• Winner of Best Festival for Emerging Talent at UK Festival Awards

  • FOCUS Wales at POP Montreal 2018

    FOCUS Wales at POP Montreal 2018

    FOCUS Wales at POP Montreal 2018

    FOCUS Wales are pleased to be partnering with POP Montreal, Wales Arts International, and the Welsh Government Office in Canada to showcase 3 artists from Wales at the festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, over the 26th-30th September. Submissions have now closed.

    What is POP Montreal?
    POP Montreal International Music Festival is an annual not-for-profit curated cultural event that champions independence in the arts by presenting emerging and celebrated artistic talents from around the world. Now entering its 17th year, the five-day festival presents more than 400 artists to audiences of over 60,000. For musicians and artists, fans, curators, critics, record labels and industry, POP Montreal is the North American festival that provides a dynamic introduction to the next generation of musical talent and independent art forms. More about POP Montreal HERE

    Join us for the FOCUS Wales @ POP Montreal BBQ & Showcase:

    RSVP: HERE
    2PM – 5:30PM, SATURDAY 29th SEPTEMBER
    Marché des Possibles Park, 5635 rue St-Dominique, Montreal
    Showcase schedule:
    03:00PM HMS MORRIS
    04:00PM ANI GLASS
    05:00PM ART SCHOOL GIRLFRIEND

    + CATCH OUR ARTISTS AT THE FOLLOWING SHOWCASES DURING POP MONTREAL 2018:
    THURSDAY 27th SEPTEMBER
    11:00PM HMS MORRIS
    Quai des Brumes, 4481 Rue Saint-Denis, Montreal

    FRIDAY 28th SEPTEMBER
    09:30PM ART SCHOOL GIRLFRIEND
    Bar le “Ritz” P.D.B, 179 Jean-Talon O., Montreal

    10:30PM ANI GLASS
    Casa Del Popolo, 4873 St-Laurent, Montreal

    WHO ARE THE ARTISTS FROM WALES @ POP MONTREAL 2018?

    ANI GLASS

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    Ani Glass is the persona of Cardiff-based electronic pop musician, producer, artist and photographer, Ani Saunders. Fiercely proud of her heritage, Glass sings in her native languages Welsh and Cornish and in April 2017 released her first EP Ffrwydrad Tawel (Silent Explosion) inspired by Welsh artist Ivor Davies’ major exhibition held at National Museum of Wales, Cardiff in 2016. Ani is currently working on her debut album, due to be released in the Autumn. “Music for the end of the world, and the start of a new one.” Laura Snapes – Pitchfork | “Ani transcends language with her shimmering take on pop.” Eugenie Johnson – DIY | Ani is also known for her work with The Pipettes, joining in 2008 to record the Martin Rushent-produced Earth Vs. The Pipettes album. Prior to her stint with the polka-dotted pop band, Glass was a member of pop group Genie Queen, managed by OMD’s Andy McCluskey.


    ‘Music for the end of the world, and the start of a new one’
    PITCHFORK

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    ART SCHOOL GIRLFRIEND

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    There’s a lengthy creative thread running through Art School Girlfriend. Raised in Wrexham, North Wales, she then spent five years in London before eloping the calmer creative climes of Margate. Different projects, different guises have followed, before this young artist settled on her current moniker. A perfectionist, the material on upcoming EP ‘Measures’ – released on Paul Epworth’s Wolf Tone label – has been in the works for some time, a laborious, exacting process. But it’s all been worth it. ‘Measures’ is led out by new song ‘Bending Back’, an entrancing piece of electronic pop music that cuts a little deeper. The billowing, continually evolving production forms a soft bed for Art School Girlfriend’s vocal to relax into, a striking, direct, yet playfully experimental performance. An intriguing debut, the full EP certainly looks worth tracking down.


    ‘Wonderfully gothic doses of twilight pop’
    CLASH MUSIC

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    HMS Morris

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    HMS Morris are a Welsh Art-Pop group that delve into the wonky, odd-ball side of psychedelia, finding the balance between bold experimentalism without giving up accessibility. With an undercurrent of post-punk edginess, the group toy with colliding synthesisers and cooing vocals and still manage to create something cohesive and alluring (Clunk). Released in November 2016, the band’s debut album ‘Interior Design’ is ‘a real trip, a multi- dimensional sound that traipses across hitherto unexplored regions of sound’ (Clash). It earned the band a nomination for 2017’s Welsh Music Prize and a showcase at Indie Week Canada. The follow up is on its way very soon…


    ‘Their debut LP is a real trip, a multi-dimensional sound that traipses across hitherto unexplored regions of sound’
    CLASH MUSIC

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    #WelshMusicAbroad

    This project is delivered by FOCUS Wales in partnership with POP Montreal, Wales Arts International and the Welsh Government Office in Canada