I how zero idea how Aden got on my list of albums to check out but there it was. Someone may have pointed it out to me. Or maybe I had read a positive review. Doesn’t really matter, since this, my first encounter with Gwilym Bowen Rhys, was very positive.
I now know that Aden is the fifth album by the artist who sings – and it seems also posts on social media – in Welsh, or Cymraeg, only. And that he is an acclaimed, award-winning musician and an ambassador to Welsh music, language and culture.
I didn’t know this until now, which goes to show that Wales is, to my embarrassment, still my blind spot when it comes to Celtic music. I think Calan and Catrin Finch and Vrï are totally awesome but they cannot be the entirety of Welsh folk music.
So at least now I can add Gwilym Bowen Rhys to my still very short list of Welsh favorites. I think Aden is a pretty fabulous album, a combination of robust, very grounded folk with quite ambitious and even surprising elements. Powerful delivery by Bowen Rhys – he can really throw himself into the stories – often meets with a delicate string part and the almost constantly present Welsh harp.
The music is not in the same box as the early Tom Waits, but there’s something similar in the atmosphere, the masculine voice connecting with a refined acoustic instrumentation. Power and elegance joined.
I can’t tell how much of the music here is from “deep roots Welsh” folk songs and how much falls into a more general singer-songwriter category, but I enjoy this a lot all the same. And thank you Gwilym for having not only the lyrics but the English translations as well on your website – much appreciated!
FolkNotes 