Made in Wales & Coming to a turntable near you: Houdini Dax, the method, broken vinyl club, the keys

from the valley's, hills and mountains of wales, music to swing and groove to -

There seem's to be a very happening scene taking place in Wales at this moment, at the forefront of this scene is the 'see monkey do monkey' recordings. I suggest, actually strongly suggest that you check out these bands! tell them the torch sent you........................

"Superduper Supergrass blasts with lovely bendy 60’s pop bits. Most endearing." Simon Williams, Fierce Panda

Houdini Dax are Cardiff’s bulgingly exciting up and coming sensation, born from the mucky coitus of psychedelic Beatles, The Kinks and Arctic Monkeys.

Comprised of Jack Butler (guitar, vocals), David Newington (drums, backing vocals), and Owen Richards (bass, backing vocals; their arrival on the scene has already included a BBC Live Session, a wealth of airplay, forcible eviction from the C.I.A stage and a recording contract with See Monkey Do Monkey. Everything is bubbling up to an LP release in Summer 2010 and a full European tour. All this when their average age is just 18!

Citing influences, singer Jack Butler loved The Beatles as a foetus but got bored of them by the time he was 4, turning instead to Dolly Parton, Bowie and The Zombies. This diversity is further spread through the band with Bach, Can and Steely Dan being referenced obtusely in their sound.

They are fine-dined indie-rock with feelgood, head-bobby and catchy, clear lyrics, pompously embracing sixties pop as though it was their distant uncle. They are a band of tomorrow, but best of all you can see them now. Just don’t get mad when they show you how prodigious and young they are.

The ’60s ushered in the beat band movement hot on the heels of four cheeky lads from Liverpool and their Anglicisation of black American R&B and soul, the same chaps then reinvented themselves as drugged out messiahs inspiring everything in their wake and bringing psychedelia to the world. The ’70s saw white bands looking at funk and soul, reggae and jazz and by the year zero of 1976 punk allowed anyone and everyone to do what they wanted – from The Clash’s mirroring of black riots to The Damned’s unashamed admiration for late ’60s hippie-punks The MC5. A lot had happened in a short time. The early ’80s saw The Teardrop Explodes and The Specials making it up on the spot fully aware of what went before them and with a vague idea of how they wanted to sound.

But why the need for a potted musical history of the past when describing a brand new and exciting band from 2011? Do we really need this when offering you an idea of what to expect from Wales’ hottest, wildest, latest sensations? Hell yes. THE METHOD could have very well stepped into the recording studio back in 1982, and on their first full length album Dissidents & Dancers they break into your ears like angry young mods inspired by The Specials reared on their older brother’s punk 45s, dope smoking Uncle Robin’ American psych albums, perhaps old pa’s ska, soul and R&B discs… and oh yes, the neighbourly rasta’s Lee Scratch Perry collection! It’s all there (and more) with a throw-it-up-in-the-air-and-see-what-happens-when-it-lands approach.

Richie Hayes’ yearning vocal on ‘Your Humble Entertainers’ plus the song’s ‘Luicifer Sam’-like Floydian mutant surf riff and floating Farfisa certainly bring a young, acid-fried Julian Cope to mind. ‘We Don’t Know’ matches The Hives’ vitriolic garage and punk hoopla with added parping horns and mad-man Pebbles-like organ. ‘The Fool’ conversely crashes stuttering post-punk riffs into dub and the mariachi horns of Forever Changes whilst ‘Consider This Your Warning’ could just about pass for a riled Tom Waits fighting with The Monkees. Odd descriptions perhaps, but The Method genuinely play outside the boundaries.

So okay, The Coral, The Bees and The Zutons have had no problem in identifying their roots and mashing it all together either, yet there’s something decidedly edgy about The Method which make it hard to fully associate them with contemporary bands. They’re less hippy or chilled, Tropicalia-loving or Scally. And as many lose their jobs, the economy crumbles and the face of pop music continues to die there’s a lot to be angry about – just as there was in 1982.

Broken vinyl club

Hailing from the Welsh capital of Cardiff, contemporary psych-rockers The Keys are back with their signature brand of cosmic flavour to release their first full-length album, ‘Bitten By Wolves’ through See Monkey Do Monkey Recordings on May 2nd 2011.

Following the release of 2010’s mini album ‘Fire Inside’, the band have been capturing the imagination of industry and public alike, garnering praise and support from Radio 1’s Huw Stephens, Clash magazine, Metro, BBC 6 Music, Radio 2, Shindig!, Mark Lamarr and BBC Radio Wales’ Adam Walton and Bethan Elfyn.

Having risen from the ashes of the much lauded Murry The Hump – once labelled by Alex James of Blur as ‘the best new band in Britain’, counting Damien Hirst and the late Joe Strummer as fans and notching up several John Peel sessions – The Keys are a band whose musical pedigree cannot be argued with.

Drawing on a range of quality influences from Animal Collective, Captain Beefheart, Can, Spirit, The Black Keys, Frank Zappa, Panda Bear and Spiritualized, The Keys adeptly blend together the new and the old, sitting alongside the likes of Super Furry Animals, The Coral, Malachai, Tame Impala and The Bees. ‘Bitten By Wolves’ was recorded and produced by the band themselves, with frontman Matthew Evans at the helm (and a little help from El Goodo’s Pixy Jones on the haunting ‘When You’re Young’).

The Keys have also graced many a stage across the UK and are stalwarts of the Welsh live circuit, including the much-loved Swn festival. Their performance at the 2010 led to them being branded as one of the Top 5 bands you should have seen (http://yourcardiff.walesonline.co.uk/2010/10/25/top-5-bands-you-should-h...).

The band will take to the road in support of the release of ‘Bitten By Wolves’, and all dates can be found on their website http://www.thekeysmusic.co.uk/.

MEMBERS:

Matthew Evans – Guitar vocals
Gwion Ap Sion – Guitar
Jimmy Bell – Bass
Twm Champagne – Drums

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