What am I for?
Good question.
I’m good at feeding my daughter, hoovering the stairs, walking long distances in drizzle without complaining, playing one record after another after four pints of Guinness (but no more) and, erm, well that’s it, really.
Ooh. Eating cake. I’m *very* good at eating cake.
But these aren’t really purposes in life.
So what am I for?
I hope that I’m for fascinating new Welsh music, typically the music that finds it more difficult to find a home easily elsewhere. So I’m like a rescue centre for the sonically disenfranchised, mongrel music-makers who are too fuzzy to find a home in places with nice new radio carpets.
I’m for playing as much new music in my allotted three hours as is humanely possible - minus any distractions other than the sound of my voice trying to give you the requisite information about each piece of music.
I’m for having strong, passionate opinions about music. Art is supposed to provoke a reaction, being all magnolia about it rather misses the point.
Most of my favourite conversations are late at night after a couple, and involve two or more people banging tables, getting aerated, and generally trying to convince someone who disagrees that their opinion about a particular band or piece of music is the right one. Despite all those darned subjectivities.
I’m for lifting every stone in Wales to seek the sounds that may be lurking underneath. Every. Stone.
I need the exercise.
And I’m all for rather pompous statements of intent… CSE level self-mythologizing. I know they haven’t awarded CSEs for decades. That’s sort of apt too.
This week’s show is a pretty fine example statement of intent. Among the 41 pieces of music played are debut plays from noise-makers who I hope will soon be allowed into grander radiophonic homes. For the moment, they’re here, and I don’t even ask them to take their shoes off.
Dellux, ec-circ, Bert and Henry, Glass Giants, Firewoodisland, Connah Evans, Science Camp, Pine and Buck & Evans all came through the door for the first time this week.
Lovely people, fascinating sounds.
Send your finest piece of music via the BBC Introducing Uploader or to themysterytour@gmail.com
Elsewhere in the show, Huw Williams digs through a brilliant new collection of punk 45s on the Soul Jazz Record label.
And Ben ‘Soundhog’ Hayes almost brings tears to my blue eyes, playing a brilliant Pete Townshend recording.
Stay fruity.
JAUGE - 'Off
& On'
Newport
JOANNA
GRUESOME - 'Madison (Album Version)'
Cardiff
EXIT
INTERNATIONAL - 'Weird Card (Clean Version)'
Cardiff
CHARLOTTE
CHURCH - 'Little Movements'
Cardiff
BLOOM -
'Ready To Run'
Penarth
BODHI -
'Entropy'
Cardiff
EC - CIRC - 'Unrequited Trust'
Cardiff
SKIN TIGHT
PONCHO - 'Friends Of The Bank'
Wrexham
THE STARLING
RADICALS - 'Eton Mess (Radio Edit)'
Cardiff
SKINDRED - 'Playing
With The Devil'
Newport
DELLUX -
'Got Me Thinkin''
Newport
STEFAN MELBOURNE
- 'Landslide'
Manchester
RADSTEWART
- 'Fix The Roads'
Cardiff
BERT
AND HENRY - 'Not Waving But Raving'
Aberaeron
GOODTIME BOYS
- 'Life Moves'
Cardiff
HUW WILLIAMS - 'Spoken Contribution'
Swansea
THE USERS - 'Sick Of You'
Unknown
GLASS GIANTS
- 'Pilgrim'
Cardiff
HIPPIES VS
GHOSTS - 'Sgwarnog, Draenog, Llwynog'
Cwm Y Glo
IRMA
VEP - 'Recluse Man'
Llanfairfechan
IRMA
VEP - 'Settle Down'
Llanfairfechan
CATE LE BON - 'Wild'
Penboyr
DERREN HEATH
- 'Withersoever'
Pembrokeshire
FIREWOODISLAND -
'Simon'
Cardiff
MOWBIRD -
'Holy Moly'
Wrexham
NECK DEEP -
'Staircase Wit'
Wrexham
DOPPELGANGER
- 'Comfort You'
Wrexham
FUTURE OF THE LEFT
- 'Johnny Borrell Afterlife'
Cardiff
THE JOY FORMIDABLE
- 'Little Blimp'
Mold
ELLY
SINNETT - 'Luna Eyes (EP Version)'
Pembrokeshire
CONNAH EVANS
- 'In The City'
Anglesey
THE ANCHORESS -
'What Goes Around (Extended Version)'
Merthyr Tydfil / Deeside
SOUNDHOG -
'Wiederholen Gruppe 99'
Ruthin
SCIENCE
CAMP - 'I Go To Funerals'
Colwyn Bay
PAPER
AEROPLANES - 'Circus'
Milford Haven
SECATEURS
- 'She Lost Her Mind'
Deeside
THE CRADLES -
'You Won't Find Anyone Else'
Cardiff
I FIGHT
LIONS - 'Carousels (Album Version)'
Bangor
STALIN'S
STREET PARTY - 'Street Rat'
Cardiff
PINE -
'Steeper'
Bristol / Newport
BEN HAYES -
'Spoken Contribution'
Ruthin
PETE TOWNSHEND - 'Behind Blue Eyes'
London
BUCK & EVANS -
'Going Home'
South Wales