Gareth Bonello, otherwise known as The Gentle Good, talks about his new record, Ruins / Adfeilion, and representing Welsh music around the world.
Ruins / Adfeilion is the keyboard-based instrumental track on The Gentle Good’s new album that gives it its name. Adfeilion itself carries a slightly stronger suggestion of remains worth curating as compared to Ruins; and if there is a theme to this release, it is there somewhere amongst this carefully chosen mixture of ballads, acoustic music, instrumentals and put simply – tunes – that therefore needs to be listened to attentively to reflect the craft in its creation.
Your last album, Y Bardd Anfarwol, was inspired by your time in China, and it went on to win the Eisteddfod’s album of the year. Did anything in particular influence Ruins / Adfeilion?
After the last one, because it was a concept album with a narrative, and had a distinctive position on it, I wanted something a little bit more loose and disparate; so I just wrote a lot of songs a little bit more instinctively really – and then realised after a while that they were grouped around some loose themes, so I more or less focused the album along those kind of lines, but it’s not as ‘coherent’ as the last one I’d say.
Y Bardd Anfarwol also inspired a stage play, how did this come about?
Wyn Mason, who is the playwright in question, approached me and said he’d like to write a play based on the album – not repeating the narrative of the album but to create a original new play based around the concepts and the themes that the album explored. So that play then, Rhith Gân, was put on in the summer at the Eisteddfod by Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru, I don’t know if there are plans to tour it again; I know Wyn’s been working on an English translation as well, so hopefully it will rear its head again at some point.
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Many great opportunities are now coming your way, are you getting used to your success now?
No, I’m certainly not used to it and wasn’t expecting it – it’s quite surreal having actors reading out lines that I’ve written, and singing songs that I’d written. I was very flattered when Wyn said he wanted to write a script based on the album, it certainly wasn’t something I was expecting but definitely something that was very welcome. It’s great when you create something and then somebody else then creates something in response to it. It starts a whole chain of things going on and that’s great for the arts.
Could you explain your role as an ambassador for Wales for WOMEX (World Music Expo)?
WOMEX in Cardiff was an introduction to that side of things for me, I’d already been to China by then with the British Council, but then I went to WOMEX the year after in Santiago and got a better flavour for what it’s about when it’s not in your hometown. And then over the past few years I’ve been doing some more travelling to China, I’ve also been to Australia. We did a tour of Southern China and Australia last year, and I’ve been to America as well, to the Folk Alliance international conference in Kansas; doing performances, doing gigs, meeting people. Sometimes at conferences it’s all about whether you can hit it off with someone and get some work. It’s been a really good few years and it’s been really good to open up into that idea of playing internationally, because that’s so important, especially for Welsh artists who don’t get out very much, even in the UK.
What do you have planned for your Cardiff gig?
The launch of the album on Fri 11 Nov that’s in St. John’s Church in Canton and that’s with the full line up of the album so it’s got a full band and string quartet and some brass as well. I’ll be joined on stage by lots of different musicians: Georgia Ruth who contributed to the album, Dylan Fowler (mandacello & lap steel), a rhythm section consisting of Callum Duggan, Jack Egglestone, and the Mavron String Quartet. It’ll be a very rare opportunity to see the expanded line up, which I get to do so infrequently.
The Gentle Good, St John the Evangelist Church, Cardiff. Fri 11 Nov. Tickets: £10.; Ruins / Adfeilion. Price: £10. Info: www.thegentlegood.com;
words DAVID WYN