Skip to main content

Day: 13 May 2013

Web Developers wanted for 2013/14

We’re looking for a new web team for 2013/14.

The Mancunion has been the student newspaper at the University of Manchester since 1969, and prior to that since the 1920s as the Manchester Independent.

The paper is one of the most respected publications in the UK, with a circulation of between 5,000 and 10,000. In addition, Mancunion.com is a successful website, with close to 140,000 unique visitors so far for this academic year.

Benefits for students wanting to get involved include practical experience of running a successful website, teamwork, working in media and the chance to win awards; particularly The Guardian Student Media Award for Website of the Year.

Web developers would be tasked with working with the Web Editor to continue the gradual improvement of the website, helping to introduce new features onto the site, and carrying out maintenance on the website to ensure that it runs smoothly.

Experience required:

  • Previous experience of using WordPress
  • Web development in PHP
  • Experience developing themes in WordPress is a bonus

Those interested in this volunteer position should send an email with ‘Web developer application’ in the subject box detailing their experience to next year’s Editor Jonathan Breen on [email protected]

APPLICATION DEADLINE: WEDNESDAY 12TH JUNE

 

 

Festival: Open’er

3rd – 6th July

Boasting a stellar lineup, whose headliners (Arctic Monkeys, Blur, Kings of Leon, QOTSA) probably best those of any other festival happening this year, Open’er has become a major player on the international festival circuit in recent years. This is due in no small part to the price of attending. 4-day tickets are available with 7-day camping and a free pass to see Rihanna the day after the festival’s culmination, should you so wish.

The price of the trip often tallies at significantly less than the total of attending a large UK festival which is fantastic when you consider that you also get a complete cultural experience, many beautiful beaches and three cosmopolitan cities to explore nearby. Flights to Poland and accommodation are also dirt cheap. Of the 120 artists confirmed, Crystal Fighters, Editors, Alt-J and the excellent Tame Impala will certainly absorb audiences in the hot Baltic sun. Finally, when you can describe acts with the magnitude of Nick Cave, Animal Collective and Kendrick Lamar as being part of the alternative section of the bill this year’s Open’er looks to be a fantastic experience all-round.

Tickets are £110, that includes camping for the week – see website for more details.

Festival: Eastern Electrics

2nd – 4th August

Extending its duration to three days and two nights, EE 2013 will see over 100 of the finest global electronic artists hitting Hertfordshire this August.  The festival will take place at the iconic Knebworth Park, a venue steeped in tradition and which has played host to the likes of Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Metallica, Oasis and, of course, Robbie. It will be very interesting to see how the event fairs in its new home.

Day 1 kicks off on the Friday with Ben UFO, Blawan, Bicep, Maurice Fulton and DJ Sneak getting the ball rolling. The no-nonsense beat-stream continues on Day 2 with Magda, Heidi, Ame, Roman Flugel and Surgeon. Then to close on Sunday, the legendary Masters At Work, Kerri Chandler, Chez Damier, as well as P-Bar giants Tama Sumo and Prosumer. There’s also a host of young guns on display over the three days – the likes of Kyle Hall, Pan Pot and Subb-an will certainly wet more than a few whistles.

Weekend tickets with camping are £115 standard, day tickets will set you back about £40. There are plenty of offers for groups and ‘boutique’ camping – see the website for more info, here.

Big Green Coach are also offering coach travel from all over the country, check it out.

Festival: Wilderness

9th – 11th August

There  aren’t many festivals that combine panel debates, nature retreats and wood-fired hot tubs with an enormous wealth of talent from the worlds of circus, music and theatre. However, Wilderness Festival does just that.

It is the brainchild of the people behind the success of both the Secret Garden Party and Lovebox music festivals. As Wilderness enters its third year in the picturesque parkland of Cornbury Estate, Oxfordshire, the festival will certainly aim to maintain and further solidify its reputation awarded to it by the readers of the Live UK magazine as the the UK’s best festival with a capacity under 15,000 in 2012.

Australian duo Empire of the Sun headline in what is an exclusive UK festival performance, and their first UK date in just over three years. A perfect headline act in the care-free, relaxed environment that the festival offers. Other acts performing include Noah and the Whale, Rodriguez, Ghostpoet, King Krule and Martha Wainwright, alongside the BBC Sound of 2012 winner Michael Kiwanuka and the 2013 Brits Critics Choice award winner Tom Odell.

Tickets are £139 for the weekend w/camping – see website for more details.

Festival: Hideout

3rd – 5th July

With a backdrop that combines the Mediterranean climate, mountainous scenery and crystal waters, it is plain to see why Hideout Festival has become one of Europes leading dance getaways. Whether it’s boat partying with Joy O or being poolside for Bashmore, Hideout has all bases covered, catering for both the commercial and obscure clubbers alike. Whilst Chase & Status and Jamie Jones top the bill, the essential party names of ever present duo Oneman and Jackmaster are guaranteed to keep summer vibes flowing.

That said, house music remains at the fore with men like George Fitzgerald and Dusky standing in good stead to keep the beats playing well past sunset. If this was not enough, the influential figures of Scuba and Skream sit alongside the relatively young pair, Bondax, to offer one of the most balanced lineups Croatia’s coast will host this summer. Located on a small beach upon the island of Pag, Hideout offer the customary boat party opportunity, with labels such as Numbers, Hessle Audio and Hot Creations all commandeering ships. 2012 deserves special mention DJ Jackmaster finishing his sunset performance by playing ‘Teardrops’ by Womack and Womack. This resulted in the audience getting rather emotional, especially when ‘Gypsy Woman’ by Crystal Waters was played upon Jacks encore.

Festival: Latitude

19th – 21st July

While Kraftwerk and Carol Ann Duffy might be two names which rarely come together in the same sentence, the forefathers of electronic music share a billing with the poet laureate and GCSE English staple at 2013’s Latitude Festival, in a line-up which, at first glance, might make for slightly bemusing reading – Modest Mouse, Germaine Greer, Duane Eddy and Tim Key all feature among a wealth of others, in what is surely one of the more wide-ranging mix of artists assembled this summer. However, as organiser Melvin Benn has stated, Latitude is “much more than a music festival.”

Headlining alongside Kraftwerk are festival stalwarts Bloc Party and Foals, although with over 500 live acts booked for the four day festival – including break-through acts Laura Mvula and Rhye – it would be hard not to find something to enjoy. The appeal of Latitude’s eclectic (sorry) range of live performance is matched by the allure of its setting, in the idyllic grounds of Suffolk’s Henham Hall, over which rogue flocks of luminously dyed sheep roam at will – as far as British festivals are concerned, locations don’t come much better in this. Founded in 2006, and with a current capacity of 35,000, Latitude is already becoming a major highlight of the UK’s festival circuit.

Festival: Dot To Dot

24th May

Perhaps one of the worst things about booking a festival ticket is the utter, utter dread that our notoriously schizophrenic British weather just won’t cooperate. There’s always a risk that after spending £200 on a ticket and then the same again in transport, supplies and copious booze, you’ll end up spending a weekend soaked to the skin and covered in mud. And that’s the joy of a multi-venue city festival. The heavens can open all they like but you’ll be standing inside a nice warm venue and at the end of the night, you can go home to a shower and a warm bed.

The first night of three with the crew rolling in to Nottingham and Birmingham the same weekend., the Manchester leg is taking place in a number of venues surrounding Oxford Road train station: Ritz, Sound Control, Joshua Brooks, Deaf Institute & Zoo. The festival has always prided itself on exhibiting some of the freshest new bands around; at the top of the bill are the always wonderful Dry the River and critics’ darling Tom Odell but further down there’s some of the best new talent currently winning over the music blogs. Be sure to catch the likes of Wolf Alice, new indie-pop wonders, Thumpers, MØ – who’s being touted as the Danish Grimes, Chloë Howl and Story Books before they rise out of their relative obscurity.

Check the stage times and ticket info here.

Festival: Gottwood

20th – 23rd June

One of the hottest tickets of last summer, Gottwood is perhaps best described as a techno-based teddy-bear’s picnic. Nestled away in the Anglesey woods, this year’s vibrant roster of artists includes Extrawelt, Luke Vibert, Ben UFO, Detroit Swindle and Tom Demac – plus a plethora of quality producers and established regional promoters.

Manchester collective Drop The Mustard play host to up and comers Urulu and Ejeca, London house heads Tief welcome Bicep and KRL, whereas Leeds night Louche bring in German supremo Move D for a 4hr set. Hip-hop tinted live act The Scribes and deep-rooted reggae crew General Roots also contribute to an extremely eclectic billing.

What sets Gottwood apart from other UK dance festivals is that it is genuinely dedicated to supporting up and coming DJs. The promoters strive to provide a platform for lesser known artists, giving them the opportunity to push themselves further into the public eye. It’s also set in the woods, which is pretty rad. The theme this year is ‘The Wild Things’, so expect to see plenty of larger-than-life art installations, animalistic murals and graffitied trees.

Tickets are £95 for the weekend w/camping – great value. See the website for more details and necessary directions.

Festival: Outlook / Dimensions

29th Aug – 2nd Sept  /  5th – 9th Sept

Located in the stunning surroundings of Fort Punta Christo, Croatia, Outlook returns this year to celebrate its sixth birthday. With a line up including some of the best in house, techno, reggae, garage and grime, every taste is pretty much catered for. There’s also a major hip hop contingent this time round – including Mos Def, The Pharcyde, Pharoah Monch, Talib Kweli and Jay Electronica.

Dimensions starts three days later on the same site, and is shaping up to just as good as, if not better than its older brother. Looking to capitalise on last year’s inaugural success, the line-up boasts some of the most innovative producers doing the rounds right now. In addition to the techno stylings of Ben Klock, Karenn and Efdemin, the lighter end of 4/4 music is represented by Floating Points, Move D, Mr Scruff and John Heckle. But I’d say the most exciting prospect is the Detroit tour de force, comprised of Moodymann, Model 500, Theo Parrish, Omar-S and Rick Wilhite. Silly good.

Tickets are £135 each / £245 for both – check out the websites for more info – Outlook / Dimensions

Planet Festival is also offering deals on coach travel + accommodation – so make sure you have a good look at what’s available.

Interview: Ghostpoet

“Some people decide to go down a particular path in life, or follow a particular crowd – some say I. Instead of doing that, I’m walking down my own avenue – so I say light.” Ghostpoet is attempting to elucidate the thinking behind the title for his sophomore record, Some Say I So I Say Light; after his debut carried a similarly-abstract moniker, Peanut Butter Blues and Melancholy Jam, it’s obvious he’s not one for a straightforward self-titling. “It came to me in a dream, as ridiculous as that sounds. I wrote it down at the time, and kind of forgot about it for a while. It wasn’t until we came to finish the album that I realised it had stuck.”

Ghostpoet – or Obaro Ejimiwe, when he’s at home – provides compelling evidence that extra-curricular pursuits at university can involve more than just supermarket vodka and regret. It was during his time as a student in Coventry that he made his first significant forays into music. “I’d never really met like-minded people, musically speaking, until I got to uni,” he says. “It was less about actually making anything and more that I was just listening to so much stuff, and absorbing so many different influences. I was really into grime at the time, and I had the opportunity to meet a lot of MCs and DJs – I was able to immerse myself in that scene.”

As much as this could easily be considered a lazy comparison, Ghostpoet reminds me, overwhelmingly at times, of The Streets. It’s not just the blend of typically-urban genres with a handful of more eclectic influences; it’s the atmosphere, on both records, that kind of mirrors what Mike Skinner produced, particularly on Original Pirate Material and A Grand Don’t Come for Free; that brooding, late night, inner city ambience that’s only partly translated through the lyrics – Roots Manuva, too, often pulled it off on his more contemplative efforts. “The music always informs the lyrics – it’s never the other way around.  When you’re trying to come up with the words, it’s all about tapping into the emotion that you’ve created through the music. You need to figure out where the sounds want you to go.”

If there’s an obvious explanation for the influx of new ideas on Some Say I So I Say Light, both sonic and thematic, it’d be the progression from Peanut Butter Blues‘ bedroom-produced beginnings to working with an established producer in an actual recording studio. “I knew that if I wanted to evolve as an artist, I was going to have to go into a proper studio. I knew straight away that I wanted to bring in a co-producer, and that was all part of wanting to challenge myself, artistically speaking, by doing new things, and forcing myself into positions that made me a bit uncomfortable. The whole of the first record was sort-of laptop-produced, and this time we actually did most of it analogue, which was something I hadn’t really thought about before.”

The co-producer in question – and he is, indeed, a co-producer, as Ghostpoet is at pains to point out – is Richard Formby, who’s worked extensively with one of Ghostpoet’s favourite bands – Wild Beasts. “I love that band, and I admired the work Richard had done with them; he’s produced all three of their records so far. I liked what he did with Darkstar too, so I had kind of a trial week with him and we really hit it off. He’s a good friend now. Probably the most important thing was that we got along so well.”


One of the most obvious signs of advancement on Some Say I is the decision to include a number of collaborations, with Gwilym Gold, The Invisible’s Dave Okumu and Lucy Rose all making appearances. “I feel like I’m not a musician in the traditional sense,” he reflects. “I look at songs as if I’m trying to put them together, and I had an idea of who I thought could help complete certain tracks. Lucy Rose came to my attention through the work she did with Bombay Bicycle Club, and as soon as I heard her solo stuff, I knew I wanted to have her on the record, so I wrote that song (‘Dial Tones’) with her in mind.”

Ghostpoet’s signature is the eclectic mix of genres that he’s embraced on both his records, with hip hop only one influence among many; he’s repeatedly distanced himself from the ‘rapper’ tag. “It’s just a reflection of the fact that I’m a fan of so many different kinds of music. If something feels right, I’ll put it in there. I’m not consciously trying to make the record sound diverse, but I wouldn’t ever try to write a song by only focusing one particular sound.”

The lean towards an analogue recording process was perhaps not totally surprising, given that Ghostpoet insists on a full live band when playing shows. “I really want the gigs to have a different flavour from the records. Often, it’s very easy for electronic artists to just turn up on stage with a laptop and a mic. I know, from going to gigs myself, that you want to take something unique away from a live show. I love guitar music; it has the best kind of live energy, and that’s what I’ve been trying t o channel.”

With Some Say I meeting with similarly positive reviews as its predecessor, it wouldn’t be remiss to suggest that another Mercury nomination might be in the offing, after Peanut Butter Blues was pipped by PJ Harvey back in 2011. “That was really crazy. The recognition was great, and it opened a lot of doors for me, but I don’t think about it too much now. I’m always looking to the next thing, and that time has been and gone.”

Ghostpoet plays Gorilla on May 28. Some Say I So I Say Light is available now via Play It Again Sam