The Value of Welsh Pop Heritage / Culture. Do we need a 6Music style outlet ?

 

 

 

 

 

This is something I have been interested in for some time. Just looking at the rich history / tapestry of Welsh pop music and culture, I happened to revisit Y Cyrff's compilation CD 'Mae Ddoe yn Ddoe...' (Ankst 030cd) the other day whilst driving in the car. We know the hit, 'Cymru, Lloegr a Llanrwst', well at least I hope we do, but it just struck / reminded me that there were so may other brilliant tunes on this CD. Rarely heard / played on Welsh Media.
Let's argue the case for 'Y Cyfrifoldeb', the brilliant 'Colli Er Mwyn Ennill' or the haunting 'Weithiau' and lets not forget 'Hwyl Fawr Heulwen'. You have to get the box set if you want to dig out 'Ar Goll'.
And my point, well, Cyrff wrote some top tunes.
They were a great band.
But, what's happened subsequently to Y Cyrff in terms of Welsh Pop History is akin to people knowing only one song by the Clash. Strummer may not be with us but the Clash guys still have legs. They even had / have career opportunites (pardon the pun)
Nothing of the sorts in Welsh Wales.
Just nothing.
No academic studies. (Welsh Universities ?)
No seminars.
No panels at Festivals.
No guest DJ slots
No Welsh version of BBC 6Music to play the stuff - or to give the old musicians a presenting slot out of harms way.
Very few retrospectives on Welsh Media (S4C's Potter docu Gadael yr Ugeinfed Ganrif and Prosiect Datblygu being rare exceptions - C2 / BBC Radio Cymru do stuff occasionally - the recent programme with Casi Wyn looking at girl bands / female singers was good - I enjoyed the interview with Bethan Richards from Diffiniad)
No invites to reform (whether they would or not / whether they wanted to or not)
Cyrff were just buried. Forgotten apart from the Box Set.
As we all know, Mark Roberts went on to form Catatonia with Cerys Matthews. Point made.

Another totally brilliant Welsh language record is 'Pwy Sy'n Galw?' by Big Leaves. Produced by Richard Jackson, I still think this is both a masterpiece in terms of song-writing but its also a masterpiece in terms of arrangement and space and instruments doing what they should be doing. This album was well produced but never over-cooked.
'Pwy Sy'n Galw' the title track is a Punk Rock classic and the song 'Byw Fel Ci' is one of the best Welsh language songs of all time. Does Byw Fel Ci ever feature in any Top 100 anything list - does it f***
Check out a late track by Big Leaves called 'Cwn a'r Brain' - another lost classic.
So Big Leaves no longer exist.
Sibrydion do (they should do the odd Big Leaves cover)
Shame that the songs can no longer be heard live.
Big Leaves were a great band - probably under-rated - certainly not really given a decent analysis in terms of the contribution they made to the scene.
We did some great gigs with them at Miri Madog  - what their management used to refer to as "carnage gigs" which meant a lot of very pissed under age drinkers going mental.

 

I could go on, we could easily do a cultural analysis of Tynal Tywyll, the Tregarth band who jangled along with the angelic voice of Ian Morris and the brilliant tunes of Nathan Hall - Tynal Tywyll ar even more of a "lost 80's band" than Cyrff.  For a while Tynal Tywyll ruled the roost of the Welsh language rock scene. They got Peel plays but never ventured too far from home - which in retrospect I think was a great shame. They played the Jazz Rooms in Bangor once in front of an audience who were by then familiar with Anhrefn and Cyrff but Tynal Tywyll were something new, less Punky more jangly.

Earlier this year I was invited by Cymdeithas yr Iaith to take part in a debate on politics within the Welsh Music Scene alongside Pat from Datblygu and Griff Lynch from Yr Ods. It was enjoyable enough but slightly strange in that what we probably ended up doing was discussing the lack or apparent lack of politics in the current scene. But good on them for putting this event on.
We should have talked Crass.
We did talk Anti Apartheid records
We did talk Steele Pulse 'Ku Kluk Klan' and Tom Robinson 'Glad To Be Gay'
You have to look outwards not inwards as Dafydd Elis-Thomas once pointed out.



The following week I interviewed Neil Maffia on stage as part of his gig for Noson 4a6 in Caernarfon. Again enjoyable and indeed an honour in that Maffia Mr Huws were such an important band during the early part of the 1980's.
But there were so few there to hear Neil doing his acoustic show. As a ranconteur, Neil is both funny and entertaining and when he did the Maffia songs acoustically I thought his real strength showed. Neil should do a whole set of Maffia songs linked with stories / anecdotes relating to the songs and their adventures as a band. That would be a class A evening out.

 

 

I have touched on this subject previously in my Blogs. One article was on the recent Edward H gig at the Eisteddfod when they pulled 7,000 punters (or something like that) Which is all fine, but no other Welsh band could come close, why?

http://rhysmwyn.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/an-almostinsignificant-tweet-by-owain.html

 

Another article appeared on link2wales about royalties, or rather the lack of, for "heritage acts" etc This maybe resonates more on the financial side of the "value" of Welsh music, in that for most of us the royalties don't add up to much. The catalogue of songs by Cyrff or whoever is not really exploited. Now then, you could argue that its up to us, or the publishers, true ! But I would also suggest that Welsh Media have hardly been consistent or serious about Welsh music over the years and its the effect of that indifference that we are actually experiencing today. You have to invest.

 

http://link2wales.co.uk/2013/crudblog/blog-rhys-mwyn-welsh-royalties-row/

 

Even something as "simple" as more Welsh language content on S4C and BBC Wales websites - the equivalent of BBC 6 Music would be good. Forget mainstream channels, we know we are past the sell by date. But in Welsh Wales its mainstream or nowt. Sure there are DIY opportunities but DIY don't pay the bills. Why should Public Money not be subjected to the rule of Robin Hood - and we are back to Strummer bless him - get him to call up Robin Hood and ask for some wealth distribution.

 

Add cultural distribution. Its not about the money. But it is about wealth distribution.

We fought for EOS.

It made no difference.

 

It has to be about revolution (always).