When Magma shut its doors on Oldham street almost two years ago, after serving Manchester’s creatives, students and book lovers for almost 20 years, many felt as if a part of the city’s heart had been lost. Tim Bell managed the shop from 2008 and he tells me about the challenges the independent magazine industry…
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There is something magical about the dance floor of a club. From the early days of house music in Chicago, techno clubs in Detroit and Berlin, and the UK’s rave scene in the ‘90s, comes a well-documented narrative of love, joy and euphoria. The dance floor is a space synonymous with the gathering of queer…
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In an interview with Loud and Quiet, Space Afrika’s Joshua Inyang and Joshua Reid were asked to talk about musicians they admire who have slipped under the radar. “Rat Heart is one of the UK’s most talented producers, hands down,” Inyang says. “Honestly, you go and speak to anyone in Manchester. And I think every…
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In November 2021, Northern Quarter bar Night & Day shared a post on their social media platforms concerning a Noise Abatement Notice that had been served by Manchester City Council. The Notice was the result of a new resident who had moved to the area during lockdown and filed a complaint, not the first the…
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As the anniversary of his father’s death approached, Wajid Yaseen searched for a set of cassette tapes holding recordings of his father singing naats, a form of Islamic devotional hymn. Listening to the tapes transported Yaseen back to his childhood and days he spent singing with his father. While reminiscing, he came across another set…
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Boy Harsher’s directorial debut, The Runner, is an intriguing project. The moody, Massachusetts-based electronic duo released their short film and its soundtrack together ahead of their US and European tour this year. It’s a beautifully shot horror set in the eerie prairies of middle America, interspersed with a meta documentary about the band’s recording process.…
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During Rainy Miller’s teenage years, grime ripped through Preston. Kids would write their own lyrics and send for each other on beats ripped from Limewire. “In every friendship group or every estate throughout the city, there was someone who had got hold of a USB microphone or managed to jank some recording software,” he says. …
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At a time when their formative moments are being stifled by the pandemic, Cathy Jain speaks to an introspective generation’s desire for authentic experiences. Sometimes we just wanna be some melodramatic teens, she reassures fans on green screen, a track from her debut EP artificial. The release explores the curiosity and naivety of youth and…
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You may have caught Blackhaine on the cover of Crack Magazine, or modelling for Vogue Italia. He’s a multidisciplinary artist – a dancer, choreographer and MC – recently involved in the choreography of Kanye’s West’s DONDA performance in Chicago. I first came across him performing in Manchester Collective’s Dark Days, Luminous Nights film. Blackhaine, real…
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A vintage, four-legged stereo system stands on a small stage in Central Library’s performance space. The audience gathered around it are invited to tune into late-night talk radio show Dream FM, whose presenter asks a deceptively simple question: “Where do you drift behind closed eyes?” Since August, residents from across Greater Manchester have been leaving…
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