ProMail June
ProMo-Cymru is here for you with June news and happenings. Remember, if you would like to distribute information or advertise your summer events you can always email us.
If this email isn't displaying correctly in your email client, click here to view it online:
www.promocymru.org/newsletters/2008_06_newsletter.html.
Battle of the MC’s Youth Event
The battle will take place across Cardiff and will be held in a number of youth centres. A list of entries will be compiled and then MC's will be notified where their performance will take place (depending on which youth centre they live closest to).
Each young person that enters this competition will be given 100 points at the start. Points will then get deducted for lyrical contents as in Racism, Sexism, Violence, Bad language, and Negative contents will not be tolerated.
This event is organised by Cardiff Youth Service with support from theSprout.
If you know any young people who would want to apply for entry to the Battle please forward this information and contact details to them.
Contact Bazz on 07768 025397
Battle Of The Bands Results
It all started with 38 bands and came down to 1. The Final took place at Clwb Ifor Bach. Tickets were sold out with 300 people during the night and queues waiting outside. The final was judged by staff from Music Box Studios who helped to sponsor the competition and handed out the prizes & medals to all the bands.
So here are the results:
1st place - 'Nix Olympica' - 2 Recording Sessions at Screamadelica Studios
2nd place - 'Evil I' - £50 Cranes Music Vouchers
3rd place - 'Bringers Of Pestilence' - £25 Maplins Vouchers
theSprout Prize - 'The Bicycle Thieves' - a day recording in Attic studio.
1987/Jammy - finalists
The event was run by Cardiff Council and organised by Bud Harper from Cardiff Youth Service with the support of theSprout and our ProMo team.
Youth Editorial Co-ordinator – theSprout
With funding support from Cardiff Children and Young People's Partnership, ProMo-Cymru have just recruited a Youth Editorial Co-ordinator for our youth-led website.
Ryan Heeger, previously the editor of Buzz magazine and an experienced support worker was successful in securing this exciting position. The calibre of applicants was extremely high ensuring a difficult task for our interview panel, David Holtham (Young People's Support Pathways Information Officer - CYPP), Marco Gil Cervantes (our Chief Executive), Paul Lewis (Cardiff Young People's Forum and member of Funky Dragon) and Kathryn Allen (one of our Development Officers).
Ryan starts working with us on 9th June to develop and engage a Youth Editorial Group leading the website as young reporters, and firmly establishing theSprout in the minds of young people in Cardiff.
With the addition of Ryan to the team there are a number of interesting developments planned for the website.......watch this space!
News from ProMo-Cymru’s very own record label Grooveland Records:
Andy Thorman – “The Gift of Funk”
On the March 3rd, Grooveland Records released a new electro house single: “The Gift of Funk” by Andy Thorman. Within first two weeks of the release date Andy’s Myspace page have been visited almost 5000 times, with a number of people leaving positive comments about the track.
If you want to purchase the copy of the track while it is still fresh, click on one of the banners below:
A two-minute preview of the single can be heard on www.myspace.com/andythorman
Andy Thorman approached by Uniting Nations!
Shortly after releasing his first single on Grooveland Records, Andy Thorman was approached by a legendary UK dance group Uniting Nations. The producers of chart songs such as “Out of Touch”, “Ai No Corrida” and most recently “Do It Yourself” liked Andy Thorman’s “The Gift of Funk” so much they asked him to remix their new forthcoming single – “Pure Emotion”.
Marcus Simpson and Andy Thorman performed at the first part of ElectroFest 2008 on May 3rd in Conti’s Nightclub, Mill Lane, Cardiff. Electrofest is an event that brings everyone together for a massive celebration of electro and house music. With DJs from London, Cardiff, Swansea and Newport, a massive sound system and unique, festival atmosphere, ElectroFest 2008 was a huge success.
Each year in October, a new European volunteer arrives at ProMo-Cymru. This year we are pleased to host Ana, a 24-year old Spanish women, who is currently undertaking a postgraduate course for experts in creativity and account planning. Working in partnership with ARAD consultancy, ProMo-Cymru having been carrying out a review of Funky Dragon, the national youth forum for young people in Wales. This is the article about Ebbw Vale Institute that was published in Gwent Gazette on Thurthday, 1 May:
“WORK is underway to transform Ebbw Vale Institute into a musical and cultural centre for the valleys. Charity Promo-Cymru have finally secured the keys and a 12-month lease to the empty building and builders have moved in. They hope to buy the building at the end of the year’s lease. To keep you informed of some of the services we have to offer:
- Music Workshops - African and Carnival Drumming, Rock and Pop - Event Management
- Web and Print Design - we have developed highly regarded participative youth web sites for Cardiff (www.thesprout.co.uk), Newport
(www.youngnewport.co.uk) and in the process of creating one for Swansea. If there are other areas you are looking to develop within the creative sectors lets us know - we can help.
Contact: To unsubscribe from the ProMo Cymru newsletter 'ProMail' click here
www.myspace.com/andythorman
Grooveland Records at ElectroFest 2008
New EVS Volunteer coming soon
Ana will be working on our exciting project in Ebbw Vale Institute as well as being responsible for ProMo’s public relations and advertising. Her passion for photography, painting, F1 and motorcycling sports, makes us believe that Ana is going to be a great, valuable team member.
European Voluntary Service is fully funded programme from the European Commission. If you would like to find out how to host an international volunteer at your organisation and more about EVS please visit UNA Exchange website.
http://www.unaexchange.org/host-a-long-term-volunteer-in-wales.html
Funky Dragon
We have been working closely with the young people participating in the forum, attending two residential weekends in Bala and Llangranog with visits to regional youth forums planned as part of the evaluation. Our results will be reported to the Welsh Assembly Government and back to the young people of Funky Dragon at their AGM in July.
Ebbw Vale Institute
The first phase of the project, the ground floor, will house a recording studio and rehearsal rooms, a dance studio, a cafe and internet cafe, meeting rooms and facilities to help people hoping to start up cultural businesses. There will also be a gig venue, with licensed bar, which is expected to hold around 250 people.
This is all being made possible thanks to funding from the Heads of the Valleys Programme and a National Assembly Business Incubation Grant. It will hopefully open in July. Senior Development Officer at Promo Cymru, Julian Gardner says:
“Hopefully everything will run on time, but you never know what you’re going to find when you go into a building and we have come across a few problems but the builders have been great. We’re very excited about this project, it’s going to provide the sort of facilities that you normally only find in cities but right here in the valleys.”
“In the past, due to funding guidelines, we’ve been restricted to the ages of people we can help but here we can cater for age ranges from 11 to 40.”
“There are youngsters of 11 who have an amazing talent and we have been unable to offer them help but now we can.”
The second phase, the upper floor, will include an art room for courses and exhibitions, offices for local organisations and a photography and video editing suite. The Grade II listed Institute closed when adult education courses transferred to the new Learning Action Centre in Ebbw Vale town. There were fears that the building would remain empty and fall into disrepair but, following lengthy negotiations with Blaenau Gwent Council, Promo-Cymru were permitted to take it over and give it a new lease of life.
Centre Development Coordinator Sarah Vaughan says the local community have been supportive of the project. “They’ve been fantastic and we are trying to work with them as much as possible and keep them informed of progress and we value their input,” she says.”
To follow news on recent developments in Ebbw Vale Institute go to:
http://ebbwvaleinstitute.blogspot.com/
ProMo-Cymru offers
marco@promo-cymru.org
www.promo-cymru.org
029 2046 2222
KEEP THE POINT ALIVE!
The Point is under threat of closure due to impending court action by Cardiff Council over noise emitting from the venue and disturbing some of our new neighbours.
Whilst we are doing everything we can to resolve the issue, we do need you to register your support for this great venue and keep live music alive in Cardiff - and maybe politicians and the Council will take notice and work with us to get it fixed.
Go to http://www.thepointcardiffbay.com to register and support The Point
Seeking creative practitioners, artists…
Please find attached link to an important survey which has been commissioned as part of a Mapping Study of the Creative and Cultural Industries in the SE Wales Valleys and Monmouthshire. We need to make sure that we reach as many people as possible - and that includes you and/or people you know!
ArtsConnect and the Valleys Creative Industries Forum have commissioned the study. The information you give us will be used to help us plan services for people who work in the creative and cultural industries, including musicians, actors, writers, artists, events promoters, designers, film-makers, technicians, etc.
To do this we need your help - please click on the link to complete the survey:
http://tinyurl.com/55tt93
For more information contact Polly Hamilton
ArtsConnect Project Manager
01443 493560
polly.c.hamilton@rhondda-cynon-taff.gov.uk
