IT'S A NEW HITTSVILLE; Sunday Roast GOSSIP QUEEN RACHEL MAINWARING SERVES UP THE LATEST SHOWBIZ MORSELS.

Byline: RACHEL MAINWARING

IF SUPER Furry Animals drummer Dafydd Ieuan has his way, everyone will soon be calling his record label the Welsh Motown.

The drummer-turned-producer's Strangetown Records has so far caught the eye with releases from Rhys Ifan's loose-limbed indie rockers The Peth, then threw away the rock 'n' roll rulebook with his recent livewire project Wibidi, while the forthcoming debut album from Furries' synth maestro Cian Ciaran also looks set to prick up the ears and snare the senses.

However, Daf tells us he had no plans to launch a record label - until he visited Motown's Hittsville HQ in Detroit.

"When the Super Furry Animals were in the US we went to Motown and it was a semidetached house and the studio was like ours down Cardiff Bay - with two little rooms."

The musician says he was particularly taken by the itinerary of names lined up to record.

"They had a running order of performers which was incredible - it read 12pm to 3pm The Supremes, 4pm until 7pm Stevie Wonder and that's how they did it. A conveyor-belt of legends."

Now Daf has set his sights high.

"I've had this bee in my bonnet that Strangetown should be like the Welsh Motown," he states. "We'll see, it's a big ask, but you've got to start somewhere right? "What is incredible to think is that it was all DIY," he adds. "It was a studio in a house and all of the hits were made in a semidetached house in a normal street. Until that point when I went to the studio I didn't really have any interest in setting up a label."

Next up for Strangetown is Outside In by Daf's brother Cian Ciaran.

His album is out next week and it's amazing and beautiful," says Daf. "People will be surprised by it. He's revealing his sensitive side.

"There's a lot of things going on," adds the sticksman. "It's a hive of activity. There'll be a Howard Marks spoken word album sometime soon and look out for a band I've got with Mark (Roberts) from Catatonia and Dionne from The Peth. It's called The Earth and it's incredible rock and soul."

[bar] You can see The Earth play their third ever show at Dempseys, Cardiff, on Thursday, August 9. Tickets priced pounds 6 from www.swnpresents.com

CAPTION(S):

SFA's drummer Dafydd Ieuan, in shades, with the rest of the band, including Cian Ciaran, extreme left