The music of Cardiff has been dominated mainly by rock music since the early 1990s with later trends developing towards more extreme styles of the genre such as heavy metal and metalcore music. It, along with the nearby music scene in Newport, has brought a number of musicians to perform or begin their careers in South Wales.
Famous Cardiff bands include those from the Cool Cymru era including Super Furry Animals, Kids in Glass Houses and Funeral for a Friend, McLusky, The Loves, Los Campesinos!, The School and We're No Heroes, who dominate Cardiff's music scene today.
Cardiff is home to the world's oldest record shop, Spillers Records, which was established in 1894, and was situated in The Hayes area of the city centre before relocating to the nearby Morgan Arcade in 2010.
A study by the Performing Rights Society revealed that Cardiff is the second most musical city in the UK based upon the number of bands having their origins in each UK city.
History
1960s-1980s
1960s Cardiff produced Amen Corner, one of the top pop acts of the era and the first Welsh group to have a number one hit. Also from the 1960s was Love Sculpture who had a minor hit with Sabre Dance. Love Sculpture featured Dave Edmunds who also had chart hits in the 1960s and 1970s in his own right. In the 1970s and 1980s, the Cardiff music scene was dominated by hard rock and blues bands, and included heavy metal pioneers Budgie. Budgie released a string of hit albums in the 1970s including the gold-certified Bandolier. Budgie's influence reached bands such as Iron Maiden, Metallica, Megadeth, and Van Halen, all of which have covered Budgie's songs at one point or another. Post-punk influences spawned the three-piece Cardiff band Young Marble Giants, who influenced a number of musicians. Young Marble Giants contributed two tracks to Is The War Over?, a compilation featuring unsigned bands from the Cardiff scene.
1990s
In the 1990s, the Welsh capital was the centre of a vibrant music scene led by Manic Street Preachers, Super Furry Animals and Catatonia and many acts had connections nearby Newport during this time which also had an emerging alt rock and indie venue community fuelled by the likes of TJ's.
The scene was populated by a series of smaller often short-lived outfits which made a small but notable local impact. These bands included Ectogram, Crac, Monk Dave, The Pier and The Awkward Moments.
21st century
In 2006 The Independent described the Cardiff music scene as "more vibrant and alive than ever", with more promoters, venues, and bands than ever before.
In 2017 Cardiff Council announced they would promote Cardiff as 'Music City'.
Rock music
Since the 1990s there has been a more steely edge to the sound of the valleys, dominated by metalcore. Most prominent are Bullet For My Valentine, Funeral For A Friend and Lostprophets, who had a number one hit in 2006 with their 3rd album Liberation Transmission on indie rock imprint Visible Noise. Pop rockers, The Automatic, grew out of this scene, playing underage gigs in Cardiff and associating themselves with punk group Jarcrew. Ragga metallers Skindred are also a prominent band on the Cardiff rock scene, known for mixing reggae and alternative rock influences with a more contemporary punk rock and metalcore sound.
Following the success of punk and post-punk music in Cardiff in from the late 1970s until the 1990s, its decline was noticeable in the 2000s with the demise of bands Mclusky and Jarcrew. However, former members of the two bands united to form new Cardiff alternative rock band Future of the Left.
Pop-rock music
Musical alumni of Cardiff University include pop-rock group Los Campesinos! and Drone, alter ego of Cassidy Phillips, who is part of the area's electronica scene. Acts have been supported by the Welsh Music Foundation (WMF), an organisation set up to support the country's creative industry. Its prime mover is Huw Williams, once a member of 1980s band The Pooh Sticks and former manager of Newport's 60 Ft. Dolls. Local talent is also supported by the likes of Ankst Records, which specialises in Welsh language recordings.