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The following is a list of notable Welsh musicians and musical groups.
| | This article needs additional citations for verification .(February 2020) |
The following is a list of notable Welsh musicians and musical groups.
This category includes music that has its roots in the Middle Ages and Renaissance or the instruments of these periods, as opposed to traditional vocal music or folk music (see below).
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, Sadness Sets Me Free, was released in 2024. He is considered a figurehead of the era known as Cool Cymru.
The Music of Wales, particularly singing, is a significant part of Welsh national identity, and the country is traditionally referred to as "the land of song".
Y Cyrff was a Welsh language indie band in the 1980s, regarded by many as one of the greatest Welsh language rock bands. Initially formed at the Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy secondary school in Llanrwst, Conwy, the original line-up consisted of Barry Cawley (bass), Emyr Davies (vocals), Dylan Hughes (drums) and Mark Roberts. They performed on Welsh language television, and internationally, until they broke up in 1991. Afterwards, Roberts formed Catatonia, with Jones joining the band a while later. Cawley was also a guitar technician for the band.
The squad to represent Wales at the 2006 Commonwealth Games was announced by the Commonwealth Games Council for Wales (CGCW) on 22 February 2006. It consisted of 143 athletes competing across 14 sports; 85 fewer than the squad in 2002. The team was not able to improve on their medal tally from the 2002 Commonwealth Games when Wales won 6 Gold, 13 Silver and 12 Bronze medals. The team was captained by Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson.
Welsh bagpipes are a related instrument to one type of bagpipe, a chanter, which when played without the bag and drone is called a pibgorn. The generic term pibau which covers all woodwind instruments is also used in Welsh. They have been played, documented, represented and described in Wales since the fourteenth century. A piper in Welsh is called a pibydd or a pibgodwr.
Carreg Lafar is a contemporary traditional Welsh folk band. Formed in Cardiff by Rhian Evan-Jones, Antwn Owen-Hicks, James Rourke, Linda Owen Jones, and Simon O'Shea, Carreg Lafar means "a speaking stone", or "echo stone".
This article is about the particular significance of the year 1969 to Wales and its people.
Sain, in full – Sain (Recordiau) Cyf. is a Welsh record label, which took part in the Welsh folk revival.
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.
This article is about the particular significance of the year 1947 to Wales and its people.
Anweledig are a band from Blaenau Ffestiniog, Wales; their style is a mixture of funk, reggae, ska and rock. The band consists of Ceri Cunnington (vocals), Gai Toms (guitar/vocals), Iwan 'Oz' Jones (guitar), Rhys Roberts, Alwyn Evans (drums), Joe Buckley (keyboard), Edwin Humphreys (saxophone), Barri Gwilliam (trumpet) and Arwel Davies (trombone).
Fernhill is a Welsh folk band formed in 1996. They have been described by music critic and journalist Colin Irwin, as "highly regarded, innovative cultural ambassadors for Wales and its folk music, having toured in over 20 countries in four continents". Their style is described as "intimate enough with the tradition, that they are unafraid to stretch its boundaries." Stephen Rees has said of them "Their work has not only been unique but has moved and changed also over the years. They are impossible to imitate."
Trac Cymru is a Welsh folk development organisation and registered charity which promotes and develops the music and dance traditions of Wales, both within Wales and beyond, and advocates on behalf of the traditional arts with public bodies and other organisations. Activities include a range of annual courses in song, dance and instrumental playing for all ages and abilities. trac also works with the professional sector, providing training for performers, and promoting Welsh traditional music and artists in the UK and abroad, as well as commissioning new artistic work. Trac is supported by the Arts Council of Wales. The organisation was founded by Stephen Rees, Danny KilBride, Phil Freeman, and Ceri Rhys Matthews of Fernhill.
Ceri Rhys Matthews is a Welsh traditional musician, record producer, and teacher.
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.
We'll Keep a Welcome is a 2000 album by singer Bryn Terfel of traditional hymns and folk songs associated with Wales. Terfel was accompanied on the album by the Orchestra of the Welsh National Opera, the Risca Male Choir and The Black Mountain Chorus. The majority of the songs are sung in the Welsh language.