Jon and Libby

Bleep: all set up and ready for the audience Bleep, in the heart of God's Own City (Manchester, for the uninitiated), is not, strictly speaking, an EMOM. It's not open mic. Instead, the Manchester Electronic Collective spend time curating each evening from a list of applicants. It tries to maintain a balance between newbies and seasoned performers, and styles of music, for each night it puts on. Bleep is a special night for many reasons. The space beneath the Peer Hat is dark but just big enough, the lights and sound are great, the crowd is dense but friendly, and the welcome is overwhelmingly positive regardless of musical style or ability. You're on that stage because The Collective think you should be. I, like a lot of other performers, apply to play Bleep EVERY month just in case. It's the only way. The queue for stage time must be immense, which is why I was extremely surprised to receive a message on Instagram a couple of weeks ago asking if Libby and I could f...

  Last Friday's gig was to be held in <gulp> a brewery! According to Marjorie the Satnav, it is just 1 hour 24 minutes from Darkest Cheshire to Colwyn Bay, and as usual, the damned thing was right - to the minute! So, bang on time, we rounded the corner in the single file track off a wooded lane, and there it was: Conwy Brewery in all its splendour. If only everything could be as reliable as Marjorie...  The venue itself was very well appointed, with a Jamaican food truck, great ales (which I didn't drink on account of driving duties), and a good live room, with cameras to record the event that would have looked more at home in a TV studio. Ready for your close-up, Libby? First up was one of the hosts, Matt Garnett A.K.A Sword Swinging Robot, with his blend of funky, danceable electro vibes, blending acidic lines, with house and even dub, and finishing with some very bouncy drum and bass. Sword Swinging Robot with a funky electro set.  J4K3 is a new one on me, but h...

Electric Tentacle: Two years old and going strong.   After last month's near miss , it was back to The Electric Tentacle on Thursday for Stoke EMOM's second birthday party, and a stela lineup! As usual, Andy and Colin had decked the place out and were all set up when we got there, including some very trippy visuals. First up was Marcel Holdys, with his dark, heavy, industrial seemingly-improvised glitch beats. Despite this description, there's a fast and furious rhythm to his work that the audience appreciate. He always gets a great reception. Tentacle favourite Marcel Holdys producing the goods    Beech Drive Circular is a new name to me, and chatting to the duo in the bar, it seems they've only been going a few months, but their commercial blend of danceable beats - reminiscent to my ears of a funkier Massive Attack - is already an accomplished sound. I look forward to seeing them again. New sound Beech Drive Circular. A new duo with an accomplished sound. And then we...