aka The Vinyl Villain incorporating Is This The Life?
JC WRITES……….
It’s the start of another new series, one which will have at least ten parts to it over the coming weeks, but I’m hopeful that the author will enjoy himself enough to become a regular contributor to this little corner of t’internet during 2025. He’s someone who shouldn’t need any introduction to many of you who are regular visitors. I won’t add too much as he tells the story in his own introductory paragraphs below. I simply want to not just thank him, but to give him a very warm welcome on his long-awaited return to blogging. And with that…….it’s over to him.
THE ROBSTER WRITES……
Once upon a time, there was a blog called Is This The Life? Alongside all kinds of self-indulgent nonsense, it celebrated the music and culture of the tremendous land of song known as Wales, or Cymru to certain natives. A song posted each Wednesday by a Welsh artist was both an innovative and thrilling concept, the likes of which no one had ever thought to do before, or indeed since. (Imagine if something like that existed for a country like, oh I don’t know, Scotland?) When the blog finally ceased to be, all hope of a revival of this highly celebrated and much revered series appeared to expire with it.
But…
One day, the host of Is This The Life? got bored, so dropped a line to the legendary creator of the greatest music blog in the world (no, not No Badger Required, but you’re on the right track) to ask if he would like to help bring the corpse of this mighty entity back to life. Much to his (my) surprise, Lord JC of Alba said “Aye”. And so, in the face of absolutely no demand whatsoever, Welsh Wednesday returns. Until one of us gets tired of it. All at once, the people of planet Earth can set their differences aside for a few short minutes a week and rejoice at the sounds of a tiny province that gets cruelly overlooked by so many (including the UK Government and media). Don’t worry, there won’t be loads of waffle, just a bit of background and some tunes. I will be aiming to post stuff by artists who never featured in the original series (or its lockdown-induced follow-up), but that’s not a promise. There’s room for everyone here, especially if they are the Super Furry Animals (or one of the umpteen acts their various members have played in).
Make yourself a cuppa tea, some cheese on toast and a Welsh cake and enjoy what will hopefully be a slightly better than average look at some of this fair little nation’s finest musical offerings of the past and present, while keeping an eye and ear on the future. Mwynhau!
#1: Sudd by Adwaith
We’re starting off with a band some of you may have heard of. Adwaith (trans. Reaction) are a three-piece hailing from Carmarthen. They formed in 2015, and by 2018 were releasing songs to much acclaim. Their debut album ‘Melyn’ followed later that same year and in 2019, it won the Welsh Music Prize. A few singles appeared between 2019 and 2020 before the follow-up album ‘Bato Mato’ was unleashed in 2022. It also won the Welsh Music Prize that year, making Adwaith the only act (to date) to win the award twice.
Adwaith are passionate about the Welsh language and have been a part of Welsh Language Music Day for a number of years. They are UK festival regulars and are already making themselves known further afield.
Sudd (trans. Juice) is taken from ‘Bato Mato’ and is one of my favourites from their catalogue. The MP3 is the album version, the video is a live version performed for BBC Wales at the Lleisiau Eraill (trans. Other Voices) festival in Aberteifi last year.
MP3: Sudd – Adwaith (from ‘Bato Mato’, 2022)
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 