Sain (Welsh for ''Audio'', ), in full – ''Sain (Recordiau) Cyf.'' (Audio (Records) Ltd) is a Welsh record label, which took part in the Welsh folk revival.

History

Sain was founded in Cardiff 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 in

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...

. In the early 1970s Sain moved to the Caernarfon 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.

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 Big Leaves were a Welsh rock band formed in 1988, originally named Beganifs. They disbanded in 2003, with two members subsequently forming Sibrydion. History The band was formed in 1988 as Beganifs by then 11- and 12-year-old school pupils Rhod ...

, as well as a series of ''Crai Tecno'' compilations featuring Welsh dance music 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 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.

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