MELIN MELYN
The Gate, Cardiff - 12th October 2026
Support: Internet Fatigue,vMorn, Betsan, Farai KD
This show was billed as "Cardiff Music City Festival in partnership with Horizons/Gorwelion and Beacons Cymru present...", meaning it was supported by organisations that promote up and coming Welsh artists, and formed part of the wider Cardiff Music City Festival. Five Welsh acts, two stages, one venue.
It was our first post-Covid visit to The Gate, it being the host of the last gig we saw pre-Covid. It's a lovely place, a converted church with tiered pews along three sides of the auditorium and a stage at one end. For this one, a smaller, temporary stage was also constructed in front of one set of seating, providing a kind of mini 'Later...With Jools Holland' kind of vibe. But without Jools Holland...
We arrived just in time to catch the tail end of openers Farai KD. Farai Kuudzadombo, to give him his full name, is according to his profiles, an artist, drummer and motivational speaker. He has a full band, including two female vocalists, and their music is a mix of R&B, Afro-fusion and jazz-funk. Not my cup of tea, if I'm being honest, but they do sound pretty tight and if you like the sound of them, probably well worth seeing.
There was barely 5 minutes between acts (a good thing), and next up was bi-lingual singer-songwriter Betsan. While she normally has a band backing her, she appeared solo on this occasion, playing piano and acoustic guitar. Sadly, MrsRobster and I became very bored very quickly as none of her rather slow, uninspiring songs clicked with us, and as she has a tendency to oversing in a TV talent-show style, I started to get a little irritated by the end.
Thankfully, my spirits were lifted by the appearance of Morn, a young, noisy lot from Abergavenny who are signed to Speedy Wunderground. They comprise two pairs of siblings, and make a good-old racket influenced (to my ears, anyway) by the likes of Sonic Youth, early Pixies, Pavement and the like. But to be fair, given their ages, their actual influences may well be more contemporary. Either way, it doesn't matter, they certainly woke us up.
Internet Fatigue are from Aberyswyth and are said to be a trio, but at The Gate they appeared as a duo. They actually keep their names and personal details pretty quiet, allowing their music to represent them. That music is basically electronic (UK garage, jungle, trip-hop, etc.) with spoken-word poetry over the top, all garnished with glitchy video and archival film footage beamed onto a screen. I'd like to get to know them a bit more before I judge them. I thought the music over-powered the vocals, and it's the lyrics that I think would be the selling point for me.
Finally, the only band I was familiar with before the night - the glorious Melin Melyn. The six millers of the yellow windmill overlooking Melin Village seemed a little despondent as, it was revealed, their greedy landlord is trying to evict them. Yet, in spite of this, they lit the gate up with their quirky songs and story-telling. They're fast-becoming one of Wales' best-loved bands, with a following that is growing with each show.
When we last caught Melin Melyn earlier in the year, their set was heavily reliant on songs from their debut album and early EPs, but this time around they found room for some new songs, hinting that a very welcome second album might be on its way.
All-in-all, a very worthwhile Monday night out, costing less than £15 per head.
"Photography" by TheRobster and MrsRobster
No comments:
Post a Comment