Huw Warren/Lleuwen Steffan
Duw A Wyr (God Only Knows)
BDV 2558

Duw A Wyr (God Only Knows) brings together rising star vocalist Lleuwen Steffan with pianist Huw Warren and saxophonist Mark Lockheart in compelling new arrangements of some of the most beautiful Welsh hymns.

1. Ebeneser (Love Like The Oceans) mp3
2. Durrow (Christ's Beauty)
3. In Y Glyn / Maracesh (In The Valley)
4. Gwahoddiad (An Invitation From Christ) mp3
5. Bryniau Cassia (Hills Of Cassia)
6. Duw A Wyr (God Only Knows)
7. Pen Calfaria (On Calvary Ridge)
8. Henryd / Rhiwlas (A Prayer For God's Presence)
9. Mil Harddach (A Thousand Times More Beautiful) mp3

"an exquisite little gem...(think a low key 'Oficium'). His [Warren's] unflashy piano comping reminds you of Keith Jarrett's modal meditations while Mark Lockheart's delicate sax intrusions are very Jan Garbarek. But the real star in this collaboration is singer Lleuwen Steffan, whose bleak, folksy voice suggests an ECM-reared Sinead O'Connor."
(John Lewis Time Out) ****
Click here to read review in full

“…the most unusual, strangely beautiful album that you're likely to hear not only this year but the next.” ****
(Stuart Nicholson – Observer Music Monthly) **** To read review in full click here

"Duw a Wyr is a leading example in a genre of one: jazz reinterpretations of 19th-century Welsh hymn tunes. The artwork is monochrome pictures of cemetery statuary and sheep on rocky hillsides, and this fits the mood of the music alarmingly well. But Lleuwen Steffan's clear voice makes a good argument for the hymns as lost masterpieces, and Huw Warren and Mark Lockheart lend her a stern backing. Think of this as the lost link between June Tabor and Jan Garbarek: in a just world, it would sell as well as Officium". - David Honigmann Financial Times    

The hymns of the Welsh religious revival are brought alive for the 21 st century

The project began when Lleuwen came across an old hymn book in her Nain's (grandmother's) attic and realised she had discovered a treasure trove. She was immediately captivated by passionate songs about grace kissing a guilty world, about forgiveness and about tears turning into a well of peace – and, of course, by their wonderful melodies. The album includes hymns written by Gwilym Hiraethog, Thomas John Williams, Ieuan Gwyllt, Ann Griffiths and others.

It was Oliver Weindling at The Babel Label who suggested she approach acclaimed Welsh pianist Huw Warren - winner of the award for Innovation at this year's BBC Jazz Awards - to collaborate on the project. The two musicians worked together in order to reinterpret the hymns and bring them into the 21 st century. The sound is completed on this album by saxophonist Mark Lockheart. Also included is ‘God Only Knows'; a duet between Huw Warren & Mark Lockheart written especially for the album.

When choosing the hymns, Lleuwen realised that she was particularly drawn to those that were popular during the Welsh 1904-05 religious revival. The movement began when Evan Roberts, originally a miner from South Wales , broke off from his theological studies after being inspired to spread the Word Of God. A follower of the Calvinistic Methodist tradition, Roberts was not a minister or a preacher, but thousands crowded into chapels across Wales to hear his words of inspiration. As a result of this religious revival Welsh hymns were brought to the masses.

Lleuwen hopes that this album will bring the hymns alive again and give the Welsh another reason to feel proud of their heritage and culture. “Some of these hymns have always been familiar to me,” says Lleuwen. “They are deeply engraved in my memory although I can't remember ever trying to learn them. They have always been there in my life like some old, distant relative. Recently though, it dawned on me that I had never really felt them. Sometimes, we fail to see the beauty in the faces of those closest to us. I think that's what has happened to the old Welsh hymns. All of life's mysteries are within these hymns.”

The accompanying sleeve notes include new translations of the hymns by Iwan Llwyd, a crowned bard of Wales .

Lleuwen Steffan - Llias / Voice

Lleuwen Steffan hails from the Welsh speaking heartlands of North Wales - a culture in which music and especially singing are highly prized. Her early vocal training was classical, but as a child she discovered Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald in her musician father's record collection. These early influences - along with the music of Joni Mitchell, James Taylor and Bob Dylan - have taken deep root in her soul. In 1998, aged 17, she released her first single, her own song, ‘Draw Dros yr Afon' which has had extensive airplay in Wales . Her love for music then took her to Central College , USA where she studied jazz. She soon realized that she wanted more than a purely academic approach; she formed a band and spent all her nights singing at the Blues En Grand, Des Moines . Lleuwen has released one album with her band Acoustique , which also features Jochen Eisentraut (piano) and Owen Evans (double bass), on which they perform their own songs in a variety of languages as well as a selection of Lleuwen's favourite tunes. One thing's for sure, whether it's a hymn, a Bob Dylan song or a standard, when Lleuwen sings, it sounds like she's giving away her whole soul! She makes each song breathe with longing, or hiraeth as the Welsh call it.

Huw Warren - Piano, Accordian & Percussion

Huw Warren is one of the most original voices on the current new music scene. As a composer and multi instrumentalist, his work is difficult to categorise, finding fans and admirers in the worlds of Jazz, New Music and World Music. Born in Swansea in 1962, he studied piano and cello; and first worked as a teenager playing Hammond Organ in the Working Men's Clubs of South Wales. Having discovered jazz by chance from radio broadcasts, Huw also became interested in the English experimental music scene after studying with John Tilbury in London from 1980-83. Huw performed regularly with seminal 80's big band Loose Tubes, and has collaborated with English singer June Tabor for over a decade; touring extensively with her as pianist/arranger and recording several CDs. In 1989 he co-founded the award-winning ensemble Perfect Houseplants (with Mark Lockheart, Dudley Phillips and Martin France). Huw has also worked with Kenny Wheeler, Billy Bragg, Steve Arguelles, Julian Arguelles, Billy Jenkins, Christine Tobin, Eddi Reader and African guitarist Mose Se “Fan-Fan”. Huw has released three albums on the Babel Label 1997's “A Barrel Organ Far from Home”, was a suite of pieces for a nine-piece ensemble, based on early photographs by English photographer John Topham; 2001 saw the release of his critically acclaimed solo CD "Infinite Riches in a Little Room"; and 2004 saw the release of “100's of Things a boy can make ” , a collaboration with US violinist Mark Feldman and Austrian bassist Peter Herbert. Huw won the coveted award for Innovation at the 2005 BBC Jazz Awards.

Mark Lockheart - Saxophones, Bass Clarinet

Mark Lockheart is one of the most distinctive and creative musicians on the current British music scene. He came to prominence in the mid 1980s as a founder member with the influential and radical big band Loose Tubes and co-founded the eclectic Perfect Houseplants with Huw Warren, Dudley Phillips and Martin France in 1992. Mark toured extensively with Django Bates' Delightful Precipice in the mid to late 90's and also recorded with jazz, folk and pop artists June Tabor, Billy Jenkins, Stereolab, Jah Wobble, Robert Wyatt, Prefab Sprout, Don Um Romao, Thomas Dolby, Anja Garbarek and Radiohead. He has recorded two albums with his semi-orchestral 11-piece group the Scratch Band – 1998's Through Rose-Coloured Glasses and 2002's Imaginary Dances . Mark currently performs regularly with Polar Bear – whose album Held On The Tips Of Fingers has been shortlisted for this year's Nationwide Mercury Prize. This autumn sees the release of Moving Air (released in Oct on Basho records), Mark's first solo album for over three years and featuring guitarist John Parricelli, drummer Martin France & bassist Dudley Phillips, a major UK Arts Council tour (entitled Big Idea) to promote the album will take place during Sept/Oct.