Five essential Welsh language artists
During Kneecap’s phenomenal 2024, which saw them release a stunning semi-biopic film alongside their already renowned catalogue of Gaelic rap, I felt a conflicted sense of encouragement and curiosity at the rise of interest in Celtic language music. While I ultimately found myself thrilled at the overall impact of Kneecap‘s success, questions around the continued oversight of Welsh music and, more specifically, Welsh language music soon rose.
For years, the Welsh language has been at the forefront of a healthy output of nuanced and innovative music. Yet, between the home nations, there still seems to be an undercurrent of disrespect in the general reception of such a small country’s prolific output.
While the complexities of that are steeped in generational history and, let’s face it, miseducation, I hoped the emergence of Ireland’s brilliant and defiant three-piece would pave the way for a similar celebration of Welsh music.
Perhaps the line in Kneecap’s 2024 self-titled film that encapsulates the sentiment of language protest best is: “Every word of Irish spoken is a bullet fired for Irish freedom”. So in the spirit of that, and following the orders of one of Wales’ finest musicians, Cate Le Bon, who sang, “Cod dy fwa cym saeth sy’n syth a saetha”, which translates to “Lift your bow with a straight arrow and shoot”, I am going to lift my bow of creative intrigue and hit you with my definitive list of the five best Welsh language artists.
Five essential Welsh language artists
Ani Glass
A self confessed “pop-kid”, Ani Glass manages to inject the choir-esque profile of Welsh vocals into a colourful, futuristic soundscape. As the sister of Gwenno, she’s been given a clear insight into what it takes to be an artist who fearlessly pursues innovation in the face of commercial expectations. But despite the shadow, Glass has forged a unique and solid identity, built off her interesting relationship between 1980s synth-pop and the Welsh language.
Her 2020 album Mirores puts dancey electro-pop at the front and centre of its sonic landscape, making sound the primary language with which listeners engage. Speaking of her unashamed dedication to pop, she told God Is In the TV, “In the first instance, it’s a language I understand,” she said. “I know when I like a song and what I like about it, so I’m good at reading pop language in that sense”. She’s an inviting artist who dazzles with her vocal takes and opens the listener up to a world of experimentation, bringing further melodic beauty to the Welsh language.
Los Blancos
On top of the sort of garage-band atmosphere made so famous by a string of Welsh bands, Los Blancos lay colourful vocals that paint an honest picture of modern life: heartache, isolation, friendship, alcohol and somewhere in between, love.
There’s something fundamentally raw about Los Blancos, especially compared to the rest of this list, that feels deeply authentic and refreshing. Using the vastly different delivery techniques afforded by the Welsh language, their songs bring a fresh sense of innovation to an otherwise tried-and-tested recipe of garage rock.
Sage Todz
While the Welsh music scene has fostered a healthy number of indie bands, there was a distinct lack of rap and hip-hop for burgeoning artists like Sage Todz to cite as references. “I just set out to make what I wanted to listen to when I was young,” Sage told Red Bull, “because all I heard was Welsh indie bands. But I had to get good at rapping in English first.”
Todz’s genre of music allows for a clever exploration of a language with a distinctly different timbre from everything else heard in music. With open-ended vowels and percussive-like annunciation, he can ride the beat in a deeply unique way while writing instantly recognisable hooks regardless of the language.
Melin Melyn
With a band name that translates to Yellow Mill, Melin Melyn are an appropriately playful band whose music welcomes you into a wonderfully colourful albeit weird world. The Welsh six-piece have a deeply textural profile and their songs flutter anywhere from jangly piano solos to idyllic horn runs.
In reference to their upcoming album ‘Mill On The Hill’ due March 7th, frontman Gruff Glyn said, “Welcome, one and all, to the magical world of the Mill On The Hill. The yellow mill that sits on top of a hill, looking down on Melin Village and all of its wonderful occupants. Everyone is welcome here. Don’t be deceived; this is no ordinary mill. Our duty is to create music inside the mill for all the occupants of Melin Village, and anyone else who’d like to listen. Because, after all, who could imagine a world without music?”
It’s a suitably cosmic introduction to an EP that accurately depicts the world within which their music exists. Normally of a sunny disposition, it intertwines colourful storytelling that fluctuates between English and Welsh in a friendly invitation to understand both cultures.
Adwaith
Fresh off the release of their third album, Solas, they are a band whose stunning musicianship can put them in the depths of any soundscape. Be in on the delicate ‘Fel i Fod’, ethereal ‘ETO’, or krautrock-inspired ‘MWY’; they have a clear sonic identity based around a sense of rhythmic depth.
Speaking of their third album, the band told The Guardian: “This third album is us coming home and actually being confident in ourselves and being true to ourselves and not letting anxieties take over us. We’re sort of feeling enlightened.”
It’s a mission statement that, to my ear, has always rung true in their music and perhaps that is driven by the liberation of singing in your native language, that isn’t shackled to commercial expectations. They aren’t afraid to explore lengthy bridges, gripping solos or let pop sensibilities drive forward an otherwise alternative sound. They tread the line between gritty and emotional and manage to translate something bigger than the vernacular meanings of an individual word and should, therefore, be on the playlist of any music fan regardless of the language they speak.
