Rogue Jones’ friends weave the band’s songs with various different genres – new experimental album

To celebrate 5 years since the release of their debut album, ‘V U’, Rogue Jones releases U V – a collection of remixes of the album’s songs – on April 30th.

To form this collection, the band asked 10 of their friends from Welsh music scene to put their own stamp on the album’s tracks – artists including Rob Ackroyd (Florence and the Machine), 9 Bach, Ani Glass and Pat Morgan (Datblygu).

Last October, exactly 5 years after VU’s release, BBC Radio Cymru started playing one remix every week, and now here’s a chance to hear the whole album in its entirety – U V will be released on April 30 via BLINC Records. Anelog’s remix of the song Pysgota is available to stream now.

On the album curation process, Ynyr Morgan Ifan of the band said …

“Although the project has been in the pipeline for some time, this past year has given us the focus to get it finished and to reach out to other musicians at such an isolated time. But this was not a collaborative process – we decided at an early stage that we wanted to give the remixers complete creative freedom.

“Each element of the original tracks would be sent to the remixers, right down to the smallest pieces – a 3-second clip of a cymbal, a pick-up of a vocoder backing vocal, or a piece of poetry that never made it to the finished track – perhaps this forced the remixers to move further from the original than is usually the case.”

The band, described by Robin Denselow of the Guardian as “charmingly quirky” in a review of V U, have also been working on new material:

“The remix album has been in operation for about 3 years and has coincided with recording sessions for the band’s second album, which have tended towards the experimental and electronic. ”

Bethan Mai from the band added:

“Placing one of your songs, many of which has needed sweat and soul to create, in the hands of another artist and letting him or her rip it up, turn it inside out and transform it into something completely different is something beautifully horrific but it’s cathartic for an artist to do.

“This is a celebration of the fact that a piece of art, once it’s left the hands of its creator, takes on a life of its own and is interpreted as unique to each listener. It’s a celebration of how each artist’s mind can lead us to new ground, and what better artists to lead us than these.

“We love all remixes and thank you to everyone who took part and breathed new life into the songs – Rob Ackroyd, Anelog, 9 Bach, Pat Morgan, Ëadyth, Ani Glass, BITW, Carw, Frank Naughton and H O R S E S.”

The album will be available from leading download and streaming services. Pre-order the album now from the BLINC online shop https://blinc.bandcamp.com

ALBUM – U V

Artist:  Rogue Jones

Tracks:

1. Halen (BITW Remix)
2. Pysgota (Anelog Remix)
3. Hungry (Frank Naughton Remix)
4. Afalau (Ani Glass Remix)
5. Priscilla (H O R S E S Remix)
6. Baby (Pat Morgan Remix)
7. King Is Dead (Rob Ackroyd Remix)
8. Little Pig of Tree (9 Bach Remix)
9. Kelly (Ëadyth Remix)
10. Human Heart (Carw Remix)

Format:  Digital only

Release Date:  Friday, April 30

Cat:  BLINC 23

It’s a pleasure to announce that Bethan Mai has been in the studio to record solo material, with the co-vocalist and co-songwriter of Rogue Jones set to release her first E.P. ‘Bach‘ on June 16th on Blinc Records, and a brand new video to accompany the launch.

Recorded at Tŷ Drwg Studio in Cardiff, this pioneering Welsh electro-pop is a cacophony of primitive beats and warm and charming melodies. It pushes the boundaries between structure and sound, where influences from old Welsh melodies and traditional chanting meet electronic beats to shake your midrift.

This striking E.P. from this mighty and exciting artist is darkly enchanting. Entitled Bach (Welsh: Small), it is anything but small, with the artist from Cwm Gwendraeth carving her own sound which is a clear departure from what she has achieved with the weird and wonderful cult band Rogue Jones…

“A charmingly quirky band from Cardiff” – Robin Denslow, The Guardian.

Bethan is known for her memorable performances with the band…

“An interesting character to say the least. She flung herself around the stage, screamed like an angry jay bird and sung her heart out all the while playing just about every instrument she could get her hands on” – Charley Piercey, Buzz Magazine.

Bach is out digitally on June 16th on Blinc Records, available from iTunes, Google Play, Amazon Music, Spotify, etc., also from the Blinc Records shop, blincrecords.com/shop

More details to follow…