Welsh-language music

Hello all - is anyone here into Welsh-language stuff? I couldn’t find a thread for it.
I guess Super Furry Animals are the biggest name, but there’s a lot to love! I’m particularly really into the late 60s and 70s explosion of contemporary folk, rock, pop acts who mostly recorded on the Sain label - Endaf Emlyn (who I interviewed this year), Sidan, Geraint Jarman, Meic Stevens, Huw Jones, Dafydd Iwan, Morus Elfryn, Heather Jones, Brân. I was wondering if anyone else is into that stuff here?

I've been listening to Gwenno's three albums a lot this month. She sings in Welsh and Cornish and is v cool.

She’s brilliant isn’t she? I think the new one is the best yet.

Listening to all of them at once (er, not literally), they're still something of a big Gwenno soup in my mind, but you might be right about Tresor—it was the first I'd heard and was an instant swoon.

Anything on your Sain list that you'd recommend as a starting point?

First Gwenno album was in Welsh then the rest in Cornish except for the song “N.Y.C.A.W.” if I read it right.

I am also interested in what else there is besides SFA. Tried to learn Welsh and know a tiny bit but never got too far beyond the greetings/pvmic

Just found this playlist: https://open.spotify.com/album/0P6xyLealhijlQPwxBkX4o

My friend Eric Heath made a lovely psych-folk record about 10 years ago, in Welsh, partly as a way of concentrating his studies in learning the language.

https://digital.waysideandwoodland.com/album/t

Oh I just remembered years ago I had a Sain compilation called Welsh Rare Beat, though sadly I don't remember what happened to my copy

Had that one too.

That comp is streaming and there are also other playlists with that name:
https://open.spotify.com/album/0MTICfvviHqv8eQsFQduX3

This is longest playlist I found, has both Sain and Welsh Rare Beat in the name:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4CmxlquJfVzlW3Ppwa2oDC

My friend Eric Heath made a lovely psych-folk record about 10 years ago, in Welsh, partly as a way of concentrating his studies in learning the language.

https://digital.waysideandwoodland.com/album/t

Wow - small world! I know Eric too, we hung out a few times in the not-too-distant past and he is a lovely person.

Regarding recommendations, bear with me - I should have a list later on. :)

Ahh, amazing! He is a great fellow indeed and a brilliant musician.

Weird coincidence just finished listening to Meic Stevens one English language lp I'm aware of when I see thread on Welsh language music. So, like, him since 1971 and a lot of stuff before that.
Outlander is a great lp but is mainly in English.

Had been sitting on the top of a pile I noticed last week so just got around to putting it on. Rhino Handmade did a version around the millennium extended by outtakes etc.

shout outs to gorky's zygotic mynci, mostly the early stuff (my fave of their stuff anyway)

Been enjoying Ynys a lot, used to be in the band Race Horses

https://ynysmusic.bandcamp.com/

Ectogram meantime were a hands-down favorite on those early albums (and the band they were beforehand too, name escapes me...)

Some Sain albums I'd recommend from the 1970s/80s! I believe these are all streaming. Apologies if I gush! There's lots more - a lot of good stuff is on singles and EPs.

Endaf Emlyn - Salem (1974) This is one of my all-time favourite albums, I think it's wonderful. It is the first Welsh-language concept album, recorded on four-track mostly in Endaf Emlyn's kitchen. It's based upon a famous 1908 painting called Salem by Sydney Curnow Vosper of a scene of worship in a North Wales chapel. It was a ubiquitious painting in Welsh households in the 20th century and Endaf's songs use the world of the painting comments on what it evoked for people – a longing, or hiraeth, for a pious and bucolic past that perhaps never really existed. It's not a religious album per se, but it is very hymnal and the two sides are arranged like chapel services. Musically, it's sorta psychedelic folk/pop with parping Moog synth parts (Endaf was very inspired by Stevie Wonder's TONTO stuff) and it really sounds like Gorky's or SFA but 20 years earlier!

Watch out with this one though - the Youtube uploads of it are a mislabelled choir album. It's correct on Spotify, Amazon etc though. His other albums from this time - Hiraeth, Syrffio (Mewn Cariad) and Dawnsionara - are all wonderful too (the last one is very Steely Dan-inspired) but Salem is my favourite. This year, I interviewed Endaf about his music - his first English-language interview and only interview at length online, I think - and I tried my best to do him justice because I feel strongly about his work. You can find that here - https://www.walesartsreview.org/a-life-in-music-endaf-emlyn-in-conversation/

Sidan - Teulu Yncl Sam (1975) - This is the debut by an all-female band of teenagers. It's fab! It's mostly in a baroque pop vein - a little like early Kate Bush, Virginia Astley or the Moir Sisters. Again, the influence of the chapel is palpable in the high harmony singing and stately chord sequences, but there's also some great rocking tracks - they go all Suzi Quatro on "Dwi Ddim Isho" and funky on "Ar Goll".

Meic Stevens - Gwymon (1972) - I think this is his best, better than the more famous Outlander.

Brân - Ail ddechra (1975) - Acid folk/prog. This one's great and goes for silly prices.

Geraint Jarman A'r Cynganeddwyr - Fflamau'r Ddraig (1980) - Geraint Jarman has lots of great albums but this is my favourite - very much a post-punk album with reggae and dub leanings.

Various - Tafodau Tân! - This is a live album recorded at the Ruthin Eisteddfod in 1973 that demonstrates a lot of the contemporary acts. The more traditional acts like Hergest, Ac Eraill and Sidan especially are very distinctive, but then Edward H. Dafis - Cymru's own Status Quo - rip it up with "Cân y Stiwdants", a hard rock song that sounds resolutely punk in this context.

Thanks for all this! I couldn’t find that Sidan album but I did find an EP that seemed to be from a few years earlier.

Album seems to be on YouTube or YouTube music.

cheers, houdini! I'll have to bookmark this for later listening

Video for “N.Y.C.A.W” seems to have Gwenno standing in East Berlin with a bullhorn accompanied by a young Noel Gallagher lookalike on guitar.

I've been meaning to hear that Geraint Jarman one for ages. Will get on to that :)

Aw I'm so pleased - you're all so nice!

Are you a Welsh speaker yourself?

A bit but not enough! I'm from a part of Wales where Welsh isn't so widely spoken - though it almost varies from town to town. I don't have the confidence to call myself a Welsh speaker yet but I'm trying to get to fluency.

First thing jumping out at me is Heather Jones and “Nos Ddu.” Bass line seems nicked from The Who’s Tommy but I don’t care.

The thing in “Rael” on Sell Outthat became “Sparks.” But maybe there is something that is even closer.

Oh yes, I see that!
There’s a lot of collaboration and idea mixing with the Sain stable. I find it really interesting how each act seems to have a different relationship with the gulf between traditional Cymraeg music and Anglo rock / pop.

can't see those Spotify playlists so apols if there's duplication but the names i remember from peel playing Welsh language stuff in the 80s are

https://www.discogs.com/artist/252719-Anhrefn
https://www.discogs.com/artist/398133-Datblygu
https://www.discogs.com/artist/62491-Plant-Bach-Ofnus
https://www.discogs.com/artist/398132-Fflaps

https://www.discogs.com/artist/245801-Llwybr-Llaethog

search Test Dept's Gododdin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MbW0NIvRfI

If you are into the idea of The Joy Formidable (who have recorded Welsh versions of several of their songs) venturing into '60s Psychedelic/Garage, check out Adwaith. "Cuddio" rocks, as does "Y Diweddaraf" (in a more slow-burn way).

Cuddio
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvZvtrYHowQ

Y Diweddaraf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mV9OmmBA5c

If you want a little help from math-distilled collective knowledge, you can ctrl-F "welsh" on everynoise.com to find several Welsh genres, plus https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1u9ozOcFTFQkjwhczh5zoC. Or to go regional instead of genre-wise, Cardiff, Swansea, Newport and Wrexham all have playlists here: https://everynoise.com/everyplace.cgi?root=Cardiff%20GB&scope=all.

Gorky's obviously the first thing I thought of, but I can't see any mention at all of Datblygu on this thread??

Also lol, I don't know EL Heath myself, but he is good friends with some pals of mine.

Datblygu are among the act's listed by koogs. They're wonderful!

I've heard both Adwaith albums and to be honest, they don't do too much for me, but I am so glad they're doing well and getting national airplay.

XP - Emily, I'm guessing the Epic45 guys?

Anyone else going to LLAIS Festival in Cardiff? John Cale, Cate Le Bon, Black Midi, Gwenno, Brett Anderson, Gruff Rhys, Abdullah Ibrahim and others will be there. It begins with the Welsh Music Prize ceremony tonight and I'm so excited!

Bore da.

*bump*

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NODiW4EStxA

I’ve always found this charming.(Thats SFA’s Bunf on bass)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVUqDfiZCBo

I believe this is originally by Geraint Jarman.

This channel is great

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvnOz7FQ3yA&

I love this one...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3GGzIP7sU0
Pop Negatif Wastad - Kerosene

This is a great thread! I'm Welsh and learning Cymraeg (Canolradd level for anyone who cares), and slowly discovering Welsh-language music... no-one seems to have mentioned them so far, but Los Blancos are excellent (first album Sbwriel Gwyn, new album out shortly), also Breichiau Hir (Hir Oes I'r Cof), both on Libertino.

thanks for the recs strangeangel!

that ffarout channel is great, i found it a while ago looking for gorky's vids... there's one of them playing "o caroline ii" with john cale, you know, welsh4welsh

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjgrw5oCs38

i just hope euros childs didn't start gushing to cale about how much he loves kevin ayers

Believe it’s John Cale’s birthday today btw

I love the Ffarout channel! They put up a great clip of Ryan a Ronnie singing “Blodwen a Meri” the other day. It made me think that there’s no great gulf between old Welsh-language light music of the Triawd a Coleg variety, the kinda stuff I would’ve associate with school and W.I. entertainments as a kid, and the lightly psychedelic toytown pop 60s stuff I listen to now.

Btw I know I mentioned him upthread but I really recommend Endaf Emlyn to anyone interested in Welsh music. He’s wonderful!

*bump*

Has the Recordiau Prin label been talked about

https://recordiauprin.bandcamp.com/

Don’t think so

Sain Records to digitise entire back catalogue:

"For 55 years, the record label Sain, which is based in the north-west Wales village of Llandwrog, has been behind some of the most important Welsh-language music, promoting genres as diverse as pop, hip-hop, folk and classical.

Now the painstaking process of digitising its sprawling back catalogue is under way to ensure that no gems are lost and, hopefully, to inspire future musicians."

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/article/2024/aug/01/welsh-record-label-sian-digitise-back-catalogue-recordings

https://night-school.bandcamp.com/album/tristwch-y-fenywod

"Formed in 2022, Tristwch y Fenywod ("The Sadness of Women”) record exclusively in the Welsh language, conjuring an eldritch, subterranean, alien folk music played on dual zither, electronic drums and bass guitar."

Cadair Idris by Arwen Ensemble is one of my albums of the year. Pastoral, folky jazz with English and Welsh vocals.

Tristwch y Fenywod are great, just ordered their CD! Many thanks for the tip, PHM.

There's also a live set you can download from their own Bandcamp:

https://tristwchyfenywod.bandcamp.com/album/yn-fyw-yn-wharf-chambers-12fed-gorffenaf-2022

Just listened to them on an evil streaming site as I saw they were ranked highly on a Quietus list. Need to listen again

Some of it sounded like Siouxsie Sioux or PJ Harvey gone gothic folk

Yeah this is one of my favorite finds so far from the year-end lists.

Anyone know how to pronounce the name?

Well my Cymraeg isn't the best (studying for my GCSE now!) but I'll try...

trist like twist
Welsh w is like 'oo' in English
ch is like the 'ch' in the Scottish 'loch'

so trist-oo-ch uh men-e-wod

It translates as 'sorrow/sadness of women.

That's my best shot anyway!