This week's show is now available via the iPlayer. Please visit the link any time between now and the start of the next programme.

Contained therein are multifold sonic wonders from all over Wales... with a tiny sprinkle of stuff from elsewhere.

There are debut plays for Revoker (ferocious, unironic metal from the the Rhymney Valley), Beth Frazer (prodigious talent & a luminous voice from Llanfachraeth), Kevin & the Critics (brooding, propulsive guitars ringing out of Prestatyn) and My Name Is Ian (quixotic, original songwriting from somewhere in South Wales).

Elsewhere Huw Williams treats us to a blinder from Welsh music's past in the 7" shape of Chuck Bedford's 'Ray of Sunshine' (on Monmouth's Rockfield Records).

Benjamin Hayes gets all inspirational and misty-eyed for Mr Bloe.

We have something stunning that mangles Amy Winehouse from Ifan Dafydd (first track - outstanding, I promise you); a tantalising sample from zWolf's brand new mix; the folkish future bass of Under Alien Skies' brand new EP in its entirety... so, so much great music.

Feel free to share the iPlayer link with whoever you see fit. It will enrich their lives. There is such a wide variety of fascinating music being made in Wales at the moment, hosting this programme is like sitting atop a seething volcano. Something like that, anyway.

New recordings/demos/recommendations/gig info & verbals to themysterytour@gmail.com

A high quality .mp3 or download link of your best track with a short biography I'll try not to lose along the way.

Have an excellent music filled week!

Many thanks for listening / diolch yn fawr am gwrando.

Adam

IFAN DAFYDD - 'No Good'
Llanrug

HOLDEN - 'Lump'
Exeter

L.A. CARNIVAL - 'Blind Man'
Omaha

GONJASUFI - 'Love Of Reign (zwolf Remix)'
San Diego

MUDMOWTH & METABEATS - 'Ghost (radio Edit)'
Cardiff

REVOKER - 'Stay Down (clean Version)'
Rhymney Valley

SKINDRED - 'Bruizes (session Version)'
Newport

KORELESS - 'Up Down Up Down'
Bangor

CY & COLAK - 'Beyond The Krakpipe'
Wrexham

SATURDAY'S KIDS - 'Whisper In My Ear'
Cardiff

Y NIWL - 'Undegpedwar'
Gwynedd

LLEUWEN - 'Cawell Fach Y Galon'
Bangor

ELFLAND ENSEMBLE FEATURING MARY HOPKIN - 'Lirazel'
Pontardawe

UNDER ALIEN SKIES - 'To Part To'
Prestatyn

UNDER ALIEN SKIES - 'Takewon'
Prestatyn

UNDER ALIEN SKIES - 'Be Better'
Prestatyn

UNDER ALIEN SKIES - 'Ritethru'
Prestatyn

CHUCK BEDFORD - 'Ray Of Sunshine'
Monmouth Label

THORUN - 'Look Mom! I Made A Death Machine'
Caerphilly

PLYCI - 'Kill The Mc'
Rhyl

BETH FRAZER - 'Painted Footsteps'
Llanfachraeth

JON LANGFORD & SKULL ORCHARD - 'Pieces Of The Past'
Newport

GRINDERMAN - 'Palaces Of Montezuma'
London

CASKADE - 'Devastation'
Cardiff

METHOD, THE - 'We Don't Know'
Cardiff

MILK, THE - 'Dynamite'
Essex

BANDO - 'Space Invaders'
Wales

RATCATCHER VS LOKIBOI - 'Untitled'
Cardiff

FRIENDS ELECTRIC - 'Something You Should Know'
Neath

TRWBADOR - 'Off Beat'
Camarthen / Cardiff

TAKK FOR ALT - 'I'm Not That Young'
Unknown.

TACSI - 'Drive'
Bangor

RHIAN BENSON - 'Better Without You'
Bridgend

WOLF CURSE - 'Heathens Beneath Our Feet'
Newport

SOUNDHOG - 'A Witty Title Involving Rockets & Losing Sleep [goldfrapp V Edwyn Collins]'
Ruthin

FFRANCONSTEIN - 'Ffranconstein'
Bethesda

FFRANCONSTEIN - 'Beauty'
Bethesda

VOLUNTARY BUTLER SCHEME, THE - 'To The Height Of A Frisbee (dan Le Sac Remix)'
Midlands / Cardiff

SOLUTIONS - 'Ghost Writers'
Cardiff

GENTLE GOOD, THE - 'Colled (feat. Cate Le Bon)'
Cardiff

OK! - 'Lego'
Pembrokeshire

MR BLOE - 'Curried Soul'
Unknown.

LUCKY DELUCCI - 'Bright Beams Of Light'
Cardiff

KEVIN AND THE CRITICS - 'Dirty Ramona'
Prestatyn

GRUFF RHYS - 'Take A Sentence'
Bethesda

MY NAME IS IAN - 'Give It A Year'
Cardiff

REVOLUTIONARY SPIRIT, THE - 'Water In My Hands'
Wrexham

PULCO - 'Night Owls'
Bangor

With a very special pair of programmes this week (Max Boyce: The Road To Treorchy, Monday 28 February, 8.30pm and Live At Treorchy.... Again, Tuesday 1 March, 9pm, both on BBC One Wales), producer Carolyn Hitt looks back at the man and the classic album.

Max Boyce

When Live At Treorchy was released in 1974 nobody - least of all Max Boyce himself - could have predicted that four decades later many of its songs would still be sung not just in Wales but across the world.

The album turned an unknown singer, comedian and factory worker from Glynneath into an international star, launching a career spanning 40 years and two million record sales.

Recorded in Treorchy Rugby Club in the Rhondda on 23 November 1973, this collection of comedy, poetry and song astonished the music industry by staying in the album charts for 38 weeks, turning gold and attracting fans from Murrayfield to Melbourne.

Max Boyce

Max Boyce: The Road to Treorchy tells the remarkable story of the album that changed Max Boyce's life and reflected a changing Wales, where success on the rugby field was a welcome distraction from the decline of heavy industry. Max reflected the laughter and sadness of close-knit communities adapting to this new world - a world where King Coal was dying but at least Barry John was King.

The documentary also explores how Live At Treorchy still stands as a vivid icon of Wales and Welsh identity - captured forever in nine unforgettable tracks. They range from raucous rugby songs like The Scottish Trip, which celebrated the adventures of Welsh fans on tour, to the surreal comedy of The Ballad of Morgan the Moon and the mythical musings of The Outside Half Factory.

But there are songs of pathos, poignancy and powerful social comment too, like Did You Understand, written during the Miners' Strike of 1972, and Duw It's Hard which presents a pretty subversive take on the collapse of the coal industry.

Max - the son of a collier who died a month before he was born - wonders if the end of coal is a good thing, given the pain it has inflicted on those who hacked it out of the ground. And the lyric "The pithead baths are supermarkets now" summarises Welsh industrial decline more neatly than any historian.

Every album has its greatest hit of course. Live At Treorchy's has to be Hymns & Arias, the hilarious tale of a weekend in 'Twickers' which is now sung wherever rugby is played all over the world. Yet back in 1973 this people's anthem was barely known to an audience of Treorchy locals, many of whom had to be coerced into coming.

Indeed Live At Treorchy's success is all the more amazing given the low-key build up to its recording. Max had signed a two-album contract after EMI record producer Bob Barratt spotted him stealing the show as Ken Dodd's support act at the Brangwyn Hall in Swansea. The deal was sealed on the coastal path overlooking Langland Bay following a lunch at the nearby golf club.

But without an agent, manager or any kind of promotional backing, Max had to make all his own arrangements to stage the recording.

In later years many fans would claim "I Was There" when Max Boyce recorded Live At Treorchy but at the time he wasn't exactly a hot ticket. "We couldn't sell the tickets because they hadn't heard of me, "Max recalls. "And they were only 50p. We ended up giving them away. A friend of mine went round the pubs asking people to come and see this boy from Glynneath who needed an audience to make a record. They came because they almost felt sorry for me so it was remarkable really!"

Among those persuaded to attend were members of the world-famous Treorchy Male Voice Choir, providing Max with unofficial backing singers for the rousing choruses of his songs. Players from Treorchy RFC saved the day by borrowing a piano from the nearby Polikoff's clothing factory and wheeling it to the club - putting a brick under it when it wobbled. The late broadcaster and raconteur Alun Williams was the compère while popular Welsh folk group Triban were the support act.

"Max burst into the room like an explosion that night," remembers Triban singer Caryl Owens. "The atmosphere was electric."

Music industry giants EMI sent a three-strong team to record the album, including Abbey Road sound engineer Phil Hancock, who recalls how he set up the mixing desk in the club changing rooms and found a welcome in the hillsides. "I arrived at 10.00am in the morning and was immediately given a pint," he laughs.

Max Boyce

Phil, who recorded with Pink Floyd and Paul McCartney's Wings that same week as his trip to Treorchy, could see Max was destined for greater things. "We'd never heard of this guy with the leek and the Oggie, Oggie, Oggies but it was obvious he would go far. The audience loved him."

The people of Treorchy helped Max's material come alive. Every song buzzed with the humour and energy of those who could say "I Was There". The record captured this magical atmosphere - so much so that those who listened to it for years afterwards felt they were there too.

After a quick mix at the Abbey Road studios, all Live At Treorchy needed now was an eye-catching album cover. Max arranged an ad hoc shoot in a photographic studio in Mumbles, mocked up to look like a pub with a couple of his friends posing as drinkers. "And for some reason I wore my Uncle's mac," he remembers ruefully, a wardrobe choice he regrets to this day.

A word-of-mouth sensation, Live At Treorchy may have relied on Welsh humour and pathos for its content but it struck a chord across Britain, selling by the box-load. It brought Max a gold disc plus the courage to give up the day job and concentrate on a career in showbiz, setting him on a path that would lead all the way from a Rhondda rugby club to Sydney Opera House.

His follow up album - We All Had Doctor's Papers - became the first and only comedy LP to top the UK album charts, reaching number one in the summer of 1975 ahead of Pink Floyd, Wings, Elton John and Rod Stewart.

Hymns & Arias seeped into the public consciousness. Max recalls the thrill of hearing it taken up by the Arms Park crowd for the first time: "I was being interviewed by Frank Bough on Grandstand in front of the North Enclosure for the Wales v England game. I'd bought a very expensive suede fur coat with a big fur collar to wear on the programme. The crowd recognised me and began to sing Hymns & Arias. After the interview I ran round to the BBC van and telephoned home. 'Mam did you see Grandstand and hear the singing?'

'Yes,' she replied.

What did you think of it?' I asked excitedly.

'Oh!' she said, 'Your coat looked lovely'.

If Hymns & Arias has become a second Welsh anthem, Live At Treorchy has become an icon of Welsh popular culture. In the documentary, fans ranging from broadcaster Huw Edwards, actor Steffan Rhodri and comedian Jasper Carrott to rugby legend Gareth Edwards and members of the current Welsh rugby team describe what it means to them. And in the words of historian Martin Johnes: "Live At Treorchy is as important to an understanding of Welshness as anything Dylan Thomas or Saunders Lewis wrote." For Max himself, the album captures one of the best nights of his life: "It was a very special evening, a magical evening - and the audience were every bit as important as I was."

Sir Anthony Hopkins will showcase some of his work as a classical composer at an exclusive concert this summer in Cardiff's St David's Hall.

Read the BBC Wales News story.

He will present several of his original scores, including music from his own movies August and Slipstream, plus a brand new piece written for the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO).

The orchestra, conducted by Michael Seal, will also play music from some of the actor's best-known movies, including Shadowlands, Remains Of The Day and Silence Of The Lambs.

Sir Anthony said: "I am immensely happy to be working with the CBSO to bring my compositions to the UK for the first time.

"There are themes and passages in these pieces that have been several decades in the making and to bring them all vividly to life with one of the great symphony orchestras of the world is absolutely thrilling."

The Blackout have put the finishing touches to a new record deal that, while not ground-breaking, is certainly an unusual way of getting music out there, and could provide a model for more deals in the future.

The Blackout

Cooking Vinyl will release Hope, the band's third album, on 4 April, having licensed the record directly from the band. The recording costs of the album were accrued through the PledgeMusic scheme.

The deal is worldwide, and the famous indie label is excited by the prospect of working with the Merthyr Tydfil band. Rob Collins, Cooking Vinyl's director, said the band had so much potential, "it's frightening".

Craig Jennings of Raw Power Management said: "We are really excited to be working with Cooking Vinyl, and the early signs are that this is going to be the perfect marriage. The job they did internationally on The Prodigy was inspirational and we also look forward to building the band with the label on a worldwide basis".

Depending on the success of Hope, there are options in place for further albums to be released by The Blackout on Cooking Vinyl.

Deals like this will, I think, become more and more common as the traditional artist-label relationship becomes less accessible. Labels are becoming more conservative and less eager to risk unproven new artists, running large rosters and spreading their resources thinly.

Instead of investing in an artist, paying for recording, promotion, distribution and so on, putting the artist out there and waiting for record sales and other royalties to come back, a label like Cooking Vinyl can through this kind of licensing deal, minimise risk but add their own expertise to the artist's work. Hope already exists courtesy of PledgeMusic and the devoted fanbase The Blackout have, but the band on their own would not be able to maximise the potential of that body of work.

Co-operative deals in which both parties have a more equitable stake in the success of an artistic endeavour could be a model which we see more and more in the future.

Alison Wenham, chief executive of The Association of Independent Music, says: "We will see more of these types of deals happening in the future, most definitely. The model itself is not new; artists have for many years found alternative ways to records their music, either through friends, family or external funding.

"But of course getting to markets around the world requires a very different skill-set, which is where record companies' core expertise lies. I am pleased that there are now more imaginative ways to find funding using technological platforms such as the internet. The process of raising the funds helps to create the buzz, when it comes to something like PledgeMusic."

Do you think the conventional way of signing deals is breaking down? Feel free to comment! If you want to have your say, on this or any other BBC blog, you will need to sign in to your BBC iD account. If you don't have a BBC iD account, you can register here - it'll allow you to contribute to a range of BBC sites and services using a single login.

Need some assistance? Read about BBC iD, or get some help with registering.

Godfather of the Welsh underground, Alan Holmes, introduces us to the multifold, avant-garde delights of the Fflint Central record label. A label that's experimental wonders have beguiled and befuddled folk all over the world, whilst hardly registering on the Welsh media map. Me included. This is a first, tiny step to make amends for that short-sightedness.

Ben Hayes, the tweedy man occasionally known as Soundhog, inspires us with some of George Martin's orchestral compositions.

Lara Catrin translates something emotive in quavering falsetto from Meilir.

And we have provocative and excellent music from all over Wales, including first time plays for Wolf Curse, Jamie Anderson & Owain K, And The Machine Screamed, Big Stick, After An Alibi, YTU13 and Pale Sketcher (& Jesu).

Please send demos to as high quality .mp3s/download links to themysterytour@gmail.com

Or post 'em:

Adam Walton, BBC Radio Wales, Library & Arts Centre, Rhosddu Road, Wrexham, LL11 1AU

Thank you/diolch yn fawr,

Have an excellent music filled week,

Adam

POOH STICKS, THE - 'Young People'
Swansea

SATURDAY'S KIDS - 'Whisper In My Ear'
Cardiff

KORELESS - 'Up Down Up Down'
Bangor

FRIENDS ELECTRIC - 'Something You Should Know'
Neath

BASTIONS - 'Visitant'
Angelsey

GRUFF RHYS - 'Patterns Of Power'
Bethesda

SHY AND THE FIGHT - 'Dream'
Chester/Llangollen

DATBLYGU - 'Pop Peth'
Cardigan

MCLUSKY - 'Without MSG I Am Nothing'
Cardiff

STRANGE NEWS FROM ANOTHER STAR - 'I Am Weatherproof'
Cardiff

SOLUTIONS - 'Young Loins'
Cardiff

ANIKA - 'Masters Of War'
Bristol

WOLF CURSE - 'Steady Walking'
Newport

JAMIE ANDERSON & OWAIN K - 'Airwalk'
Cardiff

ASTROID BOYS - 'Roundabout'
Cardiff

OPTIMAS PRIME - 'Goodgurgerelief'
Cardiff

LLEUWEN - 'Lle Wyt Ti Heno Iesu Grist?'
Bangor

HIGH LLAMAS, THE - 'Checking In, Checking Out'
Cork/London

SPENCER MCGARRY SEASON - 'The Pessimist Light'
Cardiff/Aberdare

AND THE MACHINE SCREAMED - 'Nightmares'
Pembrokeshire

BIGSTICK - 'Gypsy Glitch'
Cardiff

GREEN LINES - 'St Annes'
Pembrokeshire

SHY AND THE FIGHT - 'Hear The Sea'
Chester/Llangollen

BERKOWITZ, LAKE AND DAHMER - 'Fluids For Dark Pleasures'
Flint

PLYCI - 'Kill The Mc'
Rhyl

AFTER AN ALIBI - 'The End'
Bangor/Cardiff

ESOTERRA - 'When Time Stands Still'
Cardiff

YTU13 - 'Moment 4 Life (remix)'
Newport

MUDMOWTH & METABEATS - 'Let It Breathe (radio Edit)'
Cardiff

ATTACK! ATTACK! - 'Blood On My Hands'
Cardiff

SOLUTIONS - 'Ghost Writers'
Cardiff

JESU - 'Lifeline'
Abergele

PALE SKETCHER - 'Seventh Heaven'
Abergele

WOLF CURSE - 'Heathens Beneath Our Feet'
Newport

GRAVEYARD JOHNNYS - 'Cheylene'
Chepstow

DR PHIBES AND THE HOUSE OF WAX EQUATIONS - 'Sugarblast'
Deeside

FALLS - 'Terrorf*ckingdactyl'
Deeside

GEORGE MARTIN AND HIS ORCHESTRA - 'Elephants And Castles'
London

SHY AND THE FIGHT - 'As For Tonight'
Chester/Llangollen

VOLUNTARY BUTLER SCHEME, THE - 'At The Height Of A Frisbee (featuring Sweet Baboo)'
Midlands/Cardiff

MEILIR - 'Tawel Yw'r Nos'
Brynford

EMMY'S UNICORN - 'Call Out [live Version]'
Swansea

GRUFF RHYS - 'Space Dust #2'
Bethesda

Playing Cardiff's enormodome with mass-market punk-rockers-turned-arena-pomp-troubadours My Chemical Romance, Merthyr's The Blackout look every bit the part as crowd-controlling, stage-prowling rawk dudes.

Sean Smith of The Blackout

They've always been a party band and tonight's it's their biggest shindig to date, playing to thousands of (mainly) teenage fans who afford them a rapturous reception. Dual frontmen Sean Smith and Gavin Butler have an easy manner and not a hint of nerves as they rattle off a nine-song set.

Gavin Butler of The Blackout

Playing the comic, sweary local lad to the hilt, Smith commands the audience to kneel, jump, shout and scream at will, knowing full well that an enthusiastic crowd will do the call-and-response thing with no sense of the ridiculous. It's a smaller, cheekier version of Live Aid's Radio Ga Ga handclaps.

The Blackout

STFUppercut is a great choice of opener, with its intense screamy energy and big riff, lots of trademark 'whooos' and good hook. They follow it swiftly with recent single Ambition Is Critical, which is about as close as they've ever sailed to the Lostprophets sound. Along with Higher And Higher, which appears later in the set, it bodes well for their third LP, Hope, in April this year.

Sean Smith of The Blackout

Spread Legs Not Lies is a little flat but as ever It's High Tide Baby is a gargantuan monolith of a single that has a crowd singalong born out of familiarity - it's a homegrown UK rock single that's as cheesy and tuneful as anything Bon Jovi rustled up. Sean again leads the crowd in a whoo-ooo-ing participation with Save Our Selves then Children Of The Night, for all its kinetic fury, is lost in the CIA's sonic fug.

Gavin Butler of The Blackout

They end with one of their earliest, most abrasive songs, I'm A Riot? (Fill the rest of the rest of the title in here kids, we're not allowed to.) It's a barnstorming set closer that has the crowd getting as close as they do tonight to a mass-participation mosh.

The Blackout crowd

These nine tracks demonstrate that The Blackout are not simply a small, sweaty toilet venue band. They can deal out the big hooks that arenas necessitate, and they can put on a genuine show. Smith and Butler are the Valleys Metal Morecambe and Wise - comic and straight man. They understand the entertainment element of their work, and tonight they play a blinder.

Photos by James McLaren. For more photos of The Blackout, visit the BBC Wales Music Flickr group.

Feel free to comment! If you want to have your say, on this or any other BBC blog, you will need to sign in to your BBC iD account. If you don't have a BBC iD account, you can register here - it'll allow you to contribute to a range of BBC sites and services using a single login.

Need some assistance? Read about BBC iD, or get some help with registering.

Cardiff-based dance music journalist Joanna Louise Ranson takes a look at the drum and bass scene that's concentrated around the Cardiff area.

"Wales has never been regarded as a great place for drum and bass but it's becoming a key player in the development of electronic music in the UK. It would be impossible to talk about the genre in the country without mentioning Penarth's High Contrast, Wales' biggest export in the genre, who single-handedly put Welsh drum and bass on the map with his debut album, True Colours, in 2002. His five albums have showed continued inspiration.

High Contrast

"Several years after High Contrast laid the foundations, dubstep/drum and bass producer Lung's releases on Kokeshi and Hospital Records' sister label Med School have reinforced the Welsh position and proved that the success and talent of High Contrast wasn't a one off.

Lung by Mike Deere Photography

"Although it's still a long way from the notoriety and cult status of Bristol and London as central hubs of all things drum and bass, Cardiff is cutting its teeth with promoters such as Aperture and Frequency Domain booking big names and giving local residents a chance to promote themselves and their music with supporting slots. With Hospitality touching down earlier this month, and Valve and Bedlam frequently passing through, the quality of the music reaching Wales' capital is continuously improving.

"The Aperture night at Clwb Ifor Bach in Cardiff runs fortnightly events, providing quality drum and bass from local artists and some of the biggest names in the industry, such as Danny Byrd, Netsky, Commix, Instra:mental, Calyx and Teebee as well as High Contrast, who have all graced the decks in recent months.

"Working closely with the drum and bass community and other promoters in the city, Aperture was pioneered by Dave Shaw just over five years ago, with the intention of creating a regular night that offered quality music at a fair price and gave support to up-and-coming artists. Shaw was also responsible for bringing Hospitality out of London to Cardiff eight years ago, where it was held at the old Moloko's venue on Mill Lane. Leaning towards the more techy and liquid side of the genre with elements of heavy and dark, it remains one of the most popular nights in the city.

"Two of the most important producers in Cardiff currently are undeniably Undersound and Sub:Stance, both very different in their musical creativity but sharing the common ideal of producing high quality and original music.

Undersound by Mike Deere Photography

"Undersound, a classically trained musical prodigy, turned his hand to producing drum and bass in 2007 after providing some of the piano and guitar parts on High Contrast's Tough Guys Don't Dance album. With over 60 releases under his belt and support from BBC 1Xtra, Kool FM and Kiss FM to name but a few, his instrumental talents translate beautifully to electronic music production.

"Sub:Stance is a self-taught producer whose rolling beats and dark melodies have received critical acclaim and have led to signings on Extent Records and Black Reign Ltd. His residency at Aperture has seen him play his home-grown dubplates to appreciative crowds, demonstrating his tunes can destroy the dance floor just as well as the main contenders.

"Frequency Domain is run by Cardiffian Benny Blonko, a talented drum and bass DJ in his own right. He is responsible for bringing the heavier sub-genres of the style to Cardiff with names such as Original Sin, Majistrate, Sly and Nicky Blackmarket. He will be championing the legendary Andy C and DJ Hype when the first ever Welsh RAM happens in April this year. Taking over the Millennium Music Hall in the city centre, Frequency Domain provides heavy beats for those who like their drum and bass a little filthier than what Aperture offers."

Do you have a favourite Welsh drum and bass artist, DJ or event? Feel free to comment! If you want to have your say, on this or any other BBC blog, you will need to sign in to your BBC iD account. If you don't have a BBC iD account, you can register here - it'll allow you to contribute to a range of BBC sites and services using a single login.

Need some assistance? Read about BBC iD, or get some help with registering.

It is being reported that Duffy is quitting the music industry, following disappointing sales of her last album Endlessly.

Duffy

The Daily Mirror reports a 'pal' of the singer saying: "She's really down about the last album, Endlessly. It didn't sell well and charted terribly and she isn't trying again and making a comeback.

"She wants to have a quiet life and start over. Duffy made a truckload of cash with the first album and through her endorsements with Diet Coke, so she's comfortable and able to enjoy some down-time. She's not got management right now and has met a few people about taking over. But she's just not interested."

Her first album, Rockferry, sold over eight million copies and was the top international seller of 2008, but Endlessly, released last year and co-written with Albert Hammond Sr, has sold very poorly. In the interim, she separated from her original management team and the songwriters who brought her to wide attention, including Suede's Bernard Butler and 60ft Dolls' Richard Parfitt.

Famous record label Decca Classics has teamed up with Cardiff-based Boomerang+ for three audition days this week, to find new voices in the classical crossover world.

In Cardiff and Caernarfon the company will be in auditioning 200 people who have submitted demo uploads to the A Voice For Wales website. Mark Wilkinson, managing director of Decca, told the Western Mail: "We've had an amazing response and are looking forward to hearing over 200 really promising, exciting singers during our three days in Wales."

Tom Lewis, head of A&R at Decca, said: "I'm sure that many of those we've invited for auditions are already familiar faces and voices in Wales, but they are as yet unknown to the rest of the world. I'm also told that there's at least one very familiar face that the Welsh public will definitely know - but necessarily for their singing."

We'll keep up to date with developments as they become available.

Legendary Welsh band Manic Street Preachers return to perform in their hometown of Blackwood for the first time in over 25 years.

Watch the programme on Monday 21 February, 10.35pm on BBC One Wales.

This intimate gig at the historic Miners' Institute features exhilarating live versions of hits that span three decades, exclusive behind-the-scenes content, and an insightful interview with the band themselves.>

Watch a teaser clip here:

Feel free to comment! If you want to have your say, on this or any other BBC blog, you will need to sign in to your BBC iD account. If you don't have a BBC iD account, you can register here - it'll allow you to contribute to a range of BBC sites and services using a single login.

Need some assistance? Read about BBC iD, or get some help with registering.

This week's show crams more fascinating Welsh music into its confines than any other I have had the pleasure of broadcasting. Looks like the cat got my tongue but was kind enough to swap it for oodles of bubbling sonic wonder. A good deal, any way you look at it.

We have début plays from: Esoterra, Desbopaloopie, Nursery of Naughtiness and Patterns.

(Ace) demos should be flung at themysterytour@gmail.com

Or to:

Adam Walton,
BBC Radio Wales,
Library & Arts Centre,
Rhosddu Road,
WREXHAM LL11 1AU

Elsewhere, Huw (or now he's bang in the middle of a Pooh Sticks reunion, should that revert to Hue?) Williams treats us to some ace, old and Welsh(-connected) from the Rockfield label, a storming piece of psych rock from Pete Dunton.

Ben (Soundhog) Hayes inspires us with a pre-chart bothering Justified Ancients of Mu Mu (KLF).

Lara Catrin translates something from the classic Doc Feistr concept album.

And I press some of the right buttons in mostly the right order.

Have an excellent music filled week,

Adam

TIM NOBLE - 'Bwlchystyllen'
Aberystwyth

GRUFF RHYS - 'Shark-ridden Waters'
Bethesda

THE LOVES - 'That Boy Is Mine'
Cardiff

SOUNDHOG - 'A Witty Title Involving Rockets & Losing Sleep [goldfrapp V Edwyn Collins]'
Ruthin

IFAN DAFYDD - 'Treehouse'
Llanrug

MOGWAI - 'Mexican Grand Prix'
Glasgow

SATURDAY'S KIDS - 'Unattainable'
Cardiff

TRUCKERS OF HUSK - 'Awesome Tapes From Africa'
Cardiff

PICTURE FRAME SEDUCTION - 'Getcha Rocks Off'
Haverfordwest

GRUFF RHYS - 'If We Were Words (we Would Rhyme)'
Bethesda

Y NIWL - 'Un Deg Saith'
Gwynedd

Y BANDANA - 'Rhedeg Am Dy Fywyd'
Caernarfon

MEILIR - 'Less Wrong (part 1)'
Brynford

BLOWGOAT - 'Yo Bitch... I'm Tom Waits'
Cardiff

TOM WAITS - 'I Hope That I Don't Fall In Love With You'
Unknown.

VOLUNTARY BUTLER SCHEME, THE - 'Do The Hand Jive'
Midlands/Cardiff

THE LOVES - 'Kaleidoscope (in My Head)'
Cardiff

ESOTERRA - 'Exterminate (dr Who Theme)'
Cardiff

MONKY - 'Train Wreck'
Cardiff

COLORAMA - 'Royal Victoria Arcade Part 2'
Benllech

MEIC STEVENS - 'Love Owed'
Solva

PETE DUNTON - 'Taking Time'
Monmouth/Cardiff

JONNY - 'I'll Make Her My Best Friend'
Pembrokeshire

DESBOPALOOPIE - 'I Just Don't Know'
Llandegfan

ACID CASUALS - 'Roads'
Angelsey

TYSTION - 'Original Sgamster'
Carmarthen

MUDMOWTH & METABEATS - 'Let It Breathe (radio Edit)'
Cardiff

DEATH OF HER MONEY, THE - 'Held Hands'
Unknown.

REVOLUTIONARY SPIRIT, THE - 'Sometimes (swathes Remix)'
Wrexham

JOY FORMIDABLE, THE - 'The Greatest Light Is The Greatest Shade'
Mold

IAN RUSH - 'Dal Heb Fy Nal'
Mold

SPESS - '10 Places (to Make Love In Mold)'
Mold

YOUNGTEAM - 'Your Love'
Sweden

GRUFF RHYS - 'At The Heart Of Love'
Bethesda

NURSERY OF NAUGHTINESS - 'Ether (featuring Volente)'
London/Cardiff

LIQUID RIOT ACT - 'The Flow'
Pontypool

HOLLOWED OUT THE SEA - 'Space Money'
Camarthen

PATTERNS - 'Blood Forever'
Cardiff

PAPER AEROPLANES - 'Flee'
Milford Haven

PWSI MERI MEW - 'Meistr Y Moroedd'
Ceidio/Aberystwyth/Nantmor/Sarn/Bethel

DESMOND STAR - 'Ready To Blow'
Swansea

JUSTIFIED ANCIENTS OF MU MU, THE - 'Don't Take Five (Take What You Want)'
Liverpool

SHY AND THE FIGHT - 'How To Stop An Imploding Man'
Chester/Llangollen

HOLY COVES, THE - 'Droner (radio Edit)'
Holyhead

THE LOVES - 'End Of The World (radio Edit)'
Cardiff

SUPER FURRY ANIMALS - 'Fire In My Heart'
Wales

PULCO - 'Night Owls'
Bangor

The Llangollen International Eisteddfod has announced three high-profile performers for its 65th anniversary. McFly, Lulu and Russell Watson are the headliners for the north east Wales festival, which runs 4-10 July 2011.

McFly

The inclusion of McFly is a determined effort to expand its audience range. Mervyn Cousins, chief executive of the Eisteddfod said: "Llangollen attracts a healthy and varied audience every year. With McFly joining our fantastic line up this year we expect a surge in our numbers of young audience members, taking our festival to new heights. This is a very exciting time for us.

"We've been wanting to take a brave leap forward with our headline concerts for some time now, and we feel that McFly are just perfect for this coveted slot to close our Eisteddfod."

McFly themselves said: "We're very excited to have the great honour of closing this year's Llangollen Festival, it's a great venue and we can't wait to rock Llangollen!"

Aside from the pop and opera-crossover stars, there will be over 4,000 competitors from over 50 countries across the six days. Cousins continued: "This year's programme sees an even more eclectic mix of names and competitors, with a hugely exciting array of performers through the week. We are thrilled that this gives us the chance to bring an even wider cross section of people to Llangollen as well as welcoming back our regular and valued supporters from past years.

"We have some new and exiting things on the field too; including a Friday's new Folk Day, and we are delighted that the local community will be heavily involved in both the field performances and in the production of 'Noye's Fludde'."

The Eisteddfod started in the wake of the second world war, as an attempt to unite the peoples of the world through music. Harold Tudor, a British Council officer from nearby Coedpoeth, developed the idea with two local luminaries, WS Gwynn Williams and George Northing.

This followed an approach from a member of the Czechoslovak government in exile, writer Juraj Slavik, promoting the smoothing over of international differences through music making, and the first Eisteddfod was held in 1947. A similar feeling would lead to the establishment of the Edinburgh International Festival.

Find out more about the Eisteddfod on the BBC Wales Music website.

Feel free to comment! If you want to have your say, on this or any other BBC blog, you will need to sign in to your BBC iD account. If you don't have a BBC iD account, you can register here - it'll allow you to contribute to a range of BBC sites and services using a single login.

Need some assistance? Read about BBC iD, or get some help with registering.

The Green Man Festival has announced an initial raft of performers for the 2011 event, which will be headlined by Fleet Foxes.

Fleet Foxes

The Seattle band are joined at the Glanusk festival by Bellowhead, The Burns Unit, Villagers, Wild Nothing, Sic Alps, Polar Bear, Robyn Hitchcock, Ellen & The Escapades, Our Broken Garden, Emily Barker, The Gentle Good, 2:54, The Travelling Band, Bleeding Heart Narrative, The Ramshackle Union Band and Babywoman.

Green Man on the web:

• www.greenman.net
• www.twitter.com/GreenManFest
• www.facebook.com/greenmanfestival

Feel free to comment! If you want to have your say, on this or any other BBC blog, you will need to sign in to your BBC iD account. If you don't have a BBC iD account, you can register here - it'll allow you to contribute to a range of BBC sites and services using a single login.

Need some assistance? Read about BBC iD, or get some help with registering.

Colorama are sunsets, twinkles, being merry drunk, freshly baked cake and comfy chairs. They're puppies and summer woods; rainbows and kisses; pizza and blue tits.

Colorama

It's impossible not to like Colorama. Obviously such a bold statement will goad the most contrary of you into denial, but you'd only be doing it to prick my balloon. If you have an empathetic heart, it'll beat more soundly and with a skip to the radiant sound of Colorama.

Their three albums so far are delightful explorations of chiming melodies, consummately arranged acoustic instruments, and gentle psychedelia. If all this sounds far too nice - like ODing on French Fancies - then I should note that there is a sense of darkness at the edge of the village, in the hallucinatory backwards rushes, that marks their music out as a sanctuary rather than an escape. Colorama aren't bland or facetious, they want to paint the good things in the world around them in bright tones. It's a laudable philosophy.

Especially on a drizzly Friday night in Chester.

Mostly I go to see bands where the audience are there to do the same. Telford's Warehouse's strength, and weakness, is that bands generally get to play in front of a whole new, virgin audience - with the potential to convert all these new faces to their cause. This as opposed to playing in front of a loyal fanbase and only that loyal fanbase. The only difficulty is that on a Friday night people are out to drink. Subtleties are lost after the first visit to the toilet. For a good proportion of Colorama's exquisite set the burnished notes are almost drowned out by beered up chatter. It's very much their loss.

Carwyn Ellis - regular compadre of Edwyn Collins, one-time collaborator with Noel Gallagher, a prince amongst men - is the focus of our attention. He's bravely wearing a light suit. Maybe the drizzly fug outside would class as summer weather back on Anglesey? He looks dapper and the tones that ring out of his guitar and autoharp match his sartorial excellence. Much of what is played is prefaced by a statement along the following lines: "This is a new one we haven't played live before". Well, you wouldn't know it. The band play beautifully together, conjuring up a range of delicate emotions: yearning, wonder, melancholy, nostalgia.

The songs I do recognise - Dere Mewn, Box, Sound - are played with a rare grace and sureness of touch. My soul feels like it's been given a spa treatment. None of the tropes of modern music are present here. But neither is there a sense of slavish revivalism. Colorama's songs might remind me of Love or The Byrds, but they don't sound like a genetically-engineered hybrid of those bands, nowhere near. It's Carwyn's imagination we're hearing, not a bunch of ideas half-inched out of brains addled by the drugs of summers long, long ago.

There is more of an edge to some of the newer material that intrigues for their next release. I wouldn't have anticipated a voodoo groove from Colorama. But in one of the new songs, it's there, subtly in the background.

They finish their set and people have been drawn from the beer pit. The applause is generous and appreciative. Case proved, it is impossible not to like Colorama. But you do have to listen out for them. They aren't Muse and thank the multitude of gods and the quantum workings of all sub-atomic particles for that.

This Saturday night we've got another special session on the way from west Wales. The relationship between the radio and Chailo Sim is a fairly new one, but they sent their music in and instantly captivated the hearts of the production team.

They're also making fans around the music industry with their gentle folky sound, including labels like Bella Union admitting to being fans. Ahead of the session this weekend, I spoke to the band's frontman Nayfe.

Chailo Sim

Hello Chailo Sim. Who are you, and how many members do you have?

We're five friends who write alt-folk songs for nice people.

How long have you been together?

A few years ago I strolled into a rammed café to find a keyboard player and drummer playing a wildly complex yet calming set of music to a captivated audience. It took less than half a song; Tom Luddington and Matt Badger immediately inspired me to ask if I could collaborate with them. I had spent a decade searching for what seemed to be an unfindable band line up, so after meeting mandolin player Darren Gibbs barefoot at a fire on the beach, we all decided to get together for a musical hello.

We started with a tentative version of our first song Latch being written and evolved in what was then my lounge, complete with cups of tea and an appreciated view of the sea. Andy Holcroft joined soon after with his electric guitar and violin to complete the balance of acoustic reticence and electric prominence. We took over the same cafe for a year or so after it became derelict and created a fantastic writing environment.

A period of experimenting with different instruments led to the embrace of string-work with the material, and this helped to define the fundamental sound of the band. A set's worth of songs later, we galvanised what was a never-ending process of early demo creation into our full length début album Replete which we self-released in November 2010.

How would you describe your sound?

Personal and cinematic at times. Big sky in a small room music.

What are your main musical influences?

Midlake, Sam Beam, Band of Horses, Fleet Foxes, The Leisure Society, Sufjan Stevens, Wilco, Gomez, The Band, Elbow, South San Gabriel - are all pretty amazing bands. The level of consideration they put into their songwriting is admirable.

What are your songs about? And for that matter the name of the band is rather interesting...

Our songs represent an effort to capture fleeting emotions and perceptions. Like trying to capture the sky by clapping your hands - you can never really manage it, but it still feels good to try.

The name of the band is rather interesting...

Chailo Sim means 'I am replete', and a travelled family life inspired use of the Romany phrase. We applied it to the band when we felt happy to have found a meaningful and collective identity.

What's been the band highlight so far?

We had an launch party in November to celebrate the release of our début album and the culmination of all our previous efforts. The album has since received critical acclaim from some incredible people in the music industry, inspiring conversations with a few of our favourite record labels.

What are the plans for the year ahead?

We're actually still learning terminology like booking agents, promoters and managers, so generally speaking, we are focusing on playing live shows and applying to UK festivals like Green Man and End Of The Road to get out and let people hear us, and to promote our music. We're also using the amazing momentum gained off the back of our album release to write some more songs, and to get together as often as possible.

Chailo Sim on the web:

• www.chailosim.com
• www.facebook.com/chailosim
• www.youtube.com/chailosim
• www.myspace.com/chailosim
• www.twitter.com/IamReplete
• www.last.fm/music/Chailo+Sim

Revoker, the Rhymney Valley metal fourpiece, are set to unveil a new song from their forthcoming Roadrunner Records début album on Jen Long's Radio 1 show this Monday.

Revoker

Thief will première at 12.45am and will later on Tuesday be made available as a free download from www.roadrunnerrecords.co.uk for 48 hours. It comes from the forthcoming album Revenge For The Ruthless.

"It's great that we are giving away Thief as a free download because it gives people a good taster of what the album is about," said bassist Shane, "Loads of mad riffs, good melodies, a bit of chanting... it really captures the vibe of the album!"

Revenge For The Ruthless will be released on 2 May. Lead guitarist Chris Green said: "It's the new old school. All of our influences are classic metal and hard rock bands, but we channel them into our own sound. Each song tells a story and has a beginning, middle, and end. That keeps things interesting."

The band are supporting Rob Zombie on his February tour, then they're out on a co-headline in March with Holy Grail.

Feel free to comment! If you want to have your say, on this or any other BBC blog, you will need to sign in to your BBC iD account. If you don't have a BBC iD account, you can register here - it'll allow you to contribute to a range of BBC sites and services using a single login.

Need some assistance? Read about BBC iD, or get some help with registering.

If guitar music is dead - throttled by slick pop, the X Factor swindle and dubstep's quickly evolving progeny - no one's told the kids of Leeds. It's a cold, midweek night but there's a queue outside the Cockpit and a number of disappointed faces on the pavement: "if you haven't got a ticket mate, don't bother".

Judging by this turnout, The Joy Formidable's incessant touring, allied with significant support from 6 Music, is paying dividends. Importantly the root cause for this interest is their music. There's a surging wonder to their songs, something elevating that sets them aside from many of their apologetic British contemporaries. And there isn't an ironic synth or '80s haircut in sight.

In fact, irony is refreshingly absent. When they finally take to the stage, once everything has been tweaked just so, it's clear that the last couple of years touring has given them an innate understanding of how to build and stage a show. It's far more than contrivance or manipulation, though. The set oozes into being, strange elemental sounds rattling the speakers while fairy lights twinkle on mysterious tree sculptures. It's like being dragged into a Grimm's Fairy Tale. It's no easy listening, tub-thumping, staged-by-numbers intro to a rock show, that's for certain.

The Joy Formidable

They open with the lead track from The Big Roar, The Ever Changing Spectrum Of A Lie. It's a track that encompasses much of what is to follow. There are familiar shapes here: propulsive drums, crashing guitars, anthemic vocals; yet the track twists and turns, defying expectations at every turn. It's at once formulaic yet surprising and original. And thrilling.

I've been raised on live guitar music. But I've also grown up through raves, super clubs, drum 'n' bass, dubstep, and while each has its own particular crescendo, there isn't much that can match a band, fired by great songs, a fierce belief in what they're doing, and a great sense of physical drama. As the song climaxes and Ritzy belts 10 shades of hell out of her guitar, I'm totally swept along in the rush. It's breath taking, and the audience bellow and whistle their appreciation.

Ritzy's a remarkable focus for our attention: small in stature, massive in voice and storm of sound from her guitar. She's unique: anyone who can remind me of Siouxsie Sioux, Geordie (Killing Joke), Tanya Donnelly and Kurt Cobain - within the space of one song - is going to intrigue and fascinate. She's very much her own woman and it's impossible not to be carried along by her.

The Joy Formidable

When iTunes recently made The Greatest Light Is The Greatest Shade their Single of the Week (just the latest in a series of accolades, including being awarded Band of the Week by Rolling Stone) many of the comments on the page were rather confused by the song's pigeonhole-defying characteristics. When the band play that song tonight, judging by the loud cheers that greet the two note synth intro, it's clear that enough people got it and embraced it for the Joy Formidable's vision to prosper. It's the pinnacle of the set, for me. In a set far from short of highlights.

Every element of the show is bigger, brighter and better than the last time I saw them. The (great) singles Austere, Whirring and I Don't Want To See You Like This have grown in their dynamic scope. Whereas the last time I saw them I felt they were an overwhelming and exhausting continuous peak, this time there are more nuances, more gaps, more moments to take a breath before the next big roar. It's very cleverly done.

The entire set is illuminated by a remarkable (for a venue of this size) light show. When the blinding strobes kick in at the end of Cradle it's easy to imagine this magnificent sound and spectacle filling the biggest of arenas. Further revealing one of the many fascinating (apparent) contradictions at the heart of this band.

On the surface, these are fist-pumping 'alternative' rock songs, ripped out of the toppest drawer. Peer deeper, though, and there are all kinds of strange entities slipping in and out of the shadows. Ritzy's lyrics, for example, never fail to intrigue or discombobulate; the strange time signatures that infiltrate the songs and tip them side-on, just to screw with your expectations; the odd, otherworldly guitar sounds that occasionally percolate the mix.

The Joy Formidable

Without this unusual parallel dimension in their sound, The Joy Formidable would be a crack rock band, destined to entertain audiences, maybe cram arenas in the way that they've sold out this venue. But with this nest of shadows seething at their edge, they're a far rarer and more intriguing proposition. They're a band that could fill those arenas and make an enduring artistic statement.

Listening to the album this morning, it's a much darker affair than the live set hints at. But that's clever. It's the kind of clever that may prove to be one of the greatest defibrillations yet of rock's knackered heart.

Following recent leaks of new Marina And The Diamonds material, Marina Diamandis has written a blog post on her website about the issue.

Marina And The Diamonds

"The more leaks that happen, the slower I go. As you can imagine, the thought of people invading my privacy and listening to half-assed unfinished songs that I write at 3am on a tour bus does not make me feel too relaxed or creative," she writes.

"I know that the intentions behind listening to leaked songs are innocent. I don't even mind if you listen to them! But just so you know, in doing so, you are now supporting the idea that nobody has the right to basic privacy. And by nobody, that means you too, somewhere down the line, later in your life when you will have forgotten about this blog post...

"But you need to know that the guys who are leaking my songs are grim and unworthy characters. We are feeding their egos and all the while, they are laughing at both you and I, whilst their sites get attention and they claim 'kudos' in hacker forums, as creativity grinds to an anxiety-ridden halt...

"I still believe that a concept and vision should be completed before one shares it with people. Not in weird, incoherent, diluted scraps... Haven't asked you for anything directly before but I would like to. I am asking for you to protect me. I rely on you guys heavily- and transparently- and I need your help. You're the only ones who control whether things stop or spread. I have the police involved, so if you know information about the people who are doing this, you can message me, if you'd like to. i have waxed lyrical to Warner about how incredible you are and I have faith in you on this."

Aberdare power poppers Reaper In Sicily joined Radio Wales' Bethan Elfyn back on 8 January for a live session.

The band are still currently unsigned - having won the Kerrang! Best Unsigned Band accolade in 2009 - but are touring throughout April and May. There's a self-released mini-album on the cards for late March.

You can watch one of the tracks from the upcoming album, Save The Cheerleader, here:

Feel free to comment! If you want to have your say, on this or any other BBC blog, you will need to sign in to your BBC iD account. If you don't have a BBC iD account, you can register here - it'll allow you to contribute to a range of BBC sites and services using a single login.

Need some assistance? Read about BBC iD, or get some help with registering

Funeral For A Friend have announced details of their new album, Welcome Home Armageddon, and a UK headline tour.

Funeral For A Friend

The south Wales fivepiece will release their fifth album, Welcome Home Armageddon on 14 March. A new single, Sixteen, follows a week later, and they will be touring in March and April.

The album has been produced by Cardiff's Romesh Dodangoda with the expressed intention of being as true to the band's live show as possible. A couple of weeks ago FFAF released a free download track, Front Row Seats To The End Of The World, which went to the top of the Scuzz TV charts.

Feel free to comment! If you want to have your say, on this or any other BBC blog, you will need to sign in to your BBC iD account. If you don't have a BBC iD account, you can register here - it'll allow you to contribute to a range of BBC sites and services using a single login.

Need some assistance? Read about BBC iD, or get some help with registering.

Manic Street Preachers bassist Nicky Wire has launched a savage attack on plans to close libraries in an impassioned piece for today's Guardian.

Nicky Wire

The Blackwood band has long been vocal about their support for libraries and the importance they place on libraries' influence on Welsh working classes, especially in mining areas. They opened Cardiff's new Central Library in 2009, and had the opening lyrics to A Design For Life - "Libraries gave us power" - inscribed on a commemorative plaque. The phrase was adapted from "Knowledge is Power", an inscription above the entrance to the former Pillgwenlly Library in Newport.

In the piece, Wire says: "So often absolutely ordinary in appearance, a good library should offer escape routes down the most extraordinary avenues, pathways into different worlds from the one you've left outside. Ridding our villages, towns and cities of libraries, which are essential in shaping a nation's consciousness, seems like a direct attack on the soul of the country.

"We need to cherish these things while they still exist. Seek solace, seek knowledge. Seek power."

Feel free to comment! If you want to have your say, on this or any other BBC blog, you will need to sign in to your BBC iD account. If you don't have a BBC iD account, you can register here - it'll allow you to contribute to a range of BBC sites and services using a single login.

Need some assistance? Read about BBC iD, or get some help with registering.

This week's show is very enamoured - nay, besotted and utterly obsessed with - the new albums from Jonny (featuring Gorky's Zygotic Mynci's Euros Childs and Teenage Fanclub's Norman Blake) and Gruff Rhys. The general opinion as the show was broadcast last night, via Twitter and email, is that both of these albums are magical, musical and some of the greatest work these most notable artists have been involved with.

That's high praise.

They're great albums. You'll hear three tracks from each over the course of our three hours of sonic fun together. And you'll hear debut plays for brand new Welsh artists like Proserpina, Exotope, Takk For Alt and Anika.

And I'm ravenous for more of that new, untarnished tuneage. Whether you're a musician yourself, or have a (shy) friend who's a secret sonic genius, your sounds and recommendations are the lifeblood of this show. Please mail mp3s or download links to: themysterytour@gmail.com.

Post packages to:
Adam Walton
BBC Radio Wales
Library and Arts Centre
Rhosddu Road
Wrexham
LL11 1AU

Elsewhere in this week's show, godfather of the Welsh underground Alan Holmes, reminds us of The 'real' Smiths: a band that preceded Morrissey's lot, who were innocent of any gladioli-bashing but managed to cause a lot of confusion amongst the fey indie kids of the mid-80's.

Ben Hayes - now seemingly back using the Soundhog moniker (his latest, genius bootleg is played earlier in the programme) - comes in to inspire us with the manic creative energy of The Legendary Stardust Cowboy. And, disappointingly, not my childhood muse Alvin Stardust.

Have an excellent music-filled week.

Do treat yourself to the Jonny album if you're at all drawn to tunes that'd elevate the most (rugby) bruised hearts. It's unashamedly lovely and no, I'm not on commission.

Diolch yn fawr iawn, Adam.

JON BROOKS (LO EDITIONS)
Don't Forget Your Torch

MONKY (Cardiff)
Little Acts Of Nature Inspire

THIN LIZZY
Do Anything You Want To

THE WHITE STRIPES
Jimmy The Exploder

STRANGE NEWS FROM ANOTHER STAR (Cardiff)
I Am Weatherproof

WY (Ruthin/Carmarthen)
Paid A Malu Awyr

GRUFF RHYS (Bethesda)
Christopher Columbus

ELIS REGINA (Brazil)
Roda

JONNY (Pembrokeshire)
I Want To Be Around You

SATURDAY'S KIDS (Cardiff)
Whisper In My Ear

ANIKA (Bristol)
Officer Officer

JON LANGFORD & SKULL ORCHARD (Newport)
Self Portrait

FAMILY OF THE YEAR (Cardiff)
Psyche Or Like Scope

ASTROID BOYS (Cardiff)
Mike?lowry

EXOTOPE (Newport)
Only You

THE VOLUNTARY BUTLER SCHEME (Cardiff/Midlands)
Satisfactory Substitute

THE REVOLUTIONARY SPIRIT (Wrexham)
Sometimes

PRETTY PLACES (Llanfair P.G.)
You See What I See

LIBERTY 37 (Swansea)
Revolution

PROSERPINA (Swansea)
Trees Have Eyes

TAKK FOR ALT
We Used To Have Fun

THE SMITHS (Bangor)
Red Beak

SOUNDHOG (Ruthin)
A Witty Title Involving Rockets & Losing Sleep [goldfrapp V Edwyn Collins]

EDWYN COLLINS
In Your Eyes

COLORAMA (Benllech)
Candy Street

COLORAMA
Magic Lantern Show

HEHFU (Caerphilly)
Thirty

THE FAG MACHINE
In Yr Skin

JONNY (Pembrokeshire)
Circling The Sun

GRUFF RHYS (Bethesda)
Space Dust #2

THE VOLUNTARY BUTLER SCHEME (Cardiff/Midlands)
At The Height Of A Frisbee (featuring Sweet Baboo)

60FT DOLLS (Newport)
Alison's Room

RACE HORSES (Aberystwyth)
Last Boat To Dover

THE LOVELY EGGS Don't Look At Me (i Don't Like It)

WRIGHTOID (Bangor)
My Sun Is Yr Sun

FAT BARRELS (Wrexham)
M

BEDFORD FALLS (Cardiff)
Useless Facts

BEDFORD FALLS
Wilmington

EMMY'S UNICORN (Swansea)
Singular

DIDZ (Cardiff)
Missing Memory

HOLLOWED OUT THE SEA (Carmarthen)
City Surf

JOSHUA CAOLE (Cardiff)
Please Don't Try To Reach Me

PETE HICKMAN (Wrexham)
Castle In The Air

THE LEGENDARY STARDUST COWBOY (Lubbock)
Paralysed

GRUFF RHYS (Bethesda)
If We Were Words (We Would Rhyme)

DEZ WILLIAMS (Bangor)
Kretin

JONNY (Pembrokeshire)
Never Alone

Last Friday saw BBC Introducing engage in a day of Musicians' Masterclasses at London's famous Maida Vale studios.BBC Introducing in Wales presenter Jen Long chaired three of the masterclasses, with musician Andy Gangadeen. Watch them again here:

Andy Gangadeen explains his unique 'Gangascope' drum kit.

Andy Gangadeen on playing live drum'n'bass loops.

Andy Gangadeen on working with Chase And Status and The Bays.

And here's Huw Stephens presenting the full recording masterclass:

Ahead of a session with Tiger Please on my Radio Wales show this Saturday, I caught up with guitarist Tyla Campbell to find out a bit more about the band.

You can also watch an exclusive video of Spring And Its Offering, recorded for the show.

Who are you and what do you do?

We are Tiger Please and we play rock music.

Considering we have only been around a few years we have achieved some great things such as playing both Download and Sonisphere festivals last year. Getting our first music video for Autumn Came The Fall in the 'most-requested' charts for Kerrang and Lava TV was also amazing.

The most memorable moment I'd have to say was our one-year anniversary show for the release of They Don't Change Under Moonlight at Clwb Ifor Bach. We some how managed to get Funeral For A Friend to support us as special guests showcasing their new material. It was a sold out show and we had all the crowd singing the words to our songs back to us. Now that was memorable.

What has 2011 in store for you so far? I hear a few tour announcements have been made?

We're currently preparing to head off on a 19 date tour all around the UK with The Crave. They've recently been on tour with Deep Purple and Status Quo which is quite an impressive CV so we can't wait to head out on the road with them and see them live. Then in March we are honoured to head off on another 19 date tour with Funeral For A Friend. A couple of years ago we'd never would have dreamed about touring with them so we really can't wait for it.

Seasons and debut album They Don't Change Under Moonlight have already gained you a few fans, with Kerrang! saying, "Occasionally a record comes along that simply knocks you for six". What has been the best part of getting your music out?

It's been great having magazines such as Kerrang, Rock Sound and Big Cheese supporting both our releases and we are very grateful for the support they've given. The best part of getting our music out has to be hearing the words of our songs being sung back to us at shows. That feeling you get on stage is indescribable.

Another thing has to be people telling us one of our songs or listening to us in general has helped them through a rough period in their lives. This just makes you think 'yup, I definitely want to make a living out of doing this'.

You came into the studios of BBC Wales recently to record a session for my Radio Wales show. How was it, and what did you record?

Yeah we really enjoyed the experience. We had a bit of trouble starting the van so we were worried we weren't gonna make it! We managed to sort it though and got there in time. We recorded Strawberry Moon and Lights And Sound from They Don't Change Under Moonlight and we also did Spring And Its Offering from our last release Seasons. We just finished shooting a new music video for Spring so keep a look out for that on your TV screens soon!

I hear that a new album will be ready to go this year. Tell me all about it.

We are currently in the demoing stage of recording at the moment. We recorded four tracks for it late last year at Escape Route Studios in London, and we've just finished demoing four tracks more with Todd Campbell at Skwad HQ and are really excited to record more!

This album is gonna be a bit special as all the lyrics are inspired by our fans' life stories. We thought it'd be great for our fans to have their own song and so far it's working really well. We've had loads of stories in and we'd like to thank everyone who has given up their time to send us their stories. The stories we have had in range from serious issues such as suicide, addiction and many more issues. It's gonna be one hell of an emotional album.

What new artists are you enjoying and listening to at the moment?

Well last night a few of us went to Clwb Ifor Bach to watch Twin Atlantic who were amazing, as usual. Welsh bands Town and Straight Lines also played so it was a great night and if you haven't checked any of them out we highly recommend you do!

One thing a few of us are listening to at the moment is the soundtrack to the independent film Once. I came across the film the other day when I was flicking through the channels and I originally thought it was just an artist in session but it was actually a film about an Irish busker recording his first demo. Turns out the film won an Oscar for the soundtrack so I think I missed the boat on that one!

Where can people find you online?

You can find us on the following social networking sites:
www.facebook.com/tigerplease
www.twitter.com/tigerplease
www.myspace.com/tigerplease

We also have a website which is almost ready to launch, so in a couple of weeks you'll be able to find it at www.tigerplease.co.uk.

Feel free to comment! If you want to have your say, on this or any other BBC blog, you will need to sign in to your BBC iD account. If you don't have a BBC iD account, you can register here - it'll allow you to contribute to a range of BBC sites and services using a single login.

Need some assistance? Read about BBC iD, or get some help with registering.

A great week for The Blackout has been capped off with the announcement that they will be supporting My Chemical Romance on their UK tour.

The Blackout

Earlier this week Zane Lowe made their new track, Higher And Higher, his Hottest Record In The World Today. You can listen to Higher And Higher and an interview with the band's Sean Smith on Lowe's blog. He said of the record: "Gotta love the fact that The Blackout are back... with Hyro Da Hero on backing duty, this new single feels like the beginning of something pretty pretty big."

The Merthyr Tydfil band, promoting their third album Hope, will join My Chemical Romance this month at Wembley Arena (12 February), Birmingham LG Arena (13), Glasgow SECC (15), Dublin O2 (16), Manchester MEN Arena (18), Nottingham Trent FM Arena (19), Cardiff International Arena (21) and Newcastle Metro Radio Arena (22).

His moniker The Gentle Good could not be more appropriate a description for Cardiff musician Gareth Bonello. With a new album on the way on the Welsh label Gwymon, I thought it was high time to find out more about him.

Gareth Bonello

Hi Gareth. Can you give me a little synopsis of who you are and what you do?

I'm a musician based in Cardiff, I've been playing on the live scene here for about five years and in that time released a few records. I play acoustic folk guitar and sing both traditional songs and my own compositions in Welsh and English. The music is a blend of traditional folk, '60s finger-picking guitar playing and soaring strings with a tint of psychedelia.

I hear you'll be releasing a new album this year. Is it all ready to go?

I'm releasing a new album called Tethered For The Storm in March and it is indeed all ready to go. I recorded it mainly in Cardiff - some at Music Box Studios on Penarth Road and other parts at various peoples' houses. We also recorded a string quartet and grand piano at the Reardon Smith Theatre in the National Museum in Cardiff. That was really special.

Listen to Old Window Song from Gareth's new album:

Tell me about the songs and what's been a driving influence behind them.

Quite a diverse range of influences inspired the album but mainly it's my outlook on life in Cardiff. The first song is called Aubade, which is a poem set at dawn with two lovers lying in bed wishing the sun wasn't coming up. Philip Larkin has a poem by the same title and John Donne has one called The Sun Rising.

Poetry was a great source of inspiration for the whole album; another track, Colled, was written according to an old Welsh meter found in the Hen Benillion. A lot of traditional Welsh songs were written in the same meter and when its done right the words can really sing.

Traditional Welsh music has obvious influences on tracks like Deuawd, which has just myself and Lisa Jen from 9bach singing a cappella. I don't think the album sounds very traditional overall though. I got a piano before writing this album and the songs I wrote on it such as Old Window Song have a more contemporary sound.

One of the clearest links to Cardiff on the album is the last track Cysgod y Dur, which uses the story of Ernest Willows to talk about the history of the steel industry in the area. The sound of the steelworks can be heard at the start of the track.

A few years ago you went over to South By Southwest festival. Would you say this was one of your musical career highlights? What else stands out as experiences that makes you glad to be a musician?

Absolutely, I was very surprised to be invited out to SXSW a few years ago - I hadn't even released a record at that point. It was a fantastic experience and definitely one of my highlights. I have so many memories that make me glad to be a musician; playing Glastonbury Festival and the Kennedy Centre in Washington DC a day apart in 2009 was pretty special!

I've always really enjoyed The Green Man Festival - which I've managed to play several times - as well; it just has a magical atmosphere. Sometimes it's the little gigs that are the best though, playing to a room full of people who are all listening intently and really enjoying the music and the whole experience.

Print journalism has quite an important effect on how a musician is portrayed. What sort of reviews and reaction have you had in the past?

Overall I've had quite favourable press really. I've been compared to musicians such as Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, Nick Drake and John Martyn, which is great as they are very prominent influences. My vocals have come in for some criticism in the past but I just try to sing in my natural voice so there isn't really anything I can do about that.

Will there be a tour to coincide with the new album?

I'm still getting some of the dates together but I'm going to try and cover a large chunk of the UK between now and June. I'm doing some gigs with Jo Bartlett in March as well as some dates with Richard James in May/June.

I'm launching the album on 2 April at the Globe in Cardiff. Richard James and H Hawkline are supporting and I'm going to be joined on stage by a full band and a string quartet. It's going to be an amazing night.

What's been your favourite gig ever to play?

It has to be the Green Man Festival but I couldn't pick the year - every time I've played it's been different and thoroughly enjoyable.

Which musicians are really inspiring you right now?

I've really been enjoying the local scene here in Cardiff recently. H Hawkline's album A Cup Of Salt is fantastic and Rhodri Viney has an album out under the stage name Ratatosk called C'est La Vie Tragique, which is absolutely beautiful. Richard James has written a great collection of new songs and I've been to several No thee no ess gigs that have been brilliant.

Internationally speaking I've been getting well into a Colombian band called Grupo Cimarrón and an album called 'beasts of seasons' by an American singer called Laura Gibson. I'm looking forward to seeing CW Stoneking in the Globe next week as well.

The Gentle Good on the web:

• Facebook
• Myspace
• Twitter

The video for Norwegian band Röyksopp's single Forksaken Cowboy has won an award for its director, Cardiff's Matt Callanan.

Shot in and around the streets of Cardiff, most notably the Roath and Cardiff Bay areas, Forsaken Cowboy has been given a top award by www.genero.tv. You can watch the video on Vimeo.

Callanan was one of the men behind Cardiff's Phantom Beats production duo and the Plastic Raygun record label. He told me: "I'm very chuffed to have won the Röyksopp competition. Before my four year hiatus in London I spent the majority of my time in Cardiff DJing and producing as Phantom Beats and recording for Plastic Raygun.

"In between making beats Neil [Cocker, his Phantom Beats colleague] and myself were gallivanting around the world making people dance and also got to do cool things such as a live session for Radio 1 and DJ live on Bethan and Huw's show. A few music videos were made for Plastic Raygun by label boss Maf and my brother Steve. One of the first videos made for the label was this bit of car trashing action made way back in 1999 for our first track on the label Growler."

Watch Growler on YouTube.

"I had never thought about producing videos myself as I so focused on the music. After years of touring I wanted to try and develop some new skills, so I ventured up to London and worked for the BBC and gradually learnt the craft of filming and editing.

"I entered my first music video competition on the Genero TV website in July last year for Berlin's Booka Shade. It got highly commended and positive responses from DJs like James Zabiela and Tom Middleton plus big ups from a writer on Time Out Magazine. After that feedback I decided to go freelance and made the move back to Cardiff where I made a few other music videos in my spare time.

"My second video for Alicia Keys video become a finalist, so to win a video competition for one of my dance music heroes, Röyksopp, when I'm still learning the trade is great. These videos were all done in quite a guerilla style with little budget and no crew, so I'm looking forward to working on some bigger projects where I can really get my ideas flowing and take the videos to the next level."

Andrew Lane, from Genero.tv told Guardian Cardiff: "Matt's video about a lonely cowboy character is beautifully shot, and tells the story of an outsider individual whose eccentric behaviour puts him at odds with society. It fits the music's dreamy state so well and continues the story of the album along its logical progression. The judging panel, as well as Genero.tv's global community loved Matt's video!"

Feel free to comment! If you want to have your say, on this or any other BBC blog, you will need to sign in to your BBC iD account. If you don't have a BBC iD account, you can register here - it'll allow you to contribute to a range of BBC sites and services using a single login.

Need some assistance? Read about BBC iD, or get some help with registering.

It has been announced today that Welsh Radio 1 DJ Huw Stephens has been given a prime weekend slot, taking over from Jo Whiley.

Huw Stephens

His new show is from 1-4pm on Saturday afternoons, but he will carry on presenting his midnight-2am show on Wednesday nights. He said: "Taking over from Jo Whiley is a real honour. She's a brilliant broadcaster and an inspiration and I hope to continue with Jo's enthusiasm and love for music on the show.

"My current shows give me the chance to dig deep and champion exciting emerging music, so I look forward to adding new sounds to weekend afternoons."

Ben Cooper, deputy controller of BBC Radio 1, said: "Huw is loved by artists and listeners alike. His ability to introduce you to new music, as well as make you smile, will make his new weekend show a must listen."

I first met Huw at 17 when he and Bethan Elfyn started the Evening Session in Wales - a show which broke off from Whiley and Steve Lamacq's Evening Show to cater for the local music scene. That show eventually morphed into Introducing In Wales, currently presented by Jen Long.

At 17, Huw's passion for music was amazing as I talked to them for Big Issue Cymru. He and Bethan were a great double act and when the pair stopped their partnership it was no surprise to see Huw spread himself over national Radio 1 with his natural, friendly and familiar style.

I'm sure he'd be too modest to agree with this, but I think he's in the mould of John Peel or Lamacq in that people take genuine notice of his music choices. He's a serious music aficionado (with his involvement in Boobytrap Records and Swn festival) and even though he plays tracks from the station's playlist his judgement isn't compromised by it. Very few DJs have that luxury.

Twelve years after that first foray into Wales-based music DJing, it's good luck to Huw for his first regular daytime Radio 1 gig.

Feel free to comment! If you want to have your say, on this or any other BBC blog, you will need to sign in to your BBC iD account. If you don't have a BBC iD account, you can register here - it'll allow you to contribute to a range of BBC sites and services using a single login.

Need some assistance? Read about BBC iD, or get some help with registering.

This week's show features the most fascinating new music that has blessed by in/post box over the last week, including debut plays for Shamoniks, Screaming Citizens and Peyote Smile.

We have news of The Pooh Sticks' first gig in London for 18 years and Huw Williams, their singer and placard waver, is in to remind us of Gareth Edwards' music career. Which, on the evidence of the track we play, is the personification of '70s kitsch. We'll explore his ill-fated and short-lived dabble with the death metal in a future programme. If only!

Ben 'Soundhog' Hayes takes us back to a groovier, Moogier time in the company of Mort Garsson. Our album of the week is The Joy Formidable's excellent debut on Atlantic Records, The Big Roar.

And there is intriguing, excellent music from all over Wales.

Please send demos/gig info/correspondence to themysterytour@gmail.com

Or post tangible items to:
Adam Walton
BBC Radio Wales
Library and Arts Centre
Rhosddu Road
Wrexham
LL11 1AU

Have an excellent, music-filled week.

Thank you / diolch,
Adam

STRANGE NEWS FROM ANOTHER STAR (Cardiff)
I Am Weatherproof

THE JOY FORMIDABLE (Mold)
The Ever Changing Spectrum Of A Lie

MUDMOWTH & METABEATS (Cardiff)
Let It Breathe (radio edit)

SHAMONIKS (Nefyn)
My Mind

VANGUARD (Pembrokeshire)
Loving Someone Else

SATURDAY'S KIDS (Cardiff)
Whisper In My Ear

THE POOH STICKS (Swansea)
Teenage High

JONNY (Pembrokeshire)
I Want To Be Around You

Y BANDANA (Caernarfon)
Clywch Clywch Buwch

OOKAMI (Pontypridd)
Dabbler

DANCERS (St Asaph/Denbigh)
Got Away With It

JON LANGFORD AND SKULL ORCHARD (Newport)
1234 Ever

THE THREE JOHNS (Newport)
Men Like Monkeys

THE THREE JOHNS (Newport)
Two Minute Ape!

GANG OF FOUR
At Home He's A Tourist

SAMMO HUNG (Cardiff)
At Home, I Am A Shark

GRUFF RHYS (Bethesda)
Shark-ridden Waters

MARALENE A GARETH (Pantydwr)
Wyt Ti Weithiau?

YR ANHREFN (Caernarfon)
Menthyg Wal

XXXY (Swansea)
Ordinary Things

SCREAMING CITIZENS (Llandudno)
Red Light Love

PEYOTE SMILE (Cardiff/Aberdare)
Interesting Point, But...

AMONG BROTHERS (Cardiff/Aberdare)
Sam, Isaiah And The Wolf

IFAN DAFYDD (Llanrug)
Treehouse

SPENCER MCGARRY SEASON (Cardiff/Aberdare)
The Pessimist Light

CYRION (Bala/Llangefni)
Pulse

LUNGWAH (Bangor)
Scotch Mystery

THE JOY FORMIDABLE (Mold)
Chapter 2

THE HOLY COVES (Holyhead)
Droner (radio edit)

VVOLVES (Monmouth/Cardiff)
Birds In Berlin

LT MEAT (Newport)
Gee This Feels Swell

THE GO-BETWEENS (Melbourne)
Bachelor Kisses

ALUN TAN LAN (Llanrwst)
Deud Wrtha Fi Am Yr Awyr Las

Y NIWL (Gwynedd)
Un Deg Saith

CRASH DISCO (Bangor)
Token

THE POOH STICKS (Swansea)
The World Is Turning On

TOWN (Newport)
No Detonating Me

FALLS (Deeside)
Terrorf*ckingdactyl

STAGGA FEATURING SKAMMA & JOE BLOW (Barry)
The Squidge

CHUGGIN PETROL (Cardiff/Aberdare)
Vinyl Kindness

MORT GARSSON (Canada)
Three Five Zero Zero

SAMOANS (Cardiff/Aberdare)
Somersault

STRANGE NEWS FROM ANOTHER STAR (Cardiff)
Solomon (radio edit)

THE JOY FORMIDABLE (Mold)
Cradle

JKLMNO (Wrexham)
Gold Vice