Cardiff-based songwriter and instrumentalist Gareth Bonello, aka The Gentle Good, is our latest ‘Off the Shelf‘ guest, in which we ask artists to present objects from a shelf or elsewhere from their home and talk about them. We bent the rules a little on this one but felt it was far better to talk about Gareth’s and Jen’s allotment (the source of their joy) than show a photo of a courgette brownie…
Gareth has just released his new album, Galargan, one of our Featured Albums of the Month. In his review of the album, which you can read here, Thomas Blake concludes:
The Gentle Good’s wisdom of Welsh folksong and histories is both reverential and contemporary, highlighting the vitality of the tradition, while his sensitive arrangements, layered with rich cello and timeless fingerstyle guitar, are palpably ageless. Combined with his deep, rich, haunting vocals, Galargan is a beautifully accomplished and irresistibly engaging album.
Garlargan is released on 8th September via Bubblewrap Collective
Available on Digitial / CD / and Limited Edition Heavyweight Black Vinyl
Order via https://thegentlegood.com/product/galargan/ | Bandcamp
The Gentle Good is on tour later this month. For details and tickets, visit: https://thegentlegood.com/gigs/
Off the Shelf with Gareth Bonello (The Gentle Good)
Wooden Doll by Daniel Lazenby
My first official release was an EP called ‘Dawel Disgyn’, which came out on Gwymon (an offshoot of Sain Records) in 2007. My good friend Daniel Lazenby is an incredible visual artist and animator who can turn his hand to all sorts of crafts. He made this wooden model for the EP’s cover shoot and gave it to me afterwards. It sits on the mantlepiece of my office/music room and serves as a wonderful memento of the time Llion Robertson, Seb Goldfinch, Dan, and I spent making that early record. More importantly, it’s a reminder of the value of friendship and collaboration when it comes to making music. I like being part of a community and miss it when it’s not there – everything is made better by the passion, friendship and creativity of those around us.
Duitara by Risingbor Kurkalang
In 2017, I began visiting the Khasi Hills in Meghalaya, Northeast India, as part of my doctorate examining the relationship between Wales and the Khasi/Jaiñtia Hills. The connection is rooted in the establishment of a Welsh Mission in the region during the colonial period, which had a profound effect on Khasi society and culture. Musical collaboration was an important part of the research, and I’ve been working closely with Khasi musicians, poets and performers ever since. This Duitara was made for me by the master craftsman and folk musician Risingbor Kurkalang. The Duitara is ubiquitous in Khasi folk music and is an important conduit for the unique oral culture of the Khasi people. I’m extremely grateful to Risingbor for teaching me the distinctive rhythms and melodies of this gorgeous instrument, and over the years, we have written, recorded and performed many songs together on Duitara. Risingbor and I are founder members of the Khasi-Cymru Collective, a loose association of musicians, poets, actors and academics from Wales and Meghalaya. We released an album; ‘Sai-thaiñ ki Sur (the weaving of voices), in 2021 and produced a theatre production, Performing Journeys, which toured in Wales and India prior to the pandemic.
The Allotment
Last year, my wife Jen and I were lucky enough to be entrusted with a council allotment in Cardiff, and it’s been a brilliant experience. It was covered in brambles and grasses last year, so this year was our first full growing season, and since June, I’ve been working my way through the internet’s entire repertoire of courgette recipes. We’ve also grown various beans, tomatoes, cucumber, chillis, potatoes, aubergine, corn and hops. I’m hoping to brew some beer pretty soon, so fingers crossed for that. It’s pretty hard work at times, but having somewhere green to go in the middle of the city has been wonderful. Our plot is on a slope, so it’s quite a challenge to tend, but we get beautiful views over Cardiff, and we’re always enveloped by birdsong; it’s just magical. Courgette Brownies anyone?
Hen Benillion – The Book Shelf
I’m not an obsessive collector of literature, but my shelves are nevertheless full of books that I could never part with. A lot of research goes into the music that I make, and so I end up with plenty of obscure books that have had an important influence on the creative process.
This copy of T.H.Parry-Williams’ Hen Benillion (Old Verses) is a book that I’ve returned to many times over the years. It was given to me in 2008 by the chaired poet and musician Twm Morys. These old verses are not like the high poetry (Cynghannedd) that win prizes at Eisteddfodau but are largely anonymous verses set to a specific metre that is extremely common in Welsh folk song. They are poems written by ‘y werin bobl’ (literally ‘the folk’), and I take great pride and pleasure in writing my own songs in the same style. The Welsh language is beautiful, especially in song, and I’m passionate about sharing that beauty with the world.
Oasis Spice Mixes – Spice Rack
I work from home a lot; being a musician these days involves a lot of admin and staying sat down. I love cooking because it gets me up on feet, is practical and engages my brain in a different way. I don’t have a signature dish, but I am happiest combining all sorts of vegetables and spices into hearty stews, curries and casseroles.
My wife Jen had this old CD rack from her student days; so after our CD collection was relegated to the attic, I commandeered it for the kitchen. Cooking is one of my favourite things, especially late in the afternoon when I don’t seem to be good for much else. It’s full of the usual herbs and spices, plus some excellent turmeric and cinnamon from the Khasi Hills. My prized flavours, however, are the amazing spice mixes put together by the kitchen staff at Oasis Cardiff. Oasis is an amazing organisation that provides support for refugees and asylum seekers in the city. I’ve volunteered in the kitchen in the past, and it’s always busy preparing the most delicious food. You can find out more about the amazing work that Oasis Cardiff do here, and find out how you can lend a hand… https://www.oasiscardiff.org/what-we-do
Box of CDs – The Attic
The largest shelf in the house is, in fact, the attic space, which has gradually become the graveyard of all my unsold merchandise. As I lie in bed staring at the ceiling, I often think of that fateful day when the whole lot will come crashing down, and I’ll be buried beneath the falling tonnage of old CDs, vinyl and t-shirts and literally crushed by the weight of my own failure. But seriously, the music industry is a total mess, and a lot of the expense and risk of making/releasing music has been passed on to artists for ever-diminishing returns. The alternative scene in the UK is propped up by the hard work of independent artists, labels, and venues, so if you like someone’s music, buying a CD or a t-shirt is a great way to support them. Plus, you might just save them from a bloody and gruesome end.
Nico (Goldfinch) – Kitchen Shelf
In my youth, I studied Zoology and, for a brief period, became a field ornithologist for the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO). My job required that I was able to differentiate between the great variety of woodland birds that sing at dawn every spring. After that, I went on to work in science education for the National Museum of Wales before giving it all up to become a wandering minstrel. I’ve retained a passion for nature and birds in particular, and listening to their songs and calls has become such a habit that I don’t even notice it any more. The house is full of reminders of my ornithological past, like this wooden Goldfinch (Nico in Welsh). When I was a kid, I wanted to be a wildlife camera person, but that didn’t work out for some reason! To compensate, the natural world features heavily in my music, and I like to spend a lot of my time outdoors in nature. Just in my lifetime, we have done terrible damage to the natural world, and we have been way too slow to change our ways even when the evidence of our destruction has been so plain. It breaks my heart, but I have to remain hopeful that a proper change will come someday soon. The younger generation seem to get it; I just hope it’s not too late.
Buy Gareth’s latest album and help him lighten his attic load: https://thegentlegood.com/product/galargan/ | Bandcamp
The Gentle Good is on tour later this month. For details and tickets, visit: https://thegentlegood.com/gigs/