Gwenno Mererid Saunders (born 23 May 1981) is a Welsh-Cornish musician, known

mononym A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person. A mononym may be the person's only name, given to them at birth. This was routine in most ancient societies, and remains ...

ously as Gwenno. She has released three critically acclaimed albums as a solo artist: Welsh Music Prize winner '' Y Dydd Olaf'' (2014); '' Le Kov'' (2018), her first album in Cornish; and ''

Tresor TRESOR (recursive acronym for "TRESOR Runs Encryption Securely Outside RAM", and also the German word for a safe) is a Linux kernel patch which provides encryption using only the CPU to defend against cold boot attacks on computer systems by perf ...

'' (2022), which was shortlisted for the

Mercury Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual Music award, music prize awarded for the best album released by a musical act from the Music of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom or Music of Ireland, Ireland. It was cre ...

. She was also a singer in the indie pop group

the Pipettes The Pipettes were a British indie pop girl group formed in 2003 in Brighton by Robert "Monster Bobby" Barry. The group has released two albums, ''We Are the Pipettes'', and ''Earth vs. The Pipettes'' and released numerous singles to support i ...

, whose debut '' We Are the Pipettes'' was described by

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

as "a classic modern indie-pop album."

Early life

Saunders was born in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

. She is the daughter of Cornish

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

and

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

Tim Saunders and Lyn Mererid, who is an activist and member of the choir Côr Cochion Caerdydd and works as a translator. When she grew up, her father spoke Cornish; her mother spoke Welsh. From the age of five she attended the Seán Éireann-McMahon Academy of Irish Dance and was a cast member of

Michael Flatley Michael Ryan Flatley (born July 16, 1958) is an American former professional performer and choreographer of Irish dance. Flatley is credited with reinventing traditional Irish dance by incorporating new rhythms, syncopation, and upper body movem ...

's productions of Lord of the Dance and Feet of Flames by the age of 17, playing a lead role in a

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

production of the former. In 2001 she had a role in the Welsh language soap opera ''

Pobol y Cwm ''Pobol y Cwm'' (''People of the Valley''; ) is a Welsh-language soap opera produced by the BBC since October 1974. The longest-running television soap opera produced by the BBC, ''Pobol y Cwm'' was originally transmitted on BBC Cymru (now B ...

'' on

S4C S4C (, ''Sianel Pedwar Cymru'', meaning ''Channel Four Wales'') is a Welsh language free-to-air public broadcast television channel. Launched on 1 November 1982, it was the first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speakin ...

, for whom she would later host her own programme ''Ydy Gwenno'n Gallu...?'' She is fluent in Welsh and Cornish. On 18 April 2019 she presented "Songs from the Edgelands", a programme about songs in minority languages on BBC Radio 4.

Music career

Early career (2002–2010)

In the years before she joined the Pipettes, she had been a solo

electropop Electropop is a popular music fusion genre combining elements of the electronic and pop styles. It has been described as a variant of synth-pop with emphasis on a hard electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a rev ...

singer, mostly in the Welsh and Cornish languages, releasing two solo EPs, ''Môr Hud'' (2002) and ''Vodya'' (2004). Saunders represented

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

in the Liet International song contest, 2003, and won the People's Choice Award for her performance of "Vodya". In December 2004 Gwenno filmed the song "Ysolt y'nn Gweinten" by Celtic Legend for Classic FM TV. It is claimed to be the first video produced in the Cornish language, the text having been written by her father Tim Saunders with music by Cornish composer and ex Gary Numan keyboard player Chris John Payne. The Pipettes - Gwennoi

Gwenno joined

in April 2005 after founding member Julia left. She is most notable for her lead vocals on the single " Pull Shapes" and the chorus of " Your Kisses Are Wasted on Me". She later posted solo material to her

Myspace Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...

page and made a free download of a mini album titled ''U & I'' available in October 2007. In April 2008, Gwenno's younger sister Ani joined the Pipettes, after the departure of singers Rosay and RiotBecki. Ani now also releases music with the band The Lovely Wars and solo under the name Ani Glass.

Solo career (2010–present)

Gwenno toured as a synth player with

Pnau Pnau, stylised as PNAU, is an Australian Electronic dance music, dance music trio originating from Sydney, Australia, Sydney. The trio, a duo before 2016, consists of the musicians Nick Littlemore (vocals, production), Peter Mayes (guitar, produ ...

and

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

in 2012. In June 2012, Saunders released a five-song Welsh language EP, ''Ymbelydredd'', available on hand-painted cassettes on Peski Records. Gwenno appears on The Boy Least Likely To's 2013 album ''The Great Perhaps'', contributing vocals to the track "It Could've Been Me". Gwenno Saunders 2014

She released her first solo full-length album, the Welsh-language ''Y Dydd Olaf'', in October 2014 on Peski Records. In May 2015, Gwenno was signed to

Heavenly Recordings Heavenly Recordings is a London-based independent record label founded by Jeff Barrett in 1990. Heavenly released the first albums from Saint Etienne, Beth Orton and Doves, and early singles by Manic Street Preachers. Current Heavenly artists i ...

. The label re-released her debut album in July. The album won Best Welsh Album at the 2015

National Eisteddfod The National Eisteddfod of Wales ( Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competito ...

and in November 2015 won the 2014–2015 Welsh Music Prize. Gwenno also co-produced and co-hosted a Welsh radio show on Cardiff Radio titled "Cam O'r Tywyllwch" ("A Step Away from the Darkness") with her Peski Records colleagues. The team was also behind the CAM '15 music festival in Cardiff, which took place in April 2015 and featured the first live performance in over 20 years by Welsh music post-punk pioneers Datblygu. She released her second solo album '' Le Kov'' in 2018, which was an all-Cornish language album. It centred on themes of "the struggle of Kernewek he Cornish languageand the concerns of Cornish cultural visibility as the perceptions of a timeless and haunted landscape often clash with the reality of intense poverty and an economy devastated by the demands of tourism." The album saw Gwenno touring and headlining in Europe and Australia, and supporting acts such as Suede and the Manic Street Preachers, with whom she re-recorded a verse of the song " Spectators of Suicide" in Welsh, as well as singing on an English version of the song with the band. A successful performance of "Tir Ha Mor" on Later... with Jools Holland prompted wider conversations on the state of the Cornish language with Michael Portillo, Jon Snow, and Nina Nannar. ''Le Kov'' was named one of the best albums of 2018 by ''The Guardian'', ''Uncut'' and ''Mojo''. Her third solo album ''

'', also a Cornish language album, releases on 1 July 2022 on Heavenly Recordings. It is inspired by powerful woman writers and artists such as Ithell Colquhoun, the Cornish language poet Phoebe Proctor,

Maya Deren Maya Deren (; born Eleonora Derenkovskaya; ; Monica Sjöö, ''Tresor'' is an intimate view of the feminine interior experience, of domesticity and desire, a rare glimmer of life lived in and expressed through Cornish. On 26 July, ''Tresor'' became Gwenno's first album to be nominated for the

, and it was named one of the albums of the year by

BBC Radio 6 Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It primarily plays a wide range of alternative music, from established and emerging artists and bands. In 2002 it was the first national music radio station t ...

. On 7 April 2025, Gwenno announced her fourth solo album, ''Utopia'', set for release on 11 July by Heavenly. The lead single, "Dancing on Volcanoes", was released with the announcement. The album is her first primarily in the English language.

Cultural influence

In December 2015, a giant mural of Saunders was erected on the wall of Clwb Ifor Bach on Womanby Street in

's city centre. In October 2018, the Cornish Language Board claimed that Saunders's album ''Le Kov'' had contributed to a 15% increase in the number of people taking Cornish language exams during 2018. Wales Arts Review included two of Gwenno's albums on their 2021 list of the greatest Welsh albums of all-time: ''Le Kov'' at 18 and ''Y Dydd Olaf'' at 64.

Personal life

Saunders is married to musician and producer Rhys Edwards, who is behind the project Jakokoyak, and they have two children. Saunders is a supporter of

Welsh independence Welsh independence () is the political movement advocating for Wales to become a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom. Wales was conquered during the 13th century by Edward I of England following the killing of Llywelyn the ...

. She has said: "What if there are other ways of co-existing? What if we can organise ourselves differently? There is an innate anarchy to art and an absolute potential in utilising it for the good whilst imagining better futures. We want to continue a conversation about an inclusive self-determination by drawing on our past, embracing our neighbours across the UK and the world with open arms, whilst also making sure that we're singing along to the best possible tune". She was made a Bard of the Cornish Gorsedh in 2019 for "services to the Cornish language through music and the media".

Discography

Solo

Albums

EPs

With the Pipettes

Appears on

References

External links

*
Gwenno
at

Gwenno
radio show page, Cam O'r Tywyllwch {{DEFAULTSORT:Saunders, Gwenno 1981 births Living people Cornish language activists Cornish-language singers Welsh-language singers Cornish-speaking people Singers from Cardiff British people of Cornish descent Welsh keyboardists 21st-century Welsh women singers Welsh-speaking musicians Welsh pop singers Musicians from Brighton and Hove Welsh women in electronic music The Pipettes members Heavenly Recordings artists Welsh electronic musicians Bards of Gorsedh Kernow Welsh language activists