Multifaceted musical collective available for weddings, parties and corporate events across the North West.

James Christy is a singer/songwriter from the north of England. He blends a mixture of Pop, Rock and Funk combining influences from Stevie Wonder, Maroon 5 and John Mayer. Earlier this year the James Christy Band went into Castle Rock Studios in Alderley Edge and recorded a Live EP. 

This year James has been performing across the northwest at many local and national festivals including Headlander, Upton FAB, Frequencies etc. Through this time James has been able to further hone and develop his Songwriting and showcase his ability to craft a catchy hook. John Hart Trombone, Guitarist and Songwriter for the global band Edward II says "James melodies would put him alongside most of the top 40 if it weren’t for the extra depth to his lyrics”. Christian Greenhalgh singer/songwriter from Manchester says "He is pop without the Cliche" and Fyfe Dangerfield of the Guillimots said "James has a breathtaking voice."

Previously James has played all over the country from Cardiff to Edinburgh in front of diverse at numerous festivals and gigs, including Moho Live, Sound Control, Night and Day, Ruby Lounge, 02 Academy in Birmingham, Methusala Festival, Latitude Festival, Landed Festival, Headlander Festival, Apollo Theatre, and at the Preston Guild Hall to name just a few.

The Live EP will be James 4th record but the first one to be recorded Live in the Studio. The EP will feature new songs plus a reworked favourite 'Lifting Me Up'. Recorded with a new band lineup the music has taken on a different direction with one of the most noticeable changes being James moving onto Electric Guitar. Don't worry James will still be performing acoustically but with the band there will be more energy and a different sound. The Live EP is due for release in the coming months and will be out before the end of the year. (Date to be confirmed)


CHALK are a new Indie Electronica band based in London. Having played as separate singer-songwriters on the acoustic gig scene for some time, Josh and Jonny decided to join forces and write music influenced by some of their favourite electronic artists. Likened to James Blake, Alt-J and MGMT, CHALK bring a fresh approach to the DJ and Electronica scene, incorporating looping, synth effects and vocal processing in their set along with highly singable hooks and choruses.

Sound Designer
Jazz, Klezmer and Classical Reed Player.
Instrumental and Electro-acoustic composer.
Based in Manchester.

The Greater Manchester Sound Archive is available at Manchester Central Library. The collection includes hundreds of oral histories, radio and music recordings.

You can check the catalogue at http://gmlives.org.uk. If you can't find what you're looking for in the catalogue please email us on archiveslocalstudies@manchester.gov.uk.

Unlocking Our Sound Heritage (UOSH) is an ambitious partnership project led by the British Library and supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund to address the threat facing the UK’s sound heritage. Sounds held on physical formats risk being lost as the carriers degrade over time and the equipment to play them is no longer produced. The project aims to transform access to and preserve the nation’s sound heritage, to create sustainable centres of excellence in digital audio preservation and to involve new audiences in engaging with their audio heritage in innovative ways.

Archives+ at Manchester Central Library is the hub partner for the North West region, which covers Cumbria, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The hub will digitise around 15,000 recordings on 5,000 cassette and open reels held all over the region. The British Library will archive the digital files and provide access to a proportion of them online. The project will recruit volunteers across the region who will spend time learning how to sort, catalogue and promote the region's sound heritage.

We recognise that from time to time material published online may be in breach of copyright laws, contain sensitive personal data, or include content that may be regarded as obscene or defamatory.  If you are concerned that you have found material on our Soundcloud for which you have not given permission, contravenes privacy laws, is obscene or defamatory, or in terms of copyright law is not covered by a limitation or exception, please contact us at archiveslocalstudies@manchester.gov.uk.

A Clockwork Opera are a six piece symphonic metal band based in Manchester, UK. 
Musical themes include Victorian history, steampunk, and all things gothic. 

James is a composer based in Manchester, England and has recently finished studying for a Master’s degree in composition at the University of Manchester with Prof Camden Reeves. His works are the results of experimentation with timbre and modality (and, recently, with microtonality), naturally arising from a special interest in (‘extended’) techniques and sounds. He has recently started to take inspiration from other (visual and literary) art-forms.

To date, James has worked with the orchestra of Opera North, as well as local new music ensembles Vaganza, No Dice, the Vonnegut Collective, Psappha, members of Trio Atem and members of the Quatuor Danel.

Upcoming projects include a short piece for piccolo and piano, and a large scale quarter-tone work for small string ensemble.

'Monistic Melody' is the second track on the No Dice collective's first CD, which can be ordered here: http://bit.ly/OrderStillness.

Daniel Mawson is following