Tagged: meinir gwilym

The week of concerts began on the first Saturday of the Welsh National Eisteddfod. I had already been on the Rebel Alliance farm for four days. Cymdeithas Yr Iaith Cymraeg was running affordable concerts – designed for the not-so-well-off people - at Penrhos Dairy Farm, and it was not an official part of the National Eisteddfod events. Thus, I dubbed them “The Rebel Alliance”. Gwyn and I had been helping Pastor Rhys Llwyd from Caersalem Church in Caernarfon, and Ieuan the farmer and his farm hands to convert the barn into a concert venue.

The first Saturday started off big. Bryn Fon was the draw of the Saturday night. The heartthrob actor/musician from the 80’s/90’s packed the cow house with screaming women of all ages, but it definitely leaned a little gray. Over the week Candelas, Meinir Gwilym (one of my favorite Welsh songwriters), The Welsh Whisperer, Steve Eaves, Bob Delyn, Gai Toms (one of my favorite people and favorite performers), and Geraint Jarman (the Welsh version of Mick Jagger) took the stage at our little cow palace. Tuesday night became a night of bards, and the poets took over the evening. The cows were getting milked at 6am and 4pm, and by 8pm the people rolled in and the music began each night.

There were some acts of particular note during the weeklong event. Candelas performed a set as tight as any I’ve ever seen. They were professional in every respect, and as approachable as your next door neighbor. Of course, I am assuming you have an approachable neighbor. Steve Eaves is the consummate professional as well, and he has a long history of great folk rock in Wales. His set was emotional and beautiful. Geraint Jarman rocked the house, and even in his seventies, he pops around the stage with his gangly, lanky frame and performs his reggae infused Welsh rock to make your body move. Meinir Gwilyn’s set was as fun as I had expected, and even more fun when I was able to hang out with Meinir a bit after the show, and again a couple days later on the main Eisteddfod field. The Welsh Whisperer is an act that transitions between bands, and introduces the performers, but is as entertaining as any of the bands. But, the surprise of the week was my friend Gai Toms. I’ve seen Gai perform solo a few times. I even jammed with him, when we first met in Washington D.C. This was the first time I had seen Gai perform with a full band, and he knocked it out of the cow pasture. The drummer was playing with him for the first time, but it didn’t matter. The band was tight. The performance was funny, emotional, dramatic and musically stunning all at once. I told Gai, “I used to like you…but after tonight, I love you.” Gai gets my nod for best performance of the Penrhos Farm/Cymdiethas Yr Iaith Cow Palace Festival. Well, that’s my name for the event.

On the second weekend of the National Eisteddfod, I met Meinir on the Maes (the main field of the event). We talked music, we talked Welsh langauge, and we talked about life in North Wales, and I recorded the time together. Please check out the interview. It will be worth your eight minutes. Meinir is one of the kindest, most approachable people you can find, and considering her popularity in the Welsh language music scene, that is noteworthy.

I also spent some time with one of the most engaging and happy groups of the Cow Palace Festival. Y Brodyr Magee (The Magee Brothers) from nearby Caergybi (Holyhead) were in the house for one of the evenings. This group of brothers ranging from nine years old to late twenties sang traditional Welsh songs, had some originals, and were as cool a group of brothers as one an find. Move over Jackson 5! I spent a few minutes talking with them, and you can catch that interview here on AmeriCymru as well.

By the end of the week, I was knackered (one of those words an American learns to say in the UK). Since my flight was heading off early Monday, I had to beat feet for London before the barn was returned to its pre-concert venue state. I said my goodbyes to the boys on the farm, and Ieuan told me to return anytime I was anywhere near Bodedern, Ynys Mon, North Wales. I will definitely be back to say hi to Ieuan and the gang, but I imagine next time it will just be the girls getting milked in the back who will be singing.

AmeriCymru spoke to Welsh singer-songwriter Meinir Gwilym about her music, future plans and her upcoming appearance in L.A. on St David's Day.

Meinir Gwilym

AmeriCymru: Hi Meinir and many thanks for agreeing to this interview. You were born and raised in Ynys Mon, Can you describe the island a little for our American readers. Did you come from a musical family?

Meinir: Ynys Mon is an island off the coast of North Wales. It has two bridges linking it to the mainland. I grew up in a village called Llangristiolus, which is in the parish of 'Paradwys'. It's quite a rural area, and I've always loved the outdoors. My roots are pretty deep there, my brothers and I are the 8th Generation to live in our family home. The house was originally a 'Ty Unnos' (One Night House) which is an old Welsh tradition - built in one night on a patch land, and if there was a fire in the hearth by the following morning, the builder then owned the house!

As a family, we've always sung really - at parties, at gatherings, at family meals - any occasion, in our house we're round the piano or guitar singing! It's just a natural thing in our family, and I think that's why music is my way of expressing myself. Both my grandfathers were musical in different ways - one was an exceptional pianist and the other a singer and lyricist, in their spare time of course. My aunt Cathrin, my mother's sister, has the best ear for music - she and I have spent hours sitting around the piano, her playing and me giving orders!

I learned to play the guitar at around 14, when I realised the piano was immovable...I was wanting to write songs, and that process has always been a pretty private one for me. My mother taught me to play on an old Spanish guitar, and I never looked back.

AmeriCymru: Your first recording Smcs, Coffi a Fodca Rhad (Cigarrettes, Coffee and Cheap Vodka) released in 2002 was a huge success.How would you describe the album?

Meinir: I was 19 when the CD was released. It was pretty different to other Welsh music that was around at the time, which is probably why it felt so fresh. Musically it's a mix, from thoughtful and quiet to loud and crazy! But it's a taster in a way - of the hundred or so songs I'd written in my teenage years.

I hadn't really thought about what I'd do with all my songs, but was writing a lot, though I didn't perform any publicly until I got to University in Cardiff. There was a songwriter's competition, and my friends persuaded me to enter. I did in the end, and when I won after performing my own songs for the first time, I realised it was the only possible thing to do. I recorded a demo tape and sent it to a community-based not-for-profit record label called Gwynfryn Cymunedol. They liked it, and from then on I was gigging like crazy, finding my feet, learning how to win the most difficult of audiences, and loving it. Smocs, Coffi was then released. I can't believe it's almost 12 years ago to be honest!

AmeriCymru: You have described your third album Sgandal Fain (skinny rumour) as an album of two halves the major and the minor. What did you mean by that?

Meinir: It's a literal description - the first 6 or 7 songs are pretty upbeat, and the second half is quieter, more thoughful. Because I don't write in a certain genre - I just let the songs do what they want - there's always a wide range of tempos and styles on my albums. On Sgandal, it felt right to split them in half.

AmeriCymru: Bryn Terfel appears on two tracks on your 2008 album 'Tombola'. Care to describe the experience of working with Bryn?

Meinir: Well, what can one say?! He's got the greatest voice, and is an absolute pro, working with him was a wonderful experience. To have his voice on Mam a'i Baban, a traditional song, was beautiful, but it was he who thought it might be nice if I wrote a song for both of us too. I wrote Mellt, and I think it works well.

He lives just a few miles down the road from me, and is a really down to earth person. He sells out Sydney Opera House, is probably the best Bass Baritone in the world, and yet he keeps his feet firmly on the ground. It was an absolute pleasure to work with him.

AmeriCymru: What can you tell us about your upcoming appearance in L.A. ?

Meinir: It's going to be at a great venue the Cinefamily Silent Movie Theater in Hollywood, and is obviously the best occasion - Dt.David's Day!

I'll be singing solo, just me and the guitar, so it's going to be quite intimate. I'll be singing some of my favourite caneuon gwerin (folk songs), my own songs, and a few covers too - and I hope to get the audience humming along by the end!

AmeriCymru: You have a CD titled 'Celt' being released to coincide with your headline performance at the St David's Day concert. . When will this be available and where can it be purchased online?

Meinir: It's an 18 track album, released only in North America. There are my own songs on it of course, quite a few traditional tunes, and 2 English lanuguage tracks.

It's available from March 1st through - http://celtic-family-shoppe.myshopify.com/products/celt-by-meinir-gwilym

AmeriCymru: What's next for Meinir Gwilym? What are your plans for the coming year? Any new recordings in the pipeline?

Meinir: Well, I plan to release an album in Wales pretty soon, when the time is right. But next, I have a trip to Croatia planned, a tour in Galicia, Spain, and depending on how the CD goes down in the US and Canada - maybe a North American tour. I'm not really a planning kind of person, I write and sing, and leave the arranging to my manager!

AmeriCymru: Any final message for the readers and members of AmeriCymru?

Meinir: Ooooh, to me 'message' is asking for something deep... I'll keep away from political...so I'm gonna quote my favourite bardd (poet), T.H Parry Williams -

"...am nad ydyw'n byw ar hyd y daith,
O gri ein geni hyd ein holaf gwyn,
Yn ddim ond crych dros dro neu gysgod craith
Ar lyfnder esmwyth y mudandod mwyn,
Ni wnawn, wrth ffoi am byth o'n ffwdan ffl,
Ond llithro i'r llonyddwch mawr yn l."