Wales Feed

Lostprophets on Radio 1's Live Lounge

2012-05-24T07:06:30+00:00

On Tuesday Pontypridd rock titans Lostprophets appeared on the Live Lounge section of Fearne Cotton's Radio 1 show. The band rocked out live from Maida Vale with one of the singles from the most recent album, plus a cover version with a very special guest.

First up was We Bring An Arsenal from their fifth album Weapons. Watch it here:

Then the band was joined by Hackney songwriter, rapper and producer Labrinth for a cover of his single Earthquake:

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John Cale at 70: songwriting

2012-03-07T09:00:00+00:00

John Cale turns 70 on Friday 9 March. As part of our celebrations we're raiding the BBC archives for some great material from his career.

Here's clip of Cale talking in 2003 about songwriting for BBC Four Sessions

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Manic Street Preachers' Generation Terrorists: clips

2012-02-08T10:00:00+00:00

As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the release of Manic Street Preachers' Generation Terrorists, here are some audio and video clips of the band:

Watch a short clip of the band performing Motorcycle Emptiness on Top Of The Pops in 1992.

Watch the band perform You Love Us live in Blackwood in 2011.

Watch Radio 2's Jo Whiley talk to James and Nicky prior to their homecoming Blackwood show (advisory: low volume):

Listen to James and Nicky talk to Radio Wales' Jamie and Louise in 2011 about their career:

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Manic Street Preachers - This Is The Day: great or just plain lazy?

2011-09-19T08:15:14+00:00

Could the release this weekend of the promo video for Manic Street Preachers' new single This Is The Day be a clue as to their plans?

Watch the video on YouTube.

The band have previously said they'll "disappear for a long time" but this video (for their cover of The The's 1983 song) seems like it's a goodbye. Never before have the Blackwood band celebrated their past in such a way.

They include some wonderful, evocative footage: from the very early 1990s to the present day, with plenty of shots of Richey. James looks cooler than cool in his Generation Terrorists garb, Nicky and Richey are shown camping it up and Sean's insouciant ambivalence at the 1997 Brit Awards is amusing.

This video reminds me of all the reasons I loved them in the first place: a British band whose combination of rockstar pretensions and alternative politics made them unique. They were simultaneously iconoclastic and reverential: they were enthusiastically paradoxical, sometimes demolishing the idea of the pop star, sometimes working with them.

There they are, frozen in time by celluloid, kohled-up and beautiful but there they are a few seconds later, fattened by encroaching middle-age but, it seems, having no less fun. The gap for Richey is brought into stark focus by this collage technique.

Mind you, different opinions are available. Manics biographer and music critic for The Independent Simon Price has an entirely different take: "It's incredibly lazy. Any fan could have cobbled that together with a couple of hours on Youtube and Windows Moviemaker.

"There are a few pieces of rare or unseen footage, and if they were gonna go down the montage route, they should have concentrated on that. Also, I have a phobia of videos featuring 'the guys' larking around backstage, pulling faces at the camera etc. It's such a rock cliché, like a Bon Jovi video or something.

I also hate the song and I've always thought Matt Johnson out of The The was one of the most pompous deluded bores of the soft-alternative 80s, the Steven Berkoff of pop. Apart from that, great work!"

Does, I ask Simon, mark an end for the band, a sign-off? "I think their recent public statements mark it as a (temporary) end for the band, not the video itself," he says.

"The video just marks it as one of those moments where they can't be arsed doing anything particularly interesting with it (see also Slash And Burn, Suicide Is Painless). Yes it has a nostalgic, valedictory feel, but so does approximately 50% of everything they've done since 1996, so I don't read too much into that."

What do you think? Love it or hate it? Is it a bookend or just a pause? If you want to have your say, on this or any other BBC blog, you will need to sign in to your BBC iD account. If you don't have a BBC iD account, you can register here - it'll allow you to contribute to a range of BBC sites and services using a single login.

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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:

Were you at the concert? Send us your memories! If you want to have your say, on this or any other BBC blog, you will need to sign in to your BBC iD account. If you don't have a BBC iD account, you can register here - it'll allow you to contribute to a range of BBC sites and services using a single login.

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Reaper In Sicily - Save The Cheerleader session video

2011-02-10T11:50:25+00:00

Aberdare power poppers Reaper In Sicily joined Radio Wales' Bethan Elfyn back on 8 January for a live session.

The band are still currently unsigned - having won the Kerrang! Best Unsigned Band accolade in 2009 - but are touring throughout April and May. There's a self-released mini-album on the cards for late March.

You can watch one of the tracks from the upcoming album, Save The Cheerleader, here:

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BBC Introducing Masterclass videos with Jen and Huw

2011-02-07T10:24:45+00:00

Last Friday saw BBC Introducing engage in a day of Musicians' Masterclasses at London's famous Maida Vale studios.BBC Introducing in Wales presenter Jen Long chaired three of the masterclasses, with musician Andy Gangadeen. Watch them again here:

Andy Gangadeen explains his unique 'Gangascope' drum kit.

Andy Gangadeen on playing live drum'n'bass loops.

Andy Gangadeen on working with Chase And Status and The Bays.

And here's Huw Stephens presenting the full recording masterclass:

Tiger Please session video and interview

2011-02-04T11:47:46+00:00

Ahead of a session with Tiger Please on my Radio Wales show this Saturday, I caught up with guitarist Tyla Campbell to find out a bit more about the band.

You can also watch an exclusive video of Spring And Its Offering, recorded for the show.

Who are you and what do you do?

We are Tiger Please and we play rock music.

Considering we have only been around a few years we have achieved some great things such as playing both Download and Sonisphere festivals last year. Getting our first music video for Autumn Came The Fall in the 'most-requested' charts for Kerrang and Lava TV was also amazing.

The most memorable moment I'd have to say was our one-year anniversary show for the release of They Don't Change Under Moonlight at Clwb Ifor Bach. We some how managed to get Funeral For A Friend to support us as special guests showcasing their new material. It was a sold out show and we had all the crowd singing the words to our songs back to us. Now that was memorable.

What has 2011 in store for you so far? I hear a few tour announcements have been made?

We're currently preparing to head off on a 19 date tour all around the UK with The Crave. They've recently been on tour with Deep Purple and Status Quo which is quite an impressive CV so we can't wait to head out on the road with them and see them live. Then in March we are honoured to head off on another 19 date tour with Funeral For A Friend. A couple of years ago we'd never would have dreamed about touring with them so we really can't wait for it.

Seasons and debut album They Don't Change Under Moonlight have already gained you a few fans, with Kerrang! saying, "Occasionally a record comes along that simply knocks you for six". What has been the best part of getting your music out?

It's been great having magazines such as Kerrang, Rock Sound and Big Cheese supporting both our releases and we are very grateful for the support they've given. The best part of getting our music out has to be hearing the words of our songs being sung back to us at shows. That feeling you get on stage is indescribable.

Another thing has to be people telling us one of our songs or listening to us in general has helped them through a rough period in their lives. This just makes you think 'yup, I definitely want to make a living out of doing this'.

You came into the studios of BBC Wales recently to record a session for my Radio Wales show. How was it, and what did you record?

Yeah we really enjoyed the experience. We had a bit of trouble starting the van so we were worried we weren't gonna make it! We managed to sort it though and got there in time. We recorded Strawberry Moon and Lights And Sound from They Don't Change Under Moonlight and we also did Spring And Its Offering from our last release Seasons. We just finished shooting a new music video for Spring so keep a look out for that on your TV screens soon!

I hear that a new album will be ready to go this year. Tell me all about it.

We are currently in the demoing stage of recording at the moment. We recorded four tracks for it late last year at Escape Route Studios in London, and we've just finished demoing four tracks more with Todd Campbell at Skwad HQ and are really excited to record more!

This album is gonna be a bit special as all the lyrics are inspired by our fans' life stories. We thought it'd be great for our fans to have their own song and so far it's working really well. We've had loads of stories in and we'd like to thank everyone who has given up their time to send us their stories. The stories we have had in range from serious issues such as suicide, addiction and many more issues. It's gonna be one hell of an emotional album.

What new artists are you enjoying and listening to at the moment?

Well last night a few of us went to Clwb Ifor Bach to watch Twin Atlantic who were amazing, as usual. Welsh bands Town and Straight Lines also played so it was a great night and if you haven't checked any of them out we highly recommend you do!

One thing a few of us are listening to at the moment is the soundtrack to the independent film Once. I came across the film the other day when I was flicking through the channels and I originally thought it was just an artist in session but it was actually a film about an Irish busker recording his first demo. Turns out the film won an Oscar for the soundtrack so I think I missed the boat on that one!

Where can people find you online?

You can find us on the following social networking sites:
www.facebook.com/tigerplease
www.twitter.com/tigerplease
www.myspace.com/tigerplease

We also have a website which is almost ready to launch, so in a couple of weeks you'll be able to find it at www.tigerplease.co.uk.

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Award for Röyksopp's Cardiff video

2011-02-02T13:06:08+00:00

The video for Norwegian band Röyksopp's single Forksaken Cowboy has won an award for its director, Cardiff's Matt Callanan.

Shot in and around the streets of Cardiff, most notably the Roath and Cardiff Bay areas, Forsaken Cowboy has been given a top award by www.genero.tv. You can watch the video on Vimeo.

Callanan was one of the men behind Cardiff's Phantom Beats production duo and the Plastic Raygun record label. He told me: "I'm very chuffed to have won the Röyksopp competition. Before my four year hiatus in London I spent the majority of my time in Cardiff DJing and producing as Phantom Beats and recording for Plastic Raygun.

"In between making beats Neil [Cocker, his Phantom Beats colleague] and myself were gallivanting around the world making people dance and also got to do cool things such as a live session for Radio 1 and DJ live on Bethan and Huw's show. A few music videos were made for Plastic Raygun by label boss Maf and my brother Steve. One of the first videos made for the label was this bit of car trashing action made way back in 1999 for our first track on the label Growler."

Watch Growler on YouTube.

"I had never thought about producing videos myself as I so focused on the music. After years of touring I wanted to try and develop some new skills, so I ventured up to London and worked for the BBC and gradually learnt the craft of filming and editing.

"I entered my first music video competition on the Genero TV website in July last year for Berlin's Booka Shade. It got highly commended and positive responses from DJs like James Zabiela and Tom Middleton plus big ups from a writer on Time Out Magazine. After that feedback I decided to go freelance and made the move back to Cardiff where I made a few other music videos in my spare time.

"My second video for Alicia Keys video become a finalist, so to win a video competition for one of my dance music heroes, Röyksopp, when I'm still learning the trade is great. These videos were all done in quite a guerilla style with little budget and no crew, so I'm looking forward to working on some bigger projects where I can really get my ideas flowing and take the videos to the next level."

Andrew Lane, from Genero.tv told Guardian Cardiff: "Matt's video about a lonely cowboy character is beautifully shot, and tells the story of an outsider individual whose eccentric behaviour puts him at odds with society. It fits the music's dreamy state so well and continues the story of the album along its logical progression. The judging panel, as well as Genero.tv's global community loved Matt's video!"

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Tom Jones on Celtic Connections

2011-01-28T11:07:55+00:00

This Sunday (30 January) Tom Jones is interviewed and performs live tracks for BBC Scotland's Celtic Connections programme.

Watch Tom Jones performing Didn't It Rain live at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, a taster for the programme which airs at 11pm:

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Join the Manics live at Blackwood

2011-01-27T08:08:22+00:00

This stream is now finished. Radio 2 has a range of highlights from the day.You can also join us for an exclusive livechat before and during the gig from 7.30pm.

This live stream is only available in the UK for bandwidth reasons. You will be able to watch the whole programme on BBC iPlayer later
The livechat is moderated according to BBC Terms
You need Javascript and Flash enabled to watch the live stream. If the live stream stops, or is slow, try refreshing your browser window. If you cannot see the live stream, or are experiencing problems please refer to the iPlayer help pages

Highlights from the concert, plus behind-the-scenes footage of the band (on the walkabout with Jo Whiley around Blackwood and doing a question and answer session about their song-writing and career to date) can be watched by pressing the red button from any BBC TV channel from 10pm on Friday evening.

The Joy Formidable's Big Roar

2011-01-23T08:24:42+00:00

As north Wales' superb indie trio The Joy Formidable release their début album, The Big Roar, here's a round-up of what the BBC has to offer.

The Joy Formidable

Firstly, BBC Wales Music journeyed to the BBC's legendary Maida Vale studios in London to interview Ritzy and Rhydian. They were in the middle of a busy day recording sessions for various BBC radio presenters who have fallen head-over-heels for the band's epic but hard-rocking psych-indie.

Watch our interview with Ritzy and Rhydian as they talk about the album and what makes them tick:

Until this Wednesday (26 January) you can listen to Zane Lowe's live session with The Joy Formidable.

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Close encounter with a ghost

2011-01-13T10:27:01+00:00

Ros Bayliss submitted this remarkable video clip to our BBC Wales Nature Flickr group. It features a barn owl out hunting but watch how close it flies to the camera!

This external content is available at its source: http://www.flickr.com/apps/video/stewart.swf?v=71377

Katherine Jenkins on Doctor Who

2010-12-08T11:31:31+00:00

Katherine Jenkins has been speaking about her upcoming appearance in the Christmas special of Doctor Who.

Katherine Jenkins appears on Doctor Who this Christmas

Speaking to BBC Breakfast she explained that after landing a plum role in A Christmas Carol, she was unable to even tell her mother about it.

She also told the Western Mail: "I'd been asked to do things in the past and hadn't done them, but when I got the call to do Doctor Who it really excited me.

"It's such an iconic show and one we all watch as family. I wasn't sure I could do it but after reading for the part, I got a call on my 30th birthday to say I'd got it. It was the best birthday present I could have asked for.

"I had the most amazing time. I must admit I was very nervous and I felt out of my comfort zone because I hadn't done any acting before. However, when I arrived on set the whole team was so welcoming and supportive. They made me feel like I could do it.

"It certainly felt very Christmassy when we were filming it in July."

BBC Introducing on Tour 2010 video

2010-12-02T09:50:10+00:00

We've been living the dream in the past few weeks on BBC Introducing. On the radio we've been playing out live sets from our mini road tour of Wales. We started in Bangor, riffed on to Wrexham and spent six hours in the car driving each other mad on the way to Swansea! As well as the mad sights of the cities, and crazy car games, we took in plenty of new sounds from the mean streets of Wales. Life 'on the road'! Yeah!

You can read all about it on this blog. We've also done a little video to chronicle this wonderful week of live music, and metal mayhem. Ahem, maybe!

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