Hey! Other Lives
Last August, Oklahoma’s Other Lives produced Tamer Animals, one of our favourite albums of the year. They also blew away audiences at the Deaf Institute twice, and have recently finished touring the US with Radiohead. Ahead of their appearance at Academy 3 this Thursday, 5 April, we caught up with the band to ask about Liz Green, The Magnetic North, Steve Reich and parking meters…
This is your third visit to Manchester in quick succession. Have you managed to see anything besides the inside of the Deaf Institute? And are you looking forward to a change of scene?
Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to explore Manchester yet – it’s usually in and out for us. The Deaf Institute is actually pretty cozy, but we’re always up for exploring when there’s time.
Hey! Paul Thomas Saunders
We’ve been trying for ages to book Leeds’ Paul Thomas Saunders. His debut EP, last year’s Lilac And Wisteria, was a big highlight for us, reminding of the warbling delights of Cocteau Twins and quite rightly featuring in our end-of-year list. Ahead of his appearance on our stage at Sounds From The Other City on Sunday 6 May, we caught up with Paul…
You’re playing this year’s Sounds From The Other City in May. For the uninitiated, what can people expect from your show, and your music?
I’ll be playing the show with my live band The Fever Dreams. We all look fairly malnourished but together we can make quite a concordant racket. As for my music in general, an old friend of mine who writes for a blog recently used the phrase ‘Snore-core’. While he wielded it in the most derogatory of ways, I actually quite like it, and it’s quite fitting. Perhaps I’ll start a scene.
Hey! Joe Pug
From supporting Steve Earle at the Bridgewater Hall to playing the Kings Arms for us a couple of years ago, American singer-songwriter Joe Pug already has links to our fair city. Ahead of his headline debut here – an intimate, likely sell-out show at the Castle next month – we caught up with Joe to ask a few important questions…
Hey Joe, what are you up to right now?
Eating egg tacos.
You’ve visited Manchester a couple of times already. What do you know of the city?
I’m a devoted fan of Abraham Lincoln’s life. His connection to your city has always struck me as beautiful. That an American president would directly appeal not to a foreign government, but a foreign people, that seems unprecedented and, given the current state of global politics, unrepeatable.
Oh… and the Curry Mile. That’s my jam.
Hey! Manchester’s favourite records of 2011
This year has been a great one at Hey! Manchester towers: we’ve promoted 48 gigs, helped organise two festivals – and listened to a whole heap of excellent records. Here are our favourites…
- Destroyer – Kaputt. A firm fixture since its release in June, and we see it’s getting the kind of recognition it deserves. Hopefully next year we might get a chance to see Destroyer live.
- King Creosote & Jon Hopkins – Diamond Mine. The best thing King Creosote has recorded so far? We think so.
- Metronomy – The English Riviera. Twelve tracks of pop fun.
- Bon Iver – Bon Iver. Back-to-back great albums now. Let’s hope he doesn’t develop a taste for world music, like Iron & Wine.
- Wild Beasts – Smother. Not quite at the same level as Two Dancers, but a grower of a follow-up.
- Other Lives – Tamer Animals. Much more subtle than their live show. One of the best new bands we’ve heard this year.
- Josh T Pearson – Last of the Country Gentlemen. A great late-night records, in the spirit of early Low.
- M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming. Possibly the band’s break-through album. Looking forward to hearing it live.
- Beirut – The Rip Tide. A majestic return to form from Zach Condon and band.
- Tune-Yards – W H O K I L L. Not a patch on her live show, but still one of the best albums of this year.
- Yuck – Yuck. Featuring classic songwriting in the vein of Teenage Fanclub and Dinosaur Jr.
- Grouplove – Grouplove. Full of energy and fun.
- Paul Thomas Saunders – Lilac and Wisteria. The perfect hazy morning soundtrack.
- Jens Lekman – An Argument with Myself. A playful return after a four-year absence.
And there are a few albums from last year that have continued to be on heavy rotation throughout 2011…
- Villagers – Becoming a Jackal
- Twin Shadow – Forget
- The Radio Dept. – Clinging to a Scheme
- Allo Darlin’ – Allo Darlin’
- Hot Chip – One Life Stand
If you like the sound of any/all of that lot, give them a try on our handy Hey! Manchester best of 2011 Spotify playlist.
Hey! Willy Mason
It’s with great excitement that we’re welcoming Mr Willy Mason, the esteemed New York singer-songwriter, to our stage at this year’s Sounds From The Other City festival. We thought we’d build up the anticipation further by catching up with Willy in the meantime…
Hey Willy, how’s it going? Where are you and what are you doing at this very moment?
I’m in the US doing boring things getting ready for my trip overseas. While I was on tour the phone got shut off and there’s no hot water. My bus needs new brake-lines and my girlfriend’s truck just got towed away. Spring is a very exciting time of year. As soon as I get all this figured out I might get to record some stuff for tour but it’s not looking so good since I’m flying out on Friday, thanks for asking. Continue Reading » Hey! Willy Mason