Perhaps one of the most side-splitting, if not disturbing lines from the award-winning poet Dominic Berry’s performance for Manchester Central Library in honour of LGBT History Month this February.
Dominic Berry has over the past few years grown a repertoire of recognition for his work, both for adult audiences and his poetry and workshops for children, for the former winning Manchester Literature Festival’s Superheroes of Slam and New York’s Nuyorican Poetry Café Slam. Although neither perhaps were quite as notable as his nude performance for the Channel 4 documentary ‘My Daughter the Teenage Nudist’.
Besides the important poetical issue of rimjobs, the hour-long performance to the intimate crowd of nearly 100 people also included pieces of poetry based upon video games, vegan queens, but perhaps most touching of all, Dominic’s own personal past.
None of Berry’s poems were more captivating than the few but emotive pieces focusing upon his more personal background, including a three-poem piece in dedication to his mother, who faced the trial of being a single parent in the Thatcher era where such women were persecuted by society as the modern-day witches. And a piece regarding his past struggles with agoraphobia, putting the spotlight on an issue of mental health both crippling and frequently misunderstood.
Considering the show began with the bubbling poet performing a video game-inspired rap, these few personal poems turned the show in an entirely unexpected but touching direction, providing an insight into the hidden complexities and troubles even the seemingly happiest of people carry.
Never before at any performance have I seen someone engage so closely and openly with the audience. Despite the variety of the humour and seriousness of the different topical performances, the energy and enthusiasm behind each and every piece was near overwhelming.
Dominic Berry has been booked to perform his video game-based pieces for a show titled ‘Up Your Game: The Downfall of A Noob’ at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and has numerous published works of poetry.
Bicep: from bloggers to the big time. Andy Ferguson and Matt McBriar started out posting their eclectic music taste on feelmybicep.com in 2008, and have grown in stature exponentially since with a string of impressive releases and DJ bookings across the world.
The musical culture of Manchester has influenced many a person towards dance music over the years. Andy studied at our fine university, but was also attending raves in Belfast from the age of 15. I ask if Manchester was formative to his interest in dance music, or if he arrived in the city with this well-established: “Yeah I went to Manchester Uni to study Chemical Engineering and used to pick up this paper all the time around campus, mainly to check what was going on that week. When I went to uni there was a vibrant – albeit very small – underground house music scene.”
“When I moved to Manchester all I knew was Shine in Belfast which was a techno Mecca, and moving to Manc at the time seemed like a much smaller scene. I used to hit up Sankeys Soap all the time in my first years, and that was a pretty special place and probably up there with my favourite clubs. When it changed to Sankeys it lost a bit of the grimey factor that I loved in the first place, it’s still ace but not a patch on what it was.”
“The city was definitely in a transition period for a few years when I arrived – WHP starting, Sankeys Soap coming to an end, and lots of small clubs also closing their doors (most notably Bierkeller in Piccadilly gardens where Tramp! had their Wednesday party). I would go out to the likes of Ricardo Villalobos at Sankeys Soap and there was max 300 people on occasions, whereas now there would be 10 times that at least.”
“WHP has definitely changed the game in Manchester and got a bigger crowd into the underground music scene which I think is only a good thing.”
Bicep are set to play Warehouse Project’s festival Parklife this June. “We have played Parklife since the first festival, Mad Ferret, and every year since so have grown with it. We have loved every year, Manchester Festival crowd is one of the best you can play. Down early, going hard all day till late and really in tune with the music, what more can you ask for?”
Looking further afield, the duo have DJ’d to crowds across the globe. “We love touring Europe, so many great countries and cities within a couple of hours from London. Sub Club, Panorama Bar, Robert Johnson and Concrete in Paris are some of our absolute favourite places.”
“It’s really nice to get the chance to visit Australia with our job, really love it down there. Also last summer doing Coachella and getting to spend a week in the desert in Joshua Tree was pretty special.”
Following his graduation, Andy spent time living in New York. “The idea of New York in the past (70s/80s) probably influenced me more than actually being there. As a child and growing up watching so many films I love (The Warriors, Escape from New York, Taxi Driver etc) set there, I found NYC nothing really like that.”
“There is no real sleaze factor there anymore, like when it was actually a dangerous place to live. Those John Carpenter-esque sounds and ideas still heavily influence the music we like and like to make though.”
2012 was a big year for Bicep, with the release of ‘Vision Of Love’ garnering a lot of attention. This however led to many slapping the duo with the tag of “90s house revivalists”, a term I felt lacked scope to the range of their production and sets. I question how they responded to this categorisation and if they now think they’ve transcended it: “Yeah I mean over the last couple of years there has been a take on a sound that was was big in the 90s (M1 organ and pianos combined with a TR909) and that has become really popular, like MK even getting a number 1 hit from a style he championed back in the 90s actually. It’s quite natural for journalists to label things; essentially it’s just a lazy way of trying to define a sound.
“I would say looking at the wider sound of 90s house music, from super deep to jazzy to rave to nu groove type madness, we can look at some tracks from each part of the spectrum and see how some have influenced our work. In our heads it’s not really a revivalist thing it more a case of using analogue gear they did back then but making it work for a modern audience.”
Andy and Matt work together on all their tracks, but have also produced a number of collaborations with artists such as Midland and Ejeca which causes them to change their approach. “We generally let the other person lead the process, because generally they will take you in a complete opposite direction from the start.
“We like to start out of the comfort zone, then its more exciting and challenging, from there we all work together to add our own stamp and make sure everyone is happy with the end product.”
Continuing on plans for future collaborations, Andy shares: “We’re planning to do something with the Simian Mobile Disco guys, but because our schedules are so busy its becoming harder to get a proper session together. It will happen, just when the stars align.
“Recently we have done a few more tracks with Hammer, one with a Manchester based artist Lapelle and another with a few guys from Toronto called Ebony which we will put up on our SoundCloud very soon.”
Starting Feel My Bicep at a time when there wasn’t exactly a lack of dance music blogs, the site managed to stand out from the crowd with an eclectic mix of genres and rare gems ripped from their own extensive vinyl collections. Thousands now look to the blog to find tracks; have there been any secret weapons the pair have regretted sharing with the world? “Haha no not really, we prefer to keep sharing because then you keep digging for more.”
Feel My Bicep parties have also gained world renown for the curation of stonking line ups and, of course, Bicep’s own DJing skills. Many of the world’s finest DJs have played, but one guest who hasn’t that they’d love to book is “Aphex Twin”. Branching out from DJing, Andy reveals plans are in motion for a Bicep live set: “Hopefully sooner rather than later, both of us are really excited about starting this venture.”
Finally, a duo operating under the name of Bicep – the question on everybody’s lips is surely: who can bench more? “Never had a competition, but Matt benched a girl in the Green Room of Corsica Studios, I wouldn’t have been able to do that.”
Bicep will be playing on the Bugged Out stage at Parklife Festival on Sunday 7th June. For more information and tickets please visit here.
Internships Yes, summer is a great way to enhance your future career prospects. Whether it’s two weeks or two months, there are thousands of companies that offer summer internships for students. Who knows, if they like you it could even lead to a post-uni job offer. Don’t know where to start? Head to the Careers Service in University Place, they can help you with the search as well as checking your CV and applications. Internships can be unpaid, however, so you may choose to work somewhere you can earn money once your loan stops coming in.
Festivals A great alternative to a holiday if you have a job and can’t take more than a couple of days off work, festivals are places where it’s always summer even if it’s raining and personal hygiene is no longer a thing. If you feel like doing something different to Glastonbury/Bestival etc, try a smaller one—sometimes they’re better than the sprawling city-like festivals as well as being cheaper. Alternatively, there are so many festivals abroad that have great line-ups and better weather, such as Hideout (Croatia), Sonar (Barcelona) and Melt (Germany).
Travelling Whether it’s a short city break, a hot-flop in the sun or full-blown backpacking, travelling is without a doubt the best way to spend your time when you’re a student. However, being a student unfortunately means you have zero money. Get your old sixth form job as a waitress/bartender/babysitter back, earn some money and book a flight. South East Asia is very popular among students as it’s a cheap place to travel in. Interrailing is also a great idea, you can get cheap flights to Europe then make your way around the continent on trains.
Volunteering University life can be quite a selfish existence; you live by yourself for yourself with little responsibility, so sometimes it’s important to give something back to the world. Volunteering can also be a great way to combine travelling and a boost for your CV; there are so many projects you can undertake abroad in communities or for charity. Alternatively, look up volunteering projects you can do in your local community. You’ll be surprised how fulfilling it is giving something back!
Alternative to all of the above: bum around at home making the most of home-cooked meals and having your washing done for you. You worked hard this year, relax. Invest in a Netflix subscription and watch all six seasons of Breaking Bad. Again.
I hadn’t heard much about Austin before visiting the USA. When I thought of Texas I thought of it as one of the biggest states in the country, with cowboys roaming around the hot, endless landscape. While I wasn’t completely wrong (I definitely saw a vast array of cowboy hats and boots), visiting Austin whilst on a trip in the States completely changed my perception of the place and Austin became one of my favourite cities in America.
I travelled there in the middle of summer, and the heat was almost overwhelming. Walking around in the daytime, the city felt deserted; there were barely any people or cars on the roads, even in the centre of the city. However at night it completely came to life. Austin is hailed as the ‘Live Music Capital of the World’, and you can see why.
Simply walking down the street in the evening you hear live music from every bar you pass; they close off 6th Street (the nightlife street) to cars every Friday and Saturday night. In Texas it is legal for women to be topless in any location men are allowed to be, so it isn’t unusual to see half-naked women strolling down the buzzing street in the evenings.
There is a real sense of pride in Texas, more so than in other states I visited. I was told by a woman in a petrol (sorry, “gas”) station that “Texas could be independent at any time we want, you know!” It is known as the ‘Lone Star State’ referring the time it was an independent country in the 19th century. There is still a strong call for independence; there is a petition with 80000 signatures calling for the secession of Texas on the White House website.
Austin itself is also very patriotic. Its motto is ‘Keep Austin Weird’, which refers to the commitment to keeping small businesses flourishing. I spent a very leisurely day ‘Tubing’ (floating down the river on rubber rings drinking beer) and the only Texan our group would not let us make a mess; every time someone dropped a can in the river he shouted: “Don’t mess with Texas!” and swam to pick it up. I loved being part of the whole Texan experience and cannot wait to visit Austin again in the future.
The new 2015 Formula 1 season will ignite on the 15th of March, with intense rivalries set to resume, witnessing new teams and ground-breaking drivers entering the high-fuelled drama. With pre-season testing finished, Melbourne prepares itself to host the inaugural race of what is expected to be another dramatic season, one which seems set to surpass the exceptional Mercedes dominance of 2014.
With Lewis Hamilton ostentatiously oozing confidence on the back of his impressive World Championship victory, inevitable clashes with teammate and noteworthy rival Nico Rosberg will undoubtedly reach boiling point again. Fractious team relations have already appeared with former two time World Champion Fernando Alonso remonstrating with McLaren hoping they would be ‘more competitive,’ fuelling speculation that he doesn’t want to race the less than impressive car, after a pre-season crash.
F1 history shall be created instantaneously with the chequered flag, with 17-year old Dutchman Max Verstappen set to become the youngest ever Formula 1 driver for Toro Rosso.
Mercedes’ trophy cabinet looks set to remain empathically coveted by the trailing teams, with the driver’s title seemingly heading to reigning champion Lewis Hamilton or his German counterpart Nico Rosberg. With an impressive 16 of 19 races won last year by the pacey and efficient Mercedes, coincide with their impressive early pre-season testing, it is quite inconceivable to visualise either Constructors or Drivers titles going elsewhere.
Commentator James Allen and broadcaster Tom Clarkson venting their clear expressions that ‘nobody’ or ‘no one’ can catch Mercedes sets the stage for a tantalising, nail-biting, two-horse race between two exceedingly competitive drivers. A reversal back to the olden days of a drivers, talent, bravery and skill comprehensively affecting his destiny, rather than see the spoils of victory traced back to emotionless exsanguinous cars which undoubtedly dictate and create a fortuitous victory for a driver.
Two competitive drivers, racing in two incomprehensibly identical formidable cars, with old scores to settle, this year will ultimately see the driver’s title decided on human determination and talent, not bloodless mechanical creations.
Numerous changes of drivers have caused a stir for the new season, with four time champion Sebastian Vettel aiming to resurrect the Ferrari team who have seen titles and victories slip away in recent years. However the inclusion of Vettel at the prancing horse triggers the ejection of Fernando Alonso to McLaren, which seems to not have initiated a productive working relationship.
Toro Rosso create the other notable driver change, with the recruitment of Max Verstappen who will become the youngest ever driver in Formula One’s history; his talent is unquestionable, but will he be able to cope with the demanding pressures and strains of a relentless campaign?
The story to have dominated Formula One before the season’s curtain opener in Australia, has been Fernando Alonso’s crash. Refusing to slide away with him missing the opening race under medical advice, however constant waves of varying credible theories have attempted to fill the void left unanswered by the crash and its aftermath.
With teammate Jenson Button stating that the crash was ‘a bit strange,’ adding further speculation to why a driver of Alonso’s quality who was conscious and braking could not avoid the car from hitting the wall. Has an un-detected medical condition caused the driver to spin off rendering him un-fit for the first race? Or rather cynically has Alonso just lost the passion for Formula One, after his move from the titans of Ferrari to recent underachievers McLaren, rendering himself ineligible to race for a team he doesn’t fit. Whatever has happened, former F1 driver David Coulthard categorised it all as not adding up–what is for sure is this incident won’t disappear quickly.
As Mercedes look set to dominate again with both their drivers fighting for the championship, the majority of the teams will be left competing for the remaining podium positions with Williams, Red Bull and Ferrari left to compete with themselves in a mini-league for the remaining top positions. If Williams maintain their ferocious style and start the year brightly then they will become a force to be reckoned with, with potential future star Valtteri Botas picking up points in all but two races last year driving alongside veteran Massa, Williams could present Mercedes with the greatest threat to their title.
With Ferrari’s acquisition of four-time champion Vettal partnering Kimi Raikkonen, who both appear first and fourth respectively on the most wins among active drivers’ table, they could taste success this year, especially if Ferrari maintain stability, as the consequent season witnessed three team bosses come and go, while sacking a plethora of senior technicians.
The recent dominate force of Red Bull, who are celebrating their 10th year in Formula One, have crumbled slightly in recent years; however, with their impressive set up of promoting and rewarding talented drivers from their sister team Toro Rosso, they will maintain their challenge with the other major teams.
Further down the field, both Lotus and McLaren will hope and expect to improve on their pitiful displays of 2014, especially with Lotus using a Mercedes engine generating inevitable greater power; however, McLaren’s use of a new Honda engine will have to showcase and prove its talent, if it has any. Finally, this leaves Force India, Toro Rosso and Sauber to fight amongst themselves to not become the last placed team on the grid.
2015 promises to be a enticing spectacle of old fashioned driver’s talent and determination dictating the outcome of the championship, as competitive renowned teams aim to claw the dominant Mercedes back into their reaches, while new record breaking drivers shall be pitted against illustrious aggressive drivers to determine their worth. Expect a whole heap of action from 2015.
If you’ve spent more than an hour in the Learning Commons, you will have become familiar with the unique set of politics that governs deadline season. On the odd occasion, some imbeciles choose to violate these rules. What follows is an examination (rant) of some of the most annoying (infuriating) problems (people) you encounter in the Alan Gilbert Learning Commons, also (always) known as Ali G.
Firstly, who are the people that insist on getting the lift to the first floor? If you are an able-bodied human it is your moral duty to not clog the lifts up for those of us who scale the 6 flights of stairs to the top floor. And don’t get us started on those of you that need help going down stairs, gravity does the work for you. Exercise for the body is exercise for the mind and realistically you’re going to do nothing else today, so sort it out. Lazy fuckers. Equally (if not more) irritating are those who think it’s acceptable to use their laptop at a computer desk, whilst barely even logging on to the computer. People hate you.
After working for 11 hours solid, we all go a bit mad and begin to invent ways of entertaining ourselves. You develop unexplainable crushes on random people or inanimate objects, inventing identities and relationships with them. When the inevitable accidental eye contact occurs it is important to remember that they don’t know what you’re thinking, and nobody knows how special you really are. Especially when you bump into them at Sankeys (we’re looking at you, Milky Beige Sloth Boy).
Territory is very important in Ali G. Why do people think it’s OK to come and sit on our sofa that we’re not using and never have? It’s clearly part of our lounge, get off our property. You have to be ruthless when it comes to study rooms—if we’ve booked it, it’s ours. We don’t care how important your work is, you should have thought of that earlier. We don’t have a problem making a scene and we’re not going away, so just pack up and leave.
Lunchtime is that period of sweet, sweet relief where you get to think about nothing and eat everything. Or is it? Not if you accidentally find yourself sat next to an overzealous member of the public that speaks 67 languages and wants to teach you Icelandic. Or tell you the story of how he helped to bring down Hitler. We all like people, but there’s a time and a place (not here, not now). Top tip—take a pair of headphones or look like you’re about to cry. You’ll be left alone.
Apologies if we sound bitter and lonely, it’s because we are.
The 70s Perhaps the biggest and newest trend for the current season, it involves an influx of flares, platforms and boho dresses. The ‘70s is perfect for summer with light flowy fabrics, halter necks and sheers—this is a trend you can easily dip your toe into if you’re a bit unsure. On the high street, Topshop and Zara have a great offering of smock tops, button up skirts and platform heels that are sure to bring out your inner hippie..
Dress, £35.99, Zara
The Midi Skirt It’s been lingering around for a couple of seasons now and it’s time to embrace the more elegant midi skirt. Fitted tube midi skirts are perfect with a pair of heels or wedges; they flatter everyone and give you that Jessica Rabbit wiggle. Admittedly, in the heat you may prefer something looser and more floaty. With this style heels are your best friend as they will lengthen the legs. Perfect with a crop top or a tucked-in vest.
Salt and pepper mid skirt, £40, Topshop
The Bucket Bag Every season there is a defining accessory and for SS15 it is the bucket bag. They look fabulous worn across the body or in the crook of your arm, either way they are an easy way to update your look with one simple piece. And you can never have enough bags!
Bag, H&M, £19.99
White Over the past couple of seasons white has been getting some major press in the fashion world and the theme is set to continue. No, it is not the easiest colour to wear for obvious practicality reasons but it does look fantastic on everyone. An easy way in is white jeans or white shorts, or for the more adventurous, head-to-toe white is essential especially when paired with a beautiful summer glow.
