Sounds From The Other City.
When: 1st May 2016, 3pm until late
Where: Salford, Greater Manchester
£: Tickets cost £25 and are available from Islington Mill on the day. Advance tickets are sold out.
What is it?
Salford’s celebration of new music, art and performance, Sounds From The Other City, will return Sunday 1st May, showcasing the best in new and forward-thinking music across 16 stages.
From Gwenno’s cosmic pop and London MCs Flohio and Cassive, to 2016’s hottest new band, Pumarosa, SFTOC is a festival created for and by music lovers. Following last year’s collaboration, the BBC Philharmonic and Ex-Easter Island Head will join forces once again for a one-off performance in Salford Cathedral. Other highlights will include Chrononautz’s outsider techno, avant garde folk from Laura Cannell, and dazzling pop from former Race Horses frontman, Meilyr Jones.
New for 2016, there will be stages co-curated with Café Oto (at Islington Mill with Fat Out), The Quietus (at The Kings Arms with Grey Lantern), Heavenly Records (First Chop Brewing Arm) and The White Hotel (at the Old Pint Pot).
Puma Rosa at SFTOC (Photo: Hollie Fernando)
Venues such as churches, art galleries, breweries and old mills will be as much a part of the experience as the music and art. Yet all is not quite as it seems, as a strange and spectacular occult theme will manifest itself in visual artist himHallows‘ stage and set designs across the festival site. Impromptu performances and costumes will appear throughout the day, and there will even be a haunted Sea Captain’s Ball at midnight.
Elsewhere, festival goers will be able to witness the birth of SFTOC TV, and tune into online radio giants NTS, who will join SFTOC for a one-off Sunday broadcast. There will be loads of sumptuous street food and an ale-extravaganza in a new space at Regent Trading Estate, by leading craft beer experts, Port Street and Cloudwater.
A major draw for this year’s festival will be the ramped up afterparties. From Meat Free’s house and techno showdown, including live acts Monoak and Perseus Traxx, to an underground club vibe in the Gallery space at Islington Mill, there will be something to please all. DJs from party promoters Faktion will be joined by live club sets from lo-fi dream-weaver Teresa Winter and visceral dance machine Blood Sport, with full live band. Festival goers will be able to dance ’til dawn with The White Hotel at the Old Pint Pot, while Night Fantasy will close the show at First Chop brewery, with Paul Thomson from Franz Ferdinand playing a vinyl disco set.
More info: www.soundsfromtheothercity.com