Getting Radical In Hulme

The NIAMOS Radical Arts Centre - a place with an illustrious past

Hulme has always been considered one of the poorest parts of Manchester. Engels wrote about it at length in the 19th century, but despite this, at the turn of the 20th century, local philanthropy meant that Hulme suddenly boasted not only a Hippodrome but also the Playhouse theatre, built side-by-side. It was in the Hippodrome that the BBC recorded some comedy classics in the 1950s, including the first ever Morecambe & Wise Radio Show. It also booked the Playhouse as a radio recording studio for 30 years. The Beatles even played a live gig there in their early days. Both buildings have survived the inevitable failure of half arsed urban regeneration schemes, and Hulme is on the rise again. The infamous Crescents are gone, replaced by smart housing association homes with gardens, and the NIAMOS Radical Arts Centre now occupies the Playhouse. Hallowed ground indeed!

As I lugged Libby and the gear into the venue, one thing struck me. This is a big room. I mean, huge! With the original stalls in place, it could seat 1,500.

This place is BIG!

What would the evening bring? 

First up, there was a rare technical disaster. One half of Mythical Brewery seemed to be having trouble with the pedal board to his guitar. It was popping and cutting out all the time, and the set had to be abandoned. This is a shame. Looking them up on YouTube, I liked their downbeat Stump vibe, and look forward to seeing them at a later date.

So, we were up next. God, it was loud! I turned it down a little, and someone on sound turned us down a little more, but it was still very loud. I suddenly realised the foldback was under the table, so I had no clean sound. I could hear a mix of the PA and the reflections coming off the back wall a split second later, and just guessed at my timing! It seemed to go OK, though, because one of the organisers got up on stage and danced with us near the end of our set. Another guy also got up, found a live mic, and began to "boast" us in true Jamaican dancehall tradition. I'm not sure how Libby took that, but all I could do was grin.

That's us. The loud thing over there in the distance!

Sam Aaron was up next. I've never seen someone live programming electronic music before. I've seen footage where the programmer admitted defeat, but never someone doing it well. And doing it with something as fast as drum and bass while finding the time to dance to his creation as the code scrolls up the screen onstage was something to be seen.

The kinetic live programming of Sam Aaron

There seems to be some dispute over the name of the next act. They were down as Projektionist, but I've also seen them described as FreshPots. Whatever the name, they were great. There was a distinct Massive Attack vibe about them, and their sound certainly fitted that massive stage. 

Projektionist (or was it Freshpots?) filling the stage with vibes

 

I couldn't find anything online about the next act, Merseydelta. It turned out to be totally Wired's own Tam Boker with a selection of glitch beats, FM-style sounds and with a very danceable groove running throughout. Sometimes, abstract music is exactly what you need, and I look forward to hearing much more of his stuff.

Merseydelta with glitchy goodness.

Rollmopski was next, living up to the maxim that you never know what you'll find at an EMOM. I never expected to hear Theremin and slide guitar! There was a definite experimental edge to their performance, and a slight Pink Floyd vibe with the slide guitar, but they covered a lot of ground from a tune I've always called The sand Dance (it turns out it's not the Wilson, Keppel and Betty song I was thinking of - answers on a postcard please!), and finished a marathon set that seemed to continue for 30 minutes with what sounded to these tin ears like re-imaginings of old American folk tunes. Truly something to experience.

Rollmopski covered a lot of experimental ground

Because Rollmopski played for so long, I only had time to fit in one more act before it was time to hit the road. MikeDoesMusic led us neatly back into the more familiar land of drum and bass via an intelligent set that began with a Japanese Koto sample and into his highly danceable, bouncing beats. 

And so it was off back through the city. I enjoyed myself immensely (especially the stage invasion!), and will definitely be back soon.

During the journey home through God's own city, a genuinely cool thing happened. Cruising down Princess Street with the rest of the late night traffic, "How Soon Is Now" started playing on Spotify. A very "Manchester" end to a great evening.