The Bowers & Wilkins Society of Sound release for March is an early chance to hear the new album by 9Bach, entitled Anian.
Anian is a soulful, brooding record whose songs take a critical look at the world in which we live.
Anian: Welsh word meaning nature, the natural order, natural morality, the natural world, creation. What you are made of, your soul and bones, and how you connect with other people.
Music is made for crossing national borders. Written and sung in Welsh (Cymraeg), recorded in England, Anian is 9Bach’s third album. Like 2014’s Tincian it begins in North Wales but broadens out through Greek and Near Eastern influences into an emotional tour de force. But whilst Tincian commemorated stories from the past, Anian explores more contemporary themes.
Angry, sad, but most of all passionate at the state of the world, Anian taps into a universal language.
Anian was recorded in Real World Studios by Lisa Jên (vocals, piano), Martin Hoyland (guitars, hammer dulcimer), Ali Byworth (drums & percussion), Dan Swain (electric bass guitar & double bass), Esyllt Glyn Jones (harp, vocals), and Mirain Roberts (piano, vocals, hammer dulcimer). The loose blueprint was to develop the band’s trade-mark stunning three part harmonies, and then to introduce instruments they hadn’t used before, like hammer dulcimer and double bass.
Read more about Anian at Bowers & Wilkins Society of Sound.
Anian will have a full commercial release on Real World Records on 29 April.
Photo by Dewi Glyn Jones.