IT’S an unusual potion of sounds... take a dash of Pogues mixed with Bob Dylan, season with a subtle flavour of Balkan and Irish music... and you have St Helens band Naymedici, who are taking the Manchester music scene by storm.

The band is Thatto Heath brothers, guitarist Mike and Ron, who plays drums, bassist ‘Hilly’, also from Thatto Heath, guitarist Josh, from Dentons Green and fiddler Bob, from London.

The St Helens lads first teamed up at Cowley long before making waves in the music scene.

Naymedici are fresh from a tour of Ireland, where they played sell-out gigs in Clonakilty and Macroom, before their dates culminated in a headlining gig at Dublin’s ‘Sunday Roast’ night at The Mercantile.

They’ve also played countless headline gigs around the north west, including Peter Hook’s new Factory club, the Night and Day and the Dry Bar in Manchester, and have supported top talent, including the Pipettes and Jimbob, with their eclectic mix of folk and punk.

The guys also have their own open-mic night at the B-Lounge in Manchester, where they play regularly.

Their sound is unusual, influenced by the Pogues and Bob Dylan, describing their music as as ‘a mixture of Balkan and Irish music, with hints of ska, and a big emphasis on lyrics’ and ‘combining gipsy licks, Irish reels, punk guitars and thrashing drums’.

Naymedici started playing as a band nearly two years ago when they were students living in Salford.

Guitarist and songwriter, Josh was studying English at Manchester Metropolitan University.

He said: “We all moved up to Manchester and were all playing different instruments together.

“We lived on the same street in Salford and we were best mates, and decided to start playing together.”

Fiddler Bob, from London, was a later addition to the band. The groups met him in Manchester and suggested he jam with them.

Josh said: “He showed up for a jam and was amazing. I’ve never heard anyone like him.”

The lads are hoping to release their first EP, Graffiti on the Wall, later this year.

In April, they are heading back over to Ireland for their second Irish tour, where they will play at the Phoenix in Clonakilty, home of the Kinks’ Ray Davis.

Later this year Naymedici will be building on their success by playing Manchester’s Friends of Mine festival, sharing the stage with legends such as The Buzzcocks and the Charlatans in a three-day festival.