NEXT year will be a special one for Salfordian music fans, as a Krautrock legend comes to Salford – none other than Damo Suzuki of legendary German group CAN.

Organised by young DIY gig promoters Interior, Suzuki is set to perform at The White Hotel in Salford on 19th May 2017, using local musicians as his backing band.

CAN were one of the many influential groups of the German experimental music scene of the 1970s, now known as Krautrock. Notable musicians to credit them as an influence include David Bowie, Radiohead, Talking Heads and Manchester band The Fall, who paid tribute with their 1985 track ‘I Am Damo Suzuki’.

Staying true to to the experimental nature of his former group, Suzuki and his band will perform a fully improvised set.

Remarkably, this unique event has been organised by local young gig promoter Jacob Brailsford of Barnsley.

He set up the promotions firm Interior in May of this year and has gone from strength to strength, organising unique underground gigs around the North West.

He has worked with cult groups such as The Raincoats and The Nightingales, along with up-and-coming acts The Orielles and Cabbage, establishing himself as a champion of alternative music.

“I originally started putting on bands as a drunken idea one night.” Jacob told Quays News, “I’d played in bands in Sheffield for a few years and I wasn’t happy with the way promoters treated us and other bands.

“I’m a bit music fan and I know a lot of small bands and some more established bands that I wanted to see but weren’t being booked near me. So I saw an opportunity.”

See a timeline of the history of Interior below:

 

Brailsford started organising gigs back in February 2015, when one of his favourite bands, Sleaford Mods, weren’t playing locally to him.

“I got in touch with their manager and it all slowly came together from there. The show ended up selling out, which is still my proudest achievement. I got a bit of a taste for it from there.”

Damo Suzuki is Brailsford’s most impressive booking yet, and was on his original ‘hit list’ of bands that he wanted to book.

“That was part of my original idea – to book all the bands I wanted to see.

“I got into him because I’m a big fan of The Fall. It’s no secret that one of Mark E Smith’s favourite bands is CAN and they’re part of the reason for him forming the group.”

Manchester is home to many famous gig venues, but Brailsford opted for the factory-like setting of the little-known White Hotel in Salford.

“It’s a great space as it was originally a car mechanics. The bar is actually in the inspection pit.

“It’s also the only place in Manchester and Salford to have a 24 hour license and probably the only bar staff who are willing to work those hours because – like the people who attend the gigs – they care about the events.”

Brailsford established a relationship with the owners, Ben Ward of Sways Records and writer Austin Collings, over the past six months and has already organised an event there, featuring new bands Machiine, PINS and Underground Youth.

He also has further plans for next year, including introducing a booking agency into the “Interior family” and putting on a show in a different city each year, beginning with Omni in Leeds on 14th February.

Damo Suzuki will perform at The White Hotel in Salford on 19th May 2017. Visit tickets.partyforthepeople.org for ticket information.

For more information on Interior, visit their Facebook page.

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