In no way strange.

Studio music policy. Now there’s a touchy subject. When Julian, our Creative Director, isn’t insisting on a start-to-finish playback of the Grease soundtrack, there’s Studio Manager Dawn requesting Energy 98’s hands-in-the-air euro-trance cheesefest. It’s enough to drive you insane. Or in my case, put some headphones on.

I like listening to music when I write, but it has to be the right kind. When you write, you should be listening to the words in your head as they hit the page. So any particularly vocal tunes are distracting. That means hip-hop’s a no-no, Olivia Newton-John is out and Energy 98 should be locked in a soundproofed room…full of vipers.

Matthew Herbert on the other hand is just right – light and sinuous, deep house grooves with hushed rhythms and jazzy melodies. He’s pretty cool, I’d recommend him.

He’s an interesting guy too…

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Old stylie vinyl records

As a child of the 80s, I’m old enough to remember when buying music meant a trip to the local record shop, browsing through vinyl collections and being mesmerised by the cover art. If you were lucky enough, your chosen album would come with ‘extras’ such as snap shot photography taken during a live concert, maybe a small bio of the band members and more often than not, the lyrics to all your favourite songs.

As we approached the digital age, records became CDs, which to me, never had the same impact. Sure there was the additional CD booklet, but they lacked the tactility of records, and the brilliant photography lost some of it’s shine squashed into the smaller not-quite-square format. CDs will inevitably be replaced by downloads, if they haven’t already, (I don’t really know anybody who buys CDs any more), but what about all the cool ‘extras’ we’ve come to expect?

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Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the Best of Manchester Awards 2009. The edgy, quirky and creative soul of the city, that’s been plucked by an esteemed panel of judges and assembled for your pleasure on the top floor of the Urbis.

The Best of Manchester Awards, launched last year, celebrate the city’s most innovative thinking in art, music and fashion. Open to everyone that lives or works in Manchester, its aim is to give recognition to boundary-breaking, genre defying work and to elevate the profile of those spirited creative types who are bubbling under the surface. It is judged by a impressive panel of experts including designer Peter Saville, Turner prize wining artist, Jeremy Deller and fashion designer, Wayne Hemmingway. Winners are rewarded with space in the high profile exhibition, lots of media exposure plus a fast track development package. Oh and a big fat cheque for £2000.

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