REVIEW: Sounds from the Other City 2018 (The art!)

Emily Ingram
May 8, 2018
2 min read

Under the beating sun of a rare Salfordian heatwave, the city was once again transformed this bank holiday by SOUNDS FROM THE OTHER CITY - AKA, the best day of the year.

Unsurprisingly, 2018's festival theme met the usual standards of artistic originality, as Sunday saw the hip cafes, pubs and eateries of Chapel Street form the unshakeably quirky institutions of SOUNDSTOWN, complete with a tattoo parlour, nail salon, bookstore and even a Party Police force (though we're not sure if they should've been that drunk on duty).

Whilst the festival had more stages, DJs & incredible emerging acts than you could shake a rhythm stick at, art and performance is where SFTOC '18 truly shined. For those wanting a break from the sun, excitable revellers could try their luck at the Soundstown Institute of Painting & Decorating entrance exam - an adreneline-fuelled (and gloriously silly) half-hour competition of quickfire painting and artistry, situated in Islington Mill's courtyard. Led by a small horde of brilliant and excitable hosts (Spacey Emin & Damien Worst to name a few), the interactive performance proved a highlight of the day for many - including us here at NOWT.

Competitive painting aside, the festival grounds offered a whole host of artistic treats, including a stoic and endlessly entertaining roster of performances from the MOIST collective - a Manchester-based visual arts group - at their very own mini 'Queerground'. Despite suffering a series of disgusting homophobic jeers from passers by, the performers really came into their own with a glamorous selection of poetry and performance, proving that the show really MUST go on - gaining a modest crowd of adoring fans in the process.

However, the finest jewel in the Soundstown Crown (try saying that after a few craft beers) was the BBC Philharmonic's magnificent ode to Women's Suffrage, staged in the grand confines of Salford Cathedral by Laura Bowler and Rachel Goodyear. In a mingling of avent-garde spoken word, orchestral sounds and immersive graphics, the emotice performance was enough to reduce any onlooker to tears, with many hanging on the edge of their seats during the final few gut-wrenching moments.

All in all, we're sad to see Soundstown go... and already counting the days 'til next year.

Photography by ROBIN PARKER