Rhondda Records' Shop


A semi fictional tale about life in 2015, Jay and his ever expanding circle of friends travel all over Wales, the Canaries and even Slough seeking out answers to the mysteries of local planning laws, permaculture, ancient standing stones, the phenomenons of Lydia, and how to catch barbel. Join them in their revolutionary and laconic quest – Lunar Love and the Elephant Stones..... £5.95 www.CharityShopDisco.Com email info@CharityShopDisco.Com for online purchasing

Foreword Jon Dathen I have known Vic Doyle, the creator of this book, who strides through its pages as ‘Jay,’ as many things: school friend, fishing companion, drinking buddy, lead guitar to my bass, eco- warrior, fellow stone circle hunter and now as an author. The words in The Elephant Stone radiate direct from Vic’s core, expressing his thoughts, ambitions, reflections, hopes and memories. Vic’s spirit is in this book. Reading it is an experience similar to chatting with Vic in his kitchen overlooking the Rhondda Valley. So, is The Elephant Stone biography or fiction? Yes, it is both. When we remember we change the past to suit our understanding of ourselves. As we hope for the future we plan ahead and fantasise. The present is as fleeting as the space between a tick and a tock. A single breath contains many presents, all alive with potential, as well as many variant understandings of past and current events. As The Elephant Stone ranges into the future it is still ‘true.’ In the consciousness of everyone who reads it, the story will become a memory, a dream or an anecdote, and so exist in many inner realities, as a living thought stream, to be celebrated, dismissed or relived. If you have thought of something it is real. Never let anyone tell you otherwise. The other characters brought alive in the Elephant Stone, I can vouch for as they are friends, old and new. In these pages they are given mythic life, becoming symbols and story facilitators, while remaining essentially themselves. The places mentioned are there to be explored. Go and see them. Time is not linear, it is a spiral. The past intrudes into the present and the future as an influence, as memories, dreams, poetic inspirations or subtle subconscious preconceptions. In the best sense, Lunar Love and the The Elephant Stone is not a normal book. It weaves from the past, through the present and into the future, mixing reality with ‘magical truth,’ that greater truth which, while not literal, strikes a ‘true’ chord in the inner mind. The effect is to create a modern Welsh myth, which is not only timeless but timely. In future days the tale of the elephant stone will be a part of Rhondda folklore, a story told and retold over mugs of tea and pints of ale. Jon D

Death Pop The Siege of Sebastopol Twinkle Records £7.99 Available from www.deathpop.org.uk The Siege of Sebastopol is the first album from Death Pop - a powerful and often sleazy collection of songs trawled from a 25 year career, the outpourings of a degenerate soul, but you'll find no cliches here, no new punk skateboard tourist nonsense, these guys gig with the likes of Glen Matlock and Jayne County, this is music from the urban swamplands of the London-Bristol Corridor. Gratuitous layers of industrial grade feedback opens and closes the album, less than reassuring "love" songs invite innocents to join the singers troubled world, brass sounding instruments drill holes into riffs and rythm walls of sound while Fry on mangles his vocal chords through a blues harp on a dirty street corner. Their taster EP earlier this year was titled "Bush Meat" 3 diverse tracks recorded straight after their second gig after a 20 year gap, it's grinding guitars and analogue mix show the way, this full 13 track album takes the listener down a continuum of rock rythms from 60s punk garage, through to chilling 50s rockabilly lessons via Dennis Nilsen and David Lynch. the album fuses a wall of classic british punk riffs with echoes of 60s Americana, like the albums title they invade nations with uncompromised and dangerous rock music, stamping their opposition and supporters simultaneously into the battlefield mud. This is music as it should be: loud guitars, churning bass, tribal drums, jazz saxophone and cracked vocals, drawing inspiration from 50 years of rock ‘n’ roll and 80 years of blues. Music you can feel, from the place where punk becomes voodoo. This is uncooked bush meat. Now available on CD from selected stores, the band website www.deathpop.org.uk, and download from itunes, Amazon, 121 musicstore and more.
|