Annwn by Mari Mathias
Hailing from the lush landscapes of West Wales, Mari brings enchanting melodies of Celtic welsh folk music to charm us , celebrating Wales’ rich culture and heritage.
23 year old Welsh female artist , Mari Mathias creates mystical behaviour, driven by nature, landscape and tradition. She sings in her native welsh tongue and puts her own contemporary take on traditional folk melodies from west Wales and Pembrokeshire. She brings a surging energy on stage & beautiful tones of delicate melodic vocals, marrying intimate moments of storytelling and exhilarating folk sounds. Her music creates a confident step forward over the post modern footprints that extends through past and present , exploring a re-imaged reminder of identity.
Mari grew up in the rural village of Talgarreg, a stones throw away from the Ceredigion coastline.
Her Debut Album ‘Annwn’ was released in March 2022, framed around samples of her great-grandfathers cassette tapes, creating a window into a significant place that no longer exists but holds vast meaning. Her exciting sound is described as Alternative Folk , a great description of a nation that’s confidently re-defining itself.
2023 was an exhilarating year for Mari and her band. She won the Award in the BBC Folk Awards for ‘Best Traditional Song’ from her Debut Album in 2022. Performed in exciting stages such as ; Cambridge Folk Festival, Lorient Interceltique Festival, Green Man Festival, Between the Trees and many more.
Her evocative vocals transport listeners to mystical realms of Annwn, weaving tales of folklore and bringing traditional songs of West Wales to the forefront of her creative adaptions.
Mari Mathias' single, "Annwn" (Meaning the 'otherworld' in Welsh mythology) from her Debut album uuses legends, traditional songs and original folk melodies. She recorded the single, and the album of the same name, with Mei Gwynedd from Recordiau JigCal. She and her folk band used folk sounds to create a connection between traditional music and contemporary sounds.
Annwn considers a connection with the landscape, history and wild animals. The song takes inspiration from elements of dark mythology, Celtic history, and visuals from 'American Horror Story'. These influences can also be found in the video which was shot in the magical village of Portmeirion, North Wales. Annwn is the otherworld o’r another dimension that Mari would have escaped to as a child. She now re-lives her childhood dream and explores magical themes as well as looking at themes that are relevant to today. As an actress and screenwriter who studied Performing Arts in Cardiff, she was very keen to bring theatrical elements to the songs and to the videos to enable the audience to immerse themselves completely in her world.
Video by Andy Pritchard and Aled Wyn Jones.
Art: Jamie Walker.
Camera Assist: Sion Gwyn.
Head-dresses by Mari’s Father: Gwion Mathias.
Tracklist
| 1. | Dats | 1:16 |
| 2. | Annwn | 3:25 |
| 3. | Gwion a'r Wrach (Ceridwen) | 2:47 |
| 4. | Gwenno (feat. Gwilym Bowen Rhys) | 2:59 |
| 5. | Ty Bach Twt / Milgi Milgi | 4:21 |
| 6. | Lawr ar lan y mor | 3:18 |
| 7. | Rebel | 4:09 |
| 8. | Bica | 2:28 |
| 9. | Llyn y fan fach | 3:14 |
| 10. | Y Cwilt | 3:48 |
| 11. | Y Tap Olaf | 3:09 |
Credits
JIGCAL records (Mei Gwynedd) Producer
Meg Cox - Fiddle/Bodhran
Jed Robertson - Guitar/Bouzouki
Mari Mathias - Vocals/Guitar/Piano/Mix/Co-producer
License
All rights reserved.Tags
✺ Welsh Celtic-folk Cymraeg ✺
Mari Mathias takes us into the musical caverns of Annwn - The lyrical Preseli artist and fellow band members conjuring ceremony and ritual from the Celtic twilight for a passion play about this very region. Poetry, field recordings, even family archives on cassette find their way into the position; Mathias’ compositions are steeped in Bluestone Roots.