Klangkosmos NRW: Wales – Julie Murphy & Ceri Rhys Matthews

Julie Murphy & Ceri Rhys Matthews are among the pioneers of Welsh folk music. They met at art school in 1979. It was an extraordinary time for both of them, as their shared education continues to shape their approach to music-making: exploratory and creative. They have lived in Pencader, a small Welsh-speaking village in the county of Carmarthenshire, for over thirty years. The landscape consists of rolling hills, fast-flowing rivers, streams, and ancient mixed woodlands. Many of their songs and melodies reflect the history and cultural life of the area: agriculture is still important; there was once a thriving wool industry, the railway, and, to the west, the sea. The songs also reflect the movement of people from the once impoverished countryside to the industrial centers for work. It is music rooted in place and language, but its themes of love, loss, joy, and struggle are universal.
Ceri Rhys Matthews has recorded over 25 CDs, performing solo, with the band Fernhill, which he founded in 1995, and as a duo with Julie Murphy.
Julie Murphy is a Welsh singer-songwriter with a long career. TIME OUT magazine has declared her a “must-see and hear” singer. Her remarkable voice, ghostly beautiful one moment and dark and mysterious the next, has led her to collaborations with John Cale and Robert Plant, among others. In 2016, she was nominated for the Underwire Festival’s Best Composer award. Her solo album, “Every Bird That Flies,” was included in MOJO’s list of the ten best folk albums of 2016.

Julie Murphy – vocals, shrutibox
Ceri Rhys Matthews – wooden concert flutes