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ARTIST:
FFLUR DAFYDD A’R BARF
ALBUM: BYD BACH
LABEL: RASAL
RELEASE DATE: MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16th
IT’S A SMALL WORLD!
Byd
Bach, released on November 16th, is the latest offering
from the increasingly-popular Carmarthen-based artist,
Fflur Dafydd. Unlike her first two albums, “Byd
Bach” (Small World) is a concept album that takes
the listener on a whistle-stop tour of the artist’s
favourite haunts in Wales, driving you through them
at top speed, before you can even begin to strap on
your seat belts. During the trip, you get to see a little
bit of everywhere, namely Aberaeron, Porthgain, Penrhiwllan
and Cardiff, before she charges back up the A470, paying
visits to Anglesey and Llandygai Mountain.
“I’ve
lived in so many different places in Wales,” Fflur
comments. “I know that as Welsh people we sometimes
find living in a “Small World” a frustrating
thing, but the advantage is that you actually get to
know your own country, something a person in a bigger
country, like America, would never be able to do. I
think that living in all four corners of Wales has certainly
shaped me as a person, and the album is a means of reliving
that emotional journey, through the means of song.”
There
has certainly never been a Welsh album like it. As soon
as we hear “Pobol Bach,” Fflur’s playful
response to the Randy Newman song, “Short People,”
in which she introduces us to the “short”
cast of her “Small World,” or Abercuawg,
an imaginary place referenced by the poet R.S. Thomas,
we realise that we are in the hands of an unusual and
gifted songwriter, who also knows how to vary the tone
between the comical and the introspective, with the
two more low-key songs on the album, “Y Llwybrau”
and “Yr Ymylon” being beautiful, acoustically
driven ballads which evoke a particular feeling of longing.
Certainly
there is something on this album for everyone, and it
once again showcases the unique partnership between
Fflur and her excellent band, “Y Barf.”
Although is no one musical style which drives the album,
with each location claiming its own particular musical
style and flavour, we can certainly recognise the musical
energy and strong, catchy melodies that have come to
characterise Fflur Dafydd a’r Barf over the past
three years, and have certainly been responsible for
their broad appeal in Wales and beyond.
Having
recently returned from a 6 week stint at Iowa University,
where she was writer in residence, Fflur now embarks
on a mini tour around Wales this winter to promote her
album. She will also be giving a special interview on
S4C’s Sioe Gelf, detailing her prolific year as
both an author and a musician, having also published
her prize-winning novel, Y Llyfrgell (The Library) this
year. The video of “Yr Ymylon,” filmed in
Iowa and directed by Azeem Sajjad from Pakistan, can
be viewed now on her myspace, www.myspace.com/fflurdafydd
Upcoming Gigs:
• November 13 - Carmarthen Quins Rugby Club, Album
Launch
• November 20 - Duke of Clarence, Cardiff
• November 21 - Carmarthen Golf Club
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