Sounds from the Other City Festival, held at venues around Manchester's near neighbour, the City of Salford, has become an essential annual fixture in my calendar. Promoters such as Now Wave are adept at presenting emerging new talent, and the mix of urban venues, from the beautiful to gritty, within walking distance makes it easy to explore. Most importantly though is its open mindedness. This attitude was exemplified this year by the presentation of a contemporary classical performance alongside other genres of music, a refreshing and long overdue bridging of the artificial divide between music labelled 'serious' and 'modern'.
1) PINS 9/10
PINS is arguably Manchester's most exciting recent band, emerging triumphantly from supporting Sleater-Kinney on their recent UK. After headlining SFTOC last year, they performed both a short acoustic set in the tiny New Oxford Pub and a collaboration with fellow Mancunian garage duo Brown Brogues in the beautiful St Philips church. The set had a celebratory spirit, and the live energy which makes PINs unmissable created a party atmopshere in this church of rock and roll.
2) Ex-Easter Island Head and BBC Philharmonic Ensemble 9/10
This experimental Liverpool group place electric guitars on their side and play them with mallets, as percussion instruments. They were joined by four amplified members of Manchester's BBC Philharmonic, on harp, violin, violin and saxophone / clarinet. The effect Ex-Easter Island Head's 25 minute composition was anything but dry and academic: layers of reverb created a gorgeously atmospheric soundscape; they're indebted to Steve Reich. If you're eager to explore accessible, tonal classical minimalism, I'd strongly recommend listening to John Luther Adams' orchestral piece Become Ocean. Including such music in a festival such cleanses the aural palette before listening to more raucous, concentrated forms of contemporary music, to the benefit of both genres, and signicantly, tickets for both of the performances ran out quickly.
3) Jupiter-C 8/10
The London based electronic duo of Ashiya Eastwood and David Kane made a compellingly eerie sound in Islington Mill's dark basement, not unlike Swans in mood; they drew me in completely to their dark world and made a strong start to my festival.
4) Normal Love 7/10
As a fan of noir pop band Veronica Falls, I was excited to hear Roxanne Clifford's very recent new project. The start of the set was impacted by sound problems, but a few songs in they found their groove; I particularly appreciated the rhythmic interplay between the drummer and Roxy.
5) Gengahr 7/10
There's a considerable amount of buzz around London based Gengahr, and I saw nothing to suggest they won't be a success, combining deft guitar work with a danceable quality which should appeal strongly to a festival demographic.
6) Jane Weaver 7/10
Liverpool's established folk artist performed, like PINS, in the grandeur of St Philips Church. Yet, with 2014's The Silver Globe, she's changed direction, embracing electronics. Given my admiration for the new album, I was less engaged than I expected: coming towards the end of the day, fatigue might have played a part, and the set received a warm reception in the packed venue.
7) LA Priest 6/10
I suspect electronic artist Sam Dust of Late of the Pier is an introvert: sadly his set was marred by audience noise. He requested, without success, twice, for the chatter to be silenced. There's clearly a highly creative, adventurous mind at work here, and whilst his music his a late night quality, it suffered from the inebriation of revellers at this stage in the evening.
8) Groves 6/10
Another London band, Groves has psychedelic leanings; in the context of this festival, they didn't make a particularly strong impression on me, but they're just emerging, and I'd suggest deciding for yourself via their Soundcloud stream.
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