Having a browse through String Theory's Soundcloud back catalogue is unbelievably reassuring; five tracks that show a consistent ability to develop their craft, their approach and their style while maintaining a core sound that is vibrant, relentless and exhilarating.

Their most recent offering is a noticeable step up in production quality from the more garage'y demos previously released, and it's here that you see these four "millennials from Swansea" really coming into their own.

'17' is a pounding journey through adolescence and tackles the burgeoning decent into adulthood with a rather apt hypnotic quality to the weaving, repetitive guitar lines and gruelling rhythm throughout - the latter of which is beautifully captured too. Kudos to the producer - whoever they may be!

There's a sneering quality about the track that is reminiscent of their contemporaries Pretty Vicious and a toying, playful bent throughout à la 'Dookie'-era Green Day. Going off on a slight tangent, but I find something in '17' that's comforting; in much the same way I might feel when listening to tracks I've grown up with - like a big, warm musical hug...

Back on track.

Simply put; String Theory make me excited about young music coming out of Swansea.

String Theory Soundcloud | String Theory Facebook | String Theory Twitter | String Theory Instagram

Written by: Joe Bayliss

We head to Sin City this week for our featured gig of the week and what a show you're in for!! It'll be loud. It'll be rocky. It'll want to make you move. It'll make you want to bang your head. And this is largely down to the three ridiculously good bands on the bill.

Headlining the evening are Swansea legends Heavy on The Ride - if you live in Swansea & haven't heard of these guys you must be living under a rock, because these guys have a firm footprint on the music scene. For fans of Queens of the Stone Age, Mastadon, Zeppelin, Foo Fighters etc... 

Joining them on this killer night are Blackburn based band Sky Valley Mistress (who have been described as "a cacophony of rock n’ roll excellence" and local hard rockers Fallen Temples (described by Adam Walton as "Intoxicatingly melodic and genre defying".)

Tickets for the show are £4.00 - alternatively they'll be £5.00 on the door. 

The spotlight is on Creature Sound this week for our gig of the week. Presented by Welsh Connections, we're treated to a superb line up featuring News From Nowhere, Bandicoot and Hobglin.

After their amazing debut album "...and the human had half" (released in December 2016), we're looking forward to catching News From Nowhere play some new material this Thursday! Joining them is a double whammy of superb support acts.

Bandicoot (who we hear have also been cooking up some new sounds) bring their party indie/alternative vibes alongside the heavy, funky, bluesy boys from Hobgoblin. 

Tickets can be purchased from Derrick's Records, Swansea or from Welsh Connections and Creature Sound.

** UPDATE ** Statement from WonkaVision:

"Due to unforeseen circumstances, this event has been canceled I will look into ticker refunds on Skiddle now, sorry to everyone. Watch this space as we will put another party later this year."

The sun is shining & regardless of the weather there will be nothing but summer vibes at the Last Resort this Saturday. The legend that is Wonka~Vision is returning once more to Swansea and brings with him an incredible line up to the Last Resort. 

Totally Tropical Yard Party I at the Last Resort - May 2018

After the amazing success of their first Totally Tropical Yard Party they're back for round two with non-other than UK Hip Hop / Reggae / Drum & Bass / Club legends The Nextmen. And if that wasn't big enough - The Nextmen are bringing North London reggae artist Kiko Bun with them. 

Also playing during the day (which is set to be an absolute belter) is Wonka himself, Syn, Active, Jared, Swansea's own old skool legends Survival Soundsystem, Golobnaize & a whole room of music curated by the legendary Dogruff!!! 

And if that wasn't enough of a reason to buy a ticket (here) there will also be a rum shack, a Jerk BBQ, palm trees, Pina Coladas & so much more! Fancy dress is also a must!!! 

Keep up the summer vibes this Saturday!!!! Remaining tickets are currently at £7.00 - so grab em quick before they increase to £10.00 / sell out! Click here to bag yours!! 

Some bands are timeless, others burn out, creatively, like a flash in the pan. It takes something truly special to stand the test of time, and there are few, if any, acts in Swansea who have remained as vital, vibrant and relevant as The Groundnuts & Independents - they are a constant, perpetual and necessary force of nature.

The Groundnuts & Independents are Greg Fabb and Jason Williams, playing bass and guitar respectively, who share vocal duties throughout, finishing off the trio with Lee Thomas beating the skins.

They’ve a healthy (for the soul, if not for the ears) menu of releases on Bandcamp - something that always excites me, so I dove right in to Hellish Tidy with wild abandon. Hellish Tidy is a solid collection of traditional punk tunes with a few quirks that exemplify what make The Groundnuts & Independents such a lasting exponent of Swansea music.

Album (for lack of a better term - with Hellish Tidy clocking in at a metronome defying 13.82 minutes long) opener ‘Oh Shit’ lulls you into a false sense of security with it’s ‘found audio’ introduction before launching into a ferocious, musically manic audio assault that doesn’t let up throughout ‘Spread The Word’ and ‘Draw The Line’. ’Bosina No. 3’’ is perfectly timed within the collection for a small reprieve from the carnage with it’s central riff that beautifully bastardises ‘60s surf melodies before launching back in to the unflinching ‘FBR’. ‘Cock Rock’ is a modern day ‘King Rocker’ whilst ‘One Shot’’s acoustic introduction and half-time rhythms caught me off guard before launching into a solid, neatly-worked album closer that left me wanting more!

Bite size releases, perfectly penned with production that’s snappy, in no way convoluted and captures the essence of the act. Full marks from me!

The Groundnuts & Independents Facebook | The Groundnuts & Independents Bandcamp

Written by Joe Bayliss

Mozarts is the place to be this Saturday. Black Wolf Shows have curated this incredible line up of rock & punk for their all day festival By The Bay. Over 15 bands, pirate themed and a reward of a free pint if you come dressed as pirate - what's more of a reason to go!! 

Confirmed bands playing are as follows: The Murderburgers / Jake and the Jellyfish / Tim Holehouse / Crooked Little Sons / Peachfuzz / Deadlines / Ocean View Sunset / The Groundnuts & Independents / The Boneless Ones / Iron Gosling / Low Blows / Richie Smith / Jebbers / .....But Pirates? / Shy Lizard / & more... 

Tickets are £10.00 on the door and the event will also be supporting Many Tears Dog Rescue! 

Support Swansea Music & support our incredible Punk scene by getting down to Mozarts at 13:00 this Saturday! Here's a very quick teaser of just a few of the bands that will be playing:

Something a little different for our featured gig this week, but something we feel very passionate about supporting - the Swansea Hip Hop Scene. 

If someone asked me about the hip hop scene in Swansea before we started the Swansea Music Hub - I would have answered with "little to non existent", but the fact is, there is a really strong underground hip hop scene in the city that needs to be celebrated & supported by a wider audience. With acts and producers like Craze The Jack, Rufus Mufasa, Ananas, T-Rev, F Dot Xtra, Lewis Cullen & Neezo listed on our artist directory and leading the way, you immediately get a sense that our city's hip hop scene is thriving. (I'm sure there's so many more amazing acts missing here too - if so get in touch & let us know!!)

And what better way to celebrate and support it then by heading to Cinema & Co this Saturday evening! With live performances from the artists at the forefront of the scene - Rufus Mufasa & Craze The Jack, this is one night not to miss. 

Your ticket will not only provide you with live sets from these two, but there's also

• a graffiti exhibition featuring the works of Smak, Skroe, Over, Sadsak, Unity & friends
• Breakdance from B-boy 'Rickie the Spin' & friends
• a screening of STYLE WARS: THE ORIGINAL HIP HOP DOCUMENTARY (1983)

Tickets available here: 

Doors open at 19.00

**Age Restriction: 12 and up**

We're super thrilled to announce that we have curated two days worth of live music across three stages at this year's Wales Airshow. The three stages are located across the main airshow site:

Main Stage: On the front near the cenotaph

Other Stage: Near the Civic Centre

Acoustic Stage: On Oystermouth Road opposite the BayView. 

The event, which is free to attend, will see music running between 12:00 and 17:00 on both Saturday and Sunday - allow yourself enough time to make it through the crowds if you'd like to see any specific acts! 

Be sure to share your experience with us tagging us on social media (@swanseamusichub) and using the hashtag #SwanseaMusic. 

Hopefully catch you on the weekend!! 

Joe & Simon x

To make a music scene thrive, you need passionate, talented and hard working musicians. One of these musicians in Swansea is Ben Luc - and we're very lucky to have him! 

Like many of the musicians I have discovered in Swansea, I first heard Ben play in Cinema & Co, during the open mic that Horizons/Gorwelion held. I was really blown away & watched him intently - not only because of Ben's ability to create amazing soundscapes using his voice, guitar and looping pedal but also because I was thinking "man, this is the sort of music I'd make and love - and it's drenched in reverb!"

Awesome vocals & melodies, really interesting looping work and guitar playing that Jonny Greenwood would be pleased with!

All you need to do is check out Ben's most recent live EP, recorded in Creature Sound in April to see where I'm coming from:

Every time I see Ben live I'm left in awe - and it's not only his service to the music scene he provides through his own music - he's always at gigs supporting other musicians in the city and he also organises an open mic at The Last Resort on a Wednesday and is always supporting the Sonic Youth Sessions and open mic sessions at Creature Sound. 

Nice one Ben - we hope you know your hard work and passion for music in the city doesn't go unnoticed! 

Ben Luc Facebook | Ben Luc Twitter | Ben Luc Website

Written by Simon Parton

Our Swansea gig pick of the week this week this week is Static Fires' single release show at Creature Sound this Wednesday.

Static Fires are Sam Randles, Jack Clements, Thomas Gibbins & Jack Piper and are a band that have firmly stamped their name and signature heavy / alt rock sound on the music scene. This Wednesday, their next single and music video for 'Black Velvet' will be debuted on New Noise Magazine and they'll be celebrating the launch at Creature Sound alongside Wine Morals & Hobgoblin! 

This is one night of local rock music that you don't want to miss! 

With unconvoluted instrumentation and a perfectly simple approach, Ananas' four-track debut EP Cosmosus somehow creates an expansive and immersive musical experience reminiscent of certain late '90s and early '00s commercially popular EDM scene - think Play-era Moby, but less samples (and more hair) and a sprinkling of Skye Edwards'esque vocals.

This is a band that seem to have come out of left-field, with a sound and style that is entirely their own. Cosmosus is a heart-warming collection of musical musings between friends, at times deeply intimate but without any pretence.

I'm going to keep this short this week; this evening, why not pour yourself a glass of your favourite tipple, sit back, close your eyes and immerse yourself in Ananas.

Tasty.

Ananas Facebook | Ananas Twitter |  Ananas Bandcamp

Written by Joe Bayliss

"Delyth and Angharad, also known affectionately ‘DnA’ not just because of their initials, but because they are a mother and daughter duo with music literally woven through their DNA." 

And they're providing us with a very special gig of the week this week at the Mission Gallery to celebrate the launch of their new album 'Llinyn Arian'. 

"Llinyn Arian (Silver Thread) is a Welsh idiom that describes the journey of life. It is the title of this second album which celebrates family bonds and friendship, and features intimate conversations between Angharad’s fiddle and Delyth’s harp. It recalls pieces that have been the mainstay of their musical home, tunes composed together and inspired by special occasions with family and friends."

We're really looking forward to this one, it's going to be a really special evening of music, art and conversation. 

What a weekend last weekend was for Swansea the wider music scene. We've only just recovered (hence the late in the week gig feature) but across the board it was an incredible weekend for Swansea. Whilst megastars like Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Florence & the Machine & Sam Smith graced the main stage at Singleton park, the Introducing stage saw the likes of Swansea's own Rachel K Collier & Trampolene play to a huge crowd at the festival! 

For those not lucky enough to have a ticket, there was lots going on elsewhere in the city - like in Creature Sound, where the Punks 4 Mental Health Festival took place, featuring local bands like Godkilla, World Vs World, Windshake, Lost Tuesday Society, Ben Luc, King Goon and so many more. A truly special weekend for #SwanseaMusic. 

Now this is where we need to step up & keep the momentum of our music scene going. And what better way than to come party with Dream State at Sin City tomorrow night! (Also, Ed Sheeran name dropped Sin City twice on stage and twice in a backstage interview - so you know it's the place to be...)

Celebrating the release of their EP 'Recovery', Dream State play a very special homecoming show before they head to Donington Park later in the year to play Download. After that (at their current rate) we expect they'll be taking over the world. 

The band have been tipped by Radio One's own Huw Stephens & Annie Mac as well as Kerrang, Rocksound & more. I also caught them play FOCUS Wales earlier this month and was totally blown away. We really recommend this one. 

Not only that, they're joined by a top notch bunch of bands in support including Bridgend's Breathe In Silence, Cardiff based Winchester and Swansea's own I Digress. 

Tickets are £6.00 (£7.50 with booking fee) and available here. 

What a treat you're in for if you've got a ticket for this Friday's show at the Taliesin. The critically acclaimed / award winning collaboration between Welsh Harpist Catrin Find and Senegalese kora player Seckou Keita. This duo deliver a sound that is not only incredibly virtuosic but blissful, enlightening & demonstrates musicianship at the highest level. 

“Absolutely hypnotic" Guy Garvey, BBC 6 Music

"Intricate, ethereal and entrancing, an elaborate pas-de-deux... remarkable" Neil Spencer, UNCUT Magazine *****

"This, I suspect, will be remembered as one of the classic concerts of the year" Robin Denselow, The Guardian *****

For more info head here. 

Swansea University musicians are taking over Creature Sound tomorrow night as funk/folk/rock 5 piece Part Time Models host what will be a great night of live music! The grooviness of The Mahogany Men will be kicking off the night, followed by your hosts, Part Time Models, with FNKD (from Polymer) sealing the deal with a funky DJ set. 

Tickets are available here & you can support Creature Sound by checking out their share sale here.

Really exciting news as BBC Radio 1's Academy have announced what their plans are for the week leading up to the Biggest Weekend at Swansea Grand Theatre. We're also incredibly excited to announce that we're part of the week running some workshops, curating some live music and more! We'll get straight to it, it's impossible to list everything that's happening (as there's just so much going on - check out the website) so we'll give you what we're really looking forward to:

Monday 21st May - Thursday 24th May

Oh yeah, and everything is free!

• On Monday Not3s will be playing live and will then join us for a very special lyric writing workshop. 
• Greg James will be hosting a radio workshop on Monday.
• Horizons are putting on an evening of live music with Pretty Vicious, Adwaith, Bandicoot & Stella Donnely on Monday. 

• On Tuesday Marmozets play live and then join us for a special guitar workshop.
• Rachel K Collier is DJing and doing an ableton live workshop on Tuesday
• We're also hosting a 'Get Started In Music' workshop on Tuesday
• James Bay is playing live for Clara Amfo's Live Lounge on Wednesday tickets here

• High Contrast is doing a music production workshop on Wednesday 
• We host a special songwriting workshop on Wednesday 
• Sigrid is playing live on Thursday and will then join us for a second songwriting workshop on Thursday.

• Get behind the scenes with Nick Grimshaw for his Breakfast show on Thursday.
• Emily Eavis will be making an appearance to talk all things Glastonbury

And so much more. We really recommend you check out the website to find out more. See you there! 

We're back with our featured gig of the week this week, a little later than usual, as things our end have been ridiculously busy! We've been working on lots of exciting things that we can't wait to share with you! 

This week we're featuring not one, but TWO gigs of the week we highly recommend. Both mark the start of the really exciting live music events that are coming to Swansea as part of the #BiggestWeekend! Both events are FREE and take place this coming Saturday and mark the launch of the BBC Academy at the Biggest Weekend! If you come down to these gigs, you'll also get exclusive first picks for workshops, artists Q&As, exclusive gigs & more that will take place during the week leading up to the biggest weekend. We're also putting on some workshops that we can't wait to announce that you'll be able to sign up to! 

Anyway, let's get down to what's happening this Saturday. 

Huw Stephens presents: Piano Sessions

Join Huw in person as he hosts intimate, stripped down performances by some of his favourite acts featuring: Marmozets, The Amazons & MRPHY (High Contrast has unfortunately had to pull out of the lineup!). Ticket link here: http://bbcradio1sacademy.skiddletickets.com/event.php?id=13196517

BBC Introducing Gig

This is a whopper. We are incredibly excited about this one. Trust us, get your tickets for this one - it'll be a gig you go to and in a few years time, when these bands are really kicking off, you'll be able to say "I was there".  Ticket link for this one here: https://www.skiddle.com/whats-on/Swansea/The-Garage-Whitez/Abbie-McCarthy-presents-BBC-Music-Introducing-gig-/13196774/

Hosted by Introducing's own, Abby McCarthy, the lineup includes:

Monico Blonde (Cardiff)

Candelas (Llanuwchllyn

Beach Fatigue (Swansea)

Who's Molly? (Swansea)

We thought that we’d write up a quick blog post to let you know about Horizons and the great opportunity for musicians in Wales available. Today applications for the next round of Horizons 12 have opened and we seriously recommend that you apply.

If you’re a musician, over 16 and based in Wales, this is for you. Horizons/Gorwelion is a scheme delivered by BBC Cymru Wales in partnership with the Arts Council of Wales to develop new, independent contemporary music in Wales. If selected, you’ll a join line up of 12 artists in being supported and mentored by the project with the view of reaching new audiences in Wales, the UK and beyond.

This includes providing promotional and performance opportunities for the artists selected. In the past Horizons have been showcased at the following festivals: Glastonbury, The Great Escape, Festival No.6, Swn, The Swansea Fringe, Eurosonic, SXSW and have even performed sessions at the legendary Maida Vale Studios!

Trust us. If you’re a musician and you’re over 16 and you live in Wales – APPLY!!! It’s such a fantastic opportunity and you could be in with a shout! It’d be great to hear from the Horizons team that lots of Swansea acts have applied – there’s a lot of you doing really great things!

And if you apply and you’re unsuccessful don’t be disheartened! Know that your application was looked at by an experienced panel and strongly considered – and then try again!! Out of the hundred of applications that Horizons get, only 12 are selected, but as a scheme they’re always supporting and shouting about other Welsh talent throughout the year!

Here’s a link to the application page

And to finish, here are some of our favourite artists that have previously been selected for the Horizons 12 in previous years:

Afro Cluster (2016)

Aled Rheon (2015)

Climbing Trees (2014)

Casi (2014)

Mellt (2015)

We’re No Heroes (2016)

Roughion (2016)

& so many more!

Horizons Website | Horizons Facebook | Horizons Twitter | Horizons YouTube

Rachel K Collier has been absolutely smashing it over the last year with appearances at SXSW (Texas), Koko in London, BBC Introducing in Amsterdam, We Are Robots Festival (Berlin) & more – and this has all been since she played Swansea in September 2017 on the Horizons stage at the Swansea Fringe Festival.

Rachel is somewhat of a phenomenon – she’s not only a totally badass producer, but the tunes she makes are absolute bangers. If you don’t believe me, check out Rust, Paper Tiger or her latest single Darkshade. And to top it all off, her ability to perform these tunes live is outstanding, demonstrating her production skills on stage with her incredible set up.

I was running a workshop in an all girls school last year and one of the students said to me “why does everyone say that girls can’t do music tech - it’s only for boys!”. I thought to myself, this is the perfect opportunity to show and tell these girls about Rachel. I showed them a live video of Rust live from the Swansea Fringe and all of them were instantly inspired. “Oh my god she’s amazing!” “I want to be like her, that is so so cool.”

Rachel is an incredible role model for these young girls young people in a world dominated by small minded people that say “women can’t do that, that’s a man’s job”.

We’re incredibly proud to say that Rachel is from Swansea. She’s representing our city’s potential for talent on the world stage and is destined for incredible things.

Rachel's Facebook | Rachel's Twitter | Rachel's Instagram | Rachel's YouTube | Rachel's Soundcloud

Written by Simon Parton

The best thing about starting the Swansea Music Hub has been discovering so many different artists doing such high quality stuff in Swansea. Every week we're discovering new artists in so many different styles and it's so encouraging and exciting to see so many live shows showcasing this throughout the city. 

What's also incredibly encouraging is that the number of gigs we want to get to seem to be multiplying at an incredible rate & it's becoming increasingly more difficult to pick one to feature as our gig of the week! 

Quite often, when we (Simon & Joe) discover something or someone new, we seem to have some weird telepathic link and we'll both message each other saying "have you heard or seen this!?". One of these artists that got both of us talking was Lifting Gear Engineer and when we saw that he was doing a live show this week in Mozarts we were both very excited. 

With electronic music of the highest calibre, Lifting Gear Engineer (aka Rob Morgan) will be showcasing his new glitchy electronic tunes including some from his forthcoming album out on Machine Records. 

Joining him is Fel Y Boi aka Aled from Salvador Sanchez who will be playing "Songs from the edges". Doors open at 7:30 / £4.00 entry.