I know that one our European travels we have often sampled the music of Scotland and Ireland but less frequently the sounds of Wales, so today we are going to correct this imbalance. Calan are a five-piece revivalist traditional Welsh band formed by their manager Huw Williams in early 2006 when its members were only 13 to 22 years old. Calan are: Bethan Rhiannon (accordion, vocals, clog dancing); Patrick Rimes (fiddle, Welsh bagpipes); Angharad Jenkins (fiddle); Sam Humphreys (guitar); and Shelley Musker-Turner (harp). In 2008, they created great excitement at the Inter Celtic Festival where they would eventually be the first Welsh band to win the coveted international band competition.
The inspiration for the band’s name dates back to their early days as street musicians when someone happened to photograph them in front of a sign for a construction company called “Calan,” which is term that means the beginning of something new or a fresh start. Calan is considered a “M4 Corridor band.” Its members, who are from Cardiff, Swansea, and Cwmbran, met each other through the region’s music scene. They played together on a monthly basis, and kept in touch even after they all went off to university, eventually coming back together to form the band.
After their debut album Bling in 2008, Calan played at progressively more impressive venues, including the Cambridge Festival, Glasgow’s Celtic Connections, and festivals at Shrewsbury and Whitby. They have toured in the US, Canada, Belgium, Italy, and France. They were invited to perform alongside Bryn Terfel and Sting at the Royal Albert Hall, London as part of Bryn Terfel’s 50th birthday party.
One of their most popular songs is Kan. A patriotic song about the future of the Welsh language and culture. Sampled voice of Nigel Jenkins, poet and Angharad’s father, reading an extract of his poem, ‘The Creation.’ The full poem appears in Ambush, a collection of his poems, published by Gomer Press, 1998. The recording was made by Neil Beer. The chorus of this song is based on the style of traditional psalm chanting popular in west Wales at one time.
During their performances, Calan sings in both Welsh and English. Rimes says, “We believe music travels, which is why we make the effort to sing bilingually, keeping the old Welsh songs alive and singing in English to be more accessible.” “From the beginning, we made it our mission statement that we wanted to preserve Welsh music for those who might not otherwise hear it: Welsh is a very poetic language and people appreciate that over being able to understand every word.” Their fourth album, Solomon (Sain Records), is a collection of songs based on Celtic Wales folklore, sung in both English and the band’s native Welsh.
Folk Wales magazine calls Calan “A storming juggernaut of cool-Cymru-with-attitude power-folk with a jaw-dropping repertoire…you can’t help but marvel at their astounding musicianship.” While the respected American quarterly music review Magnet adds: “Calan (are) a new generation of ambassadors…raising the international profile of traditional Welsh music.”
Apparition is an original song based on some entries in the diary of Edmund Jones speaking about the fairy realm in south Wales. There were many stories and legends involving the activities of fairies during the 17th and 18th century. When the coal and iron making industry came to Wales it believed the fairies disappeared-they don’t like iron or metal of any kind. Now the industry is gone and the fields are green again. Some say the fair folk will return. The band have so far released six albums (Bling, Jonah, Dinas, Solomon, Deg and A Calan Christmas in Wales) plus the EP Giggly. Their sixth album is called Kistvaen which is an old Welsh word for a tomb. And that’s kind of what they do-excavate tombs, find old tunes and bring them back to life for the 21st century.
