Saturday, 26 January 2013

4080 Peru is aired in Bangor

The film - 4080 Peru – is aired in Bangor featuring a soundtrack composed by Mank.

4080 Peru is an experimental multimedia project created by James Ray, the industrial-rock pioneer known for his work with The Sisters of Mercy and James Ray’s Gangwar. Far from a traditional cinematic release, the project is an avant-garde soundtrack film designed to be an immersive, sensory-heavy experience rather than a narrative story. Ray famously envisioned the work as the "soundtrack to the best horror movie you’ve never seen," creating a haunting, atmospheric loop that clocks in at approximately 52 minutes. The film serves as a visual canvas for a dense "wall of sound," utilizing black-and-white, dreamlike imagery that leans heavily into dark ambient and industrial aesthetics. It features surreal motifs, most notably slow-motion footage of koi carp, ethereal ghost-like figures, and abstract nature scenes intended to evoke a sense of dread and mystery.

The musical score for the project marks a significant departure from Ray’s typical hard-edged rock roots, favouring drone-heavy, trancelike compositions built from deep electronic soundscapes and layered samples. 4080 Peru first gained notoriety through live performances in the mid-2000s, specifically at The Garage in London in February 2005, where Ray performed the music live against a massive projection to create an overwhelming auditory and physical environment. The project resurfaced years later at the Industrial #18 Festival in Cannes in 2014 and through collaborations with the 25men collective (which where Mank came in). While a physical DVD titled Empty Hearts Break was produced in limited quantities featuring the film with multiple audio tracks, it remains an extremely rare collector's item. Today, the work survives as a cult piece of underground history, with fragments and visual loops occasionally appearing on Ray's official digital channels or fan-run archives.

All things Mank on link2wales

Monday, 30 July 2012

ALBUM REVIEW - Holy Coves – Peruvian Mistake

 



Holy Coves – Peruvian Mistake
 

★★★☆☆½

Peruvian Mistake, the debut LP from Holyhead’s Holy Coves, is a confident blend of Britpop swagger, psych-tinged atmosphere, and emotionally charged indie rock. Frontman Scott Marsden leads the charge with cool vocals and a knack for crafting driving, melodic hooks.

From the opening stomp of Let’s Go to the swirling melancholy of Droner—a standout track of supreme quality—the album balances anthemic ambition with raw edge. There are definite nods to Oasis and Kasabian, but Holy Coves carve out their own space with introspective lyrics and consistently strong songwriting.

Peruvian Mistake was recently hailed by Louder Than War as having the strength of a “greatest hits” collection, and yeah, I wholly agree. It's an album packed with riffs, emotional weight, and the restless energy of a band ready to break out.


Friday, 27 July 2012

Access All Eirias 2012

 

The Access All Eirias festival featured a diverse lineup of Welsh talent, celebrating the rich musical heritage of the region.
The event was headlined by Only Boys Aloud, a Welsh male choir that gained national attention for their performances.
Supporting acts included Mike Peters, frontman of The Alarm, and Pocket Venus, an indie rock band from Conwy.
Other performers were Sophie Evans, a Welsh singer known for her appearance on Over the Rainbow, Côr Glanaethwy, a Welsh choir, and Sioned Terry, a Welsh singer-songwriter.

Monday, 20 June 2011

NEW ALBUM - Houdini Dax - You Belong To Dax Darling

 



Houdini Dax – You Belong to Dax Darling 

★★★★☆

This is their debut album - You Belong to Dax Darling, Cardiff trio Houdini Dax channel classic British pop through a modern indie lens, delivering a record bursting with energy, charm, and retro flair. Echoes of The Beatles and Supergrass ring out across fuzzy guitars, catchy hooks, and off-kilter melodies that never take themselves too seriously.

From the vibrant stomp of Robin You Lie to the whimsical bounce of Fizzy Moon, the band mix psychedelic playfulness with sharp songwriting. Their youthful confidence is matched by tight musicianship, making for a debut that feels both nostalgic and fresh.

While a few tracks veer more into mood than memorability, the album’s infectious spirit and creativity carry it through. You Belong to Dax Darling is a fizzing, feel-good ride from one of Wales’ most promising indie outfits.


Saturday, 16 April 2011

Heldinky play Cob Records, Bangor


Found this gem of a video of Bangor lounge band Heldinky playing at Cob Records on Record Store Day, with a great version of Nine Inch Nails' Piggy (Nothing Can Stop Me Now)


Monday, 23 August 2010

Yucatan release Enlli EP


(by Adam Walton - taken from BBC website as they alway take stuff from mine)
The delicate carousels of the guitar in the Enlli EP's lead track, Cur, hung on a firmament of piano notes as clear as stars in a cloudless sky, pick me up and elevate me out of the smouldering back garden, lifting me above the treetops so gently I hardly notice the lawn I was supposed to have mown yesterday evening. I can feel a breeze on my face, but it's not coming from the weather: it's the breaths of the choir that splendidly billows out the sails of the first two tracks on this EP... somewhere in amongst the ice sparkles of glockenspiel and Dilwyn's lonely voice. Dilwyn is Mr Yucatan, if Roger Hargreaves had ever thought to write a book about a humble sonic explorer.

And I swear to you: I feel cool, liberated, blown far away from the inconsequential chaff by the beautiful visions landscaped to perfection on this EP.

If it doesn't remind you of Sigur Rós' atmospherics you're being deliberately contrary. Sigur Ros' music is inspired by the Icelandic land and skyscapes. Over recent years their music has lost some of its evocative power because TV producers have bled their albums dry to bring celestial beauty and drama to snake oil TV shows that are as mysterious as con men fleecing pensioners. And Sigur Rós' unwitting (and, I believe, unwilling) omnipresence on Saturday evening ITV has weighed these once otherwordly tracks down with humdrum associations.

It's a great shame.

Back to Yucatan. In exactly the same way that the strange landscapes of Iceland permeate Sigur Rós' music, so does the dramatic geography and meteorology of Wales shape Enlli. Particularly, this EP is inspired by the 'evocative mystique' of Ynys Enlli, off the West coast peninsula of Pen Llyn.

And although the approach is similar, in some respects, to Sigur Rós: minimal orchestration, echoey grandeur, a sound to fill a night sky with bright wonders, this EP is as unique as the landscape that inspired it: no more similar to Sigur Rós than a photo of Ynys Enlli is to a photo of some weird volcanic moonscape on Iceland.

In particular, Dilwyn's voice is more grounded, less ethereal than Jonsi's. He sounds like a man awed by what he sees around him - which is resonant to me as a listener because throughout this EP I'm awed by what I'm hearing.

It's breathtaking, emotive and suffused with enough magic to turn a bad afternoon into one illuminated by marvels.

Enlli is released on Recordiau Coll on 23 August.

Sunday, 8 November 2009

2009 Gig Reviews

27.11.09 - Duncan Black @ Y Fricsan, Cwm-y-Glo

14.11.09 -
Impaled Existence, Global Parasite, Zebedy, Kickstart Kitty @ Old Hall Penrhyn Bay

13.11.09 - Aura Distorter, Tramp with a Plan, Merciless Savage, Juggling Grenades, Ugly Fashion @ Speakers, Colwyn Bay

04.11.09 - Stuntface, Wonk Unit, Hovercraft Pirates @ Dudley Arms, Rhyl

29.10.09 - Birdhouse, EllaMae Sureuf, Sona @ Caskeys, Rhyl

29.10.09 - Gallops, 4 Sticks @ Y Menai, Bangor

28.10.09 - Bad Brains @ Hard Rock Cafe, Maui, Hawaii

27.09.09 - Mafafi, Impaled Existence @ Speakers Corner, Colwyn Bay

26.09.09 - Napalm Death, Die Leitzen @ Backstage, Munich

25.09.09 - Raised By Drunks, Revenge of The Psychotronic Man @ Madocs, Colwyn Bay

04.09.09 - Drederick Tatum + Burn The Skyline + Coryphaeus @ Caskeys, Rhyl

28.08.09 - Race Horses @ Telfords Warehouse, Chester

01.08.09 - Babar Luck, Anonymous Tip, Minus Society, A War Against Sound, Gandhi’s Cookbook, The Mephs @ Madoc’s, Colwyn Bay

19/20/21.06.09 - Hellfest @ Clisson, France

11.06.09 - Ether + After An Alibi + Daniel James @ Grapevine, Rhyl

10.06.09 - Prong @ Music Box, Manchester

06.06.09 - The Shadowcops + The Stilletoes + Like I Care? @ Dudley Arms, Rhyl

25.05.09 - Subhumans, Meinhof, Refuse All, War Coma, The Rebel Conspiracy @ The Star And Garter, Manchester (and another one!)

24/25.05.09 - Hammerfest @ Pontins, Prestatyn
24.05.09 - Assert, Machinochrist, Global Parasite, Theo, Anti Virus @ The Wagon And Horse, Birmingham

22.05.09 - Global Parasite, Martha Beck, Haywire, In Her Ruin, Smokey Bastards @ The Hobbit, Southampton

22.05.09 - The Stilletoes, I Am Austin, Son Capson, Irma Vep, Endaf Presli @ Rascals, Bangor

21.05.09 - Star Fucking Hipsters, Moral Dillema, 2 Sick Monkeys, Dead Subverts @ The Star & Garter, Manchester

03.05.09 - The Specials @ Manchester Apollo

25.04.09 - Isaac Birchall @ Dudley Arms, Rhyl

22.04.09 - Stilletoes, Zebedy @ Grapevine, Rhyl

17.04.09 - Propagandhi, Random Hand, CopOut @ Sheffield Academy

13.04.09 - Palehorse @ Retro Bar, Manchester

27.03.09 - Sona, Grand Park @ Skerries, Bangor

28.02.09 - Insentia, Apogee, Bastions, The Mephs @ Rascals, Bangor

26.02.09 - Metallica @ Manchester Evening News Arena

19.02.09 - Out From Animals, Carjack Mallone, The Brakes, Trader @ Tivoli, Buckley

19.02.09 - Day Before Mortality, Vehicle Field, Slightly Generic @ M cLeans, Queensferry

16.02.09 - A Day To Remember, Azriel, Elias Last Day, For The Fallen Dreams @ Music Box, Manchester

15.02.09 - A Day To Remember, Failsafe, Honeymoon Suite @ Roadhouse, Manchester

13.02.09 - Iris 3, Valleum, Get out Clause, DeMask, Love Truncheon @ Hendre Hall, Bangor

12.02.09 - Testament, Zaprinski Connection, The Inquisition @ Academy 2, Liverpool

07.02.09 - Anti Virus, Down To Kill, Autonomads @ Dudley Arms, Rhyl

05.02.09 - Thyrd Eye, Calling Shotgun, Good Syrs @ McLeans, Queensferry

05.02.09 - Chiodos, Exit Ten, Sonny Moore @ Manchester

01.02.09 - Wolves in the Throne Room, They Are Cowards, Hammers, Stuntcock @ Star and Garter, Manchester

31.01.09 - Napalm Death, Theoktony, Nekkrosis @ The Asylum, Birmingham

30.01.09 - Extreme Noise Terror, Disorder @ Bierkeller, Bristol

15.01.09 - Video Nasties, Threatmantics, Swantonbombs @ Central Station, Wrexham

02.01.09 - Parking Non-Stop, Duncan Black, Wrightoid, Facefish, Factory Star @ Anglesey Arms, Menai Bridge