Apr 22, 2013

Oes i Oes - An Interview With Nial Cain And Cass Meurig


Welsh tunes and songs, old and new. Wistful and intricate to gritty and driving acoustic folk/baroque by two of Wales’s foremost traditional musicians. 

Alawon a chaneuon Cymraeg, hen a newydd. Hiraethus a chymhleth i bras a gyrru - gwerin acwstig / baróc gan ddau o brif gerddorion traddodiadol.
AmeriCymru interviewed Nial and Cass about the album and their past and future musical projects. Please read on below.


Americymru: Hi Nial and Cass and many thanks for agreeing to be interviewed by AmeriCymru. Please tell us more about your new album 'Oes i Oes'?
Nial – Thanks for asking us! Oes i Oes was originally  going to be an album with a children’s focus – we were both inspired by the David Grisman and Jerry Garcia album “Not just for Kids” (I’m sure some readers will be familiar with this recording, and if not, I unreservedly recommend it!) This was the idea of a grown up album using material that was originally children’s. And that still might appeal to kids. So some of the songs are children’s songs or hwiangerddi – lullabies, nursery rhymes, and some other lyrics are semi nonsense and are from penillion, which is a traditional body of verses sung either to any tune that would fit, or used for Cerdd Dant. Some I remember singing at school. And though at pains to retain the traditional feel, we’ve sometimes been quite cavalier in our treatment, putting lyrics to different melodies and vice versa and even writing new music or lyrics if we thought it would be successful. It progressed from the original concept to some extent, but hopefully still retains a sense of the childlike.

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