Santiago Street Machine reawaken Manchester's music soul in self-organised gig at Joshua Brooks

By Claire Holden

As a new era dawns for Manchester’s music scene, Santiago Street Machine is set to lead the way with a new perspective on gigging.

Santiago Street Machine have organized their own gig night, to be held at Joshua Brooks on June 3.

The venture is based entirely on the ethos of bringing the music community of Manchester together, cutting out the promoters and removing the much dreaded pay-to-play scenario.

The three-piece electro band is fronted by Stockport’s Andy Chandler on lead vocals, synths and percussion. Manchester’s Chris Corrigan is on drums and Ben Gooch from Cambridge, plays bass and percussion.

Their hits include Noisemaker, Broken Bones and Sinking Stone.

Front man Andy enthused: “It’s been hectic, but good. We’re really happy with line up and every one that’s got involved.

“Everyone’s excited and looking forward to it, I can’t wait!”

Not only will the night be fully orchestrated by the band, but will be a spectacular array of film, live music and DJ sets.

The night will include a viewing of feature film Manchester: Beyond Oasis, followed by performances by Santiago Street Machine, Picture Book, and Manchester heavyweights in the DJ scene Heavy Feet and North Base.

Andy said: “We wanted to do something a bit different.

“It’s a fantastic line up, and something a bit different. I can’t wait to get everyone down there.”

The event comes after the release of Manchester: Beyond Oasis by Serious Feather, which explores the revival of the music scene in Manchester.

Andy said that he hopes the film will provide a talking point for people to start to get to know each other, talk about Manchester and Manchester’s music.

He said: “We have sourced everybody that has been involved instead of going through any organizations and third parties, working on the basis of who do we need and who needs us in return.

The band has noticed the disappearance of community spirit that, in years gone by, bonded the music community in Manchester.

A turning point came when the electro band were asked to play a gig night with a screamo band.

Andy explained: “That flagged up something in my mind that said something’s not right here, so we wanted to bring back the idea, hopefully, that people can work together still and it can be beneficial to everyone involved.”

By hosting a series of these gig nights the band hope to get the music and media community working together again and aim to cut out any third, fourth or even fifth parties.

In an age where it is no longer the sales of records that provide a band with an income, bands are relying more and more on the sale of concert tickets.

However, Santiago Street Machine have kept prices for their tickets right down at just £3. And if you are a Manchester band or musician, entry is free - all you have to do is email them at @santiagostm with the names of band members who wish to attend and arrive before 7.30pm.

Andy said: “We’re not actually looking to make a profit from this night we’re just looking to cover our costs and make sure it’s a great one.”

Andy believes that the digital age has destroyed the record industry, but said that but there are ways of getting around that and there are ways of creating income, such as through streaming pages.

“It’s something that I think people need to be creative with and hopefully we will start seeing some interesting decisions from bands over the next couple of years hopefully.”

The dance and electro band from Manchester are no strangers to innovation and pushing boundaries; from their music to their self orchestrated gig, which is set to rock Manchester to its core and reawaken its soul.

See Santiago Street Machine at Joshua Brooks on June 3.