AKOUSTIK ANARKHY | MANCHESTER

So what is Akoustik Anarkhy?

The Loungs rip it up at the aA Christmas Party 2006

Akoustik Anarkhy (aA) came kicking & screaming into the world back in October 1999, with a fortnightly session at The Star & Garter in Manchester. In those days, it was often laughed at as a "shitty acoustic night" , but we soon grew into "the most don't give a fuck live music night in Manchester " , offering full-on live bands of any style/ability, guest DJ's, alcohol & utter mayhem. Regularly playing to a packed house in a space that was no bigger than your own front room, bands from all over the Country were soon killing their own Grandma's to get a foot in the door & get a slot.

After a while, we figured that it would be a good idea to set up a record label, as a means of promoting the best of the bands that we came across. Operating on a shoestring budget & working from home, we established ourselves locally with a succession of underground releases. Such releases include those by Autokat, The Zans & Loose Canon , whose single “Out To Lunch” was made available on limited edition 7” vinyl (our first venture into black plastic) & received brilliant reviews in both the local & national press.

After doing time at The Star & Garter for nearly two & a half years & 66 sessions , we decided to kill off the fortnightly shindig in it's prime, simply due to the fact that we thought 66 was a nice enough number to finish on. It was during this time that we figured that it would be a decent idea to stick out a compilation album.

We originally had the idea for the “Whore on the Doors” album way back before aKouStiK AnaRKhY even existed, but there was a serious shortage of decent bands to go on it, so we had to shelve the idea for a while. If anything, the album was intended as a lasting document of the Star & Garter years. A kind of “thank you” to the 400 or so bands that played at the night over two and a half years & a thumbs up to all of the people who came to watch, week in week out.

It was released during May 2003 & was available on CD & limited edition vinyl , offering 10 tracks by 10 bands over 35 minutes. The bands were all responsible for deciding which tracks they wanted to submit for the album & it was left up to us to compile, package & release the thing. Looking back, the album was by no means a definitive account of anything. We just wanted to give a collection of brilliant bands a bit of exposure.

Akoustik Anarkhy as a live spectacle started once again during early 2003 & this time we made a point of calling at different venues for a change of scenery. Locally, we've called at The Black Lion, The Kings Arms (both in Salford), The Blue Cat ( Heaton Moor), The Briton's Protection (Manchester) & more recently The Garden's Hotel, Manchester, which has become our new semi-permanent home. Furthermore, we've spawned a series of spin off events such as the truly seminal “Seaside AnaRKhY” shindig that happened in Brighton during Summer 2003 & the now legendary “AnaRKhY In The City 3” which took place in Manchester during September last year. On that occasion, we presented 3 consecutive days of the best live bands that aA & Manchester had to offer, in addition to inviting the legendary 60's west coast scenester Kim Fowley over for the party.

It's been a long hard slog up until now, but we're not going anywhere because we're having the time of our lives & there are plenty more parties to come. If Akoustik Anarkhy is about anything, it's about playing music, having a party, being totally care free & living life like there's no tomorrow. This is just the beginning.

To be continued...

bleur