5 acts that made a splash at Sŵn 2019

After another successful edition of Cardiff’s annual music festival Sŵn, we take a look at some of the Cardiff alumni who took part.

Papur Wal

This Welsh language band features Ianto Gruffydd (BA 2017) on vocals and guitar, Gwion Ifor (BA 2018) on bass and Guto Huws (BA 2017, MA 2019) on drums. They’re a guitar driven, indie-rock outfit who sing in both Welsh and English. Having released new music in August this young, up and coming band carve out a sound similar to Pavement and Mogwai.

Ani Glass

Ani Glass (MSc 2019) is injecting new dynamism into the Welsh language music scene. Her mixture of dark, shiny Bladerunner-esque synths, coupled with her dreamy vocals makes for a unique listening experience, and one to watch for the future.

Bodyhacker

Cardiff trio Bodyhacker are a heavy, punky grunge outfit. You won’t hear any guitars in Bodyhacker’s music – it’s all about the bass which is handled by Cardiff alum Josh Brimble (BA 2016). This makes for a gutsy, low end, stripped back aesthetic with fuzz and screaming vocals mixed in to fill out their uncompromising sound.

Gwilym

A multiple award-winning band from North West Wales, Gwilym’s trio of guitarists contains current student Llew Glyn (Politics and Philosophy 2017-). Their upbeat take on Welsh language pop-rock has seen them produce anthems such as ‘Catalunya’ which has become a staple in the Welsh language music scene

Chroma

Katie Hall (BA 2017) brings presence and aura as the lead singer in CHROMA. Describing themselves as Garage-rock with math influences, the trio certainly know how to put on a show. Established in the Cardiff scene and festival circuit, the music speaks for itself. Powerful, melodic and loud.