Cerddoriaeth iaith Cymraeg / Cymraeg language music

[Saesneg / English]

Pan ddarganfu y DJ o Fanceinion Andy Votel llwyth o hen recordiau feinyl estron mewn siop ail law ym Manceinion, fe dybiodd eu bod yn dod o Twrci neu rywle felna. Ond na – roedd Andy wedi dod o hyd i lwyth o recordiau Cymraeg…

Doedd ganddo ddim syniad fod ‘na iaith a diwylliant hollol gwahanol yn bodoli dim ond 50 milltir i ffwrdd, wedi’i cuddio ac yn anweledig i’r holl fyd.

Roedd y recordiau ar label o’r enw Sain – label a dechreuwyd yn 1969 gan ddau gantor ifanc gwleidyddol, Dafydd Iwan a Huw Jones. Roedden nhw wedi cael eu ysbrodoli, yn ranol gan symudiad hawliau pobol Du yn yr UDA, i cymryd rheolaeth o’r broses cynhyrchu. Dosbarthwyd eu recordiau gan dyn mewn fan i’r rhwydwaith o Siopau Cymraeg oedd yn ymddangos a tyfu tua’r un amser.

Yn ystod y 1970au a’r 80au, ymddangosodd artistiaid alt-roc Cymraeg arloesol fel Geraint Jarman, a gyfunodd roc a reggae dros chwe albwm digymar rhwng 76 a 81, a Maffia Mr Huws o Fethesda, bu’n denu miloedd i’w gigs.

Yn y 1980au a’r 90au daeth labeli newydd i’r amlwg, yn bennaf yn eu plith Ankst, a ryddhaodd nifer fawr o recordiau diddorol o bob blas, o hip-hop Cymraeg i indie i ganwyr-gyfansoddwyr i gerddoriaeth electronig. Y Cyrff, Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci, Datblygu yw dim ond rhai o’r enwau a ddaeth i’r amlwg o’r cyfnod hwn.

Yn eu tro mae’r artistiaid a’r bandiau hyn yn dylanwadu ac yn cydweithio â chenhedlaeth newydd o gerddorion sy’n gwthio ffiniau. Mae ‘Tyrchu Sain’ gan Don Leisure (enillydd Gwobr Gerddoriaeth Cymru 2025) yn samplo hen gatalog Sain ac yn cynnwys ymddangosiad gan Gruff Rhys o’r Super Furry Animals; mae Pat Morgan o Datblygu yn dal i weithio gyda cherddorion iau, gan gynnwys gyda Gwenno yn y band byrfyfyr Canolfan Hamdden; ac mae Adwaith yn sianelu ysbryd roc amgen a phop Ankst y 90au.

Y tu hwnt i’r artistiaid a’r bandiau Cymraeg creadigol, arbrofol hyn sy’n gwthio’r ffiniau, mae yna hefyd sînau canol y ffordd, pop a gwerin cryf.

When Manchester DJ Andy Votel came across a load of old exotic foreign records in a second hand shop in Manchester, he assumed they must have been singing in Turkish or something. But no – in fact, Andy had picked up a load of Cymraeg language records!

He had no idea that barely 50 miles away an entirely separate language and culture existed, hidden away and to all extents invisible to the outside world.

The records were on a label called Sain – a label that was started in 1969 by two young political singers, Dafydd Iwan and Huw Jones. They had been inspired, partly by the Black civil rights movement in the USA, to take control of the means of production. Their records were distributed by a man in a van to the network of Siopau Cymraeg (Welsh shops) that was emerging and growing at around the same time.

During the 1970s and 80s pioneering Cymraeg alt rock emerged in the form of artists such as Geraint Jarman, who combined rock and reggae over six peerless albums from 76-81, and Maffia Mr Huws from Bethesda who attracted thousands to their gigs.

In the 1980s and 90s new labels emerged, foremost amongst them Ankst, who released a huge number of fascinating records of all flavours, from Cymraeg language hip-hop to indie to singer-songwriters to electronic music. Y Cyrff, Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci, Datblygu are just some of the names that emerged from this era.

These artists and bands in turn are influencing and collaborating with a new generation of boundary-pushing musicians. Don Leisure’s ‘Tyrchu Sain’ (winner of the 2025 Welsh Music Prize) samples Sain’s back-catalogue and features an appearance by Gruff Rhys of the Super Furry Animals; Pat Morgan of Datblygu continues to work with younger musicians including with Gwenno in the improvisational band Canolfan Hamdden; and Adwaith channel the spirit of 90s Ankst alt-rock and pop.

Beyond these creative, experimental, boundary-pushing Cymraeg artists and bands there are also strong middle-of-the-road, pop and folk scenes.