Music zine Burn The Manual Launch to be held at Leaf Cafe

Performers: Blossoms, Go Fiasco, Tyron Freeman, Marvin Powell, plus special guests.

After becoming one of the top ten blogs in the UK for Arts and Culture, The Music Manual decided to launch Merseyside's very first 2-page music zine - Burn The Manual and July 18th see's this spectacular creation make it's official launch at Leaf Tea Shop and Bar. 

Heralded as the 'new wave of compact journalism', Burn The Manual looks to support and promote anything musically related in the area and what better way to launch this than to have a massive shindig full of the premium talent The Music Manual empire has discovered over its two years in operation along with special guests to see the night through. Along with many special guests on top of the announced Go Fiasco, Tyron Freeman and Marvin Powell-Manchester band 'Blossoms' shall be headlining the event with their psychedelic wave of instrumental capability.

Venue name: Leaf Tea Shop and Bar
Date: 18 July 2014

Start and end times: 8pm - 2am

Price: £7 OTD

Category: Live music

Facebook Link http://www.facebook.com/events/1516502245244638/?source=29

Lauren Jones

Creator of The Music Manual

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Music Gateway Full Launch 24th June 2013

 If you have been keeping tabs on music industry news recently it will have been hard not to notice the attention Music Gateway has received. There is much anticipation and support across the board (including an April feature in Music News)for their much needed global platform which stimulates new revenue from existing masters and makes it easy for everyone to AandR their own projects or for management and labels to tap into new talent and work their roster.  

 "I'm not going to lie, it's been tough! What with the downturn in the global economy, IT development hurdles, investment seeking and a number of barriers to overcome to get the company into this position, it fills me with great pride and joy that we are now ready to fully launch. This isn't some simple brochure website or another social media platform, no, it's got focus, it's functional with purpose, it's simple yet delivers features like file transfers & electronic payments, all geared towards supporting your career development and generating work opportunities for both individuals and companies alike." explains Founder and Managing Director Jon Skinner LinkedIn. Jon spent 26 years in the Music Industry gaining a wealth of knowledge and experience from being a DJ, producer and record label owner to working closely with international artists and running his own independent record store in the '90s hay days.

Music Collaboration

"I was in a good place to bring to the table what I felt, was a much needed business platform and saw a huge gap in the market. Music Gateway was developed by my in-house IT team, not by some outsourced techies trying to second guess what the industry and musicians may want. Music Gateway connects all the creative roles, allowing them to work, get hired, paid and collaborate on the global stage." Jon goes on to explain that there are a host of websites offering a wide range of distribution, social media for music, such as Soundcloud and ReverbNation, licensing / sync portals and other Artist-to-Fan services, all of which deal with the end recording or end user. What is clearly different about Music Gateway, is that it is strictly Business 2 Business; it provides a service for people during the creative process and a development / project stage for any recording, person or company. "Content is King" Jon states. The Music Business isn't some sugar-coated industry, it is hard work and to be successful, you need a lot more than just talent. Music Gateway will certainly improve your chances of making the right connections and reward you financially for your hard work. Music Gateway brings the talent to your projects, an AandR vehicle designed to streamline connections in a targeted way, creating secure surroundings and empowering the individual. So whether you are one of the rising stars of the music world, or you have an established career and need a more streamlined way of collaborating with other artists, Music Gateway is your new timesaving friend.

Register Today for FREE via www.musicgateway.net

Liverpool Music Awards 2013 Launch Announced

The launch for the second ever Liverpool Music Awards takes place on Tuesday 30th April at Liverpool Town Hall. Liverpool born DJ Janice Long will be hosting the event and Mayor Joe Anderson will be making speech on behalf of Liverpool City Council.

With performances from two of last year’s Liverpool Music Awards winners, The Hummingbirds, who won Ones to Watch and Ali Ingle who picked up the gong for Male Artist of the Year.  Alex Evans will also perform Rise and Fall at the launch.

"This launch is the start of an annual event where winners from the previous awards will be invited to perform at the launch in front of some of the biggest movers and shakers in the music industry. I'm also delighted Janice Long is back on board” says awards organiser Ellie Phillips.

”I'm really looking forward to coming back and to be part of the Liverpool Music Awards again. The wealth of musical talent in the city is second to none” says Janice Long.

This year’s Ones to Watch award is dedicated to 18 year old Michael Molloy.  The up-and-coming Liverpool guitarist who lost his live in a coach crash when returning from the Isle of White event Bestival last year. Michael Molloy and Alex Evans recorded Rise and Fall just weeks before Michael’s death in the Bestival coach crash last year.

Michael's band Hostile Radio were one of 12 Liverpool bands taking part in the Roscoe Project 2012 funded by Youth Music, the charity partner of the Liverpool Music Awards and one of the bands who took part in the competition to perform at the inaugural ceremony.

"To work alongside Michael was a true honour. We had our ups and downs like all best friends do but I have never shared so much respect for another human being. I am so proud to have been the person who played on this record and I will cherish the moments we had together for the rest of my life. It is a brilliant tribute to remember Michael at the music awards and I am very proud to be able to honour his life in this way" says Alex Evans.

Joe Molloy, brother of Michael Molloy, says: “We’re delighted that Michael’s song will be performed by Alex at the launch of the awards. It’s a brilliant tribute to him and we hope encourages even more people to go out and buy the single to help us get it up the charts.”

Rise and Fall and a second single, Hope You Know, can be pre-ordered from iTunes now, costing £1.79 for both.

Nominations for the Liverpool Music Awards open at midnight on Tuesday 30th April and close at midnight on Friday 31st May. The ceremony itself takes place on Sunday 25 August at St George’s Hall as part of the new Liverpool International Music Festival. To find out more, visit www.liverpoolmusicawards.com.

Ramshackle brings weekly club night to Liverpool

Bristol’s Ramshackle club launches in 5 new cities across the UK

Brighton, Cambridge, Liverpool, Norwich and London weekly residencies confirmed

 Guests include Wiley (Live), The Prodigy’s Rob Holliday (DJ Set), Kissy Sell Out (DJ Set), Ms Dynamite, Radio 1’s Danny Howard and Mat Horne

www.ramshackle.co.uk

Ramshackle, the Bristol clubbing institution is rolling out its weekly night to 5 new cities across the UK.  London, Liverpool, Brighton, Norwich and Cambridge will join Bristol in experiencing Ramshackle’s unique mash up of drum and bass, indie, hip hop, party, dub step and rock and roll at weekly residencies. Ramshackle is a potent combination of great music and great DJ’s in great venues and guests confirmed include a Ramshackle tour by The Prodigy’s Rob Holliday (DJ Set) and London shows by Wiley (Live), Ms Dynamite, Kissy Sell Out (DJ Set), Mat Horne and Radio 1’s Danny Howard.  The London venue for Ramshackle’s weekly parties is the prestigious Ministry Of Sound and all Ramshackle nights offer affordable door prices and drinks promotions as well as the opportunity to see fantastic live guest and DJ’s.

Confirmed Ramshackle residencies and guests:

Brighton – Every Monday from 17th September
Lola Lo, 75 – 79 East Street, Brighton, BN1 1NF
24th Sept – The Prodigy’s Rob Holliday DJ Set

Cambridge – Every Wednesday from 19th September
Lola Lo, 1 – 6 Corn Exchange Street, Cambridge, CB2 3QF
3rd October – The Prodigy’s Rob Holliday DJ set

Liverpool – Every Saturday from 22nd September
Magnet, 45 Hardman Street, Liverpool, L1 9AS
22nd Sept – The Prodigy’s Rob Holliday DJ set

Norwich – Every Monday from 24th September
Lola Lo, 23 Bank Plane, Norwich, NR2 4SF
1st October – The Prodigy’s Rob Holliday DJ Set

London - Every Thursday from 11th October
Ministry Of Sound, 103 Gaunt Street, London, SE1 6DP
11th Oct- launch party with Wiley (live)
18th Oct- Mat Horne
25th Oct- Danny Howard (Radio 1)
1st Nov- Mat Horne
8th Nov- Ms Dynamite
15th Nov- Kissy Sell Out (DJ Set)
 
Bristol – Every Friday
O2 Academy, Frogmore Street, Bristol, BS1 5NA

The Sums debut album launch at the Zanzibar Liverpool

THE SUMS

 DEBUT ALBUM 'IF ONLY' & LAUNCH 

 Saturday 29th October at the Zanzibar Liverpool

The Sums

The Fallows

Rob Smith ( acoustic )

The Ladykillers

DJ Andy Carroll  ( Classic State set )

7.30pm till 1.00am

£5.00 from Probe and the Zanzibar or £6.00 on the door

"If Only" available from Townsend Records on download and cd from Monday 17th Oct.

Out of the ashes of their previous band  ‘Smaller’ rose ‘The Sums’ with a stronger arrangement of musical master pieces. " We aim to put Liverpool on the moon and not only on the map " says singer Digsy.
Based in Liverpool , Smaller were a part of the UK Brit pop scene who smashed into the indie top 10 with classic singles taken from the critically acclaimed album  Badly Badly, featuring the tracks, Stray dogs and bin bags , God I hate this town and Is,  with Noel Gallagher on guitar.

The band were very much in demand and toured with The Stereophonics, Catatonia, Paul Weller and Oasis. Then in 2005 the bands singer/song writers Peter ( Digsy) Deary and Chris Mullin decided to end Smaller and take a new avenue of creativity and formed The Sums.

Armed with Lee Watson on guitar and Bren Moore on drums, they soon attached a loyal following and played rocking gigs around the UK and Ireland…one of the highlights being a 11,000 Capital of culture gig at Liverpool’s  Echo arena in which they were the shinning lights amongst many stars. Digsy along with Chris Mullin write strong, passionate, addictive melodies an pen lyrics which are as sharp as a knife!
"It's been hard for us to exist as a band with a minus zero budget. This album captures an honest representation of who we are and how we sound with out any major label production. A lot of people have been waiting a long time for a release from us, and after all this time, its good to be able to share what weve created, and to be put back in a position to move forward musically and prepare for the next album" says  Chris Mullin songwriter and bass player from the band.
Guitarist Lee Watson provides fantastic guitar work and ensures strong and to the point riffs are put into the mix, and with his valued creative input, Lee always provides and adds the finishing touches to the tracks.
Unfortunately Bren Moore had to leave the band due to personal commitments and back in to the hot seat came Chris Campbell who was drumming with the lads as Smaller in the later days….
The Sums:
Peter ‘Digsy’ Deary – Guitar / Vocals
Chris Mullin – Bass / Vocals
Lee Watson – Guitar

http://thesums.net
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Sums/15632295525
http://twitter.com/#!/chrismully

Matchstickmen album launch at the Krazy house review

Last night at the Krazy house saw the album launch of "through hell...and kept going". With support from No more stars and Roaring stampede. Whilst on the subject of Roaring stampede I don't believe I have witnessed such a grandiose act. Think Freddie Mercury mixed with Al Jourgensen from Ministry with chaps on and you go somewhere close to the sight on stage. Playing mainly covers, they played their set with enthusiasm but a bit over the top with the lead singer gyrating on and off the stage,even throwing in a costume change for good measure. Unbelievable. Mind you, they did warm up the crowd nicely for the Matchstickmen men. Taking to the stage with a bound lead singer,Lewis Wright,was obviously hyped to be there and wasted no time in getting straight into the album tracks. The crowd that had formed to see them was testament itself to the following the guys have. Although not overflowing,it was a nice size crowd who really seemed to enjoy themselves and responded well to the bands interactions. The band definitely suit a bigger stage and the acoustics sounded a lot better than the shipping forecast gig. Lewis' voice sounding robust and the band sounding tight and their enthusiasm and excitement radiated off the stage. Playing the album tracks,the new single "Dark Blue" and a few cover versions in for good measure I thoroughly enjoyed the set and the night as a whole.

Harvest Sun Promotions...The Wicked Whispers E.P Launch

Harvest Sun Promotions & Electone Records proudly present... 

The Dark Delights of The Wicked Whispers 

debut EP launch

8.00pm Saturday 4th June

The Kazimier,Liverpool

£4adv (more otd)

Tickets from: http://tiny.cc/wickedline

Or from here: http://www.probe-records.com

Featuring....

The Wicked Whispers

The Wild Eyes

The Beatnik Hurricanes

DJ Kool Aid Bob (Probe Records)

--------------------------

The Dark Delights Of The Wicked Whispers is the debut release from Liverpool group The Wicked Whispers which is to be released Monday 6th June 2011 on Electone Records, limited to only 300 10" vinyl. The Wicked Whispers are one of Liverpool's hotly tipped acts with an already sizable fanbase in Liverpool and throughout the UK following a series of live dates up and down the country. The band’s debut show in Liverpool titled 'The Butterflies Ball and The Grasshoppers Feast' at The Static Gallery November 2010 was a sold-out success and demand for the group's first release has been growing ever since. Taking influence from psychedelic and folk sounds of the late 60's whilst adding their own stamp, The Wicked Whispers are one of the more progressive acts to emerge from the North West in some time creating something that is instantly recognizable as theirs.

Recording of The Dark Delights of The Wicked Whispers EP:
Recorded at Roscoe Studios in Liverpool, the EP captures the raw and honest sound of the band using only live takes. Produced by Steve Powell (Cast, The Stairs, Mick Head and the Magical World of the Strands) and front man Mike Murphy, the idea was to record takes using an abundance of live room mics to capture every possible sound. The main objective for the EP was to make a record that would instantly sound at home on vinyl. To assist this Steve Powell was an obvious choice to co-produce with additional support from producer John Wood (Incredible String Band, Nick Drake) and producer and mastering legend Jon Astley (George Harrison, David Bowie, The Who).

‘Amanda Lavender’ video:

In preparation for the release, The Wicked Whispers unveiled their debut video the EPs leading track, Amanda Lavender which has received a very positive response so far. Directed by Liverpool Photographer Mark McNulty and edited by Brainface, the video was shot in the UK's largest Garden Maze, on location in Snowdonia, North Wales, the video stars Merseyside's most talented rising model Charlotte Cooper (Impact Model Agency) playing the lead of Amanda Lavender The ‘Amanda Lavender’ video is available to watch online on YouTube:

http://www.thewickedwhispers.co.uk/

http://www.myspace.com/thewickedwhispers

CITY REIGN - New Single "Daybreak" - Manchester & London Single Launches

CITY REIGN

‘Daybreak’ single

COMPACT DISC / DOWNLOAD

Car Boot Records

CBR03

May 9^th

 

The song writing pair Chris Bull (Vocals/Guitar) and Michael Grice (Guitar) met four years ago at a Ryan Adams concert, having both recently moved north from London. Having spent years writing and playing in bands going nowhere, the two met Michael Glaze (Bass) and Sam Jones (Drums) to complete the new line up. The band took the name from the Adams song, ‘City Rain, City Streets’.
‘Daybreak’ has long been a fan favourite, its original recording being the title track of the band’s early demo, The Daybreak EP recorded with Grammy nominated producer Dan Parry. The band have since chopped down the song’s lengthy outro, leaving the punchy pop classic on the current record.
Lead singer and lyricist Chris Bull notes that “it’s probably the song we’ve been most proud of. We always enjoy playing it live, as it has that typically youthful conflict between despair and restless hopefulness. The harmonies in the outro really capture that feeling that there’s always something else to reach for, even when you don’t know exactly what it is.”
The band have been hard at work since last August, establishing their own independent label Car Boot Records.
“We had been playing together for a little while and were kind of chasing our tales a little bit. We decided it was time to roll our sleeves up and start doing things ourselves. We’ve had a few helping hands along the way. Not least from our mates Pete Fergie and Steve De Sarasola at SSR who helped record this single and B-side.”
Their DIY approach has proved successful so far, as the band have won plaudits from the likes of Steve Lamacq (who featured the band in a special about the 2010 In The City Festival), The Independent, and music industry bible Music Weekly, who featured the band amongst the best new acts coming out of Manchester.
‘It was nice to be recognised and be listed in the same breath as people like Liam Frost and The Travelling Band. Hopefully it’ll bring us to a wider audience who’ll support what we’re doing’.
City Reign release 3^rd single Daybreak on May 9^th on their independent label Car Boot Records. They will be playing the following dates to support the release:
April 29^th – The Watershed, London
April 30^th – The New Cross Inn, London
May 7^th – Roadhouse, Manchester

　

"Fans of Yuck and Dinosaur Jr will approve of City Reign's anthemic, grunge. A million failing garage bands will ask why" 
The Independant
 

“This independence of mind can be heard in their driving guitar rock sound, unphased by suggestions that the guitar band is destined for the musical scrap heap”

Music Week
 

"Out in the Cold’ boasts a great melody and a big, clean guitar sound and is a million times better than 95% of what’s currently played on the radio"

Muso Guide

"There’s something about Manchester based City Reign, that makes it difficult to do anything but tip them as a bright new sound for the future" Manchester Music

KOF - FIRE IT UP E.P. LAUNCH @ O2 ACADEMY

From the first time I came across Kof, singing an acoustic set in a laundrette at the MAPS festival a few years ago, I knew we would be hearing more from this extremely talented and versatile young man over the coming years, and thankfully i was right as we were at the O2 Academy in Liverpool for his E.P. launch "Fire it Up" featuring none other than Wiley!
With a line up of up and coming R&B talent including Chelsee Grimes who performed a great little set. It isn't hard to see why she is being tipped for stardom, even though her style would cater more for the mainstream Lady Ga Ga fans.
When the highly anticipated headliner Kof, finally took to the stage to the full on bass and beats of "DJ Put It Louder" the crowd were soon bouncing along to it and joining in with him. Next up was the cheeky "I Don't Smoke The Reefer" which contains various narrative samples and a tune so catchy it'll give you brain itch for days. The bass went even louder for " Bass Face" which saw Kof doing a very good impression of Jay Z when demonstrating his very own Bass Face which he then encouraged the crowd to do along with him.
Showing off his true vocal talent with a collaboration with Keisha Santos for an acoustic mix of "I Wanna Be A Billionaire", we got to see a voice that can go from raw hip hop to gentle mellow tones that could melt even the hardest of hearts.
Finally we got to the single of the moment "Fire It Up". A beat laden track with help on vocals by Chelsee Grimes that complimented each other perfectly and the energy exuding from them ensured the crowd were swept along with it.
As E.P. launches go, Kof should be proud of himself as this was one with the most talented musicians and vocalists from Liverpool I have seen in many years.

Words: Alison Goggin

Kof ft Wiley & Chelcee Grimes - 'Fire It Up' from MTV - The Wrap Up on Vimeo.

Fly With Vampires @ The Shipping Forecast

Friday night saw Fly With Vampires release their début double A-sided single, “Not Wasted on the Young” and “On the Ropes”, and what a launch it was.

Playing to a packed out crowd of dedicated fans, you can see why this band is so clearly loved.

From the minute they come onto the stage, their presence and personality takes over the whole room. Starting their set with a slow haunting track, this didn't last for long as we were soon given the full on Vampire experience as the band went from one bouncing rock track to another and the crowd got swept along with it.

With the odd quip from the band, it was the only breather band and crowd got and the set seemed to be over far to quickly. 60 minutes really does fly when you're having fun. But this wasn't enough as the crowd beat the low ceiling and jumped up and down shouting for “One more song!!!!”. Thankfully Fly with Vampires treated us all to another song, but you really can't help wanting one more after that.

This is one Liverpool band who are truly captivating, exuding energy and personality every time I've seen them and never ever fail to disappoint. If you haven't been to see them yet, I strongly advise checking out their my space page and definitely get that double A sided single downloaded, because this is one band not be missed.

Words: Alison Goggin

More Pictures can be found at our facebook group

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/album.php?aid=17338&id=124377034250705&ref=mf