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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