Audio

Five Manchester artists we’ve been listening to this month | December 2024

Let's close out the year in style, shall we?

Danny Jones - 31st December 2024

And here we are: it’s officially time for the final round-up of Manchester bands and artists for 2024 and what a year it’s been for tunage.

We started this feature back in January and each month we’ve given you five different acts, be they big, small, unsigned or unsung, new on the scene or veterans that deserve more attention.

Fast forward to December and now we’re ready for our last batch of suggestions for new music from around Greater Manchester that you may or may not have heard yet.

The question is, are you ready? Let’s give it one last spin around the turntables.

New Manchester music you should check out to start the new year

1. Morgan Seatree

Speaking of turntables, it seems only fitting to start with a Manchester-based DJ Morgan Seatree, whose tunes have already queued up at a fair few tunes ready for our New Year’s Eve playlist. Born and bred in 0161, not only has he smashed the likes of The Warehouse Project but his sound is already going global.

His inspirations include Kerri Chandler, Paul Woolford, Disclosure, Larry Heard and more, and his catchy brand of mixes has already attracted attention from other big names in the electronic scene, including Patrick Topping, Folamour, Jamie Jones and more.

Music made for nothing but dancing and good times, his ear for easily recognisable hooks and infectious beats means you’ll only be hearing more of his as time goes on. Our picks to start with include ‘Hit It!’, ‘Good Life’ and his ‘Say My Name’ remix. He’s also responsible for this iconic clip from a Fallowfield flat:

The kind of vibes we're after this #NewYearsEve. 🙌😅

Fancy sorting our #NYE do, @m_seatree? 😅#NYE2024 pic.twitter.com/Dorbnn8IWn
— The Manc (@TheMancUK) December 20, 2024

2. Dirty Laces

Next up to bat are the truly brilliant Dirty Laces who have been going for a few years now but we still think are criminally underrated on the Manc music scene. Not only do they blend a great mix of American rock and roll influences with 90s and 2000s UK roots, but their latest work looks to be a real evolution.

There have always been proto-punk elements to their sound and wonderful guitar solos, as well as what we would liken to Led Zeppelin, Queens of the Stone Age, Shed Seven, and even hints of Velvet Revolver on tracks like ‘These Days’ – imagine ‘Slither’ mixed with She Builds Quick Machines’.

However, it feels like we’re starting to hear them pulling in a slightly new direction and trying new things; there’s no better example of this than their recent singles, ‘Quiet Space’ and ‘If I Go’, which we’ve had on repeat for a few weeks now. ‘Seeker’, ‘Midnight Mile’ and ‘Old Friend’ are where we’d start though.

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3. Elliot James Reay

Third on our list is the immense throwback that is a young man called Elliot James Reay: the 22-year-old singer-songwriter from Bury but with a sound harkening back to the end of America’s ‘Golden Age’, where pop rolled into rock and vice versa.

Taking inspiration from the likes of Elvis Presley and deep obsessions with Roy Orbison, not only in terms of the music but look and overall style, this up-and-coming solo artist feels like he was born in the wrong era but will happily keep the fight alive with the help of vintage jackets, slicked-back hair and a guitar.

He’s only got a small handful of tunes so far, so it won’t feel too overwhelming to get through his discography either but you can also enjoy a selection of his old world covers including tracks by Orbison, Elvis, Paul Anka and more.

A Manchester artist with a straight out of the American South.

4. Florentenes

Number four of December 2024 is Florentenes from Bolton – well, Westhoughton to be more specific; are they named after the old tea room and bakery in the centre? We couldn’t possibly say, all we know is they’re very a talented group of young lads helping put the town’s music scene on the map.

Their debut EP 14:17 dropped back in November and there’s already a very clear stylistic idea in their heads even at such a young age. Melancholy nonchalant vocals that burst into shrieks and rip-roaring guitars are reminiscent of The Stokes, The Hives, Palaye Royale and even Frank Carter at times, but there are also early Arctic Monkeys drumming as well pacey Surf Curse-esque guitar riffs. There is a lot of different stuff going on, basically.

Again, they’ve only five tunes to get through just yet so this would be a great time to latch onto them before they inevitably start gaining more momentum next year. You don’t write build-ups, breakouts and literal screams like the one lead vocalist Will Smith (not that one) delivers in ‘Glue’ and not go anywhere. Watch this space.

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5. Bayboards

And our last pick of the year goes to local lads Bayboards who are another local outfit that we’re getting very excited about going in 2025, for a couple of reasons. Let us explain…

Maybe it’s just how we process music or some weird serendipity, but we happened to discover these guys not long after hearing the news of Sundara Karma calling it a day and, fortunately for anyone who has been a fan of them, you’ll get a lot of that vibe from this quartet and plenty more range too.

You’ll get notes of Circa Waves and Vistas, as well as plenty of other contemporary British indie bands, not to mention some more shoegazey moments at least in those distorted guitar tones. We’re excited to see where they go next and if it’s anything like ‘Push Against The Blue’, ‘Moving to America’ or ‘Fire and Air’ we’ll be there every step of the way.

One of the most exciting new artists coming out of Manchester at the minute.

And for the last time this year, that really is all she wrote.

We sincerely hope you’ve enjoyed coming along with us on the voyage of discovery and have genuinely cottoned on to new bands and artists from Greater Manchester that you’d never heard of before and perhaps familiarised yourself with a kind of music you never thought you’d enjoy up until now.

It goes without saying that this sort of stuff – discovering and championing local, up-and-coming bands – is the lifeblood of Audio North and genuinely keeps us going all year round.

You best believe we’ll be back with more in 2025 (so long as you’ll have us) and until then, we urge you to go back through previous months and above all else, happy listening!