January What's The Alternative in The News

Manchester Evening News :
Neat.
click here to see on their website

Reject corporate pop and revel in true independence.

Salford chanteuse Turner is ear catching, eye catching and described as "One to watch" in John Robb's Louder Than War website; Turner invites you to sample her excellence in wistful melancholic joy.

Meanwhile Manchester's The Speed Of Sound continue to ply their original music that manages to cross the Velvet Underground with The Jam and Neil Young with Siouxsie & The Banshees in their own idiosyncratic manner.

Live from 9pm 

With DJ after the live music continuing til late

£7 (£4 concessions)

Turner: This is Turner... Born and bred in Audenshaw Tameside, Turner was introduced to the world with music coursing through her veins & even as a young girl was spoon-fed delicious melody's from the greats such as Dusty Springfield, Scott Walker, Blondie, The Beach Boys to name but a few!

After moving up the road to Salford & a chance meeting with Guy Garvey at a recording studio Louise was asked to appear on the Mercury Prize-winning & platinum-selling album 'The Seldom Seen Kid' with Elbow from then on Turner made many Manchester connections with even Peter Hook asking to jam sometime!

Salford-based Louise then teamed up with the successful "Art&Soul" band DC Fontana from 2012-2013 and enjoyed a busy action packed year gigging around the country, appearing at numerous venues including the 100 Club London and Euro YeYe festival in Spain and receiving fantastic reviews for the bands EP Pentagram Man which was produced by Julian Cope's Guitarist Donald Ross Skinner & working closely with 60's legend Don Fardon.

She already enjoys a successful career as an in-demand session singer...& with a string of collaborations and guest appearances on tunes featuring Primal Scream's Denise Johnson, Manc Poet and songwriter Edward Barton, Bluebird Kid Clark & The Electric Stars.

Indeed, her crystalize vocals and powerful lungs have appeared on numerous records but despite her prowess as a much sought-after studio singer this Salford Chanteuse decided to step out on her own with her debut Minin Album This Is Turner.

Turner has had an action packed 2014 building her platform and becoming the first female solo artist to sign with respected indie label Detour Records.

The 6 track album was produced by another respected Manchester face - Yves Altana (The Chameleons/I Am Kloot/Mark Burgess) and showcases the many sides of Turner, all part of her vintage charm, one minute classic Dusty, the next epic Scott Walker style ballads & just for good measure a track that could easily fit into the next Bond Film.

Ear catching, eye catching and described as 'One to watch' in John Robb's Louder Than War Turner invites you to sample her excellence in wistful melancholic joy.
www.thisisturner.com
www.facebook.com/thisisturner.com
www.youtube.com/turnerfilm
www.twitter.com/turnersalford

"Turner is one to watch out for" - LOUDER THAN WAR

"With her platinum bob, panda kohl eyes and expressive voice... Part Dusty/Part Debbie Harry, she's very adaptable to many styles and sounds" - NO OTHER PRESS

"This is Turner! And Ladies & Gentlemen, we should be glad, For here is an artist who is far more than a singer songwriter. Turner is an icon in waiting. She is totally out of step with the mass produced, unit shifting pop of today and that Music Lovers is a good thing ! Turner's songs are dripping in melody & emotion. Lyrically she can be both disturbing and mysterious, without ever losing her knack for a killer hook. Her 2013 take  on bohemian suss, make her the perfect antidote to the TV conveyor belt of shame !" - TONY SALT (Manchester Underground Scene)

The Speed Of Sound:  Purveyors of original independent Manchester music since 1989 with various lineup changes along the way but always retaining the same guitar/vocal combination of founder John Armstrong, Kevin Roache is the bands longest serving bass player and the pair are now joined by 18 year old powerhouse drummer Owen Deane.

"A cool mix of punk and The Byrds 5th Dimension LP" - LORD LITTER Radio DJ Berlin Germany

"Have you ever wondered what it would be like to hear a erger between Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones and Lou Reed?... The vocals are dark and melancholy - they have an intense quality that makes me stop everything I'm doing and just listen. The music surrounding the words pulls me along like a tide, making me drift away from reality without feeling that I have an option" MUSICVSTHEWORLD BLOG

"Quite a modern folk rock feel with a definite dash of 80's post punk/alt thrown in... vocally there is a hint of Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, bit of Jagger, great sound. Musically the sound alternates between Rock; verging on heavy/psych to alt/punk with some great instrumentation along the way." MADFERRETS MUSICBLOG

http://www.reverbnation.com/thespeedofsound

http://thespeedofsound.bandcamp.com/

sneak-peek at the new video

Happy new calendar year and if you had seasonal festivities we hope they went well. We're getting 2015 underway with some editing; it's a change for us as its the first video we haven't done ourselves, our own technology didn't let us do what we wanted on this, so we had a chat with Music Videos Manchester, and Alistair has been very helpful. Today was the second editing session and we expect it'll be all wrapped in another one or two bursts. It's exciting to be working with Natalie Paddick from NMPE Style on this too her photographic images are really dynamic and fit superbly.
(See her website)
Here's a sneak-peek image taken this afternoon:

New Solar Year

We were still playing at midnight at Mono so could welcome in the new solar year properly, thanks to all the venues we've played over the last year, to all the bands and artists that have shared the stage with and thanks to everyone that came out to see us in 2014, bought a 7" single, or CD, or download, or badge-set, or watched a video or listened online. 2015 has some really cool stuff happening and we're really looking forward to it. Happy New Year.

Set List 20/21 December 2014:
The Changes
Only Everything
Uhrwerk
The Wargame
Checkered Land
Glide On By
Checkpoint Charlie
I Can't Say
Chalk Circle
Sit By The River
Maid Of The Grey
Girl On The Roof
Love
You've Got To Move Too
There's No One There

(and thanks to Miles Walton for these photographs, Owen was there playing too but we've not got any pics with him in - let us know if you got one)

mono

Our last gig of 2014 is at Mono in Chorlton on 20 December, DJ from 8pm, Luke Gallagher is doing an acoustic set too, There are three albums to pick from and we like to change the set round a bit so we've been working on some new songs and some old ones Owen hasn't done before and its looking like a 60% different set to our last gig its going to be a good night. Get down there if you can, its free entry.

live photos

Thanks to the audience, here are some Photos from our gig on 7Nov 

Set List:

I See You Everywhere That I Go

Checkered Land

Uhrwerk

The Wargame

Girl On The Roof

Maid Of The Grey

I Can't Say

Love

Sit By The River

There's No One There

Post gig, outside the Kings Arms

The Transmitters also played an excellent high energy set, big thanks to them too

Radio podcast from Berlin

It was a top gig with The Transmitters on Friday with a good turn out despite Manchester blocking all the roads and turning on their xmas lights. We're back at the Kings Arms Theatre in January, but more on that later. 
Thanks to Don Campau for featuring Maid Of The Grey in the No Pigeonholes show on Radio Marabu in Berlin (and broadcast across Europe). 
There's a listen link here we're on at 21'00" but there's some very cool stuff in there; for example if you've never heard Jimi Hendrix's Little Wing played on a cello? Now's your chance.

We were first played on the radio in Berlin on Lord Litter's Kentucky Fried Royalty show in late October 1989, just before the East/West frontier was opened. Twenty five years after the wall came down its cool to still be on the airwaves there. 
Radio Marabu has been going for 30 years its eclectic, risk taking and alternative if you're fed up with commercial radio blandness give it a go.

 You can stream Radio Marabu live here

Viva Magazine has done a preview feature on our 7Th November gig with The Transmitters: 

Manchester’s underground alternative band The Speed Of Sound are back in action after their Night and Day gig on 16^th October with their new drummer; 18 year old Owen Deane joined veterans of the independent music scene John Armstrong and Kevin Roache in their new pan-generational line-up.

 “Age isn’t important in music, it’s about enthusiasm and ability” said bass player Kevin.

John added that “Every time the line-up changes the songs evolve, everyone brings something different in their style. Pete (the last drummer) was sparse and minimal where Owen’s drumming hits you like a waterfall - it’s very different.”

Following on the success of their Manchester Fringe all day “What’s the alternative?” event, the band will be returning to the theatre at The Kings Arms in Salford to host a series of gigs featuring other independent and minor-label artists. The first is on 7^th November with visitors The Transmitters have a change from their tour slots supporting music legend Bruce Foxton’s From The Jam. David Lees, singer with the Bolton based four piece said“We are mixing new recordings at the moment and we will have some new songs for you in the Kings Arms set.”

The “What’s The Alternative?” nights will continue to run in alternate months throughout 2015. John from The Speed Of Sound said “It’s great to be back playing in such an intimate space as the Kings Arms Theatre again with some very exciting bands; some we’ve played with before, others are bands I’ve only seen from the audience. Music in the 21^stcentury is very much alive and well, we want people to realise there is an alternative out there.”

You can hear The Transmitters on Soundcloud HERE

The Speed Of Sound’s recent double-A single is on sale in Piccadilly Records and Vinyl Revival as well as on the internet via Bandcamp plus the usual digital retailers. 

You can listen it HERE

Advance tickets are available on the Kings Arms website HERE

You can see the full article on Viva's Site HERE

The Transmitters