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Saturday, 28 April 2012
Friday, 27 April 2012
Manchester: In Residents … #11: Jerome
'Time
was on a Sunday you’d have more chance of getting a bottle of poppers or a rare
white label 12-inch than a pint of milk...'
What’s your
name?
Jerome de Groot, or if you want to be picky about
details, Dr Jerome Edward Gerard de Groot, BA MA PhD FRHist … (ha!)
What do you
do?
I teach English Literature at the University of
Manchester where I’m also Head of a Graduate School, and I’m Chair of the Board
of Trustees of the Manchester Literature Festival.
Where do you
live?
Slap bang in the middle of everything, just behind
Debenhams, edge of the Northern Quarter, having been there from when ‘Northern
Quarter’ was just a phrase dreamt up by estate agents and the city marketing
department. Time was on a Sunday you’d have more chance of getting a bottle of
poppers or a rare white label 12-inch than a pint of milk. That said, the place
is still hopping and I’d struggle to live anywhere else. There are new bars,
cafes and oddities every week or so, and the place has yet to suffer the kind
of corporate bl/rands that somewhere like Hoxton or the Lower East Side or parts
of Berlin (all places that are pretty similar – cheap, warehousey, marginal,
urban spaces) have succumbed to. I blame / applaud the financial downturn from
2008 for saving the place from Revolution and Costa Coffee. Look at Spinningfields
to see how a place can be drained of any semblance of character. The Northern Quarter
is relatively unique in the UK – if you go to other cities, particularly in the
North, you’d struggle to find anywhere like it. Everywhere you see places (Leeds,
Birmingham, Liverpool, even Hull) struggling to ‘make’ a similar thing happen,
with limited success.
Tell us the
story of how you ended up in Manchester
I came to Manchester twice, both times pretty much by
chance. My profession is deeply competitive, there aren’t many positions so you
go where you’re lucky enough to get work. I had a temporary job at the
University of Huddersfield in 2001–2 so I lived off Whitworth Street and
commuted across the Pennines. Ah, Manchester a decade ago, so innocent and full
of fun… I used to go to Sankeys, the Cornerhouse, Mr Thomas’s, Legends, Temple,
Tampopo, Rainbar (!) … well, not much has changed I guess. I mourn City Life and the Bridge and Zumbar and
Spirit and Manto and Fat Cat and Music Box and Le Petit Blanc and Love Saves The
Day and the Green Room and Atlas when it was good and Man City when they were
rubbish, but it’s surprising just how much abides (some of it against all the
odds …)
I got my job at Manchester in 2004, having taught at
various other places (Keele, Bangor, Dublin) so I was pleased to be able to
settle down a bit. My girlfriend is a Professor at the University of Salford so
we’re solid in the city (even this is pretty unusual amongst academic couples).
I’m astoundingly lucky – my department is brilliant, my students are great, the
city is awesome – and I could have ended up anywhere from Leeds to Brighton to
Aberystwyth to Dundee. Good places, all of them, for one reason and another,
but none of them holds a candle to this city.
I’m interested in the fact this series is called
‘Residents’ – the kind of peripatetic feel of the city (despite strong ties) is
one of its strengths. There are people from around the world here doing fun,
crazy, challenging and innovative things. It is also a problem, maybe. I can
count on the fingers of one hand the number of ‘proper’ Mancs I know well and
I’m not sure that I have any real sense of the city – its sprawl, its horror,
its violence. You only have to cycle North, East, or West of the city centre,
or just visit a hospital, to see a set of communities I have very little
contact with or common ground with. It’s a pretty grim place to live for most
people, and the shocked reaction of most city-centre (read: middle-class or at
least on their way to it) ‘residents’ to the riots last year demonstrated this
pretty well. The dislocation between those who find themselves here by choice
and the fragmented, alienated local communities is set to get worse as gentrification
continues (although, again, if you look at the disaster that was the CHiPS Building/Ancoats
development then again maybe the credit crunch wasn’t the worse thing that
happened to the city…)
What’s great
about this city?
Having said all that….!: radicalism, history, mayhem,
not-giving-a-shit, brashness, elegance, generosity, friendship. I love how
this, above nearly all cities I know (apart from New York I guess) celebrates
itself – where else would you go to a neighbourhood café with pictures all over
the wall of entirely local musicians, or be berated at every turn about how
much Manchester ‘hearts’ itself? Even the cultural institutions, from the
People’s History Museum to the Museum of Science and Industry to the Manchester
International Festival to Urbis (as was), are predicated on the fact that
Manchester is uniquely important. Moreover, they’re RIGHT! Without Manchester
(see below) you’d have no feminism, Marxism, urbanism, pink pound, computer,
indie music, railway, cooperative movement, radio telescopes, dance music. I
may be stretching this a little of course but as Steve Coogan / Tony Wilson
says in 24-hour Party People, I
suffer from an excess of civic pride.
All this might be seen to be good and bad in maybe equal
measure but it’s pretty unusual to say the least. I’ve lived in Liverpool and
Newcastle and Dublin, all top cities, but none of them as open to a stranger’s
right to civic pride, and none of them nearly so brash about it.
Also: brilliant people willing to support stuff from
the Hallé to Kraak to the Literature Festival to the Contact to HomoElectric
to Pride to the Jazz Festival. It is about as diverse a place as you can find
in the UK.
What’s not
so great?
No parks in the middle. There are some brilliant parks
(Heaton, Platt Fields) but the centre is just cluttered and a bit grim at
times. Where do you cycle/run/sit in the sunshine? Piccadilly Gardens, as
everyone who lives here knows, is hilariously horrible. Culturally: the theatre
is pretty shocking here, art has fallen way behind Liverpool, Leeds and
Newcastle (not to mention London).
Do you have
a favourite Manchester building?
Not a building, a statue. The Lincoln Statue in
Lincoln Square is lovely and stirring,
but the reason for the statue is even
better. It’s there to celebrate the support that the people of Manchester – a
city dependent on cotton, remember – gave to Lincoln’s cause during the
American Civil War. While there is evidence that the businessmen of the city
weren’t so keen on the conflict (they looked to source cotton from increasingly
far-flung parts of the world to keep their industry going) the idea, which
might just be made up, of celebrating empathy and solidarity, as well as
abolition, in the face of economic necessity and hardship is AMAZING. It’s
something that’s in the DNA of the city and should be celebrated; it makes me
well up every time I walk past it.
Other favourite statues are Gladstone in Albert Square
doing his John Travolta dance, Victoria in Piccadilly, Robert Owen outside the
Co-Op, and Cromwell in Wythenshawe Park (itself controversial, and already
moved once – the rumour is he’s coming back into town). The fact there isn’t a
proper memorial to Peterloo or the first Suffragette protest is just shocking.
I like Joddrell Bank, too, but it isn’t as mawkish/cool.
I like Victoria Station and the CIS Tower, the Imperial War Museum, and Central
Library, and the Town Hall, and the Palace Hotel. I’m being greedy…
Horrors: that Wall,
the Light House, University Place, the Mark Addy (though it has a kind of grim
charm), the Lowry and The Lowry Hotel, the Hilton, that odd bar in front of the
Great Northern, Old Trafford (but then I would
say that), 1 Piccadilly Gardens, etc. etc. etc. …
Do you have
a favourite Mancunian?
Emmeline and Sylvia Pankhurst / Alan Turing / Elizabeth
Gaskell / Karl Marx / Friedrich Engels / John Dalton / Morrissey and Marr / Chris
Ofili / Jeanette Winterson / Joan Littlewood / Ian Brown / Chris Hoy / Sarah
Harding / Robert Owen / George Best / Christopher Eccleston / John Dee /
Bernard Sumner / C. P. Scott / Jackie Kay / Mark E. Smith / Anthony Burgess / Shelagh
Delaney / Ernest Rutherford / Maxine Peake / Charles Halle / A Guy Called
Gerald / Mike Leigh / Ian Curtis / James Prescott Joule / Shaun William Ryder /
Les Dawson / Caroline Aherne / Val McDermid / Bet Lynch / Ewan MacColl / Harold
Evans / Amir Kahn / Can I have Bob Dylan and the Pistols, too? [no] / Thomas de
Quincey / John Cooper Clarke / Joan Bakewell / Sheila Rowbotham / Alison Uttley
/ John Thaw / Paul Abbott …
Okay, not all are born and bred Mancs (and some are
from Salford/Bolton / Stockport / Bury), but that’s kind of the point of this
place, right? A special shout-out to Tony Lloyd MP, who is principled and kind
and funny and astute and left-wing and everything a Labour MP ought to be.
What’s your
favourite pub / bar / club / restaurant / park / venue?
Mr Thomas’s and Sam’s Chop House, Common, HomoElectric
, Keep It Unreal, Charlie’s, Legends, The Bay Horse, Drunk At Vogue (I have to
say that, right?), the Ritz, Ho’s Bakery, Tampopo, the French Restaurant at the
Midland (hilariously expensive but lots of fun), Cornerhouse, The Castle,
Hunter’s BBQ, Leo’s Fish Bar (the one on Oldham St, I’d be lying if I denied
that I spend much time there), Red Chilli, Bugged Out, The Hillary Step, The
Gas Lamp, Greens, Academy 3, Kraak, Corridor Bar, Oklahoma, Castlefield Arena.
I’ve mentioned parks already. In terms of outside-ness
the canals are equally lovely and horrible. I go to the Sand Bar a lot after I play football every week. But
it is also about things changing – I just went to this newish Korean place (Ban
Di Bul) by the Town Hall and it’s great. More please!
What do you
think is missing from Manchester?
Decent social housing, joined-up thinking (although
the council does pretty well in many things, to give it its due, and in present
circumstances is making a decent-ish job of telling the government to go fuck
itself), more green space, bike lanes, a good Jewish deli, a Biennial.
If I was
Mayor for a day I would….
Put up a memorial to Peterloo and knock down the
building next to mine that blocks out the sun.
Who else
would you like to nominate to answer this questionnaire?
You won’t get them, but: Tom Bloxham (CEO of Urban
Splash), Chris Oglesby (CEO, Bruntwood), Peter Marks (Group CEO, Cooperative Group),
Sir Richard Leese (Leader of Manchester City Council). No prejudice, I’d like
them all to explain what they think about Manchester without the usual
platitudes and havering – most of them are the folk that really have an
influence on the fabric of the city.
In their – probable! – absence, Maria Balshaw
(Director of the Whitworth Gallery) or the one and only Matthew Frost.
Thursday, 26 April 2012
Manchester: In Residents … The Story So Far
#7
Andrew … Sparrow hawks, Les Dawson, waiting for the wall to fall …
#8 Phillip ... Ning, Samsi, Zouk, Habesha ...
#8 Phillip ... Ning, Samsi, Zouk, Habesha ...
#10 Eden … From west of Ireland to Chapel
Street, and the city on foot …
#11 Jerome ... Gentrification, Abraham Lincoln, Tony Lloyd ...
#12 Nathan ... Photographs, apathy, the Mancunian Way ...
#11 Jerome ... Gentrification, Abraham Lincoln, Tony Lloyd ...
#12 Nathan ... Photographs, apathy, the Mancunian Way ...
Thursday, 19 April 2012
Sounds From The Other City 2012
It used to feel like a right little exodus – the musos, the DJs, the promoters, the party kids, all trekking across town to the other side of the river for a whole May day and night of drinking, dancing and soaking up the very best of new musical talent. Nowadays, so much is going on around and about the Chapel Street corridor that it’s starting to feel like the other city is the city to be in. This year’s SFTOC festival will crank that feeling more than ever; the line-up is a dream. A dozen venues housing around twenty local party collectives putting on bands, DJs, visuals, art and spoken word in pubs, mills and churches. What urban festival can rival it..? Here’s who we are excited about seeing this time around …
This Many Boyfriends (Underachievers @ The Salford Arms)
1. You're playing this year's Sounds From The Other City, what can people expect from your show, and your music?
Richard, TMB: The show will be fun and lively and mildly entertaining. You can expect that I'll be wearing a band t shirt and drop some notes.
Daniel, TMB: The best would be to come with no expectations, then they wont be so disappointed...
2. What are your thoughts on Sounds From The Other City as an event? What are you looking forward to the most about attending?
Richard: It's got a lot of cool venues, rather than being in a field somewhere. And we love Underachievers! I'm looking forward to seeing a lot of bands I've not had a chance to see live all in one place.
3. There's a plethora of up and coming talent at this year's festival- what other acts would you recommend our readers to see?
Richard: The Lovely Eggs. And Ghost Outfit. The ABC Club. Joseph and David
Daniel: The Lovely Eggs
Laura: The Lovely Eggs. Withered Hand
4. Looking forward through the rest of 2012, what other plans do you have?
Richard: single, album, gigs. We want to go play in Europe! I'm also getting fit for the Olympics.
Daniel: Album and supporting the release of that with more shows I think.
Laura: I'm mostly planning what artwork I can make for our single and album and merch and everything.
Shigeto (Mind On Fire / This City Is Ours Stage @ The Old Pint Pot)
Maria Minerva (Now Wave / Off With Their Heads @ Islington Mill)
Patterns (Mind On Fire / This City Is Ours Stage @ The Old Pint Pot)
PINS (Now Wave / Off With Their Heads @ Islington Mill)
1. You're playing this year's Sounds From The Other City, what can people expect from your show, and your music?
PINS: Howling
2. What are your thoughts on Sounds From The Other City as an event? What are you looking forward to the most about attending?
PINS : Its great every year and we’re looking forward to getting wild with everyone
3. There's a plethora of up and coming talent at this year's festival- what other acts would you recommend our readers to see?
PINS: All the babes on the now wave/off with their heads stage, plus Great Waves, Brown Brogues, and Base Ventura.. Also biglove for the Panoply girls. Looking forward to Room’s performance.
4. Looking forward through the rest of 2012, what other plans do you have?
PINS: More PINS road trips!
Regal Safari (Drowned In Sound / Grey Lantern, upstairs @ The Black Lion)
Klaus Kinski (Trash-O-Rama @ The Rovers Return)
PLUS .... Verity Susman, previously of Electrelane, will be playing at Islington Mill ....!
Get the full line up right here.
Thursday, 5 April 2012
Will the real Niallist please step forward ...?
The Nialiist is one of those enviously hyper-productive modernists: a musician, blogger, party organiser, remixer etc etc... But just who IS the real Niallist, or better yet, who the hell does he THINK he is? Let's get him...!
Photo by Nickie
How did you get into music and parties and what motivates you to bring new things to the scene?
I've been into music since I was a child but I've been DJing and putting on nights since the late 90s when I lived in Glasgow. The music scene there is very healthy and it taught me a lot - people there take the music very seriously and can be pretty harsh, but it forces you to up your game all the time.
I'm part of a night in Glasgow called Menergy, which is a drag-and-disco party, and when I moved to Manchester a few years ago I knew immediately that this was the perfect city to do something similar. We had put on a vogue ball in Glasgow and when I met Joe Spencer we decided to put one on here too. That was our first party, Vogue Brawl at Legends in January of 2011, which was a big success and that basically was the birth of Tranarchy, our art/music/parties collective.
Tranarchy is all about creating a safe space for all the freaks and weirdos to come together and have a good time to some great music. As the name suggests, it's very drag and queer-oriented, and we're also into putting on parties in unusual locations, like our recent outlaw tram party Tramarchy:
Tell us three singles/albums/videos/artists that inspire you to do what you do.
1)...Daft Punk, Homework
This was the record that made me think I could make music myself without having to rely on a band, I just needed to get some boxes and pump them up! Homework also acted as an amazing crash course in Chicago house, Detroit techno and New York disco. I think this album changed an entire generation's musical lives, and you can still hear its influence fifteen years later.
2)... anything at all by Missy Elliot
Missy is such an inspiration – she's always pushing the envelope in visual and musical terms, while remaining accessible and unpretentious. To me Missy is the artist who represents that golden age a few years back when chart-topping pop music was genuinely bizarre. She's also representing for all the big peeps who consider themselves to be ‘freaks’!
3)... Azealia Banks, ‘Liquorice’
I think I'm falling in love with Azealia Banks. ‘Liquorice’ is the follow up to last year's dance floor smash ‘212’ and is basically just her rapping over a track by the house producer Lone. I'm impressed that she picked this track to rap over, and her flow is fresh and unique. It's the return of hip-house! I'm hoping her album is this good…
Share three of your own musical creations with us that you're most proud of, or that say most about you.
1) My current album AKA is available now as a free download at akamixtape.com – everyone should go grab a copy! There are loads of guests on there, including Cherie Lily, Yo Majesty, Scream Club, Beth Ditto, Andrew WK and rappers from the ‘homo-hop’ scene. Musically it's got quite a hip-hop vibe, but crossed with my usual electro-funk and Chicago house influences.
2) I've put together a mix for my new club night starting on Friday at Night & Day on Oldham St. The night is called Bang The Box and is all about the 808, the 909 and the 303! There's 44 tracks in 52 minutes on this, covering old skool rap, freestyle electro, Chicago house and newer things like New Orleans sissy bounce and the modern vogue/’cunty beats’ scene.
3) And here's an oldie but goodie - this is my single ‘The Hots’ which was released on the respected techno/electro label Dissident about three years ago. It's heavily influenced by hi-nrg producer Bobby O, and also a bit of the Human League, but slowed down and with way more sleaze:
Tell us three events we should be excited about and WHY, damnit!
Well, firstly my new night Bang The Box which is Friday 6th April at Night and Day. I'll be DJing all night long playing my favourite tunes (booty-bass meets acid house meets disco) and mixing things up on Ableton with a few added drum machines for extra funkiness. Those boxes will get banged!
The following Friday it's the UK live debut of New York's vogue queen Cherie Lily, at Kraak Gallery in the Northern Quarter, presented by Tranarchy. We've been hammering Cherie's single ‘Werk’ at all our events because it's a floor-filling modern classic (‘i-i-i-i-icon!’) so to have her over to perform it live is gonna be very special! Also Cherie's husband Andrew WK might put in a wee appearance…
April 27th sees Trouble At T'Mill at Islington Mill, event curated by Trash-O-Rama, where I will be playing alongside the Drunk At Vogue posse, which will be a lot of fun and which I am looking forward to.
And if I can just squeeze one more event in, I wanna plug Hunx And His Punx performing live at Islington Mill on Sunday May 13th. Myself and Kurt Dirt are preparing a very special Tranarchy live show in support that will feature drag queens, leather priests, motorbikes and more...
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