The Manchester International Festival
Elbow’s Guy Garvey gives us an insider’s guide
Every thing in the Manchester international festival is entirely new. That’s right: every two years some of the most innovative and successful artists on the planet create entirely fresh work to show in venues across the feisty northern English city.
And when they say the world’s best, they mean it. This year Kraftwerk, Damon Albarn, De La Soul and Anthony and the Johnsons will all stage one-off performances. Artists such as Gustav Metzger and the Turner Prize-winning Jeremy Deller will exhibit brand new work, there will be jazz from the Manchester Jazz Festival, dance from the world’s greatest living male ballet dancer, Carlos Acosta, and a feast cooked up by chefs from Manchester’s multicultural communities.
Local band Elbow are also on the bill and will collaborate with the city’s internationally renowned Hallé Orchestra to play orchestral arrangements of their entire back catalogue, including 2008’s Mercury Prize-winning The Seldom Seen Kid.
Readily enthusing about the importance of the festival, Elbow front man and raconteur Guy Garvey told us why he felt privileged to be part of the event, how Elbow’s own performance was coming together and which other acts he was most looking forward to.
It’s rare to have original work by world famous artists premiere in a city like Manchester. Why is an event like this being held outside the capital?
“It’s great to have the festival in Manchester because it’s both a responsible and confrontational event – those are values Manchester has always sought after. We’re a city that pioneered feminism and socialism and we’ve spawned some of the best music in the world, so it’s perfect that a festival which challenges, inspires and experiments, should be held here. So much of popular culture tries to cheapen life and it’s exciting to be part of something that enriches life and deepens the human experience.”
Elbow will be teaming up with the Hallé Orchestra to play full orchestral arrangements of the band’s entire back catalogue. How privileged do you feel to play with one of Manchester’s oldest and most respected musical institutions?
“In Manchester people don’t say they are going to a classical concert; they say, ‘We’re going to the Hallé.’ It is such an institution and at 151 years old it’s the UK’s longest-established symphony orchestra. Classical music elevates the common man – to be able to see that many people performing for you. Frankly, we’re over the moon to have this opportunity.”
This isn’t the first time you’ve performed with full orchestral backing. You also recorded The Seldom Seen Kid in full with the BBC Concert Orchestra at Abbey Road studios earlier this year. Why does your music lend itself to orchestral accompaniment?
“Even before we could afford to have strings backing the band, we would use organs to create a grander, more melodramatic sound. There’s nothing like people playing to the edge of their ability. It gives the music an energy that you don’t get by simply having the skills to play.”
The ways in which classical and rock musicians approach writing and rehearsing must be worlds apart. Have you found there was any tension bringing these two disciplines together?
“There’s been no tension. It’s been delightful to experience an entirely different way of doing things and we really will be integrated into the orchestra. Pete [Turner, Elbow bassist] will be with the bass section, [drummer Richard] Jupp will be with the percussion etc. We just do what we’re told in rehearsals.”
How have the arrangements come together?
“Joe Duddell is a composer and friend of the band and he’s taken our stuff, arranged it for the Hallé and turned it into something else. It’s spine-tingling to hear and there have been some tears shed during rehearsals. One stand out song will be Weather to Fly. It’s a very personal song because it’s about us growing up, bickering and trying to get our own way, like teenage lads often do. It’s the only song I’ve ever written about the band, so it’s going to be quite emotional.”
Guy Garvey’s picks
Kraftwerk with Steve Reich
This two-hour-long set will feature new arrangements of tracks taken from the entire back catalogue of electronic pioneers Kraftwerk. It will also see the world premiere of 2×5, a composition by the godfather of minimalist music, Steve Reich, which was specially commissioned by the Manchester International Festival. GG says: “Kraftwerk are an iconic band and a huge influence on Manchester’s own music scene. Their influence found its way into Joy Division’s music and later into the Acid House music that made the Haçienda so famous.”
It Felt Like A Kiss
Created by BBC filmmaker Adam Curtis, this play will be performed by the challenging theatre company Punchdrunk with original music composed by Damon Albarn. It tells the story of America’s rise to power in the golden age of pop. GG says: “Damon Albarn runs with good ideas and is prepared to go out on a limb. Being an artist is about attempting to do what might seem impossible. By writing an opera [Monkey: Journey to the West, which was created by Albarn and Jamie Hewlett and premiered at the 2007 Manchester International Festival], by inviting musicians from all over the world to come together for an unrehearsed but cohesive jamming session [the Africa Express project], Damon has made the impossible possible. With him it’s not just about being creative, it’s about being brave.”
Flailing Trees
Artist and political activist Gustav Metzger pioneered the concept of Auto-Destructive Art; a term Pete Townsend of The Who would later use to describe the destroying of his guitar on stage. In Flailing Trees, Metzger will dig up 21 willow trees, cut off their branches and replant them upside down, roots exposed to the air. GG says: “This is going to upset people but really Metzger is presenting something that is happening all around us every day in a new and provocative light. It will be an unsettling image but it’s not about shocking people. Metzger has the heart of a lion and as an artist it is his right to confront the public and give them a gentle shake by the shoulders. It’s a traditional Manchester value to say no to the norm and this fits perfectly with that.”
Prima Donna
This opera tells the story of Régine Saint Laurent, one of the world’s most revered operatic sopranos, who is facing the ghosts of her past as she plans her return to the stage. The music is composed by Rufus Wainwright and will be performed by Opera North. GG says: “Rufus hasn’t been able to find a home for this opera so I am really pleased that he chose Manchester as the place to launch it. Rufus writes beautiful music – it always reflects the most sensitive aspects of life.”
The Manchester Procession
Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller’s previous works include The Battle of Orgreave, a 1,000-person re-enactment of the notorious 1984 battle between police and pickets during the miners strike. His ideas are based on the assumption that humans are attracted to big public events, which bring them together. The Manchester Procession will draw on the age-old traditions of carnival and public gatherings. GG says: “This will be a celebration of Manchester’s working class community values. Music and art have always been central to that community. There’s a stereotypical view of northerners that they think art is putting a brick on a pedestal before charging people 1,000 quid to go and see it. But actually northern people love art and our city has a tradition of being experimental. We’ve always pushed boundaries artistically.“ 
The Manchester International Festival runs 2-19 July. For more details visit www.mif.co.uk
