Mari Mathias’ sophomore album celebrates Welsh folklore and storytelling

Stories about transformation, magic, loss and return take centre stage on Mari Mathias’ sophomore album, Cyfarwydd.

Cyfarwydd, meaning familiar, was chosen as the album’s title for its connection to songs and stories familiar to Mari from her upbringing and life in Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion.

Growing up in Ceredigion and Sir Benfro, Mari is “thrilled” to release the album  in tune with the National Eisteddfod, which returns in Aberteifi, 2026 | Eisteddfod Genedlaethol y Garreg Las.

The first ever Eisteddfod was held there in 1176 at Castell Aberteifi, marking the beginning of the contemporary bardic tradition, celebrating the musicians and poets of Cymru and beyond.

The album name also refers to the cyfarwydd, poets and storytellers of medieval Cymru; keepers of history and legend, who circulated memory and the bright worlds known through the Mabinogi.

In a culture rooted in oral tradition, cyfarwyddion held continuity, tying a story to the land of the past to the present. Mari intends for the album to step into that lineage.

Cyfarwydd, carried by Mari’s resonant voice and the musicians who accompany her, creates an immersive soundscape that brings the ancient stories of Cymru to life.

The 11-track album was recorded with Mari’s full band at Studio Owz, a studio in an old chapel renovated by Owain Jenkins in the Preseli hills near Foel Eryr and Carningli.

 

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Serving as inspiration are the tales and legends of sea creatures and those who once roamed the ancient Celtic rainforests.

This album contains adaptations of songs drawn from Old North sources and the Book of Aneurin, melodies inspired by these ancient texts, and odes to fallen ancestors.

Among them is ‘Pais Dinogad’ (Dinogad’s Smock), the oldest surviving lullaby in the Welsh language.

Originating in the 6th-century kingdom of Rheged, at a time when Old Welsh was spoken across the British Isles, this song has been carried forward through the centuries.

This rendition is dedicated to Lynne Denman of the band Ffynnon, whose melody of the lullaby is woven into Mari’s version, honouring her memory and the enduring voice of tradition.

‘Agoriad Aneurin’, calls us to ancient bardic magic and legends of poets of the Gododdin, leading in to ‘Y Morgen’ (Creature of the sea) and then ‘Aderyn Pur’ recorded live in the chapel with Jac Kelshaw on the second acoustic guitar.

‘Banc-y-felin’ is a poem by Mari in reflection of her childhood memories of her great-grandmother (mama) from Llanychâr, Pembrokeshire.

‘Marwnad’ and ‘Adre’ explore elegy, transformation and nostalgia while ‘March Glas’ & ‘Cân-y-Melinydd’ explore a multi-textural folk sound with the full band.

‘Amddifadedd’ evokes power, movement and the wild landscapes of memory and then ends with ‘Adar man y mynydd’’, which lands on a tender moment of stillness and peace.

With songs of the mountains, mills and birds, the album weaves folklore, lineage and location into a living, breathing soundscape.

Cyfarwydd, released through Tarian Records, will be available to stream and purchase on 17 April 2026.