Today is Welsh Language Music Day, the fourth such celebration of music performed in the Celtic language, though had it not been for seeing Huw Stephen's tweet about it last month, I'd still be none the wiser that there was such an event; Welsh acts singing in their first language rarely make to Portsmouth (though having cable TV access to S4C has meant stumbling across gems like Gruff Rhy's excellent Separado! documentary or Cerys Matthews performing a set at Rhosygilwen). Whilst I can't tell you the current number one Welsh language band I can, however, remember the first Welsh language song I loved and how I came to I hear of it.
Many years ago, back when having four television channels was as much as the British public could take, I spent another Friday evening consuming that mildly subversive (and much missed) music magazine, The Tube. On this particular Friday the show included a short piece on Welsh alternative bands, performing live, introduced by none other than legendary DJ John Peel. For some reason, known only to the segment's director, the three acts played their sets in the middle of a railway goods yard (try getting that one past Health & Safety now).
Of the three bands featured I can now only recall two by name; Anhrefn, a punk rock three-piece (?) and Datblygu, whose performance it was (and John Peel's pronunciation of their name) that so grabbed my attention. In a railway cutting this duo, consisting of a disinterested looking bass player and a singer armed with a Morrissey haircut, performed a melodica fuelled slice of late 80s DIY electronica, Casserole Efeilliaid. This song, with its programmed claps, cymbal smashes and plodding bassline, was and is an angry-beautiful venting of spleen. I might not have known what it was about but I knew I liked it.
Unfortunately, much like a lot of the strange and interesting sounds featured on The Tube, getting hold of a copy in those pre-internet days wasn't an easy task (especially when, like Casserole Efeilliaid, it had only been released on cassette, by a DIY label somewhere in Brecon);
as good as my local record shop was they couldn't order something when
my poor pronunciation mangled into incoherence both the name of the band
and the song.
Whilst "The Casserole Song" remained absent from the shelves of my record collection Welsh language music did not; released in 2000 Super Furry Animals excellent fourth album, Mwng, is a lo-fi rock gem. Sung entirely in Welsh the album is arguably one of their best, featuring stand out tracks Ymaelodi Â'r Ymylon and Ysbeidiau Heulog as well as a Datblygu cover (Y Teimlad). Five years later the Furries curated an Under The Influence compilation, a fifteen track selection that featured Meic Stephens, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci and, of course Datblygu's seminal Casserole Efeilliaid.
A large chunk of Datglybu's back catalogue is available via Spotify, the organisers of Welsh Language Music Day
have also made good use of the Swedish streaming service, using it to
collate a series of playlists that feature songs from the wide spectrum
of Welsh language music. I still have no idea what Casserole Efeilliaid is all about, nor do I know much about the band other than what's on their Wikipedia page, but I heartily recommend giving them a listen.
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