Ceri Rhys Matthews | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 29 May 1960 |
| Origin | Swansea, Wales |
| Genres | Folk |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, Record Producer, Teacher |
| Instrument(s) | Flute, pibgorn, Welsh Bagpipes, Guitar |
| Years active | 1985–present |
Ceri Rhys Matthews (born 29 May 1960) is a Welsh traditional musician, [1] record producer, [2] [3] and teacher.
Matthews was born in the suburb and historical village of Treboeth, in Swansea, Wales. Educated in Welsh-Medium schools in Ynystawe, Lonlas and Ystalyfera, he went on to study Fine Art and Painting at Swansea Art School and Maidstone College of Art under Patricia Briggs, Robin Sewell, Noel White and Michael Upton. [4]
As a soloist and member of the Welsh folk group Fernhill, [5] he has been called "a key figure in the renaissance of Welsh musical traditions", by journalist Julian May in Songlines (magazine) and described by him as "a one man Welsh music industry" [6] He has produced 21 CDs for Welsh label Fflach's subsidiary fflach:tradd. [7] In 2000, he produced the Rough Guide to the Music of Wales for World Music Network. [8] In 2009, he produced Blodeugerdd: Song of the Flowers - An Anthology of Welsh Music and Song for Smithsonian Folkways which came first in the 2009 Independent Music Awards for Best World Traditional Album. [9]
His teaching activities cover a wide spectrum. These include a long term Junior School Flute-making project [10] in Dolgellau, Wales; teaching at various Summer Schools including The English Acoustic Collective Summer School, Ruskin Mill; and at the Yscolan Weekends, Pentre Ifan. [11]
He is a visiting tutor at the BMus Degree in folk and traditional music at Newcastle University, and The Sage Gateshead; and at the BMus (Hons) Music Degree at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff.
With Saith Rhyfeddod
As solo musician
With fernhill
As Record producer
Gruffudd Maredudd Bowen Rhys is a Welsh musician, composer, producer, filmmaker and author. He performs solo and with several bands, including Super Furry Animals, which obtained mainstream success in the 1990s. He formed the electro-pop outfit Neon Neon with Boom Bip. Their album Stainless Style was nominated for the 2008 Nationwide Mercury Prize. He won the 2011 Welsh Music Prize for his album Hotel Shampoo, which was followed up by American Interior in 2014, accompanied by a film, a book and a mobile app. His most recent album, Seeking New Gods, was released in 2021. He is considered a figurehead of the era known as Cool Cymru.
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The pibgorn is a Welsh species of idioglot reed aerophone. The name translates literally as "pipe-horn". It is also historically known as cornicyll and pib-corn. It utilises a single reed, cut from elder or reed, like that found in the drone of a bagpipe, which is an early form of the modern clarinet reed. The single chambered body of the elder pipe has a naturally occurring parallel bore, into which are drilled six small finger-holes and a thumb-hole giving a diatonic compass of an octave. The body of the instrument is traditionally carved from a single piece of wood or bone. Playable, extant historical examples in the Museum of Welsh Life have bodies cut and shaped of elder. Another, unplayable instrument at the Museum, possibly of a later date, is made from the leg bone of an unspecified ungulate. Contemporary instruments are turned and bored from a variety of fruitwoods, or exotic hardwoods; or turned from, or moulded in plastics. The reed is protected by a reed-cap or stock of cow-horn. The bell is shaped from a section of cow-horn which serves to amplify the sound. The pibgorn may be attached to a bag, with the additional possibility of a drone, which is then called pibau cwd; or played directly with the mouth via the reed-cap.
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Fflach is a Welsh record label and recording studio. It was founded in 1980 in Cardigan, Ceredigion, Wales by brothers Richard and Wyn Jones,Gareth Lewis and Robin Davies, members of Welsh new wave music group Ail Symudiad. Their first release was in early 1981, with their single/EP, Twristiad yn y Dre. The label gave an opportunity to record more new wave music in Wales for bands such as Y Ficar, Eryr Wen, Malcolm Neon, Angylion Stanley, Y Diawled, Rocyn and Maffia Mr. Huws.
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