Album Pre-Order
Album Pre-Order Pre-orders are now open for Cynefin’s debut album ‘Dilyn Afon’ (Following A River) before the official release on January 27th. The CD comes with full colour 30 page booklet detailing the stories and history of the songs You can listen to the lead single herehttps://cynefinwales.bandcamp.com/track/y-fwyalchen-ddu-bigfelen-2 And pre-order by clicking on the album image […]
New Single Out
The lead single from Cynefin’s debut album ‘Dilyn Afon’ – ‘Y Fwyalchen Ddu Bigfelen’ (The Yellow Beaked Blackbird) is out now! You can listen to the premier on Lisa Gwilym’s BBC Radio Cymru show here – you can buy/listen to it on Bandcamp below.
Noted from the singing of Mrs. J Emlyn Jones near Llandysul at the turn of the last century, ‘Y Fwyalchen Ddu Bigfelen’ belongs to a unique sub-genre of Welsh folk songs known as ‘llatai’ (love messenger) songs. Usually the domain of star crossed lovers, this llatai song goes one step further and invokes the ‘hiraeth (longing) felt by a boy who has crossed the border into England and is longing for his homeland. His heartache embodied in song by the mellifluous calls of a blackbird, this old song speaks to a very modern problem, as young people continue to leave rural Wales and the old traditions struggle to find new bearers.
Welsh Folk Award Nomination
This year sees the inaugural Welsh Folk Awards in Cardiff. I’m really chuffed to have been nominated for ‘best solo artist’. You can listen live on Radio Wales on the 11th of April.
More info here:
Cynefin Album Crowfunder
Cynefin Album Crowdfunder
As you might of read already, the Cynefin project is an evolving project which involves research and collecting and then further developing, performing and recording. After completing my scholarship with the Finzi Trust last year and I now have an album’s-worth of material ready to go – BUT I need your help to record and release it. I’ve launched an album Crowfunder page, where you can donate and get some very nifty exclusive rewards in return.
Check it out here:
https://crowdfunder.co.uk/cynefin-the-forgotten-folk-songs-of-west-wales
Single Out!
The debut single is out today! ‘Can Dyffryn Clettwr’ (Song of the Clettwr Valley) on Astar Artes Recordings. Use the player below to listen/stream/buy.
Discovered in ‘Hanes Llandysul’ (A History of Llandysul 1896) and originally composed by Edward Rees of Talgarreg, this rare song tells the tale of ‘y fab afradlon’ – the prodigal son who leaves his ‘cynefin’ and goes to sea, only to find that life is tough and soon finds he has ‘hiraeth’ or longing for the comforts of home. Song intro courtesy of William Mathias.
Single Sneak Peek
In anticipation of the new Cynefin single release next month, you can hear Sam Lee giving it a spin on his Nest Collective hour on Resonance FM – use the player below or visit the Resonance FM site!
Autumn Gigs
Here’s a quick peek at my Autumn dates – more info on the gig pages
