High Voltage

Describing themselves as a gang of renegades on a cold, dark, night, Kassidy make more sound with just their acoustic guitars than many bands could make with a room filled with drums, bass and electrics. I spoke to Barry, the bands prime motivator ahead of their recent Manchester show.

What are the major influences on your sound?
"Well, first off, each other. You look to each other for ideas because sometimes there’s a lack of enthusiasm and ideas in bands. We just egg...

Ahead of their second Manchester show, the first being with Surfer Blood last month, Funeral Party take time out to answer some questions from HV. They're over in the UK to play the world-renowned Download festival. And with their latest single 'New York Moves To The Sounds of LA' all over the radio things are looking pretty sweet for the LA based band.

So, starting right at the beginning, how did you guys meet?
We met in high school, toward the end, but we decided to form...

In town to promote her forthcoming album, Tiffany Page has landed a prestigious support slot with Hole. HV catches up with her before the show in Manchester for a few choice words...

HV: What can we expect from your new album, 'Walk Away Slow'?

TP: I'm really excited about it actually – there are so many songs that I really want people to hear, especially my friends. There are also songs which we haven't played live yet; we're playing one of the new songs, 'I am the...

Glasgow is often overlooked as a haven of creativity, battling constantly against its working class heritage and tales of deep-fried everything. However, beyond the lazy connections to such meagerness, lies a city that constantly produces musical gold. The latest gem to emerge from Scotland’s largest city is Sparrow And The Workshop, a three-piece folk-rock outfit who were lured by the beauty of this...

With their upcoming debut, Grappling Hooks and tour on the way, HV talk to North Atlantic Oscillation's Sam Healy about synthesisers, shoegazing and Steven Wilson.

HV: Alright Sam, thanks for speaking to us. What are you guys upto now?
Sam: The album comes out at the end of March, it's building up to that. [Then] a short tour for it, just a week. Hopefully we'll do another short tour of the UK followed by Europe and some festivals in the summer. We've nearly finished our...

Manzur and Pete met at Keele University, and through their love of electronic music and passion for sci-fi / fantasty movies they formed Futurecop! The duo are slowly building a reputation in Manchester. Though they've played all over the world, embraced by the growing disco-italo scene and rightly turning heads as a force to be reckoned with. Though, perhaps such a positive and warm sound doesn't quite fit our snow sodden city.

"We try to create a lot of emotion and passion...

When it comes to over-sexed, riff-based blues duos, Greater Manchester would perhaps not be the initial starting point for a search. Yet, hiding away in a scummy underground bar, amps turned obnoxiously loud, drums cracking like whips, you’re likely to find one of the regions best kept secrets; The Black Knights.

Tomas Pickford III (drums) and The Dark Reverend, Gary L Hope (guitar), readily admit to disliking each other. Onstage this distain explodes into a tense cacophony...

“Without music I’d go crazy”, confesses Dead Confederate’s bass player and co-songwriter, Brantley Senn before their J Mascis support slot. Singer/guitarist Hardy Morris jumps in, “Music’s a cool place right now. Artists and bands are coming up with the coolest stuff for a long time. It’s an exciting time for rock n’ roll.” HV finds out more about the Athens, Georgia youngsters…

Your songs seem to be heavily...

Something of an enigma on the local scene are Spokes. Only spotted playing the fierce angular rock music. Usually owls of the night. Yet responsible for frightening innocent fans of live music with bone-shreding sophistication.
Tell us Spokes, just a little bit about how such sonically testing music came to be: “We've been playing together for about three years now, we moved to Manchester two years ago and since then we've been gigging pretty heavily but the last few months have...

It may be cheesy to say there’s a romantic element to Heartbreaks’ music. But anyone who’s tracked their progress over the past twelve months will understand the sentiment. When HV asks how the band met, the response  - “The Lonely Hearts Column under: ‘Inevitable Heirs to Nothing in Particular.” – may be seen as a casual in-joke quoting The Smiths, but it underpins the bond the band have forged, and the confidence their music...