mostly on a music tip

SWN presents EVENING CHORUS ***(Postponed)***

***URGENT***

Sadly due to personal circumstances this show will have to be postponed. 
We're aiming to reschedule the event for a future date and we'll advise any ticket holders of the new date asap.
Please holds on to your tickets/e-tickets as original tickets will re-main valid for the future show, if the new date is unsuitable we will issue a full re-fund.
Please spread the word 

Many thanks 

SWN x

a special event with

EVENING CHORUS
celebrating their EP launch

plus support from
LITTLE ARROW
IVAN MOULT

Tuesday 10th April 2012
St John's Church, Canton
7.30pm
£6 adv from www.swnpresents.com
www.eveningchorus.co.uk
www.seetickets.com
Spillers Records

St John's Church, 
Canton, 
Cardiff 
CF5 1NX 

With a sound based around vocal harmonies and the instrumental trio of guitar, banjo and double bass, Evening Chorus have gained many fans both in Wales and further afield. Their debut EP ‘Acorn’ sees a big step for the band, emerging from their early demos and blossoming into a much more accomplished studio sound, with strings and a wider range of percussion and vocals. In its five tracks, Acorn shows the both the dynamic and emotional ranges of the band – fusing thought-provoking compositions, room-silencing a cappella and a stage shaking fury as they build to a crescendo. This is a taste of things to come, at the start of what promises to be a big year for Evening Chorus, having already shared stages with the likes of King Creosote, Johnny Flynn and Ellen & The Escapades. Championed by BBC radio's Tom Robinson, Jen Long and Bethan Elfyn they are currently working on their debut album.

SWN presents THE TEMPER TRAP

THE TEMPER TRAP

plus support from

CYMBALS

 

Saturday 12th May 2012

The Coal Exchange, Cardiff

Doors 7.30pm

 

£14.50 adv from

**PRE-SALE NOW**

WEDNESDAY 7th MARCH 8pm from

| www.thetempertrap.com |

GENERAL SALE FRIDAY 9th MARCH 12pm (Noon)

| www.swnpresents.com |

| www.seetickets.com |
| www.ticketlineuk.com |
| www.wegottickets.com |
| www.cardiffboxoffice.com |
and in person from Spillers Records

---------------------------------------------

The Temper Trap's story begins with Dougy. Born in Indonesia andimmersed inan artistic andmusicalfamily, with some rich influencesfrom singing in church choirs with his aunty and uncle and listening to his dad, acountry music fan, play guitar. These influences evolved around Dougy,as he moved consistently from different islands in Indonesa, to Hawaiiandtheneventually to Australia. Dougy's move to Downunder started him out as a portrait drawer at $25 a pop,or singing a tune for your loose change in downtown Melbourne.

Dougyeventually ended up working atthe same retail store asToby. Dougy had thought of starting a band for years and after a few months of boring work hours and finding out Toby was a drummer and a walking musical dictionary, the first band practice began,minus a bass player. In one of the coincedences that the band have come to rely on Jonny worked a couple of stores down and was called in. He had known Dougy for years,back in the busking days when dougy first arrived in melbourne. jonny, the 13 year old dreamer and son of a missionary,wanted to learn some guitar and dougy helped him out.A brotherly friendship was formed with some sense of common ground, both drawing life from music and their spritual upbringings, and unaware of the musical union which would be formed 6 years later.

The three of them came together, practised like crazy and played some shows for a year.One, twoskip a few (guitarists),ninetynineLorenzo.An old school friend of Toby's, Lorenzo had been dancing around bands and playing guitar from the age of 12. They bonded over skateboarding, but it didn't take the 2 teenagers long to start jamming covers and writing primitive songs in the garage. Years down the track and in another perfect twistLorenzo's previous band called it a day just as the other tempers second guitarist departed and the band was formed.

The Temper Trap, lead by frontman Dougy, have been writing and touring Australia, catching the ears of many, including world renowned producer Jim Abiss who made the journey to melbourne to assist the Temper Trap in delivering their debut record. With a series of epic new tracks set for release on their much anticipated debut album, the band has conquered adventurous new territory, building on their rich foundations in a natural progression. Legendary Artic Monkey's and Kasabian Producer Jim Abiss flew over to Melbourne to be at the helm. The Results of this brilliant new evolution in sound will persuasively draw you in. The Temper Trap have undeniably delivered.

 

SWN presents FIXERS

FIXERS
plus support

Monday 14th May 2012
Buffalo Bar, Cardiff
7:30pm / 18+ show
£8 adv from www.swnpresents.com

| www.ticketlineuk.com |
| www.wegottickets.com |
| www.seetickets.com |
| Spillers Records |


------------------------------

FIXERS

The experimental surf dance quintet Fixers, hailing from Oxford,return live touring their jaw dropping debut album. A full realization of their unique blend of pop, psychedelia and world music influences.

Soaring live with five-part harmonies, sleigh bells and tight guitar lines interweaving vocals with echo drenched effects, Fixers create something live that is truly thoughtful and uplifting. They effortlessly blend the sixties psychedelic childlike innocence of Brian Wilson and Bruce Haack with the spaced out eighties avant-garde dance of Arthur Russell, Kate Bush and Tom Tom Club. 

SWN and Gathered In Song presents ADMIRAL FALLOW

Gathered In Song 

&

ADMIRAL FALLOW
plus support

Tuesday 15th May 2012
Buffalo Bar, Cardiff
7.30pm / 18+ show
£8 adv from | www.swnpresents.com |

| www.ticketlineuk.com |
| www.wegottickets.com |
| www.seetickets.com |
| Spillers Records |
| www.artistticket.com |

http://admiralfallow.com/

Louis Abbott: vocals, guitars
Kevin Brolly: clarinet, keys, piano, vocals
Phil Hague: drums, percussion, vocals
Sarah Hayes: flute, piano, accordion, vocals
Joe Rattray: bass, vocals


“Devastatingly downtrodden and wonderfully uplifting. . . surprising and enthralling. . . finely crafted material played superbly well” (Mike Diver, BBC Album Reviews Editor)

“Anthemic yet understated. Big and bold, but avoiding theatrical cheese. Every note serves a purpose and has its place, nothing is wasted and nothing is missed.” (Music-News.com)

“The perfect musical storm: depth, strength of feeling and technical skill in one sublime package.” (Stereokill.net)

“A veritable masterclass in dark-hued yet uplifting, catchily literate roots-pop” (The Herald)

“So good, so dark, so beautiful” (Daniel P. Carter, BBC Radio 1)

Admiral Fallow are, quite probably, a new-to-you band – albeit one landing in your in-tray or inbox today with a debut album already under their collective belt, 2010’s superbly acclaimed Boots Met My Face. As such an achievement should suggest, this Glasgow-based ensemble has paid its dues several times over, sleeping on floors on tour and making the most of meagre resources to further a cause that’s earned them comparisons to the likes of The Delgados and Midlake and attracted plaudits from such high-profile individuals as Elbow’s Guy Garvey, King Creosote and Guillemots’ Fyfe Dangerfield.

Now, with the release of Tree Bursts in Snow – produced and mixed at Glasgow's famous Chem 19 studios by Paul Savage (Franz Ferdinand, Mogwai, Teenage Fanclub), and mastered by Greg Calbi (Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes, The National) at Sterling Sound in NYC – the five-piece (regularly swelled to a larger collective live) is ready to take the next step: from the recommended column of several critics’ reviews catalogue and into the hearts of the wider public..

This is craft -  honed, refined and ready to go. Says Louis Abbott, the group’s frontman: “I worked out recently that we’ve been playing together for six years, so we’re very glad to be in this position, to give another album to people who’ve supported us.” 

But it’s not exclusively those who’ve prior experience of Admiral Fallow’s music, which veers from rambunctious acoustica to tenderly toned introspection – newcomers are sure to find hooks aplenty in Tree Bursts in Snow’s ten tracks. Indeed, it’s a collection geared for maximum first-impression impact.

“I think of an album in the same way I do a live show,” says Abbott, whose solo endeavours developed into Admiral Fallow in 2007; “it needs to have a strong balance between catchy numbers and the slow-burners.” And so Tree Bursts in Snow matches its upbeat offerings with quieter arrangements, presenting a mix of immediate delights and songs that might take a few listens to take hold of the soul. (But worry not, as they will.) Lyrically, this is a collection focusing on themes both universal and deeply personal: certain fears manifest themselves in songs such as ‘Tree Bursts’ and ‘The Paper Trench’, but love for life itself is articulated on ’Isn’t This World Enough??’. Says Abbott: “I think the times we live in can get you down, and the way to deal with this is to do what you love – and right now, we love making music together and playing it to people.”

It might seem natural to place Admiral Fallow beside certain purveyors of what’s become bracketed as nu-folk, but the outfit is as much a new chapter in the continuing history of remarkable independent voices from north of the border as it is aligning itself with topical trends. “Members of the band have experience in traditional, electronic, orchestral and Indie music,” says Abbott, “and I didn’t have an electric guitar when we began playing together.” So: the end product is of an entirely organic design, and certainly not to be confused with coattail-riding revisionists.

Filtering imagery of war through perspectives that prefer the positive over wallowing in pity, Admiral Fallow have, with Tree Bursts in Snow, realised their most compelling statement of intent to date. A bright, breezy listen on ‘Guest of the Government’ (squint and it could be The National with a burr), affectingly intimate on ‘Brother’ (perhaps the most personal lyric herein), it’s a set that conveys a raft of emotions with accomplished poise – with the sort of experience that can only come from hard graft. 

www.admiralfallow.com

SWN presents CATE LE BON (CANTON CRAWL)

The inaugural all dayer Canton Crawl with...

CATE LE BON
with support from

TENDER PREY

R.SEILIOG

STACKING CHAIRS

NO THEE NO ESS

FIST OF THE FIRST MAN

with an opening set from H HAWKLINE, so get in for early doors...

and more acts to be announced!

The Printhaus, 
70A Llandaff Road
Canton, 
Cardiff, 
CF11 9NL
Saturday 28th April 2012
2.00pm-10.00pm

18+ only / please bring ID if you look under 21

£12 adv from | www.swnpresents.com | very limited tickets

| www.seetickets.com |
| www.ticketlineuk.com |
| www.wegottickets.com |
| www.cardiffboxoffice.com |
and in person from Spillers Records

No alcohol to be bought into the event. There will be a bar serving all day.
plus there's 10% of food and drink at Chapter Arts Centre with your wristband.

 

A highly successful 2010 was spent touring her debut LP Me Oh My described by Word magazine “As cymbals clash and keyboards whirl, imagine P J Harvey’s rawness tangling with Super Furry Animals’ prog and a vocalist who forgoes folk soft asides for delicious black humor”. Cate then ended the year contemplating and conjuring up her sophomore release.

Cate entered the studio with the nucleus of a record existing in her head, lyrical ideas swam in ether as did fully formed arrangements, but it wasn’t until she began recording that these disparate ideas were drawn together and her circus tent of a record rose from the gravel ground.

Drawing on her experiences from that heady 12 months, Cate created a collection of pop nuggets that sounded like they'd fallen off the back of a broken carousel, imbued with the playfulness of Faust, Syd Barrett and the tropical melodies of Os Mutantes and stitched together with a foreboding silken lyrical thread.

Existential word play abounds and fuzz fused guitar lines tear through like an angry bee in a CAN as Cate muses on matters of the heart and the magnetic pull of the ocean.

 

How would you describe the album, CYRK?

Cut a remote island in two and place one half to your ear

 

What’s a song on your new album, CYRK, you really want people to hear, and why?

“The Man I Wanted” because I have finally put down a wooden recorder track that I have not been ridiculed for… as of yet. Also, if you’re listening to it, you’re well into side 2 of the album which means there’s hope you’ll make it to the end.

What’s a lyric you’re particularly proud of on the album?

“On the worst day of his life, he’d still love more things than I like” has been misconstrued as being a melancholic lyric about how miserable I am when actually it was written as a testament to how wonderful and positive the ‘he’ in the song is (its not God, for the record).

 

KiLi Live & SWN presents MARINA AND THE DIAMONDS

KiLi Live

&

 

MARINA AND THE DIAMONDS

with support

Original date of show was Tuesday 15th May this has now been postponed until

WEDNESDAY 27th JUNE 2012 
(Original tickets will remain valid!)

Wednesday 27th June

Cardiff Coal Exchange

7.30pm / 14+ Show

Under 18's must be accompanied by an adult

0844 871 8803

Tickets Avilable online from

www.kililive.com / www.seetickets.com

 

SINGLE: 'PRIMADONNA' 16TH APRIL

ALBUM: 'ELECTRA HEART' 30TH APRIL

 

Marina and The Diamonds releases her brand new album ‘Electra Heart’ on 679/Atlantic on 30^th April 2012. ‘Electra Heart’ is preceded by the first single to be taken from the album, ‘Primadonna’ which is released on 16^th April.

 ‘Electra Heart’ is a huge leap forward for Marina and promises to be one of the most exciting pop releases of 2012, underlining that she is amongst the most talented young British artists around. A ground-to-air missile of ambitious and confident songs, ‘Electra Heart’ was written and recorded in London and LA over the last 18 months whilst on tour.  Featuring 12 brand new self-written tracks, Marina handpicked a close group of collaborators to write and produce with including Dr Luke (Katy Perry), Rick Nowels (Madonna), Liam Howe (Sneaker Pimps) and Greg Kurstin (Lily Allen).

 ‘Electra Heart’ is a blisteringly honest story of identity, love, rejection, doomed romance and hope all tinged with humour and British eccentricity. 

Marina says, ”It's an Ode to dysfunctional love. I based the project around character types commonly found in love stories, film and theatre, usually ones associated with power and control in love, as opposed to weakness or defeat. I guess it was a way of dealing with the embarrassment that, for the first time in my life, I got 'played'. Rejection is a universally embarrassing topic and Electra Heart is my response to that. It is a frank album”

‘Electra Heart’ is the follow up to Marina’s top five debut album ‘The Family Jewels’.  Known for her unique and iconic look, and for her attention to every detail of her creative output, she doesn’t disappoint on the artwork for ‘Electra Heart’. Full images and a video for ‘Primadonna’ will be released soon.

The tracklisting for the album is still tbc but tracks include Primadonna, Bubblegum Bitch, Lies, Power and Control, Homewrecker, Starring Role, The State of Dreaming, Living Dead, Sex Yeah, Valley of the Dolls, Hypocrates and Fear and Loathing.

She has taken her critically acclaimed live show to all points on the globe over the last two years and has firmly cemented a reputation as one of the most enthralling performers around.

As well as playing on the forthcoming short tour (Cambridge – 24^th Feb, Brighton – 25^th Feb, NME Awards show @ Shepherds Bush Empire – 26^th Feb) Marina undertakes a full UK tour in May 2012:

 

May 4^th                 MANCHESTER                Cathedral      http://bit.ly/GaTours

May 5^th                 LIVE IN LEEDS FESTIVAL                       0113 245 5570

May 7^th                 EDINBURGH           Queens Hall    http://bit.ly/GigsinScotland

May 8^th                 GLASGOW              ABC                  08444 999 990

May 10^th               LEAMINGTON         Assembly Hall    0844 8541358

May 11^th               BIRMINGHAM          Institute          http://bit.ly/AltTickets

May  12^th                     SHEFFIELD            Leadmill        http://bit.ly/LeadMill

May 14^th                      NORWICH              Waterfront      http://bit.ly/NWaterfront

May 15^th               CARDIFF                Coal Exchange   http://bit.ly/KiliLive

 

Twitter: http://bit.ly/MarinaTwitter  /  #electraheart

Official Site: http://bit.ly/MarinaSite

 

 

SWN presents ISLET

ISLET

with support from 

H.HAWKLINE

MARS TO STAY

Thurs 31st May 2012
Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff
7.30pm / 14+ show
£7 adv from | www.swnpresents.com |

| www.seetickets.com |
| www.clwb.net |
| www.wegottickets.com |
| www.cardiffboxoffice.com |
| Spillers Records |

ISLET

Debut album 'Illuminated People' released on Shape Records (Turnstile) and is out now!

Video for 'A Bear On His Own' now available - http://www.youtube.com/v/7Fi76ldbBSY

"Illuminated People overflows with ideas and adventurism" Q

"they're a model of how a left leaning rock band ought to conduct themselves in 2012" NME

"’Iluminated People' is a shining triumph" Clash

"beautifully beguiling" The Fly

Islet released their debut album via Shape Records (Turnstile) on the 23rd January and have gained much positive feedback and reviews. Illuminated People follows 2010’s rapturously received pair of EPs – ‘Celebrate This Place’ and ‘Wimmy’ – which the NME described as being “a sonic boom in the face to anyone who might have thought they had something to hide”. A group who work under a strict autonomy, this is – as a result – their most cohesive sounding work to date.

It’s an album forged out of the Cardiff-based collective’s strong ties to a DIY sense of thinking and more outré passions in the arts. The subsequent ten tracks stand as a bold opening statement from a band that have quickly proven themselves masters of finding the common thread between at-first seemingly disparate influences.

That they’ve had the confidence to do this lies on an early decision to take control of their entire aesthetic – releasing on Shape Records, an entirely independent label run by the group's Mark Thomas. Islet have always sought to maintain direct contact with people in a less oppressive manner than the constant internet bombardment others pursue.

 

www.isletislet.com // www.turnstilemusic.net

 

SWN presents BEN HOWARD

BEN HOWARD
with special guest WILLY MASON

Sunday 4th November
Great Hall, Cardiff University
7.30pm / 14+ Show

***SOLD OUT***

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The date was October 23rd 2011, and the ever-popular Clwb Ifor Bach, Womanby Street, which has housed some of the greatest up and coming acts since 1983, and the aforementioned date October 23rd 2011 was one of these moments. It was mild Autumn night in Cardiff and SWN festival 2011 was in full flow, with the streets ladened with show goers and buzzing with anticipation, there was one show on everyone's lips, BEN HOWARD, Sunday night, Clwb Ifor Bach. It was one of those once in a life time shows, everyone knew this artist had the talent to succeed and sell many records and his popularity had risen very quickly, so with this in mind people were queuing and waiting for what seemed an eternity to try and capture this unique and intimate show... It lived up to all it's expectations! =)

It's now been over three months since SWN Festival 2011 closed it doors and it has seemed to flyby, along with the release of his debut album 'Every Kingdom' back in September, BEN HOWARD has been touring constantly and has now announced his latest U.K tour which we are truly proud to to be a part of, so the next date in your diary is Sunday 4th November 2012, this will be another show not to be missed and will come around quicker than you can say SWN presents BEN HOWARD... Hold it there, to sweeten the deal even more the support is none-other than WILLY MASON and legend himself and to get the chance to catch both artists on the same bill will leave you speechless until the year after when who knows, The Motorpoint Arena?!? =)

This is our biggest and most exciting show to date and it will be hard to keep us from mentioning this for months to come SWN presents 2012 is going to be a corker.

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Ben Howard Announces UK And Ireland Every Kingdom Tour

Ben Howard is pleased to announce details of his biggest UK and Ireland UK tour for later this year.
The new tour commences on the 2nd November at The Dome in Brighton, and concludes at London’s Brixton Academy on the 28th November, his biggest headline show to date.
Tickets will go on pre-sale from Wednesday 8th February at 9am, and then on general sale from Friday 10th February through http://tickets.benhowardmusic.co.uk/


Support for this November tour will be Willy Mason.
As previously announced, Ben’s forthcoming UK tour is completely sold out and includes two nights at London’s Shepherds Bush Empire. He then heads out to SXSW in March ahead of his debut US tour.
Ben Howard releases his new single The Wolves on the 27th February. It is taken from his debut album, Every Kingdom, out now on Island Records.

Ben Howard UK And Ireland Winter Tour:

2nd November - Brighton, The Dome
3rd November - Plymouth, Pavilions
4th November - Cardiff, University (Great Hall)
5th November - Bristol, Colston Hall
7th November - Dublin, Olympia
9th November - Belfast, Mandela Hall
10th November - Glasgow, O2 Academy
12th November - Manchester, Apollo
14th November - Leeds, O2 Academy
16th November - Newcastle, O2 Academy
17th November - Aberdeen, Music Hall
19th November - Cambridge, Corn Exchange
20th November – Lincoln, Engine Shed
21st November - Leicester, O2 Academy
22nd November - Nottingham, Rock City
24th November - Birmingham, O2 Academy
25th November - Bournemouth, O2 Academy
26th November - Southampton, Guild Hall
28th November - London, O2 Brixton Academy


www.benhowardmusic.co.uk

SWN presents BENJAMIN FRANCIS LEFTWICH

BENJAMIN FRANCIS LEFTWICH

plus support from

REN HARVIEU

FOSSIL COLLECTIVE

Mon 20th February 2012

The Globe, Cardiff7:30pm

This is a 16+ show U18s must be accompanied by an adult

****SOLD OUT****

The first thing you notice is the voice. Haunting and sublimely other-worldly, it stops you in your tracks with the gentlest of touches, proving that sometimes the intoxicating simplicity of a single voice is all you need to make an impact. With Benjamin Francis Leftwich, that hypnotic, breathy voice is the reason for it all. It exposes his soul before anyone even hears the lyrics, letting the listener in to Benjamin’s most intimate world in a way no interview or video ever could. It is the essence of his being, laid bare without regret for us to share. Not just your average singer-songwriter then.

 

SWN presents BILL WELLS & AIDAN MOFFAT

BILL WELLS AND AIDAN MOFFAT
with support from

RM HUBBERT
TENDER PREY

Thursday 29th March 2012
Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff
7.30pm
14+ show
£10 adv from |  www.swnpresents.com |

| www.seetickets.com |
| www.wegottickets.com |
| www.ticketlineuk.com |
| www.cardiffboxoffice.com |
| Bristol Ticket Shop |
| Spillers Record |

**VENUE CHANGE FROM The Globe to CLWB IFOR BACH**

**(Original Tickets Still Remain Valid)**

BILL WELLS AND AIDAN MOFFAT

Some partnerships just work, even if it takes time. Eight years in the making, the debut album by Bill Wells and Aidan Moffat is a special thing, full of gorgeous, jazz-inflected love songs fleshed out with a mixture of spoken word pieces and vocals delivered in Aidan’s distinctive rhotic singing voice.

Wells is the Scottish multi-instrumentalist, composer, leader of the Bill Wells Octet and collaborator with The Pastels, Isobel Campbell, Future Pilot AKA and many more. Moffat is a man of many projects, whether his solo material released under his full name Aidan John Moffat, his band Aidan Moffat & the Best-Ofs or, in a former life, his experimental work as L Pierre, Lucky Pierre and his long history as one half of iconic Scots duo Arab Strap.

If anyone was present at the pair's SWN Festival show back in October 2011 they'd be equally as pleased to welcome back this Scottish duo, for an much anticipated return to the Welsh capital. With a husky, deep meaningful lyrics and music to warm the cockles of your heart it's going to be a special night!