Review | Songlines

GALW

Rating: ★★

View album and artist details

Album and Artist Details

Artist/band:

Tinc y Tannau

Label:

Tinc y Tannau

May/2019

You've heard freeform jazz. What about freeform, avant-garde, New Age, Welsh folk music? This debut from the duo Sianed Jones and Ailsa Mair Hughes is an elemental, esoteric ride through ancient Welsh tradition and the rich, water-filled landscape of Wales itself. Armed simply with a bass viola da gamba each and their voices, the pair spirit up otherworldly sounds, with eight of the tracks being improvisations, many of them actively imitating natural sounds such as waterfalls and mountain streams. Jones specialises in vocal techniques, having worked with musicians in remote communities around the globe, and many of the lyrics and vocal sounds are as much about rhythm as meaning.

Still there is an element of narrative. Two tracks use bardic poetry from the Book of Taliesin, a 14th-century Welsh manuscript. There's also a poem by Federico García Lorca and two songs written by Christine Watkins. Yet the almost primeval air of Tinc y Tannau is probably at its most visceral when the voice becomes simply another instrument – wailing, ululating and rhythmically rapping like a bird upon a tree. It can feel a little too unmoored at times and won't be to many tastes, but if you want something weird…

Subscribe from only £7.50

Start your journey and discover the very best music from around the world.

Subscribe

View the Current
Issue

Take a peek inside the latest issue of Songlines magazine.

Find out more