Monday 30 September 2013

Review // My Nu Leng @ Mint Lounge

My Nu Leng finally came to Manchester on Thursday and played a blinder of a set in conjunction with Sick Chirpse and Hit & Run- Pros: Dancing to Livin' Joy, Cons: Thinking it was an acceptable move attending in some form of bastardized ghetto headscarf and regretting it instantly in the heat. I attended with mediocre expectations and was completely proven wrong; hello blast-from-the-past track selections, on-point mixing and a whole plethora of shape cutting (Seriously, my neck hasn't been the same since- but that could just be down to also seeing Loefah and Funkineven in the space of twenty-four hours...). Click here to read or for an unedited version just scroll below!
My Nu Leng @ Mint Lounge

If you’re not based up here in the grey city, you’re an inauspicious creature for missing out on the countless nights of mischievism that the hilarious writers behind Sick Chirpse have been bringing to Manchester venues, intended for those with their ears to the ground. Pretty good for two guys who “…got really wasted and decided to start a blog”, isn’t it? For this month’s outing, those crazy cats joined forces with tattlers of bookings fresh, danceable and even legendary in the city, Hit & Run, to cinch a night of screwfacing and (in)appropriate grinding with Bristol begetters, My Nu Leng.
That’s the thing about these Manchunians, they like to keep it in the family, as noted by Jonny Dub gracing the decks from the moment we walk through the maze-like corridors of Mint Lounge. With his laudably skilled set- not only technically speaking- and the addition of an unbeatably eclectic yet engaging track list, reconfirm that this crate-digger isn’t just another opening DJ, with an unparalleled audience rapport. The boisterous arm jerking during Daphni’s ‘Ye Ye’, the eyes closed foot stomping in old school recognition of Wookie’s ‘Battle Garage’ and beefy Danny Brown cuts are hardly obscure choices, yet it is the tangle of bodies writhing down the front fused with the freedom and attitude of a true pro, that really makes this feel more like a party than a ticketed event. Besides, where else would you be able to shimmy to Tag Team’s ‘Whoomp! There it is’, before trying impress the nearest babe that you heard Blue Daisy’s ‘Used To Give A Fuck’ six months ago, as it blasts out overhead so early on a Thursday night?
 After a comedic performance from host Chimpo involving a confectionery necklace and some seriously poor aiming skills, proceedings only get even more peculiar when the monochrome uniformed Duo’s set - Tommy sported a Patta t-shirt, whilst Jammo represented Black Butter- was spun out of consummated mayhem. You can thank Daniel Bedingfield's 'Gotta Get Thru This' for assisting us in retracting our originally naive perceptions that this would be a firm set of chunky booming tech-house, as early noughties guilty pleasures are cited as nothing to be ashamed of. Shimmering edits of Modjo’s ‘Lady’ cause even the most stationary hips to swing in unison and speeding up Crystal Water’s ‘Gypsy Woman’ into a repetitive oblivion is nothing short of brilliance, in educating the night’s student clientele on classics’ that are older than most of the teeth in their head.
No mistake made, there are plenty of hefty 4/4’s thanks to Maya Jane Cole and Mosca releases that the audience go crazy for, as the familiar surfaces and merging some of the UK’s most loved classics from the likes of Dizzee Rascal and The Streets contribute in bringing back the rudeboys’ present to throw up the gun fingers with MC T-Man on stage. Bursting out with their influx of heavy duty bass and striking a chord that as a unit, these producers’ have an undeniable flair for their practice with daring selection, ensures that My Nu Leng were welcomed back with open arms to the city.

Words by Yours Truly X

Thursday 26 September 2013

Review // Jon Hopkins @ Gorilla

I went and caught Jon Hopkins's 'Immunity' audiovisual show with Lone on a quiet and extremely sweaty Tuesday evening over at Gorilla, whilst avoiding all the Oxford Road influx of freshers'! My review is now live which you can read here or below!
Jon Hopkins @ Gorilla

After one of the most deserving Mercury Music Prize nominations in years – and his second in three after 2011’s Diamond Mine King Creosote collaboration – Jon Hopkins revved back into his forerunning role with Immunity, a true masterpiece and an impressive, cinematic statement of potency. The record manages to retain the essence of being reassuringly wonky, while Hopkins’s key training and lush production see him reiterate his skills as an electronic artist, like no other.
For tonight’s show, Manchester promoter marvels Now Wave are celebrating their fifth birthday, roping in Lone to play a punchy set of deep and exuberant techno – housed in a floating booth within the stage rigging, may we add – to open up the night’s proceedings. After an hour of hands-in-the-air grooving from front to back, Gorilla’s roof becomes a saturated sweat den as punters shuffle expectantly for tonight’s headliner, cramming into any discernible inch of floor space they can. From the instant Hopkins sets his Kaoss pad hubs alight, constructing his signature fuzz and loops of analogue hardware circulations, you can sense a warmth, a glowing energy being transitioned to a thrilled and valued audience.
As Open Eye Signal radiates forth over the throbbing system, Hopkins comes across as a tremendously modest and bashful individual, open and exposed to his audience rather than being shrouded away. When technical difficulties come into play and his system cuts out for a short amount of time, every hand in the room takes the opportunity to finally show their gratitude as rapturously as they can, Hopkins responding with a timid grin. He needn't be embarrassed: this crowd aren’t here off the back of a Coldplay affiliation or a Brian Eno collaboration. Make no mistake, they’re the vinyl purchasers and the connoisseurs who are aiding Hopkins in receiving the recognition and appreciation he deserves.
 Visuals are a prominent focal point, with enlisted artist Dan Tombs projecting viscous, lava-like, saffron liquids and rapidly multiplying bubble pools to inspire the mindset and conduction of Immunity; tones are harpooned by kaleidoscopic, vivid needles of colour, bleeding through the likes of Collider. While this attempt at cross-platform art isn’t fully integrated into the overall set-up, it provides an appropriate accompaniment, and when everyone is reading from the same askew page, it really doesn't matter. Here’s to Immunity and beyond.

Words by Yours Truly X

Tuesday 24 September 2013

Noisey Freshers Tour // You Need To Hear This

In conjunction with Philips the crew over at Noisey are sending off Superfood, The Witches, Maxixe and a whole host of other acts and DJ's for a freshers tour! Fun, right? There will be free drinks, live music and a bunch of goodies for the early birds who turn up on the dot so come and join in the fun whilst I take some snaps of you all getting drunk and disorderly! You can register now at youneedtohearthis.com/freshers for any city, so, what are you waiting for? See y'all down the front!
Words by Yours Truly X

Thursday 19 September 2013

Feature // GNOD

Evening! I went over to one of my favourite venues, Islington Mill, last month to chat to warped-experimentalists GNOD for Crack Mag about Pope John Paul, unearthing new labels and sticking heads in bass bins. You can go to one of the gazillion stockists all over the Country and grab a physical copy of Issue 34 for ~free~ to read my piece in print NOW! There is also some excellently composed features on Danny Brown and Banks along with all the usual album, live reviews and male models looking hot to trot on the fashion pages, capiche? 
Words by Yours Truly, Image c/o Crack Magazine X