Wednesday night saw the launch of Brighton sonic stalwarts, Man Ray Sky’s Ether Song EP at the Hope. Man Ray Sky have been plying their trade in and around Brighton for some time now and they certainly know how to put on a show. Tonight was no exception. From the cosmic, swirling cloud of vintage synth in the set’s opener, the crowd were plunged into the psychedelic deep end. Fortunately, MRS provided us with performance, melody and invention as arm bands, rather than making us jump in in our pyjamas in the vain search for a rubber brick.
 
It was certainly an immersive experience, both acoustically and spiritually. The band’s front man, J Thornton typifies this through his performance, becoming so lost and enveloped in the songs that he almost physically pulls you along with him; feeling the waves of sound the band create, becoming part of the energy they produce and losing yourself to the force of the music.
 
Ably supported by Jools Owen and Max Numajiri from Spacenoid, and Steve Ingham from Dark Horses, the band produced a well-measured set that took in a whole range of atmospherics and emotions, from taut rhythms and bubbling grooves to all out aural attacks. Only with a wealth of live experience does a band learn to balance all of these elements and create a flow that takes the listener along on an irresistible trip.
 
A special mention must go out to the rendition of Ether Song itself; a pounding riff-driven number with dreamy verses and magisterial choruses. MRS delivered it with such conviction – a song they are evidently very fond of, with just cause. This triggered a high point to an already fine set, with Luma following – the kind of song MRS were born to write and perform. High harmonies, tribal drums and fluffy keyboards slowly building into a hypnotic, cyclical chord sequence before climaxing on a satisfying crescendo.
 
The band went out in a blaze of glory, or rather, flying keyboards with Cyan. Mark Benton took over on lead vocal duties on this slow burning song which catapulted into a stratospheric riff. Now MRS have got some big riffs, but this one can be heard from space! The riff triggered a tsunami of noise; incredible drumming (basically a three minute drum solo) providing a captivating counterpoint to the riff and the band emptying the contents of their musical magic sleeves on stage, with the final act being J attempting to use his keyboard as a flying broomstick. Sadly he failed in that, but that was the only thing that didn’t go according to plan.
Adam Luke Atkins
 
Man Ray Sky - Interview
You’ve been in and around Brighton for some time now; since 2008. What’s the key to keeping things going?
“I can only speak for myself, but the thing that keeps me going is the feeling that there is so much potential to write cool music that I like and hopefully other people might like too. I also feel that, for me, Man Ray Sky is a project that has a certain chemistry or creativity that I know I'd never be able to replicate again. I also feel pretty lucky and excited to work with these musicians. We've been through some tough times recently and stuff can feel really stacked against us sometimes, but we hope to release much more music much more frequently in the future – in some form or other.”
 
Well, you’re currently promoting a new release, Ether Song EP. How did that come about?
“Mike from the band came up with the riff and basic chorus melody and chord progression. Then the band kicked it into an actual song and I came up with the main vocal melody in the verses.”
 
Is there a sentiment or statement behind Ether Song?
“I'm not brave enough to explain what the lyrics are ACTUALLY about, as they are about a specific personal situation in my life, but they are also definitely about much more broad things that affect most humans. I really feel quite strongly that when I write lyrics, they are not meant to be read separately from the music; I am NOT a poet! I usually write quite abstract, dream-like lyrics but these were definitely about a subject that means something to me.“
 
How do you fund your recordings and promote them?
“Beatabet.”
 
Who or what is Beatabet?
“Beatabet is a multi-national Illuminati-style organisation bent on world domination! We also make music, release records, create events and generally do weird / cool stuff. The more boring and prosaic answer is that a group of creative people got together in 2006 to do creative stuff as a group rather than struggling to do stuff on our own.
I personally became a committee member in 2007 / 2008 and Man Ray Sky have been involved in some of the events Beatabet have put on and more recently, Beatabet have started to release recordings of the artists involved in the collective. Waiting for the outside world to come and discover us was taking way too long, so we did it ourselves.”
 
Any other tips for aspiring musicians that are new to Brighton?
“Ha! You might want to ask any number of other, more well-connected bands in Brighton. We're definitely in our own little sub-genre of musicians in Brighton and rarely feel like we're a part of the larger Brighton ‘scene’, whatever that is. One of the best ways of getting yourself known in Brighton is hang out at rehearsal spaces a lot. Making friends with all the many bands who come through the various practice spaces is a great way to hook up for gigs and such. There are also plenty of musicians to form a band with and as the music of Brighton is quite wide in its scope there will probably be at least one or two bands who share your aesthetic. Get a small crew / collective together and try to put on your own shows as a group – that's definitely one thing that has benefitted Man Ray Sky. Also, get loads of students to like you!“
 
What has kept you in Brighton for all this time?
“Brighton is a great place to get started – there are so many musicians and opportunities to get something together. It's much more likely that you'll find cool people and places with which to do musical things with than many other cities. Plus there is a pretty good collection of radio shows, magazines and websites dedicated to promoting and reporting on musical stuff in the city. There is also a beach… which is nice.”
 
Ether Song EP is available on manraysky.bandcamp.com

 
Website: manraysky.com