An Interview With Meilir Tomos, Welsh Singer Songwriter - Bourbon, Gravel and Cat Litter Trays

AmeriCymru: Hi Meilir, many thanks for agreeing to be interviewed by AmeriCymru. Lets start with what's new. You have a release due on Feb 21st entitled - 'Cellar Songs' . I know that a great many of our readers will be eager to hear more about this .

Meilir: Cellar Songs is my latest release and my second Ep that will eventually be part of a three Ep collection. It is a record of six songs, recorded over 4 days with producer Charlie Francis. Some of the songs were close to making it on to my first release Bydd Wych but were not quite ready in time. I think this has ended up being the way it should have been, I am still very proud of Bydd Wych as a piece of musical work but I think I have made some progressions as a writer & performer with Cellar Songs. It sounds like a Meilir record if you will, but it is also different from Bydd Wych, after all there is no point making the same record again. I think the new Ep Cellar Songs is a unique record in today's music environment because I am not trying to follow any musical trend. I am just making music because it's what I love to do. Creating songs with meaning and feeling.

AmeriCymru: Can you explain the significance of the title?

Meilir: I have a small cellar or basement studio at my home were I write most of my music, all of the songs that make up Cellar Songs were composed in this room so this is how the title came to be.

AmeriCymru: I am referring to your profile ( link ) on AmeriCymru here. Why owls and why Tequila and Bourbon?

Meilir: I have been fond of owls since I can remember, as well as birds in general and all things nature, this resulted in small owl ornaments becoming a regular gift, i now have hundreds of them. The booze goes like this, when I was 16 my family moved to a small pub in North Wales, and as I was at a curious age it was obvious that the first time my parents left me home alone I was going to experiment with the vast amount of alcohol to hand. I stated with the obvious... at the pumps with the lager and bitter and was amazed at the horrid taste, this is not a poor reflection on the pub I just did not like the taste, I also doubt many do. With Bourbon there was a different story I love it and this is my drink of choice, if anyone ever wants to buy me a drink this would be a good place to start. I was introduced to Tequila at Glastonbury Festival by a good friend who plays in a band called Mother of Six, this drink is one of my weaknesses. Having said all this on occasion I can be persuaded to flirt with other drinks.

AmeriCymru: Your song 'Bydd Wych' is a firm favorite with many AmeriCymru members. Care to tell us more about it? How it came to be written?

Meilir: Bydd Wych (Be Great or Be as Good as you can) is a song that came into existence over a long time and in different ways. I first became aware of the saying Bydd Wych after a long conversation with a good friend of mine who is the singer with Mother of Six. It was him who told me of the saying & how it was maybe used before old battles by the Welsh as a last rally of the troops before engaging in battle. At the time I was writing my debut Ep and thought that it would make a good title for the Ep. Over time I wanted the opening song to be a song called Bydd Wych, I had a song that was a folk song played on the guitar with the lyrics that make up the chorus as the song is today but the song was not right, it needed to have more of an impact and be more unique. I found a thumb piano at Glastonbury festival, and when I returned home there was one pattern that I kept playing on the thumb piano and the song was written quite quickly from then on around this pattern.

AmeriCymru: I have to ask...how did you hit upon the idea of using a cat litter tray filled with gravel for percussion on this track?

Meilir: I am always looking for ways to make thinks interesting for myself & the audience. I am very interested in creating sounds from sources that might not be as conventional as people expect. The gravel idea is something I had in my mind for a long time before I managed to experiment with it. I eventually realized that I could get my hands on some gravel from an ex place of employment, lets just say that it was in abundance under my feet during cigarette breaks, I would amuse myself by making rhythmic patterns on the gravel whilst wishing I didn't have to go back to work. I filled a bag full of gravel one day and took it home, to my surprise the results were amazing the sounds that you can make work very well. But I must admit there have been more failed experiments that successes but I love the idea of using such organic earthy elements to the music.

AmeriCymru: Can you tell us a little more about 'Less Wrong'? What inspired it?

Meilir: Less Wrong comes in two parts, to be honest with you I always wondered how songs that were in two parts came to be before I wrote a two part song myself. The song was split into two parts when I had two songs developing from the same original idea. I don't like to elaborate to much on the meaning of songs that I write as they are mostly very personal & I do attempt to be a little obscure with some lyrics. I suppose that the inspiration for Less Wrong comes from different perspectives of hope & faith in part 1 & how this can go wrong in part 2.

I would not want to say more than that really or I think I would be giving far to much away. I like it when a listener can create their own narrative and imagery to a piece of music, I don't like it when everything is to obvious.

AmeriCymru: Where can our readers go to get your music online?

Meilir: To stay updated on whats going on here is facebook.com/meilir.tomos & myspace.com/meilirmusic. I sometimes post musical ideas & treats at soundcloud.com/meilirmusic You can purchase Bydd Wych at iTunes as physical copies are sold out and listen to it on Spotify. Cellar Songs will be available from spillersrecords.com & you can have it sent to america from here!!!

AmeriCymru: What's next for Meilir Tomos?

Meilir: I will be performing lots of live shows... I am planning a small tour of chapels and churches to promote the release of Cellar Songs information on this will be released soon and I will be performing at a few select festivals over the summer. I am writing material for the third Ep that I hope will be ready for release by November of this year. I have recently had my music used for a film Masterpiece by young Welsh filmmaker Andrew C. Tanner, I would love to get involved in more films. scoring music is something I am going to look into doing more. So it's more of the same but hopefully to a wider audience, It's not an easy climate for independent creative musicians but I love what I do and would not change it for anything.

AmeriCymru: Any final message for the members and readers of AmeriCymru?

Meilir: Order your copy of Cellar Songs from spillersrecords.com from Monday 21st February... there it is the hard sell, thank you in advance if you do get a copy. With any luck I might get the chance to come and play over in America some time soon see you then...

Bydd Wych

Interview by Ceri Shaw Email

An Interview With Singer/Songwriter Noelle Hughes

 
Americymru: Hi Noelle and welcome to AmeriCymru :) Care to tell our members and readers something about your musical background ?


Noelle: There was always music going on in our house and family. All three of my brothers are musicians (one of whom, Daniel Hughes, is an internationally-known choral conductor, and whose choir, The Choral Project, took 2nd place in the Mixed Choir competition at the 58th annual International Eisteddfod in Llangollen, Wales). Also, my father sang and played the cornet and both of my mother's parents were musicians.


During my teens I began a journal and I picked up a little guitar from a class I had taken during summer break from school. These journal musings later turned into songs.


I also sang in the church choir from age 11. There were two choir groups for kids, but I wanted to sing in the adult choir, because they sang better music! I asked my parents to speak with the director about that and the director was pleasantly surprised. They made a special robe for me to wear and I sang with that group for several years: first as a soprano, then, after a three-month bout of pneumonia, an alto.


Through the late 80's-early 00's, I performed throughout the San Francisco Bay Area in original music bands: Das Tango, a dance-music group, Taste No More, a folk trio with a strong political edge tinged with ironic humor, and World For Ransom, an alternative-folk band. I've seen a lot of bands come and go. I also saw the decline of the live music scene in San Francisco, which is really sad for me--but that's for another discussion!


I took some time off from music due to this last fact, though, as it started to feel like I was just spinning my wheels. I kept writing but I wasn't performing or working with anyone.


A couple of years ago, I was complaining to my brother Dan about how stifled I felt, creatively (I'm also a visual artist and graphic designer, but music is where it's really at for me) and he pretty much slapped me across the head because I wasn't doing music any more!


That was when I decided to record i am me/am i not?


Americymru: Who would you say are your musical influences?


Noelle: My musical influences are hard to track due to the fact that there was such a diversity of musical training in my house growing up. I listened to a lot of Joni Mitchell, Kansas, ELP and Yes when I first started writing, and I think that Kerry Livgren (of Kansas) as well as Jon Anderson (of Yes) and Joni Mitchell have heavily influenced me as a writer. I'm not sure if any of that shows up in my work these days.


More recently, I'm all over the map. I listen to ambient, bhangra, Tom Waits, a lot of indie stuff. The rule of thumb for me is that if it's on the radio I'm probably not going to like it!


Vocally, I'm really trying to stretch myself to become a better singer and I'm always experimenting with my songwriting to express a thought or a feeling. I try to match the emotion to the note and then hang it on the right word. Or visa versa. It depends on whether I have the note first or the word first. It depends on where my inspiration started.


I'm hoping that I've transcended my influences.


Americymru: Your song 'Deeper Understanding' is very haunting both musically and lyrically. Care to tell us a little about how it came to be written?


Noelle: 'Deeper Understanding' was a sketch of a chord progression from a jam session with a friend of mine who wanted to get a duo together. We were going to call ourselves The Mad Hamiltons and had all these ideas about how we would perform and such, but we only ever had one jam session to create any material.


The song is about unconditional love and how the pathway to understanding is true and abiding love; the total freedom of love. Agape.


A lot of my songs explore spiritual themes or emotional challenges, because writing has always been a kind of therapy for me. It's often the only way I can get these things, these thoughts or feelings out. To process them out of my body.


This kind of writing can be a double-edged sword, because it can make the song hard to sing. On i am me/am i not? I have a song called, 'No One Told Me', which is a song I wrote after my father died unexpectedly. For a long time I was unable to get through that song without breaking down in tears in some way. What makes it more challenging with that piece it that it's solo voce!


When I write, I tend to discard the first several vocal melodies I come up with, outright. I keep moving away, moving away, moving away. I almost never want to use the first and most obvious vocal melody or harmony when I'm writing something, because if I do that, I'll never push myself to be a better writer.

Americymru: What is your Welsh connection?


Noelle: My father's mother's family was from Wales. Although I've known this all my life, my father was quite distant from his Welsh-ness and his connection to his family. Since he's been gone, I've felt more strongly than ever to connect with my roots and embrace my heritage. I'm delighted to have found AmeriCymru and look forward to learning more about my past, my Welsh culture and connect with other Welsh people. I have a goal to learn to speak Welsh.


Americymru: Where can people purchase your work online?


Noelle: I am available through:


iTunes

(http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/noelle-hughes/id351444518),


Amazon

(http://www.amazon.com/Am-Me-Not/dp/B0038AMZRU/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1289354232&sr=1-1) and


CD Baby (http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/noellehughes) as well as


Auryaun.com

(http://www.auryaun.com/sono)


Americymru: Whats next for Noelle Hughes?


Noelle: Plenty! As Auryaun (my stage character), I'm in the process of recording a follow up album that will feature new tracks and a rework of a couple of tracks from i am me/am i not?. I'm also in the process of storyboarding for music videos for 'Deeper Understanding' and a couple of other tracks, which will be filmed using a really unique method. I'll be posting those to my YouTube Channel when they are complete, so your readers will want to subscribe to me there so as not to miss that. http://www.youtube.com/user/auryaun


As Noelle Hughes, I've been rehearsing and recording with my fellow chanteuse, Billie Eyeball (of Taste No More and World For Ransom). We should be lining up some shows in the SF Bay Area soon, so look out for that!

Americymru: Any final message for the members and readers of AmeriCymru?


Noelle: I'm offering all members and readers of AmeriCymru a free download of 'Deeper Understanding' when they sign up for my E-Team by going to my website at http://www.auryaun.com/AmeriCymru. Just as a special thank you!


Diolch


A Croeso! Did I do that right?

A plea to all you Welsh at heart. I need your help! - CLOSE RUN THING!

We have a chance to make a Welsh coal mining song, the “Song Of The Year” at this year’s prestigious John Lennon Songwriting Contest.

This is one of the world’s biggest contests.

My song “Take Us Down” is a Grand Prize Winner, and as such moves into a head to head on line vote out between two folk songs. To hear the song, please go to - http://www.myspace.com/davidllewellynmusic – the song will fire up automatically.

We will need a lot of votes. Everyone can vote once a day – everyday – until the 27th of April. Here is a link to a news page on my website. It explain how easy it is to vote. http://davidllewellyn.com/news.html After the first time, it just takes three clicks.

I wrote the song after visiting “Big Pit” in Blaenavon which has been left a museum and epitaph to the Welsh coalmining industry as it was 100 years ago. http://www.world-heritage-blaenavon.org.uk/visit/places-of-interest/bigpit.htm The song follows a small boy’s first day “underground”, and his father’s heartbreaking thoughts.

Chances like this don’t come up very often. Please vote. Please spread the word to all your friends/lists/myspace/facebook etc. and ask them to vote too.

Thank you
David Llewellyn

Here is the direct link - http://www.jlsc.com/vote.php

VOTE HERE FOR "TAKE US DOWN" - HEAR THE SONG BELOW

Find more music like this on Americymru

Tyler Stenson - "Lyrically Driven Elegant Americana"

Americymru member Tyler Stenson is a native of Portland, Oregon. He is of Welsh-German descent ( distantly ) and is a composer and performer of “Lyrically Driven Elegant Americana.” We hope you will agree with us that Tyler has a great future ahead of him in the music business. Hear Tyler on his MySpace page HERE

1. We read that you won the Portland Songwriters Association's Songwriter of the Year in both 2007 and 2008. Can you tell us about the awards, and how you found out that you had won? Were there particular songs involved in those awards, or was it for a body of work you did in each year? And was it based on live performance or recordings?


The PSA award was a series of contests over a year that whittled a large pool of songwriters down to a final top-ten competition. At the final performance, each songwriter chooses two original songs to perform in front of a panel of judges and peers; lyrics are submitted, the songs are performed and the contestant is judged based on a number of variables including song quality, stage presence, lyric quality, originality, musical competency, overall performance, rhyme, meter, hook, etc. The official title is PSA “Performing Songwriter of the Year” so it is a bit more encompassing than just the quality and craft of the song- it accounts for the performance attributes as well.

In 2007 I entered the competition with my songs, "Better Be Us All" and "Babysitting the Cowboy". In the 2008 competition, I chose to submit "Whistle Stop" and "Cellophane".

At the end of the evening, the judges compare notes and comments and grant a winner and a runner-up.

In the first competition, I performed last of the ten and therefore had to sit and listen to everyone perform before me. Needless to say, when I took the stage, I was all nerve but feel I performed well. In the end, during the judges intermission, I had to take a walk before the final announcement. When I returned indoors, the president of the PSA got on the microphone and with a drum-roll announced the runner-up then the winner… I’m proud to say my name was called second as the winner.

In the second year, I was given the choice to perform at the finals as an “honored guest” (last year’s winner) or to play by the rules and defend my title. Choosing to defend my title, irony had me placed in the very first slot of the night. I’m not sure what was worse… sitting through all of the competition and playing last or getting it over with, then sitting through the other performances. Either way, the other competitors were extremely talented and I was fully prepared to lose my title. That said, after sitting through nine other performers, president Dan Lowe smiled and told the audience that he gave last year's winner a choice and he was proud to announce that the title had been successfully defended. I didn’t expect to win that night ,so it was a thrill to say the least.

2. How would you describe your sound and style?

My four-word elevator pitch is, “Lyrically Driven Elegant Americana.” In my eyes, lyric is king: some have called it border-line theatrical. Above all, my music is very human and accessible and authentic. Although the lyrics are very rich and full of stories and metaphors, they are accessible through our common American experience.

3. You were originally from Wyoming, and much of your music seems to reflect that childhood. What was it like growing up there for you? What are some of your fondest (or strongest) childhood memories, and do you see them play out in your music?

Looking back at my childhood, I see nothing but sweetness and days that I’m very fond of. It was the perfect place for a child; a place you could run around and explore without a shred of social danger and a place that never glorified money, class or creed. It was a magnificent landscape with settings that kept a child busy with imagination. My fondest specific memories in Lander don’t necessarily play out in my music as blatant re-creations; however, the mentality of the “simpler time” and “nostalgia” is constantly exposing itself. Part of the appeal of Wyoming is the fact that while the rest of the world is sprinting to grow, Wyoming stayed somewhat frozen in time. I consider myself to be somewhat of an old soul; therefore, the pace of Wyoming and the Old West is much more to my liking.

4. Growing up, what music did you listen to? Also, we notice that you feel that at least some of your own music has been influenced by such folks as Paul Simon and James Taylor. We can hear echoes of them in some of your songs. Who else would you say has been influential in your musical development? And what have you found yourself listening to over the past month?

Growing up I found myself listening to whatever my older siblings were listening to… top 40, pop, hair bands, etc. The only culture I ever really received was from my mother, who was more of a Broadway musical, hymnal and classical-type lady. I didn’t start forming my own tastes until middle school, when I fell wildly in love with country music and classic acoustic songwriters such as James Taylor, Simon and Garfunkel, Dan Fogelberg, etc. My musical story is simple, Garth Brooks and country music made me want to sing but the VH1 Storytellers episode of Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds made me want to write and perform the abstract. Country music is very surface level but there was a certain appeal to the obscurity in Dave Matthews’ songs. From that day forward I started writing with poetry in mind and placed my musical preferences in musicians that had something individual to say and a unique way of saying it. My biggest influences as a songwriter are Josh Ritter, Adam Duritz (Counting Crows), James Taylor, Damien Rice, Ryan Adams, Jason Ross (Seven Mary Three), David Gray, etc.

Over the last month I’ve been listening to Josh Ritter’s “Thin Blue Flame” on constant repeat… I’ve also been listening to Julian Tulip’s Licorice, Kirk Duncan and my completely random iPod mix. I suppose it is worth noting that I tend to wear my influences on my sleeve (in obvious ways) so I have limited the amount of music I listen to and have started being a bit more self-centered in that regard. The less music I listen to, the less I am influenced; therefore, the more original I become.

My general rule of thumb is to only listen to music that sets the bar high and makes me want to improve as an artist… as much as top 40 songs make you want to tap your toes and repeat the catchy chorus, it is rare to find something artistically rich and thought provoking. My intention is never to be an “elitist” but this helps me (as an artist) strive to be as individual as I can be.

5. How old were you when you came to Portland? Did you come directly from Wyoming? Sometimes moves can be hard. Were there times when you doubted the wisdom of the decision to move?

I moved to Portland as a child with little say in the matter. My connection to Wyoming has become pure nostalgia and the romantic notion that I’ll retire there one day. In all honestly, I only lived my childhood in Wyoming but it is the place of my birth, the place I go back to every summer to visit grandma, the place I still return to once a year for the famous July 4th celebration and annual Father and Sons camping trip and the place that I hold very dear to my heart. In the end, I’ve lived in Portland longer than I ever did Wyoming; however, I carry that nostalgia with me daily and I feel more at home in the plains of Wyoming than I do in downtown Portland.

6. Your song "Babysitting the Cowboy" speaks to the imagination of a child. Did you have a good imagination as a child?

I think my imagination was on par with most children but my mother always said I had the sharpest memory of the bunch and an uncanny way with words that has allowed me to immortalize those memories. "Babysitting the Cowboy" was actually a poem that I wrote for a poetry class at the University of Oregon- a poem before it was ever a song. The assignment was to write descriptively about a childhood memory so I took that vivid day in Lisa’s backyard and re-created the scene as I remembered it. That song is undoubtedly my personal favorite because it resonates so deeply within my bones as it pins the imagination of a child next to the memory of a man.

7. Your song "Whistle Stop" -- were you thinking about your own mortality, or someone else in particular, or just mortality in general? (Or something entirely different which has escaped us? lol)

Though I won’t name names, "Whistle Stop" is in memory of my friend’s mother. Though she passed in 2005, she lived her life boldly and left no doubt behind as to who she was. Yes, I do ponder my mortality in a number of other songs but this song is her legacy.

8. Some of your songs seem to involve a certain reverence for the earth and for life. "Big Hearts" and "Better Be Us All" come to mind. Are you a spiritual person, or do you see this aspect in your music?

I am a believer that everything in this life and everything on this earth that has touched me deserves its day in the sun. Whether it be people that cross my path or a tree that grew in the front yard of my childhood home, all of these things made me who I am, all of these things served their purpose and all of these things are immortal in my eyes. Though I have a spiritual side, I am not an overly spiritual person and it does not govern my life; however, I am a romantic that values nostalgia, love, history, emotion and anything else that exists inside of me or next to me. I’ve never heard your observation put into words but I absolutely admit to my “reverence for the earth and for life” solely on the fact that these are pieces that make up me and therefore deserve my long-lasting respect.

In the end, it is not the earth and life as a whole that I love and respect; it is each plot of land and individual that I’ve personally encountered.

9. One of your fans here at Americymru was very touched by "Cellophane" and it seems to be both a love song and a song about love of the earth. What was your inspiration for this one?

My friend and girlfriend bought me a plane ticket to Europe (the inspiration behind "Big Hearts"). Ultimately, I may have never seen the other land if it wasn’t for them and "Big Hearts" was my humble “thank you” to the dearest people in my life. The experiences I had were beyond compare and that gesture of the human heart was like nothing I’d ever seen. "Cellophane", was schemed in Switzerland on that same trip.

To set the stage, I was with my girlfriend at the top of Mt. Pilatus, looking out at the majestic Alps. Elegant green hills were below and Lake Pilatus was neatly framed in the center of it all. One would think that that storybook landscape would be unparalleled in beauty BUT the song contests that the eyes of the girl at my side, at that moment, matched (if not exceeded) the loveliness. A side note, Lake Pilatus is said to be the burial place of Pontius Pilate… just a little inside info.

10. When you are not making music or writing music, what are you doing for fun?

I’m a dude, I like to hang out with friends, laugh, drink beer, watch Blazer games, watch movies, graphic/web design, read, workout, eat, make comments with no merit, etc. No matter what, my favorite thing is to get together with a group of friends and simply laugh at each other’s expense. Often times, without meeting me in person, people think I’m an overly serious individual because of the depth of my writing- that’s simply not true. I’m a goof and a comedian at heart. My writing is more of a heightened reality rather than a reflection of how I carry myself in the day-to-day. Don’t get me wrong, my music and my lyrics are my thoughts and my love but I live my life with a much brighter smile than some might think.

Right now, for some supplemental income, my best friend and I have started a small creative agency on the side. I really enjoy working with other companies and brands on their logo/web/graphic design, etc.

11. For your fans on Americymru, what would you most like us know about you?

I think I’ve said my piece. Mostly I want them to know that I’m working very hard at making music my undivided livelihood but it is a tough road and I’ll need all of their support, prayers and word of mouth. I haven’t made it big yet so I’m still fighting for position in the industry, by no means coasting to the finish line. I’d also like them to know that I’m for hire. My best successes are with private events and I’m ready and willing to host the most powerful concert they’ve ever seen in the comfort of their living room, no matter where they are on the map (as long as it makes sense financially). I am a real person trying to make a humble talent prosperous… not an easy road, very thankless at times but very noble in the end.

Interview by Brian y Tarw Llwyd