Cerys Matthews
Earthy, unpolished folk that bridges the gap between Welsh valleys and Nashville porches. A warm, raspy voice telling stories that feel centuries old.
Earthy, unpolished folk that bridges the gap between Welsh valleys and Nashville porches. A warm, raspy voice telling stories that feel centuries old.
Cerys Matthews offers a sound that is deeply rooted in the earth, trading the Britpop polish of her youth for a weathered, organic folk aesthetic. Her music feels like a curated collection of found objects: a bit of Appalachian banjo here, a traditional Welsh lullaby there, all tied together by her unmistakable, gravelly vocal tone. It is music that values the crackle of a live room and the honesty of a first take over studio perfection.
What sets her apart is her role as a musical archivist. She doesn't just sing songs; she inhabits them with a scholar's curiosity and a performer's soul. Whether she is singing in Welsh or English, there is a tactile quality to the arrangements, often featuring upright bass, brushed drums, and acoustic strings that sound like they have been played for decades. It is intimate, knowledgeable, and profoundly human.
Start with 'Cockahoop' to hear her transition from rock star to folk troubadour. It is a masterclass in atmosphere, recorded in Nashville but maintaining a distinctly Celtic heart. From there, explore her Welsh-language work for a deeper dive into the textures of her heritage.
Cerys Elizabeth Matthews (; born 11 April 1969) is a Welsh singer, songwriter, author, and broadcaster. She was a founding member of Welsh rock band Catatonia and a leading figure in the "Cool Cymru" movement of the late 1990s. Matthews now hosts a weekly music show on BBC Radio 6 Music, a weekly blues show on BBC Radio 2, and from 2021-2024 co-hosted a weekly show on BBC Radio 4, Add To Playlist, which won the Prix Italia and Prix Europa 2022. She also makes documentaries for television and radio and was a roving reporter for The One Show. She founded "The Good Life Experience", a festival of culture and the great outdoors in Flintshire in 2014, and is author of Hook, Line and Singer, published by Penguin Books, and children's stories Tales from the Deep and Gelert, A Man's Best Friend, published by Gomer. Matthews' illustrated version of Dylan Thomas's Under Milk Wood was published, in November 2022, by Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
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