On This Day 10/06/2008 Goldfrapp

On this day, 10 June 2008, electronic duo Goldfrapp, played The Point, Cardiff.

Formed in 1999, the duo consisted of Alison Goldfrapp (vocals, synthesiser) and Will Gregory (synthesiser).

Goldfrapp began writing and recording their fourth album, Seventh Tree, at the end of 2006 in Bath, England; released in February 2008, it débuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart. The album is a departure from the pop and electronic-dance music featured on Supernature, and features ambient and downtempo music. The band were inspired by an acoustic radio session they had performed, which led the duo to incorporate acoustic guitars into their music to create "warm" and "delicate" sounds.

The album's lead single, "A&E", reached number ten in the UK. The single received positive reviews from critics: musicOMH found it to be "a beautifully paced ballad" and Digital Spy called it "lush, folky and organic". "Happiness", the album's second single, reached number 25 in the UK. The third single, "Caravan Girl", which describes the story of a girl that suffers from amnesia, reached number 54 in the UK.

In 2008, Alison Goldfrapp took inspiration from the character of Pierrot and English Folk. The artwork for Seventh Tree featured her dressed as a clown because it is an "iconic image" with "so many different connotations". Goldfrapp chose to tone down her overtly sexual image because she felt that it was taking over the music. Her new image, inspired by Paganism, featured her dressed in white or natural-coloured flowing gowns with loose, curly blond hair.

On this Day 06/06/2007 The Enemy

On this day, 6 June 2007, indie rock band The Enemy played Cardiff University.

Formed in Coventry in 2006, the band's debut album We'll Live and Die in These Towns (2007) went straight to number one in the UK Albums Chart on release.

They first gained acclaim when they were mentioned in NME as the act most likely to "break your windows" for 2007. They supported Oasis, The Fratellis, Kasabian, The Paddingtons, Ash, Manic Street Preachers, The Rolling Stones and Stereophonics on their UK tours.

In June 2007, The Enemy played twice at Glastonbury Festival, first in the 'Guardian Lounge' on Saturday and then the much larger 'Other Stage' on Sunday. They also headlined on the Saturday night of T in the Park in the 'Futures' tent on 7 July 2007.

Their single, "Away From Here" entered the charts at number 8 and its follow-up "Had Enough" entered the charts at number 4. Building on their rapid exposure, The Enemy appeared on the NME 2007 Rock 'N' Roll Riot Tour during September and October 2007 along with Lethal Bizzle and The Wombats as well as the Jersey Live Festival. They also supported The Rolling Stones on the last night of their European tour at the O2 Arena.

In September 2007, Alex Zane, presenter of the Xfm Breakfast Show broadcast a statement declaring that the band would not be played on his show again. After playing their single "You're Not Alone" for seven seconds, he reasoned that altercations between himself and the band over a television interview meant that they would no longer be played by him. However, during the Xfm Review of 2008, the presenters Sunta Templeton and Matt Dyson commented on the band and Zane making up.

On This Day 22/05/2007 Nas

On this day, 22 May 2007, American rapper and entrepreneur Nas played Cardiff’s Clwb Ifor University on his Hip Hop is Dead tour 2007.

Hip Hop Is Dead is the eighth studio album by American rapper Nas, released December 19, 2006, on Def Jam Recordings.

His first album for the label, it was co-financed by Nas's previous label, Columbia Records, which once distributed for Def Jam. The album's title was inspired by Nas's view of the music industry and the state of hip hop music at the time.

The album features appearances from Nas's then-wife Kelis, Def Jam label-mates Kanye West, Jay-Z, and Chrisette Michele, as well as will.i.am, Snoop Dogg, and The Game, among others.

The album debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling 355,880 copies in its first week. His fourth U.S. number-one album, it had sold 785,000 copies by March 2014, eventually over time it went gold by the RIAA. Upon its release, Hip Hop Is Dead received generally positive reviews from most music critics.

Hip Hop Is Dead was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album, ultimately losing to Kanye West's Graduation at the 50th Grammy Awards.

On This Day 21/05/2006 The Zutons

On this day, 21 May 2006, Liverpool indie rock band The Zutons, played Cardiff University. The band had recently released their second album Tired Of Hanging Around.

Musically, the sound of Tired of Hanging Around has been described as Northern soul,rock and indie pop. Pete Cashmore of NME said the songs could be divided into two sets: "'feeling threatened' and 'being threatening'. The former camp houses the melodically gorgeous," such as "Tired of Hanging Around" and "Someone Watching Over Me". The second group, meanwhile, featured "Oh Stacey (Look What You've Done!)" and "You've Got a Friend in Me". The Guardian writer Mat Snow said the Zutons' "stylistic palette has moved on to 1972 (imagine early Roxy Music without [Bryan] Ferry or [Brian] Eno); the drums have punch, the instrumental textures a rounded warmth, and the band work hard to accentuate the songs with telling detail and ear-catching hooks".

The Zutons formed in Liverpool in 2001, taking their name from Captain Beefheart's Magic Band guitarist Zoot Horn Rollo. McCabe had previously been in the band Tramp Attack. Both Pritchard and Payne were members of Edgar Jones' post Stairs band The Big Kids (with Sean's brother Howie Payne of The Stands). The band was originally a four-piece, before Payne's girlfriend Abi Harding began joining The Zutons on stage for a couple of songs mid-set, playing simple saxophone lines. The other band members liked the way her saxophone enhanced their sound and Harding became a full member, contributing vocals and sax.

Deltasonic head Alan Wills was initially dubious about the musical talents of McCabe: "I'd heard other bands Jay had played in and I thought they were all rubbish". The Coral's James Skelly was persistent in trying to convince Wills of his friend's potential and the breakthrough finally came when the bedroom demos of the newly formed Zutons persuaded the Deltasonic head into working with them.

On This Day 17/05/2006 The Kooks

Images may be subject to copyright

On this day, 17 May 2006, indie rock band Kooks played Cardiff University.

Following their first tour supporting the Thrills, the Kooks recorded their debut album, Inside In/Inside Out, at Konk studios in London in 2005. Though media attention was dominated by the release of the Arctic Monkeys debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not on the same day, Inside In/Inside Out recorded first week sales of 19,098.

Later, speaking to NME, Pritchard thanked the Arctic Monkeys for "shielding" The Kooks from the press' scrutiny. "God bless the Arctic Monkeys because if it wasn't for them we wouldn't have been so shielded. We were so overshadowed by the success of Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not because it was so monster and we crept in behind everybody's back."

Entering the UK Albums Chart at number nine, it would eventually peak at number 2 for two weeks. Singles "Eddie's Gun", "Sofa Song", "You Don't Love Me", "Naïve", "She Moves in Her Own Way" and "Ooh La" achieved chart success in the UK and Europe, while "Naïve" and "She Moves in Her Own Way" put The Kooks in the top ten for the first time.

Kev Kharas, in his review for Drowned in Sound, viewed the Kooks as "a less irreverent and more melodic Art Brut, swapping that band's caustic wit for a far nicer type of honesty."[18] Kharas also noted traces of "emo" in the band's style. AllMusic's Tim Sendra noted that the band's direction was "heavily indebted to classic rock", in particular Thin Lizzy and the Dexys, ultimately though Sendra felt "the band sounds like the Kooks and no one else".

Calling the Kooks "an important reminder that there are just as many mediocre bands in the UK as there are in the United States" reviewer Jenny Eliscu of Rolling Stone claimed the album was "utterly forgettable, shoddily produced retro rock that at its worst sounds like a Brighton-accented version of the Spin Doctors". Brian Belardi of Prefix gave a positive review, describing Inside In/Inside Out as "An almost-perfect blend of '60s-style Britpop, '90s-style Britpop, and the post-punk of the new millennium".

The album went on to be certified quadruple platinum in the UK by the British Phonographic Industry within a year and certified platinum across Europe by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.

The success of their debut album brought the band into mainstream media attention, winning the award for best UK and Ireland act at the MTV Awards in 2006 and picking up a Brit Awards nomination for "She Moves in Her Own Way", in 2007.

On This Day 27/04/2005 Martha Wainwright

On this day, 27 April 2005, Montreal singer /songwriter and musician Martha Wainwright played Cardiff’s Barfly. She had just released her self-titled debut album. Support was provided by Jonathan Rice.

Wainwright is the daughter of musicians Kate McGarrigle and Loudon Wainwright III and the younger sister of singer–composer Rufus Wainwright.

The album earned Wainwright a nomination for New Artist of the Year at the 2006 Juno Awards. The album also reached number 43 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart.

Her debut album featured contributions from her mother, Kate McGarrigle, her brother, Rufus Wainwright, her cousin, Lily Lanken, as well as organ and saxophone from Garth Hudson of The Band. Pitchfork wrote that the album "proves Martha Wainwright has a strong, distinct, fully formed musical identity, which would be just as impressive by any other name."

On This Day 22/04/2005 The D4

Images may be subject to copyright

On this day, 22 April 2005, New Zealand rock band The D-4 played Cardiff’s Barfly. Support was provided by The Caves and the Little Unknown.

The group was assembled by vocalist/guitarists Dion Palmer and Jimmy Christmas, who put together a collection of songs and built a four-piece combo, featuring founding members English Jake and Rich Mixture, during late 1998 and started playing at the Frisbee Leisure Lounge parties along Symonds Street, followed shortly thereafter by inner city pub gigs. They have also played at the Big Day Out and at the SXSW Music Festival in Austin, Texas.

The group's debut EP was released by Flying Nun Records in 1999 featuring the tracks "Girl" and "Come On!". The band was later enhanced by members Vaughan Williams (Vaughn) (bass) and Daniel Pooley (Beaver) (drums). The D4 went on a UK tour supporting The Hives.

As of May 2006, Breakfast announced that after eight years, the D4, would be taking an indefinite break from the music industry. After the split, Rich Mixture went on to replace Paul Robertson as the drummer of The Rock n Roll Machine, bassist Vaughn joined Shocking Pinks, an Auckland-based indie pop act and Jimmy Christmas formed the rock group Luger Boa who have supported Shihad on tour. Most recently, Dion has moved to NYC, formed a new band called The True Lovers and also plays bass in A Place to Bury Strangers.

On This Day 20/04/2000 Coldplay

Images may be subject to copyright

On this day, 20 April 2000, rock band Coldplay played Cardiff University on their Parachutes tour co-headlining with Welsh band Terris. The band were about to release their debut album Parachutes.

The album was produced by the band and British record producer Ken Nelson, except for one track, "High Speed", which was produced by Chris Allison. Parachutes spawned the singles "Shiver", "Yellow", and "Trouble", with a limited European release of "Don't Panic". The album was also supported by the Parachutes Tour, which saw the band performing 131 shows in their first world tour.

The album was a commercial success and was met with positive reviews from critics. Upon release, it quickly reached number one in the United Kingdom and has since been certified 9× Platinum. In the United States, the album peaked at number 51 on the Billboard 200 and eventually was certified double platinum.

It won the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album in 2002, the British Album of the Year award at the 2001 Brit Awards, and many other accolades. Parachutes is also the 22nd-best-selling album of the 21st century in the United Kingdom. As of 2020, it has sold over 13 million copies worldwide.

Melody Maker hailed Parachutes as a "masterpiece" and "a defining musical statement of 2000", while James Oldham of Uncut felt that the album "more than justifies the plaudits heaped upon [the band] by the weekly music press". The Guardian described the album as "one of the year's most uplifting albums", adding that it features "elegant songs, classic guitars and gorgeous singing".

While noting that Parachutes "brings nothing new to the table" and that its "musical reference points are immediately recognizable and difficult to overlook", Billboard stated that the band "seems talented enough to transcend this early identity crisis." Matt Diehl of Rolling Stone opined that the album "ultimately rises above its influences to become a work of real transcendence".