Y Dydd Olaf (album)

Y Dydd Olaf
Studio album by Gwenno
Released 27 October 2014 (Peski)
24 July 2015 (Heavenly)
Genre Electro-pop
Length 43:12
Language Welsh
Cornish
Label Peski Records (limited release)
Heavenly Recordings
Producer Rhys Edwards
Gwenno chronology
Y Dydd Olaf
(2014)		 Le Kov
(2018)
Singles from Y Dydd Olaf
  1. "Fratolish Hiang Perpeshki (Tim Gane Remix)"

Y Dydd Olaf is the first solo album by Welsh singer-songwriter Gwenno. It was her third solo release after two previous EPs.

Background

The album was initially released on a small scale by the independent Peski Records label in October 2014 and sold out completely. It was re-released worldwide in 2015 by Heavenly Recordings.[1] The album was an attempt by Gwenno to combine her political views with sounds she loves and was inspired in part by a dystopian science fiction book of the same name by Owain Owain which was released in 1976. Since the album was released, permission for an English translation of Owain's book was granted, 40 years after it was first published in Welsh. The album is sung predominantly in Welsh with the final track, Amser, being a musical rendition of a Cornish poem by her father, Tim Saunders. Gwenno has said she used the book's title as it had inspired her to return to singing in her first language.[2]

The album began as a collection of recordings of everyday sounds Gwenno had collected over a number of years, including field recordings in Cardiff Bay. She sampled these sounds to create rhythm tracks and built the songs up from there, saying she "really wanted to get to the bottom of the idea of creating a soundscape before coming up with any sort of song" and has said she aims to use "less music to make more".[3]

Reception

Professional ratings
Ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Clash magazine[5]
The Financial Times[6]
Drowned In Sound[7]
Mojo[8]
Now Magazine[1]
Q[8]
Uncut[8]
The Guardian[9]

The album received critical acclaim and won the Welsh Music Prize and the Welsh-language album of the Year in 2015. It was also chosen by readers of Y Selar, a Welsh music magazine, as the 4th best album of 2014,[10] and by Allmusic as one of the best Indie Records of 2015.[11] London's Loud and Quiet called it the second best album of 2015.[12]

Track listing

Source:[13]
All tracks written by Gwenno.

No.TitleEnglish TranslationLength
1."Chwyldro"Revolution5:18
2."Patriarchaeth"Patriarchy3:29
3."Calon Peiriant"Heart of the machine5:08
4."Sisial Y Môr"The whispering sea5:41
5."Dawns Y Blaned Dirion"Dance of the True Planet1:30
6."Golau Arall"Another Light3:31
7."Stwff"Stuff4:59
8."Y Dydd Olaf"The Last Day4:15
9."Fratolish Hiang Perpeshki"Fratolish Hiang Perpeshki4:37
10."Amser"Time4:44

Release history

Country Date Label
Wales 27 October 2014 Peski Records
Worldwide 24 July 2015 Heavenly Recordings

References

  1. 1 2 "Gwenno". nme.com. Time (Inc.) U.K. 10 May 2015.
  2. ↑ "Interview: Gwenno". www.tyci.org.uk.
  3. ↑ "Escape Velocity - Sense Of Emergency: Gwenno Interviewed". The Quietus.
  4. ↑ "Y Dydd Olaf - Gwenno - Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic.
  5. ↑ "Gwenno - Y Dydd Olaf". www.clashmusic.com.
  6. ↑ "(Subscription required)". Financial Times.
  7. ↑ "Album Review: Gwenno - Y Dydd Olaf". drownedinsound.com.
  8. 1 2 3 "Y Dydd Olaf by Gwenno". www.metacritic.com.
  9. ↑ Empire, Kitty (7 August 2016). "Gwenno review – diversity for the ear". the Guardian.
  10. ↑ "Y Selar Mawrth15". issuu.com.
  11. ↑ "Favorite Indie Pop and Indie Rock Albums - AllMusic 2015 in Review". AllMusic.
  12. ↑ "Loud and Quiet's Best Albums of 2015".
  13. ↑ "Y Dydd Olaf de Gwenno en Apple Music". 24 July 2015.
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