Ceri Shaw
Timeline
blog
audio
video
events
file
followers
forum
gallery
groups
photo album
playlist
polls
quizzes
Ceri Shaw


 

Stats

Playlists: 6
Blogs: 1936
events: 233
youtube videos: 537
SoundCloud Tracks: 21
images: 827
Files: 55
Invitations: 9
Groups: 33
audio tracks: 1098
videos: 8
Facebook

Category: Music

Ceri Shaw » Blog » Music

Silent Forum Press Hi Res 1 1.jpg
With tongue-in-cheek humour throughout, the themes of  ‘Domestic Majestic’  revolve around self-care in the face of the difficult and mundane early-2020s.  Here’s the Email  is the band at its angriest and mostdestructive - presenting the perspective of the disgruntled office worker, now working from home, juxtaposing corporate life lyrics with jagged post-punk chaos. “Here’s the email / Hope you are safe and well / Hope your family’s well.”

 

Indie number  Me but not Tired  captures recurring thoughts that can plague our minds as we try to sleep (lyrics appropriately written at 2am).  Treat Yourself  is the classic mixture of revealing, uncomfortable lyrics paired with animated, uplifting pop instrumentation. You can hear the band having a ball playing around in much poppier territory than they are used to. “Why don’t you treat yourself to a little self love / You matter, you matter so much / You don’t matter, you matter”.


On the other end of the spectrum you have  Petrol Station Flowers , perhaps the most different and defiant song on the album which could be described as ambient chamber pop. The ghostly slide guitar, reverberating synths and crisp percussion join together as a monumental cloud. It would be the band’s most romantic statement yet if it wasn’t for Better With You, a song which started life as a synth line run through various bass guitar pedals, forming the backbone of the melody. The guitars, trying to find a
way in, pull from classical music tropes rarely heard in rock music. This results in a bombastic, spy movie feel. 

 

Yes Man’s  opening and closing choral sections were devised by producer  Charlie Francis  over 2 years after the band had written the bulk of the track. It sounds as if David Byrne was invited to write a songfor Gran Turismo 5 - the ultimate driving song.

 

The lyrics relate to life working under a psychopath, againneatly fitting into the album’s self-care theme. The eye-catchingly titled  The Grand Burstin Hotel  (named after the dilapidated ship shaped hotel in Folkestone, Kent) provides another curveball with the bandunexpectedly embracing a swing time rhythm.

 

Whilst they wear many hats it all fits neatly on one record.  

 

'Domestic Majestic Tracklist'

1. Yes Man
2. Here’s the Email
3. Treat Yourself
4. Better with You
5. Me but not Tired
6. Cat Pose
7. The Grand Burstin Hotel
8. Petrol Station Flowers
9. U OK?
10. Little Bird

 

 

'Brilliant Band!'


John Kennedy, Radio X 

 

'Silent Forum have the best lyrics'


Bethan Elfyn, BBC Radio Wales

 

'It's my favorite new song'


Gary Crowley, BBC Radio London

 

'Featuring more ideas that some manage in entire careers...that's fantastic'


Adam Walton, BBC Introducing

 

"Eschewing many of the tired troupes of modern indie bands Silent Forum have an ambition, vision andthe tunes that make them irresistible."


God Is In The TV Zine


“Silent Forum are a combination of shadowy post punk and the more accessible side of indie rock. Theymove from cold and brooding to nervy, and almost overbold.” 

Destroy//Exist


“Silent Forum provide a cinematic take on broody indie rock… The band melds thrumming guitar linesand emphatic vocals with an unwavering beat.”


Buffablog

“So many textures and layers...the rippling guitars and the wall of voices that hit you when you first listen to it...i'm absolutley obsessed'


Molly Palmer, BBC Radio Wales

 

Posted in: Music | 0 comments
Photo 24102023 15 12 57.jpg
‘Yn Y Bore ’ is a body of work that capture life changing moments, emotionally, spiritually and geographically over the last two years for singer / songwriter / producer  Gillie . It is the first material the Carmarthenshire born artist has written in the Welsh language and the first songs written and recorded after her return to live in Wales after spending her late teens and early twenties in London.

Deeply influenced by place, Gillie blends musically on songs that make up ‘Yn Y Bore’ gold-flecked guitar loops into an ambient haze on top of relentless driving rhythms. Gillie harnesses the anxieties, stress and struggles of modern life, weaving them into something unapologetic and inherently intimate.

Gillie explains:

“There have been a lot of changes in my life over the time I wrote this collection of songs. It captures a chapter of two years, with lots of uncertainty and big changes - as this track title suggests, I wanted to end the EP on something that says it's all going to work itself out by the arrival of the morning.

This is the first collection of tracks that I have ever released in Welsh, and it feels nice to bind them together within an EP. These songs are really special to me; I can hear the journey that I have gone on as an artist when I listen to them, and a growth in confidence. They are in chronological order with regards to when they were written and released, so I feel it takes the listener on a journey too.

There are moments of light and dark throughout all four tracks, which perfectly encapsulates my feelings around uncertainty and change. It was really cathartic to explore space and texture within this EP, and lay a foundation for what’s to come next.”
Posted in: Music | 0 comments

Angharad.jpg
The latest single to be taken from  ANGHARAD’s  debut album,  ‘Motherland’  (out on March 1st) is the joyous and unstoppable  ‘Hormone Called Love’


“If there was ever a song to sum up my recent journey into songwriting and motherhood, it would be this.
This is a feel-good song about music and love. It's about all those gorgeous, juicy hormones we need to bond with one another, make love and... give birth! Oxytocin is often referred to as the love hormone. Along with endorphins and adrenaline, the body creates quite a potent concoction of chemicals during labour.


I practised for birth like I would practise for a gig. In stead of scales and arpeggios, I'd be doing my breathing exercises, my visualisations, my meditations. I took my labour as serious as my music. And it paid off. I had the most wonderful, un-assisted home births - twice - all through the power of hypnobirthing.


I soon realised in the first few days and weeks of my daughter's life, that the only way to communicate with a newborn baby is to sing to them. Singing became a way not only to soothe and entertain my baby, but myself too. This is one of those songs that popped out postpartum, when reflecting on birth and motherhood.



Without oxytocin, the world would be a love-less place. Cwtsh up to your loved ones, and make music people!” -  Angharad  

 

Hormone Called Love Lyrics

 

Chorus

This hormone called love

This hormone called love

Can’t stop thinking of

This hormone called love

Gets you through anything I can think of

This hormone called love

This hormone called love.

 

When I was a child

I wanted to be

A musician first

Then a mother of three

Now I am both

Am I doing it well?

God only knows

Only time will tell.

 

Hypnobirthing yeah

I know that I can and my body will.

Oxytocin yeah,

Cwtsh up baby it’s such a thrill!

 

Chorus

 

I sing in the night

and I sing in the day

I sing when I work and

I sing when I play

I sing to my baby

to get her to sleep

It’s the only way I know

And it sure works a treat.

 

Chorus



 

Motherland – Angharad


I am mother . These are the first words we hear after hitting play on Swansea-based [genre: e.g. pop-folk storyteller] Angharad’s debut album Motherland, and this affirmation resounds across the twelve tracks that follow, revealing the gravity of what initially appears to be a simple statement but is in fact an assertion weighted by the story of mothers and motherhood across the ages. I am strong. I am gentle. I am mountainwoman. I am nourisher . I am life-giver . I am all you need right now. I am the moon and the stars. I am everything to you. I am your world.


It’s said that early motherhood is simultaneously the happiest and hardest period of time a mother can experience, and this is reflected by the juxtaposition of the dreamlike spoken-word jazzscape of title track ‘Motherland’ and the bass-driven midnight-feed nightmare of ‘Postpartum’. In ‘Motherland’ we listen as the tidal pull of the moon ushers new life in – “nocturnal and luminous” – while in the album’s first single ‘Postpartum’ both music and mother unravel in an unapologetic cacophony of fatigue and repetition: “I’m exhausted and I’m broken, exhausted and I’m broken, I’m exhausted and I’m broken…get off my tits.”


As the songs that open the album, these two compositions couldn’t be more different, but as Angharad points out “...this is exactly what motherhood is like. It’s the joys and horrors.  Elation and despair . I put those songs next to each other because that’s how it is in real life – you can feel both emotions simultaneously .”


Although Angharad is an experienced musician, perhaps best-known as part of revivalist Welsh folk band Calan, Motherland represents her first foray into songwriting – something which has long been an ambition. “I’ve always felt like I had a lot to say , but I presumed that someone else somewhere would be saying the same things. It took me so long to realise nobody else can tell my story .” However , it was the double isolation of experiencing early motherhood during Covid lockdowns that finally made her pull on this songwriting thread. “I’ve always collaborated with others when it comes to music, but lockdown forced me to work alone. I’ve written melodies in the past, but never lyrics. I began with making up songs to get my daughter Tanwen to sleep, and then I’d find myself fine-tuning them during daily walks with her in the pram, or making up new ones. I’d never sung before but, after becoming a mother , finding my voice was both a necessity and a gift.”

 

Being out in nature during those spring lockdown walks became a strong influence on the writing of the songs, reflecting how parenthood can promote a realignment with the natural world. But, in ‘Hey , There’s Always the Night’, there is also the acknowledgement that first child can squeeze a creative life – the whirlwind of the day’s activities forcing the artist to snatch inspired moments out of hours. Angharad invites us into this quiet exhale at the end of a day by imagining “when the baby’s asleep, I will write,” but over the course of the song there’s a realisation that mothers never clock off – who else “is keeping us clean and fed and dressed?” – and so the Muse will have to wait her turn.


If nature provided inspiration, then so too did the fact that these songwriting walks were plotted across her hometown Swansea and, when restrictions eased, the wider map of Wales. Angharad’s geographical motherland provides the setting for this album which, even though it covers universal themes, is unashamedly and defiantly Welsh. Angharad admits she has her parents to thank for this desire to tell the stories of ‘here’ rather than ‘there’. Her mother is the Celtic harpist Delyth Jenkins, who Angharad plays violin alongside in folk duo DnA, and her father is the late poet Nigel Jenkins. His long poem ‘Advice to a Young Poet’ is often cited as a ‘go-to’ for writers seeking inspiration and direction – counting last year ’s Forward Prize winner Kim Moore amongst its disciples – and Angharad says it’s a piece she’s revisited a lot while writing the album, having never really put pen to paper before.

 

In the poem, Nigel writes that “[it] may sometimes be there, but here is rarely too small a place.” Entering parenthood after losing a parent yourself often sees raw grief resurface, and so it was a poignant moment to have early listeners pick out the influence of John Cale and Patti Smith on the sound of Motherland, two big musicians from Angharad’s childhood: “I remember my parents driving us to the leisure centre when we were young and Mum telling Dad to stop playing Patti Smith’s Horses because of the swearing. That cassette was on constant rotation in the car , along with Paris 1919 by John Cale. I wasn’t conscious of their effect on my own music, so it was very moving to have people hear their influence on Motherland. It took me right back to listening to them in the car with my dad.”
 

Though she has dabbled with her mother ’s instrument the Celtic harp, the violin has always been Angharad’s main love, taking it up alongside the piano when she was a child. In the foot-tapping funk-inspired ‘Hormone Called Love’, she reveals that when she was growing up she wanted to be both a musician and a mother . But with adulthood came the realisation that women have long been told to choose either children or career: “Having children had a huge effect on my mother ’s career as a musician while she raised us. It was only after my sister and I became young adults that she returned to music properly . Even before I was ready to have children, this question was always something that was on my mind: how can you be both a musician and a mother?” This question is explored across the groove riffs of ‘Hormone Called Love’ and, elsewhere on the album, ‘Because I Am a Woman’ (released as a Double A single alongside ‘Postpartum’) attacks deep-rooted misogyny with a disco upbeat. Angharad wants Motherland to change the narrative, proving that you can make music and be a mother at the same time. These things are not mutually exclusive.


With the exception of playing as part of the album’s string quartet, the recording of Motherland saw Angharad put down her instruments and focus solely on singing and composition. All of the songs on the album (as well as a few that didn’t make it) were written during a prolific period of creativity in 2021, and recorded in the autumn of that year in producer friend Aeddan Williams’ attic studio while Angharad was expecting her second child. Surrounded by vintage Welsh tourist board posters, the two friends were joined by musicians from the Royal Welsh College and managed to record the whole album in a weekend. “Albums usually take a lot longer than that to write and record,” says Angharad, “but once I started writing it was like opening a rusty tap and all the songs appeared within six months. Sleep deprivation helped in a way , giving me more hours in the day to write!”


Luckily the recording of Motherland was wrapped up before Angharad’s second child Idris made an appearance in March 2022, but once again maternity leave has been accompanied by a visit from the Muse: “It’s not sustainable to have a baby each time you need to write a new album, but baby number two was quickly followed by album number two – at least in terms of lyrics and melodies. It seems like my creative process is greatly aided by my time being squeezed.”


As an album of songs Motherland takes a trip across many genres, but with a story that unifies its diverse parts. And this is a story only Angharad can tell – from the soaring power of the string-lush anthem ‘Don’t Burn Bridges’ to the gentle, tragic beauty of ‘Little Baby Embryo’. The second Double A single, ‘I Don’t Know How / Time, Time Again’, will pair two of Motherland’s explorations of time passing – something that is always brought into sharp focus when you become a parent, but seemed sharper again when that happened for Angharad during a global pandemic. ‘Time, Time Again’ was born out of existential questions rising to the surface during lockdown, while she calls ‘I Don’t Know How’ her “anti-botox song…because there is so much to love about getting older .” The album intentionally contains multitudes because that is what motherhood is like. It’s a brightly layered celebration of parenthood, but it also includes a seam of grief for an old life that has been lost forever – a discordant phenomenon that many parents will recognise.


The album closes with a trilogy of love songs for Angharad’s daughter Tanwen. The tender and intimate ‘Every Inch of You’, which feels like the outpouring of a full heart, is followed by the quiet lullaby of ‘Hwiangerdd Tanwen’. Although Angharad predominantly works in the Welsh language for her other musical projects, ‘Hwiangerdd Tanwen’ is the first time we hear Cymraeg on her debut album, drawing upon her work with the charity Live Music Now to help new parents write songs for their children. And so it is time to leave Motherland, the final track ‘Babi Ni’ acting as an ear-worm outro to the record – a foot-stomping slice of fireside folk. Eventually the riotous communal singing falls away to reveal only baby Tanwen, her sweet singing voice closing an album where her mother proves that she has very much found her own. As Tanwen finishes singing, Angharad asks “Eto?” – the Welsh for “Again?” Yes, let’s hit that play button once more, and hear Motherland’s resounding affirmation:  I am mother .

 


Motherland Tracklist

 

1. Motherland
2. Postpartum
3. Little baby embryo
4. I don’t know how
5. Don’t burn bridges
6. Because I’m a woman
7. Hey, there’s always the night
8. Time, time again
9. Hormone called love
10. Every inch of you
11. Hwiangerdd Tanwen
12. Babi ni

 

All songs written by Angharad Jenkins, and arranged by Aeddan Williams. Produced by Aeddan Williams, Samuel Barnes and Angharad Jenkins. Engineered and mixed by Samuel Barnes. Mastered by Charlie Francis. Photographs by Laurentina Miksys Design by Jon Safari

 

Band


Angharad Jenkins: lead vocals, violin


Aeddan Williams: double bass, electric bass, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, backing vocals,
percussion

Alex Burch: drum kit, backing vocals (track 12)

John Close: electric guitar, double bass, electric bass, backing vocals (track 12)

Michael Blanchfield: piano, hammond, backing vocals (track 12)

Samuel Barnes: backing vocals, percussion 

Angharad Jenkins: violin

Aneirin Jones: violin

Haz Thomas: viola

Jordan Price-Williams: cello Horns 

Ted Smith: trumpet

Rachel Head: alto sax (as above and track 10), backing vocals (track 12)

Joe Northwood: tenor sax


Posted in: Music | 0 comments

CC24 lineup Sq v8.jpg


BUY TICKETS HERE


Colour Clash, Gwent's premier one-day festival is thrilled to announce its highly anticipated return to Tredegar Park, Newport on Saturday, 20th July 2024, with headliner ArrDee and special guests Ben Nicky and Shy FX

Early bird tickets for Colour Clash Festival have already sold out, showcasing the immense excitement surrounding this event. However, music lovers can access priority access to the next ticket release here https://www.colour-clash.co.uk/prereg/ UK rapper ArrDee heads up the bill with appearances from, Ben Nicky, and Shy FX, Nathan Dawe, Badger, Issey Cross, Oppidan, Darren Styles, David Rust, Sander Van Doorn, and many more artists will take the stage, ensuring a colourful and vibrant atmosphere throughout the day.

Brighton’s ArrDee is proving to be one of the UK’s most exciting MCs. Adorned with charisma, the self-confessed “cheeky chappy”, rose to instant fame with his feature on Russ Millions and Tion Wayne’s ‘Body (Remix)’. The viral hit became the first drill track to reach number one on the UK charts, soundtracks over a million TikToks, and has clocked up 200 million streams.

The young MC has cemented his place at the top of the charts. He bagged three UK Top 10s in just three months, with ‘Body (Remix), T2-sampling Digga D-collab ‘Wasted’, and the string-

laden ‘Oliver Twist’. Dropping hit after hit, his infectious charisma and witty wordplay have continued to shine through. His most recent, ‘Flowers (Say My Name)’, samples the iconic beats of Sweet Female Attitude’s ‘Flowers’ and Destiny Child’s ‘Say My Name’ behind a garage-heavy deep dive into his Casanova-lifestyle.

Making noise as one of the busiest electronic artists on Earth, Ben Nicky is poised to take on the world. Earning supreme accolades from industry trailblazers, Ben is recognized by Diplo as the “leader of a new movement” and by Armin van Buuren as “one of the hardest working DJs in the industry.” Reaching new heights with chart-topping hits across Beatport, Spotify, and iTunes, Ben has become a household name across the dance music spectrum with his penchant for fast-moving beats. Coined by Pete Tong as a “multi-genre specialist” and “one of the planet’s busiest DJs,” Ben continues to lead fans and artists alike on social media to millions of online followers.

Escape Records, the collective behind Colour Clash Festival, is no stranger to organizing Wales' most prominent music festivals. With a track record that includes successful events such as In It Together Festival, Inside Out, Party in the Park, and the beloved Escape Festival, they have consistently brought world-class entertainment to Newport. Previous events have featured exceptional performances by Example, Jax Jones, Wilkinson, Joel Corry, Professor Green, Lethal Bizzle, Sub Focus, Jason Manford, and Bill Bailey, leaving festival-goers craving more.

As Colour Clash Festival returns to Newport, it reaffirms its commitment to providing an unparalleled experience for music enthusiasts. With its diverse lineup, lively atmosphere, and the expertise of Escape Records, this festival is set to become a highlight of the summer calendar.

Colour Clash will take place in Tredegar Park, Newport on Saturday, 20th July 2024.

Posted in: Music | 0 comments


unnamed 15.png
Cardiff based post-rock band ' AARONSON'  today release their brand new single   'SHIPWRECKS'  via  Dirty Carrot Records.

Taken from last year's acclaimed debut album  'The Great Swells That Carry Us Will Pull Us Under'  which was a sonic marvel filled with beautifully arranged ambient post-rock and grabbed the attention of numerous corners of the music press and Radio  including  Adam Walton ,  BBC Radio Wales ,  A Closer Listen ,  Where The Music Meets ,  Buzz Magazine ,  Destroy Exist, Amplify The Noise, Ear To The Ground Music,  and many more.

 

SHIPWRECKS  is the final release from  AARONSON’s  2023 album ' The Great Swells That Carry Us Will Pull Us Under'  and charts the turbulent midwaters of the record. It has become a staple in  AARONSON’s  live set, bringing unique time signatures and textures to  AARONSON’s  ethereal, cavernous sound.

 

"A writhing, haunting introduction that lurches unsteadily underfoot, and grows confidently as the song progresses into a sweeping, euphoric midsection."

 

Strings and guitars meld into one as waves of melody intertwine before the band finish with a trademark crescendo; guitar motif's that loop and build as they blossom into a wave of reverb-drenched layers thatenvelop the listener, while the drum patterns become increasingly frenetic and thunderoustowards the track’s breathless end.


AARONSON  are a post rock band from South Wales, whose towering layers of melody and epic crescendos have seen them share a stage with  NORDIC GIANTS ,  COLDBONES ,  A-TOTA-SO  and  FALSE HOPE FOR THE SAVAGE , finished runners up at The Big Gig Wales 2020, be nominated for a Cardiff Music Award and release their cinematic EP  'YOU ARE NOT A STRANGER HERE'.

 

 

QUOTES FOR AARONSON

 

'a perfect post-rock title'

A Closer Listen


"exceptionally adept at what they do!"
Destroy Exist

 

"an aural aura of being caught in between the rolling deluge of the ocean"
Amplify The Noise


"brilliantly craft a near perfect post rock sound"
Ear To The Ground

“Songs that incorporate plenty of slow burn and build up,

resulting in gorgeous crescendos”
The Razor’s Edge

 


'Soaring guitar melodies, pummeling percussion, dips and valleys that explode like fireworks from a bonfire'

Tome to The Weather Machine

 

Posted in: Music | 0 comments

unnamed 8.jpg
WELSH  band  Three Smiles Wide  will donate all the money raised from their latest single to help pay for treatment for a 38 year old with cancer.


Three Smiles Wide were recording the single at Sonic One Studios in Llanelli when they heard that Luke had suffered a seizure whilst walking in central London. Luke Thomas, from Kidwelly in the Gwendraeth Valley, found out he had seven metastases in his brain – type four cancer.


He was originally diagnosed with skin cancer in 2014 and has raised more than £65,000 for Melanoma Focus while walking the entire Welsh coast. The treatment he received originally worked and doctors classified Luke as ‘NED’ or ‘no evidence of disease’.


However, with the new diagnosis, options are beginning to run out and once he builds resistance to the targeted treatment he has been receiving for the past three years, there will be no more alternatives on the NHS.


Luke’s family and friends are now raising money to pay for immunotherapy as he doesn’t meet the criteria for it to be paid for by the NHS. They’ve managed to raise nearly £25k already.


Three Smiles Wide are hoping they can add to that and help Luke exceed the £100k needed for one round of immunotherapy. Drummer Sam Peric went to school with Luke and the trio are all from the Kidwelly area. The three-piece band also played at ‘Luke Fest’ in 2019 to raise money for Melanoma Focus.


The song, called Warm Ice Cream, will be available to buy from Friday,  2nd February 2024 and coincides with a sold out Party for Luke event taking place on Saturday, 3rd February.

Posted in: Music | 0 comments

Silent Forum Press Hi Res 1.jpg
With tongue-in-cheek humour throughout, the themes of  ‘Domestic Majestic’  revolve around self-care in the face of the difficult and mundane early-2020s.  Here’s the Email  is the band at its angriest and mostdestructive - presenting the perspective of the disgruntled office worker, now working from home, juxtaposing corporate life lyrics with jagged post-punk chaos. “Here’s the email / Hope you are safe and well / Hope your family’s well.”

 

Indie number  Me but not Tired  captures recurring thoughts that can plague our minds as we try to sleep (lyrics appropriately written at 2am).  Treat Yourself  is the classic mixture of revealing, uncomfortable lyrics paired with animated, uplifting pop instrumentation. You can hear the band having a ball playing around in much poppier territory than they are used to. “Why don’t you treat yourself to a little self love / You matter, you matter so much / You don’t matter, you matter”.


On the other end of the spectrum you have  Petrol Station Flowers , perhaps the most different and defiant song on the album which could be described as ambient chamber pop. The ghostly slide guitar, reverberating synths and crisp percussion join together as a monumental cloud. It would be the band’s most romantic statement yet if it wasn’t for Better With You, a song which started life as a synth line run through various bass guitar pedals, forming the backbone of the melody. The guitars, trying to find a
way in, pull from classical music tropes rarely heard in rock music. This results in a bombastic, spy movie feel. 

 

Yes Man’s  opening and closing choral sections were devised by producer  Charlie Francis  over 2 years after the band had written the bulk of the track. It sounds as if David Byrne was invited to write a songfor Gran Turismo 5 - the ultimate driving song.

 

The lyrics relate to life working under a psychopath, againneatly fitting into the album’s self-care theme. The eye-catchingly titled  The Grand Burstin Hotel  (named after the dilapidated ship shaped hotel in Folkestone, Kent) provides another curveball with the bandunexpectedly embracing a swing time rhythm.

 

Whilst they wear many hats it all fits neatly on one record.
 

 

'Domestic Majestic Tracklist'

1. Yes Man
2. Here’s the Email
3. Treat Yourself
4. Better with You
5. Me but not Tired
6. Cat Pose
7. The Grand Burstin Hotel
8. Petrol Station Flowers
9. U OK?
10. Little Bird

 

 

'Brilliant Band!'

John Kennedy, Radio X 

 

'It's my favorite new song'

Gary Crowley, BBC Radio London

 

"Eschewing many of the tired troupes of modern indie bands Silent Forum have an ambition, vision andthe tunes that make them irresistible."

God Is In The TV Zine


“Silent Forum are a combination of shadowy post punk and the more accessible side of indie rock. Theymove from cold and brooding to nervy, and almost overbold.”  Destroy//Exist


“Silent Forum provide a cinematic take on broody indie rock… The band melds thrumming guitar linesand emphatic vocals with an unwavering beat.”

Buffablog

“There is something really interesting, almost PIL-like with those guitars." Adam Walton,  BBC Radio Wales
Silent Forum Album Cover HI Res.jpg

 

Posted in: Music | 0 comments


unnamed 7.jpg

With tongue-in-cheek humour throughout, the themes of  ‘Domestic Majestic’  revolve around self-care in the face of the difficult and mundane early-2020s.  Here’s the Email  is the band at its angriest and mostdestructive - presenting the perspective of the disgruntled office worker, now working from home, juxtaposing corporate life lyrics with jagged post-punk chaos. “Here’s the email / Hope you are safe and well / Hope your family’s well.”

 

Indie number  Me but not Tired  captures recurring thoughts that can plague our minds as we try to sleep (lyrics appropriately written at 2am).  Treat Yourself  is the classic mixture of revealing, uncomfortable lyrics paired with animated, uplifting pop instrumentation. You can hear the band having a ball playing around in much poppier territory than they are used to. “Why don’t you treat yourself to a little self love / You matter, you matter so much / You don’t matter, you matter”.



On the other end of the spectrum you have  Petrol Station Flowers , perhaps the most different and defiant song on the album which could be described as ambient chamber pop. The ghostly slide guitar, reverberating synths and crisp percussion join together as a monumental cloud. It would be the band’s most romantic statement yet if it wasn’t for Better With You, a song which started life as a synth line run through various bass guitar pedals, forming the backbone of the melody. The guitars, trying to find a
way in, pull from classical music tropes rarely heard in rock music. This results in a bombastic, spy movie feel. 

 

Yes Man’s  opening and closing choral sections were devised by producer  Charlie Francis  over 2 years after the band had written the bulk of the track. It sounds as if David Byrne was invited to write a songfor Gran Turismo 5 - the ultimate driving song.

 

The lyrics relate to life working under a psychopath, againneatly fitting into the album’s self-care theme. The eye-catchingly titled  The Grand Burstin Hotel  (named after the dilapidated ship shaped hotel in Folkestone, Kent) provides another curveball with the bandunexpectedly embracing a swing time rhythm.

 


Whilst they wear many hats it all fits neatly on one record.
 

 

'Domestic Majestic Tracklist'

1. Yes Man
2. Here’s the Email
3. Treat Yourself
4. Better with You
5. Me but not Tired
6. Cat Pose
7. The Grand Burstin Hotel
8. Petrol Station Flowers
9. U OK?
10. Little Bird

 

 

'Brilliant Band!'

John Kennedy, Radio X 

 

'It's my favorite new song'

Gary Crowley, BBC Radio London

 

"Eschewing many of the tired troupes of modern indie bands Silent Forum have an ambition, vision andthe tunes that make them irresistible."

God Is In The TV Zine



“Silent Forum are a combination of shadowy post punk and the more accessible side of indie rock. Theymove from cold and brooding to nervy, and almost overbold.”  Destroy//Exist



“Silent Forum provide a cinematic take on broody indie rock… The band melds thrumming guitar linesand emphatic vocals with an unwavering beat.”

Buffablog

“There is something really interesting, almost PIL-like with those guitars." Adam Walton,  BBC Radio Wales

 

Posted in: Music | 0 comments


leeks and beets.jpg



R*E*P*E*A*T Presents

Leeks and Beets
A four way split single LP on limited 12” re-ground vinyl
for little more than the cost of a 7”

featuring

Leeks from South Wales
Bad Shout and Monet
 Beets from East Anglia
Acid Alchemist and The Monoliths
 Available on Bandcamp and digitally from December 1 st
and in record stores nationwide via Shellshock distribution from January 2024


Long standing underground DIY label R*E*P*E*A*T celebrate its dual Swansea / Cambridge heritage with a record showcasing uproarious talents from both East and West



Bad Shout

“Unhinged in all the best ways. I utterly love it. Sounds like someone left a cassette of Supergrass' debut album on the dashboard in the sun with Husker Du's Zen Arcade for just a little too long and it mutated into this”.– Adam Walton, BBC Radio Wales.
“Ones to Watch” Buzz Magazine

instagram.com/badshoutuk

Monet

“a stomping, melodic cry for change that fuses a raw barrage of caustic guitar riffs and surreal screams of the likes of the Dead Kennedys with the twisty turny relentless energy of early At the Drive-In” . God is in the TV. “fast becoming the enfant terrible’s of the South Wales music scene “ Clash Music.

instagram.com/monetbanduk

Acid Alchemist

Debut garage recording from furious, feather boaed and frantic cross dressing face painted rock upstarts from a sleepy village in Cambridge.

instagram.com/acid_alchemist_band

The Monoliths

Teenage psychedelic post-punk metal mayhem with an ear for unexpectedly massive sounds and unlikely time signatures. Their healthy disrespect for their elders and lessers hasn't stopped them packing out venues across London and the South East.

instagram.com/themonoliths/


Launch Gigs

Saturday December 16 th Elysium Swansea
(Bad Shout, Monet and special guest headliners Llanelli's disco punkers, Stickman)

Thursday December 28 th The Portland Arms Cambridge
(Acid Alchemist and The Monoliths plus support)
A R*E*P*E*A*T DIY Punk Rock East West Rebel Alliance Production 2023

Posted in: Music | 0 comments


crinc.jpg

Mae  Recordiau Noddfa  yn falch iawn o gyhoeddi bydd y trac  'Crachach ', sy'n ymddangos ar albwm  'Cig Cymreig' Crinc  ddaeth allan fis Medi 2023, yn cael ei ryddhau fel sengl ddydd Gwener yma 26ain Ionawr.

Eglura Llŷr Alun o'r band:  "Neshi 'sgwennu’r gân yn ganol lockdown yn Bangor a recordio’r demo i albwm 'Cofi-19'. Oni’m yn licio’r final product gyda electric drum kit o GarageBand felly nath' ni ail recordio yn y Buarth, yn fyw gyda Dafydd Ieuan ag Kris Jenkins, ar ôl fi symud i Gaerdydd."

Mae'r sengl yn cael ei ryddhau mewn ymateb i'r hyn sy'n digwydd yn Gaza ar hyn o bryd lle bydd unrhyw elw yn mynd tuag at  UNICEF.






Hailing from Bangor, North Wales,  Welsh Alternative band 'CRINC'  have announced a brand new single via their own label  Noddfa Records.




Noddfa Records  are delighted to announce that the track  'Crachach' , which appears on  CRINC's 'Cig Cymreig'  album that came out in September 2023, will be released as a single this  Friday 26th January.

Llŷr Alun from the band explains:  "I wrote the song in Bangor during lockdown and recorded the demo for the 'Cofi-19' album. I didn't like the final product with the electric drum kit from GarageBand so we recorded it again at the Buarth, live with Dafydd Ieuan and Kris Jenkins, after I moved to Cardiff."

The single is being released in response to the Gaza crisis at the moment and any income generated from the track will be donated to  UNICEF.


 


Donate to UNICEF Here :  https://orcd.co/crachach   

Posted in: Music | 0 comments
   / 31