music live


FULU MIZIKI KOLLEKTIV Neuadd Ogwen, Bethesda Sat 21 May


On the heels of their six-song debut EP for the Moshi Moshi label, Ngbaka, Congolese cyberpunx Fulu Miziki Kollektiv hit the UK for the first time, and how cool that they’re starting in Bethesda, not your typical town for tours of this type. The Kollektiv has existed in some form since the late 90s, its Wombles-esque mission to build instruments out of discarded bits of metal, wood and plastic gathered in capital city Kinshasa and then bang out wicked sick rhythms on their creations. They also make their own stage costumes, in which they resemble forest-bound Power Rangers.


There is a message inherent to all this, easy as it is to be bowled along by the clattering good cheer. FMK are ideological (Afro)futurists whose salvage missions aim to promote sustainability in the DRC and beyond, and who promote a message of artistic liberation.


Obvious precursors from Kinshasa are the veteran, ever- evolving Konono Nº1, who also build their own gear and have been absorbed into club culture. Relative


performances, Ngbaka is more audibly processed, with acoustic sounds turned into brisk club beats (two of the group, La Roche and DJ Finale, have released their solo music on Uganda’s great Nyege Nyege Tapes label) and topped by chantalong MCing.


to clips of FMK live


Whatever the vocal/instrumental setup is for this tour – their Kollektiv status means it’s subject to change – this date, one of four in the UK, looks absolutely unmissable if the stranger side of global sonics intrigue you, or you just fancy a good hoedown.


Tickets: £12 Info: neuaddogwen.com NOEL GARDNER


BALTER FESTIVAL Chepstow Racecourse Thurs 19-Sun 22 May


Remember all those memetic “if you used to go to [infamous scratty nightclub of your choice] you don’t have to worry about the virus” jokes from a year or two back? In the case of Balter Festival, which began at Hay’s Baskerville Hall in 2014 and has since settled in Chepstow, I believe it may in fact be true. Some say that exposure to its excesses can turn callow attendees to pillars of salt, or something resembling it: ponder a lineup headed by Squarepusher, Camo & Krooked and the Vengaboys, and draw your own conclusions.


Balter comprises four days (though Thursday arrivers have to pay a little extra), 10 stages and around 250 acts. Primarily geared towards DJs and live electronic acts, especially types with cranked-up BPMs and wobbly bass, the scattering of bands on the bill are either madhead grindcore like Leeds’ Ona Snop or fest-friendly folkies like Sheelanagig. There are some bigger names, sure, but the spirit of Balter is more about blundering into a random tent and getting your head cooked by unclassifiable sounds.


Tickets: £150. Info: balterfestival.com NOEL GARDNER


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BOB VYLAN


Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff Tue 17 May


Upstairs in Tiny Rebel at the 2018 Cardiff Psych Fest, Bob Vylan performed for the proverbial one man and his dog but still gave it their absolute all. Four years on, our homegrown Rage Against The Machine are all grown up and have graduated to Clwb Ifor Bach – indeed have sold it out over a month in advance – via a trio of EPs and support slots with The Offspring and Biffy Clyro.


Blunt, in-your-face new album Bob Vylan Presents The Price Of Life addresses austerity and the cost of living crisis, as well as structural racism and violence. He Sold Guns and Pretty Songs boast belligerent choruses Idles would kill for, Health Is Wealth preaches the value of keeping yourself fighting fit, and the gammon-baiting Take That – on which Bobby Vylan quotes Chuck D’s dissing of Elvis and fantasises about wiping his arse on a St George’s flag and throwing Churchill’s statue into the river – asks “Are you with them or are you with us? Pick a side”. Not a hard choice.


Tickets: £12.50 (sold out). Info: clwb.net


BEN WOOLHEAD


CEDRIC BURNSIDE The Druidstone, Haverfordwest Fri 27 May


If you’ve ever wondered what the difference between the blues and Mississippi hill country blues is then this is the gig to get to. Grandson of R.L. Burnside, the widely regarded standard-bearer for a very particular kind of roots music that comes out of rural Lafayette County, Cedric Burnside has inherited a similarly deep understanding of the music’s traditions and rhythms. There’s no Blues Brothers schtick, or even anything as polished as the blues- rock of Joe Bonamassa (who, to his credit, makes efforts to celebrate underrepresented artists like Larry McCray), in Burnside’s set.


Cedric, like Mississippi hill country blues itself, manages to avoid any such gimmickry and sidestep all expectations by channelling a deeper sound, rooted in the rhythmic history of Africa and the true beginnings of the blues. Check out his five-star album I Be Trying, released in 2021, and you will want to see what this extraordinary talent can offer in person – and all in a venue that looks as unique as the artists it hosts.


Tickets: £18. Info: druidstone.co.uk JOHN-PAUL DAVIES


SWANSEA SOUND Le Public Space, Newport Sat 28 May


Delayed from early February for the


usual reasons, Le Pub will host the debut Welsh headline gig for Swansea Sound, only one member of whom actually comes from Swansea but who have so much indiepop pedigree, acolytes of the scene will surely flock from miles around. Formed in 2020 by Hue Williams, thirtysomething years on from his first antics in waspish janglers The Pooh Sticks, the quartet are completed by two former Heavenly members – Rob Pursey and Williams’


musical peer Amelia Fletcher – and Ian Button, Fletcher’s bandmate in The Catenary Wires.


long-term


Naming themselves after a defunct local radio station, and their debut album Live At The Rum Puncheon after a long-gone alehouse in the Townhill district, Swansea Sound are by no means Pooh Sticks (or Heavenly) redux, but retain a taste for 60s wistfulness, 70s powerpop and punkier tempos alike. Song topics range from the serious (antifascism) to the trivial (record collecting) but are delivered in each case with wit, poise and earworms.


Tickets: £7. Info: lepublicspace.co.uk NOEL GARDNER


derekbremner.com


Abraham Rowe


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