It’s been impossible to compact the best new Manchester music into a handful of highlights this week. But we’ve given it our best shot.
On our radar from the past seven days is a nice mix of sultry R&B from two familiar faces, poolside vibes from a solo project making a comeback, and a collab from two emerging Manchester songwriters.
The weather might have taken a turn for the worst, but here are our favourite releases from the past week to brighten your day.
SPRXNGBREAK – Shores
‘Shores’ will transport you to the beach that you’re craving.
Manchester-based SPRXNGBREAK have had quite a journey so far. Forming some years ago, instrumentalist Mick Warwick and Grammy-award winning producer Nate Cassells originally formed the band.
The pair joined forces whilst living in London and honed their sound in a studio in rural Germany – where they apparently slept on the floor and ate nothing but instant noodles. But a couple of demos later, they parted ways to pursue different things, leaving SPRXNGBREAK to lie dormant.
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Five years later, Warwick discovered the original demos and spent a year remixing and reworking them all. Now working alone, he’s developed a 2.0 version of SPRXNGBREAK in which this newest track falls within.
‘Shores’ is a collaboration with producer Sam Wiseman and is bursting with the Balearic sounds of Ibiza. So, have a listen to this one if you’re looking to get lost in some nostalgic tropical beats. It’s too easy to picture yourself by a beach watching the sunset with a cocktail in hand which we’re all here for.
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We’ve definitely found our summer 2021 anthem.
ZULA, glue70 – Head
‘Head’ is taken from glue70’s latest EP ‘Creationism’.
We’ve raved about ZULA on The Manc Audio a couple of times now, and rightly so. The pair are such a captivating combo and each one of their releases is as dreamy as the last.
Consisting of producer glue70 and singer Freak Slug, the Manchester-based duo have been making music under the ZULA guise for a bit now and we can’t help but include their latest track in another one of our top 5 lists.
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Typically, their sound is a blissful fusion of lo-fi and electronic beats from glue70, met with Freak Slug’s sweet vocals. And whilst their new one, ‘Head’, retains some of their classic elements, it’s much more upbeat and lays out a welcome change.
The KTNA – Can’t Stop It
The twins are back with sultry track ‘Can’t Stop It’.
Now, you might recognise these two from the programme Waterloo Road, first emerging into the public eye as Rhona and Shona Mansfield in the popular high school drama. But twin sisters Millie and Hope – a.k.a. The KTNA – have swapped acting for music.
With over a year spent in lockdown, the girls were able to dedicate time to their production and lay down the foundations of their brand-new EP ‘Resurgence’ which is out soon.
Taken from that project is this new track ‘Can’t Stop It’. The twins say it’s for anyone who feels they’ve been criticised for doing what they love. And judging off their previous work, they love to produce such empowering music as this quite often.
‘Can’t Stop It’ is a sultry R&B track with stunning soulful vocals. Team this with their amazing style and infectious energy and The KTNA are fast becoming one of Manchester’s most exciting R&B exports.
SUTTY’s new one is a collab with songwriter Migixhi.
Singer-songwriter SUTTY’s vocals are beautiful on her new one ‘Daisy Chain’ which dropped this week. It’s been released on Rhythm Lab Records, a label which is all about bringing together emerging Manchester artists into one project. So for this one, SUTTY was joined by talented producer and songwriter Migixhi.
SUTTY has experienced quite a classical music background. She’s a flutist, taught herself to play the piano, and has been writing music for years. All of these have helped her grasp a technical understanding of music.
‘Daisy Chain’ is a smooth electronic R&B number which navigates the heartache of losing someone you love and moving forward.
StreamGM and The Manc have teamed up to show some some serious love and support to the region’s renowned theatres, nightclubs, and live-music venues with the launch of SeeGM – a digital campaign to shine a bright spotlight on many of the amazing events, club nights, gigs and shows in our region.
Manc music legends James announce MASSIVE hometown show
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester music legends James have just revealed a massive hometown show here in the city centre as part of a landmark domestic arena tour.
Daisy bucket hats at the ready.
James is arguably the epitome of what it is to be the understated, underdog British band; they’ve gone about the business of making quality music somewhat quietly for several decades now, but they’ve had a fresh wave of interest over the past year or so
Having opened up for the likes of Catfish and the Bottlemen’s comeback shows, not to mention playing multiple big festival slots in recent months alone, they’ve now announced a huge run of UK arena shows – and nowhere does a James crowd quite like us Mancs.
Details have been announced for our 2026 UK arena tour, and we’re delighted to be joined by very special guests @dovesmusicblog with tickets going on general sale this Friday at 9:30am. Access the ticket pre-sale on Wednesday via our official store: https://t.co/DwpGrAUESZ NBL x pic.twitter.com/A4CWVpCooL
Announced as part of the celebrations around their Nothing But Love ‘best of’ LP, which pulls tracks from James’ whopping 18 studio albums, the new run of UK arena shows in 2026 follows on from numerous noteworthy shows this calendar year.
In addition to the aforementioned outdoor gigs, like their stunning sold-out night at The Piece Hall in Halifax – not too far from frontman Tim Booth’s hometown in Yorkshire – the indie veterans also celebrated a huge landmark in 2025.
Surpassing the milestone of 40 years as a band, with a lineup that’s remained largely intact and only really grown in terms of live session players and touring bandmates.
The new “definitive” greatest hits record also includes two brand-new songs in ‘Wake Up Superman’ and ‘Hallelujah Anyhow’, both of which are produced by Leo Abrahams, who worked with the band on their long-awaited number one album Yummy in 2024 – a feat loooong overdue if you ask us.
As evidenced by the sheer amount of new material they continue to put out and the almost non-stop touring, they remain one of the most prolific artists in the country. FACT.
You can see the rest of James’ upcoming tour dates, including a healthy number of Northern stops in the likes of Liverpool, Leeds and more.
James UK arena tour dates 2026
Fri 2 Birmingham Utilita Arena
Sat 4 Leeds First Direct Bank Arena
Tues 7 Aberdeen P&J Live
Wed 8 Glasgow OVO Hydro
Fri 10 Newcastle Utilita Arena
Sat 11 Liverpool M&S Bank Arena
Mon 13 Cardiff Utilita Arena
Tues 14 Nottingham Motorpoint Arena
Fri 17 London The O2
Sat 18 Manchester Co-op Live
With James returning to Manchester for their Co-op Live arena debut next April, along with a sensational support slot from fellow local legends, Doves (I know, how lucky are you lot?!), you can bank on this one selling out quickly.
General admission goes on sale this Friday, 10 October at 9:30am, so you’d better be ready to grab yours in a flash.
You can find the ticket link HERE, and we’ll see you in the crowd for a good ol’ singalong.
Featured Images — Ehud Lazin/Press shots (supplied)
Music
Electronic icons Kraftwerk announce first Manchester gig since 2017
Danny Jones
Pioneering German band Kraftwerk have announced their first UK tour since 2017, with fans having to wait almost a decade for another Manchester gig.
Thankfully, they’ll be heading back down the Autobahn and across the channel for a return to our shores soon enough with a long-awaited list of British and Irish live dates.
Kraftwerk remains one of the most groundbreaking groups in the electronic scene to this day, having paved the way for generations of new artists to keep experimenting with the genre in the 50+ years since their formation.
Heading back to Manchester early next year, die-hards will no doubt snap these tickets faster than you can say ‘Das Model’.
For anyone unaware of these veritable legends of electronica and the world of alternative/Euro-synth pop, Kraftwerk formed all the way back in 1970 and went on to shape the modern music industry, bridging the gap between music and the digital age.
Best known for tracks like ‘Computer Love’, ‘The Robots’, ‘Pocket Calculator’ and the aforementioned on named after the national motorway network, they spearheaded futurism in the musical landscape from the outset.
It seems only fitting, therefore, that their upcoming highly anticipated return to the UK comes as part of their ‘Multimedia’ tour.
While they have played a number of live shows all over the globe this year, including an extensive run in the US, next spring will be our domestic visit from Kraftwerk in nine long years.
Credit: Press shot (supplied)
You can see the full list of UK and Ireland tour dates – including a handful of Northern gigs – down below:
Spanning a total of 15 UK dates, as you can see, there will also be tickets to see Kraftwerk nearby in the likes of Liverpool and with our mates over in Sheffield.
Kraftwerk legend Ralf Hütter famously played a set inside our city’s velodrome at the National Cycling Centre for Manchester International Festival (MIF) back in 2009, and has collaborated with the event on multiple ocassions.
In fact, that very performance was seen as a turning point for MIF, so the Manc Kraftwerk connection speaks for itself; O2 members can obviously get pre-sale, but general admission tickets go live from 9am this Friday, 10 October.
Hannah Starkie -
29th July 2021 
