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Australian fans of dance music have really been spoilt of late.First there was the near-spiritual experience of the Daft Punktour. Then came the storming likes of LCD Soundsystem and Pnau atthe Big Day Out. Good Vibrations has just brought Kanye West totown while next month’s Playground Weekender will featureKruder & Dorfmeister.

But arguably the biggest name of all - reaching further acrossmultiple genres than even Daft Punk or West - belongs to theBritish duo that united indie kids, electronica heads and pop fansin both clubs and live arenas across the planet. Even if, when wespeak to one of the revered Chemical Brothers, Ed Simons, he’sreeling from having recently played, in his words, “a prettyshocking gig”. Really?

“It was OK,” he reconsiders, perhaps realising the purpose ofthis interview. “It was just … one of those one-in-a-millionChemical Brothers gigs that wasn’t completely astounding.”

You see, Simons and his fellow Brother, Tom Rowlands, have longbeen two of too few artists in live electronica who convincinglyrock out behind their banks of equipment while assaulting theiraudience’s senses with mind-blowing visuals and thunderousbeats.

“I mean, three guys hunched around a laptop can be good,” Simonssays, evidently a little embarrassed about some of his peers. “Itneeds a bit of a jump in imagination. But all live performance ishard to get right or make exciting.”

Are the Chemical Brothers ever tempted to just press “play” andpretend behind the decks?

“We don’t do that,” Simons says, deadly seriously.

“We always thought maybe we should show, like, a short film onthe screen before we come on, just explaining to people what’sgoing on onstage ’cause we still get that misconception. Peoplethat don’t play the guitar can watch someone playing the guitaronstage and kinda feel like they know what’s going on. Or they seesomeone hitting a drum.

“But it doesn’t really matter. Our shows are aimed at creatingan atmosphere in an environment that’s exciting to hear our music.It’s also about getting people out the house and having funtogether, y’know? That’s the important thing to me, rather thansome sort of massive appreciation of how well we’ve executed liveelectronic music.”

They’re obviously doing something right. Many of theironce-brilliant Brit-tronica peers from the ’90s have lately eitherlost it (Fatboy Slim), tried their hands at something bizarrelydifferent (Underworld) or completely vanished (Leftfield). TheChemical Brothers, on the other hand, have been as prolific andconsistent as your average rock band in the studio as well as live,releasing a strong, cohesive album roughly every couple ofyears.

British Sea Power has an unusual quirk. They are known for placing large stuffed birds on stage and wearing militaristic uniforms at their concerts. But weird idiosyncrasies aside, they are also known for being an inventive and edgy rock band, who sometimes sound a bit like Joy Division. In their new album, “Do You Like Rock Music?,” the Brighton based band does not disappoint. Even though a few of the songs are real duds, the album is overall a fun and exciting listen. The album’s opening and closing songs are almost identical. Like many young people, British Sea Power seems to feel a little bit disillusioned about the state of the world right now. On the opener “All In It” they creatively express this through an atmospheric track in which they repeat, “We are all in it/ And we close our eyes.” At the end of the album it takes them eight minutes to state the exact same two lines. This fruitless attempt at trying to express their discontent fails miserably. Their point was made at the beginning of the album, and they say absolutely nothing new with the closing track.British Sea Power’s ability to dampen a song’s power through excessive length is also demonstrated in, “Lights Out for Darker Skies.” The first three minutes of this song are wonderful, but the last three minutes feel listless and staid. Fortunately, this is not a repeated pattern. Most of the songs on “Do You Like Rock Music?,” are musically creative and display an impressive level of excitement and melody. British Sea Power’s ability to make political statements is not completely eradicated by “Close Our Eyes.” The song, “Waving Flags” is a great immigration anthem that convincingly expresses its position. But it is also just a great song. It is the strength of the band’s songwriting ability that carries the rest of the album. Tracks such as “Open the Door” and “Canvey Island” display a knack for pop song that few current bands display.British Sea Power’s ability to surprise the listener and not fall into a formulaic pattern helps strengthen the album. A perfect example is “Atom.” Initially a slow and indistinct tune, about a minute into the song, the band turns the energy up about five notches, and produces a fantastic song. On repeated listens, the slow intro no longer seems mediocre, but becomes a funky introduction. Treats like this that make “Do You Like Rock Music?” a fun and exciting album.Even though a few of the tracks are complete duds, the majority of British Sea Power’s new album is fresh, melodic and fun. It has already won the hearts of many fans in the UK, and will most likely do so here as well. Give it a listen and if you agree check them out for free at SLU’s Billiken Club on March 29. Check out http://thebillikenclub.wordpress.com/ for other free shows just a metro ride away.

Indeed they are. When the young musical trio rolls into the Fox Theatre for a pair of shows on Saturday, they’ll arrive riding a wave of explosive buzz — the sort of shriek-saturated hype made familiar by so many of their teen-pop predecessors.

And it’s only primed to get bigger: Last month, fresh off a breakout national tour with fellow Disney sensation Miley Cyrus (”Hannah Montana”), the group signed a multimillion-dollar touring deal with Live Nation that will put the brothers into more than 140 concert venues in the year ahead. The Jonases’ own Disney Channel series will debut this summer, along with a feature film called “Camp Rock.”

Signs that the brothers’ pop-star fantasy was transforming into big-time reality were obvious in December at the Palace, where the trio’s opening set elicited screams nearly as piercing as those for headliner Cyrus.

“It’s been an amazing journey the last couple of years,” says Kevin Jonas, 20, who as the eldest of the brothers serves as the de facto spokesman. He modestly recalls the group’s pre-poster-boy days, slogging away on promo tours through small clubs and amusement parks to play for listless crowds of several dozen people.

The brothers are still young enough to gush wide-eyed over the “couple of” Bruce Springsteen concerts they’ve attended, and to gleefully make Wiffle ball the backstage pastime of choice. But the New Jersey-bred Jonases — Kevin, Joe, 18, and Nick, 15 — are also wise beyond their years: three articulate guys, seemingly solid and well-grounded, carefully groomed under the tutelage of such music-biz veterans as John Fields and Steve Greenberg, who once guided Hanson along this same path.

That ’90s pop trio is frequently referenced by Jonas Brothers observers, perhaps more often than this threesome would like. But it fits. With their nods to vintage rock, their classic guitar-drums-bass setup, the Jonases have far more in common with the Hanson brothers than they do with the dance-pop groups — ‘N Sync, Backstreet Boys — who came in between.

“We think it’s really cool that we’re able to introduce, sort of, rock ‘n’ roll to our younger fans,” says Nick Jonas. “Even the parents get into it because it does sound like the things that they used to listen to when they were young. And, you know, we just really try to find really great music, and write songs like the really great music that we’re listening to. Because people love good music.”

For the Jonas Brothers, that means citing such touchstones as the Beatles and Prince when discussing the sound of their third album, recorded in part on their tour bus last year and scheduled for release in July. And it means learning their way through the catalog of Brit-pop icon Elvis Costello, whose “(I Don’t Want to Go To) Chelsea” was recently added to the Jonases’ live set list.

It’s another raising of the bar on the group’s headlining theater tour, which kicked off Jan. 31 in Arizona. The group has also tinkered with its own songs, toying with the arrangements and integrating new sounds into familiar material.

“You might hear something and not recognize it right away, but then all of a sudden realize that it’s a song we’ve been playing for five years now,” says Kevin Jonas. “Our fans will have a whole other way of listening to it.”

The brothers say they’re carefully heeding the advice of seasoned industry veterans, eager to avoid the personal pitfalls that have tripped up so many while navigating the fame game. And they respond patiently when confronted with the question that’s been posed to probably every young pop sensation in the half-century history of rock: Can you endure beyond flash-in-the-pan status?

“We would love to be a band that really does last,” says Joe Jonas. “And because we’re brothers, I think it really helps. Because we do write our own songs and we’re in the studio where they’re made, I think that will be a big part of it.”

“The fact is, we don’t want to ever be anything we’re not,” says Kevin Jonas, who describes the upcoming album as a natural evolution: “We grew up a little bit. We wrote some deeper songs and experimented with new instruments and things like that.

“So I think for us it’s really all about sticking to your fans and knowing that if you work with them, and play to them, then hopefully you’ll always be there.”

Contact

John Vianney Nsimbe

Don’t take things for granted! Not everyone who sings in Uganda today will be famous. While Reggae/Ragga, RnB, Afro-beat and Kadongo-Kamu continue to garner a following domestically, Hip-Hop music or rap is stagnant.

Apart from Klear Kut and Lyrical G, you’ll hardly hear Hip-Hop music on the airwaves. More still, while the other music genres are showcased at concerts such as Ekitobeero or Ekiggunda, even the free Hip-Hop night that was held every Tuesday evening at Sabrina’s pub collapsed because there were hardly any fans or sponsors.

Sirkumstance, a Hip-Hop artiste said that most music lovers are still locked into the Western Hip-Hop, while Eddie Okila a music promoter said that the radios here don’t play Ugandan Hip-Hop, which is why it is not popular.

Sanyu FM goes by the slogan Today’s best music. They don’t play a lot of indigenous rap music, yet their target audience is the urban Ugandan including the youth.

The youth are fans of rap music around the world because of the lifestyle it embraces: break-dance, the American accent and youth fashion of sneakers and jeans.

Timothy Lwanga, Sanyu FM’s Music Director told The Weekly Observer: "From our research, domestic rap is always scoring close to zero. We play what the listeners want."

Lwanga added: "Some rappers’ music we play definitely, say, Klear Kut but most rappers don’t have quality music that can be played on Sanyu."

He said most rappers sing hardcore style that is too loud and non-mellow for listeners.

Albert Twesigye, a rap music producer said the quality of music isn’t so good because many are into quick production. According to Lwanga, Kenyan and Tanzanian rappers are appreciated for the quality music.

"Even here, we play a lot of Kenya and Tanzania rap music because it is smooth, mellow, harmonious and cuts across generations; for example No-Nini (Kenya) and Professor Jay (Tanzania)."

Fat Boy, a presenter on Sanyu FM has a rap music background. He reasoned: "Our rappers lack identity. They instead imitate American rappers, whose lifestyles are different from ours." He added that Ugandan rappers need to sing about issues like corruption, poverty, education and insecurity.

"Instead they concentrate on polishing their American accents and portray themselves as ghetto people, yet many of them are from rich or middle class families. A ghetto was a thing that Tupac Shakur used to represent because he lived in one."

Fat Boy gave an example of how attached Ugandans are to their Kadongo-Kamu because it identifies with them. "Singing in local dialects can be the start like the Kenyan and Tanzanian rappers do - rap in Kiswahili. But even in English, it must sound Ugandan not American."

Lwanga said rap music should adopt a fusion with, say, afro-beat styles if it is to survive. Singer Bebe Cool thinks that rap music has got to be blended with beats that the public can dance to like Rocky Giant did. "Also, rap music must cut across to the generation that has money to buy music too," said Bebe Cool.

Notably, Ugandan rap still lacks originality. Twesigye said: "Some Hip-Hop singers get foreign beats and place their lyrics over them." Lwanga argued that the Kenyan rappers have adopted styles they call Genge and Kapuka, which are originally theirs and get a lot of airplay."

"If Ugandans promote something like Luga-flow, then I think they’ll progress," he said. Bebe Cool said Hip-Hop music hasn’t been marketed well. "When do they have concerts?" Bebe Cool asked. It is usually at events organised by Alliance Francaise and the Uganda German Cultural Society that Hip-Hop singers will show up yet these events don’t host thousands of revelers like other shows.

Also, like the Bataka Squad, they don’t hold concerts and Krazy Nativ said that the size of fans doesn’t matter to him, so he won’t be hunting for shows to perform at in order to be popular.

He believes what is meant to be will be; well, not without effort.

Navio from Klear Kut told The Weekly Observer that Ugandan Hip-Hop being a new phenomenon needs solidarity to promote it.

"Instead", Navio said, "There has been a lot of divisions in the industry based on singing style - vernacular or English." Another Klear Kut member The Mith added: "Our friend Babaluku of the Bataka Squad who raps in Luganda (Luga-flow) insulted us in his songs making insinuations that because we sing in English, we aren’t really Ugandan. Though we are now reconciled, this set us aback in trying to forge progress as a family despite diversity."

The divisions go deeper. Some rappers said Krazy Nativ a.k.a Saba-saba, a founder member of the now defunct Hip-Hop Foundation, told other rappers in 2005 that he was doing a documentary about Ugandan Hip-Hop dubbed: Diamonds in the Rough (Uganda Hip-Hop evolution). Many Hip-Hop musicians were interviewed and recorded to showcase Hip-Hop in Uganda and secure opportunities for rappers.

However, Krazy Nativ edited other rappers not in his group (Bataka Squad) out of the documentary. This angered many though Krazy Nativ argues it was a Bataka Squad project.

In 2005, the Hip-Hop Foundation was vibrant. They secured Sabrina’s Pub free every Tuesday for the Hip-Hop night to showcase their talent. But in 2006, the pub’s owner, Hope Mukasa asked them to start paying for the venue, but they weren’t attracting many revelers, so they left.

Without radio play, Hip-Hop will remain in the shadow. But like Fat Boy said, they must realise that original quality music is important to get airplay.

Music students will showcase the skills they have learned in their classes for a midterm grade next week. It is a mandatory grade for students enrolled in ensemble music classes to perform and attend these concerts in the auditorium of McAllister Fine Arts Center.Music Professor Alice Gomez will direct the Latin jazz percussion ensemble class in performing Latin jazz style compositions at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday. The group will perform compositions from Stevie Wonder, Duke Ellington and a Latin version of “Flight of the Bumble Bee.”The Latin jazz percussion ensemble consists of 10 members.”We practice for this a lot to see how they pull it off onstage,” Gomez said.In a departure from the calendar of concerts for the music department, music Professor Peter Kline will direct the brass ensemble class instead of a band concert at 2 p.m. Wednesday. The ensemble will perform compositions by Richard Wagner and play a march usually played by a band. The instruments include french violins, trombones, baritones and tuba. “This is the first brass ensemble concert in a while,” Kline said.Music Professor Stephen Gollihar, will direct a jazz ensemble performance with a variety of famous jazz and Latin jazz compositions at 2 p.m. Thursday.The compositions include “Easy Groove” by Bob Mintzer, “A Child’s Blues” by Phil Woods, “A Riff in Time” by Jack Feierman, “Just Foolin” by Sammy Nestico, “Coral Reef” by Neal Hefti, “Moving Right Along,” “Powder Blue” and “Contessa” by Lennie Niehaus.The instruments used will be four saxophones, four drums, four trumpets, three trombones, two guitars, two bass guitars, and one piano, Gollihar said.Voice Professor Cynthia Sanchez will direct a choral pop concert at 1 p.m. Feb. 29. Students will sing selections from “West Side Story” and Richard Rogers pieces. The chamber singers will perform pieces from The Manhattan Transfer, an American vocal group from New York famous for mixing jazz, big band and popular styles of music, and Take 6, an African-American a cappella gospel music sextet.”We don’t do pop music often. These compositions will not be quite so serious,” Sanchez said.All concerts are free.

Like most men, I love pop music. Listening to it is OK, but whatreally floats my boat is learning a new, deeply obscure fact aboutthe people who recorded my favourite songs.

Music factoids are hard currency to the average man. We tradethem like football cards and use them to trump each other at thepub/pool table/tennis court.

For example: Man A observes that Ozzy Osbourne bit the head offa bat during a concert in Des Moines in 1982. “Oh yeah,” says ManB, “but he thought it was a stage prop and needed a rabies shotbecause the bat bit him back”.

Man C yawns and prepares to deliver his coup de grace. “My dadwas in jail with him in the late ’60s,” he says. “That’s when hegot the letters O-Z-Z-Y tattooed across his left knuckles and happyfaces on both knees.”

It’s game over. Men A and B grip their beers - they are dyinginside.

As a general rule, women are not as fascinated as men by theminutiae of Ozzy Osbourne’s life; they are less thrilled to learnthat Keith Richards routinely removes the bottom E string on hisguitars. Perhaps this discrepancy is explained by remarks made thisweek by Lesley Douglas, the co-ordinator of popular music at theBBC.

“For women, there tends to be a more emotional reaction tomusic,” she said. “Men tend to be more interested in theintellectual side: the tracks, where albums have been made, thatsort of thing.”

The remarks prompted howls of outrage from both sexes. Meninsisted that they too felt a lump in their throat when ArtGarfunkel sings “When you’re weary, feeling small” at the start ofBridge Over Troubled Water. Aggrieved women pointed out thatthey were quite capable of appreciating Jimi Hendrix’s use of theminor seventh chord and a wah-wah pedal on Foxy Lady.

Well, yes, of course. But as Nick Hornby and his New Ladacolytes have pointed out, the music “anoraks” - the kind that likethe smell of vinyl and keep back copies of Mojo magazineunder their bed - are almost always male. Many men would ratherdiscuss their Top 5 albums, Brian Jones’s mysterious death or theHoodoo Gurus shifting line-up, than their feelings. It’s a cliche,but that doesn’t make it any less true.

And surely, if we accept that women are generally more relaxedabout discussing their feelings, doesn’t it follow that they arelikely to be more open to music aimed squarely at the emotions?This, after all, would explain the success of James Blunt, aphenomenon many men find as appealing as male pattern baldness.

Certain women of my acquaintance love it when Blunt sings “Weshared a moment that will last till the end”. They wonder who he’ssinging about. I wonder if he shot anyone in Kosovo.

If Lesley Douglas is right, men and women can hear the same songin very different ways. This is certainly true.

When I hear Lionel Richie’s All Night Long I hear awell-crafted, but rather soppy pop song. My female friends hear apersonal invitation to join Lionel on his private jet for a nightof passion spanning two time zones. Their hips start to wiggle whenhe sings “We’re going to party” and they smile knowing smiles at”Let the music take control”.

Oddly, the same women struggle to understand the glory of JimmyPage’s guitar work on Kashmir. But let’s not get carriedaway. Look at the photographs of the front row at the Big Day Out:they show men and women equally gripped by the ecstasy of loud,hard music. One nation under a groove.

IN today’s culture of sampling in hip-hop and electronic music,fans are accustomed to producers “disguising” or hiding samplesthat they have lifted from other recordings. Artists such as DJShadow, The Avalanches and Nightmares on Wax have made sampling afine art. Usually all attempts are made at concealing the origin ofthe sample by distorting it, burying it deep in the new track orlifting samples from more obscure records.

Not South Rakkas Crew. On their latest release, TheMix-Up, the duo of Dennis “Dow Jones” Shaw and Alex “Alex G”Greggs lift from a range of iconic classics: The Jacksons’ CanYou Feel It, Saturday Night Fever staple If I Can’tHave You, Barrington Levy’s dancehall anthem Under MiSensi and even Sesame Street. On other productions, theybrazenly sample Madonna, Frankie Valli, Norman Greenbaum, ChakaKhan and more.

“I guess it’s just going after stuff that will make the biggestimpact,” shrugs Shaw. “Personally, I grew up on a lot of Top 40stuff. Those are the songs that have a big impact on me. If I’m ina club and I hear a Jackson Five song come on, I know it. I comefrom a hip-hop background, so I’m going to pick out stuff that’sreally going to make people move.”

Shaw was born in Jamaica and moved to Canada when he was sixyears old. As a youngster, he loved reggae but in his teenage yearshe became a convert to the harder-edged dancehall of Buju Banton,Shabba Ranks, Beenie Man, Eek-A-Mouse and Sister Nancy.

“Dancehall is the younger, brasher brother of reggae,” Shawexplains. “Dancehall, to me, is a form of rap music. It’s younger,hipper and faster-moving; the content is more controversial, it’sabout having fun, it’s about dancing. The beats are usually muchrawer; it’s not as melodic.”

These days, he and Greggs reside in Orlando, Florida and SouthRakkas Crew are among the rising stars of contemporary dancehall.They record with the scene’s biggest names and have remixed tracksfor DJ Shadow, Beck and Lily Allen.

Initially producing pop acts such as *NSYNC and even Britney,South Rakkas turned their side project into a full-time concernwhen their four albums of “rhythms” (variations of the sameinstrumental track fronted by different vocalists) all sold out. InAustralia, South Rakkas’ music is part of the Rio deJaneiro-inspired Favela Rock parties. The music is a melting pot ofhip-hop, reggae, dancehall, pop, electro, Baltimore funk, Miamibass and house.

South Rakkas Crew play Miss Libertine on March 1 andGolden Plains Festival on March 8. The Mix-Up is out on MadDecent/Inertia.

A collection of playground equipment, including a seesaw, a slide, and some jungle gym pieces, forms the unlikely set for the twisted dance/rock opera “Games of Steel.”

“We started with the idea of using Archimedes’s simple machines,” says Michele de la Reza, co-artistic director of Pittsburgh-based Attack Theatre, which brings “Games of Steel” to the Cutler Majestic Theatre tonight through Sunday. “Then we gathered our musicians and dancers together to brainstorm. Our neighbor here is Red Star Ironworks, and we thought we might work with them on props. Our philosopher in residence [University of Pittsburgh history and philosophy of science professor Peter Machamer] was explaining game theory to us, which he says is not about who wins, but about who loses the least. Suddenly that became a great metaphor for a story about a game show, for relationships, everything.”

Whoa. A dance company with a philosopher in residence? Choreography that involves Archimedes’s simple machines and uses heavy steel pieces as props? A game-show story? Who are these people?

“Ideally, we’re a mix of theater, dance, and rock music,” says de la Reza on the phone from her studio before heading to Boston for a residency at Emerson College. “In our company’s 14-year evolution we’ve leaned toward what we like to call an image narrative. We have 20 versions of a script for a work that has no words, but the music’s lyrics help lead the story for the dancers.”

In “Games of Steel,” three contestants compete in games involving a ring toss, a lever, an inclined plane, and a balancing act on a seesaw. Peter Kope, Attack Theatre’s co-artistic director and de la Reza’s husband, plays the manipulative show host, with support from a four-piece rock band, in a game that’s been described as “Mad Max meets urban ‘Survivor.’ “

“I didn’t expect the Mad Max comparison,” Kope says with a laugh, “although we were going for a kind of end-of-time look, and with my spiked hair I was thinking more like Billy Idol or the Heat Miser [from the animated film ‘The Year Without a Santa Claus’].”

Attack Theatre is part of a dance/music theatrical wave that includes Blue Man Group, “Stomp,” “De La Guarda,” and “Squonk,” for which de la Reza and Kope created the choreography. But Kope says the company’s interest in grounding music and dance in a story makes it a little different.

“I think it’s important to anchor the audience in a level of narrative,” says Kope. “Not that it’s crystal clear. Everyone sees different things, but the story line, the dance, and the music all have to work together to create a dangerous edge,” he says. “The games have that gladiator perspective where the stakes are high and if you lose, you die.”

Charting the tracks of their years

Feb 22 2008by Karen Price, Western Mail

Most songs evoke strong feelings in us all – whether they transport us back to our school days, remind us of a loved one or make us want to switch off the radio. Karen Price asks a number of familiar faces about the tracks which mean something to them

Peter Florence is director of the Hay Literary Festival

I sing along in the shower/bath to…Nina Simone Feeling Good or Wishing She Knew How To Be Free – or anything that’ll take my mind off being heavy and hurried

I always want to switch off… People doing crossover stuff (from either direction) and Lesley Garrett doing anything.

I like driving along to… Whatever my sons are into. Isaac, 10, DJs the school run with a Beach Boys, Elvis, Gorillaz playlist, while seven-year-old Ru brings us home to Hot Chip’s Over And Over and a heady mix of Fatboy Slim and the Beatles.

I’m transported back to my youth when I hear… The Beatles, Bowie and Led Zeppelin seemed to be most of what I remember from school, and the songs remain the same.

I am embarrassed to admit liking… Meatloaf – so uncool he’s cool all over again, or will be one day.

I’m always guaranteed to be cheered up by…

Paul Simon’s Graceland, which came out one summer in the ‘80s when my father, who’d been raised in Cape Town, and I were driving around Britain. We township-jived all summer and I think I know all his songs by heart and soul. He’s the great poet of divorce and separation and his love songs are all written to his children.

I like chilling out to… A great Tunisian musician called Anouar Brahem who fuses jazz with Arabic classical oud playing. I walked past Tom’s Records in Hay one day last year and heard this beautiful sound and fell in love with it. Try his album Le Pas du Chat Noir.

The track that sums me up…I wish I could say it was kd lang singing Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah. The version on her covers album, 49th Parallel, is good but the live recording from the Juno Awards ceremony is stupendous – the single most played track on my iPod and gifted to all my mates in itunes.

Matthew Rhys, 33, is the Cardiff-born actor who stars in Hollywood drama Brothers & Sisters

I sing along in the shower/bath to…American Trilogy by Elvis – for some reason the acoustics in there always make everything sound better, especially when you’re belting out the chorus. It’s also about five minutes long which is just right.

I always want to switch off… Anything hardcore like trance, jungle or any heavy house music. It reminds me of bad nights in sweaty clubs where you find yourself saying things like, “I just want something with a tune.”

I like driving along to…The soundtrack of Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid by Bob Dylan. It chills you out on long car journeys. It works especially well on the A470 between Cardiff and mid Wales as the music and the scenery seem to go together.

I’m transported back to my youth when I hear… Any Adam Ant song as Prince Charming was the first single I bought. Although I never dressed up or wore make-up like he did, I did try to replicate his “chandelier swing” from my settee.

I am embarrassed to admit liking… Kylie – not just Kylie herself but her music. It’s fine to say to your mates that you like Kylie but I realised I over-stepped the mark at Christmas when I said “Isn’t 2 Hearts great?” Deathly silence.

I’m always guaranteed to be cheered up by… Brimful of Asha by Cornershop for all the obvious reasons – it’s so up-beat and toe-tapping. It also reminds me of my time in New Zealand. It was playing everywhere and the sun was always shining so I associate both.

I like chilling out to… Heim by Sigur Ros. They’re really mellow. My mother hates it – she thinks it’s depressing. She came into my room once and said, “They didn’t even change key in that last one.”

The track that sums me up…I think it’s impossible to sum yourself up with one piece of music. I would say my last seven answers are a fair indication of who I am.

Soprano Elin Manahan Thomas, 30, is from Gorseinon and has signed a record deal with Universal. She will be performing at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod this year

I sing along in the shower/bath to…Whatever I’m learning. I have an irritating inability to switch off tunes and I’m often woken in the middle of the night by a snippet of Handel, Mozart or Britten. I’ve just done a concert of really tricky 20th Century music – I wasn’t humming along to that in the mornings.

I always want to switch off…Country and western of any type. I once spent six hours on a wooden seat on a Czechoslovakian bus behind a driver with a penchant for country and western. When the travel sickness and the country and western music kicked in together there was only ever one inevitable outcome.

I like driving along to…The Foo Fighters. I saw them at the O2 Arena in November and was blown away. I’m definitely a rock chick at heart and there’s nothing like the blast of rock guitar.

I’m transported back to my youth when I hear… Anything by Queen, especially Friends Will Be Friends as it reminds me of my school days and of annoying my dad in the car with endless Freddie Mercury.

I am embarrassed to admit liking…Take That. The stuff on their comeback album took me by surprise and I found myself belting some of their songs along with the radio.

I’m always guaranteed to be cheered up by… The Feeling. I’m training for the London Marathon at the moment, for the Parkinson’s Disease Society, and I smile whenever one of their songs comes on my iPod – and run a little faster.

I like chilling out to… Mika – what a brilliant guy, and a genius of a singer. He makes me laugh in his songs and I can always lie back and listen to him. And sing along, of course.

The track that sums me up…Anything by The Divine Comedy. I discovered them while I was at the Royal College of Music and instantly felt they had written all their songs for me.

Jonathan Owen, 36, is from Merthyr Tydfil. He is an actor and also presents and produces Soccer Sunday for ITV Wales

I sing along in the shower/bath to…The Stone Roses. The first album is still one of the great albums of all time and I Am The Resurrection is perfect to get you ready for the day ahead.

I always want to switch off… Anything by the Spice Girls. Whoever asked them to come out of retirement deserves to be punished for crimes against humanity.

I like driving along to… There’s A Light by the wonderful Smiths. It’s all about driving away from your problems with someone you love. Appeals to the dreamer in all of us I suppose.

I’m transported back to my youth when I hear… Going Underground by The Jam. They were the first proper band I got into seriously. I had every album and single, right up to Beat Surrender when Paul Weller famously broke them up. Just the opening riff makes me feel 12 again, hanging around street corners in Merthyr with my mates.

I am embarrassed to admit liking… Young Hearts by Candy Stanton. It’s a great disco anthem, but just about one of the campest songs in musical history.

I’m always guaranteed to be cheered up by… Tighten Up by Archie Bell and Drells is always guaranteed to cheer me up. It’s got this great soul guitar and ‘60s backbeat that just automatically makes you smile and want to get up and dance.

I like chilling out to… Stalafur by Sigur Ros. It’s the atmosphere they have managed to create in the song, the sense of intimacy, it’s extraordinary. I’ve used them on programmes I’ve made and I’ve had so many emails asking who they were and saying how much they loved the music.

The track that sums me up…You’re So Vain by Carly Simon. Enough said! But my mates might say Shaddup Your Face.

Grammy Award-winning soprano Rebecca Evans, 44, lives in Penarth and is currently touring in Welsh National Opera’s The Magic Flute

I sing along in the shower/bath to… Usually arias I am learning or about to perform. I’m currently learning Liszt for recording in London so the shower has been used for a rehearsal.

I always want to switch off… Most traditional Christmas carols as personally I find them so sad and depressing. Away In A Manger is top of my list.

I like driving along to… Mika singing Grace Kelly. My son William and I met Mika at a wedding in France last September and he was so nice to William. We then bought his album and we play Grace Kelly at full volume while singing along in the car.

I’m transported back to my youth when I hear… Dancing Queen by Abba. My best friend Jayne Daniels and I would go to Harpers in Swansea each Wednesday night and we would look forward to Dancing Queen so much and dance the night away, of course.

I am embarrassed to admit liking… Puppy Love by Donny Osmond. I loved it but I didn’t think I would be seen as cool when it came out in 1975 – so I never did admit liking it. Now I love everything by Donny and am proud to say so. Also he is a newly discovered Welshman!

I’m always guaranteed to be cheered up by… Defo Notte by Handel from the opera Ariodante.This just totally brightens my spirits each time I listen to it. It gives me real sparkle – it is just genius composing.

I like chilling out to… Fix You by Coldplay. I just love the lyrics and the mellow rock music and Chris Martin’s voice is so wonderful and relaxing. I often chill out with my iPod in my music room with Coldplay.

The track that sums me up…Thank You For The Music by Abba. I’ll leave it to you to decide if I’m “nothing special” and perhaps a “bit of a bore” but on the whole this wonderful song pretty well sums me up.

BBC Wales presenter Claire Summers, 32, is from Cowbridge

I sing along in the shower/bath to… I usually like peace and quiet, and love to read in the bath.

I always want to switch off…Garage and hip-hop – they are not really my thing.

I like driving along to…Songs that I can sing to – I love the Killers’ Sam’s Town album, although it does make me feel like I can drive really fast, or any Counting Crows or a bit of Blondie.

I’m transported back to my youth when I hear… So many songs – music was always playing really loud at home. Every time I hear Rod Stewart it reminds me of being young and my dad singing really loud! I knew every word to Pipes of Peace by Paul McCartney. I also loved The Bangles hit Manic Monday, Bon Jovi’s Living On A Prayer and lots of Madonna – I had a whole netball routine worked out to La Isla Bonita!

I’m embarrassed to admit liking…. A few Abba tunes and a bit of Dolly Parton. Here You Come Again is on my iPod along with a bit of Neil Diamond.

I’m always guaranteed to be cheered up by… Midnight Train To Georgia by Gladys Knight or Michael Buble singing Everything.

I like chilling out to…On my iPod I have a real mix of old and new tunes – I go from very sad to very cool in a matter of seconds!

The track that sums me up… Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life by Eric Idle, simply because I’m an eternal optimist.