Rochdale Music Stories Presents: Kenion Street

Rochdale Music Stories Presents: Kenion Street

(Rochdale Music Stories) 

Limited Edition Vinyl

Available 14th March

Rochdale Music Stories presents Kenion Street is a new compilation celebrating the music recorded at Cargo and Suite 16 between 1977-2001.

Between 1977-2001, Rochdale was home to Cargo Studios, later Suite 16 on Kenion Street, where trailblazing artists like The Stone Roses, New Order, OMD, Inspiral Carpets, A Certain Ratio, The Fall, Happy Mondays, and Joy Division – among countless others – recorded some of their most memorable work. This year, Rochdale is Greater Manchester Town of Culture and is celebrating the legacy of the studios with a new compilation release of 14 local artists reimagining tracks that were recorded on Kenion Street.

I’ll be honest, the idea that someone would even have the audacity to think that this was a good idea; offering new takes on the like of Atmosphere, Twenty Four Hour Party People, Keep The Circle Around, Totally Wired and Elephant Stone, made me uncomfortable however curiosity got the better of me, and I’m glad it did. I am sure that there are many others who will think of this as sacrilegious… Obviously, none of the recordings on here will ever replace the originals but fair play to all the artists who are involved, all clearly talented in their own right and have created something unique. put a lot of effort. I’m not sure how familiar they will have been with originals, but they’ve not been afraid to do something different. My personal favourites being P*Starr’s funky take on the Inspiral’s and From The Ground Up’s more sedate version of The Stone Roses 1988 single.

In support of the release, Rochdale Music Stories will be staging a special showcase event at Heywood Civic Centre, LCpl Stephen Shaw MC Way, Heywood, OL10 1LW on Saturday 14 March from 19:30, where the tracks will be performed live, as well an opportunity to purchase Chris Connelly’s excellent book Cargo Studios which document the rich history of the famed Rochdale studio from 1977 to 1985, a terrific volume which Connelly spent twelve years researching. The book features an introduction from Cargo’s founder and studio engineer John Brierley and a foreword by Peter Hook, who as well as recording there with Joy Division and New Order continued the legacy when he bought the premises and ran it as Suite 16 Studios.

Tickets for the even can be purchased here

The Rochdale Music Stories project aims to honour Rochdale’s musical legacy while spotlighting the energy and diversity of its current music scene. Accompanying this will be a dedicated area on the Rochdale Creates Website featuring stories, podcasts, memorabilia to create a lasting legacy for generations to come.

ROCHDALE MUSIC STORIES PRESENTS: KENION STREET – ALBUM TRACKLISTING

1. Micah Stalgic ft. Local Vocals – “Atmosphere” (Joy Division)
2. K-Estate – “Damaged Goods” (Gang of Four)
3. Desyfer & Emma Konnanov – “Twenty Four Hour Party People” (Happy Mondays)
4. P*STARR – “Keep The Circle Around” (Inspiral Carpets)
5. Leo HC – “Up The Down Escalator” (The Chameleons)
6. PoolEra – “Electricity” (OMD)
7. Medley – Dreams Never End (New Order)
8. Blvckout – “All Night Party” (A Certain Ratio)
9. The Velvet Shadow ft. Maisie Thompson – “All Tomorrow’s Parties” (Nico)
10. Jennifer Reid – “Totally Wired” (The Fall)
11. From The Ground Up ft. Bloom Music Community – “Elephant Stone” (The Stone Roses)

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All words by Iain Key. See his author profile here or find him via his LinkTree