I have always felt passionately about the beauty and worth of Welsh traditional music. It has a unique and gentle nature that seems to touch the hearts of all who hear it. Many of the more upbeat songs were lost during the religious revivals of the last century. Many survive and are different in their style from the Irish jigs and reels and have a recognisable style of their own. The Celtic nations comprise the Irish, Scottish and Manx peoples in the north and the Welsh, Cornish and Breton peoples to the south. Strands of Celtic culture exist also in Galicia on the northwest tip of Spain. Irish and Scottish music has always been an astounding success the world over. Consequently, Welsh music always seemed to be overlooked. The fact that Welsh folk music is traditionally sung in its native language probably had some bearing on the situation. But with the dawn of the popularity of world Music, interest in Welsh culture and music is growing daily, and what with recent political changes, it is an exciting time here in Cymru.

Siān James - CV (2002)

Age: 40
Education: Llanerfyl primary school: Llanfaircaereinion High School, Mid Wales, Bangor University B.Mus & Teachers' Diploma

I performed in eisteddfodau (competition based festivals) from the age of three. I learnt to play the piano at six, the violin at eight years and the harp at eleven. I began to give concerts as part of an ensemble at fourteen and solo concerts at eighteen. While at university a group of friends and I formed folk/rock group called Bwchadanas, which enjoyed popularity in Wales for over ten years.

In 1990 I produced my first solo album : Cysgodion Karma (on the Sain label) - a mixture of traditional and original songs. My second album, Distaw, was released in 1993 comprising mainly of my own songs with four original arrangements of traditional Welsh songs. Gweini Tymor was released in 1996. This is a purely traditional album, the culmination of twenty years of interest in traditional welsh music. The fourth album Di-gwsg, is made up of original music in a Celtic style. The use of programming and the input of producer Ronnie Stone whose work includes the production with bands such as Mansun, The Lotus Eaters, Enya and Pete Wiley, makes this a more contemporary effort! My fifth album, Birdman for BBC Worldwide was originally commissioned as a soundtrack for the BBC2 series of the same name which followed the work of Iolo Williams, species officer for the RSPB.
My latest album released in 2001 is called "Pur". This is an accurate reflection of my live performances since it comprises solely of harp andvoice.

Various trips and tours include festivals in Brittany, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, France and several tours of Spain and America. During Oct./Nov '98 I completed a five date tour of Japan. In 1997 I took part in a concert in the Globe Theatre arranged by WOMAD, and also sang in the WOMAD Festival at Rivermead. In 2000, I accepted an invitation to take part in the Voices of a Nation concert to mark the opening of the National Assembly for Wales. In 1996 I sang on the film score for the film "The Englishman who went up a hill and came down a mountain", a CD of which was released by the producers Miramax. Recently JVC/Victor licensed two albums for release in Japan. The first is a combination of my first three albums, and the second - Di-gwsg in its entirety plus an English language track - was released in June 1998. In 2000, I completed a 4 week tour of north America playing 10 concerts and taking part in 5 Radio Shows. The tour took me through six states. The cities visited included Chicago, Milwaukee, Dallas, Houston, San Francisco, Denver and Albuquerque.

In 1998, I was given a six part series on S4C, presenting and performing my own songs with my band. Guests on the shows included Capercaille, The Saw Doctors, Frances Black and Alan Stivel.