a sound reaction
Dave Owens
A MEMBER of the Welsh rock aristocracy has teamed up with one of its rising stars for a stunning remix.
Manic Street Preachers’ James Dean Bradfield has collaborated with one of the most talked about bands in Wales, Adwaith, by remixing their latest single, Gartref.
Adwaith are Gwenllian, Hollie and Heledd, a young post-punk band from Carmarthen. Choosing to sing the majority of lyrics in their mother tongue, the release of their debut single, Pwysau, at the end of 2016 was a precursor to a four further releases within 18 months.
Having already played at Green Man festival, The Future is Female festival and Swn festival, next month sees them heading out on the road with Gwenno, having been selected as one of BBC Horizon’s artists for 2018.
This week they also announced their debut album, Melyn (Yellow), which will be released digitally on Libertino Records on October 12, and limited vinyl on November 23. The title was chosen by the band as the colour that signified the youthful joy of creating music that flows from their songs. It also counters the darker lyrical themes that run throughout: uncertainty, heartbreak, and the pains of growing up, leaving the certainties of childhood and stepping into the unknown adult world. Unafraid to explore a darker, moodier sonic pallet too, influences include The Velvets, Patti Smith and The Cure.
With recent backing and airplay from BBC Radio 1 DJ Huw Stephens causing the band’s quickening pulse to beat even harder, James Dean Bradfield of Manic Street Preachers, a self-obscessed fan of the band, weighed in with a remix of Gartref.
Remixed and produced by James and Loz Williams and mixed by Dave Eringa, the collaboration adds a reflective and timeless sonic sheen to a song that is already well on its way to redefining Welsh music for the next generation.
■ We may know Manic Street Preachers best as one of Wales’ most famed rock bands, but it seems it’s not only rock ‘n’ roll that fans their flames, as far as bass player Nicky Wire is concerned – art is something that fires his creativity.
This weekend Paintings and Polaroids, Nicky’s very first solo exhibition, will open at Tenby Museum and Art Gallery. It collects a series of pictures that the musician has worked on both at home in Newport and at the apartment he owns in Tenby, and at Manic Street Preachers’ studios – both their former studio Faster in Cardiff and their new residence Door to the River in Newport.
“This exhibition sees me following in a fine tradition of bass-playing artists – The Clash’s Paul Simonon, Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon and Paul McCartney,” said Nicky.
“It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time and Tenby Museum and Art Gallery really is the most perfect setting – it’s one of my favourite places to let my mind drift.”
Paintings and Polaroids – An exhibition of artworks by Nicky Wire, opens tomorrow and runs until Sunday, October 21.