Live Picks (Apr '19): Hosted by Sam Gregory
The AlgoMech Festival of Algorithmic and Mechanical Movement returns to Sheffield in May. "AlgoMech is a strange one, but coming to its third edition it's slightly clearer what it is," founder Alex McLean told Now Then. "It's about bringing performing and textile arts together to explore the patterns that reveal their making."
I asked Alex what we could expect from this year's festival. "We'll start on Friday with a day of discussion around dancing and braiding, bringing together textile artists, dancers and robot-makers," he said. "Then Saturday is our big party that we're calling Algo/Mesh. It's a development of Algorave, a two-room event with one room for dancefloor bangers and one for more chilled out experiments.
"There'll also be things happening in the Winter Garden, including maypole dancing with handmade robots." One to watch out for.
Thu 4 April | Yellow Arch | £10.10
Touring new album Do Not Be Afraid, gyil player Bex Burch returns to Sheffield with her band who blend jazz with Ghanaian sounds and minimalist music. Support comes from Captain Avery and His Cosmic Triceratops, plus intriguing Leeds quartet Beyond Albedo.
Fri 5 April | Yellow Arch | £15.54
"We try all our ideas out for a live audience," afrobeat ensemble Nubiyan Twist told Now Then in March. For this Opus gig they'll be playing from fiery new album Jungle Run, with support from hip-hop star Otis Mensah and DJ sets from Vibrations resident Moonmonkey and Mango Disco's The Empress.
Call Super / Shanti Celeste / Peach
Fri 5 April | Hope Works | £16.90
A back-to-back from three of the hottest names in house music. This is especially true of Peach, who's still riding the wave of her debauched Boiler Room session in Manchester. Support comes from residents Ifeoluwa and Lo Shea, as well as local duo Wow & Flutter and the ever-dependable Groundwork crew.
Sat 6 April | Hatch | £5
A night celebrating women, non-binary and queer musicians of all genres and sensibilities. There's DJ and flute action from Emily J, noise producer Rosemary Murdag MacLean and Now Then writer Jack Buckley with his Apples of Pain synth-pop project. BYOB.
Sat 6 April | Secret location | £11
After a unique performance for a load of journos in the salubrious surroundings of The Megatron, singer-songwriter Scutt launches her new single 'Stevie' with a full band at an intimate house party. Location to be revealed to ticket buyers. Support comes from Joey Macphail.
Sat 6 April | City Hall | £21.28 (£5.60 students and U19s)
The Royal Northern Sinfonia and the Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus join forces for one of the most powerful works in the western repertoire. Andrew Griffiths takes the conductor's baton for mature Bach's take on the Lutheran Mass, with its triumphant flourishes and thrilling arias sung by soprano Fflur Wyn.
Wed 10 April | Picture House Social | £13.20
Out of the thousand points of light that emerged from the grime scene of the early noughties, south London's Tirzah is among the brightest. Her album Devotion is a collaboration with childhood friend Micachu, featuring luxurious slow jams and melancholic future R&B.
Mon 15 April | Delicious Clam | £5.50
Irma Vep is a vehicle for Welsh songwriter Edwin Stevens, whose languid songs and introspective lyrics echo the rootlessness of seventies Neil Young. Support comes from Jayne Dent's electronic project Me Lost Me and guitarist R.Loomes.
Spill Gold / Isis Moray / Feudalism Now!
Tue 16 April | Hatch | £5.50
Spill Gold are a Dutch dream-pop duo, taking cues from krautrock and Cocteau Twins. There's also the dark synth bangers of Isis Moray and Feudalism Now!, a shape-shifting collective of musicians playing two notes a night at a maximum speed of 110bpm. The current notes are A# and D#, and it's BYOB.
Wed 17 April | City Hall | £31.92
This month's interviewee is one of Nashville's pre-eminent songwriters, both for her own albums and for artists including Etta James and Shania Twain. She's touring the UK with her Southern Fried String Quartet, re-imagining her classic songs with a sound she describes as "like riding a wave".
Fri 19 April | Corporation | £16.50
Melodic metal out of the mighty city of Glasgow, with members drawn from countries across Europe. Playing music from their upcoming concept album, the five-piece will be joined by the towering riffs of Mob Rules and Stockholm heavy rockers Degreed.
Kraftwerk: Klassics, Kovers & Kurios AV Set
Sat 27 April | The Academy | £14
After tackling Aphex and Boards of Canada, the inimitable DJ Food presents another of his audio-visual extravaganzas, a ninety-minute megamix of covers, rarities and oddball remixes with visuals drawing on Kraftwerk's back catalogue. Support from Jive Turkey's Winston Hazel.
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