IN THE CITY - The international music convention

For the past 15 years the annual In The City international music convention has given the world its first taste of many alternative artists who have since gone onto become established names - PLACEBO, MUSE, COLDPLAY, ARCTIC MONKEYS, SNOW PATROL & DAFT PUNK to name just a few. This year IN THE CITY (27th - 31st October) took place in Manchester: 70 venues & 800 bands, artists & DJ`s!



ITC has built up a reputation as the worlds best unsigned music event. Over the years they have been responsible for discovering unsigned bands like Oasis / Elastica (1992), Drugstore (1993), The Chemical Brothers / Placebo / Kula Shaker (1995), Daft Punk (1996), Coldplay (1997), The Darkness (2002), The Subways / The Longcut (2004) and Nine Black Alps / Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. / Arctic Monkeys (2005). Since its invention 15 years ago, ITC has also helped launch the careers of Radiohead, Placebo, Björk, Coldplay, Oasis, Baby Bird, Suede, Doves, Foo Fighters, Muse, Snow Patrol, and many, many more ...






This year was no exception, with a mix of new, upcoming and established bands playing over 4 nights at various venues across the city. Bands previously tipped by AAPA (see also our monthly playlists ) like DEAD DISCO were set to appear with iLiKETRAiNS at the Night & Day venue in Manchester on 29th October, while THE DYKEENIES played at the same venue the day before. ZERO 7 played a gig on the 27th October at the Manchester Academy and THE FRATELLIS played there the day after.




Some of the new bands who made an impression at this years ITC were:


LESSER PANDA
Fresh from recording with Hot Chip and remixing bands such as Klaxons, Lesser Panda are creating a buzz in London with their new monthly residency set to be the new London home of the burgeoning indie-rave scene.



FREEMAKER
After gaining a reputation as one of the most exciting unsigned live bands in the UK, Liverpool’s Freemaker are well into negotiations having been offered a six-figure Publishing deal. In the last 6 months Freemaker have toured extensively with Echo & The Bunnymen



THE HUMAN VALUE
An upcoming band from the USA who have been described as Curve meeting Depeche Mode, and by others that they sound akin to Siouxsie & The Banshees, Talking Heads, Blondie and The Ramones; THE HUMAN VALUE are indeed everything good about the ‘80s – however, they are no retro band. In fact, THV’s first single release “Give Me” has been mixed by Grammy award-winner Neal Pogue who’s work includes hit punk band The Tranpants, Pink and Outkast. Their critically acclaimed self titled debut album has just been released on Big Deal Records.
You can check them out at: http://www.myspace.com/thehumanvalue




BRICOLAGE
Taking their cues from the sights and sounds of the golden era of Postcard records; taught guitars, wry lyrics, joyful melodies and an arresting line in Argyll jumpers! - A new band from Scotland who have just signed to the same label as Field Music
You can check them out on MySpace at: http://www.myspace.com/bricolagetheband



NEW WORLD RECORD
Inspiration from their love of American bands such as Wilco & Nada Surf but at times recalls the likes of DOVES with an angular twist of Bloc Party. You can check them out at: www.newworldrecord.net




OUTFIT FAUX
An Australian three-piece whose unique guitar-driven electronic sound is earning them a reputation as an exciting, innovative live act. Often drawing comparisons to Massive Attack and Radiohead, they combine the intricacies of electronic artists with strong song structure, memorable melodies and direct lyrics.



SNOWFIGHT IN THE CITY CENTRE
An indie band from Manchester who are influenced by the likes of New Order, David Bowie and Sigur Ros. Since the summer they have been building up a really good live reputation.



SUZUKI METHOD
Formed in Salford (Greater Manchester) out of a need for musical progress amidst the post-Oasis Mancunian hangover, Suzuki Method fuse together a blend of black dance music tainted with jagged guitars, fierce beats and soaring melodies to create unique landscapes.



PARIS MOTEL
"Eerie, filmic and lush: London sextet Paris Motel's string-powered mini movies have been making audiences all over the UK fall in love with them." - NME. You can check them out at: www.parismotel.co.uk




THE ANSWERING MACHINE
A new 3-piece band from Manchester who went down a storm. So much so that during their gig people were forced to look in through the window from the street! We featured their song "Oh Christina" in our monthly playlist, while "The Hold Up" was released as a single in October on High Voltage Records. You can check them out at: http://www.myspace.com/theansweringmachine










Our NEW BANDS section which has been running since early 2006 has more info about some of the bands mentioned above (including MySpace details) and is way way ahead of the majority of Dutch publications when it comes to announcing new and upcoming bands!



IN THE CITY takes place each year around September / October in Manchester, England.
It is regarded by the music industry as the premier new music event in the world.
For more info then go to: http://www.inthecity.co.uk/index.php




The photo gallery of this event from the BBC can be found at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/entertainment/music/in_the_city/index.shtml



© AAPA – November 2006



Info about ITC2007 and how you can attend or take part as an artist/band will appear - > HERE