ELBOW / DOVES / VARIOUS ARTISTS Manchester Music For Kosovo (2011 UK 18-track CD album - Early in 2001, the release of MAK's [Music Aid to Kosovo] compilation, 'Cohesion', gave many music fans outside of this rainy Northern city the first chance to hear the then little known group Elbow. The band donated the sublime 'Scattered Black and Whites', whilst other emerging Manchester legends, Doves gave the album, 'Valley'. 10 years on and follow up compilation 'Ten' sees the now familiar voices of Guy Garvey and Jimi Goodwin surrounded by a new group of emerging Manchester artists. This 18 track album, curated by The Travelling Band's Jo Dudderidge, demonstrates how the poetic grandeur from the likes of Garvey, Goodwin et al has influenced a u-turn in the city's musical output. Where the grey, overcoat of 'dance-miserabilism' has been cast aside, not to reveal a post-Oasis hangover, but in fact a deep, warmly humorous and slyly experimental slew of artists intent on reclaiming the Manchester music scene for themselves. From the skittering, heart stopping afro-folk of Josephine Oniyama's 'Fun In The Dark' through to the gorgeous slow-core balladry of The Travelling Band's 'Hindsight', 'Ten' is littered with countless gems, each a gateway to understanding how Manchester found a new voice for itself in the late 00's).