Barafundle | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 7 April 1997 | |||
Recorded | Autumn 1996 | |||
Genre | Alternative rock, psychedelic folk, neo-progressive rock, Britpop | |||
Length | 47:57 | |||
Label | Fontana | |||
Producer | Gorwel Owen, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci | |||
Gorky's Zygotic Mynci chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [2] |
Entertainment Weekly | A− [3] |
The Guardian | [4] |
NME | 8/10 [5] |
Rolling Stone | [6] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [7] |
Select | 4/5 [8] |
Sputnikmusic | 4.5/5 [9] |
Wall of Sound | 85/100 [10] |
Barafundle is the fourth album by Welsh psychedelic folk band Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, which was released 7 April 1997 in the United Kingdom. The album's title comes from the name of a beach in Pembrokeshire, Wales.
Songs are often sung in both Welsh and English, and the album's influences range from twee-pop to traditional folk music. Lynn Childs, father of singer Euros and violinist Megan, plays shawm and other traditional instruments on the album's occasional medieval interludes (for example, on "Starmoonsun").
Two singles were released from the album. The first single, "Patio Song", was released in late 1996 and became the band's highest-charting single in the UK, peaking at #41 in early 1997. The song also ranked #8 on John Peel's 1996 Festive Fifty countdown. [11]
The second single, "Diamond Dew", reached #42 on the UK Singles Chart in mid-1997. A contemporaneous non-album single, "Young Girls & Happy Endings", was also released in 1997 and appeared as a bonus track on some American copies of the album.
All songs written by Euros Childs unless otherwise stated.
Gorky's Zygotic Mynci were a psychedelic folk and alternative rock band which formed in Carmarthen, Wales, in 1991. The group performed music in both Welsh and English, and they had eight Top 75 singles on the UK Singles Chart during their career. They were prominent during the era known as Cool Cymru. The group disbanded in May 2006.
Gorky 5 is the fifth album by Welsh band Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, released on 27 August 1998. It was their last album for Mercury Records and features the singles "Let's Get Together " and "Sweet Johnny".
Spanish Dance Troupe is the sixth album by Welsh psychedelic folk band Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, released on 4 October 1999. The album was recorded at Stiwdio Ofn in Llanfaelog, Anglesey and mastered by Chris Blair at Abbey Road Studios. The album was the last to feature founder member John Lawrence, who had departed the band by the time the album was released.
The Prom is a piano-driven indie band. Chris Walla has done mixing for The Prom and they are on the Barsuk label which Death Cab For Cutie was with until 2005. The core of their sound is electric bass, piano and drums but their recordings sometimes also include organ, toy piano, synthesizer, guitar, violin, cello, flute, trumpet, and trumpet. The three members all contribute on vocals and on the organ.
Euros Childs is a Welsh musician and songwriter, perhaps best known as the frontman for the band Gorky's Zygotic Mynci and—as of January 2019—the keyboardist for Teenage Fanclub. His sister, violinist Megan Childs, was also a member of Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, and their father Lynn played on some Gorky's recordings, most notably on Barafundle. Childs was born in Freshwater East, Pembrokeshire, and was educated at the Welsh-medium school Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Bro Myrddin in Carmarthenshire.
Steffan Cravos is a Welsh rap and hip hop musician and artist.
Richard James is a guitarist, bassist and singer-songwriter originally from Carmarthen, Wales. He was a founding member of the band Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, who split up in 2006. He performs and records as a solo artist, and as part of the bands Pen Pastwn and Locus.
Barafundle Bay is a remote, slightly curved, east-facing sandy beach, near Stackpole Quay in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is part of the Stackpole Estate, managed by The National Trust. The beach was once owned by the Cawdor family of Stackpole Court. On the northern approach to the beach are steps and a wall, which were built by the owners to ease their access to what was then their private beach.
John Lawrence is a Welsh musician. He was a founding member of Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, but left the band in 1999, prior to the release of the band's sixth album Spanish Dance Troupe. As a solo artist, he has sometimes gone by the name Infinity Chimps.
Patio is the debut album by Gorky's Zygotic Mynci. It was originally released on 10" vinyl only in June 1992 on the Ankst label, and re-issued on CD in June 1995 with nine extra tracks. It is made up of a mixture of live, studio, and home recordings.
Gorwel Owen is a Welsh producer and musician. He has worked with Datblygu, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, Super Furry Animals, Hwyl Nofio, Ffa Coffi Pawb, Gwenno, Steve Eaves, Melys, Bob Delyn a'r Ebillion, Llio Rhydderch and many others. He also co-writes, records and performs with his wife, the poet Fiona Owen; their third album Releasing Birds was released in 2015 via their label Yamoosh!. He is also involved in other music and sound-making activities such as free improvisation, composition and sound installation.
The Unfairground is a 2007 album by Kevin Ayers, recorded with members of Ladybug Transistor, Teenage Fanclub, Neutral Milk Hotel, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci and Roxy Music. It was his sixteenth studio LP and his first new set of recordings in fifteen years, as well as the last album released before his death in 2013. It was recorded in New York City; Tucson, Arizona; London; and Glasgow. It debuted at No. 14 in the UK Indie Album chart.
Shooting at the Moon is the second solo album of Kevin Ayers, on Harvest Records. David Ross Smith of AllMusic writes:
A snapshot of the era, the album is saturated with original ideas, experimentation, and lunacy, all powered by the bottled grape.
The Prospect Before Us is a British folk rock album, by The Albion Dance Band, which was released in 1977 on the EMI Harvest label.
Tatay is the second release and first full album by Gorky's Zygotic Mynci. It was released in 1994.
Bwyd Time is the third full album by Gorky's Zygotic Mynci. It was released in 1995 and was the band's last album for Ankst. It features, amongst others, Anthony Saffery from Cornershop, who plays sitar on several tracks.
How I Long to Feel That Summer in My Heart is the seventh full-length studio album by Gorky's Zygotic Mynci. It was released on 18 September 2001 in the US, and on 24 September 2001 in the UK. It includes the single "Stood on Gold".
The Blue Trees is the seventh album by Welsh band Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, released on 30 October 2000.
Jonny is a two-person band formed by Norman Blake of Teenage Fanclub and Euros Childs of Gorky's Zygotic Mynci. The two bands toured together in 1997 and Blake contributed to the Gorky's Zygotic Mynci album How I Long to Feel That Summer in My Heart (2001).