https://plantduw.bandcamp.com/track/heddiw

Dear friends
This is our new song ‘Heddiw’ (meaning, ‘Today’), which is released digitally on our bandcamp website and available to download or stream, hopefully by now, on Spotify Amazon music and everywhere else in the world, so that you can listen to it on every gadget that you may wish to. Apart from a CD player. Yes, unfortunately, ‘Heddiw’ will not be available on CD. After I spent a drunken night on red wine painting my crazed imagination onto canvas for the artwork as well!

The reality is, there isn’t much money (if any at all) in single CDs anymore (especially for bands like us, that are less than part time) and it looks as if albums are going this way too. A crying shame! For people like us who love music, this is a little sad.
Oh well! Nevermind about yesterday, or tomorrow! Today is what’s important!

This is a track that I wrote for the most part, in Bristol. I say for the most part because these days I spend a lot of my time going from one place to another on a bike. I’m either commuting to my work in Newport or on a little journey someplace, and I find that when on the bike, a lot of melodies and musical ideas enter my mind. Interesting.

I can’t say where exactly the inspiration for the song came but there is certainly a strong disco theme here. Recently, myself and Conor have been listening to a lot of William Onyeabar’s music (if you haven’t heard of him, check him out because he was a master https://vimeo.com/85977930), which has a crude but super cool and unique sort of African funk and disco style and over the last couple of years, I have been listening to 80s soul and rnb (rather than traditional soul such as Motown and Stax). – I have Seán to thank for that; a walking cultural Encyclopaedia! One of my favourite things to do with Seán whilst listening to music is to clap to the beat of a song, so we had to include handclaps for this song.

Additionally, I have a lot interest in electronic music, which explains the use of the synth and the drum machine; something I wouldn’t have guessed that Plant Duw would have used whilst I was thrashing myself to ‘Talach Na Iesu’ in the early days. It is a testament to Myfyr’s drumming that he can combine his sound with a machine so seamlessly. Maybe he is a computer?

A note about the words of the song: sometimes I practice ‘mindfulness’, because every once in a while, I experience bad anxiety, so I think part of the song is me telling myself not to worry so much about the past or the guture and to live in the present. I must admit that the ‘Hey Nonny Nos’ in the second verse is something I originally came up with just to annoy Elidir! – The rest of the associated words conveniently came into my head otherwise.

Also, a small word to say thanks to Sam Durrant of Stiwdio Un, Rachub. As usual, he worked his magic to enhance our ambitious effort and I must say, I learn so much about music by being in the same room as him.

But once again, we as a band did not get the chance to be in the same room as part of the recording process. I went across to Cardiff to do the bass with Elidir (thanks for the warm welcome Delyth and Magi!), Seán recorded his lead vocals (for the first time for Plant Duw – happy Mam?) by himself and Conor recorded the lead guitar at his house in the shadows of the Clwydian Hills amongst his young kids.

Unfortunately for us, the chances to practice and to play together are becoming even less frequent as time passes on. Not to say that we don’t enjoy plating. If you come over to the Eisteddfod on Saturday, we are playing three gigs in one day!

Yes, this is how it is for Plant Duw.

Who knows for how long it will carry on like this.

For a while it appears that we have disappeared completely and then out of nowhere, Pop! We are here! Back for another taste of the honey.

Enjoy and dance with us in the moment!
Soul, Punk and Love.
Rhys
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