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Day: 8 November 2016

Live: Banco de Gaia and Dr Trippy

Written by Oscar Talbot on . Posted in Music.

21st October at Band on the Wall

6/10

Banco de Gaia are an ambient trance band that are well known for their samples of Indian raga music and Arabic instrumentals. By and large, their songs are fairly long and create a layering effect, with a hypnotic combination of unusual samples expertly paired with reggae-influenced dance music. This has great potential to become somewhat staid and soporific, but the expert arrangement and energetic performance mostly manages to avoid this. However, some of their less dance-influenced songs did leave me wishing that they could move on a bit. Sometimes they descended into yoga levels of relaxation and rather than playing to their minimalism, it instead became a shade liturgical as 70-odd 40 year olds rediscovered recreational substance abuse.

While Banco de Gaia chose to accompany their music to a background of what looked like Windows Media player visualizer effects, Dr Trippy chose to unleash the full power of memes. Clearly a veteran 4channer, Dr Trippy employed the full gamut from Mr Skeletal to the Oogachaka Baby, mixed with bizarre fractals and gifs of a dancing Cristo Redentor. All of this accompanied by a man who looked like John Peel dressed as the Mighty Boosh’s Hitcher, and your mate Steve who lives in Afflecks and is obsessed with steam punk.

Dr Trippy’s music was highly dub influenced, but easily danceable which built up to regular peaks. It was quite similar to Banco de Gaia, but with a more pronounced Massive Attack influence. Maybe I’m not sufficiently involved in the trance scene, but I found Dr Trippy somewhat more enjoyable, partly because it was much easier to dance to, although while Banco de Gaia sometimes were guilty of lacking variety, Dr Trippy was guilty of spreading himself too thinly between disparate genres, meaning he sometimes lacked coherence.

A final shout out to Dr Trippy, and his wife, Mrs Trippy who were lovely, and to Lee who bought me a CD. I’ll be sure to pass on the karma.

In possession of/possessed by the smoothie blender

Written by Elena Gibbs on . Posted in News.

Nutribullet. Liquidizer. Morphy Richards. Jug blender.

All are names of popular machines that have become of unprecedented prestigious value in our homes.

I’ve been around enough people to now notice the distinct trend of possessive nature that comes as a guarantee with purchase of this kitchen equipment.

It was in my first halls that I first felt the grip of ownership take hold of me regarding my old Phillips blitz-it-all2000. A flatmate had wanted to borrow it repeatedly and I found such negative thoughts seep into my mind:

“I hope she doesn’t break it”

“It’s my smoothie maker”

“Why doesn’t she get her own?”

I’m ashamed to say it, I hid the machine in my room when I went away. My brain couldn’t handle the thought of the precious plastic jug and holder being used in lack of my presence. Later in life, karma came around to bite me; another housemate refused to let me use her bottle-blender when my machine broke. Then a person I lived with the following year also did not like me using her nutribullet, and insisted I get my own.

This may all seem trivial, but what’s with the distinct trend? People don’t get possessive over kettles, microwaves, toasters, etc.. so let’s psychoanalyse the situation: why does this grip of possession come over the blender owner? There are some possible reasons:

1) The owner is subconsciously fearful of the user not handling/washing/using the blender properly

2) They think that with more uses, its lifespan is reduced

3) If it breaks in other person’s control, it’s fixing or replacement will still fall on the owner

4) Wanting to use it at the same time

5) Flavour residue

6) The owner becomes possessed by the blender

Let’s explore reason 6. Whilst 1-5 are legitimate, if not reasonable, they fail to explain the severe worry, distrustfulness, and secretive behaviour that is associated with blender ownership.

Number 6 explains it all.

A newfangled marketing technique introduced to ensure maximum purchases of product: the possessing device. As the blades spin round, the owner’s eyes widen in hypnosis as they become energetically magnetised to the kitchenware object. One is overwhelmed with a sense of attachment and is compelled to protect the life of the appliance at all costs. This ensures that no one else can use the appliance, and makes subsequent sales more likely as friends and family will be enraptured by the owner’s genuine love and obsession for the product; wanting to experience that feeling for themselves.

Six sharp pieces of advice

Written by Felix Sanders on . Posted in News.

Whether you’re whipping up a quick dinner for one or throwing a dinner party for 15, here are some simple kitchen tips that will make your life easier.

1)   When cooking with cream, you must always season it very well. Then season it some more. And some more. Cream neutralizes flavours so the key to a delicious cream sauce is plenty of seasoning. (I should stress this doesn’t count for when making puddings..!)

2)   When cooking with a non-stick pan don’t plunge it straight into cold water, although that loud sizzling sound might make you feel like a pro (it’s so satisfying), it actually takes off the ‘non-stick’ from the pan and ruins it.

3)   All eggs must be cooked low and slow. Yes it will make the process slower, but this is necessary for the eggs to cook through without some of them burning.

4)   DO NOT PUT SHARP KNIVES IN THE DISHWASHER. Even my mum gets this one wrong. This is such an important one for me because it will blunt your sharp knives and cooking without sufficient equipment makes everything so much more time consuming and harder.  I know it’s quicker to just throw them in the dishwasher but taking care of your equipment is crucial for a smooth time in the kitchen.

5)   If you leave cream to come to room temperature it will whip up by hand within 20-30 seconds. This is a particularly useful tip if you’re hosting a dinner party and you don’t have time to pre-whip the cream.
6)   Lastly, putting bananas in a fruit bowl will cause the other fruit in the bowl to ripen faster. So if you have some stubborn plums that are refusing to ripen put them in a bag with bananas and that should quicken the process. Otherwise, I would suggest storing your bananas in a separate bowl.

 

Editor’s note, when not at University Sarah works as a Private chef in Scotland.

Make me up as me not you

Written by Qiarna Bondswell on . Posted in Fashion & Beauty.

Our faces have changed. The drag trends of modern day makeup have officially won; women who enjoy makeup are now wearing matte foundation, matte lipsticks, contour, highlight, winged eyeliner, mink eyelashes, and not for their night out — but as their daily mask; I believe the blame lies right in the hands of Instagram and YouTube.

Now before you switch off thinking this is an article about shaming women who wear makeup — this is not the intention of this piece at all, I, too, wear makeup every day. What I want to address is how everyday makeup has become progressively heavy. Whilst you may simply like wearing Kylie Jenner inspired makeup, perhaps we all need to question how flattering this regime is for our faces on an everyday basis. I’m sure many of you will recognise at least one of these figures; Amrezy, Nikkitutorials, Shaaanxo, Tammy Hembrow, Carli Bybel, Desi Perkins, the Instagram and Youtube ‘It’ girls of our generation. I’m sure many of us turn to them once in a while to learn a few makeup looks. But oh my, their social media beauty looks have seriously been influential and seeped into the mainstream and this is seriously tainting individual beauty.

Walking through Manchester city centre I notice so many young girls covered in heavy foundation, overdrawn lips, and matte lipstick the problem is that many these makeup trends taken from Instagram and YouTube are tailored for photography and HD video and thereby in person it frankly looks ridiculous and over the top. However, more frustrating is how these trends are making everyone look like each other and subsequently morph into a similar face.

Maybe you don’t care how heavy your daytime makeup is, maybe you even see your heavy make up as empowering, and that’s your prerogative. I personally would like to see women embrace makeup trends that enhance their personal features and not just take on trends that are en vogue. For instance, if you have a very round or oval face, why try to carve in cheekbones that are not there? Makeup is our aid to enhance beauty not create something that does not exist. Remember contour was born out of drag queens trying to MAKE a female face, not enhance their own natural beauty. Furthermore, if you suffer from dry skin, it is a dewy foundation and creamy lip cream which will brighten up your face, giving you that glow dry skin naturally struggles with. So why reach for that matte lip kit and matte foundation that although will give you the current look ultimately you know it’s not the most flattering for you?

We see images of these flawless makeup looks on Instagram, we then learn how to recreate the steps to these looks through Youtube, and finally we emulate them in real life. However the issue is that we forget a fundamental part — these looks were created for photographing and are suitable for nights out but not for walking around campus. My aim is to simply point out that the ‘InstaTube’ influence is morphing our faces, and this is starting to get out of hand. The message isn’t to be all natural and take off all your makeup; I understand how great makeup can make you feel. Instead try to adopt trends that suit your face on an individual basis and bring out your own distinctive beauty.

Album: Lady Gaga — Joanne

Written by Alexandra Bickell on . Posted in Music.

Released 21st October via Interscope

5/10

As a staunch Lady Gaga fan, I was expecting to love her fifth studio album as much as her previous offerings – wild, glitzy, electropop productions to ‘Just Dance‘ to. Joanne is completely different, a country music extravaganza with none of the outlandishness that made Gaga famous. The genre swap is sudden and it feels like a different artist entirely.

It seems as though Gaga has invented a new character, Joanne, for this album, named after her late paternal aunt. Joanne (incidentally also Lady G’s middle name) is country music’s version of Elle Woods, composed of likeability and empowerment swathed in glaring pink ‘Americano’. The only hint of the ‘old’ Gaga that we see is with ‘Perfect Illusion’. Even this is a lot more mainstream than some of her work on Artpop, although this could be Mark Ronson’s effect on the track — he has a habit of ‘mainstreaming’ songs for more alternative artists, as he did with ‘Valerie’ by Amy Winehouse.

The first track on Joanne, ‘A-YO’, is a foot stomper, with plenty of hand clapping and strong guitars. It’s a good song — but it doesn’t stand out. It doesn’t particularly showcase Gaga’s vocal talent, nor does it use any of her typically biting lyrics. In short, it sounds like every other post-2000 country song, which to me at least, is not a good thing.

After ‘A-YO’, the album mellows out significantly, with more restraint and less ‘Applause’. The paired-back style is very unlike the Gaga that we know, but there are several songs that are still technically great. A particular stand out is the collaboration between her and Florence Welch of Florence + The Machine fame. The two voices are both excellent and they match well, building each other up rather than working in competition.

Joanne is a difficult album to place. It contains great vocals from Lady Gaga, but none of the performance aspect that is crucial to so much of her work and indeed to her usual fan base. It feels like Gaga is trying to distance herself from her past music and show a more mature side, but in doing so we lose some of the ‘Million Reasons’ why she is so successful. After Perfect Illusion’s relatively poor record sales, it will be interesting to see how Joanne fairs with Gaga’s Little Monsters.

Album: American Football – LP2

Written by Harry Sherrin on . Posted in Music.

Released 21st October via Polyvinyl

6.5/10

American Football’s second release, a self-titled LP (LP2) follows a much cherished and also self-titled debut (LP1), an album that fostered obsession and pioneered a genre. Though LP1 was somewhat neglected initially, with the band breaking up shortly after its release, the following years saw the album surge in popularity. It incited not only a fearfully devoted cult following, but also an unfaltering barrage of gruelling, twee college-rock bands. The album’s popularity, though, was well founded, it somehow remained comforting and accessible, despite its asymmetric rhythms and irregular time signatures. Frontman Mike Kinsella’s unfeigned lyrics of angst and heartbreak grounded the album in a stirring warmth. With that debut, a blueprint in the genre of ‘emo’ was founded, one that’s since been tirelessly praised and mimicked, but never replicated.

It is in the context of LP1 becoming some sort of emo bible, then, that we must remember that reunions should often be approached with apprehension, lest they follow nearly two decades of hiatus. Thankfully, American Football’s live reunion in 2014 warranted no such apprehension — it was an undeniable triumph, giving the band’s long devoted fans a tempting offering of nostalgia after years of neglect. The live shows were so well received that the news of new material, landing in 2016, sparked fears that it might tarnish their now seemingly perfect legacy.

LP2 comes to the scene, then, with enormous shoes to fill. This is the album’s first and greatest obstacle — that it will be tirelessly compared to its predecessor. Tracks like ‘Give Me the Gun’ and ‘Everyone Is Dressed Up’ do genuinely succeed in replicating the first album’s magic, harking back to old favourites like ‘Stay Home’ and ‘Never Meant’. The album at times sounds barely distinguishable from that of its predecessor, with off-beat drum parts and tricky guitar work taking precedence once again. But this is as far as LP2 succeeds; it breaks no new ground and explores no new sounds.

There are instances, moreover, where the album does genuinely falter; the lyrics being a key example. Cheesy, self-deprecating lyrical clichés, prevalent throughout the album and indeed the genre, seem unconvincing when compared to LP1’s moving words of youth. Lines like “I need a drink or two or three or four, to spend any time alone with me anymore”, though serious in content, come across clunky and insincere. Perhaps it’s the knowledge that the words are coming from a man approaching forty that is most affecting. Herein lies the biggest problem of the album — if it had been released a year or two after the band’s debut, it would be an untarnishing development in the band’s career. But after seventeen years, the album stands as just another copy, admittedly a well-crafted one, of its tirelessly copied predecessor.

Live: Daughter

Written by Rebekah Shaw on . Posted in Music.

24th October at Academy 1

9/10

The show opens with drums eerily attuned with the rhythm of a beating heart. This felt apt, as the track — the sombre ‘New Ways’ from Daughter’s latest album Not to Disappear — captures the feeling of trying to break out of a mould whilst retaining some semblance of yourself, reminding the audience that Daughter are no longer afraid of moving into different stylistic territory. The shy and serene Elena Tonra murmurs “I’ve been trying to get out | find a subtle way out | not to cross myself out | not to disappear”, perfectly referencing the meaning behind the album’s title.

Now on the second leg of the tour behind Not to Disappear, Daughter are comfortable with their bigger, rockier on-stage style adapted from success at earlier shows, evidential in their ability to captivate the huge audience filling the Academy. The core trio decided to expand their line-up, including a range of brass, percussive instrumentation and backing vocals to fill the intimidating space. Once a band known for its slow and steady, almost hypnotic drumming — courtesy of Remi Aguilella — Not to Disappear showcased tuned percussion and faster, exciting drum patterns, and translated into an impressive onstage set-up that took more people to govern.

The refreshingly irate ‘No Care’ was the perfect result of rock influence combined with greater confidence to break out of the melancholy stereotype perpetuated from their first album If You Leave, and proved that band were ready to step up onto a bigger stage. A potential issue with Daughter in a larger venue was in maintaining the level of intimacy these earlier emotive songs had demanded on record. However, Elena’s breathy vocals created waves of calm in this storm of change. Fan favourite ‘Youth’ still elicited the biggest audience response, and although it felt strange to hear people singing along to the tortuous lyrics “we’re setting fire to our insides for fun”, it created an affirmation that fans were still feeling every sentiment of Daughter’s music.

Fashion tactics

Written by Sophie Billington on . Posted in Fashion & Beauty.

With winter and deadlines fast approaching, it seems like taking a trip all the way into town is becoming increasingly difficult. We find ourselves confined to our cosy warm rooms more and more and are left asking ourselves, how do we keep our wardrobes as fresh and crisp as the outside air that we continually avoid? Fear not, and fear not the cold, for here are some excellent answers. Stay in the know so that you can stay in the warm.

One way to keep shopping with less effort is to get scouring your local charity shops. A charity shop scavenge means that you waste no body warmth (or money) on getting your threads. Small suburbs such as Withington are top spots for charity shops and good finds. If you enjoy the activity of shopping but hate committing to it, this is the one for you because there’s rarely a charity shop too far from home and you won’t have to linger for long to find the few items per shop that are worthy of your personal attention. It’s unlikely that you will want to buy out the whole shop, meaning that you won’t have to spend hours trying on your finds. The money you save and the moral superiority that you might feel in your gracious act of recycling is really just an added bonus.

Physical-effort-saving rating: ***

Mental-effort-saving rating: ***

Time-saving rating: ***

 

A second way to minimise your effort is by keeping your eye on the internet so that you can search high street shops selectively with types of clothing in mind. There’s little worse than just wanting a new coat and having to travel and explore the seven corners of Zara simply to identify three of them. If you aren’t looking for anything in particular, perhaps look for ‘best selling’. This way you can sit at home on your sofa and enjoy a coffee instead of juggling your take-away cappuccino awkwardly as you flip between hangers.

A good way to save money and time on this is to choose the option ‘price low to high’ if it’s available or to look at mid-season or end-of-season sale sections. Also consider looking at websites such as Etsy for your clothes; thousands of independent sellers from all over the world allow you to maintain an image of exotic travel and activity as you lie in bed pushing guilty thoughts of how you haven’t left the house all weekend to the back of your unexercised mind.

Physical-effort-saving rating: *****

Mental-effort-saving rating: ***

Time-saving rating: **

 

While most people have internet-shopped before, a not-so-secret yet very up-and-coming method of lazy shopping is to use Depop. Depop is an open marketplace for clothes and thus traverses both the realms of first and second-hand clothing. Here is a place where you can search not only for specific types of clothing, but also for specific colours, materials, textures, brands. The possibilities are practically endless.

The option to ‘follow’ specific vendors means that you won’t even need to leave your newsfeed to see items tailored to your personal needs and wants. Even better, should you have seen something in store a few seasons ago, deigned not to buy it and experienced endless regret, you could potentially find it with a flick of the finger. This app is the perfect combination of charity shop, Internet shop and eBay: this is the future.

Mental-effort-saving: *****

Physical-effort-saving rating: *****

Time-saving rating: (dependent on your personal level of terrible addiction to the app)

 

Finally, if you really want to save brainpower, you might find fashion solace in the use of the wardrobes of your friends and family. Borrowing (or tactically stealing) items of clothing from your loved ones is an excellent way of avoiding the great outdoors or even organised shopping activity. There’s no mental effort involved here, just predisposed background knowledge: you already know which friends have great style and a similar shoe-size and you know which items of clothing that your siblings won’t miss. Also, this allows you see a few faces to break the monotony of those long sessions that you spend staring at screens whilst cowered against a radiator. As long as you maybe give back to these people, either in the offer of your own quality garments or quality interaction, or perhaps the eventual return of borrowed items, depending on the personalities and tendencies of your fellow beings, you should be able to sustain this as a long-term method of clothing yourself.

Physical-effort-saving rating: ****

Mental-effort-saving rating: *****

Time-saving rating: *****

Exhibition review: Fashion and Freedom

Written by Sophie Soar on . Posted in Fashion & Beauty.

A hundred years ago, the world was in the midst of the Great War. It was a war that saw the evolution of military weapons dramatically accelerated, and millions of men dead or wounded in catastrophic circumstances. It was also the war that enabled women a greater liberation than they had ever experienced before.

Whilst the modern standpoint views the First World War as an unthinkable carnage and waste of human life, it was, at the time, immensely popular amongst civilians. Men excitedly signed up to defend their country whilst many women watched and waited as their brothers, husbands, sons, and fathers marched off to the Frontline.

However this time was also that of the suffragette, the rise of female empowerment and their offensive domestic tactics. The widespread bloodshed and seemingly endless number of lives lost called more and more men away from their professional duties and towards a crash course in military combat. Therefore, hundreds of thousands of job posts were abandoned, with an easy —

yet for many incomprehensible — solution: female labour.

Following the constrictions of the out-dated, stereotyped Victorian gender roles, women sought greater liberty, the right to vote, and the right to have their voice heard. Therefore, thousands leapt at the opportunity to prove their worth in the absence of Britain’s male workforce. From work in industrial sectors, munitions factories, and even on the Frontline as ambulance drivers and nurses, women across the country stepped up to the mark and shocked the world by proving that women can work just as well as men.

At Manchester Art Gallery, the exhibition Fashion and Freedom: 14-18 NOW celebrates the role women played during to the First World War, the liberty they fought for at the start of the twentieth century, and the evolution of fashion as a result of this advancement towards gender equality.

Photo: Mancunion

The exhibition cleverly incorporates a variety of sectors. There are designs that envision female oppressions, including a representation of the metaphorical padlock upon a woman’s voice and a dress demonstrating the confines of corseted clothing through a wooden structure and angular features.

In addition to these, some designers chose to rework the uniforms of men into dresses, such as those resembling parachutes or flying outfits. Alongside these sit shocking representations of the work of Canary Girls, whose skin was dyed in munitions factories from long exposure to hazardous chemicals such as sulphuric acid.

Photo: Mancunion

Whilst the exhibition is small, filling one room alongside a viewing area to watch related fashion videography from SHOWstudio, the information and designs are extensive and immensely varied. The designers also range from recent graduates of universities including Manchester Metropolitan and Salford to the unmistakable designs of Vivienne Westwood, Holly Fulton and Sadie Williams. These contemporary pieces then stand amongst historical designs, including pain-inducing Victorian corsets and intricate flapper dresses.

Whilst the dress designs moved me, I was spellbound by the SHOWstudio videos. A collection of four greatly contrasting films, one entitled Edith effectively demonstrates women’s break from patriarchal control through the strenuous removal of a corset designed by Phoebe English. It is nothing short of cinematic beauty as it tells the story of fashion’s ability to reflect upon societal discord but also Britain’s steps towards a greater equality for women.

Photo: Mancunion

The modern designs and contemporary footage allow a deeper connection for our generation to participate in the horrific experiences of war from the female perspective. It narrates the significance of the First World War upon contemporary fashion but also successfully allows the modern viewer a chance to see the evolution of gender politics to what we experience today. It is a must see.

Fashion and Freedom: 14-18 NOW Exhibition at the Manchester Art Gallery closes on November 27th 2016. Free Admission.

Live: Poliça

Written by Christian Hurry on . Posted in Music.

21st October at the Ritz

8/10

Poliça are comfortable on stage. I’ve not seem them perform before, but I love their music. Inventive electronic production, gorgeous auto-tuned vocals, driven bass and two drummers on two full kits. It is not a normal set-up for a band, and I was curious to see how they would perform live. As they walked out the four members took a quarter of the stage each. Each member a corner of a perfect square. It was a bold and refreshing change of pace from the standard approach of having the lead singer centre stage — something few would consider questioning.

Opening the set with ‘Berlin’ was a perfect choice. A dark, brooding song which starts with a few clicks and clatters from the drums. A bass line then appears from nowhere and either fills you with a sense of dread or excitement — I am not sure which. Then Channy begins to sing: “Silent be in bed. Ashes drawn all around and down my head.” Her voice dips and soars, effortlessly reaching impressive high notes with searing passion. Listening to their records, I always found Poliça’s music to be pensive. However, live there is an urgency and ferocity which is extremely entertaining to watch.

Lead singer Channy and bassist Chris are both sharing the front of the stage, and both own it in their own right. Channy stares straight through the audience, right to the back of the room as she delivers lyrics which tell personal confessions and dystopian declarations. Chris moves with his bass guitar, and it is infectious, with much of the room moving with him. Although the square formation is their natural state on stage, both Chris and Channy break from it often enough to keep things interesting.

Drummers Drew Christopherson and Ben Ivascuand cannot go unmentioned. During several songs the electronics, the layered vocals, the bass, all came to a sudden stop. Filling the silence were drum fills that were genuinely thrilling. Short, punchy, unexpected. Both drummers often played the same fill. Moving from one side of the kit to the other in synchronised rolls. Each sharp stab on the tom-toms was a slap in the face, waking up the audience and keeping the crowd engaged.

The set contained most of the singles they’ve released from their three albums, so Poliça kept the crowd in good spirits. This was surely clear to them when Channy revealed that night was her son’s first birthday. The crowd gave an appropriate, and sincere “aw!” Poliça’s music is far from bright and sunny, but sometimes that’s not what you need to make a crowd happy.

ASOS release Princess Diana inspired collection

Written by Talia Lee-Skudder on . Posted in Fashion & Beauty.

Last month, the founder of the hugely successful nail brand WAH, Sharmadean Reid, collaborated with ASOS to launch a tribute capsule collection inspired by the late Princess Diana. Prior to launching WAH nails, Reid created WAH zine, her inspiration for the collection came from a featured page in the magazine. ‘When Di Was Fly’ paid homage to the Princess’ preppy-chic street style that Reid has tried to encapsulate in her collaboration.

According to Reid, the collection is East London meets West London and includes everything you’d expect from a collection paying homage to Diana. From tartan to pearl chokers, this collaboration will definitely have you reaching for your purse. The collection includes not one, but two LBDs. The halter neck blazer dress is a cool spin on the classic black dress but it is the velvet dress that captures one of Diana’s most iconic fashion moments. The dress is reminiscent of the tight, ruched mini-dress by Christina Stambolian that Diana wore to the Serepentine Gallery benefit in 1994 just as a documentary detailing her husband’s affair was airing. Princess Diana oozed confidence and allure; the photograph of her in dress was splashed across the papers, cementing its status as one of her most memorable fashion choices.

Reid has also included a relaxed tailored suit, a preppy cable knit cricket jumper and two pairs of loafers. I’m currently lusting after the velvet heeled loafers with a ribbon ankle tie, a fabulous nod to the nineties trend currently dominating high-street fashion. Reid has given a contemporary spin to Diana’s chic nineties look, creating the ultimate style tribute that the millennials can fully get on board with.

 

                 

 

 

                

Think before you drink

Written by Cachella Smith on . Posted in Lifestyle.

It’s Tuesday night, you’re suffering through a dodgy 90s night at Fifth while everyone else seems to be loving the cringe tunes and sticky dancefloor. Awkwardly shuffling in a circle of people you’ve never before seen in your life, you think to yourself: perhaps more alcohol will help?

University is inextricably linked with alcohol. The two come together, it’s natural. But is there a way to survive your three year course without a single beverage? There’s nothing wrong with drinking alcohol as a means of relaxation or enjoyment, however there seems to be an increasing number of students who feel pressurised to drink. Not even necessarily by someone else — often the pressure stems from within.

It’s true that clubs can be difficult places to be in for many people. At the best of times I dislike having to dance and sing; not to mention having to deal with some shameless flirtation! Often, a double vodka seems like the easiest solution. This said, I’ve now got to a position where I am comfortable with who I am. If people want to be friends with me, they can be friends with me — horrific dance moves included, and if not, hey it’s not my problem.

It seems like a waste of time to mention many of the health benefits of abstaining from alcohol to students who most likely are currently living off of a diet of fried chicken and Dairy Milk chocolate. However, two benefits that you may find relevant are weight loss and clearer skin. These are two massive problems that I know a lot of young adults struggle with. If you’re someone who does, perhaps consider having a few nights off of alcohol per week and see if it helps?

I think the most important thing to stress is moderation. There is nothing wrong with a couple of drinks when you want. Alcohol shouldn’t, however, be synonymous with a night out. Whatever benefits I have discussed so far, it does seem a bit of a shame that the nights students’ consider to be their best at University are often those that they struggle to remember in the morning.

When The Mancunion met The Closet

Written by Sarah Kilcourse on . Posted in Fashion & Beauty.

Manchester is a city that has style. There is always opportunities for new, up and coming shops. At the University of Manchester we are fortunate enough to have such a shop in our midst — The Closet.

The Closet opened in February 2016 by a group of students, it is now headed up by Alex Neilson-Clark; a third year Fashion Marketing student who has been involved since the beginning, plus her team of fellow students. You are likely to have noticed The Closet, in between Academy one and the Students Union, a little cubbyhole full of all sorts of vintage treasures. The Closet is a not for profit organisation, with all proceeds donated to Manchester Mind charity and the fantastic causes they support.

 

Picture: The Closet

Previously, the majority of the stock had been from donations, mainly drop offs and with a few collection bins. This year Alex and her team have adapted a new approach — additional collection bins around campus. Hopefully in Owen’s Park, Withington Library, and the The Students Union, alongside an order from a vintage wholesaler. These changes are the first of many steps being taken to progress the brand of The Closet and establish its position as a vintage shop in Manchester.

First and foremost the plan is to decorate the interior of The Closet so it’s a fun, vibrant, fashionable space. Look out for the upcoming tie-dye event so you can add to wavy vibes inside. Participation, student involvement, and entrepreneurship are fundamental to Alex’s ethos for The Closet, “people really enjoy it, that’s why we do it.” Students who choose to get involved in The Closet don’t just get retail experience; they get business, marketing, PR, visual merchandising, and buying experience.

One of the biggest achievements for Alex and The Closet so far has been organising the first ever Missguided sample sale. How do a group of students manage to achieve such a thing? “we basically just nagged and nagged and nagged them until they answered our call. We said this is what we do, we know that you must have a lot of sample stock as a fast fashion retailer.” Thanks to this level of persistence The Closet were able to give customers a unique shopping experience, “when people were coming to the sample sale they were getting a one-off piece”

Picture: The Closet

What about the future of The Closet, when Alex has gone off into the big wide working world, will she miss this project? “I’m really attached to how much potential I know this project has, like a crazy amount; I know how well it can do. The good thing about finding the core team is that when you find people with a similar vision you know how determined you can all be together.” It’s fair to say that it’s not just one person who has built up this incredible shop — The Closet is a collective.

Following the huge success of the £1 kilo sale The Closet is planning more events and sales over the coming months. Make sure to stay up to date about when they have fashion film screenings, and, hopefully, maybe, a second Missguided sample sale.

Interview: Johnny Lloyd

Written by Meg Roberts on . Posted in Music.

Since the end of 2013, there has been something of a Tribes-shaped hole in my heart. The thought of an interview with former frontman, Johnny Lloyd, hours before his first headlining date in Manchester as a solo artist, seemed an almost bittersweet dystopia. But then again, I had not been to a Johnny Lloyd show yet.

“It’s only rock and roll” is as applicable here as it ever was with Tribes. Lloyd is a musician through and through. The good, old school kind that does not need obscene production value to put on a show; craftsmanship, stage presence and honest song writing is what he is about.

Forget the synths, flares and feather boas of the psychedelic revival of the day — you don’t need it, do it like Johnny Lloyd. The more he strips it all back, the more atmospheric it seems to get. He is an artist made for the sort of intimacy that Gulliver’s allows, but an artist you know could undoubtedly hold an audience just as easily in ‘x’ capacity venues. It doesn’t matter. It moves you.

Meg: The first time I saw you live was after winning a competition with NME to see Tribes play a secret set at H&M. Fast forward 3-and-a-bit years and you’re headlining a solo tour. How did this happen? Is there where you want to be?

Johnny Lloyd: It’s kind of like starting again after the big break with Tribes, I’m making music again for the first time and putting my solo stuff out. I’m really happy, the tour has been selling out and it’s the first time I’ve been on the road on my own headlining and its feeling good. I’m really excited to make an album next year and get back to it properly.

Joel: Regarding the album, your solo material seems a lot darker and atmospheric in tone, do you think this is more representative of you as an artist than the music you were making a few years ago?

JL: I think maybe. This is where I’m at now, I don’t know if the album will be all like that. There will be some more uplifting stuff on there. For me, some of the Tribes stuff was heading that way. You just get older and things change.

Joel: What can we expect on the LP?

JL: It’ll be a good mix, it really just depends on what mood you’re in when you are writing. I don’t know if it represents me as a person, those four songs, but they were the best ones I was doing in that six-month period, you know? That’s how I work anyway.

Joel: I’ve read about Lou Reed being a big inspiration on the Dreamland EP, what are you listening to at the moment for the album?

JL: I’m listening to a lot of Tame Impala but I think everyone is really. I’m trying to take in stuff but also make it my own and not just try and create a persona that isn’t me. That’s what I’ve learnt on this tour, I do one or two things well and the rest I shouldn’t bother. I shouldn’t bother with getting synths or any shit like that. I’m just trying to keep it guitar.

Meg: A lot of the EP talks about love quite blatantly, especially ‘Pilgrims’ — is this influenced by someone in particular, is there a back-story or are you talking about the concept of love more broadly?

JL: I think everyone has loved and lost in their life. You can say it’s about somebody but it’s probably more broad than that.

Meg: Talking about raw human emotion seems to be mirrored in the stripped back, lower production value, and more lo-fi sound. Do you think this is more effective when talking about those kind of themes?

JL: Yeah I think so, Jamie T produced ‘Hello Death’ and that’s his kind of vibe. We wanted to get to the core of the songs without any frills. It would have been very easy to make that a big soundscape and just have like a massive load of shit in the background to make it feel bigger and more intense. I think with him and with Hugo, it’s just let’s keep it basic and raw and try and get the songs together. Like I say, that’s what I’m about, I’ve never been a big wall of sound artist.

Meg: Is it just about letting the lyrics speak for themselves?

JL:  Yeah, definitely.

Meg: I hate to ask you this but are we going to see Tribes play again? Do you think time changes anything?

JL: I don’t think so, things change.

Meg: I have a degree in English Literature and I’ve always seen myself as a writer. Obviously you’ve put a novella out, how does having a book published compare to playing live or seeing your record in a shop? Is it a completely different feeling for you?

JL: Yeah it’s a totally different feeling and weirdly, as soon as I felt it, I realised that’s not what I want to do and as soon as I saw it on the shelf I was like “that’s great, but it’s definitely not what I want”.

Meg: Did it not really do anything for you?

JL: It did, it came out of such a mental time. It was the start of 2013, around the time of the second album and I was thinking about other shit. I don’t know if it kind of passed me by. I’m really proud that I finished it.

Meg: I never quite managed to.

JL: It’s just finishing the thing really that’s the challenge but it made me realise that music is my core linea. Maybe if I broke my arms or something and I had to do that, I’d do that. That’d be my second run. There’s no plan to write any more, just keep on with music

Live: Scott Fagan

Written by Oscar Talbot on . Posted in Music.

14th October at Deaf Institute

7/10

Scott Fagan is a man of contradictions: an old man singing songs written by a 21 year old, a white atheist who grew up in the American Virgin Islands, the sort of person who names their show “Introducing Scott Fagan” almost 50 years after his first album. His songs are full of ’60s idealism, but have only become commercially well-known in the 2010’s. He could easily be mistaken for an early David Bowie, except he predates Bowie’s first notable works.

Fagan grew up in near-poverty in the American Virgin Islands, after moving from New York as a young child. His mother and her succession of unsuitable alcoholic partners were barely able to look after him, leading to him weighing 40kg at 15 with a reputation as prodigious fighter. The depression of the Virgin Islands was chronic and severe, and he felt himself an outsider. He eventually escaped the claustrophobic penury and made it to New York with a few cents in his pocket. With the typical ’60s dream of “making millions” and also “changing the world” he was influenced by Dylan’s radical poetry and Donovan’s soft psychedelia, and convinced Doc Pomus, the writer of ‘Viva Las Vegas’ and ‘Suspicion’ to hear him. Ten minutes later he was one of three artists singed to Bang Records — the other two being Van Morrison and Neil Diamond.

And the rest could have been history. Except, intriguingly, Fagan seems to refuse to comment on why his album failed to do well. There is always a large amount of chance in the music industry, and he was bounced around labels and plagued with problems, but he was an artist who got a standing ovation from a 10,000 strong crowd in Central Park. The reasons may well be too personal, but unlike William Oynebor’s conversion to evangelical Christianity or Rodriguez’s obscurity, it is hard to work out.

Some of his songwriting is incredible. The opening two tracks on his re-released debut South Atlantic Blues, ‘In My Head’ and ‘Nickels and Dimes’ call to mind Don McLean or Ben E King, and although Fagan is playing old songs he still has charisma and showmanship — it’s easy to see why he was one of two people The Beatles considered signing to Apple Records.  Despite his stripped down ensemble, Fagan was able to perfectly evoke the sound of the ’60s as he bobbed his bearded head up and down.  His voice is perfectly preserved in a strange way that only adds to the surrealism of the event.

As is seemingly part and parcel with any creative who lived in New York in the ’60s and ’70s, Fagan’s life is filled with bizarre cameos from celebrities. He supported Jimmy James and the Blue Flames, better known by his later moniker of Jimi Hendrix, and was in a band with John Denver. Poignant songs such as ‘Crying’ and the eponymous ‘South Atlantic Blues’ are intensified by his mysterious interim years when played live, although the motif in ‘Crying’ suffers from the lack of violins, leaving it feeling slightly flat and lacking the structure of the album version.

Some of the weaker songs seem almost quaintly preserved in the set. As a Virgin Islander Fagan may disagree with me, and that is very reasonable, but calypsos in my opinion are almost always best left in the past. ‘Crystal Ball’ especially suffers from the live orchestration,  making it seem somewhat tedious and reminds me too much of Mike Read’s ‘UKIP Calypso’ to be enjoyable. The woozy ‘Tenement Hall’ overemphasises the chorus lyrics, as Fagan sings “this is insane!” one too many times. Sadly, Fagan left out my favourite of his, the wistful ballad ‘Valeria’, which is well worth listening to.

Fagan is as interesting a character as Sugar Man, but the reason for his lack of success is much harder to figure out. With the re-discovery of his album combined with his tour he may be able to put out more music, and finally carve himself a niche in the hall of fame.