[rating=3]
Tylwyth Teg are a welsh band which will have any crowd dancing by the end of the night with their infectious multifarious sound. Their formation suits their mythical name in many ways, what began as a session of 30 people in Cardiff University soon dwindled to 10 (could now be 12?), a manageable number in which to comfortably experiment with their sound and forge new ideas. They became known as Tylwth Teg which translates as ‘The Fair Folk’ a common term for welsh fairies who, whilst mostly well meaning in nature, are also capable of mischief.
Members range in backgrounds from traditional folk to classical and rock. Whilst their diversity no doubt adds to their flare it is their youthful enthusiasm and spark that really comes across in their music, you can hear the enjoyment in their music and it this that makes them so appealing.
They only formed in October 2010 and despite this have played at the International Pan-Celtic folk festival in Ireland and Lowender Perran folk festival, along with gigs dotted all over Wales.
The album is a mix of traditional and self penned songs and arrangements. There are some great highlghts including Lisa Lân (Fair Lisa) a classic Welsh folk-song on which they inter-play with The Dave Brubeck Quartet’s ‘Take Five’ and the album opener offers a ripping launch of an introduction with Saith Pechod Marwol (Seven Deadly Sins) on which you can hear the driving rockier influences of the band.
There is a good mix of welsh and english spoken songs which will bring in a wider appeal but even those welsh tracks that I didn’t personally understand had an intrinsic beauty to them which is something I’ve always liked about the language.
Overall the album works well, where it looses some appeal is with the the more traditional sounding tunes such as Y Delyn Newydd or the brassy Robin Ddiog. These may work better at a welsh folk festival but they drew away some of the albums magic for me by not matching the edge that the rest of the album had.
For a debut release from a band that have not been performing together for that long they have put together a fine album and I expect they will shine even greater in the future when they tap into what will no doubt become a growing fan base. This will give them greater confidence to maybe experiment further and create a more defining sound that has worked so well for the likes of Mabon, 3 Daft Monkeys and Sheelanagig. They definately have promise!
Tracks
Lisa Lân (Free translation)
Full many a time I came to woo,
Oft, Lisa I came a courting you;
I kissed your lips when we did meet,
No honey ever was so sweet
My dainty branch, my only dear,
No woman comes your beauty near;
‘Tis you who with my passion play
‘Tis you who steals my life away
When’er at eve I walk apart,
Like wax will melt my lovesick heart,
And but to hear the small birds sing,
The longing to my soul will bring
When’er at eve I walk apart,
Like wax will melt my lovesick heart,
And but to hear the small birds sing,
The longing to my soul will bring
Ah, will you come to bid good-bye,
When in the earth my form must lie?
I hope you too will there be found,
When men shall lay me in the ground
The longing to my soul will bring
The longing to my soul will bring
Saith Pechod Marwol (Seven Deadly Sins)
Band Members:
Sally Wooldridge, Jo Marriott – Flutey-Tooties
Katie Marriott, Heulwen Williams – Fiddlers
Andy Taylor – Guitar
Dave Francis – Bass Boi
Anna Fonge – Cello
Ed Millington – Drums