Y Trwynau Coch – “Byw Ar Arian Fy Rhieni” (Living On My Parents’ Money).

Hi guys! 🙂

I shared two songs from this 70’s Welsh band in the past, and I thought I’d share another one today. Their career was relatively short and it’s entirely possible that I wouldn’t stumble upon their music if not the fact that the lead singer of the band – Rhys Harris – is also father of one of my faza subjects – Gwilym Bowen Rhys – and so I learned at some point about Gwilym’s dad being part of this band in the past and obviously had to check them out. Y Trwynau Coch (or The Red Noses in English), who were known for their lyrics being generally very much tongue-in-cheek (much like Gwilym’s former band Y Bandana), are the perfect example of how sometimes people take advantage of their language being small and not widely spoken, and write some rather mind-boggling lyrics, because no one’s going to understand them anyway so why not. 😀 To not look too far for examples, Welsh-Cornish singer Gwenno Saunders wrote a song all about cheese in Cornish. Well, I don’t know if that’s seriously a frequent motive behind what minority languages speakers write their music about, but the amount of weird lyrics in smaller languages music makes you think. I’ve come across a lot of such bands and artists in a lot of languages, even though usually they just go for weird or sometimes nonsensical lyrics, which I can’t blame them for because I think I would also feel very tempted to make fun of people in such a way if I were a minority language musician. 😀 But Trwynau Coch, in one of their songs – “Merched Dan Bumtheg” (Girls Under Fifteen) take the weirdness to the next level, and go all the way to where weird turns into creepy. That song was really… ewww, I don’t think anyone in any language would get away with this these days! This was shocking even for the 70’s standards and apparently they were even banned from radio stations who were niche enough to play them until then. Mostly though, from what I’ve heard people had a lot of distance to it, probably because it was a minority language so they mostly didn’t see it as a very big deal. I generally have a lot of distance to things and appreciate cheeky, mischievous lyrics, which is why I do like Y Trwynau Coch overall, but the case of that particular song is really awful and not fun at all imho.

That was just a bit of trivia and obviously I’m not going to show that song to you. The one I chose is, as you can figure out from the title, all about parasitising one’s parents and having the attitude of taking things for granted. 😀

The band didn’t reach higher popularity because they dissolved in the 80’s, probably because of seeking some more stable incomes because doing music in a small language isn’t very lucrative, and you have to live somehow (unless you have parents who let you live on their money and you’re okay with it 😀 ), and so they ended up doing something different in their lives long-term, except for Huw Chiswell, who I’ve heard was also a member of this band and he’s still a singer and songwriter and quite renowned in Wales.

Y bandana – “Dŵr, Tân, Cân” (Water, Fire, Song).

Hey people! 🙂

Today I’d like to share with you a song from Y Bandana – one of the bands which Gwilym Bowen Rhys (one of my faza subjects) used to be a member of. – I said it already before on here but I really like how it shows Gwilym’s musical versatility and diversity – when you’ll listen to what he does with Y Bandana, with Plu and then solo, it all feels quite a lot different yet he’s thriving in all those music realms. Y Bandana was a rock band that he and his cousins and his friend founded as teens, and they were really successful in Wales, and recognisable for their humorous, kind of cheeky, mischievous and sometimes a bit silly lyrics. The song that I want to share with you however is different, because it really has quite a different style than all of their other songs. It comes from their final album Fel Ton Gron, which to me has a bit more musically adventurous and mature feel to it but at the same time is still very much their style and I think it’s my favourite album of theirs. But, like I said, this one song has a different feel to it than their music in general or the rest of the album, more folky in a modern way than rocky definitely, yet at the same time it complements the album as a whole very well and it doesn’t feel out of place at all. And I like the differentness of it, so that’s mostly why I want to share it with you.

Jacob Elwy a’r Trŵbz – “Zion”.

Hey people! 🙂

When I get a new faza,

I listen to their music almost all the time, and it is no exception with Jacob Elwy. I also like sharing my fazas’ music with other people, but as you may have noticed I haven’t been so generous with sharing Jacob’s music on here. I indeed try to be a bit more sparing, because it’s not like he’s released a lot of music so far, it’s only singles, and I don’t want to run out of it too quickly. On the other hand I also don’t want to be too monothematical and if this series was to thoroughly reflect my listening activity, this blog would be heavily Jacob-dominated right now. 😀 I think I’ll be featuring something with him once a month or so.

Today, it’s another song that he sang with Y Trwbz – a Welsh-language rock band founded by him and his brother, also including their cousin Tomo Lloyd, friend Gruff Roberts and Mared Williams who is also an accomplished solo artist. – This particular song has never so far been actually officially released by them,but they often seem to play it live. It differs a bit from their usual style, since they are a rock band and this song has a very strong reggae feel, but it’s not incongruent in any way since both Morgan (who wrote the song) and Jacob, seem to be very much into reggae music. I’ve heard Jacob saying that if he could get to choose anyone that he’d like to work with, it would be Bob Marley, so, that says a lot, I guess. I think it’s cool because, while I’m no longer as crazy about it as I used to, before I discovered my love for folk, I was very much into reggae myself so even if it’s not a genre that I’d be listening to very consistently these days, I really have to be in the mood, I definitely like a lot and have a lot of very positive feelings and associations with it.

The recording I’m sharing with you is from 2019, when they were playing at Gwobrau’r Selar event. Gwobrau’r Selar, or Y Selar Awards, are music awards are annual awards for Welsh-language music, awarded by a Welsh music magazine called Y Selar. Y Trwbz themselves were awarded in the Best EP or Single category for their EP “Croesa’r Afon” (Cross The River) just a year before this performance.

Very sadly, I’m afraid my understanding of the lyrics is a tad bit too patchy to be able to translate them for you in any sensible way. It’s like, I guess I get them quite well but I don’t know a fair few words and I don’t really know how to go about translating this somehow. But it’s still really good musically and I hope you can enjoy it in this aspect, and when I’ll feel more confident about my translator skills in this case I’ll update the post.

Omaloma – “Aros O Gwmpas” (Waiting around).

Hey people! 🙂

Today I thought I’d share with you a song from a Welsh psychedelic pop band that I really like. I like the spacey, dreamy feel of their music, and this piece shows it especiallyy well. The band is comprised of George Amor (who is a former member of another Welsh band with psychedelic inclinations called Sen Segur which I really like), Dafydd Owain, Llŷr Pari and Leusa Rhys. I’m not sure if I’m translating the title correctly, because the Welsh word aros can mean two things – wait and stay – and from what I understand from the lyrics both would make sense. Perhaps it just doesn’t matter because it’s supposed to mean a bit of both.

y Trŵbz – “Paid Aros Am Y Glaw” (Don’t wait for the rain).

Hey people! 🙂

So recently I’ve written about my

new faza,

as you may recall, and today I thought I’d share with you another song by Y Trŵbz, only this time with Mared Williams as the vocalist. I really love how versatile she is and how she sounds great in very diverse genres, and it’s always a pleasure to listen to her powerful vocals. Like I said in that post, while I have a faza on Jacob Elwy, I think I like them with Mared equally. This song comes from their debut album – Yn Y Dechrau (In The Beginning).

Miriamm Isaac – “Tyrd Yn Agos” (Come Close).

Hey people! 🙂

So today, let’s listen to another Cân I Gymru (Song for Wales) song from 2019, this time by Miriam Isaac. She comes from ann artistic family, her mother is Caryl Parry Jones, whose one song I once shared on here in the past as well, as well as one of her sisters – Greta’s. – Her other siblings also work in arts, and she is also granddaughter of musician Rhys Jones. This piece was composed by Emyr Rhys.

Melys – “Llawenydd” (Joy).

Hi hi people! 🙂

Today I’d like to share with you a song from a band of whose existence I’ve known for a couple years but only recently started listening to their music more. They are from the Conwy area in Wales and are quite a successful band, not only on the strictly Welsh-language music scene but also more broadly, which is probably thanks to John Peel – a BBC Radio 1 DJ and presenter who, while not being Welsh himself, had a great interest in Welsh music and promoted it a fair bit, and seemed to be a particularly big fan of Melys. –

Their name means sweet in Welsh (the word melys does taste really sweet indeed in my synaesthetic, lexical-gustatory brain 😀 ). While there are Welsh rock bands that I like more and I’m not crazy about Melys, I definitely do like them and have been listening to a lot. The single I want to share with you is from 2019.

Ffynnon – “Yr Adar Gwylltion” (The Wild Birds).

Hi guys! 🙂

Today I have a beautiful folk piece for you from a Welsh band called Ffynnon. It is comprised of two women – Stacey Blythe (who also takes part in several other folk music projects as far as I’m aware and is the harpist here however she can also play other instruments) and the vocalist Lynne Denman. Their name derives from the Welsh word ffynnon meaning fountain. I really like something about this word, I must say. Not because it sounds somehow particularly interesting, but because it’s very picturesque and even before I knew what I mean, for some reason I associated it with some sort of a stream or something else to do with the water. Maybe it’s just me.

The song I want to share with you is a traditional piece, and there is even a translation for it, which I’ve taken directly from

Ffynnon’s website,

where you can also find the original lyrics.

 

Perfect their world, the wild birds

That fly by the roadway and the fountain

Sometimes to the sea, sometimes to the mountain

And come blameless home

Perfect my world, though I cannot fly

Hill and dale and fellside

I want to know, however bad

Where the cuckoo sleeps in the winter

In the wood she sleeps

And in the gorse she nests

In the bush, under birch leaves

That is the place where she will die

Perfect my world, though I cannot fly

Hill and dale and fellside

Sometimes to the sea, sometimes to the mountain

And come blameless home

Plu – “Milgi Milgi” (Greyhound Greyhound”.

Hey people! 🙂

Today, I’d like to share with you a little children’s song by Plu. You may remember, if you have been around here for a while, that Plu is a Welsh alt-folk trio, consisting of Gwilym Bowen Rhys (who has been my most recent faza subject) and his two sisters Elan and Marged, with Elan being the leader of the group. They have recorded an album solely dedicated to songs about animals for children, it’s called Holl Anifeiliaid I Goedwig (All The Animals of the Forest). Naturally, being a children’s songs album, it feels a bit different from their usual, otherworldly, psychedelic music, but I really like it. It has such a fun, carefree, innocent feel to it. I believe that at least some of these songs are traditional, but I have no clue as for who wrote/composed this one, Spotify credits don’t say anything and I don’t know any other version of this song. Milgi means greyhound in Welsh, and that’s exactly what this song is about, and also about a little hare. 

**** 

   This is Bibiel from the future, editing this post to share my translation of the song: 

  On top of the hill there is a small hare,


all through the night he’s grazing


With his speckled back and white belly


not worrying about a greyhound
Greyhound, greyhound, greyhound, greyhound,


give more food to the greyhound,


Greyhound, greyhound, greyhound, greyhound,


give more food to the greyhound.

And having run a little, little bit,


he’s running really badly


And one ear up and the other down,


saying goodbye to the greyhound.

After running for a while

the swift greyhound is feeling tired


And I see him in a heap on the floor


squirming in awful pains.

But the little hare is still going


and turns back smiling


While bouncing briskly over the hill


saying goodbye to the greyhound.

Mari Mathias – “Ysbryd Y Ty” (Spirit of the House).

Hey people! 🙂

Today I’ve got a song from an exciting artist for you. I’ve first come across Mari Mathias on radio Cymru FM, and the song I’m sharing with you was the first one from her that I’ve heard and instantly liked its folksy but at the same time quite contemporary and indie feel, her voice is also great. I had a listen to more of her music and also really enjoyed it. But still, that first song, which generally seems to be the most popular of hers, is my favourite.

Mared Williams ft. Jacob Elwy – “Gewn Ni Weld Sut Eith Hi”.

Hey people! 🙂

Time for yet another Cân I Gymru song, this time from 2019. I honestly found this one of my most favourites in that edition, I think it’s so nice and cool.

Both Jacob Elwy and Mared Williams are from north-eastern Wales. Mared has already been known to me as a great singer, and had been a part of Côr Glanaethwy, a great choir at Ysgol Glanaethwy, a Welsh drama school in Bangor. Right now she has her own YouTube channel and I’m a big fan of hers. I didn’t translate the title of this song this time around in the post title as I’m not exactly sure myself what it means, but my guess is something like We Shall See How It Goes (?)… I may be wrong though.

Mali Melyn – “Aros Funud” (Wait A Minute”.

Hey people! 🙂

Today I’d like to share with you a more pop-y piece, which to me also has a slight soul feel or something. I’ve shared with you quite a few songs that were sang by Cân I Gymru (Song for Wales) contestants from different years, and this is another one. Cân I Gymru is a Welsh-language music competition which takes part every year, around March or February if I remember correctly, on a Welsh TV channel called S4C. The singer whose music I want to show you today – Mali Melyn – was one of the participants in last year’s edition. So far, I haven’t heard any other music from her, but this piece is quite nice.

Y Bandana – “Dal Dy Drwyn” (Hold Your Nose).

Hey people! 🙂

Today, I’ve got quite a quirky song for you. As some of you perhaps remember, Y Bandana is a band fronted by Gwilym Bowen Rhys – my most recent major faza subject. – He was the vocalist and guitarist in it, and apart from him there were also his two cousins – Tomos Jones on keyboards and Siôn Owens on bass guitar – and Gwilym’s school friend Robin Llwyd Jones on percussion. – It was something they were doing in their teens and early twenties, and the band is no longer alive, however it shows in such a cool way how musically versatile Gwilym actually is. For those who don’t know – albeit I write so much about my fazas that I’m not sure there is someone reading this who doesn’t know already – Gwilym’s main musical interest evolve around Welsh folk/acoustic music. Even in this genre alone, he can be very flexible, but it’s fun to see that he’s also had some experience with pop-rock like this and they were really good at it. They had very characteristically catchy songs, and usually somehow mischievous/humourous lyrics. And that’s definitely the case with this song. I really regret that I can’t translate it to you so that you’d have more of a context but my understanding of it is a bit patchy so that probably wouldn’t be the best idea, however I do know enough to say that it’s all about another person being very smelly. I like when people are inventive with song topics, even when they’re sometimes a little gross like that. :DIt really made me laugh when, after having listened to Y Bandana for a while already and starting to learn Welsh, I started picking up some bits of lyrics and figured out very roughly what this song is about, that really made me laugh. It’s funny when listening to music in other languages that you barely know or not at all, to realise that something you’ve been listening to concerns such a fascinating topic.

Lowri Evans – “Tra Bo dau”

After some thinking, I decided to share this song by Lowri Evans that I mentioned in the previous post. I think her version is really good! Here’s my post where I shared this song performed by

Plu

where you can learn a bit more about it.

Lleuwen – “Cawell Fach Y Galon” (Little Cave Of The Heart).

And for today, I picked a Welsh song, from quite a well-liked and known singer on the Welsh-language music scene. Lleuwen Steffan, also mononymously known as Lleuwen, is the daughter of Steve Eaves – a Welsh poet and singer, heavily influenced by blues. – So she grew up in a very musical household for sure, and one filled with love for her native language. Her sister, Manon Steffan Ros is also well-known in the Welsh speakers’ community, as an author. She’s also very popular with beginning learners of Welsh as her books are very learner-friendly from what I know.

I heard this song today in the morning, and thought it’s really cool, so maybe you’ll like it too. 🙂

Song of the day (25th December) – Lisa Angharad – “Waiting”.

Hey people! 🙂

It was Christmas yesterday, so I probably should have found something Christmassy for this day, especially that this Christmas season we only had one Christmas carol in Advent and another one on Christmas Eve and nothing more, but I sort of didn’t have very many Christmassy ideas in mind.

Lisa Angharad is an emerging Welsh artist, and this is her first single. I think it’s really cool and it’s gotten some popularity as I’ve heard it played a lot both on BBC Radio Cymru and Cymru FM. Enjoy. 🙂

Kizzy Crawford – “Adlewyrchu Arnaf I” (Reflecting On Me).

Hey people! 🙂

I’ve featured Kizzy Crawford earlier on this blog, and today I thought I’d share another song of hers that I’ve known for a long time and that is my favourite of hers. I generally really like Kizzy and am always trying to be up to date with her music, as she is a very interesting musician, blending a lot of genres together, with a diverse cultural bakground and an ear-catching voice.

She is a Welsh-Bajan singer who seems to feel equally comfortable with as diverse genres as folk, pop, soul, rap and jazz. This song is definitely more on the pop-y side and it’s entirely in Welsh, as I think her Welsh music is particularly interesting, at least for me as a Welsh learner.

Another interesting thing about Kizzy that makes her and her music stand out from the crowd (as if singing in a minority language wouldn’t be enough :D) is that she has, from what I know quite recently, been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. There was a documentary on BBC Radio Wales about her, where she was talking with fellow autistic people, particularly focusing on the struggles of women and girls on the spectrum, but also about her own experiences having lived undiagnosed her entire life until now, and what the diagnosis has changed for her, as well as how music has helped her to cope with all of this.

As many of you know, although I am not on the spectrum myself, I have been assessed twice, once as a child, and then once again as an adult, a lot of people have “accused” me of being autistic, 😀 and I do feel a lot in common with autistic people, since whatever is going on with my brain, it also appears to be a bit atypical, so that was interesting to learn about her and it’s great that she is so open about it!

She mentioned in that documentary that this song is also inspired by her experience of being autistic.

Harmony Yemanya – “Hiraeth Am Feirion” (Longing For Meirionethshire).

Hey people! 🙂

Today I’d like to share with you a traditional song I’ve recently heard, from an artist who is very new to me. I heard her for the first time on Blas Folk Radio Cymru.

Harmony Yemanya is the artistic name of Hilary Davies, who is a flautist, singer, songwriter and composer based in Gwynedd and London. This particular song that I want to show you though, is, just like I said, her rendition of a traditional tune. I was wondering where her artistic name came from and it seems like there is some, I guess Nigerian, goddess named Yemaya and one of the way to spell her name is also Yemanya so perhaps it’s in relation to that.

The song is about one’s longing to a (now historic) county in northwestern Wales, which is called Meirionethshire in English.

I managed to find a translation of this song into English, on the website of a Welsh band called Ffynnon

and here it is:

 

There is a mountain in the sea which hides Meirioneth

I had sight of it once only before it broke my heart

Wind from the sea and sun from the mountain

Grey rocks instead of trees

And gulls instead of people

I will make a boat of the oak of love

And its mast, the wood of experience

And put longing in its sail to make it go

Wave to wave to my own land

 

Hywel Pitts – “Ailadrodd” (Repeat).

For today, I chose to share with you a Hywel Pitts’ song. I only know two solo songs of his, it’s possible that he has more of them and I just don’t know (that’s what the lyrics of this song may also kind of suggest, haha). Currently he is the vocalist of a Welsh-language rock band I Fight Lions. Both these songs by Hywel Pitts that I know have always sounded to me like they have very interesting lyrics but since I’m still like lower intermediate or so, and couldn’t find the lyrics anywhere online to help me understand them, there was always a lot of guessing and assuming involved. However now I understand at least as much of this song to be able to grasp the context, although I fear I have no clue about what this repeating bit in the chorus means, and I feel like it’s important. Oh well…

Anyway, the song is about how the lyrical subject (can we talk about lyrical subject in pop/folk lyrics? 😀 I don’t know, but I also don’t know if it’s Hywel Pitts’ own experience or just something he felt like writing so let’s say it is a lyrical subject) dreamt in his teens about being a rock star. Years later, he finds himself doing just small gigs. He is wondering whether perhaps he’s not charismatic enough, not talented enough, not confident enough. But how can he be confident if he has no fans? Maybe it’s because he isn’t good at laughing at himself, or because he doesn’t have family in the BBC, maybe he’s not fashionable enough, or doesn’t write enough hits, or his songs are bad, in any case no one buys his CD’s or even downloads his mp3s. He has tried a lot of things (everything basically) to achieve his dream – he has tried dressing like a guy, like a girl, he’s been working very hard for free, trying to be folksy, punkrocky, fat, thin, courageous, interesting, funny, honest, different, entertaining, straight, gay, bi, support Tories, Plaid Cymru (Party of Wales – this is a socialist-nationalist Welsh party), Labour, he tried praying, joined Zoosk, Tinder, OK Cupid, he’s been writing in Welsh, English and French, etc. etc. etc. I don’t understand all of that unfortunately, but the point is that still, despite his efforts, no one’s paying any attention. Eventually he concludes that – I am not sure if I understand what he does not need, but I’m pretty sure that what he does need is “four chords and a smile”.

If this is indeed Hywel Pitts’ experience, that makes me very sad because, while I know only two songs by him, except for I Fight Lions, I like them both and I think I could consider myself his fan, even if I’m the only one. I like things that others don’t, especially if they have anything to do with minority languages and Celticness and are quirky. So perhaps that would increase his self-confidence, if he knew that, lol, and maybe that would help him to gain more fans, in turn. I am hoping for the best here.

Ffion Evans – “2013”.

Hey people! 🙂

Today I’m sharing just a light pop song in Welsh with you. I don’t know much about this singer and she appears to have debuted rather recently or not recorded much so far, but I quite like this piece, so perhaps you will too. 🙂