Welsh composer and multi-instrumentalist Cerys Hafana made a lasting impression with her 2022 album Edyf – creating a sound that is simultaneously ancient in feel yet intriguingly modern with a vital 21st-century edginess. Hafana is an artist whose sound is constantly evolving; anyone who recently saw her live performance at the Other Voices Cardigan Festival will know how great a live performer she is, so don’t miss her upcoming tour dates.
Her new single, the traditional Child murder ballad Child Owlet is another great example of that edgy inventiveness. As she explains below, she was limited to the instruments and sounds she could find for this recording that was made during lockdown, but the results feel totally unhindered, she never ceases to amaze.
The single is also accompanied by a video Directed by Amy Daniel, which is, like the song, cleverly brilliant. The video is so well put together, exuding a darkness that will chill. Great results from Amy and Lara Kipp on Production design, with cinematography by Eddie Yeoman, and assistant camera from Joe Hadley. The whole thing is out of this world!
Cerys on Child Owlet
Child Owlet is a traditional Child murder ballad in which Lady Erskine makes an unsuccessful attempt to seduce her husband’s nephew, and then stabs herself and tells the Lord that it was Child Owlet who tried to seduce her, and stabbed her when she refused. Child Owlet is then torn apart by wild horses as punishment, and the song seems to take particular joy in describing this in as much gory detail as possible.
This version was created originally for the Old Tunes Fresh Takes podcast (https://soundcloud.com/oldtunesfreshtakes), in which anyone was invited to contribute interpretations of a traditional song each month. Because it was during a lockdown, I was limited to the instruments and sounds I could find in my bedroom or on my laptop, so the track includes samples of a clarinet, a harmonium, a broken piano accordion, a pipe organ, some spoons and an electric guitar.
The music video was directed by Amy Daniel. It depicts a slightly different interpretation of the song, in which all the terrible and gruesome things that happen after the first verse are merely one of Lady Erskine’s daydreams to make the act of sewing a new shirt for Child Owlet less tedious.
The track is also available on Bandcamp:
Cerys Hafana is on tour from the end of this month, taking in some excellent venues. Full details and ticket links can be found here: https://ceryshafana.com/live-dates/.