Welsh band praised for late contender ‘album of the year’

Stephen Price

Welsh band, Tai Haf Heb Drigolyn‘s debut album which was released as a limited run of 50 cassettes has been labelled a ‘late contender for album of the year’.

Writing for Morning Star, ‘the only English-language socialist daily newspaper in the world’, English poet, John Baine who is better known as Attilla the Stockbroker, shared his thoughts on Trump, Farage and ‘billionaires using modern media outlets to farm the votes of the people made poor by the system which made them rich’.

In his typically unique writing style, he then turned his attention to better matters, laying praise on up-and coming-Welsh band, Tai Had Heb Drigolyn, who he compares to iconic Welsh band, Datblygu.

“Album of the year”

Baine writes: “And now to Wales, where a late contender for album of the year has just insinuated itself into my consciousness: it appears to have been made in the bedrooms of a bunch of people less than a third of my age, it’s in Welsh, and it sounds like nothing else I’ve ever heard — apart from the greatest Welsh underground band of all time.”

He adds: “Tai Haf Heb Drigolyn means Unoccupied Summer Houses, an obvious dig at English second home owners there, their music can only be described as tunenoise — fine melodies subverted by subtle atonality — and they are the spiritual children of my great and now late friend David R Edwards of Datblygu, the great pioneer of the lo-fi underground Welsh language music scene.

“I now have another reason to continue my attempts to learn Welsh via street signs and music lyrics. And best of all — in physical form their debut album Ein Albwm Cyntaf Ni (Our First Album) is only available on cassette, limited to 50 copies. That’s proper.”

Get them while you can…

‘Ein Albwm Cyntaf Ni’ is the debut album by Tai Haf Heb Drigolyn, recorded over a year in three different home studios: Stiwdio Brynteg, Radio Dyfi and Ogof Llyfnant.

The band consists of members Izak Zjalic, Simon Richards and William P Jones. The tracks were recorded between a fusion of Ableton and cassette, with the use of the Tascam Portastudio 424 rendering the discrepant textures and lo-fi quality.

Both the sound pallette and lyrics are diverse across the album. Opening track, ‘Crancod’, is a lo-fi guitar song with a crushing childlike synth crescendo which brings the listener into the hauntological soundscape, whilst tracks such as ‘Siwgr’ and ‘Mach GP’ bring a sense of tenderness and sweetness.

Vocals are sung by all three members (Simon: Crancod, Rhif 5, Ionawr, Books), (Will: Siwgr, Gapelwrs, Blawd, Colli Llygaid, Blawd), (Izak: Rhif 5, Mach GP, Arafcore), primarily in the Welsh language.

Lyrical themes include mediations on human suffering, depression and addiction [Crancod, Ionawr, Rhif 5, Books], the occult enforcing doubt [Siwgr], and reflections of the contemporary Welsh music landscape [Gapelwrs].

The album symbolises the joy of a collective DIY music ethos which embraces imperfections and happy accidents, with it being written, arranged and produced by all three members.

Cassettes are available which contain a custom cover added to each one.

These can be pre-ordered and purchased on Bandcamp.

Follow Tai Haf Heb Drigolyn on Instagram.