As has become a Buzz tradition, we’re looking back on 2022’s movers and shakers – some of which you’ll remember from Buzz mag pages past – and earmark them for even greater success as our Ones To Watch in Wales (and beyond) in 2023: from music artists like Bug Club and MINAS to Welsh future-classics in pop culture like Steeltown Murders, and more. No pressure then! Take it away, Emma Way.
MUSIC
BLANK FACE
After performing at both this year’s Butetown Carnival and Llais, Cardiff’s Blank Face is without a doubt one to keep an eye out for in 2023. Fusing multiple musical styles, Blank Face – also known as ‘One Take God’ due to his self-confessed fast lyricism and free styling capability – really has an eye for different styles, collaborating with the likes of The Honest Poet, LowKiy and Lasse.
Info: Instagram
CHARLIE J
Independent south Walian rapper Charlie J writes sun-tinged hip-hop verse from both self-produced and borrowed beats. Inspired by the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Loyle Carner and D’Angelo, Charlie has released two EPs in 2022, A Moment Later and A Moment’s Notice. “For the first couple of months, I’m gonna take some time out to work on some new music,” he told us, looking forward to the new year. “I want to do more festivals and more shows across the UK.”
Info: Bandcamp
LIVE, DO NOTHING
After recently releasing their debut album Hiraeth & Loathing, indie-pop-punkers Live, Do Nothing have been looking to branch out from their usual Cardiff and Newport shows to Bristol, Leeds and the Cotswolds. With a brand spanking new release on Specialist Subject Records, it can only take the band onto bigger and better things for 2023. Give the record a listen if you don’t believe us!
Info: Bandcamp
THE BUG CLUB
Caldicot indie trio The Bug Club have also been busy this year, releasing their first album Green Dream In F#, recording a session for Marc Riley on BBC 6 Music, touring consistently with support slots for the likes of Pavement, Pip Blom and Los Bitchos, and making the 6 Music B-list. Will things slow down for them in 2023? With a sizeable fist of UK tour dates booked from January to April, we very much doubt it.
Info: Bandcamp
MINAS
Another of those cases where an artist has been working quietly behind the scenes and then blows everyone out of the water when they emerge. Here, we’re talking about Minas, a Greek/Welsh producer now striking out on his own with All My Love Has Failed Me. Creating cathartic responses to topics like the cost of living, protesting and mental health, Minas fuses his trademark “ramblepunk” with hip-hop, dance and pop.
Info: Facebook
STAGE
DUKE AL DURHAM
Spoken word poet and award-winner Duke Al Durham discovered he had Type 1 diabetes in late 2017. Already a keen writer since the age of 11, this spurred Duke to perform spoken word poetry and rap on his diagnosis as well as living with OCD, collected in his first published release, Bittersweet. More recently, Duke has been inspired by nature and loneliness in his latest poetry collection, LOST.
Info: Instagram
TOM BEVAN
Assistant Producer at Theatr Clwyd, Tom Bevan is also fresh from being a touring cast member of Florence Espeut-Nickless’ Destiny. After a month’s residency at Edinburgh Fringe Festival and touring the solo theatre show across 21 UK venues, Tom has additionally been awarded a Stage One bursary to fund his next project, Jessie’s Tattoo Club, a gig-theatre show inspired by the UK’s first female tattoo artist Jessie Knight.
Info: Twitter
CONNOR ALLEN
Grime artist and Children’s Laureate Connor Allen’s first grime/theatre mashup Making Of A Monster took the WMC by storm in November. It’s a combo we don’t often see in theatre, one that resonates with groups who find it hard to fit into everyday society. Fashioned from a blog post of his, titled “I am enough: the impact of absent fathers”, Allen’s work with young people, and now theatre, feels constructive and hopeful.
Info: Twitter
BLAZE OF GLORY
The 1950s-set Welsh National Opera production Blaze Of Glory follows a group of Valleys miners after a mining disaster, leading to a series of unlikelier events: kidnapping a yodeller, taking part in an historic transatlantic link-up with Paul Robeson and blazing a trail (geddit?) to the Eisteddfod… all while celebrating the land of song. Set for performances across February and March, it’s got potential to be one of those operas that crosses over to a wider audience.
Info: here
PIJIN
Based on the award-winning novel Pigeon by Alys Conran and adapted for the stage by Bethan Marlow (Made In Wales, Afiach), Pijin (Pigeon) pines to leave a troubled home, escaping reality with his imagination until his life is suddenly turned upside down. Pijin will be shown across Welsh theatres in February and March, with both Welsh and English speakers and captions across all performances.
Info: here
FILM & TV
GWÏON MORRIS JONES
Securing his first TV appearance in S4C’s Dal Y Mellt, Gwïon Morris Jones’ central role as Carbo in the six-part adaptation of Iwan ‘Iwcs’ Roberts’ novel looks to be leaving a mark on Sunday night audiences. The Royal Central School Of Speech & Drama graduate will be continuing his string of TV roles in 2023 with tech drama Itopia and Masters Of The Air.
Info: Instagram
MATTHEW DAVID
Creator of Skinny Fat, which was runner-up at this year’s Iris Prize, Matthew David wrote and directed the five-minute Welsh LGBTQ+ comedy-drama to bring attention to abusive partners and body dysmorphia. Writing about shopping trips with his mum, Matthew also stars as a man trying on clothes while his supportive mother, Hi-de-Hi!’s Ruth Madoc, offers advice and support to a son dealing with an abusive relationship.
Info: Twitter
LEE HAVEN JONES
Welsh-language ‘lyrical’ horror Gwledd/The Feast earned itself UK and US recognition in 2022 – a first for the now-feature film director Lee Haven Jones, following past acting roles for stage and screen and directing Doctor Who and Vera. After an age in dialogue-based TV, Jones wanted to focus on the quieter, more visual side of things, drawing on the rich mythology of Wales at the hands of a disturbing presence preying on a family at their home in the mountains.
Info: Twitter
CHLOE FAIRWEATHER
Breakthrough winner at this year’s Welsh BAFTAs, Chloe Fairweather is the producer of Dying To Divorce, a docuseries filmed over the course of five years which takes viewers into the heart of gender-based violence in Turkey. Specialising in the more intimate and sensitive side of filmmaking, Dying To Divorce captures women standing up for themselves as Turkey’s society begins to fall apart.
Info: Instagram
STEELTOWN MURDERS
New factual crime drama written by Ed Whitmore (Manhunt, Safe House), Steeltown Murders is four part-drama set in both 1973 and the early 2000s, and starring Life On Mars’ Philip Glenister and Gavin & Stacey’s Steffan Rhodri. The drama, which relives a hunt for a serial killer who murdered young women in Port Talbot, will showcase Welsh talent both in front of and behind the camera, filmed across south Wales.
Info: here
FOOD & DRINK
DERI REED
Deri Reed, also known as the ‘ethical chef’, set up community kitchen Cegin Hedyn in Cardigan this year. Founder of the award-winning Warren in Carmarthen, Reed’s Cegin Hedyn (Seed Kitchen) provides nutritious meals for anyone, no matter their financial state, with locally produced ingredients. Speaking about the project, Reed told us: “To act now, in the current climate, seeing that human perspective as people go from a bad situation to worse. I want to share what I’ve got.”
Info: Instagram
CARDIFF WINE PASSPORT
An initiative set up this year to get people drinking wine at indie venues in Cardiff, Cardiff Wine Passport aims to boost Cardiff’s native hospitality sector by offering six glasses of wine from a choice of independently-owned participating venues every Sunday to Thursday once a year, at places you might not normally visit. The list this year included Bar 44, Asador 44, Rum & Fizz and Scaredy Cats. Let’s toast a glass to its return.
Info: here
SIMMIE VEDI
Female head chefs are still sadly hard to come by, but new recruit Simmie Vedi has revamped the menu at traditional French spot Bully’s in Cardiff, bringing her internal “library of Indian flavours” to the cosy, refined atmosphere the restaurant is recognised for. Although having no formal training, Vedi learned to play with food from a young age thanks to her family – an inspiring tale for any aspiring foodie.
Info: Instagram
MAGGIE OGUNBANWO
When Nigerian immigrant Maggie Ogunbanwo was asked to create something inspired by Black Lives Matter by the Welsh Government, she was sceptical of it being a “tokenism thing”, as she told Buzz’s Eve Davies. But with the dream of writing a cookbook since childhood, The Melting Pot came into fruition anyway. Next thing she knew, it’d been crowned ‘best in the world’ at the Gourmund World Cook Book Awards; its follow-up, African Twist: Plant-Based Recipes was released this year.
Info: Twitter
CEYLON SPICY POT
Broadway’s Ceylon Spicy Pot is the newest addition to Cardiff’s growing south Indian food scene; its Sri Lankan menu featuring hoppers, biryani, curries, traditional Ceylon dishes and noodles. On a recent snoop around the place, Buzz’s Jonathan Swain said: “The chance of crab curry is too good to pass up, though prospect trumps reality. That body comes hewn into rustic hunks, in a deep brick-red sauce it’s impossible to resist dipping into.”
Info: Just Eat
ART & CULTURE
HANAN ISSA
Wales’ new poet laureate Hanan Issa – the first Muslim appointee – wants to represent the literacy landscape through pressing issues of the day, like the current energy crisis, as well as supporting people access help for dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, which is close to her heart. A Welsh-Iraqi writer, filmmaker and artist, going forward, she also hopes to update school curricula in accordance with Wales’ current cultural landscape.
Info: Twitter
MAKENZY BEARD
Named Wales’ most prodigious young artist of her generation, Swansea’s Makenzy Beard discovered her love for painting during lockdown, and this year, aged 15, held her first solo show at Blackwater Gallery in Cardiff. Makenzy Beard: The Painter Girl featured original portraits as well as those from her debut appearance at the Royal Academy Summer Show, where her painting John Tucker received acclaim.
Info: Instagram
JOSEPH THOMAS
Cardiff Met graduate and fashion designer Joseph Thomas launched his sustainable, androgynous fashion brand Haus Of Androgyny in 2021. His latest collection of high-end, monochromatic streetwear combines a queer edge and illustrations from his nephew, in the hopes of letting people express themselves free of preconceived constraints. And with sustainability at its heart, it’ll never go out of fashion.
Info: here
HER MARK
A programme for women and those who identify as such, Her Mark encourages collaboration and creativity. In 2022, they worked with Ffotogallery and curated the exhibition Far A Day – also at Blackwater Gallery, it showcased artists Fran Williams and Miranda Collis, who explored the topics of grief, childhood and the British countryside. Her Mark also offers mentoring, events, retreats and even nutritional advice.
Info: here
BOCS
Making its new home at Cardiff Bay’s Wales Millennium Centre in 2022, Bocs – yep, that’s Welsh for box – was the first immersive experience of its kind at an arts centre in Wales. Its programme included 360° films Ripples Of Kindness, Goliath and Playing With Reality, alongside opportunities for young creators to gain hands-on immersive media experience. Wrapping up the year with its final projects, Bocslooks set to continue into 2023.
Info: here
SOCIAL & COMMUNITY
THE TALKING SHOP / THE DEMOCRACY BOX
Talking Shops, located in Merthyr Tydfil, Newport and Cardiff, are multipurpose hubs which focus on giving out information free of charge to whoever requires it. As well as being an open space to discuss democratic structures and systems, you can also find out about events and culture near you. You can also find the Democracy Box at your Talking Shop – funded by Clwstwr, this is a project which looks to end the shame surrounding not knowing the basics of UK democracy by sharing all the information 16-26-year-olds need to feel confident.
Info: The Talking Shop / The Democracy Box
THE CORP
An indoor market home to a sheaf of Cardiff’s indie businesses up and running, the Corp has just celebrated its first birthday and is looking forward to having multiple Christmas pop-ups to end the year on a high. The market, a rebirthed former pub in Canton, also hosts events such as open mics, streamed rugby matches and you can book out the large backyard upon request for private events.
Info: Facebook
PITCH IN
Dedicated to producing workshops that help break gender barriers in the indie scene, Pitch In is a start-a-band project created by National Music Officer Rosey Brown, which launched in Cardiff in March. Teaching beginner lessons in guitar, bass, drums, keys, and songwriting, these initial workshops were run by Gwenllian Anthony of Adwaith, Casper and Chris of Telgate and drummer Emma Daman Thomas. Here’s hoping for an encore.
Info: here
RAILWAY GARDENS
Following the continued success of Canton’s Bone Yard – a cluster of shipping containers repurposed as small businesses – the people behind it are teaming up with community action group Green Squirrel to transform an unused area of land off Cardiff’s Railway Street into a similar community hub. With the containers already in place, they’ll be looking for people to contribute to its development in 2023.
Info: here
HAY PRIDE
Once founders Graham Nolan and Helen Jane Campbell noticed the lack of LGBTQ+ spaces in Hay-On-Wye, they had to do something about it. That something was Hay’s first-ever Pride this summer. Headquartered at the newly refurbished Hay Castle, Hay Pride is now set up as a nonprofit, taking donations from local businesses and the National Lottery Community Fund and giving isolated queer members of the historic border town a sense of community.
Info: Instagram
words EMMA WAY
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