Ynys

Saturday 19 October, 9:00 pm
Teatro Nuovo Giovanni da Udine


YNYS (Wales)
Hailing from Aberystwyth on the west coast of Wales, Ynys juxtapose melancholy harmonies and layers of vintage 70s/80s effects with rare sensitivity. This quintet’s skillful sonic palette tinges with psychedelia a handful of ingenious pop songs born from the mind of producer and arranger Dylan Hughes. Their self-titled debut album has been hailed as one of the most exciting debuts to come out of Wales in recent years.

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INTERVIEW WITH YNYS:

What is an untranslatable phrase, an expression or a word in your language that you love? And why?  
Hwyl – It means fun/good times by also goodbye.

What are 2 adjectives you would use to describe your language? Why did you choose them? 
Poetic – Welsh has a close relationship with Poetry, Music and the Arts. As a Music fan, we are lucky to have hundreds of artists and bands producing great and varied work in Welsh.

Fun – It’s important that everyone feels that that Welsh belongs to them, whether they are fluent or know just a few words. For me, it’s a fun language.

Some people think that making music/art in a minoritized language closes many doors – what are instead the doors that it has opened to you? 
It’s given us the opportunity to play across the country and for our songs to be played on Radio/TB. I don’t think we would have had half the opportunities to play festivals or play on TV without singing in Welsh. It’s also our first language so a completely natural thing for us to do. A lot of Welsh language bands have gone on to play internationally and are featured on UK Radio singing in Welsh, which is great!

If you could make an appeal to anyone to keep their language alive, what would you recommend? What do you see as the biggest challenges or difficulties to maintain your language? 
Language, place and culture and closely tied together. Using your language daily, even if it’s only a few words is important. More languages not less languages is the future.
The biggest challenges for Welsh is probably a combination of

(1) Technology – ensuring that new technology and services are available in Welsh.

(2) Economy / Rural De-population / House Prices – it’s increasingly hard for young families to afford to buy homes in their local areas which often have higher percentages of Welsh speakers. Therefore it makes staying (or moving back) difficult which then has a knock-on effect on language.

(3) Language Use – The Welsh Government has a target to have 1million Welsh speakers by 2050, but as important and as challenging is creating opportunities for people to use the language in their daily lives. This is equally important in ensuring that the language thrives.

How would you respond to someone who considers your language old and obsolete?  
I would probably just play them ‘Eto‘ by Adwaith!

A short sentence to describe your music 
Alternative Pop full of melancholic harmonies, 70s strings and Sea references.