Green Man Interview: Mari Mathias talks about the ‘folk revival’ after her breathtaking festival performance

Amelia Jones

Welsh folk artist Mari Mathias invites listeners on an immersive voyage across the mist-shrouded Preseli Mountains and deep into the mythical realms of Annwn, the ancient Welsh otherworld.

Rooted in traditional folk instrumentation and atmospheric soundscapes, her music creates a deeply Celtic ceremony that bridges timeless myth with modern acoustic art.

Through intimate storytelling and rich vocal performance, Mathias transforms regional history into a sacred musical ritual. Her distinct blend of traditional melodies and ambient nature soundscapes offers an unforgettable journey into Welsh heritage, establishing her as a vital voice in contemporary Celtic music.

Talking to Nation.Cymru at Green Man she talks about the inspirational Welsh landscape, being a previous Green Man Rising finalist and the growing interest of young audiences in Welsh culture and history.

Last time I spoke to you was around the release of Y Morgen under your own label, now the album is out did taking ownership of it change the way it felt?

Yeah, it’s been an amazing journey since releasing the album.

I’d already toured the songs, so I’ve experienced playing the songs for three years, going into the studio and the development from being on my own recording and developing the song on my own and then taking it to the band, going to the studio and then touring it.

Now I feel like I’ve fully embodied the song and it’s now not just a song that I’ve written, it’s really something that we pulled together and evolved and it feels so natural now to be playing these songs.

In a way it feels like breath, it’s so natural and Y Morgen is one of the first songs I wrote on the album and it was just celebrating the local legends and culture from my area. So it feels really wonderful and really tuned in with the songs now.

You talk a lot about your connection to the Welsh landscape, is there a particular landscape that continues to inspire you?

Yes, the Priseli mountains in West Wales in northern Pembrokeshire, the whole of the Priseli mountains is my home and I always retreat to those lands if I’m stuck or if I need any questions answered.

I go there and I walk and I take a pilgrimage on my own and I feel like the land gives you what you are asking for, good or bad. It’s just such a timeless landscape where it feels like time vanishes.

In a way I feel like I’m so connected to my ancestors who once roamed those lands.

It just is a place where I go sit by the bluestone and write and I’m inspired by looking out to the coast, that is home to me.

You got to the final of Green Man Rising in 2024, what did that mean to you and what advice do you have for this year’s winner? 

We did a really great performance in Clwb Ifor Bach and the one thing I took from it was not about the winning really. I already felt like I won even being in the final and really enjoying the integration and feeling of getting to know the other bands that were on that final because for me that’s what made it really memorable and we are still in touch.

It’s funny because it’s competition but then when you’re a part of it doesn’t feel like competition, you’re just there, everybody’s doing the same thing.

I think you need to be as authentic as you can, be you, don’t try and be like the next someone else.

I think the way you get there is just by celebrating your culture, celebrating your individuality and be proud in who you are.

It doesn’t matter if you feel different or separate, people appreciate that you’re going for it.

What have you learned about yourself as a performer since those early gigs?

I don’t think the songs feel the same anymore in the best way possible, these songs have travelled and with those gigs travelling internationally and nationally here in the UK and Wales.

I think with every gig and every time we perform these songs it kind of adds a layer and with those layers you remember the people, the energy and the atmosphere of the prior gigs and it really adds to the textures.

So when today I was performing here with my band doing my own set, we’ve been touring these songs for a few months beginning of the year and so we took that energy and we really remembered how important that was and it really adds to it.

So I feel like I’ve evolved quite a lot and I’m still evolving and I don’t think any release is going to be the same.

Do you there’s a growing appetite among younger audiences for music that connects to Welsh culture and history?

Definitely, right now I feel like there’s a kind of folk revival which is really exciting, seeing young people joining you know folk sessions and picking up traditional instruments like the fiddle and the flute or accordion or whatever.

Seeing young people really interested in the music is exciting because that for me shows that there’s strength in the next generation.

What I do is traditional but it also appeals to a broader audience at the same time and through that I’ve met so many people that are in the folk world but maybe doing something a little bit more obscure with it and that is exciting because it’s really blending the past with what’s you know current.

I definitely feel like there’s a powerful new revival which is evolving and keeps evolving and I hope that it carries on the way it is.

What is one misconception people have about Welsh folk music that you’d like to change?

A lot of people know Irish music and Scottish even as like really quite strong powerful folk identity and I think with the Welsh traditional folk music you know we’ve kind of held back for quite a few years and maybe even generation.

People see us doing folk music in the Eisteddfod but it’s not really out and loud and proud yet.

I do feel like the misconception is that we’re quite timid and soft and gentle, which is lovely but I think that the Welsh language and the folk music can be bold.

It can be full of resilience and it can resonate outside of Wales. I think a misconception is that folk music belongs only in Wales and it can’t spread out.

That’s totally wrong because I’ve performed in India, I’ve performed in all across Europe, and they connect to the folk music so much more than you would imagine.

We just need to be bold with it and get it out and perform outside of Wales more.

You can listen to her music here. 

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