James McLaren
Blog posts in total 519
Posts
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Radio Wales Music Day: The Dirty Youth talk Korn
The Dirty Youth joined Jamie and Louise this morning for 成人论坛 Radio Wales Music Day, talking all about their time touring with American superstars Korn. Listen to Danni Monroe and Matt Bond's chat with the Radio Wales presenters: Feel free to comment! If you want to have your say, on...
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Radio Wales Music Day: The Boy Royals live
The Boy Royals (formerly Town) perform their song Voice Of The Future live on the Jamie and Louise show, kicking off Radio Wales Music Day 2012 on 30 March. Feel free to comment! If you want to have your say, on this or any other 成人论坛 blog, you will need to sign in to your 成人论坛 iD account. If you don't have a 成人论坛 iD account, you can register here - it'll allow you to contribute to a range of 成人论坛 sites and services using a single login. Need some assistance? Read about 成人论坛 iD, or get some help with registering.
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Radio Wales Music Day: Joshua Caole in conversation
Singer-songwriter Joshua Caole joined Jamie and Louise this morning for 成人论坛 Radio Wales Music Day. Listen to his chat with the Radio Wales presenters here: Feel free to comment! If you want to have your say, on this or any other 成人论坛 blog, you will need to sign in to your 成人论坛 iD account. If you don't have a 成人论坛 iD account, you can register here - it'll allow you to contribute to a range of 成人论坛 sites and services using a single login. Need some assistance? Read about 成人论坛 iD, or get some help with registering.
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Radio Wales Music Day: Georgia Ruth in conversation
Georgia Ruth joined Jamie and Louise this morning for 成人论坛 Radio Wales Music Day. Listen to her chat with the Radio Wales presenters: Feel free to comment! If you want to have your say, on this or any other 成人论坛 blog, you will need to sign in to your 成人论坛 iD account. If you don't have ...
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Radio Wales Music Day: The Boy Royals in conversation
Alex and Hamish of The Boy Royals joined Jamie and Louise this morning for 成人论坛 Radio Wales Music Day. Listen to their chat with the Radio Wales presenters, covering name-changing, support from radio legends and local heroes: Feel free to comment! If you want to have your say, on this or any other 成人论坛 blog, you will need to sign in to your 成人论坛 iD account. If you don't have a 成人论坛 iD account, you can register here - it'll allow you to contribute to a range of 成人论坛 sites and services using a single login. Need some assistance? Read about 成人论坛 iD, or get some help with registering.
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Radio Wales Music Day: Tight times for musicians?
As part of 成人论坛 Radio Wales Music Day, musicians and composers explain how they have been coping with tight economic times and a cut in royalty payments: Among the speakers are musician Gai Toms and Lisa Matthews from the Welsh Music Foundation. Feel free to comment! If you want to ha...
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It's Radio Wales Music Day!
Today we embark on the third annual Radio Wales Music Day. Georgia Ruth From 9am right through to the late evening, Radio Wales are talking to some of Wales' movers and shakers, playing live sessions from some of the country's great new acts, and spinning some Welsh classics. Liste...
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Sonisphere cancelled
Hertfordshire rock festival Sonisphere has been cancelled, organisers have confirmed this morning. Skindred The Knebworth event was meant to have taken place on 6-8 July, featuring Welsh bands The Blackout and Skindred alongside the likes of Kiss, Faith No More and Queen. It was th...
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Getting ready for Radio Wales Music Day 2012
成人论坛 Radio Wales are gearing up for the third annual Wales Music Day this Friday (30 March). All day we here at 成人论坛 Wales Music will be keeping you abreast of the highlights and will be putting up some of the interviews to listen again. Radio Wales editor Steve Austins said: "成人论坛 Radio Wales Music Day has rapidly established itself as a highlight in the musical calendar in Wales, and there's a real buzz surrounding this year's Music Day. We want to showcase Welsh music, across all genres, through the events we're organising and broadcasting." Line-up for the day: 9am: Jamie and Louise From the Barnabas Arts House in Newport, Jamie and Louise kick off Wales Music Day with The Boy Royals (formerly Town), playing and in conversation. Georgia Ruth Joining them will be Greta Isaac, Joshua Caole, Cuba Cuba and Georgia Ruth. 2pm: Roy Noble From Theatr Brycheiniog in Brecon, Roy has a very special performance from 成人论坛 National Orchestra of Wales and Rhondda's Sophie Evans. Jodie Marie Also performing for Roy will be Jodie Marie, while Frank Hennessy will be in conversation. Cut Ribbons 8pm: Amy Wadge Coming from The Parrot in Carmarthen, Amy is joined by Cut Ribbons, Trwbador and The Last Republic. 10pm: Chris Needs Wrapping up the day, Chris is in Maesteg Town Hall with Only Men Aloud and Lucie Jones. Feel free to comment! If you want to have your say, on this or any other 成人论坛 blog, you will need to sign in to your 成人论坛 iD account. If you don't have a 成人论坛 iD account, you can register here - it'll allow you to contribute to a range of 成人论坛 sites and services using a single login. Need some assistance? Read about 成人论坛 iD, or get some help with registering.
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Global awards recognise their first ever Welsh artist
Penarth artist Martyn Joseph has been nominated in the global Independent Music Awards (IMAs), becoming the first Welsh person in the 11 years of the competition to be recognised. Edit (12noon, Thursday 29 March): We are happy to correct this story. In 2009 the IMAs awarded the prize of Best World Album to Various Artists - Blodeugerdd Song Of The Flowers: An Anthology Of Welsh Music And Song produced by Ceri Rhys Matthews. Martyn Joseph Martyn's song There's Always Maybe, from his current Under Lemonade Skies album, is up for the Best Song in the folk/singer songwriter category. The awards are chosen by a panel of 77 industry personalities and musicians, including Keith Richards, Tom Waits, Suzanne Vega, Tori Amos, Michael Franti and Ozzy Osbourne. The judges' choices will be announced next month. There is also a public vote in the awards, which closes in July. A spokesperson for the IMAs said: "Celebrating the democracy of creativity and meritocracy of talent, The Independent Music Awards honour exceptional independent artists traditionally ignored by mass media and 'big box' retailers. Winners of The 11th IMAs will receive active promotions, distribution and performance opportunities that will place them in front of nearly 1billion music fans, they say. Feel free to comment! If you want to have your say, on this or any other 成人论坛 blog, you will need to sign in to your 成人论坛 iD account. If you don't have a 成人论坛 iD account, you can register here - it'll allow you to contribute to a range of 成人论坛 sites and services using a single login. Need some assistance? Read about 成人论坛 iD, or get some help with registering.
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James Dean Bradfield takes the mic on Radio Wales
James Dean Bradfield sits in for Bethan Elfyn tomorrow at 7pm, taking the mic on the first of two shows on Radio Wales. James Dean Bradfield The show's producer, Darren Broome, agreed to write a few paragraphs for us about getting the Manic Street Preachers frontman in: My history with Manic Street Preachers goes back to very nearly the beginning. I started here as a reporter on Rave, along with Alan Thompson and Rob Brydon, back in 1990. Rave was a late night 'youth show' on then 成人论坛 Radio 5. One of the very first interviews I did was with Richey Edwards in the Marina Nite-spot in Swansea - just about when the band were releasing their Motown Junk single in January 1992. I've been lucky and seemed to pop up and interview them as their profile increased and I've ended up sort of befriending them along the way. Every couple of years on from that I'd end up interviewing the band - Nicky and his brother Patrick a couple of times in 1996 and 1999, then I made a Radio 2 doc - A Design For Life - about the band in 2002 which included long interviews with James, Nicky and Sean. I've also worked on a couple of music related projects outside of work as a musician and got to know James quite well. We're pretty much the same age and both grew up in the Valleys - I'm from Aberdare, he's Blackwood of course, so we've got a lot of the same or indeed shared cultural and social reference points. It was an absolute honour and joy to spend time with James in the studio listening to the music that we both grew up adoring and being influenced by. It was great fun to hear so many rock and roll stories! James took the role of presenter with total dedication. His love of classic rock comes over so strongly in both programmes, as does the fact he's really knowledgeable with the state of the current music scene. He's a natural presenter, passionate and engaging, and a real treat for anyone who's a fan of music. If you hear the shows you'll get a wonderful insight into the mind of a brilliant songwriter: listening to James' choices of tracks, you can just about start to imagine how he puts together a track, the sounds that trigger his thought processes. It's a diverse, eclectic and really rocking playlist for both shows. James picked west Wales band Trwbador, playing a track in each of this two shows, and also chose a session from Abergavenny art punks Saturday's Kids. To have James stamp his approval on any new Welsh band is something that is bands can only dream of, but for quite a few new Welsh acts the dream has come true. James said to me: "To be able to make a programme where you can play Rush and Orange Juice in the same show is such a privilege." Many of the tracks were chosen to pinpoint a particular time in James' early life in and around Blackwood, Newport and Cardiff. Also keeping it very homegrown, James chose an album each week in the feature 'Albums to Hear before you pop your clogs'. In the first programme he picked Empires And Dance by Simple Minds which was recorded at Rockfield studios in Monmouth. In the second programme (31 March) he chose The Velvet Underground's White Light/White Heat, a record that has a special memory for him as he remembers listing to the track, The Gift - and hearing a Welsh voice narrate the track, whom he later discovered was John Cale. James describes that as his 'Jim'll Fix It moment' - from that moment on he realised that anything was possible.
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Penguin picks up Gruff Rhys-soundtracked Whale Trail app
The popular iOS and Android game Whale Trail, uniquely launched in conjunction with a song by Gruff Rhys, has made the jump from mobile app to publishing thanks to Penguin Books. Penguin's Puffin imprint has secured the global rights to Whale Trail to publish as an e-book, digital picture b...
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How many rugby fans does it take to get to Number One?
With Wales winning the Six Nations Grand Slam last weekend, musical ears and eyes are turning to Sunday's chart rundown, to see if Cwm Rhondda/Bread Of Heaven can break into the hit parade. Paul Child recorded the Millennium Stadium crowd singing the 1907 John Hughes hymn at half-time. It was rush-released yesterday, credited to Wales. Watch a video as Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau rang round the stadium: With a capacity of 74,000, the stadium held enough people to take the song into the top five if everyone bought a copy. Half the audience purchasing the charity single would bring it to the top 10. However, twice the capacity of the stadium would be needed to almost guarantee a chart-topper. Lauren Kreisler of the Official Charts Company said: "We wouldn't speculate as to how the song will do, but it's an interesting story. You'll have to wait till 4pm on Wednesday when we publish our midweek charts to find out how it's doing." Paul Child told the Western Mail: "It's an idea which came about because we wanted to get as many fans involved with the single as possible and Bread Of Heaven is famously sung on the terraces and throughout the stands so what better song to choose as the Grand Slam single. "But ultimately it's a celebration of this year's tournament. It's a way for fans to thank the team, letting them know how grateful we all are and how proud we are to get behind them." Cwm Rhondda/Bread Of Heaven is available in physical form at Tesco stores in Wales and on download sites. All proceeds from the single will be donated to the Welsh Rugby Charitable Trust. Feel free to comment! If you want to have your say, on this or any other 成人论坛 blog, you will need to sign in to your 成人论坛 iD account. If you don't have a 成人论坛 iD account, you can register here - it'll allow you to contribute to a range of 成人论坛 sites and services using a single login. Need some assistance? Read about 成人论坛 iD, or get some help with registering.
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Wales rugby fans Heaven sent for charity single
This Saturday 75,000 Welsh rugby fans will be recorded for a charity single to be released the very next day. During half time in the Wales v France Six Nations decider Welsh artist Paul Child will lead the crowd in a rendition of Cwm Rhondda (Bread Of Heaven), which will be recorded, mastere...
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Grand Slam for The Blims?
This weekend Wales will attempt to secure their third Six Nations Grand Slam in the past eight years. This year, though, they've got some musical support in the form of The Blims' Side Steps And Side Burns. The song, currently in the top five of iTunes' rock chart, is a sunny, acoustic-tinged...
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John Cale at 70
Core member of The Velvet Underground; producer of dozens of other artists; Welsh music legend. John Cale is 70 this Friday (9 March) and we're celebrating with interviews and clips from the 成人论坛 archive. Interview (2005) Interview (2010) Desert Island Discs ...
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John Cale at 70: Heroin, Wales and Me
There's always been a dark side to the career of John Cale, whose 70th birthday we celebrate this Friday (9 March). Going to America, founding The Velvet Underground and being part of the Factory, Cale and his bandmates were around drugs all the time. He indulged, as he freely admits. In t...
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John Cale at 70: Cale and Squeeze
In 1977 John Cale, who celebrates his 70th birthday on Friday 9 March, produced the first EP by a London new wave/pop group called Squeeze. Packet Of Three was well received and they went on to record their first album the next year with Cale. John Cale with Squeeze. Photo: Jill Furmanovsky...
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John Cale at 70: Cale and Catatonia
In 1999 the cream of Welsh musical talent gathered in Cardiff to work with John Cale on a performance film called Beautiful Mistake, directed by Marc Evans. One of the acts working with Cale was Catatonia. We caught up with Catatonia guitarist Owen Powell to talk about his experiences of work...
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John Cale at 70: The Culture Show
As we celebrate the 70th birthday of John Cale, here's a piece of video from the 成人论坛 archive. Miranda Sawyer interviewed Cale for The Culture Show in 2009. The in-depth discussion took in his life in America, his relationship with his Velvet Underground bandmates and his ambitions. Watch t...