Electronic producer duo – Space Afrika – have been reconstructing Manchester’s harsh city noise into ambient techno since 2014. Hailing from Preston, Rainy Miller is a vocalist, producer, and founder of the music label Fixed Abode. Alongside Space Afrika, he has become an integral voice in the Northwest experimental scene, which has flowered out of underground clubs like The White Hotel and SOUP. Together, they present the collaborative album, A Grisaille Wedding.
The album creates a chaotic sound: dizzying drum patterns, booming bass channels and warped 8-bit samples that sound like Netflix is buffering. However, to anyone who’s walked through Piccadilly gardens after 15:30 on a school day, the scene is familiar. A choir of synthesisers mimic Manchester’s raindrops; dissonant acoustic instruments pan the background like the buskers of Market Street, and the rattling drums are the metronome to the city’s incessant construction. If you have a migraine, maybe opt out for some more traditional ambience. Space Afrika creates music that reconstructs the city centre’s chaos, instead of escaping it.
On track ‘121’, a snippet of conversation acts as another instrument. An American voice muses about the importance of ‘letting go’. The song feels like you’re on the 143-bus overhearing someone’s conversation amongst the chatter and mechanical thunder.
The production appears to offer little space for a vocalist to breathe. However, Rainy Miller fights for his voice to be heard. On ‘00-Down / Murmansk, 12’ Miller’s lyrics affect the despair of an individual lost in a city: ‘Trying to feel my ground / on a road that withers under my heels’. The vocals are lacquered with autotune and sometimes feel buried in the industrial choir. However, Miller refuses to ‘drown amongst the static’.
On ‘Sweet (I’m Free)’, Renzniro and Iceboy Violet cite self-expression as a form of freedom from the city’s darkness. Renzniro delivers the grime-style bars, ‘Breathe through the pain even though it hurts / What can I do, life is absurd’. Without taking a breath, he asserts, ‘got to be active about my verbs / I can’t ever waste a word’.
A diverse array of guests also feature on the album. Bobbieorkid’s soft hyperpop, Richie Culver’s spoken word and Coby Sey’s enchanting vocals all thrive on the decadent style of A Grisaille Wedding.
The album is a successful marriage between the genre-bending acts of Rainy Miller and Space Afrika. Its grey, archaic palette and proclivity for chaos is fitting for a Manchester-based album.
A Grisaille Wedding is the ideal listen for a walk through the city on a rainy day.
Featured image and gallery: Sam Holmes From Mirfield to Manchester, this Yorkshire-born four-piece bring their funk-interwoven indie rock to a sold-out Gorilla for their biggest headline show to date. Fresh off the back of their new single ‘Watch Life Burn’ and signing their first record deal with This Feeling/ LAB Records, there is already a…
Featured image and photography: Aaron Parsons / Press Haiden Henderson isn’t a name known to many in Manchester, but the Californian rockstar certainly made sure to leave a lasting impression. With sensual and sexy songs, Henderson really knows how to heat up a crowd in more ways than one. Unreleased track ‘Freak For You’ sets a…
Feature image: Press The Manchester Film Festival has wrapped its 12th edition, running over 11 days and showcasing a strong line-up of local and international talent from across the independent film industry. Festival director Neil Jeram-Croft reflected on this year’s programme, filled with a mix of features, shorts and documentaries spanning the cities’ cinema hotspots:…
Featured image: Press Toots and the Maytals return to Manchester for their ‘Reggae Got Soul’ 50th anniversary tour. Following their hugely successful 2025 tour, Toots and the Maytals return to Manchester to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their landmark album, Reggae Got Soul. Fronted for decades by Frederick ‘Toots’ Hibbert – named by Rolling Stone…
Leave a reply