Carwyn Ellis

Carwyn Ellis
Birth name Carwyn Meurig Ellis
Born (1973-08-09) 9 August 1973
Origin United Kingdom
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • Singer
  • Songwriter
  • Record Producer
  • Arranger
  • Multi-instrumentalist
Instruments
Years active 1999–present
Labels
Associated acts
Website

Carwyn Meurig Ellis (born 9 August 1973) is a Welsh singer-songwriter, composer, record producer, arranger and multi-instrumentalist. He is known as the frontman of British alternative band Colorama,[1] as a member of The Pretenders[2] and as a long-time collaborator with Edwyn Collins.[3] In 2014, they worked together on the soundtrack to the film The Possibilities Are Endless which won the Mojo 'Film Of The Year' Award.[4][5]
Ellis has also recorded electronic music as Zarelli,[6][7][8] releasing an album, Soft Rains in 2015 which featuring the voice of Leonard Nimoy narrating the Ray Bradbury short story There Will Come Soft Rains.[9]
In 2017 Ellis formed the Welsh folk group Bendith[10][11] and their self-titled album was nominated for the Welsh Music Prize [12][13][14][15] and went on to win the Welsh Language Album of the Year 2017 award at National Eisteddfod of Wales.[16][17][18]
Since 2016 Ellis has hosted a weekly themed radio show on Soho Radio that plays a variety of genres, including rock, folk, jazz, hip hop, electronica, and soul.[19]

Career

After a nomadic early childhood moving from town to town, Ellis' family settled in Anglesey, eventually moving to London where he studied at the Royal Academy of Music and worked with numerous bands through a myriad of genres.[20]

Among the artists that Ellis has collaborated or performed with are Edwyn Collins, Sarah Cracknell, The Pretenders, Saint Etienne, Oasis, Shane MacGowan, UNKLE, North Mississippi Allstars, James Hunter, Roddy Frame, Paul Cook (Sex Pistols), Barrie Cadogan (Little Barrie), Thee Hypnotics, The 2 Bears, Tracyanne & Danny, Alex Kapranos and Nicholas McCarthy, Romeo Stodart (The Magic Numbers), The Drums, Ian Siegal, Pete Molinari, Fabienne Delsol, Gemma Ray, Quruli and Lay Low.[21]

In 2008 Ellis moved to Cardiff, emerging as a frontman in his own right and calling his band Colorama. They released their Japan-only debut album Cookie Zoo on Noise McCartney in April 2008, and released their debut single Sound via Redbricks Recordings in July 2008.[22][23][24][25][26]

In 2009, Colorama announced that their double bass player, Ellis's best friend David Fletcher, had died at the age of 37 on 29 June, from a heart attack suffered in his sleep, just days after Colorama’s appearance at Glastonbury Festival.[27][28]

September 2009 saw the UK release of Colorama's album Magic Lantern Show on Redbricks Recordings, featuring songs in Welsh and English. Magic Lantern Show was enthusiastically received with extensive radio play on XFM, BBC 6 Music, BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio Wales, C2 and BBC Radio Cymru.[29]

Early in 2010, Ellis joined forces with Shane MacGowan, Nick Cave, Bobby Gillespie, Chrissie Hynde, Mick Jones, Glen Matlock, Paloma Faith, Cait O'Riordan, Johnny Depp, James and Robert Walbourne, to release a charity single covering the Screamin' Jay Hawkins hit I Put A Spell On You. All the proceeds from the single went to Concern Worldwide to provide assistance to the victims of the earthquake that devastated Haiti.[30]

In autumn 2010, Ellis released Colorama's third album BOX on Noise McCartney / Bad News Records (Victor Entertainment) in Japan and via See Monkey Do Monkey Recordings in UK.[31] Shortly afterwards, they released a Christmas single, Cerdyn Nadolig (Christmas Card), which garnered them the Welsh Christmas Number 1 on the BBC Radio Cymru chart.[32] BOX was also nominated for the inaugural Welsh Music Prize.[33]

Amid other projects, Ellis produced and arranged Italian artist Emma Tricca's album Minor White, which was released on Finders Keepers / Bird Records in the UK, and he worked with French artist Fabienne Delsol on her album ON MY MIND (Damaged Goods), also Dan Sartain's album Dan Sartain Lives (One Little Indian Records), The Keys' album - Fire Inside (See Monkey Do Monkey Recordings) and Edwyn Collins' album Losing Sleep (Heavenly Recordings). [34]

In October 2011, Colorama released Llyfr Lliwio (Colouring Book), which was their first predominantly Welsh-language collection. During this period Ellis was a member of Roddy Frame's touring band.

August 2012 saw their fifth album release - Good Music, produced by Edwyn Collins and Sebastian Lewsley, and released on Collins’s new AED Records label, followed by a 12-inch single, Hapus? (Happy?), on Aficionado Recordings in November 2012.[35][36][37]

In autumn 2012, Ellis toured Asia playing keyboards, guitar and percussion with the Pretenders.

In 2013, Ellis focused on studio work, recording with Edwyn Collins, Gemma Ray, Roddy Frame and in early 2014, Japanese artists Quruli. He also produced and arranged the second album, Relic for Emma Tricca, released by Finders Keepers / Bird Records in May 2014 and co-produced the first album by Nev Cottee, Stations (Roleplay Records). [38][39]

In 2014, Colorama released a new EP, Heaven's Hotel, a new album TEMARI, followed by a split single, Yn Rhydiau'r Afon / Forget Tomorrow with The Joy Formidable.[40]

A compilation of all of Ellis's Welsh songs as Colorama was released in November 2014, entitled Dere Mewn!, on his own, new Agati label.[41]

Ellis collaborated with Edwyn Collins and Seb Lewsley on the soundtrack to the film The Possibilities Are Endless, composing much of its original score, which opened in October 2014 to great critical success, winning the Mojo 'Film Of The Year' Award.[42]

February 2015 saw Ellis release his first album as Zarelli, Soft Rains on the Seriés Aphōnos label [43] – a mostly instrumental synthesizer record, featuring the voice of Leonard Nimoy reading the Ray Bradbury short story There Will Come Soft Rains.[44] Soft Rains received a nomination for the Welsh Music Prize 2015.[45]

In June 2015 the LP Red Kite by Sarah Cracknell of Saint Etienne was released, which was co-produced, co-written and arranged by Ellis.[46] A single, Nothing Left To Talk About (featuring Nicky Wire of Manic Street Preachers) reached Number 1 in the UK vinyl singles chart on its release.[47] A collection of instrumentals from the album, Kites, was released in September 2016, also on Cherry Red Records.[48]

Early in 2016, Ellis began presenting an ongoing weekly radio show, X Marks The Spot on Soho Radio in London.[49] He also presented a series called Antur Sonig on the welsh language station BBC Radio Cymru Mwy during the autumn of 2016.[50]

A Welsh language collaborative album, Bendith made by Carwyn Ellis with the folk trio, Plu was released on Ellis's Agati label in October 2016.,[51][52] followed by a five track EP which was released on the Aficionado Recordings label in February 2017.[53][54] A documentary film about the making of the album, Bendith: Yn Fyw O Acapela was broadcast on S4C in November 2016.[55] The Bendith album received a nomination for the inaugural Welsh Music Prize 2017 [56][57][58][59] and went on to win the Welsh Language Album Of The Year 2017 award at National Eisteddfod of Wales that same year.[60][61][62]

Ellis's collaboration with Sarah Cracknell continued into 2017 with the release of Saint Etienne's critically acclaimed Home Counties album which featured two songs co-written and co-produced by Ellis.[63] A single, Dive which was produced and co-written by Ellis was released in September 2017, and reached Number 1 in the UK vinyl singles chart on its release.[64][65][66]

He continued to work with Edwyn Collins through 2016 and early 2017 on new recordings, including a collaborative song, Fulmar released in August 2017 as part of the Avocet Revisited EP, commissioned by Earth Recordings as a companion piece to Bert Jansch's 1979 album, Avocet.[67]

In May 2017, Ellis resumed touring with The Pretenders, again playing keyboards, guitar and percussion.[68] In October 2017, a special edition version of their album ALONE which included a live bonus disc was released.[69]

Some Things Just Take Time, the first full-length Colorama release in 3 years, came out in September 2017 on the Wonderfulsound label, and showed the group taking a more acoustic, folk-influenced direction.[70] [71][72][73][74]

Discography

Studio albums

Colorama

Year Title Format Label
2017 Some Things Just Take Time Album WONDERFULSOUND
2015 #40 Mawr Radio Cymru Compilation Sain
2014 Dere Mewn! Album Agati
2014 TEMARI Album AED Records
2014 Heaven's Hotel EP AED Records
2013 Do the Pump Single AED Records
2012 HAPUS? Single Aficionado Recordings
2012 Good Music Album AED Records
2011 Llyfr Lliwio / Colouring Book Album See Monkey Do Monkey
2010 Cerdyn Nadolig / Christmas Card Single See Monkey Do Monkey
2010 BOX Album NOISE McCARTNEY / Bad News Records, See Monkey Do Monkey
2009 Magic Lantern Show Album Red Bricks Recordings
2009 The Music Sounds Better With Huw: Vol. 1 Compilation Wichita Recordings
2009 Mannequins Compilation Kartel
2008 Sound Single Red Bricks Recordings
2008 Cookie Zoo Album NOISE McCARTNEY / Bad News Records

Bendith

Year Title Format Label
2016 Bendith Album Agati

Zarelli

Year Title Format Label
2015 Soft Rains Album Seriés Aphōnos

Edwyn Collins & Carwyn Ellis

Year Title Format Label
2017 Avocet Revisited EP Earth Recordings

Edwyn Collins, Carwyn Ellis, Sebastian Lewsley

Year Title Format Label
2014 The Possibilities Are Endless Album AED Records

With The Pretenders

Year Title Format Label
2017 Alone / Alive Album BMG Rights Management

With Edwyn Collins

Year Title Format Label
2013 Understated Album AED Records
2010 Losing Sleep Album Heavenly Recordings
2010 Losing Sleep Single Heavenly Recordings
2010 Do It Again Single Heavenly Recordings
2008 Home Again Single Heavenly Recordings
2007 Home Again Album Heavenly Recordings

With Saint Etienne

Year Title Format Label
2017 Home Counties Album Heavenly Recordings
2017 Dive Single Heavenly Recordings

With Sarah Cracknell

Year Title Format Label
2016 Kites Album Cherry Red Records
2015 Red Kite Album Cherry Red Records
2015 Nothing Left To Talk About Single Cherry Red Records

With Tracyanne & Danny

Year Title Format Label
2018 Tracyanne & Danny Album Merge Records
2018 Baby's Got It Bad Single Merge Records

With Gemma Ray

Year Title Format Label
2016 The Exodus Suite Album Bronzerat Records
2014 Milk for Your Motors Album Bronzerat Records
2014 Death Disc Single Bronzerat Records

With Raf Rundell

Year Title Format Label
2018 Stop Lying Album 1965 Records

With Nev Cottee

Year Title Format Label
2015 Strange News from the Sun Album Wonderfulsound
2013 Stations Album Roleplay Records

With Emma Tricca

Year Title Format Label
2014 Relic Album Finders Keepers Records / Bird records
2010 Minor White Album EMI
2009 Minor White Album Finders Keepers Records / Bird records

With Quruli

Year Title Format Label
2014 THE PIER Album Victor Entertainment

With Roddy Frame

Year Title Format Label
2014 Seven Dials Album AED Records

With Shane MacGowan & Friends

Year Title Format Label
2010 I Put A Spell On You (Haiti Charity Single) MP3 IRL

With Dan Sartain

Year Title Format Label
2010 Dan Sartain Lives Album One Little Indian Records

With Fabienne Delsol

Year Title Format Label
2010 ON MY MIND Album Damaged Goods
2007 Between You And Me Album Damaged Goods
2006 The Best Of Fabienne Delsol & The Bristols Album Damaged Goods
2004 No Time For Sorrows Album Damaged Goods

With The Keys

Year Title Format Label
2010 Fire Inside Album See Monkey Do Monkey
2009 Christmas EP EP See Monkey Do Monkey
2009 Le Mans EP See Monkey Do Monkey

With Lay Low

Year Title Format Label
2009 Farewell Good Night's Sleep Album Nettwerk
2008 Farewell Good Night's Sleep Album Cod Music

With Pete Molinari

Year Title Format Label
2008 A Virtual Landslide Album Damaged Goods
2007 A Virtual Landslide Single Big Bertha Records

With James Hunter

Year Title Format Label
2006 People Gonna Talk Album Rounder Records

With Simon Scott

Year Title Format Label
2006 Rhythm Guitar, Shakers and Tambourines Album Diamond D Records

With Proud Mary

Year Title Format Label
2004 Love And Light Album Redemption

With John's Children

Year Title Format Label
2007 Steve Marriott Tribute [Box Set] - One More Time For The Old Tosser Album Wapping Wharf Records
2005 Steve Marriott Tribute [Box Set] - One More Time For The Old Tosser Album Wapping Wharf Records
2002 Mustn't Grumble - The Steve Marriott Memorial Concert 2001 Album Sanctuary Records

With North Mississippi Allstars

Year Title Format Label
2003 Polaris Album ATO Records
2001 Shimmy She Wobble EP Blanco Y Negro / Rough Trade Records

With Southern Fly

Year Title Format Label
2000 High Album London Records
2000 Maybe It's The Right Time Single London Records
1999 For Real EP London Records
1999 Monkey Talel Single London Records

With Unkle

Year Title Format Label
1999 The World Is Not Enough Single Radioactive, MCA Records

Remixes

Saint Etienne

Year Title Format Label
2017 Dive (Colorama & Shawn Lee Remix) - Saint Etienne Single Heavenly Recordings

John Stammers

Year Title Format Label
2017 Waiting Around (Colorama Colorific Remix) - John Stammers Single Wonderfulsound
2013 Idle I'm (Colorama Coloured In Remix) - John Stammers Single Wonderfulsound

AM & Shawn Lee

Year Title Format Label
2013 Two Times (Colorama Remix) - La Musique Numerique Album Park the Van

Soundtracks / scores

The Possibilities Are Endless

Year Title Format Label
2014 The Possibilities Are Endless Album AED Records

The World Is Not Enough

Year Title Format Label
1999 The World Is Not Enough Album Radioactive Records

References

  1. ↑ "Music - Colorama". BBC. Retrieved 2013-04-06.
  2. ↑ "Simple Minds & The Pretenders to perform GRANDSLAM 2018". Liz Hobbs Group.
  3. ↑ "clash music : Edwyn Collins x Carwyn Ellis - 'Fulmar'".
  4. ↑ "NME Best Music Film". nme.com.
  5. ↑ "Louder Than War : The Possibilities Are Endless: Music From the Film: Edwyn Collins & Carwyn Ellis". louderthanwar.com.
  6. ↑ "BRONZE RAT RECORDS : Zarelli is the alter-ego of Carwyn Ellis".
  7. ↑ "In Conversation with Carwyn Ellis".
  8. ↑ "MOJO - Watch A Cosmic Tribute To Star Trek's Leonard Nimoy". mojo4music.com.
  9. ↑ "MOJO - Watch A Cosmic Tribute To Star Trek's Leonard Nimoy". mojo4music.com.
  10. ↑ "Bucks Music Group :Carwyn Ellis - Welsh Language Album of the Year 2017".
  11. ↑ "Y Selar (Welsh language music magazine) : Interview : Carwyn Ellis yn cyfri Bendith-ion".
  12. ↑ "Welsh Music Prize Nominees 2015". welshmusicprize.com.
  13. ↑ "Welsh Welsh Music Prize 2017 shortlist announced including Gruff Rhys, Bendith, Georgia Ruth". Getintothis.
  14. ↑ "Welsh Music Prize 2017 Shortlist Announced". Wales Art Review.
  15. ↑ "Welsh Welsh Music Prize Nominees 2016-2017". SWN.
  16. ↑ "Bucks Music Group :Carwyn Ellis - Welsh Language Album of the Year 2017".
  17. ↑ "Bendith win the Welsh Language Album of the Year Award".
  18. ↑ "BBC Cymru Fyw : Bendith yn ennill Tlws Albwm y Flwyddyn".
  19. ↑ "SOHO RADIO : Carwyn Ellis - X Marks The Spot".
  20. ↑ "The changing man - Carwyn Ellis".
  21. ↑ "Playlists with Colorama".
  22. ↑ "Cd Journal : Cookie Zoo".
  23. ↑ "Tower Records Japan :Go!Go!NOISE McCARTNEY RECORDS - Cookie Zoo".
  24. ↑ "An ode to the joy and madness of the B-side".
  25. ↑ "BESIDE THE B-SIDE Colorama: 'Turnham Green'".
  26. ↑ "Commuter Love: Colorama's Turnham Green and the romance of the suburban tube station".
  27. ↑ "Colorama's Dave Fletcher has died". Band Weblogs. 6 July 2009. Archived from the original on 10 July 2009. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  28. ↑ "The David Fletcher Memorial Fund". davidfletchermemorialfund.co.uk.
  29. ↑ "Colorama at last.fm". last fm.
  30. ↑ "The changing man - Carwyn Ellis".
  31. ↑ "Interview – Colorama". Themmp.tv. Archived from the original on 30 August 2011.
  32. ↑ "BBC Cymru - C2". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-08-08.
  33. ↑ "Welsh Music Prize Nominees 2010-2011". welshmusicprize.com. Retrieved 2011-08-08.
  34. ↑ "SOUND ON SOUND: Interview: Edwyn Collins: Recording Losing Sleep".
  35. ↑ "eMusic : Colorama, Good Music".
  36. ↑ "Louder Than War : Colorama - Good Music".
  37. ↑ "Phonica Records-HAPUS? COLORAMA AFICIONADO RECORDINGS".
  38. ↑ "Finders Keepers : Relic".
  39. ↑ "The Fabulous Times : Album of the month : Stations".
  40. ↑ "The Nearest Faraway Place : Sean Rowley : New Release : Colorama – Heaven's Hotel".
  41. ↑ "Sound of Brit: Review : Colorama – Dere Mewn".
  42. ↑ "NME Best Music Film". nme.com.
  43. ↑ Seriés Aphōnos Archived 9 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine.
  44. ↑ "MOJO - Watch A Cosmic Tribute To Star Trek's Leonard Nimoy". mojo4music.com.
  45. ↑ "Welsh Music Prize Nominees 2015". welshmusicprize.com.
  46. ↑ "Pitchfork : Saint Etienne's Sarah Cracknell Announces New Album Red Kite'".
  47. ↑ "Official Vinyl Singles Chart Top 40".
  48. ↑ "Albumism : Sarah Cracknell Announces New Limited Edition Mini-Album 'Kites'".
  49. ↑ "SOHO RADIO : Carwyn Ellis - X Marks The Spot".
  50. ↑ "BBC Radio Cymru Mwy: Llais: Carwyn Ellis".
  51. ↑ "Introducing: Bendith". www.getintothis.co.uk/.
  52. ↑ "From the Margins: Review : Bendith".
  53. ↑ "Ban Ban Ton Ton: Review : Bendith".
  54. ↑ "From the Margins: Review : Bendith : EP".
  55. ↑ "BBC iPlayer: Bendith : Yn Fyw O Acapela".
  56. ↑ "Welsh Music Prize Nominees 2015". welshmusicprize.com.
  57. ↑ "Welsh Welsh Music Prize 2017 shortlist announced including Gruff Rhys, Bendith, Georgia Ruth". Getintothis.
  58. ↑ "Welsh Music Prize 2017 Shortlist Announced". Wales Art Review.
  59. ↑ "Welsh Welsh Music Prize Nominees 2016-2017". SWN.
  60. ↑ "Bucks Music Group :Carwyn Ellis - Welsh Language Album of the Year 2017".
  61. ↑ "Bendith win the Welsh Language Album of the Year Award".
  62. ↑ "BBC Cymru Fyw : Bendith yn ennill Tlws Albwm y Flwyddyn".
  63. ↑ "billboard : Saint Etienne Returns with 'Home Counties'".
  64. ↑ "Brooklyn Vegan : Saint Etienne announce 'Dive' EPs".
  65. ↑ "Saint Etienne - Dive - EP".
  66. ↑ "Official Vinyl Singles Chart Top 40".
  67. ↑ "Earth Recordings : Avocet Revisited : Fulmar".
  68. ↑ "Highlights of The Pretenders' set at Glastonbury 2017".
  69. ↑ "Pretenders – Alone / Alive".
  70. ↑ "WONDERFULSOUND : Colorama - September".
  71. ↑ "From The Margins : Review : Some Things Just Take Time".
  72. ↑ "music won't save you : Review : Some Things Just Take Time".
  73. ↑ "Getintothis : Interviews : Carwyn Ellis talks new Colorama album Some Things Just Take Time, songwriting, and Wales".
  74. ↑ "El País : Live Reviews : Las cristalinas canciones del galés Carwyn Ellis propician una de las noches más hermosas en la vida del Café Berlín".
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.