by Alex Berry

The In The City music conference returns to Manchester next week and along with the inevitable industry schmoozing there's going to be more gigs coming your way than you can shake a stick at. Local heroes Twisted Nerve are presenting one of the more unique events as they take over the Bridgewater Hall on Saturday the 13th for a label spectacular. I spoke to Graham Massey of long-running Mancunian experimentalists and recent Twisted Nerve signings, Toolshed to find out what to unexpect.

"I think there's about 14 of us, but it's not quite settled yet. Basically there's 3 drummers, an 8 piece horn section, Graham Clark (electric violin player), myself, Paddy and Seaming." What's pretty clear is that any Halle season-ticket holders wandering in to Toolshed's performance by mistake are going to be in for a bit of a shock. The brainchild of the 808 State man is a conflab of fellow Mancunian oddsters drawn from groups such as Homelife, Simian and The Spaceheads. The line-up's uncertainty/flexibility has served Toolshed well over the past few years with this appearance again demonstrating their ability to adapt to a variety of settings both conventional and otherwise. "I must have played most venues in Manchester but that one hasn’t been ticked of my list," explains Graham and you can be sure the unique possibilities of the latest location have not gone unnoticed; "We’re going to try and use the pipe organ, we can’t resist that!" The twin pressures of time and money mean that this extended version of the group is still a bit of a rarity though; "It’s always a bit special for us to do one of the big band concerts. We’d love to do more but it’s just a sort of logistical nightmare."

For anyone interested in the outer limits of the human voice the prospect of vocalist Seaming To testing out the Bridgewater's acoustics is another reason not to miss out. Along with bassist Paddy Steer she forms part of Ninja Tune's avant-garde collective Homelife and Graham (like everyone else) finds it impossible to categorise her style of singing; "I wouldn't call it strictly opera, but it's coming from that background. Her voice has an enormous range and it's a very precise instrument." It's also one reason behind the choice of music to perform; "It's interesting because we have to find songs that suit her" says Graham. The 5 track Toolshed EP released this coming Monday (15th of September) features 3 cover versions which demonstrate exactly the kind of directions they’re pointing in. Compositions by jazz-rock guitar god John McLaughlin, the legendary Sun-Ra and Ennio Morricone’s theme from Exorcist 2 all get wild re-interpretations while original tracks Nananananaanaa and Gobots are a taste of the truly bizarre. The choice of covers springs from shared musical tastes; “it’s a reflection of the stuff we all like” and as Graham spells out, this enthusiasm for the unusual is what brings Toolshed and Twisted Nerve together. “Andy Votel (Twisted Nerve co-founder) used to come down to Toolshed at Night & Day. He was very interested in it then and we had a lot in common in terms of the kind of records we collect and the areas of music we like. I used to think he was strictly hip-hop but he's quite esoteric and into quite a lot of jazz areas. He's one of the few people to grasp the scope of what Toolshed do and I like his enthusiasm for music in general."

If you fancy seeing what all the fuss is about Toolshed appear at The Bridgewater Hall on Saturday 13th September along with hotly tipped local singer-songwriter Aidan Smith and a very very special guest Badly Drawn Boy. Tickets are available direct from The Bridgewater Hall Box Office on 0161 907 9000 priced £12.50/£14.50 and the show starts at 7.30pm. The Toolshed EP is released through Twisted Nerve on Monday September 15th.