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THE MUSIC MAGAZINE FOR WALES
Issue 9
LOSTPROPHETS
Back Home & Giving Lessons
CERYS MATTHEWS
Traditional Welsh Girl?
RENEGADES
Feeder Go Back To Basics
THE STORYS
End Of The Chapter
CHRIS REES
Voodoo Drums For Haiti
PLUS
EE
FR
Clinigol
Straight Lines
Lucius
Billy Gone Bad
Allan Yn Y Fan
The Kix
FightStar
MiniViva
Contents
MANAGING EDITOR & PUBLISHER
Gail Griffiths
[email protected]
www.pluggedinmagazine.co.uk
CREATIVE DIRECTOR & CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
Darren Warner
CONTRIBUTORS
Abi Jones, Adam Perkins, Adele Williams, Brandon Lane,
Carrie Morgan, Chloe Bezant, Colin James MacFarlane,
Corey-Leigh John, Danielle Hill, Demi Myhill, Gary Bolsom,
Gregor McCann, Hannah Griffiths, Jake Healy,
James Bannister, Jessi Probert, Kadesha Drija,
Kevin McGrath, Kim Halliday, Kirsty Hussien, Ky Jones,
Kyle Rees, Lisa Derrick, Lloyd Davies, Mark Tambini,
Melissa Latham, Nadine Hussien, Nathan Roach,
Nia Liversuch, Portia McGrath, Rachel Thomas, Rhys Taylor,
Richard Evans, Rob Jones, Robyn Kennedy, Seanna Fatkin,
Stephanie McNicholas, Tom Richards, Victoria Turner,
Wednesday & Stephen Lewis
W
ELCOME to another packed issue
of PLUGGED IN magazine!
We’re very excited that for this issue
we were given exclusive access to one
of Wales’s best bands, LostProphets,
for a fun Q&A session before they
played one of their first gigs in quite
a while. We were able to give a group
of youngsters with links to PLUGGED
IN a day to remember, as they got the
chance to interview the band and then
see them perform at an invitation-only
gig afterwards. Among those invited
was Sean Smith from Merthyr rockers
The Blackout, cover star of issue 8.
Read all about the Prophets day on
pages 10-15.
But, of course, the pages of PLUGGED
IN are crammed full of top Welsh artists.
We also have exclusive interviews with
over a dozen other artists, including
Grant Nicholas of Feeder telling us about
his side project Renegades, songstress
Cerys Matthews explaining why she has
released a collection of old Welsh songs,
and Swansea-based band The Storys
— whose members Steve Balsamo and
Andy Collins thought our interviewer
Gary Bolsom had a passing resemblance
to Spiderman actor Tobey Maguire! See
photos left — do you agree?
And look out for our flag-waving
Welsh artists CD section in the reviews
starting on page 48. A real example of
the amazing talent that we have within
our borders.
Enjoy the magazine — happy reading!
Get your copy of PLUGGED IN, the music
magazine for Wales — for FREE!
All eight back issues are
now downloadable from
www.pluggedinmagazine.co.uk
Gail & Darren
PLUGGED IN magazine is a not-for-profit social enterprise,
run by unpaid volunteers.
Printed in Wales on recycled paper using vegetable inks.
We would like to thank Fframwaith for
their very generous support in funding
this issue of PLUGGED IN
4
Music News
6
Rising Talent
10 LostProphets
16 Renegades
18 Cerys Matthews
20 The Storys
22 Chris Rees
24 Clinigol
26 Straight Lines
28 Lucius
30 Billy Gone Bad
32 Allan Yn Y Fan
34 FightStar
35 MiniViva
36 Live Reviews
48 CD Reviews
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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
03
It’s very rare we publish an issue of PLUGGED IN without
mentioning local legend Stuart Cable, who is photographed
here after completing his 3 mile run for Sport Relief — hence
the big hair looking rather flat. Stuart told us that everything
is ready for a 31st May release of the first Killing For Company
album...which gives us another reason to chat to the boys
and feature them in the next issue. Stu also hits the airwaves
again with his new show for Radio Wales — so expect some
good ol’ Rock and nothing namby pamby if you tune in!
PLUGGED IN magazine’s Managing Editor Gail Griffiths
becomes everyone’s favourite pin-up, as she is featured
on one of a series of four posters highlighting career
paths into the Creative Industries. The posters are also
designed by PLUGGED IN regular Stephen Lewis with
others dedicated to our friends Dave Driscoll of Push 4,
Andrew Chainey of Tantwrm and actor Carys Parry.
And that’s not all, Gail with her two daughters Elin, 8, and
Mena, 6, took part in the Pontypridd leg of the Sport Relief
Miles, walking a mile circuit around Ynysangharad Park and
raising money for the charity. Where’s Darren you may be
asking? Well someone had to take the photographs!
Following in the footsteps of solo
singer-songwriter Kadesha and Mark
Tambini of the fantastic Jam With
Robina, this issue’s guest reviewers
are the girls from The Kix. Read
their thoughts on your music on
pages 49-51, and find out more
about the girls themselves over the
page as they are featured in our
Rising Talent section.
04
PLUGGED IN
Cardiff and Penarth-based band Cheatin’ Hearts celebrate 10 years
together this year. Singer Steph McNicholas recalls some of the
highlights of the past decade.
“Country bands in South Wales are as few and far between as Shane
MacGowan’s old teeth, so I was lucky to find the Cheatin’ Hearts.
The band were rehearsing at the Royal Oak pub on Newport Road in
Cardiff and I’d heard they were looking for a female singer. I went
along for an audition and got the gig! That was back in June 2000,
and since then, we’ve played hundreds of gigs together and made
many good friends. The Cheatin’ Hearts are founder members Keith
on drums and Phil on guitar and vocals; John on guitar, Rich on bass
and me on lead vocals. Honorary member is our soundman, Richard.
The line-up has changed a number of times over the years and we’ve
been fortunate to play alongside some very talented musicians. Our
set-list is more Johnny Cash than Johnny Rotten, and includes songs
by Hank Williams, Ryan Adams, Tom Petty and the Rolling Stones. One
of our most memorable gigs was when we played on the bandstand
in Ponty Park in summer 2005. Pontypridd is my hometown, so that
was a dream come true. We also got to play at the fantastic Wales
Millennium Centre a few years back. We were meant to play outside
that day but there was a gale blowing — in May! — so the organisers
had to move us inside. Our most surreal gig was probably at the Pop
Factory in Porth, where Richard Attenborough, the veteran actor and
director, was a guest. What are the chances of having one of the stars
of The Great Escape in your audience! Talking of great escapes, one
of the most disastrous gigs we ever played was in Bedwas. The crowd
were heavy metal fans who stood with their backs to us all night. At
one point, a drunk staggered on to the mic stand and the microphone
hit me in the front teeth. He didn’t even notice. We should’ve had
danger money that night! Redneck drunks aside, the past 10 years
with the Cheatin’ Hearts have been a privilege and an absolute blast.”
For more info on the band, go to www.cheatinhearts.co.uk
JOHN SICOLO R.I.P.
John Sicolo, owner of legendary music venue TJ’s,
Newport, died on 14th March 2010, aged 66. John, who owned
the Clarence Place bar for almost 40 years, passed away at the
Royal Gwent Hospital. Thousands of music fans have posted
internet messages paying tribute to him.
Darren Warner, PLUGGED IN’s Creative Director, said: “John
and his staff always had an open door to help and promote
young talent within Wales. He showed the same enthusiasm for
our magazine, allowing us to use the venue as one of our most
important outlets in Newport and also giving us access to any
gigs that we wanted to cover. His generosity could have meant
that PLUGGED IN had a journalist permanently stationed at
TJ’s. Virtually every band that came from Wales played there
at some point in their career, with very few exceptions. John
will be sorely missed by the Welsh music scene.”
Around 50,000 bands have played at the venue over the years.
In the 1980s, TJ’s hosted the Cheap Sweaty Fun Promotions
gigs, which brought many exciting bands to South Wales and
gave local bands the chance to play support slots. Those gigs
really were the cheapest, sweatiest, greatest fun you could
have in public. In the 1990s, Newport was dubbed the ‘New
Seattle’ by the music press because of the town’s thriving
music scene — with TJ’s at the heart of it all.
From all of us who have magical memories of visiting or playing
that unique place: Thanks, John. SM
Only Men Aloud are on the hunt for the next generation of
male singers in the Welsh Valleys to create Only Boys Aloud.
If you’re aged between 14 and 19 and would like to join the
choir to become “one of the boys” singing a mix of modern and
traditional music then they want to hear from you. Members
of Only Boys Aloud will take part in a diverse programme of
concerts and events throughout 2010 and beyond. But be quick
to learn those songs as the first of these performances will be
alongside Only Men Aloud at the televised opening concert of
the National Eisteddfod on 30th July in Ebbw Vale in front of a
packed audience. Rehearsals will be held in venues across the
Valleys — so look out for a poster near you!
To show unity within the world of music, at the launch of the
initiative Only Men Aloud were joined by members of the Dowlais
Male Voice Choir as well as icons of Welsh rock Mike Peters,
Stuart Cable and Darran Smith — the only member of FFAF who
doesn’t actually sing on stage!
For more info, go to www.onlyboysaloud.com
Legendary opera singer, Sir Geraint
Evans (1922-1992) has had a blue
plaque put up in his honour on
the house where he was born in
Cilfynydd, Pontypridd. His career
spanned over 40 years, starting
when he joined the newly formed
Covent Garden Opera Company
in 1948 after being demobbed from
the RAF. He played over 60 leading
roles, but his genius was best seen in his
performances of comedy characters such as
Verdi’s Falstaff. His talent was recognised
not only in Britain, but also in the opera
houses of Europe and America at a time
when British opera singers were less wellknown abroad than they are now.
PLUGGED IN’s Creative Director Darren
will be playing Welsh music, alongside
presenters Adam and Lee, on GTfm’s New
Music Showcase as usual when the latest
issue of the magazine hits the shelves. The
programme has changed it’s time slot and
is now on Monday nights from 10pm — tune
into 107.9fm to listen to the best new
music in Wales.
Pontypridd four-piece band Ladies Love
A Superhero and female rock duo Sweet
Manics from Treorchy have made their
own promo videos after winning an annual
competition. They were chosen along
with a group of young people aged 14-19
from Rhondda Cynon Taf with an interest
in media, to take part in the 2010 Make
It! Music Video Project. The media team
included Alex Knill, Adam Davies, Bethan
Harvey, Darian Rees, Lucy Evans, Adam
Jenkins and Portia McGrath. The team met
up for the first time in January 2010 and
spent the following weeks planning and
storyboarding their music video ideas which
they filmed during February half-term
and premiered at the Muni Arts Centre,
Pontypridd in April. Rhondda Cynon Taf
Council’s Youth Arts Project worked with
MAKE IT! on the project, which is funded
through the 14-19 Learning Pathways Fund
and Fframwaith.
PLUGGED IN
05
Photograph by Darren Warner
with Chloe Bezant, Melissa Latham,
Kirsty Hussien & Gregor McCann of the
Hawthorn High Photography Group
The Kix
The Kix are a three-piece rock band from Aberdare.
They formed in April 2008 when sisters Sam and
Charlotte Bolderson discovered bassist Kate
Marshall. With powerful influences such as AC/DC,
Led Zeppelin, and many more prestigious artists
from the classic rock era, there was no question
as to what genre the girls wanted to perform. The
girls quickly made a name for themselves gigging
locally, winning various band competitions, and
were even selectively invited to perform with
the Welsh National Opera in a one-off exclusive
show. Word soon spread about The Kix and they
were asked to perform abroad. This lead to bigger
and better things for the girls. As the venues and
crowds increased in size, the fan base became
more significant. Following this, the girls worked
harder, and their confidence and ability grew.
Media attention helped The Kix gain exposure.
Onlookers can’t get enough of the compelling
performances packed with punch. Their quirky
personalities and the witty humour that they
produce on and off stage is infectious. The energy
they put into their gigs make it clear for all to
see that they have a real passion for music, and
a professional attitude beyond their years. Being
the tender ages of 20, 18 and 17, The Kix take
pride in proving wrong people’s misconceptions
of them, as people are quick to assume they are
inexperienced due to their youth. As soon as the
girls start to perform, their ability to excite a
crowd creates an electrifying atmosphere, leaving
the audience pleasantly surprised. Throughout
2009, the fan base continued to expand as The
Kix performed at more substantial venues. The
girls completed a prosperous tour of the UK,
and follow-up shows abroad in Germany and
Holland. In December 2009, The Kix we lucky
enough to be invited to support American tribute
act Tragedy at the O2 Academy, London. The
success of this gig opened up opportunities for
2010, providing more gigs in London for the near
future. The Kix are also heading back to Germany
by popular demand. The girls recently entered
Live & Unsigned UK and after auditioning against
thousands of other competitors, The Kix were
pleased to hear they had made it through to the
area finals in London, and now await this date
to show what they can do in the next round. To
date, they have attracted attention of established
artists such as Phil Campbell (Motorhead), and
Stuart Cable (ex-Stereophonics, Killing For
Company). Both Phil and Stuart have said that the
girls have a promising career ahead. “We would
love to make it in this industry as musicians, as
we simply love to perform. Music literally means
so much to us. We are excited about our up-andcoming album release and hope it’s successful.
This year is already turning into a roller coaster
ride and we welcome that. Things are progressing
quickly and it would be amazing to be recognised
as established artists.” So, 2010 looks to be an
eventful and exciting year for The Kix, bringing
more achievements and prospects. The girls will
continue to enjoy what they do, travelling around
in their van, The Kixtery Machine, radiating fun
and entertainment everywhere they go. They
treat the world as a stage and are definitely ones
to watch for the near future.
www.myspace.com/thekix
06
PLUGGED IN
Rob Lear
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Words by Adam Perkins
Alun Bowen started Bridgend band BCS when
he was 16, initially with friends from school,
but as people dropped out they were replaced
by his brothers Dewi (piano/vocals) and Marc
(drums). Then around a year ago they were
joined by Danni Kennedy on bass. Influenced by
everything they listen to — Panic At The Disco,
Biffy Clyro, Mumford & Sons — the boys have
developed their own sound. “We try and come
up with songs that people enjoy listening to.
Dewi usually comes up with an idea for a song,
we all work on it, test it out live and work on it
some more. We’ve released three EPs and one
single so far, and we’ve also recorded quite a
few other tracks for myspace. Our first two EPs
First Signs Of Sunrise and Looks & Hooks were
both done before Danni joined. Last summer
we recorded our It’s So Dark On The Outside EP and we have just released our new single City
Lights. We record and mix everything ourselves.” The band has had some great experiences,
including organising a 10-day tour last summer up to Glasgow and back. “We’ve also had some
funny experiences, like the time we ended up sleeping in the van, and when we woke found out
we’d parked in a graveyard in the dark!” BSC say they want to gig, write and record as much as
possible, and have fun doing it. “Getting people to the gigs is a big thing for an unsigned band
so we’ve started a mailing list, which people can sign up to on our myspace for free tracks and
news on what we’re up to. We’ve also done a few live radio sessions lately, which were great for
letting people know about us so we’d like to do some more.” They did quite well in last year’s
Surface Unsigned Festival, getting to the Welsh Semi Finals, as well as recently winning Off The
Chart Radio’s battle of the bands. “There were six bands from across the world and one band was
voted out each day based on email votes. We won some festival slots in the summer, and we’re
really looking forward to that. We really enjoy what we do, and we’d now like to take the band
to the next level, play some bigger places and festivals.”
www.myspace.com/brokencityskylineband
Brok
Wyn Williams
West Walian Wyn Williams goes under the
moniker of Monkey Sea Monkey Doo. He is
also a part of Dafydd ap Llwyd (myspace.com/
dafyddapllwyd) an acoustic duo with Huw
Llwyd. Singing in both Welsh and English, Wyn’s
sound is of picked Spanish mixed with folk
and acoustic vibes. “I’ve got a semi-acoustic
Spanish guitar, which I find easy to manipulate
the strings of. It’s a leading instrument really,
and not generally something to sing over. But I
like the sound of it.” Offering an eclectic mix
of songs, each is crafted and backed up by great
technical ability, shown on songs such as Darn
O Dy Galon (A Piece of your Heart), in which
guitar and vocal harmonies are well designed,
and the eccentric Overtaken, a track produced
behind a drum beat and violin backing. This
experimental attitude is also showcased on
the Oxjam charity track featuring famous
weather girl Sian Lloyd — Weather (Or Not)
With Sian Lloyd — which has a slow techno
drum beat. Wyn’s most recent EP is called
The Spanish Elbow Orchestra and features
The Spanish Elbow Orchestra, which is of
Flamenco/Mexican style, and was recorded on
BBC Radio Wales’ Adam Walton’s Mystery Tour.
Writing in Welsh helps Wyn keep up with his
roots. “I was brought up in a bilingual house,
so the Welsh is more of a moral and personal
thing that I put into my songs. Plus there is
not so much of it around, so it helps keep it
alive.” Wyn’s bilingual ability opens his talents
to different audiences, so if you enjoy a good
pint and some intriguing acoustic tunes then
don’t hesitate to pop out and catch Wyn or
Dafydd ap Llwyd. You won’t be disappointed.
www.myspace.com/wyn.williams
08
PLUGGED IN
Intensive Square
Recluse
A former Nirvana cover bands band from
Pontypridd, reformed and transformed eight
years later in mid 2008 to create a straightup balls rock band called Recluse. Sound
good? Well, yes, it sounds great! The threepiece have nailed themselves a cracking
sound, grinding out some real ‘dude tunes’ in
somewhat of a ‘Nirvana meets Led Zepplin’
showdown. “We just love music. We love
getting together and doing our own stuff…
we need to rock.” Recluse make very likeable
music, something you can pick up and listen to
without getting confused. It’s straight up rock
’n’ roll, whilst offering more than its fair share
of ‘wow’ and ‘oh yes’ factor moments. “We’re
all into late 70s to early 90s rock which is quite
balls out. It’s not laden with effects, and it’s
something which is straightforward and good
to listen to.” Current EP, Baby Monster, offers
musical growls and scowls with vigour and
venom, whilst laying the smack down with
some monster riffs. It’s layered with great
musicianship and determined grungy bounce
throughout that shows a lot of character and
style. “We used to play a lot of pop-rock stuff,
but we just kept getting heavier and heavier
and most of the older ones just don’t work any
more.” Set opener Come On Over and Back In
The Ground Again offer a raucous and racy ride
of raw power, and Britt’s gritty vocals are spot
on. Lover is a cool and bouncy track with an
awesome dirty and grungy riff to intro, before
distorted bass kicks in. A new EP out sometime
soon will introduce more kicks and slides as
new track Passing Cars finds more depth as
the cool and flavoursome lead guitar dances
between the bounce and determination of
the drum and bass. “The new stuff has a lot
more rhythm and there are a lot of changes in
the melody and the tempo. There is never a
shortage of rock.”
www.myspace.com/recluseuk
All of the members of Intensive Square are from Pembrokeshire (Middle Earth), and have all
shared stages in various capacities over the years, but the band as it is now formed in 2007 off
the back of a shared desire to create, hear and perform some truly devastating music. Tired
of the dull conventions of contemporary metal, IS decided to leave the weaklings of the genre
identifying with mock pessimism and false mythology in the mirrors of their parents’ bathrooms,
whilst they forged tales about abstract universes of impossible science and apocalyptic horror. The
band’s primary influences are Pantera, Meshuggah and Crowbar, and are also heavily influenced
by jazz music, particularly Naked City, John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman. They’ve spent the
past few years creating a consistent and cohesive sound of their own that remains extremely
focused, despite its eclecticism. Using hulking rhythmic passages, dense chromaticism, downtuned guitar riffs and saxophones, the band delivers an original and devastating smack to the
teeth of its listeners, assuming that its listeners have mouths in their ears! Notable bands that
they’ve played with include Hexagram, Romeo Must Die, Seven Year Kismet, Brigade, Chaos
Trigger, Necrocest, Kryophere and Nihilist. Notable venues they’ve played include Water Rats
London, Clwb Ifor Bach, Barfly, TJ’s, Queen’s Hall Narberth, Celtic Blue Rock Festival West Wales.
Having just completed their second demo, The Colour of Love, a self-released three-track EP,
the band are constantly looking for gigs and any other means of exposure to push their incredible
vision to the masses of the metal community. “Our live shows carry all the weight and mystery
of a quantum event, whilst charming both new and familiar audiences into a unified compliance
to surrender to some of the heaviest music being performed in the world today.” The boys have
recently parted ways with singer, Sam Lewin, and wish him the best of luck in London. “We are
currently trying out some new guys and are feeling confident that we’re going to be able to
deliver exciting news very soon. And then aim to be back gigging locally before the summer.”
www.myspace.com/intensivesquare
Rob Lear is an artist with undoubted quality, which shines throughout the quirky and creative
pop-rock tones. The former front-man of Valleys favourites Lear, as well as recent project The
Enormous Sizes, Rob Lear commands a great respect as an artist. This is backed up in the skilful
ability to write likeable, catchy and bouncy tunes that make you sit up and smile and want
to hum along. The summery Blue Bikini is a cool, fun and upbeat track. It’s got a really funky
picked verse running to this big chorus, and the fantastic new track A Million Stars is a laid back
and relaxing tune with fantastic rhythm and melody. There is an awe-inspiring air following Rob
around because of the exemplary standard set in the ability to create such simple yet mindbending songs. “It’s more about enjoying and exploring the fact that I can make music. Being in
some great bands has allowed me to get some cracking gigs, and last year The Enormous Sizes
supported Status Quo.” The Enormous Sizes (www.myspace.com/theenormoussizes) was Rob’s
most recent venture (My Cartoon Elvis and The Proud Marys are others past) in which his writing
ability is demonstrated through tunes like the magical, rhythmic and dreamy Magic Bones and
Last Of The 45s, which is a cracking, edgy rock song that’s so easy to get into. Rob continues to
play some of the more ‘suitable’ E-sizes tracks within his set, as well as having members Terry
(bass) and Elliot (Drums) in his
backing band. Rob Lear is still a
refreshing talent, and showcases
his continued dedication through
a brand new mini-album, A Million
Stars, which also includes the
floaty and adventurous Beautiful
Face, and the surreal Heaven Help
which just grows and grows. It’s a
great record. If you’ve not heard
Lear then you’ve missed out. But
now’s the chance to grab a piece of
the action. Rob Lear is an artist you
just have to go see, have a pint,
and let the music wash all your
worries away.
www.myspace.com/roblear
White Dice
Three-piece White Dice are from Swansea/Port
Talbot and originally formed in 2005 with Lucus
Williams (vocals/guitar) and Kris Williams
(drums/percussion, and Craig Morgan (bass/
backing vox) joining in May 2009. This young
band has been touring non-stop from one end
of the UK to the other, while continuing to sell
CDs across the water to America, Germany,
Australia, Belgium and many more — releases
such as What We Left Behind and Better
Than Wednesday. Influenced by bands such as
Third Eye Blind, Goo Goo Dolls, John Mayer,
Flickerstick, Black Lab, Jimmy Eat World and
Queen, the boys produce an American Indie
sound that has also been classed as “American
Teen TV Music.” In 2007 they won a Battle of
The Bands that was judged by 96.4fm The Wave
radio and the year after were picked up to be
on the soundtrack for a porn flick True F*****g
Love. “We were contacted via our myspace
by Burning Angels, the DVD’s producer, and
asked if they could use our track in the movie
— amazing! But due to the adult DVD website
being unable to accept my credit card, I had
to persuade my mother to buy the porn DVD
just to hear the band’s music being played!”
In 2008 they played the Birdman Festival in
Ilfracombe, supporting The Wurzels, and this
year have played the world-famous 100 Club
in London. “We plan to keep touring and
producing music!”
www.myspace.com/whitedice
Colours Of One
This Bridgend-based band formed in early 2008
originally under the name Evil I. Mike, Miff,
Paul and Rhys were school friends/friends
of friends and had played in various bands
together growing up, then Chris answered an
advertisement for a new bassist. COO produce
melodic alt-rock influenced by bands such
as Pearl Jam, Incubus, Coheed & Cambria,
Funeral For A Friend, Paramore and Biffy
Clyro. “There’s definitely a wide range of
musical taste amongst us, but it makes for
very interesting ideas.” Their first EP Kicks was
self-released in early 2008, and since then they
have released a mini album called Bad News
Makes Big Noise on their own label Rogues
Gallery Records — and they’ve recently signed
a European Distribution Deal with Londonbased Cargo Records to physically release the
record in stores throughout UK and Europe on
17 May. “Our aim is to get our music heard by
as many people as possible, and on our own
terms. We would like to be able to have the
opportunity for writing and performing music
to become our full time jobs. As a band we
decided to set ourselves up as an independent
record label in mid-2009, after being in talks
with a couple of London-based indie labels. It
became evident to us that we’d very much like
to have full control over every aspect of the
Dead Surf Country
Meg, Mark, Lizzie and Glenn (the Hat!) make
up the remarkable alt-country/Americana
project Dead Surf Country. With their vibrant
and heart-warming tones and light atmospheric
electronics there is so much to like about DSC.
It is subtle genius. Starting as a highly talented
father/daughter combination Meg (vox) and
Mark (acoustic guitar) set out to write some
music, Lizzie (vox) and then Glenn (electric
guitar) came on board in 2006, helping to
make some fine music that can be supped
upon via their EP Area 51 Revisited, but is best
experienced sat out in the sunshine with a nice
beer. “Live music in a field with the sunshine
gives a really good atmosphere and brings a
community together, so it’s nice!” Melodically
brilliant, the acoustics are wonderful, light
and free-flowing and easy on the ear, whilst
providing perfect serenity for the eloquent
duality of Meg and Lizzie’s vocals and
harmonies. “We’ve started harmonising and
working together on songs because before we
used to try and keep our voices separate.” This is
showcased in up-tempo number Lost, featuring
a cool and funky electric riff complimented by
fantastic harmonising from Meg (who leads
this song) and Lizzie. Alongside these two very
competent and sexy lead singers, the art of
Dead Surf Country is provided by light, floating
atmospherics from Glen’s electrical input,
heard on the bluesy Then I Met You and the
serene and tender Crush, while the tender
lullaby Hold On is a wonderful piece of music.
“We like making music and we love playing
together, we just gelled when Glenn came
on board. Being friends makes life so much
better, with lots of evenings drinking cider,
making music and mucking about.” Dead Surf
Country offer something completely different
to your average acoustic artist. PLUGGED IN
has uncovered a true gem. Check them out!
www.myspace.com/megandmark
band, from creative direction to the way we
are portrayed, so we felt like this was the best
way to go for us. To this effect we officially set
up Rogues Gallery Records in June 2009, and
made the decision to self-release all of our
own material from this date onwards. This was
also partially in response to the ever-changing
climate of the music industry, as now bands
don’t necessarily need to have the backing
of a major record label to make considerable
progress in their careers. Aside from the
business aspect, we’ve had a few pretty weird
experiences over the past few years, and even
death-defying — if driving down the M4 with
no headlights and a van steadily losing power
counts as that! We consider ourselves a fanorientated band, and try to involve our fans
in everything we do as much as possible, by
sending out free music monthly as a thank you
for signing up to our mailing list, by rewarding
members of our street team, and even letting
them influence our radio interviews! We often
ask our fans to give us a list of words to try and
squeeze into a radio show we appear on, and
you can imagine it’s hard to get ‘pigeon’ or
‘meow’ into your usual interview!”
www.myspace.com/coloursofone
PLUGGED IN
09
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
LOSTPROPHETS ON THE BETRAYED
I
t has been a harsh winter and many of the schools in Wales had to close due to the heavy snow falls, though as we
drove though the streets to Hawthorn High School in Pontypridd, the desperate weather had lifted and allowed
us a respite from the cold. Today we’re going back to school because PLUGGED IN is hosting a massive question
and answer session with the town’s most famous sons, the LostProphets. Returning to the school where three of
the band were once pupils, they had come home to support a Welsh Assembly Government initiative that is aimed
at stimulating economic activity and increasing tourism numbers in the area by getting Valley residents to say what
makes them proud to be from The Valleys. After the press conference the guys were to play an exclusive gig in the
school hall for older pupils and specially invited guests. Prior to that, however, PLUGGED IN had exclusive access
to the Ponty boys for over an hour so that we could co-ordinate a unique question and answer session for 60 lucky
young people with connections to the magazine, to meet their heroes and ask them just about anything, with Editor
Gail Griffiths checking the questions and Creative Director Darren Warner compering the event. Sandwiched between
the band and the seated audience, Darren certainly felt the glare of the six TV crews whose cameras seemed to be
directed at him — though we’re sure they were looking more in the Prophets direction! This was a unique occasion,
a true exclusive to inspire the young people there and a brilliant example of what PLUGGED IN is all about ­— giving
opportunity. What follows is a transcript of the questions asked.
You’ve recently released your fourth studio
album The Betrayed. Why did the band feel
so strongly about working around this theme
and does the content of the album reflect
personally on your life experiences in any
way?
Lee: Yes. Next question! [laughs] I think
lyrically most definitely. On the last three
albums Ian has been singing about everyone
else, while this time it’s more personal to
him. He was in a bit of a dark spot and The
Betrayed is what came out of that. You can’t
bottle these things up.
What were your inspirations and influences
for The Betrayed?
Ian: We are listening to new music all the time
and are constantly evolving as a band but one
of the most important things is not forgetting
where you came from. We toured Liberation
Transmission for two and a half years and went
to some great places and also went to some
bad ones. Everywhere you go you take on as
an experience, whether you’re conscious of
it or within your subconsciousness. Spending
two months touring America, playing to sparse
venues was definitely an influence. Also it
depends what mood you’re in. If you’re, shall
we say, peeved, that’s going to come out in
the music more than if you’re on top of the
world.
How does working with Stuart Richardson
as a producer compare with working with
Bob Rock?
Stuart: Really good, right boys? [said with a
laugh and a thumbs up sign]
Lee: Much easier. Bob Rock was awesome but
the trouble with working with him was the
studio was based at his place and if he didn’t
like something, which happened a lot, he’d
literally get up and walk out of the studio
into his house and we wouldn’t see him for
five hours or more. With Stuart, we originally
started out with him producing, so it was
like going back to the old days. It was really
comfortable.
Mike: It was cool also recording with someone
that we already knew, one of our best mates.
So we by-passed that awkward phase at the
beginning of a session. Bob turned out to be a
knight in the end, but there was that phase in
the beginning where we needed to know each
other better. It’s difficult to approach and tell
someone that you don’t think what he was
hearing was very good which was followed by
the wierdness Lee mentioned. While with Stu
it was more like, “No way. It’s crap!”
Lee: How can somebody outside the band,
even though they listen to all your old records
and come and watch you live, understand you
as much as someone who is in the band. We
only ever had to tell Stu once what we were
talking about.
Mike: He kind of got it before we even had to
tell him. It was like we finished each other’s
sentences.
Lee: So I think this album sounds more like us
than any of the other ones.
Stuart: So if you like it, cool, if you don’t then
I’m the one to blame.
Your album The Betrayed — by whom do you
feel betrayed?
Ian: Everybody, at some point in my life. Have
you ever felt betrayed yourself? We feel like
we’re the underdogs, on a mission.
Photographs by Darren Warner, James Bannister & Corey-Leigh John
The Betrayed is probably your darkest album
to date. How do you lift yourselves above
these dark thoughts when you play them on
such a regular basis?
Lee: We don’t. We revel in them. That’s the
point. We are generally a happy bunch, but we
all know that reality isn’t all about flowers and
puppies and we have had our fair share of bad
experiences. This album reflects that.
This album took a while to come out with talk
of you rejecting much of the initial work you
produced. Why did you find it so difficult?
Stuart: We didn’t. It was simply a bad choice
of producer. He didn’t understand where
we wanted to take the songs. That was the
catalyst for us doing it ourselves. Only we
knew how The Betrayed should sound.
Now the album is out, what is your opinion
of the media critics’ view?
Lee: You learn a valuable lesson in this industry:
to not worry about the media but concentrate
on the fans. The media don’t buy records.
LOSTPROPHETS ON LOSTPROPHETS
How did the band start?
Lee: Ian and myself started it as we weren’t
happy with the way our previous band was
going. Me and Ian have been in bands together
since 1991.
Why did you call yourselves LostProphets?
Lee: It’s after a Duran Duran bootleg.
If you play one song in one place in the
world, what would the song be and where?
Stuart: I’d like to play Walking On The Moon,
on the moon! [everyone laughs]
Lee: I’d like to play somewhere in South
America. Kids keep asking us online, “When
are you coming”, but in 10 years we haven’t
been there yet.
Mike: Moscow is on our list of places to go. Two
years ago we went to Indonesia and Hong Kong
as well as other parts of the Far East that we’d
never been to before.
Lee: As for the song it’ll have to been something
from The Betrayed, though if it’s somewhere
that we’ve never been before then it has to be
Shinobi Vs Dragon Ninja, as that’s what they’ll
ask for.
How did you get your first big break?
Stuart: We played a show in London and met
Julie Weir [Visible Noise records]. We kept her
address and sent her a demo 18 months later.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Who were your musical influences?
Lee: The Police, The Cure, Megadeth,
Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax, Duran Duran, Joy
Division. Our tastes are very eclectic. That’s
what makes LostProphets.
Have you ever been faced with a difficult
audience?
Stuart: Metallica. Anywhere on that tour.
When you support Metallica, people only want
to see Metallica. A bunch of guys doing our sort
of music to Metallica fans in our skinny jeans
were asking for it.
Lee: Ireland was especially bad. They threw
everything at us there. It was good fun, though
a bit dangerous.
Stuart: Saying that, I’d rather play and be hated
than meet complete indifference. That really
gets on my nerves. We were playing in Paris
with Rage Against The Machine and we thought
it was going to be amazing but everybody was
PLUGGED IN
11
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
What song do you enjoy performing the
most?
The Light That Shines. It has the perfect mood.
I love stuff like The Cure and tried to channel
that feel when writing it.
What advice would you give a young band
trying to get a head start in the music
business?
Lee: To be honest. To only play for the love of
music. Then everything else will come to you.
Do you believe your success inspires the
young people from this area?
Ian: I hope so. The Stereophonics inspired us
and we said if someone like Stuart Cable can
do it, then we can do it.
If your music career hadn’t worked out, what
jobs do you think you’d be doing today?
Lee: Another job was never an option. I did
want to be a zoologist but I quit school early
to rock!
What’s it really like to be famous?
Lee: Overrated.
How did you guys make the break and take
the first step?
Ian: We just did it slowly. Like how did we
go about getting our first gig, well we knew
nothing about that when we first started but
did it our way. The bands nowadays tend to
try and run before they can walk, thanks to
things like the internet. They’ll be around four
weeks, have songs on myspace, a demo out
and T-shirts printed.
How do you think your life has changed from
average Valley boys to being in one of the
most well-known rock groups?
Lee: We’re still the same as we’ve always been
other than we’re lucky enough to have been
around the world a few times and to have a
job that we love. Whenever we’re here we slip
straight back in to the Valleys way of life!
We know that Jamie is a talented painter
but do the rest of the band have any hobbies
outside music?
Lee: I am a dedicated cinephile! I watch loads
of movies with a penchant for foreign film.
What’s been a really memorable moment in
your career?
Lee: Every time we’ve played Reading has
been a pivotal step for us.
Do you socialise with any other Welsh
bands?
Lee: Yes, of course. Funeral, Kids, The
Blackout, Attack! Attack!
You support up-and-coming bands in Wales.
You also know many other bands in the
music industry. If you had to choose any
band you know, who would you most like to
work with?
Lee: To be honest, as much as I love other
bands, I like to keep LostProphets as a
separate entity. I’m not into collaborating. As
for touring, we have played with Metallica, so
I’m satisfied.
What did you aspire to be like when starting
out?
Lee: Just the best we could be. Looking back
we were pretty bad when we started, but that
just shows how far we have come.
What inspired you to be in a band?
Lee: Life itself. Profound?
What would you do if Kanye West ever tried
to interrupt you while you were making a
speech?
Stuart: I’d nut him!
just staring at us non-plussed. I would rather
raise fury in people than have indifference,
though you just have to get on with it.
Did you download The Rage Against The
Machine single last Christmas to stop that
X-Factor blokey getting to number one?
Stuart: Yeah we did actually.
What is the craziest thing that has happened
to you while you were on the road?
Mike: Where do we start. Our old drummer
used to like to drink and smash up stuff. We
smashed up a few hotel rooms until we realised
that we had to pay for the damage. You heard
that Led Zeppelin used to smash places up and
Keith Moon [The Who] was hell of a boy, so
because we’re in a rock band we thought that
we were supposed to do it.
Lee: We had an iron out of an Australian hotel
room.
Mike: We had everything out of that hotel
room until we reached the bed and realised
that we could do some serious damage. Also
the first time we went to the Kerrang Awards
(Julie, close your ears) we went into this hotel
room in London and the first thing we did was
kick the wardrobe door in and carve Ian’s name
on the wall. Then we got the bill through and
were like, what! We’ve got to pay for this?
Stuart: We were just a bunch of kids like you
guys. A bunch of kids from Ponty and the first
time we were dumped in LA and see famous
people we’d shout out, “Oi! Butt.” We saw
12
PLUGGED IN
Chandler from Friends and we were smashing
on the window and shouting “Chandler,
Chandler, Oi! Chandler Boy!” The first time we
got into a record label in New York, they said
to us to go into a cupboard and take as many
CDs as we wanted. Of course we went big
some, being Welsh boys we’d take whatever
you can for free. Anyway we came out of there
with two carrier bags full of CDs each and were
crossing Madison Avenue, which is five lanes
wide, when his [pointing to Lee] bag split.
Lee: Yeah I was kicking the CDs across the road
cause in New York they don’t wait for nobody.
What current music do you like and hate at
the moment?
Lee: Real bands are still good but there’s too
much of that Pop Idol, X-factor crap about.
Mike: The bands that were around when we
were growing up became hugely influential on
us, with less interference from other media.
Groups like The Clash, The Jam, Duran Duran
were all brand new and doing something new.
Nowadays it’s very difficult to do something
different without sounding similar to others.
Lee: It’s a kind of re-hash music world.
Mike: You can say it’s a lot better actually with
a lot of great bands out there.
Stuart: There will always be great bands
around.
Lee: It’s like the same when we were younger.
The bands we were into never made it into
the charts.
Stuart: I remember Iron Maiden got to number
one with Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter
and Radio 1 refused to play it. They were very
popular at the time.
Lee: Yeah, they took a truck into London and
played nothing but that song all day.
Stuart: It’s more acceptable now. Liking rock
music is cooler now than when I was kid. There
are lots of good bands, especially in South
Wales — The Blackout, Kids In Glass Houses,
Attack! Attack!, Funeral For A Friend and Save
Your Breath...we could keep going.
Do you enjoy playing smaller venues or
larger open air concerts?
Lee: Both are good fun. Like a few nights ago
we played to 500 people in London where
they were really close to us. Though playing
Download in front of a sea of bodies is pretty
awesome also.
What advice would you give to people
starting a rock band?
Mike: Do it because you love it, don’t copy
people, and write music that you want to. Also
stick at it as it takes a long time.
Lee: You might not get where you want to be
straight away but at least you’ll be true to
yourself.
LOSTPROPHETS ON SCHOOL DAYS
What is your funniest memory of the school
and how does it feel like returning here?
Mike: I really liked school.
Stuart: I didn’t.
Mike: Coming back here today is pretty cool.
It’s funny how everything feels really small.
Any teachers you used to love or hate?
Mike: Mrs Clinch, she was really cool. She was
going to take us to see Metallica but it never
came off. She’s not called Mrs Clinch now.
If you could travel back in time, what advice
would you give yourselves?
Stuart: Don’t smash up hotel rooms!
Mike: I don’t know really. Even though we
made mistakes along the way, as cliched as it
sounds, you really do learn from them.
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
What are your funniest memories from your
time at Hawthorn High?
Lee: Throwing test tubes out of the science lab.
Calling the emergency gas board to the school
and watching the vans turn up in convoy.
How much course work do you still owe your
teachers?
Mike: All of it.
Did you enjoy coming to school at
Hawthorn?
Lee: Some of my best memories are from that
school. That’s the age that you find out who
you are and where you want to go.
If you could turn back time, would you want
to live your school life at Hawthorn over
again? What would you change?
Lee: I’d have studied harder stayed for the
exams. It’s a drag learning it all when you’re
older!
Do you still keep in contact with the people
you were in school with?
Lee: Not really. We have different agendas.
Some people I try to keep in touch with. I used
the band to escape my then current clique of
friends as they were headed for disaster.
What’s it like to play your old school?
Ian: We’ve played here before! Once in the
school Eisteddfod and once in the old sixth
form block. At the time it was mainly sports
orientated but a few teachers supported what
we were doing. We’ve recorded platinum
selling albums but still come back to Ponty. I’m
currently living with my mum, up the Common
(the Belle Air of Pontypridd) but get no airs or
graces. That’s what’s real about it. You can go
round the world from city to city and it’s all
hyperbole with all this industry nonsense and
you can just see through all the crap. I loved
my school years, it made me what I am. We
played The Full Ponty a couple of years back
in Ynysangharad Park, which was amazing and
it’s a shame it didn’t keep going. It could have
been something that built into a legitimate
musical event. At the Full Ponty you had
real bands playing live, Welsh bands like The
Blackout and The Automatic playing alongside
Paramore.
Mike: Unfortunately Ponty doesn’t have much
going for it now and it’s a shame the town is
in such decline.
Do you think that there’s a better music
scene in Wales than most places? Do you
think there is an innerness that comes out
with the bands around here?
Mike: Yeah I think so. All the bands have
a camaraderie with each other and help
each other out. Like we took Funeral on
tour, Funeral took Kids on tour, we took The
Blackout on tour and The Blackout took Save
Your Breath on tour. Everybody helps each
other out and everybody is mates. It’s not a
competition between us all. It’s really a great
scene in South Wales and really cool to be in a
band around here.
LOSTPROPHETS ON PONTYPRIDD
& THE VALLEYS
How Important is Pontypridd and the Valleys
to you?
Ian: Very important. You don’t realise that until
you leave. We spent all of our teenage years
trying to get out of Ponty and the Valleys, then
you see the world and value where you come
from. You can’t appreciate that until you’ve
seen everything else.
Mike: Where you come from puts a stamp on
you and inspires you to become who you are.
Ponty did that for us.
Ian: The Valleys is instilled in
you, taking no crap and being
working class. It’s like Billy Elliot
without being Northern and all
the dance.
Stuart: I loved growing up here. I
grew up in Pontypridd right next
I
to the park with
all the mountains
around. I used to
go camping in
those hills.
Lee: We used
to ride a rubber
dingy down the
River Taff to
Taffs Well and
catch the train
back.
I
was
living in a Welsh
version of Stand
By Me going on
adventures and
finding disused
factories
that
were awesome
to play in.
Ian: At the time
we just took it for granted but now looking
back it was some of the best times. There
has always been a sense of community and
family with no airs or graces. Everybody
knows everybody. “Oi! You’re Tina’s boy! Still
in that band or what?” I haven’t lived back
here since I left in 1995 and you don’t realise
how important growing up here was until you
leave. We spent our youth watching American
movies and just dreaming.
Do you think that as successful artists you
have a responsibility to promote the Welsh
Valleys as you did at Hawthorn High?
Ian: Absolutely. We are all very proud to be
Welsh and to have grown up in the Valleys.
It’s what keeps us grounded and makes us who
we are.
Have you found that people outside Wales
have a stereotypical view of the Valleys?
Lee: Yes they do. I think that the Valleys
generally are how people perceive them, to
be fair. When I go back there I love it, but I
also see how other people see it the way that
they do. That’s not a bad thing though.
Do you think it’s important to give the outside
world a better view and understanding of a
community like the Welsh Valleys?
Lee: We take them with us wherever we go so
I think the answer is yes.
You’ve come home to write. Why?
Ian: I used to live in LA but came back here
because it seems to centre me — as cliched
as it sounds that’s the truth. We came back to
Wales to start the second version of the new
album and the current single Where We Belong
is our love letter to being home.
Questions asked by: Abi Jones, Adele Williams,
Brandon Lane, Carrie Morgan, Colin James
MacFarlane, Corey-Leigh John, Demi Myhill,
Hannah Griffiths, James Bannister, Jessi
Probert, Kim Halliday, Kyle Rees, Ladies Love
A Super Hero (a Make-It project band), Lloyd
Daniels, Nadine Hussien, Nathan Roach, Portia
McGrath, Rachel Thomas, Robyn Kennedy, Tom
Richards, Victoria Turner & Hawthorn High
School Media Department.
t’s a bleak Tuesday afternoon, but the
atmosphere in Hawthorn High School is
absolutely buzzing with excitement. Today
is no ordinary Tuesday. Today, LostProphets
are giving a live performance in the school.
Throughout the day the Press were walking
round with video cameras and photographers.
The car park is full and there are yet still more
people arriving. In Hawthorn’s usually small,
dark theatre there’s enough sound equipment
for the school gig to be heard in Cardiff.
Anticipation mounts as the time draws closer
for their live performance and kids all around
me are getting more excited. Being a prefect
I have to assert some authority and tell them
to “Get a grip and calm down.” Rushing to the
front of the hall to get right up to the barriers
that have been erected, just adds to the
thrill. Waiting for Ian and the band to make
their entrance on stage allows the surreal
thoughts to sink in. This concert is going on
in my SCHOOL! The band come bursting on
to the stage with all the energy of an over
excitable puppy and cheeky grins making them
look just like they belong. After their first song
they play all the tracks everyone knows, loves
and have grown up with. Tracks such as Last
Summer, A Town Called Hypocrisy, Can’t Catch
Tomorrow and Last Train Home. But it’s their
massive hit Rooftops that has the crowd singing
along allowing the boys on stage to catch their
breath as the crowd fills in for them. At the
announcement of the old and favourite song
Shonobi Vs Dragon Ninja the avid Prophets fans
scream. Before bursting into last song Burn
Burn, Ian Watkins makes another shout out to
the teachers still here that taught him. One of
which is my English and form tutor who had
that morning showed me his first piece of work
— a poem in the shape of a firework. As the
final bars to the last song ring out everyone
applauds loudly with cheers and wolf whistles
ringing through the crowd. Most people exit
the building with autographs, keyrings and a
new love of LostProphets firmly with them.
And I get to go home on a high after finding
out The Blackout lead singer Sean Smith is
here with the Prophets — the band I had been
privileged to meet with the PLUGGED IN team
earlier. The concert was just the icing on the
cake! SEANNA FATKIN
PLUGGED IN
15
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
Words by Darren Warner
F
eeder was over! This in the end of Feeder!
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. A
band that I had followed and watched
grow from the earlier days of their Polythene
tour had changed their name and were cutting
ties with the past. I was hearing this all wrong
and the only person who I knew who could put
it right was now speaking to me at the end of
the phone. Frontman, songwriter and guitarist
Grant Nicholas.
“I wouldn’t say that this is the end of Feeder
because Feeder will never go away. It’s been
part of our lives for too long. I wanted to go
back to being a three-piece when it was more
about the music and not worrying about the
production. We couldn’t really do that as
Feeder because our fans would come along and
expect to hear their favourite songs and the
singles. It would be unfair for them to come
to a Feeder show and we don’t play those
songs, except maybe some very early ones. So
Renegades was just a way of getting out there
and playing new material and seeing what the
reaction was like. Renegades is based on early
Feeder, and since that time we’ve made a lot
of records. We’ve now finished that contract
and our label Echo has folded, so it seemed
the right time to get back into the studio and
see what happened naturally. We had no plan,
it just felt the right course to take.”
OK panic over, Feeder are still going to
be Feeder and Renegades...? “It’s a kind of
band inside Feeder and, I won’t lie to you, it
still retains the basic chemistry. We’re never
going to turn into a dance band or something
like that. The idea is the same behind it all,
it’s just we felt we had to approach it in a
different way. It’s a natural idea we just came
16
PLUGGED IN
up with. I’m not great at PR or that kind of
thing but doing it this way, even though it was
a bit of a gamble, has actually created a lot of
interest, getting lots of people talking on our
Facebook and other internet sites. I also think
it’s been a lot of fun for us.”
Why not re-invent yourselves, David Bowie
did it with Tin Machine, Mike Peters had a
come back with The Poppy Field, even our
Charlotte Church had returned to the music
world with dance track The Opera Song (Brave
New World), though as I listen to Grant speak
while sitting in the PLUGGED IN office and
flicking through the Renegades website on the
computer in front of me, I feel a fresh series of
questions I needed to ask. The last time I had
seen Feeder play was in Newport on their tour
for the Silent Cry album and I believed that
they had regained some of the spirit that I had
witnessed in their formative years. I personally
felt they seemed stronger than I’d ever seen
them play. Was this a signal to what was now
happening in the band? So I asked Grant a few
probing questions.
He said that Renegades is about re-capturing
the early excitement of it all. What did he feel
was lost with the success they gained with
Feeder? “I don’t think we lost anything, but
people tend to pigeonhole you and I believe
that we have always been a difficult band
to place in a particular hole. We have our
heavy side but wrote and produced cross-over
songs that had acoustic elements and strings
on them. Those elements have always been
there since day one and appeared on our first
two albums Polythene and Yesterday Went To
Soon but were more prominent since our third
album and the massive success of the single
Buck Rogers. So when your band has been
about as long as we have you may feel you’ve
lost that edge. You can get paranoid about
that sometimes and sometimes people get a
little small minded wanting the same thing.
Doing it as Renegades meant people could
decide whether they like it or not without
affecting Feeder. Having a brilliant fan base,
which Feeder has, is a great thing and it puts
us in a strong position, but it can sometimes
work against you.”
It says on the Renegades website that now
Feeder are outside their former recording
contract Grant can write songs for himself
without worrying about anything else. I was
shocked to see that statement as I thought the
comment seemed out of place. Do you not feel
that the songs over the last few Feeder albums
were for yourselves and if not who were they
for? “I didn’t actually write that and I don’t
actually like that statement because to me
that is not strictly true. There are songs that
we performed on many of the albums that I’m
really proud of. I would say in all honesty that
the only time we made a compromise was when
we had to chose the first single and that sort
of thing. Every album that Feeder has created
has never been a compromise musically and
it felt right at the time of release. Though
you could actually take that answer either
way, I do understand why you asked me that
question.”
I repeated the fact that I had seen them
at Newport on their Silent Cry tour and to
me they seemed stronger than I’d ever seen
them play. “The Silent Cry tour in general was
following a really positive album. OK, I know
the album didn’t do as well commercially as
we hoped it would, but that can be down to a
number of factors like lack of airplay for the
single which is one of the key elements when
you’re playing in such a commercial field. I’m
really proud of the album and to me that was
a step in the right direction and the way we
are heading now. It was a bit more produced
but if you compare it to Pushing The Senses
you can definitely hear us returning to the big
guitar sound.”
Getting back to Renegades, it’s a well-known
fact that Grant is a prolific song writer and
had told Xfm in London that he had already
penned over 25 songs. “More than that now!”
Busy man. So does this mean we can expect a
Renegades album soon? “Well, we have enough
material for another two albums at present,
though I didn’t write down the material and
say this is for Renegade while this track will be
for Feeder. Anyway, Renegades is really more
of a live performance thing.”
So what was it like for a band that had played
massive stadiums to go back down to a small
grass roots level? “I love it and really missed
it. You know, being in a van together with the
crew and having to tune my own guitars, giving
a performance with no lighting rig. It was
great. I see some great young bands and sense
that excitement in their freshness. I wanted to
get some of that again. That’s what Renegades
is all about because, without it sounding
bizarre, you can’t do that at a higher level.
It’s a risky thing and I’ve had people telling
me that we are mad and why would we want
to do something like that, though more people
were intrigued by it than were negative about
what we were doing. Playing live as a threepiece again with the songs stripped down to a
minimum gives you a confidence in what you
are doing and your song writing ability.”
It makes your songs have to stand out on
their own merits, much stronger and more
powerful would you say? “Definitely more
powerful, but more exposed as well. Saying
that, we’ve always been a noisy three-piece.
It actually feels normal to us because the
three-piece is what we have always started
with on any of the songs. Once we get into the
outside world and we’ve included the strings
and big production on the albums we needed
to represent that live in a similar way. With
Renegades we’ve turned that approach on its
head. As long as we are playing in the right
key, in time and have the same basic riff then
I don’t think people are going to mind that
much. When you see a good three-piece live
who are really connected with each other then
it’s the most rocking thing you’ll ever see. I
saw Nirvana live and they proved that point
without a doubt.”
Gail and myself were lucky to see Feeder
as a three-piece with the late John Lee on
drums at the Manic Street Preachers’ Manic
Millennium on New Year’s Eve in 1999. They
were fast, furious and amazingly kicking.
“That was an excellent gig. I remember the
stadium was all new and we had this rugby
ball, and I said I was going to kick it out into
the audience. We started messing around in
our dressing room throwing it around to each
other when John kicked it straight up in the air
and straight through the ceiling. The roof tiles
shattered and the room was trashed. Actually
you’d better not print that, they’ll be after
us... [Of course not...sorry mate! D.] It was a
really good night, though we were terrified as
it was the biggest thing we had done at that
time. I just looked out over the massive crowd
thinking ‘Oh my God!’.”
Fairly inspirational being in front of so many
people in your home country. So what inspiring
words would you say to any young hopefuls to
make them believe in themselves. “You know
what, that’s a tough question. I was never top
of my class at school, but I had a real passion
for what I wanted to do. Follow that passion,
take any necessary risks really, there are no
rules. I thinks it was passion that kept us
going even after all the knocks and setbacks.
Of course some people love what we do, but
some people don’t — but then that’s the same
with anything you do in your life. With passion
you can achieve an amazing amount in your
life. Don’t let your situation hold you back,
you’re as good as the next person.”
Wise words indeed and with years of albums
full of brilliant songs you know they are told
to you with true passion. Renegades is another
path that Grant wants to follow, a path that
will be successful for him because you know
he’ll give to it 110 per cent.
For more info and to download the new EP,
go to www.renegades.com
PLUGGED IN
17
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
Words by Gail Griffiths
W
henever Cerys Matthews brings out a
new album, I just have to have it. I
love her songwriting and the beauty of
her vocals, so always get her albums without
reading anything about what it’s like. This time,
when the package landed on the doormat and I
put the CD on to play — yes, I’m old-fashioned
like that! — I was pleasantly surprised to
discover that TIR was a beautiful collection of
traditional Welsh songs, not an album of tracks
written by Cerys herself. Hmm, interesting. So
I decided to ask the songstress why she wanted
to record these particular songs.
“I wanted to find out more about them.
They form part of everybody’s history if
you’ve spent any time in Wales or have Welsh
connections. I wanted to collect them together
along with a little of their background, why
they became popular where they come from,
who wrote them , how old they are and then
present them with old photographs that may
bring them even more alive, or at least colour
them in too.”
OK, but why release the album so soon
after Don’t Look Down? “It’s very different
from Don’t Look Down, a completely unique
project so I don’t think they interfere with one
another. Also I am lucky to now have my own
label Rainbow City Records, so I don’t have to
persuade a board of governors that this is so.
This is a labour of love and one I have been
planning a long time so as soon as it was ready,
I was keen to release it.”
Having such Welsh roots, singing these songs
must mean something to Cerys personally.
“I have always known these songs. Hearing
them being sung by great crowds of people
on the terraces of the stadiums of Wales
have certainly coloured my life. They are
so inherent in our culture and something so
magic, I couldn’t imagine not having known
them. To sing them here, so small, so simple,
I wanted to pay homage to them personally
to every word, to every turn of phrase, turn
of melody — to maybe try and unlock the
secret of their immortality? I’m not sure, but I
certainly wanted to pay respect to them.”
The album is full of some beautiful
photographs that hark back to a bygone age.
I asked what she thinks is good and bad about
Wales in the 21st Century. “I would love
to see a world where an individual regains
some responsibility back from the (nanny)
state and from the huge companies that run
businesses by set rules and regulations rather
18
PLUGGED IN
than being able to trust an individual’s quirks
and unique way of working. I would love to
move away from beaurocracy, of health and
safety rules, electronic telephone services
and chain restaurants and businesses, media
manipulations and stats in schools where
headmistresses/headmasters/teachers cannot
just simply do an important job well. I’d love
to see a world where children are safe but well
disciplined, politicians stop spinning and lying,
newspapers find morals again, and a person
and can be proud and responsible personally
but also play a part within the community he/
she is part of. We seem to have completely
moved away from having trust, respect, pride
and responsibility both for ourselves and for
others. If politicians and media moguls are
such weasles, what chance the rest of us?”
Cerys once sang the line “I come alive,
outside the M25” when she was in Catatonia.
So I posed the question of whether this is still
true and what it is about Wales that draws her
back. “I think everybody can understand the
freedom one feels on leaving a built-up area
and entering the countryside, but Londinium
was one of Mark Robert’s songs not mine so
the feelings in this song are mostly his. I love
sushi, I love London, and many other capital
cities, and I’ve always loved travelling,
exploring other places, other cultures.”
Don’t Look Down was released in English and
Welsh, which is a great achievement. I wanted
to know why she had decided to do this. “I
just did. I love languages and the music from
this particular release lends itself to being
translated into any language.”
We all know Cerys loves Wales, but what
does being Welsh really mean to her? “It’s
where I come from. But I always stress that
this interest in my own culture is equally
mirrored in a keen interest in other cultures.
Being too engrossed in one only would not be
very enlightening, nor progressive.”
PLUGGED IN, the music magazine for Wales,
is about inspiring people to think outside the
box and try something that they may never
have considered. Cerys is an inspiration to
many people, both through her music and
strength of character. How does she create
this strength and what words of inspiration
could she give to people who’d love to be in
her position?
“Lord what a question, but what good aims
— to encourage thinking outside the box and
trying out new things. I always like to encourage
opinion and for one to trust one’s own instinct.
So when it comes to music for example, on my
6 Music radio show, if an established act like
Massive Attack or Blur release a single, one
should always keep an open mind to whether
it’s actually good or not — not just presume
because they are established or because they
are cool and popular that they can do no
wrong. And trust your ears. I always think of
the ‘Emperors New Clothes’ fable through all
of life to keep questioning what’s put in front
of you.”
Cerys has been in the public eye for both
good and bad reasons throughout her career.
Have there been any points at which she
wished it’d all go away? “It would be hard to
spend time regretting some things that were
not ideal when there is so much good going
on. So no, I carry on and look for the good
in a situation, and I love my work — doing
more and more interesting documentaries now
too as well as having my own radio show and
running a label and TV production company.
The fame element really is just a little silly
though can be quite fun.”
We hear people say that when they go into
the jungle for I’m A Celebrity, or when they go
into Big Brother, the experience really does
change them. Did she think her time in the
jungle changed her as a person, or was just
another new experience — like any other? “It
was an experience, and I learnt from it.”
As a presenter on BBC’s 6 Music, I wanted
to know if she believes the possible closure of
the station will be bad for Britain? “It’s the
bigger picture that I’m looking at. Once the
BBC tries to appease critics and slim down its
programming and tries to ratings chase, we
lose what makes it unique and great. Once
it becomes streamlined the critics will say it
has lost its role, TV licences will be scrapped
and we will lose the BBC forever. I have always
been a huge fan of the BBC, not least since I
spent six years in countries that have no such
service and commercial service is so, so poor
in comparison. The BBC is there to educate,
inform and inspire not just to entertain, though
it manages to do this too — look at Brian Cox’s
Solar System series, amazing! If we lose the
BBC, we have lost every jewel in every crown
we have ever had.”
TIR is released on Rainbow City Records
on 14th June. You can pre-order it from
www.earthquakeltd.com
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
O
n a surprisingly sunny day in March, I sat
outside a coffee shop in Swansea Marina
waiting apprehensively for the vocalist/
guitarist Steve Balsamo and vocalist/bass
player Andy Collins of Swansea-based American
country/rock-influenced band by the name of
The Storys. This was only my second interview,
but the boys made me feel comfortable after a
pre-interview chat over a cappuccino.
The main reason for this meeting was The
Storys are calling it a day...for now, and have
a third and possibly last album out soon called
Luck. They are due to perform a few farewell
gigs for their fans, and Steve told me the
reason for this move: “We write tons of songs
non-stop, both as individuals and as a band,
almost like we’ve got some sort of strange
songwriting disorder. We’re all also trying to
become better songwriters by collaborating
with lots of different people. In truth we’ve
made two albums and are finishing a third and
we want a little break. To get away from it so
we can come back to it.”
Steve goes on to say that this might not be
the end of The Storys. “Being in the back of a
van for seven years wears you out. Although
we say it’s the end of the road, it’ll never be
the end of the road. Who knows, Leona Lewis
might cover I Believe In Love — the music
business is incredibly mad! Andy adds: “It costs
a lot both physically and emotionally, a hell of
a lot, which people don’t see. All people see
are the 45 minutes to an hour and a half on
stage, all singing and dancing. But there is a
lot of travelling and a lot of misunderstandings
with people you like. At some point you need
to take stock and think how do we get over
this. I believe we get over it by taking a break,
recharging and coming back with a fresh
perspective on life.”
Being an aspiring journalist I was interested
in why there was bad grammar in the band’s
name. This gave the boys a bit of a laugh and
Andy explained: “Bands famously do that!
It’s a bit like The Beatles, It’s just a bit of
wordplay that we came upon and it stuck.”
I then realised that this wasn’t as uncommon
as I had first thought, thinking of other bands
who have done this are Megadeth, The Black
Crowes and The Monkees among many others.
Many of the band members are songwriters
in their own right which is an uncommon thing
in today’s music industry, so I decided to dig
deeper into the songwriting of The Storys and
ask what it’s like to work together as a bunch
of talented writers.
Steve told me: “How we did it originally
was by getting around a table with a couple
of bottles of wine and started writing tunes.
Very quickly we’d written loads. It’s all about
chemistry. Like with any collaboration, whether
you’re a chef sourcing the right ingredients,
the ingredients of The Storys was right for that
period of time. Andy is my favourite songwriter
in The Storys, he is the most commercially
minded with all the songs that he has written
becoming our single releases, but we all bring
stuff to the table and kick ideas around to see
what happens.” Andy adds: “It’s been a large
learning curve, though it’s great because we’ve
never really trampled on each other’s egos,
and God knows we’ve got them. We just shut
the door, sit round the table and say ‘Right!
I’ve got this thing. Take it, change it, listen to
it, destroy it, do whatever you want to do with
it to make it better!’ You can hear whether it
comes from Dai, Rob, Steve or myself, but we
just put it to everybody and by doing that the
blend comes into it.”
The band were probably way ahead of the
recent music scene like The Magic Numbers
Words by Gary Bolsom
and The Fleet Foxes with their harmonies and
song structure and what Steve finds interesting
is “If you’re American you’re allowed to make
the kind of music that we gravitate towards.
But if you’re British, you’re not supposed to
make that sound. It’s very strange. It’s like
entering a cul-de-sac of a world of Americana
that was generated in the United Kingdom,
which, no matter how good it is, doesn’t seem
to connect. So, yes, it’s a learning curve about
ourselves and our songwriting ability, which I
believe is a true craft.”
With the band about to release their final
album, I asked them why they wanted to
release an album when they are about to split.
“What happened along the way was that Dai,
who was one of the founder members, decided
to leave and do his own thing, which was a
real blow to the rest of us. We had to re-group
and had lots of debates on if we were going
to replace him. Do we carry on as a five-piece
rather than the six members? Although Rosalie
Deighton had been touring with the band for
a couple of years we thought that if we get
another guy in the band we would be going ‘It’s
not as good as Dai’ or ‘It’s better than Dai’ and
we didn’t want to enter into that conversation
with anybody. So enter Rosalie with some
obvious advantages. One, she is gorgeous which
helps with the image; while, two, her voice is
beautiful (her parents were folk singers). She’s
added a different dimension to the band, a lot
of beauty and a lot of poise.
“At the time we started the album, I was
doing other stuff, the rest of the boys were
doing their thing, but we went back into the
studio to listen to a couple of the tracks and
realised that it sounded fantastic. We had
planned to pass the songs out with Andy taking
some, Rob some and me, but we thought we
couldn’t do that because the strength is in the
sum of the parts. So we are going to release it
and pray that something beautiful will happen
like a song taking off because there are some
good songs on there. You know how many
bands release a record and immediately split
up. It’s a bit of a quirky thing to do.”
So if the album really took off, would they
still consider calling it a day? Andy jokingly
replied: “We will eat our words! But we would
seriously have to take stock. If the record
was to go ridiculously major it could be the
payback for everything that hasn’t gone the
way we’d hoped before.” Steve adds: “We’d
have to take a look at the whole thing, where
the band stands, where we personally stand
and if there is the energy there to carry on.
Photographs by Terry Morris
I’m into this idea that when you put a lot of
hard work into something the energy has to
go somewhere and eventually it’s going to
come back. It’s the Einstein theory: all energy
is transformed not destroyed. And who is to
argue with Einstein!”
Making music that’s not been commercially
successful in the UK, the chances are, dear
reader, that you would not have heard of The
Storys — though their music has also been
featured in many American TV shows, such
as One Tree Hill, and British gangster film
The Bank Job, in which they also appeared
as themselves! But not gaining commercial
success in the UK hasn’t hindered the band,
and just looking at the artists they have
supported is mind-blowing: Elton John, Celine
Dion, Katie Melua, Joe Cocker!
“We’ve had amazing success getting to play
with our peers and heroes. We played Radio
2 DJ and fan of the band Bob Harris’s 60th
birthday party. Not long before Jim Capaldi,
who was the drummer with Traffic, died. Jim’s
wife asked us if we would play at a memorial
concert to him which we of course agreed to
do. When we turned up it was like a who’s who
of the music world. Pete Townsend, Paul Weller,
Joe Walsh, Simon Kirk from Bad Company,
Gary Moore and…us! What was good was the
respect these guys, our heroes, showed us. We
came off stage and Pete and Gary said, ‘That
was great!’ Everything in life happens for a
reason. That’s why we’re calling this album
Luck, because we’ve had loads of good luck.
Everyone we’ve had the pleasure to meet has
been incredibly generous to us and incredibly
humble, including Elton John. He was a massive
help and without him a lot of the other doors
would not have opened. We will always be
eternally grateful to Sir Elton of John.”
Soon it will be on to pastures new for the
band, and Andy and Steve are already looking
to the future. So I asked the boys about their
new project Oystermouth, which they were
surprised I knew about — I’m getting the hang
of this journalism thingy I thought happily to
myself, but being mentored by PLUGGED IN’s
Gail and Darren I knew before an interview it’s
essential to do some research on your subject
before meeting them!
“Oystermouth is where we had other songs
that maybe didn’t fit the criteria of The
Storys,” explained Andy. “It goes back to
what we said earlier about us being different
songwriters. When we got together a song
would manifest in a different direction, while
with Oystermouth or any of our other projects
they are more of what we personally are. God
help us when I release my stuff as it’ll be so
damned morose!” Steve adds: “A mate of mine
has this little group, a kind of songwriters
anonymous — like, ‘My name’s Steve and I write
songs.’ We love the process of it. I love the
name Oystermouth and it’s just this little side
thing. We’re going to put out an Oystermouth
EP and let it go and have its own life. Songs
are like strange little children, you give birth
to them and some go off and earn their keep
while others stay at home.”
New member Rosalie Deighton is also doing
other stuff outside of The Storys. Having
previously released her own material she too
has a new album out of the acoustic folk/pop
kind. Judging from her tracks on myspace it’s
definitely something I’m interested in listening
to. Other band members too have something in
the pipeline, with bands called Eaglebush and
ChimpanA — with the latter’s future a wellkept secret, though I learned that an album
had been released back in 2006 and hopefully
there’s more to come.
So with the end in sight for The Storys I
asked Steve to tell me his most memorable
thing about being in the band. “The process.
Firstly we’re sitting round a table writing a
couple of songs, next we’re recording them.
One of our songs I Believe In Love has this big
stomp on it that we recorded by stamping on
the studio floor. Two years later and we’re
touring stadiums throughout Europe and that
stomp opens up our show, echoing around the
stadium walls. As songwriters you want your
music to touch people and move people. If you
can put money in the bank that helps.”
I know that the band are looking forward to
playing to their fans for the final time and also
performing with former member Dai Smith
who left in 2008. The gig will be in Swansea’s
Grand Theatre on 19th June with a warm-up
acoustic gig lined up for the day before at
the same venue. I’d advise you to get tickets
for the gig...if there are any left! If not then
you can check The Storys out on myspace or
purchase their album from iTunes or any online
music store.
So are these last gigs going to be a happy
ever after for The Storys or just an end to
another chapter? Only the band can answer
that question. For now I will call this period
in their lives their Unfinished Symphony — and
lads, feel free to steal that name for, hopefully,
your fourth album!
www.myspace.com/thestorys
PLUGGED IN
21
W
Words by Gail Griffiths
22
PLUGGED IN
Photograph by Tom Strickland
hat I love about PLUGGED IN is that
we’re always discovering a wealth of
inspiring musicians. One of whom
is Christopher Rees, who grew up in Llanelli
with a very sporting background but found
music in his teens. “I bought my first guitar
at the age of 18 and immediately started
writing songs. From that moment on I pretty
much knew that was what I wanted to do with
my life. I came to Cardiff to go to university
but although I enjoyed my degree in Sport
& Human Movement Studies, I knew that a
career in sport was not for me. So I spent as
much time teaching myself how to play guitar
and developing my songwriting as studying for
my degree! After I graduated in 1994 I took
my guitar to America where I worked at a
summer camp in Vermont teaching canoeing
and kayaking. I then travelled around for a few
months in the summer playing in coffee houses
and bars — living out a bit of my romanticised
idea of America, and my obsession with Jack
Kerouac’s classic road-trip novel On The Road.
It was a huge eye opener and just reaffirmed
my intent to forge a career in music.”
Most of Chris’s musical influences came
from America — Elvis, Johnny Cash, Tom Waits,
Townes Van Zandt, The Velvet Underground,
Otis Redding and Kristin Hersh among others
— so it was fascinating to make a journey
around the cities and landscapes that had
informed and influenced them. “When I later
returned home I began to slowly start gigging
around Cardiff and the UK. I’ve been slogging
away for 15 years now — but I do believe
that attempting to have a career in music is
a lifestyle choice and a commitment to your
craft. I do enjoy the journey however difficult
it can be at times. I’ve been fortunate enough
to have the opportunity to travel the world
and work with some of my musical heroes,
including John Cale, Kristin Hersh and Billy Joe
Shaver, so I count myself very lucky to be doing
what I love.”
Earlier in the year PLUGGED IN picked up on
Chris’s album Haiti Vodou: The Voodoo Drums
Of Haiti, which is not only very interesting
musically but has an interesting story behind
it. “I was invited to visit Haiti on behalf of The
Haiti Fund (a charity set up in Wales in 1996 to
help the people of Haiti through educational
initiatives). I travelled there in October 2002
with Steve Garrett who runs an organisation
called Cultural Concerns here in Cardiff,
with the aim of working with schools in the
north of the island to try and help introduce
some new teaching methods into their system
that incorporates the use of music. We later
returned to the capital Port Au Prince to
research and record the sound of voodoo
drumming.
“When I first heard voodoo drumming it was
the most intense and mind-blowing experience
of my entire life. I didn’t really know that
much about the nature of the drumming and
its significance in the ritual before I arrived,
but it was very soon obvious that this was
unlike any other African drumming I may
have heard before. We visited four voodoo
drumming ceremonies in total and each one
got more authentic, raw and intense as they
went on. It was strange how we had some kind
of natural introduction to different levels of
vodoo culminating in the last ceremony with
Societe Diab En Deuil which makes up the
majority of the Haiti Vodou CD. That one
was just mind-blowing. The atmosphere,
the colour, the energy, the spirit. You must
remember that this is the Haitian people’s
religion and it was clear that it gave the people
there a great deal of support and strength to
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
make those connections with their ancestral
spirits. I walked away with a great deal more
understanding and respect for the religion.
“We recorded several hours of material and
later selected some of the best moments to
make up an album. For various reasons the
recordings remained unreleased for eight
years until I heard of the awful news of the
earthquake disaster in Haiti. I was on tour
in The Netherlands and had just returned to
my hotel room and turned the TV on. I was
so shocked because I could recognise the
places it was showing in Port Au Prince like
the Presidential Palace in the centre of the
city and I was completely shocked to see the
devastation. So as I sat there glued to the TV
screen it occurred to me that now was the
time to finally release the recordings to try
and raise some funds to send over there for
the relief effort.
“As soon as I returned home to Cardiff I
got the ball rolling and people rallied round
to help. I have given up a lot of my time for
free to make this release happen and Red Eye
Music [Chris’s own record label] is donating
100 per cent of the profits to the relief effort
and not taking a penny in any administration
costs. I was also very lucky that Burning Red
generously donated their graphic design
services free of charge for the cause and Key
Production even gave us a healthy discount
on the manufacturing costs so that we could
keep the expenses to a minimum and ensure
that the maximum amount went to the Haiti
relief effort. We pressed 1,000 copies and it’s
doing really well. In general people have been
very interested in the musical content of the
recordings as most people have never heard
anything like it. It is pretty mind-blowing
stuff!”
The album is released on Chris’s own label,
so when and why did he set up Red Eye Music?
“I co-founded Red Eye Music in 2003 with Dave
Stapleton (who has since left to form his own
Jazz label) so that we could have a platform to
release our own work and other music that we
love. I’ve released four of my own albums since
then along with several albums by other artists
like Michael J Sheehy and Keith Tippett which
I’m very proud of. There are many challenges
to be faced by being truly independent but it’s
also often empowering and very rewarding.
Haiti Vodou: The Voodoo Drums Of Haiti is a
good example of that.”
Red Eye is also a film music production
company, I was curious as to what that
entailed. “I’ve always been very interested
and influenced by film music and the way that
it works around the visual image and the story.
The way directors like David Lynch, Quentin
Tarantino and Jim Jarmusch use music in their
films to create atmosphere, intrigue, light
and shade, to enhance the story has always
fascinated me. We started out working with
some local Welsh directors on short films and
animations but last year I had some music
used in two feature length international films.
A Canadian film called Taylors Way used the
song Mary Lee from my 2007 album Cautionary
Tales, and I was commissioned to produce
three pieces of music for Franny Armstrong’s
brilliant film about climate change called The
Age Of Stupid starring Pete Postlethwaite. I
worked with another Welsh composer called
Deri Roberts on that for three pieces of music
to soundtrack the scenes about the devastation
left after Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.
The success that film has enjoyed around the
world is amazing and I’m very proud to have
been involved with it.”
Chris likes to keep busy and told me what he
was currently working on. “I’ve just returned
from an amazing month in Austin, Texas, and
Nashville, Tennessee, where I recorded 12
tracks with The South Austin Horns for my next
album. I’ve been earmarking songs that I felt
were calling out for a horn section and putting
them to one side for quite some time, so I’m
thrilled that I had the opportunity to record
and realise my vision for the songs with such
an amazing and authentic group of American
musicians. I’m a huge fan of the whole ‘Stax’
southern soul sound with people like James
Carr, Mavis Staples, Otis Redding, William Bell
and all those 60s recordings from Memphis, as
well as the stuff that came out of Sun Records,
so I guess that the recordings do reflect that,
but I think I’ve still managed to maintain my
own identity in the songs and the energy of
the recordings. The next album might surprise
a few people. There is a bit more work to be
done on the songs now that I’m home but I’m
really pleased with the way they’re sounding.
The album will get released either the tail
end of this year or early 2011. Before that,
however, I’ll be on a UK tour in May opening
for Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express on
nine of his 11 UK dates. There’s no shortage
of other material already recorded too so I’ll
also be chipping away at those songs. There is
quite a lot of material waiting for a more pure
acoustic album as well as various other ideas
in the pipeline. I try not to censor the songs
as they come through and just try my best to
serve the song and allow them to achieve their
best potential in whatever style or direction
they dictate.”
With loving American music so much I
wondered if Chris thought that being Welsh/
coming from Wales has had any influence over
his creative abilities. “Absolutely! Despite the
fact that a lot of my musical heroes come from
America, it was John Cale’s story that really
inspired me. Learning of his journey going from
Garnant in the Aman Valley (not 30 minutes
from where I grew up) to college in London,
moving to New York and ultimately changing
the face of alternative rock music by joining
The Velvet Underground really inspired me as
a young aspiring musician. Seeing him perform
solo at the Brangwyn Hall in Swansea back in
1992 was a very significant moment for me.
I also love our great singers like Tom Jones,
Shirley Bassey, Dorothy Squires and of course
the poetry of Dylan Thomas. Giant voices all
of them. I’ve always been drawn to really
passionate big voices and it just so happens
that Wales has produced some of the best. But
apart from the individual performers that have
come out of Wales I do firmly believe that the
environment and the way that we communicate
here has an influence on the way that we
express ourselves creatively. I don’t know if
it’s a West Wales thing or not but I believe that
there is an intensity in both the landscape
and the way we communicate that I think is
certainly reflected in my creative output.
Looking back on my early creative output in
art, painting, photography, contemporary
choreography and then in music and poetry
there is a pretty consistent amount of dark
intensity within the work. And I definitely feel
more inspired in the countryside than I do in
the city, which is why I regularly retreat to the
mountains outside Aberystwyth to write and
record. Maybe there is just something in the
air up there, but it’s a very productive place
for me.”
Haiti Vodou: The Voodoo Drums Of Haiti
is available from www.redeyemusic.co.uk —
go check it out!
PLUGGED IN
23
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
Words by Lisa Derrick
A
Photograph by Darren Warner
fter being introduced to the music of
the Welsh-language band Clinigol, I met
one half of the Pickard-brother duo for
a PLUGGED IN interview. Geraint represented
the band alone in his brother Aled’s absence,
and when I asked him to describe their sound
in three words, he selected ‘pop’, ‘dance’, and
‘fun’. Their music is about getting people up
and dancing on a Saturday night, by producing
tongue-in-cheek, hooky, well-produced pop
songs — and as nobody else is doing what they
do in Wales, they feel they have a license to
dabble, so veer between reverberations of
synth, pop, dance and electro, with a variety
of interesting results.
Last year’s debut album Melys (Sweet) met
good reviews, but Geraint feels very proud that
the new EP Swigod (Bubbles) is their strongest
yet, and said that each release brings a better
response. Huw Stephens is currently giving
Clinigol airplay, even declaring theirs one of
his 2009 Welsh albums of the year. High praise
indeed for any act in this country.
The EP title track Swigod is a Calvin Harriseque dance/pop with S4C’s WAW Ffactor
contestant El Parisa on vocals. Pergyl (Danger)
is a journey to another world, with Rufus
Mufasa and BBC radio presenter Nia Medi at
the helm. Legendary Welsh soprano Margaret
Williams gets the first electro makeover in her
40-year career courtesy of Plyci on Gormod/
Digon (Too Much/Enough). Then John Rea
brings some hip-hop break beats to his remix
of Gwertha Dy Hun (Sell Yourself), featuring
Caernarfon rapper Cofi Bach and the awardwinning DJ Jaffa. There are also two stunning
acoustic versions of album tracks Dim Ond Ti
Sydd Ar Ol (Only You Left) and 93, featuring
iconic folk singers Heather Jones and Nia Medi.
Finally, the EP features the band’s first Englishlanguage track Oh My Days. A collaboration
with Cardiff hip-hop/electronica outfit Bleed
Electronic, the track is an infectious piece of
urban-electro which is guaranteed to have you
singing it in your head for days afterwards!
So where does the band see Welsh-language
music heading in the future? Geraint predicted
a continuation of current strength in the folk
and indie genres, amongst which he said there
are a lot of very good acts. Clinigol are trying to
inject something different into the scene, and
would love to get other bands involved, ideally
with just as many pop acts as other varieties
— but for the record, they are definitely not
edgy. As relative aliens within the Welsh music
scene, the siblings have been given a ‘cutting
edge’ label by the Welsh-language media, but
24
PLUGGED IN
as Geraint bemusedly enquired, “Since when
is pop music cutting edge?” He would like this
fear to be taken away from their music, which
he states is, in fact, very accessible.
User-friendly pop it might be, but I’d
argue against use of the word mainstream.
There’s nothing middle of the road about the
impressive host of Welsh acts who got involved
with their latest release! Geraint described
how honoured he’d felt at their contribution,
and how flattered he felt at the 85 per cent
‘hit rate’ of artists he’d asked to get on board
saying yes — describing the females involved
as the ‘Clini-babes’!
I wanted to know where the boys’ inspiration
comes from, starting with their childhood
bedroom posters and first music buys. Despite
the possible embarrassment factor, Geraint
confessed good naturedly! Howard Jones, Nik
Kershaw, Five Star and Bucks Fizz featured for
him, with The Pet Shop Boys being a favourite
for Aled. More contemporary influences include
Tracey Thorn (lead singer of Everything But
The Girl), Roisin Murphy (of Moloko fame), and
Goldfrapp. Their brotherly partnership works
as Aled’s taste veers more toward the cool end
of the spectrum, with Geraint’s toward the
cheesy, so the resulting pull and push of sounds
meet somewhere in the middle. They do of
course, being brothers, argue a lot, but on
the other hand, they benefit greatly from the
flexibility a family tie brings. As Geraint said:
“Nothing can break that, whatever happens.”
So despite the occasional quarrel, they can
call one another at any time, and don’t have
any complications in communication. They’re
not alone having family ties in Welsh music,
other bands of brothers include Cowbois Rhos
Botwnnog, Brigyn and Sibrydion. And a great
thing about being in such a band is that they
make their Mam proud!
So why the name Clinigol? It’s all very logical
when explained. Geraint Pickard’s initials
are GP…a GP is a doctor…doctors practice at
clinics…cue the Welsh-language translation
Clinigol. Smart hey! And where does the future
of Clinigol lie? They’d love the opportunity
to not just perform, but to be theatrical.
They’d like themes and costumes in their
live shows, story-telling linked with music. In
the meantime, they’ll continue to be fun, to
experiment, and keep people dancing. They’re
headlining at Clwb Ifor Bach on Saturday 15th
May, where I’ll certainly be dancing. How
about you?
www.myspace.com/clinigol
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
Words by Adam Perkins
Photograph by Darren Warner
S
traight Lines are unique. They offer
a great mix of the cool and the crazy
through heartfelt and vibrant tones
which immediately hit home. There is nothing
not to like about this awesome quartet from
Pontypridd. From the marching elegance
of Dane’s drumming to the unique sound of
Tom’s vocals, in the offering is a selection
of indie-rock-pop tunes that are immensely
satisfying on the ear and swept along by great
lyrics that really make you feel the music. To
Be Honest is a fast and sweeping track, with
dynamic guitars and pumping chorus, and then
The Ballad Of Peter Devine is, well, balladic
and divine! It’s a beautifully crafted song with
passionate sing-along lyrics, and showcases
the depth, quality and diversity that Straight
Lines deliver.
“Our songs reflect our own personalities
really, because we don’t really have one
genre. We are all kinds of unique players in
our own way… A lot of songs on the album
sound really different, so you couldn’t really
say that we have ‘a’ sound. If you play two
of our tracks without vocals, potentially you
may not know it was the same band.”
It’s no news to anyone that Straight Lines
has evolved from the ashes of SaidMike, with
former SM members Tom and Dane forming
the base of a line-up which was completed
in early 2009 by Todd (also of Dopamine) and
James. But this is not just any evolution. This
band is not just any Frankenstein. Instead,
one truly beastly monster has been created,
and it’s awesome. From top to toe in riffs,
hooks and hits! This is the design of the true
grit, determination and passion that seeps
out of their every pore. This is the hybrid of
guts and gore that has helped them create
something special. Summed up by the title of
their debut album Persistence In This Game,
and backed up by a damn fine-sounding set of
tracks that cry to be played over and over and
over again. And there is a real buzz around
them at the moment: “The album could have
been out in November, but we held it back.
We think it’s turned out for the best because
there seems to be more of a buzz now going
on. It’s only been out a while and everyone
seems to love it.”
Straight Lines’ sudden emergence on the
scene, as well as their superb 12-track record,
was in the making before SaidMike had been
put to rest. Indeed, the boys admit that the
record is an offering somewhere between the
popular former and immediately likeable new
sound: “There are four songs on the album
which were SaidMike songs that were never
released. And personally we thought that they
were good songs and it would be a shame to
waste them. It’s been thrown together. We had
lead guitar parts and strong song structures
before we went into the studio. But I think
we are going to develop our sound even
further now. We hadn’t played a gig before
we recorded so we are still finding our sound
as a band. We are yet to find ‘a’ sound, and
on the album there is a completely diverse
style of songs.”
Persistence In This Game is a finely crafted
album and given the speed of its conception
leaves you wondering how good the next
batch of Straight Lines songs will be. It kicks
you in the face with a belter of an opening
track — first single Versus The Allegiance.
It’s quick, bouncy, catchy and full of balls.
It’s held together by an awesome riff and
contains a sing-along chorus that really gets
you going. Unsurprisingly it’s one of the
opening tracks of their live set, and really
fires up the audience. Indeed, Straight Lines
transmit the energy and passion of the album
through to the live arena. Their album launch
tour show at Clwb Ifor Bach in February was
epic. Rock track Antics picks up the business
both mid-way through the album and mid-way
through the live set, whilst band favourite A
Place To Stay offers the diversity and great
musicianship, whipping up a frenzy as the
chorus hits.
The boys’ album launch tour proceeded
after a support tour with Inme and preceded
one with The Automatic, in which a tourending gig at the Barfly on 31st March proved
that the quality produced in their Clwb gig
was no fluke. It’s the kind of company they
will no doubt be keeping in times ahead,
although they still have their feet on the
ground. “I don’t think we are going to do
so many headline tours, but we’ll be trying
to steal a few fans over the next couple of
months through support. We don’t really know
how big the album is going to go, so we’ll just
play it by ear! Overall it’s a lot better than we
were expecting, so we were chuffed to bits.
The CD had only been out a week and people
were showing up who knew the words to all
the songs, and it was like wow!”
The sky’s the limit for Straight Lines,
especially if they can continue to produce
tunes like those on the album which contains
a lot of tracks considering it was quick in
coming. “There were 10 songs, and then
there was an 11th song which was Oh Blue
Eyes, which is quite slow, and Tom said, ‘I’m
not having the album finishing like this, its
depressing’, so we wrote another song which
seems to be everyone’s favourite, so it was
a bit of a happy accident!” Indeed, closing
track Set Me On Fire And Feed Me To The
Wolves has a great sense of fun. It’s cool and
bouncy and has a wicked sing-along.
However, to underline all the qualities
of musicianship is the pure passion, desire
and enthusiasm that Straight Lines have for
making music. At the Clwb gig, this is not only
transmitted through the live performance
when Tom said: “We’ve got a lot of songs
and we want you to hear them all”, but also
comes through in the heartfelt energy of
slower and mellower track All My Friends
Have Joined The Army, and in the swinging
sounds of Loose Change and new single
Runaway Now, which was released as a digital
download on 1st March. “I think it’s good to
be lyrically strong on an album. All the songs
are based on true stories. I guess they just
range from songs about losing people in your
life and relationships and friends joining the
army. I think the easiest way to write lyrics is
to write about things that have happened to
you rather than just making stuff up.”
PLUGGED IN can reveal that the boys are
already looking into the recording of album
number two. “We’ve already started on
the second album. We’ve already got a few
tracks.” Let’s hope that they can grow and
develop with the help of others. “Because we
produced it ourselves, next time it’s going to
be really nice to have someone else’s input on
the record. When you do it yourself you are
too close to it. You are on your own!”
Straight Lines are passionate, enigmatic and
full of desire. And best of all they write damn
good music. Without doubt, Straight Lines are
truly awesome and heading for the top!
myspace.com/straightlines
PLUGGED IN
27
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
Words and photograph by Darren Warner
O
n occasions here at PLUGGED IN, a
CD drops through our door that opens
our eyes even wider to the music that
is coming out of Wales. In this issue alone
we are featuring three very different Welsh
artists that are breaking down the perceived
view of the current music scene within this
domain (Clingol on page 24-25, BillyGoneBad
on page 30-31 and the singer/songwriter Luke
Morgan aka Lucius). It was Lucius’s melodic
guitar driven pop single Enemy with its synth
loops and infectious beats that got us hooked
and discovering that he was from Swansea we
made a conscious decision to find out more.
Fast forward a few weeks and I find myself
driving along the sea front in Aberavon, near
Port Talbot, with its interesting collection
of sculptures that stand strong against the
skyline overlooking the bay towards Swansea
in the distance. The day is bright but cold
and the sculptures with their twisted frames
and inter looping metal are stark against the
deep blue sky that is reflected in the waters
in front of us. I watch the dog walkers strolling
the beach, briskly hurrying from the bitter
wind that blows across its sandy lengths while
waiting for the appointed time to meet the
rising star whose track had been playing on my
car’s stereo.
On arrival we settle down with a view out to
sea and I ask Luke whether he thinks that living
in Wales has hindered his progress because of
the strong musical identity that is associated
with the country.
“There really is a two-sided answer to that
question. Living in Wales to a degree can put
up a barrier, but that’s not due to the music
scene itself it’s more of a location thing. One
of the things I’ve had to battle with in the past
with my former bands is people just expecting
to play Cardiff or Swansea and get noticed.
Obviously that’s not true and you have to
move further afield travelling to Bristol and
London for a start. I’ve been getting a lot of
airplay from a London radio station which is
encouraging because that is the centre of the
British music scene, so I need to follow it up.
Being here in the dark depths of Wales can
appear to be a hindrance, if you let it. Saying
that though, bands like LostProphets have
really helped to put the country on the map
and that can only be a good thing as it helps
other bands that are trying to break through.
It makes you more hungry to get where you
want to go. My surroundings have helped what
I have created today with the nature of the
Welsh culture influencing the music.”
We look out over the beautiful scene that
is set in front of us and Luke adds, “I don’t
want it any other way. I wouldn’t want to live
in London because it would bring unnecessary
28
PLUGGED IN
frustrations and the hunger wouldn’t be the
same or even there at all.”
Born and bred in Swansea, Luke says though
he’s not from a musical background his father
was always listening to artists like Bob Dylan,
The Beatles and the infamous Chuck Berry.
“Chuck Berry was the first gig I ever attended
with my father in St David’s Hall in Cardiff.
It was shortly after the gig that I picked up
a guitar playing in school bands that were
around at the time.”
Luke attended Olchfa Comprehensive School
in Sketty, on the edge of The Gower. It was a
school that encouraged songwriting and it was
here that Luke starting writing at the age of
15. I mentioned that promoting song writing
skills was unusual for a comprehensive school.
“Yeah, it was pretty cool. I think Olchfa was
a pretty weird school at the time with lots of
classically trained musicians alongside this
bunch of guitarists. I was one of them and they
didn’t really know what to do with us, almost
saying. ‘You’re not going to learn sheet music
so go away and write some songs instead.’ So
that’s what I did and when it really started.
Of course with my father’s musical influences,
especially Bob Dylan, I learnt how to structure a
song. After school I went to Swansea University
and got more involved with the local music
scene, meeting many different people. I was
in a couple of bands, one of which supported
Funeral For A Friend at the Patti Pavilion in
Swansea. We had a bit of label interest at that
time, but just at a point when we seemed to
be getting somewhere it all fell apart. At that
point I decided if I wanted to move forward I
was going to have to do it by myself and that’s
when Lucius was born.”
So is it all you on Enemy? “Pretty much. I
play everything except for the drums.”
It must be a lonely existence. “Very lonely
at times. But it sort of works out well. I have
total creative control but also have to learn to
edit myself, which is one of the hardest things
to do. Also it can be difficult to be self-critical
though I have a good manager who is not afraid
to voice his opinion and is honest with me. I’m
a bit of a control freak really but what’s good
is I can get away with it.”
Luke has a bit of a complicated musical
listening history after getting into Bob Dylan,
searching out alternative American stuff that
was hard to find in Swansea and not really
liking straight rock music. “The reason that
Enemy and my other songs tend to stand out
is that I didn’t want it to be typical 4:4 guitar
rock. I wanted to add something more like
keyboards to make it slightly different.”
I comment on there being a lot of different
levels involved in the songs. “I work quite hard
on each and every song to make it so you won’t
hear the usual cliches.”
Lucius’s music does stand out against the
rest, but I ask Luke whether he feels that this
could have a negative impact on his progress
as many people within Wales tend to be afraid
of experimenting with their musical tastes.
“Personally, though without trying to sound
too much into my own self, I don’t really care.
I make what I want to make and I’ll put it out
there. If the people like it then that’s great, if
they don’t...well that’s great as well because
I’ve got to have this attitude that’ll keep me
sane. If I bow down to what other people want
then I think it’ll be damaging. Being me, I
believe in all honesty, will help my progress.”
The reviews of Enemy have been really
positive, leading James McLaren of BBC
Wales to regard it as “Frenetic indie pop
with big choruses and an imagination” and
others talking about the fact that it is totally
unexpected from the Swansea source and
something completely different.
“You have the Prophets and Funeral then
you get hundreds of copy bands. I love those
bands as well as many of the other great Welsh
acts but they are them for their reasons while
I’ve made my decision to do my music my way.
I must admit I did have one pretty negative
review, though he was comparing me to his
favourite band the Manic Street Preachers just
because we both come from South Wales. It
went something like ‘You don’t sound like the
Manics...’ A bit pointless really.”
And so what about the future? “An EP is the
next option. I spent last year writing songs and
being really hard on myself and have between
22-24 that I’m happy with and ready to go. I’ll
record three tracks at Screamadelica in Cardiff
and put that out soon after.”
Will the EP be self-financed? “Pretty much, I
work full-time and have to be wise in what I do
making a conscious decision to only perform
acoustically at present as it’s cheaper than
putting together a full band.”
I say that he really believes in himself. “Yes.
I’ve progressed so much in the past 10 years
getting to a position I’m happy to be in with
the songs that I’ve created that I’ve only got
positive thoughts and believe they will go a
long way.”
And so our short time together ends, with
the waves in the distance lapping gently on
the shore. I like the sea’s relentless motion
and see it as a metaphore for Luke’s relentless
waves of positivity. A positivity that will surely
carry his singular vision and unpredictable
talent forward.
www.myspace.com/luciusmusic
Enemy is available from all major download
sites including Amazon and i-Tunes
B
illy Gone Bad is the alias of Matthew
Strangis, a Drum ’n’ Bass artist from
Cardiff who tries to focus exclusively on
self-created sounds, giving him a unique voice
in the sample-dominated world of dance music.
He’s making a big splash in Wales and the rest
of the UK, as proven by the praise given to
him by some particularly influential Radio One
presenters. PLUGGED IN caught up with him
to discuss influences, the Welsh dance music
scene and retro video game systems.
Tell us a bit about growing up, were you
always a creative kid?
I was never an ultra confident sing/dance/
perform-at-every-opportunity, Disney Club
type of kid, but I always enjoyed creative
stuff like drawing, art/craft and writing. I felt
more of an affinity for arts-based subjects at
school rather than maths and science, and I
used to enjoy experimenting with the creative
possibilities of my old Spectrum computer,
messing around with art, desktop publishing
and video titling software packages.
How did you get in to making music?
Sadly, being forced to play the recorder at
school never quite did it for me, but I’d loved
music from a young age. By the time I was
15, I’d started to teach myself to play the
guitar. It was an instrument I could relate to,
and I thought it’d be a good way to immerse
myself in music more. I started buying guitar
magazines so that I could learn how to play
other people’s songs, and this eventually
inspired me to try writing my own music. From
then on things just kept spiralling — the more I
experimented with writing and recording, the
more I wanted to write and record! Playing
with other musicians and discovering new
equipment, as well as new bands, genres, DJs
and club nights, all influenced me to want to
make more music.
You moved to Cardiff to study in university
and have lived here ever since, what was it
that attracted you to the city?
I have many good memories of visiting Cardiff
for day trips when I was a kid living in Merthyr
— Chip Alley, arcade machines, Spillers
Records, buying computer games in Toys-R-Us,
the smell of Wally’s Delicatessen — so I think
part of it was nostalgia. Also, in the couple of
years before I went to university, I’d travelled
to Cardiff to see loads of bands play live so I
knew the city could offer a lot of excitement.
It’s also got a good cultural variety considering
it’s so compact.
Words by Jake Healy
Photograph by Stina Preece
www.myspace.com/billygonebad
The album The Acceptable Face Of Rioting is available now
30
PLUGGED IN
How did you get interested in dance music?
Although my earliest tastes in music were for
acts like Adam & The Ants and Madness, The
Prodigy were probably the first dance act I
became a big fan of — hearing their tune Out
Of Space for the first time blew me away, it
had so much energy! In the mid-90s, artists
like the Chemical Brothers, Leftfield, Bentley
Rhythm Ace and Underworld got me more and
more into dance music, especially after I saw
them all play live in Newport and Cardiff. My
brother got me into d&b in the early 2000s
through Ed Rush & Optical’s The Creeps
album, and by encouraging me to see DJs live
in Cardiff. I remember us sneaking into a d&b
event which was being held above a rock night
in Clwb Ifor Bach years ago!
What influences you to do what you do?
Music’s been my obsession for so long I don’t
often take a step back to consider that!
Loads of things feed each other in terms of
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
inspiration. Hearing inspiring artists, wanting
to create something which might inspire other
people, appreciating how much music-related
technology has moved on over the years and
the freedom it offers…plus needing an outlet
from the mundane things like the office job!
How do you create a song? Is it the beat that
comes first or is there some sort of weird
sound or melody you create that you build
around?
I think it all depends on what mood I’m in,
If I’m in a technically minded (and patient!)
one then I’d normally start off with the beats.
Other times I might just want to get some lyric,
melody or bass ideas down quickly and roughly
whilst they’re fresh in my head, and then I‘d
work off them. Sometimes it’s nice to start off
by spending time mangling sounds with various
processors until you come up with something
inspiring. I also write stupid amounts of notes
to myself about what to do on existing tunes,
or what to do for future songs, whenever ideas
come to me. If I’m walking around I’ll write
them on my phone!
Do you think artists who just rehash old
melodies from 80s one-hit wonders are
holding back the possibilities of what dance
music can do?
The sample/rehash debate is a tricky one.
Personally, I like creating new sounds as I like
the process, and also the fact that no-one
else will have that particular sound in their
song. At the same time, I also respect the fact
that drum and bass’s history is completely
intertwined with the art of sampling, and I
appreciate that it can create genuinely new
and interesting sounds, and it can make people
see things in a new light. Unfortunately, I
agree that on the flip side, too many people in
the music world just rely on lazy sampling and
rehashing old tunes as a way of avoiding doing
anything new or challenging. A reliance on
familiarity is a quick and easy way to engage
people’s attention. Tried and tested formulas
are a shortcut in the world of money making.
Some of your less drum ’n’ bass sounding
songs on your myspace, such as the excellent
Capiche?, brings to mind acid house music
from the late 80s and early 90s. Does any of
that stuff influence you or do I need to start
thinking more modern?
I’m no expert on that scene but its influence
has been felt down the line by so many
people, such as The Chemical Brothers who
I’m a massive fan of, that it makes sense. I
remember I was going for a more old skool vibe
on the drums on that tune, and I’ve also used
old Roland 101 and 202 synths on my tunes,
which might well explain your comment!
Here’s another influence I think I picked up
on in your music, mainly through the sounds
you’ve created yourself. Again it’s older
and obscure, but it’s something I’ve wanted
dance artists to be influenced by for a very
long time — Sega Mega Drive soundtracks.
Am I right? I do hope I’m right, because that
would be awesome.
I’m sure you’re right! It’s not something I
consciously think of when I’m writing, but the
Mega Drive was a big part of my childhood,
along with the Spectrum, the Amiga, the NES
and arcade games like Gauntlet and Ghosts &
Goblins, so I’m sure they’ve all had an impact
on me. Thinking about it, when I was young,
I worked out how to play the music from the
Spectrum version of Robocop on my guitar…
I’m sure other kids had better things to do!
What do you think of the way dance
music is looked upon in Wales? It’s very
big with students, of course, but do you
think it deserves more attention from the
majority?
When I was growing up in Merthyr, there was
very little in the way of an alternative music
scene there, especially for dance music. Wales
has few major cities, so away from the student
orientated bigger areas, we haven’t always
had the resources to cater for the widest
range of musical tastes. From a mainstream
point of view, many people might also still
think of Wales in terms of rock rather than
dance. I think if you look more closely, things
are looking positive. The success of High
Contrast has put Wales on the map in terms
of drum and bass, and the internet means
that people can check out alternative styles
of dance music through downloads and digital
radio stations, regardless of what their local
night club plays. Escape In The Park has built
up a very respectful reputation for itself and
promoters are working to ensure that a variety
of big dance names are visiting Wales. So I
think some of that majority have been pricking
up their ears!
Following the many other bands and genres
you’ve been involved in, is this drum ’n’ bass
work just another phase or is it something
you intend to stick with?
I’ve been producing drum ’n’ bass/breaks for
around five years now, but I still feel there’s
a huge amount left to enjoy experimenting
with within the genres, and there’s always
the challenge of pushing the production levels
further, so it’s definitely something I intend to
stick with. But at the same time, I don’t like
pigeonholes so it’s always nice to try something
different in the background!
Say someone wants to get into drum ’n’ bass
music, or maybe even the whole of realm of
dance music, what releases or compilations
would you recommend?
For me, Andy C’s Nightlife compilation is a
perfect testament to why drum ’n’ bass is so
exciting. For darker tastes, Ed Rush & Optical’s
The Creeps is a classic, hypnotic album which
has an amazing ability to get under your skin.
Some metal fans might be able to relate to
releases by Tech Itch, Cooh or Dylan, who
are at the heavier end of the d&b spectrum.
Royksopp and Lemon Jelly are great for chilling
out and for the barbecue season! I think the
more you look into dance and electronic music,
the more variety you’ll discover.
Finally, as we enter the new decade, which
surely promises lots of new bands and ideas
and maybe even genres of music, what do
you think is the future of drum ’n’ bass?
Although there’s a lot of good stuff coming
out, I also think d&b is currently getting a bit
swamped with both Dubstep and Pendulum
clones, as happens with any musical genre
when a style within it gets popular. So I think
we’ll see a lot more of that, but I’m sure
we’ll also see other artists react against it
and push things back into more challenging
directions. Who knows, we’re at the stage
where so much has been done in music that
to do something completely new and unique is
seemingly becoming pretty much impossible.
Most crossovers have been tried, but you never
know when something inspiring will emerge as
a surprise! Maybe in the meantime we’ll get
a barber shop quartet drum ’n’ bass act, or
one featuring a Welsh male voice choir, with
15 guys providing a lovely low end bass sound!
PLUGGED IN
31
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
Photograph by Darren Warner
A
fter watching the unique and brilliant
Welsh folk band play another powerful
live performance that was a vibrantly
happy affair at the Taliesin Theatre in Swansea,
PLUGGED IN asked the guys to tell us about
themselves.
Geoff and Linda have known each other for
years — grew up as nearly-neighbours, went
to the same school and were both involved in
the running of the Islwyn Folk Club, sometimes
frequented by Chris. Geoff was also a member
of a groundbreaking Valleys band The Chartists.
However, the real common denominator was
Garden Festival Wales in 1992. Geoff, Linda
and Kate all worked there and Chris used to
perform there as a 25-year old child prodigy
accordionist and dancer.
It was only after GFW that things started
to come together. Chris had heard that Kate
played the flute and finally persuaded her to
play a bit for the Brynmarw folk dance group
— and also to join his friends Geoff and Linda
for the odd twmpath gig. At the time Geoff
was working for Action Aid and Chris and Linda
were joining him for fundraising events as The
Jones Gang.
It might have been Geoff who said he fancied
a trip to Ireland, but strangely the very next
day Kate received a call from Declan from the
Brideswell International Celtic Festival asking
her if she could put him in touch with some
Welsh musicians who could help fulfil the
“International” bit of their brief. Kate made
up the Allan Yn Y Fan name on the spot because
their brochure was about to go to print.
That first trip to Ireland was an eye-opener
because it proved that we had something to
offer — and that other people beyond Wales
were interested in hearing our Welsh music.
At the beginning of our first Irish session there
were some terse comments about “playing
it right” when Chris first launched into his
high-energy accordion power chords — but,
amazingly, he just ignored it and carried on
playing in his own inimitable style. We all
thought he had either been very brave or
completely mad, but it later transpired that
he hadn’t actually heard the comment! Luckily
for us, our Irish colleagues decided that they
quite liked our unconventional style and
“attitude”, so we were allowed to get away
with it! This started a long-term friendship
that continues to this day.
Initially, much of our music was based
around playing for dances, but the Irish trips
encouraged us to include more and more
tune slots as well — and to write some stuff
ourselves. Our first album Off The Map reflects
our Irish connections (or as a journalist once
put it, our “creeping Hiberianism”) with
Declan’s Dilemma, Air Miles On The Irish Ferry,
Hoffed Minnie Sullivan, The Roscrea Triangle
and Famous Jimmy Murray.
Much as we love playing traditional Celtic
tunes, we are also passionate about creating
our own music and contributing to “the living
tradition”. Our own tunes are often inspired
by the people we meet and places we visit.
Pieces such as Girl On A Rock, Amazing Grapes
and Affordir Llydaw from our second CD
Belonging reflect this trend – although food is
also another common theme (Chris has even
written a set of tunes celebrating the delicious
French patisserie we once had for breakfast).
The foursome became a quintet in 2002 when
Emma Trend joined us for a Queen’s Jubilee
event and we realised the benefits of having a
fiddle player in the line up. Meriel Field took
over from Emma at the end of 2007.
There was no “decision” to follow this
particular musical route, we just play the
music that we enjoy. We also like to share
decent Welsh music with a wider audience so
that people don’t think that Celtic music is
just what comes out of Scotland and Ireland.
We are proud of our Valleys connection, and
like the idea of putting the area on the map,
even though our style probably wouldn’t win
us any Eisteddfod prizes!
There are always people around who enjoy
a good tune, so if we don’t fit into the current
climate of pop that’s fine by us. It may be
true that Welsh music is more appreciated
outside Wales. We’ve made several tours to
the European mainland where we’ve been very
well received (complete with floral tributes
and ridiculous rock star riders).
The direction we’ve taken musically rarely
achieves massive commercial success, but
that’s not our goal in life. What drives us
forward is wanting to do things as well as
we can and to keep changing and improving.
It’s important to keep moving forward and
stretching ourselves. We think that our CDs
demonstrate this progression — we don’t ever
want to be in a time warp or complacent.
Performing well in a decent venue or sharing
a stage with some of our favourite performers,
definitely gives us a thrill. As several members
of the band have a great deal of experience in
running festivals and venues, we have a pretty
good idea of what promoters want, and we
always aim to deliver what is needed and get
invited back.
There’s a still a good market for twmpaths
— particularly for weddings. Even though this
might not have the kudos of performing in a
major festival, we still want to do good job
and maintain a reputation for being the best,
although it is annoying when people think of us
as just a twmpath band.
We also love the fact that our music takes us
to some weird and wonderful places including
some marvellously eccentric and quirky gigs
that are frankly unmissable in our reckoning,
including The Nordlingen Mediaeval festival
where we were flanked by a hatchet throwing
competition and a bathtub full of naked
Germans; playing outdoors in a blizzard at
Rhug Farmer’s Market; launching a new brand
bottle of wine on the deck of an old fishing
boat; sharing champagne and cake with some
extremely lucky residents of a French old
people’s home — we’ve already put our names
down for rooms there!
As for influences and inspirations for our
latest album, well definitely the biggest
influence this time has been the adoption
of Meriel Field into the band, giving us a
great vocalist as well as a fiddle player. This
has inspired us all to sing — and the Welsh
language traditional songs help consolidate
our identify as a Welsh band and hopefully
this will open doors for us as in the past, as
instrumentalists, we’ve often been beneath
the radar. Our version of Ar Hyd Y Nos with the
three girls singing in harmony together is quite
unlike anything else we have done before
(especially as it also features a string quartet
in the arrangement).
Another big influence was the wonderful
cottage we stayed at while we were working
up the material for the CD. It had a stunning
view of the Brecon Beacons and we thought
it deserved a tune of its own (Trosnant),
becoming the CDs title track. It’s a big broad
air that mirrors that amazing view.
Some of the songs (such as Moliannwn and
Deio I Dwyn) were deliberately chosen to cheer
up our repertoire as some of our favourite
songs tend to be a bit on the morbid side. It’s
really not the done thing to sing Lisa Lan at a
wedding, so we wanted to include something
a bit more jolly.
As ever, a lot of our own material is inspired
by the people we have met — this new CD
contains pieces commemorating our German
friend Thomas Roth’s hospitality (Castell
Thomas), Kate’s mum’s stint as Mayor of
Teignmouth (Madam Mayor) and our Caller
Gina’s manic preparations for her recent
nuptials (Ms Gina Morgan’s Delight At The
Prospect Of Matrimony). We had an alternative
title for the latter — but it was banned!
We’ve also borrowed some tunes from our
favourite performers, with some offerings
gathered from Brian McNeill, Emily Smith and
Stephen Rees.
Every time we record a CD we surprise
ourselves with an unexpected musical
encounter. On Off The Map it was a piece
where we weaved two tunes together, playing
them both simultaneously (Tipsy Butterfly).
When we recorded Belonging, it was the
dreamy slowed down version of The Road
To Lisdoonvarna. The one that has crept in
beneath the radar is Abergenni, a stately
dance that sounds like something straight out
of a Tudor great hall. It’s completely different
from everything else on the album.
We’re currently touring the album in Wales,
Ireland and Germany, and have some great
festivals to look forward to. As for the future,
we’d really like to be better known on the
festival/concert circuit, release a “Greatest
Hits” album, collaborate with the Ministry
Of Sound on the dance remix version and get
asked to do the soundtrack for the next British
blockbuster film!
www.myspace.com/allanynyfan
PLUGGED IN
33
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
Words by Gail Griffiths
T
Photograph by Darren Warner
he new album Be Human by FightStar is
a brilliant piece of rock which I think has
set a level that’s brought the band out into
a class of their own. I asked Charlie to explain
why he believed the band had made such a good
album.
“I think this album was very ambitious by
nature. We tried to incorporate a vast spectrum
of sounds whether it is from instruments or
voices, which I think helped to make the record
sound so big. Using the orchestra to create a
cinematic background for some of the songs was
also something that I think contributed hugely
to the sound of the record.”
So do the boys regard this album as a call to
arms, encouraging fans to ask questions?
“We hope it does. It’s always nice when fans
take things from our lyrics. I like to think that
our songs mean different things to different
people. We are not a band that likes to preach
our own views to people, but instead raise the
questions that we believe people should take an
interest in and let them investigate the answers
for themselves. On the other hand when we
are writing about relationships, there can be a
connection with people that have been in the
same situation and so it’s nice to think that a
song we have written could be helping someone
through a difficult time.”
I wondered what question Charlie would like
to ask right now and who it would be directed
at. “I would probably ask the US government
exactly what happened to Building 7 on 11th
September 2001?”
It’s good to see an anti-war song (War
Machine) on the album. Do you believe that
protest is dead, with most people being too busy
watching the X-Factor to really care?
“I think that as long as the war is going on
there will always be people protesting to end it.
There are some very brave individuals fighting
for our country at the moment and no amount
of sh*t reality TV will ever make this country
forget that.”
What then are your favourite inspiring songs of
protest? “I think that Rage Against The Machine
get it pretty bang on when it comes to antiwar songs! I also like the song Pure Massacre by
Silverchair.”
You say about the track The English Way
that “Everyone’s ashamed of being English, I
wanted to capture a positive appreciation of our
country.” Why do you believe that the English
are scared of shouting about their national
identity?
“I don’t think people are ashamed of being
English, the reason we wrote the song The
English Way was because I felt as though we had
lost a slight sense of patriotism of late that I
see on display on a daily basis when travelling
around Wales, Scotland and Ireland. We should
be proud of being English and not be afraid to
show it. We know quite a few bands from Wales
and they all seem very patriotic and proud of
where they come from. There seems to be a
34
PLUGGED IN
great sense of camaraderie when we are on tour
with Welsh bands.”
Recently the LostProphets returned to the
school where three of the members were pupils
to perform an exclusive live set. Do you think
that playing at such a grass roots level would be
something FightStar would ever consider doing?
“Yeah I think that would be a lot of fun to do.
I did actually go back to my school recently to
judge a battle of the bands competition which
I really enjoyed doing. It was great walking
through the old music halls where I used to
rehearse with my bands.”
And would you want to return to your own
schools to play live — or do you have memories
of some very scary teachers?
“I would definitely consider playing a show at
my old school. I got on really well with most
of my teachers at school, especially my music
teachers, and so it would be nice to go back and
see them again.”
Why did you decide to self-release your album
rather than staying in the safe confines of a
record label?
“I think that with the current state of the
music industry there aren’t necessarily any
‘safe confines’ anymore, so it seemed like the
best thing to do for us was just take everything
into our own hands and be in control of our own
destiny. We had learnt a lot from making the
first two records, both on the production side
and the record company side, so it felt like a
natural progression for us to do it ourselves at
that point in time.”
FightStar
Millennium Music Hall,
Cardiff
FightStar hit town and despite the deceptive
lull of activity outside the venue, upstairs was
buzzing — illustrated by the EPIC queue at the
bar. After lively support from the Xcerts, the man
of the hour Charley Simpson entered the stage,
introducing the band, met by a massive roar from
the crowd. The hype was pretty big for this gig
and the fans weren’t going to be disappointed.
A City On Fire, from their album Be Human,
filled the room with an extremely catchy riff
that echoed in my head for days. Instantly the
venue witnessed a sizable circlepit, and with FS
and the crowd bouncing off each other a really
exciting atmosphere was created. The English
Way was met with yet more screams from the
crowd, the slightly more chilled, but still with
FightStar’s unique symphonic rock style was a
contrast to some older songs that were played
but still fitted in well with the feeling of the set.
After a well deserved encore, FS left the stage
with echoes of “We want more” ringing around
the room. A good night and good show, despite
the wait for a drink! JAMES BANNISTER
MiniViva are the latest pop-duo sensation, Britt
Love and Frankee Connolly, who crashed into
the charts with their debut single Left My Heart
In Tokyo and are following up that success with
a soon-to-be-released album later this year.
PLUGGED IN asked Britt what’s it like to be
hailed as the next big thing. “We want to be
at the top of our game and so to be regarded
as the next big thing is amazing. We’d love to
be as big as Girls Aloud.” But don’t you feel
pressurised? “No not really...well maybe, but
it’s a good pressure.”
Flip back a year and a half. Frankee had spent
three months in a small-time girl-band in her
home city of Manchester when a request came
through on their myspace page for the band to
audition for the Hit Factory that is Xenomania.
Britt was at a breakdancing competition in her
native Newcastle when her mum spotted a
flyer from the production team looking for girls
to audition for them. “To be honest, I didn’t
want to do it,” Britt told us. “I didn’t believe
that anyone would be interested in me or my
singing.”
As it turns out, it was to change both of
their lives. Before that audition, the biggest
audience the girls had individually sung to was
an audience of one: in the mirror, in classic
girl-pop education tradition, with a hairbrush.
“At the audition we both just clicked, chatting
away at the back while the other stage-school
girls tried to out-do themselves by singing. It’s
that rapport that make us perfect for each
other.”
I mused that due to the fact we haven’t
really had a glut of girlie pop duos in recent
times, MiniViva have been likened to 80s hitmakers Mel & Kim. So what was Britt’s feelings
on being likened to the Respectable duo?
“Being compared to Mel & Kim is great. What
a brilliant and inspirational act to be placed
alongside. Though I must admit I’m not into
those 80s shoulder pads! We have a totally
different sound and really the only similarity is
the fact that we’re a girl duo.”
But, of course, the pop world is a fickle thing.
So how are MiniViva going to make your mark
and stand out above the other pop acts in this
ferocious market? “Our album and music will
prove the talent we have. We wrote over 80 per
cent of the content and we add a quirky take
on today’s pop scene that will set a new level
to the music currently out there.”
I sit in my car on my mobile phone with the
hills of the Welsh Valleys in front of me listening
to Britt chat away, and both things together
add a brightness to the gloomy day. She’s perky,
enthusiastic and unaffected by the storm that,
together with Frankee, they are creating —
casually mentioning the fact that she saw Bono
in a restaurant recently.
I asked her about coming to Wales. “Wales.
Aren’t you the country with the dragon on the
flag?” Err...yes. “We’ve been there before and
have recently supported dance troupe and
Britain’s Got Talent winners Diversity at the
CIA.” They also played Rhyl in March.
So who knows the fate of this latest pop duo?
If infectious laughter and positivity created
fame alone then these girls will be topping the
charts forever. They have a talent, as proven by
the releases so far with their hi-NRG grooves,
and I’m sure will impact on your i-pod soon.
www.myspace.com/miniviva
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Lady GaGa
Cardiff International Arena
Since being plucked from obscurity and given a support slot by the Pussycat Dolls,
Lady Gaga has become a phenomenon all over the world in just over a year. Her
marketing has been superb because, let’s face it, she’s a bit out there for the
mainstream music scene. But the public, or “little monsters” as she refers to
them, have been captivated by her style and glamour and discovered a really good
songwriter who knows how to entertain. Just going to this gig proved this to me.
The gig was more like a musical than anything, with Gaga herself telling the story
of the Monsters Ball in between songs. I didn’t quite get what the story of the
Monsters Ball was, as I was just mesmerised by the many ‘odd’ things happening on
the stage — but I think she describes it as, “Where all the freaks are outside and I
locked the doors.” Now I’m no fashion guru but the costumes on display were truly
amazing and two stand-out ones for me were the mechanical dress and something
that looked like a furry tooth with a little peephole! Weird you say? But that is just
something we have come to expect and what keeps the whole Gaga thing interesting
— otherwise she would just be another run-of-the-mill pop diva, albeit one with
some really good songs. Looking around the CIA all I could see was Gaga wanabees
showing their love for her — and as her silhouette appeared on a black canvass on
the stage the crowd went wild. At a little under two hours long the show seemed to
fly by, even with the costume changes. She performed all the favourites from the
recently released double album Fame Monster and with impeccable vocals, which
is a craft considering she has these tight choreographed dances to perform at the
same time! The stand-out part of the show for me was when she took to the piano in
her bra and panties (keep it together!) and performed Speechless and Brown Eyes.
Speechless is one of my favourite tracks and really shows Lady Gaga’s ability as a
songwriter, and I think the lyrics have a deeper meaning to her. Brown Eyes was just
a magical and memorable performance as she spiced things up a bit halfway into the
track and changed the style of the song to something a bit more jazzy and swinglike. She was playing a grand piano for these tracks, but I have to tell you that the
piano was actually on fire! Gaga doesn’t crumble, crash or burn during these tracks
and with so much going on, she just gets on with the job and delivers a stunning
performance — which she carries on for the whole show. So much time and effort is
put into her shows so that she can show her appreciation to her adoring fans, but she
had one more trick up her sleeve. In her performance of Paparazzi, someone special
joins Lady Gaga on stage...yes, you guessed it — not! It’s a 20ft giant mechanical
inflatable sea monster! All this comes to a climatic end of the night with one of
the biggest songs of last year, Bad Romance. Everyone singing, everyone happy,
everyone different, everyone the same. Lady Gaga stunned Cardiff and I am proud
to say that I went gaga for Gaga. GARY BOLSOM
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PLUGGED IN
Richmond Fontaine
Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff
Six months after headlining RCT’S Across The Border Festival at Pontypridd’s Muni Arts Centre,
seminal American band Richmond Fontaine were back in South Wales again, this time playing to
a packed out Clwb Ifor Bach on St David’s Day. Frontman Willy Vlautin, good-naturedly sporting
a daffodil to mark the occasion, has been enjoying huge critical acclaim recently for his third
book Lean On Pete, and it’s his novelists eye for detail that remains the band’s trump card
and makes tonight’s gig such an emotional experience. After the opening salvo, the scorching
instrumental El Tiradito, the band play a brace of songs from last year’s exceptional album, We
Used To Think The Freeway Sounded Like A River. The Boyfriends typically stark tale is enriched
by Paul Brainard’s sombre trumpet, whilst on 43 the band kick up one hell of a racket as Willy,
predicting disaster, hollers “It’s gonna hit” in increasingly manic fashion. Rollicking versions of
the band’s alternative Country classics Capsized and Two Alone keep the crowd firmly on-side,
but it’s the plaintive ballads Allison Johnson, Two Broken Hearts and Postcard Written With A
Broken Hand, that reveal the compassion Vlautin has for the bewildered loners that wander the
wracked landscape of his songs, and that provide the night’s most truly affecting moments. It
may be some time before Richmond Fontaine, purveyors of the finest Americana of the decade,
play these shores again. So nothing remains, except to go out and buy the records — every last
one you can find — to read and re-read the books, and to wish Willy and the Boys a safe passage
home. KEVIN McGRATH
GLC
Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff
Goldie Lookin’ Chain’s pre-Christmas gig went
down a treat at Clwb Ifor Bach. Hosting the
bash as only they could the Chain wowed the
crowd with slick moves that put MC Hammer to
shame. The Clwb was packed out with die-hard
fans, chomping at the golden bit to party with
team GLC, in fancy dress of course as is almost
a requirement at a GLC shindig. Fans bounced
to the slamming base that pounded the walls
to the beat of HRT, Guns Don’t Kill People,
Rappers Do and Half-Man Half-Machine. As
the set progressed, the temperature rose until
boiling point when in one spontaneous flood
the dripping crowd lurched over speakers and
onto the stage, joining the band in an all-out
hectic rave. Most bands would back off at this
point, but the Chain rocked on into the night
being the very bad influence that they are. As
in any GLC gig as a member of the audience
you have to expect the unexpected and true to
form Adam emerged from backstage donned in
an inflatable Santa suit. Christmas was kicked
off by a rapping Father Christmas — safe as
f**k! JAMES BANNISTER
Photograph by James Bannister
30 Seconds To Mars
Cardiff International Arena
30 Seconds To Mars religiously promise an unforgettable experience
at their concerts and from start to finish this one did not disappoint.
Support LostAlone opened the night with their heavy brand of rock,
complete with sharp guitar riffs and melodic vocals. They were
energetic and lively, with catchy hits such as Unleash The Sands Of
All Time and Blood Is Sharp guaranteed to be future crowd-pleasers.
The band was confident and their style was upbeat and cocky, bringing
a lively mood with them However, by the end of the set the crowd
had lost interest, which was unfortunate as the band deserved more
attention — especially as famous fans include Hayley Williams of
Paramore and Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden. Look out for them, as
they show a lot of potential for the future. Street Drum Corps began
their set wearing Slipknot–style masks and beating an aluminium
drum in an aggressive fashion — definitely an interesting start. Their
music combined brutally heavy drum beats with electronic and dance
melodies with a punk edge, which really livened up the crowd and got
everyone moving. Their singer was energetic, leaping around the stage,
dancing to the music, screaming out lyrics and soaking himself, and
most of the front row, with water. This animated performance made
them obvious crowd–pleasers, and there were several comments made
about how innovative and original they were — one drummer pounded
out rhythms on a stainless steel dustbin using a baseball bat. Street
Drum Corps definitely made an impact, and their past touring success
with 30 Seconds To Mars and Linkin Park hints that they will continue to
be an adventurous and popular hit on the alternative music scene. After
a lengthy wait which left everyone in suspense, 30 Seconds To Mars took
to the stage accompanied by a troupe of drummers. They launched
straight into album opener Escape, which ends with a stirring roar of
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This Is War!, immediately followed by the dark and edgy Night Of The
Hunter. In the course of their set, they played hits from A Beautiful
Lie, ranging from the title track to favourites such as Attack and From
Yesterday, as well as numerous tracks from their latest album This is
War!, including Closer To The Edge, Search & Destroy and their new
single which is the title track. Jared Leto worked the crowd effortlessly
— his stage presence being so strong that he only had to say “Hello” to
be greeted by roars and cheers which never fully died down. Drummer
Shannon Leto and guitarist Tomo Milichevic, although silent, provided
an enigmatic mood, especially with their atmospheric performance
of L490, complete with the Gothic–sounding chanting of monks at the
close. They utilised the entire room, Jared one minute appearing on
the balcony to perform an acoustic version of A Modern Myth to an
entranced audience, the next magically materializing onto the B stage
with Tomo and Shannon, wrapped in a Welsh flag, to play Buddha For
Mary from their self-titled first album, and a stunning rendition of
The Kill, introduced by Jared as “A little song we wrote on the train.”
There were some minor disappointments, such as the band expecting
the crowd to sing along to some tracks from the new album, but most
people didn’t know the words, and the often wearing banter from Leto,
as well as long waits whilst the band returned to the main stage which
dragged out the set unnecessarily. However, these did not spoil the
experience and the invitation for fans to join the band on the stage
was well received by everyone. The set ended with a rousing Kings
& Queens — which Leto called “Epic” on his Twitter page later — and
everyone left the CIA completely satisfied. An outstanding performance
from 30 Seconds To Mars, and one which will be difficult to beat — and,
of course, no one will forget Jared Leto’s mohawk. NIA LIVERSUCH
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39
Call Me Albert
King’s Arms, Abergavenny
The launch of a new album wasn’t an occasion to pass up. I’d seen Albert
at Blaenavon Blues Festival and in Hereford and had been impressed,
so it was a chance to check out how they sounded now. The King’s Arms
(great venue) was packed. Support act was Huw Chidgey (great voice
and material, worth following up), and there was real anticipation in
the crowd. Call Me Albert were bang on time for the first of two sets.
They didn’t disappoint. Kicking off with Blues Band number Come On
In, they were tight, powerful and buzzing. Then straight into a couple
of their own tracks — from their first album, and very good too —
and a storming On The Road Again. Then came the new songs from
album Blue Eyed, scattered throughout both sets and excellent. Call
Me Albert really do play the blues (slow burner Place Of Safety and
barnstorming Slow Down particularly outstanding), but the songs also
stretch boundaries to take in rock, jazz and folk. CMA mixed their own
songs with classics blues covers, and were hard driving, tight as hell
and clearly having a ball. The lively banter with a very enthusiastic
crowd was led by vocalist and harpmeister Big Rich. Rob Feasey (bass)
and Paul Worthington (drums) were rock solid and uncluttered, topped
off with Rich Jones’s storming lead guitar. The band were on stage for
over two hours in total, rounding off with Pride Of The Working Man,
the final track from the new album, and a full-throated anthem on the
25th anniversary of the Miners’ Strike. Encores were loudly called for
and loudly delivered! A cracking gig, and the CD sounds just as good.
One to watch! RICHARD EVANS
Ffred Jones
Buffalo Bar, Cardiff
Thursday 25th March saw hundreds of cities
across the world coming together in support
of education for all, hosting local events to
raise money for the global phenomenon known
as “Twestival” — the Twitter Festival. WelshUnsigned aficionado Bethan Elfyn did her part
by hosting a gig in Cardiff and integrating the
event with the new EP launch for Ffred Jones:
Feed The Fire.
Although the dismal weather did its best to
keep folks away, the start of the night saw a
budding crowd of 20-30 supporters turn out to
form a sophisticated mid-20s audience, which
grew throughout the night until the venue was
crammed full to bursting.
First on stage was Joshua Caole, who
managed to immediately silence the room with
his soft guitar and gentle vocals, which built to
a crescendo incorporating his powerful voice.
With a gentle, somewhat melancholic style of
bluegrass, Joshua proved himself a capable
musician — with a notable performance of
Running After You and a moving tribute to the
late Alex Chiltern.
Under The Driftwood Tree followed up
with a profusion of styles, techniques and
instruments as they injected a little more
rhythm and picked the pace up a bit. Starting
with a ukulele, bass, lead guitar and brush
work on drums, the group moved on to include
other instruments throughout their set, such
as harmonica and didgeridoo. Adopting a
reggae-style, relaxed feel to the set, the band
really knew how to pull in and play to the
crowd, with some refreshingly inspired songs.
Especially entertaining was the mash up of
covers, including TLC’s No Scrubs, turning into
Will Smith’s Fresh Prince rap, then Macy Gray’s
I Try, and so on, with some brilliant handdrums work. Finishing the set with a piratestyle song, the group were a definite crowd-
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pleaser, who turned up the energy and really
set the festival spirit going.
At the apex of the night were Ffred Jones
and the finale of Spindle & Wit. When Bethan
appeared to remind everyone of the fire juggling
entertainment that was happening outside,
the raffle taking place later that night, and to
introduce Ffred to an enthusiastic audience,
the event really had developed a festival feel.
Playing the opening track from his new album,
Ffred was well received and the song was
given a great reception. The whole set was
inspiring, with an amazing rendition of Stand
By Me on guitar, with Ffred’s stunning vocals
really doing the song justice. Somewhere Over
The Rainbow was also covered, garnering the
full attention of the audience; and as the set
developed, so too did the songs and styles —
with Ffred moving on to add drum and bass
guitar for his next track. Overall, Ffred Jones
certainly did himself justice and took the
opportunity to promote the fact that the EP
was available to buy from iTunes, with half
the profit of all sales being donated to Ty
Hafan children’s hospice — a brilliant artist,
supporting a brilliant cause.
Spindle & Wit brought the live music portion
to an end, following Ffred with a full, fastpaced band. The London-based indie quintet
brought in an Irish/drinking feel to the night
and reminded the audience that, despite the
serious nature of the causes being supported
that night, festivals were still all about having
fun and letting loose. DJ Bethan was then
joined by Lady Fi, from the Vinyl Vendettas,
to finish off the night with music that went
on til past my bedtime. Overall, the Twestival
was great fun, with a variety of music and
entertainment crammed into the diminutive
bar. Add in the enjoyment of an album launch
and you have a great night out! WEDNESDAY
Paramore
Cardiff International Arena
If you had been walking through Cardiff High
Street at six o’clock in the evening of the 14th
of December, you may be forgiven for thinking
that the city, or even the world, had been
taken over by teenagers. In fact, for that day
only, teenagers did rule over Cardiff — most
of them your average common-or-garden
teenager, but occasionally you might have
caught a glimpse of the rare and most probably
quite famous variety that were hoping to go
unnoticed amongst the crowds, but who would
later be on display in front of hundreds of
people, showing off their talents without the
inhibitions they had previously held. Because
it must be acknowledged that every single
band onstage that night consisted of teenagers
hardly older than those giggling excitedly
through Cardiff, yet they are already — or
are on their way towards being — massively
famous, selling millions of records worldwide
(Paramore even knocked Madonna off the top
spot in the UK album charts with their latest
album Brand New Eyes) and boasting countless
numbers of fans. They are young, they are
free, and they want to take over the world.
The atmosphere inside the CIA was crackling
with electricity by the time the first support
band Now, Now Every Children took to the
stage. Their soaring, atmospheric music
obviously transfixed a large proportion of
the audience, but unfortunately did nothing
for the others. They plunged straight into
their short set without introduction (not even
mentioning their name or those of their songs),
and left the stage, and a mostly unmoved
audience, swiftly. This was a great shame,
as the energy and drive was obviously there
and their songs, once sampled on YouTube,
show great promise. There is also a certain
appealing similarity between the sentiments
they express and those of Paramore’s —
Hayley Williams raved about them in a recent
interview and has been spotted sporting their
T-shirt. But unfortunately tonight was not their
night, possibly due to technical difficulties or
to the difficulties experienced with a crowd
who wanted desperately to see the more wellknown acts.
Paper Rough burst onto the stage with a
lot more energy and bounce than Now, Now
Every Children. Their bubbly and energetic
lead singer jumped about the stage, shouting
encouragement to the crowd and advertising
at every possible moment that the band’s
merchandise was on sale. Their music was
more upbeat and with a heavier edge to it,
and the band’s excitement was extremely
infectious. Although they were the less well–
known of the support bands they managed
to engage the crowd effectively, and to have
everyone jumping and dancing by the end of
their set. A band to definitely watch out for in
the future.
Unsurprisingly, the room filled with wild
screams when YouMeAtSix bounded onto the
stage — they were as much a part of the
appeal of the concert as Paramore. They have
received a lot of press recently, and this year
has been a good one for them as their set
definitely showed. They blasted out the hits
off their first album Take Off Your Colours,
including Kiss & Tell, Finders Keepers and
Save It For The Bedroom, to a crowd who
couldn’t get enough. The band’s frontman,
Josh Franceschi, entertained with his mid–
set chitchat and his joking threats aimed at
anyone who didn’t join the circle pit that he
created in the crowd, and this increased the
rapport that the band had with the crowd.
Tracks from their new album, Hold Me Down,
were premiered during their set and seemed
as upbeat and poppy as their predecessors.
An unexpected but extremely welcome event
was the involvement of Paramore frontwoman
Hayley Williams during Always Attract, showing
how close the bands have become during their
heavy touring schedule. YouMeAtSix definitely
lit up the stage, and their energetic set shows
that they deserve every success that they have
achieved, and will achieve in the future.
Finally, after the seemingly unbearable
wait which created a tension as taut as a
tightrope, Paramore appeared. Launching
straight into their hour-long set with no need
for an introduction they proved how they have
risen to the fame and idol worship normally
reserved for gods in such a short time, with
energetic rhythm and guitar playing and the
power of Hayley Williams’ voice creating
an awe–filled atmosphere. Seeing them on
television is amazing, but in the flesh they
are incredible — and it is even more difficult
to contemplate how such a strong voice and
relentless passion comes from a tiny figure as
that of Hayley Williams. To the disappointment
of some of the female members of the
audience she sported a head of (normal)
blonde hair rather than her usual orange or red
locks, but this did not remove anything from
her or the band’s performance. And nothing
she did could disappoint the male members of
the audience, as was obvious when a glance
was cast at the expressions on the surrounding
faces. Paramore did not let anyone down with
their flawless set. They put all the energy that
they could muster into performing hits old and
new, such as Ignorance, Emergency and That’s
What You Get, and had every single member
of the audience singing along to every single
song. Their new album, Brand New Eyes, had
obviously been a success in the fans’ eyes as
well as those of the chart-watchers, and they
chose the best songs from that album to debut
to a live audience, including Careful, Turn It
Off and the slow and enchanting Misguided
Ghosts. Their first exit did not fool anyone,
and after five minutes of the crowd chanting
and clapping in unison they were “enticed”
back onto the stage. Here they excelled even
further, if that was possible, by singing the song
that launched them to fame, Misery Business,
to the absolute adoration of the crowd. The
night was then ended with a soaring Brick
By Boring Brick, Paramore’s latest single,
complete with a “badabadabadabadabadah”
section which everyone, including members of
the support acts, sang along to with all their
hearts. An excellent set and one which will be
difficult to beat for many of those present that
night. NIA LIVERSUCH
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41
The Dubliners
St David’s Hall, Cardiff
Legendary Irish folk band The Dubliners have taken their
inspirational music around the world for an incredible five
decades. Sadly, three of their original members — Ronnie Drew,
Ciaran Bourke and Luke Kelly — have departed this world.
Tonight’s show was an opportunity for the current Dubliners
line-up to remember their old friends in songs and poems —
and remind us what a great band they still are. Early on in the
set, drinking song I’m A Man You Don’t Meet Every Day literally
brought a tear to the eye. Then there were plenty of jigs and
reels, beautiful ballads and more raucous traditional Irish songs
like Whiskey In The Jar, Dirty Old Town and The Wild Rover.
Star of the show for me was Barney McKenna — now aged 71 and
not so agile, he entertained with anecdotes, singing, banjo and
squeezebox. A captivating show from veteran musicians. Long
may they continue. STEPH McNICHOLAS
GO-X
Solus, Cardiff
The Automatic
Brangwyn Hall, Swansea
Swansea’s Brangwyn Hall played host to The Automatic and promised
an all-out ‘tune fest’ as part of the St David’s week build-up of
celebrations. I’ve been to a few of The Automatic’s smaller venue
gigs now and at every single one have been bludgeoned by the same
gaggle of kids who can mosh with the best of ’em. The Automatic’s
diehard fans (although mostly aged 12!) are lethal, trust me. I say
this with painfully misshapen ugly bits and a slight limp since my first
encounter. Aaaanyway, as usual the press pass that was guaranteed
to be at the door waiting wasn’t. So the usual name dropping and
butt kissing that I’m getting dangerously good at ensued. I talked
to Tim who sent me to Meg who sent me back to Tim again — which
didn’t achieve anything apart from p**sing off a few door staff.
Witnessing the whole thing the ticket man let me sneak in when
the boss-lady had her back turned. I can’t remember your name but
you, Sir, are a legend and I still owe you that pint! After that I just
wanted to hear some music and sweet music it was. Straight Lines
hit the stage first promoting their new album Persistence In This
Game, from which every song played in their set came. Oh, and it’s
blinding, so BUY IT! Some sweet ones being Versus The Allegiance
and All My Friends Joined The Army, which are both amazing and
were played tight as hell. The sound quality was awesome as well
so a shout out to the guys that sound tech’d. After the mother of all
intervals, which wasn’t helped by the lack of alcohol due to the fact
pints were about four quid a pop, no thanks guys. Things began to
stir backstage and to the delight of team teeny bop TA came alive.
Swansea was the stop before the sizable tour of the UK began and
was also witness to a juicy wad of tracks ranging from every age
of The Automatic’s career, notably appearances from the second
album This Is A Fix. The guys were also debuting tracks from the
latest album Tear The Signs Down and the strain of playing new
songs didn’t show. From what was played there are some slightly
more mature tracks on it but don’t worry guy and girls, there is still
plenty of handclapping and chorus chanting to be had. Of course it
wouldn’t be TA without an appearance from Steve McQueen and the
juggernaut that is Monster, which talked the talk but for me the
more melodic and rhythmic feel of Magazines did the all walking.
The new single Run And Hide is equally catchy with a more indie
feel than we are used to. The sound is defiantly changing, becoming
more traditional, which is definitely what should be coming over the
hill! JAMES BANNISTER
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The atmosphere was electric on this cold Friday evening (Black
Friday I might add), but despite the cold there was quite a queue
forming on the steps to Cardiff University’s Solus Bar. Mainly this
queue consisted of young teenage girls all hoping to reach out
and touch the hand of the main attraction performing. But,
these girls will have to wait, as first up to perform were Payton.
Having played with Go-X many a time before, they’ve managed
to win over a lot of the fans with their catchy tunes. As they
bounced on to the stage to cheers from the ever expanding
crowd, they launched into their songs. With the crowd singing
along to favourites Energy and Harder Than Heartbeat, they set
the bar particularly high for this evening, especially as the lead
singer had decided to dress as Father Christmas. It had people
thinking that there were more surprises to come. Next was upand-coming band Her Game Is Over. The entire room was filled
with the boys’ electric and unforgettable sound. Songs such as
Russian Roulette and Indigo Plateau had the fanbase they’ve
built up moving to the sound and singing along to the chorus with
amazing enthusiasm. The Calling Card was next on the bill. Many
of the audience, myself included, had not heard this band in the
past, but despite this they immediately grabbed the audience
and heads quickly turned to listen to the sounds being emitted
from the stage. With songs such as Weight Of The World and Don’t
Let Go, this band is one to watch in the future. Headliners Go-X
built the crowd’s anticipation by dragging out their entrance.
Finally they came bursting on to the stage starting an eruption
of screams from the waiting crowd. With no hesitation the boys
burst into the songs on their new EP, which consists of all new
sing-a-long songs that will soon have you up and dancing and
after a few listens singing along to the words without fail. Songs
like The Australian and IDDQD had the crowd moving in time to
the beat and melody. Throughout the set crowd participation is
played to the max. Lead singer Josh had girls physically fighting
as he threw T-shirts into the crowd. Josh and bassist Murphy also
had the audience battling in two halves, seeing which crowd
could scream the band’s name the loudest. However, it is the
band’s well-known song Dance Again that gets the best reaction
— shouting gets louder and energy is let out of every person
in the room. Unfortunately half way through the song guitarist
Avalon had technical difficulties, but in one smooth and fluid
sweep the boys picked up where the malfunction happened and
finished the song and set with vigour. As Ian Watkins strolled on
to the stage to check his equipment for the DJ set a squeal of
excitement came from every single girl in the room. As his set
begins you can tell it’s going to have everyone in the room up
and dancing. For the next hour the audience shook their hips and
moved their feet continuously. As his DJ session drew to a close
there were many smiling faces exiting the building, talking about
how good the night was. I think it’s safe to say that Go-X’s EP
launch was a massive success and that every band that played
will benefit from being on its bill. SEANNA FATKIN
Hjaltalin
Norwegian Church, Cardiff
Standing in the wooden surroundings of the Norwegian
Church on the edge of Cardiff Bay, you can imagine this
place being a distant haven for any traveller arriving
into port and away from the bitter sea that they had
to endure, with it’s textured lighting and warm homely
glow. I stare out of the arched window across the bay at
the neon lights in the distance, whose reflections play
upon the water while the space craft roof structure of
the St David’s Hotel sits atop the building glowing like
a lighthouse to the wealthy. I like this place and I love
this area of Cardiff, removed from the nightclub glitz
of the city centre but still attached like a beckoning
hand on the end of a persuasive arm. Despite all this
romanticising, it wasn’t any religious calling that had
drawn me to this church on a cold Tuesday night, but
my enduring fascination with music from Iceland, that
faraway northern island that seems to create unique
individuality from the musicians that hail from there.
Initially, it was the Sugarcubes who inspired me, followed
by their extension in the guise of Bjork, the band’s
enigmatic and talented singer/songwriter who carved
out a bizarre form of international success with her
truly unpredictable talent. Later on Sigur Ros perfected
minimalist melodic classicism with their outstretched
ambient landscapes, a music that held me tight to its
bosom and has never let me go despite their current
hiatus from the music scene. Today though, I needed
something different, something inspiring, something
unique and I hoped tonight was going to deliver that
to me. Because today had been a bad day and I needed
cheering up. Dry The River, tonight’s support, were to
put it plainly, excellent. I was drawn into their music
by their hauntingly original style from the first song
Demons with its layer-building technique and was held
captivated throughout the performance by the high
falsetto voice that was thrown out by their lead singer
Peter. I wanted to be in this band, travelling around
the world and playing small intimate venues like this
church on places like the Isle of Mull, producing music
like they played. Again I say, excellent, and I want to
see them again. Headliners Hjaltalin (pronounced Hatta-lin) were nothing like I expected, which proves what
I’ve already said about Icelandic bands. Their music
was unpredictable, almost as if they were playing three
songs in one and toying with the audience as to when
to clap, challenging them to decide when the song had
finished. They not only enthralled the audience but they
controlled them as well. The eight-piece band whose
instruments pitted electric and acoustic guitars against
traditional violas and oboes, mixed folk styles alongside
rollercoaster rushes of noise that would be happy on
any rock stage in a series of carefully constructed songs.
There were beautiful moments as the violin floated
gently alongside hypnotic rhythms and jarring guitars
which burst into sudden violent frenzied assaults on
the senses, before allowing female vocalist Sigridur
Thorlacius to ride through the storm for her moment
in the spotlight, while lead singer Hogni Egilsson with
Viking blond locks of hair flowing over his face, held
court at the centre of the stage leading the charge of
the songs from all points of the compass. Tonight was
unique, different and challenging. Maybe something
spiritual had happened tonight after all. Whatever, I had
come away having been affected. DARREN WARNER
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43
The StopMotion Men
4th Street Traffic
The Maccabees
Cardiff progressive rock four-piece The StopMotion Men, keen to gig after recording for a year,
took the Globe by storm. The exclusive hour-long set was used to launch their new EP What Now?
If you’re into Muse or Placebo’s definitive sounds then definitely check these guys out as the EP
is a gorgeous blend of both. The set consisted of 10 songs broken up with a three-song acoustic
set in the middle, including the brilliant Subtle Buzz. Attention is manic, vigorous and definitely
has a hard-edged sound, which is representative of TSM’s overall vibe. The narrative behind the
tracks is brilliant, unlike many meaningless repetitive tracks we are bombarded with daily this
band are filled with emotion, experience and are truly genuine, which I for one am grateful for.
What Now? rounded off the set with its hectic guitar sounds and heavy bass-line, with the piano
really adding another element to the track — and helping towards the dynamic sound that TSM
are able to create with so few members. JAMES BANNISTER
A very anxious and screaming audience
awaited PLUGGED IN favourites 4th Street
Traffic as they came on stage. The band came
on with an energetic feel, and straight away
I could tell this was going to be a good band.
The crowd got riled up and dancing as they
played their first song A Friend Of Mine. Fans
travelled from as far as England just to hear
the catchy chords and some pop/rock lyrics of
this highly energetic band. They thrilled the
audience with their well-known song Second
Thoughts, the lyrics of which fans sung back
to the band. The boys bring a lot of different
techniques to their set to make their music
stand out. They played their new song Wrong
Way Round off their new EP Kick The Habit,
which added screaming to experiment with a
different genre. 4th Street Traffic rocked out
with headbangable electric guitaring from
lead guitarist Darryl Robertson which is heard
in most tracks. The clean cut vocals from
Alistair Britton worked extremely well with
the rest of the band. Overall this band really
took me by surprise and I really loved their
edgy sound. If you’re into bands such as Kids In
Glass Houses then I highly recommend you go
see 4th Street Traffic. DANIELLE HILL
The NME Tour is always very popular, as relatively
unknown bands can often be catapulted into
fame after taking part in the tour. A perfect
example is Florence & The Machine and White
Lies. This year it was newcomers The Drums
who were hoping for similar recognition from
the press and music fans alike. From New York,
where they have already received a lot of
praise, the boys hit the stage with confidence,
immediately bursting into catchy, rhythmic
songs. Frontman Jonathan Pierce danced
robotically, occasionally accompanied by the
guitarist, who leapt around the stage wildly
playing a tambourine. Their music had energy,
and combined with infectious lyrics and
bouncy guitar rhythms, held a lot of potential.
It could be said that the main attraction of
this tour for many was the presence of The
Big Pink, newcomers who exploded on to the
scene with their highly successful hit Dominos
in 2009. They took to the stage accompanied
by pulsating electronic music and strobe
lighting, which sent the crowd into a frenzy.
The Big Pink were in complete contrast to the
other bands on the tour as their music is more
edgy and rock tinged, with heavy beats and
electronic influences that originates from the
fact that they are an electronic duo joined
by a drummer and bassist. Their set was dark
and heavy, with the atmospheric sounding
voice of the lead singer, Robbie Furze, and
the pounding drum and guitar beats adding
the tension in the room. They played their
enigmatically catchy hits Velvet and Too Young
To Be Loved, wisely leaving Dominos until last,
and it was predictably met by a passionate
sing-along from everyone in the room. An
excellent set, and a band which will definitely
remain firmly in the current music scene for a
long time to come. The Bombay Bicycle Club
brought a lighter atmosphere to the stage.
There was a happy-go-lucky and innocent feel
to their upbeat songs complete with soaring
choruses. The thoughtful aspect of their lyrics
was reflected in the wavering fragility of lead
singer Jack Steadman’s voice, and the crisp but
soft guitar and drum beats added to the sense
that their music told a story of the band’s
journey through life and into stardom. For such
a mellow band it was a pleasant experience
when their hit It’s Always Like This caused
the crowd to erupt into a collective sing-anddance-along, and the Bombay Bicycle Club left
the stage with some new fans. By the time
The Maccabees graced the stage there was a
tense atmosphere, people wanted them and
were fed up of waiting. The band used this to
their advantage, making a drawn out entrance
and then playing song after to song to constant
cheering. With cheeky grins and uplifting
music they were an endearing band to watch.
Their songs were jaunty, with broken beats
and sharp guitars, and lead singer Orlando
Weeks’s lilting and often spoken vocals added
variety to their music which elevated them
above bands of a similar style. Despite their
fame, they still seemed overjoyed to be there,
thanking fans for their support. They played
songs old and new, with the catchy First Love
being an obvious favourite, and new single Can
You Give It illustrating great promise of things
to come. They left the stage accompanied by
a mixture of cheers and disappointment as
people wanted more. Their one-song encore
was worth the wait, and the crowd left feeling
satisfied. NIA LIVERSUCH
The Globe, Cardiff
Colours Of One
Barfly, Cardiff
The Undivided
The Garage, Swansea
I have heard some great things about up-andcoming band The Undivided, so I was looking
forward to their gig in Swansea, and I was not
disappointed. The four-piece who all come
from South East Wales are an indie band, with
their influences being the Manics, Bloc Party
and Smashing Pumpkins. They burst on to the
stage with great vigour and excitement. The
front man, Joe who plays guitar and sings, had
a great presence and commanded the stage.
The crowd seemed to enjoy the set and in
particular the song SOS, which had great vocals
with a thumping chorus. One of my favourite
songs of the gig was The Undivided’s new single
Devil. The chorus was great with a prominent
bass line played by bassist Fergus, and catchy
riffs by lead guitarist Lewis. Also there was an
acoustic set which I really enjoyed, as many
bands don’t seem to feature acoustic sections
in gigs anymore. I predict good things for the
future of The Undivided, with lots of gigs
coming up and singles in the pipeline, it seems
like 2010 is going to be a great year for the
boys. Afterwards, I asked the band to describe
their music in three words and they said, “Raw,
melodic and intense” — which sums the band
up brilliantly. A great new band who I will be
going to watch again. VICTORIA TURNER
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The Bridgend five-piece didn’t hold back on their event management
on Friday. The band themselves shipped in a coach load of local
fans to crash the party in Cardiff. Support was supplied by the
one-fifth Welsh and four-fifths South African band Starseed on
their UK tour along with Firetone, who defiantly showed us what
SA has to offer in terms of good meaty rock. Firetone completed
the line up offering heavy riffs and fearsome breakdowns, playing
well for such a young band, not phased by the more experienced
groups. Firetone were first up and set the scene with an alt-rock
sound, featuring songs such as their new single Gravity, which has
an echo-ey Prophets-style tinge and features some nicely placed
breakdowns. Starseed followed, bringing an awesome heavy rock
sound somewhere between Nickelback and Rise Against. Their
set was really exciting and left everyone wanting more and me
questioning why I had never heard of them before! The song Shine
represents their sound perfectly with its soaring vocals and burly
guitars. These guys left Colours Of One with something to aim
for and definitely deserve big success. Much to the delight of the
cheekily imported fans Colours Of One began their hooky guitar
driven rock set — home team imports were certainly a good idea
as the crowd, who were word perfect, yelled along with COO. This
meant that the atmosphere was guaranteed to be electric, and
COO gained energy throughout feeding off the crowd. Mike’s job
was almost done for him as once the mic entered the crowd to
spark off the sing-along it wasn’t to be returned without effort.
Halos has a catchy melodic style that isn’t far off Tiger Please’s
memorable sound, which undeniably left a satisfied audience who
got what they came for and more. JAMES BANNISTER
Millennium Music Hall, Cardiff
Helen Morgan Trio
Shot In The Dark, Cardiff
Tonight was Jazz night at Shot In The Dark and
the Helen Morgan Trio treated us to a taste of
traditional numbers performed with a hint of
Latin and swing about them. The room was
dark and candlelit, while the city’s hippest
and hairiest students lounged around drinking
wine by the bottle as the music wafted around
the room like a sweet aroma. Helen was in
her domain, enjoying the environment that
she was placed in, wrapping the audience
around her little finger as she crooned her
way through the repertoire of the evening.
Was this Cardiff or was this Chicago? Either
way, you got lost within the music of the
night. After the HM Trio we were then treated
to the voice of Melanie, who had organised
the event, followed by Hodgeheg who were
joined by PLUGGED IN’s second favourite
pin-up, Kadesha (the first being Gail, of course
— see News pages), who did an excellent
version of Gnarls Barkley’s Crazy. Sweet and
cool man! DARREN WARNER
Phoenix Factor
Parc Hall, Treorchy
Back in March I hosted the final of a music
competition — the Phoenix Factor (www.
phoenixfactor.co.uk) — that aimed to showcase
the talents of young artists, while raising
money and awareness for the Community
Cancer Support Charity. Contestants had been
chosen from auditions held across RCT and
included a mixture of bands and solo artists.
The finalists were Treorchy girl-band Sweet
Manics (who came runners-up in the contest),
singer Hanna Wakeford (who finished third),
Llantrisant band Four Words Later, Pontypridd
band High Demand, solo artist Sam Leon and
13-year-old singer Alysha Morgan. The winners
of the show, however, were Merthyr band Man
Of The Hour who beat off the stiff competition
with their mix of guitar rhythms and pop-punk.
The atmosphere on the night was friendly, with
people from across the Valleys turning out to
support and cheer on every performance.
The show was judged by PLUGGED IN’s very
own Darren Warrner, alongside 4th Street
Traffic’s vocalist and guitarist Alistair and
Twice My Size’s Lloyd and Bob — who all had
the difficult task of choosing a winner. The
show also featured guest performances from
both 4th Street Traffic and Twice My Size, who
got everyone in the audience up on their feet
dancing. The night ended too soon, but before
leaving I managed to catch up with Rich from
Man Of The Hour. “It was a good experience
and a very rewarding one. The night was just
a barrel of laughs really, all the competitors
backstage were really friendly and all got on
well with one another — especially the guys
and girls from Sweet Manics, they were good
fun to be around. We were very pleased we
won, we were pretty surprised actually as we
felt we could’ve given a better performance,
but our months of hard work paid off. I think
it was because we hadn’t gigged in such a long
time, we thought that we maybe could’ve
played better. It was a great feeling to hear
Man Of The Hour being called. Winning this has
given us the confidence to complete a 5-track
EP which we’ve had on the cards for a long
time. We’re also going to gig as much as we
can in the coming months just to promote
ourselves as much as possible.” Congratulations
guys — I look forward to seeing you play again
sometime soon. KY JONES
Solus, Cardiff
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45
The Gathering
Bridgend Rec
It had taken five heats throughout South Wales to get to this
position, so now eight bands — all with members below the
age of 19 — were trying to gain the ultimate title of being
crowned winner of The Gathering Battle of the Bands. This
event wasn’t going to be easy to judge because every band
had a certain quality about them. To win this they needed,
well, to coin a phrase, an X-factor about them. Something
that took them above the rest, a professional quality and a
real sense of the showman about them. But don’t get this
event confused with that TV programme because, unlike
the people who we see displayed for ridicule to line Simon
Cowell’s pockets, the bands I witnessed could all play their
instruments and performed sets of songs that were mainly
their own compositions. This was where you’ll find the true
Welsh Rising Talent. The kids with real X-factor. The bands
were varied, starting with the traditional rock-influenced
Stars & Flights, followed by the unique four-cello performance
of Nexus, who I personally thought were fantastic but could
have done with a vocalist. Throughout the event we also got
to see The Venue with their excellent lead singer holding the
stage, Librarian’s Worst Nightmare who captivated with their
indie-rock cross, Offset who powered through a strong set
and third place overall winners The Decoy, who dominated
the stage. But for me the battle was between fun-loving
Ponty boys Ladies Love A Superhero and Innovence, whose
cool indie sound had me bouncing round the room. To get me
feeling the way I did about the music these bands produced
was no mean feat. I see hundreds of bands in any given year
and it takes a lot to impress me, which both these bands did.
So after Innovence, the last band to play, finished their set
I didn’t envy the judges task of having to choose a winner.
After much deliberation, the results were finally announced
to a tense waiting crowd — Ladies Love A Superhero had
been given the highest accolade of taking the top position.
The Ponty boys had won! Their set was full of passion and,
I believe, was helped by the inclusion of Lady GaGa’s Bad
Romance — they performed a pumped-up indie boys’ version
of the Monster lady’s song that had everyone in the crowd
going dance crazy. They say that there are no losers, only
winners. At the Bridgend Rec I saw a host of winners and I
believe we could hear a lot more from all of the bands I had
seen perform during the night. DARREN WARNER
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CDs, EPs
Downloads
& Demos
Twin Atlantic
Lightspeed (single)
Soft rock/pop-rock sounding track. A nice,
full sounding recording, which is what we
like to hear. Our ears pricked up a bit when
the vocals started, the singer’s voice is, in a
positive way, distinctive and unusual. Good
strong, catchy chorus, the transition of which
from the verses is clean and definite. The
part of Lightspeed that really stood out to us
was the impressive, skilful middle 8 section
which eliminated any doubts that we had
about the track as it was a little repetitive up
until this point. Well done Twinys. THE KIX
Shy Child
Liquid Love (album)
New Yorkers Shy Love are masters of the
summer electronic soundscape. Musically they
offer a straighter version of Friendly Fires,
but with softer, more instantly hooky choruses
and stunning lilting melodies. A good summer
soundtrack. MARK TAMBINI
For the past few months the offices of PLUGGED IN has been inundated with a glut of recordings
by Rising Talent and established artists from Wales and we felt that we needed
to do a bit of flag waving to highlight these amazing artists.
Firstly, we kick off one of the best live acts that
has graced our stages here in Wales over the
last few years. The brilliant debut here in the
UK from Circle Of One is Tied To The Machine,
an album that has been on sale in Japan for a
while now but finally gets its audience here
on our home turf. I wouldn’t have expected
anything less than rock perfection from these
guys and, of course, Tied To The Machine
delivered it from the air raid sirens that
open the album to the epic track Unify that
ends it. If you like good melodic rock then
this is a must-have album and I urge you to
add it to your collection. Excellent stuff...
Following on we have the difficult third album
from PLUGGED IN favs The Automatic titled
Tear The Signs Down. I say difficult because,
unfortunately, this album doesn’t have the
quirky humour of Not Accepted Anywhere or
the strong melodies This Is A Fix gave us. The
album has nothing to key into or sing along
with, and although musically the elements
are all present, the songs just don’t reach the
band’s usual standard. Sorry guys. Still their
live performance is something else... The
self-titled album from Void is full of strong
melodies that pull you in and have you singing
along, and although they may not be breaking
any new ground here don’t let that detract
from the fact that this is solidly brilliant stuff.
Track 5, Wide Awake, with its piano intro is
one of those numbers that should be receiving
Radio airplay everyday... Five-track EP Jack
The Lad from The Gubbins is a cocky selfassured set of powerful indie rock songs that
are infectious from the opener Is This Your Life
to the last number Regressions In Sessions. The
stand out track Means To The End explodes
through your speakers hitting you full force in
the face. Powerful stuff... A band that graces
our Rising Talent pages in this issue, Broken
City Skyline, release the single City Lights, a
competent piece of melodic pop/rock that has
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a strong sing-along factor about it. Strong stuff
that proves these guys are at the forefront of
new music that is coming out of Wales... Quirky
like only the Welsh can be Twmffat release nine
tracks of pure joy called Myfyrdodau Pen Wy
that are made for summer parties. I couldn’t
stop dancing as the hints of reggae, ska and
folk came to the surface. This isn’t your runof-the-mill music, these guys have taken a side
street that proves to be a preferred route.
Brilliant... Winterburn on the other hand
follow a different road and deliver us with a
heavy noise-fest of strong powerful rock on
their three-track Curing The Plague. Frenetic
full-on rock, this ticks all the boxes when it
comes to signing up to rock heaven. Thanks for
providing the lyrics with the CD guys... Twotrack sampler from Ensnared follows in pretty
much the same way, with strong overtones of
doom-laden growled rock played at a frenetic
pace, interlaced with slowed down bass-driven
interludes. The five-piece Bangor boys are
leading the way in North Wales rock and these
two tracks show they are ahead of the game...
Hailing from — as they describe — the bleak
streets of Swansea, Bambi Killers produce a
new generation of punk rock for the masses
that await them. Cluffy’s vocals, reminiscent
of the great Bexi Bondage are backed by a
powerful force of hurtling noise. A definite for
a review in our live pages in the next issue,
but until then this taster of five fab tracks,
including the excellent opener Invisible, will
have to alleviate my punk side for the time
being. Love it... The Gathering 2010 winners
Ladies Love A Superhero are young upstarts
who deliver a pair of highly professional indie/
pop songs. Opener Danger!Alert!Monster! is
probably a warning to the world as to what
they are about to unleash on us, so I say it now,
be prepared. These boys are going somewhere
called fame... Another of our brilliant Rising
Talent bands Colours Of One have a 7-track
mini-album Bad News Makes Big Noise which is
a collection of highly professional traditional
rock songs with a vocalist whose voice is to
die for. Strong, well-constructed numbers
like Burning Ants and Halos prove that our
Welsh boys don’t just have talent to play their
instruments but they can deliver excitement
by fusing them together like a perfect recipe.
Excellent... Following a different path
altogether, Call Me Albert have released Blue
Eyed which is a fun-filled piece of bluesy rock
in the vain of the great John Lee Hooker.
The guitars really do sing on these numbers,
though I must mention the stirring epic final
track Pride Of The Working Man that builds
into a beautiful arrangement of guitars that
take you on a journey through life and ends
with Dowlais Male Voice Choir’s performance
of classic Welsh anthem Myfanwy. Beautiful...
Three-track release Television Killed The
Eskimo from Piblokto is a bass guitar-driven
set that leads you into a false sense of security
as you gently become one with the hypnotic
guitar sound before it screams at you with
aggression and venom. Highly originally, this
Newport four-piece have created a fairly
unique sound and another for my list of mustsee live bands. Love it... The new album
from John Mouse takes a wry look at life
with some of the best song titles that have
graced these page, including Got You Shakin’
Your Head (Like David Gray) and Shinobi Vs
My Little Pony. What you get with this little
beauty are some beautiful crafted songs that
are amazingly fun and enjoyable to listen
to. Very clever... Kyshera release Paradigm,
an amazing collection of music wrapped up
in one hell of a strong album. The diversity
of musical styles makes the band hard to
categorise — other than exceptional. Standout
tracks are Frequency 1 and Frequency 2, an
amazing experimental orchestral piece and
instrumental fantasia respectively. DW
French For Cartridge
Liquorice (album)
This follow-up to the critically acclaimed
2006 album Cases is a compilation of
experimentation and innovativeness, pushing
the boundaries of typical ‘pop’ music. A
number of the tracks on the album are
complicated, yet laid back and casual,
using a number of different instruments and
themes, allowing the audience to familiarise
and connect with their music from the very
beginning. Both male and female vocals
were used throughout the album creating
a whole load of harmonies, sitting together
throughout all 10 tracks of the album.
Although Liquorice isn’t something I would
normally have chosen, it gave me an insight
into the different types of experimental
music out there today. Saying that, I do have
two favourite tracks — Two Feet In The Water
and Loosening The Structures, which I believe
are the album’s best material simply because
of the appeal in the simplicity of the tracks.
The different material that Catherine Hentz
and Henri Vaxby produce is a perfect example
of the wide variety of music that’s out there
today, and I enjoyed the inventiveness
of French For Cartridge. I’d definitely
recommend this album to anyone who’s
looking for something new. RHYS TAYLOR
Stanley Odd
Oddio (album)
Not a huge hip-hop lover, but this band
secretly surprised me by their high-quality
production and interesting instrumentation
throughout each track. The feel-good groove
of each song gets your head bopping and
body shaking! Interesting mix of female
vocals alongside the rap which gives these
songs a different R&B flavour. An album to
look out for! KADESHA
The Dangerous Summer
Reach For The Sun (album)
From the first notes of the opening track,
Where I Want To Be, I knew I’d be looking
a lot further into this band. The catchy
choruses and AJ Perdomo’s rich vocals were
pleasing to the ear, whilst the gripping lyrics
struck a chord with a lot more class than
its soft rock genre’s many predecessors.
Although the songs may blend together a
little, the brave range of topics covered in
this album (some of which include addiction,
suicide and religion) present enough food
for thought to keep the listener intrigued,
whilst the angsty riffs keep the pace. To put
it simply, The Dangerous Summer are a fresh,
catchy band with an intelligent edge that
sets them apart from their label-mates, and
their debut studio album certainly does them
justice. With the help of their up-and-coming
management, Hopeless Records, this band
might just be the next big thing! PORTIA
Morrissey
HMV/Parlaphone Singles ’88-’98 (album)
Morrissey covers all bases during a decade
of diligence that made the Top 40 a more
interesting entity. Monumental ‘A’ and ‘B’
sides has the Mancunian bard deliver lustrous
lyrics and musical melodies that confirm
his status as a peerless pop star! Everyday
may be like Sunday but Sing your Life away
to these anthems and help override a lot of
that daily drama that drags us down! 3 CD’s
and 62 tunes from the Last of the famous
international Playboys…this is true genius! Do
not ignore, get close! ROB JONES
Sienna
Essence (album)
Sienna as a musician has Japanese and
Scandinavian influences due to her varied
background, and this eclectic mix of
cultures is apparent in her music. Essence
contains songs bursting with electronic and
dance beats interspersed with additions of
jazz melodies to create a distinctive and
enthralling sound. The album may be classed
in the easy-listening category, but only
because the music it holds falls pleasantly
on the ears of the listener. Tracks such as
Precious! and Heaven’s River intertwine
enigmatic and often haunting vocals with
the dance rhythms, while Zen is layered
with Oriental echoes which entrance the
listener. The Garden Of Nostalgia produces
said nostalgic mood, using atmospheric
melodies and rhythms which transport the
listener to a peaceful world occupied solely
by their own memories and thoughts. Essence
is a very effective and fascinating album
which is unique and original in its style and
presentation. NIA
My Ceramic Rabbit
6-track demo
My Ceramic Rabbit could perhaps be touted
as Welsh urban rockers, with a hint of pop.
This 6-track demo album starts off fast,
with Why Do You Dance? having deep tones
to the instruments in stark contrast to
singer Danial’s higher-pitched tone. Devil
In The Detail has a deeper timbre, with a
slower style. Third track It Goes On opens
with mysterious typing sounds and is a little
reminiscent of Aha. High Heels & Low Lives
brings things back to a faster pace, while
the vocalist experiments with some curious
tongue-rolling which is in stark contrast
to the next track, where he draws out
the words. The final track seems the most
promising, with some enticing harmonies and
a nice tune. These young lads know their
instruments and put their heart and soul into
their playing, which will doubtless continue
to improve as they grow and settle into their
unique style. WEDNESDAY
Voga.Parochia
With No Certainty (demo)
Love this! A beautifully sung CD with
minimalist electronica atmospherics that
tickle your eardrums. There are some
interesting lyrical concepts on offer too, the
type of CD that brings out your reflective
side. Very mellow and perfect for lazy
summer mornings. Buy it! MARK TAMBINI
Admiral Fallow
Boots Met My Face (album)
Very interesting song titles indeed on
this album. Squealing Pigs is a particular
favourite of mine! Working-class lyrics give
this band a very down-to-earth vibe with
beautiful instrumentation to accompany.
Folksy vocals and chilled acoustic music is
a perfect combination and this band pull it
off brilliantly throughout their album. The
beautiful harmonies, spine-chilling and subtle
melodies have created a beautiful album
from these guys! KADESHA
X-Ray Spex
Live At The Roundhouse, 2008 (CD/DVD)
The Virgin Encyclopaedia of Popular Music
states that X-Ray Spex was ‘One of the most
inventive, original and genuinely exciting
groups to emerge during punk’. X-Ray Spex
has released a CD/DVD recorded at a reunion
concert, and this first live outing since
1979 has a rendition of the classic Germ
Free Adolescents album. Dynamic diva Poly
Styrene and bassist Paul Dean are joined by
Sid Truelove, Gt Saxby, Flash and 3,000 fiery
fans for a nuclear night of electric energy.
ROB JONES
Kakuzi
Sun Kissed Planet (single)
Started a little slow as it took a while
to get going, but once it did, the song was
pleasant and the vocal harmonies were
tight. Instantaneously reminded us of The
Lion King — which we’re not saying is a bad
thing — due to the almost African-influenced
drum patterns and instrumentation. We’re a
little thrown as to what genre to place the
track in, but we’ll settle on African tribal
meets chill-out, meets acoustic…ish. There’s
also some oriental sounding parts too which
throws another ethnic sound into the mix.
Would recommend to fans of chill-out music.
And fans of The Lion King. THE KIX
Mathew Glenn Thompson
The Garden & The Arcade (album)
Right from the first track, End Of The Parade,
you can hear the quality of this indie/
alternative rock musician. A strong, magical
voice that gives you goose-bumps from the
get-go. The songs are complex, multi-layers
of music, which is not so surprising as this
isn’t Thompson’s first foray into music — to
his credit is the 2007 film The Lycanthrope, in
which he juggled the many roles of executive
producer, editor, cameo actor and composer.
Just as the first track shakes you awake with
its energetic beat, the next tracks I Get Lost
and Daylight calm things down a notch, with
firm-but-gentle melodies and some pretty
piano. The lyrics are poignant and emotive,
as evidenced in Ordinary Girl and Half Of The
Whole. Hovering Over Hell is exceptionally
moving and deserving of special mention. A
stunning debut album. WEDNESDAY
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49
Alight
Eyes Aflame/Warm Wreckage (single)
Both singles were quite mellow and reminded
us of something Nickleback would produce.
In our opinion, they’d fall into the genre of
soft rock, and were both were fairly slowpaced and didn’t really build to anything too
exciting, but the harmonies were good and
added a nice touch. The cover of the CD was
really professional and eye-catching, so top
marks for presentation. Overall, we think
the tracks were quite enjoyable, but slightly
lacked the creativity as they were a little too
similar to each other. THE KIX
Tell It To The Marines
Bridges (EP)
This was not quite my cup of tea. The
strong accent of the lead singer is irritating
at best and the fact that the boys hail
from Cambridge (suggesting that they
are exaggerating it) makes it even worse!
However, regardless of that, I can see why
Tell It To The Marines are as highly regarded
as they are on the up-and-coming music
scene. The band’s debut EP is a catchy dose
of pop that takes you through the cool tones
of Flare Guns, which promises to leave,
“alive, alive!” chanting in your head for hours
after, to the angsty My Best Friend, followed
by the echoing sincerity of 806 and the sure
fan-girl favourite Fireworks, and finally, the
album showcase, title-track, Bridges.
With rippling guitars and the strongest lyrics
of the EP, Bridges would be first choice
single material in my book. In general, the
album didn’t impress as much as it promised.
However, it’s downbeat pop, reminiscent of
one-hit-wonders, is an easy listen and has
potential to be a teen-girl favourite. PORTIA
Karl Culley
Bundle Of Nerves (album)
Bundle of Nerves entrances from the
beginning, with its interesting combination
of folksy melodies and atmospheric vocals.
Karl Culley’s unique voice adds an enigmatic
mood to the album, and allows the listener
to feel involved in the stories he tells with
his songs — In Her Nature has echoes of
animalistic fables. Opener Elephant Juice
uses a fast – paced, Flamenco-style rhythm
for an upbeat start to the album, while
I’m Not Proud Of Myself is haunting with
Culley’s wounded voice heavy with emotion.
The bare, raw vocals is emphasised by the
crisp guitar to produce a distinctive sense
of both the musician and the listener being
united in a journey of musical discovery.
Title track Bundle Of Nerves is bursting with
lively rhythm and literally suggests a build-up
of nervous energy exploding through and
forming music. An album is full of imagery
and a creativity that makes it stand out from
the crowd. NIA
Hot Chip
One Life Stand (album)
For those of you who, like me, couldn’t
get beyond the geek chic glasses and general
“weird lab-guy” look and actually give Hot
Chip a good listen, please do so. They write
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fantastic songs with a beautiful mix of all
things synth and some lovely vocal work to
boot. I challenge you to listen to title track
One Life Stand and not be moved by the
emotional lyrical content delivered by the
fragile voice of Alexis Taylor. This album
offers a wide range of musical styles for the
listener to dip into. Take Slush for example, a
stunning love ballad, or Thieves In The Night,
which is just 80s synth heaven. Ignore the
Thunderbirds image and listen to some fine
musical craftsmanship. MARK TAMBINI
April Maybe May
April Maybe May (album)
This band brings out the chill in chill-out!
Their melodic melodies and soothingly
haunting vocals combined make the perfect
acoustic folk music. Beautiful lyrics to
accompany the tunes make this band a
definite recommendation for a summer’s
chilled-out day. Acoustic lovers keep your
eyes peeled — this band is definitely gonna be
your cuppa tea! KADESHA
Jack Rabbit Slim
Hairdo’s & Heartaches (album)
The title track sets the initial scene of the
Rockabilly sound, featuring a chorus line
that transports you back to the early 50s,
with the innocence of teen-romance and the
heartache of unrequited love. Everyday’s
Gonna Be Like Yesterday picks up the tempo
with a perky, optimistic tune and chipper
lyrics that coax out a grin; but this is quickly
followed by a very fast-paced Typhoon, with
a raw turn and some steaming guitar in the
middle. Then singer Butfoy develops his badboy persona in The Prisoner with its angsty
lyrics and sonorous rhythm; closely followed
by the sleaze of 21st Century Bettie Page —
slick and animalistic. Time Is A Wastin’ is the
most catchy song in the collection, that gives
the feel of being in a small-town American
bar. Another track of note is Shake Rag,
which features some memorable harmonica
and a nod to Elvis. Overall, an album with
a swinging, catchy feel, though highly
suggestive lyrics that teeter on the edge of
decency at times — for example, Skin, with
its rather explicit suggestions that had me
blushing. WEDNESDAY
Lovvers
OCD Go Go Go Girls (album)
This album is full-force 70s US punk rock
via a band from Nottingham! This is a nopretence tribute to fast and furious new wave
that aims for the jugular not the grandiose!
As the pop market wallows in over-produced,
neatly packaged bile, the four fighters of
Lovvers go for an old school riot! ROB JONES
Swing Youth
Jennifer/Hey Keith (single)
In wake of the recent smattering of indie
bands cropping up over the country, I often
find myself asking, “What’s new about this
band? What actually sets them apart from
all the other finger-picking, horn-rimmed
spec-wearing types?” In Swing Youth’s case,
I didn’t have to look far for an answer. The
spooky, Ghost Busters-esque undertones of
Jennifer perfectly complement the chorus of
“Jenny’s here again,” to bring a shiver down
your spine. Hey Keith, on the other hand,
provides a catchy, sing-back chorus of “hey,
hey Keith” that you just know is going to be
echoed around concert venues across the
country! In all, this rhythmic, catchy sound is
a refreshing change from the robotic groans
of “my girlfriend left me,” that we are so
used to hearing these days. PORTIA
Admiral Fallow
Squealing Pigs (single)
We like this one. A happy, sunny and bright
acoustic/folk track. A feel-good summer
song. Musically well-written and the structure
of the song is even better. Dynamics were
awesome and in all the right places. We are
fond of the lyrics and also we liked what we
suspected was a Scottish twang on the vocals,
and thought both voices complimented each
other really well, providing a nice contrast. A
cheerful track which made us smile and do a
little dance. Nice job guys. THE KIX
All Or Nothing/Chaos Days
(split artist ep)
For two fairly unknown bands it may seem
quite a risk to release a split album together.
However, it was a well made choice for
All Or Nothing and Chaos Days, as their
unique music styles complement each other
perfectly. All Or Nothing are upbeat, playing
their own brand of edgy punk-rock that would
appeal fans of a range of genres. Hate Being
The Dip Guy boasts a catchy chorus that is
sure to stick in people’s minds for hours,
while Don’t Do This is heavier with hard
riffs and a pounding beat that promises to
be spectacular live. Chaos Days are just as
impressive, with light and frothy vocals that
have echoes of Fall Out Boy in them. You &
I could be a candidate for the next Summer
hit with its buoyant rhythms and vocals.
The screamo elements in At Heaven’s Gate
contrasted well with the melodic vocals in
the rest of the song to produce a memorable
track which showed the band’s versatility as
musicians. Both All Or Nothing and Chaos Days
are impressive. NIA
Crazy Arm
Still To Keep (1-track demo)
This track is full of promise with its catchy,
feel-good rock track with a definite radio
friendly, pop vibe. Classic rock vocals ripping
throughout the song will appeal to many
music lovers. Looking forward to hearing
more from this lively band! KADESHA
Tinie Temper
Pass Out (single)
With a name like Tinie Temper, I have to
admit, my first expectations were either of
a softcore indie rock band with a penchant
for a sensitive love song and a clever play on
words, or a “kooky” female artist who’s main
inspirations are La Roux and Ladyhawk.
However, I was very, very, sorely mistaken!
This lighthearted, beat-driven dance-rap
tune is crammed with nightclub nostalgia
and is sure to get your blood pumping. I can
guarantee that you will soon find yourself
hearing this song almost daily, and with the
amount of airplay it has already racked up,
be it Radio One, Soccer AM or blasting from
a mobile phone at the back of a bus, this
song is a sure hit. If you liked Calvin Harris
& Dizzee Rascal’s Dance Wiv Me (and let’s
face it, who didn’t!?), then you’ll love Tinie
Temper, and with the single offering three
versions of the song, you’re spoiled for
choice! Go on, you know you like it! PORTIA
Bad Lieutenant
Never Cry Another Tear (album)
This is the best album from the New Order
dynasty for years. New Order lads Bernard
Sumner, Phil Cunningham and Stephen Morris
join for a CD that resonates of their previous
work with a taste of the Electronic era! A
truly uplifting record that Doves devotees
will love and there are extra vocals from new
talent Jake Evans, plus input from the likes of
Alex James (Blur). ROB JONES
Esmee Denters
Outta Here (album)
Esmee Denters burst onto the music scene
in 2009 with her catchy single Outta Here,
and her album of the same title follows the
path set by the single’s success having a mix
of pop and R&B made unique by Denters’
strong and soulful voice. Her songs are
upbeat, with rhythms it’s hard not to dance
to and memorable melodies, but her lyrics
are not hollow as in many pop songs in the
current charts. Victim combines R&B beats
with deep and meaningful lyrics, while tracks
Love Dealer and Casanova are full of cheeky
attitude. The variety of songs on the album
maintains the interest of the listener and
helps it to stand out from the mainstream
crowd, and Denters’ powerful voice carries
the mixture of styles well. Outta Here is
an album that has the ability to appeal to
everyone, and has a timeless quality that will
ensure its success well into the future. NIA
Knievel Genius
Down With The Fairies (demo)
No nonsense rock offerings here. Down
With The Fairies is a rather raucous affair
that smacks you in the face like a wet hand
slap (not quite a fisty punch — a bit too
gleaming for that). Houdini Pt1 is a more epic
gargantuan affair, with down-tuned guitars
and big chunky choruses. The song features
sweet variations on forte that serve to show
off some stunning clean guitar playing in the
verses. Performed with passion, I’d love to
see how well this comes across live as I have
a feeling it would be monstrous.
MARK TAMBINI
Isa & The Filthy Tongues
Dark Passenger (2-CD album)
Dark and dirty, the deep beats pound your
heart in Jim’s Killer as Stacey’s soft-yetedgy vocals whisper the sinister lament in
an ominous way at the start of this postpunk/psychobilly debut album. Follow-up
track New Town Killers is then taken on by
alternative singer Martin, sounding like a
story-line response to the initial track, not
only in terms of the subject and lyrics, but
with its competing and complementing fast
rhythm and punchy tune. A great start to a
great album. The rest of the tracks on the
first CD are catchy, though lyrically dark and
intentionally uneasy, with the typical off-key
drops in vocals which remind the listener of
the punk influences. Inside Out is one to pay
particular attention to, with deep, lulling
vocals and strong, enigmatic bass; while
From The Treetops is truly mesmerising.
The second CD is a remix album, beginning
with some inspiring percussional elements
and spoken-word overdubbing that pushes
the music further into the punk genre, and
this is followed by fully instrumental pieces
that entrance the listener. Dreamcatcher
is the most electro of the remixes, with a
changeable rhythm that should infuriate the
club-floor dancers. With the first CD, you can
definitely hear the influence of Nick Cave’s
Murder Ballads, while the bonus disc is an
eclectic collection of styles and influences
that should appeal more to the trance
fans. Some nice remixes of a few of the
corresponding tracks from the first CD and a
definite bonus for the listener. WEDNESDAY
The Hush Now
Constellations (album)
I must admit, to begin with, I was skeptical
about this album. The intense sound of
The Hush Now takes a little getting used to,
but about halfway into track two, Hoping
And Waiting, it was as if something clicked
and suddenly I found myself getting more
and more into what I was listening to. The
distinct vocals of Noel Kelly reminded me
of Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo, and the
songs were each as classy, well-structured
and memorable as the last. With a summery,
Beach Boys vibe, the poppy fun of Weezer
and the lyrical finesse of The Cure, The Hush
Now are an intelligent and adventurous
band who are fond of offering the odd genre
crossover. For example, there’s a banjo intro
to Fireflies, and even an unexpected opera
piece in the middle of Hoping And Waiting. A
highly recommended album that’s
worth a listen, even if it’s not what you’re
used to. You never know, you might just
like it! PORTIA
Volcanoes
Sugar & Snarls (ep)
Volcanoes couldn’t have named their EP any
more aptly, because it does exactly what it
says on the tin. The band combines sugary
vocals and melodies with snarling guitars
and sharp lyrics to produce a catchy blend of
indie–rock that is sure to catapult them into
the limelight. Level Up contains a cheeky
rhythm that entices even the most stonyhearted listeners to dance and adds a synthy
tone to the EP. As an opener it is perfect as
it sets the bar to a high position immediately,
and allows the band to consistently impress
with each follow-up song. Fret In The Half
Moon provides a contrast with its heavier
beat and contagious chorus, allowing the
chatty vocal sounds to engage the listener,
whilst Pigs In Blankets uses a rumbling bass
line and a light-hearted tone to create a
funky and memorable track. Closer Fathoms
begins with grungy-sounding guitars and
escalates into an angsty and impressive tune,
with crisp vocals enunciating biting lyrics. As
soon as the final track ends it’s an immediate
reaction to press the replay button in order
to experience the individual and captivating
Sugar & Snarls again and again. NIA
Ian McNabb
Great Things (album)
Ian McNabb has an impressive history.
His music career spans 27 years and he has
enjoyed success with The Icicle Works on both
sides of the Atlantic and has recorded with
bands like Neil Young’s band Crazy Horse,
to name a few. This latest effort is a bit of
a slow starter, but when given a chance to
flower, blossoms into a diverse collection of
mature compositions. All About A Woman
dives into darker territory with programmed
beats, distorted vocals and haunting, jaunty
fiddles. This Love showcases Ian at his
songwriting best (except for the dodgy solo),
stripped back with an acoustic guitar. At
times though the album does drag a little. A
little more of the passion in the chorus vocal
of Stormchaser would be nice. MARK TAMBINI
Sergeant BuzFuz
Here Comes The Popes (single)
Wow! Loving the funky bass introduction
to this album’s grooving atmosphere which
leaves you waiting patiently for the vocals
to kick in and take the song flying in the
air — and it doesn’t disappoint! Vocals are
interesting. Kinda like marmite, you’ll love it
or hate it. I definitely recommend you check
out this band for yourselves! KADESHA
Echo & The Bunnymen
The Fountain (album)
The Fountain is a much of a muchness
album from Echo & the Bunnymen, and a
sole standout song is the updated Velvet
Underground vibe of Proxy. Gone is the
post punk pop perfection of the 80s albums
— Crocodiles, Heaven Up Here, Porcupine
and Ocean Rain — as the Bunnymen now
seem content with melodious guitar rock
mediocrity. Ian and Will survive from the
original line up and let’s hope that this once
dynamic duo can return to the diamond days
of Bunnymen brilliance! ROB JONES
Broken Links
The Fine Line Between Choice/Decay (ep)
Broken Links play their own brand of rock
tinged with a Goth edge, the booming
vocals of the lead singer reminiscent of Joy
Division (who the band name as one of their
influences) and newcomers White Lies. The
electronic–sounding Reinvent brings the
album to a pounding start, closely followed
by the heavy Therapy Sessions In The Dark
and the soaring Choice/Decay. The album
is full of sluggish beats and thundering
bass lines complete with deep and soulful
lyrics, and this proves to be an impressive
combination. Closer In Your Headlights
introduces sharp guitar riffs and hard drum
beats to the mix, producing a headbanger
of a track and leaving the album on a
cliff–hanger with the listener craving
more of this outstanding music. The Fine
Line Between Choice/Decay is a brilliant
album and Broken Links are sure to get the
recognition they deserve very soon. NIA
Frankie Knuckles
Motivation Too (album)
This album has the pioneer of house
music uniting fresh tunes by performers and
producers from the scene. The buoyant beats
can fuel feet to the dancefloor and the mood
is in the momentum, but this genre can filter
into an interminable slice of one-tempo
sound. This debit is evident within several of
the songs and the track schedule. The Dr Gary
Gray and G Club entries offer slightly better
beats, but apart from that Knuckles cannot
make a fist of this homogeny. ROB JONES
PLUGGED IN
51
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