In It Together Festival will return to Old Park Farm, Margam in May 2024. Alongside the big three headliners over the weekend, they will be joined on stage with other names like Eurovision and Tik Tok star Sam Ryder, Newton Faulkner, Scouting For Girls, Blue and many many more!
Based in Wales, this festival is known for championing Welsh music and this year they continue to give local artists and names a place on their big stage. Artists like Eleri, Banshi, Niques, Half Happy and ADJUA have been given the opportunity to perform in front of a potential 50,000 people over the course of that weekend. An opportunity that doesn’t come lightly for smaller local artists from the Welsh valleys.
I spoke to these few artists and asked how they felt about being able to be part of In It Together:
“I’m feeling really excited about my first In It Together festival! I can’t wait to see all the amazing artists on the line-up as well!” – ADJUA
“I’m so excited to be playing In It Together again after playing at the first one in 2022. It’s amazing to have a festival of that scale bringing big artists to Wales, and the Paddock Stage with local artists alongside the big names is such a good idea!” – Eleri
“I used to want to perform at this festival and I set it as a goal to get on the line-up, so to be on it now feels so rewarding.” – Niques
Eleri photographed at Tramshed, Cardiff by Chloe Michelle Photography
Niques photographed at Porters, Cardiff by Chloe Michelle Photography
Encouraging local music artists is crucial for fostering a diverse and vibrant cultural landscape. These emerging talents often bring fresh perspectives and innovative sounds that may go unnoticed in mainstream channels. Supporting them not only helps nurture creativity but also contributes to the preservation of unique regional identities.
In It Together have selected more than fifty Welsh artists alongside their star-studded line-up in a celebration of Cymru’s grassroots talent. This grassroots support fosters a sense of community, encouraging a cycle of artistic inspiration that ultimately enriches the global music scene.
Kids In Glass Houses, a Welsh five-piece rock band consisting of Aled Phillips, Andrew Sheehy, Iain Mahanty, Joel Fisher and Philip Jenkins. With their debut album Smart Casual turning 15 this year, they have reunited and are back on the road to bring nostalgia to the kids who have been fans since 2004.
The band announced their split back in 2014 where they played a final show on Halloween in Cardiff. On their current reunion tour, they have stopped off in Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham, London, Bristol and finally wrapping up in Cardiff. It felt incredibly fitting to watch Kids In Glass Houses perform on a Saturday in their home city of Cardiff, with The Nightmares as their support act.
The Nightmares are a four-piece band who describe their music as Noir Pop. The Newport band consists of Adam Parslow, Eleanor Coburn, Benjamin Mainwaring and James Mattock. With the staging set up in dark red, the band played songs from their discography with black roses attached to their microphone stands. Their vibe gave a gothic atmosphere with a melancholy crimson feel.
Kids In Glass Houses came onto the stage with bundles of energy. Aled Phillips was running around the stage and showing no sign of stopping until their set was complete. They opened with Fisticuffs and finished with Matters At All. The the eccentric dance moves from Aled, it felt like he was channelling his inner Elvis. With a sea of inflatable flamingos in the crowd, and the chanting of A.L.E.D, the final show on the tour really did end with a bang. The band were incredibly thankful that so many fans were still supporting them and selling out shows and how 15 years since Smart Casual was released has flown by. The band finished off by taking a photo with the audience and included a sign that read ‘BRB…Making A New Album!’
A festival inspired by the instrument that connects us all – the voice
“Llais is Cardiff’s international arts festival, bringing artists and audiences together for incredible live music, thought-provoking performance and inspirational talks.”
Llais Festival began back in 2016 which saw a line-up of Van Morrison, Charlotte Church and Hot Chip. Last years line-up saw artists Cate Le Bon, Midlake and Pussy Riot take to the stage. For 2023, Llais Festival is bringing along The Staves, Bat For Lashes, Gwenno and many more!
(You might recognise Gwenno from the side of Clwb Ifor Bach on Womanby Street as a 38 metre mural!)
During the weekend of October 14-15, we managed to catch the sets of: Angharad Davies, Angeline Morrison, Gwenno, Clare Marie Bailey and Elaha Soroor. What a fantastic mixture of international sound and culture.
Angharad Davies – a Welsh experimental violinist demonstrating a psychedelic experience for the audience in the Cabaret bar. Angharad slowly approached the stage and setting the expectations of her performance. She performed a 52-minute solo violin piece from her single track album titled “Gwneud a Gwneud Eto / Do and Do Again.” The performance provided the room with a sense of meditation and enchantment. Angharad describes the violin as particularly intimate with an endless wealth of possibilities. The low repetitive drones and variety of high pitched scratches truly provided the audience with the psychedelic experience they were promised.
Angeline Morrison – with a focus on storytelling, Angeline performs elements of soul music, folklore, myth and the supernatural. Angeline Morrison’s 2022 album, The Sorrow Songs: Folk Songs of Black British Experience was voted Number One Folk Album of the Year in The Guardian. Angeline shared a touching story with the audience about how she was very close with her grandfather who had dementia. Her hypnotic performance interacted with the audience through precise storytelling. The audience were applauding the end of each song ready for the next.
Gwenno – this was a one- off performance exclusive to Llais Festival, titled ‘Tair Ton | Teyr Ton | Three Waves.’ We were told to expect a ‘sensory feast with added theatrics’ and that’s exactly what Gwenno treated us to. This performance celebrated her three albums with connecting themes and featured unheard live performances from her discography. Gwenno’s performance was filled with stunning lighting and graphics throughout giving the audience a show of visual satisfaction. The crowd came wearing their red hats and ready to be captivated with songs such as N.Y.C.A.W. and Men an Toll from her album, Tresor. Gwenno was a perfect wrap up act on Sunday at Llais Festival bringing along Welsh culture and voice at its finest.
“We’ll start a fire and burn some bridges and make it out of here tonight”
Welsh band, Funeral For A Friend took to the stage at Utilita Arena, Cardiff on Saturday October 14th for their penultimate show of the ‘Casually Dressed & Deep In Conversation’ tour.
From Bridgend, formed in 2001, the band is made up of Matthew Davies-Kreye, Kris Coombs-Roberts, Gavin Burrough, Darran Smith, Richard Boucher and Ryan Richards.
During their Cardiff show, they were joined by American rock band Dashboard Confessional and Welsh rock band Dream State as supporting acts.
Opening the show, Dream State, fronted by Jessie Powell, gave the crowd a rock show entrance they will never forget. Performing their first arena show, Dream State were incredibly thankful to be part of Funeral For a Friend’s anniversary tour. Despite the size of the arena and crowd, Jessie held up her horns and threw herself into the audience, creating her own pit. This Welsh rock band was the perfect start to get this show on the road. Chin Up Princess is a song that will be on repeat for a while.
Dashboard Confessional were second on stage just before Funeral For A Friend themselves. The American rock band opened up with Don’t Wait and continued into songs such as Saints and Sailors and Screaming Infidelities. Bringing the crowd back down to a calm and collected level, Dashboard Confessional were able to maintain interaction with the audience with a special song request from a band member. Chris Carrabba told the crowd that each night on the tour they choose to play a random song from their discography.
Just over 2 hours after doors officially opened, the main show started, Funeral For A Friend were greeted by loud screams from their hometown Welsh fans. They opened with Rookie of the Year and continued into Bullet Theory. Lead singer Matthew Davies-Kreye was lucky enough to celebrate his birthday on home turf during their Cardiff show. Fans were jumping, pits were opened and the band’s 20th anniversary tour was celebrated in style at the Utilita Arena in Cardiff.
St David’s Hall has found itself in the centre of public debate lately, as news broke last week that Cardiff Council was considering a proposal from a private firm, Academy Music Group, to take over ownership of the beloved concert venue. As of this writing, more than 15,000 people have signed a petition calling for St. David’s to be protected as a vital performance space for classical music in the heart of Cardiff.
On Monday November 28, as if to reinforce its importance to Cardiff’s vibrant cultural scene, St David’s hosted the Sinfonia of London, billed as a “super orchestra” of top musicians hand-picked by artistic director John Wilson. Originally established in 1955 chiefly as a recording orchestra, Wilson revived the orchestra in 2018 and in a few short years has propelled it to sold out concerts across the UK, not to mention reviews so universally gushing that they border on the hyperbolic. (The Sinfonia of London is not to be confused with the City of London Sinfonia– a case of absurdly confusing nomenclature worthy of a Monty Python skit).
Opening with William Walton’s boisterous comedy-overture Scapino, Wilson and his musicians established their trademark bold attack and swaggering virtuosity right off the bat. Walton composed the work in 1941 as a commission for the Chicago Symphony, home to one of the world’s great brass sections, and the Sinfonia brass negotiated the spirited music with ease. Wilson’s approach to conducting is remarkably economical and un-showy; like a master jockey, he can control this powerhouse ensemble with the lightest touch, and mostly knows how to stay out of their way.
The Sinfonia’s feel for panache and razzle-dazzle was on full display for Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. Joining the ensemble was 26-year old British pianist Martin James Bartlett. Bartlett certainly has technical chops and musical charm to spare, but his Gershwin felt over-thought and overwrought. His playing was fussy and precious, with odd rubato choices that he perhaps thought sounded more “jazzy”. The sexiest, most impressive versions of the Rhapsody happen when the pianist relaxes into the pocket of the music, letting Gershwin’s bluesy growls and soaring skyscraper melodies speak for themselves.
The balance of the program was devoted to works by the French impressionists Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy. For this refined repertoire, Wilson’s approach needed more polish and shimmering French elegance. In both Ravel’s Valses Nobles et Sentimentales and Debussy’s La Mer, his focus on rhythm and impulsion created a sense of drama and cinematic excitement (at one point his baton went flying into the viola section), but it was too often at the expense of more nuanced orchestral colour and patient, sustained legato. The rarely performed original version of Ravel’s Bolero, composed in 1928 for the flamboyant Ballets Russes dancer Ida Rubinstein, sounded glaringly Spanish rather than achieving a more subtle effect of Spain viewed through a Frenchman’s wineglass. Some of the orchestral solos missed the mark here, in particular the tenor and soprano saxophones. Still, there was no denying the musicians’ visible enjoyment in performing this satisfying work, nor Wilson’s skill in allowing the dynamic tension to build until its explosive final flourish.
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Natasha Gauthier has been writing about classical music in Canada and the US for more than 25 years. She is the former classical music critic for the Ottawa Citizen, in Ottawa, Canada. She currently writes for Early Music America Magazine, Opera Canada and Ludwig Van, among other online and print publications. In June she was a teaching fellow at the Rubin Institute for Music Criticism at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She moved to Cardiff in September 2022 to complete a postgraduate degree at Cardiff Uni. When not attending concerts, she spends her free time here breathing in the sea air, admiring the clouds, learning Cymraeg and trying to make friends with the magpies.
Creative Republic of Cardiff is a non-profit organisation that plans to rejuvenate Cardiff’s live music and creative culture. It was been set up by former staff & friends of The Full Moon, which closed in April 2017.
They set up an Indiegogo campaign which raised £14,000 in two weeks, which helped them to take on the building’s lease and open at the end of April 2017 as a new community-led, non-profit venue & arts space called THE MOON.
eg – securing the lease; licenses; insurance; tills; stock; accounting; legal; security; design & signage; plumbing & electrics; continuing refurbishment – painting, carpentry, tiling, loads of odd jobs and fixing stuff, lights replaced, little cloakroom/space for band gear; & everything else associated with maintaining a fully functioning venue!
Additional funds will allow us to improve the venue, carry out maintenance and provide them with basic working capital.
Creative Republic of Cardiff will use the venue to establish an environment of collaboration, networking and knowledge sharing. It will nurture, develop, organise and showcase talent from Cardiff and beyond.
The Moon has been an powerhouse for supporting grassroots artists, and supporting them is support for our independent music scene!
They’re currently offering two levels of support: £7.50 per month, or £20 per month. Here’s how they break down:
$10 (£7.50) or more per month:
Moon ‘Saviour’ T-Shirt
10% discount at the bar FOR LIFE any time you come in wearing your Saviour t-shirt
Your name will also be placed on the wall plaque of saviours
$25 (£20) or more per month:
Saviour t-shirt
10% off at the bar for life when wearing Saviour t-shirt
1 free gig per month at The Moon of your choice (subject to ticket availability)
USW’s School of Music and Sound have a listening launch party for this year’s Create Sampler, FCI 2 on 14th May from 3.30pm, and they want you to go along!
Following steep competition and over 40 entries, a staff panel selected the final tracks to represent the School and release on vinyl, complete with cover artwork from The Wild Midnight.
FCI 2 contains 13 eclectic tracks ranging from rock to folk to electro house, collaborations and an exclusive track recorded at Rockfield Studios. The creative standard this year is exceptional and they can’t wait to share the finished product with you. Finished copies will be available on the day and also on the shelves of Spillers Records.
Join us in the Theatre to listen to the album and hear the stories behind the tracks from the artists themselves TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE HERE
Theatre listening party 3.30pm-5pm
Zen Bar Social, DJ & Buffet 5pm – 7pm
Get yourself along and support tomorrow’s musical stars!
Side A
“Y Diweddaraf” – Adwaith
“Zen Me Kan Dao Zi” – Min & Hui
“Curves and Lines” – Suleiman Atta
“Nowhere’s Ark” – Jacob Haslam & 3rd Year BMus Contemporary Music Performance
Last year’s Sampler, FCI 1 gained critical acclaim in the industry receiving radio airplay and was championed by BBC Producers Huw Stephens,Adam Walton and Bethan Elfyn. It is also stocked in Spillers Records and will be available for this year’s Record Store Day. Featured bands Mellt, The Kelly Line and Naomi Rae have continued to gain attention in the business and we anticipate big things for this year’s artist rostra.
Join us in the Atrium theatre to listen to the album and hear the stories behind the tracks from the artists themselves.
Theatre listening party 3.30pm-5pm
Zen Bar Social from 5pm
Bought to you by the School of Music and Sound this event is free, open to students & the wider music community, please tell your friends. If you are looking to get into the industry or advance your business within it these talks are for you.
Today we welcome Hannah Weiss to introduce the Ladies of Rage, a new Cardiff musical collective. All images here by Aiyush Pachnanda. Enjoy!
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The Cardiff collective Ladies of Rage (LOR) was established by radio DJ Ffion Wyn Morris, to unite women in the Welsh music scene. The group is 80 members strong, the group welcomes anyone interested in learning to mix tracks or take their turn on the mic. Whether you’re into D’n’B or old-skool hip hop, writing lyrics or beatboxing, there’s a place for you here.
The LOR had a showcase at The Moon in December, which was a real success. The ladies had honed their skills through a series of monthly jam sessions and workshops, ready to take the stage for the first showcase.
The Moon is Cardiff’s prime space for up-and-coming indie acts and the perfect place for the Ladies of Rage to make their debut: large enough to pack a solid audience, small enough to allow each performer to connect with the crowd. There was a mix of men and women; a healthy cross-section of supporters in the scene, people looking for a good show and a handful who wander in throughout the night, drawn by the music to find out more.
Stella Marie and Trishna Jaikara Shan kick-start the showcase. Both DJs are here to demonstrate their skill on the decks, and each brings her own flair to the hip hop mixes they’ve come to play. People drift from the bar to the stage, as the hype builds for the first emcee.
First on the mic is Becky Cee, a new rapper who found performing through poetry. This is evidenced by the compelling lyricism of her words, as she explores anger and anxiety. At times her delivery is backed by music, at others she lets the timbre of her voice fill the space. Each of the trio of tracks is deeply personal, a timely reminder of the purpose of the night: enabling women in music to make their voices heard.
Following her is Judy Price, the leading lady on tech for the night, who blends her words with a self-composed mix that gives her set a smooth, bluesy vibe. There’s a steady confidence in her delivery that matches the evocative self-awareness of her lyrics.
Amelia Unity is up next, an OG in Cardiff’s hip hop scene. The spoken word poet, graffiti artist and B-girl takes the stage to give The Moon a taste of the talent that won her first place at the Swansea Poetry Slam last year. She’s ready with an arsenal of talking points, from the personal to the political. Quoting the ‘colour war on the high street’ and ‘a gambler who couldn’t play her game’, Unity flips from uncovering cracks in Cardiff’s hip hop community to smoking public discourse on beauty standards and aging, taking her audience on a vivid ride through her experiences of life and art.
Lyrical depth is a clear strength these women share. Leah Hutchinson shifts into a more introspective tone with her mix of singing and spoken word, showcasing her flair for flow and a unique vocal tone. She welcomes the audience into her world through four tracks that unfold in a gorgeous string of metaphors referencing nature, poetry and religion. Framing both her fellow performers and the audience in the statement ‘we are all an expression of infinite art’, she encapsulates the purpose of the night in one beautiful turn of phrase.
Building on Leah’s tentative step through the divide between poetry and music, singer-songwriter Asha Jane dives into a soaring R&B set of self-penned tracks. ‘If you fall in love with a storyteller, you might be in love with the stories’, is the haunting refrain of stand-out track ‘Oyster’. Asha spins a soulful tale of love and loss, while the hype of the audience around her stills to rapt attention.
Asha stays on stage to collab with battle rapper Shawgz, who transforms the crowd’s focus into a flare of energy with a rapid-fire salvo of tracks from her new BLK Tape EP. The pair play off each other’s strengths, letting the tempo rise and fall as they shift flow in perfect sync. Shawgz owns the stage with flair, demonstrating her freestyle chops as she ribs with the audience.
The vibe stays at a simmering high as Lady SP hits the stage with a flow so fast it ricochets around the venue like gunfire. If the first half of this showcase drew the audience in through the ladies’ lyricism and exchange of shared experiences, the latter sets are a performance of sheer power.
The strength of the collective really hits home when Tasha, better known by her moniker TT, rallies for her first time on stage. The other women gather, ready at her back, while the crowd before her chants their collective support to welcome her onto the scene.
The full roster of emcees, singers and DJs share the stage to swap verses in a friendly-fire cypher that rounds out the night with a display of unity and mutual respect. Every women takes her turn on the mic, the hype of the others around her never letting up.
Lubi J and Stella shift the showcase from performance to party, taking turns on the decks to play some D’n’B, with emcee Missy G stepping up to the mic to freestyle over the mix. Before the night comes to a close, the ladies present founder Ffion with a birthday present as she thanks the audience for their support, giving a shout out to each performer’s tenacity and talent, and a nod to Amy Farrah’s photo exhibition. Headshots of the performers line the walls, accompanied by words, as each gives her voice to the need for this new era in music.
The Ladies of Rage showcase is a clear demonstration of the treasure-trove of talent among women emcees, DJs and musicians in Wales. It’s not just a performance, but a call to arms. This is the first time several performers stepped from the edges of the underground scene to go onstage. How many women in the audience, you wonder, might be inspired to pen lyrics and experiment with mixes after watching the skill on show that night?
It’s those women in the crowd the Ladies of Rage came for. The ones who haven’t yet dared to test their skills. Now when they do, there’s a full collective of women ready to share their experiences and stand alongside them.
So there’s nothing we like more on We Are Cardiff than supporting and celebrating local talent. So we dropped in to speak to good time rock and rollers Rainbow Maniac, who have just recorded their debut album, and will be playing on Tuesday 29 January at The Moon. Read on for a photo essay of the recording, and a Q&A!
So you guys have just recorded your album! Tell us all about it.
With Charlie Francis as our producer, we recorded most of it over two days cause we’re hipsters and we wanna be like the Beatles in the early days. It was pretty easy and relaxed because we’d thought about it for a while and we’re pretty well rehearsed.
Some of the songs have been around for two or three years, and some of the songs were finished in the last few months so it feels like we’re releasing a mini greatest hits album as our debut!
When is the album due to be released?
We want to find a label to release with first so a release date is very much TBC. We intend to put out some singles in the meantime though so don’t worry! We are going to promote our new single ‘Snowball’ and take it from there.
Can people see you live any time soon?
Yeah for sho. To promote ‘Snowball’ we booked a mini tour this month – you can catch us at the last show in Cardiff at the Moon, on the 29th January. The single is also being released on 29th so it should be a fun night getting boozy with our support acts Al Moses and Rotanas!
Are you a fan of trip-hop? Dense lyricism? Modern gothic aesthetics? Have you spun Mezzanine by Massive Attack a bit too many times? Then check out Agiris, the musical project of poet turned musician and Cardiff resident Ryan Draper. His sound skirts the border between poetry and trip-hop, delivering a sound that pushes electronic music to catharsis. Ben Newman sat down with the songwriter to discuss all things music, poetry, lyrics and metropolitan life.
Agiris is a collaborative project, correct? How did this collaboration with Sunbane come about?
You’re partially right. Agiris is the solo manifestation of my artistry as a writer and performer. You could say it’s a sort of character for me to explore my creativity, but it also allows me to exhibit an artform that I wouldn’t necessarily express as just Ryan. As Agiris I’ve been working towards the completion of my first mixtape, ‘Anima’ and a lot of the work produced for this project has been a collaborative effort. I’ve worked with a range of producers including Sunbane, Jonatan Bäckelie and Bexxo, composer/pianist Ezra Nixon, photographer/videographer Seanen Middleton, make-up artist Lauren Labram and iron-cast melder Ashleigh Harrold. Sunbane has contributed a significant amount to my work and we’ve got a pretty co-operative partnership going on. As well as helping me to enhance some demos and producing some of the tracks for my mixtape, I’ve performed alongside him at this year’s HUB fest and supplied vocals for a track on his upcoming Alchemist EP (out Dec 14th), which will be my very first release to hit all the streaming platforms. Synergistic vibes all round.
Q. Do you tend to write lyrics after listening to his production or does lyric writing come first?
My mixtape has been written for a long time now. I revealed Agiris back in May of this year and the time since has been about finding the right music to dissolve the words in. There was one production that I received from Jonatan where I wrote a completely original track over it, but everything else has been lyrics first.
Q. You’ve defined your music as “poetrip” which indicates a fusion between trip-hop’s aesthetics and poetic lyrics. Aside from this genre-lyric relationship, what else does poetrip stand for?
It’s mainly that the focus is on the words. As mentioned before, most of the tracks were written and performed as poems or spoken word pieces before having the music to accompany them. The mixtape itself flows between very structured and rhythmic verses and fluid, soft spoken interludes with a more poetic delivery. I’d like to think that the reader could delve into the lyricism of any of my tracks and extract the messages or the emotions of what I’m trying to say from just reading or listening to the words alone. I suppose the music is there to enhance the experience but also act as a gateway to the lyrics. I’ve also found it uncomfortable to express what I do as rap. Rap brings to mind very specific connotations which I feel I don’t quite fit into. Poetrip, to me, suggests a more image invoking or story-telling genre and one that allows for a bit more flexibility.
Q. Considering your background in writing poetry, how have you found the transition to writing lyrics? Do you tend to follow a similar writing style/method or is it a totally different thought process?
It’s odd. I’ve always written with the rhyme in mind so that hasn’t changed. With spoken word you can sort of take the structure any where but with music I’m very aware that I need to ride the instrumentation just right and allow for more constriction. I’m discovering the art of flow!
Q. Both lyrically and sonically, Agiris tends to delve into dark sounds and textures. Who are your major inspirations for this sound? Are there any lyric-writers/vocalists you tend to look to for inspiration?
For the past few years my favourite music to listen to has been dark electronic pop and alternative R&B (FKA twigs, Banks, Abra, James Blake, Sevdaliza, Kill J). My mixtape has been massively influenced by the likes of Portishead and Tricky, but particularly Massive Attack and their Mezzanine album. I’ve always wanted to re-create its deliciously atmospheric soundscape. Lyric wise- I love the way Bjork writes. She writes without any sort of conditioning. The freedom in her lyricism is tangible to me. Lorde is also a terrific writer. I could just read her album and feel the music in the words.
Q. Out of these inspirations, who would be your dream collaborator?
I’ve actually thought hard about this because I wouldn’t want to feel too intimidated if I were to work with someone I look up to. I’d get too nervous and make a t*t of myself. So bearing that in mind, I’d have to say NAO. Some of her darker tunes are my favourite songs and I LOVE her unusual, honey-sweet voice. Her lyrics are so poetic too: “You’re a holiday, a glass of ocean slipping down my throat and landed on my hopes”. I’ve actually met her and she was incredibly humble- it was like talking to an old friend, so I think we would actually write something great together.
Q. Do you view and evaluate music a little differently now that you’re making it?
Yeah, sadly it has sort of diminished its impact ever so slightly. Before, I would be mesmerised by music and wonder how the hell the artist could come up with something in bewilderment. I still get that! But now I’m working on the software and recording for hours at a time, I’ve started to view the whole concept of music in more technical terms. Sometimes I just need to be found in the right moment and the magic comes flooding back.
Q. Your last track, Monstratum, was sonically your most challenging song yet, nodding to genres such as drone and industrial. Where do you see your sound going in the long-term? Was this more left-field and confrontational sound an indication of your future work?
Monstratum’s concept is about the universal capacity for evil and so I wanted music that was aggressive and haunting to convey its idea. It’s probably the heaviest moment on the Anima track listing. Anima is a very conceptual project and my aim was always to tie it together with a cohesive sound. Before Anima and Agiris, I was making music as part of a duo that was very sarcastic and humorous with simple pop/hip-hop beats. Anima was born out of a need to want to be taken more seriously and to use Agiris as a vessel in which to challenge myself and my insecurities. I was sort of hiding behind the humour before because I was afraid to be sincere and declare myself as someone with true, artistic intentions. Now that I’m getting more comfortable with it, I’m excited to continue to use eclectic sounds and maintain an alternative aesthetic.
Q. Before releasing Monstratum, you released a quote from Carl Jung’s essay ‘On the Psychology of the Unconscious’ regarding the nature of evil. Do you derive a lot of intertextual inspiration from psychology and literature?
It’s funny, it’s kind of like a self-fulfilling prophecy for me. I was trying to find a stage name for myself and I kept coming back to the colour silver, the moon and the soul. Eventually I decided upon “Agiris Anima” as a sort of indirect translation for “Silver eyes to the soul”. I cut it short with Agiris but I realised that most of what I was writing about fit with the Anima title. I knew it translated from Italian to ‘soul’ before I knew of the Jungian archetype. I’d also written the basis for Monstratum before I knew of Carl Jung and then I researched some of his quotes and particularly his concept of integrating the shadow. I noticed my poetry aligning with his philosophies and the notion of the Anima became the catalyst that sort of made everything slot into place as a project. I’ve also used a snippet of a philosophical conversation between Dr. Jordan Peterson and Russell Brand. I found the dichotomy of these two individuals, who are both viewed as radicals of the left/right paradigm, just calmly talking about philosophy together to be a notable anomaly in today’s divisive political climate. I took a snippet of where they mention Jung’s alchemical axiom ‘Insterquilnies invinetur” (that which you need will be found where you least want to look) and I used it to introduce a track called “Truth Is…Vacant” which talks about how, in my opinion, the ignorance of truth has been elevated in our culture.
Q. How was HUB Festival? You’ve got lots of experience performing poetry, but I imagine performing music live for the first time was nerve-wracking. Got any live dates planned soon?
For a first-time performance, I think it went well. But it’s that thing where you know you can give it so much more. It’s going to be a challenge to deliver on stage exactly what I have envisioned in my head, but I’m determined to get there. I’m hoping to secure a Mixtape Launch gig next year.
Q. For lack of a better term, your aesthetic is underpinned by something that’s distinctly urban. How does living in a city like Cardiff affect your writing and artistic approach?
I write a lot about mundanity, pessimism and feeling stagnated. I thought this derived from the isolation of the valleys, but I seemed to write more about those concepts living in Manchester and Cardiff. I lived right in the centre of both cities and could still feel intense isolation amongst the metropolitan buzz, perhaps more so than Tredegar. Despite that, I still get motivated living in the city to want to share my work and meet other creators. I like to use Cardiff’s locations for a lot of the scenes in my music videos too.
Q. Cheeky question: when is the mixtape dropping?
If all goes to plan, it’ll be an initial free download release on the 1st of March 2019. Hopefully with a full-platform distribution to follow.
If Agiris seems to hit the right note with you, then keep your ears primed for a new single that drops December 14. For more, check out his music and keep up with him on:
After a couple of years in the wilderness, the crazy energy of the first Sŵns returned this year – with some new venues, and a slightly different format. And we had a great time! Our highlights included: cheeky cocktails in between shows at Blue Honey, gigs in a secret room out the back of Kongs (who knew Kongs was so big???), not getting into loads of gigs but just dancing in the street outside (sorry Estrons! We really wanted to see you, although we heard you caused structural damage to the venue?!), wonderful Gaz Coombes and wonderful Boy Azooga slotting in perfectly between Gaz and The Go! Team, a sweaty set from Hana 2K in the Moon, Al Moses, Griff Lynch, and Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard.
A return to the multi-venue, multi-day vibe all in Cardiff was brilliant. Vive la Sŵn!
We sent photojournalist Mehek Seth out into the madness, and here’s her photo essay.
In case you missed it, here’s the Spotify playlist from this year:
With the news earlier this year than Sŵn Festival had changed hands, we were excited to hear about the line up announcement … and it’s finally here!
The final wave of Sŵn bands have been announced for this iconic Cardiff city festival, taking place Wednesday 17 – 20 October 2018. WHOOP!
Previous announcements already brought you Gaz Coombes, Boy Azooga, Drenge, Gwenno, 77:78 and Queen Zee – and now there are 30 more awesome acts …
Heavenly’s The Orielles will open Thursday’s mammoth gig at The Great Hall alongside grunge rock brothers Drenge and Melbourne’s tough surf pop outfit, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever.
Jacob’s Market on Friday will be a massive night, with Cardiff homegrown Darkhouse Family curating a night of hypnotic, jazz and dance tunes with Bugz in the Attic performing live, alongside Esther and Andromeda Jones.
Cardiff-based Estrons are one of our favourites (they’ve just released their debut album You Say I’m Too Much , get yours now!) have a reputation for their bold, electrifying gigs, which means they’re certainly not one to miss this year – they’re playing on the Saturday. Joining them is Canadian artist Boniface, who unites 80s synth-pop with contemporary 21st century indie-pop to create a rare and electrifying performance.
Sŵn Festival takes place over four days (17-20 October) and 17 venues: Buffalo Bar, Clwb Ifor Bach, Fuel, Gwdihw Café Bar, Kongs, Nos Da, O’Neills, Off Track Café, The Big Top, The Blue Night Café, The Great Hall, The Moon, The Old Market Tavern, Tiny Rebel, Tramshed and Undertone.
Adam Williams, Live Manager at Clwb Ifor Bach (who are now managing the festival) said: “We’re over the moon to announce the final wave of artists for Swn Festival 2019. It’s been six months since we were asked to take on running and booking the festival and we’re super happy with what we’ve produced. Now all we have left is to deliver it!
“Sŵn Festival has been a vital part of the Cardiff music calendar for the last 12 years and it’s been really exciting for us at Clwb to build on that success – we hope we’ve created something special and that people continue to enjoy this festival for many more years to come.”
Friday, various city centre venues, £20 (general release)
Saturday, various city centre venues, £25 (general release)
Weekend, across the city, £35 (2nd release)
4 Day Golden Ticket, £60 (second release)
Full line-up (we’ve highlighted out picks in bold, in case you give a fork …)
77:78; ACCÜ; Adwaith; Al Moses; Andromeda Jones; Annabel Allum; Another Sky; Argrph; Bandicoot; Bitw; Bo Ningen; Boniface; Boy Azooga; Breichiau Hir; Bugz In The Attic; Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard; Carolines; Carw; Cassia; Castorp; Chartreuse; Christian Punter; Cosmo Sheldrake; Cousin Kula; Cowtown; Cpt. Smith; CVC; Dead Method; Dream Wife; Drenge; Drunk Yoga DJs; Ed The Dog; Esther; Estrons; Farm Hand; Fling; Frown Upon; Gaz Coombes; Giant Party; Goat Girl; Great News; Greta Isaac; Grey Hairs; Griff Lynch; GRLTLK; Gwenno; Halo Maud; Hana2k; Heavy Rapids; HMS Morris; Ivan Moult; I See Rivers; Keeva; Keir; Knowbetter; L.A. Salami; Lewys; Los Blancos; Low Island; Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard; Marged; Martha; Mellow Gang; Mellt; MRPHY; My Name Is Ian; Night Flight; Oh Peas!; Perfect Body; Pizzagirl; Private World; Queen Zee; Quiet Marauder; Rascalton; Red Telephone; RedFaces; Right Hand Left Hand; Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever; RYD; Sam Evian; Scott Xylo; Silent Forum; Snapped Ankles; Sock; Spinning Coin; Suuns; Talkshow; Tamu Massif; Teddy Hunter; The Blinders; The Death of Money; The Effect; The Gentle Good; The Go! Team; The Mysterines; The Orielles; The Pitchforks; The Witching Hour; Tigress; Tracy Island; Vive La Void; Wasuremono; Wild Cat Strike; XY&O; Y Sybs; Ya Yonder; Yassassin; Yves; Zabrinski; Zac White
We Are Cardiff 