POWER UP spotlight artist:
An exciting force of Grime and Hip-Hop, hailing from Cardiff, Wales. Having won a Triskel Award at the Welsh Music Prize 2020 and gaining the support from likes of; The MOBO’s, BBC 1Xtra, BBC Wales, BBC Sport, ITV, S4C and FOCUS Wales Festival. Mace The Great is now primed for a huge elevation within his career. He continues to carry Cardiff on his shoulders with pride and this evident love he holds for his city is reciprocated tenfold by his local community. Keeping humble and true to his roots, he is quickly building the foundations towards global success following on from the critically acclaimed EP ‘My Side Of The Bridge’ released in March 2021 via the MTGM label which was further solidified when Cardiff City FC used the headline track from the EP for their 21/22 kit launch.

As we head into 2023 the future is looking very exciting for the Welsh star as he plans on scheduling releases for his next batch of singles and music videos which will roll straight into his next highly anticipated EP ready for launch in the new year!

Sophie is a writer of water and earth, of migration and roots. These threads of poetry are woven throughout Sophie’s life in celebration of the kaleidoscopic forces that make up the unnameable essence of being.

After selling/donating/gifting 95% of her belongings in 2017, Sophie now permanently slow-travels across Europe in a self-converted van with her partner and two rescue-hounds. This continual pilgrimage to the land invites a more nomadic, minimalist way of being into life and art, encouraging the exploration of issues such as land ownership, borders, nationalism, consumerism, environmentalism, belonging, transience, technology, the language of the land, and the poetic imagination

Literary activist Rufus Mufasa is a pioneering participatory artist who advocates hip hop education and poetry development accessible to all. Lyricist, rapper and performance art poet, with an MA in scriptwriting.

Rufus is a Hay Writer at Work, supports several intergenerational projects, mentors men at Parc Prison and is planning her fourth visit to Finland, where she recently headlined the Helsinki Literature Festival. As well as being the first Welsh artist to perform at Ruisrock festival, she mentors Finnish beat poets, and now writes trilingually as a result.

My whole life, I have faced the unimaginable torture of racism. It has been unyielding and suffocating. In fact, the only moments I feel any semblance of freedom is when I imprison myself in my own home. It has ravaged me beyond comprehension.

I have spent too much time accepting people’s definition of MY ART and of ME. I have accepted comparisons to artists I have never listened to, or even been inspired by. I was afraid the ‘industry’ and its gatekeepers wouldn’t let me in, but in truth, I’m more scared of looking in the mirror one day and seeing someone I don’t recognise or like very much.

With all due respect, I’m not a rapper. I am not an R&B singer. I am not a soul singer. I am not ‘urban’ or someone making ‘black music’. I make music and I am black!

I am pop, I am cinematic, I am rock, I am punk, I am alternative, I am electronic. Something like Michael Jackson, Future Islands, Prince, Coldplay, FKA TWIGS, or Labrinth – but nothing like any of them or anyone else.

MAUVEY was born as a result of my obsessions with storytelling, songwriting, cinema, and fashion. I was angry and frustrated and happy and grateful and in LOVE and desperate for the world to change. I was all of this, all at once, and so was my music – and it still is. It’s MAUVEY.

Our world is dying of a broken heart. With LOVE we might be able to mend it and each other. That’s what distributing LOVE is.

The Honest Poet (THP), South Wales based singer/songwriter, has unique soulful vocals which emanate raw emotion. Drawing his inspiration from his life, cultivating each story from an honest viewpoint. Poetry plays a significant role throughout the entirety of THP’s music. Infusing hip hop, spoken word and soul combining with open and honest lyrics.

Mirari occupies a transcendent musical space with unique flows and distinctive melodies. Seamlessly blending rap and soulful R&B vocals with mellifluous jazz and hip-hop production, his music is familiar yet refreshing. The Cardiff based singer songwriter has made a name for himself as an innovator in its bubbling music scene. A regionally popular example of this is him sampling ‘Nights Over Egypt’ by The Jones Girls and turning it into the smooth and vibrant rap record known as ‘Chanel Bleu’. His eclectic style has earned him a leading role in Cardiff’s live music rebirth post-pandemic with him preforming at FOCUS Wales and headlining a number of live music venues across the city.

JP is a 21 year old from Wrexham, who’s been working on his music for just 2 years now, and already has numerous releases under his belt.

Massimo was born, and spent most of his life, beneath Carnic Alps (north-east of italy).

In the charm of a borderland dwelled by an ancient idiom, he forms his very own musical language that portrays modern music, folklore and poetry through using Italian, English and Carnico. This expressiveness is embodied through his first ‘ø’ (2020) and ‘o’ (2021); two eps that collect songs written by Massimo many years ago, which are manifestations of a visceral search for everything that exists outside time and genre schemes.

A music of profound descent into human soul, into desolation and recesses of feelings. His debut album ‘HRUDJA’ will be released in fall 2023.

Noah Bouchard is a 25 year old alternative hip hop artist from Cardiff, Wales, now based in East London. He is known for creating lyrically focused and vulnerable music. He has released several projects over the course of his career, including solo EPs and two collaborative projects as part of the lo-fi hip-hop duo Salad Saladson. He spent the last 2 years releasing independent singles, which have helped to establish his signature sound and spread his music to new listeners. One of his earlier songs, Pantomime, has now streamed over 3 million times on Spotify alone, gaining hundreds of thousands of streams and views on other platforms also. Noah has performed countless times across Wales and in other parts of the UK, including 2 intimate sold out headline shows in Cardiff and London, as well as performances at the BBC 6 Music Fringe Festival, Hub Festival and the National Lottery’s ReviveLive Tour.

Noah is one of the current artists supported by Youth Music UK’s NextGen Fund and has had support previously from the BBC Wales Horizon’s Launchpad Fund, as well as being played on BBC Radio 1xtra, BBC Radio Wales, Reprezent, Unity Radio, Netil Radio, Balamii Radio and many more. His music has been written about by a variety of publications, including EARMILK, The Word Is Bond, Stereofox and Reignland. He has also been featured on Spotify’s New Music Friday and Fresh Finds playlists, as well as playlists by Ministry of Sound and Wordplay Magazine to name a few. Currently, Noah is working towards his debut full length project, an album revolving around his journey of self discovery, finding happiness and appreciation for life. It will tell the story of the downward spiral and the healing process, aiming to provide hope to those in a dark place. He is also looking forward to the release of several separate singles in the near future which will showcase his versatility and storytelling ability.

Playing Original blues songs influenced from a time gone by and passed down a long line of tradition C.F Boneslum was drawn to the blues early in life and now follows on from a genre of musical storytellers.

Bluesmen such as Robert Johnson, Howling Wolf, Blind Willie Mctell, among many others influence songs written about life, love, drink and the devil. Foot stomping rhythms and jazz influenced nuances with the twisted sounds influenced by Tom Waits all coming together and you have…

C.F Boneslum on Vox, harmonica and Electric Guitar
Lloydd Munro on Bass Guitar
Richie Goss on Drums

Mali Hâf is an artist born and bred in Cardiff; Armed with an undying love of her Celtic roots and passion for her language, Mali aims to challenge what others perceive as ‘Welsh’ and the stereotypes that come with it.

Mali brings a modern, electronic sound infused with art-pop melodies, with a voice that’s been described as ”both ethereal and gritty” – Soultracks.

Through exploring modern elements of contemporary music whilst shining a light on traditional Welsh art, Mali has received plays on BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 6, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Wales. Much of Mali’s work has come from enjoyable collaborative efforts with artists across Wales – including producer MINAS who has helped Mali shape her sound, with an EP due to be released later in 2023.

Her live performances are vivid and draw from her balanced outlook on life. Through powerful lyrics and her unique sound Mali aims to find colour in the mundane and the struggles of life.

When Mali Hâf performs, it’s as if a magical force and power is inviting you to join her on stage. Drawing the audience in with energetic movements and playful expressions.

Her musical hero growing up was always David Byrne (Talking Heads) but also was always drawn to the sounds and distinctive voices of ‘RnB’ like Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu and current ones like Greenteapeng, Solange and SZA. But with this new sound she’s trying to achieve these current female electronic artists reflect what Mali is currently Aurora , Santigold, Sudan Archives, and MIA.

At the tender age of 19 Megan Lee is a seasoned musician. Having been raised by musician parents, Megan started touring with her family band at the tender age 11. Megan is now an accomplished singer-songwriter, a talented multi-instrumentalist and an experienced performer. Megan’s first instrument is guitar and she performs as a solo acoustic artist regularly across the UK. She also plays electric guitar, mandolin, banjo and Piano. Megan has fronted full band performances nationwide, at festivals, weddings, corporate events and grass root music venues.

Although Megan’s first love is country music, which influences her own original material and vocal styling, Megan performs a diverse range of cover material. Megan can be found performing anything from a 1950’s rock n roll classic to a current chart topper. Megan’s unique style makes each song authentic, rather than a cookie cutter copy of the original track. That’s not to say that Megan isn’t capable of mimicking the styles of other artists or playing a role. After spending many years at theatre school Megan is no stranger to playing a part and stage characterization.

Megan has appeared on many radio shows to promote her own material and has been nominated for radio awards in her chosen field. The success of Megan’s career is marked by an iTunes number 1 country album with her family band followed by 2 number 1 solo singles. Megan is an accomplished writer and has written for and with many other country artists.

Megan has an air of professionalism that isn’t often found in performers her age. Having spent many years performing to audiences in their thousands at some of the UK’s great festivals, television performances, song writers’ rounds, pantomime and musical theatre shows and playing subtle acoustic covers in bars, Megan has all the skills to embark on a bright and fulfilling career in the music industry.

Vanille is the project of singer songwriter Rachel Leblanc. Existing somewhere between 60s folk and french chanson, the songs of Vanille bring the listener into a dreamlike world, filled with dense forests and ravenous heartbreaks. Her second album, decorated with lush arrangements and timeless melodies, was released in February 2023 on the independent label Bonbonbon.

Adjua is a Welsh/ Ghanaian alt-rnb vocalist and guitarist, from Splott. She has been making music since 2021 and has recently just released her debut EP, ‘Self’, which is available on all platforms. She writes and produces her own music, drawing inspiration from her life experiences and her spirituality.

Chris Ingram is a Scottish poet and singer who displays raw emotion and has been described as a visceral performer. Whose credits include shows at The Edinburgh Fringe, Llangollen Fringe, Festival no. 6, Focus Wales, BBC 6 music, and BBC Wales.

Chris Ingram’s writing is some of the finest I have ever seen come through BBC Introducing. An artist deserving of a wider audience. Tom Robinson. BBC Radio 2 and BBC 6 Music.

Jimbo is a Cardiff based artist who recently appeared on the BBC award winning documentary ‘New Voices Of Wales: The Honey Sessions Mixtape’

“Jimbo Is a versatile artist who can create a track with vicious flows or could deliver hard hitting lyrics over kicked back melodie, an artist that is definitely one to watch” Beacons Cymru

Wrexham’s Endeavour, Benzy, demonstrates a unique style from the Wrexham hip hop scene, Benzy brings catchy club bangers paired with more personal/storytelling material.

Komorebi is a Japanese term meaning “sunlight filtering through leaves”. It’s a fitting moniker for Tarana Marwah, a New Delhi (India) based electronic artist, whose lush Bjork and Radiohead-inspired soundscapes are described as “hypnotic,” “haunting,” and “otherworldly”. Since releasing her first EP in 2015, Komorebi has been on a steady ascent, not just as a result of touring extensively in India and performances at festivals such as SXSW 2022 & 2019, Treefort, Red Bull Tour Bus, NH7 Weekender, but also scoring projects for Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, winning the Vh1 Sound Nation League competition in 2019, collaborating with MTV for Memory Karaoke and also being nominated for a MTV European Music Award. Komorebi is an ‘AKAI Alesis’ sponsored artist who has played on BBC Radio and is also a featured artist on Red Bull and Resident Advisor.

And there’s more to come. Her next body of work features more experimentation with art, language, and various unique instruments. Fitting, considering that while Komorebi is revered in her home country of India, she is poised to take on the world.

Rebecca Hurn is a global award winning folk/pop singer-songwriter from South Wales. Rebecca was the only unsigned artist to headline The Isle Of Wight festival in 2021, sharing the same stage as household names such as Kaiser Chiefs, Ella Henderson and similar artist Maisie Peters.

Awards include ‘Best UK Songwriter 2022’ at the UK Songwriters Awards, in partnership with The Brits; ‘Best Song’ for ‘Waves’ at Cardiff Music Awards; ‘Best Folk Songwriter’ in New York City’s Independent Music Awards. Rebecca is only one of two UK artists to be awarded this, the other being Passenger with ‘Let Her Go’. Rebecca has had five global award nominations with four different original songs from three different awards organisations since 2021.

Rebecca has a strong, ever growing social media presence, with over 20k followers, 13m views and 3.6 million likes on TikTok alone. Although unsigned, Rebecca has gained over 40k streams on multiple songs such as ‘Panic’ and ‘Something About Christmas’. Rebecca is a featured artist on the compilation album ‘Indie Christmas’ which has 1.2 million subscribers on YouTube and Spotify.

Rebecca’s success is portrayed in her frequent radio plays across BBC platforms such as Radio 2 and 6, with frequent Radio Wales BBC A-List Playlists, where she was described as ‘a national treasure’.

Rebecca has performed at some stand out festivals multiple times such as ‘The Hay Festival’, ‘How The Light Gets In’, ’Focus Wales’ and ‘The Green Gathering’. Rebecca was also a chosen act to perform at the first ‘In It Together Festival’. Alongside festivals, Rebecca has also played at some nationally recognised venues such as The Principality Stadium, Wales Millennium Center, Tramshed etc. Globally recognised venues include New Yorks ‘Pianos’ and ‘The Bitter End’, home to Lana Del Ray and Lady Gaga’s early success. Her two most recent headline shows at Tiny Rebel and Buffalo in Cardiff were completely sold out.

Alekxandr is an artist from Cardiff alchemising heartbreak into visceral, transcendent POP. Swerving between heart-wrenching ballads and glittering bangers, Alekxandr’s adventurous discography has attracted critical praise from CLASH, DIY, Attitude, Euphoria, I-D, Nylon, Line of Best Fit and Billboard as well as Spotify, KEXP & BBC Radio with The Jo Whiley Show making him ‘Obsession of the Week’.

Previous live shows include 93 Feet East, Heaven, The Ivy Club, PinUps, Vogue Fabrics, Hackney Showroom, Vault Festival and a recent North American tour including ‘School Night’. Alekxandr is currently completing work on his debut album – due for release this September.

Evrah is known for her fearless energy and hard-hitting lyrics. Her music and poetry have featured on various radio and TV stations including; Janice Long, Adam Walton & Huw Stephens of BBC Radio Wales, BBC Sport, ITV Wales and BBC Two. With viral videos racking up over 5 million views across social media. Having recently signed with Labrynth Music; Evrah is currently working on her second musical album whilst her second poetry collection, ‘Define Hope’ launches in May 2023 via Verve Poetry Press.

Jack in Water (William Clapson) is a British artist living in Mallorca known for his melancholic and alternative music where he explores various themes such as masculinity and mental health.

Last year he released his debut album ‘You Don’t Feel Like Home’ following a series of EP’s . Trauma, repression, difficult family relationships or alcohol abuse are some of the complex aspects that this body of work addresses in contrast with the freshness provided by the tender ballad dedicated to his best friend and previous collaborator Oliver Chapman in ‘Unconditional Love’.

In 2022 he released an EP of songs he wrote during 2020 called ‘The Year We Lost’. It is a set of songs written as gifts requested by fans and friends when COVID hit and the world started to lock down. There are songs from friends to friends, Mothers to sons and partner to partner. All were forced apart so wanted to send a message of hope or love to each other via the medium of music. What does 2023 have in store? A new album and a few more surprises.

‘A songwriter with real depth.’ Clash

‘Out of his comfort zone and into the intimidating space of emotional vulnerability.’ Atwood

Ellen Froese is what you’d call a “prolific artist”; committed, too. For someone who only just passed the threshold of their mid-20s, she’s amassed a resolutely solid body of work and, with a variety of projects, achieved more than some many years her senior. For Each Flower Growing, Froese’s fourth full-length, produced in collaboration with the Sheepdogs’ Sam Corbett, is her most accomplished statement to date, drawing on her established sound as a folk & country-based singer/songwriter while incorporating a wider frame of reference in the rich production, supple instrumentation, and overall sonic soundworld. It’s much harder to pin down than any simple description can convey, making it all the more worthwhile to check out.

The impressive scope of this rich, imaginative amalgam of an album is largely due to the expansive creative vision of Froese herself, who says the album is “based around ideas of 1970s science exploration via Carl Sagan’s series Cosmos, Arthur Russell’s drum machine folk music, finding humour in sadness, and analyzing past relationship choices”. Some of these guiding elements can be attributed simply to the continuing growth of a serious artist, but others lie in less sunny realities. Jill Mack, Froese’s original recording engineer and close friend, sadly passed away during the making of For Each Flower Growing, and subsequently the album became, as she puts it, “something different – it is now an homage to her and will always hold memories of my time in the studio with her”.

Despite this deep sadness underpinning the album’s creation, Froese was lucky to find a wonderful creative foil in Sam Corbett, helping her move past old ideas and reimagine her conception of what “folk music” can be. With the addition of drum machines, synths, and more intricate vocal production techniques, Froese reflects that “folk music can be anything I want it to be; I don’t have to be stuck in an antiquated mindset to hold strong musical ties to the past”. And the results of that mindset are stellar; For Each Flower Growing is exquisitely warm and inviting, foregrounding the singer’s lilting, ethereal vocals atop right-in-the-pocket, pillow-y drumming, melodic bass lines, ripples of Hammond organ layers, and – for the headphone listener – a bevvy of expertly-placed sonic details tucked into the margins of this highly accomplished album.

The album is an easy listen, immediately inviting and begging for repeat listens. And while it sits nicely alongside contemporary songsmiths such as Angel Olsen, Laura Veirs, Jessica Pratt, and Adrienne Lenker (Big Thief), Froese’s sound moves beyond those realms, also recalling the aforementioned Arthur Russell, an iconoclastic songwriter and producer whose songs traded in similar contemplative, horizon-gazing moods, and even the more relaxed moments of Jeff Tweedy and Wilco. In other moments, Froese’s roots in the trad-folk world shine through, revealing an affinity for ’60s British folk trailblazers such as Fairport Convention and Nick Drake, as well as under the radar gems like Judee Sill and Sybille Baier. Froese recently completed a string of live dates with beloved fellow Saskatchewanians Deep Dark Woods, and she is gearing up for a residency at the legendary Cameron House in Toronto for the month of November. The album is due out on November 10 via Victory Pool Records, and appreciators of fine music would be well-advised to check it out.

Genre blending, indie-pop collective Campfire Social craft a dynamically rich sound with bright harmonies layered over hypnotic melodies that help to underline a continued theme of self deprecation with a feeling of hope. Their honest approach echoes a love of 90’s ‘heart-on-sleeve’ emo culture. At times sobering, a positive message prevails; we’re better together.

Pop, R&B, and Hip Hop infused singer-songwriter. Aisha Kigs’s sound oozes ‘cool, sexy, fun’ through her vocal arrangements and visuals.

She introduced us to her vibrant tongue in cheek lyricism and rap abilities through her own take of Ms Dynamite’s classic ‘Dynamitee’ on SoundCloud in late 2020. Aisha has co-wrote and featured in collaborations including rappers ‘Red Wine Headaches’ with Noah Bouchard, and Ogun with ‘The Voice’ and Eadyth’s Harddwch Du EP with ‘Baby Girl’.

Combined with her ability to write a killer hook, Aisha Kigs is a risk taker. Crossing-over Pop sounds with R&B and Hip Hop. She dares to experiment and go beyond the traditional boundaries of Pop and R&B; bringing her Welsh-Tanzanian heritage to the forefront unapologetically and unfiltered.

Aisha Kigs debuted in BBC’s ‘New Voices from Wales’ (The Honey Sessions Mixtape) and was an awardee of BBC Horizon’s Launchpad Programme 2022. Aisha Kigs’s debut single ‘DIME A DOZEN’ which was featured in S4C’s series/Cyfres 4 of Curadur.

Darren Ford, aka 4Dee, has been right at the heart of the Welsh hip hop scene since the early 1980’s. His involvement in hip hop in the Welsh capital of Cardiff can be traced back to 1983 as one of the area’s original b-boys. We’re pleased to welcome 4Dee in Wrexham for his FOCUS Wales debut in 2023!

Just two 30 year old sexy, depressed goddess’ with songs of being broke, heartbroken, high and the baddest in the game. With sweet melodic vocals, cut throat rhymes and nostalgic riddims courtesy of Miss Mercy Jane, we will take you on a Trip to Nostalgiavillie, bringing you something you didn’t know you needed but now can’t live without.

Marrying lyrics of disarming intimacy to melodies of a blindsiding extravagance, Mantaraybryn invites the listener into a world of his own vibrant definition. Characterised by his unmistakable vocals, he adds layers of emotional depth to complex narratives that unfold in songs awash with references to nature, history, literature and love.

Hannah Scott draws much of the inspiration for her music from her affinity with Italy. A year living and working on an olive press in rural Tuscany in her late teens provided the backdrop to her early work and she has found her musical home with creative partner, writer-producer and multi-instrumentalist Stefano Della Casa, who she met in London but may well have met in Italy years earlier when passing through the train station he was working in!

Hannah performs contemporary folk music and is building a loyal following thanks to her distinctive voice, powerful melodies and thought-provoking lyrics which leave a lasting impression on her audiences. Her latest album “Drawn To Darkness” was funded by Help Musicians UK and a Kickstarter campaign which reached more than double the initial target.

Her music has been heard in hit TV series, Grey’s Anatomy, and has been played regularly on the BBC with releases supported by Dermot O’Leary and Bob Harris on BBC Radio 2 and Tom Robinson on 6 Music. She’s also been featured by MOJO, The Guardian and Clash Magazine. She has been selected to take part in English Folk Expo’s highly competitive Artist Mentoring Programme this year, while live highlights include opening for Madeleine Peyroux to an audience of 2000 at Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre and travelling across Ireland with Paddy Casey to open shows for him in Dublin and in a tiny Irish speaking village near Galway! Her arresting live performances have also earned her support slots for artists including Seth Lakeman, Cara Dillon and 10cc and she has twice travelled to New York festival Mondo NYC.

Maddie Morris was the winner of the BBC Radio 2 Young folk award, and is a contemporary folk musician, who is heavily influenced by traditional protest song Originally from Bedfordshire and currently based in Leeds, Maddie is a strong believer that ‘the personal is political’, and uses her own experiences to raise discussion around issues such as LGBTQ rights, CSA, Feminism and trauma, too name a few.