New musicians or bands, working in Welsh or English, are invited to apply to be part of an exciting new scheme - Horizons - to grow fresh musical talent in Wales in 2014.

Working together, BBC Cymru Wales and Arts Council of Wales are looking for 12 new artists to support over the coming year. They’ll be offered a platform at events across Wales and through BBC Wales’ national radio services - BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio Wales.

The scheme will showcase the most exciting unsigned acts with the potential to make a real breakthrough in Wales and beyond.

Musicians and bands who want to be considered should send in a recording of their original work, a photograph and a short biography. Horizons acts will be selected via a panel of music industry and radio music experts. For full details visit www.bbc.co.uk/horizons

Steve Austins, Editor of BBC Radio Wales said:

"I’m really looking forward to hearing fresh new talent on BBC Radio Wales as part of this project. The station will be giving the artists plenty of support and I’m sure our listeners will be thrilled to hear new music breaking through with these artists over the year."

Betsan Powys, BBC Radio Cymru Editor of Programmes said:

"New music is at the heart of what we do on BBC Radio Cymru, with opportunities to hear new Welsh language music across many shows, but Horizons is a new opportunity to support a small group of artists and see if we can help launch them to the next level.

"We’ve seen the positive impact events like Womex have had on Welsh artists like Georgia Ruth and Gwyneth Glyn, and this project has the potential to build on that. Let’s see more artists from Wales, with our support, become internationally recognised."

Lisa Matthews, Portfolio Manager at Arts Council of Wales said:

"We’re delighted to join forces with BBC Wales on Horizons to realise our shared desire to develop the best new music in Wales. As well as mentoring the 12 acts, across the year we hope to create more opportunities for audiences to hear the excellent music talent that we create in Wales."

For further details, please see the full media release at the external link below.

http://www.artswales.org.uk/66365