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South Wales based Americana/Folk singer-songwriter AhGeeBe returns today with his second single Adain Ystlum (Batwing) released via Clwb Music. Relying heavily on instrumentation rather than lyrics, the single is still finessed with a beautifully soft Welsh language poem dedicated to a Bat soaring in the early evening sky.
"Oh that is very filmic isn't it?"
Huw Stephens, BBC Radio Wales
Adain Ystlum (Batwing) offers something a little different compared to AhGeeBe's debut, while first outing Cocoona offered the opportunity to sing-along, this second single allows listeners to truly fixate on the short story. Even for those that don't speak the Welsh language, AhGeeBe's breathy tones cut through and land perfectly between each chord harking back to a time of traditional Welsh tales told around campfires.
"A few years ago I bought a guitar from a second hand shop in Roath. I’d seen it there a few times and had always been drawn to it, and was surprised it had never sold. Finally, during my monthly visit to look at the guitar, I bought it (after a slightly awkward haggling process. I got £20 off)" Explains AhGeeBe
He continues; "The guitar is an old ‘Burns’ guitar, the same sort that ’The Shadows’ used for their instrumental surf tunes (as well as backing Cliff Richard...). As soon as I plugged it in at home, the riff that became this song just fell out of me straight away."
Although softer and more mysterious, Adain Ystlum (Batwing) is brave and still just as bold. There is no mistaking the AhGeeBe 60's cop show theme, slide guitar laden style that continues to solidify him as one to watch within Wales' music community and beyond.
"On the guitar headstock is the name of the model of the guitar. It is… BATWING. This is also half the reason I bought the guitar. It’s such a funny name for a guitar, I love it. So with the main riff and music written, I went on to write a poem for Batwing about its flight in the early evening. I wanted to recite it sort of in the style of Serge Gainsburg’s Melody Nelson album. Deep vocals and a little bit mysterious."
Adain Ystlum (Batwing) has already received support from ex-BBC Radio 1 DJ and current Radio Wales / BBC 6 Music DJ Huw Stephens. AhGeeBe has also seen previous support from BBC Radio Wales and BBC Radio Cymru (including a full 30 minute interview with Georgia Ruth on Radio Cymru). AhGeeBe continues to prove that Wales is brimming with absolute talent ready to be discovered.
More about AhGeeBe
Multi-instrumentalist AhGeeBe (AKA Rhodri Gwyn Brooks) honed his craft in the South Wales quarry village of Creigiau, spending his time chiselling and sculpting away at the piano and guitar from an early age.
Finally finding his groove, which he describes as “somewhere between old-time country and 60’s cop show theme tunes", AhGeeBe is the shining result of years of session work for musicians across the globe, demoing, recording, and songwriting.
“A lovely gentle vibe, it’s beautiful. AhGeeBe’s Cocoona, just reminds me of George Harrison”
- Adam Walton, BBC Radio Wales
- Bethan Elfyn, BBC Radio Wales
Woodooman announces driving new 'Long Time Ago' single out 2nd May via Dewin Records
By Ceri Shaw, 2022-04-19
‘Long Time Ago’ is the driving new single by ‘Woodooman’, Cardiff Multi-Instrumentalist and Artist, Iwan Ap Huw Morgan.
The second single to be taken from forthcoming Album 'Y Nos', which is due for release on 24th June; 'Long Time Ago' follows in the wake of the fantastic Welsh Language track 'Y Nos Mewn Cariad' that was released last month to a very warm reception including praise from BBC Dj's Huw Stephens, Adam Walton, God Is In The TV Blog, Golwg Magazine, Lisa Gwilym and Rhys Mwyn.
'Long Time Ago' will be released on the 2nd of May via Recordiau Dewin Records
‘Long Time Ago’ yw sengl newydd gyrrwol ‘Woodooman’, yr artist aml-offerynnol o Gaerdydd, sef Iwan Ap Huw Morgan.
Yr Ail sengl i'w chymryd o Albwm 'Y Nos', syn cael ei rhyddhau ar 24ain o Fehefin; mae 'Long Time Ago' yn dilyn llwyddiant 'Y Nos Mewn Cariad' a rhyddhawyd mis dwetha i dderbyniad cynnes gan gynnwys camoliaeth gan Dj's BBC Huw Stephens, Adam Walton, Lisa Gwilym, Rhys Mwyn, a God Is In The TV Blog, Cylchgrawn Golwg.
Bydd 'Long Time Ago' yn cael ei rhyddhau ar yr 2ail of Fai drwy Recordiau Dewin.
'Excellent!' - Huw Stephens, BBC
'Expansive And Fasinating!' - Adam Walton, BBC Introducing
"Uplifting And Haunting" - Music Blog Wales
"Haunting and epic!" - God Is In The TV
What is Laverbread?
Laverbread, known in Welsh as bara lawr is an edible seaweed commonly found on the Welsh coast. It has been gathered and consumed in Wales since the 17th century (possibly earlier) and has become a part of the traditional local cuisine. A red algae, the Porphyra umbilicalis, is brownish in color until cooked. To prepare laverbread it is washed and boiled down to a dark green pulp. It is sometimes rolled in oatmeal prior to frying and traditionally it is served with bacon and/or cockles as a breakfast dish.
Laverbread is extremely nutritious (a superfood?) and contains protein, carbohydrates and a wide range of vitamins and minerals. It is particularly rich in iron and iodine.
Sir Richard Burton described Laverbread as, 'Welshman's Caviar'.
What is National Laverbread Day?
April 14th has been adopted as National Laverbread Day by the Pembrokeshire Beach Food Company. You can read their announcement below. Their website ( Pembrokeshire Beach Food Company ) features many interesting and delicious laverbread products and recipes.
Where Can I Buy It?
There are two suggestions below. It should also be borne in mind that Welsh laverbread is similar to Japanese Nori which may be more readily available in the United States.
Pembrokeshire Beach Food Company
Parson's Pickles
Sample Recipe
Why not try our delicious recipe for Bara Lawr Bagees ? Delicious and quick and easy to prepare.
The Ingredients (Serves 3)
- 3 tins of Bara Lawr (available on line with Parsons pickles)
- 2 medium chopped onions
- 2 cloves of diced garlic, or of you prefer, mince
- 1 tin cockles
- Mixed chopped peppers
- 7 table spoons of Porridge oats depending on thickness required.
- Sprinkling of crushed chillie
- Sprinkling of curry powder
- Pepper and salt to taste
Method (Preparation time: 45 mins approx)
- Fry the onions and garlic until cooked.
- Add chopped peppers then the cockles and Bara Lawr.
- Cook for about 5 minutes and add chillie, curry and salt and pepper.
- After about a minute of mixing well, add porridge oats, stirring until nice and thick.
- Leave mixture to cool.
- Form into bite size balls ( or bigger to own preference), I've got a big bite!, and place on greased or non stick baking tray.
- Bake at 180C until slightly crusty on the outside. This takes me about 20-25 minutes.
N.B. Bara Lawr Bagees can be made in a slab, then sliced into squares and frozen. To serve from frozen warm up in a microwave. Lardons may be substituted for cockles in this recipe.
Jimmy Jangles would have liked
to have been a highly-decorated warrior
relaxing in a highly-decorated lounge
but this was not to be
instead he obsesses over his fetish
for Dalek-like killing machines
and how he is obliged to hand over
money to bankroll violent regimes
he doesn’t support
by governments
he did not help elect
he tries not to get too hung up about about demarcation
he has a door a gate a fence
a scripture of passwords
and a clear understanding of where his personal space ends
he admits that he has at times fallen foul of the Trades Description Act
existing on a small island
in the middle of a tarn of sodium hypochlorite
just like in the legends
afraid to venture out because of the risk of corrosion of his disambulation
he deplores TV programmes like Britain’s Got Talent
the exaggerated melodrama of slightly delaying the announcement
of which hopefuls have been voted in or out of this week’s show
that pantomime pause
a menopause
by the men of pause
perhaps it could be improved by replacing it
with a different format such as
Britain’s Got Tory Parties
Britain’s Got Tax Avoiding Superstars
or at a push Britain’s Got Tommy Robinson
these would be much more sincere and entertaining
especially if the same selection method is used
closer to the current democratic process than he could ever imagine
television as the new Tower of Babel
that moved like a demented crab
into boxes then flat screens
and into our gibberish conversations
he buys gin goblets from a budget foreign supermarket
and is enchanted by the bell sound they make
when brought together in a gentle semi pendular action
he fills them up
throws in some handy botanicals
like consuming a boozy salad from a globe
representing a swirling world without continents
it’s nearly Christmas though it has in effect been since the last one
for the last four decades or so
at least he can forget for a short while
that many worthy companies
feel motivated to make modern slavery statements
each Thursday he attends a workshop for those debilitated
by post traumatic retail stress disorder
the hours in shops waiting
his hands glued to his pockets
ignoring the signs
the smells
the sounds
the eyes
unnerved by showroom dummies
sometimes feeling that they could be moving
when just out of sight
some of them appearing to have been posed
grotesquely in unrealistic human biological positions
still it beats working
although it is in its way a form of occupation
another usage of jangling useless time
in the name of the market
in an age of continuous austerity
when he gets the shakes he closes his eyes
until he is taken far from where he is
back to the early 1960s
the bars of a cot surround him
the first feeling of imprisonment
of containment
of being too safe
he's sleepy in this place too
riggings of snow grace the corners of a sash window
a draught making him shudder with cold
his first encounter with winter
though he doesn't yet know what it is
and what it can do
his unseen mother sings quietly to him
something old
something of that location
before the rest of the world
and its non stop jukebox
would roar into the family life
he gardens industriously and ironically
now that the UN has given the soil sixty years
he could cry and allow his tears to water his parcel of land
at least he'll be long in the ground by then
but he feels for the kids
the birds the beasts
the fish the insects
the trees the flowers the forests
the wind the sea the streams
the rivers the lakes
the lovers and the possibilities
this morning his web photo provider sent Jimmy an image
to remind him of this date one year ago
a shot of an area of dampness on a ceiling
the reminiscing of an algorithm
the inhumanity of technology
there's no contest
even if the robots will take over as it appears they will
he chuckles and recalls the word clusterfuck
that crops up in his news feed rather often these days
tonight he waits for a meteorite shower to arrive
he knows this is an honour but he's a little impatient
fretting that he's looking at the wrong patch of sky
he need not worry for this has been done before
and is still a thing of wonder
'Holy Coves' release new 'The Hurt Within' single this Friday via 'Yr Wyddfa Records'
By Ceri Shaw, 2022-03-24
North Wales Psychedelic rock band 'Holy Coves' are poised to release their brand new single 'The Hurt Within' on Friday 25th of March via 'Yr Wyddfa Records' .
Lead by Welsh Singer-Songwriter Scott Marsden , 'Holy Coves' find themselves crossing an unseen threshold on a fantastical new journey where new psych-hazed material spells an exciting new era for the collective.
Through long time friend and Producer David Wrench , 'Holy Coves' were put in touch with Texan Producer Erik Wofford (The Black Angels / Explosions In The Sky) and have built quite a magical working relationship, one where Wofford found himself on Mixing and Mastering duties for the material and certainly contributes to their new sound.
Chapel and Rugby. The lodestars of Welsh cultural life in the twentieth century. One proclaiming peace and love and the promise of everlasting paradise. The other a brutal release of pent-up aggression.
What happens when the two come into conflict?
Last Match by debut novelist Martin Rhys answers that question in what early reviews label ‘an authentic and compelling story’.
Colin Lewis looks set to become Wales’s next rugby superstar. International fame can only be a matter of time. But the time is 1939, and off the field, Colin is a different person. For a start, he is a pacifist, and World War 2 looms large.
When he declares himself a conscientious objector, Colin plummets from local hero to social pariah. A conchie who needs to be punished for his cowardice. His girlfriend, Martha, understands the bravery it takes to stand up against the herd for something you believe in. A warrior to the core, she won’t stand by and watch her man be persecuted by the bullies. Even when the biggest bully is her own father.
But as the war runs on, and the casualties mount up, can even Martha withstand the pressure? When the war ends, Colin yearns to get back to the rugby field, the only place he feels comfortable. But although the war has ended, cruelty and persecution have not. How much punishment and humiliation can a proud man take?
Because a pacifist cannot fight back. Can he?
Available in paperback and e-book on Amazon.com .
An important book on an important topic in both Welsh and British history - Dr Martin Johnes
The established history of the Tryweryn and Anti-Investiture Campaigns - Dr John Davie
Ritual Cloak colaborate with Photographer Michal Iwanowski on yearning new single 'Witaj w Domu'
By Ceri Shaw, 2022-03-17
Ritual Cloak follow-up an ambitious year of releases (Divine Invasions, A Human Being is the Best Disguise & Orange Crush) with a collaboration between the duo and photographer Michal Iwanowski .
Witaj w Domu was recorded during the Divine Invasions sessions, but it felt like the track deserved to stand alone. Having been inspired by Iwanowski’s photographic project, Go Home Polish, Ritual Cloak composed a piece of music in response, inviting Iwanowski to contribute spoken word, drawn from writings of his 1900km journey between his two homes - Wales and Poland. Michal narrates three stories, all different, yet all similar and asks, just like the photographic project, where is home? The answer is elusive and complex, a riddle that transcends time and administration.
“The title of the song was inspired by images of Michal’s mother and family awaiting his return as he walked the final stretch towards the family home in Poland, holding the sign Witaj w Domu (Welcome Home). We wanted the title to completely contrast the hostility of the graffiti that Michal felt compelled to respond to. The composition even features audio sampled from a live streamed video of his arrival at his family home. The sounds and voices of his family played a key part in closing the track as these are the people that mean the most to Michal, especially the sound of Michal’s mum’s laugh weaving between the piano notes that brings an emotional texture.” - Ritual Cloak
This is hiraeth. This is heimet. Home.
Witaj w Domu will be available on all streaming services via Bubblewrap Collective on Friday, 1 April and presented in three different versions, in English, Polish and instrumental.
www.ritualcloak.com
www.ritualcloak.bandcamp.com
www.michaliwanowski.com
Meic Stevens will need no introduction to most readers of this blog ( for anyone who does require some background info there is a 'Rough Guide to Meic Stevens' at the bottom of this post ) His musical career has spanned nearly five decades and he has been styled variously as 'The Legend' and the 'Welsh Bob Dylan'. In a surprise move Meic recently emigrated to Canda. He agreed to speak to AmeriCymru about his life and future plans from his new home in British Columbia.
AmeriCymru: Hi Meic and many thanks for agreeing to talk to AmeriCymru . I suppose the first question on many readers minds is why did you emigrate to Canada?
Meic: I don't know if you speak Welsh, so I'll write in English this time. Basically I came to Vancouver Island to paint for a one man show at Glyn y Weddw art gallery near Pwllheli North Wales. The exhibition will open next April 2012. I also came to study the native Americans here, also what sort of deal they have with the Canadian government, I might get some clues as to what native Welsh could do to improve their situation in Wales. Basically we have no more rights than the English or any other foreign immigrants which has been eroding and destroying the Welsh culture and way of life for years. Wales has been subsidized by the British government, particularly in the arts , ...of course S4C. But this is not the answer to the erosion of a nations' culture and way of life. The industrial revolution was imposed on Wales and had a disastrous effect on the way of life of the indigenous people and more especially on the language and literature. King Coal has a lot to answer for and most of the profit left the country fast!
AmeriCymru: How are you enjoying your new home? What are the main differences between Canada and Wales that have struck you thus far?
Meic: I'm living with my girlfriend, Liz, who I met while I was an art student at Cardiff in 1960. She has been the main cause of me returning to the easel. it's very good and stimulating getting back so close to raw nature and wild places and all that goes with that. Canada is a big, big place, space and wilderness so close. I live next door to an Indian reservation in the Comox Valley. Many of Liz's friends, like Alexandra Morton and others are totally committed and very active in their support of ecology, particularly the salmon and other fish problems that exist here. I am obviously a supporter of conservationism, which is in a sad state in Britain.
AmeriCymru: You said in a recent BBC interview that you will be concentrating on painting and writing a book about your childhood. Care to tell us a little more about your plans in this direction?
Meic: The next project after the Glyn -y-Weddw exhibition will be the book about the children of the Solva Valley in Pembrokeshire, I am also planning another album of Welsh songs, to follow my last one on the Sain label (Love Songs), which was in English. I also wish to record a blues album over here for the American market and am looking for a label.
AmeriCymru: How difficult was it recording and distributing through the medium of Welsh back in the 1960's?
Meic: Back in the 60s, recording in Welsh was a nightmare - more of a joke, really. There were no recording studios and even the studios of the BBC were equipped with obsolete or inadequate equipment. By 1968 I was recording for Warner Brothers in London, but prior to that I had recorded for Decca in 1965 and had produced my own album of self written songs which was later released by 10th Planet Records entitled "The Tony Pike Sessions." I recorded with an American guitarist, Mike Meerpol, whose stepfather wrote "Strange Fruit" for Billy Holiday. Mike was one of the sons of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg and later lectured in economics at Harvard (ed.). It was done in Wales (the record industry) so Huw Jones and I started Sain Records. Later, Dafydd Iwan joined... he's still at it to this day. I have enjoyed quite a free relationsuip with Sain over the years. who have released around a dozen albums of mine.
AmeriCymru: Who were your major musical influences back then and who would you cite now? Who do you listen to?
Meic: My early influences were blues and jazz singers like Big Bill Broonzy, Lightning Hopkins, Jimmy Witherspoon, Big Joe Wiliams, Josh White, Connie Johnson. I was playing guitar by 1955 and still do. I haven't played yet over here but am very keen to do some concerts.
AmeriCymru: You have often been described as the 'Welsh Bob Dylan'. How comfortable ( or not ) do you feel with that label/description?
Meic: "The Legend" and "Welsh Bob Dylan" things are great, who wouldn't want to be compared with the greatest modern folksinger of our age? Dylan is a rare phenomenon, I could go on about that guy!
AmeriCymru: How do you feel about the contemporary Welsh language music scene? Any bands that you think are particularly worthy of note?
Meic: The Welsh music scene is dead and very disorganized. Nearly all of the bands are amateur, because it is almost impossible to make a living in Wales as a Welsh language singer, or band. For example, there is no organized gig circuit, like a chain of clubs and pubs or even art centres that regularly put on Welsh language music shows. Most of the Arts Council money goes into paying administrators, etc. and the Welsh National Opera. Even the National Eisteddfod struggles for money. Something drastic has to be done about the ineptitude of S4C, who employ far too many desk jockeys and other hangers on and far too few musicians and entertainers. Hardly anyone watches S4C because most of the programmes are so bad. Talk to anyone in the pubs and restaurants round Wales and that is the general consensus. We got handed a t.v. station on a plate and it very soon became a gravy train, many millionaires have been created but you don't hear much about that.
By the way, I don't know one artiste, actor or singer who has earned anything like that kind of money. I, who am one of the most popular singers in Wales, voted singer of the year five years in succession by a public poll have always been pushed to make ends meet in Wales. Something is very wrong over there!
AmeriCymru: You've been cited as an influence on Welsh bands like Super Furry Animals and Gorky's Zygotic Mynci - what influence do you feel or notice you've had on upcoming Welsh musicians?
Meic: I have influenced and worked with loads of artists in Wales apart from writing the first three modern operas in Welsh. "Etifeddiaeth trywy mwg" with Gereint Jarman, "Craeth y carreg ddu" myself and "Dic Penderyn" wiht Rhydwen Williams. I have also published two volumes of my autobiography on Y Llofa, Solva Blues (English) and Hunangofiant y Brawd Houdini and Y Crwydryn a Mi , both in Welsh.
AmeriCymru: What's next for Meic Stephens?
Meic: To conclude, it's great to have such a big change in life (and unexpected) at the age of nearly seventy. I shall hit 70 on March 13th, 2012. I'm off back to Wales at the end of June to play three concerts in the National Eisteddfod, one on Monday 2nd in the Pavilion, another on the anniversary of Hiroshima in the Arts Centre in Wrexham (Cymdeithas yn Iaith). We will return the second week of August to Comox Valley, I certainly do hope to strut to my stuff now and again over here sometime in the future so if anybody out there wants to book me by email, the address is LIZSHEEHAN at shaw.ca - any communications are very welcome and you can get info on records on the Sain website.
Rough Guide to Meic Stevens
Meic is a singer, guitarist and songrwriter from Wales. His musical styles vary dramatically from folk, rock, jazz to blues and even techno music.
He has made many recordings which started with "Did I Dream" (Decca Records 1965) to his latest, "Love Songs," released August, 2010. He now lives in Courtenay, BC, where he is preparing work for a one-man exhibition of paintings back in Wales next April. He is a member of the Gorsedd of Bards of Britain, an exclusive druidic-style organization of intelligentisia that can only be joined by invitation. The number of members is strictly limited and the Gorsedd of Bards is the heart of the National Eisteddfod of Wales , one of the greatest arts festivals in Europe.
Meic has decided to live in Canada, on Vancouver Island , where the air is clean and inspiration abundant.
Information on Meic can be found on the Sain Records website also on Youtube. Meic does not have a camputer or personal website, he says he doesn't need them. M ost of Meic's sound and video recordings are in the Welsh language, he also sings and writes in English and has recorded several albums of songs in that language. "Outlander" (Warner Brothers 1969), "Ghost Town" (10th Planet Records), "The Tony Pike Sessions" (10th Planet Records) were released between 2000-2005 and his most recent, "Love Songs" on the Sain Records label. Meic is availale for bookings, please email LIZSHEEHAN at shaw.ca. Meic has made hundreds of television appearances, has written three modern operas, has been touring since 1963 and has been the subject of four television documentaries. In Canada, he will perform alone with guitar and will sing folk, blues and self-penned songs and also some traditional Wlesh songs.
Electro-pop artist LUIANNA celebrates what it means to be a Woman on new single 'Witch', due for release on 18th March 2022.
Taken from her upcoming debut EP Skiá, 'Witch' is a charming idiosyncratic song that is a subtle homage to women from the past who were burnt at the steak for the unique and 'magical' differences. The single is oozing with wonderfully wonky synths from the offset, effortlessly complimenting LUIANNA's soft, celestial vocals.
LUIANNA elaborates, "this is a personal song about facing past trauma's but also a dedication to all strong minded Women"
LUIANNA - aka Jasmine Luianna Emslie - was born in London, brought up in South Wales and has since spent the past fifteen years between Bristol and Berlin.
'Witch' is released on 18th March 2022.
