After smashing it in London, local favourites Manalishi return home to celebrate with a Manchester mini-festival. The show at The Night and Day Cafe will showcase some great live acts and celebrate the release of their debut Manalishi EP.
Manalishi came up on our radar last year and managed to pleasantly surprise us with a unique and bluesy set of original psychedelic tunes. As a result, they were shortlisted for the Salford Star Best Band Award. It's been all go since we last caught up with the lads, as frontman Dom Strett informs...
"We mostly worked non-stop on crafting our music to get to where we are and how we sound today" he says " We outgrew our very early roots very rapidly, moving from the more psychy based sound we had, to a more upbeat, faster, grungier sound. We've gone through changes in near enough every aspect a band can go through; line-up changes, image changes... but nonetheless we are as strong and ambitious as ever."
Refreshingly, their new track once again sonically wrong-foots us: Manalishi return turned up to eleven, with a powerful, grunge anthem. Even though the band formed at Pendleton College and the EP was recorded at Islington Mill, this offering seems more Seattle than Salford...
"Why Do They Talk to Me? is quite grungy as you say, and we guess this is the main stylistic characteristic that links our other tracks together, though the others on our upcoming EP do all have different sounds and vibes, from a more trashy/punky feel, to a more alt-rock vibe, through to a heavier/stoner rock type sound" he explains.
There's also a video to accompany lead track Why Do They Talk to Me?. Rather than see the promo as an awkward necessity, Manalishi immersed themselves fully in the experience... "The shooting of the music video for Why Do They Talk to Me? was a top experience" says Dom "We were helped greatly in arranging it by our friend Greg Dixon, who manages a label/promotions company called Psymmetry Records, which is definitely worth checking out as there's tonnes of amazing upcoming bands on their roster.
"The video was filmed by Miles Casey who managed to capture perfectly the daft ideas about mental asylums and lunatics we had in our heads, and also brought some really creative ideas to the table that really topped it off" he adds "We also had a couple of our friends come down and help out and make appearances in the video, and just everyone was generally open to weird and odd ideas and getting them filmed."
The Manalishi EP is launched at Night and Day Cafe 18th August, and the lads are promising that this will be a real celebration with a great line-up featuring top upcoming talent. One not to be missed!
The Night and Day Showcase
Featuring Manalishi, The Crooked Kings, Plain Sails and The Bleeding Violets
Saturday 18th August 8pm
Night and Day Cafe, Manchester
Tickets £5 advance/£6 door – click here for details
To check the video – click here
Words by Ian Leslie
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