When: 8pm on Thursday 19 February 2015
Where: Gullivers, 109 Oldham Street, Manchester, M4 1LW

We’re excited to be working with Lydia Ainsworth for the first time.

Composer, producer and singer Lydia Ainsworth has been secretly writing and recording songs over the past three years from bedrooms and basements between Toronto and Brooklyn. What began as pass-time sketches between composing music for film and multimedia projects has over time revealed an enchanting collection of experimental pop songs with a life of their own.

Blurring the boundaries between indie music, filmic orchestration, and electronic music, Lydia’s debut Right From Real thrives on haunting melodies and draws inspiration from a wide range of musical sources – Verdi’s Requiem, Ace of Base, Bulgarian choirs, Bernard Herrmann, Tones on Tail, Art of Noise to name just a few. This sense of unexpected marriages of influence flows throughout much of Lydia’s previous work which features use of voice sampling and string arrangements woven into a unique minimalist fabric.

Lydia says: ‘As I listen to the finished album I am reminded of the immense comfort I felt in the obscurity of its destination. I became entranced by the evolving process that took shape within those invisible tactile walls of tradition. Whether I was sampling instruments, writing lyrics, incorporating lyrics by my pen pal Matthew, recording multiple arrangements for each song – stripping them down – building them back up – I was guided only by a relentless instinctive urge to express what I could not in waking life. The songs approach dreams, thoughts, and inspirations that demand a search for the unknown, a search for something beyond what the five senses can offer.’

‘Like a fever–dream of Julia Holter merging with Grimes, Ainsworth’s future visions weave neoclassical flourishes and enchanted melody-mangles into cool 80s sound–beds, and it sounds fantastic’ – Dazed

Support comes from London-based duo Jupiter-C. Tru Luv described their music as comprising ‘all manner of electronics and live instrumentation, beautifully topped off with sultry, breathy vocals’.

This show is a co-promotion with Now Wave.

Buy tickets now. Tickets are available from Common (no booking fee), Piccadilly Records, Vinyl Exchange, Seetickets.com, WeGotTickets.com, Ticketline.co.uk and on 0871 220 0260.

Attend on: Facebook | Last.fm