WELSH MUSIC PRIZE | MUSIC PREVIEW
Founded in 2011 by Radio 1 DJ Huw Stephens and John Rostron, the Welsh Music Prize celebrates Welsh music and helps put it on the map. Hannah Saunders looks into what we can expect this year.
The roar of sports fans often fills every corner of Cardiff. You can’t seem to walk down the road without encountering streams of very merry men and women wrapped in flags, with some sort of plush hat of a dragon or leek balanced on their merry heads. It would be easy to think that the city is purely abuzz with the sight and sound of rugby and football, but dig a little deeper and you’ll realise you’re wrong. With the Made in Roath and Diffusion festivals having turned the streets and suburbs into galleries, and the Sŵn festival having filled our hearts with song, Cardiff has been a cultural paradise this autumn.
One of the most exciting events in this hectic and creative season is the Welsh Music Prize, or Gwobr Gerddoriaeth Gymreig in Welsh; now celebrating its fifth year of supporting and shining light on some of the most diverse and invigorating acts pioneering music for Wales today. Founded by Huw Stephens and John Rostron in 2011, the prize was initially twinned with the pair’s other brainchild Sŵn Festival, but it has now transformed into an event with its own stature. The judge and jury feature some of the most inspiring and influential figures from the music industry, and it’s really a massive melting pot of knowledge and experience. Together, the panel provide a Welsh platform for bands to reach out to new audiences, discovering new opportunities and recognition.
The 15 nominees for this year’s award were announced back in the middle of September, with the winning act being announced at the awards ceremony on the 26th November at Sherman Cymru, Cardiff. The nominees are Calan, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Geraint Jarman, Gwenno, H. Hawkline, Hippies vs. Ghosts, Houdini Dax, Keys, Paper Aeroplanes, Richard James, Tender Prey, Trwbador, Zarelli, Zefur Wolves and last year’s Welsh Music Prize winner Joanna Gruesome.
Joanna Gruesome gained acclaim for their debut LP Weird Sister, and are also one of the nominated acts for this year’s awards with their second record Peanut Butter. Hypnotic and ghoulish melodies from the likes of Tender Prey with Organ Calzone are up for the prize and breathe new life into the landscape of Welsh music.
This is also a competition that knows the importance of the country’s mother tongue, and more Welsh language acts have been nominated than in any previous year. Nominees like Gwenno with her debut LP Y Dydd Olaf (The Last Day), not only incorporate Welsh, but other previously marginalised languages like Cornish, and are fused together with what appears at first glance to be sci-fi jargon (actually a reference to the Owain Owain novel of the same name), highlighting issues of language and identity in a very contemporary and empowering manner. The musician and poet Geraint Jarman has been nominated for his record Dwyn yr Hogyn Nol (Bring the Boy Back), and is one of many releases by the champion of Welsh language music. Calan are another nominated act who celebrate Wales and its rich musical heritage, with their ethereal brand of folk acting as a catalyst for sharing myths and legends.
There are also cross-cultural barriers being formed, with acts like Zefur Wolves and H. Hawkline, who are based in Wales but wrote and recorded their nominated records in California.
There’s a real affluence and diversity in the acts nominated for the prize this year, coming from all corners of the musical spectrum, so sit tight.
There is a indefinite amount of talent in this year’s Welsh Music Prize, all of whom are making a worthwhile contribution to the success and recognition of the Welsh music industry today.
Welsh Music Prize, Sherman Cymru, Cardiff, Thurs 26 Nov. Info: www.welshmusicprize.com
