Outside-iN and the Buskers of Manchester

The act of busking is an interesting one. To some it is music, to others it is noise, and to many it is just another component of city life. This of course has much to do with perception, and for me buskers bridge the gap between music and environmental sound.

This is particularly true in Manchester where Market Street and the surrounding area plays host to so many street musicians. They provide the city with rhythm, melody and song, but their audience is transient and passive, drifting from sound to sound.

The beat of the Djembe, pluck of the Kora, squeeze of the Accordion, strum of the Guitar and the expression of the Sax all fill the air, blending and competing with the charge of footsteps and chorus of voices that channel through the city. Fighting for sonic space amongst the buses, trams and cars that flood the city's soundscape.

But why do people choose to busk? What is their life like? Do they see themselves as important to our community? What do they sound like without the city's accompaniment? How do our impressions of musicians differ when we pay to sit and watch them as opposed to hearing them in passing?

Outside-iN hopes to answer some of these questions through a series of performances and interviews at Nexus Art Cafe, as we invite Manchester's buskers to come and perform to a seated audience and talk to us about their experiences.

Check back here and on the Nexus website for performance dates and interviews, and if you're a busker from Manchester looking to get involved then please let us know.

it's been a while

Wow, it seems like a long time since I've sat down and posted a blog. I've had a few things going on but its good to get back writing again. One thing that has kept me busy recently is a night I've started organising at Nexus art cafe called Tactile Affection, where a couple of times a month i put on some inventive live acts, play a few interesting records and dare people to enjoy a night of live music without any alcohol. Some people this think its great and that it encourages people to focus more on the music, others get drunk outside first. If anyone would like to find out more please visit http://myspace.com/tactileaffection

I have also been busy making field recordings around Manchester and am working on a project writing music based around the natural rhythms found around the city. Roadworks, trams, escalators, anything really, its all in there and I'm working hard to construct these sounds into interesting pieces.

I took my portable recorder to the Spanish countryside for a few days too and have some beautiful recordings of crickets, dogs, goats and birds, all surrounded by light breeze and the sound of peace that you just cannot find in a city. I'll post some of these soon.

Anyway, the thing that really made me want to write today was when sitting in work the air conditioning suddenly cut out and I literally felt my body and mind relax within what appeared like a vacuum of quiet. I physically felt the tension run from my body, my posture changed as I became looser and my mind felt calm.

I find it quite frightening that I and many others are surrounded daily by sounds that after prolonged periods cause our bodies to become tense and stressed. The whirring sound in my office soon started up again, at first noticeably annoying but after a minute barely noticeable at all until it cut out again and I experienced the same feelings of relief and relaxation. This cannot be good for our health.