Today, recording artist and beloved Welsh national treasure Gruff Rhys has announced details of his ninth album, Dim Probs, will be released through Rock Action Records on September 12 and the physical release will follow on September 26. Written and performed entirely in his first language, Welsh/Cymraeg, Dim Probs places the listener side by side with one of the UK’s greatest and most thoughtful songwriters in the corner of a studio as the songs grow around them from just voice and guitar.
The result is an intimate and hypnotic record that mixes acoustic folk with whatever scratchy and primitive electronic machines come to hand on each track. “Dim Probs is a result of spending the last few years preparing a compilation album of ’80s private press Welsh language electronic music cassettes with friends. The compilation itself may never come out, but some of its machine textures are ingrained in this record… counter-balanced by the fact that I wrote it all with my cheap Swedish catalogue acoustic guitar as main instrument. I dressed up some of these very basic recordings to various degrees.” says Rhys.
The first track from the album, “Chwyn Chwyldroadol!” (Quin Quill-draw-ah-doll) is out now on all digital platforms. “Chwyn Chwyldroadol!” (translation: “revolutionary weeds!”) is economical with instrumentation but crammed full of melody and brimming with ideas and sentiment, the key contained in the chorus which translates as “Weeds for some, gold for others.”
Dim Probs Tracklist
- Pan Ddaw’r Haul I Fore
- Cân I’r Cymylau
- Saf Ar Dy Sedd
- Taro #1 + #2
- Dos Amdani
- Chwyn Chwyldroadol!
- Cyflafan
- Dim Probs
- Adar Gwyn
- Gadael Fi Fynd
- Slaw
- Acw
Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat
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