Thank you for having me @BBCSounds !https://t.co/xvLCh0CqoK pic.twitter.com/l2Mm9CgVQ8

— Kelly Lee Owens (@kellyleeowens) February 21, 2025

Grimshaw started off the important conversation, remarking, “What’s worrying is that you’re getting all these great stats that [the industry is] growing…but then you’re also hearing of clubs closing.” He continues: “So, it’s interesting that it is growing, but then the venues aren’t there or the smaller venues aren’t there.” 

Owens agreed, noting that while the threat to well-known venues such as Fabric serves as a “wake-up call,” it’s the “smaller venues” that often go unnoticed and are overlooked when they vanish. 

The ‘Love You Got’ singer reflected on her new-found working relationship with Depeche Mode (for whom she joined as the support act for their 2023 ‘Memento Mori’ world tour), and how they have influenced her stance. “I always think of Depeche Mode, they were on the tube with their synths coming to these small venues,” she voiced. “I always think like without small venues, you wouldn’t have Depeche Mode, which is a world like not really worth living in!” 

In an ending statement, Owens concluded: “So I think there’s a responsibility when it comes to everyone – from the booking agents to ticketing companies – they need to be investing back into these venues so that the up-and-coming people have a place to be. It’s ultimately like a symbiotic relationship and we need to start viewing it in that way.” 

Elsewhere, Michael Kill, CEO of the Night Time Industries Association, contributed to the topic, warming, “We are witnessing the systematic dismantling of the night-time economy. Our industry is not just about entertainment; it’s about identity, community, and the economy. Losing our clubs means losing jobs, cultures, and a vital part of the UK’s social fabric.” Without immediate intervention, he made claim that the UK nightclubbing scene by then end of the decade. 

Kelly Lee Owens owes much of her rise to prominence to small venues that are reportedly on the verge of disappearing; born in North Wales, the 36-year old former auxiliary nurse began her career in music in 2009, showcasing her ‘techno pop’ style across London’s iconic grassroots venues. Owens released her eponymous debut album in 2017, and has since gone onto collaborate with other female artists at the forefront of the alternative scene, including St. Vincent and Björk. Recently, she launched her fourth studio album ‘Dreamstate’ in 2024 and is set to embark on her European tour from March 3, hitting locations such as Manchester, Glasgow, Leeds, Cardiff, Bristol and London.

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A post shared by Kelly Lee Owens (@kellyleeowens)

Listen to the latest episode of Sidetracked with Annie and Nick, featuring Kelly Lee Owens here. 

 “DIOLCH YN FAWR!!!!” screams Bagillt born Owens as she takes to Twitter after her win. “I am absolutely over the moon to have won the 2021 Welsh Music Prize! Being recognised by my homeland in this way is so so special!”, she continues, “Wales has shaped me as an artist & continues to be a place of inspiration to me. My nana Jeannette would be so proud.”.” Diolch yn fawr” means “Thank you very much” by the way.

DIOLCH YN FAWR!!!! I am absolutely over the moon to have won the 2021 @welshmusicprize ! Being recognised by my homeland in this way is so so special! Wales has shaped me as an artist & continues to be a place of inspiration to me. My nana Jeannette would be so proud pic.twitter.com/2rtkoo7uHd

— Kelly Lee Owens (@kellyleeowens) November 23, 2021

2020’s Inner Song is an incredible piece of art from front to back, allowing for some moments of her Welsh heritage to shine, like on single “Corner of My Sky” featuring John Cale, has passages sung in Welsh by Cale himself. Sections of thumping techno beats blend into sweet effervescent instrumentals that feel no way out of place. The LP even opens with a cover of Radiohead’s 2007 classic “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi” from In Rainbows. As if there wasn’t already enough going on.

“Inner Song” has been described as: “a tribute to the loner in everyone. Through a batch of loop-heavy tracks, Owens conveys an overarching sense of solitude and allows the listener to explore that feeling in each song. She guides the listener through each song with ease, throwing out the conventions of electronic music in favour of a cerebral journey through a computerized stew of glitchy, elegant beats”. You can read the full review of the album here.

As the winner of the prize, Owens is also awarded £10,000, some of which she has pledged to donate to welsh charities.

Owens is also currently touring the UK. After already completing dates in Belfast, Dublin, Glasgow, Newcastle, Leeds, and Birmingham; you can still get tickets to a few of the remaining shows here. There were a host of European tour dates also set for 2021 that have all been cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions in Europe.

See below the remaining dates on Owens UK Tour.

 25/11/2021 – Y Plas – Cardiff
27/11 – Patterns – Brighton
30/11 – The Ritz – Manchester
02/12 – Earth – London

“Let me be candid as to why. The main reason is of course the ongoing pandemic. That plus the anxiety of dealing with individual countries in a post-Brexit touring world and the extra fees etc that come with that” – she explains. “Both of these things combined have thrown up a huge amount of anxiety for me. I don’t cancel things lightly, but I have to look after myself“. 

Owens continued: “This past year has been disappointing for me, as it means everything to play to you guys, and to never have played Inner Song even once yet is super painful“.

Cancelling my 2021 European tour. pic.twitter.com/64KRwCRNbM

— Kelly Lee Owens (@kellyleeowens) June 14, 2021

Kelly Lee Owens album from 2020 “Inner Song” has been described as: “a tribute to the loner in everyone. Through a batch of loop-heavy tracks, Owens conveys an overarching sense of solitude and allows the listener to explore that feeling in each song. She guides the listener through each song with ease, throwing out the conventions of electronic music in favor of a cerebral journey through a computerized stew of glitchy, elegant beats”. You can read the full review of the album here.

The Welsh musician has recently announced her US Tour dates which will start this September and still go ahead. UK tour hasn’t been affected either and will kick off this November in Belfast and ends in London. Tickets can be purchase here.

See full UK Tour Dates below:

18/11/21 – Empire Music Hall – Belfast
19/11 – Button Factory – Dublin
20/11 – SWG3 Warehouse – Glasgow
22/11 – St Dom’s Social Club – Newcastle
23/11 – Brudenell Community Room – Leeds
24/11 – O2 Institute 2 – Birmingham
25/11 – Y Plas – Cardiff
27/11 – Patterns – Brighton
30/11 – The Ritz – Manchester
02/12 – Earth – London

“I first got a car when I was 17, and I remember driving from north Wales to Manchester quite a lot – someone made me CDs for the drive and there was a shit load of Daft Punk on there,” Lee Owens told NME. “I was a bit of an indie kid at the time and I listened to that first album, ‘Homework’ and remember being like, ‘Huh – there’s something in this’. It was like a door opening for me that allowed me to step into another place, where everything is new and sounds weird and interesting. I just felt this raw energy that these people, or robots, were creating; and the mystery shrouded around them was super intriguing.”

fuck.
thank you.
i love you. pic.twitter.com/7clbag4nP4

— Kelly Lee Owens (@kellyleeowens) February 22, 2021

Born in Flintshire, Wales, Lee Owens dropped her career as an auxiliary nurse in a cancer ward to pursue musical ambitions in 2009. In 2017, she released her eponymous debut album via indie label Smalltown Supersound, with the follow up ‘Inner Sound’ arriving last year.  “They (Daft Punk) were signed to major labels and doing a licensing deal, and that really informed me in terms of what I should do with my music – I now have licensing deals with my independent label Smalltown Supersound,” she told NME. “They showed that you don’t need to give your masters away and play all these games: you can make great music and people in the industry will want to work with you anyway. That spirit is really needed more than ever. And it’s not about being ‘controlling’, it’s being protective of their creativity and not allowing that to be exploited.

“The real beauty of Daft Punk’s music is that it’s not pretentious at all. They would want to make something and just do it…there’s some magic that comes from pushing and fusing different worlds together just because it excites them and because that’s what they feel like they need to do. There’s that classic thing of creating and then destroying yourself as an artist to keep yourself creatively open; Daft Punk have done that over and over again.”

This year has not been an easy one. However, it has certainly underlined the importance of music and the role it has to play to unite us, heal us and make the hard times more bearable.

These are our favourite albums for 2020 x#RTTop100https://t.co/wxjLOSljGa

— Rough Trade (@RoughTrade) November 10, 2020

Precious little is known about Sault’s origins and make-up other than a handful of credited guest appearances; including Mercury Prize winner Michael Kiwanuka and Laurette Josiah on Untitled (Black Is). What is certain is that they are a prolific bunch. The Guardian highlighted this neatly in their review of Untitled (Rise), the September successor to Black Is.

They wrote: “Sault seem to use the time they save by not promoting their albums or engaging with the public profitably. ‘Untitled (Rise)’ is not only their fourth album in 18 months, it’s their second double album in just over 12 weeks. It’s a work rate that would seem remarkable at any point in pop history, but feels positively astonishing today, compounded by the fact that its predecessor gave the impression of having been largely written and recorded in response to the murder of George Floyd, less than a month before it was released.”

British-Japanese singer-songwriter Rina Sawayama comes in third on the Rough Trade list with her first full studio album Sawayama, which the label describe as “a giant megazord of monster pop, built to defeat the drab mundanity destroying our lives“. In a statement shared by Pitchfork earlier this year, the London-based artist described the album as “…about understanding yourself in the context of two opposing cultures (for me British and Japanese), what “belonging” means when home is an evolving concept, figuring out where you sit comfortably within and awkwardly outside of stereotypes, and ultimately trying to be ok with just being you, warts and all.”

Also featuring in the Rough Trade top 5 are Laura Marling’s seventh album Song For Our Daughter, which Rough Trade describe as the folk singer’s “most tranquil, clear and idyllic to date“; and Beyond The Pale, the debut LP from Jarvis Cocker’s latest musical incarnation Jarv Is… In the absence of live shows, the Pulp frontman recently announced a cinematic tour of the new record which is scheduled to begin next week.

The other UK-based acts featuring in the top 10 spots in Rough Trade’s list are Anglo-Icelandic punk-pop trio Dream Wife with their sophomore album So When You Gonna…; Geordie Rockers Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs (aka Pigs x7) with their third record Visceral; Hull ‘gothic shoegaze’ merchants Bdrmm with Bedroom; and Brighton quartet Porridge Radio with Every Bad, which Rough Trade praise for its “searing riffs and melodic incantations“.

Elsewhere there are nods in the Top 100 for Manic Street Preachers frontman and guitar hero James Dean Bradfield; Leicester indie-pop veterans Cornershop; Wembley-born Hollywood star and hip-hop artist Riz Ahmed; and Welsh electronicsongstress Kelly Lee Owens. The full list of Rough Trade’s Albums Of The Year 2020 (from 100-1) is as follows:

100 – Caleb Landry Jones – Mother Stone
99 – Yumi Zouma – Truth or Consequences
98 – Caroline Rose – Superstar
97 – Keeley Forsyth – Debris
96 – Monophonics – It’s Only Us
95 – Pinegrove – Marigold
94 – Khruangbin – Mordechai
93 – Rival Consoles – Articulation
92 – Clipping – Visions of Bodies Being Burned
91 – Sufjan Stevens – The Ascension
90 – Destroyer – Have We Met
89 – Adrienne Lenker – Songs and Instrumentals
88 – Chats – High Risk Behaviour
87 – Bob Dylan – Rough And Rowdy Ways
86 – Denzel Curry x Kenny Beats – Unlocked
85 – Wire – Mind Hive
84 – Bent – Up In The Air
83 – Chuck Prophet – The Land That Time Forgot
82 – X – Alphabetland
81 – Slow Pulp – Moveys
80 – Bonny Light Horseman – Bonny Light Horseman
79 – Rudy De Anda – Tender Epoch
78 – Jason Isbell – Reunions
77 – Grimes – Miss Anthropocene
76 – Public Practice – Gentle Grip
75 – Disq – Collector
74 – Bambara – Stray
73 – Dan Michaelson – Colourfield
72 – Riz Ahmed – The Long Goodbye
71 – Cherry Pickles – The Juice That’s Worth The Squeeze
70 – The Nude Party – Midnight Manor
69 – Action Bronson – Only For Dolphins
68 – Field Music – Making A New World
67 – Bananagun – The True Story Of
66 – James Dean Bradfield – Even In Exile
65 – Max Richter – Voices
64 – Fiona Apple – Fetch The Bolt Cutters
63 – BC Camplight – Shortly After Takeoff
62 – Sneaks – Happy Birthday
61 – Video Age – Pleasure Line
60 – Everything Is Recorded – Friday Forever
59 – Mark Lanegan - Straight Songs Of Sorrow
58 – Nicolas Jaar – Cenizas
57 – Ghostpoet – I Grow Tired But Dare Not Fall Asleep
56 – Thundercat – It Is What It Is
55 – Chicano Batman – Invisible People
54 – King Krule – Man Alive
53 – Habibi – Anywhere But Here
52 – Agnes Obel – Myopia
51 – Freddie Gibbs & Alchemist – Alfredo
50 – Nick Hakim – WILL THIS MAKE ME GOOD
49 – Jessy Lanza – All The Time
48 – Bob Mould – Blue Hearts
47 – Aqulies Navarro + Tcheser Holmes – Heritage of the Invisible II
46 – Dehd – Flower of Devotion
45 – Pole – Fading
44 – Shopping – All Or Nothing
43 – Mush – 3D Routine
42 – Heliocentrics – Infinity of Now
41 – Romare – Home
40 – Yaeji – What We Drew
39 – Damaged Bug – Bug On Yonkers
38 – Big Moon – Walking Like We Do
37 – Olafur Arnalds – some kind of peace
36 – Nation Of Language – Introduction, Presence
35 – Margo Price – That’s How Rumours Get Started
34 – Keleketla! – Keleketla!
33 – Coriky – Coriky
32 – Slift – Ummon
31 – A Certain Ratio – Loco
30 – Four Tet – Sixteen Oceans
29 – Courtney Marie Andrews – Old Flowers
28 – Kelly Lee Owens – Inner Song
27 – Brigid Mae Power – Head Above Water
26 – Isobel Campbell – There Is No Other
25 – Run The Jewels – RTJ4
24 – Georgia – Seeking Thrills
23 – Fontaines D.C. – A Hero’s Death
22 – Beths – Jump Rope Gazers
21 – Yves Tumour – Heaven To A Tortured Mind
20 – Hazel English – Wake Up
19 – Kamaal Williams – Wu Hen
18 – Waxahatchee – Saint Cloud
17 – Thurston Moore – By The Fire
16 – Tom Misch / Yuseff Dayes – What Kinda Music
15 – Caribou – Suddenly
14 – Idles – Ultra Mono
13 – Osees – Protean Threat
12 – Oklou – Galore
11 – Cornershop – England Is A Garden
10 – Rolling Blackouts – Sideways To New Italy
9 – Porridge Radio – Every Bad
8 – bdrmm – Bedroom
7 – Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs – Viscerals
6 – Dream Wife – So When You Gonna…
5 – Jarv Is – Beyond The Pale
4 – Laura Marling – Song For Our Daughter
3 – Rina Sawayama – Sawayama
2 – Phoebe Bridgers – Punisher
1 – Sault – Untitled (Black Is)

The five minute long music video follows the journey of a man and his dog travelling through Norway and is directed by visual music video director, Kasper Häggström. Owens announced this latest release on her social media with a 10 second snippet of the video, along with the caption ‘Sharing with you this very personal track ‘On’ from my forthcoming album Inner Song, out on August 28th.’

Sharing with you this very personal track ‘On’ from my forthcoming album Inner Song, out on August 28th. Video streaming now here:https://t.co/jCoXNZEiXh pic.twitter.com/0Ep33Nwk51

— Kelly Lee Owens (@kellyleeowens) June 24, 2020

In an interview shown on Pitchfork, Owens opens up a little more about the song and says, “This is perhaps the most intimate and personal song I’ve written so far—the two halves of the track reflect upon sad acceptances of the truth and then the joyous aftermath of liberation that can come from that.” Therefore, the song will arguably be the most intimate track on ‘Inner Song’.  The album, which was set to be released on 1st May, has had to be postponed due to the Coronavirus pandemic and is now expecting to be released to fans on 28th August. Owens’ Norwegian record label, Smalltown Supersound, shared the announcement via an Instagram post back in March which was the very beginning of the UK’s COVID-19 lockdown.

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A post shared by Smalltown Supersound (@smalltownsupersound) on Mar 24, 2020 at 4:56am PDT

The Welsh techno artist released her debut album back in 2017 which shares Owens’ personal aesthetic. According to Bandcamp, it is ‘an album that bridges the gaps between cavernous techno, spectral pop, and krautrock’s mechanical pulse…’. The debut album was a perfect stepping stone to success for the small artist.

Watch the full music video for Kelly Lee Owens latest single ‘On’, here.