Ö÷²¥´óÐã

A few years ago, while working at , two young bucks came in to talk to me and my boss, , a music scene stalwart with an anecdote for every occasion.

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This year one of my favourite record labels, Wichita Recordings, will be celebrating its 10th anniversary. From Simian Mobile Disco through to Euros Childs, First Aid Kit, The Cribs, Conor Oberst and many many more, I've had countless amazing nights out thanks to the label, and many an evening in drenched in incredible music thanks to Wichita Recordings.

I thought it was time to pay my respects to the incredible achievement, and catch up with head honcho, and Cardiff boy, Mark Bowen, to see what the highs and lows of the past 10 years have been.

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It won't matter where I end up in life, Mold will always feel like home. I did all my most important growing up there. You know, learning how to drink and smoke; perfecting the art of bohemian shirking, and spending as much time as humanely possible in cafés and pubs talking about music.

I went to school in Mold, formed the first band I was in in Mold, played the first record I ever played on the radio in Mold.

There's more of that little market town in me than anywhere else.

And I mean "little" of geographical size, not of spirit.

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- Wash Where The Needle Has Gone

It is unfair, perhaps, to look at Alex's work in the context of a demo review. He is a very accomplished songwriter, arranger and producer whose ability earned his band (The Mountaineers) record deals with Deltasonic and Mute Records. I've talked about his solo recordings before. They're evidence that the democratisation (well, death) of the recording industry isn't necessarily a good thing.

For all of its excesses, I can't imagine the British music industry of 10 - 15 years ago ignoring a talent as compelling as Alex's, allowing him to record his askew, partially orchestral masterpieces at his own expense, with no 'real' outlet for his work (see also, amongst many others, the Spencer McGarry Season, Georgia Ruth, et al).

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Friday 23 to Sunday 25 April 2010.

It's Friday, the sunshine is glorious, and I'm sat in a hot car just by Merthyr with stinky cheese sandwiches creating quite an aroma. We've snailed our way to this point, and I know the Brecon Beacons, the countryside, and freedom are past one more roundabout.

I love escaping the city at the best of times, and to head up the A470 is familiar territory as my family still live amongst the hills of mid Wales. But this afternoon I'm heading for the inaugural Machynlleth Comedy Festival.

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The line-up for this year's Radio 1 Big Weekend has been announced, with a Welsh contingent reflecting its Bangor location.

Lostprophets, Marina And The Diamonds and Kids In Glass Houses are all playing, with more Welsh bands expected to be announced.

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Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Wales recently made a trip to Stuart Cable's rock star retreat, deep in the Welsh hills, for a chat.

The former Stereophonics drummer, now pounding the skins for heavy rockers Killing for Company, smiled for the camera and gave his views on today's musical landscape.

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This weekend sees the Sunday Times wallow in its annual celebration of mammon, as it publishes its . Topping the list of musical millionnaires under 30 are two Welsh stars, Charlotte Church and Katherine Jenkins, each with a personal fortune estimated at £11m.

The paper makes estimates based on things like record sales, airplay, merchandising and image rights, catalogue value and so on. Both Church and Jenkins are big success stories and are a couple of Wales' biggest media stars.

However, some years ago, while working at , I heard a claim that - and don't quote me on this - something like 99% of acts never make any money. On the face of it that's a shocking figure, and one's instant reaction is incredulity.

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It's no secret that male voice choirs, the musical tradition of many towns across Wales, are suffering as their members age and the younger generation become less likely to join.

But now a scheme designed to encourage young boys and men between the ages of 14 and 19 to become involved with the genre has been launched by Only Men Aloud and will be filmed by Ö÷²¥´óÐã Cymru Wales for a four-part television documentary.

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After testing new material in small venues under the name of Renegades, Feeder have announced a comeback under their own name.

Their new single, Call Out, will be released on 14 June on their own label, Big Teeth Records. It marks a return to the rocky sound of their early releases, they say.

This release marks one more band - a proper, big band - choosing to self-release their records. What's going on here?

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Best remembered for being one of the very few films starring Hammer horror staples , and (oh, and also a pre-Last Of The Summer Wine ), the 1970 film is notable for the appearance in the film and soundtrack of Cardiff's Amen Corner.

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So, the sun's out, the recession is lifting, there are lots of politicians to hoot at on TV: things aren't too bad. all things considered.

My day starts stupid early with a trip to Cob Records in Bangor for Record Store Day. I spend far too much on great music (the Soul Jazz Deutsche Elektronische Musik Volume 1 comp is flat out the best album I've bought since in 1974.) I have to leave Bangor before any of their tempting-looking in stores start (Y Niwl, in particular) because I'm DJ'ing for Race Horses and I need to prepare. A laughable notion, in retrospect. By midnight, and with two hours still to go, I was sleepwalking through a DJ set a tone deaf armadillo could have better thrown together. But less of me.

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You can hear this week's celebration of the most interesting new Welsh music via the iPlayer at the link below until next Sunday evening (25 April).

bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00s1m7h/Adam_Walton_18_04_2010/

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With the Ryder Cup taking place at Newport's Celtic Manor resort this year, Goldie Lookin' Chain have hooked up with some film students to record a video for a song titled Golf Is Coming.

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"He does not want shift work but I believe the reason for his not liking shifts is because he is a member of a vocal group which is supposedly an amateur affair." So said a dole officer of Sir Tom Jones as he started his life as a singer. But this unemployment record card and five more failed to meet their reserve price at a recent auction.

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With a small number of names still to be announced, the latest includes just three acts from Wales.

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Sir Tom Jones has had a ban from the village of Fochriw, near Caerphilly, lifted after 47 years.

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When I was about 11, I and my like-minded mates used to debate regularly as to who was the best guitarist in the world. Was it ? ? ? ? ? Or maybe ?

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The last time I saw one of Owain Ginsberg's bands play live, it wasn't the most edifying experience. It was 2005. Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Wales had decamped to Rhyl for a Big Buzz Festival. I had organised an event to coincide at Rhyl's Town Hall. were playing; was playing; - formerly Gogz - were playing.

It should have been a bill that would entertain and elevate Rhyl's music lovers and introduce them to some of the excellent sounds from just beyond their doorstep.

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Connah's Quay dance-rock duo - aka David Mitchell and Adam Hughes - are set for a TV break this weekend with an appearance on Channel 4's show.

The self-confessed "smallest band in the world" - a reference to their heights of 5' 5" - will appear on the show at 12.30am this Saturday. Evo Music Rooms is presented by Radio 1's Edith Bowman.

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The motivations behind (Saturday 17 April) are detailed elsewhere in this blog.

Cob Records in Bangor are adding to the day's celebrations by having in-store live sets from vaunted (and deservedly so) psych surf instrumentalists Y Niwl; Bethesda's Wyrligigs (launching a new album co-produced by Catatonia and Y Cyrff's Mark Roberts); and Fay Ray. The latter were a Bangor band featuring Cob's owner, Owen Hughes, who signed to WEA and released a fine debut album, Contact You, in 1981.

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For the release of their new single, For He's A Jolly Good Felon, on Visible Noise this week, Lostprophets have filmed a special, extended promo clip which features gangsters and 'felons' engaged in nefarious activities in an inner-city area.

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This week's show features an interview with Mitch from Deeside's monstrously scuzzy in advance of their appearance on Channel 4's Evo Music Rooms (this Friday morning at 12.10am, alongside Graham Coxon and Darwin Deez).

bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00s062t/Adam_Walton_11_04_2010/

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Back in 2007, Dame Shirley Bassey appeared at a sodden Glastonbury resplendent in a £50,000 Julian MacDonald pink dress and iconic diamanté Wellington boots. Now a portrait of her from that time is on display at the in London.

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Now that the Ö÷²¥´óÐã Wales power-that-be have decided that I can have my own blog account, I thought it would be good introduce myself. I'm James McLaren, an Assistant Producer here at Ö÷²¥´óÐã Wales, and I've been working on the Ö÷²¥´óÐã Wales Music website since 2006.

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North Wales trio The Joy Formidable have signed a deal with American boutique label , founded by The Passion Pit.

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This week's show features Bethesda's 9bach recorded live at Hendre Hall, Tal Y Bont last month. Their eponymous debut album (released on Gwymon last year) manages to to weave traditional Welsh folk songs into a modern context. It's as informed in the space and emotive drama of the likes of Massive Attack as it is in its source material. A phenomenal album that will stand as a touchstone for Welsh folk music for years to come.

Listen to this week's show: bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00rx9t6/Adam_Walton_04_04_2010/

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, a Newport-based singer who performs his own material and on demos for some of the world's best-known songwriters, is in the spotlight this month thanks to Skoda using his song Bluebird in an advert.

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are a treasure chest of orchestrated folkish bliss. Based in the unremarkable village of Ewloe in Flintshire, Tim and Sam have won favour all over the UK - particularly on 6 Music - with their layered - mostly acoustic - instrumentals, spinning guitar arpeggios with piano, glockenspiel, violin, clarinet, banjo and many more tonal colours besides.

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Acute laryngitis has forced Sir Tom Jones to cancel more shows on his current Asian tour.

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