“Brilliant triple-harpist Hafana continues to dig deep to explore the possibilities of her instrument, as well as neglected corners of Welsh song that speak to our anxious present.”
– The Guardian
Acclaimed Welsh composer, singer and multi-instrumentalist Cerys Hafana’s third album Angel, is a deep exploration of minimalism, traditional and avant-folk music and Hafana’s primary instrument the Welsh triple harp. The album alternates between vocal songs (all sung in the Welsh language) and instrumentals, often buoyed by a deft trio of sympathetic and exploratory musicians (drums, double bass, alto sax).
The uncommon breadth and innovation of Angel soundly confirms Hafana as one of the UK’s most exciting young contemporary folk artists. Their spellbinding music is rich with atmosphere and heart and stubbornly resistant to genre boxes and easy classification.
‘An old man who goes for a walk in the forest and hears an angel singing so beautifully it makes him fall asleep for three hundred and fifty years’.
This is the simple, magical starting point for a remarkable new album from Welsh composer, singer and multi-instrumentalist Cerys Hafana, who is set to release their third album Angel on tak:til / Glitterbeat, their first for the label. Hafana has been self-releasing their music for a few years, with 2022’s Edyf making the Guardian newspaper’s Top Ten Folk Album Of The Year list. They also recently had an album of piano pieces called Difrisg released on Instant Karma Classics. There have been awards, including a shortlisting for the Welsh Music Prize in 2023, and Hafana has also appeared at major festivals across Europe, including Green Man, Trans Musicales, Reeperbahn, End of The Road and WOMAD.
Although Hafana is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist and considers the piano to be their “main instrument, technically,”....... more