"The thing about Manchester is . . . it all comes from here." It is still unclear whether Noel Gallagher was commenting on Manchester's infamous weather or referring to the burgeoning musical talents of the city. However, it appears that tonight we witnessed both.
Whilst the rain fell into the gutters surrounding Princess Street, there was something pretty special happening within the historic red brick walls of FAC 251, involving a handpicked bunch of the most talented, enthusiastic and emerging unsung musicians in the country.
Quite fittingly, the live launch of Resonance, an independently driven compilation featuring a selection of unsung bands, was held within the beating heart of the former Factory Records headquarters, known to many as the most famous independent record label in the world.
Throughout its existence, The Laboratory Project aimed to keep the independence of Resonance at the core of their beliefs, which was perfectly captured through the diverse range of artists on show, from an acoustic singer-songwriter to a seven piece reggae inspired band, with a dash of everything in between.
With the crowd shuffling in from the rain, 'Franco and The Dreadnought' took to the stage playing a selection of tracks from his brilliant and extremely underrated E.P 'Last Man Standing'. Back in his hometown after a recent sell out gig in York, Franco, complete with his nimble fingers, 'Jamie T' inspired melodies and infectious ability to draw the crowd into every word, looked pleased as punch with his nights work and so was everyone.
Having a been a recent feature on 'The Funky Moped', we recognise the amount of talent that 'Franco and The Dreadnought' have, as well as their ability to create an abundance of emotion by simply telling tales of the trivial scraps and scrapes that growing up in Manchester presents.
'Skeleton Suite'
Nevertheless, this performance was brimming with a range of quintessentially British and American influences, with "Nothing better than the English weather" being the offspring of a 'Kasabian' and 'Interpol' love affair. The monumental tones of "mediocre poetry" were simply unstoppable too, lurking within the shadows of a 'U2' inspired riff which eventually erupted into an epic crescendo of superb drumming and feedback, that was reminiscent of 'The Who'.
'Trevor Roots and The Collaborators'
With 'Skeleton Suite' setting such a high standard for the opening guitar outfit, it was a sigh of relief when professional groove makers 'Trevor Roots and Collaborators' filled the stage, quite literally too. The seven piece, playing their own brand of knee jerking roots reggae, brought a mountain of rhythm to the FAC 251 crowd, with everyone getting more and more horizontal the further their soulful set went on.
Being well established in the Manchester community, 'Trevor Roots and The Collaborators' tend not to sway too far from the well followed reggae pathway, by playing songs that harness the band's creativity, soulful vocals and energy, which ultimately witnesses them wielding the groove baton that their predecessors, 'Dennis Brown' and 'Bob Marley', had originally carried.
'Psyence'
The fourth act to take up the mantle was the appropriately named 'Psyence', a Stoke-on-Trent quartet who base their sound largely upon a variety of psychedelic and rock 'n' roll influences. It was safe to say that these guys were definitely the surprise in The Laboratory Project's Christmas cracker, with some brutal guitar riffs, hallucinating vocals and snaring hooks, they effortlessly pulled the crowd towards their psychedelic whirlpool of noise.
With a sound that follows a 'Tame Impala' blueprint, whilst keeping a beady eye on the noises of 'Cream' and 'The Stone Roses', 'Psyence's' unique trademark is within their song arrangement and structure, which is first rate, ultimately leading the crowd on a magical mystery tour of melody that often explodes into fruition.
'The Polyveldts'
Scouse indie rock 'n' roll wizards, 'The Polyveldts', became our penultimate band to take control of the baying crowd, and by rattling through a set which contained more power than a sixfinger shooter, this was effortlessly achieved. Having spent the majority of their music lives in and around Liverpool, and supplying support to 'The Bluetones' and 'The Las', it was clear why The Laboratory Project had selected them.
The crunchy and angular guitars on set opener "Oh Yeah" featured a flavour of 'Elastica', but their down to earth lyrics and rattling bass lines pointed the musical compass towards the well trodden path of fellow Liverpudlians, 'The Coral'. 'The Polyveldts' managed to pack enough punch and energy into their set they could easily be heard back down the M62.
'Turrentine Jones'
By the time tonight's headliner 'Turrentine Jones' took to the stage, the crowd had magnified in volume placing a mass of expectation on their sleazy blues shoulders, and it's clear that this Manchester based three piece lived up to every expectation. The swirling 'Booker T' inspired Hammond organ was at the forefront of their phenomenal set, with Julian's sultry vocals coming straight from the 60's, all of which was tightly underpinned by some extremely reliable drum and guitar work.
Recent releases "Show Me Mercy", "Slam the door" as well as new and exclusive Resonance track "Della May", are a world away from a traditional swaggering Mancunian outfit, but the sonics of 'Turrentine Jones' are effortless, refreshing and totally unique.
The fact that they recently picked up two gongs from the Exposure Music Awards and even peaked at number thirteen in the Australian charts is testament to their talents and future potential. If raw and rousing harmonies are your thing, then we recommend getting your eyes and ears wrapped around 'The Velvet Underground' influenced 'Turrentine Jones'.
So after six artists and a brief DJ set from 'The Watchmakers' clan, we had witnessed an unbelievable night of diverse, talented and very professional musicians who fuelled the crowd's enthusiasm in supporting unsung artists.
With the wry smile of Tony Wilson looking down on us all from the wall above, I'm sure he would've been proud of the efforts that have been witnessed within his old stomping ground tonight.
Remember to download the Resonance compilation featuring these artists and many more - Available from 31/12/2012 at all good digital outlets (iTunes, Amazon and Tesco) and some rubbish ones too.
Enjoy!
BF x
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