Le Kov

Le Kov
Studio album by Gwenno
Released 2 March 2018
Genre Electropop
Language Cornish
Label Heavenly Recordings
Producer Rhys Edwards
Gwenno chronology
Y Dydd Olaf
(2015)		 Le Kov
(2018)
Singles from Le Kov
  1. "Tir Ha Mor"
    Released: 15 January 2018

Le Kov ("a place of memory" in Cornish[1]) is the second studio album by Welsh singer-songwriter Gwenno. It was released on 2 March 2018[2][3] on Heavenly Recordings. The first single from the album is "Tir ha mor (Land and sea)". Heavenly Recordings claim Gwenno felt a duty to make her second album entirely in Cornish as a record of the living language.[4]

The songs on Le Kov are written and composed by Gwenno Saunders with help from Rhys Edwards, and features guest vocalist Gruff Rhys on the song "Daromres Y'n Howl".[3] The album also features drum engineering by Gorwel Owen. Gorwel Owen and Gruff Rhys are both members of Super Furry Animals.[1]

Background

Gwenno Saunders grew up in a Cornish speaking family, with her father Tim Saunders writing Cornish poetry. Regarding her upbringing, she noted: "It was like living in a sort of cult of four people, in Riverside in Cardiff. I had no idea about popular culture. Years later, I said to my mum, 'Why didn’t you tell me about David Bowie or people like that?’ And she said that it was all just around, that I was always going to find out about that stuff myself. But it was really annoying for a while, because I’d meet people and have no idea what they were talking about – you know, ‘Who are Pavement?’”[5]

Gwenno was also, in part, inspired to record Le Kov due to a decision by the British government to cut funding towards the Cornish language in 2016: "There’s that argument that I think is really stupid: why do you have to learn Cornish or Welsh, why don’t you learn Mandarin? It’s like everything you do has to have monetary value. I think you have to find the non-monetary value in things.”[5]

Reception

Critical reception

Le Kov received moderately positive reviews. Will Hodgkinson of The Times gave the album three out of five stars.[6] Helia Phoenix of Caught by the River praised the album, and linked Le Kov with the world's displaced people,[7] who are forced to abandon their language and culture. Phoenix described the album's music as "psychedelic" and compared Gwenno to Boards of Canada and Jane Birkin.[7] Michael Hann of The Guardian was also positive, giving Le Kov four out of five stars.[8] Hann was dismissive towards Gwenno's Cornish language, but praised the music: "It’s the melodies that will keep people coming back: purposeful and direct, but deliciously blurry, reminiscent of Broadcast in their creation of a psychedelia that looks backwards and forwards simultaneously."[8] The album has been nominated in the 2018, AIM Independent Music Awards for 'Best Sophomore Release'[9]

Charts

Chart (2018) Peak
position
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[10] 13
Scottish Albums (OCC)[11] 98
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[12]
The Guardian[13]
The Times[14]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Hi A Skoellyas Liv A Dhagrow"5:35
2."Tir Ha Mor"4:10
3."Herdhya"2:49
4."Eus Keus?"5:00
5."Jynn-amontya"5:50
6."Den Heb Taves"6:22
7."Daromres Y'n Howl"3:17
8."Aremorika"3:11
9."Hunros"2:32
10."Koweth Ker"5:42

References

  1. 1 2 "NEW ALBUM ANNOUNCEMENT: Gwenno 'Le Kov'". heavenlyrecordings.com. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  2. ↑ "Gwenno – Le Kov". Heavenly Emporium. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  3. 1 2 "Le Kov - Gwenno | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 2018-03-06.
  4. ↑ "New Album Announcement: Gwenno 'Le Kov'". Heavenlyrecordings.com. 22 November 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  5. 1 2 Petridis, Alexis. "How an ex-Vegas dancer made the first Cornish-language psych-pop album". theguardian.com. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  6. ↑ Hodgkinson, Will (2018-03-02). "Pop review: Gwenno: Le Kov". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2018-03-24.
  7. 1 2 "Le Kov | Caught by the River | Caught by the River". www.caughtbytheriver.net. Retrieved 2018-03-24.
  8. 1 2 Hann, Michael (2018-03-02). "Gwenno: Le Kov review – Cornish identity in full-colour psychedelia". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-03-24.
  9. ↑ http://www.propermusicgroup.com/2018/08/aim-independent-music-awards-2018-nominees-announced/
  10. ↑ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  11. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  12. ↑ Sendra, Tim (March 2018). "Le Kov - Gwenno".
  13. ↑ Hann, Michael (March 2018). "Gwenno: Le Kov review". The Guardian.
  14. ↑ Hodgkinson, Will (March 2018). "Pop review: Gwenno: Le Kov". The Times.
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