Datblygu- The Peel Sessions 1987-1993

 If you know anything at all about Datblygu you'll know about the late John Peel's passion for them, and the exalted position that they hold in Welsh language music. For a group who performed solely in Welsh to record five sessions for JP was a truly remarkable achievement. David R Edwards is still (rightly) regarded as an icon of popular culture and consciousness in Wales.
Dave once told me that he had never seen a penny from the BBC releases. I had the good fortune to see him again not long back, and it's always refreshing to meet such a talented and culturally significant bloke and to realise what a sound and down to earth person he is.
It's somehow in  keeping with Datblygu's rather anarchic background
that a retrospective exhibition, Datblygu Trideg, celebrating thirty years since their formation, has been held in a waffle cafe.


There's a Datblygu website (in Welsh)  here...
And you can read about the waffle cafe exhibition here (in English) and here (in Welsh).


http://d01.megashares.com/dl/d9aAS4r/Datblygu- Peel Sessions 1987-1993.part1.rar
http://d01.megashares.com/dl/fnAaHAo/Datblygu- Peel Sessions 1987-1993.part2.rar

I've included a scan of the inner sleeve. It includes details of the personnel , producers, dates etc, but more interestingly Dave's notes on each song featured. (In English):   http://d01.megashares.com/dl/K2hT9gx/datblygu notes.rar

And while we're at it, isn't it about time that somebody translated Dave's autobiography,  Atgofion Hen Wanc into English?

Gorky's Zygotic Mynci - Pentref Wrth Y Mor (1994)

Gorgeous. Lyrics in Welsh and English: http://www.gorkys.freeserve.co.uk/gorkys/disco/lyrics/npentref.htm

Y Triban -Paid a dodi dadi ar y dol (1968)

A Message from Conductors.

Dear Friends,
I hope this message finds you in good form!
Please Could you Find Time To Listen To This New Alternative Band From Carmarthen/Cardiff UK.
http://www.reverbnation.com/tunepak/3262514
Regards
Conductors

http://www.facebook.com/conductors
http://www.youtube.com/conductorsmusic
http://www.myspace.com/conductorsmusic

Conductors- new album out soon!

Thanks to Aled for letting us know that Conductors will be bringing out a new album in late March. It's called Dim Problem and will be released by Death Monkey Records.
 A new song, Death From Above  is available on the Myspace page now.

Datblygu- Ga I Fod Sion Corn?

David R Edwards

Ar yr un pryd, roedd DJ enwoca'r byd - John Peel - yn datgan mai cerddoriaeth Datblygu oedd yr ysgogiad gore i unrhywun i ddysgu'r iaith Gymraeg:

"You'd have to be a bit of a ninny to ignore Datblygu, this is the band that
makes me want to learn the Welsh language."

Here's the best xmas related record ever.
Despite the fact that my father's first language is Welsh, that I have lived in Wales all my life and that I was even (albeit accidentally) placed in the Welsh form in secondary school I can't translate the lyrics in their entirety. My relationship with the language has always been a bit thorny.
And how much money has been spent on implementing The Welsh Language Act 1993 (an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which put the Welsh language on an equal footing with the English language in Wales with regard to the public sector)?
Road signs, electric bills, driving licences, hospital appointments, application forms,everything bilingual?
According to the 2001 census 582,400 (20.8% of the population of Wales) were able to speak Welsh and 457,946 (16.3%) can speak, read and write it.

From the BBC:
When officials asked for the Welsh translation of a road sign, they thought the reply was what they needed.Unfortunately, the e-mail response to Swansea council said in Welsh: "I am not in the office at the moment. Send any work to be translated".
So that was what went up under the English version which barred lorries from a road near a supermarket.
"When they're proofing signs, they should really use someone who speaks Welsh," said journalist Dylan Iorwerth.

Anyway, back to Datblygu: Ga I Fod Sion Corn? (Can I be Father Xmas?) here are some of the gems therein, musings of a lyrical genius:

The system causes cancer, not smoking…
I’m sick of feeling like Jesus on the cross, so please, can I be Father Xmas.
3 signs of insanity- talking to yourself, listening to other people, not talking to yourself.
I want Wales to be free, I want every village to be free, I want every person to be free…

Listen here:

Llwybr Llaethog- Hip Dub Reggae Hop (2000)

Blaenau Ffestiniog is a small town in North West Wales with a population of about 5000. It was formerly the centre of the slate mining industry. Thanks to John Griffiths it is also holds a very prominent place in the Atlas of Welsh Popular Music (I'm working on it!).
Returning from a visit to New York in 1984 Griffiths founded Llwybr Llaethog (the name translates as Milky Way) with his friend Kevs Ford . The BBC Wales music site describes Llwybr Llaethog as a revolutionary dance outfit pioneering a bass-heavy agit-rap style with a sharp satirical edge that single-handedly invented the genre of Welsh-language hip-hop ....

Conductors

Conductors are a bi lingual band based in Carmarthen and Cardiff.
Just got a disc of rough demos from these lads courtesy of my old pal Aled Thomas...
literally found it on the doormat when I got home. Very promising- have a listen over on Myspace. Looking forward to hearing more of this stuff ...
http://www.myspace.com/conductorsmusic

Aled of course was formerly the frontman of Supergene - who I'm happy to report are now releasing new material with a different line up.
http://www.myspace.com/supergene

Tebot Piws - Y Gore a'r Gwaetha

As promised (or threatened) a short while back- here is Tebot Piws -Y Gore A'r Gwaetha* this compiles the EPs (1969-1972) that the band recorded for Recordiau Sain.

For the sleeves of those EPs and other stunning Welsh record covers of the era have a look at this cracking set of pics on Flickr .



*The Best and The Worst of

Y Tebot Piws - Mae Rhywyn Wedi Dwyn Fy Nhrwyn(1971)

Y Tebot Piws oedd un o fandiau cynnar Pop Cymraeg, yn y 1970au cynnar, cyfnod pryd yr oedd yn datblygu o swn werinol at rhywbeth mwy agos at ganu pop cyfoes, a'r Tebot Piws yn nodweddiadol o'r tueddiad hwnnw, gyda digrifwch yn rhan allweddol o'u hallbwn.
Rhyddhawyd pedwar EP gan y Tebot Piws (1969 -1972 recordiau Sain).


A number of Y Tebot Piws's songs have made a lasting impression of the psyche of Welsh speakers- and a best of Lp is available, bringing togther tracks from the 4 EPs they released on the legendary Sain records between 1969 and 1972.
We'll be having that album on here soon, but here's a taster-
Mae Rhywyn Wedi Dwyn Fy Nhrwyn (Someone's stolen my nose...)



Lead singer was Dewi 'Pws' Morris- a legend in Welsh language entertainmnet- Pws has been a rock singer, actor, comedian, soap star, children's TV presenter, author, radio presenter... a really funny bloke.

Supergene – Get Out (2006)

All good bloggers emphasise that music is posted on a try before you buy basis, you’re only borrowing it, please support the artists etc. Well on this occasion I’m being particularly sincere.
I don’t know what’s going on with Supergene- I don’t know if this album is still available. I know they’ve undergone some line up changes.
I bought this off singer/ guitarist Aled on his own doorstep (literally) the day he got his box of copies.
Have a listen to this. If you like it and if it’s still available please splash out a couple of quid on a copy, or any of their other stuff.
I’ve labelled it as Welsh, but only a couple of the songs are in Welsh.

Dan Y Cownter 2 (2006)

Casgliad o gerddoriaeth Gymraeg.
Dan Y Cownter (Under the Counter) is a compilation series put together by BBC’s Huw Stephens that showcases contemporary Welsh Language music. Granted, this set is 3 years old but it’s likely to be new to you unless you‘re an avid lover of Welsh pop. Wynne Jones gives you a tidy review of the tracks on his Gog With A Blog site.
Loads of information about what’s around the Welsh language scene on the Dan Y Cownter website, where you can also download the latest compilation in the series.

(Whatever your media player may tell you track one is Pwer y FFlwer by Radio Luxembourg, not Sonar by Brigan).

Let’s see:
Radio Luxembourg- Pwer Y Fflwer
Swci Boscawen- Adar Y Nefoedd
Mim Twm Llai- Rhosyn Rhwng Fy Nannedd
Genod Droog- Breuddwyd Oer
Stiches- Dan Do
Richard Jones- Tir A Mor
Sibrydion- Blithdraphlith
Y Diwygiad- Mewn Can Mlynedd
Ryan Kift- Gola Ola
Acid Casuals- Y Ferch Ar Y Cei Yn Rio

Yr Anhrefn- Seshwn John Peel, Gorffenaf 23, 1986

Yn y tyfiant o ddiddordeb yn Cerddoriaeth Byd yn yr wythdegau, ynghyd ag agwedd John Peel ' I just want to hear something I haven't heard before' fe ddaeth cerddoriaeth Cymraeg I cynylleidfa fwy eiang. Ar Gorffenaf 23 1986 fe gafwyd y seshwn cyntaf yn yr iaeth Gymraeg ar rhaglen John Peel, gan y grwp Yr Anhrefn o Fangor.



Diolch i Rob E Huws.

Llygod Ffyrnig -NCB 7" (1978)

Here we have the first Welsh language punk record.
Llygod Ffyrnig formed in Llanelli in December 1977.
Schooldays= oppression.
Bright spots= things like this record.
A boy with Llygod Ffyrnig written in chalk on the back of his blazer...
For younger readers NCB was the National Coal Board- the state run coalmining industry in the UK from 1946-1994.

Gary Beard- guitar
Julian Lewis- drums
Hywel Peckham- guitar
Dafydd Rhys- vocals
Pete Williams- bass

Datblygu 1985-1995

Datblygu- Welsh for development.

Here are some sleeve notes:
A word from Gruff Rhys, SFA, Esq…
'Beginning with the aching pop standard ‘Y Teimlad’ this collection gives us a glimpse of a band capable of anything. It seems to me that Datblygu are one of those bands whom standing upon their seedy pulpit hold up a mirror to the society they live in. A lazy comparison would be someone like Serge Ginsbourg. But that slimeball had 50 million heads to fill his mirror and bank account. David “The Last Communist in Europe (Too Skint To Go To Cuba)” R. Edwards on the other hand communicates here to half a million Welsh speakers fucked on Thatcherism. This ever poignant work comes as a sonic and moral warning to a complacent generation of white hicks on coke, looking for a welcome break on the third [motor] way to oblivion'.

http://d01.megashares.com/dl/DAPiKqP/Datblygu-1985-1995.rar

Gorky's Zygotic Mynci - 20: Singles & EP's '94-'96 (2003)

If we'd known that we would do so well we'd have chosen a better name...
Euros Childs





What’s the Welsh word for ‘eclectic’?
I dunno. Maybe John Cale knows? Apparently he once said that Patio by Gorky’s was his favourite LP of all time- praise indeed.
I used to have this big old suitcase full of cassettes (I used to have a lot of things, but then again I used to be quite fucked up too) - in amongst the warbling home taped dross and bargain bin impulse buys of twenty odd years were one or two irreplaceable gems, including a genuine demo of Patio (a chap who I used to go to the football with had been in school with the band…)
Very interesting outfit. Lot of strange stuff on the web about the name, which, I’m sure, is more to do with sixth form humour than having any literal translation.
This is a collection of singles and EP's originally released between 1994 and 1996 on the Cardiff based Ankst label.

Yr Anhrefn- Defaid, Skateboards a Wellies (1987)

To us singing in Welsh is totally natural. We don't think twice about it... It'd be a pretty boring world if everybody sang with American accents or whatever.
-Rhys Mwyn
Up until the early eighties Welsh language music was a narrow and incestuous scene- then along came Bangor-based punk band Yr Anhrefn (The Disorder). They provided a catalyst for the development of more relevant and meaningful Welsh language music (when the language itself was enjoying something of a revival) and also took Welsh language music to a wider audience outside the confines of the North Western corner of the principality, the hotbed of nationalism.
Anhrefn were first Welsh language band to receive any kind of mainstream attention, and the first to sign to an international recording company (Worker’s Playtime, a subsidiary of Alternative Tentacles). They also played 3 sessions for John Peel (coming soon!)
In 1983 Rhys Mwyn established the Recordiau Anhrefn label which is still active today.
Based in a small mid-Wales village the label provided a subversive alternative to the ultra-conservative Welsh music scene of the time. According to the BBC Wales music website its independent and outward looking approach contrasted drastically with the establishment's isolated entrenchment and brought Welsh language music to corners of the world that had no previous knowledge of its existence, providing a foundation for the Welsh music boom of the mid 90s. Bands such as Catatonia, The Super Furry Animals and Gorki’s Zygotic Mwnci had their roots in the Welsh language scene.
This is their first LP, Defaid, Skateboards a Wellies (for those of you not familiar with yr Hen Iaith, Defaid= sheep)

Sion Sebon- vocals, guitar
Rhys Mwyn- bass
Dewi Gwyn- guitar
Hefin Huws- drums