Shimli by Cynefin
Shimli is the follow up to 2020's Dilyn Afon by Welsh folk singer, researcher, grain grower and cultural historian Owen Shiers, aka 'Cynefin'. Continuing in the vein of rooting his music firmly in the customs and cultural vernacular of Ceredigion, the album takes its title from the now obsolete West Walian practice of all night musical and poetic vigils which used to take place in mills and workshops. Drawing inspiration from folk song, the beirdd gwlad (folk poet) tradition – as well as living oral history and story, the album explores the intersection between music, poetry, food and the natural world. A personal dispatch from the struggle to maintain a language, culture and way of life, the album is a musical petition – a stake in the ground for the diverse and the disappearing in our age of homogenisation and mass amnesia.
Shimli yw'r albwm newydd sbon gan y canwr gwerin, ymchwilydd, tyfwr grawn a hanesydd diwylliannol Owen Shiers, sef, Cynefin. Wrth barhau i wreiddio ei gerddoriaeth yn gadarn yn arferion a llen gwerin Ceredigion, mae’r albwm yn cymryd ei theitl o arferiad sydd bellach wedi darfod yng Ngorllewin Cymru o gynnal nosweithiau llawen mewn melinau a gweithdai. Gan dynnu ysbrydoliaeth o ganu gwerin, traddodiad y beirdd gwlad – yn ogystal â straeon a hanes cof byw, mae’r albwm yn archwilio’r groesffordd rhwng cerddoriaeth, barddoniaeth, bwyd a byd natur. Mae’r gwaith yn fryslythyr personol o'r ymdrech i gynnal iaith, diwylliant a ffordd o fyw – deiseb gerddorol sydd yn mynegi llais y i'r amrywiol a'r diflanedig yn ein hoes o homogeneiddio ac lled-amnesia.
Tracklist
| 1. | Helmi | 4:24 |
| 2. | Cornicyll | 4:02 |
| 3. | Mae'r Nen Yn Ei Glesni | 4:08 |
| 4. | Shili Ga Bwd | 5:27 |
| 5. | Y Medelwr | 3:50 |
| 6. | Cwm Altcafan | 5:05 |
| 7. | Pryd Y Potsiwr | 4:06 |
| 8. | Cwrw Bach | 4:37 |
| 9. | Pont Llanio | 4:56 |
| 10. | Pysgota | 4:18 |
| 11. | Faerdre Fach | 4:26 |
Credits
Owen Shiers: Llais/Voice, Gîtâr/Guitar, Glockenspiel, Offer Taro/Percussion
Alfie Weedon: Bas Dwbl/Double Bass
Fred Harper & Charles Van Kirk: Dryms ac Offer Taro/Drums and Percussion
Chris Roberts: Gîtâr/Guitar
Steve Chadwick: Offer Pres/Horns
Maria Chiara Argìro & Laurence Greed: Piano
Flora Curzon, James Joseph Flannery, William Clark-Maxwell, Millie Ashton, Jack Greed: Lllinynnau/Strings
Cerys Hafana: Telyn Deiries / Triple Harp
Ailsa Mair Hughes: Sielo/Cello
Band Gwynt Machynlleth Wind Band: Rhagarweiniad/Intro - Mae’r Nen Yn Ei Glesni
Trefniannau Llinynnau/String Arrangements: Owen Shiers, Laurence Greed, Tom Greed
Cynhyrchiwyd gan/Produced by: Laurence Greed
Peiriawnyd gan/Engineered by: Ollie Thompson, Laurence Greed, Charles Van Kirk, Owen Shiers
Cymysgwyd gan/Mixed by: Charles Van Kirk
Meistroli/Mastering: Hafod Mastering
Gwaith Celf/Artwork: Molly Brown & Duncan Bamford
License
All rights reserved.
Cynefin (pr.‘kuh-neh-vin’) is the musical brainchild of Clettwr Valley native Owen Shiers. Fascinated by music and history, it is a bid to give a voice to an area of his corner of Wales. Starting out from his home village and travelling through the musical landscape of Ceredigion, Owen has unearthed seasoned songs and stories, some never before recorded, and given them new life in the present.