Bywyd Gwyn

Yes, we are all familiar with ‘Y Bandana’ and have been since they were a bunch of 14 year old school kids, and they have guided us through the inimitable days of the teenage years. Their first album, ‘Y Bandana’, was an insight of the minds of a group of young boys – the story of the character Mr Pei, the smelly guy in school, Sali Mali – they have created unforgettable anthems for each one. All of the members are uniquely vivacious, and they perform with electricity running through their blood, they’ve won the ‘Song of the Year’ at the Selar Awards 3 years in a row. They capture their audience’ attention with their catchy songs, wether it’s at Caernarfon or all the way down at Cardiff. If you thought that Y Bandana could only express enthusiasm and youth through their songs, this second album, ‘Bywyd Gwyn’ proves that they can channel the same energy but through other themes and topics. The boys are grown-ups. They’ve been introduced to bars and beer gardens and they’ve learned how to pay the price the morning after. They’ve experienced the true meaning of freedom. Also they’ve managed to catch the girl’s eye at the bar, gained her as a girlfriend, but have ended under her thumb. ‘Bywyd Gwyn’ was produced by Mei Gwynedd over the last year; a year which saw Y Bandana’s sound change dramatically, experimented with brass instruments, and also the use of acoustic guitar is heard. They began by recording the popular single ‘Heno yn yr Anglesey’ and ‘Geiban’; both these songs won their place on the album. We here a vague echo of the raw sound of Y Trwynau Coch in ‘Byth yn Gadael y Tŷ’, and one of their latest songs, ‘Gwyn ein Byd’, has a more relaxed vibe, and they played around with this title to come up with the name ‘Bywyd Gwyn’ for the album. Y Bandana will be on tour for two weeks to promote this album with Sen Segur and Bromas, and they will begin at Tafarn y Gwachael on the 13th of July.