Cymru Am Byth: 18 Essential Welsh Albums In honour of St. David s Day.
Today - March 1st - is St. David s Day, a celebration of Welsh identity.
The strange thing is, though, we re no closer to defining Welshness than we were 100 years ago - it s a country in flux, code-switching and shape-shifting on an hourly basis.
Musically, however, we feel certain in saying that Welsh music - indeed, Welsh culture as a whole - has rarely been so strong, with new generations utilising the tools at their disposal to craft magnificent new aural shapes.
Clash writers have picked out 18 essential Welsh albums (caveat: we re starting at the year 2000) and we ve tried to look beyond the big names, blending seminal hits with some deep cuts, too.
River Runs Deep: Riz Ahmed Interviewed I m proud of all the work I’ve done, but’s it’s also important we evolve.
Riz Ahmed has emerged as an unfiltered voice for the marginalised and minoritized, with totemic performances across music and film. For years, Ahmed has embraced the gift and burden of representation.
Now, he’s ready to hone in on the micro.
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There’s a protracted scene at the end of The Long Goodbye short film where Riz Ahmed glowers directly into the viewer’s gaze. In spoken-word, he recites the lyrics from ‘Where You From?’; his bloodied mien a mesh of fury and anguish, eyes transmitting a hollow longing.
16 Albums That Could Save 2021 The year s essential releases.
Clash entered 2021 with high hopes - after all, we made it through the chaos of the previous 12 months, right?
Yet the opening week of this New Year has already been tarnished by a Far Right insurrection in the States and yet more appalling pandemic figures here in the UK.
Music takes a much more important role in our lives during these fraught times, becoming a place of solace and inspiration.
Here s 16 albums that could yet save 2021.
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Lana Del Rey â Chemtrails Over The Country Club
Lana Del Rey is a polarising artist. Her music either makes you think she is the second coming of pop or itâs another case of the Empressesâ New Clothes. Her last studio album, âNorman Fucking Rockwell!â, was a lauded as a career high. Last yearâs poetry book / spoken word album âViolet Bent Backwardsâ was the album we always needed from Del Rey but didnât realise
Predicting the names who will matter.
The pandemic has changed the way we look at new music.
With touring - largely - off the cards, artists have been forced to shift the manner in which they operate, finding fresh ways to connect with their audience.
As these pathways have become more splintered, convoluted, and difficult to follow, the speed at which music arrives on our screen, before dashing into the ether, seems to have multiplied.
It s an enormously difficult landscape to traverse, but it s also one fraught with opportunity - put simply, music truly does feel as though it exists at a crossroads.