Adwaith - Hyde Park Book Club, Leeds

Name: Adwaith - Hyde Park Book Club, Leeds
Start: 2025-02-20T19:30:00+00:00
Location: Hyde Park Book Club

Schedule

Thu, 20 Feb, 2025 at 07:30 pm

UTC+00:00

Location

Hyde Park Book Club | Leeds, EN

Please Please You & Brudenell Presents
Adwaith
Hyde Park Book Club, Leeds
Thursday 20th February, 7.30pm
£12.50 >> http://www.pleasepleaseyou.com
Dynamic Welsh trio Adwaith proudly announce the release of their highly anticipated third album, Solas. Meaning “light of being” or “enlightenment” in Celtic, Solas marks a significant milestone in the band’s journey. Recorded across diverse locations—including the Outer Hebrides in Scotland, Lisbon in Portugal, and multiple studios in Wales—Solas reflects Adwaith’s growth and evolution as artists. Overflowing with romance and magic, this 23-track double album completes a coming-of-age trilogy chronicling their transformation from teenagers into empowered women, exploring themes of self-discovery, escape, and resilience.
From the moment Hollie Singer, Gwenllian Anthony and Heledd Owen first formed Adwaith ten years ago the notion of home has always coursed through the veins of the band, even when they hungered to escape it. First influenced by the counterculture music scene of their Carmarthen hometown, and the Welsh-language bands who passed through the doors of iconic local venue The Parrot, the band felt an impulsive desire to escape their hometown early on, but the pulse of Camarthen has always remained. Solas represents the closing chapter of an evolution that has taken them around the world and brought them back home to the sprawling beauty of West Wales.
The trilogy began in 2018 with the Welsh Music Prize-winning album Melyn, followed by 2022’s Welsh Music Prize-winning Bato Mato, which took the band on a literal and figurative journey far from home. After travelling across Siberia on the Trans-Siberian Railway for Bato Mato, Adwaith found themselves reflecting on home even in the unfamiliar landscapes they encountered. Now, Solas offers a raw yet uplifting exploration of self-discovery and grounding. “It’s about finding that home, and that safe space, within yourself,” shares Hollie Singer, “and rediscovering what makes your inner child happy.”
At its core, Solas is about finding the light after darkness. The album tells a story of overcoming life’s challenges—be it heartbreak, isolation, or depression—and emerging stronger, more self-aware, and more connected to one’s roots. The album is unapologetically Adwaith, as they embrace both vulnerability and joy, exploring themes of escape from the “city” life of London and Cardiff, contrasting this with the wild beauty of their rural home.
Sonically, this record marks a shift from the band’s earlier post-punk influences, drawing instead from a rich tapestry of musical tastes. Over years spent touring the UK and Europe in their small trusted hatchback, the trio has built a vast collection of playlists, covering all the bases from ABBA to Turkish rock, fueling their journeys with eclectic sounds. Key influences on the album include The Cure’s moody rock, the avant-garde rhythms of Lizzy Mercier Descloux, the nomadic blues of West Africa, the psychedelic folk of Jessica Pratt, Björk’s left-field pop experimentation, and the pioneering, unwavering rhythms of CAN.
The album opens with ‘Planed,’ a call to collective action and hope, and moves into ‘Mwy,’ which draws listeners into a timeless celebration of nature, evoking a primal sense of unity. Songs like ‘Tristwch’ and ‘Solas’ delve into personal darkness, capturing the weight of depression and nighttime anxieties, while ‘Gofyn’ explores the emotional toll of toxic relationships.
Other tracks emphasise reconnection with both place and people. ‘Heddiw / Yfory’ honours the comforting familiarity of West Wales’ landscapes, echoing a deep nostalgia for the past and optimism for the future. Meanwhile, songs like ‘Ni’ and ‘Miliwn’ celebrate human connection, unity, and the beauty of fleeting moments. ‘Deffro,’ the album’s final song, brings Solas to a melancholic yet hopeful close, guiding listeners through memories of childhood and the resilience needed to embrace life’s uncertainties.
This milestone project solidifies their uncompromising creative vision, weaving Cymraeg into their music as a vital instrument that resonates on an instinctive level. “The use of Cymraeg throughout Solas feels natural, truthful, and necessary,” shares Gwenllian Anthony. “We wanted listeners to feel something instinctive and emotional in the music, whether or not they understood every word. Just as much as the lyrics tell a story, the musicality itself is a way of speaking, one that we hope resonates on a deeply emotional level.”
As the spearhead of the Welsh-language music scene, Adwaith are being hailed as the most significant Welsh band in over three decades, with a dedicated following across Europe and two sell-out tours in the past year. They are the first Welsh-language band to find such success beyond Wales, carrying Welsh music and identity to an international audience.
With Solas, Adwaith breaks new ground, becoming the first female Welsh-language band to release a double album, embodying the fearlessness and clarity that has always driven them. “I feel like we’re confident in ourselves as musicians, and our sound, and the world that we want to create,” says Hollie Singer. “We feel fully realised.”