Category Archives: Whats on

The Arts, Whats on

Cardiff Animation Festival 2018 – preview

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Chapter Arts Centre are doing something special for the Cardiff community once again by hosting this year’s Cardiff Animation Festival, right after the end of their successful art festival Experimentica. The festival, which looks to cover all types of animation from student pieces to Isle of Dogs, will take place between April 19 – 22nd at Chapter. A full schedule has already been released, detailing a bunch of fun stuff, including a live Q&A workshop with Isle of Dogs animators, over 90 short films, workshops, and industry sessions for those trying to break into the competitive world of animation.

The multi-day festival appears to have lots to offer everyone, regardless of animation ability. The first day, known as the “Industry Day”, is more catered towards those who have a professional interest in animation and the surrounding industry. Passes for the Industry Day are available, with sessions including Afternoon Tea with the Children’s Commissioners, giving delegates the rare opportunity to learn how to pitch to TV networks and how to market independent short-form content, as well as a chance to sign up for a one-to-one sessions. The Industry Day will kick off with a keynote from Bob Ayres, the head of TrueTube, which received a record-breaking seven awards nominations at the most recent BAFTA Children’s Awards. Panels also include a talk on Licensing and Distribution, featuring speakers such as Alison Taylor (Aardman Rights) and Helen Howells (HoHo Entertainment). The rest of the festival will take a slightly less serious tone for hobbyists and watchers, but the first day is incredibly useful for those with even a cursory knowledge of the animation sector.

Friday will celebrate new Welsh stop-motion animated feature Chuck Steel: Night Of The Trampires. Director Mike Mort, Art Director Bridget Phelan, Executive Producer Randhir Singh, and animator Laura Tofarides will give an exciting look behind the scenes, as well as a chance to see a few deleted scenes. The film is almost the centrepiece of the entire festival, as it will also be the basis of a four-day exhibition based on the film’s sets, props, puppets, etc.

Masterclasses will also be available, including one from Cartoon Saloon’s Mark Mullery who will treat audiences to behind the scenes of Oscar-nominated feature film The Breadwinner, a stunning animated drama about a little girl living under Taliban rule. The film will also be screened ahead of its UK release, which is a nice touch.

Another highlight appears to be the workshop by internationally-renowned artist Jac Saorsa, who will lead a Life Drawing for Animators workshop. The workshop is tailored to hone drawing skills crucial to animation. Suitable for animators, students, hobbyists and anyone looking to develop their drawing skills for animation.

The major highlight for We Are Cardiff who are, self-admittedly, a little too dog-obsessed, is the Isle of Dogs feature. For those who haven’t seen it yet (WHY HAVEN’T YOU SEEN IT?), the film is directed and written by Wes Anderson, and features some gloriously detailed stop-motion of talking dogs. A workshop based around the film, involving Lead Animator Kim Kong, Model Maker Josh Flynn, and Kerry Dyer, head of the Isle of Dogs Puppet Hospital, will be put on show, detailing some props, methods, and insights into the making of the film.

The festival will also be screening 99 short films, which will be assessed by The Jury, who are tasked with selecting the winners of the animation programme from films on display. The Jury, who are named rather ominously, will be made up of independent director Rhiannon Evans (Heartstrings, Fulfilament), Manchester Animation Festival producer Jen Hall, author and Skwigly Animation Magazine Managing Director Ben Mitchell, Aardman animation director Will Becher, and independent producer, Director of Animation UK, and newly-appointed director of the British Animation Awards, Helen Brunsdon.

Sadly, all passes excluding the Industry Day pass have now sold out, but there are tickets for sale on the Cardiff Animation Festival website for individual events. Further details, including the timetable for the entire festival, can be found there, too.

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Whats on

Record Store Day 2018 in Cardiff – events and happenings!

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How is it already time for Record Store Day again?? If you’re looking to go join the queues or catch some of your favourite musical heroes in town, we’ve got the skinny on all the events – from Lauren Laverne broadcasting her BBC 6Music show, to Gruff Rhys and Charlotte Church djing! Don’t forget to check the full list of RSD 2018 releases…

Get out and about and support your local independent music scene, this Saturday 21 April, 2018!

Record Store Day 2018 at Spillers Records

9am – 6pm, Spillers Records, Morgan Arcade

The annual celebration of independent record shops and all things vinyl is happening on Saturday the 21st of April – and alongside the armfuls of exclusive releases, Spillers  will be hosting their usual range of DJs and live music to keep you entertained throughout the day – and this year, they’ve got SPECIAL GUEST Lauren Laverne broadcasting her BBC 6 Music show from the store! She’ll be joined by guests Gwenno and Gruff Rhys.

And Lauren’s excited about her visit to Cardiff! She says: “I love taking my show on the road for Record Store Day, but to be going to Spillers in Cardiff – the world’s oldest record store – this year is something really special. We’ll be chatting to the team there and will be joined by Gwenno and Gruff Rhys, with music from Haley. It’s going to be a fantastic show and I’m so looking forward to be heading to Wales’ capital city!”

A Record Store Party That’s Not A Record Store Party

9am – 6pm at RIP Outpost, in the Castle Emporium (Womanby Street)

Come and join us at The Castle Emporium for a right old knees up to celebrate all things vinyl! Come join the Official-Unofficial Record Store Day 2018 All-Dayer, where there will be :

  • *BRUNCH SPECIAL
  • *RIVAL BREWERY BOTTLE BAR
  • *BANGIN TUNES FROM CRUSH DJS / DRUNK YOGA / ROTARY CLUB / BAN LAB
  • *DEALS DEALS DEALS
  • *PRIZES PRIZES PRIZES
  • *HAIRY BABES + SLIMEY HUNKS
  • *PUPPY PARTY PETTING ZOO
  • *DISCOUNT CROC SHOP
  • *POSI PARTY VIBES
  • *THE SUPER LIMITED UNOFFICIAL RSD LIST

NO DIVING IN THE SHALLOW END!

Record Store Day at Kellys Records

9am- 6pm, Kellys Records in Cardiff Indoor Market

A Cardiff institution, Kellys has all your second-hand music needs – and a great line up of DJs on the day!

DJs on rotation at Kellys through the day:

  • 9-11am – Kellys staff
  • 11-12pm – Sarah Sweeney
  • 12-1pm – Don Leisure
  • 1-2pm – Gruff Rhys
  • 2-3pm – Ani Glass
  • 3-4pm – Charlotte Church & Esther
  • 4-5pm – Boy Azooga

Record Store Day After Party hosted by Vinyl Cruisers and Spillers Records

6-11pm, The Andrew Buchan Bar, Albany Road

Vinyl Cruisers and Spillers Records present The Record Store Day After Party! Besides the normal crew there will be Spillers regulars manning the decks. Expect some exclusive tunes for your delight!

If you’re out and about over Record Store Day 2018 be sure to tag us in your pics and we’ll reshare the best! Enjoy! #shoplocal #independentcardiff.

Also shout out to woke Record Store Day sponsor, Friels Cider! Supporting independent music! Give them a big up and tag em in, #FrielsRSD.

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Whats on

Global Gardens needs your vote!

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Global Gardens, a wonderful Cardiff project that supports intercultural exchange through gardening, cooking and eating, is one of five Welsh projects in the running for a share of up to £150,000 of funding.

But they need your vote! Now in its 13th year, the Big Lottery Fund, ITV Wales and The National Lottery are teaming up to give the public a chance to decide how National Lottery funding should be put to good use in their local area.

The Global Gardens Project runs weekly garden sessions at the allotment site and monthly suppers at the Embassy Café in Cardiff. If successful, this funding will help Global Gardens Project to develop the gardening and cooking activities offered and facilities on site. This includes development of a small kitchen so that dishes from the garden can be cooked on site. Their aim is to make the site more welcoming and accessible to people.  

Please take a minute to vote for this lovely project at www.thepeoplesprojects.org.uk.

Fancy getting involved with their work?

The Garden also won funding from Grow Wild to to deliver a series of practical workshops and identification walks, with the aim of inspiring and educating a future generation of seed-savers and fungi enthusiasts.

The Seeds and Spores Project will start on 21 April (10.30am-4.30pm) at the Global Gardens site, with a workshop on outdoor fungi cultivation with fungi enthusiast Rich Wright.

In June, Annwen Jones (Rhizome Clinic) will be leading a workshop on a range of healing native plants found. They will also be hosting a seed-saving workshop with Green City.
There will also be opportunities to develop identification skills later this year-Rich Wright (Feed Bristol) will be leading a fungi identification walk, and Julian Woodman (Glamorgan Botanical Group) will lead a walk on native plants in the local area.

International fungi expert Prof Lynne Body will talk about the good, the bad and the ugly (in fungi terms).

The workshops and walks are free but places are limited so book a place to avoid disappointment.

Throughout the project they will be creating a zine and various artwork, and the project will culminate with an exhibition in the Global Gardens Greenhouse. So, if you are an artist who would like to get involved, they also want to hear from you!

To find out more and keep up to date with activities, follow the Global Gardens Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/globalgardensproject/

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Whats on

Cardiff haze pop trio XYandO announce Big Top residency!

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To support the release of their new single ‘Shades of You’ on May 4 – and in celebration of surpassing 32 MILLION STREAMS on Spotify alone – Cardiff haze poppers XY&O have announced a spring residency of live shows at The Big Top!

Entry to all shows is FREE, and each gig features support from different artists (including Safari Gold, Jack Ellis, Sønder Choir and rising stars Hvnter and The Dead Method).

WATCH: XY&O – Low Tide

XY&O’s Big Top residency shows are:

  • April 19th: XY&O + Safari Gold
  • May 4th: XY&O + Jack Ellis + Blue Honey DJ Set [single launch show]
  • May 17th: XY&O + Sønder Choir [semi acoustic show]
  • June 1st: XY&O + Hvnter + The Dead Method [presented in association with the Forte&Project]

We caught up Skip, Nick and Tudor for a mini interview before their residency kicks off!

Q. Where and how did the band form? Introduce all the members and maybe tell us a bit about your musical influences

Skip. We met in Cardiff, I was at University there. Me and Tudor crossed paths down at a little studio in Cardiff Bay and almost immediately decided that we should write some songs together. Our tastes are styles when it came to writing where similar, but also different enough so that we could spin off each other. He yinged, I yanged.

I knew Nick because I was recording and producing some tracks for a band he was in at the time, he was only about 16/17 and had an amazingly original style of playing guitar and writing even then. I thought it would be interesting to rope him in and see how his musicality fitted with the songs me and Tude had started.

My musical tastes are pretty broad. I can usually find something I like about a track or genre. Some of my biggest influences would be artists like Prince, John Martyn The Cure, Sting, stuff my Dad was listening too as I grew up. When I hit early teens and started finding my own music, then it was all about Jimmy Eat World, Alkaline Trio and Blink 182 for a couple of years. I like heavy music, soft music and everything in between. Atreyu to Arianna Grande.

Nick. My influences constantly change, at the minute I’m listening to a lot of electronic soul type stuff as well as artists such as Mt. Joy and Jordan Mackampa.

Tudor. My musical influences are pretty broad and always changing. I love haunting and spacey music like Daughter, RY X and Sigur Ros. I’m also a massive Coldplay fan (saw them in Cardiff for the first time not so long ago and it only confirmed my obsession). I’m currently listening to a lot of traditional Colombian music (probably due to watching all of Narcos on Netflix in three days).

Q. Where are you all from originally? How did you end up in Cardiff?

Skip. I’m originally from the valleys, a little town called Abercarn. I came to Cardiff University though so lived in the city for 3/4 years at that time.

Tudor is from Barry and Nick from Whitchurch so they’re both Cardiff boys.

Q. What are your musical memories from being younger? What made you all decide to get into making music?

Skip. Most of my musical memories just revolve around listening to it. I sang in school and stuff like that but the most vivid memories for the first times I heard certain artists. I remember listening to REM, Led Zeppelin and Sting CDs in the car with my parents. I remember the first time I heard Youth & Young Manhood by Kings of Leon and amazing records like that. I used to sing and make up songs as a kid, and I guess I just never really stopped…

Tudor. Family BBQs that went late into the night with Bob Marley albums being played back to back. I’ve always been obsessed with how music makes people feel and I suppose I wanted to be a part of that process.

Nick. Listening to Jimi Hendrix in my dad’s car was a big one, I remember being pretty mind blown that those kinds of sounds existed (especially the solos in All Along the Watchtower). I think it’s that curiosity that got me into music

Q. What are your favourite music- related spots around Cardiff – venues / shops etc?

Tudor. We’re big fans of The Full Moon, Clwb Ifor Bach, Womanby Street as a whole really. Gwdihw is a pretty cool place and The Big Top of course. That’s a great venue for intimate gigs.

We’re also looking for a New York Deli sponsorship so will give them a shout out too!

Skip. Also, Bomber’s Deli…un-related to music, but if you’re in Cardiff and it’s lunch time then you need to check that place out.

Q. Tell us about the Ten Feet Tall/Big Top residency

It’s going to be a chance for us to experiment with all of our new lights, equipment and music. Our live show has evolved massively and we’re keen to show it to people in an intimate setting. We’re using the gigs to try out new songs, experiment with arrangements and just generally play some fun local shows because we haven’t really played in the city that much. We’ve made all the gigs free entry because we’d rather people just come and enjoy, critique or just listen to our new music

Q. What’s been the best gig you’ve played to date?

We actually played at Glastonbury 2016 on the BBC Introducing Stage. It was obviously pretty amazing so that always ranks highly. It was only out 10th gig as a band so very strange and looking back on it, it almost feels like a different band. Our live set up then was very different to what it is now. We played an amazing gig at The Phoenix in Exeter in the run-up to Glastonbury. It was a BBC show at a big sold out theater and the crowd were amazingly receptive to us.

Q. What are your plans and hopes for the future?

Our new single ‘Shades of You’ is scheduled to come out on May 4th so we’re excited for that. We’re shooting the music video for it next week actually.
We’ve just been picked up by the live agents Primary Talent so we’re keen to get out playing live much more. We’re hoping to use the residency to fine tune our live set too.

Tudor. We want to go over to the US and play for all the Americans that have been streaming our music for the last two years!

XY&O is the creative amalgamation of songwriters Skip Curtis, Nick Kelly and Tudor Davies.

It began in early 2015 – Skip (from the Valleys) and Tudor (from Cardiff) began writing music and songs with the intention of pitching them to other artists to use. Skip quickly roped in another Cardiff native Nick Kelly in hopes of bringing another dimension to the music. After posting some early demos online under the moniker ‘XY&O’ the trio started seeing their play count rise. They started receiving airplay on US Radio stations as well as gig offers from US promoters, some of whom assumed the band were from Cardiff, San Diego.

Early on, the boys wrote what would become ‘Low Tide’ – bringing with it the genesis of their unique style, coined by Skip as haze pop. ‘Low Tide’ was self-released and went straight into Spotify’s Global Viral Chart at number 7, reaching an audience worldwide, but was particularly well received in the US. The track has since gone on to accumulate over 20 million streams. The trio gained huge popularity on all online platforms, it was at this point the three had discovered that XY&O had somewhat unintentionally become a band.

The band slowed things down the second half of 2016 and early 2017, allowing Nick to finish his final year studies at University but have now re-focused their efforts into their live show and have recently been taken on by live agents Primary Talent. The boy’s story was picked up by the Wales Online in late 2017 which led to them being featured live on the ITV News at 6pm talking about their unusual story of being a little known Welsh band with an audience in the USA.

They hope to expand their live following over 2018 as well as release plenty of new music. New single ‘Shades of You’ is set for release on May 4th, 2018.

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Whats on

Introducing TEDxCanton: the tiny event with BIG ideas

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On Saturday 19 May, a specially curated event will bring inspirational speakers and performers to the heart of Canton to share exciting new ideas and discussion.

Speakers include a firefighter who changed the way emergency services make decisions, and a man who believes trees can solve social problems. The talks aim to challenge, inspire and motivate the audience, and give them ideas to improve their lives and the world they live in.

Only 30 tickets will be available for the main event in local micropub St Canna’s, and there will be a viewing party down the road in the Printhaus with some extra community-led events. The talks will also be streamed online.

Event organiser James Karran said:

I opened St Canna’s to help create a place where people could meet, talk and drink great beer. Running an event licensed by the world-famous TED conferences is a fantastic way of bringing new ideas to our little community.

The three organisers and our team of volunteers have worked really hard to find the most inspiring speakers and amazing performers, and we can’t wait to reveal our full plans for the afternoon’s event!

Tickets will be released at midday on Tuesday 3 April. The price is £15, which includes four talks, two performances, two videos, a goody bag and a snack. Follow @tedx_canton for updates on ticket sales, speaker announcements and more exciting news!

About us

TEDxCanton is being organised by James, Hannah and Sara.


James Karran is the owner of St Canna’s and the holder of the TEDx license. He is a Baptist minister with a history of arranging unusual events, once running a ‘pub church’ project around Cardiff city centre. He opened St Canna’s in April 2017 with the intention of creating a space for the local community to meet, chat and drink great beer.

Hannah Johnson co-runs We Are Cardiff, an award winning volunteer-run blog that celebrates Cardiff’s alternative culture, arts scene and diverse communities. In her day job she’s a parliamentary researcher specialising in equality, human rights and poverty. She also writes for a human rights public education project, and works as a consultant for the UN Development Programme.

Sara Williams has managed corporate partnerships between businesses and the third sector for six years. She is incredibly passionate about bring local community and businesses together, and has led on sponsorship for the TEDxCanton.

About TEDx

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organised events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience.

At a TEDx event, TED Talks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection. These local, self-organised events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organised TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organised.

Sponsors

TEDxCanton is kindly supported by the Waterloo Foundation, and sponsored by a range of very generous local businesses and organisations:

Notes for editors

Contact
For more information about the event, contact tedxcantoncf@gmail.com.

About TED
TED is a nonprofit organisation devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or fewer) delivered by today’s leading thinkers and doers. Many of these talks are given at TED’s annual conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, and made available, free, on TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Sal Khan and Daniel Kahneman.

TED’s open and free initiatives for spreading ideas include TED.com, where new TED Talk videos are posted daily; the Open Translation Project, which provides subtitles and interactive transcripts as well as translations from thousands of volunteers worldwide; the educational initiative TED-Ed; the annual million-dollar TED Prize, which funds exceptional individuals with a “wish,” or idea, to create change in the world; TEDx, which provides licenses to thousands of individuals and groups who host local, self-organized TED-style events around the world; and the TED Fellows program, which selects innovators from around the globe to amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities.

Follow TED on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TEDTalks, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TED or Instagram at https://instagram.com/ted.

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Whats on

What’s on in Cardiff – Easter weekend 2018 special

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Okay, so the sun is FINALLY out, hopefully everyone’s bank accounts have recovered slightly from the Christmas mash up, and you’re all revved up and you want to go out! Also, in case you’re visiting Cardiff for the Joshua fight and looking for something else to do around watching grown men slowly beat each other to a bloody pulp, LOOK! There’s loads on!

Or maybe you’re a local, suffering from event overload – after all – maybe there is TOO much on, and you’re having trouble deciding what to do? Don’t fear, the We Are Cardiff What’s On – Easter Special Guide is here to haaaaalp!

There are two music festivals taking place across the whole of the weekend – Wales Goes Pop! at The Gate in Roath, and The Moon’s Easter Bank Holiday Weekend (which is F R E E!), which explains why you’ll see multiple entries for those. Other than that, we’ve got art exhibitions, yoga for runners, litter picks, as well as ALL SORTS of live music you can enjoy at gigs and club nights.

So don’t delay – read on and book your tickets where you can, a bunch of these are approaching BEING SOLD OUT!

What’s on in Cardiff – Thursday 29 March

STAR PICK! Cardiff Music Awards 2018
Thurs, 29 Mar · Tramshed Cardiff, 6pm – 11.30pm

YES YES! The Cardiff Music Awards are bringing the noise (and the party) with this rather smashing line up at the Tramshed. The event celebrates the BEST of our city’s musical talents, from bands to producers to promoters. The line up includes some of our fav Cardiff acts – Afro Cluster, HMS Morris, Rainbow Maniac, and DJs GRL TLK. TUNE IN TO SEE WHO GONNA WIN! Yagetme. Etc.

Cardiff Music Awards – tickets / Cardiff Music Awards – website

OTHER EVENTS IN CARDIFF ON THURSDAY 29 MARCH:

Kicking off the Moon’s weekend of epic tunes is Blowout Presents – No Violet + Support, Esuna, Cult of Hands and DJs til late. Grunge / Alt-Rock / Fuzz – FREE ENTRY!

Cardiff’s longest running club night (we’re nearly at its 19th birthday, people!!!) returns with its standard mix of twisted rock, indie, Britpop and all manner of things in between. Free entry til 11pm, get your shuffle on.

If you want to shake your thing to a wild cocktail of UK Funky, Bass, House and Afro Disco, we suggest you take yourselves down the steps to Undertone for this Rough’n’Tumble. Buy Rough n Tumble tickets

What’s on in Cardiff – Friday 30 March

Star pick! Astroid Boys | Y Plas, Cardiff Students’ Union
Fri, 30 Mar · Y PLAS, 7.30pm – 10.30pm

Our very own local grime punks are bringing their super lively style to the big stage! Astroid Boys have been all over your doink recently, with superstyle collabs with Adidas, and having their track Dusted chosen as the theme song for the WWE UK Championship Tournament. And DON’T MISS THE AFTERPARTY AT METROS!

Astroid Boys – website / Astroid Boys at Y Plas – buy tickets / Astroid Boys afterparty

OTHER EVENTS IN CARDIFF ON FRIDAY 30 MARCH:

It’s the first day of Wales Goes Pop! Celebrate with the best indie pop around: Sweet Baboo + Jeffrey Lewis + Peaness + Drahla +Charmpit + PURS + The Echo and The Always / cafe sets: Jemma Roper +Thee Manatees + Private World / DJs til 1am

Wales Goes Pop! website / Buy Wales Goes Pop! tickets

If you happen to be in town for cheeky drinks before you go out, make time to head into Queens Arcade to visit the Three Doors Up gallery with their latest exhibition, ‘Lomography’. Free entry plus culturally induced smugness.

If you’re an old raver (like I am), then let me let YOU into a little secret: Tramshed host all sorts of wicked house music nights that START EARLY AND END EARLY. So you can party like it’s your birthday until midnight, and then leave all the kids to go on to the afterparty. Anyway, this is one of those events – with Knee Deep In Sound head honcho, Hot Since 82. Expect house music all night long! (until midnight). Also there’s the Hot Since 82 afterparty, with Mella Dee headlining at infamous Cardiff venue, The Vaults!

If you’re indie, indie, all night long, then you’ll probably appreciate everything on the Nice Swan roster. Supported by Cardiff band, Sock! Buy Nice Swan tickets

The Moon continue their free music festival with headliners The Audio Pirates
& support! There will also be DJs playing alt rock indie punk psych til 4am. Head to Womanby Street and feel the beating pulse of Cardiff’s alternative music scene!

For those ragga enthusiasts in the building, make sure you grab tickets now for General Levy! We’ll be skanking by the left speaker at this one, make sure you come and say hi! Buy General Levy tickets

What’s on in Cardiff – Saturday 31 March

If by some miracle your hangover’s not that bad on Saturday, there are a bunch of great daytime events happening this Easter Saturday. To get your shop on, head for the Vintage Kilo Sale (10am, Canton) or the Boutique Gift Market at the Norwegian Church (10.30am, Cardiff Bay). For those of you that need to move, you could try the Welsh Hula Hoop Convention (10.30am, Cardiff Bay),  Yoga for Runners (10.45am, Pontcanna), B-Girl Dance Workshop (2.30pm, Cardiff Bay), or an Adults Roller Skating Session at Cardiff House of Sport (5pm, Leckwith).

Oh, and if you’ve been naughty, you can always attempt to atone by attending the Keep Splott Tidy litterpick (10am, Adamsdown), and if you’re hungry, head to the third in the Wasteless Supper series (7.30pm, city centre), where you can get fed and feel smug at the same time.

Don’t forget, Saturday is the day of the Joshua vs Parker fight in Cardiff, so town is likely to be a carnival of epic proportions!

Now, onto the main events …

Star pick! Wales Goes Pop! 2018, 1.30pm – midnight
Sat, 31 Mar · The Gate, 1.30pm – late

Although Wales Goes Pop! is carrying on all weekend, for us the Saturday line up is The One: just check this out …

Dream Wife + Kero Kero Bonito + Desperate Journalist + Personal Best + Axolotes Mexicanos + She Makes War + The School / cafe sets: Buzzard + The Yearning + Rafa Skam (THE YELLOW MELODIES) / plus DJs til 1am.

Wales Goes Pop! website / Buy Wales Goes Pop! tickets

OTHER EVENTS IN CARDIFF ON SATURDAY 31 MARCH:

If normal clubs melt your mind and you yearn for something a bit less beaty, how about checking this – the first Ambient Afternoon, which aims to create a relaxed listening environment where anyone can have a cup of tea and wind down. The music will be non invasive, cross many genres and will soothe your soul. How good does that sound? In case you have no idea what we’re talking about, listen to this: Aquarium – Rainy Night in Shibuya. Vibes.

If you like your beats reggae based and dubby, head to the Moon for The Barefoot Bandit & support! Reggae / Dub all night long, plus DJs playing reggae funk soul dub punk hip-hop til 4am!

Our favourite night cafe bring the noise with Studio 89 -New Beat | EBM | Italo | HiNRG | Industrial. Come prepared to dance (and also potentially eat some of the amazing food they make at this place…)

Signor Funk does what he says on the tin – expect to hear from the likes of Northern Soul favourites Dobie Gray, Al Wilson, Jimmy Radcliffe and Epitome of Sound to more obscure rarities, all mixed in with cool dirty disco tunes. Also there’s 50 per cent OFF ALL DRINKS between 9-10pm! Get the party STARTED already!

If your idea of a good night starts late and finishes when most people are still fast asleep – oh, and takes place in a bank vault – then grab your dancing daps and head to The Vaults for the biggest d’n’b lineup to hit the city so far this year. Basslayerz, MC Fatman D, Grime Minister, MC Juiceman, AAA Badboy and MC Comma Dee will be performing for your pleasure (and no, we didn’t make up any of those names). Buy tickets for Concept vs Circle 8

What’s on in Cardiff – Sunday 1 April

Seriously?? You’re still looking for things to do? You’re not tired yet? For those of you with the stamina to keep going, you’re in luck! Daytime events taking place on Easter Sunday include an Easter Egg hunt on Flatholm Island (6.30am, Flatholm), a circus convention with workshops at Up Side Down Circus (10am, Tremorfa), you can watch Donnie Darko in a Victorian arcade (6pm, city centre), or join Cardiff’s unicycle club (8pm, Leckwith).

If it’s music you’re after, then read on for other events …

Star pick! Blue Honey Bank Holiday w/ Awesome Tapes From Africa
Sun 1 April · Gwdihŵ Café Bar, 3pm – 2am

Yes yes! It’s Blue Honey’s fourth annual day/night party at Gwdihŵ Café Bar car park. And they’ve got a pucker headliner – AWESOME TAPES FROM AFRICA making his Cardiff debut! Support comes from the untouchable Darkhouse Family, Esther, Rotary Club and Blue Honey DJs.

Blue Honey event page / Buy tickets for Blue Honey present Awesome Tapes from Africa

OTHER EVENTS IN CARDIFF ON SUNDAY 1 APRIL:

Wales Goes Pop! brings out the big guns for the Sunday line up –  Shonen Knife + Brix & The Extricated + Goat Girl + Colour Me Wednesday + Bad Parents + El Goodo / cafe sets: Adwaith + Perfect Body + Think Pretty. Plus DJs til 11pm!

If house music all night long in a secret warehouse is your thing, be sure to grab your tickets NOW for the Delete Warehouse residents party – featuring Matt Owen, Marc Parsons, Lee Graves, Kofi Tarris, Owain Kimber, Gerrard and Aled Wynne. Location TBC direct to each ticket buyer! Buy Delete Warehouse Party tickets

On Sunday, the Moon wrap up their weekend festivities with CVC, Mike Dennis, Hash-Hann (Beatbox Hann), Papa Jupe’s Taurus Club, Anonymous Iconoclasts, Luke Bennett Music + DJs playing alt rock punk reggae funk soul dub hip-hop til 4am!

We don’t talk much about metal on this blog. Which is a shame, because in terms of subgenre descriptions, metal is probably the most inventive genre out there. Don’t believe me? Well, this line up that contains the following: Dutch grind / death /  sludge / crust / black metal; Swedish death metal fused with UK hardcore; Scouse hardcore; London grind / powerviolence / mathcore; and finally, my favourite of all, London nutella grind.

No I didn’t know they were still going EITHER. Buy Embrace tickets

If you’re in need of a lovely sit down jazz gig, make sure you get your tickets to this – she’s hotly tipped by Jamie Cullen and Michael Ball. More jazz please vicar! Buy Sarah Munro tickets.

I hope they’ve got decent cleaning staff in the Vaults for this mega bonanza heavy tuneage weekend. Sunday’s party brings you techno – in a bank vault – all night long! Buy High-Fi 002 tickets

If you’re gagging for some d’n’b, then back down the stairs you go to the warm, sweaty embrace of Undertone. Rising stars on this line up – Apollo, Hoodfellaz Hoodfella development, Shanny Shan and Obsidian, with the night hosted by Hoodfellaz, Slim Teng, MC XL. Buy XL Invites – Critical Impact tickets

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Well I don’t know about you, but I’m absolutely exhausted just going through those. Might invoke the concept of JOMO and lock myself in my house …
Nah! We’ll be out all weekend, and we can’t wait. See you on the dancefloor (or, potentially, at a litter pick or in an art gallery)

Peas

WAC
x

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The Arts, Whats on

Swaps: Photographs from the David Hurn Collection

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It is easy to forget that photography, at its core, is a shared experience. Swaps, an exhibition that cultivates photographs from David Hurn’s private collection, is a reminder of the process by which twentieth-century photography developed: through sharing photographs. This exhibition, now being held at the National Museum in Cardiff, has been curated through years of David Hurn playing swapsies with a variety of photographers. The result is a collage of photographs that are simultaneously intimate and universal. The work spans roughly 60 years, ranging from politically-motivated pieces to more surrealist, modern photographs. Generally, the exhibition feels professional in its rigour and variety, but also so warmly familiar when the context of the exhibition is appreciated.

The exhibition has a feeling of familiarity to it, like someone showing you a dusty old photo album, but this familiarity is offset by the sheer quality of photographic skill on show.  The collection comprises of photographs by leading 20th and 21st century photographers such as Henri Cartier-Bresson, Eve Arnold, Sergio Larrain, Bill Brandt, Martine Franck, Bruce Davidson and Martin Parr, but there are also some more unique, less famous photographers, such as ieke Depoorter, Clementine Schneidermann, and Newsha Tavakolian.. This certainly isn’t a safe exhibition, yet that means it doesn’t suffer from contrivance – it flows naturally from photo to photo, from generation to generation, with Hurn’s passion and interest for each photo being apparent thoroughout. It’s kind of like having somebody else’s time capsule you can dip into for a little bit, except that other person happens to be a gifted photographer with really cool mates.

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A particular highlight from the exhibition includes a photograph of Henri Matisse by Hurn’s close friend Henri Cartier-Bresson, as seen on the bottom here:

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It is a reminder that Hurn, despite his modesty, is up there with the pantheons of the art world, yet you would never think it reading over his genuine and friendly descriptions of his photographs. The exhibition details the context and story behind each photograph from Hurn himself and, sometimes, these descriptions are as entertaining and thought-provoking as the photographs themselves. There’s a video installation, too, where you can hear Hurn speak about some photographs in his own voice. Overall, the exhibition is organised to give off a very homely and understated feel, yet maintain the impact of some of the photographs. There is no pretension here, just an immensely talented photographer talking about and showing images from a craft he has been embedded in for years.

The exhibition is in place until March 11th, so pop down before it finishes! There’s an event where you can see David Hurn speak with his friend and fellow photographer, Martin Parr, about the photographs and life as a photographer in general on 7 February, too. Tickets are £10 and links to the event and the Welsh museum page can be found below.

Swaps

A Conversation with Martin Parr & David Hurn

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Whats on

Catch this family friendly Cardiff Christmas show, made by feminist theatre pioneers: The Giant Who Had No Heart In His Body

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If you’re looking for some heartwarming, family friendly theatre to warm your cockles before the big C hits this year, head to Chapter on Friday 22 and Saturday 23 December! Likely Story Theatre’s newest work – The Giant Who Had No Heart In His Body – includes grand tales of adventure, once forgotten fables, and that anecdote your uncle always tells at Christmas. No matter what they are about, stories can’t just be told – they have to be caught. Thankfully story catchers Agi and Dot are doing just that. Watching from their home in the clouds, they scout the sky for stories and catch them before they float away on the wind. Now the pair face something they’ve never faced before: telling their own story. Will they be able to pull it off? Only time will tell…

This is a lovely Christmas show that takes on an Norwegian fairytale using a magical mix of puppetry, live music and humour. GET YOUR KIDS THERE (grown up ones too!), THEY WILL LOVE IT.

WHEN AND WHERE
Friday 22nd December, 6pm (British Sign Language interpreted performance) &
Sat 23rd December, 11.30am and 3.30pm.
Chapter Arts Centre, Market Rd, Cardiff, CF5 1QE Tickets: £5 / £17 family ticket (4 tickets including at least 1 child)
Info: www.likelystory.org.uk
Tickets: www.chapter.org

 

This heart-warming show was created by Likely Story’s founders Hazel Anderson and Ellen Groves, with the help of their young children.

“We were developing a piece with my son Toby in the room,” Hazel explains, “we were playing with ideas and getting really excited when Toby started to cry because we’d left him, our audience, behind. We did the piece again but, this time, we built up the energy more slowly and bought him with us. It meant we created a scene with a completely different feel.

“It was a good reminder that the audience wants you to play with them, not just for them.”

Motherhood hasn’t just had an effect on this particular show, however, as Likely Story acts as a flagship company that demonstrates how creative organisations can foster the talent of mothers, and how people can create theatre as a family.

“In a professional setting you so often feel like you need to apologise for your kids being in the room,” says Ellen “now we’ve changed that from being seen as a burden, to being a gift.”

With both kids and grown-ups helping to shape The Giant Who Had No Heart In His Body – and with tickets only £5pp or £17 for a family of four – the entire family can see a show that is just as funny and fascinating for the over 70s as the under 7s.

“In the mix of a very commercialized Christmas, this is a show that aims to bring families closer together with play, love and lightness. It’s a show that is created with a lot of everyday objects, so that families can play and recreate it at home” says Ellen.

Hazel explains: “It’s a show that kids will laugh at, adults will laugh at, and they will both laugh at each other laughing.”

Likely Story Theatre was founded in 2006 by likely ladies Hazel Anderson and Ellen Groves. It was created on the simple philosophy that the women shared: the belief that storytelling is magical and that stories are best brought to life through the imaginative use of ourselves and everyday objects.

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Whats on

Creative Cardiff’s second birthday show and tell plus We Are Cardiff DJs!

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To our wonderful pals over at Creative Cardiff, we bid you HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Creative Cardiff is two years young! And we would love to celebrate with you on Monday, 16 October at ffresh in Wales Millennium Centre from 7pm at our bumper Show & Tell. You can expect truly exceptional speakers, entertainment and, of course, birthday cake! SIGN UP FOR THE PARTY

Creative Cardiff’s ‘Show & Tell’ is a quarterly event that gives a platform to the exciting range of creative people and projects in the city. It brings together Cardiff’s creative community, from emerging talent to old hands, to hear about their current projects and ambitions.

Each of the speakers will give a 10-minute lightning talk. And they’ll bring an object. The object might be the source of their inspiration, a tool of their trade or a comfort blanket. The speakers will share their work and explain the importance of the object they’ve brought along.

Speakers include Karen Mackinnon, Director of Artes Mundi International Visual Arts Exhibition and Prize, Jamie Rees, Director of Marketing at Chapter Arts Centre and star of one man show Oh Hello and Mark Woods, Co-Founder & Chief Technical Officer of AMPLYFI.

If you have any accessibility requirements for this event please email creativecardiff@cardiff.ac.uk.

Oh, and did we mention that WE’RE DJING? Because we are!

If you haven’t joined the Creative Cardiff community yet, YOU SHOULD, because it’s totally FREE, plus you get year round events, a monthly newsletter with loads of REALLY handy links, job listings, and to take part in cool research about how the city is developing. SO JOIN NOW!

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Whats on

Astroid Boys – Broke Album Release, Clwb Ifor Bach

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Local outfit Astroid Boys hit a sweet milestone recently, with the release of their Broke album. Photojournalist Aiyush Pachnanda went along to document the night!

In their own words: Rising out of Cardiff’s unlikely CF10 area code, Astroid Boys have cultivated a movement that transcends multiple sub-cultures – a growth that defines them less as a band, and more as voice for the youth.

With a DIY ethos rooted in the punk and hardcore scene, mixed with the raw, narrative approach of grime culture – their sound fuses together multiple perspectives, channeling their aggressions and woes into a platform for creative expression and escapism.

Bringing everything to a climax through their high-energy live shows, the combination of attacking vocals, crushing guitars and Dellux’ signature production never fails to get a crowd bouncing, both cult followers and innocent bystanders alike.

BUY BROKE NOW

LISTEN TO BROKE NOW

www.astroidboys.com

Astroid Boys Facebook

Astroid Boys Twitter

Astroid Boys Instagram

Astroid Boys YouTube

See more of Aiyush’s photography at YO Snaps!

Listen to Ep 23 of Minty’s Guide Gig – where Minty speaks to Benji Wild

And to finish up, Phoenix’s favourite Astroid Boys song: Foreigners

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The Arts, Whats on

Cardiff Book Festival – We Are Cardiff’s top picks!

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Cardiff Book Festival started off as a fairly modest affair last year, but this year it’s bigger, brighter, and even has its own literary-themed disco! We’ve combed through the programme (the best value ticket is a weekend wristband for £30, btw) and found our picks for the weekend. So get your read on, and let’s go …

Cardiff Book Festival: Where the written word comes alive, aloud, and off the page in the Welsh capital!

Friday 22 – Sunday 24 September, The Angel Hotel, Cardiff

OUR PICKS:

Friday 22 September

 

Catherine Mayer – Attack of the 50 Ft. Women: How Gender Equality Can Save The World!

7.15 PM – DRAGON SUITE, THE ANGEL HOTEL

Not a single country anywhere in the world has achieved gender equality. In more than a few countries, progress for women has stalled or is reversing. If gender equality promises benefits not just to women, but to everyone, why aren’t we embracing it? And how can we speed the pace of change? In ‘Attack of the 50 Ft. Women’, journalist and co-founder of The Women’s Equality Party Catherine Mayer tackles those questions and many more, sharing inside views and experiences. In her insightful, revelatory, often hilarious, and hugely inspiring book, Catherine Mayer takes us to a place she calls Equalia. What is it like? Does gender equality make for a society that is more equal in other ways too? Who does the low-paid jobs? How does gender express itself in a place freed from gender programming? What’s the sex like? What’s on the telly? (£7 full price, £5 concessions)

Dylan Jones on David Bowie: A Life in conversation with Mike Williams sponsored by Capital Law

8.30PM – DRAGON SUITE, THE ANGEL HOTEL

Dylan Jones is the award-winning editor of GQ magazine, a position he has held since 1999, winning the British Society of Magazine Editors “Editor of the Year” award a record ten times. A former editor at i-D, The Face, Arena, the Observer and the Sunday Times, he is the author of New York Times best sellers on musical heroes including Jim Morrison and Elvis. His new book David Bowie- A Life is an engrossing, magisterial biography unlike any Bowie story ever written. It’s an epic, unforgettable cocktail-party conversation about a man whose enigmatic shapeshifting and irrepressible creativity produced one of the most sprawling, fascinating lives of our time. Drawn from over 180 interviews with friends, rivals, lovers, and collaborators, some of whom have never before spoken about their relationship with Bowie, this oral history weaves a hypnotic spell as it unfolds the story of a remarkable rise to stardom and an unparalleled artistic path. By turns insightful and deliciously gossipy, David Bowie- A Life is as intimate a portrait as may ever be drawn. It sparks with illuminating, never-before-seen material from Bowie himself, drawn from a series of Jones’s interviews with him across two decades. Dylan will be interviewed by Mike Williams, the editor-in-chief of NME, himself a winner of the British Society of Magazine Editors “Editor of the Year” award during his time at Kruger Magazine, which is where I also cut my journalistic teeth. RIP KRUGER. (£7 full price, £5 concessions)

 

Saturday 23 September

Scientists of Wales/Gwyddonwyr Cymru

1PM – PRINCE OF WALES SUITE, THE ANGEL HOTEL

The University of Wales’ series of books Scientists of Wales/Gwyddonwyr Cymru charts the lives, times and works of Welsh scientists, and of people active in science in Wales. This event will see lively discussion in Welsh and English about Wales’ place on science’s world map, taking in the stories of William Robert Grove, a pioneering researcher who anticipated the general theory of the conservation of energy, and was a pioneer of fuel cell technology and Evan James Williams, whose work included attempting to prove the existence of Hidiki Yukawa’s hypothetical pi mesonparticle, and working on the MDS (magnetic detection of submarines) system to tackle the U-boat menace of World War II. (£5/£3)

 

35 years of Fighting Fantasy with Ian Livingstone

2.30 PM – DRAGON SUITE, THE ANGEL HOTEL

Ian co-founded iconic games company Games Workshop with Steve Jackson in 1975, launching Dungeons & Dragons in Europe. In 1982, he co-authored The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, the first Fighting Fantasy gamebook in the series which has sold almost 20 million copies worldwide. His best-selling titles include City of Thieves, Forest of Doom and Deathtrap Dungeon, and his new book, The Port of Peril, marks the 35th anniversary of Fighting Fantasy. When serving as Executive Chairman at Eidos, he launched global video games blockbusters including Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. Ian has a passionate belief in the power of play as a contextual hub for learning, and he is a leading advocate for the importance of having Computing on the National Curriculum. His book Hacking the Curriculum is an essential guide for teachers to promote creativity, computational thinking and problem solving in the classroom – meta skills for the digital age. He was awarded a BAFTA Special Award in 2002 and a CBE in 2013. Ian will share a reflection on his career before a Q & A session chaired by BBC Radio 1’s Steffan Powell. (£7/£5)

 

Sanctuary – Refugee writing in Wales

8.15PM – PRINCE OF WALES SUITE, THE ANGEL HOTEL

Eric Ngalle Charles is a poet, dramatist and novelist and a former Cameroon refugee. His first book ‘Asylum’ deals with what it means to be a refugee, caught between two worlds, destitute and unable to move forward with one’s life. He’s joined by others seeking asylum and refuge in Wales whose stories, poetry and essays about their journeys feature the extraordinary histories of the men, women and children who are seeking sanctuary in Wales. (£5/£3)

 

Sunday 24 September

Merthyr: the crucible of modern Wales? Sponsored by Modern Wales, Parthian

1PM – PRINCE OF WALES SUITE, THE ANGEL HOTEL

Dai Smith interrogates Joe England’s claim that Merthyr was the crucible in the development of Wales in the 19th Century and moving on a century asks why Huw Lewis’s moving memoir of growing up in Aberfan in the 1960s and 1970s, The Skylark’s Song, has so much to say about the past as a foreign country. (£5/3)

 

How Bullshit Conquered the World with James Ball

2.30 PM – DRAGON SUITE, THE ANGEL HOTEL

2016 marked the birth of the post-truth era. Sophistry and spin have coloured politics since the dawn of time, but two shock events – the Brexit vote and Donald Trump’s elevation to US President – heralded a departure into murkier territory. This is the story of bullshit: what’s being spread, who’s spreading it, why it works – and what we can do to tackle it. This is bigger than fake news and bigger than social media. It’s about the slow rise of a political, media and online infrastructure that has devalued truth. The Pulitzer Prize-winning James Ball should know. He’s worked in political, data and investigative journalism in the US and the UK for BuzzFeed, The Guardian and the Washington Post in a career spanning TV, digital, print and alternative media. (£5/£3)

 

Neil M.C. Sinclair

6.30PM – DRAGON SUITE, THE ANGEL HOTEL

Afro-Celtic author and historian, Neil M.C. Sinclair is a native of Tiger Bay, the oldest multi-ethnic community in Wales. He has written extensively on the history of his unique hometown, a place which is now the subject of the new musical ‘Tiger Bay’, premiering in Cardiff this November. Sinclair’s insider’s view of the area draws on personal memories, family history and a lifetime’s worth of connections within one of Cardiff’s most celebrated communities. Supported by Wales Millennium Centre’s Tiger Bay the Musical, 13th-25th November 2017. (£5/£3)

 

Buy a festival wristband or choose your tickets here: Cardiff Book Festival tickets (on eventbrite)

Cardiff Book Festival website

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The Arts, Whats on

HUB Festival ’17 – August Bank Holiday weekend shenanigans!

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So for the time being at least, Womanby Street has escaped the corporate clutches of various property developers and our independent venues are safe … so come celebrate with a weekend of music, art, performance, street food, and LOADS OF BOOZE –  between 25th – 27th August bank holiday weekend, gorge yourself on 200 ACTS // 12 STAGES // 3 DAYS // 1 WRISTBAND! Scroll to the bottom for full MASSIVE line up and venue breakdown.

HUB Festival Facebook event

HUB Festival is one of our favourite Womanby Street takeovers, and this year the line up is MASSIVE, plus street food from Feast Fest – I mean, what else could you ask?

They’ll be squeezing in rock, reggae, folk, blues, funk, hip hop, pop, jazz, disco, metal – as many genres as they can find, with promoters/labels/bands working together to show the rest of the country that Cardiff is absolutely buzzing.

Taking place at:
Clwb Ifor Bach // Fuel Rock Club // The Moon // Castle Emporium // Tiny Rebel // City Arms // Jones Court // Banc Car Park // The Busk Stop // Bootleggers // The Street

PLUS: Comedy, Spoken Word & Poetry, Performance Art, Live Graffiti & Street Dance, Carnival acts, Silent Discos, Feast Fest street food, guest DJs and Busk Stop!

WEEKEND TICKETS: 
Adult £25 adv + bf
Youth £10 adv + bf (ages 12-17)
Children under 12 go free.
Under 18s are allowed in all the venues until 9pm(apart from City Arms 7pm).

1-DAY TICKETS (SATURDAY OR SUNDAY)
Adult £15 adv + bf
Youth £7 adv + bf (ages 12-17)
Children under 12 go free.
Under 18s are allowed in all the venues until 9pm(apart from City Arms 7pm)

Tickets are on sale in Spillers Records Cardiff, Diverse Music Newport, and online from WeGotTickets.com + SeeTickets.com

See you front left by the speakers!

And for full line up by venue ….

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