THE vibrant disco sounds of MAY68 come to The Box in Crewe on Friday October 30.
The Manchester band's name was inspired by the Parisian situationist riots - and they have a dancefloor palette that is decidedly European chic.
But Euro persuasion or not, MAY68 simply want to make the whole world stand up and gyrate to their brilliantly dizzying electro-pop.
Guitarist Jonny Sture said: "There’s this stereotype of a Manchester electro band wanting to sound like New Order and the Hacienda era.
"But we don’t really make that sort of cold, clinical electro music.
"We’re much warmer and pop-friendly – we’ve got more in common with European electro acts and Prince than the old Manchester rave scene.
"There’s a lot of British electro bands around who stick to a clinical formula, but we aim to do something more different and exotic."
Exotic is what MAY68 certainly are.
The Manchester five-piece – comprising guitarist Jonny, drummer Camille Bertin, vocalist Jude Wainwright, bassist Owen Manns and keyboardist Matt Dutton – fuse the sweaty rhythms of Eighties electro-disco to a certain Euro-dance sophistication, making them very much the bon viveurs of the Manc electro world.
Moreover, with a band leader (drummer Camille) who’s a born-and-bred Parisian, MAY68 might be the greatest slice of Gallic cool to arrive on Manc shores since a certain Frenchman swaggered into Old Trafford, turned up his shirt collar, and uttered something about seagulls and trawlers.
"It might sound strange, but I came from Paris to England just to start a career in music," enthuses Camille.
"In France, the music culture is awful.
"There are bands, but most of them are really bad and still trying to sound like The Libertines.
"For me, Manchester was like this musical heaven. A place where good music is encouraged and you can make good electro music and get recognition.
"Paris could learn a lot from this city’s music culture."
Karen O lookalike singer Jude adds a sense of theatre; her feisty sense of showmanship owing much to an unlikely background in stage musicals.
She said: "I once starred in a version of Cinderella that my uncle wrote.
"I had to sing a version of Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus!
"That was probably the highlight of my stage career. But I never had ambitions to work with Andrew Lloyd Webber or anything."
But ultimately, MAY68’s greatest sense of drama comes from the propulsive power of their pop songs.
Support comes from Highwired, The Boothen and Plastic Highways.
Tickets are £5 and available from www.theboxcrewe.co.uk. Doors are from 8pm.
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