We’re delighted to return to Levenshulme Market on Friday 29th May. It’s the first night market of the year in Levenshulme and we’ve put together a selection of bands to get the party going. Politburo and The Jungfraus will be joined by very special guests Bingo Harry and Luna Marada. More acts tbc and stage times to be announced soon.
Full details of the market are at www.levymarket.com/friday-special-night-market-29th-may/
Leonard Skully takes a look at the acts performing at Levenshulme Market on 21st March 2015.
Ladies and Gentlemen may I have your attention please? Gather round. Step right up, step right up! C’mon ladies and gentlemen gather round. Let me tell you all about the Fantastic Musical Cure-all Remedy Tent. Guaranteed to cure all ailments and give you unbelievable power. Yes my friends, it can give you the strength of a raging bull, the fortitude of a wild bear, the charm of a genuine Indian cobra! The Fantastic Musical Cure-all Remedy Tent will be pitching up on Levenshulme Market on 7th March and the brand new NQ Market on Stevenson Square on 15th March. Spectators will be delighted to know that they only have to bare witness to one of our amazing performers on that day to feel the benefits. Performers such as John Ainsworth, Helea Gimeno, The Jungfraus, The Bear Around Your Neck, Politburo and Chloé Sch. Don’t miss this rare opportunity. That’s Levenshulme Market on 7th March and NQ Market on 15th March. 12pm-4pm.
Leonard Skully, PhD
www.levymarket.com/ www.northernquartermarket.com/
www.johnainsworthmusic.com/
www.soundcloud.com/heleagimeno
www.facebook.com/thejungfraus
www.facebook.com/thebeararoundyourneck/
www.politburo.co.uk/
Available from www.theplaguedoctors.com
Available in record shops from 16th Nov 2014
“If David Lynch made boy-bands, they might be something like this – and the world would be a much better place for it” Why be credible when you can be incredible? This is the motto of The Plague Doctors, the UK’s wrongest pop act.
Paul, John and Paul first met at 2am outside the Chapel of Love and Loathe in the Lost Vagueness field at Glastonbury in 2004. Unfortunately, they didn’t realise that they had met, so it wasn’t until 2007 that they reconvened in Manchester and decided to form a band. Originally styling themselves as The Fucking Kings, they invented the genre of post-karaoke. After a disastrous first gig at the Tiger Lounge bar in Manchester, they decided to uninvent the genre of post-karaoke and actually learn to play their songs on instruments. It was also agreed around this time that The Fucking Kings was not an appropriate name for a band. Swiftly re-emerging as The Plague Doctors, the band adopted their trademark white masks and red capes and began terrorising the pubs and clubs of northern England with their demented pop stylings. Songs such as Snipping Off Your Face, We Killed Everyone at Radio 1 and Diana 2.0 became fast favourites among a hardcore fanbase of around 12 people. Audiences were shocked, confused and entertained in equal measure by the band’s heady mix of synth-powered pop melody, frightening lyrical content and gleeful disregard for musical convention. In 2009 the Doctors put their song Wasting My Time forward as an entry for that year’s Eurovision Song Contest, which resulted in them being made fun of by Andrew Lloyd Webber on national television. Other notable public appearances have seen the band writing a jingle for an 11-year-old football correspondent on Scott Mills’ Radio 1 programme and covering Earth Song at a Michael Jackson tribute concert.
A series of stolen weekends and evenings over the last four years have seen the Doctors come together whenever possible to write and record their music. The result of those sessions is The Plague Doctors’ debut album, On The Moon. It collects the band’s most popular songs from their Manchester years, plus a couple of new tracks for good measure. It is 27 minutes long.
The Doctors appreciate that very few people outside of the band’s hardcore fanbase will have any interest in owning On The Moon, but they had to get it out of their systems. On The Moon is available on CD, vinyl and as an mp3 download. It is recommended that you buy the sumptuously-packaged vinyl version, as the band gets more money that way. Vinyl: £12.99 CD: £4.99 Mp3: £2.99 In addition, the Plague Doctors will be coming out of hibernation to play a number of dates in support of the release of On The Moon, the first of which will take place at Kraak Gallery in Manchester on Saturday 15 November 2014. If you want to see the Plague Doctors now that they’re a bit older and fatter, book your tickets now.
“They were not quite massive ants; not quite huge buzzards; nor were they decomposing human corpses. They were something I cannot and must not recall.” Pop Impresario Jonathan King
11th Oct @ Kraak, Manchester
On several occasions in my career, I have involved myself with ‘grand musical acts’: that is, the bringing together of different artists and musicians to affect a particular alchemy. With varied results have I laboured, and now, once again, I bring to you something which I hope, shall titillate your senses in a fashion that you might consider unusual. I call it The Manchester Cunning Folk Festival. The location will be that almost antediluvian seeming alleyway outside of the Kraak Gallery: a place that has become soaked with memories and emotions of nearly every kind.
We will witness poetry and noise from the minds behind PARADOX and music from a host of the finest audio magicians. The alleyway, it is my hope, will take on the quality of a bazaar, as Manchester’s artists come together and attempt to create something of beauty.
And why the name: Cunning Folk Festival? These are strange times, at least to this observer. Look to your artists, for they will fulfil your needs when times seem barren. Be wily, like a fox. Is there an Adversary? Perhaps, perhaps not. These people…these ‘cunning folk’ shall come together and show you a glimpse of what is to come. Gird yourself.
– Leonard Skully, Phd
To have a chance of winning a copy of every Leonard Skully Records release to date, as well as upcoming release ‘On The Moon’ by The Plague Doctors, share this status on facebook and ‘like’ Leonard Skully PhD.
Two other winners will be picked at random from the facebook followers of Leonard Skully Phd and will win a copy of a Leonard Skully Records release of their choice.
Good Luck!
www.facebook.com/LeonardSkullyPhd
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Leonard Skully Records, Manchester, UK.
Download for free the new virtual double A Side ‘Sally Came To See’ and ‘Kali Madhya’ by Politburo. ‘Kali Madhya’ also features artist Florian Fusco who is playing the Random Appropriation Synth, which he invented.
LSFD5:
Louder Than War Review of Last Days of Butterfly 9/10
“Stranger Son’s latest album combines epic post Factory sounds with poetic set pieces all dusted in organic industrial themes and wrapped in a post punk post rock vision. A rare record and a soundtrack fit for the north west capital.”
Incendiary Magazine Review of Last Days of Butterfly
“…this new LP from Stranger Son is a damned good listen; brilliantly paced, intelligent and with atmosphere enough to satisfy any glum head.”
The Quietus Interview Stranger Son’s Gareth Smith
“With this album, I wanted something more immediate. I didn’t want to be in a studio trying to insert reverb or tones. I wanted the atmosphere there from the start. We found Victoria Baths, which was perfect as it was tiled, so the noise flew around everywhere. It wasn’t a gimmick thing and it certainly wasn’t funded in any way. The album was recorded during one afternoon and most tracks were two takes.”
Terrascope Review of Last Days of Butterfly
“This is a great album that will reveal more layers each time it is played…”
‘The Jungfraus’ album by The Jungfraus
Released on 9th December 2013
www.thejungfraus.com
On Monday 9th December 2013 The Jungfraus released their eponymous debut album. Recorded in the most part live between October 2012 and June 2013, it features 9 hypercoloured psych pop odyssey’s written and played by the group and produced by Nick Alexander and mastered by Dominic James. The recordings capture the eclectic energy of the band’s live shows and form an upbeat and adventurous introduction. So come marvel at a host of oddities; from an intergalactic ‘Miracle Man’, fallen cowboys haunted by women on the back of their eyelids, the ocean witch ‘Sally Salamander’ and ‘The Watcher at The Door’.
Buy 12″ LP here (includes digital download link)
Buy CD here (includes digital download link)
The Jungfraus are a five piece psychedelic pop band from Manchester, England. Formed in spring 2012, the group is led by charismatic songwriting team Mick and Joe, who share brilliantly contrasting lead vocals and interweaving Byrdsian guitars. This alongside the telepathic rhythm section of Ste Grimes on bass and Liam Farr’s thunderous drums, coupled with the strange and swirling paisley tinged Hammond of Jonny Rathbone makes for a sound both vintage and unique.
Since their formation the group have gained a reputation for their enthralling, energetic, and surprising live shows, combatting the all too familiar po-faced indie routine with a compelling strut and rock and roll showmanship which demands attention. Early highlights include frequent free secret shows across their hometown, buzzing headline slots in London and a residency at Bar Lubitch and radio play in Los Angeles, USA, during August 2013.
Their sound has drawn comparisons to everyone from Love, The Byrds and early Barrett-era Floyd to the Brian Jonestown Massacre and Super Furry Animals. Their songs are classic and catchy as they are melodic and intriguing.
In this month’s episode Leonard discusses:
Vulkano
The Things
Bobbie Peru
Golden Lab
MV&EE
Heather Leigh
Michael Flower
The Doozer
Acrid Lactations
Saucer Wisdom
Terminal Cheesecake
GNOD
BONG
DIE HEXEN
TRANARCHY
RAIKES PARADE
BRATAN
DREAM EYES
RIVER SLAUGHTER
ROSANNE ROBERTSON
DEBBIE SHARP
AULO’S FIRST REED
GARY FISHER
MATT DALBY
2 KOI KARP
The Jungfraus
Stranger Son
Politburo
Druss
Krazaar