On April 3rd Death Monkey release ABERTAWE 13, a collection of thirteen of the most prolific artists from the Swansea Music Scene, recorded exclusively for Soundboard Magazine by producer Dave Milsom of Death Monkey Records at Abertawe Road Studio in the Summer of 2019.

Originally available in limited editions of 500 of cover mount CD’s for issue 6 of SoundBoard Magazine, Aprils release will see ABERTAWE 13 on digital platforms for the first time. Sound Board Mag, a Zine which covers the South West Wales music scene, was so in demand for this special one off collectors edition that shops in the region reported being out of stock within a week, with copies specially ordered to obtain the exclusive collectors CD going across the UK and internationally to America and Japan. 

ABERTAWE 13 contains a mix of artists as eclectic as the Swansea Music Scene itself with genres ranging from Indie Rock, Punk, Folk and Americana. Not only does the compilation represent the depth and breadth of Swansea’s divergent musical talent, but it also showcase’s the multi-generational community which it is made up of. Featured on the album are the newest and youngest bands who are performing sell out shows in some of the cities biggest venues, alongside Millennial and Gen X veterans of the scene who have been playing in the pubs and clubs of Swansea’s evolving music scene for the past 20 years.

The ABERTAWE 13 project was ambitious and brought together three Swansea institutions who have become synonymous with the city. Death Monkey Records is Swansea’s longest running active indie label, releasing cult recordings from underground bands over the last decade, Abertawe Road Studio the only analogue studio in the region and has become much loved as a favoured rehearsal space since it opened in 2010 and SoundBoard Magazine, a newcomer in the last year which has quickly become a respected authority on the fringe culture in the region, distributing its print only Zine in venues and music shops throughout Swansea and South West Wales.

Recorded over four weekends at Abertawe Road Studio and with only 3 hour slots for each artist to get to get their tracks complete, ABERTAWE 13  was a labour of love and huge undertaking for all involved, however, for everyone who participated in the making of the album, the mission was clear. 

ABERTAWE 13 is a celebration and statement of the flourishing and diverse music scene that has sprung up in Swansea over the past few years, with a vibrancy and renewed vigour which has seen a musical landscape once dominated by Hard Rock, Blues and cover bands, become a wholly more inclusive and varied community, drawing attention from much further afield and importing talent to a city which has always had a rich musical heritage, a city revelling in its own success.  

A much anticipated Digital release of ABERTAWE 13 has been on the cards for spring 2020 for sometime, allowing space for artists involved to release the recordings as singles in their own right. Sadly world events have intervened and overtaken this release, having unpredictable and devastating effects on culture globally, dragging this compilation and what it represents into a stark alternative reality where it has taken on a new meaning for all of us involved. 

The Zeitgeist has been brutally interrupted, hijacked, the conditions which made it possible for such a thriving musical, regional economy and culture have flatlined almost overnight. Many of the musicians who appear on the compilation now find themselves in a very different situation.

ABERTAWE 13 is a product of and love letter to, the Swansea Music Scene, it is a message of hope that things can and will return, it stands as testament to what has been achieved in Grassroots local music scenes and what can be again once society emerges from the unknown.

Artwork by Tansy Rees
Recorded by Dave Milsom
@ Abertawe Rd Studio
Summer 2019