Mared shares new live EP recorded at iconic London recording studios

Stephen Price

Welsh pop artist, Mared, has released a live, full-band EP, which reinterprets some of her favourite tracks from the past five years.

‘Mared & Friends, Live at Lightship 95’ comes out today (30 May) on Bryn Rock Records.

The record is a bilingual collection of songs that have been previously released over the past 5 years. From her award-winning album, to latest EPs; the new arrangements combine jazz, soul, pop, with vocal harmonies, with elements of improvisation oozing throughout.

The EP was recorded on a boat, at the iconic Lightship 95 studio, in North Greenwich and also partly at 123 Studios in Peckham , London. 8 accomplished musicians were part of the project, including a collaboration with neo-classical artist, Gwenno Morgan, on ‘Llif yr Awr,’ and a feature by up-and-coming Welsh jazz pianist Nico Widdowson.

Mared said: “Performing live and making arrangements for my band (who are all great friends) is such an exciting part of a song’s journey and I’m so happy to document our sound with the help of Launchpad funding.”

The live session has also been filmed by Aled Victor, and will be on Mared’s YouTube channel.

Cohesion

Mared told Nation.Cymru: “I was researching studios in London with the audio engineer for this EP, Tom Baird. He sent me a list of places and recommendations and as soon as I saw that Lightship 95 was on a boat I was sold!

“It was such a fun day in an iconic setting on the dock in North Greenwich, though at times I did end up feeling a bit sea sick! We also recorded Dal Ar Y Teimlad in 123 studios in Peckham.”

“This record is all about the band and the arrangements, so Mared had an opportunity to choose the tracks she loves performing live with them the most.”

She said: “I wanted to play songs from different projects, and give myself the challenge of being cohesive, with the thread between them all being the vocal harmonies and of course live aspect.

“I love blending genres and languages (folk, jazz, pop, soul) and my music and writing has evolved a lot over the years, so getting to perform everything in one place felt fun and brought everything together!

“There are also a couple of collabs in there which I wrote with Nate Williams, who produced my previous EPs!”

Friends reunited

The performers are all close friends, with Mared sharing: “I’m so lucky to be able to perform with such a talented group of friends and musicians. I met some of my band at university in Leeds, some of which played at my final recital, and the band has expanded from there, so to have this documentation of the whole thing feels so special (Also – having 5 out of 8 members being Welsh is makes it even more exciting for me!)

“Artist and composer Gwenno Morgan wrote Llif Yr Awr with me in lockdown so of course I HAD to have her play the virtuosic piano!

“I was also keen to get the improvisation element into the EP and so having Nico Widdowson (rising jazz pianist from Rhos-On-Sea) play on Fade Away brings out the liveness I love about performing! Everyone brings their own thing to the table and I’m so grateful for that, the rest of the band includes Tom Potter in drums, vocals from Mabli Gwynne and Miriam Isaac, Will Sensicle on guitar, Dave Edwards on bass, and piano from Gwenno Morgan and Nico Widdowson (Fade Away).”

In an industry of extortionate overheads and little support, Mared owes the project’s release to the BBC Horizons Launchpad Scheme. She said: I was thrilled to get some help from BBC Horizons Launchpad Scheme for this and managed to cover a lot of additional costs.

 

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“Being an independent artist is hard and so I would not have risked putting my own money into a project like this with so many moving parts. I’m also happy to get the support of Bryn Rock Records and Pyst in releasing the project.

“I’d been applying to Launchpad for years, so if you apply and don’t get it a couple times – don’t be discouraged! The right project will come along eventually.”

And as for what’s next, she shared: I have more brand new music coming out later this year, and a mini UK tour in place. I’m looking forwards to a summer of gigs at Gwyl Cefni, Tafwyl and the National Eisteddfod in Wrecsam!

Listen to Mared & Friends, Live at Lightship ’95 here.

Follow Mared on Instagram.