Indie Revolution At Focus Wales 2024

Focus Wales is an exciting event at the heart of Wrexham that has been going for over a decade now. It’s a great event for discovering new bands and a fantastic opportunity for anyone in the music industry to network. With three days of acts from around the world there is something for everyone.

We had scheduled so many exciting acts to see that over the course of the weekend we must have walked a thousand miles! The first act that stood out to us was The Silver Lines at a fantastic venue called Hope Street Church. The band is genre defying with songwriting that covers all matter of taboo topics. We were totally blown away by them. Their fantastic new single ‘Cocaine’ is out now.

An act that has resonated with me all week since the festival is the wonderful Charm Of Finches, an Australian sister duo who performed within the stunning St. Giles Church, the setting was just perfect for their ethereal and enchanting performance. A song that really captured me was ‘Clean Cut’.

Megan Wyn rocked it out at The Rockin’ Chair. Megan is an Anglesey born artist who is destined to go far, for such a young age she has already accomplished so much as a musician. She gave an excellent performance, reminiscent of Debbie Harry from Blondie or even the likes of PJ Harvey.

The Garrys are a sibling quartet from Canada consisting of three sisters and their brother who make surf music dripping with nostalgia that could be straight out of a Quentin Tarantino movie soundtrack. They gave a fun and groovy performance at The Parish.

The Royston Club played the main stage Llwyn Isaf, they played a blistering set to a passionate Wrexham crowd who totally soaked them up. With immense vocals they delivered great song lyrics perfect for anthem singalongs, you could feel the crowds love for the band. What another great moment for these talented home town boys.

North Wales band Holy Coves played an electrifying set to an eager crowd at Hope Street Church, the venue was packed out with people listening in off the street. They opened with the vibrant Away We Go and closed with the darkly devastating Droner, they had the crowd in the palm of their hands. If they return to Focus Wales 2025 they will most certainly need a bigger venue.

Adwaith who are a Welsh band to the core played a stomping set at The Rockin’ Chair, the highlight was hearing their latest single MWY, a track that is made to be played live.

Sister Envy are a North Wales band signed to Snowdonia Records (along with Holy Coves). They played their debut at Focus Wales in the Wynnstay Arms and blew the crowd away. The very same day they released their second single ‘Tide’. This is a band that will go far with their exceptional talents.

Spiritualized, a prolific songwriter and musician of Space Rock delivered a beautiful set. It was great for the long time fans but maybe could of done with some of their more popular songs, they were still on fire and delivered a fantastic performance.

That was to name a few, there were many more I would of liked to have seen, for example, Mr. Phormula, Hazmat, Gallops, CVC, Chalk, the list goes on, it was impossible to be everywhere at once but it demonstrates the great variety of talent showcased at Focus Wales. The weekend was packed with astonishing performances from so many accomplished artists. I’m eager to see what Focus Wales 2025 brings us!

Super early bird tickets are now available for Focus Wales 2025 via the link below!

http://www.focuswales.com

Emily Marsden – Editor
#IndieRevolution
@Indierevuk
Indierevuk@gmail.com

Indie Revolution Single Of The Week – Hazmat ‘Pulling Away From Me’

Indie Revolutions Single Of The Week is Wales’ Hazmat with their powerful new single ‘Pulling Away From Me’. The single screams 90’s nostalgia, induces goosebumps and takes the listener on a beautiful, grungey, shoegazing journey.

Although hailing from the dragons nest in Wrexham, HAZMAT are currently based out of Liverpool. HAZMAT is composed of Iwan Douglas (vocals/rhythm guitar), Luca Visetti (lead guitar), Owen Brown (bass guitar) & Matt Birnie (drums). Drawing inspiration from the classic alternative sounds of the 90’s and infusing it with heavy shoegaze fuzz riffs, the HAZMAT blend creates a captivating and dark dreamscape. Having made a mark on numerous hot venues across the UK scene, HAZMAT has performed in multiple cities across the UK, captivating audiences who share their love for heavy & spacey noise.

HAZMAT’s release ‘Pulling Away From Me’ is the first of eagerly anticipated material from HAZMAT since 2022’s ‘DOOM’ EP. Moving towards a more melodic and ambient sound, Pulling Away From Me’ encapsulates and develops the established HAZMAT sound, with cavernous verses, intricate guitar layers and a gargantuan chorus. ‘Pulling Away From Me’ delivers a message of raw emotion, exposing feelings of being trapped inside a decaying relationship, allowing that person to fade away. The track came to life in Liverpool’s prestigious Motor Museum studio, produced by Ben Harper and mixed by industry heavyweight Al Groves (Bring Me The Horizon, Blanket, The Mysterines) The band’s partnership with Groves is a match made in heaven for this track, with Groves’ passion and ability for larger than life rock productions elevating the band’s sound to new sonic heights.

‘Pulling Away From Me’ marks a sea change in HAZMAT’s artistic journey and captures the energy and sonics presented in their recent live performances across the UK. This release is sure to set the stage for a new, more refined era of the group ahead of what will be an explosive set at this year’s FOCUS Wales, where they will be performing on the main stage in support of The Mysterines.

‘Pulling Away From Me’ is available to listen to now across all streaming platforms!

Emily Marsden – Editor
#IndieRevolution
@Indierevuk
Indierevuk@gmail.com

Hazmat Release New Single ‘Pulling Away From Me’

HAZMAT are a dynamic grunge/dreamo band hailing from the dragons’ nest Wrexham, Wales but are currently based out of Liverpool. HAZMAT is composed of Iwan Douglas (vocals/rhythm guitar), Luca Visetti (lead guitar), Owen Brown (bass guitar) & Matt Birnie (drums). Drawing inspiration from the classic alternative sounds of the 90’s and infusing it with heavy shoegaze fuzz riffs, the HAZMAT blend creates a captivating and dark dreamscape. Having made a mark on numerous hot venues across the UK scene, HAZMAT has performed in multiple cities across the UK, captivating audiences who share their love for heavy & spacey noise.

HAZMAT’s release ‘Pulling Away From Me’ is the first of eagerly anticipated material from HAZMAT since 2022’s ‘DOOM’ EP. Moving towards a more melodic and ambient sound, Pulling Away From Me’ encapsulates and develops the established HAZMAT sound, with cavernous verses, intricate guitar layers and a gargantuan chorus. ‘Pulling Away From Me’ delivers a message of raw emotion, exposing feelings of being trapped inside a decaying relationship, allowing that person to fade away. The track came to life in Liverpool’s prestigious Motor Museum studio, produced by Ben Harper and mixed by industry heavyweight Al Groves (Bring Me The Horizon, Blanket, The Mysterines) The band’s partnership with Groves is a match made in heaven for this track, with Groves’ passion and ability for larger than life rock productions elevating the band’s sound to new sonic heights.

‘Pulling Away From Me’ marks a sea change in HAZMAT’s artistic journey and captures the energy and sonics presented in their recent live performances across the UK. This release is sure to set the stage for a new, more refined era of the group ahead of what will be an explosive set at this year’s FOCUS Wales, where they will be performing on the main stage in support of The Mysterines.

‘Pulling Away From Me’ is available to listen to now across all streaming platforms!

Emily Marsden – Editor
#IndieRevolution
@Indierevuk
Indierevuk@gmail.com