I’m delighted to say that Dilyn Afon has been included in Glenn Kimpton from Folk Radio’s Top 10 albums of 2020 alongside some other stellar acts. Read and listen to more here:
https://www.folkradio.co.uk/2020/12/glenn-kimptons-top-ten-albums-2020/a
I chatted to Verity Sharp and Radio 4 recently about the folklore and place of the cuckoo in Welsh culture and it’s significance here in the Welsh landscape. You can hear me chatting about its many names and faces and also an acepella rendition of the song ‘Y Bardd A’r Gwcw’ around 3 mins in:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000k99r
I’m chuffed to announce that Dilyn Afon has been shortlisted for Welsh Language Album of the Year at the 2020 Eisteddfod. I’m in some good company too! You can check me out chatting to Gareth Potter about the journey below (sorry no subtitles!)
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 […]
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.
