Tagged with: Interviews
Posts (109)
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Interview: Steve Balsamo on Balsamo And Deighton
James McLaren
You might know Steve Balsamo from The Storys, or from his solo work, or you might know him from his turn as the titular character of Jesus Christ Superstar in the 1990s, but the Swansea man has turned his hand to another interesting role. This time, he's been writing with sometime Storys memb...
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Gruff Rhys on Cymdeithas Yr Iaith Gymraeg
Adam Walton
This weekend (13 and 14 July), Cymdeithas Yr Iaith Gymraeg (the Welsh Language Society) celebrates its 50th birthday with a massive festival in the historic pavilion at Pontrhydfendigaid in West Wales. The festival features a broad swathe of Welsh-singing and thinking musical performers, from...
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The Welshman who brought us Seasick Steve
Bethan Elfyn
Sometimes it's quite surprising where you'll meet a fellow Welshman in a distant part of the world. I was in the heart of Texas at South By Southwest (SXSW) festival when I first met Andy Zammit from Bronzerat Records, a one man operation that managed to land a few punches when he signed and ...
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Future Of The Left interview
Adam Walton
At the start of June, I stumbled aboard a Eurostar train to Brussels at an insultingly early time of the morning, to go and see Cardiff's Future of the Left on their European tour. My escapades are detailed elsewhere on this blog. On the old school ferry back, lightly frayed and subtly seasi...
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Introducing Barefoot Dance Of The Sea
Bethan Elfyn
There's been a host of great Welsh albums released this year already: Richard James, Meilyr Jones and Euros Childs' Cousins, Julie Murphy, Joshua Caole, Future Of The Left... and so the list goes on. Another to add to the pile is Beneath Closed Eyes, the eagerly anticipated debut from three-part harmony group Barefoot Dance Of The Sea. Barefoot Dance Of The Sea With honest, real life songs, and signature intricate harmonies, it's a beautiful listen from start to finish. It's a celebration of the distinctive voices of Rebecca Wood, Elizabeth Whelan and Sophie Cochrane. I've been a fan for a while, and seen them perform live many times, so it was a great chance to speak to the band to find out a bit more about putting the record together. What have you all been up to? I know your lives go in many different directions now. "We've been busy preparing the next generation of Barefoot Dance of the Sea - both Bec and Beth are pregnant! We've been gigging, had our album launch and a couple of great gigs at the Wales Millennium Centre and planning collaborations with Andy Regan and Ivan Moult and Will from Little Arrow." Do you feel like you are evolving as a group? "Yes! Definitely. It started from the ashes of The Hot Puppies as we didn't want to stop playing and we'd always enjoyed our singalongs we'd have as a pre-gig warm up, so we carried on from there. Soph joined us and the covers slowly got replaced by our own songs. That's when we properly became Barefoot Dance Of The Sea. "We've changed a lot over the years, being more harmony-based around simple accompaniments and developing our own style and sound. We've also grown more confident in our songwriting and are proud that each of us have provided songs for the album, which means its a very personal record." Are there stories behind the songs that you could tell me about? "And there's another about Bec's husband building a house for their family. Another true story!" Have you played some interesting gigs recently? "We played at The Small World Theatre in Cardigan which is an amazing venue. A wooden roundhouse-type building - really high ceiling, ideal for our kind of music and a lovely audience and organisers. Would definitely recommend going!" Your melodies, harmonies, and a capella numbers are such unique things to do. What made you go in this direction after The Hot Puppies? "It seemed to be a natural progression for us: Bec had her first baby and our quiet harmonies/folky sound was much more suited to entertaining baby Amber. As we're all singers it comes naturally to concentrate on our voices with any accompaniment coming second." What's coming up for you over the summer? "A bit of a break for babies, then back to making more music. We have lots of collaborations planned and already have quite a lot of new material, so more recording for album number two. And, of course, more live dates to be announced soon!" Any download treats available for our readers? "Free downloads from our record label here: http://www.bubblewrapcollective.co.uk/download.htm." 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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Charlotte Church on Radio Wales
James McLaren
Last weekend Charlotte Church joined Bethan Elfyn for an extensive interview. Following up her 2010 album, Back To Scratch, Church exclusively chatted to Bethan about her as-yet untitled new set, working with local musicians and her attitude to the music industry. In addition, three brand new tracks had their exclusive first plays. Listen to the interview 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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"Seeing Welsh flags in the crowd made me very proud"
James McLaren
In 2004 James Fox became the last Welsh person to represent the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest. He came 16th, so not an unmitigated disaster, but neither was it a stellar success. I talked to him about his time on the competition. James Fox Looking back to 2004, what were your thou...
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Joy Formidable tour diary - day five
Adam Walton
So, to my last day with The Joy Formidable. Typical that I should get used to the touring bus lifestyle on my final day with them. I slept last night; if not like a baby, well, like a big-sideburned toddler. The trip from Philadelphia to Boston takes over seven hours, so we're still in transi...
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John Cale at 70: Heroin, Wales and Me
James McLaren
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
James McLaren
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...
