#ynys

[meddwlyngymraeg]

Welsh Music Wednesday

Helô pawb, 'chi'n iawn? Hanging in there? I've got some great music to help tide you over if not. Back with another Welsh music Wednesday, and this week it's all about the harmonies: I'm featuring Ynys!

Dylan Hughes is a keyboardist, guitarist, musician and songwriter from Aberystwyth, and has previously been in bands like the psychedelic indie rockers Race Horses, going as far back as 2009. (They were kinda folky too, they had a harpist!) After the band split, Dylan was living in Cardiff for a spell and wasn't really outwardly involved with music for the decade, but there were ideas accumulating in his mind, little melodies and such. He never thought he would release them, until friends (and former Race Horses) started encouraging him to put it down on record.

That's where Dylan's (good) problem began: he never wrote these songs with the intention of a band playing them, and so to record them, he needed a band. Friends stepped in, and a few former band members pitched in, and so Ynys was born. Dylan began realising in hindsight that a lot of his lyrics seemed to be about adjusting to the city in Cardiff, longing for Aberystwyth his hometown and the seaside.

Ynys' debut album Ynys (2021) is a psychedelic, delightful indie rock record, in turns brooding and delightfully poppy, with lush strings, melodies and harmonies, drawing from some of Dylan's own favourite albums and artists (the song Caneuon specifically refers to listening to the song Gegin Nos, from Gorky's Zygotic Mynci 1994 album Tatay). Here's album opener Môr Du (Black Sea), performed on Lŵp.

The follow up album, recorded during lockdown when Dylan was home in Aberystwyth, is one of the catchiest indie pop albums of last year. Dosbarth Nos (Night Class) is a must-listen album.

Ces i gyfle i gyfweld Dylan cyn yr albwn yn rhyddau'r llynedd. Guy hyfryd I've gotta say! A cherddor ardderchog. Anyway, if you like their music, check out their Bandcamp and support them independently. Dylan's particular about making sure their lyric booklets and Bandcamp have their lyrics and an artistically satisfactory English translation, as transliteration hardly ever really conveys exactly what the original lyrics do. So a good recommendation for my fellow dyswyr too.

[bandcampsnoop]

10/12/22.

Libertino Records (Wales) have been putting out great music for several years. At the beginning, there were no physical releases, but that is changing. First, just last month we mentioned the great Ynys LP. Before that, we mentioned Alex Dingley.

Now we have Sister Wives. The band definitely recall the work of Look Blue, Go Purple, Francisca Griffin or older posts like Would-Be-Goods, Susan or Seablite.

[rie-k-photo]

South Stack Lighthouse by Darryl Godden Photography http://flic.kr/p/VfqAYB

[meddwlyngymraeg]

I'd love to hear some more happy sounding Welsh songs! can be any genre. also any songs about the sea! diolch!!

Shwmae! Amazingly, you are the literal target audience for Ynys' first album ('Ynys', 2022). Dylan Hughes is from Aberystwyth and spent many years in Cardiff and found himself longing for the seaside he grew up in, and when he finally started writing music as Ynys (he used to be in a cool indie psychedelic band called Race Horses too, if that's your thing), he put together a whole album only to realise how much of it is about the sea. I mean, his band is literally called Ynys (Island)!

Also, he has that wonderful, lush psychedelic pop sound, which I think sounds pretty happy musically, though there are definitely some themes of longing, being lost, culture and language, all that good stuff thrown in too. It's complex, but I still feel it's quite a happy listen!

So some songs from the album I'd recommend - Môr Du (Black Sea), Welcome to the Island (now technically this is an instrumental, don't know where that sits!), There's Nothing The Sea Doesn't Know.

My personal favourite off the album is Caneuon (‘Songs’, references the Gorky's Zygotic Mynci song 'Gegin Nos'—more on them in a sec—and also a pretty happy/reminiscing/wistful song), but the whole album is quite good, and their recent second album Dosbarth Nos also has some lovely songs that lift my mood at least— Aros Amdanat Ti, Gyda Ni, Dosbarth Nos. Also the sea references continue!

I'm linking their Bandcamp page rather than a Spotify because Dylan makes sure to include lyrics and translations on there (and in physical liner notes), if you or anyone else reading this was interested in going into the lyrics! (Also I usually feel like I should give people the option to directly support musicians if they feel inclined, where Spotify pays not even cents for most music.) But these two albums are on streaming if you'd like too!

I've also gotta recommend some Gorky's! Their 1997 album's called Barafundle, named after Barafundle Beach, and while I don't think any of the songs are directly about the sea itself (except like The Barafundle Bumbler, which uh. Your mileage may vary. It’s about a voyeur bloke that sits by the seaside on said beach), but there's Diamond Dew which is such a lovely tune, and while not about the sea, Patio Song (i.e. everyone's favourite Gorky's song) has that lovely outro of 'it is raining, so take my hand, the winter's so long, it takes so much of the earth'. ☔️🌧🌈 Happy music, some of Gorky's work! (Personal fave off the album: Starmoonsun <3)

(Also this song's in English but since we're talking about Gorky's I can't not recommend Spanish Dance Troupe. Gorgeous song.)

There's also the super cool Adwaith, who wrote the song Lan Y Môr. This song is actually a lot older than the album it ended up on, 2022's Welsh Music Prize winning Bato Mato, Adwaith are still the only musicians to win the Prize twice. They wrote the song and released it as a single back in early 2020 and it was following a run of really cool punky Cymraeg singles. Love Adwaith, they're quite cool.

Edit: HOW COULD I HAVE FORGOTTEN. The queen of the beaches. Gwenno herself. I guess I hadn’t included her because this isn’t technically a Welsh language album (save for one song, N.Y.C.A.W. (Nid Yw Cymru Ar Werth)). Gwenno is half-Welsh, half-Cornish, and this album was basically written down at St. Ives. This does sound like it, and I love this song Anima!

Hope you like these! People can totally feel free to add on in the notes if I’ve missed something!

[garthcelyn]

[musicblogwales]

NEWS: YNYS New Album 'Dosbarth Nos' Out Now Via Libertino

ALBWM NEWYDD YNYS: 'DOSBARTH NOS' Cyn rhyddhau eu hail albwm ‘Dosbarth Nos’ ddydd Gwener 12fed o Orffennaf, mae Ynys yn rhannu eu sengl newydd sbon, ‘Shindig’ – allan heddiw 10fed o Orffennaf. Dros y ddeufis diwethaf, mae’r grŵp wedi rhannu dwy sengl Gymraeg, ‘Aros Amdanat Ti’ a ‘Gyda Ni’ gan ennill cefnogaeth gan Craig Charles a Huw Stephens ar BBC Radio 6 Music, NME a Bandcamp.   Mae 'Dosbarth Nos', yn dilyn albwm cyntaf y band a gafodd ei enwebu ar gyfer Y Wobr Gerddoriaeth Gymreig 2023. Wedi’i recordio’n fyw dros gyfnod o bedwar diwrnod yn Stiwdio Mwnci yng Ngorllewin Cymru, mae’r albwm yn amlygu esblygiad cerddorol Ynys – gan gofleidio palet sain llawer mwy egnïol ac anturus gyda threfniannau deinamig, diddorol.   Mae sengl newydd Ynys - 'Shindig' - yr olaf cyn i'r albwm ddilyn ddydd Gwener, allan nawr ar Libertino.

YNYS SET TO RELEASE SECOND ALBUM: 'DOSBARTH NOS' Ahead of the release of new album 'Dosbarth Nos' this Friday 12th July, Ynys share new single, ‘Shindig’, out now via Libertino Records. Over the last two months, the group have shared two Welsh language singles, ‘Aros Amdanat Ti' (Waiting For You) and ‘Gyda Ni' (With Us), earning early support from the likes of BBC Radio 6 Music’s Craig Charles and Huw Stephens, NME and Bandcamp.   'Dosbarth Nos', follows the release of their 2023 Welsh Music Prize shortlisted debut album. Recorded live over a period of four days at the picturesque Mwnci Studios in West Wales, the album showcases Ynys' musical evolution - embracing a more energetic and adventurous sound palette with its extraordinary dynamic arrangements, and capturing the essence of the band's live performances.  'Dosbarth Nos' embodies the culmination of Ynys' creative journey, marking a significant milestone in the project's evolution. Hughes' meticulous approach to songwriting, coupled with the band's collaborative energy, has resulted in an album brimming with intention and newfound confidence. New single, 'Shindig', is out now on all streaming platforms.

DOSBARTH NOS 01. Darnau Coll 02. Aros Amdanat Ti 03. Dosbarth Nos 04. Shindig 05. Welcome Back to the Island 06. Hi sy’n Canu 07. Dim Ond Ni 08. Gyda Ni 09. Wild Waves 10. Ynys

[musicblogwales]

Ynys announce new album and share new single

Welsh group Ynys have announced their second album and released new single ‘Aros Amdanat Ti’. The new album, Dosbarth Nos, meaning ‘Night Class’, sees the Aberystwyth based band embracing a more energetic and adventurous sound palette and captures the essence of the band’s live performances.

New single ‘Aros Amdanat Ti’, meaning ‘Waiting For You’, is a song about friendship and feeling lost. The track showcases Ynys’ fondness for infectious melodies and dynamic arrangements.

Piano and keys are at the heart of this track, with an uplifting and almost Northern Soul sounding piano chord progression. There is a very vintage feel to the track, which has drawn comparisons to early Paul McCartney records. It’s bright and energetic, and you can’t help but dance, with a fuzz heavy guitar solo adding to this vintage feel.

The whole song is sung in Welsh, with tracks from their upcoming album a mixture of Welsh and English. The piano is an important part of the album, with most songs beginning as short piano experiments. Ynys is the brainchild of Race Horse / Radio Luxembourg’s Dylan Hughes who said: “It’s taken some time to develop the confidence to put something as upbeat and pop out there. I suppose lyrically the song reflects that.”

Dosbarth Nos embodies the culmination of Ynys’ creative journey, marking a significant milestone in the project’s evolution.

New single ‘Aros Amdanat Ti’ is out now.

https://song.link/gb/i/1741764385

New album Dosbarth Nos will be released on 12th July via Libertino Records.

Words by George Phillips

[redwolf17]

I am so sorry i have not commented on your last two chapters !! they are so good and i have so much to say about them. This is just some of it: Ynys' exhibitionism is so funny to me but i completely support her - follow your bliss, queen! I love how her and Hazel are now a thing (if i read that properly and they're not just sharing a bed for lack of available beds??). I reread the chapter and can see how she is very intentionally trying to get under Hazel's skin specifically. I wonder if that was Ynys' end game the whole time...

I particularly loved how Meera cut her hair off in her grief, very symbolic. It's really sad that she has appeared to have given up on everything. i so hope she gets the help she needs, both mentally and physically. I really like the contrast between Theon's babying of Bran vs Meera's treatment. I can see Theon trying to assuage his guilt through his treatment of Bran.

I wonder if Theon will ever run into the woman he knocked up or if he could send someone to recover her. it's probably wishful thinking on my part, but who knows.

I was curious if Cersei's role in Prudence's teeth removal kind of echoes the Mountain's men and Pia's ruined teeth situation in the books. Pia was innocent and embraced her sexuality, Prudence is also innocent and a sex worker. In the books, Jaime has the head of one Pia's aggressors' removed which he presents to Pia. Now he is actively colluding with Cersei and Qyburn, both aggressors to Prudence and her teeth. (sorry if that didn't make sense, school has me feeling half asleep as i write this)...

Ynys/Hazel is definitely a... thing, yeah. No one is sure wtf is going on, and they're too scared to ask xD

God, poor Meera. Glad you picked up on the contrast of how Theon and Meera respond so differently to Bran's disability; it was a dynamic/bit of characterization I really liked.

As for whether Theon will follow up on Alla and their child, there was a wee hint in Bran I about that, if you go back and look at Theon's behavior 👀

The thing with Prudence versus Pia's teeth wasn't a deliberate parallel, but wow, yeah, that's a great comparison/contrast to canon, huh.

Thanks so much for reading/commenting 🥰