Alffa () are a

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic languages, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales by about 18% of the population, by some in England, and in (the Welsh c ...

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre, genre and form of rock music, rock and blues music that relies on the chords/scales and instrumental improvisation of blues. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electri ...

duo from

Llanrug Llanrug (or Llanfihangel-yn-y-grug) is a medium-sized village and community (Wales), community in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. It lies about to the east of Caernarfon, south of Bangor, Gwynedd, Bangor and northwest of Llanberis. It is the larg ...

North Wales North Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdon ...

, formed in 2015. The group currently consists of Dion Wyn Jones (vocals, guitar) and Sion Eifion Land (drums). In 2019, streaming platform

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

stated that the band had become the "most streamed Welsh language act ever" with three million streams for their two singles alone.

History

The band were founded in 2015 by Welsh teenagers Jones and Land, who grew up together in Llanrug, a village ten minutes from the nearby town of

Caernarfon Caernarfon (; ) is a List of place names with royal patronage in the United Kingdom, royal town, Community (Wales), community and port in Gwynedd, Wales. It has a population of 9,852 (with Caeathro). It lies along the A487 road, on the easter ...

. They formed the band while they studied at Coleg Menai. They graduated from sixth form at Ysgol Brynrefail in 2018. The band received mainstream attention in May 2018 when they were named by

BBC Cymru Wales BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcasting, public broadcaster in Wales. It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, ...

and the

Arts Council of Wales The Arts Council of Wales (ACW; ) is a Welsh Government-sponsored body, responsible for funding and developing the arts in Wales. Established within the Arts Council of Great Britain in 1946, as the Welsh Arts Council (), its English name w ...

in the lineup for the Horizons Gorwelion annual festival, which introduced them as "an exciting teenage two piece rock n roll band from Llanrug who are inspired by the blues." The Horizons Gorwelion festival was first established by

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

broadcaster Bethan Elfyn. The lineup was selected by figures from

PRS for Music PRS for Music Limited (formerly The MCPS-PRS Alliance Limited) is a British music copyright collective, made up of two collection societies: the Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society (MCPS) and the Performing Right Society (PRS). It undertake ...

Moshi Moshi Records Moshi Moshi Records is a small London-based record label founded in 1998 by Adrian Pike, Michael McClatchey and Stephen Bass. The label has released music by bands including Lykke Li, Fimber Bravo, Bloc Party, Hot Chip, Late of the Pier, H ...

, and Drowned in Sound. In August 2018 the band performed at Festival N°6 in

Portmeirion Portmeirion (; ) is a folly* * * tourist village in Gwynedd, North Wales. It lies on the estuary of the River Dwyryd in the community (Wales), community of Penrhyndeudraeth, from Porthmadog and from Minffordd railway station. Portmeirion was d ...

. The band cite their influences as The Black Keys, The White Stripes, The Arcs, Black Pistol Fire, Jimi Hendrix, Tymbal, and Jack White. In November 2018 the band received unexpected media coverage after they were included by

's playlist curators in South America, leading to their single Gwenwyn (English: poison) receiving over 850,000 streams and an international listenership. The attention was a result of the band joining international distributors PYST (funded by the

Welsh Government The Welsh Government ( ) is the Executive (government), executive arm of the Welsh devolution, devolved government of Wales. The government consists of Cabinet secretary, cabinet secretaries and Minister of State, ministers. It is led by the F ...

) who provide Welsh musicians with label services, digital distribution, playlist inclusion, physical distribution internationally, as well as bookings for shows and tours with promoters and venues globally. Gwenwyn went on to become the first Welsh language single to receive over one million streams, in December 2018. They were reported in

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

and the national front page of

BBC News Online BBC News Online is the website of BBC News, the division of the BBC responsible for newsgathering and production. It is one of the most popular news websites, with 1.2 billion website visits in April 2021, as well as being used by 60% of the U ...

. In 2019 the band were featured on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

's "''Art of Now: Cymru Rising"'' programme which highlighted the growth of Welsh language artists, dubbed Cool Cymru 2.0. The band are recording their first album following the success of their digital releases, and are also planning international performances. They are to perform at

Sŵn Sŵn Festival (''sŵn'' is Welsh for "sound, noise", ) is a music festival founded by BBC Radio 1 DJ Huw Stephens and Cardiff-based promoter John Rostron. The festival takes place annually in Stephens' hometown of Cardiff, Wales. The first S ...

festival in October 2019 alongside

Gruff Rhys Gruffudd Maredudd Bowen Rhys (; born 18 July 1970) is a Welsh musician, composer, producer, filmmaker and author. He performs solo and with several bands, including Super Furry Animals, which obtained mainstream success in the 1990s. He forme ...

The Comet Is Coming The Comet Is Coming was a London-based band that incorporated elements of jazz, electronica, funk and psychedelic rock. The band originally recorded for The Leaf Label, on which their debut EP ''Prophecy'' was released, on limited edition 12" ...

, and Nilüfer Yanya.

Band members

Current

* Dion Wyn Jones - vocals, guitar (2015–present) * Sion Eifion Land - drums (2015–present)

Discography

Singles

Albums

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alffa Welsh-language bands Welsh rock music groups Welsh musical duos Musical groups established in 2015 Welsh indie rock groups British blues rock musical groups Welsh punk rock groups Punk blues musical groups 2015 establishments in Wales