BRIGYN – Brigyn (album)

Always nice to get a handwritten note with a release rather than some mass produced ‘hyped-up’ biog…
Brigyn are The Brothers Brigyn (now there’s a good name!), Ynyr and Eurig Roberts who hail from the magic mushroom farmlands around Llanrug and Penisarwaun. Tired of foraging for food in the peat bogs of their dwellings, they packed their horse and cart and headed south in search of earning a few shillings. Now based in the bright lights and city trappings of Cardiff, this offering was released for the Womex Festival and is more of a compilation of their rarities and back catalogue, which includes three albums Brigyn 1, 2 and 3, and a smattering of singles. It’s available free from their shop or on Soundcloud throughout December and January.

What you’re gonna get from Brigyn is folk-core, but it’s not your average finger in the ear at Y Fricsan in Cwm-y-Glo on a Sunday night. There’s less of a trad edge to this outfit, and the mother tongue stuff works far better than the English, particularly their version of Jeff Buckley’s Hallelujah, which sounds enchanting in Welsh; as if it was supposed to be performed through this medium.
Collaborations with that folking folker Dan Amor, Alun Sbardun (from Y Tebot Piws) and Cass Meurig, along with tinges of trad folk, floating melodies, even a bit of Simon & Garfunkel all add up to an easy listening and uplifting album…

(website)