Melody

‘Welsh folk music has not had the same degree of exposure as its Celtic cousins,’ bemoans Alaw fiddle player Oliver Wilson-Dickson. This trio, boasting Oli’s stepfather Dylan Fowler on guitar and mandocello and accordionist Jamie Smith of Mabon, is a band with Welsh music at its heart. Alaw is Welsh for ‘melody’ and the melodies on this essentially instrumental collection have come from various and often surprising sources, including not only the Welsh folk dance tradition such as ‘Jig Owen’ or ‘Ty Coch Caerdydd’ but also from songs like ‘Gwen Lliw’r Lili’ and ‘Craig y Dinas’.

It also draws on the trio’s collective wealth of musical experiences from across the world: there are tunes brought back from tours in Bulgaria and musical collaborations in India. The results are alluring and haunting – something of a quiet delight, in fact. What with the world music expo, WOMEX, taking place in Cardiff this year, this is an album that might even herald a major popular revival of Welsh folk music.