Feature/ 'Music begins where the possibility of language ends': the rise of Welsh Language music
By Owain Jones, Third year Physiological Science
'I joined a Welsh language band, Hyll, as a hobby, but it soon become a passion', Owain Jones discusses the rise of Welsh Language Music.
Following last month’s Welsh Language Music Day, people are really starting to take notice of what’s happening west of the border. Even though many Welsh musicians have risen to stardom through singing in English, like Grammy-award winning Tom Jones, Welsh-language artists are finally getting the recognition they deserve.
Most recently, teenage rock duo Alffa made headlines by becoming the first Welsh language song to hit the one-million stream milestone on Spotify, with their Royal Blood-esque song Gwenwyn (Poison) reaching an unprecedented 2 million. Unheard of for a Welsh band, it has certainly caused a hype around the Welsh music scene.
I joined a Welsh language band, Hyll, as a hobby, but it soon become a passion. I have met some great people, played at venues across Wales, and have watched some exceptional young artists picking up the reigns from past legends such as Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci and Super Furry Animals.
The annual, government-led Welsh Music Language Day was a sweeping success again this month – through promoting new artists and organising free gigs throughout the country, it has gone from strength to strength. Welsh is the first language for most of Wales’ top musicians, but you don’t need to understand the language to appreciate the amazing music that’s coming out of Wales at the moment.
With studio time and equipment being so expensive, a major obstacle for young musicians is money. The Horizons scheme funded by BBC Cymru Wales was launched in 2014, which has been an invaluable platform for new bands in allowing them to experiment with new equipment to find their sound, and more importantly, having the resources to put their music out there for others to listen to.
They have funded over 150 artists across Wales, and have provided opportunity for Welsh bands to play at popular festivals such as Green Man. The band that I play for personally received a grant from Horizons in 2017, meaning that we could finally afford to release our first, eponymous EP.
Recently, in January 2019, BBC Wales aired a documentary titled the Rockfield Sessions, where some of Wales’ hottest new bands had the opportunity to perform at the studios where Queen’s iconic 'Bohemian Rhapsody' was recorded, among other influential artists such as Oasis, the Stone Roses and Paolo Nutini. Music distributors like PYST are also vital for Welsh bands’ rising success, especially by helping them get onto Spotify playlists to give their steaming figures a substantial boost.
Click here for BBC Wales' Rockfield Sessions.
With such a vast variety of styles being offered, Welsh music is finally moving away from being viewed as simply a single genre, with gig nights becoming tailored towards a certain style of music rather than throwing bands together solely based on the fact that they sing in Welsh. The beautiful thing about gigging is that anyone can do it – it’s such an exciting time to be a young musician in Wales, with ample resources and fantastic organisations putting on gigs, the stage is set for more vibrant artists to reach the same heights as Alffa.
Welsh music truly is in full swing. I personally realised the sky-high potential it had whilst watching Gruff Rhys (former Super Furry Animals frontman) play a gig in Bristol. Seeing a packed-out SWX crowd swaying along to a Welsh language song really hit home for me, proving that you don’t always need to understand the lyrics to appreciate great music.
With pioneers such as Radio One DJ Huw Stephens continuously pushing for more recognition towards our music industry, it seems destined to flourish and churn out great new bands – and great new music – for generations to come.
Featured Image: Hyll/Hyll
Want to write a review for Epigram Music? Get in touch...
Facebook // Epigram Music // Twitter