE ELEPHANT

LIMEHOUSE LIZZY

FAT WHITE FAMILY

X AMBASSADORS

BASEMENT + TIGERS JAW + ALEX G

WEDNESDAY 10TH FEBRUARY

FRIDAY 19TH FEBRUARY

SATURDAY 20TH FEBRUARY SATURDAY 27TH FEBRUARY

THERAPY?

FRIDAY 4TH MARCH

SATURDAY 13TH FEBRUARY

SATURDAY 12TH MARCH

ROACHFORD

REEF

FRIDAY 18TH MARCH

MONDAY 21ST MARCH

CROSSFAITH SATURDAY26TH MARCH SATURDAY 9TH APRIL

ANIMAL COLLECTIVE WEDNESDAY 13TH APRIL

TRIBUTE TO MANCHESTER VOL.2 THE SECOND COMING

G-EAZY

SATURDAY 23RD APRIL

KING KING

+ DAN PATLANSKY THURSDAY 12TH MAY MONDAY 23RD MAY

facebook.com/manchesteracademy

SATURDAY 26TH MARCH

KORPIKLAANI AND MOONSORROW THURSDAY 21ST APRIL

RALEIGH RITCHIE FRIDAY 29TH APRIL

ALIAS KID

SATURDAY 29TH APRIL

MANCHESTER ACADEMY PRESENTS PETER HOOK & THE LIGHT

FRIDAY 16TH SEPTEMBER

VON HERTZEN BROTHERS SUNDAY 20TH MARCH

A MANCHESTER ACADEMY PRESENTATION

ROMEO’S DAUGHTER SATURDAY 2ND APRIL

MATT & KIM

CAST

LOGIC

BLANCMANGE

DECAPITATED

THE RIFLES

NOA IN CONCERT WITH GIL DOR

SATURDAY 19TH MARCH

LADY LESHURR + SYLOSIS SATURDAY 15TH MARCH

THURSDAY 17TH MARCH

LIFE OF AGONY

SUNDAY 28TH FEBRUARY

THE INTERNET

FRIDAY 11TH MARCH

THURSDAY 17TH MARCH

SATURDAY 27TH FEBRUARY

FRIDAY 4TH MARCH

TUESDAY 8TH MARCH

TONY MORTIMER & HIS BAND

THURSDAY 18TH FEBRUARY

OH WONDER

+ HOUSE OF LOVE + THE DARLING BUDS, THE FRANK AND WALTERS, BMX BANDITS, CUD, S*M*A*S*H, THE TELESCOPES, MENSWE@R, BIVOUAC & JACK ADAPTOR (THE FAMILY CAT) SATURDAY 28TH MAY

FRIDAY 9TH DECEMBER

FORMERLY THE HOP & GRAPE

@manchesteracademy

MONDAY 4TH APRIL

CHRIS RAMSEY ALL GROWED UP

HEY! HELLO! SUNDAY 17TH APRIL

THE SMITHS LTD SATURDAY 23RD APRIL

CASH

(THE UK’S NO.1 JOHNNY CASH TRIBUTE) SATURDAY 30TH APRIL

FRIDAY 11TH MARCH

FOR UP TO DATE LISTINGS VISIT MANChesteracademy.net

P.30 Hollie McNish

P.43 Howes

Photo: Lucy Ridges

P.23 Saul Williams

P.34 Amy Stevenson

January 2016

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 34, January 2016 Š Radge Media Ltd. Get in touch: E: hiya@theskinny.co.uk T: 0161 833 3124 P: The Skinny, Second Floor, Swan Buildings, 20 Swan Street, Manchester, M4 5JW The Skinny is distributing 22,710 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.

E: sales@theskinny.co.uk All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part without the explicit permission of the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within this publication do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of the printer or the publisher.

Printed by Mortons Print Limited, Horncastle ABC verified Jan – Dec 2014: 22,710

Editorial Northwest Editor Film & Deputy Editor Events Editor Music Editor Art Editor Books Editor Clubs Editor Comedy Editor Deviance Editor Fashion Editor Food Editor Tech Editor Theatre Editor Travel Editor

Lauren Strain Jamie Dunn Simon Jay Catling Dave Kerr Sacha Waldron Holly Rimmer-Tagoe Daniel Jones John Stansfield Kate Pasola Alexandra Fiddes Lauren Phillips John Donaghy Jennifer Chamberlain Paul Mitchell

Production Production Manager Designer Sub Editor Editorial Assistant

Amy Minto Oliver Rogers Kristian Doyle Will Fitzpatrick

Sales Commercial Director Sales & Digital Marketing Analyst Sales Executive

Nicola Taylor Caroline Harleaux Issy Patience

Lead Designer

Sigrid Schmeisser

General Manager

Kyla Hall

Editor-in-Chief Chief Operating Officer Publisher

Rosamund West Lara Moloney Sophie Kyle

Printed on 100% recycled paper

4

Contents

THE SKINNY

Contents Up Front 06 Chat & Opinion: HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Welcome in 2016 with disconcerting horoscopes in BALLS., last-dash news in Stop the Presses, details of what’s on theskinny.co.uk in Online Only, and loads more.

31

Lifestyle 32

Travel: “Become a more rounded human being” – just one easily achievable goal on our writer’s list of travel-related new year’s resolutions…

33

Deviance: You’d never catch The Skinny using the #eatclean tag unquestioningly. We look at the troubling side of the Instagram trend.

34

Showcase: University of Salford graduate Amy Stevenson’s multimedia work “explores fickle consumerist attitudes’ and ‘the manipulation and simulation of the natural world“. And it’s ace.

36

Food & Drink: Two new openings get a visit from our Food team: The Bagelry in Liverpool and Manchester’s new ‘neighbourhood bar’ concept, Evelyn’s.

38

Fashion: Jewellery designers Toolally make colourful Perspex pieces in their Yorkshire studio. Our Fashion editor finds out more.

08 Heads Up: Did you make a New Year’s

resolution to be less of a disorganised dunderhead? Then get calendarising with our day-by-day guide to the month’s unmissable events.

John McEntire of legendary Chicagoans Tortoise tells us about getting lost in a world of their own making.

Features 10

Drumroll please… The results of our third annual Food and Drink Survey are in! See where you, the readers, voted as your favourite places to eat, drink and hang out in the Northwest – from the best pubs to the perfect spot for a date.

18

Having stolen a thousand hearts with their first album If You Leave, Daughter return with Not to Disappear.

Frontwoman Elena Tonra talks to The Skinny.

19

You spent the Christmas break catching up on all the movies you’d missed in endof-year lists; but what are The Must-See Films of 2016?

21

Diaries out: check The Essential 2016 Literary Calendar to make sure you’re ready for the most-anticipated books and bookish events of the year.

22

FACT Liverpool’s new group exhibition, Follow, explores the life lived online: “how it is altering the way we communicate, develop relationships, even the way we think.” The curators tell us more.

23

Slam poet and eternal musical firebrand Saul Williams discusses his first record in four years, MartyrLoserKing.

46 Books: John Osborne and Molly Naylor

Issues of body image, self-esteem and confession are explored in a powerful new play showing as part of PUSH Festival.

47

Comedy: Where do you draw the line between standup comedy and spoken word that’s also funny? We investigate.

about supporting new talent, something he’s done for years with his New Comedians night at The Comedy Store.

He picks his ones-to-watch for 2016.

48

Producer Alex Smoke muses on the enduring influence of classical music and his evolving relationship with dancefloor sounds on latest record Love Over Will.

Film: Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel get up to mischief in Youth, and Leonardo DiCaprio gets mauled by a bear in The Revenant.

49 DVD: Elaine May’s little-seen gem A New

24

Review 39

Music: Feast your ears upon our albums of the month; grab tickets for our recommended upcoming gigs and generally get out of the house. Plus, modular synth voyager Howes in interview.

44

Clubs: Philanthropic ticket vendors Party for the People tell us how they combine clubbing with fundraising. Plus, check January’s clubbing highlights and beat SAD by staying out ’til daylight. are among yer literary event highlights of the month; plus, reviews of Christopher Hitchens’ And Yet… and Gregor Hens’ Nicotine.

26 Standup Alex Boardman is passionate

27

28

Derry teenager SOAK stops a while with The Skinny in Hong Kong to talk about going global, emotional honesty and her plans for 2016.

Leaf comes to Blu-ray and Meryl Streep plays a rocker in Jonathan Demme’s Ricki and the Flash. Plus: win tickets to see Macbeth at HOME and scran from Bundobust in Competitions.

50 Tech: The Skinny’s Games editor offers

a personal account of video games as a tool for coping.

29 Ah, winter, the season of the interminable literary adaptation. We look at the creative process of taking books to the screen.

51

Listings: Beat the January blues by going to some stuff! Everyone’s well into going to stuff these days, and we’ve got details of stuff to suit everyone: gigs, clubs, comedy nights, you name it. Stuff.

55

The Last Word: Punk iconoclast Henry Rollins has a lot to say, as ever.

Spoken word sensation Hollie McNish

30 comes to Liverpool for the first time in January, as part of a Neu! Reekie! showcase. She tells us about her new book of poetry about parenthood, Nobody Told Me.

January 2016

Contents

5

I

n case you hadn’t noticed, it’s a New Year, and to mark it we’ve said ‘to mark the New Year’ about 25 times this issue. In fact, if you can be bothered/irritated enough to go through the magazine and correctly count how many times we’ve said it and report this number to me I will find some sort of prize for you. Currently on my desk I’ve got three separate biographies of Paul McCartney, some toffee-flavoured vodka and a printout of a nice picture of Ben Whishaw. Take your pick.

With my sincere face on, I hope you have a lot to look forward to in 2016 – and that our writers’ guides to the year’s various cultural offerings may help bolster that list. Our Film team have rounded up the movies they’re looking forward to watching/loving/slating over the coming months, and our pals in Books have compiled a calendar of publishing dates, literary festivals and other events so that, in the future, you may never feel inadequate for having not yet read I Love Dick. Also on a ‘newness’ tip, our Comedy editor spoke to comedian Alex Boardman, who promotes a monthly New Comedians night at The Comedy Store in Manchester, about the acts he’s been impressed by recently (try to see them in 2016!). Oh, and Travel and Deviance have both thought hard about their New Year’s Resolutions. (‘See the great sights of the world while trying not to cry and eat alone in restaurants pretending that you’re waiting for someone.’ ‘Buy a dildo if you want a dildo.’)

Before all that, though, are the results of our third annual Food and Drink Survey – as voted for by you, the readers of The Skinny. From pages 10-18, our Food editor closely inspects your favourite places in the Northwest to eat, drink or just skim the Wi-Fi; and while there are some familiar names in there, there are plenty of newcomers you might want to check out in 2016 too.

What else? In Music, we hear from Daughter’s Elena Tonra about her band’s second album, Not to Disappear; rapper, poet, actor and agitator Saul Williams calls in from Hong Kong to ruminate on ideas of influence and acceptance, and Melodic Records-signed Howes impresses with his first full-length album after that excitedly received EP of 2013, composed on a selfbuilt modular synth. In Clubs, ticket vendors

Party for the People explain how they’re turning their little corner of a notoriously hated industry into a breeding ground for good (they divert a percentage of their booking fees to a wide range of charities and causes, thus helping clubbers donate while they dance). In Books, we ponder the creative processes behind adapting texts for the screen, meet Helen McClory (one of our favourite short story writers of late), and catch up with poet and performer Hollie McNish, who’ll be playing at LEAF in Liverpool on 28 Jan as part of a super line-up supported by The Skinny (come!

Come! Tickets just a fiver from brownpapertickets.com). In Fashion, we meet the makers behind on-the-up jewellery designers Toolally, and in Art we muse on the merging of the online/offline experience in a conversation with curators Amy Jones and Lesley Taker, whose great new exhibition at FACT Liverpool, Follow, opened last month with an appearance from performance art collective LaBeouf, Rönkkö & Turner. (No, we didn’t touch Shia LaBeouf’s soul; yes, we made fleeting but satisfying eye contact).

What a strange year that was. Here’s to another. [Lauren Strain]

www.jockmooney.com

Editorial

Spot the Difference

ON THE COVER: Mica Warren is an Irish illustrator, born and raised in County Wicklow, now living in Edinburgh with his big brother Ben. cargocollective.com/micawarren

In celebration of our Food and Drink Survey 2016, a pair of hotdogs. Don't they look delicious? If you look closely enough, though, you might be able to discern a subtle but crucial difference between these two snacks. But what is it?

If you think you know, head along to theskinny. co.uk/competitions for a chance to win your very

own copy of Gun Baby Gun by Iain Overton, courtesy of our dear pals at Canongate.

Competition closes midnight Sun 31 Jan. Winners will be notified via email within two working days of closing and will be required to respond within 48 hours or the prize will be offered to another entrant. Our Ts&Cs can be found at theskinny.co.uk/about/terms-and-conditions

Online Only Eyes to the website Film has an interview with Lenny Abrahamson on his awards-tipped adaptation of Emma Donoghue’s novel, Room; plus, we speak to Adam McKay, director of the Ryan Gosling-starring credit crunch drama The Big Short. theskinny.co.uk/film The results in our fifth annual Scotland Food & Drink Survey are in! If you’re planning a trip to Edinburgh or Glasgow, check out our sister magazine’s tips on where to eat, drink and generally hide away from the world. theskinny.co.uk/food In addition to the bumper 2016 Literary Calendar you’ll find on page 21, our Scottish Books editor has put together a list of, yes, Scottish books on his radar for 2016. Oh, and he also went to Berlin to do loads of drinking in honour of new book

6

Chat

The School of Sophisticated Drinking, a cultural and historical background to seven spirits.

Jammy bugger. theskinny.co.uk/books Puppetry and animation festival Manipulate takes over Edinburgh at the end of January with all manner of magic, from physical theatre to live foley and dance. Our Theatre editor in the North chats to some first-time performers: theskinny.co.uk/theatre The work of Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop artist Stephanie Mann looks brill in our Showcase: theskinny.co.uk/art Comedian and founder of The Bugle podcast Andy Zaltzman talks political satire and the planet falling apart: theskinny.co.uk/comedy

Shot of the Month Jenny Lee Lindberg at Band on the Wall, 8 Dec, by Luke Hannaford

THE SKINNY

telling the story of a woman who feels excluded from a world of 2.4 children and Mr Rights. You can catch this special showing at 9pm, finishing just before the witching hour. For tickets: everymanplayouse.com

HOME cinema has announced details of CRIME: Hong Kong Style, a new season of crime films from Hong Kong running February to April at the Manchester venue. The biggest celebration of Hong Kong cinema in the UK to date, the series will feature 20 titles, including premieres of Dante Lam’s That Demon Within and Ringo Lam’s Wild City. For more details: homemcr.org The debut show at the Bluecoat by its new curator, Adam Smythe, opens in January. Smythe was appointed curator at the Liverpool gallery in July last year, and his first show is a group exhibition, Left Hand to Back of Head, Object Held Against Right Thigh, which will run between 23 Jan-28 Mar with an additional programme of events running in tandem. The exhibition sees artists use film, video, installation and sculpture to form relationships between artworks and the bodies of the audience, as they explore how we can encounter art as a felt experience. Full details: bluecoat.org.uk.

New music ensemble Psappha have announced their New Year’s programme – a series of concerts taking place at their Ancoats home of St Michael’s Church. The programme includes the venue’s first BBC live broadcast on 7 Jan, while among the other highlights are St Michael’s first North West Composers Festival on 29 Jan, with several new works written for Psappha and a performance of one of Harrison Birtwistle’s most important works, The Axe Manual. More info: psappha.com.

Liverpool Playhouse will host a one-off late-night performance of The Haunting of Hill House on 8 Jan. The Hammer Horror-influenced stage show, an adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s 1959 book, is a psychological thriller that critiques the American ideal of the pursuit of happiness,

Humanities in Public, the festival that brings the academic research of Manchester Metropolitan University to the public through interesting, engaging events, has revealed details of its spring programme. The ‘Sex’ season aims to examine ‘just a few of the pressing questions that sex confronts us with,’ and highlights include screenings of Chemsex, a documentary The Skinny described as ‘a must-see “issues� film’, and My Name Is Gerry Potter, a documentary portrait of the Liverpool-born poet that takes us through his work, favourite landmarks, childhood memories, the Liverpool gay scene and Manchester’s Canal Street. Full programme: mmu.ac.uk/hip Threshold Festival, Liverpool’s annual multivenue festival of grassroots art and music, has announced its return between Fri 1-Sun 3 Apr 2016. Expanding the visual arts strand of the festival, the organisers have also revealed that The Lemon Collective (TLC) – a local group of arts and performance graduates – will be launching their European tour of scenography at the event, providing virtual stage sets over the weekend. TLC’s showcase is part of the wider ViSet project, which promotes cutting-edge digital technologies in order to demonstrate the many social, economical, commercial and cultural advantages of technologies for the arts. More information: thresholdfestival.co.uk The Royal Northern College of Music’s New Music North West series returns 22-29 Jan, bringing together highly regarded artists and ensembles like Psappha and Distractfold in a programme of work by more than 100 living composers across venues including the RNCM, Martin Harris Centre and Chetham’s School of Music. Highlights include Sir Harrison Birtwistle in residence for three days hearing his work performed, and a new opera from Kevin Malone based on Mark Twain’s The Mysterious Stranger stories. More information: rncm.ac.uk

The February Issue: Out 2 Feb

It’s our Travel special! Dream away all that dreary February-ness with our calendar of the best international cultural events of 2016, insider’s guides to Madrid, Kuala Lumpur and Manila,

and loads more. Pass us the cocktail umbrellas.

Plus: interviews with supergroup The Nevermen (made up of TV on the Radio’s Tunde Abimpe, Mike Patton and Doseone) and Savages.

BALLS.

with Mystic Mark ARIES For weeks you’ve complained to your partner of feelings of love, involuntary singing, clapping and speaking in tongues. In your hysteria you even begin praising imaginary sky beings and develop a feverish terror of a fiery horned beast at the centre of the planet. You are now highly infectious; as well as a host, the parasite compels you to seek out noninfected vessels and transmit the disease. Being diagnosed with a Jesus shouldn’t be taken lightly.

The doctor speculates you may have contracted it from a parent or an infected piece of bread.

Your only hope is that the white blood cells from your lymphatic system locate the Jesus gestating within and break it down using enzymes before it metastasises from the heart to the brain.

TAURUS You lose a lot of respect for God this month when you die and find He lets you into Heaven. Leaves you wondering if he even has a system.

GEMINI If only there was a protein shake to make your brains bigger.

CANCER Your New Year’s resolution to lose a couple of feet in height has come to a standstill as you continue to gorge yourself on height-increasing foods such as chicken legs and bean stalks.

chilli sauce, you drift off on the Smirnoff Ice I.V. drip. It’s a difficult procedure, carefully inserting the doner into your unconscious mouth, without spilling the attendant salad and sauce down your blue paper gown.

SCORPIO This month you make your cat eat a communion wafer by coating it in McCoys Thai Sweet Chicken flavouring, and thus, save her from the eternal damnation of our loving God.

SAGITTARIUS Not knowing how to dispose of your old Real Doll, you dump it in the woods only to find later the area is cordoned off after it is found by the walker of a Real Dog. A Real Policeman turns up, his arms moved by his handler, examining the scene, looking for clues with his glass eyes.

LEO Stepping out of confession the moment The Rapture begins, you’re amazed to be among The Chosen, lifting majestically into the sky. But old habits die hard and you can’t help but crack one off on your way up to Heaven.

VIRGO You’ve been on the NHS waiting list for a doner to become available for so long, dying of hunger and desperately needing a kebab, feeling so empty and off-colour.

When you’re called, the Turkish specialist matches you up to the correct doner making sure it’s compatible so your body won’t reject it onto the pavement. Clutching your mother’s hand, with your father signing the forms for the amount of

Psappha at St Michael's Church

January 2016

LIBRA Abscesses make the heart grow larger.

CAPRICORN As you climax during lovemaking you whisper gently into your partner’s ear “I’m sperming.�

AQUARIUS Earth is little more than a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam, and God has a dust allergy, forcing Him to avoid us at all costs, reacting violently should we approach.

PISCES It takes more muscles to frown than to smile, which is why your face is a titanic rippling hulk of a face. From modest beginnings you’ve bulked up your once scrawny visage using protein whey and steroids to win more than 16 face-building championships. At this month’s final, you constrict your taut, sinewy lips over your teeth until they crack under the explosive hydraulic force of your smile, gurning your veiny, pulsating face for the judges who applaud your oiled mug muscles and stick a ribbon on your enormous twitching cheek.

facebook.com/themysticmark twitter.com/themysticmark

Chat

7

Ruddy January with its miserable cold weather and post-Christmas gloom. Never fear though, ’cos the likes of Harriet Dyer, Sidekick and Garrett Millerick are all on hand to wipe those wintery woes away with laughter.

With things quiet on the first Monday of the year, it's time to catch up on some of the region's exhibitions, including Matthew Darbyshire's An Exhibition for Modern Living, which enters its final week today.

It's the largest exhibition of the British contemporary artist's work to date.

Manchester Art Gallery, until 12 Jan, Free

A sole protagonist petitions the court, asking to be executed after 23 years on Death Row, in The Fear of Thirteen, a documentary directed by David Sington.

The tale has more to it than first meets the eye. FACT, Liverpool, 6pm, prices vary

Matthew Darbyshire An Exhibition for Modern Living

Sat 9 Jan

Sun 10 Jan

Mon 11 Jan

Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club get their laughing gear on early this year, bringing previous 8 Out of 10 Cats panellist Rob Rouse to the Atkinson. The comedian is bringing his hyperactive stylings to the North outside of his regular tour dates: could that mean new material?

The Atkinson, Southport, 8pm, £15

A night of music, laughter and dance sees musical comedian Rainer Hersch lead musicians and dancers through the Johann Strauss Gala, an array of classic waltzes and polkas, from The Blue Danube Waltz and Radetzky March to the Thunder & Lightning Polka and the Laughing Song.

Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, 3pm, from £14.50

Edinburgh preview season starts early as wit-maker of the surreal and bizarre Harriet Dyer tries out new material as part of the #PLAY4FREE festival, which runs until 23 Jan and features a host of local standup talent. The King's Arms, Salford, 8pm, Free

Rob Rouse

Nick Yaris in The Fear of Thirteen

Harriet Dyer

Johann Strauss Gala

Sat 16 Jan

Sun 17 Jan

Re:play Festival gets re-born this week as PUSH take over HOME for two weeks’ worth of new theatre. Tonight is the turn of Roseacre, which comes inspired by Nordic Noir thrillers like The Killing, and untangles a web of lies after a body is found following a demonstration. HOME, Manchester, until 17 Jan, £12 (£10)

Buoyed by a hugely successful 2015, club night Covert makes a diversion from its usual environs of Sankeys to host a free party to welcome 2016, taking place at new Ancoats spot Mantra Live and headed up by local deep house head Just Jorge. Mantra Live, Manchester, 11pm, Free

Set up to pay homage to the BBC electronic music pioneer, Delia Derbyshire Day has become an almost annual event. This year includes two new creative responses to the Delia Derbyshire Archive by artists Mary Stark – who specialises in film and live art – and musician Mandy Wigby. HOME, Manchester, 11.30am, £8.50 (£6.50)

Illustration: Roel van Eekelen

Fri 15 Jan

Roseacre at PUSH Festival

Delia Derbyshire Day

Fri 22 Jan

Sat 23 Jan

Deep Hedonia's Everyman residency continues with superb East Anglian folk artist Laura Cannell. Cannell's work draws on the emotional influences of the landscape and the sometimes dissonant chords of early and medieval music, to create something almost otherworldly in today's modern climate. Everyman Bistro, Liverpool, 8pm, £7

Nearly three years after the release of If You Leave, 4AD-signed dream-pop trio Daughter return to live touring as one of the most recognisable guitar bands in the UK. They play tonight in support of their eagerly anticipated and similarly confessional follow-up, Not to Disappear.

O2 Academy, Liverpool, 7.30pm, £17.50

Having capped a fine 2015 with end-of-year inclusions all over the shop for her second LP Hinterland, Lonelady begins 2016 by taking her shimmering post-punk pop to one of Britain's finest smallest venues as part of the weekend's Caught by the River Festival. Trades Club, Hebden Bridge, until 24 Jan, prices vary

Laura Cannell

Daughter

Thu 28 Jan

Fri 29 Jan

The world-renowned Banff Mountain Film Festival calls into Leeds this year, showcasing some of the best new films and documentaries relating to man's relationship with nature from up on high. Expect everything from adventure to action sports. Town Hall, Leeds, 7.30pm, £13.50 (£12)

Finally! Sick of them lot up in Scotland crowing on about the gloriousness of Neu! Reekie!, we're delighted to be partnering the mixed performance night as it makes a trip below the border. Join us for a vibrant mix of live poetry and music including spoken word sensation Hollie McNish, The Vaselines’ Eugene Kelly and many more.

LEAF, Liverpool, 8pm, £5

Known by some (we're not sure who) as "the Hendrix of the Sahara," Vieux Farka Touré has embraced the ancient desert blues of West Africa and the sounds of modern rock for a decadev. The son of Malian legend Ali Farka Touré, the guitarist is a maestro of the highest order. Music Room, Liverpool, 8pm, £16.50

Still from Pretty Faces film, showing at BMFF

8

Chat

Photo: Jeff Hoke

Wed 27 Jan

Hollie McNish

Photo: Daniel Harris

Thu 21 Jan

Lonelady

Vieux Farka Touré

THE SKINNY

Photo: Kate Johnston

Compiled by: Simon Jay Catling

Tue 5 Jan

Photo: Michael Pollard

Heads Up

Mon 4 Jan

The first improv workshop of the year from those masters of the spontaneous, Impropriety, allows you to try your hand at, you guessed it, improvised performance and comedy with guidance from one of Liverpool's most established spoken word collectives. 81 Renshaw, Liverpool, 7pm, £4

Ahead of the December launch of his comedy night Funny Looking Presents, Gav Cross told our Comedy editor: "I want to have people go away saying that was a lovely gig". The new Liverpool night continues its opening run this evening with touring veteran Arthur Smith headlining. 81 Renshaw, Liverpool, 7.30pm, £7

If you don't know the Brudenell Social Club as a live music venue then you'll certainly know it as a first stop for beer-drinking exellence, and never is that more apparent than at its annual Brew-denell Beer and Ale Festival, which this weekend features more than 50 different ales from all over the globe. Brudenell Social Club, Leeds, until 9 Jan, prices vary

Impropriety Improvageddon 2014

Brew-denell Beer and Ale Festival

Arthur Smith

Wed 13 Jan

Thu 14 Jan

Quickly becoming one of the most intriguing hiphop stars on the planet, Angel Haze plays Manchester off the back of huge acclaim for their long-awaited mixtape Back to the Woods, which advanced the raw candour of their scorching earlier material while going further to mash up everything from dub to pop. Band on the Wall, Manchester, 7.30pm, £12.50

The debut production by Play With Fire at the new Hope Mill Theatre, Orphans sees two grown orphan brothers have the tables turned on them as the Chicago gangster they've kidnapped frees himself and takes charge. Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester, until 23 Jan, £12 (£10)

Veteran music writer Jon Savage, who came to prominence during the punk era, talks to Kevin Sampson about his latest book, 1966, which explores what Savage calls "the year the decade exploded," when seminal artists from The Velvet Underground to The Beatles came to the fore. Waterstones, Liverpool, 6.30pm, £3 (£2)

Angel Haze

Photo: Steve Tanner

Tue 12 Jan

Orphans

Jon Savage

Tue 19 Jan

Wed 20 Jan

You don't need us to tell you that Russia's reputation for ballet surpasses any in the world, and tonight there's the special treat of the Russian State Ballet of Siberia and the Orchestra of the Russian State Ballet coming together to perform Swan Lake. Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, 7.30pm, from £31

If you're stuck for something to do on a Tuesday (and even if you’re not), you can always rely on top-drawer comedy night XS Malarkey for a solid evening of chuckles. Tonight's headliner is Garrett Millerick, who has drawn comparisons to Stewart Lee. The Pub/Zoo, Manchester, 7pm, £5 (£3)

Now in its third year, Manchester Beer and Cider Festival has become the traditional first big booze-’emup of the year for craft beer enthusiasts, taking place as it does at the ginormous Manchester Velodrome, where it boasts more than 500 beers, ciders and perries. Glug.

Velodrome, Manchester, until 23 Jan, prices vary

Garrett Millerick

Sun 24 Jan

Mon 25 Jan

Tue 26 Jan

New exhibition Flat Death is an unflinching confrontation of mortality, as Edgar Martins and Jordan Baseman present a series of photos and slides documenting the deceased. Martins' work is presented through investigation with the Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences in Portugal. Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool, until 3 Apr, Free

The first Sidekick Comedy of the year picks up where 2015 left off, with The Skinny Spotlight alumnus and "dad-fighting comedian" Sean Morley possibly the pick of a reliably good four-strong bill (that's 50p per comedian!). Also playing are Graham Goring, Madie Howard and Sam Whyte. Via, Manchester, 7pm, £2

Widely tipped as "ones to watch" two years ago, 80s-influenced indie-pop duo Pure Bathing Culture remain worthy of your eyes and ears, having released their wonderfully woozy second album Pray for Rain last Autumn to some deserved acclaim. The Castle Hotel, Manchester, 7.30pm, Free

Jordan Baseman - Deadness (2013)

Photo: Mark Dawson

Mon 18 Jan

Swan Lake, The Russian State Ballet of Siberia

Manchester Beer and Cider Festival

Sean Morley

Pure Bathing Culture

Sun 31 Jan

Mon 1 Feb

It’s the first Fiesta Bombarda carnival of the year, and the party returns to the the Victorian glass structure of Palm House for the first time in two years. The six hour party is headlined by the Balkan big-beat of Gypsy Hill atop the usual colourful antics. Palm House, Liverpool, 7pm, £Returns

It's the last day of Castlefield Gallery’s latest Head to Head exhibition B/Q: Roland Barthes and Magnus Quaife, which sees Quaife re-examining the French philosopher and literary theorist’s lasting influence. Quaife explores lesser-known fragments of Barthes’ legacy. Castlefield Gallery, Manchester, 1pm, Free

New exhibition Half-Real brings together visual art and gaming technology, assessing how artists are using video games and computational media in their work. The group show welcomes exhibits from all over the world.

Hanover Project, Preston, until 29 Feb, Free

January 2016

Photo: Andrew AB

Sat 30 Jan

Fiesta Bombarda

Magnus Quaife - XVIII The Castratos Posterity (2015)

Illustration: Dom Kelly

Fri 8 Jan

Serafin Alvarez - The Walkthrough

Chat

9

Photo: Greater Manchester Branches

Thu 7 Jan

Photo: Ynos Productions.

Wed 6 Jan

S RE AT U FE

Salut Wines

The results are in! Over the next few pages, see where you voted your favourite places to eat, drink and make merry in the Northwest – starting with Best Pub or Bar Words: Lauren Phillips

A

favourite bar is like a favourite child; you might struggle to pick one, but in reality, you definitely have a preference. When it came to choosing yours, the results were pretty wideranging. Where some of you valued the energetic, party atmosphere of a bar, others opted for the traditional ale house with a serious roster of craft beers.

Whatever your tastes, the Northwest has an option for you, that much is true. Here we run through your top five pubs and bars, what you’ll find there and the drink you should be ordering.

Berry & Rye, Liverpool

In its early days, Berry & Rye was one of Liverpool’s hidden gems; a secret haven, tucked behind an anonymous exterior on Berry Street that you had to blag your way into. Nowadays, that’s no longer the case, but revellers are still flocking here in droves. Imagine an old-school speakeasy in Prohibition-era New York, all panelled walls, antique trinkets and candlelit booths. There’s space for around 50 people at a push, but table service means you won’t struggle to order a drink. Clued-up staff are on hand to guide you, but this place specialises in whisky and gin cocktails, so you should make the most of that. Go for an Old Fashioned, stay for the live jazz.

Evil Eye Burrito Shack, Liverpool

With nods in our World Food, Best Date and On-the-Go categories, these guys have certainly racked up the nominations this year. The Smithdown Road bar takes the whole Mexican thing and runs with it; expect strings of fairy lights, sugar skulls and graphic poster-clad walls.

Drinks-wise you’ll find an extensive list of South American beers, such as rum-flavoured Cubanisto, Evil Eye's own take on the Desperado and a whole bunch of Spanish wines. There’s a stage space that plays regular host to live guitarists, mariachi bands and DJs, so it’s definitely one for the weekend.

Salut Wines, Manchester

Salut Wines is essentially Manchester’s sommelier. From its shop-cum-bar on Cooper Street, it offers a unsurpassed choice of around 40 different wines by the glass, all dispensed from an Enomatic serving system that enables each bottle to be opened without being subject to oxidation. The laid-back, no-nonsense approach

10

Feature

Blackjack Brewery

to wine tasting is what makes this place such a hit. Smart, educated (literally – we’re talking NVQs) and friendly staff quash any preconceptions you might have about trying and buying wine. The Hugel Pinot Noir is a recent arrival and worth a try.

The Grapes, Liverpool

Affectionally referred to as ‘everyone’s local,’ The Grapes is part of Liverpool’s brewing history. It’s located in the city’s Georgian quarter and has all the authenticity and charm you’d expect from an old boozer. As part of Liverpool’s Real Ale Trail, it’s a destination for craft beer fans, stocking from the likes of Liverpool craft brewery Tatton and Marston’s. Surprisingly, rum is a specialty here, and you can find over 35 varieties. Try the award-winning Diplomatico or The Grapes’ own Dark’n’Stormy, with Gosling’s dark rum and Jamaican ginger beer.

“A favourite bar is like a favourite child; you might struggle to pick one, but in reality, you definitely have a preference” Ship & Mitre, Liverpool

Offering arguably one of the largest ranges of beers, ales and ciders on Merseyside, the Ship & Mitre is another Liverpool legend. It’s probably best known for its ship-themed bar and Art Deco interior, but a CAMRA accreditation means that this place means business. With 12 hand-pulled ales, three hand-pulled ciders, 25 different draught beers and over 100 different bottles on offer, the choice here is impressive. It has also been home to some of our Best Beer winners – always a good sign.

For more details, turn to page 16

Down in One Say hello to the Northwest’s Best Beer; some of the biggest and brightest flavours of a craft ale scene that’s going from strength to strength Words: Lauren Phillips

A

fter last year’s survey, we were left asking ourselves just how long it would be until the craft beer bubble bursts. One year on and – praise be – the movement shows no sign of waning, with new breweries, festivals and taps cropping up faster than you can say, “pint?”

As you can see from our results, the IPA reign supreme. There are some old favourites, but an influx of newbies demonstrates just how thriving the Northwest’s craft beer scene continues to be. Here, we talk you through them all, so you can get the next round in armed with plenty of know-how.

Love Lane Pale Ale, Liverpool Craft Beer Co Named after the Liverpool street it was originally brewed on, Love Lane Pale Ale has a smooth biscuit malt balanced with hints of tropical leaf citrus. It’s one of two on our list from Liverpool Craft Beer Co, who have been the beating heart of the city’s brewing scene since 2010. You can get it as cask or on keg, but we’re fans of the sharp-looking bottles, designed by local brand agency SB Studio.

Rye Pale Ale, Liverpool Craft Beer Co Either LCBC are buttering up voters with free pints, or they’re just damn good at what they do.

We’re opting for the latter. Their Rye Pale Ale is a crisp ale made using Apollo, Fuggles, Bramling Cross and Cascade hops in order to give it that spicy, citrus base. It pours a hazy, amber colour and has a pleasantly dry, bitter finish. Another one that comes on keg, as cask or bottled.

FOOD AND DRINK SURVEY

Marble English IPA, Marble Beers

It wouldn’t be a beer survey without Marble, the Mancunian brewery that’s been cracking skulls and taking names since way back in 1997. Like all of Marble’s cask brews, the English IPA is all natural, unpasteurised and unfined to give it that rich, cloudy body. It’s also the only brew on the list made with solely English hops (Target, Goldings and Admiral) which gives it a subtler, more aromatic taste than its continental cousins.

Four of a Kind IPA, Blackjack Brewery This guy is a hoppy, grassy beer from Manchester brewery Blackjack, and is available on keg and bottled. Set up by Marble alumnus Rob Hamilton, this neat little operation brews an impressive range of stouts, bitters and pales, but its American IPA stands out. It’s brewed from all the big Cs – Cascade, Centennial, Chinook and Columbus – so you can expect a small, frothy head, a golden colour and a slightly tropical base.

Sonoma Pale Ale, Track Brewing Co

An addition from new kid on the block Track, the Sonoma is a light, crisp pale ale with plenty of citrus zing. It garnered serious attention at this year’s Indy Man Beer Con, which probably explains its place in our list. The firm bitterness might not be for everyone, but it’s nicely balanced with notes of pineapple, orange and grassy hops. Aficionados can enjoy it on tap or by the bottle.

For more details, turn to page 16

THE SKINNY

Photo: Oscar Studio

The Skinny Food and Drink Survey 2016

Homes from Home

New Kids on the Block

Introducing some of your Best Cafes, those familiar go-to destinations for hangovers, life crises and stonkingly good fry-ups

Looking for somewhere new to eat but can’t decide between the latest pizza place or that Korean-fusion stand? Introducing one of the winners of the Best Newcomer category, Pao!, and what makes them so great

Interview: Lauren Phillips

Interview: Lauren Phillips

T

here’s a bizarre kind of psychology behind a favourite cafe. It’s that go-to place everyone has for dealing with life’s little quandaries: hangovers, break-up negotiations, unannounced parental visits. A favourite cafe has all the familiarities and comforts of home, with the added bonus of a meal you don’t have to cook yourself.

We spoke to some of the Northwest’s most popular casual dining spots about the tips and tricks behind their best-selling breakfast items.

Breakfast is, after all, the most important meal of the day, and when you get it right, you can literally change lives.

Who? Trove, Manchester What? Black pudding pikelet How? “We first came up with the idea of making

our own pikelets as a way of using up our leftover sourdough starter. Seasonal food is very important to our menu-writing process, and it’s a very autumnal dish with earthy flavours. We’re lucky enough to get some beautiful organic vegetables from Manchester Veg People, and we use them as much as possible in our dishes and chutneys.

“Salt-baking the rainbow beetroot draws out moisture and gives it a depth of seasoning that can’t be achieved by adding salt at the end. To make the pikelets, we whisk in a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda to 270 grams of sourdough starter, a pinch of salt, sugar and pepper. Wait a few minutes while it froths up, add butter and a splash of oil in a pan, then ladle in the mixture.

When bubbles have formed, flip it to cook both sides evenly; it should be golden and crispy on both sides. Top with two slices of crispy black pudding, Trove beetroot and ginger chutney,

some slices of salt-baked beetroot, a poached organic egg and horseradish yoghurt to cut through the richness.”

Who? East Avenue Bakehouse, Liverpool What? The Bakehouse Benny How? “For us, breakfast is all about classic

dishes done well. All the ingredients in our version of eggs Benedict are made from scratch and served simply. We bake our own muffins every morning in our bakery downstairs and poach the eggs to order. The thick-cut gammon comes from locally bred pigs, and we slow-cook it overnight for the best flavour. We offer it with smoked salmon, too, which comes from Wards Fish on the Wirral. Saturday’s are the busiest, and we use 40 eggs to make one day’s worth of hollandaise!”

Who? Koffee Pot, Manchester What? Smoked haddock rarebit How? “Our smoked haddock rarebit is the

ultimate comfort food. Owner/chef Chris worked under Gary Rhodes, and it’s a take on the rarebit they served. The smokey, fishy, cheesy combo shouldn’t work but it does. We use Tabasco to cut through the fats and clear the hangover head, and top it off with a runny egg – it’s the ultimate cheese on toast. We try and use local producers where we can: we source our fish from Manchester Fish Market, our cheese is from a small independent, Pennine Wine & Cheese, and our coffee is from Ancoats Coffee.”

For the full list of winners, turn to page 16

Pao!

W

e’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: the Northwest’s food scene is on fire right now. From street food stalls to supper clubs, you can’t turn around in Manchester or Liverpool without bumping into a newly opened eatery.

While it’s all well and good living in a city where you can eat somewhere different every day, sometimes it helps to have a little more clarity, a little more guidance. That’s where this year’s Best Newcomer category comes in. Think of it as a veritable to-eat list of restaurants and food stalls that you need to prioritise in 2016. It is, to all intents and purposes, The Northwest’s Next Food Superstar! Yas, gawd!

We spoke to the one of your favourite newcomers, Asian street-food gem Pao!, about their story and what it takes to start a successful food business in 2015.

“Liverpool offers some great opportunities for starting and growing a business” Pao!

Choose a good name

“Pao means ‘to run’ in Mandarin Chinese. It’s a bit of a tenuous link to street food, but we like the way it sounds – like a fist-pump!”

Know your USP

“We wanted to provide good, healthy, interesting food that packs a flavour punch and fills you up without slowing you down. We love Asian cuisine and food culture, and it’s so nutritious and varied.”

Have a signature dish

“Our summer bentos are by far our most popular dish. We designed them to be a box full of gorgeous delights! Our crispy tofu with homemade black pepper ketchup also goes down a storm, too.”

Do it for the right reasons

“All three of us have always wanted to run our own business, and when we found each other and realised that our skill sets complemented one another’s so well, it was a no-brainer!”

Keep it local

“We have lived in London and all over the shop, but we’ve all come back to Liverpool with knowledge, ideas and a healthy dose of focus and ambition to make a difference in some way.

Liverpool offers some great opportunities for starting and growing a business, and if the weather was better, it’d be the perfect place!”

Build a great team

“Pao! is made up of Shelly Turner, an experienced chef and firebrand, whose food vision provides our backbone; Anna Brown, who joined us as a partner this October and has headed up many busy kitchens with unflappability and good grace; and Mia Tagg, who started in kitchens and front-of-house but moved to the business end of things about ten years ago.”

Be proactive

“Over the winter months we are doing pop-ups, catering and loads of events. We’re looking forward to being part of NYE at the Kazimier; a supper club collaboration with the fantastically impressive Buyers Club at the end of January; and a celebration of the Year of the Monkey at Claremont Farm in February.”

Keep looking forward “In the next few months we’re looking to buy our own truck, secure some added investment to grow our capacity and secure a plot of land.

Watch this space!”

For the full list of winners, turn to page 16

Koffee Pot

January 2016

FOOD AND DRINK SURVEY

Feature

11

Curry in a Hurry When it comes to your Best Food On-The-Go, street food is king. Join us, won’t you, as we give the 511 on the best places to chow down if you're in a hurry Words: Lauren Phillips

Maray

Date Night

This Liverpool indie is a modern take on the Manhattan bistro. With a full bar and long, banquet-style tables, it’s strictly more restaurant than convenience stop, but many of its dishes can be wrapped up to go. Chefs Grace Makin and Jen Roberts felt that, while the city had its fair share of American food, the more traditional, homemade elements you’d find in old-school delis were missing. Jewish and Italian cuisine serves as a major inspiration, and you’ll find all the usual suspects – Reuben, brisket, corn dogs – as well as some lesser-known favourites like mollettes, latkes and frickles here.

Words: Lauren Phillips

W

HOME, Manchester

The opening of this cultural tour-de-force was one of the highlights of 2015. A stellar arthouse cinema and a diverse theatre programme already makes HOME a serious contender for Best Date Place, but its food and drink offering is just as good. The ground floor bar makes for the perfect meeting spot, with its floor-to-ceiling windows and outdoor seating space. Head upstairs to the restaurant – all dark wood and gold fittings – for a well-edited menu of platters, pizzas and other shareable treats. If you’re catching a film, the small second floor bar is an ideal pitstop, where you can grab a G&T to sip on the outdoor terrace or take into the screen with you.

Maray, Liverpool

Situated on Liverpool’s Bold Street, Maray is named after the Parisian neighbourhood Le Marais. Inspired by the area’s legendary falafel shops, Maray’s young team have curated a modern, Middle Eastern-inspired menu with an

12

Feature

f anything has changed the way we’re eating, it’s the street food movement, born off the back of farmers markets and a growing demand for the local and the independent. Some of the Northwest’s best dishes come from a van rather than a dining table these days.

Your appetite for mobile snacking was evident across this year’s survey, but was naturally skewed towards your choices for Best Food On-The-Go. There are still plenty of bricks-and-mortar spots serving up tasty, convenient bites, though. Evil Eye and its packed-to-the-rafters burritos got another mention here, as did Manchester breakfast institution Katsouris. A sizeable amount of people also opted for Greggs, but let’s move swiftly on, shall we?

NoLIta Cantina, Liverpool

Forget Netflix and chill; you and your bae deserve better. Make this year’s Best Date Place list your starting point for a successful evening of romance

hen it comes to wooing your lady or man friend, there’s nothing quite like a good meal. Food and sex have always gone hand-inhand – from oysters and chocolate boxes, to that scene in American Pie. Ask out a potential beau and it’s pretty likely that ‘going for a meal’ will be the activity of choice.

If you want to ‘seal the deal,’ a cheeky Nando’s won’t cut it. Try one of the spots from this year’s Best Date Place category instead.

From laid-back street food and shareable small plates to a bustling market and cultural free-forall, there’s something for everyone. Best Cafe favourite East Avenue Bakehouse got a nod, as did the guys at Evil Eye. Here’s the rundown on the rest.

Photo: The Independent Map Company

I

emphasis on mezze and small sharing plates. You can find date night favourites like rib-eye steak, but it’s given a twist with Baghdad butter and burnt onion purée. The wine list has some unique additions; try the Maverick Shiraz, an Australian red that’s made using the principles of biodynamic viticulture (google it). Bare bricks and a long, communal table lend Maray a laid-back vibe, so it feels like a treat without being overwhelming.

Northern Soul Grilled Cheese, Manchester

Who knew that you could build an entire street food brand on the power of the cheese toastie?

To be fair, what the team at Northern Soul are rustling up goes way beyond the weird toastiebag jobs you made at university; this is legit

‘grilled cheese’ territory. They do the rounds at festivals, markets and fairs, but a permanent site on Manchester’s Church Street (all chipboard walls and reclaimed metal) means you can just as easily sit inside and enjoy a Brooklyn with your bite as take it away. Revellers can choose from a selection of cheeses; add meats, sauces and even pasta for a twisted take on mac’n’cheese. Food for the soul, indeed.

“Who knew that you could build an entire street food brand on the power of the cheese toastie?”

Viet Shack, Manchester

Despite being a bonafide Manchester institution, for many, the Arndale Food Market remains a bit of an undiscovered gem. Luckily, enough of you knew about Viet Shack to include it in this year’s list. Though nestled in a permanent spot on the Market’s front row, it’s also a regular at local food markets and festivals, and won the ‘best cheap eats’ category at Manchester Food and Drink Festival Awards in 2014. Billed simply as ‘Vietnamese street food,’ the menu includes a lineup of healthy, traditional dishes like summer rolls and lemongrass chicken, plus the chips are some of the best in Manchester. Be quick: there’s often a queue at lunch hour and dishes often sell out before the day’s out.

For the full list of winners, turn to page 16

“If you want to ‘seal the deal,’ a cheeky Nando’s won’t cut it” Market House, Altrincham

Market House is taking the concept of the food hall and turning it on its head. It brings together some of the region’s finest food and drink traders all under one roof, so it’s unlikely your date will struggle to find something they like. Pizza polymaths Honest Crust are a highlight, with that wood-fired, sourdough pizzas and seasonal toppings. Meat fans can head to Tender Cow for gems like steak Benedict and ox cheek croquettes, while the likes of Reserve Wines and Jack in the Box have your booze needs covered. The Victorian architecture and bustling, communal tables make Market House perfect for cosy weekend dates, though late-night openings make it a goer for weeknights, too.

For the full results, turn to page 16

Northern Soul Grilled Cheese

FOOD AND DRINK SURVEY

THE SKINNY

January 2016

13

CRAFT BEER • INDIAN STREET FOOD “A game changer. Everything it does, it does right.”

TimeOut

“I wish that more pubs served spicy okra fries as bar snacks.”

New York Times

“A no-two-mouthfuls-the-same delight.”

The Guardian

6 MILL HILL • LEEDS • LS1 5DQ

0113 243 1248

BUNDOBUST.COM

MANCHESTER OPENING SPRING 2016

14

Feature

THE SKINNY

Retail Tales Good food isn’t all about eating out. As your Best Food and Drink Shop votes show, our local delis and emporiums are full of tasty treats Interview: Lauren Phillips

Mowgli

Spice World It’s no secret that the Northwest is a hotbed of international cuisine; a veritable melting pot of cultures, palates and ingredients. Here’s your Best World Food Words: Lauren Phillips

I

n a region that’s fast filling up with London exports (chill out, Byron), it’s the international indies that are keeping our food and drink scene diverse. Ten or even five years ago, you’d have been hard pressed to find much international cuisine beyond the Chinatowns, chain Italians and Rusholme’s Curry Mile, but the slew of newcomers on this year’s list shows just how far we’ve come. We want spice, we want multiple meats and cheeses, and we want them now.

Mughli, Manchester

Enjoying its third consecutive year on this list, Mughli is a go-to for modern Indian eats. It’s been knocking around on the Curry Mile for nearly 20 years, but with a younger team at the helm it’s been transformed into a buzzy, social media-savvy eatery offering its own take on Indian street food. Luckily for us, there are currently three different branches, but it’s the original charcoal pit in Rusholme that swung it. Choose from authentic grilled meats, slow-cooked stews and a plethora of snacks and pastries that you’ll want to cradle like a baby.

What to order: the biryani (a house signature), Laziz curry, saag aloo, lamb chops, halloumi menander; all washed down with a Tata Julep.

Mowgli, Liverpool

A real contender for Mughli’s crown, the oh-sosimilarly named Mowgli was a major highlight of 2015. It opened a new venue in Manchester this year, but it’s the Liverpool branch that got you buzzing. It’s billed as ‘a million miles away from the curry house experience,’ and aims to serve up authentic Indian street food with home cooking at its heart. The signature tiffin boxes are an excellent touch, but it’s the modern, healthy twist on old favourites that makes Mowgli such a winner with today’s crowd.

What to order: one of those tiffins – four tiers of meat, veg and carb chosen by the chef themselves – Calcutta tangled greens, a couple of roti, and the Gulab Jamun doughballs to finish.

Bakchich, Liverpool

Along with the likes of London export Comptoir Libanais, Bakchich is introducing Northwest palates to the delights of Lebanese food. The

January 2016

family-owned operation opened in Manchester this year, but the original Liverpool branch snagged it this time around. Mezze is the MO here, with platters of Middle Eastern favourites flying out the door. The décor is a major highlight, though, with Moroccan tiles from grandpa’s kitchen floor and wall decals inspired by the golden age of Lebanese cinema.

What to order: a meat or veg mezze platter, mixed shawarma, meshawi and one of the freshly made juices. Why not go all out and order the entire lamb?

Ibérica, Manchester

On now to the Mediterranean, where we have Manchester newcomer Ibérica. Though one of those pesky London exports we mentioned before, it’s a seriously welcome one. This Spanish eatery, located in shiny Spinningfields, promises a high-end, luxury experience for fans of tapas with a twist. The menu is curated by threeMichelin-starred executive chef Nacho Manzano and, beyond the tapas, features chargrilled meats and traditional paella. There’s also a fully stocked deli and a vast wine selection if you needed further convincing.

What to order: Brussels sprouts with Romesco sauce, serrano ham croquettes, fried squid with aioli, grilled ibérico pork pluma, chestnut crème caramel.

Evil Eye Burrito Shack, Liverpool

We end our culinary journey in Mexico (via Merseyside). Evil Eye is a recurring F&D Survey favourite, but makes its debut in the Best World Food category this year. Shockingly, burritos are the order of the day here, which no doubt made fans out of the vegetarian and vegan among us.

You can opt for ready-made or you can build your own beast. There’s plenty for the burrito naysayer, though, from Cajun-spiced ribs to sweetcorn fritters.

What to order: Cluck Norris burrito (natch), cheese and bean chimichanga, twice-fried chips, churros and chocolate.

For more details, turn to page 16

Epicerie Ludo

W

hen it comes to stocking your fridge, Liverpool and Manchester have a wealth of food and drink retailers that go above and beyond the aisles of any big supermarket.

Whether it’s buying a gift for a foodie friend, tracking down that speciality ingredient or just going buckwild on payday, there’s always a good reason to head to one of the Northwest’s food and drink retailers.

The Skinny readers like to keep it local, independent and often organic. The votes for Best Food and Drink Shop definitely skewed towards some old favourites, with three of this year’s lineup featuring in last year’s survey.

Beermoth and Delifonseca made excellent impressions, too, with their fine selection of craft beers and deli meats respectively. We spoke to the other winners, who talked us through their hero products of the moment and how you can use them.

Who: Epicerie Ludo The product: Little Doone balsamic vinegar “Right now, we’re all about a sweet balsamic vinegar dressing called Little Doone. We’ve been stocking it right from the start and it’s always been a firm favourite. Little Doone balsamics have a consistency somewhere between a traditional vinegar and a glaze, which makes them wonderfully syrup-like and fantastic for drizzling.

The range of dressings have a sweetness to them, but are versatile enough to be used with savoury dishes. The more savoury varieties are great in pasta dishes and the sweet and fruity varieties are amazing over fruit or ice cream.”

Who: Matta’s The product: Matta’s curry powder special blend “For us, it has to be Matta’s special blend. It’s a Punjabi curry spice mixture passed down through the generations. Our Bold Street shop has been open for 31 years now but the recipe is much older. It contains 19 different ingredients and is unique to our store; you can’t buy it anywhere else. People travel far and wide for the stuff, and we’re often serving people who’ve moved away from Liverpool but come back to us just to get their fix. It’s proved so popular that we’ve recently started producing it in bulk – it’s our obligation to make sure it never runs out!”

Who: Unicorn The product: Zapatista coffee “At Unicorn we have a growing file filled with what we think are our stand-out products; our ‘recommended file’. We know we’re not perfect and neither are all the products we sell, so we’ve created the file in celebration of the companies and products we are proud of.

Zapatista coffee is an amazing product. It’s grown by a co-op in Mexico, shipped to a co-op in Hamburg for roasting and packaging, then delivered to a co-op in Bristol for wholesale before reaching our shelves. We love us some co-ops! The best thing about it is that the Zapatista movement has been enormously influential in bringing positive social change for the Maya people and profits from the coffee go direct to the communities of the Society of Social Solidarity ‘Mut Vitz’ (Mountain of Birds) who produce it.”

For the full list of winners, turn to page 16

FOOD AND DRINK SURVEY

Feature

15

The Winners

Scotland: The Winners

Here it is! The full list of all the Liverpool and Manchester winners in The Skinny Food and Drink Survey 2016 – and where you can find them

Ox & Finch

Best Beer

Best Cafe

Best Date Place

Best Food and Drink Shop

Four of a Kind IPA, Blackjack Brewery 36 Gould St, Manchester blackjackbeersltd.co.uk @Blackjackbeers

East Avenue Bakehouse 112 Bold St, Liverpool eastavenuebakehouse.co.uk @EABakehouse

East Avenue Bakehouse 112 Bold St, Liverpool eastavenuebakehouse.co.uk @EABakehouse

Beermoth 70 Tib St, Manchester beermoth.co.uk | @thebeermoth

Fallow Cafe 2A Landcross Rd, Manchester fallowcafe.com @fallowcafe

Evil Eye Burrito Shack 208 Smithdown Rd, Liverpool facebook.com/evileyebar @evileyeburritos

Koffee Pot 84 Oldham St, Manchester thekoffeepot.co.uk @thekoffeepot

HOME 2 Tony Wilson Pl, Manchester homemcr.org | @HOME_mcr

Love Lane Pale Ale, Liverpool Craft Beer Co. The Railway Arches, 10 Love Ln, Liverpool liverpoolcraftbeer.com @Craft_Beers Marble English IPA, Marble Beers Ltd 57 Thomas St, Manchester marblebeers.com @marblebrewers Rye Pale Ale, Liverpool Craft Beer Co. The Railway Arches, 10 Love Ln, Liverpool liverpoolcraftbeer.com @Craft_Beers

Tea Hive 53 Manchester Rd, Manchester teahive.co.uk | @teahivetweets Trove 1032 Stockport Rd, Manchester trovefoods.co.uk | @trovefoods

Maray 91 Bold St, Liverpool maray.co.uk | @MarayLiverpool Market House Greenwood St, Altrincham altrinchammarket.co.uk @MarketHouseAlty

Best Beer Drygate (@drygate); Innis & Gunn (@innesandgunnuk); Pilot (@pilotbeeruk); WEST Brewery (@westbeer); Williams Bros. (@williamsbrewery)

Delifonseca 12 Stanley St, Liverpool delifonseca.co.uk | @delifonseca

Best Cafe

Epicerie Ludo 46 Beech Rd, Manchester epicerieludo.co.uk @EpicerieLudo

The Glad Cafe, Glasgow (@thegladcafe); Lovecrumbs, Edinburgh (@hellolovecrumbs); North Star, Glasgow (@NorthStarWE); Papercup, Glasgow (@pccoffeeuk); Riverhill Coffee Bar, Glasgow (@RiverhillCoffee)

Matta’s 51 Bold St, Liverpool mattas.co.uk | @MattasLiverpool

Best Date Place

Unicorn 89 Albany Rd, Manchester unicorn-grocery.coop @UnicornGrocery

Blackfriars, Edinburgh (@blackfriars_st); Inn Deep, Glasgow (@InnDeepBar); Ox & Finch, Glasgow (@oxandfinch); Stravaigin, Glasgow (@stravaiginG12); Timberyard, Edinburgh (@Timberyard10)

Favourite Food and Drink Shop The Beerhive, Edinburgh (@thebeer_hive); Growler Beers, Edinburgh (@growlerbeersuk); Lupe Pintos, Edinburgh & Glasgow; Roots & Fruits, Glasgow (@rootsfruits); Valhalla’s Goat, Glasgow (@valhallasgoat)

Sonoma Pale Ale, Track Brewing Co. 5 Sheffield St, Manchester trackbrewing.co | @trackbrewco

Best Newcomer Bakery 47, Glasgow (@bakery47); Growler Beers, Edinburgh (@growlerbeersuk); The Hug and Pint, Glasgow (@thehugandpint_); Porter & Rye, Glasgow (@porterandrye); Twelve Triangles, Edinburgh (@twelvetriangles)

Best Newcomer

Best Place On-The-Go

Best Pub or Bar

Best World Food Place

Chapati Cafe 496b Wilbraham Rd, Manchester chapaticafe.co.uk | @chapaticafe

Evil Eye Burrito Shack 208 Smithdown Rd, Liverpool facebook.com/evileyebar @evileyeburritos

Berry & Rye 48 Berry St, Liverpool @berry_and_rye

Bakchich 54 Bold St, Liverpool bakchich.co.uk | @bakchich_

Katsouris Deli 113 Deansgate, Manchester katsourisdeli.co.uk

Evil Eye Burrito Shack 208 Smithdown Rd, Liverpool facebook.com/evileyebar @evileyeburritos

Evil Eye Burrito Shack 208 Smithdown Rd, Liverpool facebook.com/evileyebar @evileyeburritos

NoLita Cantina 81 Bold St, Liverpool nolitacantina.co.uk @nolitacantina

The Grapes 60 Roscoe St, Liverpool thegrapesliverpool.co.uk @LiverpoolGrapes

Northern Soul Grilled Cheese 10 Church St, Manchester @northernsoulMCR

Salut Wines 11 Cooper St, Manchester salut.co.uk | @salutwines

Ibérica 14-15 The Avenue, Spinningfields, Manchester ibericarestaurants.com @IbericaMCR

Viet Shack Arndale Food Market, 49 High St, Manchester facebook.com/vietshack @vietshack

Ship & Mitre 133 Dale St, Liverpool theshipandmitre.com @theshipandmitre

GRUB Manchester grubmcr.com | @GRUBMCR HOME 2 Tony Wilson Pl, Manchester homemcr.org | @HOME_mcr Mowgli 69 Bold St, Liverpool mowglistreetfood.com @mowglistfood Pao! 61 Jordan St, Liverpool paofoodpower.com @paofoodpower

16

Feature

Mowgli 69 Bold St, Liverpool mowglistreetfood.com @mowglistfood Mughli 30 Wilmslow Rd, Manchester mughli.com | @mughli

FOOD AND DRINK SURVEY

Best Place On-The-Go Los Cardos, Edinburgh (@loscardos); Martha’s, Glasgow (@Mymarthas); Piece, Glasgow (@pieceglasgow); Pinto, Edinburgh & Glasgow (@ilovepinto); Taco Mazama, Edinburgh & Glasgow (@tacomazama)

Best Pub or Bar The Hanging Bat, Edinburgh (@TheHangingBat); The Hug and Pint, Glasgow (@thehugandpint_); Inn Deep, Glasgow (@InnDeepBar); Moskito, Glasgow (@moskitoglasgow); The Roseleaf, Edinburgh (@Roseleafbarcafe)

Best World Food Place Babu Bombay Street Kitchen, Glasgow (@babukitchen); Frontier, Edinburgh (@frontierfood); Hanoi Bike Shop, Glasgow (@HanoiBikeShop); Mother India, Glasgow (@Official_MIndia); Ting Thai Caravan, Edinburgh theskinny.co.uk/food

THE SKINNY

ADVERTISING FEATURE

Inside Primrose’s Kitchen New Year diet? Don’t do that to yourself. According to Primrose’s Kitchen, healthy eating can be tasty as well as nutritious – even when your cereal is 22% carrot. The Skinny trials Primrose’s vegetable muesli...

RNCM Fri 22 – Fri 29 Jan

NEW MUSIC NORTH WEST Sat 23 Jan

RNCM BIG BAND WITH RYAN QUIGLEY Tue 26 Jan

PATTY GRIFFIN

On all slices in any of our stores!

Sat 06 Feb

ICARUS AT THE EDGE OF TIME Sun 07 Feb

RNCM DAY OF PERCUSSION Thu 11 Feb

WILLE AND THE BANDITS + DIVING STATION

Just show up and chuck us this voucher (not literally though, because papercuts).

expiry 31.01.2016

Fri 12 Feb

FAY HIELD AND THE HURRICANE PARTY

I

t began with the seeds. A pinch of ‘Omega mega mix’ (geddit?) on your negatingly high-sugar cereal. Then came the chia – another seed, apparently, but basically microscopic so you couldn’t be sure. Now, in the pre-Christmas dark of a 6am start, you’re eating flakes of raw beetroot for breakfast. Who are you, and what have you done with my hemp?

The answer is, you are someone who is nearly 30. Like maybe exercising and a pension, you have become notionally interested in what you put inside your body. Advocating ‘a naturopathic diet,’ Dorset-based company Primrose’s Kitchen produces a range of mueslis, sprinkles to add to them, smoothie ‘boosters’ and butters made from nuts – and, as a result of your recent experimentation with coconut oil as a multipurpose floor cleaner and shampoo, you have been assigned by The Skinny to try them all out.

This month: the mueslis. You have, in two attractive pattern-print cartons: raw beetroot and ginger muesli, and raw carrot, apple and cinnamon muesli. Despite their sought-after ‘Great Taste Award’ stickers, you are sceptical.

You do a quick Google: ‘psyllium husks.’ Valiant, you raise your spoon... Oh! OK, alright. You’ve got to admit. These are humiliatingly nice.

First: There is nothing the beetroot cannot turn pink. The milk, the bowl, the yoghurt, your hands; that dry-clean-only white shirt saved for best. Who cares, though?! You are drinking unicorn juice. The warmth of the ginger is a bonus, too, genuinely helping to de-fog the brain.

However, it’s the second box, the carrot mix, that just about wins; the vegetable’s natural sweetness balancing the wintery, peaty cinnamon – which bodes well for the more adventurous matches in Primrose’s granola range (hemp and banana; courgette and cacao).

So, once you’ve eaten your air-dried, gluten-free, vegan and high-in-medium-chainfatty-acids (that’s yer pal coconut oil again) breakfast – do you feel better than you would after a bowl of Shreddies? Sure. It could be all in the mind – after all, if you want it to be in the body you’ll have to give more than just your tastebuds a workout – but if nothing else, the excitement of flavours that aren’t bran, oats or indeterminate mulch works as a decent wake-up call. And damn, those boxes are pretty.

Look out for future issues where we’ll be trying Primrose’s smoothie boosters and nut butters

122 Bold Street L1 4JA

Tue 16 Feb

MUSIC THEATRE WALES THE DEVIL INSIDE

52 Whitechapel L1 6EG

Thu 18 Feb

HOWARD JONES

112 South Road L22 0ND

Sat 20 Feb

STEFAN REDTENBACHER’S FUNKESTRA WITH RNCM SESSION ORCHESTRA Thu 25 Feb

OTAVA YO Sat 05 Mar

BALLAKÉ SISSOKO AND VINCENT SÉGAL Wed 09 – Sat 19 Mar

RNCM OPERA W A MOZART’S COSÌ FAN TUTTE Sat 12 Mar

RNCM BIG BAND WITH CLARK TRACEY Wed 16 Mar

JEFF WILLIAMS GROUP Fri 15 Apr

PEROTÁ CHINGÓ

Advertise Here!

Wed 20 Apr

KATHRYN TICKELL AND THE SIDE

If you’re reading this advert, so are 125,000 other people this month.

Ask your friendly neighbourhood sales team how you can advertise too.

Sun 15 May

To find out more contact us on 0161 833 3124 or sales@theskinny.co.uk

KRONOS QUARTET Sat 21 May

MAX RICHTER ENSEMBLE

theskinny.co.uk @TheSkinnyNW

BOX OFFICE 0161 907 5555 www.rncm.ac.uk RNCM, 124 OXFORD RD, MANCHESTER, M13 9RD

I N D E P E N D E N T

/TheSkinnyMag

C U LT U R A L

J O U R N A L I S M

Illustration: www.verbals-picks.com

primroseskitchen.com

January 2016

Feature RNCM Skinny Ad Jan 16.indd 1

14/12/2015 14:15

17

Darkness Visible Second album Not to Disappear is a vivid re-scoping of Daughter’s artful melancholy. Elena Tonra tells us why the search for truth remains at the heart of her lyrical design

Photo: Francesca Jane Allen

Interview: Gary Kaill

“W

ell, actually, funnily enough, that back-of-the-bus jamming didn’t really lead anywhere in the end. Writing on tour just didn’t seem to work at all.” Elena Tonra recalls her last interview with The Skinny: a conversation that took place towards the end of 2013 as the band explored the American South. At the time, with debut album If You Leave connecting with audiences at home and abroad, Tonra and bandmates Igor Haefeli (guitar) and Remi Aguilella (drums) were trying to tease out new songs via tried and tested methods.

Could writing be squeezed into the downtime that touring inevitably brings? For Daughter, sadly, the answer was no. “It just wasn’t happening. We did a few rehearsals and sound checks, even, where we would just play and jam with each other but I think most of the writing for this album came from us being separated and doing our own thing over the Christmas of 2014, and then just a lot of writing off tour. We got a studio – we rented a place and wrote there. So yeah, back-of-the-bus jams didn’t work.” She laughs.

(Tonra, in another break with rock’n’roll tradition, laughs throughout our interview. She laughs before, during and after every answer. It’s infectious. More bands should try it.) “Well, actually, maybe a few ideas might have trickled in but, yeah…”

Tonra is at home in London as she reflects on the handful of shows her band has just played (“We’ve started to have fun on stage, I think, with these very un-fun songs. Very strange!”) as a prelude to the release this month of second album Not to Disappear. Their debut, a modest and unassuming work whose deft shadowplay saw them close their UK touring campaign in front of large, enraptured audiences, always felt like an

18

Feature

anomaly. A spare, trim work of dusky confessionals, with no signature tunes or anthems, it asked much of its audience. Not to Disappear is a gutsier work by some distance: more guitars, more volume, more everything. It’s a high-stakes follow-up and this time around, supporting its lofty ambitions, Daughter’s singer finds more – in every sense – of her voice.

“Being honest is the best thing I can do as a writer. It’s important to not be afraid” Elena Tonra

It’s not so much of a leap: you can see how the one bridges into the other. But it casts into sharp relief the almost surprising nature of their immediate success. If You Leave was a tender and beautifully crafted record but it was a tough listen at times. “Yeah, we were very surprised it connected like that,” says Tonra. “It felt like a very introverted record. The thing is, I think it’s sharing a lot. I think I overshare things in my lyrics – maybe it’s that ‘telling people all my secrets’ thing. I don’t know. It’s just that difference between, I’m saying a lot in the lyrics and then it’s still like…” She pauses to consider. “I guess it’s always been a surprise – we’ve been playing these shows recently and we’ve even

played some festivals and, oddly, it’s connecting, it seems. Already, people seem to get it. It’s quite a relief, in actual fact.”

Not to Disappear’s grander scale will, over time you suspect, only expand Daughter’s appeal.

Lead single Doing the Right Thing is at once a more direct hit: accessible without compromise.

It’s the sound of Daughter flexing, and not just their muscles. “Yeah, it’s a bit more confident and a bit more aggressive. The thing is, our sound was developing anyway: the If You Leave songs changed after being toured for two years.

Sound-wise, things grew. We invested in equipment and got new pedals and got more into that sort of thing. Our sound had already started to move. “ What hasn’t changed is Tonra’s approach to lyric writing. If anything, she’s opened up. Two years ago, she wondered whether the music had perhaps shielded much of her unforgiving candour. Now, with Daughter wielding a fuller sound, that protection should have been bolstered but suddenly she’s more exposed.

“I think that maybe from a listener’s perspective it feels that the lyrics might have changed in that respect,” she agrees. “I felt really strange about the writing this time – it was like the words were coming at me, almost coming out as if they were letters, as prose, and I was a bit freaked out because it usually just naturally came out in a more poetic way. It used to feel like the lyrics were a bit more shrouded. But this time it was different. It was coming out much more directly, to the point where I just went with it. While we were making the demos, I’d press record and this rant would just come out for three minutes and some of the songs emerged that way. No Care was one of those.”

MUSIC

No Care, with its stark recriminations, is a breathless howl: a raw catalogue of self-loathing and sexual humiliation. How (“Goodbye to our empty ruins”) is the post-break up debris in extremis. Made of Stone (“Love is just easing the waiting before dying without company”) squares up the obvious: why do we even bother? “I think I’ve always written from a very personal perspective,” continues Tonra. “Pretty much all of my songs are my personal experience. The first album was very much my voice and was about things from my perspective. There are a couple of songs on this album that are not but, overall, it’s me. I mean, I do think at times ‘Should I tell everyone that?’ But I also think that being honest about something is the best thing I can do as a writer. It’s really important to not actually be afraid. And maybe there are some lines that even make me go ‘Ooh, god – why did I say that?’ But I think it’s a good thing. I think it’s a challenging thing and for this album I felt like I wasn’t going to push myself to keep these things in.”

At times, Not to Disappear threatens to overwhelm. Its deep musicality is a thrilling progression but there’s no escape from Tonra’s lyrical purpose and tone. Hopefully, the songs give something back, act as an unburdening.

“They do, yes, definitely. The whole reason I started writing in the first place is... I was writing down a lot of things I just couldn’t talk about; things that upset me. Then I could just look at them and think about them in a different way, and I think that it just started off with me writing songs that had no music – just an a capella hymn, if you will. I was doing that when I was a kid, just writing lyrics that no one ever saw, really, ever. I was like ‘This is happening and I’m going to write it down and I’m going to make something positive out of this.’ Whatever it was at that time that was making me not feel positive.

“And so it just carried on, and now it’s just like this weird thing that happens now and again when suddenly my brain will go: ‘Ooh, wait! Idea!’

And that’s when I have to race to capture it. I don’t really have a structure or a plan, which can be quite irritating. I can’t really sit down and force myself to write, which does mean I do go through long stretches where I haven’t written and that’s quite upsetting. But I think, in fairness, when I do, it does feel like a kind of therapy.

There are some songs on this album that I wrote in a flash. Doing the Right Thing was ten minutes of me just not even thinking about it and just writing, writing, writing. Perhaps that’s just a different way of me understanding what I’m thinking about; things that maybe I don’t really address normally in day to day life.

“That’s one song that’s written from someone else’s perspective; it’s basically me looking through my grandmother’s eyes, seeing the world in her way. She has Alzheimer’s and she’s with us and she’s not with us at times, but she’s just such a beautiful human.” Tonra pauses for a moment. “I hope it’s OK that I’ve told you that, by the way.” It explains the skewed viewpoint, for sure. It’s good to know. “OK, good. I do think that with that song it helps to know what informed the writing. It’s just that sometimes people are like ‘Tell us what this song’s about!’ and I tell them and they’re like ‘Oh fuck – is that it?!’”

Not to Disappear is released on 15 Jan via 4AD. Playing Manchester Albert Hall on 21 Jan and Liverpool O2 Academy on 22 Jan ohdaughter.com

THE SKINNY

The Must-See Films of 2016 Words: Film Team

From The Hateful Eight to the new Ghostbusters, these are the films we’re most looking forward to in 2016

fluence and Nichols’ unique feel for the texture of life in rural America perfectly suited to a road movie, it looks an enticing prospect. [Michael Jaconelli]

Son of Saul

(László Nemes, 29 Apr) One might think that given the breadth of its cinematic treatment, the Holocaust may not be the most fertile ground for staggeringly bold and original new filmmaking, but if the rave reviews coming from Cannes were anything to go by, László Nemes’ Grand Prix-winner is exactly that. [BN]

X-Men: Apocalypse

The Hateful Eight

Creed

(Bryan Singer, 19 May) The X-Men have survived an obsessive need to make Hugh Jackman the centre of almost every film, a spin-off so bad that it had to be more or less silently removed from the canon, and the acting of Vinnie Jones. He might be semi-immortal and devastatingly powerful, but I still don’t like Apocalypse’s odds. [RM]

The Nice Guys

(Shane Black, 3 Jun) The stellar financial success of Shane Black’s Iron Man 3 writing-directing gig has given the Kiss Kiss Bang Bang man free rein to make the Shane Black-iest film ever. Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling headline this 1970s conspiracy comedy set in seedy Los Angeles, and the first trailer is uproarious. [JS-W] High-Rise

Goodnight Mommy

The Hateful Eight

(Quentin Tarantino, 8 Jan) Quentin Tarantino’s flashy personal style and quotable dialogue mark him out as the perfect auteur for film fans beginning to explore cinema’s possibilities. Don’t let his accessibility fool you, though; at his best (Death Proof), Tarantino’s exhilarating genre homages are precision-engineered, intelligent and even progressive. [Tom Grieve]

Creed

(Ryan Coogler, 15 Jan) Michael B Jordan as the Human Torch in a film directed by Josh Trank seemed like a really great idea. It did not work. Michael B Jordan as Apollo Creed’s son in a Rocky sequel seemed kinda dumb and very strange. Going from the media buzz since the film’s US release, it worked really well.

[Ross McIndoe]

Deadpool

(Tim Miller, 4 Feb) Gird your loins, folks! “The merc with a mouth” is on his way to spice up your stagnating relationship with the superhero genre courtesy of his own brand of fast-talking, bullet-strewn, cancerriddled, chimichanga-loving, fourth-wall-breaking masked mayhem. Things are about to get a little freaky. [Ben Nicholson]

Goosebumps

(Rob Letterman, 5 Feb) A bunch of teens accidentally unleash the monsters from the Goosebumps canon and have to help Goosebumps author RL Stine (played by Jack Black) squish them back into his manuscripts before they destroy town. The trailer gives off a pleasing Joe Dante vibe and we can’t wait to see Black back in School of Rock mode bickering with minors.

[Jamie Dunn]

Bone Tomahawk

(S Craig Zahler, 19 Feb) The presence of Kurt Russell might lead one

January 2016

to expect a B-movie brashness to western Bone Tomahawk, but it’s actually a much more sober and grim experience. This is The Searchers. With added cannibals. Still, there’s Kurt’s magnificent facial hair to gaze upon for comfort, and warm support from the incomparable Richard Jenkins.

[Chris Fyvie]

Hail, Caesar!

(Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, 26 Feb) It’s been far too long since the Coen Brothers have gone full screwball, but the upcoming Hail, Caesar!, a 1950s-set Hollywood satire resembling a mash-up of Barton Fink and a light-hearted MGM Technicolor budget-buster, has the potential to be their screwiest screwball yet. Keep those most excellent Coen comedy tropes coming, guys. We’ll bite. [Michelle Devereaux]

Goodnight Mommy

(Veronika Franz, Severin Fiala, 4 Mar) This Austrian thriller has been winning praise ever since its late-2014 festival debut. It sees two twin boys come to grips with both a new home and their mother’s face-altering cosmetic surgery. Is this really their mother? And can those who scheduled this for release on the weekend of Mother’s Day please get a raise? [Josh Slater-Williams]

Anomalisa

(Charlie Kaufman, Duke Johnson, 11 Mar) Charlie Kaufman finally makes a follow-up to 2008’s mind-bending Synecdoche, New York, and apparently it’s a doozy. Anomalisa, a grown-up stopmotion fable about a misanthropic, Kaufmanesque loner, has been heralded as one of the best films of the year. Hopefully that means we won’t have to wait another seven-plus years to get his next one.

[MD]

High-Rise

(Ben Wheatley, 18 Mar) With his last few films, Ben Wheatley has proven himself an expert in twisting British sensibilities

into varyingly bizarre genre fare. Who better, then, to bring to the screen the blood-letting and nihilism of JG Ballard’s tower-block novel? Tom Hiddleston, Luke Evans and Jeremy Irons look perfect for atavistic class warfare. [BN]

The Club

(Pablo Larraín, 25 Mar) Following the cross-over success of the Gael García Bernal-starring No, Chilean director Pablo Larraín has finally laid to rest the cinematic ghost of Augusto Pinochet. Now his attention shifts to a fierce and complex present-day parable about guilt, sin and the machinations of the Catholic Church. [BN]

Victoria

(Sebastian Schipper, 1 Apr) Like a burst of pure adrenaline, Sebastian Schipper’s Berlin-set heist movie is an enthralling journey through the entire spectrum of human emotions. Filmed in one take, without any digital trickery or subterfuge, this two-hour homage to Bonnie and Clyde condenses the whole of human experience into 134 minutes of high-octane cinema. [Patrick Gamble]

Nasty Baby

(Sebastián Silva, 8 Apr) Sebastián Silva’s self-reflective dissection of Brooklyn’s bohemian settlers is destined to divide audiences. Starring alongside TV on the Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe and Kristen Wiig, Silva’s deep understanding of the indiscernible tensions middle-class regeneration produces allows this socially conscious thriller to undertake a sinister, yet uncomfortably plausible tonal shift. [PG]

Midnight Special

(Jeff Nichols, 15 Apr) This tale about a boy with unusual abilities being pursued by religious sects and government forces alike has been described by its director as a “sci-fi chase film.” With John Carpenter cited as an in-

FILM

Ghostbusters

(Paul Feig, 15 Jul) Who you gonna call if you’re after a female-led comedy that subverts genre conventions with sly wit and downright hilarity? It’s Paul Feig. The Spy and The Heat director is teaming up again with Bridesmaids’ Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Wiig (alongside SNL cast Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones) for Feig’s reboot of this 80s classic, which is sure to be this summer’s funniest blockbuster. [PG]

Also upcoming in 2016…

Keep an eye out for these films (release dates TBC): Certain Women (Kelly Reichardt): America’s finest indie filmmaker is back with a film about three women whose lives intersect in small-town America.

Knight of Cups (Terrence Malick): Malick fans will hope for more like The Tree of Life from the now oddly prolific, reclusive maverick, as debauched screenwriter Christian Bale finds his soul...

The Lost City of Z (James Gray): The perennially underrated, classically inclined filmmaker makes a foray into both biopic and adventure cinema with this portrait of legendary British explorer Percy Fawcett.

Love and Friendship (Whit Stillman): The DNA of Jane Austen’s prickly world runs through all of Whit Stillman’s comedies of manners, so it was only a matter of time before a full-blooded adaptation. Évolution (Lucile Hadžihalilovic): The long-awaited follow up to 2004’s Innocence takes the form of a Cronenbergian horror centred around a young boy who finds something disturbing in the depths of the ocean.

For year-round coverage of the best independent cinema, big releases and more, check theskinny.co.uk/film

Feature

19

Sex – whether related to gender, orientation, biology, attraction, intercourse or procreation – matters to all of us. Sex is a tremendous source of joy, love, connection, identity and pride, but it can also provoke shame and stigma. Our events will match discussions of several different aspects of sex with

numerous fun activities and popular, accessible events that take a lighter look at sex, gender and sexuality. We hope that you will be able to join us and allow yourselves to be inspired, thrilled, enthused, educated and – ultimately – satisfied by what we have to offer.

At a glance

20

Date

Event

28 January

Rudolph Valentino screening

HOME

5 & 6 February

Queer Film Festival Symposium

No 70

8 February

Sex, Sexuality and Cancer Panel discussion

No 70

12 February

My Name is Gerry Potter Documentary

No 70

21 February

Polyamory Day

No 70

26 February

Myra Breckenridge screening

No 70

3 March

Chemsex Documentary

No 70

4 March

Sex and Stigma panel discussion

No 70

5 March

Hot Sex Time Machine - 80s film triple bill

No 70

9 March

Vanilla Shakes? Panel discussion

No 70

11 March

Being Childfree with Kate Cox

No 70

Sex

Humanities in Public Festival 15/16 Spring Season January - March 2016 Tickets and further info at www.mmu.ac.uk/hip @mmu_hssr #HIPSEX

THE SKINNY

The Essential 2016 Literary Calendar A new year brings new literary promise: new novels, more festivals and debates, new adaptations, spoken word, poetry and graphic novels. As The Skinny discovers, 2016 has everything to offer the discerning bibliophile...

Words: Emma Nuttall Illustration: Josie Sommer January Kicking off 2016, Costa’s Book of the Year adds a little sparkle to this most dreary of months.

Keep your eyes peeled for the shortlist announcements a week before the ceremony, which takes place on 26 Jan, when the final winner picks up the coveted £30,000 prize – and, of course, the acclaim.

On 22 Jan, the International Anthony Burgess Foundation hosts the launch of Jennet Thomas’s The Unspeakable Freedom Device – an experimental narrative film and multimedia sculptural installation, which is partnered by the book of the same name. The project explores how affiliation alters meaning and looks at the image of Margaret Thatcher as an ‘afterburn’ on our collective memory. There will be a screening of the film and a live performance from Simon Bookish, aka Leo Chadburn, who composed the score (7pm, £4, anthonyburgess.org).

Sci-fi fans will be eagerly anticipating the release of China Miéville’s new book, This Census-Taker, by Penguin Random House (12 Jan). A three-time winner of the Arthur C Clarke Award, this guy kicks ass at his genre.

February Ushering in the month of love, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies takes a new look at Jane Austen’s classic tale of tangled relationships between lovers from different social classes in 19th-century England. As the title suggests, this film adaptation (of the book by Seth GrahameSmith) sees our heroes and heroines face a new challenge – an army of the undead! Released 12 Feb. Once again, Manchester Literature Festival teams up with the Martin Harris Centre for a warm-up event before the full festival later in the year. Together they bring Jeanette Winterson and 2014 Costa Book of the Year prize-winner, poet and naturalist Helen Macdonald to the stage on 29 Feb for a conversation about writing, hawks, Englishness, grief and success. Get your tickets early; this one’s bound to sell out quickly (6.30pm, £10/£8, manchesterliteraturefestival. co.uk).

Elsewhere, Guardian columnist and author of Chavs and The Establishment Owen Jones pays a visit to HOME to talk all things society, the working class, greed and government (11 Feb, 8pm, £15/£13, homemcr.org).

March Spring! Daffodils! Lions! As we reach the end of winter, Carcanet Press offers up Chris McCully’s reflections on wildlife, predators and the emergence of homo sapiens in his collection Serengeti Songs. See Tanzania and Kenya depicted like you’ve never seen them before. Also, keep your eyes peeled for events happening all over the Northwest on World Book Day (3 Mar).

Elsewhere, Comma Press releases The Ghost Who Bled by Manchester Writing School lecturer Gregory Norminton on 24 Mar. Described as ‘achingly sad and boundlessly inventive,’ Norminton’s debut short story

January 2016

collection features deeply insecure time travellers and futuristic body modification cults. The stories promise the ‘historical sensibilities of Andrew Miller’ and ‘the spec-fic world-building of JG Ballard’, ‘infused with the morbid ingenuity of Roald Dahl.’ High accolades indeed.

April Save up your pennies for April, which sees the release of Kate Tempest’s first novel, The Bricks that Built the Houses (Bloomsbury, 7 Apr), as well as comedian Sara Pascoe’s book Animal: How a Woman Is Made (Faber & Faber) and that titan set to snake queues around bookshops: Winds of Winter by George RR Martin (Harper Voyager).

May This month, eyes will be on the 2016 International Dylan Thomas Prize (announced 14 May), one of the most prestigious awards for young writers there is, earning the victor £30,000.

A recipient of numerous prizes and awards himself, Simon Armitage is probably one of the most well-known poets today. He has published more than ten collections of poetry and his newest, Pearl, is set for release by Faber & Faber on 5 May. Capturing the utopian impulse in 19thcentury literature, The Red Virgin and the Vision of Utopia is the third collaboration between best-selling graphic novelist Mary M Talbot and her husband, the graphic novel pioneer Bryan Talbot. The comic will be published by Jonathan Cape on 5 May. Their first book together, Dotter of her Father’s Eyes, won the 2012 Costa Biography Award.

Also challenging presumptions – and offering a hard-edged variant of the usual literature festival – is Liverpool’s Writing on the Wall festival (writingonthewall.org.uk), which returns for a series of debates about war, race and politics.

No cookery book discussions to be found.

June Sprawling across two months, Manchester Children’s Book Festival offers up a plethora of literary delights (24 Jun-3 Jul, mcbf.org.uk). It’s creative director, Carol Ann Duffy, sits on the panel of literary giants that the festival programme rolls out for younger audiences each year.

On 11 Jun, punk poet John Cooper Clarke will be taking to the stage at the Liverpool Guild of Students to wax lyrical about disillusion and disappointment amid a sea of puns and quick wit. Prepare for a raucous, animated evening (7pm, £28.50, liverpoolguild.org).

July Tobias Hill’s third collection, Zoo, is published on 1 Jul by Salt. Mixing the urban and pastoral, Hill’s work gives us a poetic exploration of the senses; think poetry mixed with a dash of Japanese culture and dipped in a bit of Edward Hopper.

And, if you fancy reminiscing about a time filled with school uniforms and bedtime stories, Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of The BFG hits cinema screens this month.

“Sci-fi fans will be eagerly anticipating the release of China Miéville’s new book... this guy kicks ass”

October October is a big month for literary folk. Nobel Prize for Literature 2015 winner Svetlana Alexievich publishes her essay collection, The Last of the Soviets, with Fitzcarraldo Editions.

The Man Booker Prize will announce its novel of the year, and the entire literary circle will decamp to Gloucestershire for the annual Cheltenham Literature Festival (7-16 Oct, cheltenhamfestivals.com).

A little closer to home, Manchester Literature Festival follows up on its incredible tenth anniversary with the promise of a compelling mix of authors, poets, spoken word performers and musicians, who’ll be doing solo appearances, in-conversations and cross-platform events. This year also boasts even more special commissions of new work created especially for MLF (7-22 Oct, manchesterliteraturefestival. co.uk).

November August Culture vultures will know that August sees the Scottish capital transform into a hive of spirited leafleters, lost tourists and hungover comedians, as Edinburgh becomes festival central. If you’re feeling in need of some respite from jokes about imaginary friends and awkward sex scenarios, Edinburgh International Book Festival combines commentators and wordsmiths in a thought-provoking exploration of all things language, literature and lore (13-29 Aug, edbookfest.co.uk).

September Those of you entranced by whodunits, heists and offbeat criminals should head to Bloody Scotland in Stirling, Scotland’s first crime fiction festival (9-11 Sep, bloodyscotland.com).

Anticipate a selection of the finest British authors working in the genre, alongside renowned crime writers from across the world.

The Berlin International Literature Festival likewise returns to combine the great and good of the German bookish world with literature from around the globe.

BOOKS

It’s time to set your sights overseas, as fastpaced poetry slams are fused with sit-down discussions about form and genre at Shanghai International Literary Festival. Istanbul also celebrates the influence and impact of the written word at the International Istanbul Book Fair (12-20 Nov).

Miami’s reputation may largely consist of perma-tans, muscles and palm trees, but the Miami Book Fair adds a little bit of decorum to proceedings with its typically stalwart programme of literary fun, author dialogues and the biggest releases of the year. What better excuse to escape the British coat-buying weather and encroaching gale-force winds?

December Zadie Smith’s collection of essays, Feel Free, promises to be a hit Christmas gift. The book, published 1 Dec by Viking, will be split into four sections: Smith’s views on politics and the news; her views on the media and the arts; a collection of essays she has been asked to write; and finally, a personal collection entitled ‘Feel Free.’

For more on the literary scene as the year goes on, read theskinny.co.uk/books

Feature

21

Down the Rabbit Hole A new group show at FACT explores life lived online, and launched with a headlinestealing appearance from performance art collective LaBeouf, Rönkkö & Turner. Curators Amy Jones and Lesley Taker discuss ideas of identity and celebrity in the digital age

LaBeouf, Rönkkö & Turner #TOUCHMYSOUL

C

onfession time. Much of this last year has been spent in a weird obsessive relationship with various YouTube vloggers; listening to Zoella talk about bath bombs and watching her play with Nala (her pug). I couldn’t tell you what any of my real friends did last week but perhaps these online people are my real friends. They tell me they love me at the end of each vlog and I believe them – the minute I click ‘subscribe’, I’m making them richer.

Of course, ‘vloggers’ is so last year. Now they are ‘The Creators’, and one of these ‘YouTube Creator Spaces’ – small production studios found in YouTube headquarters around the world that open, like a members club, only to those with very high numbers of subscribers – has been recreated in Gallery 2 of FACT’s new exhibition, Follow. The FACT setup, like The Creator studios, comes complete with green screen, lighting rig and basic filming and editing equipment, and provides a space for ‘critical experimentation around the way we use social media… an open space free for all to use – regardless of position in the social media hierarchy.’

Ideas of identity, sharing and micro-celebrity within the context of a life lived online are at the heart of this group exhibition. In it, the curators, Amy Jones and Lesley Taker, ask: “How do we act when everyone is watching?”

“The ideas in the show – identity, celebrity culture, consumerism – are inescapable if you’re online using social media (and elsewhere in our lives too),” says Jones, “which is one of the reasons we felt it was so important to address them.

“We’ve been seeing and working on other shows at FACT where the themes present in Follow were referenced but not thoroughly explored, and that made us really keen to make what we feel are really important concepts, concerns and ideas into a show of [their] own.”

“It also seems like a very timely show,” adds Taker, “as, more than ever, social media keeps making the headlines (both individual accounts and experiences as well as on a more corporate level), and I think it is important not to approach this from an angle of instant negativity, but rather try and unpack what is going on in these cases and really analyse how we use the tools we’ve developed.”

So what’s in the exhibition box? “We’ve worked with Cécile B. Evans, LaBeouf, Rönkkö & Turner, Ant Hamlyn and Joe Orr to name a few, to develop new work specifically around the core themes,” says Jones. “We also worked very closely with artist Candice Jacobs on the exhibition environment and Simon Whybray on the exhibition identity. We’ve also been lucky to be able to include existing work by artists such as Constant Dullaart, whose work High Retention, Slow Delivery will be re-staged at FACT.”

“Online living doesn’t mean unreal living” Lesley Taker

High Retention, Slow Delivery saw the artist buy 2.5 million Instagram followers and distribute them between a selection of self-selected art-focused Instagram accounts. Dullaart’s Vimeo of the project takes us through the bought Instagram followers’ photographs, so specifically generic – “the smiling nuclear family,” he narrates, “that came with the cheap picture frame.” The voice-over has a brilliant deadpan quality, rather like listening to Werner Herzog

reading Where’s Waldo? – “Hidden somewhere in this noisy morass of society, is our fellow traveller – Waldo.”

How, indeed, do we find our fellow travellers online? How do they find us? Technology and social platforms are moving at such a rate that even those who are active daily online can struggle to keep up. Apparently 2016’s popular social platform predictions are Wanelo, Shots, Ello, Hyper or the new Bebo. Have you heard of them? FACT, however, has always had the remit of “equipping people with knowledge and skill to be able to understand quite difficult technologies,” says Taker.

“This show is not about saying ‘Isn’t social media terrible’ or ‘If you don’t have a Twitter account, you don’t exist’ – we’re not interested in that sort of polarity with this exhibition and the research that went into it. What gets really interesting is the grey areas – the ways people are really using these readily available technologies; the way artists and businesses are using them – and how it is altering the way we communicate, develop relationships, even the way we think.

“FACT has always looked at this in the context of other research themes – mental health, working patterns, science fiction – but this show really focuses on the medium first.”

One thing that is interesting about the exhibition experience is that a physical gallery visit is essentially an offline experience. Or perhaps not: you may have received the exhibition info via email and checked the website, and the opening weekend of Follow played out partially online, as the hashtag for LaBeouf, Rönkkö and Turner’s #TOUCHMYSOUL project notified social media that the artists were live in the gallery space, answering calls and instant messages. Is there such a thing as the offline participant?

Photo: Jon Barraclough

Interview: Sacha Waldron “I think it is becoming rarer to find offline participants, just people with different levels of engagement with ‘online,’” says Taker. “So much so that it is becoming frustrating for those who want to remain offline, as it is almost impossible to do so.

“But online living doesn’t mean unreal living,” she continues. “I think you have to be aware of what these tools do to you, how you become dependent on them, how they shape the way you approach tasks, conversations, friendships and the like. But I am talking about simply understanding your relationship with technology, not demonising it.

“Priority is an interesting word to use in regards to this question, because it suggests a hierarchy between online and offline which I feel doesn’t really exist – or at least is becoming more and more indistinguishable. It’s not like in The Net when Sandra Bullock is trying to run away from ‘online’ and go ‘off grid’ – I have the internet in my pocket and a lot of the time I wouldn’t know what to do without it, but I also don’t obsess over it.”

Many institutions, however, are experimenting with the way in which their exhibitions or creative output can have a life intended primarily for the online. In the late 1990s the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow was one of the world’s first museums to make its collection records available online. Now the online presence of art and culture goes beyond the record: you can visit the Louvre on the Nintendo DS or in Second Life, and museums and galleries are increasingly investing in dedicated online commissions.

AGNES, a Cécile B. Evans commission for the Serpentine, is a good example. A bot that lives on the Serpentine’s website, its creepy little voice asks you questions and responds with videos and meditations on the world. For Follow, Evans is showing new video installation Commercials (It’s not possible, it’s real), which takes the form of commercials in a campaign, reflecting the real-time absurdity of contemporary marketing.

It is also exhibited online, allowing for different experiences with the work.

“Places like the Serpentine are really leading the way in how to integrate online work in meaningful and exciting new ways,” says Jones, “while online sites like Rhizome and New Hive continue to push new formats and ways of approaching exhibiting online.”

Aside from specific web-based work, social media also has “a massive impact on the way artists make and disseminate work,” Jones says.

“These networks mean that art is being consumed firstly in a different way and secondly at an increasingly rapid rate, making it a very challenging (but equally interesting) time to work online as an artist. On top of that, you’re also getting instant feedback from your followers, giving the artist the potential to shape their work in relation to their audience, which I think is as useful as it is potentially dangerous.”

“We are seeing more and more shows with artists who would never get gallery shows even five years ago because their practice was seen as only existing in the ‘liminal’ space of the internet,” adds Taker. “Artists also aren’t afraid to use the internet as a resource and claim it; they aren’t trying to hide that as a source material, but rather allowing it to really shape their practice and acknowledging its contemporary position. Things are becoming more interdisciplinary in that way.

And that is really, really exciting.”

Follow is at FACT, Liverpool, until 21 Feb Read the full interview online at theskinny.co.uk/art fact.co.uk/projects/follow

22

Feature

ART

THE SKINNY

Return of a Firebrand Rapper, poet, actor and agitator Saul Williams talks about the fire and music that inspired his first record in four years Interview: Finbarr Bermingham

S

aul Williams is relaxed, sitting patiently on a white armchair. The only giveaway sign that he has just played a blistering set of songs taken from his brilliant new album is his darting, alert eyes, which suggest that he would hate to miss something important. “Finbarr. Fin-barr,” he ruminates after a brief introduction. “Is that one word, or two?” It’s a line of questioning he returns to a few minutes later (“Where does that come from?”), despite best efforts to shuffle the conversation towards something more significant, and he can be heard mouthing “Finbarr” repeatedly after our interview is complete.

It adds to the impression that, for Williams the artist, the world is his canvas, with every new sight and sound a potential ingredient in whatever he happens to be creating, or thinking about creating. Right now, his creation is MartyrLoserKing (MLK), a cross-format project combining an excellent album, a graphic novel in collaboration with renowned comic book artist Ron Wimberly, and a movie – all of which will be unleashed simultaneously. Like everything Williams has done in his career, it’s hugely ambitious.

Williams first came to prominence in the mid-90s as a slam poet, becoming the Grand Slam Champion at the Nuyorican Poets Café, an institution in the arts community of New York’s Lower East Side. The documentary SlamNation followed his Slam team’s progress in the National Poetry Slam in Portland in 1996 and Williams’ star as a poet rose further when he wrote and acted in the award-winning Slam in 1998.

It was around this time that the chameleonic New Yorker started making serious strides in the music business. A series of high-profile collaborations, appearing with everyone from De La Soul and Allen Ginsberg to Nas and Rage Against the Machine, and a string of EPs preceded the 2001 release of Amethyst Rock Star, a restless, proggy, breakneck set recorded with Rick Rubin – a marriage of poetry and industry that has transcended much of Williams’ recorded output since.

The following self-titled set of 2004 announced Williams the agitator to an expectant music world. Taking aim at the US-led invasion of Iraq, the state of contemporary hip-hop (“This shit has gone too far… stop!”) and high school bullies, this was a window into his conscience that set the scene for what is – arguably – his magnum opus: The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust, three years later.

January 2016

Niggy… was a pay-what-you-like release recorded with Trent Reznor (who revealed post-release that only 18% of downloaders paid anything). It bristled with ambition and frustration and presented Williams as a firebrand par excellence, railing against the establishment, challenging our perceptions of freedom and raising serious questions about black identity in 21st-century America, all while Kanye was rounding off his tetralogy of ‘education’ albums.

While 2011’s Volcanic Sunlight was a self-confessed “dance album” and one “about love,” MLK – his first release for four years – reacquaints us with Williams as a malcontent.

The middle finger that graces the artwork sets the tone for a concept project about the eponymous hacker from Burundi. The choice of protagonist was very deliberate: Burundi has been in the grip of conflict since the early 1990s.

Williams’ suggestion that a hacker packing as much punch as Snowden and Banksy combined could emerge from such an environment is a commentary on how the internet has changed the game, but is also set to challenge the listener’s preconceptions.

“I wanted to create a world in which things are challenged,” he says. “Musically it came about from the type of stuff I was listening to.

I was listening to a lot of real electronic music coming out of Congo, Angola and Mozambique.

Not necessarily the pop stuff but the underground stuff I could get my hands on. I started playing with this album about two years ago sonically, trying to create a world. A world, being a soundscape. Sonically, it’s been really fun, exploring the music that I was loving at that time.”

For a man so draped in creativity, it is natural that the art forms will collide. A serial collaborator, on MLK the walls between his media have done just that – and he says it was initially set to be a stage musical.

“One of the things I wanted to do was create a project that has all of these things combined. I started to think of the idea of a musical, a story, a concept, a premise… a place where music and performance could all intertwine. It started with a play idea, it’s moved to a film idea, but yes, it’s definitely about all those things, a way to bring those things together. But also the story, primarily because there was a lot of stuff I wanted to talk about. I couldn’t choose one topic,” Williams explains.

The topics are indeed plentiful, and they’re

often angry and visceral – a feeling that’s enhanced enormously by seeing him play the songs live. The whole idea of conflict and of protest has changed in 2016. Contrary to the previous century, in which revolutions had clear leaders and battles were drawn across clear lines, with physical limits and parameters, the lines are more subversive now. The Arab Spring was propelled by Twitter. The Umbrella Revolution in Hong Kong was organised by a few students over Telegram, while the establishment attacks with unmanned drones and cyber hacks.

War and its byproducts have transcended visibility. In the aftermath of the Paris attacks, the aphorism “you can’t bomb an idea” emerged on social media in regard to the militaristic response. On Burundi, the excellent single that precedes MLK, Williams roars: “I’m a candle, I’m a candle / Chop my neck a million times, I still burn bright and stand, yo.” It’s a powerful chorus line and hammers home the ferocity of the themes on board.

“Yeah I realised tonight when going through some of the songs” – he says, after performing for one of the few times in his career in Asia – that I kept on hitting the nail in terms of topic.

“I was like: ‘Oh fuck, there’s really no break.’

I don’t know if that’s good or not good. It’s definitely very personal and it’s intimate. It’s for the public, obviously. With good speakers, it’s actually really big. I like how it sounds. I wanna hear it. I think anyone who has a chance to encounter it, encounters something. I feel like music and poetry, art in itself, always has this edge when it comes to translation. Like paintings, for example. I think of music very much like paintings, with sounds. I think those things transcend language barriers.”

It’s unsurprising to hear that a follow-up

MUSIC

album is already demoed. The themes explored here aren’t going anywhere. At the time of writing, Donald Trump has just called for Muslims to be refused entry to the USA, and France is leading a coalition of airstrikes in Syria.

“I wanted to create a world in which things are challenged” Saul Williams

For Williams, the album and what spawned it is a moveable feast.

“Yeah, this isn’t going anywhere and when they do move, shake or tremble it only brings more life to the idea. You can hear it in the music – I’m way more patient with how these things unfold. I like Leonard Cohen for example. If you listen to his most recent album, his songs are simply moving together sometimes, it’s such a graceful practice, but I think it also comes to patience. It comes from your experience but you also have to yearn for it. MLK is more like a title or a brand, there’s a lot. A lot of ideas are very interested if you follow them through. When the imagination is involved, playing with those ideas, there’s definitely great work that comes out of that as an artist.”

MartyrLoserKing is released on 29 Jan on FADER Label Playing 24 Kitchen Street, Liverpool on 5 Mar saulwilliams.com

Feature

23

Quotes, Confession and Kim Kardashian As PUSH Festival brings fantastic fringe theatre to HOME, Mighty Heart Theatre’s Lisa and Samantha discuss their confessional script about body image and self-esteem

N

othing says January like a big dose of selfloathing. It’s the same every year; mince pie guilt sets in, Instagram feeds fill up with photos of kale smoothies and treadmills and, before we know it, #NewYearNewMe is trending on Twitter.

The annual avalanche of advertising keeps ‘losing weight’ at the top of the list of most popular New Year’s resolutions. Whether we need to or not, we’re told we should lose weight, and every inch of media space is taken up to tell us why and how – Join a gym! Follow this diet plan! Buy this fitness DVD! And we do. Some of us keep it up for a few months (after all, gym memberships are expensive) but most of us give up within a few weeks and look for alternative ways to remedy the post-Christmas body blues. Looking for suggestions this year? Talk about it!

When I Feel Like Crap I Google Kim Kardashian Fat is a piece of confessional theatre which recounts true stories about body image and self-esteem. A script created entirely from interviews with women aged between 16 and 90, the play explores the relationship between the way women are represented in society and the way they view themselves. It weaves together the colourful confessions of more than 100 women and offers an insight into womanhood that is both hilarious and heartbreaking.

At the helm of the production are two working-class Northern lasses, Lisa-Marie Hoctor and Samantha Edwards of Mighty Heart Theatre.

Brought together by the desire to make the kind of theatre that they wanted to see, the pair are driven by a shared belief that theatre has the power to educate and make a lasting impact on audiences.

In keeping with the play’s verbatim style, the idea and title for the piece were born from a wine-fuelled conversation between friends. “Out

24

Feature

of the blue one of my dearest friends said, ‘When I feel like crap I google Kim Kardashian fat.’

I whipped out my phone, wrote it in the memo section and started to mull over the idea of creating a confessional theatre piece exploring body image with real stories,” explains Hoctor.

“Before we knew it the idea had snowballed and every time we’d mention it to people, they would confess their own stories.”

Confessional theatre asks a lot of its audience. It asks us to reveal our secrets and lay our souls bare, and it completely strips away all of the conventional methods of storytelling where actors perform and spectators watch. In this type of performance, the actors no longer reveal a narrative, but rather play the experiences of the audience members back to them. In an intimate and illuminating experience, they hold up a mirror for us to see ourselves.

“Verbatim material delivers a richness and honesty that we would not be able to match. It also allows our interviewees to become part of the process and the creative world of the work,” explains Edwards. “It empowers people to tell their stories,” Hoctor adds, expanding on the importance of a collective process. “It’s a great feeling when someone you’ve interviewed comes to watch a performance and sees their story brought to life. It makes the work about them, not us. By having such a wide age range, we can all see ourselves in the piece. There’s a story in there for everyone. ” So important is the idea of sisterhood and shared female experience to the company’s work that it comes as no surprise to hear the pair describe themselves as feminists. The duo’s approach reveals an impressive lack of ego, with an aim to represent all women rather than tell the story through their own personal experiences.

“Feminism is inevitably part of our work because it’s part of us,” they say. “It’s a belief in equality. It’s empowering for us as two young women to have set up a company, which also employs other women and champions the stories of women. You can’t ignore that our industry leans towards more parts and opportunities for men but hopefully we are addressing that in our own little way.”

“Verbatim theatre delivers a richness and honesty; it empowers people to tell their stories” Mighty Heart Theatre

For both Mighty Heart and their audiences, the theme of empowerment is key. This feeling of empowerment seems to stem from the platform provided for women to speak out and share past experiences, no matter how personal, destructive or embarrassing.

“The pressure to lose baby weight and the constant comparisons of our bodies to other people’s was a big recurring theme with teenagers through to middle-aged women,” explains Hoctor. Indeed, ideals of how women should look and behave are not unique to the 21st century, and societal pressures to fit the mould can be

THEATRE

Interview: Jennifer Chamberlain

felt by women through the generations. Yet it’s hard to imagine a time when celebrity culture wasn’t completely embedded in our lives, when social media, and even the internet, were yet to be invented. In many ways, the development of technology has created a world in which women communicate more often but less honestly.

“There were some massive differences too. It was inspiring to hear about yonder years, of women championing each other and paying each other compliments,” Hoctor comments. Edwards describes one particular scene in the play which depicts two elderly women talking about the modest notion of ‘make do and mend.’ They discuss sharing a wedding dress to avoid being seen as show-offs, an element of humility made all the more notable when compared to modern-day selfie culture. “We don’t do this anymore, and giving those ladies the chance to share their stories keeps this alive,” Edwards says.

When I Feel Like Crap I Google Kim Kardashian Fat is a story of stories told by many different women in many different ways. While the subject matter is often serious and touches on issues such as disordered eating, Hoctor and Edwards insist that the overall piece is light-hearted. A decision to create a highenergy piece, complete with sing-songs, wacky outfits and giggles, is a clever way of creating an atmosphere of acceptance. Perhaps confessional theatre, based on real people rather than imagined characters, is the most entertaining, illuminating and moving of all.

When I Feel Like Crap I Google Kim Kardashian Fat will be performed as part of PUSH Festival at HOME, Fri 22 Jan and Sun 24 Jan homemcr.org/event/push-festival

THE SKINNY

An Oldham Coliseum Theatre Production

Friday 5 February Saturday 27 February 2016 “The Pitmen Painters is extraordinary for all sorts of reasons, but chief among them is the fact that it manages to be both a great night out and gravely serious” - The Guardian

By Lee Hall Directed by Kevin Shaw Designed by Foxton Sponsored by

0161 624 2829 coliseum.org.uk

The Pitmen Painters.indd 1

12/15/2015 3:32:49 PM

DANCING PA RT N E R S

Fri 22 & Sat 23 January

A stunning international showcase.

Manchester’s Company Chameleon plays host to companies at the front of contemporary dance from Italy, Spain and Sweden.

Next month: Travel special!

Reach our monthly audience of 523,000 young, adventurous, outgoing readers in our Travel supplement this February.

Contact the sales team on 0161 831 9590 or sales@ theskinny.co.uk to find out more.

theskinny.co.uk @TheSkinnyNW /TheSkinnyMag

thelowry.com/dance 0843 208 6000*

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: Studio Monik

*Calls to this number will cost 7p per minute plus your network operator’s access charge.

Photo: Joel Chester Fildes

January 2016

25

New Year, New Comedians We talk to Alex Boardman, one of Manchester’s finest promoters and the man responsible for giving pretty much every comedian in our Spotlight section their break

T

here’s a common saying in the entertainment industry: when you reach certain heights during your career it’s only right that you ‘send the lift back down’ – shorthand for helping those at the bottom of your profession with the knowledge you’ve gained on your way up. Of course, as one gets more comfortable at the ‘top’ there is often the opposite problem, that of pulling up the ladder behind you – or, to better suit the elevator metaphor, cutting the lift cable and laughing maniacally at the firebomb emanating from the ground floor. Sometimes this is done through contempt, sometimes through fear, of the young upstarts who might attempt to usurp you. Alex Boardman, however, has different ideas: “If you’re good then you’re not frightened. If someone’s as good as me after two years where I’ve been going 20 then that’s my fault.”

“If you’re an act and you think, ‘I want the audience to like this,’ then they’re writing the material, not you.

And that’s wrong” Alex Boardman

Boardman runs New Comedians, a monthly show at the Comedy Store that, you guessed it, features new and sometimes untested comedians playing to an ever-growing crowd. Boardman hand-picks these young guns from his time on the circuit: “There’s loads of comedians that are desperate to get on, lots of clubs don’t do advancement like they used to, so I’m getting a lot of acts from London, Newcastle, Scotland who are saying, ‘Can I come and do it?’” If Boardman

26

Feature

hasn’t seen them himself, then he’ll take a recommendation from a fellow comic he trusts.

“We’ve had over a hundred acts, and of them only three have done badly. The three people who haven’t done well are people I hadn’t seen, so I’ve had to tighten it up.”

Boardman came up with the likes of Johnny Vegas, Peter Kay and Dave Gorman on the Manchester scene – not that 20 years ago there really was a Manchester scene. He explains: “There was Red Raw at the Burton Arms that Gorman hosted, and Buzz in Chorlton, but that was it. Chorlton was seen as exotic back then, you’d do those gigs and then you’d have to wait a year to do them again. I probably only did six gigs in my first year. I was gigging at The Glee in Birmingham and at The Stand in Edinburgh but there was nothing in Manchester.”

Then with The Frog and Bucket opening its doors there was an upswing in live comedy in the city; a few years later, the Comedy Store opened up a Manchester branch and XS Malarkey began its nomadic lifestyle across the pubs and bars of south Manchester. “There was an explosion at the end of the 90s, because raving had died.

Round about ’94/’95 when Steve Coogan had gotten big with Paul Calf, live comedy just became a thing. Obviously it existed and it was a great folk tradition but it wasn’t something people sought to make a living out of. I mean, karaoke was still massive at that point! Comedy wasn’t really seen as a business.”

Back in those heady post-rave, not-so-Madchester days, Boardman says there was a much more experimental circuit. “We were allowed to fail when we were new. It’s harder now because they have to be polished right away and it kind of nullifies creativity. If you’re an act and you’re like, ‘Oh I want the audience to like this,’ then they’re writing the material, not you. And that’s wrong. That’s not going to ever be interesting.”

With comedy clubs being in a financially more precarious situation than they might have been before people could easily access standup and such online, they are less likely to take risks on young upstarts – which led Boardman to step in.

After hosting a number of gong shows but not seeing much progression, he was hoping to give

an outlet to talented but obscure acts.

“There’s enough people that are winning these competitions but not quite getting paid for 15s [15-minute sets] yet. Or 20s. That leap from 5-15 minutes to a 20-minute set is huge. It just wasn’t being catered for.” Having been offered a chance to put a new night of his choice on each month, Boardman decided to be the helping hand that he had had from his early days on the circuit. He talks excitedly about the acts he’s managed to get on, acts whose potential he could see in a brief five-minute set. Many of them we’ve featured in The Skinny in our Spotlight section, such as Danny Sutcliffe, Liam Pickford, Rachel Fairburn and Kiri Pritchard-McLean.

“For some of them it’s their first paying gig,” Boardman says of his New Comedians night, “and that’s a really nice thing. Especially when it’s a packed room.”

Over the last three years, New Comedians has grown thanks to the support from the Comedy Store, starting in the downstairs area of the Deansgate Locks club, before quickly moving to the main room when lack of space demanded it. For a new-acts night on a Sunday to require more than a hundred seats is in itself a remarkable feat. That they keep coming back is down to Boardman’s excellent taste and unflinching confidence in the acts he has put forward.

“Sometimes an audience won’t get somebody if it’s a particularly avant-garde thing, but the success rate from the people we’ve had on has been pretty high. We had Gein’s [Family Giftshop] on before they did well in Edinburgh. It’s a standup night and we had a sketch group on who were struggling to get gigs because they did sketch; they were having to put their own gigs on and they weren’t really doing enough live stuff.”

In the last year or so the night has been fortunate enough to fall on a number of special occasions occurring on the third Sunday of the month, Father’s Day being one such event, which led to a staggering 250 near-sell-out audience: “If you’re a brand-new act, we have two open spots and if you’re doing your first ever gig at the Comedy Store that’s amazing. It doesn’t get much better.” The differing styles of the new comedians is not always taken in the best way,

COMEDY

Interview: John Stansfield of course. “We had a couple of dads who’d been dragged along who didn’t really want to be there.

But that’s great. We want to do a broad range of styles. It’s not going to be for everybody. That’s what’s great about it.”

In his role as shepherd to the new herd of talent around the country, Boardman often recommends acts he’s seen flourish after being given the chance to do so through New Comedians.

Having gigged all over the country for the last 20 years and written for the likes of John Bishop and numerous TV shows, Boardman doesn’t need to do this night, but it’s his love of comedy that keeps him going and paying forward the goodwill he was shown as a young performer all those years ago. “I’ve seen lots of people, some of whom are famous, be horrible to new acts. But I’d imagine that they’re the kinds of people who are just horrible to waitresses, I imagine they’re just horrible to people.” He laughs. “You don’t have to be a prick. It’s a conscious decision. Just don’t be a prick.”

Boardman’s ones to watch Keep an eye out for some of Alex’s favourite comedians from the last 12 months: Gregor Burns “An ex-forces standup from north of the border with a flowing style and uncompromising material.”

Lee Peart “A highly camp newcomer with a charming personality and a cutting delivery. He absolutely ripped the roof off the gig.”

Chris Kehoe “A comic really trying to say something different... Brilliant material that is both clever and laugh-out-loud funny.”

Rauol Kholi “A Geordie who absolutely owns the stage and brings great energy to every performance.“ New Comedians with Alex Boardman runs at the Comedy Store, Manchester, on the third Sunday of every month

THE SKINNY

The Place Outside Ahead of the release of new record Love Over Will, producer Alex Smoke discusses the enduring influence of classical music and his evolving relationship with dancefloor sounds

Interview: Ronan Martin

“There’s nothing left for us to do. There’s nothing left for us to see.”

I

ntroducing his latest album, Love Over Will, in characteristically detached fashion, Alex Smoke’s seemingly resigned lyrics on opener Fair is Foul clearly don’t reflect any lack of musical ambition on the part of the artist. Rather, with each new series – be it pulsing dancefloor techno, the more cerebral mood music of his Wraetlic project, or installation and soundtrack work – the producer doesn’t seem to see an end to his creative evolution on the horizon any time soon.

Released on the ever-eminent R&S Records towards the end of January, Love Over Will will be Alex Menzies’ fourth album under the Smoke guise and it’s perhaps his most personal-sounding yet. This more intimate feel is achieved in large part by a liberal use of the Glasgow-based artist’s own voice, which in the past has almost always been heavily masked by effects and distortion.

“I still like it most when it’s obscured in a way,” he explains. There are indeed plenty of examples of heavy processing throughout the new work, which is as grippingly claustrophobic as ever. Yet, it would seem he has grown more comfortable with the use of his own utterings over the years, beginning with the completely vocal-driven Wraetlic outing in 2013. “I just got excited about that whole process of writing songs,” he explains. “You tend to get yourself in a creative flow where you’re excited by certain things and you’ll stick with that for as long as it’s still exciting to you. So the vocal tracks follow on from Wraetlic. I just kept on going, but I think I’ve got it out of my system now.”

Of course, as well as allowing for different possibilities sonically, the use of sung elements can make electronic music more thematically overt. Whether or not that’s desirable is another thing altogether, though: “I’ve always been a bit cagey about vocals,” he says, noting that he doesn’t like to tell people what is actually being said in much of his work. “It kind of dictates how they take it. Also, it’s personal – it’s funny to say that, because you’re releasing it, but still.”

Smoke does reveal that much of the content of his lyrics is political, at least to the extent that it reflects his feelings on the current state of the world, though you’ll not find the kind of clumsily specific references that can interfere with a listener’s own interpretation. A preference for a stream-of-consciousness approach – “you know, random pish” – plays a big part in how he pens his lines.

“Even random pish has a certain something about it which I like. A few people I like do that as well – though they do it better than me – the Cocteau Twins, for example. The vocals probably make no literal sense, but they have a certain feeling about them.”

On the subject of feeling in Smoke’s work, it can be hard to avoid using terms like ‘moody’ and ‘introspective,’ even ‘gloomy.’ At times wistful and soft, at others almost exhibiting a detached cynicism – “I never really cared about you anyway,” he utters in languid fashion on the album’s opener – much of the vocal content provides the perfect accompaniment to his compositions, which always seem to lean towards the melancholic. Even his accomplished early dancefloor work was marked by icy minimalism as opposed to anthemic euphoria.

Another constant feature of Smoke’s music is the influences drawn from classical music. The new record, as with previous outings,

January 2016

finds him utilising strings and brass alongside more synthetic elements. The title track has a particularly grand feel to it, with commanding horns set against taut strings and a plodding heartbeat of a kick drum. One of the few tracks without vocals, its power comes entirely through Smoke’s ability to merge organic and electronic sounds to great effect. Galdr also stands out for its elegant strings set amid distorted percussive parts and muted synths.

“It’s the accidents which end up being the most amazing-sounding things” Alex Smoke

Rather than in themes or composition, though, it’s Smoke’s ever-evolving approach to sound itself and the shift in the production style of his work that have been the key changes from early albums Incommunicado and Paradolia. “I really can’t help myself,” he says when asked about his increasing use of grainier textures throughout his work. “When I was making the first two albums, I was heavily influenced by the dancefloor stuff that was doing it for me at the time – what we were calling click house and what later became the minimal stuff. There was lots of space and clean production and I really loved that. I liked the aesthetic of it.

“Over time, I have grown away from it and I’m much more interested in a kind of textured sound and trying to create something that is almost like an organic process, but electronically.

I’m quite interested in that meeting between real instruments and real sounds and those

that are artificially created in the computer but which also have that organic element; that rough, chaotic element.”

At present, Smoke strives to achieve that imposing sound through a relatively simple setup, combining various software programs with a small modular synth. Far from seeming hung up on the technology itself, he seems to have a healthy idea of what he needs and how he can utilise it to the fullest. “Software is openended and it’s really down to your imagination what you do with it,” he says. “I like that aspect of it. But the modular is good because it gives you that hands-on, direct feel. The sound is almost physical. You can almost feel it.

“Of course, as with everything, you’re never as smart as you think you are and it’s the accidents that end up being the most amazingsounding things. There are very few people who would say that they went to a synth like that and came up with exactly what they were going for.

It’s not really the point. It’s about playing about with the parameters and plugging things in backwards and feedback and all of that stuff – it’s experimentation and that’s really a healthy thing for music.”

What comes across most in the album and in conversation is Smoke’s continual growth as an artist, which sees him moving away from the dancefloor, or at least from the most narrow conceptions of what club music is. “I still DJ and I still like clubs and dancefloor music,” he explains. “It’s very rare in any scene to have that kind of immediacy and there is a purpose for people to be there. It’s also a group thing as well – there’s a group consciousness. It’s a special thing. So I’ve always loved dancing and clubs, but my natural proclivities these days are more towards music to listen to.”

This evolution in his approach seems quite necessary if he is to avoid falling into the ‘trap’ of a career as an electronic producer: “People that don’t think ahead can end up on the wheel, where their only living is from playing clubs.”

While that can be enjoyable, and can be kept

CLUBS

going indefinitely, it’s not something Smoke wants to limit himself to, and it’s clear in the excitement in his voice when he talks about branching more into installation and soundtrack work. “This is where my strengths lie,” he says. “I really love sound and picture and the way sound interacts with visuals.”

Hoping to make more inroads into that kind of work – he has already been commissioned to produce music for a BBC project due out next year – Smoke is nonetheless wary of the pitfalls of losing your identity within that world, too.

“You can see the way the film and TV industries are going – the same as with the dancefloor.

The market is saturated... Every fucker sounds the same and there’s also an expectation for everyone to sound the same. The commissioner will tell you they want it to sound like fucking Inception or something.

“It’s a race to the bottom. Of course, if everyone owns the same instruments and the same samples and everyone is trying to sound the same, you end up with this ridiculous monoculture of utter shite. So it’s also a challenge to find the jobs you really want to work on and the people you want to work with – people who actually want to give you a bit of space and a bit of free rein to create something actually worthwhile.”

Smoke’s enthusiasm for every facet of his work is clear from the moment he starts speaking. Even if his dancefloor persona is not as pronounced as when he started out, his recent EPs for R&S, as well as the dub edits set to be released alongside the album, are sufficient proof of his techno prowess. But far from being caught in his comfort zone, he talks of being “liberated” when approaching soundtrack and installation work and is committed to evolving further into such territory. “That’s where my heart lies at the moment,” he makes clear, and you can be certain he will continue to bring a deeply personal feel to any project he takes on.

Love Over Will is released by R&S Records on 22 Jan alexsmoke.com

Feature

27

Mercury Rising Derry teenager Bridie MondsWatson has been wowing audiences under the moniker SOAK for years. We catch up with her on tour in Hong Kong to talk about going global, emotional honesty and plans for 2016 Interview: Finbarr Bermingham

handwritten note dated 29/11/15 graces one side of Bridie Monds-Watson’s notebook. The neat, capped-up entry details her maiden adventures in Asia. “I woke up at 8am in Hong Kong, China (I thought I was in Japan),” she starts, before concluding that “I’m going to eat noodles or something.” Across the page is a comic book sketch of her view from the 31st floor of the building where she’s staying.

When The Skinny meets her in Hong Kong later that morning, diaries are on her mind again.

“I am fucking obsessed with Moleskine diaries. I love that brand, I carry them everywhere. I think I’ve filled about 16 of them on tour,” she says, alluding to the fact that three years of playing the same songs has left her itching to write and play new material.

The very fact that she woke up on this side of the world that morning, however, suggests that she may have to keep playing those songs for another while yet. Her debut album under her stage name SOAK, Before We Forgot to Dream, was nominated for the Mercury Prize – a fact that leads her to conclude that “life is crazy.” It’s easy to see why the 19-year old may think so.

Handwriting analysts claim that “all-caps writers are uncomfortable talking about their personal lives” and that “they do not want others to know about themselves.” Here might be the exception.

SOAK songs are creations of simplistic intimacy.

On the album, they’re sparse and lovely. They delve into issues of family troubles and sexuality. Songs about teenage isolation aren’t uncommon, but they’re usually not as fully formed and well-written as these. Teenage journals are usually greeted with a cringe. Not the case here.

“It’s not that I have to do it. I like doing it and I enjoy it. I draw a lot and that’s a part of it. I like documenting something that’s not on a computer where it can be erased. It lives. There’s something really great about finishing a book, you know?

Most of the stuff that goes in there is a half-formed idea, the bones of something that I think could be something in the future,” she says, taking to the subject.

Monds-Watson started playing guitar at 13, writing songs in her bedroom in time-honoured fashion, before uploading self-recorded videos to YouTube and playing in bands and at open mic nights around Derry. Before she had turned 16, SOAK had created a genuine buzz among gig-goers and music bloggers. She came to the attention of A&R folks across the pond and after a few well received EPs, signed to Rough Trade and toured with, amongst others, Chvrches.

Musically, there are echoes of Laura Marling.

The poppier moments recall the Concretes, while her crisp, accented voice is reminiscent of Lisa O’Neill, one of the finest Irish artists of recent years, and Tracyanne Campbell of Camera Obscura.

Clad in a baggy black t-shirt, black shades and ear-studs, black Doc Martens and myriad

28

Feature

Photo: Josh Halling

A

tattoos, Monds-Watson speaks in a deadpan Derry twang. She talks glowingly of the sense of community in Derry – a city in which everybody seems to be involved in some project or other. As a student, this writer used to travel to the Maiden City from Belfast to revel in the creativity of others.

A decade ago, the city seemed to be wall-to-wall art exhibitions, open mic sessions and club nights, with buskers on every corner. It was within this environment that SOAK was born.

“It’s a great place. Generally in Derry, there’s massive support everyone has for each other in terms of anything creative… it’s weird. It’s incredible... sorting people out, even though you don’t know each other. They know you’re doing something and want to help. It’s that whole thing where so much success comes out of such a small place, compared to England or London – it’s so concentrated,” she says.

Playing in bands even before SOAK helped Monds-Watson build connections and assisted her in getting a few early gigs. Local radio got on board, and she kept gigging, dedicating herself to music with the kind of devotion only a teenager could muster. As a creative 14-year old, music offered her not only a way of expressing herself, but a well-traversed rabbit hole into which to pour her obsession.

“I didn’t really have a main hobby before music and that was my thing. When you’re 14 you obsess over things. I started doing that, making things and demoing in my bedroom. I just found all my friends from doing music as well, it was a lot of fun doing gigs,” she recalls.

“I was learning a lot too – reading about

music. I’d always be on Wikipedia, having dozens of pages open all the time, reading about music.

It’s such a loser thing to do. But I think it’s cool to be knowledgeable about what came before, a lot of things are just adaptations. Nothing is new technically, depending on how you look at it.

I just like knowing. It’s also a dicky thing – I want to be the person to be able to tell other people about music and bands.”

“I like documenting something that’s not on a computer where it can be erased. It lives” SOAK

The Dark Side of the Moon tattoo on her arm is testament to her father’s love of Pink Floyd, an appreciation she inherited. Her listening tastes have evolved as she has. Playing with a band on tour has helped her develop musically and most of what she’s writing now is for that format. She says the new songs, some of which are demoed, others of which are etched in among mountains of Moleskines, are “influenced by Sonic Youth.”

“Having played solo for three years, it would be very hard to go back to that,” she explains. “Wor-

MUSIC

king with the band has helped me develop technically and I’ve been learning and reading and listening to so much other stuff over the past few years. I was very young when I wrote those songs, and I still enjoy playing them, but I’m looking forward to a new direction. We’ve definitely got a load of demos for another album. I only feel now that I’ve grown into myself and know myself well enough because you see YouTube videos which are like, shit. And I need to move away from that.”

Most of what she says is accompanied by a self-deprecating laugh. Talking of her excellent sessions on Seattle’s KEXP and NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts, she says: “It was quite cool to play. I didn’t realise how big a deal it was until after.” It’s a kind of understatement she takes to the main stage at Hong Kong’s Clockenflap Festival later that day. The capacity is 60,000 and a fair portion of those have gathered in the afternoon sun to watch SOAK – a bolstered three-piece – play.

Gazing out over the skyscrapers, the docks and the ocean beyond, Monds-Watson seems unflustered. “This is really cool,” she says, relaxed as you like. The set presents her debut album in rockier and more experimental form. The performance is workmanlike, professional and very powerful. “She’s only 19, you know?” someone within earshot tells a friend. It’s remarkable indeed: SOAK, and the force behind it, is a real talent and someone we should be hearing a lot more from in the years to come.

Before We Forgot How to Dream is out now on Rough Trade.

SOAK plays Field Day, London on 11-12 Jun soakmusic.co.uk

THE SKINNY

Projecting Pages Taking books to the screen has long made up much of the film industry’s output. We look at the creative issues involved in the process, and then at some of the most interesting recent and upcoming literary adaptations

I

t could be argued that The Shining’s most terrifying moment came 32 years after its original release, in Room 237, a 2012 documentary which pondered conspiracy theories in relation to Kubrick’s film – these range from accusations of moon-landing fakery, to war, genocide and holocaust. When Kubrick’s wife Christiane denied the Apollo theory she was informed that this decision was no longer the filmmaker’s to make. The ownership of meaning is fleeting; once a creative work exists within the public domain it becomes whatever the consumer wishes it to be. “That is the nature of the tragedy,” suggests Harlan Ellison, the legendary curmudgeon of genre fiction, in his introduction to the classic short story collection Strange Wine. “The work is mine only when it is being done.

Thereafter it must be remanded to the custody of the readers.”

Imagine when that custodian is the film industry, transforming the printed word into a whole new technicolor format. It’s a situation all the more common in an increasingly risk-averse Hollywood, where most of our multiplex offerings originate.

It is a film industry obsessed with sequels, adaptations and their ready-made audiences. Taking literature to the screen historically makes up around a third of Hollywood’s output, a fraction that looks set to increase. These adaptions encompass everything from old classics (Thomas Hardy’s Far From the Madding Crowd) to more modern classics (Patricia Highsmith’s Carol), and some, well, less-than-classics (Fifty Shades and its planned 2017 sequel). Browse a list of movies released in 2015 or scheduled for 2016 and you’ll find that entirely original works have become almost a curio in mainstream cinema.

Author Stephen King rejected Kubrick’s Shining, seeming to understand before any other that Kubrick simply used his work as a frame to hang techniques of subliminal messaging, gleaned from the wonderful world of advertising. On this subject of mistreated authors, a few years back The Filmhouse in Edinburgh hosted an embarrassingly empty screening of Clockers, with its author, Richard Price, moonlighting from the Edinburgh

January 2016

International Book Festival for a post-film Q&A. He explained, rather bitterly, that the on-screen interpretation of his grand work was a bastard child. Loyalty to the text proved impossible with the performers instructed by filmmaker Spike Lee not to read the original text. It is solely Lee’s vision on screen, his tics and foibles, his mastery and verve, his glaring errors and blind arrogance.

How can a character born on the page be fully interpreted when the actor has no link to its source or is used simply as a visual prop? – moved around the set like a piece on a chessboard, as lead performer Donatas Banionis begrudged in Solaris, Tarkovsky’s (admittedly masterful) adaptation of the work of Soviet sci-fi supremo Stanislaw Lem. To flip this argument from the tragedy of Price’s mutilated masterpiece, many wonderful works of cinema have come from the most indifferent, or at least unassuming, literature. Harry Grey’s 1952 pulp potboiler The Hoods was adapted into Sergio Leone’s beautifully operatic Once Upon a Time in America. There Will be Blood was the butterfly to emerge from the middling 1927 novel Oil!.

Andrea Mullaney is a journalist who also tackles literary adaptations in her Now Read the Book course at the University of Glasgow. Following an appearance on BBC Radio Scotland’s Culture Café (as it was known at the time), Mullaney suggested in conversation: “It used to be accepted critical wisdom that it was easier to make a great film of a second-rate book than a masterpiece. I guess because it’s hard to improve upon a classic and the paring away necessary to condense it into a film means you’re losing important stuff.” Further successes come from novels of bold and simple visuals rather than abstracts or mental interiors – perhaps why graphic novels generally translate well (Neil Gaiman’s hugely anticipated The Sandman may present the greatest challenge, when it is finally, finally released). With the recent adaptation of Andy Weir’s debut novel The Martian – a narrative almost solely confined to the thoughts inside an astronaut’s helmet-clad head – director Ridley Scott was forced to expand upon

secondary characters and add broader melo- to the taut personal drama of the book. He has now turned his producer’s hand to television for the serialised adaptation of the Philip K. Dick classic, The Man in the High Castle. Game of Thrones further supports the argument that TV is now considered the grander canvas. “A movie has more in common with a short story than a novel,” Nigerian director Biyi Bandele told The Skinny last year, while screening his adaptation of the epic novel Half of a Yellow Sun. “If you’re going to make a completely literally faithful adaptation of a novel you shouldn’t make a movie, you should make a TV series.”

“A movie has more in common with a short story than a novel” Biyi Bandele

The ‘literary’ end of literature throws up its own specific problems. Poetry of language must be represented through poetry of image rather than simple recitation of words – which is perhaps why John Fante’s lyrical masterpiece Ask the Dust failed (tellingly it was directed by ace wordsmith Bob Towne – the creative force behind the Chinatown script), and why, hopefully, Jenni Fagan’s The Panopticon will not. “The big thing about the book is that we get to be in [central character] Anaïs’ head,” Fagan suggested to The Skinny last year, considering the challenge.

“How do I get to translate that to the film without consistently relying on voiceover or some device like that? It’s trying to find the poetry in the images.”

Adaptations often achieve success (signposted perhaps by the linguistic parallel) when author

BOOKS

Words: Alan Bett Illustration: Andrea Campomanes meets auteur. French New Wave master Francois Truffaut believed certain film directors to be the author of what appears on screen. He provided evidence for this theory with his own personal Fahrenheit 451 adaptation in 1966. There are many examples to show that when visionary meets visionary things often go well. Darren Aronofsky’s technical experimentation matches Hubert Selby Jr’s hip prose in Requiem for a Dream – a contest which must be declared a draw. As is The Tin Drum, Volker Schlondorff ’s Palme d’Or-winning reinterpretation of the sadly departed master fabulist Günter Grass. When, with Dr Zhivago, Pasternak and Lean go head to head like cultural sumos, we are left with two colossal and immovable works of art. What sets these apart is that they are re-imaginings rather than moving replications. (Further evidence – as ironic as it appears to be – is that Blade Runner, a work re-released in 2015 and rooted in themes of replication, is significantly distinct from Philip K. Dick’s source novel.) A sequel of sorts is currently in the works with encouraging names attached, including Denis Villeneuve, director of the awesome Sicario.

An adaptation need not draw its own audience, it inherits one and often squanders that inheritance – occasionally more than once. Hollywood struck out after three feeble swipes at Richard Matheson’s dystopian classic I Am Legend (Will Smith proving the nadir), prompting the author to ponder, “I don’t know why Hollywood is fascinated by my book when they never care to film it as I wrote it.” In a reversal, the cinematic works often lead viewers back to the source novel.

Hopefully this proves the case for Lewis Grassic Gibbon’s Sunset Song, adapted with beautiful strokes by Terence Davies, and also for Frankenstein – not a book you would imagine needs a promotional boost, but remember, it is not Shelley’s creature who inspires Halloween costumes each year; it is Karloff in the 1931 screen original. The written word is open to glorious interpretation while film provides us with a shared representation. 2015 witnessed the mostly derided Victor Frankenstein, an adaptation of sorts starring James McAvoy and Daniel Radcliffe and featuring a main character not even present in Shelley’s work – Igor, the hunchback servant of mixed origins (Fritz in the ’31 original, Bela Lugosi’s Ygor in the sequels). In this era of image, film rules the cultural landscape, in this case eclipsing the literary origin.

All that (depending upon opinion) saves or impedes certain novels from on-screen interpretation is the term ‘unfilmable’, although filmmakers occasionally test this maxim. David Cronenberg is one great director who has followed this road to failure (in adapting JG Ballard’s Crash), admirable failure (William Burroughs’ Naked Lunch) and abject failure (Don DeLillo’s Cosmopolis). Ben Wheatley has also tackled Ballard – already used to dividing opinion, it seems Wheatley will do so once again with the general release of High-Rise in March. The film – snubbed by Cannes – has received wildly varying treatment from reviewers. Yet the term ‘unfilmable’ is less relevant now, and Andrea Mullaney suggests, “We’ve seen film technology and sophistication increase so that almost anything that can be written about can be translated into film.” Life of Pi could hardly have been considered merely a decade ago. So, for those who are precious, think of your favourite literary work, and – to borrow the famous tagline of a film, remade from a previous film, inspired by a short story – be afraid. Be very afraid. theskinny.co.uk/books

Feature

29

More than Words As she prepares to gig in Liverpool for the first time, poet and performer Hollie McNish discusses her new book of poetry about parenthood and the excitement of playing on mixed bills dropped my daughter off at pre-school. It’s honest. I’m nervous about it!”

The precarious chess game of modern parenting – “aside from inequality, war… shit food” and “the ‘give boys guns, give girls glitter’ US exports of the toy world” – is, she says, best summed up by one particular material, slowly engulfing every corner of the planet: “the hordes of plastic toys and plastic bottles and plastic party bags filled with plastic toys filling up babies’ potential future water sources is probably a pretty big issue.”

H

ollie McNish has amassed labels like ‘boundary breaker’ and ‘internet sensation,’ along with less flattering names from keyboard warriors below the line, during her speedy rise to spoken word and poetry slam acclaim. But behind her viral momentum – her videos Embarrassed and Mathematics, which look at breastfeeding and immigration, have slid into the social media zeitgeist (racking up over a million views each) – are years of honing her poetic act in front of audiences, and a propensity for forthright, lyrical probing of enduring social issues.

In the ramshackle basements of arts venues and the cramped backrooms of bars, McNish uses her distinct style of half-rhyme, full-rhyme and assonance to build a frenetic rhythm, and to

dismantle the prescribed, the powerful and the status quo.

“To me, everything’s tied up with politics, with power, with the control those in power have to affect laws, influence culture and status quos,” she says. “One of the roles of literature, I guess, is to provide an antidote to that.”

For McNish, this impetus doesn’t lend itself to lengthy diatribes or lofty polemic; instead, her poems weave the personal and political, and are infused with a dash of humour and a touch of linguistic acrobatics. An oft-returnedto topic is her experience of motherhood, which is the focus of her new book, Nobody Told Me, published next month.

The memoir consists of diaries “from the day I found out I was pregnant to the day I

“To me, everything’s tied up with politics, with power, with the control those in power have” Hollie McNish

McNish is a passionate defender of the arts.

She runs Page to Performance, delivering workshops in spoken word and slams, and through her work she’s “seen a heap of people saved by the arts – teenagers who’ve avoided suicides, breakdowns, people battling depression,

Interview: Holly Rimmer-Tagoe trauma.” She admits to paying for entrance to her own gigs after being intimated by the sometimes slightly cliquey reputation of arts centres.

“I wasn’t brought up going to theatres or talks or art centres – I’m still intimidated now, even,” she says. “I’ve paid for entrance to my own bloody gigs ’cause I’ve been too scared to say anything at the box office! Stupid I know, but these places can be intimidating. And expensive.”

Looking ahead to her Liverpool gig – part of a showcase put together by Scottish poetrymusic-animation curators Neu! Reekie! – McNish enthuses that she’s “totally stoked to be performing in Liverpool, especially with such a cracking lineup and ’cause for some stupid reason, I’ve not been there before, which is fucking sacrilegious!

“I’ve performed with Neu! Reekie! a few times now,” she tells us, “last of all on a tour they did called Anywhere but the Cities – lots of landscapes and whisky and stories and music.

Their lineups are beautiful! I tour a lot and get to go to loads of poetry nights, but the Neu! Reekie! blend of poetry, music and animation gets folks’ juices going like no other I’ve seen. And they’re some of the only buggers confident enough in poets and poetry to give us a slot next to bands and singers – not stuck down in a small room or at the back corner of a festival where no one can see it!”

Hollie McNish will be performing with Pete Wylie, Eugene Kelly, Eleanor Rees and more at LEAF on Bold Street, Liverpool, 28 Jan, 8pm, £5 from brownpapertickets.com holliepoetry.com | @holliepoetry facebook.com/neureeking | @neureekie

Half-Light Tales We begin a new year with a new author. Helen McClory’s otherworldly short fiction recently won the Saltire Society First Book award, and she chats here about how her fiercely original collection On the Edges of Vision came to be Interview: Alan Bett

S

ometimes less is more. Anybody can describe a chair or an apple, to the finest detail perhaps. Most could even draw quite an accurate picture of one or both. And wouldn’t that be boring?

Far more intriguing is when the dimmer switch is turned down. When that everyday object or situation is seen in the half-light, that psychological dusk. Possibilities open into spaces as wide as your imagination.

Helen McClory’s stories are told in that halflight. They exist On the Edges of Vision: the title of her debut collection, which was recently nominated in the Saltire Literary Awards. “I was so surprised that they picked it, and so, so pleased, just absolutely amazed,” she says. “When I found out, I was walking to Kirsty [Logan]’s launch… I was wandering around and sitting in Waterstones listening to Kirsty, going, ‘I don’t know what’s happening, something’s happening.’ I couldn’t really process it.” Saltire’s choice is to be lauded, for it is a defiantly uncommercial work. Jagged themes and structures ensure that these stories are no easy read. Although, in a more measurable way, they are. The full 40 stories form under 200 pages. There’s not much of them really. Well, not on the page anyway.

But that wonderful abundance of space leaves many questions left to be asked. “Yeah, that’s

30

Feature

something I’m really interested in,” McClory says.

“Finding the spaces for people. I think it’s important to give the reader a lot of space. The stories that stick with you are the ones that aren’t quite neatly tied.”

Much of her writing takes the form of flash fiction, a literary style of extreme brevity which can, certainly in McClory’s case, communicate through the visual, like a word sculpture. “I think I have a visual sense more than I have other senses, maybe that’s what I’m going for,” she ponders.

“And I like flash fiction because you can have this small piece, even just a paragraph on the page, and all this white space around it forces you to kinda just look at it as a shape, you know?”

And we’ve got to this stage without really mentioning what these stories contain. Well, there’s Pretty Dead Girl Takes a Break, whose title provides far more of a spoiler than I ever would – if your mind is literal and dark enough.

Then in Biblical we have a girl dismantling her own body far out in the desert. Far out indeed.

A number of stories have this glowing narcotic edge to them, and The Skinny is too polite to ask if McClory indulged in anything herself, but we suspect these tales were born more from dark day dreaming than any sort of drug dabbling.

While On the Edges of Vision is very much its own unique artefact, certain influences are

still lightly worn: a twisted humour very much in line with Roald Dahl’s tales of the unexpected – a crepuscular ray bursting through the brooding black clouds of horror; the sexualised subtext of Angela Carter’s dark fairy tales; the general otherworldliness of The Twilight Zone. But McClory talks of further inspiration, from outside the sphere of narrative storytelling. “I just wandered into an art gallery while I was in London and it was this really bizarre art, it was pictures of bodies made of tights, stuffed tights. So it looked

BOOKS

kind of like human bodies but it was all these long weird limbs, bent out of place and odd, and that kind of haunted me for a while.”

Similarly, McClory’s stories will haunt anyone sharp enough to pick up a copy of this strange and rare book; a now award-winning collection that all began when a writer “just sat down one day and was like, ‘OK, write a story a day and just see where you go.’”

On the Edges of Vision is out now, published by Queen’s Ferry Press

THE SKINNY

Photo: Andrew Paynter

Slow and Steady Chicago’s long-standing instrumental heroes Tortoise return with The Catastrophist, their first record in seven years – John McEntire tells us about getting lost in a world of their own making

I

t’s entirely in keeping with our chat with John McEntire that he should barely even notice his own bons mots. Even after more than 20 years of carving out a thoroughly idiosyncratic niche with Chicago experimentalists Tortoise, it seems clear from our Skype call that his knack for conversation remains outweighed by his capability to sculpt remarkable sonic masterpieces alongside his four bandmates (Doug McCombs, Jeff Parker, John Herndon and Dan Bitney). In plainer English: this particularly talented musician and producer speaks music as his primary language.

He doesn’t often elaborate, which – despite his pleasant, polite demeanour – doesn’t exactly make for a free-flowing exchange.

Still, when he’s right, he’s right. We’re discussing their approach to songwriting and genre-dabbling – a key component for a band who managed to fuse elements of dub, krautrock and jazz into an ostensible rock band format, sprinkled with electronics in the manner of a logistical puzzle – when McEntire casually remarks, “Maybe there’s an occasional reference to something in the real world.”

“At a certain point, we decided that everything was fair game” John McEntire

That sound you just heard was a nail being smacked soundly on the head, because this is the perfect summary of the Tortoise experience. All bands create their own worlds – at least, those worth listening to – but the best ones completely immerse you in a reality of their own making. The Catastrophist, the forthcoming seventh record by the group in question, is the latest evolution of their world, and it’s as perfectly absorbing an album as they’ve ever made.

Naturally, the down-to-earth McEntire laughs when we ask whether notions of ‘the real world’ are how he considers the difference between his band and everyone else.

“I guess so!” he chuckles. “When you’re in the middle of working on something it can tend to feel pretty isolating. There’s all this stuff out

January 2016

there that’s tangible and concrete, and you’re in this place that is kind of unknown, trying to figure out where to go.”

Their destination in this instance was originally determined by the City of Chicago, who in 2010 commissioned the band to compose a suite of new music with nods to jazz and improv – two styles firmly entwined with the locale’s rich history. “The city does a lot of things like that,” McEntire says. “They have some really great programmers. It was an attempt to bring together some disparate elements of the musical communities here, and it was a really excellent experience.

“We had done things kind of like that before, but were never asked to write specifically for something, so it was an interesting challenge. I think it still retained the identity of the band.”

Later on, when the quintet reconvened with the intention of writing and recording a new album, the resultant compositions proved an excellent jumping-off point.

“That was never the intention,” he explains, “but when we decided that we wanted to start recording, we knew we had that material that we could work from, so that was what we started with.”

There’s a certain irony in Chicago providing a spot for inspiration for the band’s new material; after all, they originated in the city’s forwardminded indie scene in the early 90s, emerging alongside the disparate likes of Gastr del Sol and The Sea and Cake (both of whom have featured the ever-busy McEntire in their lineups), with bands often sharing influence despite rarely sounding much alike. Location, however, doesn’t appear to be a factor here: “It used to be pretty important,” he remarks, when quizzed about the city’s importance to Tortoise. “Much less so now, I think. In the early days there was a lot happening here, it was really inspiring. That’s probably still true, but all of our circumstances have changed; people have families now so it’s a little bit different for us.”

Meanwhile, The Catastrophist displays the sound of five musicians lost entirely to their work; an expansive and perhaps more melodic assemblage than their previous albums, from the opening title track’s triumphant synth flourishes (think Masato Nakamura’s Sonic the Hedgehog soundtracks welded to a murky, minimalist groove and you’re halfway there) to the clipped, cold funk of Hot Coffee. You’d be hard-pressed to play any of this record to a newcomer alongside seminal previous efforts such as Millions

Now Living Will Never Die or TNT and have them immediately believe it all to be rooted at the same source. There’s been a slow evolution in their oeuvre since those early days, and it’s tempting to assume that there’s a determination within their collective mindset to react against whatever they’ve done previously. McEntire pauses thoughtfully at this suggestion.

“Uh, I wouldn’t say ‘react,’ but it’s always there, you know, it’s something that we think about. We’re pretty conscious of not wanting to repeat ideas or themes or sounds, so it’s always a bit of a challenge in that sense. We’re always faced with the concept of creating something pretty new and fresh for us.”

How so?

“It wasn’t anything specific. I mean, I don’t think we set any parameters for this one in particular, which may or may not have been a good thing. It seems like if you have a few restrictions that actually helps you get the work done faster.”

Sticking to our belief that we’re better than cheap gags about working at tortoise pace, we observe that this new absence of parameters is most evident in two particular tracks: Yonder Blue and a cover of David Essex’s Rock On mark the previously unthinkable debut of vocals on a Tortoise album. That’s not to say they’ve not worked with singers before – in 2006 they released The Brave and the Bold, a collaborative covers LP with Will Oldham’s Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy persona – but even so, this is the first time that such a thing has occurred on one of their own records.

Rock On is an especially unusual choice: a standout on Essex’s schizoid debut album from 1973, long before the schmaltz of A Winter’s Tale came to define his later career. Skeletal, tense and brittle, its reverb-laden malevolence makes ‘rocking on’ sound grim rather than hedonistic – an undertone made even more apparent thanks to the skulking presence of US Maple’s Todd Rittmann on this surprisingly faithful cover.

“We just always loved the original version,” McEntire explains, “and in some ways it maybe reminded us of when we were super-minimalist, just bass and drums, in the very early days. I’ve always really loved the production of the original.”

He denies David Essex fandom (“Don’t know anything else actually!”) and offers little in terms of reasoning for choosing Rittmann (“We went through a long list of people… it was probably Doug came up with the idea; it seemed like a perfect fit”) but regardless, the noise rock veteran’s

MUSIC

Interview: Will Fitzpatrick scintillating delivery almost certainly provides its own justification.

Similarly, the album’s other guest spot comes courtesy of Yo La Tengo’s Georgia Hubley, whose typically breathy sighs add an irresistible warmth to the song’s woozy tranquillity.

It’s testament to the performances from both band and vocalist that it sounds like it could have been composed by either camp (“I think we were fortunate to strike that balance,” McEntire concludes).

With these new considerations in mind, we ask McEntire how he would choose to describe the record. He takes a deep breath. “It’s mostly instrumental. Kind of standard rock band format, with keyboards and some other instruments. I dunno, I’m not good at that kind of stuff.”

Defining Tortoise is a challenge that has beaten many over the years, of course – ‘postrock’ is a tag that comes up often, but the band remain resistant to it, and in any case, it seems a redundant concept in 2016. No longer a loose term summarising bands using the ‘standard rock band format’ to create futurist sounds that were very definitely not rock, it now seems a catch-all phrase for a certain type of formulaic, instrumental indie, which would do a disservice to the length and breadth of our heroes’ eclectic frame of influence.

“At a certain point, we decided that everything was fair game,” he summarises. “There was no reason to consider anything to be stigmatised. It’s kind of liberating, you know, ’cause it gives you the ability to take risks with things that to other artists would seem off-limits.”

Did it feel more or less natural, with that in mind, to approach songs with a more ‘traditional’ structure, a la the Hubley/Rittmann contributions?

“I don’t know if natural’s the right word, but you’re dealing with a language that’s established.

There’s parameters that you can move around in pretty freely, and know that something’s gonna work.”

To continue that analogy, do Tortoise generally try to push the boundaries of that language?

“Maybe… we start from a total blank canvas, and it can be easy to get lost a little bit. But we always find our way eventually.”

The Catastrophist is released on 22 Jan via Thrill Jockey.

Tortoise play Field Day, London on 2 Jun facebook.com/TRTSband

Feature

31

LE Y ST FE LI

2016 Travel Resolutions A year has changed into another year. Since at this point of human evolution we have lost the ability to think for ourselves or make our own decisions, here is a list of travel-based resolutions we can pretend we’re going to achieve this year Try something you’ve never done before

What is the point of doing things more than once?

Every time you start to do something ask yourself, “Have I done this before?” If the answer is yes, stop immediately.

Abroad is a great place to try new things. For example, in Vietnam you can shoot a bazooka at a cow. If you have some sort of moral objection to needlessly exploding living things you could try a fire glove massage in China. What’s more relaxing than being slapped by a man with hot gloves on?

I’ll tell you – shooting a cow with a bazooka.

Experience the real country

Get really involved in what the locals are doing.

Maybe join a rebel group, it’s pretty easy. Just pledge your undying allegiance to whatever cause they keep going on about, pop on a long scarf (try not to worry about the heat) and you’re in.

They love posing for pictures so your Facebook cover photo will look great when you get back. It is worth checking what type of rebels they are though. Are they good ones or bad ones? This can be a bit of a grey area but if there are a lot of beheadings and random explosions you should perhaps consider whether you picked the right team.

Take a year off to see the world

After the first six months spread over four hostels in the Gold Coast, try branching out with places such as Melbourne or, for the really adventurous, Perth.

The crippling loneliness can be tough and has been known to cause breakdowns. It may drive you to the point where you end up loudly explaining to a toilet attendant how you’ve discovered a high-level conspiracy within the ranks of The Singing Kettle. “This is one kettle that’s reached

32

Lifestyle

boiling point!” you’ll say as you take off your shoes and socks and try to kick at the approaching security. “It’s all in the numbers!”, you desperately appeal as you are consumed by the rough hands of the bouncers and bundled into the back of a van bearing a black kettle-shaped insignia. “This is a cover up!”

“Check the numbers!” you scream in vain to no one in particular.

This is often a good sign it’s time to come home.

Be a tourist at home

Short of money? Have a day as a tourist in your own town. You can spend all day on an open-top bus while you pretend not to see your mum coming out of Farmfoods. It’s just like the month in India you really wanted.

Write a blog

Make people well aware of all your new knowledge.

Don’t let your opinions disappear. Future generations will value the fact that you think Bangkok is a ‘melting pot’ and ‘vibrant’ in the same way that people today value the Rosetta Stone.

What if Shakespeare had just thought all his plays and not written them down? We wouldn’t know all those oldfashionedy words, would we?

Come on, do it for your grandchildren. Possible topics: ‘Isn’t it funny how people use different words to us?’ or ‘They’re so poor but they’re still smiling.’

Volunteer

Fail to build a toilet in Malawi because you possess none of the necessary skills. In doing so, rob local workers of an income and deprive a poor village of basic sanitation.

Try new cuisine

You’re on holiday so carpe diem! Which literally

translates as fish anus, a delicacy in Botswana.

The world is packed full of unusual and exciting culinary opportunities. Wolf perineum goulash?

Rhinoceros bacon? Panda testicle shawarma?

Don’t mind if I do!

Become a more rounded human being The new cuisine should help with that.

Travel solo

Spend most of each morning on your iPad and the rest of the time plucking up the courage to say ‘So, eh... where you from?’ to the girls two beds over. See the great sights of the world while trying not to cry and eat alone in restaurants pretending that you’re waiting for someone.

Embark on a great journey

Spend a week on the Trans-Siberian Railway looking out of a window at desolate villages and polar bear corpses while you complete the whole Game of Thrones series on your Kindle.

Find yourself

Be careful with this one. I once went on a sixweek trip to India to find myself and discovered I was an incredibly racist Japanese schoolgirl. Some boxes are best left unopened.

Learn a new skill

Like how to sleep with your eyes open because the guy in the next bed has been giving you funny looks; or how to say “How long before I can eat solid foods again?” in Hindi.

Relax

Spend some time at the beach. Unwind, catch a little sun, start reading Game of Thrones again because it’s the only thing you have on your Kindle.

Eventually succumb to the devastating boredom

TRAVEL

Words: Damien Cifelli Illustration: Elena Boils

and wander into the ocean and disappear, only to be discovered in 14 years’ time running a bar in Marbella under the pseudonym Señor Loco.

Do something that scares you

At 321 metres the Royal Gorge Bridge in Colorado is the highest bungee jump in the world. As you approach the edge consider the course your life has taken and how all your peers are more successful and happier than you. Think about how your prime years have faded away and you will most likely be alone forever. You will be confronted with the kind of overwhelming dread that usually only happens when you look at yourself in a mirror for too long. When you realise it is all too much and decide to throw yourself from the bridge you will be conveniently bounced back up, safe to dwell on those same thoughts another day.

Important note

Many elements here are subject to change due to the ever-altering nature of our planet. Sure, the changing climate may mean there are more turds floating around your ankles than before but it will also bring new opportunities for travel, so long as you haven’t been roasted to death or drowned.

If most of your family has been eaten by great white sharks after the rising sea levels caused them to become the planet’s dominant species, comfort yourself with thoughts of your next holiday.

For example: scuba diving down to the Pyramids, a safari through the sweltering savannahs of Norway or a visit to the beautiful island of Switzerland.

As more and more countries are submerged just consider all the new cruise routes that will be available. You might even be lucky enough to board an eternal cruise as everyone evacuates onto the sea in a desperate search for the remaining scraps of land. theskinny.co.uk/travel

THE SKINNY

The Impossible Dream From açaí to chia, gojis to yogis, Deviance takes a look into the perceived glamour of eating clean on Instagram

N

ew Year, as per, will for many mark the start of a ‘new you.’ A new lifestyle, a new outlook.

And for lots of us, a new body, too. After all, those inner-beauty mantras which excused our festive indulgences are easily eroded when we log back into our digital worlds, saturated by #bodygoals, #fitspiration and #healthychoices.

Fashion magazines no longer set the bodily dogmas. Today, we live by the gospel according to the Kardashians and Jenners. With every new Instagram comes a new trend, thigh gaps one week to thigh brows the next. For the record, I’m of the opinion that access to Instagram is a cause for celebration. It allows us to assert our own body image and control its representation. But it’s a double-edged sword, and a certain danger is present when we take glamorous fitspo feeds at face value, following them in the same sheep-like manner we adopt fashion trends.

Take the #eatclean trend. “What could possibly be wrong with encouraging a healthy lifestyle?”

I hear you cry between mouthfuls of raw cauliflower and cacao. Nothing – on the surface. But looking deeper, there’s potential for innocent #brunch shots to become obsessional – an insidious fixation on curating a healthy online identity.

On top of this, the thousands of Instagram fitness accounts – which multiply daily – propagate a priority to look, not simply be, fit. Commenters obsess over the visuals, seeking cues, symbols and hashtags to regurgitate onto their own amateur feeds. Fitspiration may have replaced ‘thinspiration,’ but is this just semantics? We’re told we need to look healthy more than feel it – if your waist’s wider than your iPhone, you aren’t trying hard enough. Because really, if your BMI falls in the real world and no one is around to hashtag it, did it really fall at all?

And the side effects don’t stop at thumbregional repetitive strain injury and a compulsion to hashtag. Orthorexia, an eating disorder which leaves sufferers obsessional about eating only healthy foods, is truly on the rise. Lifestyle blogger

Words: Liv McMahon Illustration: Peony Gent

Jordan Younger, formerly known as The Blonde Vegan, hit headlines last year when she opened up about her own experience with the disorder.

“If your waist’s wider than your iPhone, you aren’t trying hard enough” Like many, Jordan considered a plant-based diet the solution to all her food-related woes, with each like and additional follower encouraging her.

Juice cleanses prompted a downward spiral of self-consciousness and food phobia and malnutrition. “I cleansed, got too hungry, broke down and ate solid food, felt terribly guilty, and rededicated myself to another cleanse”.

Spending more time on our phones than we do sleeping, we’re consumed by a need to document what we eat, drink, wear and do. Let’s be honest, life looks better in a Valencia filter, offering a faux-natural, glamorised version of ourselves and everyday activities. Instagram brings us closer to lifestyles that seem attainable, but are they really? Victoria’s Secret models may have amazing bodies exemplifying #goals, but the fitness accounts reposting their pictures neglect to mention their $109-a-day diet.

It’s no longer enough just to be healthy; we must be hashtag healthy. When our social media profiles define ourselves more than anything else, it’s important to focus on what makes us happy rather than an anonymous online community. We’re more than our virtual profiles, so why should we let them dictate our realities?

Must Try Harder

Behold! Deviance’s suggested New Year’s resolutions, crowdsourced to help you be a little less shit in 2016...

R

ight, enough now. Christmas is over. Kaput.

Dust off those Ritz biscuit crumbs and brace yourself – it’s time to face 2016. Sure, you might have very little control over the particulars of life on this planet, like, for instance, your own mortality or Donald Trump’s horrible terracotta head.

But you can control you (to an extent). And Deviance is here to help, too – have a browse of our suggested New Year’s resolutions and pick a couple of ways to redeem yourself in the coming year.

Cup o’ kindness for Auld Lang Syne and all that.

2016: The year of acknowledging that cultural appropriation is kind of a dick move...

Yes, fashion may well be stooping to an all-time low as it gasps for newness like a salmon in custard. And yes, trend cycles might be breakneck now, but that’s hardly an excuse when googling “is my dashiki dress offensive?” takes about six seconds. And yes, it is.

Kate Pasola, Deviance editor

January 2016

...the year devil’s advocates go to hell Playing devil’s advocate isn’t actually a bold and political move. If the situation personally involves who you’re talking to, there’s a good chance that your edgy attempt to argue is actually, to them, a huge slap in the face.

Toby Sharpe, Deviance contributor ...the year of squaring up to bad behaviour Call people out more, for their growth and for your own. But also, don’t worry about being a warrior all the time. Sometimes you need to sit down, have a cup of tea, cry and try to forget about how crap everyone is. And that’s alright too.

Rianna Walcott, Deviance contributor ...the year we all stfu about being an ‘ally’ Question the militaristic and hyper-macho language of being an ally. Question your arsenal: your straightness or maleness. How do you profit from your status or identity as ‘normal’? Experiment and deconstruct.

Adam Benmakhlouf, Art editor

...the year we realise that life’s too short for ‘discreet packaging’ Be deviant. Buy a dildo if you want a dildo. Have more fun because you love yourself, not less fun because you want to, someday, love yourself.

Felicity Benefutuis, Deviance contributor ...the year we trust the words of minorities I’m sick of perusing my bookshelf and having white men stare at me. 2016 will be the year I diversify my reading list and get some female, ethnic minority and LGBTQ+ authors to stare back.

Poppy Weatherspoon, University of Manchester Feminist Collective ...the year we decide to take a united stand.

And stay that way In 2016 I’d like to see a unifying of the feminist movement; with lesbian separatists, sex workers and trans activists working together – if possible – on issues such as abortion rights or maintaining refuges for victims of domestic abuse and

DEVIANCE

Words: Deviance Team violence. The Women’s Equality Party might be able to achieve this. It will be interesting to see.

Ana Hine, former Deviance editor ...and finally, let’s make 2016 the year we all finally get our head around the vagina (literally) Straight males everywhere – when you find the clit, don’t treat it like a dick.

Liv McMahon, Deviance contributor “2016 cannot – nay, must not – unfold as another year of people prodding other people’s clitorides as if trying to remove a grease mark from a laptop screen. It stops here.”

Kate Pasola, Deviance editor “2015 was the year of glitter hair. 2016 is the year of the glitoris. Got low-hanging lips? Drip those drapes in diamanté, girl. Get some sequins on her.

Light up your vagina like Christmas, make her shine like a disco cave. Accessorise more with your V-face.”

Twinkle, Deviance contributor

Lifestyle

33

Soak It Up

Amy Stevenson A

my Stevenson is an artist based in Manchester whose practice often attaches itself to ideas of commodity fetishism. Sculptures multiply, often becoming immersive installations where poetic and critical relationships between objects are examined and territories are crossed.

“There’s some really messed up stuff going on in the world, and some really beautiful stuff too. I like to think my work is reflective of this tension somehow – it’s a lot to do with balance. We’re surrounded by a kind of seductive trickery, so it’s easy to lose grasp of what’s real and of true value. But, in the overused words of Bill Hicks, ‘It’s just a ride,’ and that very sentiment of going with the flow is pretty much what drives my creative process – that mentality is always present when things are working.

“How much is too much?

“Working across mediums, my process is very much about organising objects, ideas and colors in space, until a sense of (disjointed) balance is achieved.

“My works are underpinned by a fixation with the coexistence of the natural and man-made. I’m really interested in fickle consumerist attitudes along with the manipulation and simulation of the natural world; how mankind situates itself within the environment – shaping and shifting it.

“The work both engages with and disrupts hierarchical systems – repetitive symbols and ideas are presented, through which a reordered reality may be contemplated.

“What is Reality anyway?

“Hoodwinked by spectacle and capitalist agendas – perhaps things become mixed up?”

Amy Stevenson is currently exhibiting as part of Institution | Outstitution at the International 3, Salford, until 29 Jan

Keep Off the Grass

amystevenson.net | @AmyStevenson_ | Instagram: damnaddict

34

SHOWCASE

THE SKINNY

It'll All Come Out in the Wash

Vegazzle

Licker Wix

January 2016

SHOWCASE

35

The Bagelry rrrrr This speciality spot in Liverpool is a carb lover's dream, with a plethora of options to cover breakfast, lunch and dinner

If you liked The Bagelry, try: Cow & Co, Liverpool East Avenue Bakehouse, Liverpool Fallow, Manchester

Ox Club

The Bagelry, 42 Nelson Street, Liverpool, L1 5DN thebagelryliverpool.co.uk

Photos: Tom Joy

In the heart of Chinatown, nestled among the restaurants on Nelson Street, you’ll find Liverpool’s brand-new bagel shop and cafe, The Bagelry.

While the eatery may be new, the duo behind it are old hands at the bagel game and have been producing their wares for local cafes and restaurants since 2013. What began as homemade bagels delivered by bicycle evolved into a Kickstarter campaign, and thus The Bagelry was born.

When we visit on a rainy Saturday afternoon there are six different options on offer, covering both sweet and savoury. Alongside these there’s an impressive range of cream cheeses, peanut butter and jams, as well as a small specials board with salads, soups and French toast. Cakes, too?!

All in all, it’s a carb lover’s dream.

We eventually decide on one of the jalapeño bagels with eggs, a poppy-seed version with onion and chive cream cheese, and two kranzkuchen for that sugar hit. A gentle prod with the fork is enough to send the yolk running across

my companion’s jalapeño bagel, and makes the perfect match for the crushed rock salt sprinkled on top. My poppy-seed bagel is toasted to perfection and comes with a generous serving of cream cheese. All pretty simple stuff, but when it’s done as well as this, it’s hard to beat.

Sheer gluttony makes us order one of the giant pretzels. If you think kale has had its day, then try it smothered in cheese atop a chewy, salty pretzel and get back to me. The kranzkuchen is a perfect ending to the meal: something sweet with hint of spice after all that salted loveliness.

When you specialise in just one thing, you have to be very, very good at it. Fortunately, the folks at The Bagelry are; they use locally sourced ingredients, like peanuts from Funky Nuts, and aren’t afraid to experiment with flavours (the Black Forest bagels are a big seller). In short, it’s a great spot for a lazy weekend breakfast and if you’re in a rush (to get back to bed) you can get one of those carb halos to takeaway, too. [Claire Reid]

Ox Club rrrrr The smart, modern eatery that's leading the pack, Ox Club is the newest addition to the lineup at Leeds' Headrow House

The Bagelry

36

Lifestyle

The local food scene is a serious beast. You know it, The Skinny knows it, the Guardian’s Marina O’Loughlin knew it when she named several of our restaurants in her UK Top 50.

Another major giveaway is the recent influx of London exports: Hawksmoor, Byron, Wahaca and Comptoir Libanais... What we still lack, however, is the so-called ‘destination’ venue – a smart, mixed-use space where you can meet, eat, drink, dance and then fall asleep afterwards. In London, these places usually come with a membership fee and a dickhead surplus, but at a time when trudging across town from bar to bar seems intensely undesirable, they’re actually pretty great. Ace Hotel and Soho House have got the model down, so when’s it our turn?

Now, apparently. Headrow House in Leeds is the latest concept from the team behind Belgrave Music Hall, and offers the style and convenience of the above, minus the monthly subscription. After a generous renovation, this big ol’ textile mill has been transformed; four floors play host to a beer hall, event space and a slick, neon-lit cocktail bar straight out of Miami Vice.

So far, so sexy, but like we always say, we’re here for the food. Located on the ground floor is the Ox Club, led by former Dough Boys and Fu-Schnikens mastermind Ben Davy, who dreamt up the concept after road-tripping across the

FOOD AND DRINK

US, where he discovered the Grillworks solid fuel grill and the joys of cooking over wood and charcoal.

It’s easy to hear the word ‘grill’ and assume this place is just another American steakhouse wannabe. In reality, what it offers is a thoughtful, considered menu of small plates and woodgrilled mains. Unsurprisingly, the ox cheek is a particular high note, served with a sweet bacon jam and flageolet beans. The cod, too, has a subtle smoky flavour and comes with perfectly complementary Jerusalem artichokes. And the sides, oh, the sides. Brussels sprouts with bacon and cured egg yolk? Yes! Veg of the moment, roast cauliflower, with Romesco sauce and almonds? Hit me! Desserts are equally appealing.

A modest slice of lemon tart has a neat, short crust and a palate-cleansing zing. Their take on pumpkin pie feels suitably festive and nods to the menu’s American influence in just the right way.

The intimate setting, white-tiled walls and washed-wood tables lend the Ox Club a cosy, Scandinavian feel. The service is excellent, with our clued-up server always on hand to answer questions and recommend favourites. The place feels like a treat, but is still relaxed and easygoing, with tables of friends sharing beers and snacks alongside young couples on date night.

Well worth a trip. [Lauren Phillips] If you liked Ox Club, try: The Reliance, Leeds Trove, Manchester Hanover Street Social, Liverpool Ox Club, The Headrow, Leeds, LS1 5RG oxclub.co.uk

THE SKINNY

ADVERTISING FEATURE

Northern Greats: Evuna Bored of mulled wine? Looking to liven up the wet winter? Evuna wine bar on Deansgate has got plenty in store for for the New Year, Valentine’s Day and beyond.

Owner Jane Dowler explains why we should drop by

W

ine house Evuna opened on Manchester’s Deansgate in 2003, with a specialism in importing Spanish wines from boutique wineries. Ten years later, in 2013 the bar found a second home in the Northern Quarter, taking its USP – carefully selected wines paired with dishes prepared by Madrid-trained chefs – to a new clientele.

With wine bars becoming more popular in Manchester – the city having seen new openings in the centre, Chorlton and Didsbury over the last year or so – in 2015 Evuna introduced a new concept, showcasing a different region each month (and introducing new tapas to suit). As the New Year approached, owner Jane Dowler spoke to The Skinny about Evuna’s plans for 2016.

The Skinny: Quite a few new wine bars have popped up in Manchester recently. What makes Evuna different?

Jane Dowler: Our wines! All our wines are from small family-run vineyards who own their own grapes to ensure quality is kept at the highest standards. We don’t buy from UK importers so our wine list is exclusive to us, not available elsewhere in the UK. Every year I go to the largest trade wine show, ProWein, and visit small wineries in Spain that would not normally export to select the best wines for our customers. By cutting out the UK importers we also offer fantastic value for money as well as award-winning wines. For example, our finest Rioja reserva is priced at £28 in the restaurant and would retail at £35 to £45 in other city centre restaurants.

The region you’re focusing on in January is Navarra. Tell us more about the wines of Navarra – what makes them special?

Navarra is Rioja’s not as well known neighbour, producing similar quality but generally better value wines. Unlike Rioja the Navarra DO (governing wine body) allows winemakers to blend grapes such as cabernet sauvignon, merlot and chardonnay into their wines, producing greater variety. We found a multi-award-winning bodega called Otazu at last year’s ProWein show in Germany. We will be showcasing these wines, some of which are Pago classified, which is the highest in Spain.

January 2016

Are there any particular bottles or vintages we should look out for?

Navarra is perhaps best known for its fresh and fruity rosado wines, which are regarded as the best quality rosé wines from Spain. Otazu produced two; a deep, full-bodied merlot great for red wine drinkers wanting a hearty rosé, and a light blush tempranillo version that stands up well against any of Provence’s well-known blush rose wines.

What food do you recommend pairing with Navarra wines?

I would pair the Otazu reds with Jamón ibérico or steak/lamb dishes; Otazu chardonnay with goat’s cheese, and the deep rosés that this region produces with some of its vegetables such as white asparagus, artichoke and sweet, smoky piquillo pepper.

No doubt plenty of readers will be recovering from mulled wine overload this month. What’s a good, warming alternative that isn’t hot/ spiced/served in a mug?!

My personal favourite of all our wines is Viña Solorca Crianza 2010 from Ribera del Duero.

Crianza means it’s been aged in oak – in this particular wine for 12 months. It’s a tempranillo grape (Spain’s indigenous variety), and the oak brings out vanilla and toasty flavours in this black-fruit driven grape. The Crianza style is very well balanced between oak and fruit.

Looking ahead to February – does Evuna have any plans for Valentine’s Day? We do! Evuna is perfect for a romantic meal for two, with its cosy bistro interior. Tapas are ideal for sharing and we focus our specials around foods of love such as asparagus and oysters, and for dessert diners share churros con chocolate (a Spanish sweet pastry that comes with dipping hot chocolate).

Want to get into wine? Try an Evuna wine tasting! Ask at the bar, or find out more at evuna.com

JOIN US Do you like people and chatting?

Can you think on your feet?

Are you interested in arts and culture?

Do you have sales experience?

If you answered yes to the above, you can do this job – you should consider becoming part of our advertising sales team!

We’re recruiting in the Northwest (Manchester).

Email your CV to nicola@theskinny.co.uk to find out more.

theskinny.co.uk @TheSkinnyNW

/TheSkinnyMag

thegreatnorthern.com | @gnwarehouse

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: Michael Arnold

37

Bright Lights Interview: Fern Logue

Photos: Tom Joy

Yorkshire jewellery brand Toolally enjoyed a dizzying 2015, with an appearance in Vogue, stockists signing up from all over the world and rapid sales at fashion events. Creative director Mags Walker tells us what’s in store for the New Year

I

t has been an exciting year for Mags Walker and Toolally, the Yorkshire jewellery brand breaking onto the scene with a feature in the August issue of Vogue, their earrings modelled by Lara Stone.

Toolally have reimagined the aesthetic of jewellery by combining unconventional materials such as Perspex, stainless steel and solid brass to produce collections bursting with unique shapes and bright colours. Describing their work as ‘jewellery sculpture,’ Toolally aim to combine art and fashion to create bold yet wearable pieces. According to creative director Mags Walker, the Toolally style is a fusion of her obsession with fashion and head-of-studio Kelly’s passion for art.

Despite qualifying as an accountant –“My dad wouldn’t let me do art!” she exclaims – Walker began working with fashion brands such as Topshop in a role at an advertising agency.

This fuelled her passion for design, and she went on to work in the creative industry as a creative director for more than a decade.

“I wanted to create a collection that screamed confidence” Mags Walker

Based in Yorkshire, with the studio located on a country estate and their shop in Barnoldswick, the Toolally brand is influenced by its location in the North. According to Walker, the influence of studying and working in the North is evident “in the sense that we don’t take ourselves too seriously.” This injection of

38

Lifestyle

fun and playfulness runs throughout all of the collections.

How did Toolally come about, then? It seems that Walker’s ears needed a break from the old-school earrings (think Pat Butcher) that she loved, but that “hurt like hell.” Forget the old saying “pain is beauty” – Walker and her team work by the mantra that “beauty should categorically not be painful.” This explains their use of lightweight materials such as Perspex and recycled acrylics.

Toolally use laser and hand tools in a variety of frosts and mattes to create a number of interlocking pieces. It’s a fairly technical process, as Walker explains: “We sketch an idea, convert it online to a DXF file and cut or mark using our laser-cutting machine. Then, dependent on materials, we laser- or hand-cut the shapes.”

Walker sought a move away from the cheap metals that had dominated with the normcore and grunge trends and the standard styles of costume jewellery, and “felt it was time to get back to a bit more glam.” It was an appropriate time to bring bling back, coinciding with the likes of Prada and Marni.

Walker “loves dressing up – creating looks from different eras.” She sees jewellery as the ultimate accessory for doing this, and much of the inspiration for Toolally’s collections comes from re-interpreting and re-inventing iconic shapes as well as developing futuristic ideas. Colour also plays an important role, and the pieces certainly do not shy away from it. The team create unique colour combinations with the Perspex so that no two are the same. Toolally jewellery is designed to make a bold statement yet still be wearable – allowing the wearer to feel confident and glamorous.

Only two months after launching, Toolally lived the dream and were featured in Vogue, with their creations appearing in an editorial spread shot by Mario Testino. Walker remembers

thinking she had “died and gone to heaven” when she saw the photographer’s credit. The support from Vogue clearly came as a sort of affirmation – “Vogue’s support gave us the confidence to believe in what we were doing. I wanted to make jewellery but didn’t want to be the same as anyone else,” Walker says. She is keen to pass this boost of support on to customers – “I wanted to create a collection that screamed confidence… [that screamed] I love this colour, I love this style and I’m not afraid to say so.”

Clearly the uniqueness of Toolally’s design aesthetic has made the brand stand out, with stockists now signed up in Scotland, Japan, Spain, Italy and South Africa. This comes on top of selling a pair of earrings every three minutes for three days in a row at the recent Stylist live event in London. It’s clearly been a surreal six months for the brand.

FASHION

Dreams already seem to be becoming reality, and Walker hopes things stay that way.

So, after all this success, what’s next for Mags Walker and Toolally? Onwards and upwards it seems, with plans to produce a full professional look-book, to expand with new stockists – Walker dreams of Selfridges – and to continue on their mission to make beauty that bit less painful.

If 2015 is anything to go by it seems that next year will be even more bright and beautiful for Toolally.

You can check out Toolally’s beautiful designs at shows in the New Year including Top Drawer (17-19 Jan) and Pure London (14-16 Feb), both at Olympia, London In the meantime, find them at toolally.com and their store in Barnoldswick, Lancashire @toolallyjewels toolally.com

THE SKINNY

RE V IE

rrrrr

Going it alone isn’t always easy. But with a combination of breezy informality and a little bit of genuine star quality, Warpaint founder member Jenny Lee Lindberg – aka jennylee – seems pretty comfortable stepping out with a new band three days before the release of her debut solo LP, Right On! With a few false starts, laughing fits and blank looks between band members, it’s evident that this new collaboration is still finding its feet.

With any solo endeavour comes a more singular artistic vision, and tonight sees Lindberg striking out from Warpaint’s signature spacious mid-tempo jams and exploring some new stylistic directions without being wildly experimental, always leaving enough space in the arrangements to allow her soporific, breathy vocals to

shine through. Tonight’s set exhibits nods to disco, as on Offerings, and sultry RnB with He Fresh. Never takes a woozy approach to postpunk with an earworm bassline reminiscent of Joy Division’s Disorder, and a couple of slower, harder-edged tracks – White Devil and closer Riot – are both similar in feeling to The Pop Group’s more dub-tinged moments, and build to climaxes with a throat-shredding howl.

Lindberg’s visible delight in playing new material to a small crowd of super-fans throws into shadow the mood of claustrophobia and isolation portrayed in many of these songs, including a rendition of Warpaint’s CC, and Boom Boom, rising with the refrain “Society is anxiety.”

Repeated mantras such as these seem to be a staple of jennylee’s songwriting, where wordier sections would be most welcome; but they can be excused in what is a beguiling work in progress. [Edward Bottomley]

A Winged Victory for the Sullen

A Winged Victory for the Sullen St Philip’s Church, 14 Dec

rrrrr

In attendance at a Cinematic Orchestra show a few weeks back, something was amiss at the Albert Hall. It felt oversold – people were spilling out into the stairwells – and largely populated by a boozy, badly behaved Friday-night crowd who were evidently only there to hear To Build a Home and who talked loudly and obnoxiously over everything else. Put it this way: it’s a sad state of affairs when a band has to shush their own audience.

A Winged Victory for the Sullen, like The Cinematic Orchestra, are the kind of band that need to be able to suspend the crowd’s awareness of their surroundings and summon up genuine, palpable atmosphere if they’re to be properly appreciated. If they’d had to wrangle with this mob at the Albert Hall, the show would have been a write-off. Mercifully, the sell-out throng at one of Salford’s hidden gems, the gorgeous St Philip’s Church, is infinitely more civilised, and as much credit should go to the band themselves for delivering the kind of tour de force

January 2016

that demands rapt and undivided attention.

Speaking of hidden gems, 2014‘s Atomos LP was one of the year’s most scandalously underrated; it is an enthralling, beautifully constructed succession of suites, aired tonight in its entirety. There are no breaks. Even polite applause, you feel, would irreparably puncture the reverential air that takes hold disarmingly quickly.

Stars of the Lid’s Adam Wiltzie is on multi-instrumental duty; Dustin O’Halloran, his collaborator in Winged Victory, sits at the piano. A cellist and two violin players provide the mournful scatter of strings that is such a key part of the group.

The lighting is subtle, but striking – the group are backlit, and dry ice is dispensed liberally. Winged Victory are a difficult group to pin any specific genre tag to, and similarly, it’s difficult to pick out specific highlights from a set that’s designed for you to get lost in. What’s telling, though, is this: as Wiltzie briefly thanks those gathered at the evening’s conclusion, there’s compelling evidence that it’s been a mutually moving experience for artist and spectator. [Joe Goggins]

Kiran Leonard

Gig Highlights From Daughter to Vieux Farka Touré and a first appearance in Liverpool for Hollie McNish, January’s gig calendar has plenty to keep those brandy-soaked blues at bay

T

here’s plenty this month to serve as salve for that month-long New Year’s hangover: hell, you could just spend the whole of January at the Royal Northern College of Music if you wanted, starting with its annual RNCM Strings Festival (9-10 Jan) and finishing with its New Music North West series (22-29 Jan), always fertile ground for new discoveries ranging from electronic to chamber music and involving highly regarded ensembles like Psappha and Distractfold.

If that won’t shift your epic headache, then your only option may be to match it with a big dose of spectral melancholy. The grand introspection of 4AD-signed three-piece Daughter promises to measure up to the looming architecture of Manchester’s Albert Hall on 21 Jan. Their moving melodies – led by Elena Tonra’s bowling, open vocal – have tilted direction slightly on new album Not to Disappear but still retain the drama and emotion of 2013’s breakthrough record If You Leave. While this show will surely be a spectacle in Manchester’s restored Wesleyan chapel, you can also catch them at Liverpool’s O2 Academy on the 22nd.

Also playing both Manchester and Liverpool is singer and guitarist Vieux Farka Touré; for an intimate club feel, head to Band on the Wall on 23 Jan, or for the acoustics of a recital hall, head to Liverpool Philharmonic’s new venue, the Music Room, on 29 Jan. The son of Malian legend Ali Farka Touré, and encouraged as a youngster to pursue music by kora legend Toumani Diabaté, he’s a musician of the highest order.

At the Everyman, audiovisual collective Deep Hedonia continue their monthly residency with improvisational musician Laura Cannell performing in the relaxed bistro space (21 Jan).

Influenced by the landscape and early and medieval music, Cannell’s startling instrumentals on the fiddle and recorder are as wind-blasted and raw as the environment that inspires them, as she resuscitates and reworks melodies from the 5th to 14th centuries. Truly transportive.

Elsewhere, a couple of our favourite locals play in a couple of our favourite locals: musical

MUSIC

Words: Elle Rockwell

polyglot Kiran Leonard, who stole The Skinny’s hearts with 2013’s dextrous album Bowler Hat Soup, is at the Eagle Inn on 13 Jan, while memoiristic singer-songwriter Laurie Hulme, aka Songs for Walter, is at Soup Kitchen on 22 Jan. Finally, you’d be mad to miss on-the-up rapper Angel Haze at Band on the Wall on 12 Jan: recent mixtape Back to the Woods is an exhilarating mashup of everything from dub to pop, recorded with vim and sincerity.

Do Not Miss: Neu! Reekie! presents: The First and Last, with Pete Wylie, Hollie McNish, Eugene Kelly, Eleanor Rees + more LEAF on Bold Street, Liverpool, 28 Jan

A

joyous mash-up of music, live poetry and performance with a healthy helping of the unexpected: that’s a Neu! Reekie! night. The Edinburgh-based collective have been putting on boisterous evenings of fine talent for five years now (past guests include Young Fathers, Irvine Welsh and Bill Ryder-Jones), and they make their first trip to Liverpool on 28 Jan with spoken word sensation Hollie McNish, Eugene Kelly of The Vaselines, local legend Pete Wylie (of The Mighty Wah!) and Liverpool poet Eleanor Rees in tow. All will be performing sets, jamboree-style, in the always festive environs of LEAF cafe – and if that weren’t enough, they’ll be joined by very special guests (to be announced) as well as the the resident Neu! Reekie! crew, including Polygonpublished poet Michael Pedersen and fellow poet and activist Kevin Williamson.

On top of all that, it’s a night of firsts: the date marks the first time McNish has performed in Liverpool, as well as the launch of a new record label, Triassic Tusk, which aims to compile and reissue rare records from the FOUND collective’s vinyl collection. Not bad for a fiver, eh?

Tickets from brownpapertickets.com.

Review

39

Photo: Sebastian Matthes

Band on the Wall, 8 Dec

Photo: Max Zoccheddu

Jenny Lee Lindberg

Photo: Luke Hannaford

W

Jenny Lee Lindberg

Album of the Month Savages

Adore Life [Matador, 22 Jan]

rrrrr

Few bands can rule that ‘love is the answer’ without a single wink of irony, and pull it off with magnificent, majestic aplomb. For this reason, amongst many, many more, Adore Life is an utter triumph.

Heavy hitting singles The Answer and T.I.W.Y.G set expectations for this record to be every inch as icily furious as Savages’ 2013 debut Silence Yourself, but the sophomore effort from Jehnny Beth and gang brews a different kind of anger.

Instead of frosty post-punk, the four-piece take a trip through the fiery pits of the heart – pitching a truly punk demand for honesty, respect and integrity. It’s incredible that positivity should sound so radical.

The Altered Hours

The Besnard Lakes

rrrrr

rrrrr

In Heat Not Sorry [Art For Blind Records, 29 Jan] Debut albums, however raw (and sometimes that’s very raw indeed) are as much about future promise as the here and now. Take Irish five-piece The Altered Hours, whose first long player feels at times like a work in progress, the production a little shallow, highlighting each rough edge. But there’s certainly ideas afoot; themes that stretch from Berlin (where the album was recorded) to post-punk/shoegaze expressionism, brought to life by chugging bass and girl/boy vocals.

Opening track Who’s Saving Who contains echoes of Slowdive at their zenith, the coy restraint of Birds suggesting early Cure.

Currents of desperation sweep down amidst scuzzy guitar and (on the wonderfully-paced Saviours) distant shards of piano; seventh track Virgin’s Sleeve even manages to evoke a psychedelic-folk intelligence that’s as rich as it is unexpected. In Heat Not Sorry isn’t going to win many prizes, and could have benefitted from a little more polish, but a few listens in and you can certainly see what they’re trying to do; their next release is very much anticipated. [Duncan Harman]

Alternating between accusation and empathy in Sad Person and asking, genuinely, ‘Is it human to ask for more? Is it human to adore life?’ in the title track, the four-piece delve brutally deep into the anxieties that characterise our silly, romantic, philosophical species. With fearless approach and razor sharp delivery, Adore Life is so bruisingly intimate that it feels like a surgical hand taking grasp of your gut. When Savages speak, you listen. [Katie Hawthorne] Playing Manchester Albert Hall on 22 Feb and Leeds Irish Centre on 23 Feb savagesband.com

Cross Record

The Coliseum Complex Museum [Jagjaguwar, 22 Jan] If you like giant orbs, the great outdoors, hanging out in museums and being told creepy, candle-lit stories of strange beasts and ghostly happenings, you’ll fit right in with The Besnard Lakes. The twelve-handed band from Montreal take their name from a collection of waters in rural Saskatchewan, and make no secret of their interest in mammoth, expansive landscapes – both sonic and geographical.

Fifth album A Coliseum Complex Museum truly is colossal, and certainly complicated, but in such an un-rushed, all-encompassing way that – like with awe-inspiring natural phenomena – you feel no pressure to take it all in on the first go.

Mystical and psychedelic, with a real knack for texture and detail in the midst of a big, blown-out prog adventure, this is an album best served whole. Turn off those pesky shuffle features, draw the curtains and settle in for a luxurious full-length listen. It’s just what these all too long, too dark evenings require. [Katie Hawthorne]

Wabi-Sabi [Ba Da Ding, 29 Jan]

rrrrr

Two years ago, husband and wife team Dan Duszynski and Emily Cross, otherwise known as Cross Record, decamped to rural Texas, where Cross, emboldened by the sheer scale of landscape (not to mention the scorpions that adorn the artwork), wrote a suite of songs indebted to the remote beauty beyond her windows.

As such, there’s a pronounced elegance to Wabi-Sabi. Wispy vocals layered across delicate musical patterns that float, difficult to slot neatly into genre – there’s a wee trace of Björk’s more paredback moments about this. With track titles such as The Curtains Part, Wasp In A Jar and Something Unseen Touches A Flower To My Forehead, the drama is naturalistic in inclination, Steady Waves built upon a mean guitar riff that complements Cross’s voice rather than drowning it out. Both vivid and dreamlike, each narrative swims in and out of focus without ever being forced; the type of record to return to, again and again. [Duncan Harman] crossrecord.com

thebesnardlakes.com

Playing Manchester Cosmosis festival on 12 Mar | alteredhours.com

President Sweetheart

I Play My Shadow [Big Potato Records, 29 Jan]

rrrrr

Lost and found and looking back; the first outing for President Sweetheart, the latest vehicle for (Neil Halstead collaborator) Nick Holton and friend/foil Tom Butterworth, and it’s certainly bittersweet. The nine tracks present are acoustic-driven and heathery, the electric guitar brought out to add nuance and accentuation.

The problem is that there’s no great revelation; more a gentle prodding towards love and loss that occasionally drifts toward that phony gravitas employed by TV execs during modern sitcom credits. I Play My Shadow isn’t insincere – there’s humour to Still Not Right, self-deprecation about Promise, while highlight Do You Feel Like Those Other Girls suggests a seam of Americana that’s most pleasing. But sometimes playing with regret isn’t enough – not if you don’t know how to fix the problem. [Duncan Harman] bigpotatorecords.co.uk

Howes

De Rosa

rrrrr

rrrrr

3.5 Degrees [Melodic, 15 Jan] Delicate, sparse, occasionally transmogrifying; the debut album from Manchester-based musician John Howes is both back-lit and fugue-like, riffing upon solitary, nocturnal notions in 8-bit configurations, rather like that Commodore 64 you left running for so long it attained sentience.

Fans of the Third Eye Foundation and Aphex Twin’s more intimate moments will recognise the sense of loose, bleached-out disquiet that comes with such articulate electronica; on tracks including OYC and the almost kinky Zeroset, it’s as if you can visualise the trails of modular synth experimentation, Howes trying out different ideas to see which best fits. Overt beats don’t appear until the sixth stanza, bass conspicuous by its absence pretty much throughout, yet whilst the themes can occasionally run away with themselves through lack of definite direction or concrete dénouement, 3.5 Degrees remains an accomplished debut – still only 22, it will be fascinating to see which direction he’s headed next. [Duncan Harman]

Weem [Rock Action, 22 Jan] Though they announced their reunion back in 2012, the release of Weem bookends a hiatus of almost seven years for Bellshill quintet De Rosa. Now a trio in their latest guise, this third album arrives with a similar progression and confidence to that which characterised majestic sophomore effort, Prevention.

Ornate, and shot through with their distinct brand of colloquial folk rock, Weem is beguiling from the first listen and only gets better the more you cosy on up with it. Fittingly, writing duties took place in the rural Scottish Highlands, a setting continually evoked within the work. From the glorious, unfurling opening of Spectres via anthemic highlight Lanes (and its subsequent reprisal), Weem is the sound of a band regrouping because they had to. The byproduct just happens to be their finest release so far. [Darren Carle] derosaband.com

melodic.co.uk

Daughter

Shearwater

rrrrr

rrrrr

Not to Disappear [4AD, 22 Jan] If Daughter’s debut had you labelling the London trio as de rigueur indie alt-folk, think again: Not to Disappear sets their tender, haunted shadow play alight.

A thrilling expansion of the template, this document of (once again) lovers that wrong is not for the fearful, but these songs are a league ahead of their predecessors. And with a newly expanded sound, Daughter are suddenly huge.

Numbness and self-loathing sit deep at the album’s core. There’s no hiding from these songs: they know you inside out. It might – just – be a redemptive experience. Certainly, as Tonra flails for love among the ruins, you feel her shaking off the ghosts. Not to Disappear is shattering throughout: a brooding sound board, crackling guitars, unsettling beats and Tonra buried in there somewhere, documenting unspeakable hurt, graphic and unfiltered. An uncommonly generous work, relatable rather than voyeuristic. [Gary Kaill] Playing Manchester Albert Hall on 21 Jan and Liverpool Academy on 22 Jan ohdaughter.com

40

Review

Jet Plane and Oxbow [Sub Pop, 22 Jan] Back in 2008, with breakthrough Rook newly hatched and attracting fresh interest, Shearwater were invited to open a handful of dates on Coldplay’s arena-filling Viva La Vida tour – an incongruous fit, you might think, for Jonathan Meiburg’s plaintive, subdued songwriting. Eight years on, however, hints of stadium-scale bombast are making their mark on the everevolving Shearwater sound, with ninth album Jet Plane and Oxbow the band’s punchiest and most populist work to date.

If the artwork isn’t indication enough that change is afoot (out with the usual ecological imagery, in with geometric neon), then the bubbling synths and Bowie-esque swagger of lead single Quiet Americans are a dead giveaway. Only occasionally does the grandeur threaten to run away from them, as on the over-blustery Pale Kings; otherwise, their form is more or less impeccable, with the swooning vocal melodies of Backchannels and the off-kilter creep of Filaments among its standout elements. [Chris Buckle] Playing Manchester Night & Day on 24 Feb shearwatermusic.com

RECORDS

Mystery Jets

Curve of the Earth [Caroline International, 22 Jan]

rrrrr

Those firing into Curve of the Earth expecting the same twinkly-eyed, danceable indie-pop as their debut Making Dens will need to cool their jets, so to speak. More slowly paced, and more sincere, Mystery Jets have matured out of that tricky midnoughties adolescence.

Blood Red Balloon stands out as the clearest demonstration of their 70s influences, with infectious harmonies, guitar solos and a well considered structure, while Midnight's Mirror’s sexy basslines will seduce even the most casual listener. Apart from a few tonal blips (Taken By The Tide may well be a smuggled-in Band of Horses track), Curve... is a remarkably slick experience, given it’s the first to be entirely self-produced by the Eel Pie Island gang. As frontman Blaine Harrison croons on closer The End Up, ‘Won’t it be strange / to see how we change / when we’re all grown up?’ [George Sully] Playing Manchester Gorilla on 19 Feb mysteryjets.com

THE SKINNY

Hinds

Tortoise

rrrrr

rrrrr

Leave Me ALone [Lucky Number, 8 Jan]

PAUW

The Catastrophist [Thrill Jockey, 22 Jan]

Macrocosm Microcosm [Caroline International, 22 Jan]

rrrrr

2015 saw these Madrid garage-rockers explode onto the international scene, scooping up fancy festival slots with tracks like Bamboo, and proving themselves so ridiculously likeable that they baggsied spots on all the ‘ones to watch for next year’ listicles. The New Year’s bells herald the arrival of their first LP, Leave Me Alone – and it’s the peppiest, jauntiest, most charismatic debut you’ll likely find in the next 12 months.

If you need an anthem for sassily chucking flowers in the bin, necking some wine or getting your A-game flirt on, then Hinds have all the answers. An infectious gang mentality, all overlapping vocals and silly voices, makes you feel like you’re in on the in-jokes, but there’s nothing funny about the skill involved in creating a record this perfectly, precisely laid-back. Leave Me Alone is crunchy, sticky and massively moreish; [Katie Hawthorne]

Listening from record to record, you’d barely notice most changes in Tortoise’s oeuvre – there’s nothing here quite so forcefully different as the sonic reshuffle that came with 2001’s Standards. Instead, they’ve become beautifully adept at mapping out their own world, whether draping soft chords over gurgling, biomechanical electronics or traversing the landscapes of kosmische and dub with stuttering breakbeats as their only vehicle (Gesceap).

With vocalists on board for the first time (Yo La Tengo’s Georgia Hubley on the hymnal Yonder Blue; US Maple’s Todd Rittman on a suitably tense cover of David Essex’s Rock On), purists might question whether The Catastrophist signifies a watering down of Tortoise’s idiosyncratic vision. Rest assured, although still more cerebral pleasure than triumphalist pop breakthrough, this uniquely accessible record is a subtle delight. [Will Fitzpatrick]

Accomplished and playful, the Dutch quartet’s debut is a likeable slice of psychedelia. But that’s only half the story. While scene leaders Tame Impala and The Black Angels put riffs and muscle before whimsy, and draw a much clearer line back to the source, PAUW reference little from the late 60s, favouring instead the later side roads.

Aided by arrangements that are flighty, free and coloured with keys and woodwind – PAUW toy with both prog and folk influences. There are shades of Focus, a hint of Kevin Ayres. Keep up as they traverse the back and forth of Today Never Ends, dexterously changing tempo and tone. Not, as is often the case when mysticism and feel are key drivers, entirely compelling throughout, but brimming with melody and genuinely characterful. [Gary Kaill]

Playing Manchester Gorilla on 20 Feb and Leeds Brudenell Social Club on 22 Feb

thrilljockey.com/artists/tortoise

pauwband.com

Guadalupe Plata

Songs For Walter

Saul Williams

rrrrr

rrrrr

rrrrr

Guadalupe Plata [Everlasting, 8 Jan]

Songs For Walter [aA Recordings, 15 Jan]

The kind of record that leaves you feeling you need a bath, Guadalupe Plata is beyond dirty.

A scuzzed-up, howlaround, frenzied fusing of blues forms and punk attitude, the Andalucian trio’s fourth album was recorded live to eight track tape and you can tell: the arrangements are raw, the production barely there, the sound an abrasive, all-consuming clatter. It’s an elementary mix but there’s a blackened spirituality within its shadows.

Take Serpientes Negras (‘black snakes’), where the rickety backing, surf guitar and Pedro de Dios Barceló’s wailing vocals stir up a bubbling, hellfire brew. In fact, it’s Barceló who deepens the band’s character. A genuinely gifted singer, he is, at times, a dead ringer for a young Black Francis. Which might, at first glance, not be the most obvious reference point but see how many times here you find yourself muttering under your breath, ‘You are the son of a motherfucker.’ [Gary Kaill]

After years of gracing the various backstreet and basement stages of his hometown, Manchester’s Laurie Hulme finally releases his debut album. A hotch-potch of homespun folk and ramshackle acoustic pop, Songs For Walter is the eponymous tribute to the singer’s late grandfather. That particular Walter, a key and influential figure for Hulme, is the inspiration for a sidelong look at a life well lived.

From the tenderly picked Stamping on Snails (‘I was 99% sure you were dead…’) to the electric stomp of Useless, Songs For Walter, much like its faded holiday polaroid packaging, works as a warm and candid recollection of family life and the complexities of friendship. Plaudits to Hulme for his selflessness and for having the generosity to write from someone else’s perspective, and a thumbs up for doing so so tenderly and with such clear-sighted love for his subject. In an age of dead-eyed cynicism, Songs For Walter is, commendably, all heart. [Gary Kaill]

guadalupeplata.bandcamp.com

facebook.com/songsforwalter

MartyrLoserKing [Fader, 29 Jan] Ever since 2001’s Amethyst Rock Star, Saul Williams has been a long standing political activist, poet and musician, and part of the lineage of Afrofuturists. MartyrLoser King is a cybernetic update of the struggle for civil liberties which has reared its head in America, across the world and online, once more.

The lyrical themes are ambitious, attempting to tie together Trayvon Martin to Edward Snowden to the Arab Spring with lead track Burundi. Williams also tackles mass data breach and the watchful eye of surveillance through the constant repetitions of ‘five million followers’ on Roach Eggs; exacerbated by choice of framing, his point is made as if grappling with a zeitgeist he doesn’t fully understand.

Nevertheless, 14 years into his recorded career and still sounding this eloquently pissed off with the world, Saul Williams is not short on spark. MartyLoserKing is the ‘annotated middle finger’, wise and strong enough to reinvigorate those who thought rap had lost its conscience. [Jon Davies] saulwilliams.com | Playing Liverpool 24 Kitchen Street on 5 Mar

Pete Astor

MONEY

Eleanor Friedberger

rrrrr

rrrrr

rrrrr

Spilt Milk [Fortuna POP!, 8 Jan]

Suicide Songs [Bella Union, 29 Jan]

Following last year’s dabblings in kraut-out dubtronica with Ellis Island Sound, Pete Astor returns to what he does best: serenading us with simple, well-crafted janglepop. Recent single Mr. Music finds him (self-effacingly?) mocking more venerable performers with its ‘when will he let it go?’ refrain, but elsewhere he’s on a charm offensive, thanks to the doe-eyed delivery of Sleeping Tiger and The Getting There. At times this feels like a celebration of what can be achieved with three chords and an earnest tale, intelligently told.

Far and away the indiest-sounding record Astor has produced since the mid-80s, Spilt Milk was recorded with the help of James Hoare from Ultimate Painting, who themselves are somewhat indebted to The Loft and The Weather Prophets. This, however, proves central to the album’s gentle appeal: it’s the product of an artist who’s comfortable in his own skin, and the ensuing warmth of the comfort zone is quietly addictive. [Will Fitzpatrick]

2013's The Shadow of Heaven saw MONEY become a worthy addition to Manchester’s rich bloodline of musical mavericks. Bewitching melodies, lyrical dexterity and a sense of meticulous craftsmanship earned the band a wealth of critical praise and seemed to capture something of the gloomy beauty of their own city.

Suicide Songs sees the trio perfect what they started to build on their debut. The murky allure of the Northwest is still a prominent aesthetic, yet second time round they have the confidence to shed more light on what was previously kept quietly in the shadows.

As the album’s title might suggest, the sum is a result of the significant mental strife the band have encountered in the last couple of years, though Hopeless World and Night Came conversely appear to signal their breaking through this wall of depression. They have arrived on the other side sounding bigger, brighter and possibly even more beautiful than before. [Dan Pilkington]

twitter.com/PeteAstor

moneybandofficial.com

Emma Pollock

In Search of Harperfield [Chemikal Underground, 29 Jan]

rrrrr

Then Thickens

Colic [Hatch, 15 Jan]

rrrrr

Emma Pollock’s third solo album refers to the first house bought by Pollock’s parents after they married, and the pervading theme is a woman trying to make sense of the world she came from, a rural idyll of half remembered childhood memories, now returned to at a time of deep reflection on life, love and family.

Musically, Pollock retains the melodic chamber-pop elegance of her earlier songwriting, while stretching percussive chops and building an expansive darkness on songs like Old Ghosts. But despite the haunting ruminations on people and places, this is still an album replete with surging moments, from the teenage swagger of Parks and Recreation to the driving guitars of Vacant Stare and the honeyed cruel-to-be-kind advice of In The Company of The Damned. A poignant but punchy triumph then, perfectly timed for mid-winter maladies. [Dan Pillkington]

There’s plenty of drugs and death on Then Thickens’ second album, and it’s soaked in the damage done by both. My Sunday finds Jon-Lee Martin’s mournful narrator getting fucked up on dope to avoid dealing with the aftermath of tragedy: ‘I saw the smack and the leather / I lost a lot of you that I never knew,’ he sings over pristine chords, and it all feels darkly poignant. If only it didn’t follow Cum Summer’s gnarly sexual metaphors, because there’s nothing to make you go ‘eurgh’ quite like hearing an adult male singing porny juvenilia like, ‘Sip my juice until I’m dry, please.’

Musically, they veer from the near-sublime grandiosity of opener Heaven Alive to the less engaging bluster of My Amsterdam, where hand-me-down Smashing Pumpkins riffs collide with a plodding melody. Colic shoots for the majestically macabre and often comes heroically close, but it’s hard to give yourself to an album that contains the phrase ‘wizard’s sleeve.’ [Will Fitzpatrick]

emmapollock.com

thenthickens.bandcamp.com

January 2016

RECORDS

New View [French Kiss, 22 Jan] Recorded in a converted barn studio near her new home in upstate New York, former Fiery Furnaces frontwoman Eleanor Friedburger’s third solo record is her first following a move from Brooklyn, combining timeless indie pop melodies with her signature lyrical sneakiness.

From the gliding guitar progression of He Didn’t Mention His Mother and the swelling Open Season, New View is a warm and rustic listen, Friedberger dressing sharply drawn narratives in a classic folk sound that makes the album as cosy as an old jumper. Because her songs are so immediately inviting it’s easy to miss Friedberger’s crafty shifts: Because I Asked You is deceptively simple with its jaunty Wurlitzer and doo-wop guitar before the chorus flips the song’s repeated questioning to reveal an earnest appreciation of intimacy.

Like Friedberger’s last two records, one appreciates New View as one does a steady relationship. [Chris Ogden] Playing Salford Eagle Inn on 4 Feb eleanorfriedberger.com

The Top Five 1 2 3 4 5

Savages

Adore Life

Daughter

How to Disappear

De Rosa

Weem

Shearwater

Jet Plane and Oxbow

Hinds

Leave Me Alone

Review

41

Photo: Christina Kernohan

Black Sheep Ungoogleable darksmiths NAKED help The Skinny break down one of the most hotly anticipated debuts of the coming year

N

AKED are a tricky band to introduce. Evasive on such topics as backstory and location, this mysterious outfit strive for the music – and the experience – to be the talking point.

Mythologising aside, theirs is a clear voice, scrutinising our changing relationship with technology; with an impending first album, it’s time to hear what they have to say.

Last year was a busy one for the group, signing to Glasgow label LuckyMe, developing their unique live show, and producing their first record. Debut EP Youth Mode, released early in 2015, is a smoky, nebulous thing: five tracks of hazy guitar textures and shadowy beats, with the delicate vocal of frontwoman Agnes Gryczkowska bobbing through it like a siren lost at sea. Its unease resonates with a society plagued by FOMO and other social media anxieties.

That theme of technology seems particularly pertinent as we speak to the band via Skype, the day before a special London gig. Now a duo since the recent departure of Grant Campbell, the pair of them – guitarist Alex Johnston, plus Gryczkowska nursing a cold – talk excitedly of their plans and philosophy.

“It’s funny because it seems like quite a long time ago that we released the EP,” says Johnston.

“Feels like it goes so fast and you forget. We’ve been doing a lot of work on the album – we’ve been working with Paul Corley, who did 0pn [Oneohtrix Point Never] and Tim Hecker’s stuff, and it’s been amazing. We went to New York to record some of the album, and we played Red Bull Music Academy, and Primavera... We’ve basically just been working on a load of stuff, and testing the water with what we can do live.”

“We always try to incorporate smell, sound, taste, on top of everything else that is happening,” Gryczkowska explains, talking about their upcoming multi-sensory show. “Something that you really walk through and experience and don’t have a second thought.”

Their aim is to “seduce all of the senses,” transcending the traditional gig format easily documented on smartphones and digital media.

It’s something that’s always been important to them, ever since their (poorly attended, by the band’s own admission) inaugural show at Sneaky Pete’s some time back, replete with lasers and smoke effects.

Gryczkowska expands: “It gives us an oppor-

42

Review

Interview: George Sully

tunity to think about all the different elements and why they’re important to us and what they mean. For example, picking the type of smell that we’re gonna use has a deeper meaning, depending on the situation and the music. In this case, it’s gonna reflect the sound of the album.”

The as-yet untitled album is slated for release later in the year. The band talk us through it. “It’s an expansion of the sound, moving away from the more dreamlike, dreamscape sound of the first release. It’s more realistic, harsher, violent. It’s as if we’ve taken all the elements that were there on the first EP and we’ve focused in – everything’s been dialled in and become sharper, and more extreme. But at the same time, a lot of the elements – the softness of the human voice, the delicacy of that – are still retained.”

“The most important thing is that the sound has changed,” adds Gryczkowska. “It’s moved away from this more hopeful feeling to being much more about this gradual decay of physicality, emotions, values, and is more focusing on this violent and cold and detached environment we live in. And especially being in a big city, I feel like that’s had an effect on our music. It’s much more anxious and feels much more isolated.”

Before Youth Mode and LuckyMe, NAKED worked with US activist/rapper Mykki Blanco in producing his single Moshin’ in the Front, a much more aggressive track than their EP. Will the album share that level of bite? In part, says Johnston, but only in that “it’s much heavier, it’s much more distorted.”

Does this mean the album will then perhaps align more with the dark, hip-hop-influenced electronics that their label is known for? This prompts a din of unanimous disagreement.

“We’re pretty much the black sheep of LuckyMe,” says Johnston.

It’s certainly rare for the predominantly electronic label to sign a group like NAKED, though they’re not quite the first band on their books. “There was American Men,” Gryczkowska explains, referring to the synthy post-rock fourpiece signed in 2010. “We’re the first... um, whatever you’d call it...”

“Pop group,” deadpans Johnston, and they both laugh.

In their lyrics, and on social media, the band spotlight a wariness of contemporary technology, but are keen to stress an impartial view.

“Technology, obviously, is paramount to the human race, throughout time. It always has a cultural impact,” says Johnston.

“There’s a symbiosis between the technosphere and biosphere,” suggests Gryczkowska.

“We don’t ever want to take a stand where we say, ‘This isn’t good.’ We’re not against, we’re not pro, we’re just observing this current moment where technology’s playing a big effect on our physicalities.”

NAKED are more interested in the visceral impact technology has on people’s lives, insisting they’re not an ‘internet band’. “People sing about cars and girls, why not about the important things?”

“That’s played a big role in our visual language, because it’s such a big part of our everyday existence,” Gryczkowska adds. “Technology’s becoming like a prosthetic, becoming almost a part of our body. This is something we’re interested in as well, aesthetically: symbiosis and juxtaposition of fleshlike and techlike.

“People sing about cars and girls, why not about the important things?”

NAKED “Also, that takes us back to why we want to do certain things with our live show. On the one hand, the distribution of music and art and images etcetera, over the internet is so easy now, but at the same time we are trying to create a situation that is very much a live situation where you actually experience all of these impacts, physically, on your own body, via hand and mouth and not via a glass screen.”

We draw some parallels between fanatical techno-consumerism and religion. “It’s funny that you’re saying this,” Gryczkowska replies, “because we’re actually using the smell of church for the show tomorrow for that reason. What is religion now? It’s changed so much; this is what our religion is. Our phones are our religion.”

MUSIC

NAKED even suggest phones are a modern day crucifix round our necks.

The promotional imagery for some of their recent gigs uses an iPhone with a cracked screen. It’s indicative of our reliance on smartphones that just the sight of it triggers a deeprooted unease. “This is actually what we were thinking about,” says Gryczkowska. “You get this instantaneous fear that your screen cracks...”

They’d taken inspiration from some viral YouTube videos of someone repeatedly destroying their iPhone 6 to the extent of almost fetishising the act.

Though the band are now working out of London, there was a time when they were considered an Edinburgh-based group. Is geography really not relevant to them, as artists? “Oh yeah, definitely,” Johnston answers. “It’s weird when you go and see interviews and the first thing they say about people is that they’re like, ‘They’re an American or like Liberia-based band’ or something like that. I don’t understand what the point in it is.” The band insist they’re internationalists by nature.

“And soundwise we don’t want to be associated with any sort of geographical location either,” adds Gryczkowska. “It’s more about actual human values and physical emotions rather than any sort of pre-known information about where we’re from, or where we went to school etcetera, etcetera, because it’s irrelevant.”

Hence the band’s name? “The word itself is very much about being fragile and human,” she explains, “completely exposed and unable to protect yourself from everything that’s around you.”

“It’s like a Rorschach test,” they say.

“Everybody reads into it what they can. Some people see it as being fragile, and other people see it as being bold or crass or whatever. It’s like a mirror. For a band, it’s the most decontextualised word you could come up with.” facebook.com/welcometonkd

Three to Hear…

From Sydney to Liverpool, here are a few more under-the-radar debuts to brace yourself for in 2016 From The Kites of San Quentin From The Kites of San Quentin have been making shape shifting electronic music operating between hip-hop, jazz and electronica for over a half a decade in Manchester, lurking in the shadows while the city’s central narrative has taken place. However, after a number of EPs and split releases, 2016 is finally the year the trio are promising something more full-length, with the group hinting in a handful of intimate shows last summer a wholly more cohesive direction than anything they’ve previously put together. [Simon Jay Catling] Cavalier Song The carefully sculpted avant-noise of Cavalier Song is worth keeping ears open for: they’re an enticing oddity, drawing from fragmented imagery, the wildest of moodswings, and expansive contractions of tense yet immersive sound. Flashes of Glen Branca and Rhys Chatham emerge among the residual sunspots, but the results are always approachable, even at their most deafening. Debut LP Blezard is set to drop through God Unknown Records in late February, and it’s certain to be a cracker. [Will Fitzpatrick] Matt Corby Straddling the strange ground between teen heartthrob (as a kid he was runner-up in Australian Idol) and serious indie artist, Matt Corby’s long-awaited debut album Telluric arrives in March on the back of a series of EPs and plenty of well-received live shows. Now based in LA, there’s a Californian slacker rock vibe to his material, but it’s the voice that elevates him way above talent show TV fodder.

[Duncan Harman]

THE SKINNY

Let’s Start Over His EP of summer 2013 got Manchester chattering, but young talent Howes has spent the last two years heading in a new direction.

He tells The Skinny about his debut full-length LP, making connections through music and the wily ways of the modular synth Interview: Simon Jay Catling Photography: Lucy Ridges

A

t a time when any artist with some form of career aspiration now needs to be the complete package from the get-go, John Howes has quite possibly fucked it already at the age of 22. It’s something he doesn’t have a problem with at all, however.

Releasing his debut EP – a set of lean, loosely house-associated constructions that nevertheless contained no small amount of dancefloor bounce – in the summer of 2013 through Melodic Records, the Manchester-based producer was in the flush of his first dalliances with clubbing.

“I was going to the Warehouse Project and getting my head ripped off by amazing tunes every weekend,” he recalls, as we drink upstairs in a beer house just around the corner from the night club’s Store Street home. It was there, watching the likes of Joy Orbison graduate from underground residencies in basement venues to holding court in front of thousands under the Piccadilly arches, that Howes felt inspired to move in that direction himself.

“With my first EP, though, I got a taste of what it would be like trying to write tunes for specific labels and attempting to be ‘cool’ or whatever, and realised I didn’t want to do that at all,” he reflects now. Tiring quickly of the compromises he felt he was making in his music just

January 2016

to attract larger label attention, Howes was also struck by how quickly the response to his debut release dissipated – the initial bluster disappearing after a handful of retweets – while those who were more attentive subsequently threw a weight of expectation on him he didn’t feel he could bear. “What I’m doing now feels so much better than the first EP, where people were just like ‘Congratulations! You’ve made a house track!’ The pay-off is so much more rewarding.”

So what exactly is he doing now? Following more than two years of silence, Howes has his full-length debut out this month, again sticking with local label Melodic. It’s the result of a period that’s seen him reposition himself in counterpoint to the click-for-instant-gratification nature of both creating and consuming music.

3.5 Degrees was constructed around a modular synth, with Howes ditching much of the software used on his debut EP and immersing himself in a longform process of creation, which is reflected in a record that steadfastly refuses to open up from a base of tentacle-like modulations.

Opening track Concagnis crawls across a deep seabed, the quietness of the undiscovered surrounding it; and much of the record has a stillness to it even as the producer shifts and moves patterns around at pace – an indication,

perhaps, of its making, with half the work being done as Howes graduated from university and sought respite from hours of job agency applications, and the other half as a means of escape from the stresses of the employment he ultimately found himself in. “It’s just about getting burnt out at work by Friday and thinking, ‘I’ve got three days to get away from this.’ I’d just have the synth playing the entire weekend, tweak it slightly, go wash the dishes or something, come back and see how it was getting on, then record the last five minutes of what I’d built up on a Sunday.”

Elsewhere, Green Lense is a warped take on the motorik and rhythm of psychedelic guitar music, based around a couple of motifs that repeat on themselves while textures coagulate and blur around them. Howes admits that he still, in part, lives for the weekend – calling Manchester’s nightlife “better than ever” – but in the case of Green Lense it was events like Liverpool Psych Fest and, in particular, a robust set by Salford-based collective Gnod in 2014 that inspired him. “I just remembered having to sit on the floor outside the venue after their set, thinking, ‘Fuck! Psychedelic music!’”

On a record that is deeply personal – if not thematically then in terms of how close Howes felt to it during its creation – it’s no surprise that the personability of the modular synth is at its root. “Using [a modular synth] is a really low level of abstraction,” he says. “You really have to get deep down as low as you can go with it, building things like resistors and soldering things together, going to that depth so that you can build up an entire process that’s yours. If you took my synth and tried to sell it to somebody they’d never buy it. It only works with what I build and the things I like.” Most of his time away from releasing music was spent getting to grips with his synth’s array of cables and patches, while in the background the accessibility and increasing speed of digital software whirred ever faster.

“Music technology is such a goldmine at the minute. Big companies are angling everything at making a track as quickly as possible. Who gets the most out of this?

“There’s no effort any more, you see these big electronic sites run features where people have to make a tune in ten minutes and they open a plug-in and make some drums and that’s it. I don’t want to hear how awesome a Flash plug-in can make you sound; it’s about learning a way to express yourself and putting a bit of yourself on show. When I finished the record, I didn’t want people to hear this, 'cause it’s mine. This is me as a person. I didn’t want anyone else to get that close to it.”

Howes is quick, though, to dismiss the idea that he’s adopted analogue as a rejection of autonomy – an argument increasingly redundant as we plunge deeper into the digital world. “I don’t buy into retro sensationalism at all,” he claims.

MUSIC

“I’m just trying to express – and if it’s with a ten-grand analogue synth or a £50 MIDI controller, then whatever. I do programming stuff in my material too because I can’t afford what I want. If you’re making good music, 99% of people won’t care how it’s made and the other 1% probably can’t hear the distinction between what you’re using anyway.”

3.5 Degrees, then, is to be taken as another manifestation of Howes himself, a talkative but shy presence who – as he admits – “was never going to be the guy to create a track to peak a night.” Instead, he’s created an album that gradually seeps in and quietly but surely ends up becoming a whole world, with codes both in its sound and in song titles like Source 000535 and DVR 16 that have been left as a trail for the listener, “like those side bars in pieces on records where it’s like, ‘this is the music we were listening to, this is the book we were reading, this is the philosophy.’”

“I’d just have the synth playing, go wash the dishes, come back and see how it was getting on” Howes

It’s a record the impact of which he perhaps pessimistically foresees as being minimal, but one he hopes will strike a deep chord with those who do make a connection. “The track OYC is named after [Nottingham-formed 80s experimental band] O Yuki Conjugate,” he says, his eyes lighting up. “Late one night I emailed saying they were the inspiration for me making music and they were like, ‘Oh cool, do you want some CDs?’ I bought everything they ever made. I play it to mates at five in the morning after a night out and they’re like ‘for fuck’s sake...’

“But I’d love someone like Finders Keepers to find this record and re-release it in 20 years and have people have the same reaction, like, ‘Fuck, what was this guy doing?’ There’s probably one person that fell in love with OYC in their entire 40-year career – but that means there’s probably one person out there that’ll fall in love with me, and if that person finds this record and works out all the codes then that’s amazing.”

3.5 Degrees is out via Melodic Records on 15 Jan melodic.co.uk

Review

43

Philanthroclubbing Last year saw social fundraisers Party for the People – an initiative which directs money from ticket sales to a range of charities and causes – fly past their £30k milestone for donations. They told us their story so far Interview: Daniel Jones Ilustration: Nick Booton (Bruï Studio)

W

e live in a time when businesses have an opportunity to do well by doing good.

Social purpose is stirring more and more young go-getters to become organised philanthropists, working hard to make a valuable impact in their local community and beyond.

Tom Laidler, Simon Brown, Steve Rimmer and Liam O’Reilly are among those shaking things up a bit. This enterprising posse has spent the best part of three years building Party for the People (PFTP), a fundraising vehicle which channels a percentage of unavoidable ticket booking fees into worthy causes. Back in 2012, they were on sweaty Sheffield dancefloors collecting bits of change in a bucket for the Leeds Little Livers project; in 2015, they broke the £30,000 mark for donations supporting 25 UK charities. They can still be found on dancefloors in Sheffield every so often, minus the bucket.

The truth is, whether you’re a promoter or a punter, nobody likes booking fees. Turning these fees into something positive is a pretty sweet idea that has quickly resonated with tons of artists, promoters, venues and volunteers across Sheffield, Bristol, Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, London and Edinburgh – all of whom play a vital role in spreading the impact of PFTP further and further afield.

As the New Year reared its lovely head, we managed to get some quality time with all four chaps to discuss the journey so far, and their plans for 2016...

The Skinny: Marvellous idea, guys. Where did it originate?

Party for the People: Well, we all shared a love of clubbing and a desire to do some good in the community. Simon and Liam were working together in a call centre in our post-uni days and ran with an idea to fundraise through music and generate some wider impact from all the sweaty hedonism. At the start we were bucket-raising on dancefloors, but the idea developed into diverting those unavoidable booking fees towards great causes.

We quickly partnered with our friends at [club nights/collectives] Collect!, Cargo and Drumro[ll], sold tickets for them online and added a small mandatory donation to the face value. The positive response was overwhelming so we just ran with it and set up our own website. Those guys deserve huge credit, and Party for the People wouldn’t be where it is today without that so we owe them a lot.

Over the past few years we’ve also been lucky enough to receive incredible support from DJs who’ve donated their time and talents and allowed us to give all the profits from the party to the chosen cause. We really have to give a special mention to Prosumer who got in touch and offered to tear things up at [Sheffield venue] The Harley at our first party. That was incredible and really made us realise we were on to something.

44

Review

(Let’s pretend) I’m an idiot. Can you talk me through how the business works?

So we took the basic concept of every ticketing platform, charging a booking fee for providing services to the promoter and the attendee, and repurposed this to create social good rather than pure profit. Our organisation is structured as a social enterprise and we’re 100% non-profit.

Anything we make on top of covering our costs gets donated to the charities that we partner with, and we’re able to do this while having some of the lowest fees of any agency. By adding this donation we can turn every event into a fundraiser.

For various reasons, ticket-selling sites generally don’t have the best public perception.

Speaking from personal experience, promoting independent parties can be really tough work.

It can be painful to see a ticketing agency taking £100 for sending some automated emails while you lose double that after spending hours in the rain handing out flyers. I think seeing those charges go towards a positive social impact... well, it just really adds to the event. We allow customers and promoters to give something to those that might not be fortunate enough to attend, and all without spending anything more than they would otherwise.

What was the first charity you supported?

The first charity we ever supported was called Leeds Little Livers, a project based at the Leeds Children’s Hospital. Many of the first charities we supported were operating locally or had connections here [in Sheffield] – CRESST, Sheffield Mind and The Long Well Walk to name a few. We’ve gone on to support over 25 charities – some of those are long-standing relationships and others are one-off donations. Working with Pangaea Festival in Manchester has been fantastic. It’s Europe’s biggest student-run festival and we’ve been able to work with the [Manchester] Raising and Giving Society and the Students’ Union to raise thousands for charities ranging from local food and clothing banks and crisis centres to major international charities working to cure disease.

You seem to be expanding at a rate of knots, supporting more and more charities every year. Where else do the donations go?

We’ve supported a huge range of causes close to home, from cutting-edge cancer, Alzheimer’s and meningitis research to speed awareness campaigns, and projects offering a range of support to sex workers, providing arts therapy for individuals with severe learning difficulties and empowering marginalised youths by opening direct dialogues with local community leaders.

Further afield, we were able to raise £5000 through our partnership with Farm Festival and that has gone towards Project Jyambere run by the Send a Cow foundation. The project helps families in the Nyaruguru and Nyanza districts

of rural Rwanda, providing livestock and working together with locals to cater for their agricultural needs alongside supporting gender equality and conflict resolution.

Women for Women International is another fantastic organisation with similar aims. They work to bring together women in a safe space to learn life, business and vocational skills and, vitally, they provide each woman with a monthly stipend to ensure that there are no barriers to participation. We were able to support literacy training for 35 individuals this year.

We were also able to give £3000 to Médecins Sans Frontières, whose absolutely incredible team of healthcare professionals provides medical support for people who would otherwise lack basic access to due to conflict, humanitarian crises, pandemics and natural disasters. Thanks to their hard work our donation was equivalent to generating 71 million litres of purified water that would supply 10,000 people every day for a year.

“We all shared a love of clubbing and a desire to do some good in the community” Party for the People

We hear you’ve got some great events lined up for this year. Tell us more about them?

Well, the big news is that we’ll be setting up the PFTP Foundation, a charity through which we aim to support disadvantaged youths the world over. We’ll be starting off close to home and providing a series of music workshops for socially excluded young persons in Sheffield living with disabilities, alongside the Under the Stars and Musical Works foundations. Following the 12-week programme, we will host an event at [Sheffield venue] The Night Kitchen at which the participants will have the opportunity to show off their skills.

CLUBS

We also have a few fundraising events lined up, including Breach at The Night Kitchen on 26 Feb. There’ll be a few throughout the year between Sheffield, Bristol, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Manchester and hopefully elsewhere!

February is also set to be a really busy month and we’ll also be launching our new and vastly improved website, so it’s all hands on deck for that.

How do you feel about ticket touts?

Touting isn’t such a crime but the main problem is automated resale sites. It’s touting 2.0 and fans are being exploited to the extreme.

That said, we do have to mention Twickets and other sites that are doing it right and using global connectivity to help fans rather than rip them off.

What advice would you give to young social entrepreneurs looking to set up their own business?

I’d say don’t waste too much time planning, just focus on doing. Pick up a notepad and go speak to people. Plans are plastic and you’ll probably find yourself totally changing your initial ideas to something better.

Other than purchasing tickets through your site, what ways can supporters get further involved in the cause?

We’re always on the lookout for new blood so please come to one of our parties and say hello, or drop us an email! We’d really like to hear from anyone else working on ethical projects related to the industry. We recently set up a relationship with All Ears, a grassroots organisation who aim to spread awareness around tinnitus through their simple but effective ‘tinnitus is shit’ message and dishing out free earplugs.

We’ll continue to use The Night Kitchen as a space for positive impact and have just set up the PFTP Coat Drive with [Sheffield venues] Union St and The Workstation, Shelter and a few others to help those in need stay warm over winter. We’re always in need of willing volunteers for projects like this and are open to any new connections in the UK. For more information on the full range of projects Party for the People are supporting, events you can buy tickets for and more, visit partyforthepeople.org.uk

THE SKINNY

Clubbing Highlights Laugh in the face of seasonal affective disorder by remaining underground at all times and confounding your body with a combination of bright lasers and pitch darkness. Yes, that’s right. Go clubbing!

Words: Laura Swift Illustration: Fran Caballero

F

or those not slain by their NYE bender, January offers a surprising number of quality nights to get 2016 off to a goggle-eyed start. No resolutions there, then.

First on the calendar is the latest instalment in ace local lads Banana Hill’s residency at Soup Kitchen with Boiler Room founder Thris Tian. Their launch back in October was a top night and, to welcome in the new annum, on Fri 15 Jan they invite along their chum Contours, whose sound is founded on an upbringing spent playing drums and percussion. Needless to say, he fits right in with Banana Hill’s trademark explorations in Afrobeat and global sounds, and this’ll be a night pitched nicely between bass, boogie and, as they say, ‘life-affirming Turkish disco’. A good one to ease yourself in with (£3/£5).

The following night should at least help ease the wallet in, as Sankeys familiars Covert take to the Mantra Live venue in Ancoats for a free do. As a thanks to all those who’ve partied with Covert throughout 2015, the promoters are throwing a party at the Pollard Street space on Sat 16 Jan with Just Jorge and their residents for the grand price of nada – that is, if you nab your ticket in advance via Skiddle (just turn up on the night and you’ll have to pay a tenner).

January 2016

Later in January, and the kraken(s) of Northwest clubbing begin to reawaken. On Fri 22 Jan, the inimitable HomoElectric takes to hyped new venue Hidden with moustachioed Italodisco don Ivan Smagghe in tow. It’ll be the first time Smagghe’s played at Homo in ten years, and his always apparently effortless mix of minimal techno and European filth should make for the sweatiest night of the month. Of course, he’ll be ably accompanied by HomoElectric residents Will Tramp! and Jamie Bull (£12). The same night in Liverpool sees the characterfully crumbly environs of 24 Kitchen Street taken over

by Manchester crew Levelz, out in 13-strong force (including MC Fox, Chimpo, Rich Reason, Hoya:Hoya man Jonny Dub and Wet Play prodigy Metrodome). At a fiver a ticket, that’s 38.5pence per legend.

Those still cowering beneath their Christmas-pud crumbed covers may have been wise to save their ears for 23 Jan, as brilliantly merciless noise merchant Lee Gamble takes to the basement of Soup Kitchen at the behest of the unassailable Project 13 label, who most recently teamed up with Faktion in November to present ‘The Death of Rave’. Resurrected already! (Also playing: Beneath, Szare, and Acre; a tidy £7.)

Both cities come fully alive for the final weekend of the month, which sees two decent parties in each: Liverpool, on Fri 29 Jan you’ve got the launch of new bass music label M62 Records at 24 Kitchen Street (£4/£6), and the next evening, on the 30th, it’s the eighth birthday of mUmU (£18/£20) and they’re damn well gonna celebrate it for the full 24 hours, 4pm-4am at New Bird Street Warehouse with Enzo Siragusa, Mathias Kaden and a load more. Manchester,

CLUBS

you’re treated to a long weekend of Romare and Jeremy Underground on Thu 28 Jan at Hidden, and The Busy Twist at Soup Kitchen on, uh, Tue 2 Feb. “A Tuesday?!” you cry, agog. “What do you think I am, a student?!” Er well, maybe, yeah – but even if you’re not we’d recommend risking a midweek hangover for this one; the Twist’s Ghanianurban beats frequently shake more than just the cobwebs out of The Skinny office. theskinny.co.uk/clubs

Review

45

Book Highlights The New Year brings literary events worth bracing the weather for, from Yorkshire’s emerging star poet Helen Mort to music writing giant Jon Savage

Words: Alice Horne

John Osborne and Molly Naylor

T

his year marks 100 years since Britishborn artist and writer Mina Loy wrote her experimental play Collision, the inspiration behind painter Melissa Gordon’s new exhibition Fallible Space at the Bluecoat. Loy’s huge range of eccentric and experimental work has seen her labelled a Modernist, Surrealist, Futurist and feminist, though she has been only quietly remembered alongside her literary peers, such as Marianne Moore and Gertrude Stein.

Attempting to set this straight, Gordon will be

joined at the Bluecoat on 30 Jan by academic and poet Sandeep Parmar to celebrate Loy’s legacy through performance and discussion. Collision will also be staged at the venue for the first time ever on 22 Jan. While Loy’s death ushered in the end of literary modernism in 1966, The Beatles were releasing their seventh studio album, Revolver.

In fact, 1966 has been dubbed by writer and journalist Jon Savage as “the year the decade exploded.” Rising to prominence as a music writer

BOOK OF THE MONTH

And Yet...

Golden Years

rrrrr

By Ali Eskandarian

during punk’s glory days, Savage is most famous for his 1991 book on the history of punk and the Sex Pistols, England’s Dreaming. His latest title, 1966, explores what came to be a defining year in global pop culture, looking at seminal artists from The Velvet Underground to The Beatles in the explosive social and cultural milieu of the Swinging Sixties. Savage will be discussing his book with Liverpool-based novelist Kevin Sampson at Waterstones Liverpool on 14 Jan. In Leeds, Sheffield-born poet Helen Mort joins forces with Samuel Moore, a flamenco guitarist, to showcase an unusual blend of original poetry and improvised music at Otley Courthouse on 16 Jan. Shortlisted for the prestigious TS Eliot Prize in 2013, Mort’s widely acclaimed poetry often engages with the post-Thatcher political landscape of northern England, and has more recently seen her named one of the Poetry Book Society’s Next Generation Poets. The event will feature solo performances from both artists, as well as the chance to learn more about how this unlikely collaboration came to be.

Elsewhere, writers John Osborne and Molly Naylor arrive in Salford this month as part of a tour of their first poetry show. Naylor first appeared on the scene with her solo show about surviving the 2005 London bombings, Whenever I Get Blown Up I Think of You, which debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2010 before being adapted for BBC Radio 4. Meanwhile, Osborne

Nicotine

By Christopher Hitchens

By Gregor Hens

rrrrr

Out 7 Jan, published by Faber & Faber, RRP £14.99

46

Review

Myths of the Modern Woman, the Bluecoat, Liverpool, 30 Jan, 4pm, £3 (£2), thebluecoat.org.uk Collision, the Bluecoat, Liverpool, 22 Jan, 7pm, free (booking required), thebluecoat.org.uk Jon Savage in conversation with Kevin Sampson, Waterstones, Liverpool, 14 Jan, 6.30pm, £3 (£2), waterstones.com/events Samuel Moore and Helen Mort, Otley Courthouse, Leeds, 16 Jan, 7.30pm, £12 (£10), otleycourthouse.org.uk John Osborne and Molly Naylor, The Lowry, Salford, 23 Jan, 8pm, £12, thelowry.com The Evening Star Poetry Group, Jerwood Centre, Grasmere, Cumbria, 5 Jan, 6pm, £5, wordsworth.org.uk

Bret Easton Ellis and the Other Dogs

By Lina Wolff

rrrrr

rrrrr

Singer, songwriter and novelist Ali Eskandarian's Golden Years is exactly what the literary scene needs. Claimed by Eskandarian himself as an 'Iranian-American novel' and certain – for tragedy alongside literary talent – to be a cult classic, it's a semi-autobiographical novel where present narratives of Ali, in New York and on tour, blend with memories of Tehran, past loves and losses.

Eskandarian grew up in Tehran and moved to Dallas with his family as a child, then on to New York to pursue his art, and this book is in many ways a new version of the Beat novel genre.

It enchants the reader with brutal honesty about sex, drugs, music and war. A new beat longing to be heard, it adds unique depth to the typical Beat narrative with its undercurrents of apprehension and destruction, provided by a very national, personal and cultural war, and the delicacy and allure of its author.

In 2013, Eskandarian, a second member of his group Yellow Dogs and a third artist were slain by a fellow musician, who later took his own life. This posthumous publication facilitates a communication between the living and the dead, creativity and criticism, and past and present.

Eskandarian's new beat and superb account of the pursuit of art will linger with you, ringing in your ears. As he himself asks in Golden Years, 'Has the past even been so dead and alive at the same time?'. [Rosie Barron]

published his first collection of poems, Most People Aren’t That Happy, Anyway, in 2013 and has since written poems and stories for radio, including the hugely popular John Peel’s Shed.

The duo have already proven to be a successful double act with their well-received television sitcom, After Hours, which launched on Sky 1 this autumn. Heading to The Lowry on 23 Jan, their poetry show promises to be equally entertaining.

Finally, The Evening Star Poetry Group are reading their way through the second volume of William Wordsworth’s famous collection, Lyrical Ballads, on 5 Jan. Surrounded by the Romantic poet’s own collection of books at the Jerwood Centre, Wordsworth fans and newcomers alike are welcome to discuss and enjoy some of his finest poems in the very location that inspired them.

And yet... is Christopher Hitchens’ supposedly final collection of essays, most of which were written before the publication of his previous collection, 2011’s Arguably. It is, then, a typical posthumous release: now that demand for the writer is at its peak, why not throw together the stuff that never made the cut the first time round?

With a writer as trenchant, witty, and casually erudite as Hitchens, though, you can get away with putting pretty much anything he writes between two covers. Not that there’s anything unexpected here. Many of the essays are about figures he’s covered before (Orwell, Rushdie, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Schlesinger, Dickens, Hilary Clinton, etc.) and the general theme, as ever, is geopolitics.

Geopolitics from a broadly pro-American viewpoint, mind. Though the book’s final essay is a denunciation of patriotism, don’t be fooled: this was written over a decade before many of the other essays, which, whether about the Iraq War, Thanksgiving, or anti-Americanism among leftists, are undoubtedly the work of an American patriot (and official US citizen, as he never tires of reminding us).

Still, as he writes of Edmund Wilson in one of the book’s best essays, ‘it is possible to learn from him even when one radically disagrees with him.’ It’s a real shame we’ll never get to know what he’d make of our current mess. [James Troeltsch]

Nicotine – a meandering journey through a life of everyday addiction, soaked in memories stained sepia by tobacco smoke – is an appropriate work to review this time of year, when self-imposed abstinence clouds the post-Christmas period.

Gregor Hens has felt the pain of abstinence many times, through multiple attempts to quit smoking. The writhing, sweating and craving, followed by the joyful indulgence of that first illicit cigarette, guaranteed to vindicate any suffering – Hens endured and wrote about it, resulting in this excellent personal work on the fetishisation, ceremony and compulsions of the smoker.

Hens touches upon theories for his addiction, Freud being only the first psychoanalytical deconstruction on the path to understanding.

He remembers his mother, cigarette in hand, literally passing the habit to him; his smokebreathing tyrant father, later to embody severe renunciation.

The writing is superb, an unclassifiable mix of freeform thought and transcribed memory, reminiscent of the wonderful essayist Geoff Dyer. Its malleable structure allows the many digressions to remain ever valid and precise. The reader becomes therapist, reflecting upon Hens’ reflections, a sounding board in a process which the writer seemingly seeks to learn from. In that respect it is highly self-indulgent, and yes, selfserving. Yet, it’s so insightful and honest that we never feel as if smoke is being blown in our eyes, or up anywhere else. [Alan Bett]

Out 7 Jan, published by Atlantic Books, RRP £20

Out now, published by Fitzcarraldo Editions, RRP £12.99

BOOKS

‘We’re going to call this little pup Dante. Let’s call the mangy old cur over there Chaucer.’ This is Alba Cambo, standing in front of a dog pen, teaching women in a brothel about passive aggression. When a john doesn’t treat them right, they feed the dogs rotten meat. And across town, a teenage girl tries to fit together all the stories that lead back to this one woman.

Swedish writer Lina Wolff has had enough of the big swinging dicks of masculine literature.

She examines the idea of violence as entertainment – especially violence towards women. Bret Easton Ellis is a dog, bundled into a box in the boot of a car. Other violent moments: a boy hit by a truck in front of his mother; an old man farting wetly in the moment before the lights turn on and everyone shouts ‘Surprise!’ for his birthday; a cat boiled on the stove by the maid as vengeance for eating a blackbird’s chicks. But it isn’t all blood and gore – the book shifts about.

Sometimes it’s funny, then startling, then dark.

This is the novel’s non-lineal structure at play: the narrative appears in many voices, moving fluidly from one to the next. There are stories within stories, each one tracing the patterns that Alba’s life has drawn across the people she knew. It’s clever and challenging and distinctive – and brought to life by a sharp translation. [Galen O'Hanlon] Out 14 Jan, published by & Other Stories, RRP £10

THE SKINNY

Clowns at the Poetry Slam Interview: Edy Hurst Illustration: Anthony Jaycott

We take a look at the increasing overlap between comedy and spoken word nights, and speak to some of the key players across the Northwest

I

f there’s one thing you can say about standup comedy, there’s a lot of speaking. With the ebb and flow of world events, celebrity mishaps and the latest in cute online animals, comedians have a lot of opinions, and they’re not afraid to tell them. An integral part of any performer’s creative process is turning over new material; writing, performing and the honing of jokes and stories are vital, separating the wheat from the chaff to leave only golden nuggets and confused metaphors. As such, a staple of every healthy comedy scene is the inclusion of new-act and new-material nights. And while the Northwest sure has its fair share of open mics, gong shows and various other formats that provide a platform for new ideas and performers, acts are always looking for more routes to performance.

Alongside their comedy scenes, cities and towns across the Northwest also host a varied and eclectic selection of spoken word nights.

Like putting hoisin duck on a pizza and claiming it fusion cooking, standup comedy lends itself deliciously to spoken word nights. Comedians performing at these nights is nothing new.

Storytelling juggernauts such as the international Moth events regularly welcome comedians to share their true stories; but it’s not just the opportunity for storytellers to further develop their anecdotes that is attracting standups to spoken word.

While it may sound a little obvious, newmaterial comedy nights can often bring a heavier expectation on the comedy side. This is of course crucial for acts to test jokes and practice stagecraft, but it can often be limiting. There can be a big difference between the format and performance style of an hour-long show with festival plans, and a set that is performed at a club.

An hour-long show has fewer punchlines and a greater reliance upon narrative; material can be more vulnerable and challenging. With this in mind, trying out snippets of shows and standup for an audience with more of a focus on spoken

January 2016

word and theatrics can provide another context and challenge for acts seeking to broaden their creative palette.

“Humour is a way of connecting with diverse crowds” Martin Visceral

According to BBC New Comedy Awardwinner Steve Bugeja, performing at the Manchester storytelling night Tales of Whatever in Gullivers was an integral part of developing his Edinburgh show. Having previewed his true story – of driving a convicted criminal to their daughter’s wedding having just left prison for the first time in 18 years – at a number of established comedy nights, Tales of Whatever gave him the chance to “tell the story in its purest form… without any jokes helping me work out the actual narrative arc.

“I’d done quite a few previews at normal comedy nights,” he continues, “but the pressure there is to make people laugh. Which is fine, but not necessarily very useful when you’re trying to work out a compelling story.” However, that’s not to say that the audience wouldn’t appreciate the jokes: “Ironically they laughed more than at a normal comedy night.” While for Bugeja performing at spoken word events isn’t a regular occurrence, he has nothing but positive things to say about the experience: “I think my show was stronger because of doing it, certainly.”

Having comics at spoken word nights doesn’t just give stand-up comedians an opportunity to shape out an upcoming Edinburgh show, it also allows viewers to witness quick-witted thinkers put in different places to deliver the

funny. Martin Visceral runs the night Freestyle Fictionary at Sandbar, where each month he and DJ Jomo invite guests as varied as standups, beatboxers, ukulele soul musicians and steampunk rappers to help bring more laughs to the hip-hop scene. Similar to many improv comedy nights, Visceral shapes the night “on a series of games where everything is improvised, off the cuff, and we get the audience involved as much as possible.

“For us,” says Visceral, “humour is a way of connecting with diverse crowds, making people feel relaxed and open to new things.” Previous guests include the standup exploits of Ozzie Oswald, who now runs The Hip Hop Chip Shop, and comedian/musician/rapper/spoken wordperformer polymorph Professor Elemental, and there are plans to bring in more standups in the future.

There’s a huge array of similar nights across the Northwest: 1000 Monkeys at 81 Renshaw in Liverpool has welcomed local comedians such as Paul Smith, who brought his deft storytelling hand to ghost stories, and in Manchester there’s the newly opened Chateau le Bomb at the Castle Hotel, where acts perform three-minute segments of comedy, stories or anything that comes into their head space.The opportunity to help develop the mechanics and pathos of their stories, or to be challenged to think on their feet for an audience that isn’t just there for the comedy, makes these nights staples for many performers across the Northwest. And, as more and more comedians are experimenting with spoken word, aspects of these nights have begun to seep into the ‘traditional’ comedy scene.

Another welcome addition to this roster of format-bending nights is Barking Tales, hosted and run by Harriet Dyer. Taking place every month at The Zombie Shack, the show takes inspiration from Dyer’s honest, open and very funny telling of experiences with mental health issues, and invites comedians from across the

COMEDY

country to perform their own stories. Rather than a spoken word night, Dyer considers it “a bit more of a comedy night… but maybe that’s down to me being a comic and needy as fuck (can I say fuck?) until a laugh comes.” This isn’t to say that the audience puts the focus on the jokes: “Whenever any of the acts do just tell stories, as opposed to material, it is expected, respected and treated with the utmost joy.”

Taking the intimacy that is cultivated through storytelling nights such as Tales of Whatever, Barking Tales combines both sides of the coin. On one side it is a sturdy, hand-picked comedy night, inviting some of the country’s best comics to the stage, such as December’s headline act Ray Peacock. On the other, it is an intimate and supportive night, allowing comedians to talk about the issues that can spur them to need laughter from strangers honestly and in greater depth. And with all profits going to Mental Health Research UK, it’s not just offering a safe space for comics, but also somewhere to tackle the stigma often associated with mental health.

Though not all spoken word nights can offer such altruistic reasons for their existence, it is comforting to know that more comedy and spoken word nights are becoming more accepting of new ideas and new styles. In the end, all types of performance are similar; whether it’s comedy, music or raw live literature, all endeavour to entertain, move and connect with their respective audiences. And by the same token, each type can help bring something new to the others: whether it’s a po-faced poet taking themselves less seriously, or a joke-bound comedian bringing in sincerity. There’s no doubt that collaboration between comedy and spoken word can offer the best of both worlds.

For ongoing coverage of the local comedy scene, plus interviews with rising talent and big names alike, visit theskinny.co.uk/comedy

Review

47

Film Event Highlights The New Year gets off to a promising start with HOME’s widereaching celebration of Mancunian screenwriter Jim Allen, while FACT have an interesting screening to compliment their Follow exhibition Words: Simon Bland

A

h, January – the month of hastily forgotten resolutions, fresh starts and diets that never seem to last beyond week three. It’s not your fault, though. How are you suppose to resist all those tasty cinema treats? Especially when there’s so much good stuff on.

First up this year is Tarantino’s almostditched return to the western genre, The Hateful Eight (8 Jan), starring Jennifer Jason Leigh, Kurt Russell and a lineup of the director’s usual suspects. Word has it that Tarantino only has two more big-screen features left in him, so you’d be silly to miss this one. Catch it in its intended 70mm Ultra Panavision cut at a whopping 177 minutes exclusively at Manchester’s Printworks. Don’t worry, they’ll throw in an intermission break.

After something a little different? Get down to We Live In Public, at FACT in Liverpool (13 Jan).

As part of the venue’s current exhibition Follow, this stark documentary feature takes aim at the ways in which the internet and digital connectivity have completely changed how we live day-today. Watch as director Ondi Timoner (Dig!, Brand: A Second Coming) tracks the rise, fall and bizarre times of the internet’s greatest pioneer, Josh Harris – someone you’ve probably never heard of.

Back over in Manchester, HOME’s Jim Allen retrospective is full of double-bills that celebrate the work of one of Britain’s most important screenwriters. Still Relevant After All These Years (9-31 Jan) includes The Spongers (9 Jan), which is followed by a Q&A with the film’s producer Tony Garnett, a double-punch of The Lump and The Big Flame (10 Jan), The Rank and File followed

by In The Heel of the Hunt (13 Jan), and The Choice of Evils and Willie’s Last Stand back-to-back (16 Jan). Also screening are the trio of films Allen made with Ken Loach in the 90s (Raining Stones, 20 Jan; Hidden Agenda, 23 Jan; Land and Freedom, 24 Jan). Power, politics, compassion – it’s all here.

Youth

Youth

Room

rrrrr

rrrrr

Director: Paolo Sorrentino Starring: Michael Caine, Harvey Keitel, Rachel Weisz, Paul Dano Released: 29 Jan Certificate: 15

HOME also screens George Fitzmaurice’s exotic sequel The Son of the Sheik (28 Jan) as part of Manchester Metropolitan University’s Humanities in Public festival, complete with live piano score. The same venue explores the unlikely story of British punk-art band The Mekons with exploratory documentary Revenge of The Mekons (25 Jan). What’s more, original band member Ros Allen will join attendees for a postscreening Q&A to get into the nitty-gritty of the band’s history.

Speaking of documentaries, Hasret / Yearning, also at HOME (18 Jan), looks at the dark underbelly of Istanbul. British director Ben Hopkins will stick around for a Q&A after the screening to discuss the story behind his film.

Looks like 2016’s off to a good start.

48

Review

Director: Lenny Abrahamson Starring: Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay, Joan Allen Released: 15 Jan Certificate: 15

Paolo Sorrentino’s follow-up to his widely and vociferously acclaimed The Great Beauty is a similarly odd fish to that 2014 Academy Award winner.

A surreal look at mortality, and the frustrations of artistic integrity, love and longing, what bewitches is the cool exactitude of the imagery, and the desert-dry drollery of the tremendous cast Sorrentino has assembled. It’s an approach that evokes a slightly more accessible and full-blooded Roy Andersson, as one strange, beautiful scene follows another.

Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel have great chemistry as the best pals – a master composer and filmmaker, respectively – holed up in a swanky Swiss sanatorium pontificating on both the great dramas and banalities of their well-worn lives. It’s all terribly arch and mannered, but Sorrentino throws broad philosophical quandaries and quirky ephemera at the screen with equal care and, even though the whole thing threatens to become a bit too omphalosceptic for its own good in a tête-à-tête between Keitel and a cameoing star late on, it’s difficult to resist that sparkling wit and glorious aesthetic design. [Chris Fyvie]

Joy (Larson) and her five-year-old son, Jack (Tremblay), live in Room. To the mother, it’s a prison cell barely two meters square; for the son, it’s the whole universe.

Lenny Abrahamson’s film – based on the book by Donoghue – is a beautiful and humane response to inhumanity. The versatile Irish filmmaker (Garage, Frank) cannily presents the world from Jack’s point of view, placing the camera at his eye level and keeping the framing tight to introduce us to his tiny world. Jack is happy in his ignorance, but every close up of the haunted Larson brings us back to reality.

Abrahamson works wonders with the actors, getting one of the alltime great child performances from Tremblay, whose vivid voiceover and air of sheltered kookiness can’t have come easy. Equally compelling is Larson, who’s constantly communicating several conflicting emotions at once. If there’s one flaw, it’s an over-reliance on Stephen Rennicks’ score.

We don’t need to hear cloying piano chords to perceive Jack’s wonder at the world or feel Joy’s pain, we just need to glimpse the faces of the actors playing them. [Jamie Dunn]

The Assassin

Sleeping with Other People

rrrrr

rrrrr

Director: Hou Hsiao-Hsien Starring: Shu Qi, Chang Chen, Mei Fang, Shao-Huai Chang Released: 22 Jan Certificate: 12A

Director: Leslye Headland Starring: Jason Sudeikis, Alison Brie, Adam Scott, Amanda Peet Released: 1 Jan Certificate: 15

How good is Hou Hsiao-Hsien? In his new film, The Assassin, even the wind seems to adhere to his unerring direction. Every frame of Hou’s gorgeously crafted film is a masterclass in composition, colour, movement and sound, and the film’s steady pacing gives us the time to drink in his images and to lose ourselves in this world.

The Assassin could probably be described as an action film, although it is an action film defined by stillness, with the violence exploding in brief, exhilarating and brilliantly choreographed sequences. Hou uses his actors as a key part of the mise-en-scène, with Shu Qi and Chang Chen having little dialogue but proving to be mesmerising presences, and Hou takes a similarly minimalist approach to his storytelling.

The Assassin’s narrative is perhaps more opaque than it needs to be, but the film is rewarding for patient and attentive viewers, and even those who do feel lost will appreciate the rare comfort of being in the hands of an absolute master at the very peak of his powers. [Philip Concannon]

It’s hard to settle on a low point of this scumbag manifesto from writerdirector Leslye Headland, but one scene in particular springs to mind. It involves two adults openly discussing their sexual predilections as they browse a department store, the pair’s unconventional dynamic provoking looks of shock, discomfort and awe among the staff. It’s far from the crassest or most nauseating sequence in Sleeping with Other People, yet it perfectly encapsulates the film’s self-satisfied, shit-eating countenance; Headland asserts that certain subjects should be addressed publicly, while grossly overplaying their capacity to shock in a manner that’s both out of touch and ultimately self-defeating.

There’s a degree of innovation in the narrative, a will-they-won’t-they between best friends who lost their virginity to each other over a decade previously, but there’s no mistaking traces of conventional Hollywood sexism in the film’s DNA. Jason Sudeikis assaults our senses as a vapid narcissist with whom only a genocidal Woody Allen could empathise, while Alison Brie is wasted as the lingerie-sporting waif in need of his rescue. [Lewis Porteous]

The Revenant

Spotlight

rrrrr

rrrrr

Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Will Poulter Released: 15 Jan Certificate: 15 Raining Stones

The Assassin

There’s a gripping 90-minute survival thriller buried somewhere within The Revenant’s 156 minutes, but Alejandro González Iñárritu was never going to make that movie. His film has flashes of brilliance, notably the stunningly effective bear attack that leaves Hugh Glass (DiCaprio) incapacitated, and the whole film is elevated by Emmanuel Lubezki’s typically spellbinding natural-light cinematography, but the film just grinds the viewer down. Overburdened by flashbacks and symbolic inserts, The Revenant becomes a real slog in its second hour, with Iñárritu’s heavy-handed direction ensuring that what should be poetic and transcendent instead feels ponderous and self-regarding.

DiCaprio suffers manfully in the lead role, but there’s only so much he can do with this limited character, and instead it’s supporting players like Tom Hardy and Will Poulter who draw the eye and leave us wanting more.

In the final stretches of the film we are supposed to feel the presence of God, but as DiCaprio’s desperate breathing fogs up the camera, we only feel the presence of the director. For Alejandro González Iñárritu, maybe that amounts to the same thing. [Philip Concannon]

FILM

Director: Tom McCarthy Starring: Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, Mark Ruffalo Released: 29 Jan Certificate: 15 There’s nothing flashy or attention-grabbing about Spotlight. Tom McCarthy’s film about the Boston Globe’s sensational 2002 exposé of sexual abuse in the Catholic church eschews any obvious dramatic hooks to stick rigidly to the facts. This approach pays dividends as Spotlight develops a compelling momentum and accumulative emotional weight through McCarthy’s intelligent storytelling, the nimble editing of Tom McArdle and the shrewd, modestly scaled performances from the actors, all of whom fit perfectly into this true ensemble piece.

Spotlight is simultaneously an inspiring celebration of great journalism and a powerful indictment of the widespread complicity that allows such abuse to flourish; “It takes a village to raise a child,” one character states, and “it takes a village to abuse one.” McCarthy’s direction is focused but undistinguished, and viewers may occasionally yearn for the visual expressiveness that Gordon Willis brought to All the President’s Men, but it’s hard to resist getting caught up in the film’s rhythm and it ultimately proves to be a worthy successor to Pakula’s classic tale. [Philip Concannon]

THE SKINNY

The Second Mother

Ricki and the Flash

A New Leaf

rrrrr

rrrrr

rrrrr

Director: Anna Muylaert Starring: Regina Casé, Michel Joelsas Released: 11 Jan Certificate: 15 Contradictions are the order of the day in Anna Muylaert's subversive yet heartwarming The Second Mother. The tone is a deft balance between class drama and gentle comedy, while tradition and progress push and pull ceaselessly at its centre. The balance is encapsulated by Val (Casé), a strong, independent protagonist whose sacrifices uphold a status quo that provides a roof over her head, but equally acts as a ceiling to keep her in her place.

Respectful of the family that employ her as a live-in maid, and adored by their son – hence the title – Val's life is shaken up when her smart, and equally smart-mouthed, daughter, Jessica (Camila Márdila), arrives in town and refuses to abide by the unspoken rules. As Jessica becomes the catalyst for changes to the household dynamic, Val's is a moving story of personal and private triumphs. It's a joy to watch. [Ben Nicholson]

Director: Jonathan Demme Starring: Meryl Streep, Mamie Gummer Released: Out now Certificate: 12 Working from a screenplay by Diablo Cody, Ricki and the Flash feels like a compendium of director Jonathan Demme’s career trademarks. In setup and execution, it comes across as a blend of his sorely underrated Rachel Getting Married and his various rock docs, with a pinch of Something Wild. Ricki star Meryl Streep doesn’t don a massive white suit à la David Byrne in Stop Making Sense, sadly.

Streep (on point with her most fun lead turn in years) is a bankrupt musician given a chance to reconnect with the family she abandoned for dreams of rock-and-roll stardom. Kevin Kline plays the ex-husband while Streep’s real-life progeny, Mamie Gummer, doubles as her onscreen daughter, who’s expressing suicidal urges following her recent divorce.

Ricki’s not a patch on those earlier-cited Demme works, but few films so heavy on bickering are quite as strangely relaxing as this deceptively slight gem from one of American cinema’s great humanists. [Josh Slater-Willams]

Director: Elaine May Starring: Elaine May, Walter Matthau Released: Out now Certificate: U In a video essay accompanying this release, critic David Cairns laments A New Leaf ’s unremarkable box office performance.

Had Elaine May’s debut taken off, he argues, it could have established the writer-director-star as cinema’s first female clown auteur. As things transpired, she immediately fell out of favour with Paramount and was never again granted full project control. Though her subsequent work offers tantalising glimpses of a unique comic voice, nowhere else would it seem so fully formed.

Here May pays homage to the screwball comedies of the 30s and 40s, but maintains a disconcertingly lackadaisical pace of her own. It’s great fun to watch Walter Matthau play against type as a spoilt trust fund kid – emanating deadpan fussiness as he plots to restore his fortune by marrying and murdering an uncouth heiress – but it’s the versatile and inventive May that both he and the audience fall for. [Lewis Porteous]

Love

The Quiet Man

Day of the Outlaw

rrrrr

rrrrr

rrrrr

Director: Gaspar Noé Starring: Karl Glusman, Aomi Muyock Released: 11 Jan Certificate: 18 “My biggest dream is to make a movie that truly depicts sentimental sexuality,” says Murphy (Glusman), the protagonist of Gaspar Noé's Love. Murphy is clearly a Noé avatar, and this movie is his dream come true, with the many sex scenes being staged and shot with an intimacy, frankness and skill that is worth celebrating. It's a shame about everything else.

Once again, Noé has paid more attention to technique than performance, and his characters here are blanks, whose romantic interactions consist of dumb platitudes and whose fights become interminable screaming matches; 135 minutes is an awful long time to spend inside a head as empty as Murphy's. While there's perhaps something self-mocking in Noé's approach, he's not selfaware or smart enough to pull off much of what he attempts, with a scene involving a trans prostitute marking a new low. You can watch Love in 3D, but it won't add any dimensions to the characters or this script. [Philip Concannon]

Director: John Ford Starring: John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara Released: Out now Certificate: U Sean Thornton (Wayne) arrives in his familial home of Inisfree to trade the bustle of the States for the sleepy charms of the Emerald Isle. He’s allured and bewildered in equal measure by the locals’ quaint ways and antiquated values, making him a pretty ideal avatar for anyone watching The Quiet Man today. And just as Thornton ultimately comes to find more to love than hate in the old-fashioned oddness of his new neighbours, Ford’s film remains highly endearing even as it shows its age.

It’s a true Sunday-afternoon American classic, rife with casual misogyny, hammy acting and slapstick humour, but with that oldschool Hollywood sparkle in its eye. Stepping back from the epic Western landscapes in which he built his legacy, Ford’s skills as a filmmaker flourish just as easily in this humbler setting, crafting a film filled with gorgeous shots and without a single wasted frame.

[Ross McIndoe]

Win a pair of tickets to Macbeth at HOME

Director: André de Toth Starring: Robert Ryan, Tina Louise, Burl Ives Released: Out now Certificate: PG André de Toth’s gorgeous black-and-white noir-tinged western, shot in 1959, is a terrific example of early genre interrogation that precedes the more commonly celebrated revisionist films of Sam Peckinpah, Clint Eastwood or Robert Altman. Here, quarrelling homesteaders on a small snowbound Wyoming settlement find their bickering is unimportant when a band of outlaws, fleeing both the cavalry and a howling storm, ride in and seize control.

Filming on a shoestring budget, and in freezing conditions, de Toth makes full use of the elements as the locals desperately scheme to overcome their captors. A fistfight in the snow is filmed mostly in sublime long shots that serve to illustrate the ultimate insignificance of combatants who are dwarfed by a desolate, overwhelming landscape. Things come to a head only when Robert Ryan’s curmudgeonly hero realises nature’s savage indifference and bravely endeavours to lead his foes straight into her path.

[Tom Grieve]

Win a tab to spend on food and drink at Bundobust!

Bundobust, Leeds’ award-winning street food and craft beer bar, are offering you the chance to win a £40 food and drink tab.

Serving traditional Gujarati road-side snacks paired with some of the world’s most interesting beer, Bundobust has fast become one of Leeds’ favourite casual and adaptable dining options.

Bundobust have announced plans to open in Manchester in mid-2016 – keep an eye out in The Skinny for more news and details. For your chance to win the £40 bar tab, simply head to theskinny.co.uk/competitions and correctly answer this question:

Shakespeare’s classic is reimagined in this ambitious new staging of Macbeth, taking place Tue 2-Sat 6 Feb at HOME in Manchester.

John Heffernan (Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell) and Anna Maxwell Martin (Midwinter of the Spirit) star in this stylish production that weaves powerful and unsettling choreography through Shakespeare’s text, culminating in an unforgettable final act.

The Guardian called it "a viscerally exciting production – Anna Maxwell Martin is an alarmingly cool, svelte Lady Macbeth."

What dream pairing does Bundobust specialise in? a) Cheese & Wine b) Indian Street Food & Craft Beer c) Oysters & Stout Competition closes midnight Sun 31 Jan. 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. Food and drink tab can be used at any time; winner must confirm when attending with Bundobust via email or telephone. Our Ts&Cs can be found at theskinny.co.uk/about/terms For more information: facebook.com/bundobust | twitter. com/bundobust | instagram.com/bundobust

Which one of these TV shows did Anna Maxwell Martin star in? a) Death Comes to Pemberley b) Emmerdale c) The Chase Competition closes midnight Tue 26 Jan. Winners will be notified via email within two working days of closing and will be required to respond within 24 hours or the prize will be offered to another entrant. Our Ts&Cs can be found at theskinny.co.uk/about/terms For tickets and more information: homemcr.org/ production/macbeth-2

January 2016

Photo: Giles Smith

For your chance to win a pair of tickets to a performance of Macbeth, simply head to theskinny. co.uk/competitions and correctly answer this question:

DVD / COMPETITIONS

Review

49

Life, Death and Videogames The role of videogames as a tool for coping is not one that’s often considered. Our Games editor looks back on how sombre indie title Limbo helped lay a path through dark times Words: Darren Carle

A

s a relatively recent medium, videogames are proving themselves to be an extremely progressive art form. Though early titles still have resonance to this day, it’s incredible to think how emotionally engaging games have become over the past 40 years.

Recent titles such as That Dragon, Cancer have tackled some deep issues while, more broadly, games are increasingly helping people overcome personal difficulties. Writing in Eurogamer last year, Christian Donlan spoke about how the obtuse difficulty of the game Spelunky had helped him come to terms with a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.

In this regard, my own personal balm is perhaps a combination of That Dragon, Cancer and Spelunky; a title that wasn’t specifically developed to counter a particular malady but certainly had many of the right ingredients to do so.

That game is Playdead’s cult indie title, Limbo.

With its monotone art style, Limbo was something of a revelation and, combined with a story pared down to its bare bones, its stale atmosphere was paradoxically a breath of fresh air. However, the game’s serendipitous timing amped my love for it no end and it was to become an unorthodox therapy for me in a fairly dark time of my life.

The Subconscious Effects of Limbo

At the time of its original release, my partner and I were recovering from the loss of our second child during pregnancy. The first (a girl) had reached the six month mark before passing away. The second (a boy) less than a year later, had not grown as far, his heart having stopped by the time of the three-month scan. Charlotte, as we would name our first, was the more brutal experience, my partner having to give birth to a baby who had died days earlier. The events surrounding our boy Jacob were more manageable but combined, the toll on both of us was considerable.

Returning from hospital, and booting up my trusty Xbox for a bit of respite, it was probably inevitable that I would download Limbo with it being the new indie kid on the block. However, I’m sure that somewhere inside I found a little bit of solace even from the game’s title screen and enticingly ominous, ambient soundtrack.

Indeed, much of what I got from my initial playthrough of Limbo was subconscious.

The story is deliberately vague and ambiguous, played out with no speech, subtitles or cutscenes. You control a young boy who wakens in a mysterious forest – no reasoning is given for this, and you’ll be no wiser come the end. Some critics bemoaned the lack of exposition and rationale for the events of the game, while others felt a spiritual comforting in a world free from the normal clunky trappings of videogames.

The general consensus is that you are playing a game set in the Catholic idea of purgatory. The ending is cyclical in one regard and certainly abrupt, but a cursory explanation is that it serves as the young boy’s personal trial, his own journey through purgatory to find his sister who has found her own idyllic piece of heaven. The obvious upshot to all this is that both have long passed, as the title screen itself secretly hints at.

None of this really sank in while I first played

50

Review

Limbo

Limbo, mainly due to its abstract nature. Like a great film that leaves you pondering it days later, Limbo took its time and several ‘viewings’ to reveal just what it meant for me. As a fairly short game, I completed it quickly – but that wasn’t enough. There were secrets to find and I felt unusually compelled to complete the game in its entirety.

“It’s incredible to think how emotionally engaging games have become over the past 40 years” Despite having played very few videogames herself, my partner has, admirably, always shown an interest in my hobby. Limbo was no different and during my animated descriptions of it, she had sussed a connection between current events and this strange monochrome game I was getting a bit carried away with. Assuming I too had noted the similarities, nothing was said explicitly. However, I was still oblivious for a few more days, long after completing it.

The penny did eventually drop, explaining away our fascination. In a world where we don’t know the answers to the big questions, there was some solace in being able to guide my little boy through the murky afterlife onto that bucolic little hill where his older sister was sitting waiting for him. Limbo doesn’t shy away from exposing certain harsh realities, though. The natural world can kill you without the slightest concern and though you only see them fleetingly, the other children in the game leave their mark with traps they use to try and kill you.

More brutal than any of this is a scene early on in the game. A brain-leaching parasite that causes its victims to lose control of their own actions is introduced when a child, much the same age as your protagonist, wanders onscreen and into a small lake. They quickly drown but their floating body allows you to traverse the water. Once across you then need to drag the unfortunate victim along some gravel and unceremoniously slide them down an embankment in order to trigger a brutal, crushing trap.

It obliterates any last trace of the poor child but allows you to survive and continue.

It’s cold stuff indeed, but it’s not without reason. Again, life is unforgiving and sometimes even little children die. Yet also, it could be seen in a slightly more positive way – sometimes, something has to die for something else to live.

In that regard I can finish up my own story with a happy ending. A few years after these events, we had a healthy baby boy. Our understanding,

TECH

perhaps our way of putting the past events to rest, is that Adam is only here but for the unfortunate events surrounding his siblings.

Of course, the death of a child as Limbo alludes to, as opposed to the loss of a baby in utero, are different things. Still, the similarities, combined with my own imagination about what my lost children may have been like, were enough for my mind to draw parallels to Limbo.

I’m sure very little of this was due to authorial intent but the meaning a player draws from a piece of art is more important in such instances.

There’s no shortage of personal stories about books, films and songs that have changed or enriched our lives. Yet talking in such regard to videogames is more likely to draw puzzled, embarrassed looks than nods of approval.

However, by their very nature of being playerled, games have arguably more opportunity to make connections, whether prescribed by the developers or not.

As a ‘spiritual sequel’ to Limbo, I am eager to play Inside, the forthcoming game from Playdead. It may have a lot to live up to, but a recent delay to ensure its quality is testament to the developer’s ethos. Combined with five years of further experience, I wouldn’t be surprised if Inside betters Limbo in many technical and aesthetic regards. However, it will be incredibly unlikely to eclipse Playdead’s auspicious debut in my heart. playdead.com

THE SKINNY

Manchester Music Tue 05 Jan SAMUEL C LEES

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:00–00:00, FREE

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

Wed 06 Jan

STUART MCCALLUM RESIDENCY

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:00–00:00, FREE

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

NIGHT AND DAY’S LOCAL SHOWCASE (KING WEEKEND + MOUNTAIN SONG + KIINGS) NIGHT AND DAY CAFE, 20:00–23:00, £6

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

MANCHESTER MID-DAY CONCERTS SOCIETY (RICHARD UTTLEY)

BRIDGEWATER HALL, 13:10–14:10, FREE

The latest in the daytime concert schedule.

Thu 07 Jan

NIGHT AND DAY’S LOCAL SHOWCASE (SURROUNDED BY ANGELS + SLY ANTICS + ALL HAIL HYENA + MARK OF 1000 EVILS) NIGHT AND DAY CAFE, 20:00–23:00, £6

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

FUTURE

O2 APOLLO MANCHESTER, 19:00–23:00, £40

The US rapper tours in support of his second album Honest, which made the top ten of the US Billboard Charts.

Fri 08 Jan THE BAD MAN CLAN

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:30–01:00, £5

Five-piece electric blues band playing original and cover material.

MAYBE FRANK

NIGHT AND DAY CAFE, 20:00–23:00, £4

Acoustic duo celebrating the launch of their new release.

INTERNATIONAL CONCERT SERIES (ACADEMY OF ST MARTIN IN THE FIELDS) BRIDGEWATER HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £12

The International Concert Series continues into 2016 with a stunning array of global classical talent.

BEN CAPLAN

GULLIVERS, 19:30–22:30, £7

Canadian folk muso with a rather resplendent beard, often to be found performing with his live band The Casual Smokers.

Sat 09 Jan HOZIER

O2 APOLLO MANCHESTER, 19:00–23:00, FROM £22.50

Irish soul-meets-blues one-manband, aka Andrew Hozier-Byrne, who joined his first band at the tender age of 15.

RNCM STRINGS FESTIVAL

ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC RNCM, 10:30–22:00, PRICES VARY

A host of events based around classical and contemporary string compositions.

LLAREGGUB BRASS BAND

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:30–01:00, £5

Bronx hip hop-inspired, New Orleans-tinged brass band formed in the deepest, darkest (and wettest) of North Wales.

PURGE (RIVAL BONES + THE INDIEANNAS + WE SIGNAL FIRE)

GULLIVERS, 19:30–23:00, £3

Local indie rock showcase.

VEGAN BEER AND CIDER FESTIVAL (SARAH DE WARREN + GARETH EVANS) THE THIRSTY SCHOLAR, 12:00–03:00, FREE

Vegan beer and cider as well as live music.

Sun 10 Jan

JOHANN STRAUSS GALA

BRIDGEWATER HALL, 15:00–17:00, FROM £14.50

Raymond Gubbay’s classic of music, laughter and dance, helmed by Rainer Hersch.

January 2016

RNCM STRINGS FESTIVAL

KALIN & MYLES

ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC RNCM, 10:30–22:00, PRICES VARY

MANCHESTER ACADEMY 3, 19:00–23:00, £10

A host of events based around classical and contemporary string compositions.

Mon 11 Jan H2O

SOUND CONTROL, 19:00–22:00, £15

New York hardcore band who reached their zenith in the late 90’s.

Tue 12 Jan ANGEL HAZE

BAND ON THE WALL, 19:30–22:30, £12.50

Dynamite American rapper and lyricist who began writing at the tender age of 11 and is becoming one of the most unique voices in the genre.

THE MANOUCHETONES

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:00–00:00, FREE

The latest collaboration between Micky Dunne and Karl Webb, performing a mixture of Reinhardt and Grappelli classics as a trio.

Wed 13 Jan

NIGHT AND DAY’S LOCAL SHOWCASE (JAMES OLDHAM + TOM KAY + JACK WOODWARD + CARL MORRIS) NIGHT AND DAY CAFE, 20:00–23:00, £6

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

KIRAN LEONARD

EAGLE INN, 19:30–23:00, £SOLD OUT

Experimental singer/songwriter hailing from Oldham, now signed to Moshi Moshi and with new tunes and a new album on the way.

MANCHESTER MID-DAY CONCERTS SOCIETY (DUCASSE TRIO)

American hip-hop duo from the Bay Area.

ALIEN ANT FARM

MANCHESTER CLUB ACADEMY, 19:30–23:00, £SOLD OUT

The Nu-Metal bandwagoneers get back on the road.

KOSMONAUTS

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 19:00–22:30, £7

Formed just last year, new Manchester four-piece playing your usual rock ‘n’ roll staples.

THE SMALL PRINTS

NIGHT AND DAY’S LOCAL SHOWCASE (THE 99 DEGREE + POPHYSTERIAVICTIM + MALTHUSIAN TRAP + THE ASCENSION)

NIGHT AND DAY CAFE, 20:00–23:00, £6

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

BBC PHILHARMONIC (LIFE, LIBERTY...AND GREAT TUNES!)

BRIDGEWATER HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £10

The BBC Philharmonic bring some of the finest classical talent to the Bridgewater Hall for 2016.

SLAVES

O2 RITZ MANCHESTER, 19:00–23:00, £13.50

The latest in the daytime concert schedule.

ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC RNCM, 19:30–22:00, £10

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:30–00:30, £5

RNCM BAROQUE SOLOISTS

The soloists perform work by Corelli and Scarlatti.

ROBERT LANE

RAMSBOTTOM CRICKET CLUB, 20:00–22:00, £5

Birmingham-based guitarist, songwriter and singer.

THREE DAYS GRACE

O2 RITZ MANCHESTER, 19:00–23:00, £16

Platinum-selling, chart-topping heavy rock five-piece return.

Thu 14 Jan

RNCM SAXOPHONE ORCHESTRA

ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC RNCM, 13:15–15:15, FREE

The saxophone orchestra are led

by Rob Buckland and Andy Scott through a versatile programme.

THE JOSHUA CAVANAGH-BRIERLEY NONET

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:00–00:30, FREE

A fusion of rock, pop and jazz, played by an ensemble of fresh young musicians.

DIVERSO STRING QUARTET

ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC RNCM, 19:30–22:00, £10

The first of five RNCM International Artist Diploma concerts taking place through January.

WAGNER, WEBER AND BRAHMS (THE HALLÉ) BRIDGEWATER HALL, 19:30–21:30, FROM £11

Lothar Koenigs returns to conduct Brahms’s majestic First Symphony.

Followed by Weber’s alluring Bassoon Concerto featuring the Hallé’s principal bassoonist Gretha Tuls and finally Wagner’s A Faust Overture.

Fri 15 Jan

THE LAZY RIVER JAZZ BAND

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:30–01:00, £5

Dixieland swing music influenced by the sounds of the 20s, 30s and 40s.

SLAVES

O2 RITZ MANCHESTER, 19:00–23:00, £SOLD OUT

Two white middle class guys named Slaves. Hmm. Standard two-piece rock.

RNCM WIND ORCHESTRA

ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC RNCM, 19:30–22:00, £10

The in-house ensemble perform some classical selections.

DANA ALI BAND

Durham-based pop-punk group featuring members of recent scene success story Martha.

Mon 18 Jan THE MACCABEES

ALBERT HALL, 19:00–23:00, £25

THE RUBY LOUNGE, 19:00–22:00, £5

AIDEN

SOUND CONTROL, 18:00–22:00, £15

The final chance to catch the long-standing metallers as they bid farewell.

THERION

MANCHESTER CLUB ACADEMY, 19:30–23:00, £20

Stockholm-based Swedish metallers.

CHRIS WISE AND THE HIDDEN REVOLUTION (O>L>A + TEZ SHEALS)

THE CASTLE HOTEL, 19:30–22:30, £5

Chris Wise & The Hidden Revolution make their live return with a very intimate show.

GIVE ME FRANCE + GLORIES + JOAN ATKINSON

THE KING’S ARMS, 19:30–22:00, FREE

Band night to lift those January blues.

CHALI 2NA + THE FUNK HUNTERS + IN THE LOOP DJS

BAND ON THE WALL, 19:00–22:00, FROM £12.50

Part of the legendary Jurassic 5, Chali 2NA strikes out on his own.

Sun 17 Jan

DELIA DERBYSHIRE DAY

HOME, 11:30–20:30, £8.50 (£6.50)

Honouring the work of pioneering electronic musician Delia Derbyshire, best known for penning the Dr Who theme song, HOME presents a night of new commissions, digital artwork and an audiovisual college of her work.

The Hayseed Dixie man takes to the road solo.

LOUIS LOUIS LOUIS

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:30–01:00, £5

THE CASTLE HOTEL, 19:30–22:30, £6

THE MACCABEES

ALBERT HALL, 19:00–23:00, £25

ALEXANDRA DARIESCU

LOUIS BERRY

Young local singer songwriter whose lyrics cut through politics and crime, love and loss.

RNCM OPERA SCENES

ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC RNCM, 18:00–21:00, FREE

Hot-jazz enthusiasts originally founded as a duo.

ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC RNCM, 14:00–00:00, PRICES VARY

A host of concerts, including the RNCM’s junior musicians as NMNW continues.

DILLY DALLY (TIGERCUB)

THE CASTLE HOTEL, 19:30–22:30, £8

Toronto indie-punks built on a rumbling tumult of unsanitised aggression.

BAABA MAAL

MANCHESTER ACADEMY 2, 19:30–23:00, £20

The Senegalese collective tour in support of their new album The Traveller.

Including works on piano by Medelssohn, Chopin and Szymanowski.

The RNCM singers perform classic opera staples.

INTERNATIONAL CONCERT SERIES (THE TALLIS SCHOLARS)

TNSRECORDS ALL-DAYER 2016 (FAINTEST IDEA + REVENGE OF... + VANILLA POD + THE DOMESTICS + MORE)

Wed 20 Jan

BRIDGEWATER HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £15

TNS Records showcase featuring some of the fiercest new punk.

RIOGHNACH CONNOLLY AND HENRY BOTHAM

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:00–00:00, FREE

Blues, jazz and swing trio, enriched

by Rioghnach Connolly’s warm vocals.

RNCM OPERA SCENES

ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC RNCM, 18:00–21:00, FREE

The RNCM singers perform classic opera staples.

BRAHMS, BRUCH AND SCHUMANN (THE HALLÉ) BRIDGEWATER HALL, 14:15–16:15, FROM £11

Brahms’s Haydn Variations contains some of the most ingenuous and attractive music written.

Additionally, Sophia Jaffé is the soloist in Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy followed by Schumann’s ‘Spring’ Symphony.

JEREMIH

O2 RITZ MANCHESTER, 19:00–23:00, £22.50

Thu 21 Jan

Manchester based Lucigenic return with original members, Stewart Burnett, Mark Woolfenden, Gary Wyatt, and Lucy Davies to promote upcoming release of their new album through Native Records.

JOHN WHEELER

THE MET, 20:00–22:30, £12

Tue 19 Jan

GORILLA, 19:00–22:00, £8

LUCIEGENIC

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:00–00:30, FREE

Toe-tapping classic swing outfit playing the music of Louis Prima and Ray Charles.

Def Jam signed rapping prodigy who exploded in 2015, now set to make good on his promise.

Award-winning folk musician from South Africa, whose debut album Trading Change debuted at number one in his homeland and was named Album of the Year 2014 by iTunes SA.

NEW MUSIC NORTHWEST 16: MANCHESTER INSPIRED + JUNIOR RNCM + THE VONNEGUT COLLECTIVE + THE RNCM LOUNGE

Increasingly mature indie group dipping into a four-strong bank of LPs.

Neo-soul group formed by husband and wife duo Dave Hewitt and Dana Ali. JEREMY LOOPS

ESCAPE THE FATE MANCHESTER CLUB ACADEMY, 19:30–23:00, £14

Fri 22 Jan

NO DITCHING

ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC RNCM, 19:30–22:00, FROM £14

Sat 16 Jan

MOTÖRHEAD O2 APOLLO MANCHESTER, 19:00–23:00, £36.50

THE CASTLE HOTEL, 19:00–22:00, £4

BAND ON THE WALL, 19:30–22:30, FROM £13

John Jones, Alan Prosser and Ian Telder from folk-rockers Oysterband play it acoustic, up close and personal.

AFTER HOURS RAUCHESTRA MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:30–01:00, £5

Broken Brass Ensemble combines the traditional New Orleans brass with hiphop, Balkan, funk, fanfare and much more.

Named after a Muse album track we reckon. Could go either way.

OYSTERS3

BROKEN BRASS ENSEMBLE BAND ON THE WALL, 19:30–22:30, FROM £8

The RNCM’s degree students present the Northern Sessions.

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 19:00–00:00, £3 (£2)

Increasingly mature indie group dipping into a four-strong bank of LPs.

GULLIVERS, 19:30–22:30, £5

Two white middle class guys named Slaves. Hmm. Standard two-piece rock.

BRIDGEWATER HALL, 13:10–14:10, FREE

RNCM POPULAR MUSIC DEGREE STUDENTS

THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER

SOUND CONTROL, 18:30–22:00, £16

Detroit-based melodic death metallers who list their interests as ‘smokin’ motherfucking weed and eating motherfucking snacks’.

Nice.

DAUGHTER

ALBERT HALL, 19:00–23:00, £17.50

Moody and electronic folk-esque melodies from the London-based trio, formerly just the solo work of Elena Tonra.

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.

NIGHT AND DAY’S LOCAL SHOWCASE (THE BLINDERS + BETHLEHEM CASUALS + LYON ROAD + LANTERNS) NIGHT AND DAY CAFE, 20:00–23:00, £6

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

RNCM GUITARS

ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC RNCM, 13:15–15:15, FREE

The RNCM classical guitarists pluck their way through a number of compositions.

MANCHESTER MID-DAY CONCERTS SOCIETY (TANYA SWEIRY + SOMI KIM)

BRIDGEWATER HALL, 13:10–14:10, FREE

The latest in the daytime concert schedule.

JAMIE LAWSON (LAUREN AQUILINA + RICHARD WALTERS) O2 RITZ MANCHESTER, 18:30–22:30, £13

Acoustic singer/songwriter sharing tracks from his latest LP. TOBY HUGHES AND BENJAMIN POWELL

ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC RNCM, 19:30–22:00, £10

The second of five RNCM International Artist Diploma concerts taking place through January.

The International Concert Series continues into 2016 with a stunning array of global classical talent.

ANGALEENA PRESLEY (DAVID RAMIREZ)

THE RUBY LOUNGE, 19:30–22:30, £14

The Kentucky coal miners daughter tours in support of her debut country LP American Middle Class.

NAHKO AND MEDICINE FOR THE PEOPLE

MANCHESTER ACADEMY 2, 20:00–23:00, £15

Oregon-native born Nahko who originally drew influence from the likes of Conner Oberst and Bob Dylan.

NEW MUSIC NORTHWEST 16: RNCM SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC RNCM, 19:30–22:00, PRICES VARY

The RNCM Symphony Orchestra kick off a week of new contemporary classical music at the RNCM. ADAM FRENCH

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 19:00–22:30, £5

Bowie-influenced singer songwriter born and raised in Congleton.

SONGS FOR WALTER

SOUP KITCHEN, 19:00–22:30, £4

The local singer songwriter, inspired by the life of his Grandad, celebrates the long-awaited launch of his debut LP with a full band show.

THE NEVILLE STAPLES BAND (DJ MARTIN THE MOD)

BAND ON THE WALL, 19:30–22:30, FROM £13

The Specials member and pop veteran still going strong over 35 years after starting out.

Sat 23 Jan VIEUX FARKA TOURE

BAND ON THE WALL, 19:30–22:30, FROM £13

Celebrated Malian singer and guitarist.

CANCER BATS

MANCHESTER ACADEMY 3, 19:30–23:00, £SOLD OUT

GULLIVERS, 14:00–23:00, FROM £7

SONGS OF SEPARATION

THE MET, 20:00–22:30, £20

Folk super collective including cult names like Eliza Carthy and Karine Polwart.

BEDROCK FESTIVAL (TEN FOOT WIZARD + BIGFOOT + RENEGADE & RETROSPECT + BULLETPROOF ROSE)

PUB/ZOO, 12:00–04:00, £5 (£2)

Two stages of solid hard rock headlined by stoner riff masters Ten Foot Wizard.

Sun 24 Jan

THE TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT

MANCHESTER ACADEMY 2, 19:00–23:00, £SOLD OUT

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

IN THIS MOMENT

O2 RITZ MANCHESTER, 19:00–23:00, £12.50

LA-based metalcore ensemble formed by singer Maria Brink and guitarist Chris Howorth back in 2005.

THE CORRS

MANCHESTER ARENA, 18:30–23:00, FROM £34.95

The sibling Irish folk ensemble return to a live setting.

NEW MUSIC NORTHWEST 16: WORKS OF LONG DURATION + MINIATURES + TRIO ATEM + DECONTAMINATION 5

ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC RNCM, 11:00–23:00, PRICES VARY

A showcase of various long duration pieces takes precedent on the latest day of New Music Northwest Week.

BRAHMS, BRUCH AND SCHUMANN (THE HALLÉ) BRIDGEWATER HALL, 19:30–21:30, FROM £11

Brahms’s Haydn Variations contains some of the most ingenuous and attractive music written.

Additionally, Sophia Jaffé is the soloist in Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy followed by Schumann’s ‘Spring’ Symphony.

Ragin’ Toronto quartet mixing hardcore, southern metal and punk rock into their very own lethal rock’n’roll explosion (i.e. this may get noisy).

Mon 25 Jan

GORILLA, 18:30–22:00, £14

A late-night ddmmyy night and a world premiere of new opera Mysterious 44 are among today’s highlights.

MINUS THE BEAR

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

JASON ISBELL (JOHN MORELAND)

O2 RITZ MANCHESTER, 18:30–22:00, £17.50

The former Drive-By Truckers chap continues to tour solo after leaving the group in 2007.

LEOPARDS

SOUND CONTROL, 19:00–22:00, £5

Alternative pop rock lot hailing from Manchester playing their final ever show.

THE LIBERTINES

MANCHESTER ARENA, 18:00–23:00, FROM £28

The Carl Barat and Pete Dohertyled unit return to a live setting, having, y’know, finally gotten over that ten-year falling out.

UNLIMITED VOICES (THE GREAT SONGS OF MUSICAL THEATRE)

BRIDGEWATER HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £10

A choir-led celebration of some choral favourites.

NEW MUSIC NORTHWEST 16: MONDAY RECITAL SERIES + MANTIS + MYSTERIOUS 44 + DDMMYY VARIOUS VENUES, 13:15–23:00, PRICES VARY

MUTEMATH

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 19:00–23:00, £14

Grammy award winning rockers return to the UK to tour their fourth record.

Tue 26 Jan NIGEL KENNEDY

Lemmy et al let rip with the usual growl of incomprehensible lyrics and battering of thrash metal.

HENRY BOTHAM’S MARDI GRAS TRIO

Botham teams up with Jamie Brownfield and Hugh Lawrence to bring Mardi Gras to Manchester.

NEW MUSIC NORTHWEST 16: LUNCHTIME RECITAL + ACM ENSEMBLE + BBC PHILHARMONIC AND PSAPPHA

ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC RNCM, 13:15–22:00, PRICES VARY

A team-up between new music collective Psappha and the BBC Phil is the undoubted highlight of the latest day of NMNW. AARON WATSON

THE RUBY LOUNGE, 19:00–22:00, £15

The rising Texas country singer songwriter makes the trek to the UK. PURE BATHING CULTURE

THE CASTLE HOTEL, 19:30–22:30, FREE

Portland-based songwriting duo head across to the UK with their second album Pray for Rain full of leftfield pop adventure.

Wed 27 Jan NINA NESBITT

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 19:00–23:00, £10

Half-Swedish, half-Scottish singer/songwriter in possession of a fine technical agility and emotive style.

TERROR

SOUND CONTROL, 18:00–22:00, £14

Terror return to the UK, having founded as a direct reaction to the underground hardcore scene in 2002.

KYLA BROX

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:00–00:00, FREE

UK-based blues and soul singer/ songwriter, redefining her sound as a duo performance, joined by Danny Blomeley on guitar.

THE BIG CHRIS BARBER BAND

THE PLAZA STOCKPORT, 19:30–22:00, FROM £18.70

The 80-odd year-old jazz master plays a selection of the best tunes from New Orleans and traditional jazz hits.

RNCM OPERA SCENES

ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC RNCM, 18:00–21:00, FREE

The RNCM singers perform classic opera staples.

DEGENERATE MUSIC

MANCHESTER JEWISH MUSEUM, 19:00–22:00, FREE

Holocaust Memorial Day is remembered by the Jewish Museum by presenting Degenerate Music: Music Banned by the Nazis, including Weimar cabaret, jazz, opera and protest songs.

NEW MUSIC NORTHWEST 16: LUNCHTIME RECITAL + RNCM NEW ENSEMBLE + DISTRACTFOLD

ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC RNCM, 13:15–23:00, PRICES VARY

The RNCM New Ensemble perform new work and old as part of NMNW.

Thu 28 Jan GABRIELLE APLIN

ALBERT HALL, 19:00–23:00, £16.50

Experimental musician working her magic over the folk-pop template, all hints of choirs and twinkly noises.

MARTYN JOSEPH

The longstanding Bristol trip-hop duo play with support from Young Fathers – who recently collaborated on the score for 3D of Massive Attack’s new short film.

SON YAMBU

BAND ON THE WALL, 19:30–22:30, FROM £10

Fusing Spanish and African rhythms to play authentic Cuban songs.

Fri 29 Jan STEVEN WILSON

O2 APOLLO MANCHESTER, 19:00–23:00, FROM £22.50

The Porcupine Tree frontman takes to the road solo, accompanied by his live band.

BBC PHILHARMONIC (MAHLER’S FOURTH SYMPHONY)

BRIDGEWATER HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £10

The BBC Philharmonic bring some of the finest classical talent to the Bridgewater Hall for 2016.

THE HOT BOTZ BRASS BAND

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:30–01:00, £5

Halloween special by the sonically and visually striking brass band.

RUM THIEF (BLACK SONIC REVOLVER + EASY KILL + THE MANTELLS + THE GAS PANIC) O2 RITZ MANCHESTER, 19:00–23:00, £8

Solo garage rock from Chorlton.

RAG ‘N’ BONE MAN

SOUND CONTROL, 18:30–22:00, £9

One-man brutal trash blues noise machine, on drums, harmonica, guitar and expletives.

PLAISTOW

BAND ON THE WALL, 19:00–22:00, FREE

Swiss band hotly tipped by Band on the Wall and dubbed “post-jazz” by some.

MAT WALKLATE + PAULO FUSCHI

THE MET, 20:00–22:30, £10

Classic 50s and 60s blues, R&B and a little ska from British Blues Harp Champion Mat Walklate on harmonica and vocals and Paolo Fuschi on guitar.

THE SWING COMMANDERS

THE MET, 20:00–22:30, £11

Lancashire quintet whose mission apparently is to promote sophisticated harmonies, hot solos and pretty dresses.

Sat 30 Jan LINDI ORTEGA

THE RUBY LOUNGE, 19:30–22:30, £12.50

The Canadian singer/songwriter does her country-styled-popmeets-rockabilly thing, most likely in cherry-red cowboy boots.

ALLIGATOR GUMBO

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:30–01:00, £5

Leeds-based jazz musicians playing a mix of styles inspired by early jazz/swing music in New Orleans – which has surprisingly little to do with large reptilian-based stew.

MAYDAY PARADE

O2 RITZ MANCHESTER, 18:30–22:00, £16

JAMIE BROWNFIELD QUARTET

BRIDGEWATER HALL, 19:30–21:30, FROM £18

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 21:00–00:30, FREE

A mix of bebop, mainstream swing and New Orlean’s funk from British Jazz Award up-and-comer, Jamie Brownfield.

THE RAILS

THE MET, 20:15–22:30, £10

THE LONE BELLOW

MANCHESTER ACADEMY 2, 19:30–23:00, £22.50

Brooklyn-based country ensemble led by singer and principal songwriter Zach Williams.

MASSIVE ATTACK (YOUNG FATHERS)

O2 APOLLO MANCHESTER, 19:00–23:00, £33.50

Emo rockers hit the road, strained vocals all well and in place.

Sharp, true folk rock rarely heard since the 70’s.

BAND ON THE WALL, 19:30–22:30, FROM £10

ANNE MARIE

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 19:00–23:00, £6

Hype Machine sensation who mixes pop nous with R ‘n’ B steeped grooves.

WATERSIDE ARTS CENTRE, 20:00–22:30, £16

The Welsh singer/songwriter does his acoustic folk thing.

BRIDGEWATER HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £29.50

Violinist Nigel Kennedy presents a special acoustic version of his Four Seasons.

Tour loving rockers back on the road again.

MICHAEL SCHENKER’S TEMPLE OF ROCK

The German metal guitarist – best known as lead guitarist with UFO – returns to a live setting with his classic rock outfit, Temple of Rock.

IZZY BIZU

NIGHT AND DAY CAFE, 20:00–23:00, £6.50

Young London-based songstress of Ethiopian descent.

ESPAÑA (THE HALLÉ)

Forget the January weather and feel the warmth of the Mediterranean in a night of Spanish classics.

Craig Ogden performs the world’s best known guitar concerto, in a programme filled with Iberian rhythms.

SOUND CONTROL’S 6TH BIRTHDAY

SOUND CONTROL, 19:00–03:00, £5

A host of Sound Control’s favourite local artists plus the House Party afterparty help to celebrate six years of the much-loved venue.

Sun 31 Jan REBECCA FERGUSON

BRIDGEWATER HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £22.50

Liverpudlian singer/songwriter and X Factor almost-was.

Listings

51

Manchester Music THE CADILLAC THREE MANCHESTER ACADEMY 2, 19:00–23:00, £SOLD OUT

Formerly The Cadillac Black, the trio flip between heavy rock and and Southern folk.

BOXX RECORDS SUNDAY SHOWCASE

MATT AND PHRED’S JAZZ CLUB, 19:00–01:00, £6

New talent and emerging jazz artists.

SPEAK LOW IF YOU SPEAK LOVE

SOUND CONTROL, 19:00–22:30, £8

Singer songwriter known by day as Ryan Graham apparently fuses elements of Evan Weiss-laden melodies with the pop sensibility of Taylor Swift.

AOIFE O’DONOVAN

THE MET, 20:00–22:30, £14

Returning to The Met after her successful appearance with I’m With Her, Aoife O’Donovan brings along a band to help parade her new album due for release in January, In the Magic Hour.

Mon 01 Feb

COHEED AND CAMBRIA (GLASSJAW)

O2 RITZ MANCHESTER, 19:00–23:00, £27.50

The American hard rock powerhouse return to the live arena.

THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS

MANCHESTER ACADEMY 2, 19:30–23:00, £20

The Brooklyn originals play a special set – their boundless creativity and live spontaneity all well and in place.

AURORA

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 19:00–23:00, £SOLD OUT

Norwegian singer songwriter signed to Decca Records.

FICTONIAN

FALLOW CAFE, 20:00–23:00, £5

Distiller Records signed new uns who’ve supported Nick Mulvey in the past.

Liverpool Music Wed 06 Jan

CAM PENNER + JON WOOD

THE ATKINSON, 19:30–22:00, £9

The folk pairing return to the UK from their native Cananda, with a new record out to promote.

Fri 08 Jan

VEGAN BEER AND CIDER FESTIVAL (SARAH DE WARREN + GARETH EVANS) MAGUIRE’S PIZZA BAR, 16:00–23:30, FREE

Fri 15 Jan

DRIFTS + BREAK-UPS + PARDON US + ARMS

MAGUIRE’S PIZZA BAR, 19:30–23:00, £4

A load of great punk from the North of England and beyond descends on Maguire’s Pizza Bar.

Sat 16 Jan BRAND NEW ZEROES

THE LANTERN THEATRE, 19:00–22:00, £10

New band originally built around the songwriting partnership of singer Ronan MacManus and guitarist Luke James Dolan.

Sun 17 Jan UNLIMITED VOICES

ST GEORGE’S HALL, 19:30–21:30, £12.50

A choir-led celebration of some choral favourites.

Wed 20 Jan OYSTERS3

THE ATKINSON, 19:30–22:00, £14 (£12)

John Jones, Alan Prosser and Ian Telder from folk-rockers Oysterband play it acoustic, up close and personal.

Thu 21 Jan BEARDYMAN

EPSTEIN THEATRE, 20:00–22:30, £18.50 (£16.50)

The London-based beatboxing king (known to his mammy as Darren Foreman) plays a set of his livelooping beatbox.

LAURA CANNELL

EVERYMAN THEATRE, 20:00–22:00, £7

Fiddle and recorder player drawing on medieval music for her improvisational compositions, incorporating fragments of 5th14th century music.

GORDIE TENTREES

THE ATKINSON, 19:30–22:00, £10

The Ontario raised singer songwriter now six albums into his career comes back to the UK. ANIMALS AND FRIENDS

THE BRINDLEY, 20:00–22:30, £21

Members of the veteran 60’s group famous for songs like House of The Rising Sun.

Fri 22 Jan DAUGHTER

Moody and electronic folk-esque melodies from the London-based trio, formerly just the solo work of Elena Tonra.

THE CORRS

ECHO ARENA, 19:30–23:00, FROM £29.50

The sibling Irish folk ensemble return to a live setting.

Sat 23 Jan LOUIS BERRY

ARTS CLUB, 19:00–22:00, £6

Young local singer songwriter whose lyrics cut through politics and crime, love and loss.

Sun 24 Jan

Sat 09 Jan

ST GEORGE’S HALL, 19:30–22:00, £12

ARTS CLUB, 19:00–23:00, £17.50

Nu metallers of the world rejoice!

The Michael Jackon-covering Americans and gruff Essex veterans tour together.

Sun 10 Jan

GRIMETHORPE COLLIERY BAND

ST GEORGE’S HALL, 15:00–17:00, £21

The real stars of the hit movie Brassed Off return to Liverpool in no-less demand than they were nearly 20 years ago.

LEAF, 20:00–23:00, £5

Finally! Sick of them lot up in Scotland crowing on about the gloriousness of Neu! Reekie!, we're delighted to be partnering the mixed performance night of live poetry and music as they come to Liverpool for the first time.

Fri 29 Jan GABRIELLE APLIN

O2 ACADEMY, 19:00–23:00, £16.50

Experimental musician working her magic over the folk-pop template, all hints of choirs and twinkly noises.

LINDI ORTEGA

ARTS CLUB, 19:30–22:00, £12

The Canadian singer/songwriter does her country-styled-popmeets-rockabilly thing, most likely in cherry-red cowboy boots.

VIEUX FARKA TOURE

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC MUSIC ROOM, 20:00–22:00, £16.50

Celebrated Malian singer and guitarist.

Sat 30 Jan LOATHE

O2 ACADEMY, 19:00–23:00, £TBC

Malta’s premiere metal band make an early year trip to the UK bringing their full rifftastic grunt with them.

CARNIVAL OF MADNESS

ECHO ARENA, 18:30–23:00, £31.50

Heading up the Carnival... invasion will be Kentucky rockers, Black Stone Cherry, special guests Shinedown, Halestorm and opening the evening are newcomers Highly Suspect.

FAIRPORT CONVENTION

THE ATKINSON, 19:30–22:00, £20

The longtime British folk-rockers draw on classic songs old and new.

Sun 31 Jan

THE BIG BAND WITH FIVE STAR SWING

THE BRINDLEY, 19:30–22:00, £17

Expect all the classics, from Glenn Miller to Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald.

O2 ACADEMY, 19:30–23:00, £17.50

Vegan beer and cider as well as live music.

ALIEN ANT FARM + INME

NEU! REEKIE!: THE FIRST AND LAST (PETE WYLIE, HOLLIE MCNISH, EUGENE KELLY, ELEANOR REES + MORE)

YUNPENG WANG RECITAL

As a continuation of the Liverpool Opera Four Seasons series, a member of the new opera star generation, Chinese baritone Yunpeng Wang performs.

JOE BROWN

SOUTHPORT THEATRE, 19:30–22:00, FROM £29.15

Manchester Clubs Sat 09 Jan GIRLS ON FILM

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 22:00–03:00, PRICES VARY

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

FUNKADEMIA

MINT LOUNGE, 22:30–04:00, £5

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

Fri 15 Jan GOO

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 22:00–03:00, PRICES VARY

The rock’n’roll musical ledge plays accompanied by his live five-piece band, which includes his son (aka record producer Pete Brown).

Monthly club night tribute to 90s indie – expect Pulp, Nirvana, Suede, Smashing Pumpkins, Pixies and more.

LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC MUSIC ROOM, 20:00–22:00, £12

JOSHUA BROOKS, 23:00–04:00, £4

THE RAILS

JAKK

Tue 12 Jan

Sharp, true folk rock rarely heard since the 70’s.

Jakk Events bring back Dutch Wizard ‘Invite’ to manchester for the second time.

O2 ACADEMY, 19:00–23:00, £SOLD OUT

Tue 26 Jan

Sat 16 Jan

O2 ACADEMY, 19:30–23:00, £22.50

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 22:00–03:00, PRICES VARY

SLAVES

Two white middle class guys named Slaves. Hmm. Standard two-piece rock.

HOZIER

LIVERPOOL EMPIRE THEATRE , 19:30–22:30, £SOLD OUT

Irish soul-meets-blues one-manband, aka Andrew Hozier-Byrne, who joined his first band at the tender age of 15.

Thu 14 Jan ROY G HEMMINGS

THE BRINDLEY, 19:30–22:00, £21

Hear the songs of The Temptations, The Four Tops, Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, The Supremes, Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie and more.

MICHAEL SCHENKER’S TEMPLE OF ROCK

The German metal guitarist – best known as lead guitarist with UFO – returns to a live setting with his classic rock outfit, Temple of Rock.

Wed 27 Jan CANCER BATS

O2 ACADEMY, 19:00–23:00, £11

Ragin’ Toronto quartet mixing hardcore, southern metal and punk rock into their very own lethal rock’n’roll explosion (i.e. this may get noisy).

Thu 28 Jan FRONTEERS

THE SHIPPING FORECAST, 19:30–22:30, £3

Super young four-piece indie rockers from Hull.

52

Listings

GIRLS ON FILM

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

FUNKADEMIA

MINT LOUNGE, 22:30–04:00, £5

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

LIVE WIRE AND FRIENDS

SOUTH, 23:00–04:00, FREE

Live Wire return with another night of house, techno and everything in between.

Clubs Manchester

COVERT FREE PARTY MANTRA LIVE, 23:00–04:00, FREE

Buoyed by a hugely successful 2015, Covert are taking a diversion from their usual environs of Sankeys to host a free party to welcome 2016, taking place at new Ancoats spot Mantra Live and headed up by local deep house head Just Jorge.

Fri 22 Jan HOMOELECTRIC

HIDDEN, 22:00–04:00, £12

Offering up a melting pot of disco, house, techno, garage with a sprinkling of rock’n’roll attitude and a dash of glamour.

UPTOWN

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 23:00–03:00, £3

The best in disco, funk, boogie and party classics.

RELAPSE VS AMENTED (FORBIDDEN SOCIETY)

JOSHUA BROOKS, 23:00–04:00, £7.50

Relapse and Amented take over both floors of Joshua Brooks for a special party.

Sat 23 Jan GIRLS ON FILM

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 22:00–03:00, PRICES VARY

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

FUNKADEMIA

MINT LOUNGE, 22:30–04:00, £5

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

FLEETMAC WOOD PRESENTS I SEE YOUR GYPSY

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 23:00–03:00, FROM £6

Clubnight all about – you guessed it – Fleetwood Mac. TEMPO

TEXTURE, 21:00–04:00, £8

First big night of the year at Texture, featuring soulful house all night long.

Wed 27 Jan TERROR

SOUND CONTROL, 18:00–22:00, £14

Terror return to the UK, having founded as a direct reaction to the underground hardcore scene in 2002.

FRIDAY NIGHT REGGAE (BRAND NEW SECOND HAND) BAND ON THE WALL, 23:00–03:00, £6

Friday Night Reggae presents a monthly reggae night, featuring a changing roster of selectors, DJs and special guests.

Sat 30 Jan GIRLS ON FILM

THE DEAF INSTITUTE, 22:00–03:00, PRICES VARY

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

CRAIG CHARLES FUNK AND SOUL CLUB (JULIETTE ASHBY)

BAND ON THE WALL, 21:00–03:00, FROM £14

The Craig Charles Funk and Soul Club returns with the internationally acclaimed Juliette Ashby playing live! Plus Craig Charles manning the decks ‘till the early hours with the planet’s funkiest tunes.

LIFE IN COLOR UK (NICKY ROMERO + LAIDBACK LUKE + SANDER VAN DOORN + DANNY AVILA + MORE) VICTORIA WAREHOUSE, 21:00–05:00, FROM £27.50

The world’s largest “paint party” comes to the UK, with superstar DJ Nicky Romero of Protocol Recordings headlining events.

GRRRLS ON TOP: ‘GENDER-BENDER’ PARTY (CHILD + MAN WITH FEATHERS)

ISLINGTON MILL, 19:00–02:00, £14

Join Grrrls On Top zine for an evening of cross-dressing, serenaded by a select line-up of DJs and performers for an undergound Grrrls disco.

ARTISAN PARTYSAN

KOSMONAUT, 18:00–02:00, FREE

After-work and into the night social for Saturday staffers and party starters brought to the Kosmonaut basement by Wet Play’s Matt Ward and Out in the Sticks Russell Marsland.

Liverpool Clubs Thu 07 Jan GET YOUR WOOD ON

THE KRAZYHOUSE, 22:30–04:00, £TBC

The best of all three floors at the Krazyhouse packed into one.

ISLINGTON MILL, 22:30–05:00, £10

Scott Fraser and Timothy J. Fairplay host their favourited music club playing a decidedly left-field selection of Krautrock, electronic, dub and everything inbetween.

LOWDOWN 6TH BIRTHDAY (KOMA & BONES) JOSHUA BROOKS, 23:00–04:00, £7

A bittersweet moment as Lowdown celebrate their sixth birthday but also say goodbye, after over half a decade of breaks and heavy beats.

EL DIABLO’S SOCIAL CLUB

SOUP KITCHEN, 23:00–04:00, FROM £4

El Diablo's Social Club kick off 2016 with the first outing from new production duo Ron Neil aka Crazy P's Ron Basejam and EDSC's own Neil Diablo.

RUBIX / CUBE

ANTWERP MANSION, 22:00–03:00, £TBC

Rubix take the downstairs with a host of 80’s favourites, with Cube taking upstairs with the best of the 90’s.

SUBMERGED

SOUTH, 23:00–04:00, £6

House and techno night with Pirupa (Nonstop / Defected) headlining proceedings.

RAGE

THE KRAZYHOUSE, 22:30–05:00, £3

RAGE

THE KRAZYHOUSE, 22:30–05:00, £3

Fri 29 Jan AMBUSH!

THE KRAZYHOUSE, 22:30–04:00, £TBC

Friday night capers at Liverpool’s gnarliest rock club.

MASQ LIVERPOOL 1ST BIRTHDAY

THE GARAGE, 22:00–05:00, £5

Like it says on the tin: warehouse party where attendees wear white masks while a host of deep house and techno DJs keep you dancing all night.

M62 RECORDS LAUNCH PARTY

24 KITCHEN STREET, 22:00–04:00, FROM £2

New bass music label founded by Aiden Ryan in 2015, celebrating their launch with a host of local talent including Chig, Clash Bandicoot, Pidge, Lack and more.

Sat 30 Jan RAGE

AMBUSH!

THE KRAZYHOUSE, 22:30–04:00, £TBC

Friday night capers at Liverpool’s gnarliest rock club.

JOLT 2ND BIRTHDAY

24 KITCHEN STREET, 22:00–05:00, FROM £6

Techno don Mark Broom and Mistress Recordings artist Nicson come to town to celebrate Jolt’s second year in existence.

Sat 16 Jan RAGE

THE KRAZYHOUSE, 22:30–05:00, £3

Mixed-bag night spread out over all three floors, serving up indie, rock, alternative and dance tunes.

UNITY

THE BRINDLEY, 19:00–21:00, £7

A professional dance programme production by Cornton Sixth Form College.

Thu 21 Jan GET YOUR WOOD ON

THE KRAZYHOUSE, 22:30–04:00, £TBC

The best of all three floors at the Krazyhouse packed into one.

PRISON GAME

Developed using real life accounts and experiences this partially autobiographical story deals with the psychological after-effects on a person who has been institutionalised.

WHEN I FEEL LIKE CRAP I GOOGLE KIM KARDASHIAN FAT

22 JAN, 24 JAN, TIMES VARY, £12 (£10)

Mighty Heart Theatre are on a quest to discover why anyone would ever google ‘Kim Kardashian Fat’. Join their journey through selfies, celebrity culture, self-esteem, heart to hearts and dancing to your favourite song.

BARBARIANS

28–30 JAN, 7:30PM – 9:30PM, FROM £10

Following his sell-out performances of tHE bAD in April 2015, Hofesh Shechter returns to present a sparse world for three different takes on intimacy, passion and the banality of love.

THE KRAZYHOUSE, 22:30–05:00, £3

Hope Mill Theatre

DOWN TO FUNK

13–23 JAN, NOT 17, 18, 19, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, £12 (£10)

Mixed-bag night spread out over all three floors, serving up indie, rock, alternative and dance tunes.

CONSTELLATIONS, 19:00–03:00, £9

Down To Funk get their grooves on with the aid GUTS, as well as the usual DTF residents.

FIESTA BOMBARDA

PALM HOUSE, 19:30–01:00, £SOLD OUT

The everisland bunch return with their latest carnival event, this time taking it to the Palm House with the usual cacophony of music, visuals and performances.

ORPHANS

The debut production by Play With Fire at the new Hope Mill Theatre, Orphans sees two grown orphan brothers have the tables turned on them as the Chicago gangster they’ve kidnapped frees himself and takes charge.

Manchester Arena

STRICTLY COME DANCING TOUR 2016

Manchester Theatre SWAN LAKE

The Russian State Ballet of Siberia and the Orchestra of the Russian State Ballet come together to perform Swan Lake. Matinees also available.

A decade spanning, post-apocalyptic epic A-Bomb on Broadway is a new piece of theatre charting the memories and dreams of individuals as the world burns, combining stream of conscious monologues, dynamic staging and a tense soundtrack.

Fri 15 Jan

19–21 JAN, TIMES VARY, £12 (£10)

19–21 JAN, TIMES VARY, £12 (£10)

The best of all three floors at the Krazyhouse packed into one.

Thu 14 Jan THE KRAZYHOUSE, 22:30–04:00, £TBC

YOU MUST BE THE ONE TO BURY ME

THE KRAZYHOUSE, 22:30–04:00, £TBC

GET YOUR WOOD ON

HOME

The best of all three floors at the Krazyhouse packed into one.

Manchester

Thu 28 Jan

Mixed-bag night spread out over all three floors, serving up indie, rock, alternative and dance tunes.

GET YOUR WOOD ON

Theatre Emerging physical theatre company Babel Theatre present an original piece of contemporary theatre about how we love and how we remember.

Mixed-bag night spread out over all three floors, serving up indie, rock, alternative and dance tunes.

UNTIL 18 JAN, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

HIDDEN, 22:00–04:00, FROM £10

CRIMES OF THE FUTURE

Sat 23 Jan

THE KRAZYHOUSE, 22:30–04:00, £TBC

Sat 09 Jan

Fri 29 Jan

Friday night capers at Liverpool’s gnarliest rock club.

Bridgewater Hall

AMBUSH!

Friday night capers at Liverpool’s gnarliest rock club.

House of Wax’s first party of the year, this time joined by My Love Is Underground labels Jeremy Underground.

AMBUSH!

THE KRAZYHOUSE, 22:30–04:00, £TBC

Fri 08 Jan

Thu 28 Jan

HOUSE OF WAX (JEREMY UNDERGROUND)

Fri 22 Jan

A-BOMB ON BROADWAY

22-26 JAN, TIMES VARY, £12 (£10)

WHAT’S THE MATTER WITH YOU?

23 JAN, 7:00PM – 9:00PM, £12 (£10)

This show tackles the big bad world of mental health, beginning by asking: what’s your story?

INKHEART

UNTIL 9 JAN, TIMES VARY, FROM £20

30 JAN, 6:30PM – 10:00PM, FROM £41

The celebs (we use that term lightly) and dancers from television phenomenon Strictly Come Dancing take to the stage for the annual live tour. We trust you’re suitably excited? Matinees on Saturday and Sunday.

MediaCityUK

AND THEN YOU KISSED ME 12 JAN, 7:30PM-9:30PM, £10

Play exploring the way in which sexual chemistry and an innate need for love and care within all of us can become toxic.

Octagon Theatre THE BFG

SheepKnuckle’s attempt to re-enact the good old days, they discuss how hopeless romantics say “I love you” as they detail the difficulties of defining memory and imagination when separated by miles, time zones and breakdowns.

A playful examination of the guilt-ridden one-upmanship of mainstream baby culture, Search Party consider what sort of man their son and heir will become.

Royal Exchange Theatre INTO THE WOODS

UNTIL 16 JAN, TIMES VARY, FROM £16

On the outskirts of the city lies a fantastical forest where curses are reversed and wishes can come true. In the shadows of the trees something magical, fanciful and strange is happening, but wishes are dangerous beasts to manage.

Matinees available.

WIT

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 21 JAN AND 13 FEB, 7:30PM – 9:30PM, £16

A Pulitzer-prize winning play, Wit strikingly reflects on the frailty of existence and the complex relationship between knowledge and love. Matinees available.

The King’s Arms THE BASTARD QUEEN + NOT THE HORSE

28–29 JAN, 7:30–9:30PM, FREE

A double bill of shows from the award-winning Naughty Corner Productions. #PLAY4FREE BEACH HUNKS:HEALTHY APPETITE

8–9 JAN, 9:00PM – 10:00PM, FREE

The hunks are back with a bevy of new characters, returning favourites and their trademark mix of sadness, surrealism and very good jokes! #PLAY4FREE ZACH RODDIS

13 JAN, 9:15PM – 10:15PM, FREE

Fresh off a two week tour of the UK including a sold out Manchester show, Zach Roddis debuts his first ever hour-long show. #PLAY4FREE THE ART

17–19 JAN, 7:30PM – 8:30PM, FREE

In a dilapidated old house at the bottom of a street there’s a very old woman who can do very strange things. Tommy says she’s a witch. Yeah right says Jimmy.

Can she really grant wishes? What begins as a laugh soon spirals. #PLAY4FREE THE BOOK OF NORTHERN

The Lowry Studio

THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 5 JAN AND 16 JAN, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

The latest incarnation of the favourited rock’n’roll musical arrives in the Northwest. Matinees also available.

THRILLER LIVE

15–17 JAN, 8:00PM – 10:00PM, £12 (£10)

A BRAVE AND STARTLING TRUTH

MY SON AND HEIR

29–30 JAN, 7:30PM – 8:30PM, £12 (£10)

Opera House

CATS

16–17 JAN, 12:00PM – 2:00PM, £12 (£10)

Royal Exchange Studio

20 JAN, 23 JAN, TIMES VARY, FREE

18–23 JAN, TIMES VARY, FROM £21.15

Inspired by Nordic Noir thrillers such as The Killing and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Roseacre follows the story of an undercover police officer caught in a world of lies, betrayal and murder.

The magical story of the world’s favourite Nanny arriving on Cherry Tree Lane brought to the stage.

UNTIL 9 JAN, TIMES VARY, FROM £9

Roald Dahl’s classic story is brought to life in all its snozzcumber-y glory for kiddies (and adults) this festive season. Matinee performances also available.

HOME’s present their inaugural festive offering, adapted from Cornelia Funke’s brilliant, worldwide best-selling fantasy adventure novel for children.

ROSEACRE

MARY POPPINS VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 20 JAN AND 5 MAR, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, FROM £22.50

Touring concert celebrating the career of the undisputed King of Pop, paying homage to Jacko’s legendary O.T.T. live stage performances.

Matinees also available.

30 JAN – 13 FEB, NOT 7 FEB, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, FROM £15

One of many musical sensations from Andrew Lloyd-Webber comes to the Opera House. Matinee performances also available.

Palace Theatre Manchester

THE SIMON AND GARFUNKEL STORY

13 JAN, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, FROM £19.90

Musical retelling of the songwriting partnership’s stellar career, told using both original photos and film footage.

The Book of Northern vibrantly explores the North West of England’s history, culture, and even the smell of today.

AND THEN YOU KISSED ME 13 –14 JAN, 7:30PM-9:30PM, £10

Play exploring the way in which sexual chemistry and an innate need for love and care within all of us can become toxic.

RUN / ODYSSEY

20 JAN, 8:00PM – 10:30PM, FROM £10

Theatre Ad Infinitum’s Odyssey brings the timeless Greek myth to life in a double header alongside devised piece Run. LOCUS AMOENUS

28 JAN, 8:00PM – 10:00PM, FROM £10

New piece from Catalan theatre company Atresbandes, who won the Jury Prize at BE Festival 2012.

I HEART CATHERINE PISTACHIO

29 JAN, 8:00PM – 10:00PM, FROM £10

Dark physical comedy about a square-eyed young girl stuck in a suburban swamp of abuse.

The Lowry: Lyric Theatre THE GIRLS

8–30 JAN, NOT SUNDAYS, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, FROM £13

Tax-dodger Gary Barlow’s new musical innit. Matinees also available.

THE SKINNY

The Lowry: Quays Theatre HETTY FEATHER

UNTIL 10 JAN, TIMES VARY, FROM £21

From best-selling author Jacqueline Wilson, the tale of plucky Hetty Feather is brought to life on stage with an original musical score, circus skills and a huge heart. Matinees available.

THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL

16 JAN, 7:00PM – 9:00PM, £15

Based on Hans Christian Andersen’s classic story, this tale of an impoverished young street girl’s hopes and dreams is told through dance, song and original music. Matinees available (Sat & Sun).

DANCING PARTNERS

22–23 JAN, 8:00PM – 10:00PM, £15

Including work from, Spellbound Contemporary Ballet (Italy), Company Chameleon (Manchester, UK), Norrdans (Sweden) and Thomas Noone Dance (Spain).

SOUNDS OF DIVINE INDIA

31 JAN, 6:00PM – 10:00PM, £12

The Indian Choir will be performing new compositions in authentic India style.

The Plaza Stockport

THE CIRCUS OF HORRORS

31 JAN, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, FROM £19.80

Prepare thyself for a whirlwind of contortionists, flying aerialists, demon dwarfs, sword swallowers, and any other weird thing you can think of – yep, it could only be The Circus of Horrors.

Liverpool Playhouse

THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE

UNTIL 16 JAN, TIMES VARY, FROM £14

When three strangers are invited to join the mysterious Dr Montague at the eerie house on the hill, not even their darkest dreams could have prepared them for what awaits. Matinees available.

Royal Court Theatre

PHARAOH CROSS THE MERSEY

UNTIL 16 JAN, 8:00PM – 10:00PM, £13

Royal Court’s annual festive offering based in ancient Egypt.

Matinees available.

BRICK UP THE MERSEY TUNNELS

29 JAN – 5 MAR, NOT SUNDAYS, 8:00PM – 10:30PM, £13

Ten years after Ann Twacky first met Dickie Lewis, the Liverpool comedy returns for a 2016 run.

Matinees also available.

The Atkinson PETER PAN

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 14 JAN AND 24 JAN, TIMES VARY, £11

All Souls Dramatic Club present their take on the boy who refuses to grow up. Matinees also available.

The Brindley UNITY

16 JAN, 7:00PM – 9:00PM, £7

A professional dance programme production by Cornton Sixth Form College.

ALADDIN

UNTIL 10 JAN, TIMES VARY, £20

Manchester Comedy BARREL OF LAUGHS (DAVID LONGLEY + BARRY DODDS + BREN RILEY + JAMES MEEHAN)

BARREL OF LAUGHS (DAN NIGHTINGALE + PETE OTWAY + MIKE WILKINSON + JULIAN DEANE)

THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:30–23:00, £18 (£13)

THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:30–23:00, £15 (£10)

Watch four top class comics, sat comfortably at a table while enjoying your comedy with food and drinks, followed by Frog and Bucket’s classic cheesy disco until late.

COMIC FX (LOU CONRAN)

ROYAL EXCHANGE THEATRE, 18:00–19:00, FREE

Featuring Lou Conran who, in her new show, talks about finding dead bodies, phantom ukuleles and giving readings via the medium of food (a subject close to her heart).

Sat 09 Jan

THE BEST IN STAND UP (DAVID HADINGHAM + PETER WHITE + MC IAN COPPINGER + MORE)

THE COMEDY STORE, 19:00–21:00, £22 (£16)

Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians.

ALUN COCHRANE

THE LOWRY STUDIO, 20:00–22:00, £13

Alun Cochrane does his thinking aloud, chatty style of stand-up.

You do the laughing.

Sun 10 Jan

THE BEST IN STAND UP (DAVID HADINGHAM + PETER WHITE + MC IAN COPPINGER + MORE)

Waterside Arts Centre

The Brindley’s pantomime offering for the season, only featuring ruddy Dean Gaffney!

20–23 JAN, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, £16 (£14)

23 JAN, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, £10.50

Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians.

LA FILLE MAL GARDEE + FAIRYLAND

THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:30–23:00, £3 (FREE)

MOVE OVER MORIARTY

After the success of Inspector Norse and Withering Looks, LipService return as Holmes and Watson in Move Over Moriarty.

Sherlock Holmes investigates the garibaldi biscuit affair, a case as impenetrable as a London pea souper.

Liverpool Theatre

I LOVE THE 70’S

An homage to the 70s in theatre form. Matinee also available.

24 JAN, 5:00PM – 7:00PM, £11

The 20th Anniversary Show for A.T. School of Dance. Performed by the Junior and Senior ballet pupils of A.T. School of Dance and Footloose Dance Theatre. Matinee available.

THE COMEDY STORE, 21:30–23:30, £22 (£16)

BEAT THE FROG (DAN NIGHTINGALE)

A ten-act long heckle-fest inviting a handful of amateurs to take to the stage and try to Beat the Frog, and the audience decides who stays – brutal!

ALUN COCHRANE

THE LOWRY STUDIO, 20:00–22:00, £13

Manchester Comedy

Alun Cochrane does his thinking aloud, chatty style of stand-up.

You do the laughing.

16 JAN, 6:00PM – 9:00PM, £10.50

Tue 05 Jan

A night of stand-up from some fresh-faced comics trying to break on to the circuit – be nice.

THE WICKED WIZARD OF OZ

The rather ace comedy night continues with the usual Tuesday night shenanigans.

Epstein Theatre BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

From Tread Studios, Beauty and the Beast is given an update and bound together by hit songs such as: Uptown Funk and Shut Up & Dance.

23–24 JAN, 6:15PM – 8:00PM, £10.50

A unique take on all 3 classic musicals Wicked, The Wiz and The Wizard of Oz.

Everyman Theatre

RAPUNZEL ROCK ‘N’ ROLL PANTO

UNTIL 23 JAN, TIMES VARY, FROM £12.50

Rapunzel Rock ‘n’ Roll Panto.

Liverpool Empire Theatre THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW

XS MALARKEY (GARY DELANEY + CAIMH MCDONNELL)

PUB/ZOO, 19:00–22:00, £5 (£3)

Wed 06 Jan

THURSDAY NIGHT LIVE (DAVID LONGLEY + BARRY DODDS + BREN RILEY + TONY SIMPSON + MONTY BURNS)

THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–23:00, £10 (£7)

Watch four top class comics, sat comfortably at a table while enjoying your comedy with food and drinks.

Thu 07 Jan

STAND UP THURSDAY (DAVID HADINGHAM + MC IAN COPPINGER + MORE)

PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT

Cheat life and get that Friday feeling one day early with a night of comedic delight from some circuit funny folk.

25–30 JAN, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, PRICES VARY

New theatrical production of the O.T.T. musical adventure where two drag queens and a transsexual get a cabaret gig in the middle of the desert. Now with added Jason-bloody-Donovan. Matinees also available.

CIRCUS OF HORRORS

13 JAN, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, FROM £19.40

Prepare thyself for a whirlwind of contortionists, flying aerialists, demon dwarfs, sword swallowers, and any other weird thing you can think of – yep, it could only be The Circus of Horrors.

LAST NIGHT A DJ SAVED MY LIFE

19–23 JAN, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, FROM £10

A DJ Dad, a wild child daughter and a trip to the party island of Ibiza feature in this brand new musical only starring ruddy David Hasselhoff! Matinees also available.

January 2016

NEW STUFF (MC TOBY HADOKE)

THE COMEDY STORE, 19:30–21:30, £3

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 1–6 FEB, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

The latest incarnation of the favourited rock’n’roll musical arrives in the Northwest. Matinees also available.

Mon 11 Jan

THE COMEDY STORE, 20:00–22:00, £12 (£8)

BARREL OF LAUGHS (BARRY DODDS + BREN RILEY + JAMES MEEHAN) THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:30–23:00, £15 (£10)

Watch four top class comics, sat comfortably at a table while enjoying your comedy with food and drinks, followed by Frog and Bucket’s classic cheesy disco until late.

Fri 08 Jan

THE BEST IN STAND UP (DAVID HADINGHAM + PETER WHITE + MC IAN COPPINGER + MORE)

THE COMEDY STORE, 20:00–22:00, £18 (£12)

Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians.

#PLAY4FREE HARRIET DYER

THE KING’S ARMS, 20:00–21:00, FREE

Just a new hour of funny from Harriet Dyer’s brain. As heard on BBC Radio 4Extra.

Watch four top class comics, sat comfortably at a table while enjoying your comedy with food and drinks, followed by Frog and Bucket’s classic cheesy disco until late.

Fri 15 Jan

THE BEST IN STAND UP (ANDY ASKINS + STEVE SHANYASKI + ROB ROUSE + JOSH HOWIE + MC JIMMY MCGHIE)

THE COMEDY STORE, 20:00–22:00, £18 (£12)

Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians.

BARREL OF LAUGHS (DAN NIGHTINGALE + PETE OTWAY + MIKE WILKINSON + JULIAN DEANE)

THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:30–23:00, £18 (£13)

Watch four top class comics, sat comfortably at a table while enjoying your comedy with food and drinks, followed by Frog and Bucket’s classic cheesy disco until late.

THE GIGGLE DUNGEON

THE CASTLE HOTEL, 19:30–22:30, £DONATIONS

Following a well-received run at the Edinburgh Fringe last summer, The Giggle Dungeon crew arrive to take on Manchester.

Sat 16 Jan

THE BEST IN STAND UP (ANDY ASKINS + STEVE SHANYASKI + ROB ROUSE + JOSH HOWIE + MC JIMMY MCGHIE)

THE COMEDY STORE, 19:00–21:00, £22 (£16)

Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians.

THE BEST IN STAND UP (ANDY ASKINS + STEVE SHANYASKI + ROB ROUSE + JOSH HOWIE + MC JIMMY MCGHIE)

THE COMEDY STORE, 21:30–23:30, £22 (£16)

Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians.

COMEDYSPORTZ

WATERSIDE ARTS CENTRE, 18:30–22:00, £7 (£5)

Comedy improv show with two teams battling it out for the biggest laughs, serving up sketches, songs and scenes with audience participation playing a key role in the development.

Wed 20 Jan

THURSDAY NIGHT LIVE (ALEX BOARDMAN + JONNY CANDON + MIKE NEWALL + CHRIS MCLLROY + ROBYN PERKINS)

THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:30–23:00, £10 (£7)

Watch four top class comics, sat comfortably at a table while enjoying your comedy with food and drinks.

KEVIN HART

MANCHESTER ARENA, 18:30–23:00, £SOLD OUT

The entertainer, actor and comedian comes to Manchester.

Thu 21 Jan

STAND UP THURSDAY (MICK FERRY + JO CAULFIELD + MC BEN NORRIS)

THE COMEDY STORE, 20:00–22:00, £12 (£8)

Cheat life and get that Friday feeling one day early with a night of comedic delight from some circuit funny folk.

BARREL OF LAUGHS (ALEX BOARDMAN + JONNY CANDON + MIKE NEWALL + VIKKI STONE)

THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:30–23:00, £15 (£10)

Watch four top class comics, sat comfortably at a table while enjoying your comedy with food and drinks, followed by Frog and Bucket’s classic cheesy disco until late.

Fri 22 Jan

THE BEST IN STAND UP (MICK FERRY + JO CAULFIELD + DANE BAPTISTE + CHARLIE BAKER + MC BEN NORRIS) THE COMEDY STORE, 20:00–22:00, £18 (£12)

Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians.

BARREL OF LAUGHS (ALEX BOARDMAN + JONNY CANDON + MIKE NEWALL + VIKKI STONE)

THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:30–23:00, £18 (£13)

Watch four top class comics, sat comfortably at a table while enjoying your comedy with food and drinks, followed by Frog and Bucket’s classic cheesy disco until late.

Sat 23 Jan

THE BEST IN STAND UP (MICK FERRY + JO CAULFIELD + DANE BAPTISTE + CHARLIE BAKER + MC BEN NORRIS) THE COMEDY STORE, 19:00–21:00, £22 (£16)

Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians.

THE BEST IN STAND UP (MICK FERRY + JO CAULFIELD + DANE BAPTISTE + CHARLIE BAKER + MC BEN NORRIS)

Tue 12 Jan

OFF THE RAILS COMEDY CLUB (PAUL PIRIE + LAURA LEXX + DARREN HARRIOT + MC ROB RILEY)

PUB/ZOO, 19:00–22:00, £5 (£3)

A host of comedians ready to tickle your funny bones.

The rather ace comedy night continues with the usual Tuesday night shenanigans.

Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians.

Sun 17 Jan

Sun 24 Jan

Wed 13 Jan

Most famous for attacking a load of comedians for making fun of UKIP, so, uhhh, yeah...

XS MALARKEY (CARL DONNELLY + STEPHEN BAILEY + STEPHANIE LAING + NORRIS & PARKER)

THURSDAY NIGHT LIVE (DAN NIGHTINGALE + PETE OTWAY + MIKE WILKINSON + DANIEL KENNEDY + BOBBY MURDOCK)

THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:30–23:00, £10 (£7)

Watch four top class comics, sat comfortably at a table while enjoying your comedy with food and drinks. #PLAY4FREE BETH VYSE

THE KING’S ARMS, 19:30–20:30, FREE

A bodacious and ballsy look at Vyse’ battle with breast cancer. Hear the tale of her Stoke-on-Trent family The Waltons on alcohol, her time with Nelson Mandela and more. #PLAY4FREE JAMES MEEHAN

THE KING’S ARMS, 20:00–21:00, FREE

Multi award-winning comedian James Meehan (from Gein’s Family Giftshop and Funz and Gamez) presents his debut show.

Thu 14 Jan

STAND UP THURSDAY (ANDY ASKINS + STEVE SHANYASKI + MC JIMMY MCGHIE) THE COMEDY STORE, 20:00–22:00, £12 (£8)

Cheat life and get that Friday feeling one day early with a night of comedic delight from some circuit funny folk.

ROYAL GEORGE, 20:00–22:30, £12 (£10)

ANDREW LAWRENCE

THE LOWRY STUDIO, 20:00–22:00, £14

BEAT THE FROG (DAN NIGHTINGALE)

THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:30–23:00, £3 (FREE)

A ten-act long heckle-fest inviting a handful of amateurs to take to the stage and try to Beat the Frog, and the audience decides who stays – brutal!

NEW COMEDIANS (MC ALEX BOARDMAN)

THE COMEDY STORE, 19:30–21:30, £4 (£2)

Regular night of standup with five world-class comedians.

Tue 19 Jan

XS MALARKEY (GARRETT MILLERICK + BEN VAN DER VELDE + PAUL MCGARRITY + TWAYNA MAYNE) PUB/ZOO, 19:00–22:00, £5 (£3)

The rather ace comedy night continues with the usual Tuesday night shenanigans.

THE COMEDY STORE, 21:30–23:30, £22 (£16)

BEAT THE FROG (PETE OTWAY)

THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:30–23:00, £3 (FREE)

A ten-act long heckle-fest inviting a handful of amateurs to take to the stage and try to Beat the Frog, and the audience decides who stays – brutal!

GARY DELANEY

THE LOWRY STUDIO, 20:00–22:00, £SOLD OUT

The writer and stand-up comic continues with his quest to tell as many jokes as possible, because apparently most shows simply don’t contain enough for his liking.

STEPHEN K AMOS

THE LOWRY: QUAYS THEATRE, 20:00–22:30, £18

The maestro of feel-good comedy is back on tour with his new show.

Fresh from sell-out tours of Australia and New Zealand, as heard on BBC Radio 4 Life: An Idiot’s Guide and What Does the K Stand For?

Mon 25 Jan

SIDEKICK COMEDY (KATE MCCABE + GRAHAM GORING + MADIE HOWARD + SAM WHYTE + SEAN MORLEY) VIA, 19:30–22:00, £2

Your friendly, monthly, neighbourhood comedy gig. All comedians are hero-approved.

Tue 26 Jan SARAH MILLICAN

THE PLAZA STOCKPORT, 20:00–22:30, £SOLD OUT

The self-effacing comic touches on everything from building your own treadmill, to the practicalities of an orgy.

XS MALARKEY (ALEXANDER BENNETT + JORDAN BROOKES + CHRIS KEHOE + MORE)

PUB/ZOO, 19:00–22:00, £5 (£3)

The rather ace comedy night continues with the usual Tuesday night shenanigans.

PADDY MCGUINNESS

THE MET, 20:00–22:30, £SOLD OUT

Peter Kay’s partner in crime goes it alone, as part of his Saturday Night Live tour.

Wed 27 Jan

THURSDAY NIGHT LIVE (PHIL NICHOL + KIRI PRITCHARD MCLEAN + DALISO CHAPONDA + PHIL COOPER + SUNIL PATEL) THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:30–23:00, £10 (£7)

Watch four top class comics, sat comfortably at a table while enjoying your comedy with food and drinks.

PADDY MCGUINNESS

THE MET, 20:00–22:30, £SOLD OUT

Peter Kay’s partner in crime goes it alone, as part of his Saturday Night Live tour.

Thu 28 Jan

STAND UP THURSDAY (STEVE WILLIAMS + PAUL TONKINSON + MC JOHN WARBURTON)

THE COMEDY STORE, 20:00–22:00, £12 (£8)

Cheat life and get that Friday feeling one day early with a night of comedic delight from some circuit funny folk.

THE BEST IN STAND UP (STEVE WILLIAMS + PAUL TONKINSON + MARKUS BIRDMAN + JAMALI MADDIX + MC JOHN WARBURTON) THE COMEDY STORE, 21:30–23:30, £22 (£16)

Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians.

TOM STADE

THE LOWRY: QUAYS THEATRE, 20:00–22:30, £18

The free-thinking philosopher returns to ponder timeless questions and reflect upon life’s choices and decisions, imbued with his usual added mayhem.

Sun 31 Jan MITCH BENN

THE LOWRY STUDIO, 20:00–22:00, £15

Musician-cum-comic Mith Benn sings some humourous songs, you do the laughing.

NEW STUFF

THE COMEDY STORE, 19:30–21:30, £3

A night of stand-up from some fresh-faced comics trying to break on to the circuit – be nice.

OFF THE RAILS COMEDY CLUB (GARY LITTLE + BOBBY MAIR + JAMES MEEHAN + MC ALEX BOARDMAN)

ROYAL GEORGE, 19:30–22:00, £8 (£5)

A host of comedians ready to tickle your funny bones.

Mon 01 Feb ANDY KIRKPATRICK

THE LOWRY: QUAYS THEATRE, 20:00–22:30, £16

Stand up comic and mountaineer shares his experience of climbing El Cap with his 13-year-old daughter, likely to hilarious effect.

Liverpool Comedy

BARREL OF LAUGHS (PHIL NICHOL + KIRI PRITCHARD MCLEAN + DALISO CHAPONDA + TOM LUCY )

Thu 07 Jan

THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:30–23:00, £15 (£10)

81 RENSHAW STREET, 19:30–22:00, £7

Watch four top class comics, sat comfortably at a table while enjoying your comedy with food and drinks, followed by Frog and Bucket’s classic cheesy disco until late.

ISY SUTTIE

THE LOWRY: QUAYS THEATRE, 20:00–22:00, £15

Suttie presents The Actual One, all about that moment in your late 20s when you suddenly realize that all your mates are growing up without you.

Fri 29 Jan

THE BEST IN STAND UP (STEVE WILLIAMS + PAUL TONKINSON + MARKUS BIRDMAN + JAMALI MADDIX + MC JOHN WARBURTON) THE COMEDY STORE, 20:00–22:00, £18 (£12)

Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians.

BARREL OF LAUGHS (PHIL NICHOL + KIRI PRITCHARD MCLEAN + DALISO CHAPONDA)

THE FROG AND BUCKET COMEDY CLUB, 19:30–23:00, £18 (£13)

Watch four top class comics, sat comfortably at a table while enjoying your comedy with food and drinks, followed by Frog and Bucket’s classic cheesy disco until late.

TOM STADE

THE LOWRY: QUAYS THEATRE, 20:00–22:30, £18

The free-thinking philosopher returns to ponder timeless questions and reflect upon life’s choices and decisions, imbued with his usual added mayhem.

Sat 30 Jan

THE BEST IN STAND UP (STEVE WILLIAMS + PAUL TONKINSON + MARKUS BIRDMAN + JAMALI MADDIX + MC JOHN WARBURTON) THE COMEDY STORE, 19:00–21:00, £22 (£16)

Regular night of stand up with a line-up of five top circuit comedians.

FUNNY LOOKING LIVE (ARTHUR SMITH)

The new Liverpool comedy night continues its opening run tonight with touring veteran Arthur Smith headlining.

Fri 08 Jan

BOILING POINT (MARTIN MOR + ROB THOMAS + DAVE JOHNS + MC PAUL SMITH)

HOT WATER COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–22:00, £12 (£8)

New and established comics take to the stage, for an evening of chuckles with their resident compere leading the way.

LAUGHTERHOUSE (NICK DIXON + CHRISTIAN SCULTE-LOH + MC CHRIS CAIRNS)

THE SLAUGHTERHOUSE, 20:00–22:00, £15

Triple headline show with a delightfully hilarious line-up of circuit funny-folk.

LAUGHTERHOUSE (CHRISTIAN SCHULTE-LOH + JONNY PELHAM + MC STE PORTER)

MATHEW STREET, 20:30–22:30, £15

Triple headline show with a delightfully hilarious line-up of circuit funny-folk.

Sat 09 Jan

BOILING POINT (MARTIN MOR + BRENNAN REECE + DAVE JOHNS + MC PAUL SMITH)

HOT WATER COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–22:00, £14 (£10)

New and established comics take to the stage, for an evening of chuckles with their resident compere leading the way.

LAUGH OUT LOUD COMEDY CLUB (ROB ROUSE + VINCE ATTA + TOM LUCY)

LIVERPOOL COMEDY CENTRAL (MICK FERRY + MIKE NEWALL + MC CARL HUTCHINSON) COMEDY CENTRAL AT BABY BLUE, 18:00–22:00, £18

Regular triple headline show, with three comics lined up to tickle your funny bone.

Sun 10 Jan

TESTING THE WATER (EDDIE FORTUNE + LIAM TUFFY + HAYLEY ELLIS + ADAM ROWE + MORE)

HOT WATER COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–22:00, £3 (£1.50)

Showcase night for up-andcomers and undiscovered stars, offering a great value night out if you don’t mind being a comedy guinea pig.

Thu 14 Jan

BOILING POINT (CHRIS MCCAUSLAND + HARRY STACHINI + ADAM ROWE + MC PAUL SMITH) THE CROWN HOTEL, 19:00–22:00, £7 (£5)

New and established comics take to the stage, for an evening of chuckles with their resident compere leading the way.

MANFORD’S COMEDY CLUB

THE BRINDLEY, 20:00–22:30, £16

Jason Manford has carefully select some of his favourite comedians to give you the best night out you’ve had for a long time!

Fri 15 Jan

BOILING POINT (CHRIS MCCAUSLAND + JAMES REDMOND + ADAM ROWE + MC PAUL SMITH) HOT WATER COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–22:00, £12 (£8)

New and established comics take to the stage, for an evening of chuckles with their resident compere leading the way.

LAUGHTERHOUSE (ANDY ASKINS + STEVE HARRIS + ANDREW STANLEY + MC NEIL FITZMAURICE) THE SLAUGHTERHOUSE, 20:00–22:00, £15

Triple headline show with a delightfully hilarious line-up of circuit funny-folk.

LAUGHTERHOUSE (ANDREW STANLEY + STEVE HARRIS + ANDY ASKINS + MC CHRIS CAIRNS)

MATHEW STREET, 20:30–22:30, £15

Triple headline show with a delightfully hilarious line-up of circuit funny-folk.

LIVERPOOL COMEDY CENTRAL (CRAIG HILL + DAN NIGHTINGALE + STEVE BUGEJA + MC JOJO SUTHERLAND) COMEDY CENTRAL AT BABY BLUE, 18:00–22:00, £15

Regular triple headline show, with three comics lined up to tickle your funny bone.

Sat 16 Jan

BOILING POINT (CHRIS MCCAUSLAND + JAMES REDMOND + ADAM ROWE + MC PAUL SMITH) HOT WATER COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–22:00, £14 (£10)

New and established comics take to the stage, for an evening of chuckles with their resident compere leading the way.

LIVERPOOL COMEDY CELLAR (PHIL WALKER + ROB ROUSE + MC BRENDAN RILEY)

LIVERPOOL COMEDY CELLAR, 19:30–22:30, £13.50

The Liverpool Comedy Cellar features the cream of the International Comedy Circuit “up close and personal” every Saturday and this week is no different.  LAUGHTERHOUSE (STEVE HARRIS + ANDY ASKINS + ANDREW STANLEY + MC NEIL FITZMAURICE) THE SLAUGHTERHOUSE, 20:00–22:00, £17.50

Triple headline show with a delightfully hilarious line-up of circuit funny-folk.

THE ATKINSON, 20:00–22:30, £15

LAUGHTERHOUSE (ANDY ASKINS + STEVE HARRIS + ANDREW STANLEY + MC CHRIS CAIRNS)

LAUGHTERHOUSE (NICK DIXON + CHRISTIAN SCULTE-LOH + MC CHRIS CAIRNS)

Triple headline show with a delightfully hilarious line-up of circuit funny-folk.

A triple-header of comedy descends on the Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club.

THE SLAUGHTERHOUSE, 20:00–22:00, £17.50

Triple headline show with a delightfully hilarious line-up of circuit funny-folk.

LAUGHTERHOUSE (JONNY PELHAM + CHRISTIAN SCHULTE-LOH + MC STE PORTER) MATHEW STREET, 20:30–22:30, £17.50

Triple headline show with a delightfully hilarious line-up of circuit funny-folk.

MATHEW STREET, 20:30–22:30, £17.50

LIVERPOOL COMEDY CENTRAL (CRAIG HILL + DAN NIGHTINGALE + STEVE BUGEJA + MC JOJO SUTHERLAND) COMEDY CENTRAL AT BABY BLUE, 18:00–22:00, £18

Regular triple headline show, with three comics lined up to tickle your funny bone.

Listings

53

Comedy Liverpool Sun 17 Jan

TESTING THE WATER (AJ HILL + THOM BEE + ALISTAIR CLARK + JACK RYAN-WOODHOUSE + MORE)

HOT WATER COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–22:00, £3 (£1.50)

Showcase night for up-andcomers and undiscovered stars, offering a great value night out if you don’t mind being a comedy guinea pig.

Sun 24 Jan

TESTING THE WATER (TOM DONNELLY + JOSH MATTHEWS + MATTHEW BONANNO + SIMON WOZNIAK + MORE) HOT WATER COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–22:00, £3 (£1.50)

Showcase night for up-andcomers and undiscovered stars, offering a great value night out if you don’t mind being a comedy guinea pig.

Thu 21 Jan

Thu 28 Jan

THE CROWN HOTEL, 19:00–22:00, £7 (£5)

THE CROWN HOTEL, 19:00–22:00, £7 (£5)

BOILING POINT (MATT REED + STEPHEN BAILEY + SAM AVERY + MC PAUL SMITH)

New and established comics take to the stage, for an evening of chuckles with their resident compere leading the way.

LIVERPOOL COMEDY CENTRAL (MICHAEL LEGGE + STE PORTER + JAMES MEEHAN + MC JIM SMALLMAN) COMEDY CENTRAL AT BABY BLUE, 18:00–22:00, £15

Regular triple headline show, with three comics lined up to tickle your funny bone.

Fri 22 Jan

BOILING POINT (BARRY DODDS + ADAM STAUNTON + MATT REED + MC PAUL SMITH)

HOT WATER COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–22:00, £12 (£8)

New and established comics take to the stage, for an evening of chuckles with their resident compere leading the way.

LAUGHTERHOUSE (MICK FERRY + KEITH CARTER AS NIGE + DALISO CHAPONDA + MC CHRIS CAIRNS)

THE SLAUGHTERHOUSE, 20:00–22:00, £15

Triple headline show with a delightfully hilarious line-up of circuit funny-folk.

LAUGHTERHOUSE (DALISO CHAPONDA + MICK FERRY + KEITH CARTER AS NIGE + MC KEVIN DEWSBURY)

MATHEW STREET, 20:30–22:30, £15

Triple headline show with a delightfully hilarious line-up of circuit funny-folk.

LIVERPOOL COMEDY CENTRAL (MICHAEL LEGGE + STE PORTER + RACHEL FAIRBURN + MC JIM SMALLMAN) COMEDY CENTRAL AT BABY BLUE, 18:00–22:00, £15

Regular triple headline show, with three comics lined up to tickle your funny bone.

Sat 23 Jan

BOILING POINT (BARRY DODDS + ADAM STAUNTON + MATT REED + MC PAUL SMITH)

HOT WATER COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–22:00, £14 (£10)

New and established comics take to the stage, for an evening of chuckles with their resident compere leading the way.

LIVERPOOL COMEDY CELLAR (STEVE GRIBBIN + JO CAULFIELD + MC BRENDAN RILEY)

LIVERPOOL COMEDY CELLAR, 19:30–22:30, £13.50

The Liverpool Comedy Cellar features the cream of the International Comedy Circuit up close and personal every Saturday and this week is no different.

LAUGHTERHOUSE (DALISO CHAPONDA + MICK FERRY + KEITH CARTER AS NIGE + MC KEVIN DEWSBURY)

MATHEW STREET, 20:30–22:30, £17.50

Triple headline show with a delightfully hilarious line-up of circuit funny-folk.

LIVERPOOL COMEDY CENTRAL (MICHAEL LEGGE + STE PORTER + RACHEL FAIRBURN + MC JIM SMALLMAN) COMEDY CENTRAL AT BABY BLUE, 18:00–22:00, £18

Regular triple headline show, with three comics lined up to tickle your funny bone.

BOILING POINT (DAMIAN CLARK + ALEXANDER OLIVER + TONY CARROLL + MC PAUL SMITH)

New and established comics take to the stage, for an evening of chuckles with their resident compere leading the way.

LIVERPOOL COMEDY CENTRAL (MATT RICHARDSON + MATT REES + JAMES BRAN + MC DAVID LONGLEY)

COMEDY CENTRAL AT BABY BLUE, 18:00–22:00, £15

Regular triple headline show, with three comics lined up to tickle your funny bone.

Fri 29 Jan

BOILING POINT (DAMIAN CLARK + ADAM JAMAL + PHIL BUTLER + MC PHIL CHAPMAN)

HOT WATER COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–22:00, £12 (£8)

New and established comics take to the stage, for an evening of chuckles with their resident compere leading the way.

LAUGHTERHOUSE (PAUL TONKINSON + IAN COGNITO + GARY SKYNER + MC NEIL FITZMAURICE) THE SLAUGHTERHOUSE, 20:00–22:00, £15

Triple headline show with a delightfully hilarious line-up of circuit funny-folk.

LAUGHTERHOUSE (IAN COGNITO + PAUL TONKINSON + MC CHRIS CAIRNS) MATHEW STREET, 20:30–22:30, £15

Triple headline show with a delightfully hilarious line-up of circuit funny-folk.

LIVERPOOL COMEDY CENTRAL (MATT RICHARDSON + MATT REES + PHIL JERROD + MC DAVID LONGLEY)

COMEDY CENTRAL AT BABY BLUE, 18:00–22:00, £15

Sun 31 Jan

TESTING THE WATER (DANNY HUNTLEY + JOE WHITE + STEPHEN TAGGART + DAVE AUSTIN + MORE)

HOT WATER COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–22:00, £3 (£1.50)

Showcase night for up-andcomers and undiscovered stars, offering a great value night out if you don’t mind being a comedy guinea pig.

Manchester Art Castlefield Gallery

B/Q: ROLAND BARTHES AND MAGNUS QUAIFE

UNTIL 31 JAN, 1:00PM – 6:00PM, FREE

LIVERPOOL COMEDY CELLAR, 19:30–22:30, £13.50

The Liverpool Comedy Cellar features the cream of the International Comedy Circuit up close and personal every Saturday and this week is no different.

LAUGHTERHOUSE (GARY SKYNER + PAUL TONKINSON + IAN COGNITO + MC NEIL FITZMAURICE)

THE SLAUGHTERHOUSE, 20:00–22:00, £17.50

Triple headline show with a delightfully hilarious line-up of circuit funny-folk.

LAUGHTERHOUSE (PAUL TONKINSON + IAN COGNITO + MC CHRIS CAIRNS) MATHEW STREET, 20:30–22:30, £17.50

Triple headline show with a delightfully hilarious line-up of circuit funny-folk.

LIVERPOOL COMEDY CENTRAL (MATT RICHARDSON + MATT REES + PHIL JERROD + MC DAVID LONGLEY)

COMEDY CENTRAL AT BABY BLUE, 18:00–22:00, £18

Regular triple headline show, with three comics lined up to tickle your funny bone.

UNTIL 13 FEB, NOT SUNDAYS, 10:00AM – 5:30PM, FREE

Curated by Manchester Jewellers Network, Exploring Wonderland is a showcase of work inspired by the imagination of Lewis Carroll.

The exhibition features 28 makers, including jewellers, glassmakers, printmakers, paper artists and more.

What happens when computer games, meet the beautiful game.

HEALTH RECORDS

UNTIL 24 JAN, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

A culmination of an ongoing project between CFCCA, Kidneys for Life and Manchester Royal Infirmary.

Artists Claire Tindale and Nicky Colclough investigate aspects of medical conditions relating to the kidney and the experience of those being treated.

MMU Special Collections

WE BUILT THIS CITY: MANCHESTER ARCHITECTS AT 150, CELEBRATING GENERATIONS OF INNOVATION

UNTIL 18 MAR, NOT SUNDAYS, TIMES VARY, FREE

We Built this City profiles architectural drawings of key members of the Manchester Society of Architects alongside the historic Library collection, promoting the rich architectural history of Manchester.

25 SEP – 10 JAN, TIMES VARY, FREE

LIVERPOOL COMEDY CELLAR (SIMON BLIGH + BARRY DODD + MC BRENDAN RILEY)

EXPLORING WONDERLAND: MANCHESTER JEWELLERS NETWORK CELEBRATES 150 YEARS OF ALICE

Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art

Sat 30 Jan

New and established comics take to the stage, for an evening of chuckles with their resident compere leading the way.

Manchester Craft and Design Centre

National Football Museum

Manchester Art Gallery

HOT WATER COMEDY CLUB, 19:00–22:00, £14 (£10)

Manchester

Coinciding with the centenary of Roland Barthes’ birth, Castlefield Gallery’s annual Head to Head exhibition sees artist Magnus Quaife re-examining the French philosopher and literary theorist’s lasting influence.

Regular triple headline show, with three comics lined up to tickle your funny bone.

BOILING POINT (PHIL BUTLER + KATHERINE FERNS + DAMIAN CLARK + MC PAUL SMITH)

Art

AN EXHIBITION FOR MODERN LIVING

Matthew Darbyshire’s largest solo exhibition to date, including ten of his large-scale environments from the last decade and new sculptural works for the Gallery’s grand 19th century entrance hall.

THE SEA FULL STOP

UNTIL 25 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE

Hondartza Fraga’s imaginary seascapes explore our understanding of the sea, and give the focus of a seascape back to the sea.

HALF-LIFE OF A MIRACLE

UNTIL 17 APR, TIMES VARY, FREE

Half-life of a Miracle presents a decade of photography and film by British contemporary artist Pat Flynn from 2005 to 2015 for the most comprehensive survey of his art to date.

HOUSE PROUD

UNTIL1 APR, TIMES VARY, FREE

Exhibition of glass, metalwork and furniture inspired by the Gallery’s pioneering Industrial Art Collection.

SCHIAPARELLI AND THIRTIES FASHION

UNTIL 9 OCT, TIMES VARY, FREE

One of the most celebrated fashion designers of the middle twentieth century.

MODERN JAPANESE DESIGN

UNTIL 15 JAN, TIMES VARY, FREE

Thirty two designers display over one hundred pieces in a dynamic display conveying the essence of the unique Japanese design ethos.

PITCH TO PIXEL: THE WORLD OF FOOTBALL GAMING

UNTIL 5 JUN, TIMES VARY, FREE

Nexus Art Café

TOBIAS PEARSON PHOTOGRAPHY

UNTIL 31 JAN, TIMES VARY, FREE

Large portraits of Manchester based people who have overcome adversity.

OBJECT / A ON PAPER

UNTIL 30 JAN, 12:00PM – 6:00PM, FREE

New exhibition from artist Lee Machell.

Paper Gallery

THE GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 9 JAN AND 20 FEB, 11:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Following on from his Exploring PAPER residency over the summer, Vincent James is back to present the development of his artistic practice since his, in The Grand Scheme of Things.

Salford Museum and Art Gallery

CULTURE, BARRICADES AND BADGES

UNTIL 21 FEB, TIMES VARY, FREE

John Sculley photo exhibition illustrating the social and political unrest of the 1980s, the humour of family life, the passion of football, as well as the artist’s on-going admiration for the performing arts - music, dance, drama and circus.

The International 3 INSTITUTION | OUTSTITUTION

UNTIL 29 JAN, 12:00PM – 5:00PM, FREE

A curated selection of work by recent graduates, identified by The International 3’s co-directors, Paulette Terry Brien and Laurence Lane during research trips to Fine Art degree shows throughout May and June 2015.

The Lowry

RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW

UNTIL 28 FEB, TIMES VARY, FREE

Bringing together artists selected by seven curators at the forefront of digital art, this exhibition promises to challenge audiences’ understanding of what art can be.

Waterside Arts Centre

PUPPET MASTERS: CELEBRATING ANIMATION

UNTIL 27 FEB, NOT SUNDAYS, TIMES VARY, FREE

A new exhibition bringing stopmotion animation to life, showcasing the work of world-renowned puppet makers Mackinnon and Saunders.

Whitworth Art Gallery BEDWYR WILLIAMS

UNTIL 10 JAN, NOT 25 DEC, 26 DEC, 1 JAN, TIMES VARY, FREE

From a tiny pebble caught in a terrazzo floor, to the infinite enormity of the cosmos, acclaimed Welsh artist Bedwyr Williams invites you on a journey through his extraordinary installation, The Starry Messenger.

54

Listings

ART_TEXTILES UNTIL 31 JAN, NOT 25 DEC, TIMES VARY, FREE

Art

Including artists such as Magdalena Abakanowicz, Tracey Emin, Grayson Perry, Ghada Amer and Kimsooja who use textiles as a powerful tool for expressing ideas about the social, political and artistic.

The Atkinson

UNTIL 10 JAN, TIMES VARY, FREE

9 JAN – 14 FEB, TIMES VARY, FREE

ABSTRACT LANDSCAPE

Drawn from the Whitworth’s collection, works by artists such as Bryan Wynter, Barbara Hepworth, William Scott, Peter Lanyon, Gillian Ayres and Roger Hilton reflect an extraordinary era in British abstract art.

TIBOR REICH

29 JAN – 1 AUG, TIMES VARY, FREE

Retrospective celebrating the centenary of Tibor Reich, a pioneering post-war textile designer, who brought modernity into British textiles in the early-to-mid 20th century.

Liverpool Art FACT FOLLOW

UNTIL 21 FEB, TIMES VARY, FREE

New group exhibition presenting a variety of experiences and views of identity, sharing, and microcelebrity within the context of a life lived online, exploring how we act when everyone is watching.

International Slavery Museum BROKEN LIVES

UNTIL24 APR, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Photographs depicting the slavery that continues to exist in modern day India.

Lady Lever Art Gallery PUTTING ON THE GLITZ

UNTIL 28 FEB, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Dazzling 1930s evening gowns take centre stage in the Putting on the Glitz exhibition, revealing how the glitz and glamour of Hollywood was reflected in the fashions of the period.

Merseyside Maritime Museum ON THE WATERFRONT

UNTIL 19 JUN, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Exhibition exploring the rich history of the Albert Dock and the changing fortunes of the waterfront, the city and port of Liverpool.

Museum of Liverpool

POPPIES: WOMEN AND WAR

UNTIL 5 JUN, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Exhibition featuring striking portraits of women whose lives have been affected by conflict, from the First World War to present day.

GROWING UP IN THE CITY

UNTIL 25 SEP, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Photographs of Liverpool childhood over time.

Open Eye Gallery FLAT DEATH

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 15 JAN AND 3 APR, 10:30AM – 5:30PM, FREE

Edgar Martins presents an entirely new body of work, which presents a challenging and difficult survey into photography, records and suicide. Produced through investigation with the Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences in Portugal.

Tate Liverpool

WORKS TO KNOW BY HEART: AN IMAGINED MUSEUM

Liverpool THE WORLD OF JAPANESE COMICS

The first major exhibition of Japanese shojo (girls’) manga in the UK in association with the Kyoto International Manga Museum.

VICTORIAN DREAMERS

16 JAN – 13 NOV, TIMES VARY, FREE

Drawn from The Atkinson’s own collection of Victorian art, this exhibition looks at the themes of travel, storytelling, the antique past and nature.

LORD STREET: PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE

23 JAN – 31 JUL, TIMES VARY, FREE

Exhibition bringing together a wide range of material including archive photographs, architectural plans as well as costume and film, to explore the heritage of the water features, gardens, glass-topped verandas and architectural buildings.

The Bluecoat GLASSHOUSE

UNTIL 10 JAN, TIMES VARY, FREE

The first major solo show in a UK public gallery by Dublin based artist Niamh O’Malley. Working across video, drawing, painting, print & sculpture, O’Malley’s work is distinctive for her use of reflective surfaces such as mirror and glass.

LEFT HAND TO BACK OF HEAD, OBJECT HELD AGAINST RIGHT THIGH

23 JAN – 28 MAR, TIMES VARY, FREE

Group exhibition exploring how we can experience art beyond what we are able to say about it. The exhibition presents a collection of works that set out to affect the audience on a physical level, through sensations and emotions.

Victoria Gallery and Museum EMMA GREGORY

UNTIL APR, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

The former Sir John Cass, Central School of Art and UCLan presents work from her wider collection.

CUNARD 175

UNTIL 26 MAR, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Collection of brochures, films and articles from the launch of the Cunard ship.

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

UNTIL 18 JUN, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Exhibition containing works from the Liverpool Medical Library and the Liverpool Athenaeum.

Walker Art Gallery

INSPIRED BY LIVERPOOL’S PAST

UNTIL 28 MAR, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Small display showing a new commission by Paul Scott, together with a selection of Liverpool ceramics from our historic collections that inspired him.

There’s more online Get up to date news bulletins, video premieres, extra online listings and online only content on theskinny.co.uk Visit our mobile site to have an easy to use listings service at your fingertips

@TheSkinnyNW /TheSkinnyMag

UNTIL 14 FEB, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, £8.80 (£6.60)

Works from the Centre Pompidou, Tate and MMK collections sees over 60 major, post 1945 artworks come together from their prestigious galleries. On display will be works by Marcel Duchamp, Claes Oldenburg, Bridget Riley, Dorothea Tanning and more.

Illustration: www.verbals-picks.com

THE SKINNY

The Last Word: Henry Rollins The punk iconoclast discusses getting past being in a band, his first lead acting role and his love of radio ahead of his first UK spoken word shows in four years Interview: Joe Goggins

H

enry Rollins isn’t quite 55 yet, even if he claims to be during the course of this interview. It’s revealing that he thinks in such terms; he always looks forward, and seldom back. His drive, determination and relentless work ethic are awe-inspiring, and the scope of his current work is so broad that it’s difficult to know where to start a conversation with the man, to a daunting degree.

The one thing he isn’t, anymore, is a musician. Rollins remains best known as the frontman of Black Flag during their incendiary 80s peak and then as leader of his own Rollins Band, but he disbanded the latter in 2003 and – save for a brief reunion in 2006 – has focused on other endeavours since. He remains a furiously engaging public speaker, and will bring his first spoken word shows since 2012 – a long while, in Rollins’ world – to the UK this January on his Charmingly Obstinate tour, which will see a whole new raft of targets on the receiving end of his legendary ire.

He continues to work on radio shows and podcasts, the former for KCRW in Santa Monica and the latter with Heidi May, his long-time assistant, with whom he swaps stories from their two decades together.

“I only went on stage to smash it to pieces” Henry Rollins

There are few countries that Rollins, an avid traveller, hasn’t visited. He’s just returned from Antarctica as he speaks to us, reporting on the environmental situation there in his LA Weekly column; he has presented a slew of different series on National Geographic and the History Channel, too. He’s in the thick of promoting his first lead film role, in the upcoming comedy horror He Never Died; he’s been acting for years, with a notable appearance in Sons of Anarchy’s second season. Gutterdämmerung, a conceptual rock and roll film that he helped write, is shortly to be released after five years in the making. We could go on, but Rollins’ story is best coming from the horse’s mouth; he is a gripping conversationalist and doesn’t want for an opinion on anything.

ON WHAT KEEPS DRAWING HIM BACK TO SPOKEN WORD...

The information is different every time; it’s a story that keeps unravelling. It’s not like I have to go up and do the first two tracks from the first album just so that people feel like they’ve had their money’s worth. It allows me to keep things interesting, rather than just step into the wayback machine. That’s why it’s compelling to me, it can kind of go at the speed of my own life.

ON PREPARING FOR A TOUR...

I don’t use a lot of spontaneity on stage, in that I don’t want to work it out on your time.

The main thing, when I’m back home, is walking around the streets. I live in Los Angeles, and long stretches of the San Fernando Valley, by

January 2016

7pm, are like a ghost town – just joggers and dog walkers. I’ll go out and say these stories out loud and physically walk through them, and listen to my voice, say the words and go, ‘OK, you’re not getting to the point.’ I’ll go back home and keep talking through them, just working through these stories and ideas – it’s like band practice, but on my own. The idea is to basically try to find the weak points and kind of go after my own material with gentle contempt, in an effort to make it better, so by the time I make it to the stage, the material is pretty well-vetted, and the better, stronger ideas are the ones that make it.

ON THE RESURGENCE OF CURATED RADIO SHOWS...

I do an analogue radio show in the digital world. I’ve been doing them between two different stations for 11 years now, and it’s a lot of work, especially with a tour schedule. I’m usually working on shows at least a month in advance, just to keep them in the pipeline, and it probably takes between three to five hours to make a two-hour show. I don’t just throw songs together; I need them to make some sense together texturally. It’s fun to create a situation where someone tunes in for two hours, and you’re communing with people who like the same kind of music.

That’s why I listen to the radio, because I want the person presenting to take me somewhere, when they’re really invested in the material. The kind of radio that’s curated like that – not the corporate thing where you have to play the new Beyonce single – that’s really cool, seeing people geek out together like that for two hours at a time.

ON AUDITIONING FOR NEW ROLES...

I like the competition. I like that you have to go and fight for your work. It satiates my anger, because I work out of vengeance. I like kicking ass. It’s the only reason I ever did music; I’m not an artist, I’m not a musician, I’ve never personally had a truly musical moment in my life. I only went on stage to smash it to pieces, and that’s why I like auditions. I enjoy getting in line with a bunch of other assholes, where we all have to go up like some schmuck and sign in and you’ll see that we’re all reading for the same character, like ‘Wesley the sniper’ or whatever.

There’s something about understanding that there’s these guys there with you who are all ten years younger, with perfect gym bodies and magnificent hair, and you’re standing there like some grey-haired jerk-off, and you go in and fight for it and sometimes you get it and sometimes you don’t. I quite like driving into Warner Brothers, because I have no illusions that I should be in any of these places. I’m a guy from the minimum-wage working world. I’m not an actor – I’m a punk rock insurgent. Whenever I get any of these parts, I’m like, ‘Hey – if you say so!’ And whenever I don’t, trust me – I don’t wonder why.

ON WHY THE SAME MOTIVATION NO LONGER APPLIES TO MUSIC...

For me, music was a time and a place. I never really enjoyed being in a band. It was in me and it needed to come out, like a 25-year exorcism.

One day, I woke up, and I didn’t have any more lyrics. I just had nothing to contribute to the form, and I was done with band practice and

travelling in groups. I didn’t stop doing it out of any discontent – it’s like when you finish eating a good meal and go, ‘Alright, I’m done.’ I’m not eating any more, because I’m done. That was one of the clearest moments of my life, like, ‘Wow – I’m done with music.’ I called my manager at the time and said, ‘Hey, man, are you ready for this?’ And his knees must have buckled when I told him!

Because, you know, that was his paycheck. He wanted me to take a year to do other things and then see if I wanted to try it again. That was 12 years ago. I’ve never really thought about it since.

ON SPOKEN WORD PROVIDING A BETTER VEHICLE FOR HIS IDEAS THAN SONGWRITING...

That’s exactly what it is. If it’s just me up on stage, I can turn a topic around on a dime, and I don’t have to worry about what the drummer thinks. There’s a uniformity to music, in a way; we’d go out with the set, and with a bunch of songs to rotate in and out, different encores or whatever to keep everything sharp, but after six months of that, you kind of hit a wall. I got to a certain point in my life where I thought, ‘Do

MUSIC

I really want to spend another year doing this same thing with these same people?’ Because nothing was changing. You get on a bus and you work with these people who are all very nice, and the music’s cool, but you get back home at the end of it and say, ‘OK, I haven’t thought any new thoughts, really, and I haven’t been anywhere – just a bunch of parking lots, backstages and stages for nine months.’ At some point, it lost its element of risk. It was no longer challenging. It was like going out and connecting the same dots every night, and I need there to be confrontation and challenge involved.

ON THE FUTURE FOR HENRY ROLLINS...

As it is right now, I’ve got work until December next year – flat out – and then I have no idea what 2017 is going to hold. That’s fine by me; I work best in that situation, where I’m being put to it. Not panicking, exactly, but also knowing, ‘OK, I’ve got to get this right.’ That’s when I’m at my best.

Henry Rollins plays Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall on 12 Jan henryrollins.com

Out back

55