Band on the Wall returns to Chapel Street’s biggest annual party, with a line-up of groundbreaking fresh new artists, including some picks from our in-house record label, Band on the Wall Recordings.
Fehdah
Spiritual daughter of Erykah Badu and Oumou Sangare, electronic cousin of Peggy Gou, Fehdah is a future-afro soul vocalist, producer and multi-instrumentalist, on the frontline of an emerging Irish hiphop and electronic music scene. An eclectic songwriter who draws on her love of Wassoulou music in forging an entirely new take on electronic soul.
Lovescene
Hot off the back of releasing their self-titled debut album, Lovescene bring their irresistibly rich mix of velvet RnB, groove-laden soul and driving floor filler to Salford’s Sounds from the Other City. Delivering in widescreen opulence, a direct link to their name which comes from band leader and vocalist Pops Roberts’ love of cinema, Lovescene found each other amidst the more soulful side of the Manchester club scene.
Mali Hayes
Mali Hayes has been simmering to the surface for a while now. Emerging from a Manchester jazz community that’s enjoying its own renaissance away from the much-reported on London scene, the vocalist and songwriter’s bittersweet neo-soul sound is trans-Atlantic – think initial progenitors such as Erkyah Badu, D’Angelo and Jill Scott – but is rooted in Manchester’s mixed communities and the different walks of life she encounters.
Contours
Contours new live set explores the percussive focused sound palette that the artist has honed since his debut release on Rhythm Section in 2015. The live material draws heavily on the minimalist, ambient and tuned percussion led compositions of his 2020 Balafon Sketches album.
Contours merges delay-soaked balafon and homemade instrumentation with polyrhythmic drum machine programming and interlocking synth lines. This rhythmic propulsion is underpinned by luscious dubbed out strings and sub heavy pressure, which all combine to take the listener on a rich sonic journey.
‘Compositions glow up to echoing inflorescence… It’s original music, full of detail, inhabited by good spirits’
(The Wire)