Craftily named by one of their founding fathers after a misspelling of ‘denture’, these gig promoters represent those artists lost in the maze of genres and subcultures. Shane Dickinson and Dan Caldwell are both members of Mold, started back in 2016 after their meeting at the Fat White Family gig at Manchester’s Academy 2, emanated in swift “imagine-if-this-band-thing-actually-happens” texts, chased by three months of awkward bedroom practices and resulting in the creative collaboration that is Mold. From there they’ve put together Dentcha – a saluted two-fingers-up at those promoters who thrust the dewy new things all into one mixed bag and spew them all up on to a stage.

Having just showcased the 3rd edition of their live gigs, the Manchester-based duo behind the name are eager to get the ball rolling. Speaking of their project, the pair mentions the gap in the market for bands like Mold. A band known for their live performances, Mold are a prime member of the DIY scene with performances that engulf artistic talent and this is exactly what Dentcha wishes to take forward. At the recent Mold single launch spearheaded by Dentcha the aesthetically magical set designs from Rhino Collective presented a set of teeth surrounding the stage, along with a black and white lino tiled stage for added dental imagery. DIY artists with a new take on music and no regimented black-and-white genre don’t fit into the mould that’s been crafted by popular music and are often mismatched amongst a gig listing. Enter Dentcha to create a collective of these new artists – “we want to create a scene essentially, to let these new bands feel like they belong.” They’re also switching up how gigs are structured by putting the more well-known acts lower down the billing. Usually the more well known, the later they play and the higher up they are where on the lineup but Dentcha turns the tables and the unknown newcomers are on earlier in the night. As it stands at the moment, acts amongst their collective, having played for Dentcha over the course of the past three events include The Starlight Magic Hour, Fruit Tones, Slow Knife and others of a similar feat or rather “like-minded folk”.

Already Mold gigs are being pointed With plans for shows in London in a gig-swap manner, Dentcha are setting their sights high explains Shane: “We want to open up a network of promoters that actually have a passion for it – rather than just money-grabbers.” They’re currently in talks with London-based promoters Do Your Best with the initial plans for their gig-swap all set to go ahead and even more plans to start off with London and Manchester but spread the Mold movement – spearheaded by Dentcha – across Sheffield, Leeds, Liverpool and anywhere that will take them from there. Soon hopefully this movement will catch on and gone will be the days of “they don’t have the right image for this lineup/venue/festival” *delete as appropriate*. Banish the regiment and follow Dentcha on Facebook to find out about their latest cultivated events.

Featured image – Bart Sadali