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The Manchester edition of Now Then is no longer publishing content. Visit the Sheffield edition.

Issue 68 February 2020

We’re back online for our first issue of 2020, which is adorned with the colours of a local artist, Sarah Connell. You can read our interview with her by clicking the link to the right, and

Elsewhere, we interview a Banana Hill resident DJ, SNO, about her crate and digital digging for African jazz to dance to; alto saxophonist Cassie Kinoshi tells us about the importance of Tomorrow’s Warriors to the UK jazz revival; we hear about Temples’ latest LP Hot Motion from the horse’s mouth; and chat with the folks behind Withington’s latest musical addition, Wilderness.

Localcheck looks at Bee Network’s progress towards creating a walking and cycling-friendly city-region, and Lucas Jones digs around the election results in Greater Manchester.

A quick look back at 2019’s MIF sees Charlotte Reck waxing lyrical about the Janelle Monae show at Castlefield Bowl.

The previously mentioned website redesign is on course for a spring/summertime launch, so keep ’em peeled for that.

Enjoy the read.

Ian Pennington avatar
by Ian Pennington

This month's articles

A Matter of Taste

Food. Without it, you’d die. That’s not in question. When Covid-19 showed its creepy consequence and it became apparent everyone in the UK…

Live / stage review Brittany Howard

Touring one of her "most honest" albums to date, Brittany Howard brought the perfect combination of soul, funk and rock to Manchester.…

Live / stage review Joe Armon-Jones

Recently nominated as UK jazz act of the year by Jazz FM, Joe Armon-Jones impressively merges an array of influences to form a sound that…

Live / stage review Mewn

With the enjoyable excesses of the recent festivities disappearing into a different decade, the audience willing to sample the potential…

Janelle Monae MIF Retrospective

Emblazoned with promise, creation stories begin with an embryonic hope. Whether your most valued creation story is found in a holy book,…

SNO Rumba rhythms and Congolese club

Ahead of her set alongside Awesome Tapes From Africa and Mr Scruff for La Rumba's third birthday, we talked about the family member that started her along the path that eventually led to the DJ booth.

Seed Ensemble Tomorrow's Warrior

Setting out on their first tour, SEED Ensemble are soon to bring their unique blend of jazz, and West African and Caribbean dance grooves…

Temples Hot Motion

The trio join us for a chat about Hot Motion and what the new era brings.