Manana by Bard of Ely is on iTunes and is a popular song from the Canary Islands

Bard of Ely's song Mañana that was a recent semi-finalist in the YouBloom Music Awards has just been released fronting a CD EP on DMMG Records. Additional titles that are included on the release are Thoughts of You and This Is Our Planet. Mañana was inspired by the laid-back lifestyle of the Canary Islands.

The EP features stunning artwork by Cardiff-based painter Orion Hale.

Besides being available now from Alan Craw's DMMG Records label the songs are also available as downloads from iTunes and other download sites.

Mañana was a second place winner in a heat earlier this year in the YouBloom Song Contest, which has now been renamed as the YouBloom Music Awards. This qualified it to go through to the semi finals which were being judged by Bob Geldof and a team of judges from the music industry.

Only four songs were picked for the finals, and sadly it didn't make it but Bard of Ely can now boast that his song got that far and has been heard by the former BoomTown Rats front-man Bob Geldof. He suggested that it would be much better if it was re-recorded but given a John Otway-style treatment.

In the meantime, however, Alan Craw had already been impressed enough with the song to decide to release it on an EP on his label. There are two versions of the song included. There is the original Acoustic Pop version recorded in Cardiff last year with the help of Sean Donovan, and a remix with additional instrumentation by Ed Drury. It was Mañana (Ed Drury mix) that did so well in the YouBloom song competition.

Mañana represents a change of style for Bard of Ely. It is a Latin-flavoured laid-back commercial Pop song that tells of the lifestyle on Tenerife where the pace is far removed from that of the hustle and bustle of many cities and life in the modern world.

The word "Mañana" can mean tomorrow in Spanish and so it also means on another day or in future. Bard of Ely's song had had various delays in its history and since it was written several years back but finally it is has been released!

Of course, now that Mañana has been officially released on a label I am hoping it can get as much publicity and airplay as possible. Several years back, a well known singer on the island by name of Jawara, said that he thought the Canary Islands needed just one hit record to get the music industry to focus on them and find other talented singers and musicians here.

I agreed with the point he was making and have been hoping to be the singer-songwriter who writes that hit. I am hoping that Mañana could be the big break I have been looking for.But only time will tell!