FFLACH:TRADD is the wing of a recording company from West Wales that has devoted itself to recording and nurturing the best native musical talents within Wales.

Perhaps by now the name has become something of a misnomer, albeit a positive one, the musicians who record for the label inevitably work in a creative climate - called by some a tradition, and yet this very creativity liberates the music from the tradition, thus redefining it.

This is a collection of new, current music from Wales, in a way, it is an accident that the music if from Wales, these musicians find themselves here by birth or having moved here to live and like all musicians practice their art away from home as well as in it.

However, no matter how closely the musicians follow their personal muse and no matter what is in their heads or imagination their music is inevitably informed by their neighbours and the landscape in which they live - the land-shapes and the beautiful light that illuminates this part of the world, reflected as it is from the Atlantic Ocean and the mountain tops. In this way the music is uniquely Welsh. It is no stranger to travel and is not Welsh in a parochial or patriotic way, yet it cannot be said to have sprung from anywhere else.

This compilation tries to create an aural picture of this world. In ten years of fflach:tradd's existence a great deal of brilliant music that has been recorded has had to be left out of this collection. this is a great pity, and several versions have been tried and tracks reluctantly rejected before settling on this particular set.

It is a rare thing for a commercial company to be driven mainly by concerns of quality and culture, yet fflach:tradd finds itself at the vanguard of musical creativity in Wales thanks to the vision of its team. I have had great pleasure in working with them and being inspired by them as well as the musicians over the years.

Ceri Rhys Matthews

Credits