91Èȱ¬

Tucked away, a street back from the creative hubbub of Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff, is a new artist space and non-profit company: . Thanks to I was there on Saturday for the first Canton Crawl. We weren't exactly crawling anywhere, but it's another seed of an idea which could well expand over Canton in the future, and which introduced a fantastic new space to the music life of the Welsh capital.

With a new album, Cyrk, up her sleeve and under her belt, was the star attraction, and the day was billed as Cate & Friends, opening with long-time collaborator, the wonderful, . I managed to catch the next two acts, the noise terrorism of pop video genius Casey Raymond and the primal rock 'n' roll of Laura Bryon aka Tender Prey.

The Printhaus

It was a bitterly cold, damp day, but the colourful surroundings were a joy to stumble into, and The Printhaus space itself inside offering cheap screen printed t-shirts and posters specially for the occasion. What a nice touch! It felt like the pop-up venues of festivals like , and the atmosphere was really great - like a mini Sŵn Festival: full of smiley, music-loving, cider-drinking, tea-sipping, bobble-hatted people.

I spoke to John Rostron of Sŵn to see how it went for him:

How did you enjoy the day?

"It was great to see it come together, particularly as we had such a smooth day - no hiccups and every band on stage on time - which is no mean feat when you're doing an all-dayer like this. It was the first time I'd seen new outfit Fist Of The First Man - their set was a particular highlight. I though Cate's set was stunning - she's in another league now - a real talent.

This was the first Canton Crawl. Where and when did the idea start?

"I have a long list of ideas I'd like to realise, and this one's been knocking about for sometime; if I recall rightly I devised it with my friend Paul. We loved the idea of having something that sounded as grandiose as the Camden Crawl, but in Canton. I love Canton - how it has Riverside, where I live, bordering on one side and Pontcanna on the other, and the mix in the people and the shops that creates."

Cate Le Bon

The Printhaus is a great location. How did you find it and was it difficult to get it 'gig ready'?

The Printhaus approached me last winter about doing some shows. I had a recce and suggested that we could do something outside when the time and act was right. When Cate and her agent approached me about an album launch gig it felt like the perfect mix.

"I worked with the Printhaus to set up some structural things to ready the place to handle a day of live music and the number of people, bands and vehicles we'd have coming and going. It's always a bit nervy doing something new in a new space but it came together smoothly and the day ran without a hitch. I love working with Cate too - she helped pick all of the support acts to turn it into the all dayer that we put together."

Are there any residential issues with this kind of outdoor space in the heart of Canton? Any complaints?

"The venue is tucked away from houses, but nonetheless we were really considerate about potential issues with residents. Cate's set finished at 10pm and we put a curfew for the whole event at 10.30pm as a precaution. That meant we finished before all the pubs and bars in Canton on a Saturday night. We had volunteers helping to manage people and traffic too. I'm delighted to say we had no complaints at all."

Nice idea with the t-shirts. You got one made?

"Yeah I made a t-shirt! That was a lot of fun. The Printhaus set up all the screens and managed all that - it was a great way to show people what they do there. I'd never screen printed a t-shirt before. I'm wearing mine now!"

Listen back to an extended interview on 91Èȱ¬ Radio Wales between Cate Le Bon and Adam Walton.

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