“I strangely saw similarities between there and Carmarthen,” drummer Heledd Owen says of cold deserted streets. “You could kind of sense this loneliness. It felt like this empty city.” Confronting this less hospitable side of life became central to Bato Mato. Where Melyn offered wistful, impatient dreams of growing up, the new record faces adulthood in all its stark reality. A place often mythologised beyond the hard truths of the everyday.

But for all of the visceral, post-punk weight, Bato Mato is also a colourful and inventive record. A melting pot of styles which draws upon any number of psych, grunge and dream pop influences to realise its sound. Thoughts turn once more to Ulan-Ude. A confluence of different cultures, where Russian, Mongolian and Chinese styles converge into a city harsh yet singularly striking. With Bato Mato, Adwaith offer the sonic equivalent. An album born of travel and distance, pieced together from segments of other places, but ending up very much unique.

We took the opportunity to chat with the band to find out a little more about the record, so read on below:

Thanks for taking the time to speak with us and congratulations on the second album! How was the experience compared with that of your debut?

Thank you! I think we are definitely more confident in our sound and songs this time around. I don’t think we’d change anything about the album which is a really good place to be in!

Were there different pressures after winning the Welsh Music Prize in 2019? Or did the recognition help you find your feet as a band?

It definitely gave us the confidence in what we were doing. I think there was definitely a pressure to follow up on Melyn but that feeling went away quickly as soon as we started writing it.

I’ve read Bato Mato is at least partially inspired by a journey through Siberia and Mongolia. Could you talk a little about the story behind the record and how it impacted upon the sound?

It was such a crazy experience start to finish. The landscape was so bare and vast. The city we visited was industrial looking and was kind of forgotten about. The space around us really inspired us to write a big sounding album.

There also a certain anxiety to many of the tracks. An unease which shadows even the more triumphant numbers. I think the video of ‘Wedi Blino’ does a great job capturing this. Could you speak on this dimension of the record?

Melyn was about growing up in your teens and the problems that arise but also about the positivity you have as a young adult. Bato Mato is, in a way, a continuation of that. The realisation that life maybe isn’t that good and the anxieties that come along with that.

I wanted to ask about the responsibility of writing and recording in Welsh. There haven’t been many artists working in the language within the indie scene, especially not women. Do you see yourselves as torch-bearers for the Welsh language? Challengers of English hegemony? Or just artists working with what comes natural?

I think for us, it was definitely a natural thing for us to do. We were inspired by Welsh language music and the scene so it wasn’t something we thought about. Now, I think we really want to bring Welsh music to the world and we feel very honoured to be able to do that.

What’s next for Adwaith? And if you could take a trip to inspire the next record, where would you choose to go?

We do have a few trips abroad coming up that will maybe inspire the next record! We have a tour for the album and some festivals over the summer. We’ve already started working on Album 3 so hopefully that will be out in the near future too!

Bato Mato is out now via Libertino Records you can grab it from the Adwaith Bandcamp page.

The post Adwaith – Bato Mato appeared first on Various Small Flames.

Adwaith are a Welsh-language trio from Carmarthen working at the intersection of post-punk and dream pop in a manner reminiscent of acts like Belly and Basement Revolver. This summer sees the release of their second album Bato Mato on Libertino Records and latest single ‘Wedi Blino’ (“tired”) gives a taste of their bittersweet style. “We wanted to create a big indie pop song that has a melancholy feel to it” as the band put it. “It’s about being worried that life is going too fast or the worries of a relationship, the overwhelming feeling that you’re not good enough and that you are the reason things aren’t working out.” Check out the video directed by Eilir Pierce below:

Bato Mato is out on the 1st July via Libertino Records.

Colyn Cameron – Stream

After making his name with JUNO-nominated indie folk outfit Wake Owl, Vancouver‘s Colyn Cameron is now recording under his own name. His upcoming album, Freehand, promises to explore personal themes of relationships and self-worth within the wider moment of existential anxiety and technological intrusions. Lead single ‘Stream’ is the perfect introduction, a track which confronts the lingering dissatisfaction which haunts a society built around yearly upgrades and gamified time. “Well I’ve tried prototypes, but the fruit wasn’t ripe,” Cameron sings, “I’ll pretend differently it’s a bad appetite.”

You can get ‘Stream’ now from the Colyn Cameron Bandcamp page. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for further news on Freehand too.

D.C.R. Pollock x Derek Ted – Rat’s Nest

Having signed up with Other People Records, California-based artist D.C.R. Pollock is sharing some of his previous work in anticipation of new releases. ‘Rat’s Nest’ was recorded with Derek Ted as part of a spilt release in 2020 and captures the heartfelt vulnerability of Pollock’s work. A smoked-out melancholy which nevertheless catches fire again, Pollock’s impassioned delivery salvaging heat from a charred husk. Check out the lyric video by Ted below:

‘Rat’s Nest’ is out now and available via Bandcamp.

Diatom Deli – Time​~​Lapse Nature

The project of Taos, New Mexico resident Deli Paloma~Sisk, Diatom Deli is a self-described “channel between cerebral ascension and somatic memory.” Paloma~Sisk weaves lush, cinematic soundscapes from classical guitar, layered vocals, synths and samples, textured sonic worlds that feel both organic and mystical. With its backbone of acoustic guitar, stand-out ‘Disarray’ feels like a folk song exploded into colour and pattern by a perfect water droplet in some desert oasis. Check it out below:

Time​~​Lapse Nature is out now via RVNG Intl. and you can get it now from the Diatom Deli Bandcamp page.

El Rocko – Sun Farm

The recording project of Chattanooga-based songwriter Chase Waller, El Rocko makes a down-to-earth style of music which combines the warmth of indie folk with some 90s/00s indie rock sensibilities. Ahead of new EP Daydreaming on Yellow Racket Records, single ‘Sun Farm’ offers a scene of quiet domesticity amid the burgeoning catastrophe of the wider world. A lesson in the modest work of living, maintaining a small patch of order within an otherwise chaotic space.

Young woman hovers out above her garden
Holding seeds in the palm of her hand
Feels the soil like the touch of a lover
Drops the seeds in the hole just as slow as she can

Daydreaming is out on the 27th May via Yellow Racket Records and you can find El Rocko on Bandcamp.

Fresh Pepper – Congee Around Me

Fresh Pepper is a collaborative project based in Toronto led by Andre Ethier and Joseph Shabason, who together enlist the talents of some of Toronto’s best musicians to create a truly unique style which sits somewhere at the intersection of heartfelt singer-songwriter, playful jazz and experimental indie rock. The band are preparing to release their self-titled debut on Telephone Explosion Records, and have unveiled lead single ‘Congee Around Me’ in preparation. As both album and single titles suggest, Fresh Pepper write songs about the soul-deadening experiences of working in restaurants, but there is no anxious frazzle on display. Instead, the band approach things with a disarming sense of grace that is genuinely affecting, with which they intend to “exorciz[e] past workplace woes through skillful musicianship and an earnest, slightly bizarre sense of humor.”

mushrooms in the frying pan
throw another onion in
and i’ll see when i see you
oh i know

Lost Cat – Bitch Fight

Based in LA, trio Lost Cat trio channel classic riot grrrl sensibilities to live up to their name—conjuring a sound both alluring and dangerous and beholden to no one. Ahead of their self-titled debut on Lolipop Records later this month, the band have unveiled latest single ‘Bitch Fight’ by way of introduction. A track of snarling and bared teeth, daring anyone to cross its path. Check out the video directed by Fred Joseph:

‘Bitch Fight’ is out on the 27th May via Lolipop Records.

Lou Hazel – Claude the Armadillo

After releasing the EP Carolina (Out of My Mind) under his own name, Chris Frisina adopted the moniker Lou Hazel for a brand new release on Sleepy Cat Records. First single ‘Claude the Armadillo’ follows the new-but-not-so-new vibe, as the song was first written by Chris’s uncle Ralph Frisina forty years ago in response to the looming dread of the Cold War. As history’s wheel spins and the old tensions return, Lou Hazel returns to Claude and his peace-loving attitude, all delivered with a John Prine-style blend of compassion and wry humour. Check out the cartoon video by Alex Derwick below:

‘Claude the Armadillo’ is out now via Sleepy Cat Records.

Sister Swire – I Shot The President

The recording project of Toronto’s Sarah Swire, Sister Swire is set to release a new album produced by Joel Plaskett later in 2022. In anticipation of the release, Swire has unveiled new single ‘I Shot the President’. A dark lullaby written in response to The Devil and Daniel Johnston documentary, exploring the experience of bipolar and psychosis in all of its ominous and multifaceted scope. Johnston’s presence lingers over the track, lending the vocals a conflicted tone somewhere between gentle and troubled, and the idiosyncratic lyrics are something to behold.

‘I Shot the President’ is out now and available via streaming services.

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