Presenting the red-hot bloke-on-bloke action that will be CITY:live #2

For CITY:live #2 we have assembled the three most vital electro duos in Manchester. Though they all stick to the standard two-unassuming-blokes personnel format, that's where the comparisons end. Each is at the cutting edge front of their field, one has graced the Top 20 more than once, another are being salivated over by every music magazine in the country but all of them are headed that way. Two of them have never played a live show before anywhere, ever, but they'll all be together at Manchester Academy 3 on 30 October for what promises to be one of the gigs of the year. We'd mortgage our grandmothers for any of them, but for the beginner, here's the whistle-stop guide…

Mint Royale
Twosome: Neil Claxton and Chris Baker
Look like: Grown-up geek out on the pull with good-looking best mate.
Sound like: The corpse of big-beat reanimated as a bodypopping househead in day-glo swimwear.
They say: "The whole big-beat thing became an albatross for a lot of acts, but we weren't from Brighton. We've found it much easier to move on."
Seek: Forthcoming single 'Blue Song' from second album Dancehall Places (Faith&Hope)
Factoid: Neil and Chris had a cameo role in John Cusack movie Serendipity, after early track 'From Rusholme With Love' was used on the soundtrack.
Sample lyric: 'I am the sexiest man in Jamaica and the women love me and I will never grow old.'
Which makes them: Just a touch deluded.

My Computer
Twosome: Andy Chester and Dave Luke
Look like: Each other.
Sound like: The prefect synthesis of passive-aggressive songwriting heavenly dollops of layered electronica.
They say: "We were pissing ourselves when we first listened to 'All I Ever Really Wanted Was A Good Time'. Laughing our heads off, just, 'that will never see the light of day. It's just so stupid."
Seek: Limited edition 12" debut single 'All I Ever Really Wanted Was A Good Time' and stunning debut album Vulnerabilia (13 Amp)
Factoid: Chesy used to be a member of Creation Records indie people One Lady Owner. And if anyone else mentions it they'll probably get a slap.
Sample lyric: 'Money pays for everything / Love alone won't keep you king / Born up north to lie down south / Shut your fucking mouth'.
Which makes them: Vulnerable.

Roger
Twosome: Andrew Odia and Teemu Metsala.
Look like: a pair of harassed community workers.
Sound like: The Pet Shop Boys with Scandinavian grammar.
They say: 'I had a hangover and I woke up in my friend's flat. I saw a Buck Rogers poster. Later I was in my girlfriend's flat and there was an English Sex Dictionary… right after 'ritual rape' there was 'roger'.'
Seek: 'Tears For The Journey', lead track on current Give Me Love Or A Brand New Car EP (Mate).
Factoid: Roger was Teemu's solo alias at home in Finland before moving to Manchester to study.
Sample lyric: 'Yyour life is like a cover song / nobody loves you but you get along / hang around for a number of days / until another one takes your place.'
Which makes them: Like the Pet Shop Boys.

CITY:live #2, Academy 3, October 30

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