[Mooch. Verb. A word that describes an action, state or experience. A period of time spent walking around].
What is the Manchester Music Mooch app?
The Manchester Music Mooch (MMM) app is an Augmented reality (AR) led musical-heritage trail that interactively and immersively takes its users around Manchester City Centre. Created by MediaCity based Dig Media and award-winning app developers ArcadeXR, alongside a host of renowned collaborators, the app is completely free to download and use, thanks to funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Crafted in response to the lack of a cohesive narrative in Manchester, when it comes to the city’s rich musical heritage, the MMM app is a way to “discover what makes Manchester the world’s greatest music city”.
Manchester has always been, as Dig Media representative Mat calls it, “DIY; if it’s not there, we’re going to create it,” not least in terms of music. The MMM app celebrates this through offering a platform to showcase these places where countless musical icons and venues were created, from Manchester Academy on the Oxford Road corridor, all the way up to the Northern Quarter.
With no start or end points, the trail is accessible and un-intimidating – you could explore your area in a 10 minute study break, or dedicate an entire day to exploring.
Features of the MMM app
Along the way, users are digitally greeted by well-known Manchester figures, such as Rowetta and JP Cooper, who explain the backdrops of historical music hotspots. This AR feature helps users of the MMM app to feel as though they are experiencing the musical history before them first-hand, tapping into Mat’s comment on “Tech that feels like magic.”
As well as immersing its users through an AR experience, the MMM app encourages direct engagement with it via its Loops Studio feature. Existing as a space for users to unlock music loops along their trail, this feature gives people the chance to build and share their own piece of Manchester music.
Not only is playing around with sounds and layering a fun activity that caters to all ages, but its dip-in-dip-out set up makes it customisable to anyone’s schedule.
About the music loops
Available loops on the app span from the creations of the band Doves and Mercury Music Award nominated artist Jon Coley, to local techno producer JS Zeiter (Kontakt Records), and the works of music students from The University of Salford and The Manchester College.
Incredibly, there’s even loops created from experimental electronic music by Alan Turing, who is lesser known for his musical talents than for being ‘the father of modern computing’.
When discussing this range of musical contributions in the app’s press release, Dig Media founder Simon Marsland says: “Music Loops have enabled us to place emerging artists on a level platform as established, successful artists which was an important element of the project.”
Inclusivity and accessibility
Clearly, the MMM app makes inclusivity a priority. In Mat’s words, the app wants to “help people…see why this city has become what it has globally in the world of music,” using excitingly palpable examples from Johnny Marr “living in Wythenshawe, picking up his first guitar,” to the often untapped “massive Black history here.”
However, the app is not only a music-lover’s dream. With its vital celebration of music in the face of the flagging state we find grassroots music in all over the UK, Mat assures us it can be appreciated by everyone. One of the key aspects of the app is its accessibility – alongside it being freely available on mobile phones, all of the locations are wheelchair-friendly and can be reached by foot or public transport.
What does the future for MMM look like?
While the MMM app was originally launched for Manchester City Council’s MCR Live ‘25 campaign, it is here to stay. When asking Mat about the future of MMM, he was able to let us in on plans for its expansion. With hopes to attract people from the wider city boundaries as well as just Manchester City Centre, users of the MMM app can expect to enjoy and explore five areas in their musical-heritage trail soon. Not able to share too much, Mat advised us to “watch this space.”
Supporting grassroots venues
The MMM app offers its users an engaging way to learn about Manchester’s musical heritage – it highlights the importance of keeping history alive and staying connected to grassroots venues. Simon poignantly outlines this: “While names like Oasis and The Hacienda shine, the environments nurturing them often go unrecognised. Grassroots music venues such as The Boardwalk and institutions like the Royal Northern College of Music shaped pivotal moments in Manchester music.”
Favourite music venue in Manchester?
For our last question to Mat, we asked about his favourite music venue in Manchester. In a true testament to the variety and quality offered up by the music scene here, he can’t quite pick one. He does describe one old favourite, ‘The International’ in Victoria Park, “an amazing venue” where you could be pretty sure that no matter how big the band playing, “it would have been some local band” supporting. It is an anecdote that captures something of what exactly is so special about Manchester music’s distinctive, ‘DIY’, nature.
Scanning the QR code below will take you straight to the MMM website, where you can browse the locations provided in the app’s musical-heritage trail:
