Kizzy Meriel Crawford (born 1996), known as Kizzy, 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 peop ...

singer songwriter from

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydf ...

with

Bajan Bajan may refer to: Geography and culture Barbados * Barbadians, known by the colloquialism Bajan(s) (pronounced 'bay-jun') * Barbadian English language * Bajan Creole, a Creole language Other location * Something or someone from Baja ...

heritage who sings in both

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and

, using traditional and modern sources. She began writing songs at the age of thirteen.

Background

Kizzy was born in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

but when her parents divorced in 1999, moved with her mother, sister and grandparents to

Aberaeron Aberaeron, previously anglicised as Aberayron, is a town, community, and electoral ward between Aberystwyth and Cardigan, in Ceredigion, Wales. Ceredigion County Council offices are in Aberaeron. The name of the town is Welsh for ''mouth of the ...

and later

Llandeilo Llandeilo () is a town and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales, situated at the crossing of the River Towy by the A483 on a 19th-century stone bridge. Its population was 1,795 at the 2011 Census. It is adjacent to the westernmost point of the B ...

before settling in Merthyr Tydfil, Her mother is from the south east of England but she spent her childhood holidays with her grandparents in Disserth,

Powys Powys (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh succession of states, successor state, petty kingdom and princi ...

and always wanted to raise her children in Wales. Her father's family hails from

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

. She was educated in Welsh from the age of four and is the eldest of five children. She has a sister, Eädyth, who is also a singer. In a 2013 press interview she explained: At the age of 26 she was diagnosed with

autism The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

Career

Crawford won the

Arts Connect Arts Connect (''Clymu Celf'' in Welsh) is a local authority arts services partnership between Rhondda Cynon Taf, Merthyr Tydfil, Bridgend and Vale of Glamorgan in South Wales since 2012. It is advised by the Arts Council of Wales, and the Welsh ...

Original Singer-Songwriter prize in 2012 resulting in work with

Amy Wadge Amy Victoria Wadge (born ) is an English singer and songwriter. She has co-written tracks with Ed Sheeran, including "Thinking Out Loud" for which she won the 2016 Grammy Award for Song of the Year. Early life Wadge was born and brought up in B ...

including recording her first single ''Starling'' and its video with Arts Connect's ''Sonig'' - youth music industry initiative. She performed her song "The Starling" live on

BBC Radio Wales BBC Radio Wales is a Welsh radio station owned and operated by BBC Cymru Wales, a division of the BBC. It began broadcasting on 13 November 1978, replacing the 'Radio 4 Wales' opt-out service (previously the Welsh Home Service). Radio Wales br ...

's ''

Bethan Elfyn Bethan Elfyn () is a Welsh radio and television presenter. Elfyn was born in Bangor, Gwynedd, was brought up in Newtown, Powys, and now lives in Cardiff with her husband, Clwb Ifor Bach Promoter and Works Manager Richard Hawkins. They had a ...

Show'' in August 2013. This was then released as her debut single in November 2013 followed by her EP ''Temporary Zone'' in December, released by

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

record label See Monkey Do Monkey. Together with many radio and TV appearances in Wales during 2013, she has also performed live at various venues including

FOCUS Wales Focus Wales (stylised as FOCUS Wales) is an international multi-venue showcase music and arts festival held annually in Wrexham, Wales. It is Wales' biggest music industry event and was first held in 2010. The event showcases emerging Welsh mus ...

Festival, the

Sŵn Sŵn Festival (''sŵn'' is Welsh for "sound, noise", ) is a music festival founded by BBC Radio 1 DJ Huw Stephens and Cardiff-based promoter John Rostron. The festival takes place annually in Stephens' hometown of Cardiff, Wales. The first S� ...

festival, the

Green Man Festival The Green Man Festival is an independent music, science and arts festival held annually in mid-August in the Brecon Beacons, Wales. Green Man has evolved into a 25,000 capacity week long event, showcasing predominantly live music (in particular ...

Caerphilly Castle Caerphilly Castle ( cy, Castell Caerffili) is a medieval fortification in Caerphilly in South Wales. The castle was constructed by Gilbert de Clare in the 13th century as part of his campaign to maintain control of Glamorgan, and saw extensi ...

and Maes B at the

National Eisteddfod of Wales The National Eisteddfod of Wales (Welsh language, 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 Eur ...

. Crawford also performed at Festival No 6. In 2014, she signed to publishing company BDi Music. Crawford appeared on the

BBC Wales BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Wales. It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, BBC Cymru Wales is ...

6 nations 2014 promotions singing

Calon Lân "" () is a Welsh hymn, the words of which were written in the 1890s by Daniel James (Gwyrosydd) and sung to a tune by John Hughes. The song was originally written as a hymn, but has become firmly established as a rugby anthem, associated with ...

, and in April 2014 was named as one of twelve BBC Horizons acts for 2014–15. She performed her new single "Golden Brown", and also

, live on BBC Radio 4's Saturday Live programme on 20 September 2014 Later that year she performed at Glastonbury on the BBC Introducing stage and has since performed at several other high-profile festivals including Womex Blissfields, Hay Festival and Cheltenham Jazz. In 2015, she released the single "Shout Out / Yr Alwad", a co-write with Owen Powell, the track was selected as the soundtrack to the Visit Wales 2015 National TV & Online Campaign. Crawford performed at the Euro 16 Welsh team homecoming gig at Cardiff City Football Stadium alongside the Manic Street Preachers. In 2016, several of her compositions were selected as part of the WJEC A Level Music Syllabus - her music sat in the contemporary section alongside The Manics, Gruff Rhys & The Super Furry Animals. Later Crawford was invited to perform and discuss that accolade live on ''

Woman's Hour ''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946. History Created by Norman Collins and originally presented by A ...

'' for

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

. Later in 2016, Crawford collaborated with Jazz pianist and composer Gwilym Simcock on a new collaboration ''Birdsong - Can Yr Adar'', based on the Welsh rainforest within Carngafallt. They co-wrote new music and performed and toured it live with Sinfonia Cymru across Wales and culminating in a performance at London Jazz Festival. In 2018, the ''Birdsong-Can Yr Adar'' CD was released via Basho Records to coincide with a second UK tour. The recording was listed as a Top 100 2018 album by renowned jazz journalist Ted Gioia. In 2017, she performed live with

BBC National Orchestra of Wales The BBC National Orchestra of Wales (BBC NOW) ( cy, Cerddorfa Genedlaethol Gymreig y BBC) is a Welsh symphony orchestra and one of the BBC's five professional radio orchestras. The BBC NOW is the only professional symphony orchestra organisatio ...

and at

Cambridge Folk Festival The Cambridge Folk Festival is an annual music festival, established in 1965, held on the site of Cherry Hinton Hall in Cherry Hinton, one of the villages subsumed by the city of Cambridge, England. The festival is known for its eclectic mix of ...

. She played a supporting role as PC Emma Jones in the award winning BBC drama ''

Keeping Faith ''Keeping Faith'' (1999) is the sixth novel by the bestselling American author Jodi Picoult. The book is about a custody battle involving a seven-year-old girl, Faith White, who may be seeing God. Plot summary When Mariah White catches her hu ...

''. In 2018, Crawford signed to Freestyle Records and released her debut album "The Way I Dream" in 2019 In November 2021, Crawford released her first self recorded/produced/mixed and debut Welsh Album "Rhydd" with Sain Records.

Politics

In September 2019, Crawford sang ''

'' with her sister, Eädyth, at a rally in Merthyr Tydfil expressing her support for

Welsh independence Welsh independence ( cy, Annibyniaeth i Gymru) 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 ki ...

YesCymru YesCymru is a non party-political campaign for an independent Wales. The organisation was formed in the Summer of 2014 and officially launched on 20 February 2016 in Cardiff. In 2022 it became a private company limited by guarantee without sha ...

Discography

* "The Starling" (Sonig, 2013) * "Temporary Zone" (See Monkey Do Monkey, 2013) * "Golden Brown" (2014) * "Shout Out / Yr Alwad" (2015) * "Pili Pala" (2015) * "Imago" (2015) * "Birdsong / Can Yr Adar" (Basho Records, 2018) * "The Way I Dream" (Freestyle Records, 2019) * "Rhydd" (Sain Records, 2021)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Crawford, Kizzy Meriel 1996 births Living people British women guitarists Welsh folk musicians Welsh guitarists Welsh songwriters People from Merthyr Tydfil Welsh-language singers Welsh-speaking musicians 21st-century British guitarists 21st-century Welsh women singers 21st-century Black British women singers Welsh people of Barbadian descent Welsh jazz musicians Welsh pop musicians Welsh television actresses Black British actresses Basho Records artists People on the autism spectrum 21st-century women guitarists