SoundSynau 2022

Kelly Lee Owens: Image credit Josie Hall & Joke Leonare

SYNAU/SOUND • THROWING A SPOTLIGHT ON THE NATION • FREE! • TAKE ME HOME

PAGE 2 SYNAU | FOCUS WALES 2022

WREXHAM A LITTLE KNOWLEDGE:

To get you started, here’s a couple of legends from the area!

The immortal Joey Jones and couple of oversized tinnies of Wrexham Lager.

The historic town centre contains a large number of listed buildings set on a Medieval street pattern radiating out from the Parish Church of St Giles which was the focal point around which the town developed.

The church precinct, and the surrounding narrow enclosed streets and alleyways retain a medieval character. Several complete medieval buildings survive on Town Hill and Church Street.

Hope Street, Regent Street and Queen Street form the traditional main shopping streets and are wider in some parts than others, resulting from the location of the street markets, which occurred from Medieval times through to the 19th century.

The shopping streets and indoor markets are interconnected by historic narrow alleyways and arcades, such as Bank Street and Central Arcade, which host small independent businesses. The half-timbered Talbot Hotel building, built in 1904, stands in a prominent position at the junction of Hope Street and Queen Street. The Horse and Jockey Public House, was probably originally built in the 16th century as a hall-house and retains its thatched roof.

High Street is notable for its grand 18th and 19th century properties of varying scale, colour and detail which were built on long, narrow burgage plots probably of medieval origin. The 18th century façade of the Wynnstay Hotel on Yorke Street closes the vista down the High Street. The hotel is notable as the birthplace of the Football Association of Wales, which was formed at a meeting in the hotel in 1876. The Golden Lion Pub on the High Street is of 16th century origin and became an inn c.1700.

The listed Border Brewery chimney towers over Tuttle Street and forms a local landmark in the town centre.

EDITORIAL • GOLYGYDDOL • REDAKTIONELL • REDAKTIONELL

LOOK ALIVE,

SUNSHINE

“Hello Wrexham, You look like a bunch of Sick MuthaF*****s to me!” And so it began on Saturday 24th July 1982, when those words rang out like a shotgun blast from the stage at The Racecourse: “We Are Twisted F***** Sister”. Frontman of the band, Dee Snider set the tone for what was to become my life in music for the next 40yrs.

Sure I had been to concerts prior to that, Manchester, London and my favorite music city Liverpool (Eric’s, Brady’s, Royal Court, Empire), I had seen The Clash, The Police, Blondie, Gary Numan, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Kiss, The Jam, AC/DC, Rush, Quo, Bob Marley and a fantastic indoor festival called #Futurama all at Deeside Leisure Centre! Yes, you read that right, a Leisure Centre! But when the all day rock festival headlined by the mighty Motorhead came to the football ground in my home town... well, this was the day, right? Wrong!

It went left instead of right. Poor attendance to begin with. So many sneaked in (we were all doing it for the football matches) and when they put the stage facing the hospital with the ‘Loudest Band In The World’ on it, things were destined to not end well and they didn’t.

Complaints (rock & roll ain’t noise pollution) abounded and halfway through the headline set, threats of ‘pulling the plug’ came. Lemmy told the crowd to ‘rip up the pitch’, which they did. The plug was pulled and it wouldn’t be until the summer of 2018 (Saturday June 2nd) that we had another ‘Day At The Races’ when The Stereophonics would return to the hallowed turf.

Meanwhile this Borderlands town would sit in the shadow of The Tivoli in Buckley (ironically Motorhead played the opening night in 1987) though the town regularly hosted some great pub gigs (The Kings Arms) that helped keep the scene alive. There were some amazing thrash metal gigs at The Memorial Hall and I managed to have some gigs and club nights at The Cotton Club (located within The Racecourse).

Then ‘Central Station’ arrived and brought with it a raft of ‘names’ to the town (Robert

Plant, The Charlatans) followed by the William Aston Hall (WAH) with some stellar live shows (The Waterboys, Feeder). We even had our own radio station (CalonFM) that I got to host a late night Sunday show on - even BBC Wales had stepped into the town. But still something was missing..

I’d attended the amazing ‘In The City’ created by the late great Tony Wilson and in 1999 it came to Liverpool. It was a defining moment in the birth of boutique festivals.

David Pichilingi decided that Liverpool needed to become a ‘Sound City’ and when two young Welsh upstarts attended one, they in turn decided that Wales needed it’s own too. So Andy Jones and Neal Thompson set their ‘Focus Wales’ story alight and for the first time everything musically in the town fell into place.

So here we are in 2022 heading into the new dawn of Focus as it stands proudly next to Sound City, The Great Escape, Wide Days, Un-Convention and Output as Wales’ premier boutique festival event.

I’m happy to be back in my home town with its music future secure! What you’re looking at is just the beginning. We will embrace podcast, vodcast, radio, TV, streaming, live gigs, club nights and more!

It’s been a long and winding road, but it’s good to be back...

Jj:

@Jjkrazy

SYNAU | FOCUS WALES 2022 PAGE 3

BRAND NEW ALBUM

OMEGA

RELEASED JUNE 17 2022

The 108th Un-Convention music conference and showcase will take place on the 7th and 8th July at Band on the Wall in Manchester, and will once again bring together hundreds of pioneering artists, managers, venues, labels, and promoters, alongside a host of key industry champions from across the UK and Europe to develop new ideas and opportunities for the independent sector.

Over two days and nights, we will explore ideas for building sustainable careers in music, effective release and live strategies, the challenges for artists and organisations in the modern era, developing regional scenes, music as a tool for social change, and a host of other key issues in the current industry. The event will also showcase some of the finest new music from across the country.

For the last fourteen years Un-Convention has been providing a platform for the makers and champions of independent music to build networks, share ideas, and develop new ways of working. If you’re involved in the sector, then we do hope you can join us in Manchester this summer. www.unconventionhub.org

SYNAU/SOUND A DARK HOLLOW/BAD HARE JOINT VENTURE

Published by Dark Hollow • Design & Production by Bad Hare

@jjkrazy

@mrsionsmith

DAILY MIRROR - “Big Tunes, huge choruses and buckets of passion.”

CLASSIC ROCK - “Bursting with heart.”

SCOTTISH MUSIC NETWORK - “A masterpiece.”

CNN - “The Alarm capture zeitgeist on new album.”

YORKSHIRE TIMES - “The Alarm recapture the hunger.....

If The Clash had still been together in 2021 chances are, they would sound something like this.”

SUBBA CULTCHA - “epic - career-best songs.”

ROCK AND ROLL TRUTH - “A masterwork.”

DAILY EXPRESS - “The 68 Guns boys deliver.....”

AMERICAN SINGWRITER - “Triumphant.”

SPIN - “Play it Loud... anyway, anyhow, anywhere.”

CD / LP / STREAM / FILM WWW.THEALARM.COM

PAGE 4 SYNAU | FOCUS WALES 2022

A NEW FUTURE FOR WELSH ARTISTS

Three of Wales’ leading music organisations have joined up to deliver a new pilot programme for the development of artists as a legacy of Showcase Scotland 2022.

In 2021, Tŷ Cerdd, Trac Cymru and FOCUS Wales began a new partnership, creating and delivering an Artist Development Programme, supported by Wales Arts International and Arts Council of Wales. The programme aims to accelerate Wales’ music sector within the folk, traditional, world and language-based music genres, by offering opportunities for artists to receive bespoke mentoring and professional development support in reaching their international potential.

The artists taking part in this pilot programme were selected through a call-out for artists to perform at Showcase Scotland in Celtic Connections 2022. In total, 42 exciting and diverse artists responded to the call-out, and a shortlist of 15 artists was drawn up through a two-stage assessment process by a panel chaired

by Arts Council of Wales Portfolio Manager Lisa Matthews-Jones. Whilst 6 artists were selected

by Donald Shaw (Creative Producer at Celtic Connections) to perform at the prestigious event, all 15 shortlisted artists won an opportunity to develop their careers through a place on the Artist Development Programme.

The selected artists are: ALAW, Bragod, CALAN, Catrin Finch & Aoife, Ní Bhríain, Cynefin, Eve Goodman, Gitân, HMS Morris, Jodie Marie, N’famady, Kouyaté, NoGood Boyo, Pedair, The Gentle Good, The Trials of Cato and Vrï.

The combined impact of Brexit and the Covid pandemic has severely affected the careers of musicians in Wales and threatens to do lasting damage to the fragile music eco system. The

Artist Development Programme will contribute towards rebuilding the careers of musicians and encourage professional development and capacity building at all levels in the music sector in Wales.

Andy Jones, Music Programmer at FOCUS Wales said: “The artist development programme has given all involved a fantastic opportunity to assess and discuss the music industry infrastructure that’s currently here in Wales, and explore what more can be done. This project is a fantastic example of what can be achieved when organisations in Wales come together and share their knowledge, experience and networks, to strengthen the offer for our music community.

Through our conversations we’ve been able to identify the specific artist challenges and needs, and this has already proven to play an important role for the artists as they each develop their individual career strategies. There are many ways for artists to form careers in music in 2022, and I feel the artist development programme has empowered the participating artists in realising how much control they have upon their career path.”

The value that music brings to Wales is not purely economical, with the pandemic having revealed unequivocally the vital role the arts play in relation to the mental and physical well-being of our communities.

Danny Kilbride, Director and CEO of Trac Cymru said: “Our Artist Development Programme contains 15 acts reflecting a relationship with the community that is Cymru, offering a snapshot of who we are as a people

and how we choose to celebrate a living and diverse culture in the 21st century. We try to avoid the word “traditional”. It sounds fixed, dead, alien. It’s not even a word we use in our language. We use ‘gwerin’ which means people, community, ours. So our music sounds like us, diverse, ancient, modern. We don’t reproduce the notes, we play music.”

Collaboration is key to the international development of artists in Wales. Deborah Keyser, Director of Tŷ Cerdd said: “Collaboration is at the heart of the Artist Development Programme, and it feels very timely that our three organisations have come together to deliver this initiative.

Supporting Wales-based music-creators to develop their artistic practice, business skills and career trajectory is at the heart of each of our operations. We’re all constantly working with artists, albeit in different ways, and joining forces and learning from each other’s approaches is helping us grow as organisations, while enabling the artists we’re working with. In turn we’re collaborating with a host of sector professionals (for example in the mentoring element) to provide the expertise the artists have identified that they need.”

The Artist Development Programme will continue in 2022-23, as we look ahead to another year of exciting opportunities for Welsh musicians following the announcement that Wales will be International Partner for Showcase Scotland 2023 at Celtic Connections, jointly with Brittany.

SYNAU | FOCUS WALES 2022 PAGE 5

hybrid. We will also have our first international festival guest programme a slot at the Festival Takeover, with Canadian event Breakout West coming over. And we will continue our partnership with the friends at Focus Wales, who we have done loads of things with over the past few years.

Why Edinburgh? Why Scotland?

I live in Edinburgh and apart from being a really nice place, it also has some great venues.

For me it’s more of a question, why host Wide Days anywhere else?

What made you want to do a ‘showcase’ #boutiquefestival?

I had worked for a lot of different international music conventions and showcases and made a note of what worked well and what did not. In a nutshell, I set up the type of music industry event I would like to attend myself.

Back in 2010, pretty much every conference had at least one panel of middle-aged blokes moaning about the decline in CD sales.. And there would be scores of showcases by acts who most people hadn’t heard of, with some totally packed and others totally empty.

With the conference I thought the veterans had as much to learn from the young people coming into the business so from the outset I made sure we had a good mix of speakers. As we had no money, we bought a ton of food and drink in Lidl and had our speaker welcome part at the home of a local label owner.

And instead of having loads of acts, we just showcased seven and made sure that the industry delegates turned up by feeding them at the venue. From the beginning we paid a fee to cover expenses, provided catering and acts them a proper soundcheck. The showcases are a partnership with the artists, whereby we ensure that the industry come and they look after bringing their fans, as all the gigs open to the public. To this day, each set is only 20 minutes so that if someone loves it, they want more and if they don’t, they don’t have to wait long until it’s over.

How is the #roadmap out shaping up?

We kept a lot of the format of the 2019 Wide Days, but with all the experience we gained hosting online events, will incorporate streamed components to make it more of a

What artists are you looking forward to at #WideDays2022 I’m always really excited about the acts I haven’t had the chance to see perform live before. This year there are four taking part on our artist mentoring programme, who I will be seeing for the first time. Rapper Chef, acoustic pop troubadour Calum Bowie, producer Cyrano and the band Swiss Portrait.

The latter were formed at the start of the pandemic by a conceptual artist whose work involves blowing stuff up. As he couldn’t do that during lockdown, he decided to make music to alleviate the boredom and has ended up picking up fans all around the world.

Back in 2011, I was already looking into streaming our second Wide Days convention.

However, we just didn’t have the time or resources to develop this, as there was so much work to do on delivering the basics of the event. I think patching in speakers who can’t attend in person, live streaming conference sessions and setting up online meetings/talks in advance, is going to be a part of most events in the future. It does add to the costs and logistics, but it has the potential to open it up to a much bigger audience.

Which artist #deadoralive is on your #wishlist to see live? Dream Wide Days Headline Act? We focus primarily on emerging Scottish artists, who go through an application process and are selected by a panel of 30 music and music media professionals. It’s a bit disappointing when an act you really like doesn’t apply for the talent development programme. This year I was super keen on a musicians called Lvra and last year I failed to convince a couple of house What’s missing from the Scotish music producers called We Should Hang Out More scene & what’s great? #Evaluate to go for it.

Scotland does pop and indie really well and I’d love to have a Festival Takeover with an has an incredible history when it comes event from a Quebec so we can programme to electronic music, which is currently Teke:Take, who are blend flute, psychedelia experiencing an incredible wave. I sometimes and Japanese influences. There is also amazing feel we could do with more really unusual solo artist called Laurance Anne. She’s playing mixtures which are truly unique. Kapil Focus Wales this year. if you go, be sure to Seshasayee, who was on our mentoring check her out. programme a couple of years ago and plays the At the time of doing this interview, we still Wide Days opening night, excels in this regard didn’t have the acts confirmed through the and I hope we will see more artists unafraid to Focus Wales partnership. I’m hoping one of create music like nobody else. them will be Bethan Lloyd, who sounds like The Knife singing in Welsh. A perfect example Where does Wide Days sit in the boutique of something I hadn’t heard anywhere else! festival scene? (SoundCity/FocusWales/ Output) Jim, Jimi, Janis or John (Morrison, Each event has its own character and unique Hendrix, Joplin or Lennon) & Why? approach. Focus Wales and Sound City I went through a Beatles phase at the age of are actually festivals, whereas we are a very eight, Jimi Hendrix at eighteen and it still inclusive industry event which aims to be as hasn’t happened for me with Janis Joplin, welcoming to artists in their first band as an although never say never - I hated cardamon industry veteran who has been at it for decades. until about three years ago and now I love it.

From the beginning I wanted Wide Days to I still listen to the LA Woman album quite be a high quality conference and as we had regularly, so it has to be Jim Morrison. I once so many high level music business guests, I wandered into a cemetery in Paris,, only to decided we should introduce them to some top discover it was where he is buried. There were quality emerging acts from across the whole all these goth grave tourists wondering around, genre spectrum. Output is similar, but they but his is the only famous person’s tomb which pack it all into one day and evening. doesn’t appear on the map. When you find it, you can see why. It’s a right fucking state How do you see #HybridEvents as people have scrawled their names and daft developing the future of the festival? (pod/ messages on it. Some folk have no respect! vodcast/youtubetv)

Wide Days takes place in Edinburgh every spring and combines an innovative conference with a showcase presenting six emerging Scottish acts. In 2014 it was named Best Networking Event at the Yearly Music Convention Awards (the honour can only be won once) and an economic impact study, conducted by Charlotte Wilson Research Services, found that it generated over £13m of business in its first nine years.

PAGE 6 SYNAU | FOCUS WALES 2022

RAISED ON RADIO I’m looking at a copy of Melody Maker that’s come through the letterbox.

“Holy cow! Joan Jett is number 4 on the chart!”

“Who’s she?”

I give my folks the evil eye and go back to scanning the week in music for signs of life.

It was validation of sorts. I’m 14. A chance sequence of events has led to me being a big fan of The Runaways from a pretty young age. By ‘big fan’, I mean I listened to the two albums I had unearthed from Phase One Records based on the cover picture alone. They hardly got any coverage in the UK music press, so unless you were plugged into something magical like Radio Luxembourg, Creem or Hit Parader, there was little chance of discovering much else beyond what was written on the album sleeve.

Such was the hole in my knowledge - with hindsight, I squarely blame that on the lack of magazine coverage - I didn’t even know they had split up until I discovered Joan riding high at number 4. It was one of those moments when That Thing you’ve been talking about for years becomes important to other people for a time and you overnight become The Man - usually for less than 24 hours before everybody gets tired of you being a dick about your foresight anyway.

I had no idea I Love Rock N’ Roll was a cover of the 1975 Arrows song. That came much later. At 14, you don’t care much about those kinds of things. I’d put money on that still being the case for a lot of people in 2022 when it comes to the song. You’d probably even find people who think the song belongs to Britney.

That’s kind of the way things go with songs.

Cut to: a school disco some weeks later. I sincerely hope that it was officially a fancy dress disco because John (my partner in crime throughout my school years) and myself, decided to go as Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons. It was probably the same as every other school disco we had ever been to, fancy dress or not.

They played music neither of us liked and we stood around like wallflowers, slightly drunk on whatever we’d been able to steal and daring each other to approach girls we were into... only this time we were not so invisible. It’s hard to blend into the background when you’re dressed as Kiss. I owned some wrestling boots that were a far cry from The Demon’s dragon platform boots, but it was as close as I was going to get.

Photo credit: Shervin Lainez

THE BREAKFAST TABLE. WREXHAM. 1982. YOU CAN FALL IN LOVE WITH MUSIC ANYWHERE. SOMETIMES IT CAN FOLLOW YOU HALFWAY AROUND THE WORLD AND BECOME THE SOUNDTRACK TO YOUR LIFE...

Put that together with a pair of jeans and a denim shirt: I wasn’t fooling anybody. I looked like the same comprehensive school loser I’d always been only with Gene Simmons face paint on.

In the foyer, there was a maths teacher being suspiciously nice selling orange juice - my memory is a little vague about this but I assume that’s why we were out there and not inside getting down to Blondie, Odyssey or Chic.

A couple of skinhead guys turned up out of nowhere. Skinheads scared the crap out of me back then but I always kind of appreciated how they were ‘all in’ with what they were into.

You couldn’t be half a skinhead or pretend to be one. You either were or you weren’t. I don’t even remember them being at our school but it’s always possible that they just looked different in a school uniform (thus proving it is possible to disguise yourself as a skinhead I guess). Anyway, one of them took one look at me, called me a dick, laughed and punched me in the face. Hard.

Over and out.

With blood dribbling from my mouth, my transformation into The Demon was complete and there was at least another hour to go before my old man came to pick us up - just writing that makes me cringe, but that’s school for you.

Then, like a cascade of thunder, accompanied

by Joan’s riffing Gibson - a Gibson Melody Maker if memory serves - I Love Rock n Roll came pumping through the canteen doors. It’s a riff that’s a call to arms. If it comes on in the car, it is in fact international law that you tweak the volume up and wind the window down. It called to me right then. Everything fell into place. I was all in - no disguise. Together, fake Paul and even faker Gene took over the empty canteen floor, shaking our fists in the air, thrashing our non-existent hair, declaring to anybody that would listen, that Hell Yeah - We Loved Rock N Roll Too. We were even prepared to bleed for it.

The cool kids kept our wall warm for us until our 2 minutes 55 seconds were over.

Everything combines flawlessly in this song even more so than in the original. The drums are simple. Tribal even. They beat like your heart because it is your heart. The bass is right there alongside it, so tightly tucked in that you don’t even notice it chugging away there unless you look for it - which is how it should be.

The guitars? Oh, how they chugga-chug, doing that rock/pop/punk thing that only Joan Jett owns in this way while she leads the battle cry so many think they understand but very few really do. Perhaps that’s the mastery of this song. You can love it regardless of your faith. It stealthed

SYNAU | FOCUS WALES 2022 PAGE 7 Nothing Else Ever Happened up there. Look it up on a map. It’s Very Far Away.

JJ made himself busy doing what comes naturally and commandeered the DJ decks to play the new Wildhearts CD, which he had permanently and purposely carried in his coat pocket to play for as many people as he could along our stupid little road trip. In itself, that’s worth writing about but that one’s not my story to tell...

I really, really, 100% truly was, standing with my back to the record machine when she - a woman called Maureen - smiled and asked my name. We struck up a conversation. I also knew for a cold, hard fact that she wasn’t anywhere near 17. Closer to 37 was more like it. That early in the evening, my best guess was that she looked like the mother of one of The Runaways but as I waded my way through that $5/All You Can Drink deal, she turned into a 1978 version of Cherie Currie before my very eyes and I was sunk like a pirate ship with a cannonball in its hull.

Somehow, I had made it to the the city of my dreams, behaved like a beatnik hobo, drunk a magical native potion and been transported into the arms of The Foxy One herself from the album cover of my dreams. It was all coming together... more or less as I had once planned.

Because there was a live DJ that night who so happened to my wingman (at least for a while), the jukebox was turned off. Shame, because

there were some good songs on it, but as fate would have it, J pulled a record out of the DJ box and gave me a shout out for asking him to come on this road trip.

What did he play? I hear you ask...

He dropped the needle into I Hate Myself For Loving You. It’s my favourite Joan Jett song. I think it’s as perfect as I Love Rock n Roll, it just has a different sentiment. There go those tribal drums again bolstered by a driving bassline. Big crunchy guitars that destroy without trying too hard at all. What the hell is there not to love about this song?

More to the point, how come it only made it to number 46 on the chart?

Anyway, it was one of those great nights out that I have practically no memory of aside from the early part of the evening as detailed here. I later recall making snow angels with lumberjacks, walking to a petrol station with them for cigarettes and Hershey bars, getting into the back of a pick-up truck with Maureen, J and some other people but that’s about it for me until the morning, when we were once again to be found stranded at Syracuse train station, where I found a piece of paper in my pocket with a number on it and the name ‘Maureen’ above it with a little heart as the full stop.

I never called. I might have fallen in love, never made it home and ended up living in a trailer park hating myself for loving her.

But I do still love rock n roll and Joan Jett.

Joan Jett & T he Blackhearts have a new album out... al l acoustic and all fantastic.

Get it while yo u can!

Photo credit: Shervin Lainez

its way into the chart on the back of being simply irresistible. Nobody can deny the power of I Love Rock n Roll. I take my hat off to the writers - Alan Merrill and Jake Hooker - because that’s what I would definitely call a legacy.

One thing I’ve learned over the years though, is that a victory for outsiders never lasts for long.

The wall is a lonely place to be. I’m glad I’m not 14 anymore but I wouldn’t change it for a single thing.

Many years later, 12 in fact, I find myself snowed in, thousands of miles from the breakfast table of ‘82 in Syracuse, New York State.

Nobody is coming in and nobody is going out.

It’s pretty bad (by UK standards it’s apocalyptic) but actually, it’s also great.

My buddy JJ and me... we only went to spend a few days in Manhattan but when we got there, we found we only had enough money for one night in a hotel (that’s a whole other story by itself). It was too cold to sleep at the train station, so we put our heads together and discovered an overnight Amtrak train to Syracuse was cheaper than a room, so we got on it and slept, arriving refreshed and ready to roll at 4am... in temperatures that would make hell freeze over.

Minus 29º to be exact - look it up.

Funnily enough, not much happens in Syracuse at 4am in the middle of winter. My best recollection of waiting for the sun to show its face, was breaking and entering a jellybean machine to get some sugar into the system.

Dressed like it was a regular old day in June in the UK (go figure), we wondered what we had done. Truth be told, we thought we were going to die on that station platform and somehow, that was OK because we didn’t know anybody else who had made it this far away from home before. This was Fellowship of the Ring territory.

There’s lots of detail I could throw in here but I’ll cut to the chase. By nightfall, we found ourselves in a club called The Lost Horizon.

Entry $5. Drink all you can included. The scenario wasn’t quite as dumb as Paul and Gene at a school disco but if you can imagine two guys wearing days old eye-liner and spandex, walking into a club populated by heavy metal lumberjacks, you’d have a very exact picture of what it looked like that night.

We eyed each other up wondering if we should make a hasty retreat back to the jellybean machine but as it turned out, those lumber guys made us more than welcome. Maybe it was because we were British and sounded (sort of) like The Beatles, but I actually think it’s because @mrsionsmith

Sion Smith is a Welsh writer, magazine editor and recovering songwriter.

This article is an extract from his forthcoming book Raised On Radio due to be published in October 2022.

You can find him at sionsmith.co.uk.

...JOAN JETT

PAGE 8 SYNAU | FOCUS WALES 2022

KELLY LEE OWENS

Welsh electronic artist Kelly Lee Owens released her eponymous debut album in 2017 and followed this up with 2020’s Inner Song. Previously collaborating with the likes of Björk, St. Vincent and John Cale, she more recently turned her hand to composition, creating the official soundtrack for the 2023 Women’s World Cup. In April she returns with LP 8.

Just as in the 70’s Pink Floyd, Kraftwerk and David Bowie changed how we listen to music with the Berlin Trilogy & Joy Division, The Cocteau Twins took the sonic landscape beyond anything previous and opened the door for Bjork, Tori Amos, Heather Nova and more recently Christine And The Queens then in my mind that soundscape has once again been challenged by Kelly Lee Owens with her superb LP. 8 I must confess that like all the artists mentioned here, this album is best heard in headphones as the music and vocals soar around your head like a soundtrack to a Shakespeare play (if there could be such a thing). In fact, you could read extracts from any of the bard’s works out loud while listening and they would fit, and as someone who has admired where

Kelly has taken her music previously, this album is unexpected, yet absolutely essential to be heard. There is little point in my reviewing it - suffice to say, simply add it to your collection.

Born out of a series of studio sessions, LP. 8 was created with no preconceptions or expectations: an unbridled exploration into the creative subconscious. After releasing her sophomore album Inner Song in the midst of the pandemic, Kelly Lee Owens was faced with the sudden realisation that her world tour could no longer go ahead. Keen to make use of this untapped creative energy, she made the spontaneous decision to go to Oslo instead. There was no overarching plan, it was simply a change of scenery and a chance for some undisturbed studio time.

It just so happened that her flight from London was the last before borders were closed once again. The blank page project was underway.

Arriving to snowglobe conditions and sub-zero temperatures, she began spending time in the studio with esteemed avant-noise artist Lasse Marhaug. Together, they envisioned making music somewhere in between

Throbbing Gristle and Enya, artists who have had an enduring impact on Kelly’s creative being.

In doing so, they paired tough, industrial sounds with ethereal Celtic mysticism, creating music that ebbs and flows between tension and release. One month later, Owens called her label to tell them she had created something of an outlier, her “eighth album.” In Owens’ words, “For me, 8 meant completion - an album that will ripple infinitely with me personally.”

Lasse Marhaug is known for hundreds of avant-noise releases, previously working with the likes of Merzbow, Sunn O))) and Jenny Hval, for whom he produced her acclaimed albums Apocalypse, Girl, Blood Bitch and The Practice Of Love. A label mate of Kelly’s, Marhaug has recorded for Smalltown Supersound since 1997. LP. 8 was mixed

by Kelly and Cherif Hashizume (Brian Eno, Jon Hopkins, David Byrne) and mastered by Beau Thomas (Aphex Twin, Hyperdub).

The artwork was shot by Josie Hall and designed by Joke Leonare.

SYNAU | FOCUS WALES 2022 PAGE 9

THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN TWENTY FIRST CENTURY PRESENTS

A THREE DAY CELEBRATION OF THE MUSIC OF MIKE PETERS AND THE ALARM

STEREOPHONICS RETURN TO THE WORLD Stereophonics returned with a new track ‘Right Place Right Time’ ahead of the release of their new album ‘Oochya!’ via Stylus Records through Ignition Records Ltd. The track’s heartwarming narrative tells the story of the band’s journey of musical stardom, taking their talents around the world whilst maintaining a love for family and friends. A dreamy glance at what has been an incredible career for Stereophonics, frontman Kelly Jones takes us back to the very start, right when they first began.

‘Right Place Right Time’ is just one of the many genre-crossing moments on the fifteen track ‘Oochya!’ – from the explosive album opener ‘Hanging On Your Hinges’, followed by ‘Forever’, shining with retrospective and escapist lyrics such as, “wish I could fly away forever, wish I could take the pain from you and release you”. ‘When You See It’ boasts glistening melodies with an openchord distorted guitar, while ‘Do Ya Feel My Love?’ stands out as a stadium-ready anthem; a cocktail of ferocious swagger and gritty tones. Nostalgic and intimate moments feature on ‘Close Enough To Drive Home’, and a piano-led ‘Every Dog Has Its Day,’ reinforced by an orchestral mix of strings, contrasts with the up-tempo AC/DC-esque vibe of ‘Running Round My Brain’ and

the country-classic rock ambience of ‘Seen That Look Before’ The album is akin to an old school ‘Mixtape’ but done by one artist, the songs wear their hearts on their sleeves as Stereophonics take you on a musical journey through their past, present & future and is definitely amongst the best the band has produced with fans agreeing as it became yet another #1 chart album for the band.

The release of ‘Oochya!’ will also see Stereophonics, one of Britain’s best live bands, return to the road for an eagerly anticipated UK arena tour. Kicking off at Manchester AO Arena on 18th March 2022, the eleven date tour reached The O2 London on 1st April and culminated in a show at the Birmingham Arena on 2nd April. We were lucky enough to catch the band in Liverpool where the new songs fitted perfectly with classics in a two hour set list that’s become like an old friend.

They are as good live now as they ever were & if you get a chance to see them The Stereophonics will headline two massive shows at Cardiff’s 60,000 capacity Principality Stadium along with a host of festival headline slots this summer including Kendal Calling, Y Not and Victorious Festivals, plus a newly-announced date with Pearl Jam as part of London’s BST Hyde Park on 9th July.

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PAGE 10 SYNAU | FOCUS WALES 2022

TURN ON THE JUICE

2022 WXFM

Liverpool has had 2, perhaps 4 great cultural eras. It’s emerging out of the culture wasteland to plead the 5th! The first being the Merseybeat years of the early 60’s, which spawned The Beatles, Gerry And The Pacemakers and a whole host of hit paraders. The next being the scene that grew up around Eric’s, a club on Mathew Street (just near The Cavern) & Brady’s/Planet X These included Echo & The Bunnymen, The Teardrop Explodes, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark & Dead Or Alive, concluding with the near global domination of Frankie Goes To Hollywood, whose first 3 singles all topped the UK pop chart in 1984.

The 3rd great cultural period would be the Cream era, beginning in 1992 when the superclub-to-be was launched at city centre nightspot Nation. + The Lomax/Krazyhouse was featuring the amazing rock/indie bands such as Space & Cast who had dominated the ‘BritPop‘ charts.

The 4th was when The Coral, The Zutons, Miles Kane & Deltasonic Records brought us screaming into the 21st century as a ‘Sound City’. But the one thing that the last era and the ‘5th Generation’ (Red Rum Club, Spinn, Zuzu) suffer from is a lack of radio play in their home city, Why? Many have opinions and reason. For me it’s a story of ‘Crash & buRn’

25 years ago + (1994) the audio landscape in Liverpool, England was as diverse and amazing as it ever was or will ever be. The diversity of genres in the city ranged right across the genres and borders, yet radio in the city ignored not only emerging talent but established and breaking artists. Cream had the dance scene sewn up, meanwhile The Krazyhouse & The Lomax were two venues/clubs that were bringing local talent to the fore and established artists through the door alongside future headline acts (Stereophonics, Space, Ocean Colour Scene, Catatonia, Feeder, The Verve, Fear Factory, Oasis and Radiohead are amongst many future headliners that played). So imagine the excitement when ex Radio One DJ Janice Long announced that there was to be an ‘Alternative‘ station in the city.

In the application for a full-time licence, Crash FM said it would provide an alternative rock and dance station, aimed at the 15 to 34 year old market in Liverpool. It was to just be a month long licence but if it worked, then another would be done and finally a full time alt station would be in the city - XFM in London had proved it could be done - so when this licence was undertaken, every bedroom, club and broadcast jock wanted in. I got the nod to present a ‘rock slot’ and for me, as a DJ in the city, the excitement was quite something! Crash

FM hit the airwaves and the Spirit Of Peel was alive and kicking!

I remember the night when my show was to air it was in the ‘Graveyard Shift’ (after midnight) but I didn’tt care! It fell on a night when I was to DJ at The Krazyhouse for a gig that saw rising stars Bush play at the club (they were headlining arenas in America). Gavin Rossdale, singer with the band, agreed to do an interview and acoustic song for my show which we recorded in the Krazyhouse dressing room, and this was to be my first serious on-air feature on Crash.

After the gig, I drove out to the temporary home for the broadcast, tape in hand, also along for the ride were the support band for Bush whose singer was for me a great new talent - Brian Molko of Placebo. Their debut album would not surface until July 96′ so this was indeed early days for the band. I did the show, Crash had its 4 weeks on air: positives all around and it would return for round two.

After another run and some backing, Crash went full time in 1998 with Liverpool’s first real alternative to CityFM/Merseyside, but it didn’t last long. Money talks and it seems that advertisers were not happy at what they were hearing on air and the backing wasn’t there.

Granted, some of the DJ’s weren’t either but those that were brought something special to the airwaves in the city. The station re-branded as JuiceFM until it was bought and re-branded as Capital. You can tune in today to find out why, on that day, alternative radio in the city died.

Janice returned to Radio 2 - and also moved to Radio Wales where she had an awesome weeknight evening show. We all returned back to our other DJ duties and carried on regardless.

I did return to Juice to produce a show for two years called ‘The A-Train’ - you get guess at what the A stood for - but the suits and ties once again decided that alternative/rock/indie was not a viable product even though I had My Chemical Romance in the studio when they were Number One in America. Artists such as The Killers, Dandy Warhols, Taking Back Sunday, Linkin Park, Elbow, Korn, Slipknot, among countless other passed through the studio doors to hang out, chat and do sessions.

Somehow, I even managed to become Head Of Music and deliver an OCN level 2 course in Broadcasting at Yale College alongside helping set up Calon FM and having a weekly 4 hour Sunday Night Show in my hometown (Wrexham of course). Sadly that too has now bitten the dust.

So here we are 25+ years later, Sound City has its 15th anniversary and how many of the great acts got mainline plays on the airwaves in this ‘radio’ city? Your guess is as good as mine.

Can it change? Will it change? Surely it has to change!

Lets Finish What Janice Started!

SYNAU | FOCUS WALES 2022 PAGE 11

Photo credit: Shervin Lainez

Photo Credit: 6th Vision

Here’s a little background for you on the Power of Radio when it comes to changing the face of music in the world - the internet looks like old tech by comparison: CollegeRock is a term that was used to describe alternative rock before the term “alternative” came into common usage, because it was played on student-run university and college campus radio stations located in the United States and Canada in the 1980s. The stations’ playlists were often created by students who avoided the mainstream rock played on commercial radio stations. The bands of this category combined the experimentation of Post Punk and New Wave with a more melodic pop

foot stuck in the genre.

The modern age has seen CMJ (College Music Journal) take up the strain of the pressure placed upon artists to gain coverage outside of that secure mainstream. Bands such as Royal Blood and Gaslight Anthem are ‘Sons Of Springsteen’ and owe just as much to the ‘College Rock’ tag.

Tramps like us may have been Born To Run, or Born To Lose but we were definitely Born To Be Heard!

Those (like me) remember when there really was a ‘Radio Free Europe’ and there it is: Modern Day College Rock! Music that has something to say. It has an edge but it also has melody and this makes The Buttons right at The Front! This is a great ‘Retro-Modern’ music that’s got a long road ahead with shades firmly on for their bright future.

If we can only convince the radio people that college rock is back and ready to become major unit shifters, then we really would be talking. It was hard first time around and I don’t envisage it being any easier now but I for one, am going to try!

One more thing: Over 75% of college radio and alternative stations in the USA have more listeners on FM, more hits to their site, more ‘likes’ and interaction on their social media than 90% of the UK’s Commercial Radio Stations including most of the big hitters like Heart and Magic. They wipe the floor with City/Capital in Liverpool. In fact, the combined listenership of those two stations does not even equal the biggest of the alt-college stations in America.

Think on next time you spin the dial to find the same ol’ song and dance!

style and an underground sensibility. It’s not necessarily a genre term, but there do exist some common aesthetics among college rock bands.

Artists such as R.E.M., U2, The Cure, Camper Van Beethoven, The Smiths, XTC and The Replacements became some of the better-known examples in the mid 1980s. It also embraced the 90s and noughties ‘acoustic rock’ of Jeff Buckley, Radiohead & Ryan Adams.

Many might argue that the entire Seattle scene of Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden et all, was born of this religion just as Stipe and co began to lose theirs.

Even Green Day and Jimmy Eat World owe a debt to the ‘scene’. In fact, any band that has picked up a guitar in the last 40 years that has not had the ‘metal’ tags around it’s neck, has one

ROCK/ALT/DANCE/INDIE/ONLINE #WEWANTTHEAIRWAVES

@jjkrazy

PAGE 12 SYNAU | FOCUS WALES 2022

THE HEAVY NORTH

Following a lengthy delay in vinyl manufacturing, Liverpool six-piece garage/blues rock band The Heavy North are set to release their longawaited debut 10-track album Electric Soul Machine on Saturday 23rd April 2022, coinciding with this year’s national Record Store Day. Electric Soul Machine will be the second physical release from the band after 2020’s debut 4-track vinyl EP ‘Dive Bar Blues’, and follows a succession of single releases over the last 12 months culminating with latest track ‘Satisfy You’ released on New Year’s Day 2022.

In addition to picking up airplay on BBC 6 Music, Radio X and BBC Introducing, The Heavy North have recently been championed

by Scottish actor and new music champion Robert Carlyle OBE who described the garage blues outfit as a “top, top band”.

On Christmas Day 2021 the band shared a private preview link to their upcoming debut album with fans who pre-ordered the album on 12” gatefold vinyl or CD. “We wanted to give everyone who helped us make Electric Soul Machine the opportunity to hear it for 24 hours, and we received some great comments from people who were listening

to our album on Christmas Day which was amazing” said The Heavy North frontman Kenny Stuart.

“Electric Soul Machine was actually finished in August last year, but unfortunately there’s been a global delay in vinyl manufacturing so it’s taken a bit longer than we expected, but hopefully our fans and followers will think it’s well worth the wait”.

“The album is a collection of ten tracks recorded at Jose’s 3rd Planet Recording Studio last year, and as another way to thank those who pre-ordered the album we’ve also added 150 names to the gatefold artwork of the 12” vinyl” added Kenny.

In February this year, The Heavy North played a handful of UK shows in Bristol, London, Birmingham and Blackpool to road-test tracks from the upcoming album, and the band are looking forward to playing Electric Soul Machine in full later this year on their own UK headline tour.

“We’ve got a couple of live shows and festivals over the summer, but we’ll be back on tour in September and look forward to playing some of the

Electric Soul Machine tracks live for the first time”.

Electric Soul Machine features the singles ‘Darkness In Your Eyes’ (April 2021), ‘No Good’ (July 2021), ‘Awake’ (October 2021) and ‘Satisfy You’ (January 2022)

SYNAU | FOCUS WALES 2022 PAGE 13

A Few Words From Rhys Mwyn:

Wales Plays Catch Up My past involvement with Welsh music is fairly well documented. As a quick summary, I’ll mention my involvement with post-punk bands such as Llwybr Llaethog and Datblygu, relaeasing their early records via Anhrefn Records in the mid 1980’s. Datblygu have since gained widespread recognition as one of the most influential Welsh bands of all time. All those bands that came through the revolving doors of Anhrefn Records went on to do Peel Sessions and to perform beyond Wales. We were looking outwards.

In the 1990’s I made early records with Catatonia. They went on to even greater levels of success. But, and this is important in a way, my reading material during the early 80’s was always The Face. Whatever the merits of the Welsh post-punk scene in the 80’s I think deep down I was hoping to discover and record the ‘Welsh Sade’. Sometime around 1985 rumours surfaced of a Pop-post-punk band called Ti Na Na. Glamour. A hybrid of Bananarama and Rip Rig and Panic or so I hoped.

In those days the ‘office’ was a Giles Gilbert Scott designed K6 phone box and a stack of 10pence pieces. My dream of a 12” dance record with Ti Na Na never happened. I cannot even remember if I managed to track them down. In a funny way the early Catatonia of just Mark and Cerys, a duo, appealed more than the normal indie band formula. Who knows!

Fast forward to 2022. Eadyth and Izzy have released a glorious anthemic (rant) single called ‘Cymru Ni’. Namechecking Ladies of Rage and Lemfreck, this is Hip-Hop with Soul.

Perfect Pop. And an absolute vision of / for Wales in 2022 – it raps like a manifesto in a Nina Simone kind of way. In terms of current Welsh music this is absolutely the here and now.

It would sound good on Radio 1 or 6Music. It just sounds good full stop.

Eadyth and Izzy are certainly one of the acts to watch out for.

Back to the Sade thing. The new album ‘Rhydd’ by Kizzy is one of the best albums to come out of Wales over the last year. Fact. But it’s also one of the best albums to ever come out of Wales. It has Funk and it has Soul. Kizzy’s production is faultless. I’m not sure what defines

a masterpiece. This has to be close.

Songs are crafted and to the point. Kizzy has Soul for sure but this is a Kizzy record, there is no need for reference points. It is just a very very good record. This has been my go-to record now for the last few months.

‘Traditional’ is a dangerous word. Cerys Hafana plays the triple harp and a Stratocaster guitar. She reinterprets traditional folk songs and composes. Hafana for sure is the one artist that is truly taking the ‘traditional’ for a good road trip, down dusty country lanes, through rusty kissing gates and down the back alleys.

Hafana is the real deal. On first hearing Cerys I had to phone the other Cerys (Matthews) and triple harpist Llio Rhydderch. This had to be heard. We all agreed.

and deservedly so. ‘Eto’ playlisted on 6Music is a definite step up from their previous releases.

Their previous releases were excellent but Eto takes the bar and throws it right up in the air. It has yet to land. Eto is one of the Top Tunes of 2022.

Another act that should be on ‘the ones to watch list’ is Paria Fouladi. Again, Parisa has Soul. There are not many releases yet. I suspect the best is yet to come but all the indication is that Parisa is good to go once the right release hits the airwaves. Sweet soul vocals. Presence.

Take note.

That’s just a taste of the artists that stand out for me. All are pushing things forward. All have Soul.

On a recent appearance on BBC 6 Music, Cerys Hafana explained that one of her songs was about ‘death and trousers’. I’m sure their heads were spinning. But, BUT! This is where it is at. Cerys is funny, articulate, edgy for sure but again has the ability to craft songs. This is folk with Soul.

Adwaith are now gaining a wider recognition

Rhys Mwyn presents the Monday Evening Show (Recordiau Rhys Mwyn) on BBC Radio Cymru 6-30pm – 9pm every Monday @therealrhysmwyn

PAGE 14 SYNAU | FOCUS WALES 2022

Introducing...

HOURGLVSS

@HOURGLVSSHQ

Who is in your band & when did you form?

We are HOURGLVSS. Katie, Sophie, Abby and Rosie. A fantasy pop band who creates a sound that purposefully lives in the divide between fantasy and reality. Hailing from North Wales and Yorkshire, but with two-thirds of the band living in Wales and the other third on the Isle of Wight, we have some pretty spectacular lyrical inspiration when it comes to scenery.

What made you want to do a ‘showcase’ #boutiquefestival ?

We played FOCUS Wales supporting Lucy Spraggan last year and we absolutely loved the energy of the festival. It just had the best vibes and we wanted to make sure we cold play it again.

What is the top 5 artists/dj’s you been influenced by?

Confidence Man Grace Jones Roxy Music Mystery Jets Lykke Li How has lockdown affected the music business?

For us specifically, because we live so far apart from one another, it’s definitely affected us massively. From a friend perspective, it was just awful not being able to see each other 24/7. But from a music perspective, it was so hard as we weren’t able to get together to practice, write and record. And because we’re such a close unit, doing all these things online was just not the same.

How is the #roadmap out shaping up?

We’ve got a number of really great shows in the bag for this year. A few of our favourite festivals included. We’ve also got a new single in the bag which we’ll be releasing in the next couple of months. We’ve also been writing and recording loads, so we’ve got sooooo many new tracks in the vaults that we’ll be releasing throughout the year.

How do you see the remainder of the year panning out? Plans? EP/LP? Tour?

Single release first, then getting a string of songs out for the remainder of the year. Ideally we’d love to release an EP, but we guess you’ll have to wait and see. When we do, think Grace Jones meets Confidence Man meets four really loud Northerners.

What’s missing from the welsh music scene & what’s great? #Evaluate There’s not enough funk/jazz in my opinion, and not enough original music venues. We wish there was a bigger and supportive music scene like you get in cities. What’s great is that the musicians you do meet are more eager to play with you as it’s harder to come by musicians here.

There’s also some really cool Welsh language music doing the rounds at the minute, too.

What artists are you looking forward to at #FocusWales2022 Echo and the Bunnymen and Goat Girl for sure!

Where does Focus Wales sit in the boutique festival scene? (greatescape/soundcity/ widedays) It’s a really cool inner-city festival that’s not in a major city, like Leeds, Manchester or Brighton. You can find so much local talent that you may not otherwise come across. It’s also so much fun to play gigs in or near your hometown - it just feels really special!

Which artist #deadoralive is on your #wishlist to see live? Dream Festival headline Act? Ooh always a hard question! Collectively I think we’d probably say The Strokes, Bowie (obvs), Christine and the Queens, Grace Jones, ABBA, Confidence Man, the list could really go on.

Jim, Jimi, Janis or John (Morrison, Hendrix, Joplin or Lennon) & Why? Ah so hard again! But we’d probably have to say Janis. Girl power and all that. And she’s got some impressive pipes. We can only dream.

Past, Present or Future? Rear View Mirror, #2020vision What’s Next? #NFT Another tour, getting an album released, wearing the most amazing vintage, and just being four northern legends.

SYNAU | FOCUS WALES 2022 PAGE 15 dilettanteband.com

Introducing...

DILETTANTE

Dilettante is the songwriting vehicle of multiinstrumentalist Francesca Pidgeon. Primarily a guitarist and singer but, owing to chronic introversion, she taught herself clarinet, sax and piano and bought a loop pedal in an attempt to avoid human contact.

However, this endeavour ultimately proved futile and she enlisted the aid of bassist Aaron Collins-Wood and Drummer Jack Mee. FFO St Vincent, tUnE-yArDs, Dirty Projectors and Fiona Apple.

Dilettante are due to release debut album ‘Tantrum’ in October, with the first single ‘Big Fish’ coming out on May 13th.

Dilettante will be playing at The Parish 5.40pm on Saturday 7th May as part of the Focus Wales Showcase.

Here’s the complete line-up if you can get yourself there: 3:10pm–3:40pm Holy Gloam 4:00pm–4:30pm The Letrasets 4:50pm–5:20pm Goddesses 5:40pm–6:10pm Dilettante 6:30pm–7:00pm Clwb Fuzz 7:20pm–7:50pm Lydia Maddix 8:10pm–8:40pm Deadletter 9:00pm–9:30pm Vagina Witchcraft 9:50pm–10:20pm Samantha Savage Smith 10:40pm–11:10pm Ghost Woman 11:40pm–12:10am Declan Swans

PAGE 16 SYNAU | FOCUS WALES 2022 Who is in your band & when did you form?

We are The Pastimes, the band consists of myself, Kameron (vocals/guitar), Matty (guitar), Ryan (Drums) and Callum (Bass). We formed in 2021 after lockdown.

What made you want to do a ‘showcase’ boutique festival ?

As a band in North Wales we’d heard a lot about FOCUS Wales and I’d been to previous FOCUS Wales gigs, so it was something we wanted to be apart of as it showcases a lot of great talent from Wales and the rest of the world.

Top 5 artists/DJ’s you been influenced by?

Influences for my writing have been Kurt Cobain from Nirvana, Kevin Shields from My Bloody Valentine, Brian Molko from Placebo, The Beatles and Robert Pollard from Guided

by Voices.

How has lockdown affected the music business?

I think it’s affected it massively, in both good and bad ways. It held us back a lot as we weren’t able to gig for a while, and I think people aren’t going to as many gigs anymore, especially around Wales.

On the other hand it gave me a new insight to social media promotion, a different way to put ourselves out there, we were live streaming through lockdown which was a new way to get our music out to people, it was something we hadn’t done before.

had a date confirmed now which we’re really excited about. We’ll be releasing a single ready for the summer, and a 5 track EP to follow towards the end of the year.

In the mean time, and in-between all of that we’ll be gigging all over the UK.

Introducing...

THE PASTIMES How is the road map out shaping up?

We’re definitely taking advantage of being able to gig again, we’re trying to book as much as we can and play in new places constantly, it’s quite costly but we just love playing, so that doesn’t bother us too much, we’ll always find a way to play in different cities and towns over the UK. How do you see the remainder of the year panning out?

Plans? EP/LP? Tour?

We’re in the studio at the end of May, we’ve

What’s missing from the welsh music scene & what’s great?

There’s some really great bands in Wales, i’m lucky to be apart of this scene and become friends with a lot of different artists, varied in styles, it definitely inspires us.

I can’t really speak for the whole of Wales, but definitely what i’ve noticed in North Wales is the lack of venues for live music.

What artists are you looking forward to at FocusWales2022 Definitely looking forward to playing! And i’m excited to be watching bands such as Holy Gloam, COW, Echo & The Bunnymen and Pip Blom.

What you find at these types of festivals as well is you come across artists you haven’t found yet, or stuff you wouldn’t normally listen to, hearing this kind of thing live is probably the best way to listen to it!

Where does Focus Wales sit in the boutique festival scene?

For me it’s my favourite. It’s great to see Wales be put on the map for the music scene.

Which artist #deadoralive is on your #wishlist to see live? Dream Festival headline Act? My inner 14 year old self will always say Nirvana, they’re probably the one band that’s always stayed with me and always stayed in my playlists. I’d have loved to have seen the Velvet Underground and The Stooges too.

Jim, Jimi, Janis or John (Morrison, Hendrix, Joplin or Lennon) & Why? Tough one. Probably Lennon for his songwriting.

Past, Present or Future? Rear View Mirror, #2020vision What’s Next? #NFT? The future babyyyyy! @ThePastimes

SYNAU | FOCUS WALES 2022 PAGE 17

PEANESS Photo credit: Derek Bremner

Introducing...

Chester indie-pop trio PEANESS are pleased to reveal the video for their new single ‘irl’ which was released on 5th April 2022.

Watch and share here: youtu.be/ME4ZKqPUTEc The track is the latest to be taken from the band’s increasingly aptly-titled debut album World Full Of Worry, which is set for release on 6th May 2022 through the band’s own label, Totally Snick Records.

Preorder now at: https://lnk.to/WorldFullofWorry The trio are also pleased to announce further dates added to their alreadybumper live schedule for 2022 which includes an extensive run of May/June 2022 UK headline tour dates, 2022 festival appearances, and two celebratory October 2022 headline shows in Manchester and London (see below for full listings).

Tickets are on sale now: https://www.peanessband.com/ Commenting on the track, the band said: “For those born pre 1990, irl is an online chat acronym for ‘in real life’—’irl’ is about your online persona not aligning with what’s actually happening in your day-to-day life. It describes that craving for digital validation and the support of an echo chamber you’ve created for yourself, because that’s easier than talking to a professional about the state of your mental health, right? NOTE: There’s no shame in seeking professional help. All three of us do.”

Closing out last year with their biggest headline show to date at Oslo in London and supporting BC Camplight at Manchester’s O2 Ritz, Peaness have spent the last six years quietly building a fanatic underground following with their sugarsweet melancholy indie pop.

The forthcoming debut album’s lead single ‘What’s The Use?’ was released in October 2021 and spent a glorious four weeks on the BBC 6music C List, conquered the Radio X X-Posure playlist, received multiple plays from the late, great Janice Long and Adam Walton at BBC Wales, and picked up plenty of love from DORK Magazine, Lock Magazine, Louder Than War and more at music press. peanessband.com

Introducing...

SEAZOO Welsh noisy indie-pop maestros Seazoo are heavily influenced by the likes of Yo La Tengo, Courtney Barnett and Grandaddy. The rousing five-piece have enjoyed significant support throughout the tastemaker community (Q Magazine, NME, DIY, The Line Of Best Fit, Clash, Dork) and across the airwaves (BBC Radio 1, 6 Music and BBC Radio Wales), with their glowing reputation as an exceptional live act leading to appearances at SXSW, The Great Escape, Green Man and FOCUS Wales and slots with IDLES, Gruff Rhys, The Lovely Eggs and Circa Waves. seazooband.com

PAGE 18 SYNAU | FOCUS WALES 2022

No festival publication would be complete without cornering the people at the top and firing off a few questions about their reasons for getting up in the morning. Andy Jones and Neal Thompson sit in the big black chair: How has lockdown affected business?

It’s forced us to consider new digital ways of working, which we’ll definitely take forward too.

Why Wrexham? Why Wales?

Wales has always punched above its weight in terms of musical talent and Wrexham is a great destination for such an event with so many creative spaces and venues all within a short walking distance.

What made you want to do a ‘showcase’ #boutiquefestival?

We created the event in reaction to the fact it was very much needed in Wales. We wanted to connect the talent here with the industry, from both within and beyond Wales, so the event is structured with this aim in mind.

What is the top 5 artists/DJ’s you have seen at Focus Wales?

It’s really tough, can I do 6? If so, I’ll go with Kelly Lee Owens, Michael Rother, Stella Donnelly, Bob Vylan, Gruff Rhys, and A Guy Called Gerald.

How is the #roadmap out shaping up?

It’s not been easy, is the truth of it. People will take time to regain their confidence, but we’ll get there eventually.

What artists are you looking forward to at #FocusWales2022?

There’s so many, but sets I’m especially looking forward to include Gwenno, XL Life, Grove, Teke Teke, Self Esteem, Mace The Great, Adwaith and Echo & The Bunnymen.

What’s missing from the Welsh music scene and what’s great? #Evaluate We need more artist managers. There are some great managers here, but we do see too many artists from Wales connecting with the first flaky manager they meet in London. It’s frustrating because there’s great people here who could be working with artists, helping to develop artists as they’re coming through, but as I say it’s an area that’s definitely getting better. Hopefully we play our part to make the infrastructure here that little bit better in Wales, in order to encourage

the development of artists and industry pros alike.

Where does Focus Wales sit in the boutique festival scene?

We’re all about new music discovery. We take a chance on wildcards.

How do you see #outoffocus developing the future of the festival?

Out Of FOCUS shows that FOCUS Wales is more than just a festival - the aim has always been for it to be a year round organisation, dedicated to talent development and contributing towards the building of a viable, self sustaining, international music industry in Wales.

Dream Focus Wales headline act?

It would be great to have a set from the Super Furries at some point. That would be a dream. Rage Against The Machine would be pretty epic too. Little Simz would be pretty special. Our energy is for the new artists coming through though. I’m over the moon with the selection of new artists we have this year.

Jim, Jimi, Janis or John (Morrison, Hendrix, Joplin or Lennon) & Why? None of the above - let’s look forward and use our experience to help let the new humans take the reigns…

Past, Present or Future? Rear View Mirror, #2020vision What’s Next? #NFT Future, always looking forward and helping the people with ideas in music in Wales to flourish.

Stay connected with all things FOCUS Wales:

focuswales.com facebook.com/focuswales twitter.com/focuswales instagram.com/focuswales youtube.com/user/focuswales