Wales Feed

TJ's 'unlikely' to be retained as music venue after auction

2011-09-08T08:39:25+00:00

According to the auctioneer conducting the sale of legendary Newport venue TJ's, it is 'unlikely' to be used as a music venue in the future.

Paul Fosh auctions will be selling TJ's on 15 September at Cardiff's Park Inn Hotel. It is being sold following the death of its owner John Sicolo in 2010. Mr Fosh told BBC Wales News:

"There's little doubt TJ's was an iconic and well-known rock venue, attracting some major bands especially in the 90s.

"It would be great, romantic even, for someone to buy the building and for it to continue its use as a rock venue, but that sadly seems unlikely to be the case.

"I have had a great deal of interest in the property, especially from local people looking to redevelop the property [as residential or retail]."

TJ's was one of the UK's major indie/rock venues in the 1990s, with an amazing range of artists passing through. Some of the major ones included: Arab Strap, Babes In Toyland, Bikini Kill, The Bluetones, Buzzcocks, Catatonia, Chumbawamba, Cornershop, The Cranberries, Echo And The Bunnymen, Elastica, Fugazi, Girls Against Boys, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, Green Day, Hole, Huggy Bear, Jesus Lizard, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, The Lemonheads, Manic Street Preachers, Mansun, Mercury Rev, Mogwai, My Bloody Valentine, My Life Story, Nation Of Ulysses, New Model Army, NOFX, Oasis, The Offspring, Pop Will Eat Itself, Primal Scream, Rancid, Rocket From The Crypt, The Selecter, Shed Seven, Shellac, Skunk Anansie, Supergrass, Therapy?, Urge Overkill (with St Etienne DJing) and The Wedding Present.

The guide price for the property is £175,000.

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Michael Jackson fans in Cardiff, 1988

2011-07-26T12:36:52+00:00

With the announcement of a Michael Jackson tribute concert planned for Cardiff, we've been looking though the BBC Wales archive for material from the last time he played in Wales.

Here's a clip from Wales Today in 1988, just before Jackson played Cardiff Arms Park national stadium. Look out for some great clothes and hair:

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Valleys Kids launch The Factory

2011-07-07T10:16:05+00:00

One of Wales' iconic buildings, the old Welsh Hills Works site in Porth, has been taken over by a charity who will be launching it as The Factory later this month.

"The aim of the project will be to develop the building as a creative hub for enterprising young people who are involved, or would like to break into industries such as digital media, and live and recorded music," said a spokesperson for Valleys Kids, which will be formally launching the facility on Sunday 24 July.

The building, the former site of Corona Pop, was taken over in 2000 by the Avanti Group, who launched The Pop Factory with Tom Jones, Stereophonics and Cerys Matthews as guests. The Factory will continue to house Avanti's production facilities and TV studios.

The Welsh Assembly First Minister, Carwyn Jones, will launch Valleys Kids' new initiative, revealing the new logo for The Factory, in an afternoon gala launch, which will showcase the creative talents of young people from Valleys Kids ArtWorks. The event will launch Art Of Dignity, an exhibition of Welsh and African inspired art, featuring the Mzansi Cymru Choir, celebrating the multi-cultural creative links between Valleys and South African communities. The launch coincides with the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad open weekend celebrations as part of The Power of the Flame supported by the Legacy Trust UK.

Richard Morgan, one of Valleys Kids founder members said: "We are facing a challenging future as a charity, committed to supporting children and families in the Valleys. The Pop Factory is a unique facility enabling Valleys Kids to explore its entrepreneurial spirit and will help us to sustain our provision in these communities.

"We are committed to changing the lives and outlooks of young people by offering them experiences and skills in the creative industries and this iconic building is a perfect venue, ideally placed to help us deliver this."

Cardiff's drum and bass scene

2011-02-21T13:10:25+00:00

Cardiff-based dance music journalist Joanna Louise Ranson takes a look at the drum and bass scene that's concentrated around the Cardiff area.

"Wales has never been regarded as a great place for drum and bass but it's becoming a key player in the development of electronic music in the UK. It would be impossible to talk about the genre in the country without mentioning Penarth's High Contrast, Wales' biggest export in the genre, who single-handedly put Welsh drum and bass on the map with his debut album, True Colours, in 2002. His five albums have showed continued inspiration.

High Contrast

"Several years after High Contrast laid the foundations, dubstep/drum and bass producer Lung's releases on Kokeshi and Hospital Records' sister label Med School have reinforced the Welsh position and proved that the success and talent of High Contrast wasn't a one off.

Lung by Mike Deere Photography

"Although it's still a long way from the notoriety and cult status of Bristol and London as central hubs of all things drum and bass, Cardiff is cutting its teeth with promoters such as Aperture and Frequency Domain booking big names and giving local residents a chance to promote themselves and their music with supporting slots. With Hospitality touching down earlier this month, and Valve and Bedlam frequently passing through, the quality of the music reaching Wales' capital is continuously improving.

"The Aperture night at Clwb Ifor Bach in Cardiff runs fortnightly events, providing quality drum and bass from local artists and some of the biggest names in the industry, such as Danny Byrd, Netsky, Commix, Instra:mental, Calyx and Teebee as well as High Contrast, who have all graced the decks in recent months.

"Working closely with the drum and bass community and other promoters in the city, Aperture was pioneered by Dave Shaw just over five years ago, with the intention of creating a regular night that offered quality music at a fair price and gave support to up-and-coming artists. Shaw was also responsible for bringing Hospitality out of London to Cardiff eight years ago, where it was held at the old Moloko's venue on Mill Lane. Leaning towards the more techy and liquid side of the genre with elements of heavy and dark, it remains one of the most popular nights in the city.

"Two of the most important producers in Cardiff currently are undeniably Undersound and Sub:Stance, both very different in their musical creativity but sharing the common ideal of producing high quality and original music.

Undersound by Mike Deere Photography

"Undersound, a classically trained musical prodigy, turned his hand to producing drum and bass in 2007 after providing some of the piano and guitar parts on High Contrast's Tough Guys Don't Dance album. With over 60 releases under his belt and support from BBC 1Xtra, Kool FM and Kiss FM to name but a few, his instrumental talents translate beautifully to electronic music production.

"Sub:Stance is a self-taught producer whose rolling beats and dark melodies have received critical acclaim and have led to signings on Extent Records and Black Reign Ltd. His residency at Aperture has seen him play his home-grown dubplates to appreciative crowds, demonstrating his tunes can destroy the dance floor just as well as the main contenders.

"Frequency Domain is run by Cardiffian Benny Blonko, a talented drum and bass DJ in his own right. He is responsible for bringing the heavier sub-genres of the style to Cardiff with names such as Original Sin, Majistrate, Sly and Nicky Blackmarket. He will be championing the legendary Andy C and DJ Hype when the first ever Welsh RAM happens in April this year. Taking over the Millennium Music Hall in the city centre, Frequency Domain provides heavy beats for those who like their drum and bass a little filthier than what Aperture offers."

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The shape of (Welsh) punk to come

2010-11-26T10:48:44+00:00

The Welsh rock scene, as evinced by Bethan Elfyn's Start Something documentary at the start of this year, is all very healthy and a regular presence in the UK's rock music press. That is, if they're melodic, poppy and full of hooks.

Nothing wrong with that, of course, but there is - as always - a harder, punkier, less polished underground of exciting bands ploughing their furrow. Here's a short round-up of those acts we think are worth checking out. The first three bands in the list are written about by Wales-based journalist and Lesson Number One promoter Noel Gardner.

(Please note: external links to bands' own websites may contain strong language or themes.)

33
Originating in Swansea, this band go back five years or so but never released anything first time round; having lain dormant for a while, they have a new line-up featuring Tony Sylvester (formerly of Fabric and Dukes Of Nothing) and an imminent 7" single of pounding, negative hardcore indebted to early '80s NYC.

Harbour

Harbour
A south Walian quintet who all played their part in the area's DIY hardcore scene around the middle of last decade, Harbour already have a split LP to their name - with Facel Vega, an excellent Leeds-via-Porthcawl ensemble who recall mid-'80s Dischord Records stylings (see below) - and are about to have their melodic hardcore laid down again, on a single released by the Carry The Weight label.

Crossbreaker
Crossbreaker have so far released two demo cassettes (circa 2010, new hardcore bands are likely as not to 'do' tape releases) and the Thirty Days Of Night label are about to release a split 7" with No Reality. They play sludgy, downtuned hardcore which nods to veteran US heavies like Integrity.

The Saturday's Kids
Less hardcore than alt-rock, The Saturday's Kids are influenced as much by new wave and American post-hardcore as by the Minor Threat / Black Flag dynamic. They do very interesting, intelligent noise. The Art For Blind label has recently released the band's début 7" single.

Goodtime Boys. Photo: Kayla Budd

Goodtime Boys
Here's a Cardiff five-piece featuring one-time Automatic man Alex Pennie. His collection of band t-shirts give some clue as to what to expect from Goodtime Boys: fast-paced, intelligent hardcore with tunes. They've had a track released on Barely Regal's recent compilation of Welsh artists.

Elsid
Cardiff's grinding, riff-heavy doom-sludge-punk merchants have a strong social/political commentary thing going on. They're currently unsigned but are touring with Warpath next year.

Ironclad
Sounding like they've come straight from the New York scene of the late 1980s, Ironclad are a screamy, passionate 'proper' hardcore. They're signed to Dead And Gone records (whose aesthetic is very recognisable to fans of American hardcore), they have a limited edition 7" EP out now.

Brutality Will Prevail
It does exactly what it says on the tin. Great chunky riffs and a metalcore vocal style from Cardiff here. Holy Roar Records have released BWP's Root Of All Evil mini-album recently.

A Thousand Arrows

A Thousand Arrows
In the Venn diagram of a band's own declared influences and 'stuff what I love listening to', this unsigned Cardiff band has the biggest crossover: "Helmet, Fugazi, Harkonen, Jawbox, Snapcase, Cave In, At The Drive-in, Quicksand, Handsome, Far, Stanford Prison Experiment and These Arms Are Snakes" they say. Yes, this is post-hardcore, and it's done very well.

Smiler
A "punk rock crust band" - whatever that may be - Smiler deal in frenetic, pounding punk rock. They feature members from local outfits such as The Cull and Spider Kitten. This is carnage rock and very fun.

Facel Vega
I'm informed they're jolly good, but their MySpace page keeps crashing my computer, so you can do your own research into this Porthcawl/Ton Pentre outfit.

If you want to find out more about the scene concentrated around Cardiff, check out CCHC MMX on MySpace or Alex on Twitter.

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Ten tenors on 10/10/10

2010-10-08T10:07:09+00:00

A serendipitous date this weekend has given Llandaff Cathedral the opportunity to add to the coffers of its organ appeal.

The 10th day of the 10th month of 2010 is being marked by the world-famous cathedral by Ten Tenors - an gala event with some of Wales' foremost tenors performing a selection of works from 7.30pm.

Dennis O'Neill

The world-renowned Dennis O'Neill is joined by the Three Welsh Tenors (Rhys Meirion, Aled Hall and Alun Jenkins); The Welsh National Opera's Michael Clifton-Thompson, Philip Lloyd Holtam and Howard Kirt; Jo Roach, Richard Allan and Sam Furness.

At 10pm, the climax to the event will be a performance of Nessun Dorma for which the tenors will be joined by Côr Caerdydd.

O'Neill told us: "We are all looking forward to the 10 Tenors concert on Sunday at Llandaff Cathedral. Personally I was delighted to be invited and to support their fund-raising drive. The programme will be a balance of arias, songs and duets and is sure to appeal to a very wide audience. It promises to be real 'fun' evening."

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Lostprophets headline eclectic Ryder Cup bill

2010-08-20T09:38:05+00:00

Lostprophets, Katherine Jenkins, Only Men Aloud and Shaheen Jafargholi are all part of an... 'eclectic' line-up to celebrate the coming of the Ryder Cup to Wales this year.

The Welcome to Wales event, staged at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium on 29 September, will also feature the two Ryder Cup teams, who will be introduced to the crowd.

I'm not exactly sure of the Venn diagram crossover between golf fans and Lostprophets fans, but as this appears to be celebration of Welshness, they're certainly appropriate.

Guitarist Mike Lewis told the Western Mail, "We're very excited to be a part of the Welcome to Wales concert. The tradition of sport is huge in Wales, and we know how important it is to the country that such a massive event like the Ryder Cup is being held here. We're very proud to be part of it."

His band will be sharing a stage not only with the American and European teams, but also the 13 year old Jafargholi (who became known for his appearance on Britain's Got Talent singing Michael Jackson's Who's Loving You), the male voice choir and the pop-opera star. If there's a stranger bill this year I have yet to hear it.

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Newport State Of Mind: why has it been removed?

2010-08-10T11:10:37+00:00

YouTube has been forced to remove Newport (Ymerodraeth State Of Mind) from its servers due to a copyright claim by EMI Music Publishing Ltd.

For the time being, at least, Goldie Lookin' Chain's response, You're Not From Newport, is still available on the site, as is a performance at the Transporter Bridge (warning: links contain strong language).

I have thought since this video first came to light that there was a certain legal ambiguity to the song and its lyrics. While straight cover versions are entirely legal (as long as properly credited) and a staple of the music business from the very top to the very bottom, interpretations of existing songs are a different matter altogether.

'Substantial rewrite' is a pseudo-legal term in the music industry meaning that when you're covering a song or using an element of a song - whether lyrically or musically - it requires the permission of the original copyright holder.

This can be a complex process: you get in touch with the Performing Right Society, the organisation responsible for the administration of song copyrights (music and lyrics, but not recording) in the UK. The PRS works with their relevant partner organisations across the world (in the USA it's ASCAP and the BMI), who then find out from the relevant publisher whether the songwriter is amenable to the rewrite.

Obviously this laborious process means that the vast majority of rewrites, pastiches and spoofs are ignored or simply never heard about. There's a certain level of publish-and-be-damned to it; who cares when you're playing to 50 people in a club?

But the power of the internet means that something can blow up - go viral, if you prefer an awful expression - and suddenly who can turn a blind eye to it? Two and a half million YouTube hits meant that the publishers of the Jay-Z and Alicia Keys' original almost had no choice but to knock it on the head.

Jemima Kiss in The Guardian wrote, "OK, it's a rip-off of the Jay-Z and Alicia Keys song. But it has a significant amount of original work, video, rewritten lyrics and a good concept. Isn't that fair use?"

However, the fact that it does have original work and rewritten lyrics, plus the sheer volume of hits, means it's skating into the middle of a frozen lake wearing stilletoes. Sure it would be nice if we could all get along and things could be done on the nod-and-the-wink, but the music industry doesn't work like that.

Assuming that the video was taken down because of the 'substantial rewrite' regulations, it's a shame but not unexpected.

Update (11 August, 9am): A statement from EMI, quoted by Radio 1's Newsbeat, said, "When a song is created based wholly on any of our writers' works, those writers need to grant their permission.

"If that permission isn't granted, then we ask the service in question to remove the song."

The director of the video, MJ Delaney, said she was unable to comment at the moment.

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Paul Potts counters Cowell split snub

2010-08-04T13:21:35+00:00

Paul Potts, Port Talbot's opera-singing Britain's Got Talent winner, has split from Simon Cowell's record label.

Syco Records, a subdivision of Sony, had worked with Potts since the 2007 competition, but the parties have separated prior to the release of his third album, Cinema Paradiso.

The News Of The World had reported that Potts and Cowell had fallen out, quoting an 'industry insider' as saying, "As soon as Susan Boyle came along it was bound to be curtains for Paul. SuBo captured the world's imagination and it was hard to compete."

We spoke to Potts' management. Their statement reads: "For over three years, Paul has enjoyed a successful collaboration with Simon Cowell and his record label Syco. He treasures his time with them and feels he learnt a lot from everyone there. Contrary to a report made last week, there was never a case of Paul and Simon not seeing 'eye to eye'.

"Paul continues to enjoy success across the globe. His third album Cinema Paradiso, a movie-themed release, has been recorded with Hollywood producer, Simon Franglen. Simon has worked on the production of many blockbuster soundtracks including Titanic, Moulin Rouge and Avatar.

"Many major labels around the world continue to show their commitment to Paul. Japan (Sony Music) has been chosen to launch Cinema Paradiso next month. Other countries will quickly follow on with releases in places such as Germany, Canada, Asia and Australia (as well as other European territories). A UK release is hoped for late March 2011.

"Paul says, 'I am looking forward to the next stage in my career as a recording artist - I honestly think this is my best album yet and I look forward to performing these amazing songs all over the world to my loyal fans who have been with me since my career began with those exciting moments on Britain's Got Talent'."

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Bethan Elfyn and James Dean Bradfield

2010-08-04T09:19:07+00:00

Bethan Elfyn's show on Radio Wales is always an interesting mix of old and new, good interviews and ephemera, but on Saturday 14 August at 6pm it's shaping up to be a superb two hours of Welsh music, and I've been given a sneak preview of what has to be one of this year's Welsh radio highlights.

Manic Street Preachers' James Dean Bradfield spent an hour with Beth last week, pre-recording an amazing interview which covered many topics from their early days in the band, his formative musical experiences, Richey Edwards' lyrics and the new album, Postcards From A Young Man.

It's a fascinating listen. The show's producer, Darren Broome says, "This one for the fans... It's probably his most revealing interview to date; he explains why the Manics still believe in albums as art, his choirboy past, why record shops matter and why getting his heroes on the new record really made his day."

Those heroes include John Cale, Echo And The Bunnymen's Ian McCulloch and Guns N' Roses' Duff McKagan. James talks incredibly fondly of McKagan and being able to play Gn'R's It's So Easy at Hammersmith Odeon with him.

James also takes Bethan through his Personal Playlist, which is an eclectic and fascinating listen.

This week on the show (Saturday 7 August, 6-8pm, BBC Radio Wales) The Blackout play an acoustic session and the band's Gavin Butler also performs solo. The band are interviewed too, and we'll be blogging about that next week, so look out for that.

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Richey Edwards inspires novel

2010-08-04T08:04:52+00:00

MIssing Manic Street Preachers guitarist Richey Edwards is to be the subject of a novel out in October.

Photo: Dave Hardacre

Written by music journalist Ben Myers, Richard is a fictional story of Edwards' life based on events from his life. Myers told NME, "A lot has been written about Richey Edwards, but I thought a fictional setting would be a better medium to explore his personality, especially because he was a particularly literate person who injected a wealth of literary influences into a fairly staid British rock scene that was lacking any true iconoclastic voices at the time."

Richard is out on 1 October, a week after the release of the Manics' 10th studio album, Postcards From A Young Man.

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Sheen to star in new Manics video

2010-08-03T12:07:04+00:00

Welsh actor Michael Sheen will reportedly be starring in the short promo film for Manic Street Preachers' forthcoming single (It's Not War) Just The End Of Love.

Sheen, famous for his representations of figures such as Tony Blair, David Frost, Brian Clough and Kenneth Williams, could star as Boris Spassky, the Russian chess Grandmaster whose battle with American Bobby Fischer captured the imagination of millions in the 1970s.

MIchael Sheen as a Roman:

Originally reported to be playing the other Russian chess legend Garry Kasparov (when Nicky Wire got confused when talking to the NME), Sheen will be playing the Eastern half of the totemic Cold War clash.

Wire said, "We've tried to recreate the classic '70s chess match between [Spassky] and [Bobby] Fischer. That's the kind of vibe behind it. It's real '70s Russia - just that idea of 'it's not war, just the end of love', I think a chess game really fits that."

The short film will accompany the song's release as a single on 13 September. The album, Postcards From A Young Man, follows a week later.

Bullet For My Valentine claim trio of Best Band awards

2010-07-30T08:59:03+00:00

For the third year running, Porthcawl's Bullet For My Valentine have scooped the prestigious Best British Band award at the Kerrang! awards.

Read the BBC News story here.

The band, who released their third album, Fever, earlier this year, also scooped the Best Live Band award. Lostprophets won the Classic Songwriter award.

The fact that BFMV have won the award three years running is a testament to a solid work ethic and an if-it-ain't-broke-don't-touch-it approach to songwriting. Of course they've subtly changed between albums but their core, pedal-to-the-metal, driving hard rock is what their fans like.

It must also be said that at the moment there is not a lot of competition at the top of British rock. Lostprophets are no longer the colossi they once were and then you're looking at other British award winners like Biffy Clyro. But Biffy, while big, are not big enough in the Kerrang! readership to mount a challenge to Bullet, and neither are the likes of You Me At Six.

It's a strange situation at the moment that while the rock scene in Britain is healthy (you only have to look at the success of festivals like Download, Reading and Leeds) there's no absolutely massive UK rock or metal band who would be recognisable to the average man on the street.

Of course it's great that for the last few years the bands battling for the likes of Kerrang! Best British Band have been million-selling Welshies, and there are some more bands coming through at the moment, but where is the next globe-straddling British hard rockin' juggernaut coming from?

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Newport State Of Mind for single release?

2010-07-27T09:09:44+00:00

The YouTube phenomenon Newport (Ymerodraeth State of Mind), which at the time of writing has had over 1.5 million views, may be released as a single next month, with some proceeds going to charity.

Speaking to The Western Mail, Terema Wainwright, who took the Alicia Keys role in the spoof of Empire State Of Mind, said, "We have got a meeting with Universal Records about the possibility of signing a contract and that is incredible - I'm still pinching myself."

Alex Warren, Jay-Z in the video, said, "I know the aim is to get it out as soon as possible".

A portion of the profits generated from sales of the single will go to Newport Mind, the mental health charity.

Wainwright, Warren and the band will be appearing at the reopening of the Newport Transporter Bridge this Friday.

Been under a rock? Watch the video on YouTube (contains strong language).

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Sir Tom Jones set for album release and Killers hook-up

2010-07-19T12:18:54+00:00

This coming Monday sees the release of Sir Tom Jones' latest album, Praise & Blame. Despite a less than enthusiastic reaction from his own label boss, it seems like there's a strong level of critical acclaim coming for the record.

Jones has said he's "baffled" by the leaked email, but it seems to hitting the right critical note at the moment. The Telegraph has given the record four stars, as has the prestigious American Songwriter.

Other press reviews are yet to appear, but word of mouth and - perhaps more importantly - his fans' opinions are positive.

BBC Music has demurred, however. They say: "A confusing release that will appeal little to those beyond Jones' generation".

Meanwhile, speaking to NME, the Pontypridd superstar has mentioned a potential hook-up with The Killers' Brandon Flowers. "I've spoken to Brandon Flowers. He said he admired what I'd done in my career. There's a connection there because he's from Las Vegas, and of course I've performed there so many times over the years.

"The material has to be right. That's always been my main concern, with whichever people I've worked with."

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