Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on February 2010
Photo courtesy of Hostess Entertainment
Manchester has been known to produce a decent band or two over the years, but a recent batch of homegrown talent proves that the city is in a renewed state of creative ferment. The last year has witnessed a number of young Mancunian newcomers touring Japan, of which Delphic are the latest.
“We love Manchester bands and grew up very aware of them—but there’s a real danger of people looking too much to the past,” says guitarist Matt Cocksedge during a recent trip to Tokyo to play a showcase and promote their new album, Acolyte.
“We try to shift people’s gaze to the future while not undermining any of the heritage,” he continues. “I think it’s important that Manchester doesn’t rest on its laurels. It’s had this incredible history, but it needs to move on.”
The band’s record label, on the other hand, isn’t shy about exploiting the city’s glorious past—the group is being touted as a blend of “New Order’s patent Mancunian brand of indie disco intellectualism with the unbound, arms aloft euphoria of Orbital.”
The latter is perhaps the better reference point. Delphic are the missing link between vocal-led synth-pop and straight-up laptop techno, and their ecstatic live set at Harajuku’s Astro Hall is closer in atmosphere to a rave than to the gloom of the Joy Division/New Order cohort.
Delphic, it turns out, are themselves in a state of creative ferment, but it has less to do with Manchester than the intensity of feeding off each other.
“We isolate ourselves in our flat and live in this little Delphic bubble, writing and playing on our electronic boxes,” says singer James Cook. “It’s difficult a lot of the time—we spend every minute of every day together on tour, and then they’re still around all the time when we get back. The reason we do it is that we need that constant communication. When we’re working on something good, there’s a really great energy in the flat, and it inspires you to work harder and do more. When you hear the sounds of synths drifting down from upstairs, you’re like, ‘Maybe we should turn off the TV and do something.’”
Delphic first played Japan at last year’s Summer Sonic, and were due back to support Bloc Party before that tour was cancelled. Instead, they decided to come over solo to promote Acolyte. With its repeated refrains and uplifting synths, the album shows a band unafraid of a good sing-along, and as of this writing, it’s No. 8 on the UK album charts.
“We like things that are very musical and allow for harmonies, and we’re not really fond of the screamy, shouty sort of thing that is present in a lot of music of the moment,” says synth player Richard Boardman.
“But it’s important that we do it in a way that creates a tension within the song. We really respect people who push musical boundaries. Someone like Björk has consistently done abstract and bizarre things with songs, but she’s always got a melody on top, which has helped bring it to the wider public.”
Despite the oracular abilities suggested by their name, Delphic are less than confident about predicting their own future.
“I don’t know if our predictions come true or not, but we’re always trying to escape what’s been done and try and look to a brighter day,” says Cocksedge. “Wherever we end up, we will be happy as long as we’re proud of the music we’ve made and have pushed ourselves from record to record.
“Other than that, James is quite good at predicting football results,” he adds. “That’s actually how we funded this Japan trip.”
Acolyte is available on Hostess Entertainment.
