Sain (Welsh for ''Audio'', ), in full – ''Sain (Recordiau) Cyf.'' (Audio (Records) Ltd) is a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the prod ...

, which took part in the Welsh folk revival.

History

Sain was founded in

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

in 1969 by singers and songwriters

Dafydd Iwan Dafydd Iwan Jones (born 24 August 1943) is a Welsh singer and nationalist politician who rose to fame writing and performing folk music in the Welsh language. From 2003 to 2010, Iwan was the president of Plaid Cymru, a political party which ad ...

and Huw Jones, and businessman Brian Morgan Edwards, as a home for Welsh-language rock and folk music, which was otherwise finding it difficult to 'break through' in the UK market. Sain is regarded as being the first Welsh record company to be self-sufficient in terms of independence from other British companies, and laid the foundation for subsequent Welsh labels. The company released its first single in October 1969, Huw Jones' "Dŵr" (Welsh for ''Water''), a song about the drowning of the Tryweryn Valley, in the north of Wales, to form

Llyn Celyn Llyn Celyn () is a reservoir constructed between 1960 and 1965 in the valley of the River Tryweryn in Gwynedd, Wales. It measures roughly long by wide, and has a maximum depth of . It has the capacity to hold of water. It was originally ...

reservoir. Many of the company's early releases were recorded at the

Rockfield Studios Rockfield Studios is a residential recording studio located in the Wye Valley just outside the village of Rockfield, Monmouthshire, Wales. It was originally founded in 1963 by brothers Kingsley and Charles Ward. Facilities Rockfield is a two- ...

in Monmouthshire. In the early 1970s Sain moved to the

Caernarfon Caernarfon (; ) is a royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,852 (with Caeathro). It lies along the A487 road, on the eastern shore of the Menai Strait, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor i ...

area, and opened their first recording studio in 1975 near Llandwrog. Musicians who have recorded for the label include Meic Stevens, Geraint Jarman and

Bryn Terfel Sir Bryn Terfel Jones, (; born 9 November 1965) (known professionally as Bryn Terfel) is a Welsh bass-baritone opera and concert singer. Terfel was initially associated with the roles of Mozart, particularly ''Figaro'', '' Leporello'' and '' ...

Current activities

Today Sain remains the biggest producer of music of Wales, covering traditional, folk, rock, pop, hip-hop, rap, country and classical music. The label has several subsidiaries including Crai, which was founded in 1988 and has released music by

Yr Anhrefn Yr Anhrefn, also known simply as Anhrefn, were an influential Welsh punk rock group of the 1980s and 1990s. History Anhrefn (Welsh for "Disorder") were an influential punk rock band from Bangor, North Wales and formed in 1982,Hill, Sarah (200 ...

, Mike Peters and Big Leaves, as well as a series of ''Crai Tecno'' compilations featuring Welsh

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded danc ...

artists.Hill, Sarah (2007) ''Blerwytirhwng?` the Place of Welsh Pop Music'', Ashgate, , p. 63, 87, 134Parker, Mike & Whitfield, Paul (2003) ''The Rough Guide to Wales'', Rough Guides, , p. 584 Rasal Cyf. is the latest label, and this signs young Welsh bands.

Maartin Allcock Maartin Allcock (born Martin Allcock; 5 January 1957 – 16 September 2018) was an English multi-instrumentalist musician and record producer. Biography Born in Middleton, Lancashire (now Greater Manchester), England, Allcock studied music ...

has produced many Sain albums. The label's Chief Executive is Dafydd Roberts, the harp and flute player of the folk band ''Ar Log''.Nashville star records Welsh hymn
, BBC, 27 March 2006, retrieved 2011-01-22 In 2017 Sain released over 7,000 audio clips and 498 album covers under a Creative Commons licence. These are available on

Wikimedia Commons Wikimedia Commons (or simply Commons) is a media repository of free-to-use images, sounds, videos and other media. It is a project of the Wikimedia Foundation. Files from Wikimedia Commons can be used across all of the Wikimedia projects in ...

Branch labels

*Sain – main label *Crai – mainstream rock label *Rasal – pop/indie label for young talents *Slic – library music label

References

External links

Official websiteDiscography on discogs.com
{{Authority control Welsh record producers Welsh-language music Welsh-language mass media British independent record labels Folk record labels Companies of Wales Companies based in Gwynedd

History

Current activities

Branch labels

See also

References

External links