‘Sai-thaiñ ki Sur

The connection between Wales and the Khasi Hills of north-east India may not be immediately obvious, but it’s the key to this unique album, ‘Sai-thaiñ ki Sur. In 1841, the first Welsh Calvinistic Methodist mission was established in Meghalaya, a state bordering Assam and Bangladesh. This long evangelistic history has produced an unlikely cultural connection.

The Welsh singer-songwriter Gareth Bonello (aka The Gentle Good) began digging into this history as a PhD student, and has since made contact with a host of musicians, singers and poets in the Khasi community. The result is this gentle, intimate collection of field recordings and studio pieces weaving together Khasi and Welsh folk traditions. A signature sound is that of the duitara – a guitar-like instrument made from the jackfruit tree that is central to Khasi folk music. There is also the besli (bamboo flute) and the muiñ (a mouth-blown piece of carved bamboo with a pull-cord). A particularly illustrative track is ‘Bryniau Cassia’, a Welsh hymn named after the Khasi Hills that has its roots as a Welsh folk song reworked for a religious setting and then exported to Meghalaya, complete with the natural sounds of a cuckoo and a very Welsh (or Indian monsoon) downpour.