The Noise Upstairs.

Richard Scott (left) and Phil Marks the night's featured act.

Jim Tetlow joins 'The Noise Upstairs' regulars at monthly jam session.

Between a Northerly pilgrimage to see Faust on spark-raising form in Manchester and joining with Glenn Boulter to perform at the FON Light Night event in Liverpool, Dave Dhonau and Jim Tetlow spent a suitably noise full Thursday evening at Withington, Manchester's 'The Noise Upstairs'. It's a monthly jam session at which, the blurb declares, 'names are pulled out, ensembles formed, and hearts broken'. In a format quite similar to Leicester's own monthly Quadelectronic (of which Jim and Dave a regular attendees), participants' names are drawn from a hat and the randomly selected trios improvised together. Unlike Quadelectronic, however, 'The Noise Upstairs' nights also boast a set from a different featured act each. This time it was a duo consisting of seasoned local improvisers Phil Marks and Richard Scott. Scott coaxed a range of compelling squelches from a bewilderingly complex electronic setup (largely controlled by customised Wii remotes), whilst Marks subjected his drum kit and percussive assortments to a frenetic, skittery battering. The evening was well attended, and was rounded off with a 'Jam du jour', featuring six of the participants and a convoluted set of rules based around the number 5.

Also, it should be mentioned, one of the jams featured a brand new electronic / percussive instrument constructed from a bike wheel, courtesy of Levenshulme Bicycle Orchestra.