News: A new Now Wave season begins

After a summer that saw us host our annual arena at the Parklife Weekender (with headline appearances from Crystal Castles and The Rapture) and join forces with our friends at Selective Hearing for some very special events at South (headlined by James Blake and Jacques Greene), we’re excited to be able to announce our full listings for Autumn and beyond. October alone sees us putting on over twenty events across four cities – including a Friday and Saturday double-header from G R E A T W A V E S, performing at The Bunker in Salford and The Sebright Arms in London, and the return of alt-J for two sold-out shows at Royal Northern College of Music. We’re also excited to be putting on our first events at Gorilla, a new Manchester venue opposite HMV Ritz, with a homecoming show for Everything Everything on the back of the band’s return single ‘Cough Cough’ and a Manchester exclusive leg of the ‘Drive Tour‘, which will see a screening of the 2010 blockbuster film followed by performances from some of acts on the films award-winning soundtrack, including College.

As well as hosting the return of previous Now Wave guests Death Grips, The Invisible, King Krule, Iceage and Chilly Gonzales (who plays two shows at RNCM, on the first weekend of December), we’re looking forward to bringing the upcoming likes of Diiv, Haim, Halls, Peace and Parma Violets to the city for some of the biggest shows to date. And on the rare occasion we’ll have a free evening, we’ll be playing records at The Warehouse Project and Carefully Planned events.

Subscribe to our Upcoming Events playlist on Spotify here. Tickets for all Now Wave events are available at See Tickets and Skiddle.

News: Why? headline Central Methodist Hall

Having signed to City Slang, WHY? have announced a return EP and we’re thrilled to be able to accompany that news with the confirmation of a tour date at Manchester’s Central Methodist Hall on Wednesday 10th October. The Californian quartet, led by master lyricist Yoni Wolf, are one of the most truly undefinable acts in current American indie, combining folk and hip-hop with some of the most honest and poetic lyrics around, and their new material looks set to continue that trademark formula into 2012.

WHY? release comeback EP ‘Sod In The Seed’ on August 13th. Though a limited-edition release, copies of the EP will be available at all live dates including their Manchester show in October.

Tickets for WHY? at Manchester Central Methodist Hall are now available from Skiddle and See Tickets.

News: Alt-j (∆) bring ‘An Awesome Wave’ to RNCM

Alt-j (∆) will be returning to Now Wave in October, for a special performance at Manchester’s Royal Northern College of Music. We’re hugely excited to be welcoming the band back, after their appearances for us at Sound Control and Islington Mill, and on our Parklife Weekender line-up.

Alt-j’s combination of folk, jazz, shuffling and swaying hip-hop drums, stunning vocal harmonies and orchestral backing marks them out as one of the most genre-defying forces in new, independent guitar music. Recalling the angular, unpredictable Field Music and the literary influences of Belle and Sebastian and The Decemberists (‘Breezeblocks’ references the ‘Wild Things’ of Maurice Sendak, while the chorus of recent single ‘Matilda’ uses quotations from the film ‘Leon’), Alt-j bring together a swathe of diffuse influences to stunningly unique effect on their debut album ‘An Awesome Wave’, which entered the UK Charts in the Top 20.

Interplaying between delicate acoustics and harsh, often jarring rhythms, Alt-j’s brisk vignettes are moving, gripping and often cinematic in their gradual development. The momentum created within each Alt-j track extends to the structure of their debut album ‘An Awesome Wave’: structured around a three-part tracklisting, trisected by increasingly melancholic interludes, the album as a whole reflects the meticulous arrangement that makes its individual tracks so affecting.

For an act with such a basis in non-conventional structures and shapes, their appearance within RNCM’s octagonal performance space will bring ‘An Awesome Wave’ to a venue that suits itself so perfectly. The show will feature a number of surprise elements and appearances to help bring the numerous layers of the album to life.

alt-J headline Royal Northern College of Music on Saturday 27th October. Tickets, priced £10, are available at http://altjband.com/tickets/

News: Jacques Greene for live show

Following our exclusive James Blake event earlier this month, we’re excited to welcome Jacques Greene and Koreless to South for another all-night clubnight event. Together with our friends at Selective Hearing and Idiosync we’ll be bringing the Canadian producer to Manchester for a full live set, supported by Glasgow’s Koreless and London’s Bobby Tank. Greene and Koreless have produced together, collaborating on the track ‘Arrow’ from Greene’s ‘Concealer’ EP, released on his own Vase label, so we’re naturally hugely looking forward to seeing both share a stage for our second event Now Wave event at South. Read the rest of this entry »

News: James Blake venue announced

Having initially announced tomorrow’s James Blake event as taking place at a secret venue, we’ve decided that now is the time to finally drop the details. For this special End of Term party (alongside our friends Hit & Run), we wanted to create an event as special as possible. With that in mind, we have brought together a unique pairing of venues for one night only.

Tomorrow night’s event will see us join forces with the city centre venues SOUTH and AVICI WHITE to create an extensive and never-seen-before supervenue, to host our line-up of James Blake and Trim, Riz MC, Hyetal, Selective Hearing, Will Orchard, Work Them and Naked Swing, as well as residents from Now Wave and Hit & Run.

Now, some logistical details:

The address for both clubs is South King Street, Manchester, M2 6DQ.

Both venues will be completely open and you will be free to move from one venue to another via their adjoining smoking area. This means that once you’ve entered the event, you won’t have to go outside and queue to see acts performing in the other venue. Both venues are kitted out with the best Funktion-One soundsystems available, ensuring this event will be up to our high standards and make for an unforgettable end to the University year.

All physical tickets will enter through AVICI WHITE. Everyone who purchased on Skiddle will enter through SOUTH. There will be no tickets on the door, please buy in advance if you want to come. In order to avoid missing nothing of this extra special night please arrive early.

News: Now Wave retire from promoting, begin new career in lost property returns

After last week’s New Sounds of the North extravaganza at Quay House, headliners Alt-J had such a good time they forgot to take all of their equipment home with them. Charged with returning their personalised music stand in time for their show in Birmingham last night, Wesley decided to up the ante and take said stand on a day trip to some of the most exciting attractions of the North West (including Formby beach and the electricity substation in Piccadilly Gardens). In the end, the band’s Birmingham date was cancelled after more equipment got left behind (this time courtesy of Air France’s baggage handlers) but Wesley and his new friend had a day to remember regardless.