Focus Mode
For anyone who is unfamiliar with Focus Wales, it’s essentially the Welsh SXSW (without the tech bits), hosting delegates from around the world and showcasing lots of great music, with obviously a heavy leaning towards artists from Wales. As well as providing a platform for the necessary Rock & Indie artists that provide the main cultural make up of the country, it also hosts the biggest line up of Welsh MOBO music you’ll find anywhere, really proving what an important part black music has to play in the Wales both currently and in the future.
All this happens up North in Wrexham, a relatively unassuming town who are having something of a renaissance period thanks to both the conference and the ‘Welcome To Wrexham’ Disney Channel show which follows the exploits of Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney as they take over the city’s football team (the third oldest in the world). With their recent promotion to the EFL, it all seems to be going rather well for them and has certainly meant some extra eyes on the place as a whole.
As much as I’d love to give you a full breakdown of what’s happening over the weekend, I shall instead signpost you to this week’s excellent Larynx Lowdown radio show on Calon FM where Dave Acton does just that. I’m going to concentrate on the artists performing Friday night at Penny Black as part of the annual Kaptin Selects showcase. If you’re in town, please do come along!
4Dee
I wrote about 4Dee a couple of years ago here, when he had just dropped his debut solo album. Now he’s ready to go with album number 3 and has just dropped an emotional new single called Broken Britain with long time partner in crime and South Wales stalwart Joe Blow, and UK hip hop legend and Road Rap pioneer Skinnyman. 4Dee is no new kid on the block though, there’s a reason his label is called Veteran Records, he’s been an integral part of the scene since the very beginning.
It’s not been an easy ride for 4Dee and his heartfelt lyrics come straight from the frontline, but his dedication to the craft is inspiring and he’s currently more fired up and focussed then he’s been in years so you’re in for a treat when you come and see him live. Check out the latest single below.
Mercy Rose
The Cardiff combination of Mercy Jane and Hope Rose, who I’ve known since the early Astroid Boys days as she was part of the wider crew. Still relatively new having dropped their debut EP last year, which introduced us all to their melancholy neo soul style, with stories about love, loss and leaves of green. Their music appeals across the generations, as highlighted by support slots for the likes of 90s hip hop legends Souls Of Mischief, and Oscar #Worldpeace, who is very much in the current crop of exciting UK rappers. Take a listen to their track DBL UP to get a taster.
Unity, Samhain & Ostara Days
Unity is a true hip hop allrounder: graf artist; breaker; and rapper (almost certainly DJs too). She’s also one of the people who set up the all female collective Ladies Of Rage. A regular at Focus Wales, her sets always go down well. This latest project is a little different as married couple Ostara Days and Samhain bring elements of folk and (I think) dnb, with a darker edge to play off Unity’s more positive approach. To be honest this is a new project to me and I might have got some of that wrong, but I caught a little video that I enjoyed and the whole project sounded exciting. I’m looking forwards to catching the whole thing live. There’s no recorded material out there that I’m aware of, but here’s a recent track from Unity with Eadyth and Mali Haf (who is also performing at the conference this year).
Juice Menace
One of the most recognisable faces of Welsh rap music, the soundtrack to the World Cup with her FA Wales track for the Welsh Women’s Team and a regular on Spotify’s New Music Friday. Okay strictly speaking she’s the headliner of the night running up to Kaptin Selects but I’m going to claim her as my opening act! Either way she’s not to be missed. Here’s her latest hip-house track which is an absolute banger.
All of the above are performing from 10:20pm til midnight, this Friday at Penny Blacks in Wrexham. Hopefully see you there, and make sure you come back to the blog tomorrow so I can explain why Xenith should 100% be on your schedule over the weekend.
