Music has always been an inextricable part of Siân's life.
She was born in a small Welsh speaking village in mid-Wales and was raised surrounded by music and poetry and with a deep awareness of all things cultural. Her father sang, her uncles, aunts and friends all sang; writing poetry by local rhymesters and more established masters of cynghanedd was the norm as was amateur dramatics in most of the surrounding villages.
She began learning the piano at the age of six, the violin at eight and the harp at eleven. Her harp teacher was Ffranses Mon Jones who passed on the craft of singing folk songs to her own harp accompaniment. By age fourteen, composing songs and arrangements opened up a whole new world for her and her love of folk music grew into a lifelong partnership. She says:
"For me, these songs appealed to my burgeoning womanhood - they were emotional, sexy, quirky, humorous, perplexing, dealing with the whole gamut of the human condition: love, hate, joy, birth, death, the afterlife, all intertwined with melodies which left me gasping for breath from their sheer beauty."
Following these formative years she left for Bangor University where she read music under the encouraging eye of Professor William Mathias. While at University she formed the folk/rock band Bwchadanas with a group of musician friends, which enjoyed popularity in Wales for over ten years. It was during these years at University that her love of acting took hold as she took part in numerous productions for the college's drama society. She has since divided her career between her love of music and theatre.
Her recording career began in 1990 with the eclectic Cysgodion Karma (Shadows of Karma: SAIN SCD4037) produced by Les Morrison. This is a mixture of traditional and original songs. Her second album Distaw (Quiet: SAIN SCD 2025) also produced by Morrison was released in 1993 where she struck up a successful writing partnership with the poet and award winning novelist Angharad Jones. A purely traditional album followed in 1996 with Gweini Tymor (Serving a Season: SAIN SCD2145) - a selection of the many songs she had sung since she was a child. The fourth album Di-Gwsg (Sleepless: SAIN SCD2153) saw her branching into more contemporary territory under the direction of the producer Ronnie Stone who had previously worked with artists such as Enya, Mansun, and The Lotus Eaters. Her fifth album was a commissioned soundtrack for BBC2 called Birdman, her first bilingual production.
Her most recent albums - Pur, Y Ferch o Bedlam and Adar ac Anifeiliaid- were all recorded and released on the label she created with her partner Gwyn Jones, Recordiau Bos Records, which they established together at their rural home in Mid Wales.
Siân has toured extensively throughout the world for many years, her concerts taking her to Japan, the USA, Canada, Germany, Italy, Brittany, Friesland, Ireland, Scotland, England and of course nearly every town in Wales!
Some of the highlights of her career to date have been a month long tour in 2000 of the United States. The cities visited included Chicago, Milwaukee, Dallas, Houston, San Francisco, Denver and Albuquerque; her performance at the star studded concert titled Voices of a Nation marking the opening of the Welsh assembly where other artists included Tom Jones and Shirley Bassey; a performance for Womad at the Globe Theatre, and subsequently at the Womad Festival; singing on the soundtrack for the film "The Englishman who went up a hill and came down a mountain" which was recorded at Abbey Road studios.
Siân was recently awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the University of Wales Bangor for her services to Welsh culture. She says
"I remain as passionate about the music of my country today as I was in the heady days of my youth.
Over the years I have experimented with their wonder fusing other styles such as jazz and blues and programmed rhythms, with varying instruments, whilst never losing respect for their innate beauty.
I am filled with hope and joy for the future of Welsh folk music as I witness a whole new generation of musicians performing, experimenting and opening their minds to the endless possibilities this genre offers them.
Indeed, for me, the songs and music of my country are my haven from the bedlam of life!"