Watch: Max Richter – Sleep (trailer)

Nick Mee June 23, 2015

Our sleep-deprived scribe likes the sound of this colossal eight-hour continuous piece of music, composed to facilitate greater access to the land of nod. Watch a teaser for the project here

Listen/Review: The Phoenix Foundation – Mountain

Dein Moore June 22, 2015

Raising the Phoenix: ‘Mountain’ grabs your ears with a sweet guitar riff and a conga-like afro-kraut drumbeat followed by a sweet piano synth sound

Listen/Review: Sheepy – Wild EP

Dein Moore June 20, 2015

Reviewer Dein Moore is truly feeling Sheepy: "‘Wild’, is a trip down the psychedelic lane with a healthy dose of pop hooks and ska-punk riffs and beats to make sure the trip is permanently engrained in your brain."

Live review (poem): Joel Sarakula at Servant Jazz Quarters 21/5/15

Charlie Hannah June 10, 2015

Joel Sarakula's official single launch for 'Northern Soul' brought out the laureate in our contributor, who expressed his praise in prose...

Watch/Review: C Duncan – Garden

Nick Mee June 7, 2015

The truth of the matter is that the mild-mannered Glaswegian just keeps turning out song after song that draw the focus like a lyrical Lionel Messi. 'Garden' is another medal-worthy slice of poppy kaleidoscopica

Watch/Review: Holy Holy – You Cannot Call For Love Like A Dog

Holly Warren June 5, 2015

"One can imagine driving along the motorway on an August afternoon when everyone has their windows down and this song is drifting out of every car stereo while fingers are drumming along on steering wheels."

Live review: Happyness at Boston Music Room, London 13/5/15

Holly Warren May 21, 2015

Everything about the band was endearingly lo-fi, even down to the way they introduced themselves to the audience – "Me, him and him are called Happyness" – and their audience banter was yet more proof that Happyness are just three silly dudes who'd be a right laugh to hit the pub with.

Live review: Dead Ceremony at Electrowerkz, London, 6/5/15

Holly Warren May 11, 2015

Dead Ceremony managed to create a three-dimensional sound with a depth that filled the room, the singer lost in the music, seeming to forget he was being watched.

Listen/Review: Alberteen – A French Connection

Nick Mee May 10, 2015

Alberteen have arrived at an opportune time to provide perspective and celebrate the south east’s “landscape, history and cultural heritage” on their second album ‘Miss World’. Indeed, preview single ‘A French Connection’ is actually inspired by these counties’ links to Europe, taking in the channel tunnel, an alternative Miss World contest, a Parisian love affair and even Derek Jarman along its merry way.

Watch/Review: Slum Sociable – Anyway

Nick Mee May 6, 2015

‘Anyway’ is lent an easy momentum by its assuredly understated rhythm track, and currency by the digitalist timbre of its vast bass drop. Otherwise, it is spacious and symphonic chillout, layered with charming reverbed harp, clipped piano and the faraway soulful lament of the lead vocal.

Listen/Review: Fight Like Apes – Pretty Keen On Centrefolds

Matthew Doyle May 5, 2015

Fantastically upbeat and dance-in-your-bedroom fun, this single highlights a lighter, poppier side to the band. Expect the self-titled new album, out on 18 May, to be a party-inducing splatter of cartoony-punk, eclectic electronics and some sweet pop vibes.

Live review: Trampolene at Koko 25/4/15

Holly Warren May 5, 2015

To anyone unfamiliar with the Swansea-formed, North London-based Trampolene, they could appear to be another mid-noughties indie revival heard-it-all-before bore, three guys with shaggy haircuts wielding guitars in skinny jeans, but as soon as frontman Jack Jones opens his mouth, it is obvious that ‘Pigeon Detectives part two’, they are not.

Listen/Review: Demob Happy – Young & Numb/Fizz

Ali Waite May 5, 2015

Their arsenal of tunes is as enviable as anybody’s at the moment, with a longevity that is unquestionable. Their debut LP is the most anticipated for a long time and I can’t wait for the impact it will make.

Watch/Review: Lost Dawn – Song For Robert

Nick Mee April 19, 2015

Musicians from England’s south-western extremities have always had to shout a little louder for attention. Due to scant musical infrastructure, geographical remoteness from and cultural bias towards the media heartlands of London and the north, many a promising young band has withered away beyond the final leg of the M5.

Listen/Review: Slug – Greasy Mind

Nick Mee April 16, 2015

The brainchild of Field Music bassman Ian Black, with the aid of some hands-on engineering skills from his Sunderland bandmates, Slug’s debut album has just hit the shops courtesy of Memphis Industries. This excerpt, ‘Greasy Mind’, is a clean-lined slab of off-kilter anglo-funk

Watch/Review: Mbongwana Star – Malukayi (feat Konono No1)

Nick Mee April 8, 2015

This may be the first time Lost in the Manor has prospected for fresh sounds in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but if Mbongwana Star’s opening salvo, ‘Malukayi (feat Konono No 1)’, is a marker then it won’t be the last. As fresh a segment of audio as is likely to be unearthed, this six-minute single is essentially a progressive charge of irresistible dancehall Afro-funk, yet it has a surreal, claustrophobic air imbued by a growling bassline that, for all its giant heft, just seems to hang there, as well as an other-worldly metallic melody courtesy of Konono No 1, perhaps played out on salvaged steel.

Watch/Review: Jacco Gardner – Find Yourself

Nick Mee March 26, 2015

Exploratory producer and multi-instrumentalist Jacco Gardner throws the psychedelic smorgasbord at this melodic release that, for all its oil-projector embellishments, never forgets it is a pop song.

Listen/Review: Winter – The Biggest Truth

Matthew Doyle March 24, 2015

Unlike some of their folk contemporaries, Winter don't hook you with jangling banjos (who doesn't love banjos?) or generic lyrics about Lion Men (or something) on 'The Biggest Truth'. Instead, they pull you in with sincere lyrics about past mistakes, supported by Noah & the Whale-esque acoustics and the ranging vocal tones of Simon and Garfunkel – the duality of which creates a heartfelt and folky tune.

Live review: Nubiyan Twist at Brixton Jamm 14/3/15

Charlie Hannah March 23, 2015

It was a privilege to watch this 12-piece dub/afrobeat/hip-hop group play at the Brixton Jamm. Before the night, I had only heard their recent single – ‘Work House’, which is a badass, well-produced, modern neo-soul classic, reviewed previously on Lost In The Manor.

Live review: Retrospective For Love at Brixton Jamm 14/3/15

Charlie Hannah March 18, 2015

I’ve seen Retrospective For Love perform many times. Every show so far has triggered a dual emotional response. Initially I’ve been hit by a surge of joy that original, clever and soulful music is still being made today. But somewhere on my journey home I get a sour taste in my mouth, due to the fact that, to my mind, they haven’t been getting anything like the attention they deserve. I have high hopes for RFL, whose influences range from J Dilla to Chet Baker, and I won’t be content until they’re headlining Glastonbury and beyond.