‘Wizard pop’ act Dewin release joyous debut single

Stephen Price

Dewin, two young musicians from the magical hills of Preseli, release their debut single today – the first taste from revived west Wales record label, Fflach Cymunedol.

Having grown up listening to jazz, choral, classical music and Mamgu’s singing, Jencyn Corp and Lefi Dafydd are ready to bring their technical playing to the pop world.

Defining their music as ‘wizard-pop’, Dewin follow that West Walian tradition of doing things their own way – and their joyous debut single, Syched Cas foretells many more years of musical magic making.

After winning the Richard and Wyn Memorial Award, the band has won a place at some of West Wales’ music festivals, and will be gigging throughout the summer before going into the studio to record their first album.

Homegrown talent

With a strong bias towards local talent and development, Dewin is a reflection of Fflach Cymunedol’s ethos, and a nod to the humour that has been central to Fflach’s success in the past.

This is the first of many singles with new bands and artists, creative work from the community, and more established names.

Syched Cas, translating literally as ‘Nasty Thirst’ the band’s first single under the guidance of producer Reuben Wilsdon-Amos lives somewhere between Pink Floyd, Wings and Pys Melyn, with a bit of that other fantastical Pembrokeshire band, Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci thrown in.

Containing a woodwind duo, organ, theramin, güiro, layered vocals, on top of a driving rhythm section, the Pembrokeshire band’s first single is a feast for the ears and a tickle for the brain.

From its whimsical start, the track grows through its repetitive chorus line, “i lan, i lan, i lan…” (“upwards, upwards, upwards”), creating a dreamy, if uneasy, feeling of escape.

Ancient mysticism

The song’s themes of love and lust in the face of the modern world — its foreboding climate disaster, and the foretold future facing the young protagonists — reach a crescendo with the image of lovers laying beneath an oak tree, itself a symbol of longevity, and linking us to an ancient mysticism.

As the song is laid to rest with its wake-like organ outro, we are left feeling we’ve both reached the ending of some grand idea, and found the beginning of something great.

There will also be an accompanying music video for the track, funded by PYST x Lŵp Music Video Fund, so keep an eye out on Fflach’s socials for more information soon.

Follow Dewin on Instagram or stream on Spotify.

Read our article on Fflach Cymunedol’s revival here.