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Month: December 2015

Top 10 Songs of 2015

The date was 15th December, 2014. For music journalists the world over, it was an evening like any other. The end-of-year lists had been published, and it was time to relax in front of the fire. Their work was done.  No more sleepless nights. No more deadlines.

But D’Angelo had other ideas. With reckless abandon and utter disregard for the annual music publication calendar, D’Angelo released Black Messiah, one of the albums of the year, days after most end-of-year lists had been published. Music writers panicked. Many confusedly included Black Messiah on their ‘best of 2015’ lists. For others, Black Messiah was forever lost in post-list, pre-new year purgatory.

With that catastrophe in mind, we’ve held off on publishing our online end-of-year lists until the actual end of 2015. Granted, our list doesn’t include anything released in the past month – but it could have, if anything of Black Messiah‘s calibre had cropped up.

Here’s what we came up with as The Mancunion‘s top 10 songs of 2015, as chosen by our team of writers. We hope you agree with our pick for number one; we just couldn’t help ourselves.

10) ‘Boys Latin’ – Panda Bear
From Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper, released 9th January via Domino Records

“Beasts don’t have a sec’ to think, but
We don’t ‘preciate our things, but…”

So goes the cyclical mantra of ‘Boys’ Latin’, an indecipherable song that speaks a purely instinctive language. Panda Bear’s interloping vocal melody embarks on a spiritual climb, while the song beneath gurgles, mutates and repeats like a living organism. Though it’s really just a straightforward song buried in murky arpeggiated synthesizers, it seems to exist weightlessly on its own plane, so much so that when the 4mins 42s are up, you feel like it doesn’t stop – it just floats away.

– Henry Scanlan

9) ‘Sparks’ – Beach House
From Depression Cherry, released 28th August via Sub Pop

Even though Depression Cherry has been viewed by some as a massive disappointment, ‘Sparks’ has quickly become one of Beach House’s most popular songs. Ethereal voices dubbed over by powerful shoegaze guitar break new ground for Beach House. Yet, Victoria Legrand’s vocals add a dreamy quality to this harshness, making the track feel brand and oh so familiar at the same time. Gorgeous!

– Cassie Hyde

8) ‘Beautiful Blue Sky’ – Ought
From Sun Coming Down, released 18th September via Constellation Records

This song is so good it might actually be perfect. A slow-burning krautrock epic, never rushing. It revolves around breezy bass arpeggios, slowly ratcheting up as Tim Darcy takes us through modern life. Juxtaposing the horrors of neoliberalism—“warplane, condo,” with everyday mundanity—“I feel alright! Beautiful weather today!” the latter declared with absolute joy. Every time Darcy declares “YES!” it’s the most euphoric ‘yes’ you’ve ever heard. The hollow euphoria of normality. This might be my favourite song ever.

– Jacob Nicholas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iP0lwQreha8

7) ‘Shutdown’ – Skepta
Released 26th April via Boy Better Know (From #Konichiwa; release date TBA)

‘Shutdown’ is glaring and angry; defiant mockery of the mainstream screams loudly throughout. Skepta, and indirectly the entire UK grime scene, have been dragged kicking and screaming out of relative obscurity because of ‘Shutdown’’s popularity this year. Skepta and JME curated their sold-out Tropical Warehouse Project in October, and Drake (who raps on ‘Shutdown’), Kanye, and even Jools Holland are keen: “Man’s never been on Jools Holland when it’s Shutdown” Skepta quipped. Have these factors contributed to ‘Shutdown’ being one of the first UK grime songs to send shockwaves to the US? Like Skepta cares.

– Elinor James

6) ‘Pretty Pimpin’ – Kurt Vile
From b’lieve i’m goin down, released 25th September via Matador Records

Kurt Vile’s ‘Pretty Pimpin’ is a simple, toe-tapping loop of self-deprication, reflecting on his lacking understanding of himself. Looking at a stranger in the mirror he sings, “oh silly me, that’s just me”, tackling a melancholy topic with an appropriate dose of irony. With traces of the electric organ and sweet falsetto harmonies, this track is more down to earth and honest than previous Vile tracks. Yet far from being miserable lamentation of his own dwindling sense of self, Vile remains upbeat throughout, concluding, if nothing else, he is pretty pimpin.

– Cordelia Milward

5) ‘Malukayi’ – Mbongwana Star
From From Kinshasa, released 18th May, via World Circuit Records

‘Malukayi’, the hypnotic single from the cross­generational Congolese outfit Mbongwana Star’s debut From Kinshasa, sits staunchly as that release’s centrepiece, the most weirdly fascinating song on an already fascinatingly weird album. It follows the pattern of a lot of great Congolese rumba: Not much happens at first, then something incredible happens, and then it keeps happening for however many more minutes you’re lucky enough to get. Its thrashing heavy­-metal-on-a-dustbin-­lid opening deceives, a manic adrenaline boost which inevitably precipitates a release, which here comes in the form of a goggle­-eyed electric likembe riff, courtesy of fellow Kinshasans Konono No. 1, and a bassline so pervasive you can feel your blood cells tingling. And so it goes for six ecstatic minutes, as the song’s vocals, both pure and distorted, oscillate through the web of sonics, transmitting from Kinshasa to the moon, and beyond.

– Patrick Grealey

4) ‘King Kunta’ – Kendrick Lamar
From To Pimp a Butterfly, released 15th March via Interscope Records

It’s easy to overstate how culturally relevant Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly is in 2015. So much so that some voices—Complex’s Justin Charity for one—questioned whether its significance overshadowed the music. Their argument: Was it really all that enjoyable? Well, it was. On ‘King Kunta’, Lamar’s blistering verses poured scorn over his lacklustre peers, borrowing James Brown’s lyrical flow from ‘The Payback’ and delivering barbed lines with tremendous ease. Though he may have claimed he was king, Lamar’s boasting chafed with the ambiguity of the music. Its self-assured G-funk thrust felt unsettled, the sound of hip-hop braggadocio taking a bruising as it teetered between angst and confidence, pretty much epitomising the album, which was rich with uncertainty and righteous anger. That said, it was undoubtedly a banger (just watch its music video) and a superior one at that.

– Jacob Bernard-Banton

3) ‘Cause I’m A Man’ – Tame Impala
From Currents, released 17th July via Interscope Records

While Tame Impala’s third record Currents saw Kevin Parker embracing new fields from disco to dance, second single ‘Cause I’m A Man’ is surely its pop pinnacle. First released in April, the track mixes a sluggish yet jagged bassline with a dreamy synth melody, an asset the band have really honed their talent for on Currents. There’s no shying away from a catchy chorus either, and the track’s popularity was faithfully paid tribute to by Haim on their official ‘remix’. The lyrics may have attracted some haters, but don’t listen to them—the injection of some tongue-in-cheek fun here is a key part of what makes Currents the psychedelic jewel in the 2015 musical crown.

– Elizabeth Ruston

2)  ‘Bored in the USA’ – Father John Misty
From I Love You, Honeybear, released February 9th via Bella Union

In this beautiful tragicomedy masterpiece, Josh Tillman manages to take on Springsteen’s classic about the hollowness of the American dream with the ironic detachment of the modern age. The deceptively simple piano and strings ballad is filled with wry asides and observations. Although delivered in his arch persona, ‘Bored in the USA’ gives us a glimpse of the man underneath it all. The lampooning in the song is underscored by a sincere concern for the problems of contemporary life, ranging from the impact of consumerism to the side effects of anti-depressants. Were it not for the bizarre canned laughter pumped in at the end of the song, you wouldn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

– Dom Bennett

1) ‘Where Are Ü Now’ – Justin Bieber
From Purpose, released 13th November via Def Jam Recordings

Remember the days when we all hated pop music on principle and generally felt so much better about our lives? When its now-heir apparent looked only to be a one-hit wonder, destined to fade back into the YouTube obscurity from whence he came? Well, for better or worse, those days are no more. It’s a strange world, Sandy. One where Bieber, Skrillex and Diplo are topping music polls featuring politically conscious works of art alongside solid Pitchfork-bait. This Triple Entente have given us EDM’s magnum opus. Jack Ü’s deep, bouncy and inspired production surrounds Bieber’s breathy, sexy delivery, a song as suited to the dancefloor as the bedroom. We’re all as surprised as you. Well done lads.

– Joe Connell

Top 10 Albums of 2015

As we draw the curtains on 2015, we look over what’s been a stonking year of albums. I know, every year’s a stonker according to us journos. But seriously, 2015 eats 2014 for breakfast. Testament to this high standard is the variety of albums on our list, with releases from post rock to hip-hop to sugar pop making the cut. I’m sure there’s particular gems we’ve missed and particular genres we’ve under valued, but it’s an authentic representation of what our writers have been digging, so if you find yourself grumbling at your computer screen, come write for us in the new year and have your say! Each album comes with a loving praise and a custom re-imagining of it’s cover art by our artistically inclined friends and fellows. Here’s to 2016 and the magical musical moments it will bring.

Illustration by Helena Ross

10) Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress – Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Released 31st March via Constellation
Clocking in at just 40 minutes makes this the shortest full-length Canadian post-rockers GY!BE have recorded. However, this is by no means a bad thing as the LP feels like a distilled version of 2012’s excellent comeback ‘’Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend!’. Based on the live track ‘Behemoth’, the band perform an utterly engrossing piece across 4 tracks meant to be listened to as a whole. Taking you through the grandeur of ‘Peasantry or ‘Light! Inside of Light!’, the haunting drones and static of ‘Lambs’ Breath’ and ‘Asunder, Sweet’, before finishing with the spiralling strings of ‘Piss Crowns Are Trebled’, the album is a veritable journey of mental imagery that toys with your emotions.
– Adam Rogers

Illustration by Bruce Tang

9) Art Angels – Grimes
Released 6th November via 4AD
With her fourth studio album, Claire Boucher sounds like she is truly making the music she loves. Her poppy aesthetic choices – so brilliantly brought to life by her obsessive self-production – may have come as a surprise, but these maximalist, spasmodic, slightly deranged songs are unimaginable in any other form. When you take the plunge, you’re bombarded with pitch shifting ‘kawaii’ vocals, trap claps, country guitar licks, a billion melodies crammed into each song, all topped with Boucher’s multiple-personality-disorder delivery – and yet somehow, you don’t get a headache. In fact, you get something like the exact opposite.

– Henry Scanlan

Illustration by Henry Scanlan

8) Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit – Courtney Barnett
Released 20th March via Milk
Witty, articulate and delightfully grungy, Courtney Barnett’s debut album is a celebration of, well, nothing very significant at all. Holding steadfast in a swirl of abrasive guitar riffs and matter-of-fact, deadpan lyrical delivery, Sometimes I Sit and Think… is an idiosyncratic lament of beautiful, insignificant-yet-meticulous detail that constantly unravels listen-upon listen. Filled to the brim with intricate subtleties which pass you by before you can realise, Barnett’s profound realism can at first wash you away – however, this Melbournian’s sardonic storytelling and genre-revitalising musicality has propelled this record into being one of the most important releases of 2015.
– Jamie Chapman

 

Illustration by Elinor James

7) Have You In My Wilderness – Julia Holter
Released 25th September via Domino
The LA based singer and composer delivered a masterpiece of pure songcraft with her fourth album. The album has a more open and accessible sound than Holter’s previous efforts, her excellent vocals and song writing ability being brought to the fore. Even though there is a more pop ballad sound on the surface it manages to remain incredibly intricate and abstract in places. The album jumps between differing viewpoints and moods, but a sense of wonder and new found emotional intimacy unites the songs, each piece acting as a voyage into a different mysterious world. A journey everyone should take.
– Dom Bennett

Illustration by Rosie Gill

6) In Colour – Jamie XX
Released 29th May via Young Turks 
In Colour is the perfect album title for The XX man’s debut; it’s a record that brings together the bright euphoria of uplifting dance music but still remains very intimate and restrained. Isolation and loneliness are common themes throughout the record and Jamie manages to communicate these whilst capturing the joys in the shared experience of clubbing. Every track is beautifully crafted, feeling organic and sonically rich. With In Colour, Jamie really makes a bold statement, proving he’s one of UK Dance music’s brightest talents, with one of the most refreshing club albums in years.
– Mark Holland

Illustration by Pierre Flasse

5) Elaenia – Floating Points
Released 6th November via Pluto
Lush, pristine, and wildly original, Elaenia’s release marked the moment Sam Shepherd finally broke through into all of our collective musical worlds. It’s the first LP-sized entry in the Manchester wunderkind’s discography, but it brims with the confidence and proficiency you’d expect from a veteran jazz artist. Think Talk Talk’s Laughing Stock, Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks and Miles Davis’ In a Silent Way and you’ll be halfway there. Stunning from beginning to end, no other album this year works in quite the same way. Bring on album number two.
– Joe Connell

Illustration by Joe Connell

4) To Pimp a Butterfly – Kendrick Lamar
Released 15th March via TDE
Given highly politicised singles and album artwork and released amidst fever pitch of race relations on the US, many of us were expecting Kendrick’s sophomore record to be one of singular purpose; a ferocious call to arms. Instead, he took the fight to the mirror. Kendrick is conflicted: he’s a star, he’s an egomaniac, he’s an inspiration, he’s betrayed his own people. Yet To Pimp… manages to say far more about the world around him than we were expecting, in acknowledgement that problems, like people, are complex. His debut may have been subtitled ‘a short film’ but it’s here that Kenny proves himself the master of narrative. As the ever expanding poem interlaced between tracks winds to a close, we’re treated to a twist ending (in an album!). It’s a unique and thrilling musical masterpiece.
– Rob Paterson

Illustration by Rob Paterson

3) Carrie & Lowell – Sufjan Stevens
Released 31st March via Asthmatic Kitty
Sufjan Stevens ushered in spring with a hushed and wintry record – his best to date. Avoiding the maximalist instrumentation and observational lyricism he’s best known for, Sufjan instead opted for sparseness and introspection. That means no more bible studies or character pieces: exploring the death of his absent mother and revisiting childhood memories, the focus here is squarely on Sufjan, unobtrusively backed by fingerpicked guitars and subtle keyboards. The change in style works: his heartbreakingly candid explorations of grief are as compelling as anything he’s written, and the fragile instrumentation is an appropriate accompaniment. Slight, airy music substantiated by heavy themes – Carrie & Lowell is one of 2015’s best releases.
– Joe Casson

Illustration by Pierre Flasse

2) Currents – Tame Impala
Released 17th July via Interscope
Tame Impala took a change in direction with Currents. This is the same psychedelic Tame Impala as before, but unashamedly more poppy. The synths and handclaps injected into seven minute epic ‘Let It Happen’ crackle and bounce out of the record, while ‘The Less I Know The Better’ got a healthy dose of disco. Kevin Parker’s characteristically introspective lyrics are  significantly more open than those in his past endeavours and connect the listener on a personal level amongst luscious, hook filled instrumentals on tracks like ‘Yes I’m Changing’ and ‘Same Old Mistakes’. Our hermit hero finally stumbles in the limelight, blinking, yet basking. Currents encapsulates change as a profound human experience and explores it from so many angles that you’ll be going back again and again.
– Matthew Staite

Illustration by Bruce Tang

1) I Love You Honeybear – Father John Misty
Released 9th February via Sub Pop
Josh Tillman’s cynicism and his dry wit working in conjunction with beautiful melodies and string arrangements make for the most (literally) bittersweet album of the year. Tillman’s lyrics are laced with pessimism on topics such as the “American Dream” in ‘Bored in the U.S.A.’, and fundamentalist religion in ‘Holy Shit’. Even his love songs have to involve the romantic concept of the decline and self-destruction of the human race, as in the eponymous album opener. This, with his cover of the equally disillusioned ‘The Suburbs’ by Arcade Fire, this year cap off Tillman’s campaign of hate towards humanity. However it’s not all disgust and disdain on his behalf, ending I Love You, Honeybear on a moment of clarity, as he caps off a majestically swelling piece of music lovingly with the words first he said to his (as of recently) wife, an uplifting and a warming realisation that, maybe, things aren’t so bad after all.
– Zakk Brown

Interview: Clutch

Maryland groovers Clutch have been bulldozing audiences around the globe for over 20 years now in a neverending touring cycle. Finally the band achieved commercial success with the innovative album Earth Rocker in 2012. Its follow up release Pyschic Warfare has built on the strengths of its predecessor and has led to yet another encompassing global journey. Drummer Jean-Paul Gaster kindly chatted to me ahead of their show at Manchester’s legendary The Ritz venue.

I started by asking JP what his first musical memory was, as the band’s catalogue illustrates a diverse range of musical influences. “I remember seeing ZZ Top as a very young man,” he said, “perhaps 14 years old. That made quite an impression on me.” At the other end of the spectrum, he recalled “seeing Buddy Rich Big Band on public television.” Having picked up on jazz tendencies in his playing, this came as little surprise to me. “ZZ Top, Buddy Rich, AC/DC, Elvin Jones; It was all music to me.” It seems there’s as much diversity in his taste today as ever; “I always listen to other genres, to be honest there is not a lot of heavy music going on when I am listening to music. There are at times. I very much like listening to jazz, to reggae. I love the blues.”

After enjoying unprecedented success from Earth Rocker, its follow up is too often a band’s downfall. I questioned JP on whether the weight of its predecessor lay heavily over the recording of Psychic Warfare. “It kind of came out of the gates even stronger than Earth Rocker, which for us was a great surprise. We are also very proud to have it released on our own label. To have a good first week is amazing but to have it on your own label is so much more gratifying.”

Clutch are about to surpass a quarter of a century in existence and yet the same line up has remained constant and unified. On the band’s longevity, JP commented “I can’t really say what defines the Clutch sound. For me it has always been evolving. That’s what makes it so beautiful to be in this band. We very much learned to play our instruments together, we have developed a vocabulary with one another that I think is unique from all the other bands out there. It is something that we continue to explore and we continue to hone. I think that we are better songwriters than we were in the early days. We are certainly better players. To be honest it’s even more fun than it was back in the early days.”

Having toured with strong supporting acts, I wondered whether they ever felt their age. I asked JP if that kept Clutch on their toes and ensured that they upped their game in the live shows, especially on a long touring cycle where it would be easy for complacency and predictability to set in. “It is certainly inspiring to play with acts like Mastodon,” he said. “I remember taking those guys out when they first started as a young band. Although I think that the sound that they make is very different from Clutch, the mentality and the musical sense is very close. I think that we are cousins in a way. I have a lot of respect for those guys.” Despite this, it seems the band does not require some threat from below to keep things fresh. “We still have something to prove and that’s what we do every night. That’s my job. I hope that I am not at my peak; I hope that I’m getting better. I hope that we all are.”

It seems that what really keeps Clutch fresh is that their hearts have always been in the right place. “When we started the band, the intention was to play music,” he states, bluntly. “We had two main goals and those where to play good shows and to make good records. We did not think that we would be able to do this as a career; that was not on our minds. We are lucky enough to be able to do that now. I think part of the success and part of the appeal to the people that come to see us is that we still subscribe to those two goals. It’s not about being a rock star, it’s not about trying to make a million dollars. It’s not even about trying to play huge arenas. It’s just about making rock ‘n’ roll for the people that want to hear it.”

There was never a doubt in my mind regarding the sincerity of this mission statement, because the passion with which JP discussed his craft was truly intoxicating. Even in answering my question regarding his life outside of music, his mind was brought back to his beloved instrument of choice. “I have a garden and my wife and I spend a great deal of time in there. We love to grow tomatoes especially and hot peppers. I do think about drums every day though,” he admits, with an almost bashful chuckle. “It is difficult for me to step away from it. For me the drums is a unique instrument that you need to think about it every single day. You have to be present in the moment, you have to be listening to music you have to be thinking about the drums.”

Clutch are quite rightly self-assured at this point, but have never fallen back on old tricks and seem as invested in music now as they were 25 years ago. Truly, they have mastered the art of never looking back. “That’s the story of being a musician,” JP muses. “You create what you can create the best that you can-in that moment. Then you move on and you try to do something else.”

The Value of Lower League Football

A telling story surfaced in the wake of England under-20s’ exit from the Toulon Tournament last summer, after defeat at the hands of Mexico denied Aidy Boothroyd’s young Lions a place in the final.

Sunderland forward Duncan Watmore described his teammates’ utter disbelief on learning that he still bought his own boots—a purchase unheard of for those compatriots used to receiving the latest kit on-tap to ply their trade on the immaculate pitches found at training grounds of Premier League and Championship clubs.

Watmore’s ascent to international duty, meanwhile, has seen him take an entirely different route. His graft at non-league level, bereft of any delusion sometimes found in the youth ranks of top clubs, has left him with a humbleness, an appetite for hard work, a desire to better himself—attributes as vital as technical ability which are lacking in so many gifted young footballers found fallen by the wayside.

Released by Manchester United at the age of 12, Watmore made a name for himself at Altrincham FC, netting 14 goals in the 2013/14 season before the Black Cats came calling—just as he was juggling an impressive strike rate in the National League North with an economics and business management degree at the University of Manchester.

The switch to the Premier League didn’t faze the young Mancunian, as he managed to transfer his studies to Newcastle University while excelling in Sunderland’s under-21 side to an extent that saw him named as the league’s player of the year.

A loan move to Hibernian followed and Watmore was able to secure a First Class degree—even while completing the latter stages of his degree programme online.

Clearly an unpretentious character with his feet firmly on the ground, Watmore represents a growing number of players finding success in the game after journeys to the top which have broken the mould.

Look no further than the cases of Jamie Vardy, a former Sheffield factory worker and Stocksbridge Park Steel forward eclipsing Ruud van Nistelrooy’s ten consecutive game goalscoring record and Charlie Austin’s meteoric rise from bricklayer and Poole Town striker to Premier League hotshot, and the proof is in the pudding that an education in the lower leagues of English football develops talent while inhibiting the detrimental prima donna attitudes so easily established in academy environments.

Watmore, Vardy, Austin and Burnley hotshot Andre Gray—to name but a few—highlight the value of non-league football as a genuine production line for industrial, quality English talent; a breeding ground stubbornly neglected over the past 25 years.

In his column for the Daily Mail, Gary Neville commissioned a study into transfers between 1982 and 2013 and the results showed that in the decade from 1982, a quarter of signings made by First Division clubs were players from the third tier downwards, while between 2002 and 2013 that figure reduced to a mere 6 per cent.

Roy of the Rovers stories like those of Ian Wright, Stuart Pearce and Les Ferdinand dried up as the influx of mega money from Premier League television deals saw English football neglect its roots—cutting its ties with the backbone of the game and reducing the lower leagues to mere flagships of tradition.

But non-league football is becoming fashionable again and could be on the verge of returning to its rightful standing in the game.

Former United players ‘the class of ‘92’ taking over at Salford City and the success story told by those at FC United of Manchester is giving non-league a platform to showcase its unquestionable importance in the pyramid of English football once more.

Perhaps these recent zero-to-hero success stories will provide some persuasion to those in charge of transfer policies at clubs from the top of the game that the risk factor in signing English talent from lower echelons is significantly lower than the last 25 years have suggested, offering hope of that dismally low figure of 6 per cent rising.

They will know that players from the likes of Altrincham, Stocksbridge Park Steels and Poole Town have a passion for the game that makes self-funded away games at mud-bath pitches worthwhile and will therefore graft to reach the top.

These players will not have been infected by talented youngsters at top clubs whose talent-over-graft attitudes can see them lose their way; they will do all they can to win.

“Working your way up into the Premier League can sometimes also be an advantage,” said Harry Redknapp in his column for the Daily Telegraph after Vardy earned an England call up.

“As a manager, you often find that these players are hungrier and more grounded. They have seen the other side and will do everything to make the most of their chance.”

Perhaps we are at the beginning of a return to the production of tales like those held by Wright, Pearce and Ferdinand.

The trio’s former England teammate Alan Shearer has been vocal in his dismissal of the players available to Steve McClaren at Newcastle United, condemning their at-times woeful attitudes which has seen them struggle at the foot of the Premier League table all season.

Perhaps the Magpies, and the rest of the sides comprised of foreign players, should look at the case of Sunderland’s Watmore and all of those share his path into football before another January of sorry spending.

Live: Warehouse Project – Kaluki

28th November

Store Street

8/10

Saturday night at Store Street welcomed one of tech-house’s greatest heroes, Luciano, to the Warehouse Project. Following a busy summer season in Ibiza with his party known as ‘Vagabundos’, he showed every sign of continuing it here. The clouds over rain-sodden Manchester were temporarily lifted (if only figuratively).

Originating from the Chilean club circuit, where he has played a large part in assisting the electronic scene’s growth, Luciano’s sets often have a Latin American influence. It was definitely hinted at tonight, alongside the more minimal techno that he has developed over the years. The set is awash with glitchy blips, robotic stutters, and layered with various synthesizers. Occasionally Luciano gets into even more experimental psychedelia. At one point he plays with organic, shimmery tribal percussion and fuzzy harmonics. Moments like this are a reminder of his well-earned position as one of dance music’s most world-influenced and inventive musicians.

The equally excellent back-to-back performance from Eats Everything and Richy Ahmed should not be forgotten. After being blown over seeing Eats Everything about a year ago, I knew we were in for a treat. Yet the complementation of Richy Ahmed’s talent turned it into something even more powerful.

Both DJs understand a crowd. They know how to build them up and bring them crashing down again, effectively using crowd-pleasers in the appropriate places to get everyone moving. Of course, ‘Dancing! (Again!)’ was a highlight with its nasty stabbing bass that bounces between glitchy vocal samples. The contrasts between Ahmed’s disco/funk/hip-hop influences work particularly well with the R&B high-end and bass-heavy low-end moments of Eats Everything. The seamlessness makes it impossible to tell they are playing back-to-back, and that is surely a good thing.

The only times where I felt slightly let down by tonight is to do with some issues of the venue itself. By 11pm, there’s not much of a queue outside, but it is completely rammed inside. This makes it much more difficult to navigate than usual. It’s a little more manageable in the second room, although the intensity of the lights in here was off the scale tonight. Unlike most other nights, we all had to cover our eyes or look at the floor.

That said, the quality of musicianship made tonight a success. Once again, the Warehouse Project demonstrates its ability to put on some of the best parties in the North West.

Live: Warehouse Project – Leftfield

12th December

Store Street

5/10

Not content with just showcasing modern titans of dance music, Warehouse Project gives a nod to British house and electronica’s formative years in the form of Leftfield, following the release of their first album in sixteen years, Alternative Light Source. The 90’s pioneers summoned a swathe of veteran ravers out from the woodwork: a little worn out and certainly older, but visibly ready to have a great time. The sheer number of survivors from the first time round had the side effect of rendering many of Warehouse Project’s usual trendy young things in the vast minority, leaving them looking a little lost for themselves.

With Leftfield’s cult following and critical success in the 90s, they certainly did not shy away from hammering out the greatest hits in favour of new material, although highlights of their 2015 outing got a see-in too: the classic ‘Phat Planet’ contrasted with the fantastically shrill ‘Shaker Obsession’. The incessant churning of hits, one after the other, felt a little like a greatest hits compilation. In particular, the songs seemed remarkably close to the studio version, and none seemed to fade into one another, killing off any accumulated excitement between songs. The show was left feeling insincere, sadly short of the magic that such an act could have brought to the room.

The house anthems were interspersed with heavy reggae breakdowns; instead of jarring the vibe in the room, the change of pace transformed the atmosphere, making the warehouse sway loosely in unison before the heavy assault returned. Alongside the underwhelming audio experience, the visual aspect left much to be desired. The graphics playing alongside the performance seemed to match up so perfectly with the stop-and-start sound, giving the impression that this is the sort of show Leftfield put on each time, and erasing any feeling of spontaneity from the act.

Overall, the performance let Leftfield’s reputation precede them, feeling like only just enough effort was put in to get by: all bark, little bite.

Live: Warehouse Project – Feel My Bicep

19th December

Store Street

6/10

As a house and techno focused night, it might have been one of the broadest of this year’s Warehouse Projects. Although, the moment you entered Store Street’s arches and saw the three bicep logo, lit up in pink neon and descending from Room One’s roof, there was no question as to whom this night was all about.

Ben UFO and Jackmaster warmed up the crowd nicely in Room One. Across in Room Two, Daniel Avery abruptly crushed anyone’s assumptions by opening with a ten minute long chant. Everyone who wasn’t ready for one of his typically disillusioning sets dispersed, freeing up nice space in the boiling room. After dropping the gurgling ‘Drone Logic’ soon after, Avery’s set turned towards more digestible techno rhythms. Strangely though, it was this turn in the set’s mood that prevented Avery’s hour and a half from reaching the freaky psychedelic depths that make his usual sets so enthralling.

The less taxing beats Avery opted for meant that it wasn’t difficult to return to Room One for what should have been the night’s highlight, Bicep. With a packed out room, Bicep had the opportunity to rip apart Warehouse Project.

At first it seemed like they would, playing ‘Just’ early on, playfully extending the overlapping of the intro’s pounding bass into the analogue twists and shakes of the chorus. However, after ‘Just’ the set tailed off into pretty generic pounding house beats for way too long. It partially recovered later on, with a ferocious remix of First Choice’s ‘Let No Man Put Asunder’. The track restored much of the rapturous energy of the set’s beginning, but by that point a sizeable amount of restless people had wandered off into Room Two and not returned.

It was Madchester descendent and techno producer Andrew Weatherall who had the delicate task of covering Room Two during the majority of Bicep’s set. He excelled in the position, knitting together an immersive blanket of upbeat funky house rhythms, cross threaded through with creeping sizzling techno. It was the one time during the night where the crowd seem drawn into an all-consuming trance and a belated precursor of what the rest of this expansive night could have been.

Was the Paris Climate Conference just hot air?

The past few weeks have seen Paris at the centre of attention once again, but this time for more amicable reasons. The city has been host to the 21st Conference for the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, or COP21 for short.

The meeting extended from the 30th November to the 11th of December 2015, and saw 196 countries convene to consider a potential new agreement on climate change, with a focus on reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. There was also the ambitious objective of allowing countries to continue financial growth, to make sure countries that are less developed are supported through the process, and to cooperate with those who are at greatest risk of the impacts of climate change.

The meeting has been cited as the best opportunity in six years for a new climate treaty to be agreed. Some 40,000 people shared attendance including more than 100 heads of state and the summit finally involved the USA and China. A sense of a ubiquitous desire to reach a meaningful agreement has been felt.

Governments have been meeting for years, with Rio in 1992, Kyoto in 1997 and Copenhagen in 2009 perhaps the most familiar. However, sense of failure has been detectable at many of these previous events. This conference hopes to have greater impact by shifting from an all-encompassing settlement towards a resolution from each nation.

It has taken an exceptional parade of sovereignty to reach any sort of progress towards a compromise. Individual governments could and should have developed greener initiatives before this conference—why does it take a 40,000-strong global summit for significant progress to be made? Leaders should take the initiative for their own country before worrying about other nations.

Of course nations need to cooperate and form a binding agreement, but that should not stop action prior to this. Nations reach diplomatic agreements on other issues, so they should too with energy transition. Credit is due to those nations who have already embraced the need for a shift towards cleaner societies and begun to implement appropriate changes, not to mention the grassroots projects in many nations worldwide. Many, however, still feel that not enough has been done to move away from fossil fuels.

Nations were asked to make their own pledge and commit to what they felt was necessary—pledges are not legally binding. Countries are also permitted to choose their own baseline for which emissions should be compared. The only sanctions that nations will face is public shame. This means countries can continue to scoff at emissions targets and be met with nothing but a crude column in National Geographic.

Heads of State are interested in the short term and intermediate goals. They are currently unwilling to let the climate get in the way of their attitudes and their friends’ profits. By the time the effects of environmental damage have become more striking these Presidents and Prime Ministers will be out of office.

David Cameron, Barack Obama, and other world leaders gave speeches on the importance of a meaningful deal, coming out with climate change jargon that made them seem like Greenpeace activists. The environmental record of the current UK government tells another story, with 2020 targets for renewable energy unlikely to be fulfilled, not to mention scrapping a green deal, providing more subsidies to fossil fuel companies, and abandoning subsidies for solar and wind energy.

One speech at a climate conference does not hide this. Cameron has no hesitation in advocating airstrikes on Syria but is still hesitant on investing in an energy transition after 10 years in office. The government of a nation as developed as Britain has a responsibility to do more to implement notable changes.

Up until now, the global attitude in relation to a transition towards a greener future has been met with trepidation. Many nations discuss the risks of a transition away from fossil fuels—someone needs to take a lead.

The move to a cleaner future may provide financial benefit for the nations that commit. Fossil fuels are likely to become more expensive, while wind and solar power in some areas is nearly equally expensive as coal and gas. If governments make serious pledges then investment and innovation can be directed at greener initiatives and momentum will build. Moves by the government in the opposite direction, such as scrapping support for solar and wind energy, do not make future investments any more likely.

We need to reduce the influence that fossil fuel companies and large corporations can have in industrialised countries and begin to provide more incentives for businesses, both large and small, to cut carbon emissions. Germany look to continue their green transition with Angela Merkel suggesting governments pledge to rely solely on renewables by 2050. France have taken a similar position, with François Hollande doubling investment in renewable power to €2 billion.

9 out of the hottest years on record have occurred since 2000. 2C of warming is often cited as the tipping point; 1C of warming has already occurred. The actions of three particular nations matter most: China, India and the US.

These countries will be a cornerstone in determining how successful the summit is. The Prime Minister of India showed a promising commitment towards cutting their emissions by admitting the dangers of continuing with fossil fuels and introducing a solar alliance. This included more than 120 other countries, most from the Pacific region, agreeing to share financial and technological resources across the alliance. This is the sort of progress that the other big emitters need to commit to.

Action has been seen on both the global and local scale—Manchester’s mayor has pledged to make the city 100% reliant on green energy by 2050. This is also the case for more than 50 other Labour councils across the UK. Communities need to recognise the collective impact they can have on our global future.

Despite all this progress, 2015 looks to be the warmest year since records began, and the effects of climate change are already very discernible. Many areas of the Pacific are at risk of inundation, whether by rising sea levels or climate refugees. Climate refugees are already being seen in areas of Bangledesh, though migration as a result of climate issues was removed from the agenda of the Paris talks.

Western nations should shoulder the responsibility for much of the problem. Developing countries feel like they have the right to fossil fuels to help them develop and reduce poverty. It is true that developed nations have already had their chance to abuse sources of fossil fuels. Future development does not need fossil fuels. Developing nations could use the arrival of affordable clean technology to embed in their development. This needs to be an emphasis of future resolutions.

This meeting is one of the most important in determining the future of our planet—it decides where and to what extent development will occur. The summit has the potential to make a huge difference and finally drive the changes that are needed. With such a big meeting, firm and explicit changes must be made on a much larger scale than previously seen. It is hard to have urgency with an issue that is yet to occur critically in the Western world, but we must ensure that this meeting is not a mere façade of care.

We cannot continue with the glacial pace of progress up to now. The conference will be deemed a success if nations stick to their own commitments. The flexibility of the pledges need to be taken seriously and each nation needs to prove its commitment to tackling climate change. If climate change is to be suppressed, it would be one of the greatest triumphs of mankind.

The oncoming crash

The stock markets grinned when the US Federal Reserve increased its interest rate range by 0.25% on the 16th of December. The FTSE 100 went up 1.4%, and Frankfurt’s Dax went up by more than 3%. It has been expected for while, and should put pressure on other banks, such as the Bank of England and the ECB, to raise rates too. But this raise must be put in context: The Bank of England’s 0.5 rate is its lowest in history. The duration of this low rate is one of the longest.

Broadly speaking, interest rates control the amount of investment in an economy by determining the levels of payments on debts and loans. But in the extraordinary circumstances that followed the last financial crash, economies have benefited greatly, and arguably relied on, using low interest rates to prevent higher repayments on their own national and personal debts.

But low inflation rates continue. In the west, the US heads the pack, with just 0.5% inflation. The UK recently came up to 0.1%, reassuring some with regard to fears over deflation. Here lies the first of several problems with our economies; that is, the contradiction of low interest rates with low inflation rates. It suggests some gap in output that would otherwise bring inflation to the Bank of England’s guideline levels—around 2%.

Many suggest that this is the result of the government’s austerity policies. The lack of support for new technical industries, lack of general investment, and resulting concerns over productivity growth levels (15% below pre-crash trend), all contribute towards low growth and low inflation, despite the low interest rates.

Indeed, the recent fall of unemployment to a nearly 10-year low is linked to this. Low productivity means lower wages and lower output. Therefore, this has to suggest that our seemingly good employment record actually hides the fact that it is constituted by low-wage, unproductive labour. Low productivity can become engrained in the economy if not dealt with. Failures to develop capital-producing industries, high-tech industries, and high-skilled labour are long-term issues that will take a long time to solve.

The wobbly foundations that our economy is being built on are concerning for the future.

The weak foundations of many of the developed economies go to a far grander scale than domestic economic performance. There is the elephant in the room: national debt. The UK’s 89.4% debt-GDP ratio is one of the more severe, but it trails behind the extraordinary levels of countries such as the US and Greece. The bigger picture of why this debt is so terrifying is rarely discussed.

It has been 8 years since the last financial crash begun in the subprime mortgage crisis in the US. There is another coming. This is according to the IMF, not exactly the most historically socially caring institution. They claim that the cheap money provided through extensive printing using the Quantative Easing programs has created risky bubbles in several markets. One such example is the London housing market. It is true to say that crashes come and go as years go by, typically in fairly cyclical patterns. But this next one is more concerning because it will come before we have fixed the problems that the last one left us.

The first major problem is that when the crash comes, the debts and deficits of most economies will still be very high. Naturally, as tax income falls and social security payment rises, deficits will become larger. Furthermore, we will be left with the decision of introducing stimulus packages and facing higher debts, or lower stimulus in order to maintain a lower debt.

This only adds to claims that many developed economies are simply insolvent—they can never pay their debts back, even with the most extreme of austerity measures.

One of the reasons for the rise of the Federal Reserve interest rate is the fear of a liquidity crisis. This is the situation that arises when a crash comes and interest rates cannot be pushed any lower than zero—as negative rates mean paying people to borrow. But there is still a long way to go to get interest rates to safe levels. Before the last crash, UK rates were between 4% and 5%. This point again exposes the contradiction of the interest rate and inflation rate relationship. If interest rates were to rise, we would assume that inflation would fall, which would increase the risk of deflation.

We are told our economy is recovering. Yes, economic growth and increasing levels of employment are improvements, but the foundations of that growth are too often ignored.

I have selected just a few of the financial issues we have. The left should be severely disappointed in itself for not addressing them. Whilst many of the issues the Corbyn-led movement is campaigning for are noble—the NHS, social security, or action on climate change, to name a few—they are avoiding one of the major issues that the developed world faces.

The left, looking back on this period, will be hit by a pang of guilt. Their anti-establishment movement and many of the issues they are campaigning for have their roots in the broken financial system.

NUS Extra card Facebook hacked

The ‘NUS extra card’ page on Facebook appeared to have been hacked earlier in the day, with spam content from a website named timeformoney.info being posted instead of the company’s content. The situation now appears to have been resolved with all offending posts deleted.

The posts began appearing at 11:27am this morning on the page with almost 87,000 followers, with occasionally explicit entries written in broken and at times unintelligible English such as “The Line Is To Long”, “Dont Cheat The Goat”, and “s3x wired coital trance”.

All posts, numbering 12 before deletion, were from timeformoney.info, and appeared to link to web comics, some of which seemed pornographic.

Users reacted with confusion and indignance, with one posting to their wall: “NUS where are your Facebook page admins you’ve been hacked and are posting out loads of porno comic strips!!”

Many commenters were shocked at the inappropriacy. Facebook user John Barlow commented: “Disgusting I will be unfollowing your page”.

NUS Extra tweeted: “Hello, our Facebook page has been hacked. We are working with Facebook to resolve the issue ASAP. Sorry for any inconvenience caused.”

At around 3pm all the posts disappeared from the page.

Ph.D. student committed to supporting refugees graduates

A psychology Ph.D. student who has dedicated her work to helping Syrian families fleeing conflict will graduate this week, as well as receiving a prestigious prize for achievement.

Aala El-Khani began her Ph.D. just before the crisis arose in Syria in 2011. After witnessing the situation, with families being displaced in great number, she took the unexpected move to change her thesis subject.

On Friday she will reach the end of this project, receiving her qualification from the university, but will continue to work to improve the situation that many fleeing war face. Aala will receive the Sue Fielder Memorial Award for outstanding academic achievement at the ceremony.

El-Khani visited camps in Syria and Turkey and witnessed that parenting guidance was desperately needed by the refugees she met there. She then, with financial support from the Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC), created a system to provide leaflets offering parenting advice within the bread parcels distributed in camps.

3,000 leaflets were distributed over a matter of days, and the response rate was almost two-thirds. Now it is being translated into different languages with the possibility of being used across Europe.

“I initially started my Ph.D. on a different topic, but as the events in Syria unfolded, and with my background in parent training, as well as having two young children myself, I began to wonder what it must be like to parent children in war and refugee situations and how families in that context could be supported through training and advice,” said Aala.

“My supervisor, Professor Rachel Calam was incredibly supportive, even though changing your Ph.D. subject is quite an unusual thing to do. Her attitude was, ‘If that’s what you want to do, and it means so much to you, then let’s do it’ and this is the kind of support I have had throughout my Ph.D. from my supervisory team.”

Professor Rachel Calam, Head of the School of Psychological Sciences, said: “Working with Aala is an inspiration. She shows how much can be achieved when you work with both your heart and mind.

“Her research has highlighted the psychological needs of children and families fleeing conflict, and created new ways of offering help. Her work is already recognised as being of international importance, a tremendous achievement for a Ph.D. student.”

Aala also worked with refugees who ended up in Manchester, putting on an exhibition of artwork by children living in camps, and creating a short film, Departing: Arrivals, documenting refugee parents talking about their journeys to the UK.

Departing:Arrivals from Hafsah Naib on Vimeo.

Preview: Warehouse Project – Feel My Bicep

Just out of the other side of their three month-long summer residency at London’s XOYO, the UK duo presents an innovative night of house and techno. Expect rough chiselled sounds from Berghain resident Marcel Dettmann, who heads up the huge night. Daniel Avery brings his own disorientating brand of techno for his fourth appearance at Warehouse in four years. Elsewhere, Hammer, who co-produced Bicep’s recent Dahlia EP makes his warehouse debut, alongside Chicago’s genre rupturing, status-quo busting The Black Madonna. Not to forget Ben UFO and Jackmaster: they’ve just been voted the fourth and fifth-best DJs in the world respectively.

Labour students plan to split into two societies

Labour Left Students for Corbyn (LLS) have announced in an email to their supporters that they plan to set up a new society within the University of Manchester Students’ Union, to help Corbyn supporters campaign.

They plan to try and have a stall at next semester’s Give It A Go (refreshers’) fair to recruit more members, to encourage more left wing members to be active in the Labour Party and in Manchester Labour Students society.

Since the beginning of term and the election of Jeremy Corbyn student support for Labour has been divided into two very distinct groups.

A series of events entitled ‘Manchester Left Labour Students for Corbyn’ were held, external from the Manchester Labour Students (MLS) society. The events led to much controversy and were criticised by senior members of MLS for causing divisiveness.

Throughout the term the events have caused debate to arise on the MLS Facebook page with both sides criticising the actions of the other. This has all occurred after MLS experienced a surge in membership at the beginning of the term.

The division has recently turned bitter with fake Facebook pages being created, senior MLS members being named ‘Blairite scum’ and bids to get explicitly socialist members elected.

Last week’s committee elections saw the divisions in action, with LLS endorsing their own candidates—writing in an e-mail that it was “vital that we get socialists elected to the committee to start making MLS more active and democratic.”

In their e-mail sent to supporters they outline that they plan to be “explicitly pro-Corbyn and advocate membership of and involvement in the Labour Party and Labour Students.”

Plans are also in motion for them to become a Momentum group, the network of people and organisations that continue to try and fuel the energy and enthusiasm of Corbyn’s leadership campaign. The group have sent out a poll asking their supporters to decide whether to become a Momentum group.

A Manchester Momentum Youth and Students Facebook page already exists, but LLS outline in their e-mail that they wish to be affiliated with them as “it is recognisable as the left grouping in Labour” and they believe that “it is likely to affiliate to the Labour Party at some point.”

An anonymous Labour member at the university on the left of the party, told The Mancunion that the decision to split into two societies “is a mistake because it helps create unnecessary divisions that weaken the party.”

Ally Routledge, Chair of the University of Manchester Labour Students when asked for a statement on the running of their society this term said: “We’ve had a really busy semester at Manchester Labour Students, and tonnes of new members have got involved since Jeremy Corbyn became leader. With the help of campaigners new and old we were out on the doorstep in Oldham every day—and Labour won by a huge 10,000 majority!

“We’ve held meetings against the proposed scrapping of maintenance grants and had a shadow cabinet minister speak at our Women in Politics event. We’ve had a really packed first semester, but it’s been a lot of and fun and we hope as many people want to get involved with MLS after exams.

“The Oldham by-election proved that the Labour Party is stronger when it’s united as one and fighting against the Tories. Anyone who wants to help MLS do this is more than welcome to sign up and should find us on Facebook to keep up to date with all the events that our newly elected committee are organising!”

Callum Vibert, student representative for the North West Young Labour Committee, who has also previously been a chair at a LLS meeting, has called the situation “unfortunate” and had wished that reconciliation between the different groups within MLS could have been possible, “especially in the light of the excellent work, by all those involved, in the recent Oldham by-election”.

Vibert added that he understands “the frustrations of some new activists with MLS’s decision making processes and communications”, but said that it was “entirely unacceptable for a handful of people to willfully appropriate the branding of Momentum, which has an existing youth structure in the North West, as a vehicle for their personal squabbles.

“The role of both Momentum and Labour Students is to support the Labour Party. It is deeply disappointing that there are those in both groups that fail to recognise this. I would strongly encourage them to resolve their differences amicably, so the club can be a positive force for young people in politics.”

LLS have been approached for their statements on the plans.

Matt Berry & The Maypoles: Review

Matt Berry & The Maypoles

Club Academy

2nd December

7/10

 

It might come as a surprise to some that Matt Berry, comedic actor, star of The IT Crowd, and owner of Britain’s best voice, also tours as the lead singer of a band. But Berry is an accomplished musician, and has been putting out music for around 20 years now, still frequently touring with his band, The Maypoles.

Watching the band play is an activity reminiscent of stumbling across some Old Grey Whistle Test footage as they guide us through a jazzy fusion of psychedelic funk. There’s a real joy in watching the band play, since you never know what genre the next song will imbue unto itself. Berry takes us from folk-pop ballads through electronica, deep into the depths of prog and back out again, often within the same song.

At many times it feels as though we’ve been invited to watch The Maypoles during an extended jam session. Each band member is incredibly gifted at performing, and at many points they are given free reign to improvise. This is showcased in an extended version of ‘The Snuff Box Theme’: A real treat for diehard Berry fans that includes an extended instrumental section where each band member gets their own moment to shine.

This occasionally borders on the self indulgent, but the band just about know where to draw the line before it descends into pompous pretension. It does, however, mean that we are given an incredibly funky five-minute slap bass solo from bassist, Phil Scragg, which completely brought the venue into stunned silence. The Maypoles are also gifted with a very special guitarist in the form of The Bluetones’ singer and friend of Berry, Mark Morriss.

Berry is on superb form an as artist as well as a deadpan host; a real gifted performer, he provides as much entertainment between songs, chatting to the audience, as he does whilst playing. Riffs on ‘Wetherspoons’, ‘Northern accents’ and ‘Magic Mike’ make for hilarious mid-song interludes as well as giving shout-outs to 6Music DJ, Stuart Maconie, who happened to be in the audience.

Being Wednesday night, the show clashed with the showing of the third episode in the latest series of his brilliant sitcom, Toast of London, an episode that featured Mad Men Star Jon Hamm. This is something Berry acknowledged, dedicating the show’s theme tune ‘Take My Hand’ to Clem Fandango, which received rapturous applause.

Hits like ‘Medicine’ and ‘Devil Inside Me’ from 2013’s Kill The Wolf were also met with a great reaction from the crowd, with Berry taking to both the synths and guitar as well as lead vocals.

Berry’s encores for his live shows have become known for being very special, and this night was no exception. Morriss takes lead vocals for a rousing, surreal rendition of Peter Gabriel’s Sledgehammer, which really elevates the crowd and gets everybody dancing.

 

Welsh universities call for tuition fee grants to be scrapped

Welsh universities have called for tuition fee grants to be scrapped. The current scheme, which gives all Welsh students a flat rate grant of around £5000 each year in order to counter the increase in fees to £9000 by the coalition government (although this changes year by year) is “unsustainable,” according to Professor Colin Riordan, chair of Universities Wales.

Riordan claims that new UK government proposals to allow English universities to raise their fees to more than £9000 a year will make the Welsh grants unaffordable. The Conservative party proposals would not affect Welsh universities, who would likely keep their fees at the same rate.

Riordan suggested that the tuition fee grants be replaced with maintenance grants in order to help students who most need it, telling the BBC that “You could decide to spend the resource equally and thinly or you can say ‘let’s focus on the areas of most need’—so those people who come from disadvantaged backgrounds, perhaps, or areas which need support, such as expensive subjects.”

He also proposed the idea that these grants are given all the way from foundation level to postgraduate, in order to allow “many more talented people the opportunity to transform their life chances through going to university.” The Welsh government launched a review of higher education funding and student finance in November 2013, chaired by Professor Ian Diamond, which is expected to announce its findings after the Welsh Assembly elections in May next year.

Universities in Wales have argued for years that the Welsh government grants take millions of pounds out of the Welsh higher education sector and into the English or Scottish sectors, since the grants are given wherever a student goes to study in the UK.

Plaid Cymru have said that they would only give grants to students attending Welsh universities, whilst the Conservatives have said they would create a hardship fund to challenge inequality and those struggling with current living costs.

Nick Ramsay, Welsh Conservative shadow finance minister said in an interview with the BBC that “tuition fees aren’t actually repaid until you reach a certain threshold of income,” and that “there are many pupils in Wales at the moment who are finding it difficult with their living costs as well.”

Both of these ideas have been echoed by Welsh Liberal Democrats, who want to replace tuition grants with maintenance grants and provide more direct assistance to Welsh universities who have been left “drained of cash” by the current policies, according to education spokesman Aled Roberts.

A spokesperson for the Welsh Government told the BBC that “our tuition fee policy is an investment in young people. Over the course of a three year undergraduate degree, current students from Wales are around £17,000 better off than their English counterparts. The Diamond review of Higher Education and student finance in Wales is ongoing. Once published, it will inform the next steps for higher education funding in Wales.”

Secret Santa gifts for £5; solving the annual painstaking struggle

It’s that time of year again; the names are drawn, the whispers are rife, and you already know who everybody else in the group has for Secret Santa. What’s more, everybody knows who you have, so the pressure is on to find a gem for £5 or under.

Let’s start with the most obvious and essential gift—everybody needs new pants. One extra pair of smalls means that you can put off the dreaded laundry wash for one more day, which is a highly sought after superpower in the world of laundrette runs. A pair of knickers from Topshop costs £4, or if you want to give a slightly ‘classier’ present, you could fork out for a handful £1 ‘Primani’ knickers, briefs, or boxers—although the life expectancy of this investment is somewhat questionable.

A food hamper is always a treat; grab the Nectar card and dash to Sainsbury’s—a Merryteaser chocolate reindeer (60p), a mini bottle of wine (£1.25), a bag of dried cranberries (50p), a block of brie (£1), a sachet of hot chocolate (30p) and a pack of 4 mince pies (£1) still leaves you with change to buy a little something for yourself on the way out. Cram it all into a shoebox wrapped in Christmas paper—they’ll love it!

Photo: www.nottheusual.co.uk

If you’re looking for something a little more practical, then a travel mug could be your gift of choice. Nowadays, the boring old design is no more and there is quite literally a travel mug out there for all personalities imaginable. For £4.95 you could buy a ‘Mr Grumpy’ design from NotTheUsual.co.uk—perfect for someone who’s not quite with it until they get their morning caffeine fix.

Photo: www.annsummers.com Photo: www.annsummers.com

Ann Summers is your best bet if you’ve managed to draw the prude of the group. The exchanging of Secret Santa gifts wouldn’t be the same without somebody blushing a suitably Christmassy shade of red and holding up the candy nipple tassels (£5) or jelly willies (£3) that they’ve been given. With a selection including such elegant gifts as: penis pasta (£4), willy straws (£4), cola cocks (£3)—let’s face it, you can’t go wrong with a dirty present!

Provided you’ve been embracing the student experience that Manchester has to offer, there will be some nights that you and your friends will never forget. Those trigger-happy photographers among you may even have a cheeky snap to commemorate the carnage. If so, it is quite simply your duty to the group to preserve it. Putting it on a personalised keyring will mark the event in history—wherever the lucky recipient goes, they’ll be asked about the monstrosity that their keys behold. Cue the consequent embarrassment when they have to explain an image of themselves pretending to hump a dustbin, or throwing up on the Magic Bus, to grandma. For £2.99 (from Truprint), it really is worth the hassle.

Forget the crazy nights; when you feel a little worse for wear the morning after the night before, there’s nothing better than a good ol’ movie night. HMV sell a wide variety of Disney classics for under a fiver, or if you’re funds are really low, Poundland actually often have some good refurbished films, if you look hard enough.

Photo: Luigi ♥@Flickr

Every person has an emoji that they directly relate to (whether they know it or not). Amazon and other online sellers stock a range of emoji-themed cushions in a variety of such styles for around £4. Whether the receiver can make you cry tears of joy, gives sassy smirks, or is merely associated with a smiley poo, there’s one for every character within your circle.

If you’re still feeling uninspired, don’t despair! There are so many other ideas; you just need to look in the right places. NotOnTheHighStreet.com have some great gifts—after all, who doesn’t want piña colada flavoured lip balm (£3.25), a nail art kit (£3.99), a giant custard cream (£4.95), or a chocolate pinecone (£4.95)? The many charity shops around Manchester are also always worth a browse. But whether you’re shopping online (‘Prices: Low to High’… obviously) or scouring the shops, just remember: No-one EVER wants soap or bath bombs…

…but a ‘Grow-Your-Own-Girlfriend/Boyfriend’ will never fail to put a smile on someone’s face.

What should be done with the NME?

At its barrel-scraping worst, NME has had a detrimental effect on music today and the way we consume it. It has regrettably engendered a culture of slavish devotion to the past, as seen by its hysterical insistence on depicting the last twenty years in indie music as nothing more than a series of epochs: Britpop in the nineties; its American arch-nemesis grunge in the same decade; the noughties new rock revolution spearheaded by the Strokes and so forth. It has also contributed to a culture in which new acts aren’t so much promoted as they are rammed down your throat until you gag. The Guardian’s New Band of the Day and the BBC’s Sound of… are direct descendants of NME’s unquenchable thirst for newness.

This has terrible outcomes for British music. On the one hand, new bands are finding it increasingly difficult to compete with the plethora of other new bands being publicised: victims of the NME hype machine Black Kids have yet to release their second album. On the other hand, indie music is reduced to an anodyne narrative—fringe bands and music scenes are ignored, and genres and sub-genres become mere adjectives. So what can be done? In its current incarnation, NME has been shamelessly subsidised by advertisements and no longer serves as a guide to new music. Simply, we should boycott it and avoid it at all costs. It no longer stands for new music; it is a lifestyle magazine.

Instead, let’s use the opportunity to discover new music for ourselves. There are other, more thorough music magazines out there—ones that don’t resort to hectoring which “essential” bands you need to hear. The internet also democratises the process of discovering music  without the indie tribalism and anti-pop snobbery that NME’s studied faux-gonzo journalism had dished out in the past. When you discover a new act you like, stick with them and support them—don’t fall prey to the NME tradition of disposing one thing after another and simply skimming through the lot. We should digest new acts and digest the present rather than eulogising the past through rose-tinted glasses, endlessly devouring then abandoning an assembly line of the next big things. Hopefully, in time, the criminally overlooked (like Fiction, Kwes and Anna Calvi) will triumph over populist and hyped-up post-landfill indie (The 1975, I’m looking at you).

Sport in the City: Manchester Ice Skating Rink

Over the course of the academic year, as well as paying close attention to, and prioritising the progress and successes of, our university’s very own societies, teams and campus sports, let our new Sport in the City feature tempt you into a very different sporting day out. Whether it’s a new sport, a team about whom you did not know, or just an event that interests us, we hope that we will be able to entice you to explore the wide sporting variety that the city has to offer during your time studying at the University of Manchester.

In the spotlight this week: Manchester Ice Skating Rink

Well… what is it?

With the end of the semester fast-approaching, Christmas is now just around the corner, and if our last two season suggestions weren’t enough, then why not get into the festive spirit with our latest offering! We may have had the spotlight on both a Christmas Pud-Run and Santa-Run in recent weeks as well as the sporting activities on offer at the Chill Factore, but our final Sport in the City suggestion for this semester is something a bit more relaxed. Whilst we ensure you that it has all of the same good tidings and festive cheers as our previous recommendations, a trip to Manchester’s very own outdoor Ice Skating Rink before you head home for the Christmas Break allows you a much more chilled opportunity to spend time with your friends, if you pardon the pun.

Proving popular in recent years not just in Manchester but throughout the country, the city’s outdoor ice-rink returns to Spinningfields once again, and is open every day over the Christmas break apart from Christmas Day, up until January 3rd. The city centre’s largest outdoor ice rink offers festive choristers, DJs, themed sessions and family entertainment. A festive hub of activity, including fairground rides and a bar complete with mulled wine and other crimbo favourites. And most importantly, Manchester Ice Rink welcomes all ages and abilities of skaters, so it makes no difference whether you’re a pro or a first timer!

How do I get there?

Situated in the heart of the city, the outdoor ice rink is relatively straightforward to get to, and fully accessible by means of public transport. For those wishing to catch a bus, the short journey from Piccadilly Gardens to the ice rink on New Bailey Street can be reached by bus numbers 12, 25, 36 and 37, dropping you a minute’s walk from the venue. Meanwhile, if you prefer to make use of the Metrolink tram system, the nearest Metrolink stop is Deansgate/Castlefield, and if you simply walk down Deansgate and take a left onto Quay Street, you’ll find the ice rink on your right as Quay Street turns into Irwell Street. Finally, should the train be a viable means of transport for you, make sure to catch a train to Salford Central or Deansgate Railway Stations; the ice rink is no more than a five minute walk away.

But how much does it cost to get in?

Given its novelty aspect, you might expect entry to the ice-rink to be quite expensive and difficult to purchase tickets for during the hectic lead-up to Christmas. However, fear not, because although we cannot guarantee how busy it may or may not be, we can though reassure you that it won’t cost you an arm and a leg to enjoy the unique Christmas feature this year. Prices are largely split between peak and off-peak rates, but luckily for students, the rate remains the same no matter what time of the day it is, as long as you can present valid student ID, so don’t forget your student card. For a 45-minute session on the ice, a ticket will cost £8 and although it is possible to pay on the day, I would recommend reserving your space online in advance to avoid any disappointment.

What are the facilities like? 

Well, the 620sqm ice-rink is of course made of real ice, and is one of the largest rinks in the Greater Manchester area, holding up to 220 skaters at one given time. On the ice itself, there is a handrail right around all sides of the rink for your safety, and a team of ice marshals who are on hand to offer assistance and advice whilst you dazzle your friends with just how good you are, or if you are like me, make a complete and utter fool of yourself for everybody on Snapchat to see. Your state will be accompanied by a loud sound system and a super state-of-the-art light show to enhance the experience. The ice rink has a viewing terrace for skating spectators, and clean toilets, and after you have finished skating, make sure to explore the wide selection of bars, cafés, restaurants and shops in Spinningfields; a warm and seasonal feel for you to enjoy your festive day or night out.

Tell me something I didn’t already know…

Manchester is welcoming the Christmas Ice Skating Rink for its eighth successive year and continues to be a success and vital part of the citiy’s festive programme of events. The hub created at Spinningfields is undoubtedly a huge attraction in the run-up to Christmas and brings thousands of people to the area to skate. With regards to ice-skating itself, I bet you didn’t know that the first recorded pair of ice-skates was made of bones, which were strapped to the feet, to allow people to cross frozen rivers and lakes. The most spins a skater has completed on one foot without stopping is 115, which was accomplished in New York in 2003, and the record for the fastest spin on ice is 308 spins in one minute; however, this is not to suggest that you go trying to beat this record either! Furthermore, ice skaters have reached speeds of up to 48km per hour on the ice during races, and the first ever instructional book concerning how to ice skate was published in London in 1772. Don’t all rush to the library at once!

Finally, when can I see this in action?

Manchester Ice Skating Rink is open until the 3rd January 2016 in their new home in New Bailey, just over the river from Spinningfields. Sessions on the ice last for 45 minutes and it is advised that you arrive at least 15-20 minutes before your session starts. For information on everything from booking tickets to opening times, ticket prices, and anything else, please consult: http://manchestericerink.co.uk/

If you have any requests for local teams, sports or events taking place in Manchester, or if you wish to be involved, please contact: [email protected].

Sport in the City: The Chill Factore

Over the course of the academic year, as well as paying close attention to, and prioritising the progress and successes of, our university’s very own societies, teams and campus sports, let our new Sport in the City feature tempt you into a very different sporting day out. Whether it’s a new sport, a team about whom you did not know, or just an event that interests us, we hope that we will be able to entice you to explore the wide sporting variety that the city has to offer during your time studying at the University of Manchester.

In the spotlight this week: The Chill Factore ski slope

Well… what is it?

Regardless of whether you have been skiing or snowboarding in the past, there’s no denying that, as sports, they are probably two of the cooler sports that you can master, right? And for those who have a keen interest in either activity, you will therefore be aware that we are lucky to have our own Manchester Ski and Snowboarding Club (SKUM) here at the university. However, if competing and regular training is just not your thing, or like me, you have never tried either of these wintery sports, then perhaps our penultimate Sport in the City for this semester could be for you! Founded in 2007, The Chill Factore, based in Trafford, is currently the UK’s longest indoor real snowslope, and is open to the general public, mainly for skiing and snowboarding, as well as hosting other snow activities including the Luge ice slide and tubing. People of all levels, ages and abilities are invited to try their hand at either sport with lessons available for beginners, and opportunities to practise your skills on the snow for those who are more competent at either activity. So, if you’re bored of hearing bookmakers and weather forecasters talking up the odds of a white Christmas this year, why wait any longer to go and play in the snow?

How do I get there?

The Chill Factore is situated on Trafford Quays Leisure Village and is less than four miles from Manchester city centre, meaning it is fully accessible by public transport. The building itself is opposite The Trafford Centre and conveniently located just off the M60 motorway, but if you’re not lucky enough to have a car, please be reassured, it is just as easy to get to the Chill Factore by bus or tram. If you wish to travel by bus, I would personally recommend the 250 service operated by Stagecoach. This high frequency bus-link runs directly to and from Manchester City Centre, normally operating from early until late every 10-15 minutes. In terms of where to get off the bus, the nearest bus stop is at the Trafford Centre bus station, which is opposite Chill Factore. Once you arrive at the Trafford Centre, head towards the Trafford Quays Leisure Village, and then follow the signs to Chill Factore. Meanwhile, if you fancy travelling by Metrolink, your best bet would be to catch a tram from the City Centre to Stretford. From here you can then catch the ML1 shuttle bus service, which travels directly to The Trafford Centre.

But how much does it cost to get in?

With regards to how much an afternoon out at The Chill Factore will cost you, it fully depends on what it is that you wish to do and at what level. Their official website offers several options for online purchase, ranging from beginners lessons in either snowboarding or skiing to recreational lift passes, which might perhaps suit you if you’re already confident enough on the snow. In this case it is difficult to quote prices specifically. However, I would strongly recommend that you take the time to give the website below a good read, not only just to find the activity that suits you the most, but also to monitor the offers, which are regularly updated online.

What are the facilities like?

In order to maintain the authenticity of a life-like snowslope at the Chill Factore, the staff at the venue ensure that it snows every night in Manchester. Yes that is right, you are not mistaken; every bit of snow you see in the Chill Factore is real snow. But how is that even possible? Well, workers at the Chill Factore make snow every single night by means of compressed air and water, which are then blasted into a chilled atmosphere. On hitting the freezing air temperature, fresh snowflakes are formed, and this daily process helps the snow match the composition of real and artificially produced snowflakes; the only physical difference is visible under a microscope. The snowslope itself is modelled to cater for all ages and abilities with a main slope on offer measuring at 180m long x 40m wide for confident skiers and snowboarders as well as a beginner slope at a much more manageable 40m long x 40m wide. Away from the freezing conditions on the snowslope, there are plenty of opportunities to warm up, with a number of bars, cafes and restaurants on site alongside some of the UK’s leading outdoor clothing shops offering big brand names, all along Alpine Street.

Tell me something I didn’t already know…

The entire sloped building measures at 45m high, with the main snowslope starting five metres less at 40m. The area covered by snow is 10,200 sq m, which equates to around 1,632 tonnes of snow based on a snow depth of 40cm. The compacted snow density is 0.4 tonnes per cubic metre, and an average of 16 tonnes of snow are produced per day. Make sure to wrap up warm, too, since the indoor temperature is a cool -1.5 degrees C. Also, since the venue opened its doors in November 2007, the complex has welcomed over three million visitors, and in 2011, the Guinness world record for longest chain of skiers to travel 100m without breaking was recorded at Chill Factore.

Finally, when can I see this in action?

The main slope at the Chill Factore is open from early morning and is available everyday to use until 11pm. Meanwhile, lessons take place from 9am every weekday and 8.30am at weekends up until 10pm every day of the week. It is, however, advisable to research the activity that you wish to undertake, and maybe even book online, since all places are subject to availability. For the latest news and to find the answers to any questions you might, have please visit: http://www.chillfactore.com/

If you have any requests for local teams, sports or events taking place in Manchester, or if you wish to be involved, please contact: [email protected].

Davis Cup success!

It couldn’t have been a more fitting end, for British tennis fans at least, to a dramatic tennis season: after seventy-nine years, Great Britain finally won the Davis Cup again, an even more impressive achievement when you consider that the 1936 winners, led by Fred Perry, only had to play in the final, as opposed to the four ties Great Britain have played this year. Unsurprisingly, Andy Murray spearheaded the charge to the title, ending with an unblemished 11-0 record in live Davis Cup rubbers, consisting of eight singles victories and three doubles wins with his brother, Jamie. But it was not always plain sailing. The five-set semi-final doubles matches against Sam Groth and Lleyton Hewitt of Australia in Glasgow, and the four-set win against France’s Gilles Simon in the quarter-final, a match in which Simon raced into a set-and-a-break lead, were two particularly nail-biting encounters.

While the Murray brothers won the doubles match in GB’s ties against France, Australia and Belgium, Andy did not play doubles in Great Britain’s first match, against the USA; James Ward won his singles rubber against John Isner on the first day. Ward, ranked 111th in the world at the time of the match, won 15-13 in the fifth against an opponent who is currently ranked 12th in the world and who, due to his phenomenal serving abilities, has had plenty of practice at playing very, very deep into a fifth set. Ward’s shock win also meant that Great Britain didn’t need to win the doubles match against the USA, all the more important because the USA’s first-choice doubles team, Bob and Mike Bryan, have won sixteen Grand Slam doubles titles together. Credit for Great Britain’s victory must, of course, also go to Dan Evans, Kyle Edmund and Dom Inglot, who all played in the Davis Cup this year and have been part of the team throughout, and the captain, Leon Smith, who, in his five-year reign, has done a fantastic job of uniting the team together.

On the singles circuit, Andy Murray’s season was vastly improved from his one in 2014, and went better than many, including myself, were expecting; yet strangely, it is also one that can be classed as somewhat of a disappointment. The season started off strongly, with Andy achieving a remarkable level of consistency throughout the first half of the year. His efforts on clay far surpassed anything he has done on the surface before, as, over two consecutive weeks, he won his first two events on clay, in Berlin and Madrid, the latter a prestigious Masters 1000 tournament, in which he demolished Rafael Nadal in the final, before reaching the semi-finals of the French Open. But throughout that period, he was unable to beat Novak Djokovic in big matches. He lost in the finals of the Australian Open and the Miami Masters, and in the semi-final of the French Open. On each occasion, there were periods when Murray was in control, but he faded badly in the last set of each of the matches. The Australian Open final will particularly gall Andy, because at one point, Novak seemed to be physically weakening, handing Murray the advantage, but somehow Murray collapsed mentally, and was unable to cope with Novak’s renewed vigour.

Roger Federer was to compound this misery further by playing, in their Wimbledon semi-final, tennis of such quality that watching it almost bordered on being a religious experience to knock the Brit/Scot (I’ll leave you, the reader, to delete as appropriate) out of the tournament. Murray finally broke his hoodoo against Djokovic in the final of the Montreal Masters, playing some of his best, most attacking tennis of the year to win. After Montreal, however, Murray’s performances and results for the rest of the year dropped. He lost at the last-16 stage in New York and lost to both Rafael Nadal and Stanislas Wawrinka at the World Tour Finals in London. The tendency to rant at his box became more prominent, and I felt that his groundstrokes became slower, and did not have the depth that they had had earlier in the season, meaning that the ball would sit up invitingly for opponents to hit. But he is now the number-two ranked player in the world, his highest year-end ranking to date, and after his Davis Cup exploits, and overcoming all of the pressure heaped on him to end Britain’s seventy-nine-year drought, and a good pre-season, he will be ideally placed to renew his attempts to usurp Djokovic as he seeks to add to the Wimbledon and US Open titles he has won before.

The second half of the year provided another reason for British tennis to cheer, though: the form of Johanna Konta. She entered the year 150th in the world rankings, and rarely appeared on the WTA circuit until mid-way through the year. Her run since then has included a stretch of sixteen unbeaten matches, which ended only after a defeat to Petra Kvitova in the last sixteen of the US Open. Konta’s form has been all the more impressive for the quality of opponent she has beaten; the past and current top-10 players defeated by Konta this year include: Victoria Azarenka, who, admittedly, retired after the first set of their match; Garbine Muguruza (twice); Andrea Petkovic; and the current world-ranked number two, Simona Halep. Konta has been rewarded for these performances by becoming a top-fifty player for the first time. On the other hand, this season will be one that Heather Watson and Laura Robson will want to forget quickly, the former because of her poor form (apart from that match against Serena Williams at Wimbledon), and the latter because this year has been another blighted by injuries and the slow recovery from them.

Internationally, headlines on the men’s and women’s tours were dominated by Djokovic’s and Serena Williams’s, respectively, attempt at winning all four Grand Slams in the same year, a Calendar Grand Slam (CYGS); attempts which were both, ultimately, unsuccessful. Djokovic won three of the Grand Slams but lost to Stanislas Wawrinka in the final of the French Open, the second Grand Slam of the season. Wawrinka’s performance in that match was awe-inspiring—a sustained and relentless assault of powerful yet beautiful hitting that I doubt anybody would have been able to prevail against. The French Open is the only slam that Novak has not won yet, and while the defeat to Wawrinka was a painful blow, Djokovic’s response has been phenomenal: winning the year’s two remaining slams and raising his level in the last couple of months to heights that, at this moment, no other player can reach.

Williams, on the other hand, won the first three Slams of the years but, in the biggest surprise of the year, was knocked out at the semi-final stage of the US Open by Roberta Vinci. Before and during the tournament, Serena’s attempt at the CYGS was the main, and at times sole, focus of the media, and maybe this got to her, because in the match against Vinci, she won the first set comfortably, but seemed extremely nervous from then on and was, at times, unable to hit shots that she would deem regulatory. That is not to take away from Vinci: many players with the career she had had up until that point would have run Serena close but failed to finish off the match. It was a devastating loss for Serena, as can be seen from the fact that she decided to rest for the remainder of the season and return in 2016. But her dominance over the women’s tour this year suggests that even with the extended rest period, a long break from a competitive match in a seemingly all-year-round profession, she will be the name everyone will expect to win the Australian Open in January.

What about the other big names on tour? Roger Federer might be behind Andy Murray in the world rankings at the moment, but there is the sense that when it comes to the big occasions, Federer is still Novak’s biggest threat. It is a sign of the Serbian’s current stranglehold in the men’s game, therefore, that in the two Grand Slam finals they played this year, and in the final of the World Tour Finals, Djokovic was the player who dominated the big, important points. The US Open final was won in four relatively tight sets by Djokovic, but Federer converted only 4 of 23 break points. In 2016 he needs to improve that ratio if he is to stand a chance of winning his 18th Grand Slam, and, as with Murray, nothing less than a Grand Slam or Olympic singles title will constitute a good year for the man widely regarded as the best of all time. Rafael Nadal has improved and found consistency as the year has gone on and a profitable pre-season should see him regularly competing for a place in the finals of the truly big events, but whether that will be enough to topple Djokovic is another question entirely. Whenever he plays near to his best, Stanislas Wawrinka can beat any player, but it is just a matter of whether he can replicate what he has done over the past two years and play his best at a major event.

Apart from Serena Williams, the women’s tour was very evenly matched this year. A great story has been the resurgence of Venus Williams, breaking into the top 10 at the age of 35; old in tennis terms. Garbine Muguruza reached her first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon this year, and Agniezka Radwanska won the WTA’s end-of-year championships in Singapore, so they will be looking to capitalise on that success at the start of 2016. Petra Kvitova, meanwhile, will hope to recapture her Grand Slam-winning form now that she has overcome her battle with mononucleosis. And 2015 could not have been as disastrous for many in the tennis world as much as it has been for Eugenie Bouchard, so the former top-five will now be able to concentrate on climbing the rankings, rather than counting how many other players have climbed above her.

Very early, I know, but here are my predictions for 2016: Novak Djokovic will win the Golden Slam (Olympic singles gold + the CYGS), becoming only the second person, after Steffi Graf, to do so; Murray and Federer will reach one Grand Slam final and Nadal two; Serena Williams will win just the two Grand Slam titles (Wimbledon and the US Open) and Olympic singles gold, with Garbine Muguruza and Maria Sharapova winning the Australian Open and French Open, respectively.