CALAN: OUR HOUSE | LIVE PREVIEW
Tue 6 Apr sees Calan’s first ever livestreamed concert, and a debut performance of latest album Kistvaen for the first time since it was revealed in April 2020. Dalia ElGhazawy, reporting for Buzz Culture, finds out more.
Calan is a multi-award-winning Welsh folk band, formed in 2006 and comprising five virtuoso musicians. If you haven’t heard of them before, or are unfamiliar with Welsh folk in general, start by listening to their song Kan, about the future of the Welsh language and culture. Kan is also special for the band, fiddle player Patrick Rimes calling it his “old favorite”.
“It kind of sums us up as a band: it’s an original song that draws on loads of old traditional material as inspiration, including the ancient art of canu pwnc – the way they used to chant psalms down in west Wales, it sounds so medieval and badass. It’s all about our history, our language, and our culture as Welsh people, and the mix of pride and responsibility that we feel for it, as well as plenty of guilt… heavy stuff!”
Rimes provides more details about the upcoming concert, how it’s going to be different and how the preparations are going on. The band chose ‘Our House’ as the name of this livestreamed concert, and will transform a theatre stage into a living gallery of Welsh home life. Audiences will see each band member playing inside their own socially distanced pod, with each room a glimpse into the world of a modern traditional band.
“Because we’ve all got quite disparate personalities and tastes, it started to look like five separate rooms, so we decided to play on that – Angharad [Jenkins, violin] has the ‘party house’ in Swansea, Beth’s [Rhiannon, vocals] is her nan’s living room in the Valleys. Although it’s the first time in months we’ve got together to play, it’s actually ended up looking quite like a Zoom call!
“Most of the rooms are inspired by our hometowns. My theme is Un Nos Ola Leuad (One Moonlit Night), named after the classic Welsh novel set in my childhood home of Bethesda, Gwynedd.”
Rimes explains more how this concert is set to be different. “Apart from our specially designed set and kick-ass light show, it’ll be the first time we’ve played our latest album Kistvaen as a whole. It was released in April 2020 – great timing! – and we were due to tour it around the UK last year – it’ll be so exciting to play it live properly for the first time.
“The album is based on research we did at the National Library Of Wales, and most of the music on it has been sitting untouched in dusty boxes for decades… so one more year shouldn’t hurt too much!”
As Rimes says, it’s been a long time since Calan have performed on a regular basis. “You lose your edge when you’re not performing regularly! As well as practicing at home, I’ve been trying to sing the songs when I’m out on my bike to prepare for the adrenaline of a gig… let’s hope it works.
“As for not seeing the audience – that is such a shame, because the crowd is always what makes the gig great, and we thrive off that. But we’re trying to make up for that by having a tweet-along – everybody should tweet us @CalanFolk using the hashtags #ourhouse and #tyni. We’d love to get your feedback and see how you’re experiencing the show with us!”
Calan: Our House, livestream, Tue 6 Apr at 8pm. Tickets: $15 (or £10.76 – it’s an American streaming service!). Info: boxoffice.mandolin.com/collections/calan-4-6
words DALIA ELGHAZAWY
Buzz Culture
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