Ballads over Brain Rot: Why Valleys communities are reconnecting through song

Stephen Price

Communities across Rhondda Cynon Taf and Neath Port Talbot are writing new folk songs inspired by their own streets, stories and landscape, despite many of them never having written a song before.

As concern grows over the impact of doom scrolling, social media overload, brain rot and disconnection on people’s mental health, a new project by the Welsh folk charity, Trac Cymru, is offering something very different: a chance to step away from screens, reconnect with other people and create something real together through folk music, and you don’t need to be a musician to take part.

Through a series of creative workshops led by experienced musicians and visits to heritage sites, participants explore the history and character of their area and turn those stories into new, original folk songs.

Katy Orford, who took part in workshops held at Port Talbot, said: “Moving away from my phone and social media and coming here to do something creative with other people has been wonderful and focuses your brain on something else. I’ve picked up the violin again after many years but never composed music before.

We just did it organically, together – and I didn’t know you could do that.”

The project is open to people of all ages and abilities and is as much about storytelling, sharing memories and connecting with place as it is about song.

Jenny Pope, who lives in Llantrisant and travelled to sessions in Port Talbot said: “It was such an uplifting experience. For me, it made the Port Talbot area feel like a real beacon of folk music – somewhere people might once have just driven past but now feels full of life and culture. Being in the Valleys and creating something we can pass on to the next generation has been amazing for our mental health.”

Led by Trac Cymru’s experienced facilitators, the workshops use traditional instruments and techniques to explore contemporary voices and experiences. At its heart, the project is about more than music. It is about creating space for communities to come together, reconnect with land, heritage, nature and each other, and find new ways of expressing identity, belonging and place through a living folk tradition.

For Liz Pulseton-Jones, the experience felt personal: “I was keen to explore song writing which I really enjoyed at school but not had an outlet for it since. When we looked at the history of Port Talbot, I came across a girl called Isabelle Thomas. She was an orphan who had to leave school and lie about her age to get a job in a factory to support her family – which is something that I can relate to as I lost my mother when I was younger and had to leave education to support my family too – and that really stayed with me. It inspired part of the song we wrote, ‘Jig Rondo’, and felt quite personal.”

Project Manager Antwn Owen-Hicks said: “This is about making sure that traditions continue to evolve. Magic happens when people explore all of this and begin to see where they’re from in a different light. It doesn’t matter what musical level you’re at or what language you speak. If you’ve got a story, you can write a song, and we help you do this.”

The project has also been working with local schools including Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Llwyncelyn in Porth, where pupils explored stories from their own community before turning them into lyrics and melody. The children composed their own piece, Ein Cân Fach Ni (Our Little Song), inspired by the area they live in. For many of them, it was their first experience of writing a song together and performing it for others.

One of the participating pupils, Mya-Rose, said: “This was the first time I ever got to record a song, so it was a real fun opportunity for me and others who haven’t done this sort of thing before!”
Her fellow classmate, Camren , added “I’m so proud we did this because I never thought I’d be composing a song in year 6!”.

Can y Cymoedd / When Valleys Sing also lands at a time when recent research is pointing to the value of traditional arts and shared cultural activity in supporting social connection and wellbeing. A Lancet Regional Health scoping review published in January 2026 found growing evidence that traditional arts and events can support mental and social wellbeing through participation, connection and cultural belonging.

It also responds directly to findings in the 2025 Tŷ Cerdd and Arts Council of Wales Traditional Music Review, which highlighted an urgent need for more grassroots, intergenerational and community based opportunities for people to engage with traditional music in Wales, especially at a time of loneliness, disconnection and poor mental health.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Trac Cymru | Folk Development (@trac_cymru)

Trac Cymru plans to bring the songs together in a recorded album later this year, celebrating the new body of music created through the project.

Trac Cymru’s Development Officer, Jordan Price Williams added: “If you’d like this project to come to your school, group, or community, then get in touch with us at Trac Cymru. Projects like this are so very important but they can only run when people show an interest and take part. We’d love to hear from you!”

To take part in Can y Cymoedd / When Valleys sing please contact [email protected] or visit Trac Cymru’s website www.trac.cymru