MUSIC NEWS EXTRA
Beatbox Bars , the company behind a number of Cardiff ’ s most recognisable music venues and drinking establishments , is in a period of uncertainty after shutting its newest bar and putting the remainder up for sale . Fire Island , which opened on Westgate Street in late 2012 and focused on craft ales and American-style smoked food , went into receivership in late July , closing with immediate effect . Beatbox ’ s other venues – Buffalo , open since 2005 , and 10 Feet Tall and its basement room Undertone , open since 2008 – are in the market for a buyer or buyers , but are to remain open for the foreseeable future , stating that it ’ s “ business as usual ”. Next month ’ s calendar for the venues is sparse to say the least , but then it is August
Although its title is ( perhaps intentionally ) reminiscent of a bandwidthfilling Buzzfeed listicle , ’ 30 Reasons You Don ’ t Get Played On The Radio ’ carries some serious , even educational intent . It ’ s August ’ s instalment of an ongoing series of Welsh Music Foundation masterclasses , aimed to provide advice to people in , or aspiring to be in , the Welsh music industry . Held on Wed 14 Aug at WMF ’ s offices in Cardiff Bay , ’ 30 Reasons ...’ will be hosted by BBC radio producer Darren Broome [ pictured , right ] and will tell attendees how best to approach stations in regard to getting their music airtime – using past examples of Welsh records that went about it the right way
Hark , the proverbial power trio featuring one former member of Swansea rock band Taint and two former members of Swansea rock band Whyteleaf , have signed to French metal label Season Of Mist . One of the largest independent metal imprints in mainland Europe , their capture of Hark ’ s signatures come in the wake of some top quality releases , including new Kylesa and Gorguts albums plus Saint Vitus and Ildjarn reissues . Meanwhile , Hark ’ s debut album will be recorded this summer at Welsh studio Monnow Valley ; its title is TBC but if they can build on their stellar introduction , 2012 single Mythopoeia , it should rock the bells
For a long time considered the technoinclined member of Super Furry Animals , thanks to his programming work in the band and his sideline in Acid Casuals , Cian Ciaran [ pictured , left ] went some way to dispelling this image with Outside In , his 2012 debut solo album . Accessible guitar
ONE TO WATCH ...
pop with string parts and a liking for Beatles , Beach Boys and ELO sunniness , he ’ s waited barely a year before unveiling a followup – They Are Nothing Without Us is out in late September on Strangetown Records . Thematically , it promises to ditch the timeless romanticism of the debut in favour of broadsides at 21st-century economic , social and environmental politics . “ We all know what rhymes with bankers !” Cian observes , which bodes well for the lyrics
It was 20 years ago today , give or take a few months , that Swansea ’ s uber-indie disco queens Helen Love released their debut single . Combining an obsessive Ramones fandom with a drum machine , Early Learning Centre synths and glittery tweecore artwork , they hardly ever played live but maintained cult status with singles like Does Your Heart Go Boom . Now signed to Spanish label Elefant , Day-Glo Dreams is the first Helen Love album since 2007 . On one level , it sounds like every other HL record to date : intentionally cheap-sounding preset indie with a nowmiddle-aged woman singing about being a teenager . However , the expected good vibes are tempered by a kitchen-sink bleakness in Helen ’ s lyrics , notably on Don ’ t Forget About This Town
SENDELICA
Psychedelic space-rock titans Sendelica , based in the Cardigan area , formed in 2006 , but most members go a sight further back . Pete Bingham , who provides guitars and electronic whizzbangs for the quintet , used to be in Kald – if memory serves , they peddled a dance-rock hybrid that was decidedly less ‘ out ’ than this jam-heavy sonic questing , but had similar notions of industry-ignoring self-sufficiency . Synth player Colin Consterdine , meanwhile , was in UK dub stalwarts Zion Train back in the 90s ; more recently he ’ s had his own dub project , Powersteppers , and also came second on Come Dine With Me . In the last few years , Sendelica have become somewhat prolific – their latest album takes them up to five full-length albums ( plus a split LP on collectible UK label Fruits De Mer ) since 2009 . A rate to rival , if not quite shame Acid Mothers Temple , the Japanese band who they sometimes resemble in musical vision and the titular department ( The Satori In Elegance Of The Majestic Stonegazer ). Their brand new one is called The Kaleidoscopic Kat And It ’ s Autoscopic Ego ; rogue apostrophe aside , there ’ s much to recommend it if you dig obscure , commune-dwelling Krautrock , Orb-style dub prankery , Pink Floyd at their space-fixated zenith , 90s underground marginals like Subarachnoid Space , and – last but not least , probably most in fact – Hawkwind . They even get ex-Hawkwind man and fellow west Wales dweller Nik Turner to play some flute at the album ’ s close , right after a song called , with admirable chutzpah , It ’ s The Neu !! Kosmische Disko . www . sendelica . soundawesome . com one louder
THIS month , and because I know you don ’ t care , I ’ m dividing this column into three miniature segments , like a course at a posh restaurant where the central ingredient is served up in three different ways . I speak here as someone who eats at ... maybe less than two ‘ posh ’ restaurants per year , on average . Feel free to invite me to one – I can probably afford it , as a one-off , and I own a shirt that buttons to the very top . Someone invited me for a coffee the other day , which was kind of them , if not posh . They were doing their dissertation on the music scene in Cardiff , and had somehow been given the idea that I might bring some useful insight in an interview situation . It was actually pretty enjoyable , and gave me cause to think about how Cardiff 2013 compares to Cardiff 2003 , or 1998 ; Cardiff ’ s lot relative to other nearby cities , or British ones of similar size . And this provokes positivity , in the main . Yet I floated a feeling , albeit one which I couldn ’ t quite adequately express , that this period of cultural OKness in Wales ’ capital is very precariously balanced , and the next year or two might see it unravel . Between now and pasting this column onto the page , Fire Island has closed and its parent venues , Buffalo and 10 Feet Tall , are up for sale . I ’ m not saying this proves my point , but from the outside these are generally considered successful operations . In many ways , my favourite music-related story in the last few weeks was the one about Jay Z officially changing his name from Jay-Z to Jay Z . As ‘ news ’, it contained nothing , and yet also everything : a pop star who built his rep on tales of slanging rocks now crazy for the tiniest details of brand management ; a bleedingly modern occurrence with precedent in one-time pop icons like Prince and Andrew ‘ Andy ’ Cole . As someone who overuses hyphens , I like to think I ’ m doing my bit to row back against Jay Z ’ s desertion ; the real devastating blow was the recent death of local hardstyle maniac Ravin Rom , the greatest hyphen-user of all time ( search his old posts on dontstayin . com for evidence ). Finally , it is well known that when you die , you are going to hell , and that hell has seven circles of increasing hellishness . But did you know that this hellishness is defined by the presence of people who comment under articles on the Guardian website ? Damn it ’ s true ( no pun intended , haha )! The first circle of hell is reserved for the least disgusting type of sinners , and if you land there you will be in the company of people who like Charlie Brooker in a really OTT way . The second circle of hell is made up of people who dislike Charlie Brooker in a really OTT way . The third circle is people who say that things are “ worthy of ‘ Pseud ’ s Corner ’ [ in Private Eye ]” while clearly being clueless about the criteria for getting into ‘ Pseud ’ s Corner ’. The fourth circle responded to a column by Hadley Freeman or Marina Hyde or whoever with something to the effect of “ you make some good points , and you ’ re easy on the eye as well ! Dinner !?” The fifth circle were extremely and repeatedly vocal about rating Cristiano Ronaldo over Lionel Messi . The sixth circle are men ’ s rights activists and the seventh , most flame-licked and unimaginably torture-ravaged circle posted underneath stories about rap music . It doesn ’ t matter if you made a considered and knowledgeable point or opined that the C was silent – Satan wants to punish you eternally . ANTA , PIGSHACKLE , THORUN and HOMOH ( The Moon Club , Cardiff , Thurs 1 Aug ); SPIDER KITTEN , CEMENTIMENTAL and JIMMY ROWE ( Le Pub , Newport , Sat 3 ); GALAPAGOS NOW ( Moon Club , Thurs 8 ); ADOLESCENTS ( Le Pub , Sat 10 ); lots of horrible noise acts including TO THE LOVERS , FAREWELL ( Gwdihw , Wed 14 ); VIC RUGGIERO from The Slackers ( Spiro ’ s in Roath , Thurs 22 ) and GOODTIME BOYS plus BASTIONS ( Hobo ’ s , Bridgend , Thurs 29 ). Your attendance is literally the only thing stopping these venues from closing . NOEL GARDNER
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