![Gorau Sain Cyfrol 2, album cover](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Gorau_Sain_Cyfrol_2%2C_album_cover.jpg)
Sain (Welsh for ''Audio'', ), in full – ''Sain (Recordiau) Cyf.'' (Audio (Records) Ltd) 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 ...
record label
A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...
, which took part in the Welsh folk revival.
History
Sain was founded in
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 ...
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
Brian Morgan Edwards (August 1934 – December 2002) was a Welsh businessman and politician who sponsored the first Welsh-language recording studio for popular music. He was described as a political "maverick".
Edwards was born in Swansea and w ...
, 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
The Tryweryn is a river in the north of Wales which starts at Llyn Tryweryn in the Snowdonia National Park and after joins the river Dee at Bala. One of the main tributaries of the Dee, it was dammed in 1965 to form Llyn Celyn, drowning the ...
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
Rockfield Studios is a residential recording studio located in the Wye Valley just outside the village of Rockfield, Monmouthshire, Wales. It was originally founded in 1963 by brothers Kingsley and Charles Ward.
Facilities
Rockfield is a two- ...
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
Caernarfon (; ) is a royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,852 (with Caeathro). It lies along the A487 road, on the eastern shore of the Menai Strait, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor is ...
area, and opened their first recording studio in 1975 near
Llandwrog
Llandwrog (; Welsh language: meaning 'The church of Saint Twrog') is a village and community in Gwynedd, north-west Wales, most notable for the presence of the headquarters of Welsh record label Sain and the site of Caernarfon Airport. It has ...
. Musicians who have recorded for the label include
Meic Stevens
Meic Stevens (born 13 March 1942) is a Welsh singer-songwriter. Stevens's songs have a mystical, faintly psychedelic flavour, and are mostly sung in his native Welsh language. Still largely unknown outside Wales, he was discovered by DJ Ji ...
,
Geraint Jarman
Geraint Jarman (born 1950 in Denbigh) is a Welsh musician, poet and television producer whose career dates back to the early years of Welsh popular music. He has recorded many albums as a solo artist and with his band Geraint Jarman a'r Cyngan ...
and
Bryn Terfel
Sir Bryn Terfel Jones, (; born 9 November 1965) (known professionally as Bryn Terfel) is a Welsh bass-baritone opera and concert singer. Terfel was initially associated with the roles of Mozart, particularly '' Figaro'', ''Leporello'' and ''D ...
.
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,
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
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded danc ...
artists.
[Hill, Sarah (2007) ''Blerwytirhwng?` the
Place of Welsh Pop Music'', Ashgate, , p. 63, 87, 134][Parker, 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
Maartin Allcock (born Martin Allcock; 5 January 1957 – 16 September 2018) was an English multi-instrumentalist musician and record producer.
Biography
Born in Middleton, Greater Manchester, Middleton, Lancashire (now Greater Manchester), E ...
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 #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, 27 March 2006, retrieved 2011-01-22
In 2017 Sain released over 7,000 audio clips and 498 album covers under a
. These are available on
.
*Sain – main label
*Crai – mainstream rock label
*Rasal – pop/indie label for young talents
*Slic –