Just for a change we've whipped up an eclectic musical treat for you today, Manchester. Oh my. We've got electronica, street dance, hip hop, dancehall, we've got food, we've got drinks, and if you're lucky we might have sunshine too*

*MIF make no guarantee of sunshine but the rest is happening whatever the weather, let's party

OK! Let's take a look....

Image source, MIF

Openers at 12:30 BST are One Little Atlas, external, a lovely spacey electronic-ey duo from Manchester. Here's a taster:

DJ Tacostan joins us at 14:30 BST for a two-hour session (hopefully in the sunshine), then at 17:30 BST our stage gets taken over by street dancers Aim Sky High, external - no lazing around when this lot are around, get ready.

Things get louder at 20:00 BST with legendary Manchester hip hoppers Children Of Zeus, external - this will be vital, loud, and totally amazing - or your money back. Yep:

The party don't stop at Festival Square though - rounding off the night is an incredible Swing Ting, external lineup: Fox, Lady Ice, HMD & the Swing Ting residents will be bringing their incendiary noise to the table from 22:00 BST until late. Don't miss this one, it'll be next level.

See you there!

Good morning, MIF!

Yesterday was a right old noisy one - Festival Square went on until the wee small hours, Skepta launched his bold new show at [REDACTED: SECRET LOCATION] and on the other side of the city Claire Cunningham's brilliant glittery new work Thank You Very Much, external premiered at the Ukrainian Cultural Centre to a standing ovation - we'll be bringing you audience reactions to both shows later, plus a full review of Claire Cunningham's show from Dan, who was in attendance last night and had his assumptions thoroughly smashed (in a very good way)

Coming up today:

Image source, MIF

Still going, and still completely free: Ibrahim Mahama's super Parliament of Ghosts, external installation at the Whitworth is definitely worth checking out, and the School of Integration is running daily at Manchester Art Gallery.

Today would also be a good day to get down to Atmospheric Memory, external: when it's quiet in the mornings you get the whole cavernous space almost to yourself, pull up a beanbag and enjoy. Top tip, there.

Image source, MIF

Today's Talking Points, external will be excellent, a discussion on the subject of expression, held at the Anthony Burgess foundation. Free too, just rock up.

And of course our ticketed shows are running again today, highlights include Thank You Very Much, external, Tuesday, external over at St Augustine's Church, The Nico Project, external and also the excellent To The Moon, external which can be visited for just a fiver and will blow your mind, promise.

Image source, MIF

Right here on MIF Live we'll be bringing you some behind the scenes at more shows, another round of amazing Creative Lab, external projects, and who knows what else. It's exciting, isn't it!

Have at it, audience. Have at it!

Whew, what a day. Today saw the opening of Thank You Very Much, external (Dan was there, full thoughts tomorrow - it caught him entirely by surprise and he absolutely loved it).

Image source, MIF

Of course the mighty Skepta, external opened DYSTOPIA987, external at [REDACTED: SECRET LOCATION] tonight too, no phones allowed in there and if your name's not on the list you're not getting in. (we'll be bringing you the good stuff after it finishes though, watch this space).

As we type this, Festival Square, external is making an almighty racket, and we're off to join in. See you tomorrow!

Image source, Olivia Rose / MIF

Let's have a look at another superb tag-team that's emerged from the MIF19 Creative Lab - Mel Roberts, external is a sculptor and general big-exciting-thing-maker, and Jo Portus, external (who we've met once already) is a creative technologist who makes cool things happen.

Together, in response to the themes of Utopia and Future Myth, they've created Filter Face - an ambitious living wearable sculpture that allows the wearer to projection-map their own face onto the giant head, using a camera to track their image and map it directly onto the sculpture.

Do you know what, have a look and listen at our duo explain all:

Innit cool?

Jo adds:

We, too, are terrified of your giant scary head. Here's another look at the wondrous thing in action:

Face puppet: Mel Roberts

Projection mapping app: Jo Portus

Music: Holly Phelps, aka IORA

Video directed and edited: Steve Moyler - McCann Manchester.

Head: created as part of "Project Phoenix", produced by Global Grooves, funded by Arts Council England.

As part of our exciting David Lynch programming at MIF19, the man himself joined us at HOME, along with a few exciting converts and experts, to talk about transcendental meditation, external.

Lynch is a long-term practitioner, and this was a great chance to allow new audiences to hear his thoughts on the practice, as well as giving a forum to those who already practice and have questions. We also hear from a varied panel discussing the use of transcendental meditation for therapeutic uses, enhancing creativity, and much more.

The full video is below, it's an hour long but super interesting - make a brew and settle in for this one.

Just for a change, we thought we'd bring you an absolutely banging lineup for precisely zero pounds on Festival Square, external - can you believe it? OBVIOUSLY we've been doing just that for every single day of the festival so far, but this one will be something else.

Straight up from 17:30 BST until 19:00 BST, it's the NoSpace party, external. We tried to describe them, but instead we'll let them do it for us:

Yeah.

From 20:00 BST until 22:00 BST it's another incredible lineup curated by Mr MIF - Dave Haslam. He's bringing you Manchester post-punk rabble-rousers LIINES, external:

and also the amazing punk/dance/everything powerhouse that is Sink Ya Teeth, external:

Not enough? Alright then, we finish up from 22:00 BST until late with a DJ set by none other than Jez Kerr of A Certain Ratio, external.

Told you it was a good lineup. Let's party.

Raheel and Simon's artwork for the MIF19 Creative Lab is a really interesting one - as independent practitioners in the city they have created a project that directly interrogates and examines funding for large cultural organisations in comparison to small grassroots ones. They transformed a map into a collage of the city, whilst underneath brewed data on inflating costs and the impact to local business. All you need to uncover the information is a mobile device.

Image source, MIF

In Raheel's words:

Technologist Simon added:

See the piece in action below, in this short but informative video....

Follow Raheel on Twitter, external / Instagram, external

Follow Simon on Twitter, external / Instagram, external

We're already halfway through the final week, and gearing up for the biggest weekend of all. Having popped our heads into the dress rehearsal for Skepta's DYSTOPIA987, external we can safely say it is going to absolutely blow minds - it opens tonight, and everyone who has a ticket is in for a brain-pummelling, ear-popping experience. What can we say except: this is the future of gigs.

Also opening today is Thank You Very Much, external, a glittering, cape-swinging show by acclaimed choreographer Claire Cunningham centred around tribute artists, exploring living as a disabled performers in a world built for able bodies, and why we're drawn towards being someone else.

Here's a trailer for you:

You can still get along to our exhibitions A Parliament Of Ghosts (read a brilliant interview with creator Ibrahim Mahama in the Guardian here, external) and David Lynch's My Head Is Disconnected, external (Little White Lies , externalcalled it 'a strange trip into a brilliant mind').

Coming up in Festival Square, external, tonight the brilliant punk legends LIINES , externalwill take to the main stage, followed by a DJ set from DJ Jez Kerr ACR. Not got LIINES in your lucky faces yet? Have a bit of this:

As ever you should check out the full festival listings, external to see what suits you - but better be quick! This is your (and indeed our) final week! God only knows what's waiting for us on the other side, doesn't bear thinking about, crack up the LIINES and let's not worry.

Acclaimed choreographer and self-identified disabled performer Claire Cunningham opens her new show Thank You Very Much, external tomorrow, looking at what drives us to be like other people, through the lens of celebrity tribute acts.

Running from the 17-20 July, you've only got a few chances to catch this glittery spectacular, and we absolutely can't wait. Take a look at the trailer right here:

Find out more about Thank You Very Much, external right here, an absolute must for dance fans, and/or cape obsessives. That covers pretty much everyone, we reckon.

This Saturday night we welcome the Queens Of The Electronic Underground to the Ritz - a night of sensational upcoming electronic talent, hosted by Manchester legend Mary Anne Hobbs.

So, let's learn a bit more about the brilliant artists on the bill.

First up:

Katie Gately is LA-based musician, sound designer and architect of beautiful abstract pop - she uses the raw, industrial sounds of the world around us (you can watch her go and capture them punishingly in this fabulous little documentary, external about her process) - resulting in a surprising, dirty but still somehow deliciously poppy sound:

Klara Lewis is Swedish musician-composer who describes her creations as ‘theatre for the ear'. Mary Anne named her Emerging Artist of the Year in 2014, and with her gorgeous mix of organic and digital recordings, it's easy to see why:

Aisha Devi is a Swiss electronic producer who frames her music as a spiritual quest, resulting in haunting, soaring and utterly original tracks that feel almost out-of-body.

Electronic goddess Holly Herndon rejoins us after smashing her gig here in MIF17, having taken her signature digital sound to new heights with recent album PROTO. Mixing choral vocals with AI, she's paving the way for digital artists everywhere.

Jlin is the composer on this year's game commission Songs Of The Lost, external, and her throbbing, pulsing, dramatic and completely hypnotic sound make one of the most hyped artists at this year's festival:

Afrodeutche brings dark electro, breaks, footwork, ghetto tech and more, mixing a head-spinning amount of influences to create entirely new worlds:

Can't lie, having now listened to all of these artists I am now so hyped for this. Also, crippling embarrassed at how little art I make with my computer. Does this count? This counts, right?

Find out more about Queens Of The Electronic Underground here, external

We've been lucky enough to showcase Tao Of Glass , external- Phelim McDermott's love letter to his idol Phillip Glass, which he created WITH Phillip Glass himself. The piece itself is gorgeous: emotional, filled with original music, puppetry, dreamy physical sequences and proper emotional heart.

It's only running for a few more days, so if you want to see it, you need to act fast.

Luckily though, you don't need to take our word for it - audiences and critics won't stop banging on about it...

To grab your ticket while you still can, head here right now., external You're welcome.

Internationally acclaimed choreographer and disabled performer Claire Cunningham opens a brand new show with us tomorrow: Thank You Very Much, external, a glittery extravaganza exploring celebrity impersonators, and why so many of us strive to be like someone else.

According to Claire, her work is "initially rooted in the use/misuse, study and distortion of crutches – Cunningham’s metier. Through these objects she not only engages physically with the world, exploring the potentiality of her specific physicality as a disabled individual, crafting a unique vocabulary which aims to challenge conventions around virtuosity, classical aesthetic and dance, but are also her means to relate and connect to the world as an artist."

Also guys, there's capes. But let's let Claire talk about it:

Thank You Very Much , externalopens tomorrow, and runs until the 20 July

Creative Lab artist Michael-Jon Mizra has been busy working on something so bloody clever it took us a few tries to understand it properly. The work is entitled Inaudible Cyclics, and has been created in response to the some of the themes within Invisible Cities. The work involves using... *checks notes* ...specific sonic patterns within audio, to create forms and shapes within visualised waveforms. OK wait, hold on, have a quick look (and listen!) first:

What's happening here is that subtle changes and variations within the generated sound that you can hear result in these beautiful geometric forms, similar (I think) to an oscilloscope. Michael-Jon then uses this process as a creative tool to work on visualising increasingly complex - and beautiful - forms, hidden completely within the sound, inaudible to humans.

Specifically:

What a super little project this has been, if you're into deeply clever sonic noodling you can check out more of Michael-Jon's work right here, external, and follow him on Twitter, external.

Don't get us wrong, we love living in the real world - paying tax, getting buses, eating crisps, it's all good stuff. But there's no denying that it's nice to take a break from it all.

Fortunately, two of our commissions this year are determined to do just that.

First up, Laurie Anderson's gorgerous VR experience To The Moon, external is running at the Royal Exchange, giving anyone the ability to fly around strange and wonderful vast galaxies. Hear her talk about it right here:

And for those who can't get to Manchester, that's no problem at all - our specially commissioned game Songs Of The Lost, external immerses you in a beautiful, strange other reality, with astonishing visuals and a pulsing electronic soundtrack. It's free to download, and you can play from the comfort of your own homes. God speed, adventurers.

Songs Of The Lost, external is MIF19's videogame commission - a magical realist odyssey by Paloma Dawkins.

The game takes players on a short but intense trip of an experience, through portals, magical forests, abstract dreamscapes and dark twisting organic mazes - each one has it's own flavour, and of course it's own incredible specially-composed soundtrack by Jlin, external. Not checked it out yet? There's a trailer below, and you can download the game for free on Mac or PC right here, external. Headphones recommended.

Here's a little glimpse at some of the sketch and concept work behind some of the levels, but we strongly recommend playing the game first before peeking behind the scenes!

Here's a fast colour/theme progression sketch by concept artist Evan Lovejoy, external - try referring back to this single image while playing through the game, it came out pretty close!

Image source, MIF

Some concept art was very broad, to give an idea of both the structure and look/feel of individual levels, working closely with Paloma. This allowed 3D artist Brennan, external to come in and get to work:

Image source, MIF

Image source, MIF

Similarly, the Tower level was concepted by hand early on:

Image source, MIF

Although the final styling ended up more angular and neon, the concept really informed the final look and feel of the tower rising out of the forest:

Image source, MIF

Even small elements of the game were concepted out by hand first - the doorways that link each level went though several iterations, here's an idea of some of Evan Lovejoy's excellent sketches with ideas:

Image source, MIF

As you can see, concept artwork is a really critical way to take abstract ideas and begin to turn them into something that ultimately can manifest within the game - this process is always very satisfying to see happen.

Much more to come on Songs Of The Lost, external over the next few days. Stay tuned.

First up from today's Creative Lab cohort, it's the excellent David McFarlane. David's responded to BELLS FOR PEACE, external (and presumably Manchester's stereotypical climate) and has created a superb hardware installation project that listens for raindrops and plays beautiful sounds in response. We'll explain a little about it in a moment, but for now let's hear from the man himself in this informative and fantastically funny video:

David's lovely installation uses a custom-made perspex enclosure, built in fact by Chris Ball, the man responsible for the incredible hardware that powered Rimini Protokoll's festival commission, Utopolis, external. Like those units, the outer shell is weatherproof, protecting the electronic gubbins within (technical term there).

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE.

Excitingly, David's exciting machine is current sat outside in the real world, waiting for rain, and you can watch it on a live stream! Of course, the one time we WANT the rain in Manchester it holds off, but keep an eye on this if it does rain and watch David's project come to life:

Lovely stuff. You can follow David on Twitter, external or Instagram, external.

This Saturday sees the final instalment of our regular festival summit series, Interdependence, external, where we invite a large pile of insightful and interesting humans to come and speak to us about amazing work and big ideas.

Image source, MIF

In our third and final Interdependence summit, presented as part of MIF19 and Distractions, we take inspiration from DYSTOPIA987 and Atmospheric Memory to explore how science and technology are enabling us to reconfigure our minds, bodies and relationships with each other and the world around us. We’ll be hearing from the artists and futurists visualising new worlds, and the thinkers tackling the big ideas –  and there’ll be interactive demonstrations throughout the day hosted by the Royal Shakespeare Company and Magic Leap, Vrai Pictures and TEM. 

Here's a preview, click here to read the entire Twitter thread, external outlining some of the excellent sessions we have lined up for you:

Interdependence is this Saturday at HOME, click here for all the details, external.

Songs Of The Lost has been picked up in the press since launching, and has been played by lots of new players, and we're pleased to say the game has blown a few minds along the way.

Image source, MIF

Our pals over at Rockpapershotgun took a look, external:

Creative Review also checked the game out, external, and said:

And hey, even the commenters on Itch loved it.

Image source, MIF

Twitter were fans too. Thanks, twitter!

Songs Of The Lost is free to download on Mac and PC right now, external. Grab your headphones first!

The best things happen when people get together, and this is especially true when two wildly different practitioners link up to create something completely new. Two more of our lovely Creative Lab, external artists have done just that: musician Holly Phelps has linked up with creative technologist Jo Portus to create a playable music experience Dark Light.

Image source, MIF

Holly says:

In this piece we were interested in exploring how we make an audience have a unique experience in a digital context. A challenge for both collaborators was creating the music, style and ascetics whist keeping the game element at the forefront, making it engaging, challenging but most of all fun.

We are really proud of what we have achieved - something neither of us could have done alone. We look forward to seeing people play the game and it is that something that will continue to grow and evolve over time.

Check out this lovely trailer that Holly and Jo made, which gives you an idea of what the whole thing looks like:

We kept this post for today as we're already talking about games at MIF via Songs Of The Lost, external, making Dark Light the second exciting game you can play as part of the MIF19. Like Paloma Dawkins' game, Dark Light was also built in the excellent Unity3D, external engine - if you've played a 3D (or increasingly 2D) game on desktop or mobile over the past five years, there's a pretty good chance it was made in Unity. Both games feature close collaborations with musicians too, which really set them off.

You can download Dark Light right here for free, external for iOS:

Or, follow Holly, external and Jo, external online for more on their work.

Songs Of The Lost, external is this year's exciting MIF19 videogames commission, this time it's a tight collaboration between Canadian games designer Paloma Dawkins, external and US electronic artist Jlin, external. We'll be sharing lots about the project over the coming few days, but here's a crash-course on this excellent project tag-team:

Image source, Stacy Lee / MIF

Paloma Dawkins is cartoonist, animator, and video game creator based in Canada. Her work is vibrant clash of colour and movement, spanning everything from 2D animation up to full-on VR experiences incorporating her artwork and design in 3D space.

Paloma's recent work includes the excellent Oceanarium, external, presented at the V&A as part of their recent Videogames: Design/Play/Disrupt, external exhibition, and Museum of Symmetry, external, a wildly vibrant VR experience that picked up a prestigious Canadian Screen Academy award this year. Continuing the vibe of vibrant magic-realist experiences, Songs Of The Lost, external is her latest work for MIF19.

Image source, Mahdumita Nandi / MIF

Jlin is a legendary electronic artist and producer from Gary, Indiana - just a few miles from the birthplace of house music, Chicago. She's a prolific artist - as well as her excellent discography (dive in on Spotify here, external), Jlin also recently worked with the legendary choreographer and director Wayne McGregor, external soundtracking his current Autobiography, external work, completely live.

Jlin has collaborated deeply with Paloma on Songs Of The Lost, external, creating a fully original soundtrack that frames each level, flitting between everything from pounding electronic noise to trippy soundscapes and beyond. Jlin will also be playing live at Queens Of The Electronic Underground at the Ritz on the 20th July - more here, external.

We'll be going on a Songs Of The Lost deep-dive today, stay tuned for more!