Clear The Auditorium

Clear The Auditorium are a Pontypridd/Merthyr-Based Electronic-rock band who formed in 2011. The band originally began in High School when Synthesist Dafydd 'Taf' Richards, guitarist Matthew Bennett-Jones, drummer Lucas Woodland and vocalist Darren Reid began jamming songs for a school talent show. After several line-up changes (James Yarrow-Jenkins filling the missing bass role, Scott Melsome taking over drums in late 2011 to be replaced by Caleb-Priday-Jeremiah in 2012, and the eventual departure of Darren and Taf's step-up to the position of Frontman) the band finally settled on a lineup and wrote their debut EP 2021 that was released in 2013.

After the successful release of 2021 the band began work on new EP The Final Broadcast which was released in 2014. Since the release of the EP the band have gone on to play successful shows supporting the likes of Yashin, The Blackout and opening the main stage at Merthyr Rock in 2014.

Formation and early years (2011-2012)
Forming in the summer of 2011, Clear The Auditorium immediately began work on an EP, writing several tracks and releasing a demo, A Way Out and recording a new song, We've Let Go, which was performed live several times but never released. Several months later after dissatisfaction with the quality of the songs and performances, the band parted ways with singer Darren Reid and drummer Scott Melsome and scrapped the old material.

2021 EP (2013)
After a while away from the scene re-modelling themselves with a new line-up and refined sound and setup, Clear The Auditorium hit back hard with the release of the 2021 EP. Reprising small parts of their earlier writings with old songs Outbreak and Solitaire being completely rewritten to make a comeback, as well as adding a whole new depth to their sound displaying their anthemic side (Not Coming Home) and their heavier side (Eye For An Eye).

The band are avid fans of concept releases, basing this EP on a hypothetical world war based in the year 2021 with the story focussing on a soldier and his experience in the war.

The Final Broadcast (2014)
Having gigged the South Wales scene extensively after the release of 2021 the band made a name for themselves and once again took some time off to record another EP which was released in 2014. The Final Broadcast was a 7-song mammoth, taking the story foundations of the 2021 EP and expanding upon it extensively. The band have cited influence from bands like Pink Floyd (Epilogue) and Crown The Empire (Ozymandias) as well as many more who are not commonly associated with the genre in which CTA primarily play. Midway through the recording of the EP, bassist James Yarrow-Jenkins was due to move away for University, and ex-Hallencourt bassist Conor Evans stepped in to session on the remaining recordings and live shows, eventually deciding to join as a full time member of the band. This EP's concept is based on the aftermath of the 2021 EP 's 'war' and paints an image of a post-apocalyptic wasteland, inspired by the Fallout game franchise, with all songs tying into the theme literally and metaphorically, relating these situations to real life problems/emotions.

Since the release of The Final Broadcast the band have continued to gig the South Wales music scene, notably bagging a slot on the main stage of Merthyr Rock 2014. Guitarist and Founding member Matthew Bennett-Jones left the band in November 2014 due to work commitments and was briefly replaced by Owen Edwards-Jones, who soon left the band along with bassist Conor Evans. The band are currently performing shows with stand-in members playing the guitar and bass parts and are reportedly beginning work on a follow up to 2014's The Final Broadcast.

Style And Influences
The band have been described as Electronic, Post-rock, Post-hardcore and even Electronicore, taking influence from rock sub-genres such as Metalcore and Emo along with electronic styles like Dubstep and DnB. On the whole though, they are an Electronic-Rock band. The bands influences include Pendulum (covering Witchracft for their first few shows), Enter Shikari, My Chemical Romance, Crown The Empire and Linkin Park.

Current Members

 * Dafydd 'Taf' Richards - Vocals, Electronics (2011 - Present)
 * Caleb Priday-Jeremiah - Drums (2012 - Present)

Past Members

 * Darren Reid - Vocals (2011-2012)
 * Lucas Woodland - Drums (2011)
 * Scott Melsome - Drums (2011-2012)
 * James Yarrow-Jenkins - Bass (2011-2014)
 * Matthew Bennett-Jones- Guitar, Vocals (2011 - 2014)
 * Conor Evans (2014 - 2015)
 * Owen Edwards-Jones (2015)

EPs

 * 2021 (2013)
 * The Final Broadcast (2014)