Ni A Nhw

The unassuming genius that is Carwyn Ellis offers a selection of his wonderful songs and tunes on his album Ni A Nhw. Released on Cardiff-based label Bubblewrap Collective, the tracks span a decade, representing his various guises; as Colorama, his collaboration with Bendith, as Rio 18 or as himself. Some tracks will already be familiar to listeners of BBC Radio Cymru, such as ‘Ti’, and ‘Llythr y Glowr’. Others have previously been unavailable to stream, and there are three beautiful covers ‘Gorffennaf’, ‘Hwiangerdd Takeda’ and ‘Cân am Gariad’.

Ellis is a master of tunes, an accomplished instrumentalist, prolific as a singer, songwriter, collaborator, producer and arranger. ‘Ti’ is a heartfelt declaration of love, sung in his native Welsh, with complex chord changes that carry you through the song on an immersive journey. Nature is also an obvious muse for Ellis in ‘Drudwen’ (Starling) and one can imagine blissing out on a beach to the Begin remix of ‘Hapus?’. We could all do with a relaxing escape from daily strife now and again, and this collection of songs certainly delivers that. You will be searching for Ellis’ back catalogue in no time.