Aqualung - The Lowry Centre, Manchester (From Warrington Guardian)

Aqualung - The Lowry Centre, Manchester

The laid back and melancholic sound of Aqualung is coming to Manchester in a new guise this month, as the usual one-man band becomes a duo.

Aqualung - in the form of singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Matt Hales, and his brother Ben - are embarking on a rare tour as a double act in 2004.

Matt Hales, a classically trained musician from Southampton, has been writing music since he was four-years-old.

He became a composer and wrote songs for clients as diverse as Mitsubishi and the Tate Modern.

However Aqualung took off after the success of the song Strange and Beautiful that appeared on an advert for the new VW Beetle.

It became one of the surprise hits of 2002 and enabled Matt to go on and make a record.

Inspired by the self-sufficiency of artists like Cornelius, Matt began work in his home studio on what was to become the Strange and Beautiful album.

The childhood prodigy has now become Aqualung, the distillation of all the musical elements that inform his bizarre and twisting musical tale.

The band will play Manchester's Lowry Centre on Monday, January 26. For tickets call 0870 787 5780 or visit www.thelowry.com

Paul Keaveny