Vinyl LP
New pressing – available for the first time on Klep Dim Trep
Limited quantity heavyweight vinyl with fully realized sleeve artwork by Huw Gwynfryn Evans
Includes lyric sheet and download code for album
Includes unlimited streaming of Bitw
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
ships out within 2 days
edition of 100
£20GBP
Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
Includes unlimited streaming of Bitw
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
ships out within 2 days
£10GBP
Streaming + Download
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Purchasable with gift card
£7.99GBP or more
Cassette
Cassette + Digital Album
Yellow cassette tape in cross-folding boxes. Very limited quantity!
Includes unlimited streaming of Bitw
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
“I’ve been lucky enough not to get my heart broken too badly so far, which is great, but it’s shit for writing pop songs,” says Gruff ab Arwel a.k.a Bitw.
However to suggest in anyway that a lack of heartache has led to a lack of pop songs on Bitw’s debut album would be disingenuous to say the least. Instead, the album is dripping in infectious songs, rolling rhythms and a melodic touch so graceful and seamless that if anything it feels like pop is oozing from every song on the album.
It’s not surprising given ab Arwel’s previous form. Whilst this may be his debut solo offering, he has lent his musical touch to countless other indie-rock-pop masters. A member of Snowdonia's premium surf outfit Y Niwl, he's also played with Gruff Rhys, H.Hawkline and Eleanor Friedberger.
The record itself was a DIY affair, assembled from sessions at home in Caernarfon by ab Arwel before he later brought in friends to flesh it out. "I recorded the album bit by bit in my living room,” he says. “But I’m not doing that again – it took fucking ages. It was great to be able to work on it at home but it became quite isolating in the end because there’s no one to tell you when to stop.”
However, what ab Arwel may lack in self-confidence and decision-making when it comes to making his record in a less time-consuming way, he makes up for in hooks and musical charm. The resulting music on his debut is one that sparkles with that inherently Welsh tone yet also feels much wider and all encompassing.
credits
released June 14, 2019
HOLL GANEUON / ALL SONGS
GRUFF AB ARWEL
CYMYSGWYD GAN / MIXED BY
LLŶR PARI
ÔL-GYNHYRCHWYD GAN / MASTERED BY
IWAN MORGAN
DYLUNIO A GWAITH CELF / DESIGN AND ARTWORK
HUW GWYNFRYN EVANS
MARI MORGAN - LLEISIAU CEFNDIR / BACKING VOCALS 1-5, 8-10
OWAIN RHYS LEWIS - LLEISIAU CEFNDIR / BACKING VOCALS 1, 2
ELEN IFAN - CELLO 5, 8, 9
BRANWEN HAF - CLARINET 5, 9, 10
haia, dwi wedi trio pob ffordd fedra'i ond dim ond Ffarout sydd yn lawrlwytho, fedra'i yn fy myw ddim ffeindio gweddill yr albwm! fi sy'n gwneud rwbath yn rong ta be? idrismj