Croeso i’r Sesiynau Croilawr. Welcome to the Lockdown Sessions.
— Welsh Music Podcast | Podlediad Miwsig Cymreig (@welshmusicpod) March 27, 2020
First up we’ve got The Gentle Good with, his @welshmusicprize winning album from 2016, ‘Ruins/Adfeilion’.
Croeso @ghbonello a diolch am eich amser heno.
What were your inspirations for this beautiful record? pic.twitter.com/FC6cBktoI4
It’s a diverse bunch of themes rather than a uniting one, but certainly some were nature, Welsh culture and identity, reacting to conservative government and social justice
— Gareth Bonello (@ghbonello) March 27, 2020
1. Gwen Lliw’r Lili
— Welsh Music Podcast | Podlediad Miwsig Cymreig (@welshmusicpod) March 27, 2020
First up we’ve got the traditional instrumental composition ‘Gwen Lliw’r Lili’ which dates back to the 19th century.
And you play it on harmonium?
Yes I wanted to start the album with a folk song from my neck of the woods – this features in Maria Jane Williams’ collection from the 1840s in Glamorgan. I’ve sung it before but droning with the harmonium just seemed to bring out the tune
— Gareth Bonello (@ghbonello) March 27, 2020
2. Pen Draw’r Byd
— Welsh Music Podcast | Podlediad Miwsig Cymreig (@welshmusicpod) March 27, 2020
Next up is ‘Pen Draw’r Byd’ which you’ve described as your ‘feminist zombie folk song’. What did you mean by that?
It’s inspired by all Welsh Folk songs such as Hiraeth am Feirion, Y Bachgen Main and Can Dyffryn Cletwr that feature the ‘tragic maiden’ character tearfully awaiting the return of her sailor from the sea
— Gareth Bonello (@ghbonello) March 27, 2020
I love those songs and often sing them live, but wanted to write one where the central charcter is female and chooses a different course, cursing the sea and everything in it, including the long lost ‘sailor’
— Gareth Bonello (@ghbonello) March 27, 2020
It also features @georgiaruth with beautiful vocal harmonies and accompanying harp.
— Welsh Music Podcast | Podlediad Miwsig Cymreig (@welshmusicpod) March 27, 2020
Georigia’s harp and vocal are beautiful on this track, as on every other track she appears on!
— Gareth Bonello (@ghbonello) March 27, 2020
3. Rivers of Gold
— Welsh Music Podcast | Podlediad Miwsig Cymreig (@welshmusicpod) March 27, 2020
One of my favourites on the record, Rivers of Gold is very political and reminds me of a Bob Dylan protest song. It even has you playing harmonica on it. Big Dylan fan?
I wanted to write a straightforward and memorable protest song and had Woodie Guthrie and Bob Dylan in mind. Normally I’m quite cryptic lyrically but this was a chance to be direct. It’s my critique of ‘trickle down economics’, the Right’s economic theory also known as ‘bollocks’
— Gareth Bonello (@ghbonello) March 27, 2020
4. Y Gwyfyn
— Welsh Music Podcast | Podlediad Miwsig Cymreig (@welshmusicpod) March 27, 2020
An intricately finger picked composition with lyrics from the point of view of a moth on a warm summer’s night.
I wanted to imagine sensing a warm night in the summer through the senses of a moth. Music is escapism for me and this track is all about that
— Gareth Bonello (@ghbonello) March 27, 2020
Also the title track of a limited edition EP you released for Dydd Miwsig Cymru in 2018. pic.twitter.com/MH1OKgAfwY
— Welsh Music Podcast | Podlediad Miwsig Cymreig (@welshmusicpod) March 27, 2020
Yes! A rare record indeed and the only one that still has beautiful vinyl designed by @BubblewrapWales available!
— Gareth Bonello (@ghbonello) March 27, 2020
5. Ruins/Adfeilion
— Welsh Music Podcast | Podlediad Miwsig Cymreig (@welshmusicpod) March 27, 2020
The epic six minute title track comprises of a cinematic piano instrumental combined with the sounds of a thunderstorm and a subtle horn section. Didn’t you record the thunderstorm in Australia?
Yes, we were in Western Australia and this amazing thunderstorm rolled in so I got the recording equipment out. It’s a piano piece I’d been working on whilst writing the album that expresses how I felt at the time without having to use words.
— Gareth Bonello (@ghbonello) March 27, 2020
What gave you the name for the track and, in turn, the album?
— Welsh Music Podcast | Podlediad Miwsig Cymreig (@welshmusicpod) March 27, 2020
I had this theory at the time that we are walking through the ruins of generations gone before, and in doing so we have to decide what we should treasure and keep and what needs to be left to ruin completely. It’s a process every generation has to make…
— Gareth Bonello (@ghbonello) March 27, 2020
…and the choices made will come to define each generation. Sometimes it’s hard to pick the right path and I think when I wrote this, I felt like progress that had been made was in danger of, or in the process of being undone
— Gareth Bonello (@ghbonello) March 27, 2020
6. Suffer the Small Birds
— Welsh Music Podcast | Podlediad Miwsig Cymreig (@welshmusicpod) March 27, 2020
You played this as part of the Goliath Guitar Sessions at @FocusWales in 2017 and it shows off your impressive guitar-playing style. Who taught you to play guitar?
I’m self taught on guitar, it’s one of the things I enjoy most in the world and as such I’ve spent a lot of time on it!
— Gareth Bonello (@ghbonello) March 27, 2020
This is another protest song, all about listening to marginalised voices. I wrote this under Cameron’s government but the message has become even more relevant in the era of Brexit, Johnson and Trump!
— Gareth Bonello (@ghbonello) March 27, 2020
Another song that features nature with the bird sound at the beginning and @georgiaruth makes another appearance with some lovely harmonies. What is it about Georgia’s voice that compliments yours so well?
— Welsh Music Podcast | Podlediad Miwsig Cymreig (@welshmusicpod) March 27, 2020
I think she has a natural musicality and empathy when harmonising. We sang these takes together so there’s a natural feel to the harmomies
— Gareth Bonello (@ghbonello) March 27, 2020
❤️ ahh that’s a lovely thing to say GB, diolch yn fawr! Loved recording these songs with you all at Dylan’s studio
— Georgia Ruth (@georgiaruth) March 27, 2020
Diolch i ti Georgia.x
— Gareth Bonello (@ghbonello) March 27, 2020
7. Bound for Lampedusa
— Welsh Music Podcast | Podlediad Miwsig Cymreig (@welshmusicpod) March 27, 2020
You wrote this about the refugee crisis and donated the profits to @OasisCardiff, a centre that provides key services to refugees and asylum seekers. A lovely gesture.
I’d been teaching guitar at @oasiscardiff for a while and wrote this song during that time. I met so many inspirational people there, the staff and clients are amazing
— Gareth Bonello (@ghbonello) March 27, 2020
Lampedusa is an Italian island not too far off the coast of Libya and as a result is often the target destination for refugees fleeing across the Mediterranean. The lack of an effective response from EU countries was, and still is, shockingly inadequate
— Gareth Bonello (@ghbonello) March 27, 2020
8. Un i Sain Ffagan
— Welsh Music Podcast | Podlediad Miwsig Cymreig (@welshmusicpod) March 27, 2020
A song dedicated to the @StFagans_Museum. Didn’t you used to work there?
I worked for @AmgueddfaCymru both in Cathays Park and St Fagans for many years. When I finally bit the bullet I wrote this as a farewell. It’s based on Welsh Folk songs and features the amazong Dylan Fowler on Mandocello…
— Gareth Bonello (@ghbonello) March 27, 2020
The Whole album was recorded at Stiwdio Felinfach, Dylan’s studio in Abergavenny. Dylan has been my guitar hero since I met him when I was 15 years old and it was a realy honour to record with him
— Gareth Bonello (@ghbonello) March 27, 2020
9. The Fisherman
— Welsh Music Podcast | Podlediad Miwsig Cymreig (@welshmusicpod) March 27, 2020
Opens with the evocative line ‘Awake before sunrise, Sweep the wood smoke from my eyes’.
This song is a portrayal of loneliness, which I’m fond of saying is ironically written as a duet. It’s one of those songs about life, love, fate and death
— Gareth Bonello (@ghbonello) March 27, 2020
I do sometimes fish, but am awful at it. I do however enjoy the calm and contemplative mood it puts me in, which I think made it into this song
— Gareth Bonello (@ghbonello) March 27, 2020
10. Merch y Morfa
— Welsh Music Podcast | Podlediad Miwsig Cymreig (@welshmusicpod) March 27, 2020
The last song on the album. Another on the harmonium. A poignant reflection in honour of your grandmother I believe?
A farewell to my Mamgu, who grew up on the LLwchwr Estuary near Llanelli. My Mamgu was my strongest direct connection to the living Welsh speaking community and culture
— Gareth Bonello (@ghbonello) March 27, 2020
It has the song of an estuary bird the Gylfinir, or Curlew, which sings a lament for my Mamgu, the ‘estuary girl’
— Gareth Bonello (@ghbonello) March 27, 2020
And we can’t finish without talking about the album winning the @welshmusicprize in 2017.@huwstephens called it ‘a stunning record that has reached a worldwide audience on an independent Cardiff label’.
— Welsh Music Podcast | Podlediad Miwsig Cymreig (@welshmusicpod) March 27, 2020
What did it mean for you win it? pic.twitter.com/975xps3tji
It was quite surreal and a surprise but it meant a lot. It’s an honour to win the award and to be recognised in that way. I have to give a huge thanks also to @LlionRobertson who produced the album and to Seb Goldfinch and the @MavronQuartet for the amazing strings!
— Gareth Bonello (@ghbonello) March 27, 2020
You always worry that nobody is going to notice your music when you release a record and the @welshmusicprize has helped to shine a light on Welsh music, which is often neglected in the national press in the UK, so Diolch eto i chi WMP!
— Gareth Bonello (@ghbonello) March 27, 2020
Wel, diolch yn fawr iawn Gareth.
— Welsh Music Podcast | Podlediad Miwsig Cymreig (@welshmusicpod) March 27, 2020
Felly, beth nesaf am The Gentle Good?
Diolch i chi! Mae gen i albwm newydd yn dod mas – gobeithio yn yr haf
— Gareth Bonello (@ghbonello) March 27, 2020
Thanks – I have a new album coming out in the summer, that I’ve been recording with Khasi artists in North East India! pic.twitter.com/nnZiqma2qY
Over the last three years I’ve been studying for a PhD @UniSouthWales and using music to build a cultural collaboration with artists from Meghalaya
— Gareth Bonello (@ghbonello) March 27, 2020