Martin Youth Glover joined by Alan McGee bring stories of a life in music to North Wales. Chatting, answering your questions, playing music and having a laugh. An extremely unique opportunity for young bands, DJ’s and musicians alike to network with two of the music world’s most fascinating people.
Martin Glover better known by his stage name Youth is best known as a founding member and bassist of the rock band Killing Joke and as British record producer for some of the biggest superstars on the planet. One of the most adaptable and diverse musical figures of the modern age, an influencer of producers and musicians.
World renowned for signing Oasis, Primal Scream, My Bloody Valentine and more, Alan McGee the hugely successful Maverick of the music industry, record label owner, musician, manager and co founder of the independent Creation Records label will be joining Youth for these special evenings.
Composed of members of long-standing Cardiff stalwarts TJ Roberts, Rainbow Maniac and AHGEEBEE, Show Dogs meld acerbic observations of contemporary Welsh life and politics, set to a chamber-pop soundtrack. Artwork comes from photographer Elijah Lewis Thomas and Ben Wood.
On Y Rhwd Gwelw, translated as ‘The Pale Rust’, Show Dog’s continue their exploration of contemporary Welsh life and the country’s political landscape. Opening with the track ‘Tropical Republic’, the lyrics consider the potential future of a Welsh republic, particularly lead singer TJ Roberts’ propensity for romanticising such a distant prospect. Second is the single ‘Don’t Go In The Water’ which explores the pollution of welsh waters and the paranoia induced by living so close to irradiated mud. The EP closes with the band’s namesake, ‘Show Dogs’, an republican anthem dealing with national identity and monarchy.
The band continue to move towards a more rich and orchestral instrumentation, including a wide array of percussion, vintage synthesisers and twelve-string guitars evoking ‘Village Green’ era Kinks and The Boo Radleys. Engineered and produced by Thomas V Westgard and Secondson (Danielle Lewis, Super Furry Animals) at After Life Studios. Show Dogs proclaim that punk is not dead in Wales and its message has arrived in 3-part harmony.
Following on from the brilliant ‘Giamocs’ Hippies vs Ghosts release ‘Green Planets’, the sixth fantastic new album from Welsh experimental indie rocker Owain Ginsberg, hailing from Cwm y Glo in North Wales.
A kaleidoscope of instruments and unique sounds, this album has you hooked from the first track ‘Wrth Y Mor’ right down to the finale ‘Potions in the Morning.’ It’s full of free flowing music that has no boundaries, groovy and psychedelic. ‘Western Lie’ has to be a favourite for me. An epically atmospheric track!
Although Hippies vs Ghosts have released six albums you will only find two on spotify. For fans who want to check out their back catalogue head over to Bandcamp.
Following on from his album ‘Afal’, Adam Walton from North Wales has put together a collection of instrumental, ambient, field and classical recordings sketched together in his bedroom. The LP spans everything from traditional instruments to synths and effects pedals and it works to create beautiful ambiance in each track.
Intended to be listened to quietly, so the music can insinuate itself and calm the soul, This LP does exactly that. A beautifully crafted compilation of songs.
For listeners of Antonymes, Group Listening, Mogwai, Accu, King Biscuit Time, Graham Devine, Gareth Bonello, Gwenno, Brian Eno, Barrios, The Cure, Boards of Canada, Gerard Cousins, knobs.
South Wales band Black Heart Drifters launch their very first music video for the cool and moody ‘Mary Celeste’ from their album ‘Outlaws Under A Western Sky’.
UPCOMING GIGS:
Friday 26 May: Cruisers Rumble Fest, Southam RFUC
Saturday 03 June: The Patriot, Crumlin
Friday 11 Aug: James Turners Birthday Bash, Lydney Town Hall
Friday 18 Aug: The Pitt, McCanns Newport
Friday 08 Sept: Summer Sales Fest, Kemble
Saturday 23 Sep: Dros Ben Tan, NeathFriday 08 Dec: The Pitt, McCanns, Newport
Composed of members of long-standing Cardiff stalwarts TJ Roberts, Rainbow Maniac and AHGEEBEE, Show Dogs meld acerbic observations of contemporary Welsh life and politics, set to a chamber-pop soundtrack. Artwork comes from photographer Elijah Lewis Thomas and Ben Wood.
Don’t Go In The Water, inspired by the Beach Boys’ own eco-protest song Don’t Go Near the Water, takes aim at the perpetual issue of water pollution on Welsh coastlines. Stemming from lead singer TJ Roberts’ paranoia of living so close to approximately 100,000 tonnes of irradiated mud, melody and lyrics jostle with a nervous energy and shifting intensity; from a delicate sincerity to an ironic apathy.
The band continue to move towards a more rich and orchestral instrumentation, including a wide array of percussion, vintage synthesisers and twelve-string guitars evoking ‘Village Green’ era Kinks and The Boo Radleys.
Engineered and produced by Thomas V Westgard and Secondson (Danielle Lewis, Super Furry Animals) at After Life Studios, the band spent the summer of 2022 recording three EPs the second of which, ‘Y Rhwd Gwelw’ (The Pale Rust) will be released on the 17th of March. Show Dogs proclaim that punk is not dead in Wales and its message has arrived in 3-part harmony.
Armed with a dusty box of his fathers’ old 80s and funk records for inspiration, Bridgend singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Ci Gofod (Jack Thomas Davies) made his solo debut with the sweet and soulful single ‘Castle Square’ in 2020.
Taking influences from the likes of Super Furry Animals and Sly And The Family Stone, Ci Gofod’s brand new single ‘Rhedeg Yn Y Nos’; which translates to ‘Running At Night’ is a blissful yet funky groove that melts dreamy guitar melodies over Thomas-Davies chilled out Welsh language vocals.
Davies writes and records his 80s-inspired soul-infused disco-funk grooves from his bedroom studio in the South Wales Valleys. To bring his unique brand of indie-funk euphoria to stages, his live band now consists of Josh David Read (keys, guitar, vox), Lloyd Bastian (guitar, vox), Quillian Thomas (bass), and Josh Cox (drums).
Ci Gofod’s singles have been a regular feature on Adam Walton’s BBC Radio Wales show and BBC Radio Cymru. Aled Hugh’s BBC Radio Cymru show also ran an extensive interview in Welsh.
Ci Gofod’s most successful single to date, Lose the Pressure, which will be a hit with any fans of Chic, Jungle, Sly and the Family Stone, has racked up over 46k streams on Spotify alone.
Along with his mission to fill dancefloors with his energetic and flamboyant sound, Ci Gofod also seeks to orchestrate aural melting pots of funk, indie and neo-soul that pays ode to his Welsh heritage. His sights are firmly fixed on making an everlasting mark on the South Wales music scene; his success from the outset is proving that he’s a soulful force to be reckoned with.
“Hitting play on any of Ci Gofod’s singles is a sure-fire way to get a soul fix, but for the most potent shot, delve right into the dreamy, energetic tones of Digital Conversation which captures the lament for our digital reality while allowing you to be enlivened by it. If that isn’t how you define stellar musicianship, I don’t know what is.” – Amelia Vandergast, A&R Factory
Taking influences from the likes of Super Furry Animals and Sly And The Family Stone, Ci Gofod’s brand new single ‘Rhedeg Yn Y Nos’; which translates to ‘Running At Night’ is a blissful yet funky groove that melts dreamy guitar melodies over Thomas-Davies chilled out Welsh language vocals.
Alternative Psych-Rock band Holy Coves head out on a free entry Welsh Tour of Wales in March to help the Welsh independent music scene during the cost of living crisis. The tour kicks off at The Parish, Wrexham on Thursday 23rd March, followed by Cwrw, Carmarthen on Friday 24th March and the final tour date at Cader Rocks Torrent Walk, Dolgellau on Saturday 25th March. The band will also play an acoustic instore, free entry gig at The Second 45 Record Shop in Llanelli on Saturday 25th March at 1pm, in partnership with Yr Wyddfa Records, Music Scene Wales, Welsh Connections and Cader Rocks.
Thu 23rd March – The Parish, Wrexham.
Fri 24th March – Cwrw, Carmarthen.
Sat 25th March – Cader Rocks Torrent Walk, Dolgellau
* FREE ENTRY *
Sat 25th March – 1pm – The Second 45 Record Shop – Acoustic instore gig
Crëwyd gan Ynyr a Bethan Mai Morgan Ifan Ffilmiwyd yn Pantri Lolfa Pen-bre, diolch i Holly a Lee Weston-Zygaldo
Created by Ynyr and Bethan Mai Morgan Ifan Filmed in Pantri Lolfa Pen-bre, thanks to Holly and Lee Weston-Zygaldo
(SCROLL DOWN FOR ENGLISH)
Mae’n bosib mai’r ddau drac yma yw’r mynegiad mwyaf pur a chrisialaidd o brif thema’r albym – profiadau Bethan ac Ynyr o fod yn rhieni. Maen nhw hefyd yn ganeuon pop da – felly roeddent yn teimlo fel par o ganeuon addas am sengl ddwbl.
1,2,3 Fel nifer o’r caneuon ar yr albym, cyfansoddwyd y gân hon yn wreiddiol ar y piano gan Bethan. Mae Ynyr a Bethan yn chwarae’r utgyrn ac yn ymuno a hwy mae Ioan Hefin, y dyn sy’n gyfrifol am solo trwmped mwyaf eiconig cerddoriaeth Gymraeg yn Gloria Tyrd Adre gan Eryr Wen. Mae hi’n gân am gariad a’r teimlad o geisio amgyffred maint y cariad gallwch deimlo at rhywun. Mae’n berthnasol i unrhyw fath o gariad ond yn yr achos hwn fe’i hysgrifennwyd wrth i’w merch droi yn dri mlwydd oed, gyda Bethan gwneud ymgais i fynegi a deall y cariad roedd hi’n ei deimlo am ei phlentyn a mawredd rhoi genedigaeth; yr her, gorchfygu a gorfoledd a holl fregusdra amrwd y profiad.
Geiriau Shwt gall rhywbeth mor bitw Siglo’r ddaear, tanio iâs? Pan fi’n teimlo fe’n curo, So’ fe tu fewn nawr, mae e tu fas, Un, dau, tri Menywod doeth oedd yn gwylio, Fy nghyn-famau, rhowch i mi nerth. Holltodd twll yn y nefoedd, Dysgu gwers o beth yw gwerth.
Fflachlwch Bach Teyrnged i’w plentyn cyntaf-anedig. Daeth yr ysbrydoliaeth wrth i Bethan geisio cyfansoddi rhywbeth ar y piano gyda’i merch yn ei chôl yn scriblo dros y nodau. Mae prydferthwch mewn normalrwydd a phethau dydd i ddydd, gorfoledd mewn diwrnod arferol gyda phlant bach. Mae seren y gan yn ymddangos gyda solo allweddellau a’i llinell;
‘Beth chi’n aros am? Cân neu beth? Fi mynd i ddechre un nawr so agor eich clustiau!’
Rhwng ysgrifennu a rhyddhau’r gan, mae eu hail blentyn wedi dod i dynnu sylw a chreu anrhefn wrth y piano unwaith eto, gan ysgrifennu rhan i’w hun yn y gân o nawr ymlaen hefyd. Mae Llyr Parri ar y dryms, Elen Ifan ar y soddgrwth a Mari Morgan ar y ffidil yn ymuno â Bethan ac Ynyr ar y trac yma.
Fflachlwch Bach (Bach) yw teitl y fersiwn fyrhaëdig hon o’r gân, gyda’r ferswin lawn yn ymddangos ar y record. Roedd y dull hyn o enwi yn fwy diddorol na galw’r trac yn ‘(Radio Edit)’ er ei fod mwy na thebyg yn fwy tebygol o achosi dryswch.
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These two tracks are possibly the most crystalline and pure expression of the album’s main theme – Bethan and Ynyr’s experiences of parenthood. They’re also good pop songs – so they felt like an appropriate AA-side.
1,2,3 Like much of the album, this song was initially composed by Bethan on the piano. It features Ynyr and Bethan on trumpets but also features Ioan Hefin, the man responsible for performing Welsh music’s greatest and most iconic trumpet solo in Eryr Wen’s Gloria Tyrd Adre. It’s a song about love and the feeling of trying to comprehend the magnitude of the love that you can feel for someone. It can relate to any form of love but in this instance it was written when their daughter turned 3 years old, with Bethan trying to articulate and comprehend the outpouring of love felt for a child and the hugeness of childbirth; the challenge, escalation, triumph, glory and the raw vulnerability of it all.
Lyrics: How can something so small Shake the earth, spark shivers? When I feel it beating It’s not inside now, it’s outside One, two, three Wise women were watching My ancestral mothers, give me strength A hole split in the sky Learning a lesson about what value is
Fflachlwch Bach An ode to their first-born child. The inspiration came as Bethan was trying to compose something on the piano with their daughter in her lap scribbling over the notes. There’s beauty in normality and the everyday, joy in an average day with small children. The star of the song also makes appearance with a keyboard solo and her self-penned line;
‘What are you waiting for? A song or what? I’m going to begin one now so open your ears!’
Between the writing and release of the song, the arrival of their second child has brought fresh distractions, beats and chaos to the piano, thus writing himself a part in the song. Llyr Parri on drums, Elen Ifan on cello, Mari Morgan on Violin join Ynyr and Bethan for this one.
This shortened radio edit version is called ‘Fflachlwch Bach (Bach)’ whereas the full-length album version is Fflachlwch Bach – bach means small or little. Whilst it’s more fun than just calling it ‘(Radio Edit)’, it’s probably more confusing.
Welsh Alternative Psych Rock band ‘Holy Coves’ have released their brand new music video for single ‘Grey’ via their ever growing new YouTube channel. ‘Grey’ is the third in a series of five music videos created by award winning Ukrainian Filmmaker ‘Taras Merenkov’. Merenkov’s hazy cinematic style of direction really emphasizes the music and makes a formidable visual. ‘Grey’ is taken from the bands acclaimed new album ‘Druids and Bards’ which is out now via Welsh label ‘Yr Wyddfa Records’.
Indie Revolution 