Manchester! The North of England! Home of a football team, some textile mills and, for a long time, not much else. Then came New Order, the Hacienda, acid house, Madchester and a bucket load of other underground youf movements that changed the way we've dressed and danced. But in the past few years, there's been another movement a-brewing in the city, one that concentrates on making urban soul music with a modern swing. It's also one that's having a profound effect on Irish punters, DJs and producers. But more of that later.

And if anybody can claim to be figureheads in this healthy, not-so-little scene, Mark Rae and Steve Christian can. After meeting in a Manchester on a chance project the two realised their opposite skills would work well together: Mark is the ideas man and Steve is the beats man. To put it simply.

As Rae and Christian, they delivered a refreshing serving of twinkling Northern Sulphuric Soul with a little help from Jeru the Damaja, Jungle Brothers and Sharleen from Texas on their debut lp in 1998. But that's not all. Mark also set up the Grand Central label, responsible for quietly inspiring music loosely fitting into the hip-hop genre from the likes of Tony D, Aim and latest hopes, Finga Thing. Add to this remixes, live shows and promoting one-off shows and you get the picture.

Which brings things nicely up to date. The crew are just about to release their second collaborative long player, Sleepwalking. So have things changed much around Grand Cental towers, Mark?

"Yes, it's a change in direction of sorts, I suppose. The last album had more urban energy, a get-up-and-go, but with this one we concentrated more on songs. We had a lot of stuff to resolve, new vocalists to find, we moved office at the time, but we're pleased with the way it all came out. It was a bit like fighting a war at times - digging in the trenches - but it was worth it."

One constant that has remained from the first album is the use of guest collaborators. If Northern Sulphuric Soul's guests were a motley crew of talented individuals, this time round things have been taken to the next level. Not content with acquiring the services of the Pharcyde, Latin jazz legend Tania Maria and Cedric from the respected reggae giants, the Congos, the pair have somehow managed to coax the normally reticent soul legend Bobby Womack out of retirement.

"It all happened when I went to meet the Pharcyde in Santa Monica, and I had some spare time - 'cos when I met the Pharcyde, all they wanted to do was play dice and smoke some weed after they'd said yes to being on the album.

"So I did some DJ-ing in Santa Monica and on an internet radio show," explains Mark, and "I mentioned that I thought Bobby Womack lived in the area, just in passing, 'cos the guy at the station prompted it with a question. And someone e-mailed a number and there you go. It happened so simply I thought 'somethings meant to happen here.' We sent him a letter outlining what we were about and he got really into it. Once he'd seen that we were two white guys he was just amazed, really!"

While their first effort bubbled with casual souls and party beats, the second album is more introspective and, erm, difficult.

"It's a lot more well-thought out than the first - more musical but less sounds, less samples" reckons Mark. "There's a lot more of a move toward songwriting, which we wanted to get into. I mean, songwriting is something as a musician that you want to try and focus on. If it's not as successful as the first one, that wouldn't bother us at all - it's another step in a direction of trying to make the best music we can.

"We've spread ourselves as artists, so we're asking more of the listener. It is an album of increased challenges, and you have to find the things in there. But it's not as difficult as the new Radiohead album!"

Now the Irish connection. There's a strange cross-pollenation of deeds and thoughts between Manchester and pockets of this fair isle. Namely Cork. "It's strange. Ireland and Cork people in particular picked up on us so fast. I think it's got to do with the fact that Irish people like soul music, really. I've spoken to Jamaican people before and they said the same thing, the Irish are the closest to them in their enjoyment of music. There's a connection between the two."

Grand Central have released material from Cork homeboy Stevie G and Galway beats merchant Cyril Briscoe, under the name Dugout, and have influenced a tribe of DJs in the way of the funk.

"I think that people have realised it's about a culture, about sharing a culture. When we first met some of the people involved, they were obsessive DJs, and now they're obsessive DJs and producers. We transferred some of our knowledge to the others that were involved because they supported us immensely. It's not about hiding things from people and trying to be trendy and cool."

Wise words indeed. The Rae and Christian long-term plan seems to involve hitting the road for a series of 'one-off' gigs featuring some of the bigger guests from the album, and then back to the lab for work on the next album. As to the direction this may take, Mark's keeping mum, but rest assured the beats are safe in their hands.