MIMR was back with a bang on the weekend (28-29th Jan) with a bunch of great gigs taking place, it was certainly just a taster to what 2017 will bring, gigs galore on the blog for sure.

Here are a few of the best bits from the weekend

Horsebeach @Soup Kitchen, Sunday

RobotAlien @The Marble Arch, Sunday

Floral Scene @Gullivers, Saturday

MIMR 1st gig of the year was at Gullivers Saturday night (28th Jan) and it was the perfect start to the year, lit up by the engrossing set by Manchester dreamy-pop trio Blooms.

They stormed through a enthralling set and the great news of a upcoming EP will ensure that Blooms will blossom in 2017 on the blog.

Here are a few snapshots from their set.

23 year old singer/songwriter Maisie Johnson has struck a real chord at MIMR in recent times and after only a few videos and some recommendations over social media, she appeared in our Sounds of 2017 list released a few weeks ago.

MIMR caught up with Maisie, the singer from Macclesfield looking to breakthrough on to the scene in 2017

MIMR: Welcome to the blog Maisie, what was your first memory with music being in your life?

Maisie Johnson: I was pretty young, let’s say 5/6 maybe and I would pretend a tennis racket was my guitar, I’d play my brothers CD player when he wasn’t in, and rock out to a bit of Aerosmith 🙂 funny I didn’t pick up a real guitar till I was 15.

MIMR:  What can we expect to hear and see from you in 2017?

Maisie: I’m currently working on releasing some music, so hopefully pretty soon (can’t say when) there will be a few treats that will pop out of nowhere! Hoping to kind of get on the radar a bit. Really want to share some of the stuff I’m doing and fingers crossed people enjoy it too 🙂

MIMR: What other musicians/bands do you look up to?

Maisie: There are too many! To name a few…. Jeff Buckley, Half Moon Run, The Black Keys, Amy Winehouse, Foals, Alanis Morrisette, Feist etc

MIMR:  If you could pick any song you could have taken written credit for, which one would it be and why?

Maisie: If I was to totally big up a local artist with an ace track I would have loved to be part of, it would be Chris Birdsall – Footsteps, that tune deserves killer female harmonies and Chris is a genious writer and a lovely man. Maybe I should talk to him?!

MIMR: Thanks for chatting with MIMR Maisie, have a great year. We all look to escape esoecially with the wet weather we have, what would be your dream place to get away to in the world?

Maisie: Thank you very much for having me, I think that is the hardest question… too many beaut places.. always wanted to go back to America! Anywhere.. the whole thing old school Road trip. Haha cheers.

Follow Maisie for updates on her plans for 2017 over on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/maisiejohnsonmusic/

One of MIMR brightest discoveries this year so far have been Manchester Art-Rock duo The Vanity Project who wasted no time in sharing their endearing sound with their ‘Graduation Blues’ EP released Jan 1st.

The opening track and title track to the EP makes a instant impact with a engrossing array of sounds melded together with clever and thoughtful purpose, making for a uplifting groove throughout. Its this glittering production quality that has gained the twosome some noticeable praise from Radio 6 Music and Everything Everything lead man Jonathan Higgs to name but a few.
The rest of the EP shows the real musical talent of the duo as it undertakes more darker and quirky tones, reaching all depths of their creative psychee and delivering ten fold. MIMR fave track Good Guys &Bad Guys is a rich indie-pop treat with soaring levels of delightful interludes and a mesmerising lyrical delivery to loose yourself too.

The EP has everything you could wish for and if the duo’s frenized and theatrical live shows are anything to go by, they look set to make 2017 a year of many upward journeys, MIMR will be following them very closely!

Check out the EP here:

https://thevanityprojectmanchester.bandcamp.com/

Delighted to have caught up with Matt from Blooms ahead of what looks like a very busy time for the Manchester surf-pop trio. Look out for more from the band coming soon on the blog. Here’s the Band Chat.

MIMR: Great to have Blooms back on the blog, how would you sum up your 2016 as a band and what were your highlights?

Matt: 2016 was amazing for us as a band. We started on a high with a tour through Scruff Of The Neck Records and released two singles. Dot To Dot Festival and The Record Store Day afterparty at Deaf Institute were probably highlights, but honestly, every show was was awesome.

MIMR: Looking ahead to the next part of the journey, what targets have the band set for this year, are their any more releases planned?

Matt: We will be announcing details of our first full length EP very soon. We recorded so many tracks last year that we’re almost stuck for choice with what to put on it. We also just recorded a new song that we’ve not even played live yet that we’re really excited about.

MIMR: Glad to see your straight back to gigging with your show for Flat Plastic on the 28th of this month. What’s the best part about hitting the stage?

Matt: For me personally, playing live is the best part of making music. We always play heavier and faster than when we’re in the studio which gets a great crowd response. I used to get into the crowd a bit, but I’ve stopped doing it so much…

MIMR: With Christmas over and done with for another year, did you guys have any new year’s resolutions at all?

Matt: I guess, just to keep having fun with music. No point doing it if you’re not enjoying the process. Maybe to write an album, who knows. I should probably stop buying guitar pedals too.

MIMR: It’s been a pleasure to have you back on MIMR, wish you all the best for 2017. If there was song you could take credit for which one would it be and why?

Matt: Oh man, that’s such a difficult question. I’ll keep it slightly local and say Summer Song by Peaness, as it’s been in my head non-stop for about six months.

MIMR faves Kidsmoke return to the blog with their latest single Waves out officially on Jan 27th and they jumped into 2017 with high hopes and ready to take many plaudits. The track was premiered over at Clash and has already gained mOre than pleasing press coverage and radio airplay to boot.
Waves breezes through with a confident ease, a characteristic of many of their previous tracks, add hazy guitars and joyous harmonies and you’ve got a winning formula. So what next for this dreamy-pop quartet…all MIMR can say is it’s got a good feeling about how this year will go, a recognition that Kidsmoke very much deserve.

Stay tuned to the blog for something very special regarding the band happening in a few months time, announcement soon!
Check out Waves here: