PLUGGED IN Issue 10

THE INDEPENDENT VOICE FOR MUSIC IN WALES

ACCIDENT MUSIC Valleys Supergroup

KILLING FOR COMPANY Losing Stu & The Future

MANIC STREET PREACHERS Sending Out Postcards

EXIT INTERNATIONAL How To Be Different

Issue 10

Ladies Love A Superhero They Walk Among Us DER Collective Jayce Lewis Sophie Evans Ffred Jones Queensbury Kyshera Pulco

A Tribute To Our Friend

FR

STUART CABLE

EE

PLUS

MANAGING EDITOR & PUBLISHER Gail Griffiths CREATIVE DIRECTOR & CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER Darren Warner GRAPHIC DESIGNER Stephen Lewis CONTRIBUTORS Adam Perkins, Alie Stephens, Bert Jones, Corey-Leigh John, Ffred Jones, Gary Bolsom, Greg Jones, Iona Rhys, James Davies, Jayne Kemish, Kevin McGrath, Lauren Lenahan, Leah Evans, Lee Goldup, Leon Davies, Lisa Derrick, Marged Parry, Mark Tambini, Martin Thompson, Martyn David, Matthew Dentus, Mike Smith, Nia Liversuch, Rhys Milsom, Robyn Kennedy, RokStar, Stefan Hinc, Stephanie McNicholas & Dazzler THE MIX

Anthony Challenger, Alex Jeffreys, Bethan Thomas, Callum Coughlin, Chloe Coughlin, Connor Dimmick, Dan Webb, Ella Challenger, Grant Whatley, Jamie Chesner, Jessica Marie Jones, Jessica Newman, Joe Roberts, Joshua Williams, Kate Nolan-Rice, Kelvin Farmer, Mark Gelder, Mathew Jarvis, Mathew Watkins, Natalia Louise Hulme, Natalie Samuel, Safron Williams, Sophie Williams, Tamara Robinson, Tia Nicole Benbow, Tom Tutton & Zoe Davies

Live Performance and Band Photography Course

Rhondda Cynon Taff Council Youth Arts Project in partnership with PLUGGED IN magazine is giving six budding photographers a unique opportunity to be involved in a fantastic Live Performance Photography Project. The project is funded by 14-19 Learning Pathways and Building Futures Together Those chosen to be part of this exciting project will receive expert mentoring and guidance from professional band photographer Darren Warner, Creative Director of PLUGGED IN magazine.

If you are one of the six successful young photographers chosen to be part of this project, you will receive: • The chance to get your photographs published in a special feature of PLUGGED IN magazine.

• First-hand mentoring at live gigs and events, along with expert advice on how to edit and display your work • Be part of an exciting online exhibition of your work • Gain a recognised qualifcation The six young photographers chosen must be committed, passionate about photography and enthusiastic. You will need to be available to meet on a regular monthly basis for mentoring/practical sessions with Darren, and will also be expected to attend gigs and live events throughout the project.

To enter, You must be aged 14-19 Living in Rhondda Cynon Taff Submit three photographs you have taken of a band or other live performance.

(These can be digital photographs or prints).

Some photography experience, along with a passion for band photography, is essential.

Access to a digital SLR camera, is recommended, although there will be the opportunity to use DSLR’s provided by PLUGGED IN during the project.

Darren at the top of Darren Y Bwllfa with the legendary Mike Peters for Rhondda Rocks II. Read his review on page 38 Corey-Leigh John photographing Sophie Evans for our article on page 28

Members of The Mix team reviewing singles. See the results in the Centre Pull-Out

All nine back issues of PLUGGED IN can be downloaded for FREE from www.pluggedinmagazine.co.uk

Closing date for entries 24th October 2010 For Further information and to download an application form go to www.rct-arts.co.uk or www.pluggedinmagazine.co.uk

PLUGGED IN magazine is a not-for-profit social enterprise, run by unpaid volunteers.

Printed in Wales on recycled paper using vegetable inks.

magazine

Contents editorial@pluggedinmagazine.co.uk www.pluggedinmagazine.co.uk

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ELCOME to the latest jampacked issue of PLUGGED IN. It was within a few weeks of publishing our last issue that the sad news came through of Stuart Cable’s untimely death and the upset that followed. Because of this factor we have dedicated the following two pages to the man who we called our friend, and then further on in the magazine we have an interview with Greg Jones, singer with Killing For Company, the band Stuart played drums with and was passionate about. Both articles were heart-wrenchingly difficult to write and we thank Greg for the support he has given us to pull these pieces together.

Of course, life and the music business here in Wales goes on and PLUGGED IN has decided to give you some amazing interviews with over 12 talented artists who we think are worth checking out — including the hurricane forces of nature that are Accident Music an Exit International, as well as the more established Manic Street Preachers, whose member Nicky Wire talks about their new album Postcards From A Young Man which we also review on page 45. In the centre you’ll find a pullout reviews magazine called The MIx, created after a series of workshops that introduced some young people to the world of review writing. See what they say about some recent releases — they were quite harsh at times! And see if you can spot PLUGGED IN’s bank manager on the page opposite (he’s wearing a Barclays T-shirt — blatant advertising or what!) who, along with many other people, climbed to the top of Darren Y Bwllfa with the great Mike Peters. Read the review on page 38.

And on a final note, our best wishes and sympathy go out to our friends Dave Driscoll and his wife Liz. As Mike Peters sings: “You are silver, you shine white light.”

Gail & Darren

4

Our Tribute To Stu

6

Music News

8

Rising Talent

12 Accident Music 14 Killing For Company 16 Manic Street Preachers 18 Exit International 20 Ffred Jones 22 Kyshera 24 Nick B Byrne 26 Jayce Lewis 28 Sophie Evans 30 They Walk Among Us 32 Pulco 34 DER Collective 36 Queensbury 38 Live: Mike Peters 40 Live Reviews 44 CD Reviews &

The Mix — special centre pullout

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by placing an advertisement in PLUGGED IN you will be reaching a captive audience of 5,000 readers over a period of three months Sponsorship of One Issue, including a Full Advert (if required) £3,000 — and a great sense of well-being!

Full Outside Back Cover Full Inside Front Cover Full Inside Page Half Inside Page Quarter Inside Page Insertion of Flyers

£400 £350 £300 £165 £90 £100 per 1,000

for further details, contact us at: advertising@pluggedinmagazine.co.uk

PLUGGED IN magazine is the creation of Haul Fryn Publishing on behalf of PLUGGED IN magazine (Limited), Company Number: 06766289. All rights reserved.

All contributions to PLUGGED IN magazine must be original, not pre-published and not posted/printed anywhere until after publication in PLUGGED IN. Haul Fryn Publishing reserves the right to modify any material submitted for publication in PLUGGED IN magazine. Reproduction of any of the content of PLUGGED IN magazine, without prior permission, is strictly forbidden.

PLUGGED IN

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Promotion Photographs for BBC Talent

With Sean Smith of The Blackout on release of PLUGGED IN Issue 4

Front Cover and Article Shoot For PLUGGED IN Issue 7 on release of his book Performance & Cocktails

STUART CABLE: OUR TRIBUTE

I

With Mike Peters at Rhondda Rocks 1

Playing with Killing For Company at the Point in Cardiff

t wouldn’t be the truth to say I had known Stuart Cable for years, since those early days of Tragic Love Company/Stereophonics, but to have known him within the last four years was like having known him a lifetime. He was such a big effervescent character that spilled words out in friendly Dylan Thomas-esque tones that you were instantly drawn into his being. You felt that you were his best friend when you talked to him. Maybe I’m not worthy of the term “friend” compared to the friends and family that he knew best, but I feel that he made me worthy because he had enough friendship for everyone who came into contact with him.

I first met him in 2006 when he was part of the BBC Talent roadshow that came to Aberdare. I was there photographing the event while he was there to “drum up” interest for the cause — literally as he was sat at a drum kit to be photographed! I was a fan and having followed the success of Stereophonics, knew all about the man that I met that day. From then on our paths collided more and more, especially after Gail & myself launched PLUGGED IN. Always supportive of what the magazine stands for, Stuart came to our media launch for the mag with Greg Jones, the singer of his then newly formed band Killing For Company — it was support from the likes of Stuart that got the magazine some recognition, and we will always be very grateful to him for that help at the start. Killing For Company was a new project to which we in return gave our support through the magazine, and Stuart and the boys appreciated that — they became our issue three cover stars.

From then on we kept seeing each other, either at KFC gigs or in some other bizarre settings like OAP Day Centres where he served up dinners to pensioners, including his mum Mable, or his old infants school where he opened a garden for the children. I remember on one occasion at an event like this, I was about to hand him the latest copy of the magazine when he whipped it from my hands and retreated to a corner to flick through the pages looking in detail at all the information on the Welsh music scene that he was part of. Stuart and Killing For Company have rarely been left out of an issue of PLUGGED IN because Gail and I believed that the potential of greatness could once again come upon him.

I also remember going to the Status Quo gig in Merthyr Tydfil, an event that he had jointly promoted, to watch KFC who were supporting the aged rockers. Stuart had organised my stage access pass so I could take photographs, though on my arrival I found nothing waiting for me. When asked who had organised the pass for me I said Stuart Cable. I was told to wait so walked about the nearby areas. Suddenly came the shout, “Oi! Darren! Butt!” as Stu shouted across to me in his gruff Welsh tones, and waved me over. Within seconds I had access all areas alongside an apology for not sorting it out sooner. Any previous aggravations disappeared because I was made to feel special by the man who was special himself. At a gig for Y Peth in the Cwmaman Institute, Stuart crossed a crowded floor to shake my hand and speak to me, happy to have found a mate in the crowd who was

Running in the Nos Galan Race in Mountain Ash, on New Year’s Eve 2008

With Gail and Darren, and Tanya Walker-Brown of SONIG, after presenting PLUGGED IN with the Red Dragon FM Award for Community Music 04

PLUGGED IN

Playing up to the camera with Pritchard at the Pop Factory Awards 2007

With lifelong friend Jayne Kemish KforC on tour with The Alarm With Band members of Killing For Company for Cover and Article in PLUGGED IN Issue 3

there to watch the band not just because they wanted to see Rhys Ifans up close and personal.

On the release of his biography about his life with Stereophonics, Demons & Cocktails, I interviewed him for the next issue of the magazine. I remember driving up to Aberdare to meet him at his favourite pub, The Welsh Harp. I had arrived early but was soon followed into the pub by this whirlwind of handshakes and hellos to virtually every person who was inside that day before Stu settled down to talk to me for over an hour about the book and life in general. He told me so much, many things on a personal level that I’ll never publish, that we had to devote four pages to fit the interview in. He also made the cover of the Issue, number 7, which became the fastest pickup of any of the magazines that we have produced with the highest number of downloads to date.

In fact Ryan Richards, drummer for Funeral For A Friend, told me that after reading the magazine’s interview he went straight out and bought the book because he wanted to find out more!

Stuart believed in Wales, in the music of Wales and PLUGGED IN magazine, the little publication which supports that music of Wales he loved so much. For Gail and myself, one of our proudest moments was when he presented us with the Red Dragon Award for Community Music for the work we voluntarily do to produce the magazine. He told us afterwards that he was in the studio when he got the call to ask if he would present an award but didn’t want to bother as the band were in a creative flow, but when he asked who had won it he quickly changed his mind and said, “I’ll do it because it’s for them.”

Last spring I met him when I was out on a job, and on asking what I had been photographing that day I told him about a number of unveilings of Blue Heritage Plaques dedicated to famous people and events. “Blue Plaques, my mam would love one of them on her house with my name on it — Stuart Cable was born here!” he said. I joked back, “It’s not possible, mate, as you actually need to be dead to receive one!” I believed that at that time he would live forever.

The last time I saw him was in Ponty Park after he had run for the Sports Relief charity mile and he couldn’t hold back on the excitement he felt for the imminent release of Killing For Company’s new album. This represents the Stuart Cable that Gail and I had watched take root again in the music industry, and I feel the best thing that anyone can do now to keep his legacy and love of music alive is order your copy of Lost Art Of Deception (available from www.killingforcompany.com) because this was him now, doing what he loved best — playing drums like a madman and feeling every beat!

Gail and I miss him — whether watching him performing on stage, listening to him speaking on the radio or being just down the pub with him watching bands — but so does everyone who ever knew him. Stuart, I still believe you’ll live forever.

RIP matey, love Darren & Gail.

With Greg and on tour

Photographs by RokStar, Greg Jones, Jayne Kemish, Lee Goldup, Alie Stephens & Darren Warner

RokStar’s photoshoot for Killing For Company showing Stu’s new hairdo

With his mother Mabel at St Mair’s Day Centre, Aberdare, after serving dinners to its clients

For Sports Relief in Ponty Park 2010

Opening the Outdoor Classroom at his old Infants School in Cwmaman

Jam with RoBina are due to release their eagerly awaited second album this year and PLUGGED IN can exclusively reveal it will be titled Dark Recollections. Following the 2007 release of debut Visions Of A Runic the band have gigged relentlessly, but the writing bug started to kick in during the summer of 2008. We caught up with Mark from the band who had this to say, “The songs are definitely more mature and as suggested by the title it’s certainly going to be a more brooding affair, with less of the hippyness conveyed in Visions. It’s also quite fantastical with some wild themes running throughout.” The album is set to feature some collaborations with musicians who we believe are close friends of the band, something we at PLUGGED IN are very excited about. “We’ve finally been able to commit the concept of our band’s name to disc this time,” said Ro, referring to the “Jam” in Jam with RoBina. “As there are just two of us in the band, and being privileged enough to know various excellent musicians, we’ve always wanted to invite people to play with us. It’s not jamming in the traditional sense of the word, it’s more a collaboration with people we feel can add a special something to some of our songs.”

Something we feel new bands can adopt from Jam with RoBina’s ethos is their DIY approach to music. Despite being unsigned, Mark and Ro have simply taken the initiative to make things happen for themselves with both Dark Recollections and Visions Of A Runic being completely self-produced works. “We made the decision years ago to just get on with it ourselves, and if a record company decides to pick us up then great.” We sincerely hope they do, because we think they are a goldmine waiting to be discovered! For details of the forthcoming album release party check out www.myspace.com/jamwithrobina

PLUGGED IN now has a presence on YouTube thanks to young film maker named Matthew Dentus. From Porth in the Rhondda, Matthew is currently in his third year studying Film & Video at the International Film School Of Wales in Newport. He has been creating short films since October 2004 and since then his knowledge has increased within the film industry, spending his free time working as a freelance camera operator and editor. With PLUGGED IN’s backing Matt has interviewed great Welsh artists for his YouTube spots, including Straight Lines, The Automatic, Skindred and The Blackout. Go take a look at www.youtube.com/mattdentus

Budding photographers may like to know that PLUGGED IN’s Darren Warner will soon be co-ordinating another Live Performance Photography course. If you are enthusiastic about taking photos, love music and live in Rhondda Cynon Taff, you could be one of six lucky young people picked to take part in this fantastic project. All the work produced during the course will be published in a special centre pull-out in the next issue of PLUGGED IN. So for an application form and further info, check out the details on www.rct-arts.co.uk or www.pluggedinmagazine.co.uk

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Closing For Furth

date for entries 24th ation and to download October 2010 an applicatio n form ww

The University of Glamorgan has recently opened a brand-spanking new student union venue at their Treforest campus, in which they hope to host a plethora of gigs where local bands and big names can play to an 800-strong audience. Called The Basement it’s a hi-tec establishment that also has a banging sound system for those club nights where visiting DJs, including our mate Darran Smith, will be cracking up those sounds. Next door is a classy cool bar called Cable’s, in honour of Stuart Cable who passed away in June, where the well stocked bar will keep all the students and visitors happy with a large selection of drinks. The venue kicked off its live scene with a gig on 2nd October headlined by Merthyr’s finest The Blackout — who’ve been touring with Limp Bizkit in Germany and Norway before heading off on a UK tour supporting You Me At Six.

If you can’t get to see The Blackout play live you may be interested in paying them to spend the day with you at Bristol Zoo, play X-box with you, send you a handwritten birthday card or even have them round for Christmas dinner! The boys are currently asking for donations from fans so they can bring out their next album.

Singer Gavin Butler said: “If we didn’t move now then the next record wouldn’t be out until the middle of next year — basically we couldn’t sit around and wait for that.

Without the fans we wouldn’t make another record, we owe them so much. All the things that are on the list are things that fans have always said they’d love to do with us. Even now today, it’d blow my mind to sit down with one of my favourite bands and just have a meal.”

To see the full list of ideas on offer and to pledge money, go to the band’s myspace www.myspace.com/theblackout

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Hopefully the more observant of you will have noticed that we’ve changed our strapline on the cover. Why you may ask? Well, though we are still the only national music magazine for Wales we felt that we should tell you more. PLUGGED IN is independently produced, a notfor-profit social enterprise and a far reaching voice for music in Wales with over 20,000 downloads worldwide of the online version of the last issue from our website. Also, the 5,000 issues that we print get picked up within a week of distribution to over 200 locations throughout Wales.

We’re not being influenced by any other media or are driven for profit.

This means we talk about the real music that is out there, giving space to as many unsigned acts as we can possibly fit in. That’s why we’ve titled ourselves the Independent Voice Of Music In Wales.

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PLUGGED IN

Back in the summer, PLUGGED IN favourite Ffred Jones got in touch to tell us about his Seaside Busking Tour of Wales to raise money for the children’s hospice Ty Hafan — read his diary on pages 20-21 to see if he hit his target of £500. Ffred is also putting on a little end of tour party/gig in the Gwdihw, Cardiff, on 14th October to raise a few more pounds and round the whole tour off — if you can go along and support him, he’d be very pleased to see you!

Ffred is currently in the studio and hoping to have a new album for you all to enjoy after Christmas.

We can’t wait!

CALLING ALL MUSIC FANS! We at PLUGGED IN want to compile a list of the Top 50 Best Ever Welsh Albums — albums by Welsh artists whether they sing in English or Welsh.

Is your favourite by LostProphets or Stereophonics?

Maybe Bullet For My Valentine or The Blackout do it for you, or does the classical tones of Katherine Jenkins or Only Men Aloud shoot them to the top of your list?

Well we would like you to send us your choices and opinions, which will be published in our next issue.

We need you to email us your Top Five albums by different Welsh artists with a short sentence explaining why you love these albums so much, not forgetting to provide your name. We’re not including Greatest Hits or compilations at this time, though we may make a nod towards them, only albums that you think epitomises a band’s career so far. For example, out of the four full albums that Funeral For A Friend has released it could be that Casually Dressed & Deep In Conversation is your favourite or the more melodic Tales Don’t Tell Themselves.

We want to know your favourite Manic Street Preachers album, Feeder, Catatonia, The Alarm, Cerys Matthews, The Storys, MAN, Shirley Bassey, Kids In Glass Houses, GLC, Attack! Attack! or even Sir Tom Jones. Any age and any genre, it doesn’t matter. It’s the album that if someone only had enough money to buy one album by that artist you would say it had to be that one, that’s their best album.

Please email your list of Top Five to us at editorial@pluggedinmagazine.co.uk

And while on the subject of albums, keep an eye out for the new releases from PLUGGED IN favs Attack!Attack!, who featured in Issue 3, back with The Latest Fashion, and Last Republic, who appeared in Issue 5. Both albums will be worth checking out.

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hen fans heard the news that Ponty boy and PLUGGED IN cover star Darran Smith was to leave Funeral For A Friend after nearly 10 years, it was quite a shock. So we caught up with the man himself to ask the big question: Why? “Basically I started contemplating leaving the band about a year ago, I love music — it’s my first love if you want to call it that — and that includes anything and everything to do with music. So as I’ve gone through a musical career with Funeral I’ve experienced all sorts of things about the music industry, along the way learned a lot, and found a lot of aspects fascinating.

I’ve discovered other aspects of the music industry that really interested me in other areas, including management. I’ve always loved the way Craig Jennings managed Funeral, he had a very personal way of managing us, so when I made my decision to leave the band I decided to look around for a few bands that I could pass on my experience to, and be an inspiring manager for — and now I manage The Guns, Caesar’s Rome and The Dirty Youth. I loved the whole experience of being in the band and the journey I went on with them, but it was a big commitment to make as we went away for two or three months at a time, and you do make sacrifices. I just feel like now is the time for me to get more involved in other aspects of the music industry so that I can be at home with my family more. I’m very interested in radio and currently help out on GTfm’s New Music Showcase on Monday nights, and I really would like to take that further — I’d love to front a rock show! Another thing I’d be happy to get involved with is being a mentor to young kids interested in music, again giving them something of my experience.”

So what it is like to give up the playing guitar live, and how did the band take the news? “I spoke to all the guys and explained I wanted to step out of the band and go my own way. We had a number of gigs booked — one in Cardiff University and one in Sheffield Empire — so we decided to make them special shows and play Casually Dressed & Deep In Conversation in full, which was a mark of me leaving the band. They were really intense and quite emotional gigs. Matt kept making really heart-felt comments about me and told the audience that I would always be a member of Funeral For A Friend — which was just great. The last thing I wanted was any awkwardness with the guys about me leaving, and I wanted the last few shows to be a celebration of me being in the band and a fun experience, to leave with some fantastic memories. I knew it was a big deal within the band that I was going, but until those last two gigs I didn’t realise how much the fans would feel it. Both evenings were unbelievable and I couldn’t wish for a better end. But it wasn’t until about two weeks later that it sunk in I was actually not in Funeral any more!”

But because Darran loves his music so much, you knew it wouldn’t be long before he picked up his guitar again. He now plays with Accident Music, which is a bit of a Welsh super group with Chris Morgan ex-Midasuno/The UCA Chapter on vocals, Mike Chiplin ex-Prophets/The Unsung on drums, Andrew Black ex-Afterlife/The UCA Chapter on bass and Darran Smith ex-Funeral on guitar. “I was never going to leave music behind, so when the guys approached me to join the band I jumped at the chance to play with them. We’re currently writing together and playing a few shows, so it’s a very exciting time.”

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Ladies Love A Superhero In the last issue we reported on The Gathering, a massive South Wales wide Battle Of The Bands that plunders the depths of the Valleys to find that interesting rising talent that is the undercurrent to the Welsh music scene. To win it isn’t easy because the talent is high, the songwriting excellent and showmanship second to none. Not bad considering the rules state that band members must be under 18 years of age. So to make an impact, play and impress a bunch of hardcore muso judges to gaining that winning pole position, you need something that little bit special. And Ladies Love A Superhero proved they were the ones up for the task.

Featuring Jared Chinnock (vocals/guitar), Mark Croft (guitar/Backing vocals), Andrew Sayers (drums) and Peters Mills (bass) they hail from Pontypridd and all go to Cardinal Newman school, except Peter who has now gone to Uni in Cardiff.

The boys told us about why they formed a band.

“We got together at the tender age of 12 when we decided to start a band, we thought it’d be really cool and we’d get loads of girls!” Sound like a good enough reason. “Yeah, if it had worked. It took four years for us to get results, musically that is (still working on the other) because other than Andy, none of us could play anything at first.”

Ladies are influenced by great acts such as Blink 182 especially by their energy and the humour that attracts a crowd-pleasing element that you see within their own act and a reason why they are getting noticed. Basically, boys having fun. “As we’re all into the same music it also helps when we’re writing songs, none of that arguing thing going on and pulling each other’s hair out. Everybody contributes, everybody has a say.”

A good philosophy for such young heads! Ladies first came to PLUGGED IN’s attention as part of the Make It music video project that is run by Cultural Services here in Rhondda Cynon Taff, producing a video for their track Danger! Alert! Monster!, which is a witty take on the female vamp story. How did this project help them? “We saw an ad in the paper advertising for bands to take part and within the week of applying was told they wanted to work with us on the project.

We came up with the ideas and had loads of input to the end result. What the end result achieved was over 5000 hits to our site, with people listening to our song because it was different to other sites. When we play it at gigs we say, ‘This is the one from the video’ and get quite a number of cheers, so it’s helped raise our profile.”

Since then they’ve supported The Automatic and The Blackout at The Muni in Ponty. Also they got to record in the Manic’s studio in Cardiff due to winning The Gathering where they recorded two songs.

So did they get to meet the Manics? “Well one of them came in. We were playing X-box while the guys were setting up and this tall guy said, ‘All right boys.’

We just kinda went ‘All right’ back, as it was a really intense moment on the X-box and didn’t realise who he was and didn’t really acknowledge him properly.”

So who was it — just any old fella or a Manic? “Not sure!” Was he tall? “Yeah.” Well that would be Nicky Wire — only one of the best bass players to come out of Wales and the man behind the lyrics to the Manics!

Not to worry boys. “We know the music, but don’t know what they look like. Suppose it’s an age thing.”

Don’t look at me that way guys!

Anyway, it’s onward and upward for Ladies now, following the usual trail of demo, record companies and gigs. But you know what? I think these boys are going to cause a stir sooner rather than later.

DARREN WARNER

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PLUGGED IN

Dead Fashion Words by Adam Perkins of GTfm’s New Music Showcase

Rob Thompson He’s played with Elton John, played at Glasto, and is in hit film The Bank Job. Now former The Storys guitarist Rob Thompson unleashes his debut solo work on the world, and you won’t be disappointed.

His music has charm and charisma, presented with perfect technicality.

This stunning solo effort is proof that Rob is one of Wales’ great musicians and great song writers.

Debut album Dust is a masterpiece, offering so much behind the melodic vibes. Every note of the album is intrinsic and harmonious, notably Could You Come Around? and Watch How The Dust Is Drawn To The TV which are heightened by some crushing guitar working. The title track on Dust is a beautifully written piece of music, where each strum of the guitar, tap of the keys or beat of the drum provides a smile within the emotive sound of the song, which builds towards a mad piece of solo-guitar work reminiscent of the Floyd. A great opener! And Rob goes mental on The Directors Cut and the closing track The Ending Credits which builds to crazy two-minute solos that will take your breath away. “I wanted it to be a departure from The Storys. Before I joined the band I was a Pink Floyd fanatic, and wrote a lot of songs which didn’t suit the band. So when I went into the studio to record a few tracks everything just came out, and I ended up recording an album.”

Having spent many years touring with The Storys, Rob is relishing the opportunity of getting back to his roots and making solo material. “It’s nice to have some time to myself. It was so crazy. We spent years driving round in a van and never really got the chance to come home. But it’s been a bit of a shock. I started writing solo music when I was in The Storys, but didn’t have a plan to be a solo artist. I just like to have a project on the go to keep me going.” Rob’s first ‘full band’ gig is on 29th October in The Grand Theatre, Swansea — his home town. It’s a debut not to be missed!

The band includes former Storys colleagues Andy Collins and Alan Thomas. www.myspace.com/robthompsonofficial

My Ceramic Rabbit When My Ceramic Rabbit first broke onto the local scene in 2007 they were a young, cheeky pop band playing racy pop-punk tunes. But time has turned them into one of the most intriguing and creative of bands. Offering a retro throwback to the mod scene, and the sophisticated acrimonious charm of The Smiths, with quiffs aloof, My Ceramic Rabbit are making music like no other band in South Wales. “We’ve evolved musically in the time we’ve been together. It’s been a natural course, nothing planned or contrived. We just grew with music.” Originally three, the cheeky four-piece from Llwynypia are a refreshing change, reminiscent of bands like The Smiths and The Cure. Cool Sleek Chic is a cool, slick pop song with slow emotive verse and evocative chorus, where the distinct sound on the cymbals within some great drumming, sophisticatedly clash against the bounce of the bass and harmonic sounding guitar and synth.

Dangerous Look For Boys is an altogether harder hitting affair, as the similar style and sound is ramped up to top gear. The introduction of synth to the band has helped to add much flair to the neat musicianship, offering the great dynamics that make MCR a special band. “It’s made everything feel bigger and has changed the dynamics, but it’s been an easy transition for us because we’ve got good chemistry and camaraderie, and have similar musical tastes.”

Favourite High Heels & Low Lives maintains

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all the pop charm of their early music, but the new record, to be called Sex A Word, is more sophisticated. “Every time we go in the studio we come out with something we feel is better than what we did before. We really enjoy playing new songs, so we write a lot, and tend to move on from songs quite quickly.” It’s produced by ex-Damned guitarist Roman Jugg, “He’s even done a dance for Run Rabbit Run”, which is a quirky, bouncy and driving song. Sex A Word and White Emotion are provocative, zealous songs, which maintain that emotive vibe whilst driven by fast and thumping drums and bass, crazy synth and distorted guitar.

This new batch of MCR songs are a product of great chemistry and creativity. The album Sex A Word is due out mid-November. myspace.com/myceramic

Hailing from Ebbw Vale/Brynmawr, punk rockers Dead Fashion are ones to watch. Fun, upbeat and catchy tunes give you the opportunity to jump around and put a smile on your face.

Last Chance To Dance is a cracking tune that’s racy, poppy and powerful, with a really cool riff. It’s been around since the inception of the band and is very much a reflection of their fun attitude. Having been around for over four years, line-up changes have meant that frontman Coggy is the only original member.

This has allowed the four-piece to develop, adding technical layers to each aspect of their sound. “We spent a few years playing similar songs, without really developing, but over the last year we’ve really changed. Save Me is one from the new train of thought. Punchy

and driving, with fast guitars and snarling drum beat. Yet it still maintains some of the anthemic punk pop sounds that Dead Fashion have associated themselves with. Close But No Cigar is a bouncier affair, fast and full of energy. It’s got a cracking riff and sing-a-long chorus to match. Coming from Blaenau Gwent, Dead Fashion have found a bit of a haven in Newport, where they’ve had some cracking shows in places like TJ’s and Le Pub, as well as supporting bands like Army Of Freshmen and Attack!Attack! They have a great punk party sound, but with a gritty edge. Changing drummers has been part of this development.

“We tend not to play so many of our older songs now because we have a heavier drummer (Joel), and they don’t seem to blend with the feel of the songs we are writing now.” The lads will have a new record out soon, which will include fan favourite Penny, which has a funky drum beat, fast, punked-up guitar, topped with heartfelt lyrics. “People love us playing it live, so we want to record it for them. It will be part of our next recording.” Fun and feeling means it’s no surprise they’ve gathered a following over the years. www.myspace.com/deadfashionmusic

Purple Spiral Project Former members of Kinky Wizards form the backbone of PSP — the dirty birth-child of grunge, metal and prog. Innovative, creative and totally mind-blowing, Purple Spiral Project are truly exceptional. Brothers Jiffy (drums) and Miffy (bass) have been playing together for over 10 years, providing a formidable rhythmic footing for the quartet’s solid yet elaborate epics. “We can read each other really well, which helps us click.” From Cardiff and Bridgend, PSP are making great music. Deep Roots is a cool and crafty tune, oozing with quality

Rusty Shackle

Jets To Zurich If you hear a rumbling overhead or underground, then it’s probably the drilling of Jets To Zurich’s grungy vibes shaking the earth’s core and streaming throughout the stratosphere. The Aberdare trio like it loud and they like it heavy. “We play very old-fashioned alt-rock music, but we are taking lots of new sounds and dynamics on board. We don’t like to stay static.” If you’re into things like Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, then JTZ are right up your street. Ballsy, up-tempo grunge-rock with a twist of melody really gets the pulse going. Self-recorded album Atmospheric Sound Cycles is full of moody, grunting and energetic tunes. It’s a ballsy, riff-filled album, with cracking track Around The Sun. It’s got a great riff with distorted guitars whilst pile-driving along with simple and effective grunge-rock tones, and leads towards a sublime guitar solo. This is the style of JTZ. Tracks like Buzzkiller and The Trigger are reminiscent of early Nirvana, offering a head-bouncing ride with its beats, perniciously distorted guitars, and topped off by tantalisingly harmonic lyrics. JTZ have recorded quite a lot in a short time, showcasing the ability to write, and write well. No Alternative starts with a cello and violin intro, then jumps into a rip-roaring and beefy riff that is customary of the Jets sound. “Now we’ve recorded something we feel a lot more energised. It’s given us something to kick on from, and we know our next bunch of songs will be even better.” Indeed, brand new tune and debut single Crimson Tide is an absolute feast. It’s got a cocky and bouncy bass line, a great riff, cool lyrics and, of course, a blast of distortion! It’s out on Catalyst Records soon. Keep an eye out for Jets To Zurich. They’ve got high flying potential! www.myspace.com/jetstozurich

The Gubbins Aberdare quintet The Gubbins are one mad bunch. They like to rock out, and their music will make you want to rock out with them. Jericho is a fabulous rock song. A cool and cocky tune with a cracking grungy riff, crafted though powerful, raucous and driving guitars, and topped with Hywel’s sublime and swaggering vocals, which really give them an extra dimension. The speed, energy, bounce and downright audacity of Is This Your Life? captures the ‘live’ ethic of the band. It’s insanely infused with elements of blues, punk and even a drop of drum n’n’ bass. But it’s simply a mind-blowing rock song where fast, vivacious guitars race with the beastly grunt of the bass and roll after roll of the drums.

Hywel’s vox offer a great diversity, from fast

to harmonic. “The best gigs for us are when the crowd gets wound up. We get that party feeling and we kick off.” But The Gubbins are not all about throwing themselves around. This is thoughtful and well written rock music, taking and utilising many various influences as they grow as a band, which was formed in 2007. “We’re getting happier with our sound. We’ve developed as a band, and we’re writing things that we really enjoy playing live. Our sound is a million miles away from when we started. We’ve come on as musicians as our sound’s developed. And it’s starting to get very loud.” Jack The Lad is a slow and hazy number, and Life Outside The Lines is a real good listen — a rock song with a cracking riff and nifty guitar work. Each instrument comes forward and offers something interesting on each track. Expect an album to drop by the end of the year. “We want it to be an album and not a collection of songs. We want something looked at as ‘one’ thing, as well as showcasing both the heavy side and the mellower side of us that doesn’t always fit in with what we do live.

We’ve got the chance to do that something different with a record.” With tonnes of energy, thoughtful arrangements and songs with feeling, The Gubbins are an infectious entity. www.myspace.com/thegubbinsmusic

musicianship and capped with well conceived lyrics. “We had the riff and then we just let Ozz (vox) loose with it.” With impressive guitar work throughout, the song moves through many stages, something that PSP’s creativity and style proposes. There’s so much going on in each track, and Jonathan’s supreme guitar work just doesn’t stop gyrating against the solid rhythm.

Time & Again is a down-tempo song, reminiscent of Incubus, and Smoke Screen opens with a real fast riff, and has plenty of intriguing bridges, each offering a new twist. And then there’s 10-minuter Round & Round, which kicks in with a quality riff and turns into a slow, brooding reprise. “Our songs are all around six or seven minutes long, so our sets are only three or four songs long, but we make sure they are epic masters.” Each track offers great imagery, as you gather great feeling in the expression of the music. Even in experimentation, Scenes Of Grahame White is a gentle, stunning piece of musicianship where just keys and vox take your mind someplace else. “We’ve recently introduced a keyboard, and it shows the band as being more diverse if we can stretch our material, and for this one, less is more.” PSP are a credit to music in these parts.

Check them out! myspace.com/purplespiralproject

Dirty bluegrass folk ’n’ rollers Rusty Shackle will shock you. Never before has a fiddle and banjo made you want to rock out! Hailing from Caldicot, the location has fittingly primed them with their high-energy contemporary folk music. It’s a sound that will make you sad (reflect!) and then be dancing around the room within the strum of a guitar. The five-piece have only been together since February 2010 and have already got national airplay on Radio 1 with a jaw-dropping cover of Dizee Rascall’s Bonkers, played Wychwood festival and been signed to Kissan Records. “We got signed before we did any gigs which was a bit weird. We did some recordings at home as we were making enough material to fill a set and sent them to some labels and got picked up.” Rusty Shackle take

influences from bluegrass, folk and Celtic music.

Tomorrow is a song recorded for a forthcoming debut album. It’s got a pumping beat, the fiddle makes it feel fast paced and dances around the guitars and vocals which offer a more sombre diametric. Slow and heartfelt moments come to a halt and are replaced by high tempo, feel good and dancy rhythm. Current EP track Cold Hearted Town is a mellower affair with appeasing duelling between acoustic guitar and banjo. Again there is a tantalisingly racy chorus which really showcases the fun-loving vibe that the Shackle offers.

Beating Heart Of A Kingdom is a bouncingly cool tune, fusing folk, bluegrass and rock tones. Yet the live show presents a more eccentric side to the band. They’re 40s dressed, all dancing and like to party…like Rolf Harris on speed. “When we’re recording we treat it totally different to our live show. We try and make a work of art, and see how creative we can get with it. Obviously it has to be replicated in the live form in some way. But I think if we’re doing exactly the same as what you play live then it’s not much different from what you can buy… It’s all getting a little more epic as it’s going on.” Rusty Shackle are the Bombay Badboy of folk music. Their bluegrass ’n’ roll is real cool. www.myspace.com/rustyshacklemusic

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

T

his was an accident waiting to happen!

Chris Morgan (ex-Midasuno/The UCA Chapter), Andrew Black (or Len) (exAfterlife/The UCA Chapter), Mike Chiplin (ex-LostProphets/The Unsung) and Darran Smith (ex-Funeral For A Friend) are Accident Music. It’s been an interesting journey for AM as the group has snowballed to become a Welsh super-group. Chris: “It feels like it’s all come together now, and we have the final piece of the puzzle. It was originally something because our bands had finished and we were bored.

We did a few gigs and it didn’t work out. But then Mike joined and we got a million times stronger, started to find our feet and develop our sound. But now Darran has joined, it’s as if we’ve found that missing piece.”

Accident Music are about loud and fast riffs, mind-bending hooks and a heavy dose of rock.

The pre-Smith tracks were belters. Armstrong is so fast, it tears away in all its distorted glory, lets you catch up at a breakdown with nice clean guitars and melody, but then fires away again. It toils with you, and throws up so many special moments. There’s something new with each listen. The guitar solos are sublime and Chiplin’s unique drumming style is more apparent: powerful, fast, intricate, and, at times, breathtaking. Don’t Say Sorry If You Won’t is a rip-roarer of a track, with gritty, driving bass throughout, meeting playful, powerful, high-tempo and distorted guitars, whilst the drums set a blistering pace. And this is pre-Darran Smith! What the future holds is waiting with baited breath.

You can feel the expectation building like a volcano, bubbling away with all its rage and intensity as AM are about to unleash their beast on the world. And given the musical backgrounds there is a big expectation. “I think there is, but we don’t really feel it. There’s lots of buzz, but it means we need to deliver it. I think that a lot of people are expecting us to be on a grand scale because of where Darran’s come from. But it’s not. We’re gonna be back on the toilet circuit, trying to build ourselves up as if we are a new band. Don’t expect people to like us because of who is in the band, because it’s about the music. All we care about is being able to like the songs that we are writing, and hope that people enjoy that. It’s about pleasing ourselves and loving the tunes we write so that we can be happy, honestly stand behind it, and believe in the music we are writing.”

Although you may have seen AM pre-Darran Smith, it’s become a different monster since his joining: “If you’d seen us before, you won’t now recognise most of the songs. Noone who has already seen Accident Music can say they’ve actually seen Accident Music, because of this line-up.” It has also changed the band’s approach. Chris: “Mike joined and brought his unique style. We would never have thought of changing some of the rhythms and dynamics until he came in. And now Darran has joined, he plays guitar totally different to me, and brings different things to the table, which has helped us develop our sound.” This is also down to the ways that the awesome foursome write their music — through developing each unique style of its members. “It’s not about making it fit into a box or a certain style. The sound of the band comes through with all the individual ingredients. None of us are stuck in our ways. We’re all willing to experiment and go down avenues we’d never thought about going down.”

Likewise, AM also feel that this venture will invigorate all of them as they have the

chance to work with different musicians with different styles. “Playing with a different bunch of musicians makes you think about things a different way. There are different approaches, and the songs and styles are different so you have to try and adapt to that, which only improves you as a musician. And it’s nice to push ourselves and be outside our comfort zones.”

The energy of AM is immense. They really love what they are doing here. And this vibe is part of the reason Mike and Darran decided to join the party. “There was something about the band and the songs that were already there that attracted us to the band. And we already thought that the songs were brilliant, making us want to join and get involved when the opportunity was there.” And now the opportunity has presented itself, the gauntlet has been laid down.

Although each member’s past has added to the hype and expectation, AM also feel that it is helpful to the writing process. “I think our pasts help the process because we know what we’ve got to do and what the process is, and we’re not overprotective about style and ideas because everyone goes through a stage about being precious about their music and are not happy to change things. But when you’ve been doing it for a long time you learn that it’s about the songs and not about your personal section or piece, or what you’re bringing to the song, but it’s about making the song the best it can possibly be. We’ve all got to sacrifice things for the greater deal of the record.” It is this attitude, and professional demeanour that will hopefully be the springboard for huge things once they cut the chains and get out there.

“The good thing about this band is that we are not precious about our pasts, and that improves us as musicians. We work together and keep each other on our toes. It’s not a conscious thing. It’s just the way we work.”

People haven’t heard what this line up has done because it’s being kept under wraps until AM are happy with the way that the songs sound, and are perfect by the time they start gigging. Neither are they working to timescales. “We’ll be ready when we’re ready. Rather than withholding what could be a great song and making a good song, we’ll do it when the time is right. We’ve got about eight or nine tracks done, but we don’t feel that there is any pressure to release something just for the sake of getting something out. It’s an honest representation of all of us. We are not trying to be anything that isn’t our styles.

It’s us trying to put some music together, put on some shows and see if people are into it or not. Our friendships have brought us into the band and since Darran’s come on board it’s the best it’s felt. We are four people who really want to make music together and we’ve got a good a good thing going so we’re going to work our arses off to make sure we deliver the goods. It’s about being musicians, and not being rock stars. We have a genuine love for playing music.”

If you’re wanting something different in your life then it’s a really good time to put AM on your radar. It’s clever, exciting, loud, fast and totally genius. “You’ll hear certain influences of each element of the band. We hope that we’re not so individual and unique that no-one will be attracted to us. We hope there are elements that people can see in their favourite bands that might draw them to us.”

Man — it’s evolved into a behemoth! www.myspace.com/listentoaccidentmusic

Words by Adam Perkins Photograph by Darren Warner

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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Words by Gail Griffiths & Darren Warner Photograph by RokStar

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

“O

ne day he was there and the next he was gone. It still doesn’t seem real, even three months on. I think everyone is finding it hard to adjust.”

When a band suffers the sudden and tragic loss of one of its members it must be hard to conceive what life will be like without them. When that band is Killing For Company and the band member was Stuart Cable it must be even harder to comprehend a life without their demon drummer.

Unfortunately, the passing of Stu came at a critical time for the band. They were about to launch an eagerly-awaited album, had gigs lined up, including an appearance at Download Festival that coming weekend, and were destined for great things — just listen to their music and you’ll agree.

The day we met up with KforC’s lead singer Greg Jones it had be raining, a poignant steady drizzle that seemed to soak into your bones and make you shiver. Or was that shiver in reality the knowledge that a difficult subject was about to be broached. How do you talk about the loss of a friend, to share memories, talk about how the band are coping and what they have planned for the future without sounding mercenary? We had always planned to follow up our Issue 3 article with the band once their album was ready for release, but with the unexpected turn of events maybe this was going to be too soon. We needed to talk though, and with Greg the conversation just flowed.

“Having Stuart in the band was both a blessing and a curse.

People wanted us to bypass the early stages of discovering ourselves, playing support slots and expected us to be up there with the best, not allowing us to grow. They expected us to be a headlining band on the back of Stuart’s name, though nobody at that time had heard our music. It was so hard to get other people to understand that we/Stuart wanted to do it ‘old school’ and be the support band blowing people away for the first year or so.”

Do you think that the band would have got further earlier if people had focused on the music rather than the fact that it was ‘Stuart Cable’s band’?

“Without Stuart there wouldn’t have been a band. Stu was a drummer first and foremost his personality came along with that, but to us he was the drummer in this band, anything else was a bonus. He loved the band and always wanted to get away from the moniker of ‘Stuart Cable’s Band’ and said to me ‘Give it 18 months and Greg you can do all the interviews and I can stay in the background.’ Unfortunately, that position has now been forced upon us.”

Tell us about that morning of the 7th June. “My mum called me, my brother-in-law who works in a school in Aberdare had called her to say that people were coming to work saying there were a lot of police around Stu’s house, so my mum phoned initially to see if I was all right. It was about eight o’clock in the morning, and as I was talking to her I turned on my computer and facebook was just going absolutely nuts.”

It’s not easy to discuss certain moments in time that have such impact on your life and talking about that day has both heart-wrenching memories for both Greg and myself that we find it difficult to go on. The grief is still present, still raw.

I’m an intruder, clutching at my coffee cup, sitting in this man’s house, bashing on the emotions of his life, feeling like some sort of hack journalist from a tabloid newspaper.

“We have so many great memories of Stu we feel privileged to have known him. Though even now, it’s hard to believe he’s no longer with us. I spoke to him on the Saturday and the last thing I said was ‘See you at your house on Monday’, but come Monday morning he was gone. We were all a bit shell shocked, and obviously the funeral was very emotional for everyone, so we went away together for a few days, just to be in each other’s company and to talk things through.”

The sight of Aberdare streets full of thousands of people who had come to pay their respects to a local legend is testament to Stu’s popularity. But as with all bereavements, family and friends have to move on, however hard that may seem. And for Greg and the boys the question everyone’s asking is, ‘Will the band carry on?’

“We admit it’s going to be hard, but we feel it would be the best tribute from us to Stu as he was so passionate about the music we were producing that we just have to keep playing it. Earlier this year we’d supported The Alarm on tour and our music had gone down really well. Unfortunately there wasn’t time before the tour to get the album out, so we pressed a taster — just 1,000 copies of a limited edition album with

only nine tracks on it, so that we could get our music out to the new fans we were attracting. We were due to play at the 30th Anniversary Donington festival gig [now Download] and Stu was so excited about taking the album there with us, taking our music to a wider audience, but of course that never happened.”

With the official release date of the limited edition album set for Monday 7th June 2010, the actual day of Stu’s passing, the band pulled the album. However, after talking with Stuart’s family and with the backing of his brother Paul, news followed later of a charity single to be released in Stu’s memory and to raise money for the local charities he supported. Former Mining Town, which reached Number Three in the Rock Charts almost immediately once available, is a powerful song with meaningful lyrics and masterful musicianship — just one listen and you’ll be left wanting more. And there is so much more on the album itself waiting for an audience.

“I think if we hadn’t recorded the album and the album wasn’t so good we may have called it a day after we lost Stu. But he had such a strong belief in the music we’ve produced, and we feel this is such a good product that we just can’t let it go without people hearing it. The worst thing we could have done was not to release it. What could be more fitting as a tribute to Stu, than to release the album and demonstrate how good his drumming is on it. So it’s out there now for everyone, and getting airplay which is great. However, what we didn’t think of when we released the single was that we’d be asked to play it live. So we found ourselves in the horrible position only a month after the funeral looking for a drummer, which was just too soon as far as we were concerned but we couldn’t let the album just disappear. So we all sat down and talked it through and remembered that Stu had always said if he was ever unwell we were to get Aled Richards who had played for Catatonia to fill in for him. So we got in touch with Aled and he kindly agreed to play a few gigs with us over the summer to help us out.”

The boys are sounding good and looking good, and Aled has fitted in well as he knew Stu from the early days when the Stereophonics first supported Catatonia. It’s made the transition easier for the rest of the band knowing that they can openly talk about Stu with someone who also shares a history with him.

“Stu and Aled go way back, so it’s nice that he has memories of Stu which he can share with us and vice versa. There’s also the Welsh connection, of course, which is also very important to us as a band. Though when Aled first took up his drumsticks to play with us it wasn’t plain sailing, as it’s a difficult album to play. There’s always been speculation around how good a drummer Stu was, even though we know he was exceptionally talented — he always thought of himself as a drummer first, the personality and the career that came with him was extra.

Aled is a very technical and clever drummer, but when he started learning our songs even he said, ‘My god, how did he do this, this is really hard!’ But he’s learned our stuff and we’re playing a few gigs. I know some people may think it’s quite soon, but we’re a working band and need to earn a living. We don’t have the financial backing of being an established band to take six months out, we have to keep at it.”

It’s not at all certain that Aled will stay with the band — he’s now a lecturer in a college in Llanelli — so he’s certainly not a replacement for Stu. How can any other drummer fill his shoes?

Of course this is the dilemma that faces all the members of Killing For Company. For Steve, Andy, Richie and Greg have to go on and forge that future which they all believe in. There are difficult times ahead, but ahead they must go. Now they have to think beyond the grief and pain and continue on the path that was already set.

With the full album release of Lost Art Of Deception expected soon the power of the band will be available to all to digest, and with the album already listed as one of the top releases by Welsh artists in our current search for the Best Welsh Albums Ever, you know that their potential has an audience waiting for them. Their steps will have to be positive and full of the commitment they’ve already shown.

We here at PLUGGED IN believe that they will come through and achieve that success they so deserve. www.killingforcompany.com

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Words & Photograph: Hall Or Nothing

A

Friday afternoon, early June: Nicky Wire is sat half-watching the World Cup opening ceremony. Wire is looking scarily healthy, the result of months of clean living forced on him by a series of ailments. He’s also fiercely positive about the new album. I comment that there seems to have been an amazingly quick turn around on this record.

“I think the key to that was the fact that I didn’t write any lyrics on the last album.

I’ve been stockpiling a lot of words and quite a few tunes since Send Away The Tigers. It’s made the record more do-able. We ended up writing quite a few tracks on the American and Canadian tour, that was an incredibly productive time for us as a band. The Descent Pages 1 & 2 was written on the bus. We were playing the track acoustically, James fitted the words in and it was done. There was another one in Toronto called Hazleton Avenue which was also written on the bus.”

Did the fact that there was such a gap for you writing between Tigers and this record mean that there was a backlog which gave you more to choose from?

“There’s been a lot of editing. There were 24 songs on the board and we’ve been very rigorous in what we’ve chosen. Lyric wise it’s been pretty fast. Postcards From A Young Man came quite late. That song was one we felt we needed to dig out of ourselves, so to speak.

Otherwise it feels like a very natural record, the natural progression from Tigers. We always said that Journal For Plague Lovers was us stepping off the treadmill. James likes to make an analogy with Aerosmith, that Tigers was Permanent Vacation and this record is like Pump. Bigger and better. I most point out that is absolutely not a musical analogy! It’s just us ramping everything up. There’s strings everywhere, gospel choirs, John Cale is on a track, Duff McKagan is on a track, we’ve even got Ian McCulloch doing a duet with James.”

Looking back, was the end of the Journal period a tension valve being released?

“Only the touring was a strain. Making the record was magical. Rediscovering Richey’s lyrics, being in the studio with Steve Albini.

When we toured it, it got a little tougher. Much like Bible when you’re singing those words every night, or hearing them in my case. Then my back going was really depressing. It was a very short, very intense period. It was James’ idea and it was definitely the right one for us as a band. If we’d have done this straight after Tigers it probably would have been too hard to pull off.”

You’d said previously about trying to make a record that sat somewhere between ABBA and Queen.

“From the get go, we conceived it as our last chance to attempt to communicate on a mass level. We felt it was our last shot at rock immortality. Not saying we’re splitting up or anything but 10 albums is a massive milestone.

Ten albums on the same label, with the same manager, with the same people in the band.

Not many bands manage that these days.”

I always wonder whether there’s some kind

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of Welsh work ethic that kicks in?

“Generation Terrorists was ’92, so that makes this our tenth studio album in 18 years.

There’s a couple of double-album length records, a greatest hits, a B-sides best of and solo albums. When we resigned with Columbia, there was something to be genuinely proud of.

Apart from Sade we’re their longest serving artist. That, in this day and age of the end of the music industry, was something heartwarming. You know us, we hate using words like ‘proud’. Really, it’s a feeling that’s transferred onto the record. There’s a famous quote from an author that says: ‘You only write two kinds of novels and all the rest you repeat yourself.’ I think with the Manics there’s the Holy Bible/Journal For Plague Lovers novel, that’s one entity when we’re at our best and then there’s Everything Must Go/Send Away The Tigers at the other end of our spectrum.

I think of the two versions of the band that we’re really comfortable with, this record fits into the latter one. But then I theorize a lot more than I should.”

It seems the record came together incredibly quickly, when you got back to Cardiff.

“I think we demoed seriously when we got back from America. James couldn’t be here for some of it so he’d record acoustic tracks and me and Sean would put down bass and drums together, Beatles style. It’s been utterly joyful, we’ve really trusted each other more than ever on this record. But as we came to the end of recording, the intensity and concentration almost overwhelmed us because we feel the stakes are so high. The main pressure we’ve felt with the record is to think whether we could still get on the radio.”

What’s been the motivation?

“There are loads of strings on this record.

I think the best strings that have ever been recorded are on Ocean Rain. Everything Must Go has been a big influence on us — we always look inwards to our own stuff when we record.

The idea that melancholia and rage can be harnessed into something euphoric — that’s the key to some of our best records. They’re angry but they lift you up. The Beatles have been a big influence, it’s the first time we’ve given in to them, Magical Mystery Tour and Abbey Road have been a huge influence. Primal Scream’s Dixie Narco period — the idea of adding a slight modernity to a classic sound. Paul Weller’s Wake Up The Nation. Sometimes it feels like he’s the only one able to have a critical eye.

The lack of new bands with anything to say makes it feel more and more like he’s the only eye surveying the universe.”

He’s also the only person with a similar work ethic to you.

“I’ve grown to love and respect him more and more — 22 Dreams and this one. You’re not going to get better records from a 50year-old are you? The fact that he’s so full of rage. That’s one thing I haven’t denied on this record. Injustice and anger are in our DNA, there’s no point suppressing it. It’s not a Richey-esque Nihilist rage, that clinical, genius dissection of things. With me it’s almost a

petty rage at times. The Dennis Wilson Pacific Ocean Blue reissue. Biffy Clyro believe it or not. Out Of Time by REM has been there in the background.

“There are loads of motivating things in there that don’t come through but that’s ok — I’ve been listening to loads of Sparklehorse and Stockhausen. I’m sick of bands becoming ‘the artist’ and mutating into something they’re not supposed to be. The dramatic nature of the landscape change out there is so phenomenal, who knows. There’s a certain nostalgia to the record too. I’m not sitting here saying, ‘The past was fantastic!’ but I do think the present, music wise, is utterly mediocre. It’s undeniable that this generation is utterly devoid of any form of political or critical analysis of it’s own environment. It’s totally disconnected from it. If you think that’s important then I think there’s still a relevance to us existing. I really believe this record will either connect or it’ll be a huge stiff. That’s not me being overly dramatic or arrogant, there’s a genuine belief that’s divisive like that. Either massive radio hits or completely f***ed. I don’t think this is so much of a press record. It’s very different to Journal, that record was a press dream.”

It was a record with a story attached to it — a perfect press story.

“And this one is different. We’re not wilfully rejecting the credibility that we got with the last album — with the record, the gigs, the remixes. I think we just feel that this is our only option at this point.”

It’s a brilliant thing to still have that drive.

“The thing with Oasis splitting, you think what is there left? All those people who moan on about the 90s messing with everything because all the bands became too big, I just keep thinking, what are we left with? An eternity of absolute indie s**t that’s not connecting with anyone. There are bands and they’re aping Ian Curtis but they’re not taking inspiration from the deepness and the true poetry of his lyrics, they’re just doing his kooky dance. They’ve made the whole thing into a cabaret act. For us, Ian Curtis is one of the great writers in any field of the 20th century.”

So many bands seem to have picked an outfit off the rails at American Apparel — the ‘indie’ look — and thought that’s enough.

“That’s why I love The XX. At least they’re for real, you know they’re a genuine band who are doing it whatever the prevailing wind. I love the fact that they’ve managed to rewrite the blueprint of one of Wales’ greatest, most underrated bands, Young Marble Giants. I mean that as a massive compliment, by the way. They look like they should be in a band together.”

You’re going out on the road with British Sea Power, another band a total aesthetic.

“We’re really thrilled, they’re doing the whole tour with us. I think it’s a perfect match for us. They did a brilliant remix of Me & Stephen Hawking for us, there’s a mutual appreciation I think. Tickets have done remarkably well — we never take anything for granted, we’re just so thrilled about it all.”

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

S

ex and drugs and rock ’n’ roll is back! But this time it’s got more balls, more beef and more bass. Much, much, much more bass. In fact, there’s so much more bass there’s no room for intricacy of guitars. There’s no sweet foreplay — just the relentless banging of the drums and wall-shattering, headslamming pounding of bass upon bass. And it will leave you wet and panting! Let PLUGGED IN introduce you to Exit_International.

E_I are without doubt one of the freshest bands to come out of South Wales in recent times. This is pop music with an ingenious twist — that being there is no guitar! And it’s probably not what you think either — this will surprise you. “The irony is that people tend to think it’s a gimmick. But it’s not at all. Not only does our line-up shape what we write in an original way, but sonically it sounds a lot more powerful because there are two bassists.

The bass is not treated like a bass. It’s a very full-on experience.”

Indeed, it’s more bass and lead-bass if you will, and you’ve still got you’re solos. It’s just less intricacy and less twiddling, and more meat and balls. “The important thing is that when you hear us, if you didn’t know there was two bassists you wouldn’t make the assumption that there was. We don’t think that there is something unusual about us. But you can clock people’s reactions when we come on stage that there’s two bassists. But when it comes out it’s a completely different beast.”

Comprising of Adam (drums), Scott (bass) and Fudge (bass), Exit_International are one creative bunch of hot young men. The trio came together in 2008 through coincidence.

Scott (ex-Midasuno) and Fudge’s (ex-Space In The 50’s/Martini Henry Rifles) bands had just split, and they came together over a discussion about Girls Against Boys. Scott: “It seemed like a weird partnership because myself and Fudge were in bands that had crossed paths but existed in different scenes.”

The Martinis were more part of a Cardiff scene, whereas Midasuno carved great popularity in the Valleys and also with some of the younger audiences, without gaining the recognition they deserved. “It was initially a joke not to have a guitarist, but it got interesting. We got together to do a show with The Melvins, and the stuff was a lot more skewed to what we’re doing now. Our drummer had other commitments, but then Adam’s old band (The Red October) split, which presented us with a great opportunity to bring him in.”

E_I write short, fast and hard-hitting songs. “It’s more to do with our personalities.

It’s about an immediacy which is used in a rhythmical attack. We will say something in two minutes that can punch people in the face, rather than taking 10 minutes to say the same thing.” Sex With Strangers is a fast, ballsy and mental song. Scott’s vox, as with his bass, dance around in solid harmony to Fudge’s bouncy bassline, and accompanied by smart, solid drums. It’s a crazy concoction of pop and rock, sex and distortion. “It wasn’t chosen as a controversial song title, it’s just something that stuck because of the lyrics in the song.”

It’s hammer-time with Lay To Waste, probably the most dirty sounding of E_I songs, with drilling bass and slamming drums. And then at just under two and half minutes Body Joyrider is pretty epic. It’s got a great underlaying bounce, powerful and quite terrific drumming, hard-hitting bass and screaming, shouting and harmonic lyrics. It breaks into

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pop, and then a high pitched scream!

“The music is mental, but we are not trying to make music that sounds mental, this is just what comes out of us as people. So whether that makes us mental or weird, we’re totally down with that because the three of us together are a problem. But we are fundamentally a pop group. There are hooks and melody in what we do, and we are not shying away from commercialism. But we are hindered by the fact that there are two bassists and a drummer so we are always going to be looked at as if there is something wrong.”

What you get with E_I is an intriguing twist to your run-of-the-mill band, and they must be applauded for doing something whacky and different. Adam’s drums stand out in the mix because they are up front. Fudge helps form the rhythm section with his own unique style of bass — it’s deep and bouncy, with lots of grunt, neatly melding between the slower and more epileptic parts of their music. Then Scott plays his parts over the top which brings an interesting depth to the sound.

Scott: “In terms of what me and Fudge do sonically it can be perceived as messy because of the distortion. Adam’s drums perfectly punctuate the whole rhythm side and it’s an integral part of what we do. Our sound is all the things that we love the most — to sing along to something, volume, and distortion.

And things being hit very hard.”

Most appropriate for the cool and crafty Chainsaw — another two minutes of pleasure.

It’s got harmonies, a sing-along chorus and clever lyrics. It’s got a fabulous riff and bounce and some great lead-bass. It’ll make you sing and dance. “Chainsaw is the most literal lyrical song I have ever written, but our content is about the delivery of the lyrics rather than the lyrics themselves.” Its imagery is explicit, and certainly not for these pages. But it’s songs like this that are the reason there is such a buzz surrounding E_I. Indeed, the vox become the extra element for the band, summing up the intelligence behind the audacity of E_I. This lyrical delivery is satisfyingly noted on Hey Disciple where it moves with the riff and then you get Scott’s squealing scream to scare the hell out of you. The combination of titanic riffs, sublime drumming and catchy lyrics make Exit_International a special band. “I think we’re getting more commercial and more subversive. We’re not a brutal, smash you’re face in type of band, we are very considered in regard to how poppy we are. We just taint it with suggestive lyrics or odd time signatures.

It’s not dark, it’s just skewed. We write pop music for people who don’t have pop ears.”

The trio took Reading and Leeds by storm this year. Look at the videos and you see more and more people coming to see what the noise was all about. And it’s just what they needed.

“We are on it at the moment. We’re firing on all cylinders. We feel like we’re in our favourite band. And coz it’s all so raw you can’t argue with what we are doing.”

But don’t go expecting a record so soon.

“There’s no call for an album. Most people who are going to like us won’t have heard us yet, so we’re going to go out, play a load of shows and drop some singles. We don’t feel the need to release something until the time is right. There’s no rush.”

Pin down your radio. Exit_International will be filling speakers everywhere, and they will be bouncing off the walls. myspace.com/exitinternationalmusic

Words by Adam Perkins Photograph by Darren Warner

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B

ack in the summer, PLUGGED IN favourite Ffred Jones set off on a Seaside Busking Tour of Wales to raise money for the children’s hospice Ty Hafan, hoping to raise £500 by playing on pavements in seaside towns throughout August. His first tour date was Aberystwyth Promenade — here’s how he got on...

Friday, 6th August 2010 Weather Forecast Now then, I’ll admit the forecast for Aberystwyth and North Wales isn’t looking too good, but it’s going to take more than a drop of rain to stop me! If I have to comb the entire town for an undercover spot, ask in every cafe if they would like some live music I will play somewhere so keep an eye out. The forecast can be wrong but have you ever noticed it’s never wrong when you really want it to be. So here goes...

Monday, 9th August 2010 North Wales It’s been a long weekend but I’m pretty pleased with how it all went. Over the last two days I managed to get in £80 for Ty Hafan, so only £320 more til I hit the £500 mark. My first stop was Aberystwyth which was great, having never visited the area before I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it was lovely. I set up not far from a cafe on the sea front and people seemed to be enjoying my tunes. Sunday morning I arrived in Rhyl where I set up in the high street, it was a bit slow getting going but still proved fruitful with several holiday makers requesting the like of I’m Yours by Jason Mraz, good times.

The second stop on Sunday was Llandudno and it was great. The promenade was bustling with people from all over the place, locals, holiday makers, people on weekend breaks and all sorts. In Llandudno I set up on the beach itself, it was great fun and a lot of people seemed to clock what I was doing and also what I was doing it for! Miraculously the weather held out all weekend, even if it wasn’t blazing sunshine the whole time it was pretty good.

Monday, 16th August 2010 Cardiff & Mumbles I spent the last weekend busking harder than ever! On Saturday I was playing in Roald Dahl Plass in Cardiff Bay. The sky was rather gray and it threatened rain a few times but all was not lost. Given that there was a classic car show on and it was the first day of the Boat Show, it was pretty busy! I managed to raise a good few pound performing and even sold a few copies of my disc Feed The Fire. After

the busk I then headed up to Pontypridd for a gig in the Otley Brewery which was great. I sold a few more copies for my EP there, too, taking Saturday’s total fundraising to about £46. On Sunday I headed West up the M4 to the Mumbles where I would be playing just along the front from the legendary Verdi’s Ice Cream Parlour. Unlike Saturday, the sun was shining and no hint of rain. The Mumbles was positively buzzing when I arrived, so I set up a pitch and sang for three hours solid. People gave to the cause generously and bought a couple of copies of Feed The Fire. At the end of the session I’d pulled in just over £50, happy days! As we were heading back to the car, rather randomly, my brother and I were chased down by a very jolly (if slightly tipsy) local gentlemen who had heard us on the front and asked us if we would come and play in his garden for his wife’s birthday party. We thought “hey, can’t hurt,” and went and performed a few tunes in their garden. When I explained about the tour and Ty Hafan, most of the guests donated a few more pounds, so the already nice total of £50 shot up to £75.

We never actually found out anyone’s name, but thanks for helping us all the same! Before departing the Mumbles, however, I couldn’t resist popping to Verdi’s!

Tuesday, 24th August 2010 Tenby When I arrived in Tenby Friday evening, the forecast for the weekend was not promising!

A small monsoon was booked in for Saturday but was hopefully leaving us in the early hours of Sunday. For once it seems, the weather man got it spot on. As a result I wasn’t able to do any busking on Saturday but had managed to sneak myself a slot in Tenby’s Cafe Vista alongside the legendary guitarist Adrian Hughes from Cardiff. We both played a few tunes then jammed the rest of the evening away, it was great fun, nice one Adrian! By the end of the night I’d managed to sell a good few EPs too, so even though I made no money on the streets I pulled in about £20 from the gig, so even with the torrential rain a few pound was still raised. Come Sunday afternoon, the weather had taken a turn for the better so I sat myself down in front of St Mary’s Church plugged in and got playing. I only ended up playing for about an hour and a half, there was a church service starting and there were a few other buskers so good pitches were sparse, but in that short time the people in Tenby showed amazing generosity towards the cause and I made just over £90, taking my total raised in Tenby to over £110! Thank you to everyone

Photograph by Bert Jones 20

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who threw a few my way! My running total raised so far was roughly £415 — only another £85 to hit my target of £500!

Friday, 3rd September 2010 Penarth & Barry — The Final Push!

The final weekend of the tour turned out be rather tumultuous! It started well with a good session in Penarth getting in a solid £50. I had one date left and the prospect of hitting the £500 mark seemed well within reach. So on Sunday, I packed up and headed for my final destination, Barry Island. My childhood memories of Barry were always of fun times but I hadn’t visited Barry in at least 15 years.

We arrived and began to set up, the weather was ok but before I was halfway ready we were asked to move on by a not entirely polite chap hiring out deck chairs. We explained we were raising money for charity at which he looked slightly pained about moving us on but his resolution held fast and he still wanted to be rid of us. We moved up the front and pitched a new spot, painfully far from any real audience. As we were nearly ready to play we were told to move on again, not by a grumpy local but this time a policeman. In fairness he was clearly a good guy who explained the situation and also let slip that most people on the front, especially people working on the front wouldn’t be happy we were there. At this I decided to head back to Cardiff centre instead only to be stopped short by the rain! As I was so close to my target I will be doing some more busking in Cardiff again very soon to hit my total — so keep a good look out!

Ffred’s Final Thoughts Wherever I have been this Summer, my busking and my music seem to have gone down fairly well, generally being well received and enjoyed. In these times of great uncertainty and discord within the music world itself, to me, busking seems as good a way of getting out and getting heard as one could hope for. Music venues everywhere are struggling, reverting to regular club nights and tribute bands to try and keep going, leaving them unable to support the local music scene. A lot of venues are packing it in all together, even Cardiff Barfly has shut up shop, not a great omen! But with busking, you don’t need a stage and a sound man and to take £10 on the door with the faint hope that all your friends on facebook will come to your shows — you just pick up your guitar, find a good spot and probably play to more people in one day then most of us will ever do in a booked gig. www.myspace.com/ffredjones

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Words by Mark Tambini

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Photograph by Stefan Hinc

K

yshera, an enigma? Certainly intriguing. I remember catching them live for the first time in a venue in Pontypridd’s greyest of grey precinct, and from that point always found them fascinating. A band brimming with original ideas, striving to be recognised but with a tinge of scorn and “music industry” angst trickling out through gritted teeth.

Comprising of James Kennedy (guitar/ vocals), Matt Warr (bass) and Rhys Jones (drums), Kyshera’s music is intense, wild, extravagant and bold. They challenge your knowledge of time signature, rhythm and structure as all rule books are thrown out the window. Precisely why I like them. Any band who strives to be different, to swim against the current and fight on the so called losing side for a belief in pure artistic expression rather than producing parcels of immaculately packaged radio-friendly musical blandness will instantly grab my attention.

I asked James to give us a brief history.

“Before Kyshera, I wrote an album called Made In China which I released under the name of Kennedy (my surname) as everything on the album was done by myself. I sent it out to a couple of the local papers just to see what people thought of it and it took off! Somehow word got around about it and it was played on Radio 1, got ‘album of the year’ reviews in loads of magazines and I had phone calls from Sony, Warner and a couple of other labels. What also happened was that Nigel Kennedy’s management got wind of the album and sent me an email telling me that I would have to cease using the name Kennedy or they would consider it a legal issue! I can’t imagine it holding up for one minute in court but I thought the name was a bit cheesy anyway and it was only ever supposed to be temporary as I wanted to get a band. So I started using the name Kyshera from then on.

“I invented the word Kyshera as I wanted the band name to represent the spirit of what the band does musically — that is, something unique and new. It took about a year to get a band up and running but after that, we just gigged non-stop and really honed our live show into the beast that it is today. The band has undergone quite a lot of line-up changes since then, but the guys in the band now are absolutely mind blowing musicians and this is the line-up! We’re all on the same page, we all get on great, there are no problems, attitudes or egos and the music sounds the best that it ever has! We’ve put out the Kyshera EP and the Superstar single, which has the full uncensored video on the disc, and this year we released the second full-length album, Paradigm.”

Can you give a brief description of some of your career highs and lows? “The highs for me are the gigs, the fans, the parties, the music and the general shenanigans of being in the band. The lows are having to deal with massive musician egos and idiot promoters!”

Tell me about Paradigm from a conceptual point of view, both lyrically and musically.

“I’ve been wanting to release Paradigm for ages but various things have kept it from happening for a while. Before Christmas 2009, I just decided that I was going to do it! Made In China was a concept album where all the tracks were literally joined together (there isn’t a second’s silence on it!) and there was a theme to it, lyrically. Paradigm is more song based, with each song dealing with different subjects which don’t necessarily relate to the other songs on the album. It deals with celebrity culture, the media, politics, the economy, war and I guess if there is a ‘theme’, it is that all of these problems stem from us as

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW individuals and that they are only extensions of our individual evils. This is represented on the album cover with the Russian Dolls which have a ‘Paradigm’ design. Musically, Paradigm is a lot more stripped down than Made In China and I purposely went for a more live sounding album with no frills or tricks. Overall, it’s the most accessible stuff I’ve written but there’s still a good handful of typical Kyshera craziness on there and there’s also an experimental orchestral piece on there called Frequency 1, where there is no rhythm, melody, dynamics or key! I also purposely went against the whole trend of piling all of your strongest tracks at the start of the album by putting a kind of pointless harpsichord vamp as the first track and one of the strongest songs last — the point I was trying to make by doing that is that this is an album that you have to actually listen to.”

I’ve been listening to Paradigm a lot and it’s a very imaginative and adventurous piece of work, something you wouldn’t class as run of the mill. How well has it been received by both the media and punters alike?

“It’s been received really well by both the press and the public. It’s had some great coverage in some big rock magazines and our American distributor sold out within the first month. We’ve had orders from countries all over the world and all of the feedback we’ve had has been really good — typically though, our only problem has been with gig bookers who don’t have the imagination to know where to place us in a bill! They seem to have a problem with something which doesn’t fit neatly into a pre-prepared pigeonhole for them.”

Several of the tracks on Paradigm use some pretty complex time signatures. Can you explain your songwriting process and give an insight into how you made the album?

“Different songs are written in different ways — Lust was written literally on the spot, all the way through, finished in one go, same with Element. Tracks like those normally just come out when I’m playing guitar or messing about on a piano, but the more complex tracks like Kill The Messenger or Paradigm tend to be pieced together over time. I’ll have a burst of ideas one night and write pretty much most of a track but then I’ll run dry and have to finish it another time when ideas come to me.

I record while I write, so if I get a cool riff or something, I’ll record it in, add some drums and then that will inspire the next section and the next and the next. I use a lot of odd times but that’s never intentional, it’s just the way it comes out. I seem to have a natural leaning towards odd rhythms. I also get bored really quickly which is why a lot of the songs have loads of different styles and sections, it’s purely just to keep me interested!

“As for recording the album, the whole thing was recorded and mixed in January this year at my home studio, it was when we had all that snow and it was absolutely freezing so that made us work pretty quickly! I wanted this album to be pretty raw so I purposely didn’t spend too much time on the mixing and I made a point of doing it on very limited gear, with no studio trickery and very few takes were done on each part, so what you hear on the album is the band sounding as the band actually sounds, without an polish or sweetener.”

The music industry has drastically changed in the past few years with the introduction of digital downloading and free streaming websites. Can you give your thoughts on what you think the future holds for the CD format, as well as the future of music in general as we adapt to this ever increasing digital age?

“First off, I love the internet and I love the

fact that technology has made it possible for everybody to be able to get their music ‘out there’. I’m all for taking the monopoly away from big business but the problem is that it also makes it possible for absolutely anyone to now be a ‘musician’. Anyone can now make a demo in their bedroom, set up a myspace page and put a video on YouTube ­— and that’s great, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that what they’re putting ‘out there’ is any good. Just having the means of promotion doesn’t qualify you as an artist. The fact that all of these platforms are now saturated with millions of cheap ‘wannabe’ celebrities and attention seekers kind of just makes the whole thing redundant. There should be a quality control unit that listens to people’s myspace pages and says ‘sorry, you’re just doing the same false, effortless, Americanized drivel that everyone else is doing, account suspended until you come back with something original’.

“As for CDs, I do think they’re probably on their way out, but that’s cool, things just change as technology changes. As for file sharing though, I’m all for it, I think it’s a great thing and it is in no way a threat to ‘music’, it is only a threat to the music ‘industry’ and who cares about that? I think that file sharing takes the power away from the music industry monopoly that has for far too long controlled what music people have access to and gives that power back to the actual fans of music.

However, with all power comes responsibility and I think that there is definitely a threat from full scale music freeloading. File sharing gives unsigned and independent artists access to a world wide audience but if nobody ever actually buys their music and they just enjoy it for free forever, then those artists will have to stop making that great music and get a ‘real’ job so that they can live. I personally think that if you download something and you really like it, then you should buy it. It’s like a ‘try before you buy’ kind of thing — if you really like it, support that artist and buy the album, but don’t be a freeloader because by doing that you will personally be killing music. The responsibility lies now with the fans.”

Are there any specific signed or unsigned bands (or anyone in the public eye for that matter) who interest and inspire you?

“I’m inspired by anyone who has the guts to be a true individual, who purposely strives to be alternative to the mainstream and aims to be sincere in what they do, whether it’s music or something else. Most of the people I know who are like that aren’t in bands and aren’t public figures, they’re normal everyday people. We need more people like them.”

What is it about music that drives you to be in a band doing what you do? What do you hope to achieve with Kyshera and what advice could you offer younger bands starting out?

“I do what I do because I love it! The second I stop loving it, I’ll stop doing it because if you don’t genuinely love it, then you must be in it for the wrong reason and that would be the only advice I could offer to young bands starting out — do it for the right reason. If your heart is in it then everything else is just detail.

I’m not really in a position to offer anybody else advice about how they should do things and all those quaint old clichés about ‘sticking with it’ are nonsense, but I will offer a plea: make it your mission to be different, there is absolutely nothing cool about sounding the same as everyone else, it’s lame; if you’re going to bring music to the table, then please let it be something new and exciting or just don’t bother.” www.myspace.com/kyshera

PLUGGED IN

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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Words & Photograph by Darren Warner

I

sit quietly paying attention to the melting ice in my glass of overpriced diet coke contemplating the going’s on around me in this busy part of our capital city. Couples meeting, people leaving their places of work and heading home to whoever or maybe nobody but a cat, to the homeless man wandering the street who actually looks the most at ease of all. Could he have found true satisfaction with his life and have we all got it so badly wrong?

And so my thinking comes round to that great question, what is the meaning of life? At this point it is the diet coke blending with the water of the ice to create a tasteless blended cocktail. I buy myself another drink and think about the interview ahead. Having listened to Nick B Byrne’s melancholic single Anna, with its acoustic introduction that builds throughout the track to an almost heroic climax, I had wondered what it was about this man’s life that had found such meaning to him. Because despite the beautiful brooding musicianship of the song and its carefully considered layering and construction, it had been the one true instrument that had once again captivated me.

It had been the haunting tones of his voice.

“I don’t think that I’ve ever sung that way before really. A voice is such a unique and significant part of a song, even more so than a guitar. It sets every group or singer apart from each other.”

Nick isn’t the carefully groomed and posing type that you come across in this game on a daily basis — even Nick himself quotes a recent reviewer who described him as Fred Durst in rehab. Slightly ill at ease with the situation he finds himself in, namely facing me with my ipod recorder sitting between us ready to capture his every word, it takes time for him to settle into the conversation. We initially start with the basics.

“I’m from a little village called Abersychan, about two miles north of Pontypool in the South Wales Valleys. Basically, it’s just one set of traffic lights that you drive through and then you’re gone. It’s a bit boring really. Musically, I’ve taught myself to play guitar since the age of 15, been in a number of bands, even nearly cracked it a couple of times before the bands imploded, so moved over into engineering and production doing loads of demos for local aspiring talent in the area while putting together my first solo work.”

One of the bands Nick was in is The Evolvers who actually made it into the Top 20 of the independent charts with their double-Asided tracks Bullets/Midnight Song. So what’s happened to that band?

“We had a bit of a downturn and decided to knock it on the head for a while though I don’t consider us over at all. We’re on a break, having a breather so to speak. Don’t know how long it’s going to be, might be a year, maybe two.”

Nick’s sentences are short, quick statements

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of fact that I’m made to ingest without finding the meat on the bones. But I’m not out for gossip on friendships that may have soured nor is the magazine a stomping ground for people’s personal vendettas, so I bring the conversation around to the present day Nick and the release of his first solo album, entitled 4:15AM, and then the situation warms and the true Nick B Byrne flows out.

“I started demoing songs which I initially thought I was going to use with The Evolvers, but soon realised that they wouldn’t work. In fact it’s totally different from anything I’ve done before. There are 10 tracks with lots of acoustic guitar, backed with electronic drum beats and harmonised vocals. I made a decision not to use a bass guitar at all on any of the tracks just because it didn’t feel right. Initially I wanted it to be a solely acoustic album, basically my version of Bruce Springsteen’s Nabraska, but when I started working with Joe Gibbs, who co-produced the album for me, the door opened and other things came into play. In the end I’ve produced an album that I’m really happy with and never believed that I was capable of writing anything as good, as it’s out of just a few simple chords. The experience of doing it was also a true lifeline for me especially as I’m now self-releasing it through my own label.”

I mention the fact that Nick seems to have created his own cottage industry, especially as he owns and runs Dragonffli Studios, a haven for young local talent who need to record. So has keeping it local helped his music in any way?

“I wrote the album between my jaunts to London and into Cardiff, and when I wanted to record anything I had all the facilities in my own place. I didn’t have to worry about studio time, doing the songs at my own pace in my own place. All the elements I needed were all there. I had taught myself to engineer and produce but worked with Joe Gibbs as an assistant on the Godsticks album Spiral Vendetta. Joe has previously worked with Catatonia, Massive Attack, The Stone Roses and was an amazing person with a strong pedigree to work alongside, hence having him work with me on 4:15AM. He pulled stuff out of me that I didn’t believe I had, but also told me to leave other tracks alone as the raw demos when necessary.

“Though saying that a lot of people from where I live think I’m mad writing a song about a girl from down the road and actually using her real name as the title. All the songs on the album are personal but that single is the most personal of all. I’ve haven’t seen her, as she now lives in London and don’t know if she likes the song or not. Initially I was unsure whether to bring it out as the first single but then said to myself, ‘Let’s just get it out there, what’s the worst that can happen that hasn’t already.’

Well maybe someone could come round my

house with a shotgun and blow my head off!

When I wrote the album I wasn’t personally in a good place anyway, my head was all over the shop.”

So why the title 4:15AM? “I went to Turin in Italy with the girl in question and from the moment we touched down to the moment we got back we spent the whole time arguing. Since that time until the completion of the album I’d wake up at the same time every morning at 4:15am or I’d find myself in some place thinking negative thoughts, including standing on the banks of the Liffey in Dublin staring at the black waters contemplating well...who really knows. I can’t put my finger on why. 4:15AM was my way of exorcising the ghosts of my life. Though it’s not all sad songs. The track Lies is more upbeat, while even though it’s about depression The Haunting is still an up-lifting track. One track, a bluesey number called I Couldn’t See The Devil Behind Me, is about me going looking for trouble down the back streets of London amongst the drug addicts and knife wielding crazies. I walked up and down the street a number of times looking people in the eye, maybe looking for some form of violent release to my pain but nobody came near me. It was as if I was protected and the people around me could see it. Once the album was completed it was like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I now can sleep at night and the me during that time has left me alone.”

So the album is ready and has been released, are there any plan to do gigs?

“Yes, and Joe said he’d come out with me to do the percussion. I’ve done a number of solo acoustic gigs including a nine-day busking tour that I did throughout the UK in aid of cancer research. I drove over 1700 miles in the week covering Edinburgh, Glasgow, Newcastle, Manchester, Birmingham, London, Bristol, Cardiff and Swansea, playing Starbucks coffee shops where I’d play the whole album through in a 45-minute set, stripped down and quite raw. The best one was in London’s Fleet Street opposite the Courts Of Justice. People where just throwing money into the pot, though on another occasion someone did say that Starbucks had drafted in a homeless busker to help them sell coffee. A bit cheeky really.”

So what does the future now hold for Nick B Byrne?

“My Dad always said that ‘Opportunity is a boat, you’ve got to swim out to it.’ Of course, it may also knock on your door and you need to learn to recognise it. I always believed that London was the be all and end all. Play gigs there, get picked up, get a deal, sell loads of albums... Like s***t. I’ve done my best stuff in my own surroundings in just four months.

Those traffic lights in Abersychan weren’t on red for me!” www.myspace.com/nickbbyrne

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW Words by Robyn Kennedy Photograph by Martin Thompson

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T

he story of Jayce Lewis is certainly an unusual one. From a young musician drumming with Cardiff rock band Losing Sun to an accomplished solo artist whose debut single Icon became a massive hit in the Far East upon its release in 2009. Hailing from Bridgend, Jayce’s transformation from small town musician to Far Eastern rock star has even been documented in the BBC production Planet Wales. Add into the mix Jayce’s friendship with actor Dave Prowse, best known for his role as Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy, and you may begin to get an idea of just how interesting this guy is.

A self-taught musician who can’t read music in any way, Jayce has never received any music lessons and relied upon determination and his desire to “create his own art” to see him through. His astounding musical ability and sheer originality is cemented in the fact that the song Icon is 100 per cent Jayce Lewis. He played every instrument you hear on the track as well as laying down the vocals, singing being something completely new to him. Jayce’s blatant love of music is somewhat refreshing and Icon is a complete self expression of one man’s passion and creativity, some of which stems from a performance by Queen at Live Aid 1985 which Jayce witnessed as a young boy. He credits this event as being the moment he would “never think about doing anything else other than music”. Prodigy and the Chemical Brothers are also listed as more of Jayce’s influences and when listening to his music you can clearly hear that, rather than emulating the sound of his idols, he similarly incorporates innovation and diversity and produces something which is unique.

After drumming with Losing Sun for four years and two albums, Jayce is set to release his debut solo album in October 2010. He recorded in three different studios, one of which being the famous Not-in-Pill Studios in Newport, where the likes of Bullet For My Valentine and Funeral For A Friend have recorded. The album, being eagerly anticipated after the success of Icon, is described by Jayce as “full of emotion and experiences both good and bad”. Incredibly, Icon was the first ever song Jayce had written from start to finish and was born out of “venting the depression and loss” that he was experiencing at the time.

It was the first time he’d written down his feelings and “turned it into a positive”. Now, the process of writing a song always starts with guitar for Jayce. He records on his mobile phone and the track grows from there. Lyrical structure is neither a story nor rhyme and in

his own words Jayce is “no poet!” His lyrics are simply emotional sentences or bullet points of expression.

Now signed to EMI for a five-year deal Jayce’s “surreal” Far Eastern adventure began in the Summer of 2009 when Icon, his first solo venture, became a chart topping success in Asia, so much so that the song is featured on a compilation album alongside the likes of Coldplay and Katy Perry. The music video that accompanied the song was featured heavily on MTV/VH1 Asia, being played up to an astonishing 18 times a day and leading to Jayce being named as their “artist of the month”.

Certainly an impressive start for Jayce’s solo career, considering the fact that Asia is now regarded as the biggest overseas pool outside of the US. With the impact Icon made on the Far East, Jayce has got one foot firmly placed on the ladder to stardom. And with friends like Dave Prowse, Jayce has access to a fountain of showbiz knowledge.

The two met and instantly bonded at a convention, and Dave has proved to be a great friend and mentor to Jayce over the years. In a weird twist of fate, Jayce didn’t even know that Star Wars conventions existed and on the very first one he attended, he met the Dark Lord himself and formed a lasting friendship, both personal and professional. He states that Dave has been highly supportive and will always be involved in his career and even refers to him as “part of the family”. With Darth Vader on his side, Jayce will surely become a force to be reckoned with! And the famous friendships don’t end there — Jayce has recently been working with British manager Martin O’Shea, who most notably helped pop girl group Atomic Kitten enjoy the success of the mainstream.

On the back of Icon’s success, Jayce was able to headline the Rock ’N’ India festival in Delhi, alongside established acts such as the Backstreet Boys and Richard Marx. During the festival, Jayce played to a crowd of 40,000.

Understandably he describes this as both “terrifying and exciting”, but the nerves over performing to such immense audiences soon melts away when the music kicks in and Jayce is able to play out a different character on stage.

Hidden behind the mask that he performs in, he can be whoever he wants to be.

With the status of a rising rock star, Jayce’s blossoming career attracted the attention of the BBC which led to a 40-minute documentary named Big In India being aired in March 2010 on BBC Wales. The programme, created as part of the Planet Wales series, follows some

of Jayce’s live performances in India and Germany and also touches on the release of his self-titled debut album and second single.

Not a lot of people can say they’ve had their own BBC documentary and Big In India is further proof that Jayce Lewis is definitely one to watch. And with the show being repeated several months after it was first broadcast, Jayce’s story evidently struck a chord with the viewers of Planet Wales. It’s unlikely that with such a promising career Big In India will be the last time we see Jayce setting the small screen on fire.

When asked about aspirations for the future, Jayce simply says that he would like to do more shows in Europe and is looking forward to whatever the next few years may bring.

There is certainly no arrogance or assumption that everything will work out exactly the way he wants it to which gives the impression that Jayce will never be one to stop working incredibly hard. The next year is set to be a busy one with plenty of events lined up for Jayce and his band, which consists of Eifion Lloyd, Martin Thompson and Warren Blackmore, who are all close friends and in Jayce’s words “very talented”. And with Martin being an “awesome photographer” and Eifion playing for years in a pub band, Jayce felt that they needed “a real go” at establishing themselves in the musical world. This generosity shows that Jayce has not let the whirlwind of success go to his head and remains down to earth and humble.

Only a year into his solo career, Jayce has a chart-topping single, tour of the Far East and even his own documentary under his belt.

Standards are certainly set high for the future and the release of the album can only further his success and popularity, not only in the Far East but also closer to home. Jayce’s passion for all things musical is a rarity in this day and age and if anyone deserves fortune and fame, he certainly tops the bill. Living proof that you don’t need to follow the rules, Jayce is paving the way for a unique phenomenon of music, and you can’t help but respect the fact that the music he writes is completely original, down to every chord played and note sung. A credit to the talent we have here in Wales, Jayce is an inspiration to all those out there who want to compose, perform or even just pick up a guitar and see what happens. My advice, get yourself down to any record store or even just the internet and buy a copy of the upcoming album. It’s pretty easy to see that Jayce Lewis is about to take over the world. www.myspace.com/jaycelewismusic

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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Words by Gail Griffiths

U

nless you were living in Siberia during the first half of this year you will have at least heard about the search for Dorothy — the star of Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new musical extravaganza to be staged in London. What you might not know if you were hibernating without access to a television, was that a Welsh singer got through to the final of Over The Rainbow.

Well, unlike those of you out there who avoided the TV talent-spotting show that accompanied the Lord’s search, me and my girls were glued to the telly screen every Saturday evening for months — and voting for Sophie Evans, our favourite from the start.

Yes, she came from Wales so perhaps we would be biased towards her — just a tad! — whatever she sang like, but “our Soph” (as we fondly called her while cuddled up on the sofa munching our way through a family-sized bar of choccy) could sing like an angel. And not just that, but she seemed like a lovely girl, down-to-earth and completely unaware of how beautiful she is.

Now at just 17 years of age, Sophie has a fantastic future ahead of her after coming runner-up in the talent show. When the new production of The Wizard Of Oz opens in London next year Sophie will be performing one evening a week, sharing the starring role with the competition’s winner. So where did it all start for the girl from Tonypandy?

“I’ve been singing since I was three, and performing on stage since I was about six. I joined a local drama group with my friends and just enjoyed taking part in shows we put on at the Parc & Dare theatre. My parents have always supported me and in fact it was my mother who heard about the auditions for Dorothy and encouraged me to go for it.

Funnily enough, when it was first announced that Andrew Lloyd Webber was on the search for someone to play Dorothy in his new stage show I was too young to apply. But Andrew got ill and put the whole thing off for a year, so when it came round again I was old enough so I signed up for it.

“I got selected to go through to the first round of auditions which were held at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. There were 10,000 of us, but I was lucky enough to get through to the 100 that were then taken to the next round in London. That was at the Hackney

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Photograph by Corey-Leigh John

Empire, and it was amazing to perform on the stage there. I got through to the next 50, and that was when we all went away for a weekend and had to sing for Charlotte Church. That was quite nerve-wracking as we had to sing while she walked around the room listening to us.

Anyone who didn’t make the grade was tapped on the shoulder and had to leave. And it was all being filmed for television! By the end of the weekend there were only 12 of us left and that’s when we met Andrew for the first time, which was really scary!”

From then it was on to the live TV shows in which the possible Dorothys had to sing in front of a live audience and a panel of judges — who would criticise each performance directly afterwards. Now that must have been hard for a young girl to take week after week.

“I loved performing to a live audience, I loved all the practising, but being told to your face that what you’d just done had faults was hard. You’d still be panting from the exertion of the performance and they’d be ripping it all apart. Of course I cried at first, because I’d worked so hard to perform at my best, but each week I tried harder and took on board the criticism from the judges. They are after all professionals and know what they’re talking about, so I just told myself to get on with it. It was nice to be told at the end of the show that I was the most improved performer overall — I’m really proud of myself for that. Looking back, I actually think coming second was better for me as the pressure on the winner is huge. I still get the chance to perform as Dorothy, but am also able to have free time to do other things.”

Sophie acknowledges that her place in the final was due to the huge wave of support she got from people throughout Wales. Friends and family drummed up support for her and she’s really grateful to everyone who voted for her week after week to keep her in the show.

“It doesn’t matter how good a singer you are, if people don’t vote for you then you don’t stay in. I wanted viewers to know that I was Welsh and made sure clips of me at home between shows showed me in Wales. I’m proud of where I come from and knew the community would rally round to get everyone to vote for me — including driving round in cars shouting through a loud-hailer on the day of the final!”

There’s no doubt the show has been life-

changing for Sophie. She is now at a drama college in London, funded by Lord Webber himself, which she realises is an amazing opportunity that her family would never have been able to afford. She starts rehearsing for her role as Dorothy after Christmas and will be pulling in the crowds to see her perform when the show opens next spring.

“Andrew has been so helpful, I speak to him every week now. After the show he came to me with the offer of sending me to drama school, explaining that I could also perform one night a week as Dorothy. It was an opportunity of a lifetime that was being given to me on a plate and no way was I going to turn that down!

I’m really looking forward to learning more and actually performing in one of his London musicals. I’ll be learning on the job which is going to be just wonderful experience for me.

There’s also the possibility of me doing more performances for The Wizard Of Oz when I finish drama school, but who knows how I’ll feel by then — maybe I’ll have had enough of Dorothy! But I absolutely adore musical theatre and hope to be able to work in more London stage productions in the future. I’d also like to release an album of musical theatre songs at some point, if I get an opportunity.”

Performing live is now something Sophie is very comfortable with, even making an appearance to sing at Ponty’s Big Weekend last summer.

“I’m really comfortable on stage at the moment, talking to audiences and singing.

Obviously I do have a few nerves, but that’s only because I want to give the audience a good performance. Appearing on stage at Ponty’s Big Weekend was my chance to say thank you to everyone who voted for me throughout the Dorothy show, because I really did appreciate all the support I got from Wales, but also it was a chance to perform something a bit different. As well as the musical theatre numbers everyone expects me to sing, I did a few songs accompanied with just a guitar, including a song by The Noisettes which is pure fun. I’m really enjoying life at the moment.”

And is it any wonder! Sophie Evans has a natural talent that has been noticed and is now being nurtured by one of the most influential men in musical theatre. Who knows where the yellow brick road will eventually lead to for our Soph?

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Words by Marged Parry Photograph by Darren Warner

I

t’s been a busy year for band They Walk Among Us. From gigging all over the UK to working on their third album, this is a band that never tires of creating new material and exploring new venues to play at. Their latest album, due for release in October this year, is a true testimony to the band’s commitment to creating good music of high quality. The album, Monkey In A Chicken Pen is full to the brim with eclectic, well thought out tracks that are pleasantly vitriolic and defiant in their lyrics and sound — so much so that up-and-coming professional boxer Gareth Piper, nephew of the renowned Nicky Piper, has adopted the third track from the album, Hate Mail, as his entrance music for entering the ring.

They Walk Among Us (TWAU) has existed, be it in various line-ups, for over four years. They released their first album, Mathematics Art In Progress, which was produced by Greg Haver and Richard Jackson of Manic Street Preachers and Super Furry Animals fame, as a fivepiece before embarking on a colossal three-month tour of the United States. This tour was made possible after the band put forward a comprehensive business plan before The Prince’s Trust, Wales Trade International and Arts Council Wales in order to acquire funding which was granted to them. Richard Proctor, TWAU lead singer and guitarist remembers having to do a “Wurzel Gumage” during this time, taking off his musical head and replacing it with a business head, which obviously paid off. During the tour, the band played in over 36 cities, over 26 states and drummed up a keen fan base that many British bands would envy.

In 2007 came album Champagne Tastes Lemonade Pockets, coproduced by Gaz Williams from band Rocket Goldstar and Richard Proctor and was released on Richard’s own label. The band’s current album was also produced by Richard Proctor but in collaboration with the aforementioned Richard Jackson who’d further trumped up his own remarkable CV since the pair last worked together producing

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critically acclaimed albums for The Automatic and Future Of The Left.

Today, the band has been whittled down to a three-piece. They are all in agreement that this is now the “ultimate line-up”, with Richard further adding, “If we had gone to the US [as a three-piece], we would be a lot further than we are now. We were still finding our feet back then. Now we have a much better presence.”

The current line-up consists or Cardiff-born Richard Proctor, West-Walian drummer Robert Young and on bass, Dave ‘Diagnosis Dave’ Beasley from Newport. The latter’s nickname deceptively suggests Dave may be a bit of a hard man, but he is in fact baptised thus due to the amount of ailments he frequently claims to suffer from and his hypochondria!

But Dave bashing aside, the banter between the guys shows that they have forged a close friendship and it’s no surprise that the songs they’ve produced together are so tight and of such high calibre.

In March this year, the band had their own session on Radio Wales’ evening show and has had a stream of favourable reviews. The band is especially impressed with one review that commented on Richard’s apparent Svengali-like dictatorship of the band! It’s quite apparent though that all three members are enjoying working together…but that doesn’t mean they can’t share a little snigger at Svengali!

TWAU’s current sound is both rocky and melodic. When listening to the album it’s hard not to be in awe of how many different styles they manage to pull off so ably. Songs like I Push You Pull and Full Stop are dark and edgy and beautifully arranged with VST instruments which give the band ample opportunity to experiment with cutting-edge software. The use of such mediums can be traced back to

Richard’s days experimenting while he was a Music Technology student at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama. However, the band still manages to retain the same amount of momentum in raw, guitar-driven songs. They’re a rock band who understand the importance of considered lyrics, structure and melody — they can verge on the heavier side of rock but are never heavily distorted or over-indulgent and the quality of the album is definitely not forsaken in their live gigs.

“Live is heavier than you get on the album,” says Richard, “but we’re not screamy. Our sound’s quite clear and you get to hear the lyrics…people’s ears do prick up when you’ve got something to say.” Unpredictable lyrics like “I have a car, with a confessional in the boot” from track My Name Is God which is about infamous serial killed Ted Bundy are juxtaposed perfectly with the band’s capricious chords.

Dave, the last member to join the band over a year ago, adds, “That’s why I was interested in joining the band. The sound wasn’t something I’d heard before.”

Although Monkey In A Chicken Pen has only just been released, the band’s already adding new songs to their set list like the rocky Bedside and Daylight Saving. Richard writes a lot of the songs, but more recently the band have been writing material all together at rehearsals.

“We used to rehearse at least twice a week until recently,” says Dave. “We used to have our own studio space that we rented called Musicbox on Daisy Street, but unfortunately, it’s just been closed down.” Richard adds, “It was a great place and had a lot of history.

Many bands started out rehearsing there — the Manics, Super Furry Animals and Funeral For A Friend. It was a shame to tear it down.” Which Richard means literally, as he helped gut the

place after it shut its doors for the last time.

“It took ages for Bernie, Fowley (owners and friends) and I to pull it down. As we were taking it down, piece by piece, it was really disheartening. We were all gutted. The album was written and recorded there. In fact, bits of almost all of TWAU’s albums were written there. But we do have a rehearsal space in mind now and we’re working hard to prepare for our future gigs.”

This year, the band has played in cities all over the UK, like Liverpool, London and Manchester, and has even more gigs coming up. But what’s better — playing at home or away? “We prefer to play to virgin audiences really,” says Richard, “that way, you always get a totally honest response from people hearing the music for the first time. It’s great being able to win them over.” Rob adds, “And your friends are only ever going to say nice thing to you aren’t they?” With so much gigging going on with TWAU, it’s difficult to imagine how both Rob and Richard have time to commit to anything else but they both play for other bands as well! Rob drums for band Sicknote and Richard plays with The Mememe’s.

How do they fit everything in? “We don’t do much else that’s all!” jokes Rob, “but it’s totally doable if you’re organized about it.”

The band keeps an online calendar they all share, which means they can book gigs and rest assured they’re not double-booking anyone.

So, the future is looking bright indeed with bookings already coming in for festivals in Summer 2011. “We’ve been asked to play in Hamburg’s Loud & Nasty festival next year, so we’re thinking it would be good to organise a European tour around that,” says Richard. www.myspace.com/theywalkamongus

Words by Gary Bolsom Photograph by Iona Rhys

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

P

ulco is Ashley Cook who works in the Finance Department of Bangor University and used to be in a band called Derrero back in the late 90s and early 2000, who were signed to the Big Noise label, so he’s been in the industry now for a few years. Ash explains, “I’ve been involved seriously in music for about 18 years, which includes starting a band in primary school!”

I quizzed Ashley about his time in Derrero and he draws on some memories of touring with The Super Furry Animals, Catatonia and Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci to name but a few. “Critically we always did well but never made much money... typical!” says Ash in a tongue in cheek way. “You can tell when you’re doing well critically when you do three sessions on the legendary John Peel radio show!”

So does it differ greatly from being in a band to doing solo material? “Yes and no. My approach to songwriting hasn’t changed, but obviously there is a difference in dynamic. The biggest difference is that I have no time restrictions on my recording and nobody to place any editorial restrictions on my songs.”

Asking Ashley if he misses life in s band he responded, “I miss the lads and the buzz of being on stage, but not the travelling. Derrero had their 15 minutes of fame and I had some of the best times in my life, but my music now is closer to the drawing and painting that inspired me to be creative in the first place. If you get a bit of success you end up chasing it then the music is just a tool to prolong the enjoyment” He’s got a point there, music is made much better when it’s done solely for the love of creativity and not the fame and fortune it could bring.

Art plays a strong bearing on the music of Pulco and Ash makes a point of telling me his favourite artist is a British guy called Albert Irvin. Pulco also use a lot of art and paintings for the album sleeves — which is a rare thing in today’s world of digital manipulation.

Pulco has a new album out and a series of stuff already in his back catalogue.

His latest effort is an album called Triceratops and the name comes from his child’s favourite Dinosaur — ahh cute!

Coincidently his son also features on the album — a young rock star in the making then!

Pulco’s music is more or less recorded, mixed, produced and distributed by himself all from the comfort of his armchair, so asked how he goes about achieving this. “Most of the basic guitar tracks are recorded on minidisc and transferred to a Tascam 788 digital eight-track where I then begin to work on them. The finished songs were moved into Audacity where I mastered them a little and added some bits of background sounds. I have one mic which is a little £7 minidisc thing bought from Ebay.” So it proves you don’t have to spend big to create a good sound, just listen to his music and it’s top-quality recording.

When listening to the album I noticed a lot of random things happened and there is a lot of spontaneity to the music.

I delved deeper. “I love being able to record on the move. I bought a Zoom H4 hand-held recorder last year and have done tracks for my next album, entitled Dictaphone Home, sat in my car at the top of our field and in the sun.” Sounds like heaven to me!

There’s a track on the album, called Billy D Horsey, that I just had to discuss with Ash. You have to just listen to this, so weird and captivating that you simply lose yourself in the song. Think The Doors meets CBeebies! So I had to get the inside story on this. “I moved with my family out of Cardiff in early 2005 and I had started the track and done the guitars before we left. While we looked for a new place to live our stuff stayed in storage and in the meantime I started using my cassette four-track again. When I came to record Triceratops we had moved up to the new house and I’d got my studio back.

Billy D was the first thing that I worked on and was going to be an instrumental.

Adding my son Ifan’s story was something that happened right at the end of mixing when I was looking for something else to lift the track.” Ashley jokingly adds, “Billy D originally started with the sound of a toilet flushing, I considered keeping it but thought that it was too much of a comment on my career!”

By Pulco’s own admission, “Triceratops is quite random, I didn’t want the songs to sound the same and opened myself to be influenced by lots of little things along the way.” Something I found quite evident in one of the tracks on the album that takes a snippet from the cult student classic movie Withnail & I — a powerful soliloquy acted out by the great Richard E Grant, in which the character states that day to day he is not a random person but does have his moments.

Moving onto influences you can expect the weird and wonderful, from The Beatles, Neil Young and Captain Beefheart to The Woods, Grizzly Prosector and Tune Yards. But it’s evident that Pulco’s biggest influence is his family and everything around him. Ash admits that he is making music primarily for himself and calls it the soundtrack to his life, like little memories that he can turn to that puts a smile on his face — other people finding joy in his music is a welcome bonus.

The future of Pulco? “Now my kids are getting older I’d like to play a bit more than I do currently but I don’t feel that I have to in order to make anything more of my music. It would just be fun to play some of my songs live. Pulco’s music is not about being in the studio with a big name producer. It is about capturing a chunk of time and wrapping it around a good tune.”

I think that ideal should be heeded by most unsigned artists/bands with a passion for their music. www.myspace.com/pulco

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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW Words by Lisa Derrick Photograph by Darren Warner

I

met 50 per cent of DER Collective at The Percussion House on Whitchurch Road in Cardiff.

Despite this being a Mecca for all things percussion and potentially noisy, there was no need to liven things up with cymbal bashing as the band provided plenty of animation and energy of their own! DER Collective are described on their website as being a live music-based, hip-hop influenced band. I had to admit to being a total rookie of this genre and asked for clarification — how would they describe hip-hop music? What would the group’s advice be to a hip-hop beginner such as me — where should my listening education begin?

As they passionately explained, whilst hip-hop influenced they might be, their music is a melting pot, a hybrid of different cultures and sounds, with an emphasis on the live. Hip-hop, the guys described, usually consists of drum and bass, sampling, beats and an MC voice, therefore a stripped back sound.

DER Collective, in contrast, are influenced by their respective travels and experiences, the product of which is a 14-track debut album entitled New World Order. The fusion of different styles and genres is evident throughout as hardcore hip-hop beats, mellow strings, horn sections, reggae grooves, stunning Persian and African vocals, as well as world percussion flavours seamlessly blend together, forming fantastic and unanticipated combinations of sounds and words. The album touches you, makes you feel serene, energised, challenged, thoughtful, stimulated. The stand-out tracks for me are Snakes & Blaggers and Grade Red Terror.

The guys feel there is a component of their music to suit every listener, and I’d agree as it is so rich with a plethora of sounds. DER Collective ensured the scratching has been given as much attention as the horns; the strings as much as the vocals; and they offer big thanks to Andy Allan for

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a great production that make all the elements clearly audible.

DER Collective consists of Deri Roberts as composer/producer, Andrew Brown on bass, Elliot Bennett on drums, Dionne Bennett on vocals, Dregz is MC and lyricist, while DJ Jaffa works the turntables.

In answer to my question regarding listening recommendations and influences — The Roots stand out above all others as a live hip-hop act for the DER Collective. Michael Franti, Spearhead and Quest Love were also mentioned and they consider KRS1 to be a strong MC, with a valuable, well delivered message. They made the point that often in hiphop, there’ll be good musicians and a token MC or a good MC and token musicians — DER collective have the best of both, the usual ‘programmed’ hip-hop, plus a huge live element, making them fresh and innovative, ensuring they have a dense musical texture whilst still retaining a message within their words.

I was curious as to what inspires their lyrics.

Is there a message DER Collective are aiming to convey? When Deri and Dregz were getting together to discuss the album initially, they were each hoping the other wanted to address a message and use meaningful lyrics in their tracks — luckily this mutual objective ensured they were on the same page from day one. The Collective’s tracks each have a message — they were written separately rather than with an inclusive implication — but if an overall conclusion has to be decided upon, it is change: that things have to, need to change.

It’s a collection of many messages Dregz had wanted to convey over the years: attitudes and perceptions about music, how people see the world, personal and political ideas, that people have a voice if they bother to use it, and can make

a change if they put effort in. Elliot encapsulated, “The only thing that doesn’t change is change itself.” They described the story behind track Mrs A Cooper, a 106-year-old woman voting for the first time in America. Until Obama became a candidate there hadn’t been anyone she wanted to vote for and the song follows significant events during her life, with a verse on the three major changes identified — war, civil rights and technology. The chorus, “Recognise how we’re designed with open hearts and voices, and the debt we pay to destiny, for the wisdom of our choices”, highlights that we have a responsibility to look after the world, that people and freedom are ultimately the most important legacy, rather than technological advances or winning wars.

Corruption within politics and exploitation of people is a motif I picked out of the lyrics, and the stand-out message for me is a reminder of the inevitability of time, that we need to use ours wisely and make changes to our views and actions if we want to improve the world for both ourselves

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

and the next generation. Dregz strongly believes that listeners do not want to be preached at, so the tracks are written in a variety of ways to make them engaging. With a total 6,400 lyrics, he definitely had a lot to say!

I was intrigued as to how this mammoth album was compiled. Deri told me he’d relished the opportunity to write exactly what he wanted for New World Order, as opposed to the briefs he had previously been required to fulfill for film and TV compositions. The benefit to his experience of writing for particular criteria is that he learnt to write in different styles, bringing eclecticism to the record. Apart from Snakes & Blaggers, each track on the album began with Deri composing the music. A process of layering then began, with the vocals and variety of instruments being added over time. This method, along with the fact it was recorded in Deri’s home studio gave the group an opportunity to alter the lyrics, pace and delivery accordingly — a luxury not usually possible when recording in an expensive studio charging by the hour. They are also currently

completely self-produced so the absence of label control means the band had complete artistic freedom when creating this album, meaning they’re incredibly proud of the results. Elliot depicted the end product as a “solid homogeneous voice.”

The next step for DER Collective is to focus on their live performances. As Dregz stated, “I’ve got stuff to say and people need to hear it!” Musically and lyrically, their live act can be changed with technology. As a new venture, their current stages are small, therefore due to practicality strings are not live at the moment, but as they perform in bigger venues in time, this will become possible. The band is unique in being able to cater for any stage size. They’ve performed live as a collective on one occasion so far, at The Globe in Roath, Cardiff. A good test of the pull of their performance, the venue was swelteringly hot prior to air-conditioning installation so the group and audience were drenched with perspiration, yet the sizeable crowd remained captivated. This bodes well for Welsh winter gigs when the conditions

should be less tropical and more comfortable! Lots of audience members fed back that the band looked to be enjoying themselves on stage; something the guys feel is important as they are all professional musicians who know how to perform to a live audience and genuinely relish their time doing so. They stress a marriage of technology and live is important, as whilst technology can enable and enhance a performance, an audience relates to the energy of people, to live instruments, picking up the atmosphere and vibe of a band and crowd. At their full strength, they’re an 11-piece unit, which has to be a must-see spectacle.

DER Collective and their New World Order have created a new world of hip-hop, something which has broken the mould and seduced even this resolute indie folk listener. If you think you’re not into a hip-hop influence, take a listen. This is something completely different, so you may just have to think again. www.dercollective.com

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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Words by Nia Liversuch Photograph by Leon Davies

R

ock music originating in Wales grows in popularity and strength year by year, and this small country has produced some of the biggest bands ever. Stereophonics, the Manic Street Preachers and LostProphets are old favourites, but more recently bands such as The Blackout and Kids In Glass Houses have exploded onto the scene. The main link between all of those bands is that they have come from working class towns in the heart of the Welsh Valleys. Let’s add another band to that list — Queensbury — but change the location to North Wales and Neath, add fate into the mix, and you have a whole new branch of the Welsh rock family tree.

Queensbury formed in 2008 after, as Gareth “Gump” Edwards, lead singer, puts it: “Three guys from the furthest reaches of North Wales and one Neath boy were all living in Cardiff looking to form a band at the same time.”

Inspired by bands such as Led Zeppelin and Soundgarden, and finding similarities between themselves and bands such as Nirvana and Shinedown, they hit it off immediately. As with every other band, they hope to join the likes of the aforementioned Welsh boys in the realms of rock royalty, and with a name like theirs they are already part of the way there. They chose the name because they didn’t want to sound “pretentious” or be “pigeon-holed” like many of the bands of today are, and they hoped to reflect their music by using the reference to boxing (ie The Queensbury Rules) to illustrate their heavier side, as well as retaining a regal

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feel. And it does just that!

Queensbury have a sharp image that maintains a hard-edged, grunge feel — one that they have tried to carve out “from day one”. They aim to attract people of all ages and all musical preferences, and feel that they do this by not marginalising their music as well as their look — as Gump jokes, “as long as we aren’t wearing full leather outfits with four-inch spikes or full track suits and dripping with gold I think we will be ok!”

Their music contains soaring vocals backed up by heavy drum beats and catchy guitar riffs (the song Train is a good example) and, like many rock bands, is inspired by more negative experiences than positive ones. “I have always found it hard to write happy songs or love songs,” Gump explains. He also reveals the reason why Queensbury’s songs often sound like they have come straight from the heart.

“I have never been a good social narrator, I can only write about how I feel or what I’ve done.”

Despite the very honest and personal lyrical content, Queensbury’s music maintains an upbeat mood that can help to inspire people to have hope, and to rise from the ashes to fight again.

Queensbury are obviously a band that loves playing live — Gump even states that they feel they sound better live than on disc, “We’ve practised and played and written songs for an audience to hear.” And this is definitely an incentive to see them live. They also enjoy interacting with their fans, and invite people

to come and see them after their shows.

“We’re pretty nice guys,” he promises. The band has played some massive gigs, including Glastonbury and Reading, and they have therefore developed a good tour ethic. “None of us drink heavily before we play...our songs are too hard to play when you’re really drunk — I have tried it before and it wasn’t pretty!”

Gump jokes, but this holds a serious message for bands that are just in it for the fame and the parties. He also says that the members of Queensbury get on well, but when they were in other bands they have had their fair share of troubles. He puts past band failures down to “ego clashes”, but is hopeful that this experience will serve to make Queensbury stronger. “We keep ourselves strong by keeping busy, always writing new material or always trying to better ourselves.” He advises bands struggling to get themselves off the ground to assess the reasons why they are in the band.

— “If you’re in a band just so you can tell girls you’re a drummer then you’re in it for the wrong reasons!” he quips — and to have belief in themselves and the band. This belief is certainly present in Queensbury. When asked where they’d like to be in five years time, Gump passionately states, “We would love our music to be recognised, and for our live shows to be sold out. We want this to be a career for us, and to tour constantly, and for music to be our whole lives.” If that isn’t ambition, then I don’t know what is! www.myspace.com/queensburyband

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Rhondda Rocks Two

Darren Y Bwllfa, Aberdare & Muni Arts Centre, Pontypridd

M

ike Peters is one hell of a dedicated man. He is dedicated to his fans, his family and his crusade to make a difference in the fight against cancer. It’s been a year since I last hiked up Darren Y Bwllfa with him to highlight his quest against this highly devastating disease, interviewing him for PLUGGED IN as we made the trek back down to ground zero. This year I went up the hill because I wanted to. We all need a cause in our life, mine being this magazine and the fact that it is an independent publication means that I can highlight the people who I believe need to be highlighted. Mike Peters’ Love, Hope, Strength Foundation is one such case. The day itself had a threatening air of possible rain about it, unlike the constant sun we had experienced the previous year, but that never threatened the mood of the day. Compared to his other mountain climbs, like the Snowdon Rocks which he had completed the week before, this hike is a bit of a molehill. But the fact that one of the most legendary Welsh rock stars had deemed the Cynon Valley climb worthy of a second visit showed his dedication to the people and cancer sufferers in South Wales. At the highest point, standing on a stage of a natural rocky outcrop with the beautiful vista carrying off to the Brecon Beacons in the distance, he played his guitar like a solitary busker singing his wares because he loves to sing. This was a gig of the most extraordinary kind, but then Mike is an extraordinary man who sings beautiful songs — like No Frontiers and Breath — while the wind blows across the ridge of the cliff edge. Surrounded by a rainbow of prayer flags denoting loved ones lost that he had carried up every mountain during this year’s treks I can’t imagine a more perfect place to listen to live music. Those flags were to be taken up Mount Fuji in the coming weeks and allowed the freedom to fly until they are no more, taken by the natural elements and returned to the earth. The evening saw a packed crowd in Ponty’s Muni Arts Centre as act after act took to the stage to stoke up the night for the main act, The Alarm. Darren Edwards kicked off the show, adding something special with his voice to the cover versions he sang, followed by the highly exuberant Chris Summerhill whose joyful tunes reached into the spirits within the audience, especially as he dedicated his first song to the memory of Stuart Cable. 4th Street Traffic brought a subtlety to their usually guitar-laden sound as they treated us to a unique acoustic performance. Next up was Simon Fowler, the voice of Ocean Colour Scene.

Sitting on a stool and asking for the house lights to be turned up so he could see his audience, Fowler ruled the day with his solitary performances of OCS’s classic songs.

The crowd loved him and watching him stare into the throng of people before him, you could see that he loved what he was doing — and the crowd’s cheers reached new heights when Mike Peters and the other members of The Alarm joined him on stage to perform the OCS classic The Day We Caught The Train. And that moment was held for the rest of the night as The Alarm continued straight on into their set pounding the walls that keep this building up. All the acts came back on stage for the encore of Knocking On Heaven’s Door, with the audience singing along too. This wasn’t so much a gig, more like friends jamming together at one big party — and what a party it was! DARREN WARNER

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The Blackout

University Of Glamorgan, Pontypridd Tonight The Blackout played at the new Glamorgan Uni student union. The venue was surprisingly small in comparison to Cardiff’s student union, which is a good thing as it made the concert more intimate. The opening bands for the gig were I Spy Strangers and The Guns, who got the fans revved up and ready to go for headliners The Blackout.

When it was time for the Merthyr boys to take the stage, the lights went down and the opening dramatic music began. The night was filled with a variety of old and new songs, such as Hard Slammin, Top Of The World and Prepare For A Wound. One of the highlights of the night was when the band played Save Our Selves. Dedicated fans needed no word from the band when it came to the middle section of the song — they all dropped to the floor for the awaited line “Going out!”, which is repeated 39 times…FACT! The lyrics and music build up to the point where the crowd jump to their feet to create one hell of a mosh pit. The band did an amazing cover of Beastie Boys’ Fight For your Right, which all fans danced and sung to. The boys kept thanking the fans for helping them get to where they are today, as they went on tour with their favourite band last month Limp Bizkit.

As always, they finished with the almighty energetic lively performance of I’m A Riot.

Just brilliant! COREY-LEIGH JOHN

Broken City Skyline Barfly, Cardiff

The ironic thing with tonight’s gig was that this was to be the last time I would visit the Barfly before the management shut the doors to the Cardiff music scene. Of course, this was not apparent at the time Sierra Alpha hit the stage to play a tight set of their jazzed up indie rock that has hints of the Blow Monkeys about them, only much harder. Giving us a number of new songs they not only played well, they sounded like a band that have something new to add to the music scene, especially with numbers like I see The Light. Next up is favourites of PLUGGED IN, Last Republic who literally destroy the Barfly with a brilliantly pounding performance that shattered the glasses throughout the room. Nothing seemed wrong, everything was right with this band — tight, strong songs, compulsive performance, I hadn’t seen them play for a year or so prior to this gig, and boy had I missed them. Superb stuff. To follow two strong acts for an aspiring band like Broken City Skyline must actually be quite daunting, but they took the bull by the horns and exploded onto the stage giving a set of excellently considered pieces of music. Tonight was their celebration of the release of their new single (reviewed on page 45) You Would Run and that track stood out as an accomplished piece of songwriting. Dewi Bowen who, although hidden behind a set of keyboards while singing, captured the audience with his unique vocal performance and held them till the end of the set. This band is on the way up people — you need to check them out! DARREN WARNER

Straight Lines/ Tiger Please Muni Arts Centre, Pontypridd

Fantastic Mike

Atrium Student Union, Cardiff

Back in September, Straight Lines played a gig at the Muni. Their main support was Tiger Please but there were three other bands there, too: Indie-Go-Modem, Hey!Tonight and The Coolunt. The Coolunt opened things up, with a laid-back style of rock, full of enthusiasm.

Indie-Go-Modem were up next — soft indie, layered with synth and rumbling bass with the singer’s voice linking really well with the music.

As for Hey!Tonight, their pop-punk went down a treat. It’s catchy and fun, but there’s also a serious side. They got the crowd bouncing and a moshpit even started halfway through their set. Tiger Please came onto the stage next, having recently played Download. They launched into their set with their melodic, upbeat and emotional music making the crowd watch in awe. The bass penetrated the vibrant sound of the guitars while the drums provided the constant rhythm that let the other instruments create the platform of sound. The singer’s voice was so raw and heartfelt that it made your skin tingle. Straight Lines finished things off, having also recently come back from Download. From the first song to the last, their brand of punk-rock set their performance alive. It was cheerful but poignant, heavy yet danceable and the lyrics were happy but sad at the same time. All of these have fused to make Straight Lines a very special band. The frontman kept the crowd watching, moving around the stage constantly until at the end of their set he was standing on one of the speakers and let his guitar hang off a ledge. It’s hard not to move to this band, their music is so lively and appealing. The crowd agreed — some were dancing, some were nodding along to the beat while others formed a moshpit. Their set was very good and they were deserved headliners.

RHYS MILSOM

Electro pop band Mike Fantastic recently took to the Atrium’s Student Union stage to headline ‘Glamstock’. The festival themed event was the perfect way to welcome students, old and new, back to the world of education. The night kicked off with support from Drafts, Public Asylum and Before The Escape ,who warmed up the crowd of Uni fresher’s quite nicely for the main act of the evening. Hitting the stage with a burst of electro ‘gunk’ (geek-funk) energy, the band’s nerdy image and infectious tunes didn’t fail to impress and brighten an otherwise cold and conventional Friday night. Songs such as Here Comes Trouble and the insanely catchy Turn Off The Lights (which you may recognise from the band’s stint on Britain’s Got Talent this year) had the whole union bumping and grinding until the early hours. A cover of Katy Perry’s California Girls had everyone singing along and the atmosphere was genuinely very merry to say the least! Maybe that did have something to do with the free shots on offer but, still, the boys gave an awesome performance. Frontman Owen had girls at the front of the stage desperately reaching for him and when he did dare venture into the crowd, there were many happy young ladies waiting to greet him. Drummer Luke was absolutely brimming with energy, making it very hard to tear your eyes away, while bassist Matthew had a cheeky smile and charming stage presence. Michael and Olly provided the synth/keyboard alongside laptops and percussion, shaking up the traditional band set-up with a techno edge. It’s certainly safe to say that the band proved immensely popular, partly due to a cracking performance, but also because the guys were just so damn nice! They didn’t hesitate to mingle with the crowd after their set and appeared so down-to-earth and friendly that their likeability went through the roof, especially after such a great show. Mike Fantastic will be touring throughout November and are certainly worth a watch if you get the chance. ROBYN KENNEDY

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Old Crow Medicine Show The Glee Club, Cardiff

Photograph by James Davies

Upon reading that Old Crow Medicine Show were a ‘Nashville version of Mumford & Sons’ my decision to attend the Glee Club last September was instantly made. The Southern quintet had the big shoes of my heroes to fill — and fill them they did, bringing appropriately balmy weather with them to Cardiff Bay along with their style of American roots music. Despite the school night, the gig played out like a Saturday shindig, with the instantly enigmatic five-some creating a great atmosphere from their initial step on stage. Ketch Sector, fiddle, harmonica and banjo player extraordinaire, encouraged banter between the band and crowd, repeatedly expressing a love for Tesco Mackerel at 49p a

JLS

Ynysangharad Park, Pontypridd Saturday 24th July 2010 was a proud day for Pontypridd as thousands of people flocked to the park to catch a glimpse of British chart topping boy band JLS, plus support, for the third consecutive year of Ponty’s Big Weekend. The day kicked off with an entertaining performance from teen dance group Jukebox Juniors who hit the stage with a burst of energy and cheeky smiles all round. The Cardiff-based group found success on Britain’s Got Talent as well as Sky1’s Got to Dance and certainly warmed up the crowd. Dressed in a rainbow of coloured costumes, the youngsters showed talent beyond their years and brightened up the dark, drizzly day with their fabulously fun routines. Next to grace the stage was pop newcomer Edei. The 21-yearold Londoner gave an impressive performance along with two backing singers who provided smooth harmonies that complimented Edei’s silky vocals perfectly. Next up was a high-energy performance from The Score who banged out song after song for “all the ladies in the crowd”. The American/British members of The Score were beyond confident with masculine camaraderie and their stage performance included a lot of head banging and audience interaction that unfortunately was teamed with a far from pitch perfect set of songs. They were swiftly followed by hip-hop girl group Rough Diamonds who have impressively toured with N Dubz in the past. The three girls’ voices blended immaculately well as they took to the stage with attitude and a quiet confidence.

Scottish artist Alex Gardner performed next and instantly made an impact with an impressive voice and striking good looks. The 18-yearold was completely at ease with the crowd of thousands as he belted out a number of catchy songs. The effortlessly cool Roll Deep performed next and they proved highly popular with the crowd who danced and

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sang along happily to Number 1 hit Good Times despite the relentless rain and grey sky. Finally it was time for JLS. They burst onto stage, as if by magic, after an agonizingly slow countdown that had girl’s screaming hysterically with its intense build up of anticipation. The crowd was beyond deafening and remained so throughout the band’s whole set, a credit to their immense popularity. The boys dived straight into their performance, kicking off with a couple of songs from their self-titled album. However, excitement became sky high when the Brit Award winning group proceeded to perform Beat Again, their debut single that shot to Number 1 in July 2009. The song was interrupted by a vigorous dance routine that was hugely entertaining and added an interesting new dimension to a song that we are all familiar with. JLS cemented their popularity with the teenage girls in the crowd when they performed a soft acapella track that saw them hand out single red roses to a select few lucky audience members. A notable performance came from a fabulous Michael Jackson tribute that was presented as a dance/sing off between the boys. The tribute gave them each a chance to perform solo to their favourite Jackson tunes and was an opportunity for each member to showcase how talented they really are. A cover of Rihanna’s Umbrella was another highlight, and also quite convenient considering the typically Welsh weather that had threatened to put a dampener on the day. The boys performed Everybody In Love as their last song to a chorus of screams and a lot of hand waving from the crowd, proving that there was indeed a lot of love in Ponty that night.

Ponty’s Big Weekend proved to be absolutely brilliant and with JLS headlining, the day was unbelievably fun. The standard is certainly set high for next year! ROBYN KENNEDY

can — apparently country doesn’t pay so well (y’all)! Willie Watson’s perfect teeth gleamed like a toothpaste advert (or should I say commercial?) as he grinned continuously, belting out his trademark vocals to a mixture of old songs and new, some being tour-tested for the first time. Each member was equally energetic in their performance, exuding infectious enthusiasm throughout. The gig was played in two sets, lasting two and a half hours in total, allowing the crowd to fully savour the band’s debut in Wales. As the bows gradually warmed their strings, so warmed the checked shirt and cowboy boot clad crowd, hustling closer to the stage to form a plaid blanket of bouncing bodies. When the fiddles became frenzied, folky mosh pits formed, with country dancing replacing hair flicking and crowd surfing.

Favourite songs such as Wagon Wheel and Tear It Down elicited particularly strong responses, so much so the audience demanded an encore, achieved through fierce foot stomping! Old Crow Medicine Show conjured up a feel of authentic Americana with beautiful bluegrass, poignant lyrics, Southern twang and do-sí-do inducing tunes on this late Summer evening — a magical musical moment indeed. And just three days after, OCMS were to be found opening for Mumford & Sons on a mini-European tour — gig of my dreams! LISA DERRICK

Paul McCartney Millennium Stadium, Cardiff

A perfect day, the sun was beaming, the atmosphere was buzzing and I was just about to witness a magnificent performance from a living legend, an icon, a lyrical genius, a knighted man, a Beatle! Yes, you’ve guessed it, Paul McCartney...not Ringo. For what he has accomplished with the Beatles, Wings and his solo work is just amazing and he just keeps going! At the tender age of 68 he has defied the lyrics that he wrote for The Beatles’ song When I’m 64 by still rocking out at the big stadiums. It was such a magical moment when he came out on stage to a rapturous audience who were cheering, applauding, shouting and screaming — so it surprises me to learn that for such a loved musician it’s taken him 35 years to come back and perform in Wales. As ever ‘Macca’ was in candid spirits, joking about his childhood times in Wales and attempting to have a conversation in Welsh with the audience. Kicking things off with Venus & Mars/Rock Show, a Wings classic, he started as he meant to go on by playing the classics.

He covered all grounds in the first half of the show playing songs by The Beatles, Wings as well as his solo stuff, including Blackbird, Jet and Dance Tonight. Though he also played homage to the late great Jimi Hendrix by covering Foxy Lady at the end of the Wings song Let Me Roll It. The second half of the show was mainly Beatles material, starting with a sweet rendition of the George Harrisonpenned Beatles track Something and the happy sing-a-long track that he’s only recently added to the tour setlist Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da. Helter Skelter was ‘Macca’ at his heaviest, with the great man giving it some on the vocals and showing there is life in the old boy yet. Get Back brought back visions of watching video footage of that infamous gig on top of the Apple record label building. A highlight of the gig was the crowd participation for Hey Jude — it was just phenomenal to hear the choral chants of the end of the song being sung around the stadium (and even after the gig). A Day In The Life is one of my all-time favourite tracks and to finally hear it being sung live by the man himself was a dream come true — I love everything about the track, the lyrics, the way it changes direction and reverts back on itself, the loud crescendo of strings and whatnot at the end and apparently in the original recording of that song there is a dog whistle played and the dogs just go nuts! Just having the idea to do that makes it genius. Sir Paul also paid tribute to his late friend “and brother” John Lennon by drifting from A Day In The Life to the end of Give Peace A Chance with the audience echoing the tune around the Millennium Stadium. It goes without saying that his performance of Live & Let Die was a spectacle. I’ve heard about his live performance of this song but witnessing it is something on another level again. The impact of the fireworks as the song kicks off into mental mode is powerful and a moment that will stick with me for a long time. Ending the gig with the reprise of Sgt Pepper/The End was a beautiful end. Live & Let Die? ‘Macca’ is Live & Let Living it! GARY BOLSOM

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Will Young

Pink Tent, Ebbw Vale

La Roux

University Great Hall, Cardiff I joined the crowd gathered to see the one and only fiery red-headed electro-pop queen La Roux. La Roux actually consists of Elly Jackson and her mysterious co-writing partner Ben Langmaid, who not liking the limelight leaves stage appearances to the flamboyant singer.

Tonight I was keen on seeing if her upbeat songs and slick dance moves could keep the crowd dancing around, but first it was time for the support act. I Blame Coco is fronted

by Coco Sumner, daughter of Sting (real name Gordon Sumner), who started their set with latest single Caesar. What struck me about this band was Sumner’s voice, which is not an original singing voice, it has an edge to it, rusky and grunge sounding — probably passed on by her famous dad! Then it was time for the queen of quiffs to enter the stage — which she did to the high-pitched notes of hit song Tiger Lily. With each member of the band on a raised platform outlined in neon coloured lights and tall lit-up shapes in the centre of the stage which resembled buildings, La Roux walked on. She was wearing a long robe which dragged along the floor while she went left to right singing to the crowd. She swiftly moved on to Quicksand and I’m Not Your Toy, songs from the platinum self-titled album, during which she took off her long robe to reveal a very Michael Jackson look with black trousers and white socks. With a high-energy performance and slick dance moves the crowd just kept cheering and chanting ‘La Roux, La Roux, La Roux is on fire’, as instructed by the diva herself. Then In For The Kill, the single which made them, began. As soon as the first six notes were played everyone just instantly went into a craze, La Roux let the crowd do most of the singing of the chorus but she still powered through hitting every single note.

Coming back on stage for an encore, they played mega-hit Bulletproof, once again the crowd sang along to every word and left everyone smiling as they left the venue.

COREY-LEIGH JOHN

Before they took the Pink Tent down after this year’s Eisteddfod in South Wales, it was packed out by a crowd of all ages gathered to see the wonderful Will Young.

The Pink Tent was actually blue on the inside, a fact young Will commented on himself, in that slightly camp, slightly lisping voice of his that we all know and love. And grow to love him yet more did we all, as he powered through hit after hit, Changes, Leave Right Now, Friday’s Child, Grace, Light My Fire and more. Between the energetic performance of each song Will chatted comfortably with the audience, showing a wit and intelligence that was refreshing, and also revealed what a nice young man he is — hence the wide age range of adoring fans who all sang along with almost every word. Running off for a quick costume change halfway through the set while the band kept playing, Will came back on with two dancers to perform an entertaining routine that had overtones of a Broadway show — singing and dancing to an enthralled crowd. With his powerful vocals and fancy footwork, he brought the show to a climax with a rousing rendition of Hopes & Fears, coming back on for an encore of Evergreen — the song that hit the charts after he won Pop Idol eight years ago. But Will Young’s talent has endured, proving he is so much more than a TV show winner — he is a true performer and musical artist in his own right. GAIL GRIFFITHS

Ella Carrera The Vic

Ella Carrera took The Vic by storm with a gig that can only be described as the Ella Carrera Experience. Ella Carrera’s enthusiasm and energy for playing on stage were apparent from the moment they stepped foot through the doors. An energetic sound check complete with enticing snippets of songs they would be playing later on left the eager fans already queuing outside licking their lips in anticipation of what was to come. Even before going on stage, it didn’t come as a surprise to fans both old and new to get a hug of appreciation off the band for just turning up and showing their support. The band’s way of interacting with the crowd both on and off stage really makes you feel a part of the whole journey that Ella Carrera is now on. The one Welsh boy and five Midlanders on-stage banter with each other and the crowd, along with their spontaneous dancing and of course their songs to rival any of those we hear daily, act in getting the crowd as involved as is physically possible. This gig was no exception...

The fans (most of whom were wearing their newly purchased Ella Carrera tees) surpassed themselves yet again with circle pits and simultaneous chanting and clapping in all the right places. The whole show left the fans and me wanting more and eagerly awaiting the next gig. With their loyal fans continuing support and new fans constantly pouring through the doors, it seems that Ella Carrera’s adage and title of their upcoming, some would say long-awaited, single Everyone’s Invited, Not Just You, certainly lives up to our expectations! LAUREN LENEHAN

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An Evening Of Unknown Pleasures Glee Club, Cardiff

Peter Hook is something of a Renaissance man. Having made his name in the first flush of postpunk as the innovative bass player with critically acclaimed Manchester band Joy Division, he has subsequently turned his hand to producing, DJ’ing and most recently writing. Touring to promote his first book, The Hacienda, a raucous history of the landmark super-club that he co-owned with fellow members of indie dance legends New Order, Hook drew a sell-out crowd to Cardiff Bay’s Glee Club. Before “Hooky” took to the stage, there was a chance to wander around a fascinating exhibition of personal memorabilia and to watch some rare, if sloppily edited footage, of the man in action. After playing a couple of instrumentals from New Order’s back catalogue, notably Elegia from the seminal 1985 album Low-life, Howard Marks, a genial enough compare, gave Hook a gentle grilling, based on questions submitted by the audience beforehand. For Joy Division aficionados, like myself, there was little that was revelatory. Indeed, with the band’s story having already been the subject of two celebrated British Films, Michael Winterbottom’s riotous 24hr Party People and Anton Corbijn’s harrowing masterpiece Control, as well as a dozen or so books, there was an air of familiarity about some of Hook’s anecdotes. Having said that, the saga of how Factory Records contrived to lose money on New Order’s massive international hit Blue Monday (the biggest selling 12inch record of all time), because Peter Saville’s iconic sleeve cost 10p more to manufacture than the disc was actually retailing for, prompts the usual, incredulous guffaws. Touching on another financial calamity — the millions of pounds New Order & Co ploughed into keeping the Hacienda afloat — Hook makes a telling point, “We funded the entire nightlife of a city for 15 years. Anyone done that for you lot here? Manic Street Preachers?”

Ultimately, the show was an undoubted success, although I was slightly disappointed the evening was played entirely for laughs. The Joy Division story, centred as it is, around the tragic suicide of singer Ian Curtis, has a heart of darkness which wasn’t reflected here. In the end though, who can blame Hook for not wanting to exhume the most painful memories of his past all over again, to summon up the ghost of his friend Curtis yet one more time. Hook, one of punk’s great survivors, a founder-member of the two greatest British bands of the last 30 years is simply a living-legend. Even if he was only going through the motions tonight, it was a privilege to be there. KEVIN McGRATH

The Automatic/ The Blackout Muni Arts Centre, Pontypridd

They Walk Among Us The Globe, Cardiff

I love going to gigs at the Globe, I think it’s an excellent venue and is always teaming with atmosphere. This gig wasn’t much different, and although the turn out wasn’t the best, everyone there was ready to experience and enjoy some good music. The night kicked off with rock metal band, Judge Tuxedo from Swansea. Admittedly, rock metal isn’t a genre I usually take kindly to, but I could appreciate this band. They weren’t offensively loud and some toe-tapping was achievable. The best thing about this band was that they didn’t take themselves too seriously and entered into some fun banter with the audience. Headlining the night was Cardiff rock band, They Walk Among Us. They opened their set with the feisty I Push You Pull. This is also my favourite song — a cracking rock track, full of attitude, with a playful use of a synth-effect that reminds me of a fairground and gives the song a very mischievous feel. It’s a great opening track. The band uses a laptop on stage to provide synths and soundscapes, and it definitely adds a nice touch without being the main focus.

I’ve seen many bands in the past get a little preoccupied with a laptop, piling on the effects, which only ever then delivers a distracted performance. But this isn’t the case with They Walk Among Us. Full Stop was an angrier song but one that you could enjoy getting angry to as well. It’s a break-up song, full of relief and catharsis, which leaves the listener feeling very empowered and adrenaline-filled. Tracks like Bedside and Let Love Shout (Stood On Tables) gave a rawer sound which showed the breadth of the band’s talent. Set closer Stones was a builder. It started again with an ambient synthy effect and then a dark bass kicked in, giving it a very creepy and atmospheric start. However, it soon grew with a steady build of guitars and drums which continued to strengthen throughout the track and by the end of the song, the building blocks were complete. It was a great song to end on because just as you thought the song had ended, the band piped up for one more go at the chorus — which the audience were eternally grateful for. They were definitely left wanting more. Upon leaving the venue, the main thing that stuck with me was how tight the band was They Walk Among Us gave the performance 100 per cent even though the venue wasn’t at full capacity. They have a very crisp sound and each song is structured, full of imagination and catchy. MARGED PARRY

For tonight’s performance The Blackout left their metal ways behind them and did an acoustic set for us. Bob & Matthew turned their electric guitars in for the acoustics and Snoz was on the tambourine. I was excited to see how this acoustic set would turn out, as we are all used to seeing the Merthyr boys running around the stage, getting the crowds into circle pits, but tonight would be different. Females were shouting across the room, “Sean we love you!” and “Gavin we love you more!” as the boys do get quite a bit of attention. They sung songs such as Top Of The World, Silent As We Speak and their latest single This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things, to which to crowd sung every word back. Then came It’s High Tide Baby, which is one of those songs which will always get the crowd singing back no matter what. It was a nice change to see an acoustic set by The Blackout, it was a very calm and relaxed 30 minutes which showed up Gavin’s and Sean’s voices more — they pulled it off really well. Next up was The Automatic, with a more upbeat vibe as they had their electric guitars plugged in. Racing through their set, they played Recover and Steve McQueen, but the biggest hit with the crowd was obviously Monster. The crowd went into a frenzy when they played this song, everyone was dancing and screaming the words, “Is it a monster?” back to the boys on stage. All in all it was a very good night full of amazing Welsh talent.

COREY-LEIGH JOHN

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CDs, EPs Downloads & Demos

Killing For Company Lost Art Of Deception (mini-album) What a massive shock for the world waking up that sad day a few months ago, to discover that a beautiful person by the name of Stuart Cable had passed away. He was such a great ambassador for living life to the fullest and enjoying it. A huge, friendly character and icon in Welsh music, radio and TV, but also did a massive amount for so many charities...He will be sadly missed but never forgotten!

The connection to this review is Killing For Company was the band he’d been working with for the last few years, a great band made from a bunch of other great musicians, and when listening to this album you can hear all the passion, time and effort that has been squeezed into this batch of fine songs, and how great a drummer the man himself was. Kicking things off on this special edition nine-track taster album is Backstabbing For Beginners with its unusual rhythmical intro before dropping into the punchy, powerful, driving rock song it is. You immediately hear the quality and melodic beauty of lead singer Greg Jones’s voice, which could be likened to Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam) at times. Next up, Former Mining Town which the guys recently released as a single in tribute to Stuart with all its earnings going to two of his favourite charities.

Again its a huge punchy rock song with great dynamics and a gigantic chorus...something that Killing For Company deliver throughout this whole album. Born Yesterday and Gone Too Far keep things flowing solidly and you’re head nodding with their pulsing rhythms, with the latter in particular having quite ‘British rock’ overtones to it. Then comes one of the highlights for me, Guilty Bones...bursting at the seams with melody and is such a great example of the songwriting prowess of these guys...awesome! The title track follows, which is a real gutsy affair with some great guitar work from Messrs Andy Williams and Richie King, that is sprinkled all over this record on such a tasteful and classy way. Surrender in my opinion is a bona fide huge American rock radio hit in the waiting, and if it doesn’t become one I’ll eat them stars and stripes myself. A totally brilliant tune that has everything, including its massive skyscraping chorus sung so well by Jones. Saved keeps that quality high with its rhythmical backbone courtesy of bassist Steve Williams and Mr Cable. To finish off this wonderful rock ride we get treated to Wake Up Let Go, which delivers a slightly heavier punch and ensures this album goes out literally with a bang! An amazing record that everyone needs to hear.

DAZZLER

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Photograph by RokStar

Broken City Skyline You Would Run (single) The boys and girl return with their new single that is nothing but spellbinding. With its piano opener the layers of music develop into a military-style beat of a march that has a full on sing-along chorus. Every element of greatness is there, intending the listener to hold their attention to the very last bar.

Highly creative music indeed.

DARREN WARNER SDP The Crave (album) Stephen Dale Petit’s album is one of those albums that I had great pleasure in reviewing and will continue to listen to. Blues and rock play the dominant force on this album and it also reminds me of Primal Scream.

Full of blues licks and guitar solos and even gospel choirs. Highlights of the album are Let There Be More Light and Open. SDP also include a few covers of songs most people will know, including Need Your Love So Bad by Fleetwood Mac, the classic Crossroad Blues by Robert Johnson and made famous by Cream, and also a surprising cover of California Love

by Tupac! The main negative of this album for me though is that it is way too long, cut a few tracks off and you’ve got a really good album.

GARY BOLSOM Sky Larkin Kaleide (album) Kaleide opens with a huge track in Still Windmills. Evocative of a 1990s Britpop girl band, Katie Harkin’s voice is powerful, yet fragile, always threatening to burst from the margins of her range, yet simultaneously quirky and captivating. I can imagine a jumping, energetic crowd appreciating this at a live show, as they would the lively, rocky, Shade By Shade and Spooktacular. Sticking with a spooky theme, Anjelica Huston is a sing-along track, although apparently it’s a love song rather than tribute to Morticia Addams. The Yorkshire trio have created an American/Britpop influenced album, which whilst some tracks blend into the other and sound similar, there are also many prominent ones I’d recommend the record for. Plus, the sleeve artwork looks great! LISA DERRICK Alternative Expression Elegy (demo) Blind Ambition Judgement Day (demo) Recluse Anhedonia (demo) Perigo Minas Perigo Minas (demo) Four groups of amazing Rising Welsh Talent that need to be explored by all. Alternative Expression who are new young act from Ponty have the makings of something exceptional, especially with a lead singer who can hold a tune like this guy. True potential so keep an eye out. Bind Ambition return with this three-track demo that is exceptionally epic.

I love listening to these guys and have been desperate to see them live but keep missing out. Judgement Day is forboding, dark superior rock and show the power of their song writing ability. Recluse’s Anhedonia is a weird juxtaposition of strong guitar music overlayed with the soft tones of the vocal delivery. Powerful songs especially opener

Passing Cars, which leads to interesting listening throughout. Perigo Minas give us strong vocals over full-out, blasting guitars which can only be described as rock perfection, especially the track Past. All four need your attention now! DARREN WARNER Trash Talk Eyes & Nines (album) The term “hardcore” is probably the best way to describe Trash Talk and their latest album. Full of rage and resentment, the songs are short and fiery and serve to incense similar passionate feelings in their listeners.

Opener Vultures is 56 seconds of explosive aggression, and this theme is continued throughout the whole album. Eyes & Nines is comprised of fast drum beats like shots from a machine gun; gritty, snarling vocals and vicious and spiky guitar sounds, creating an uncomfortable but appealing mash-up of sound. Hash Wednesday is a slower song, but it is powerful in the uneasiness it creates, whilst I Do is bursting with guttural, growling vocals. The only criticism is that the songs are often repetitive, and for inexperienced ears it is difficult to tell when one ends and another begins. However, Trash Talk’s short but not at all sweet album is definitely a winner, and will blast the ears of many listeners — in a good way. NIA LIVERSUCH Collapse Under The Empire The Sirens Sound (album) With album art and a title suggesting mechanical and underground this almost represents itself as a hip-hop/rap album, however this conflicts with the band’s new rebranding with an album of a more alternative genre. The album is completely melodic with no lyrics or voice. The sounds introduced are simple wind and build almost a dialogue of their own, perhaps of someone lost on a dark night or struggling with inner turmoil. The percussion builds to a state that suggests rain. The mixture of instruments, with varying tempo, pitch and a full timbre, definitely builds vivid images in the mind, allowing the listener creative freedom.

MARTYN DAVID Manic Street Preachers Postcards From A Young Man (album) The Manics return with this true return-toform album of more commercially astute songs which more akin to Send Away The Tigers than Journal For Plaque Lovers.

Everything Must Go this is not though — and that’s always going to be the problem for the Manics, being compared to their own back catalogue, especially as they’ve reached this their 10th album release. Postcards is full of sumptuously filled musical tones that glide you through the delights of Nicky’s statements-on-life lyrics. Quite simply, the Manics have never sold out on their own beliefs and Postcards is a true testament to that fact. DARREN WARNER Flying Lotus Cosmogramma (album) Cosmogramma is one of those albums that is out there and not going to please everyone. A concept album full of jazz, hip-hop, techno, electronica and other weird and wonderful sounds. Also worth mention is that a certain

Thom Yorke of Radiohead fame has a cameo on the album doing vocals on track 7...and the whole world laughs with you. I found this hard to spot as the promo cd had all the things you would expect from an album on the outside, however upon putting it on I found it’s really a 45-minute 1-track! Very inconvenient, especially when in the car and the cd player doesn’t fast-forward or rewind!

It may be the whole concept of the album but I think it takes away from it. GARY BOLSOM !!!

Strange Weather, Isn’t It? (album) !!! (pronounced “chk, chk, chk”) are traditionally known as a dance/funk band with punk influences — a complex genre that inspires thoughts of relaxed party music.

Strange Weather, Isn’t It?, the band’s third album, is just that, and this more reigned in, reserved style is understandable as the band have experienced a number of issues since their first album was released, including members leaving and, sadly, one dying in a tragic accident. The fire is still there, though, in their latest offering. Opener AM/FM is gentle and quiet, but The Most Certain Sure is upbeat, combining funky sounds with sultry bass vocals. Wannagain Wannagain maintains the jazzy feel, but provides the album with an edge through punk-style drum beats. Even Judas Gave Jesus A Kiss ends with protracted scuzzy guitar sounds that emphasise the band’s rock grounding, and closer The Hammer ends the album on a high, with clamouring vocals illustrating passion and determination. Although Strange Weather, Isn’t It? could fall into the easy-listening category, it is obvious that many of the tracks have the potential to be big hits, especially on the hip party scene. NIA LIVERSUCH The Avisi Life Through Abstract Eyes (ep) Swansea/Valleys based indie/rock outfit The Avisi have released their first 3-track ep and I’m impressed. This is my kind of music!

Opening track Hold Me sounds like a Killers anthem in the making. Alternative Love Song starts off at a steady pace and hits you with a big chorus, and after listening to this debut

by The Avisi its pretty evident that they are a big anthemic chorus type of group. Looking forward to hearing more stuff from these guys! GARY BOLSOM Martyn Joseph Under Lemonade Skies (album) MJ is like a Welsh god to the best that is folk-influenced rock on the scene today.

Each track is pure poetry, every sentence deliberately placed and sung to emphasise the meaning of the words he writes, while his voice is descriptive through its tonation and delivery. Musically and for those who are unfamiliar to his work, there are hints of Springsteen about him. But that’s Bruce on a good day without all the blast and blunder that he carries around with him — and that’s what makes Martyn a cut above the rest. He has developed a sound and energy that hasn’t been tainted by the fame machine or the drive for totalitarian commercial success, so is purely successful because of its brilliance.

If you want to say to yourself today I discovered something new to love then Under Lemonade Skies is for you. DARREN WARNER

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Red Track Whole Town’s Heart (album) Red Track gained fame in December 2009, when they beat a thousand other unsigned bands to win the Hollyoaks Unsigned Music Show. “So they must sound commercial”, is what you might be thinking? Well, yes they do, in a “this band will be able to sell lots of records” sort of way. But they’re more than just marketable: Whole Town’s Heart is an engaging mix of thrusting poppy highenergy rock and sensitive, mellow tracks.

Whilst sometimes predictable, featuring what feels like forced wide boy accents, it is on the whole an intelligent, well-written album, especially as the band are barely out of school and setting sail in a sea of indie sameness. This is a surprisingly stand out record, and I now have an addiction to the song Pretty Boy. LISA DERRICK Crystal Castles Crystal Castles (album) Thumping fiesty electro-beat album full of quirky manouvres and u-turns that is your average dance-type album. This set of songs would send any raver into a quandry of mind exploding turmoil as it shifts around like a lion held captive in a small cage. Compulsive and original, well worth a listen.

DARREN WARNER Marvin B Naylor The Last Flight Of Billy Balloon (album) From the beginning this album reveals songs that seem almost folkish, the imagery you conjure is of groups of people around a fire in a campsite listening to a few men with guitar, with low, deep vocals of Marvin B Naylor and simple guitar riffs that do not attract too much attention to themselves, no song on the album particularly appeals to my taste. The album artwork has images that reminded me of White Stripes but the actual genre of music was completely contrasting to this. Although the album seems that it would only appeal to a niche audience, it is undeniable that there is a skill for composing present in the music and there is scope for further development that would make this album appeal to popular culture. MARTYN DAVID Dan Lo-Fi Rebel Creator (album) This is the first full album from Dan Lo-Fi, a man who has had years of experience with electronic music, and who can add working for MTV and The Discovery Channel to his vast CV — and this album is a good example of the type of experimental electronic music with which his talent lies. Electro Acoustic Romance 5 is a strong opening track, highly melodic with classical elements that add a magical tone to the track, and a swelling crescendo tinged with minor chords that introduce an effective uneasy feel to unsettle the listener. The space-age Media Haze is the complete opposite, using bleeps and random beats to accentuate the electronic style of

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the album as a whole.

Kitchen Sync Drama uses an interesting combination of techno vibes and sounds of running water to create an upbeat and unusual track. Most of the songs on Rebel Creator are short and sharp and leave you wanting more, but a few too many are rather lengthy, and can be off-putting to a new listener. Despite this, the album contains the right balance of experiment and experience and is an appealing CD to listen to, though not entirely to my personal taste.

NIA LIVERSUCH Greg Roberts I Am Young (ep) Beautifully sung and arranged these five songs though simple in their delivery are so textured that you feel the warmth they expel. Greg Roberts’ voice is exceptional and destined to knock people like James Morrison or James Blunt off their high perch so people be aware — this is home grown talent that will only be a matter of time before it is fully recognised. Don’t miss the boat, check Greg Roberts out. DARREN WARNER UNKLE Where Did The Night Fall (album) Remix specialists UNKLE offer up an interesting album to new listeners and more of the same with added extras, developing their sound slightly in a new direction.

A multi-layered album mixing rock with underground dance beats and psychedelia playing a big part throughout. The album skips from genre to genre meanwhile keeping that distinct electronic sound that UNKLE is renowned for. No standout tracks on here, making it an album of equal measure throughout which in itself makes it a good listen. GARY BOLSOM Roger Knott Big News From A Small Town (album) A seasoned folk artist, this is Roger Knott’s fifth album. London-born Roger has gravitated towards Americana as his natural musical home genre, evident from Southern-sounding strings and arrangements and undoubtedly influenced by lots of time playing and recording in Nashville. A Paul Simon, Paul McCartney, Roy Orbison and Van Morrison mish-mash. Close your eyes and imagine thumbs in jean pockets, cowboy boots, barns and hay bales on a warm summer evening.

Are you there yet? Roger Knott is playing in the background. A Fine Hobby is when the do-sí-doing starts, with lively, tripping off the tongue vocals and punchy beats made for country dancing. LISA DERRICK Last Approach Above The Sonic (album) With its drifting feedback entry Last Approach dispel any fears of possible pretentious overtones by delivering you with a highly infectious set of creative indie pop songs that take you soaring. This isn’t just good music from the Bangor boys, this is pure perfection with strong lines of originality that you can’t be anything but compelled to listen to. Life in North Wales has given these guys a take on their sound which defies comparison and kicks

out against any critics. Behold them and love it. DARREN WARNER Rolo Tomassi Cosmology (album) Rolo Tomassi’s new album, Cosmology, is comprised of the most unusual contrasts, but they work together perfectly. The first half of the album is full of vicious drum and guitar beats, and loud, raucous vocals typical to the hardcore genre, whilst electronic and synth sounds add depth to the music. The second half, however, is more gentle and solemn, and illustrates the grace that even the heaviest band can have. Opener Katzenklavier is slow and unassuming, and lulls the listener into a false sense of security. Then the onslaught begins, with tracks such as Agamemnon and House House Casanova blasting onto the scene — with such guttural screams and roars making it difficult to believe that the band has a female lead singer! Single Party Wounds is infectious and the title suits it perfectly — it is definitely a party track, but not for the kind of gathering that you might expect. The change in the tone occurs during Unromance, and from then on lead singer Eva Spence shows off her gentler side, with angelic vocals soaring above smoother, less violent guitar sounds and drum beats. Closer Cosmology is magical and melodic, with the light tone of Spence’s voice making for a beautiful and intriguing track. Definitely a surprising album, but a good one! NIA LIVERSUCH Blabbermouth - AKA Steve Thompson Me & The Metronome (album) A sincere album stocked with a curious mix of tracks written with obvious emotion and hidden stories in addition to tongue-incheek humour. Agoraphobia gently explores a difficult social problem with simple lyrics, beautifully soft vocals and dreamy melodies.

In contrast, Chicken devotes a whole song to the subject of...yes, you guessed it, chicken. Not so much a chilled track you can imagine listening to by an evening campfire like the former; but a children’s TV favourite which might be sung on Cbeebies.

Fifteen To One, again contrastingly, has a distinct Latino feel, conjuring up images of Spanish dancers and flamenco guitar. Steven Thompson is Blabbermouth, his multiple role is songwriter/vocalist/guitarist/banjo player, whilst Reza Shaikh is bassist and Marcus Zee is on percussion. If you’re a fan of folky pop, particularly with a (very) quirky twist, this could be a record for you.

LISA DERRICK Tinie Tempah Disc-covery (album) Our Brit-boy rapper hits the streets with his first full-length player and, boy, isn’t it brilliant! Commercial, yes. Bad language, oh yes. But highly original, quirky and full of such a sense of humour that you know that this young rapper is most definitely not an American. Unlike the aforementioned American rappers of late there is another element to Tinie, a true understanding of the audience that he is appealing to because this record hits the market of young 15/16 year old girls everywhere. Enough attitude to be exciting, but still an element of softness to be able to introduce him to your parents.

Buy it! DARREN WARNER

Fenech-Soler Fenech-Soler (album) Although it is a bold statement to make, it is extremely likely that the self-titled debut album from Fenech-Soler is going to become a hit. With a perfect mix of strong, meaningful lyrics and catchy beats, each song holds the listener’s interest, allowing the album as a whole to impress time and time again.

Opener Battlefields is upbeat and funky, and contrasts directly with the soft, gentle The Great Unknown. The sultry vocals and glam influences allow for an enticing and exciting musical journey through a great album.

Infectious beats make for a perfect party album, but the alternative edge makes it stronger than something to just listen to — it demands attention and appreciation. Single Stop & Stare has already received high praise and airtime on Radio 1, and this suggests the beginning of a rapid rise into fame for the band. By the time the enigmatic closer Walk Alone has finished, you will be ready to hit the replay button. NIA LIVERSUCH The Like Release Me (album) The first release by the American hipster girl quartet is not exactly punk as they like to be described, but more 60s flavoured new wave indie pop. Think The Strokes with girly vocals then you’ve got it. But don’t take that as a criticism, because with their simple straightforward approach and stripped-to-thebones style of performance you get access to a brilliant set of songs without the wads of padding to hide their technique. Very original sounding, despite their influences, and an intriguing listen. DARREN WARNER Micah P Hinson ...and the Pioneer Saboteurs (album) The opening track A Call To Arms blew me out of the water with its stunning strings sounding as if it has been taking from a Strauss masterpiece, and sets the tone for a dark, depressing and lonely landscape of somewhere out in the Wild West — but there was something sublime in the sound that makes it enjoyable. I was taken back to my childhood of being a cowboy in the Wild West wasting Pilgrims and the infamous Standoffs. Another fine point of the album is the chorus to 2’s & 3’s which Micah sings with such disgust at himself that it’s magic! I must stress that this is an album of few highs and many many lows, but that doesn’t make it bad. Turn the lows into a reflective mood and you’re onto something magical!

GARY BOLSOM The Keys Fire Inside (album) The Keys wear their influence by The Doors not on their sleeves but smack bang on their foreheads — but it takes talent to do music that is so obviously full of such influences well: and The Keys do it better than that. Opener and title track Fire Inside is so pleasing to hear from these Swansea boys that it makes you both chill out and ignite yourself with inner passions, with that balance of power being carried throughout the eight tracks. On our list of bands to speak to, The Keys have developed a take on music that has nothing around today to compare with it. Great stuff. DARREN WARNER

Adam Wilson West Coast Elegy (album) This London-based folk balladist cites The Brecon Beacons as one of his influences, so he has to be worth a listen. Adam has several roles on West Coast Elegy — vocals, acoustic guitar, electric lead guitar, harmonium, keyboards/synths, drums and bass — an impressive CV, which the occasional instrumental section highlights through the enchanting folk tunes and effective combination of instruments. Adam is supported by pedal steel violins and backing vocals, the result sounding like a melancholic mix of Nick Drake, Morrissey and REM. Although soul-searching and often morose, at times the record seems to have been created for a musical, such are the operatic overtones. LISA DERRICK Gareth Roberts Quintet Go Stop Go (album) Brilliant jazz ensemble from Cardiff that gives you all the best elements of the genre.

Hypnotic, rambling, almost free-fall pieces, like the opener Shaky Leg Syndrome, to the tight and straight-to-the-point Well I Think You Should show a diversity to these guys’ talent. Of course, the trombone of Gareth Roberts takes centre stage with its cutting siren of a sound but never dominates over the rest of the players. The Cardiff jazz scene is throwing out a number of true talented people at present, Gareth Roberts Quintet is at the forefront of that group.

DARREN WARNER Calamateur Each Dirty Letter (album) This has the look and sound of other popular teenage pop-rock bands with a soothing difference. With an initial look familiar to Hey Monday I expected a similar style of music and what I found didn’t disappoint.

Calamateur incorporate simple but unpassive melodies and harmonies into their sound with a versatile and control mix of male and female voice. The first song Change This World sets the tone effectively for the entire album, with a warming voice and a soft melody, as the rest of the album jumps back and forth between slow and more uptempo. Upon listening some songs remind me of The Fray or Snow Patrol, although maybe less rock ’n’ roll and more easy listening with an absence of strong beats but more gentle guitar riffs. Each Dirty Letter seems to stylise that of other bands that appeal to teenage audience and beyond and makes for more than a good album to lose yourself in.

MARTYN DAVID Jakokoyak Aerophlot (album) Aerophlot is the debut album by Jakokoyak, known by his mother as Rhys Edwards.

Released by the independent Welsh label and music publisher Peski, he joins alternative music royalty such as Cate Le Bon, who provides vocals for the record — also involved is Dafydd Ieuan and Guto Pryce of SFA and Y Peth. A follow-up to critically acclaimed EPs, Aerophlot was inspired during the early 80s by travel memories and the Russian ‘space race’. Flying on the legendary Russian airline, Rhys was enveloped by the compelling symbolism of Russia’s space programme, and

as he skimmed over the Siberian panorama, insights were impressed upon the future musician which would influence his creations.

The sound is airy, light, dreamy, wistful and wonderful, with prettily paranormal pop melodies smattered by electronic bleeps, synth sounds and mechanical drums.

Reminiscent of Air’s Moon Safari, it also sits comfortably alongside the more current M83, but should not be described as chill-out music as it’s more intelligent and far from bland. It contains tales about an abandoned Ukrainian city (Prypiat), the first dog in space (Laika), Yuri Gagarin’s very own postcode (Moscow 705) and a private seaside in Sweden (Amine).

The surreal, space-focussed quirky subject matter sits perfectly alongside the softly supernatural sound. LISA DERRICK Alan Coles Play Something We Know (album) A delight of an album from Mr Coles with its acoustic driven numbers that have depth and wonderous meaning. Don’t get me wrong though, Play Something We Know has a fuller sound than one man and a guitar, and ventures into large arrangements on the majority of tracks. The opener Disappear is a complete stunner, and believe me the pace never lets up throughout. Alan proves once again the high calibre of talent that is coming out of Wales and a man this magazine needs to talk to. Simply find this album and buy it.

DARREN WARNER Richard Ashcroft RPPA & The United Nations Of Sound (album) A slight change in direction for Richard Ashcroft here going a bit hip-hop/r’n’b on us.

You can still expect the old Verve sound here too, which in my opinion is what makes the album great. You can expect the thoughtprovoking lyrics and being full of cinematic strings it shows off a well-produced album with a big sound. Not being a big fan of hip-hop/r’n’b I thought he did quite well on the song America & Beatitudes. Good Lovin’ already sounds like a familiar song which lingers on in your mind after the track has finished. Personal favourites of mine are the rasping opener Are You Ready and piano driven balled She Brings Me The Music which is just beautiful. Well worth a purchase.

GARY BOLSOM Detroit Social Club Existence (album) Love Amongst Ruin Love Amongst Ruin (album) Whole Sky Monitor Twisted Little Piggies (album) Three albums that completely took me by surprise — basically, they are all amazing.

Detroit Social Club’s Existence is a dark journey through the blackness of life with its upfront bass lines and Joy Division-esque vocals that reach into my past though still modern in its approach. Deep forboding brilliance. Love Amongst Ruin’s self-titled album has a similar feel but is slightly lighter in its approach. Totally different musically to Detroit but the sense of the darkness still prevailing. Whole Sky Monitor’s album takes me in a different direction to that new wave punk of old who spend their days kicking against the pricks. Joyfully anarchic.

DARREN WARNER

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