Interviews

We talk to Chris While and Julie Matthews about their latest album ‘Who We Are’ an album that includes songs about a village decimated by the plague in the 17th century and women working in Sheffield’s steel industry during wartime. Plus guest artists: O’Hooley & Tidow, Joe Broughton, Kellie While and Kit Bailey.

With a talent partly forged in Florida and fuelled by French cinema’s New Wave Robert Chaney’s Cracked Picture Frames marks the arrival of a notable new voice on the London music scene. The album is sharp, intelligent, thoughtful and moving, as Robert sings, “I got some simple words to say,” but he says them so well, you can’t fail to be mightily impressed.

We have a video teaser from Beyond The Marches / Dros y Ffin and an update from Elan Rhys about their performance at Hoddinott Hall in the Millennium Centre, Cardiff. Their final performance is this evening at Cecil Sharp House.

Elan Rhys of Welsh band Plu updates us on Beyond The Marches / Dros y Ffin – Day Five. The live performances take place over this weekend and Monday. Try and see them if you can, they really do deserve the support for all the hard work they’ve put in.

David Gibb updates us on Day Four of Beyond The Marches / Dros y Ffin which starts off with the word ‘Rum’ and ends on ‘Rum’. Next thing you know they’ll be turning up for breakfast late in their pyjamas…Archie.

We continue our guest blog series Beyond The Marches / Dros y Ffin. Elan heads to the National Library of Wales, receives a talk from Welsh harpist Robin Huw Bowen including an insightful introduction to the triple harp before looking at some of the difficult to access archives. A perfect example of why a digital archive is needed.

As part of our ongoing coverage of Beyond The Marches / Dros y Ffin award winning song writer and story teller David Gibb shares his thoughts on Day Two. A visit to the Museum of Welsh Life in St Fagans, a lecture from Wales’ answer to Cecil Sharp, Roy Saer and you can watch them all performing Lord Randal.

In our latest Photo-Interview feature we talk to Blue Rose Code who’s busy touring before heading to the studio in May to record the next record. “Then for the next six months I’m going to sit on my arse on the beach in Bournemouth and read…and just be actually.”

As part of our ongoing coverage of Beyond The Marches / Dros y Ffin which is now underway, we have the first guest blog from Elan Rhys, the lead vocalist of folk group Plu. Day one included a performance on Radio 4’s Front Row programme and research at the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library at Cecil Sharp House.

We get the first thoughts from Elan Rhys and David Gibb on Beyond The Marches / Dros y Ffin which will be exploring and celebrating in the shared history of England and Wales. We will have more from them this week as the project progresses.

We have a special feature interview with the ingenious Thomas Traux, currently on tour in the UK. Plus a premiere of his new video ‘ I’ve Got To Know’ taken from his new album ‘Jetstream Sunset’. Try and see him live if you can, he’s quite unlike anyone else.

We catch up with Atlantan sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell, best known as Larkin Poe who are back in the UK this Summer on a huge tour. Read our in-depth interview / photo feature in which they talk about their latest album, songwriting, life on the road and their love for the UK.