Y Dydd Olaf (album)

Y Dydd Olaf is the first solo album by Welsh singer-songwriter Gwenno. It was her fifth solo release after four previous EPs.

Y Dydd Olaf
Studio album by
Gwenno
Released27 October 2014 (Peski)
24 July 2015 (Heavenly)
GenreElectro-pop
Length43:12
LanguageWelsh
Cornish
LabelPeski Records (limited release)
Heavenly Recordings
ProducerRhys Edwards
Gwenno chronology
Y Dydd Olaf
(2014)		 Le Kov
(2018)
Singles from Y Dydd Olaf
  1. "Fratolish Hiang Perpeshki (Tim Gane Remix)"

Background

The album was initially released on a small scale by the independent Peski Records label in October 2014 and sold out completely. It was re-released worldwide in 2015 by Heavenly Recordings.[1] The album was an attempt by Gwenno to combine her political views with sounds she loves and was inspired in part by a dystopian science fiction book of the same name by Owain Owain which was released in 1976. Since the album was released, permission for an English translation of Owain's book was granted, 40 years after it was first published in Welsh. The album is sung predominantly in Welsh with the final track, Amser, being a musical rendition of a Cornish poem by her father, Tim Saunders. Gwenno has said she used the book's title as it had inspired her to return to singing in her first language.[2]

The album began as a collection of recordings of everyday sounds Gwenno had collected over a number of years, including field recordings in Cardiff Bay. She sampled these sounds to create rhythm tracks and built the songs up from there, saying she "really wanted to get to the bottom of the idea of creating a soundscape before coming up with any sort of song" and has said she aims to use "less music to make more".[3]

Reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.5/10[4]
Metacritic83/100[5]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
Clash8/10[7]
Drowned in Sound8/10[8]
Financial Times[9]
Mojo[10]
Now4/5[11]
Pitchfork8.0/10[12]
Q[13]
Record Collector[14]
Uncut8/10[15]

The album received critical acclaim and won the Welsh Music Prize and the Welsh-language album of the Year in 2015. It was also chosen by readers of Y Selar, a Welsh music magazine, as the 4th best album of 2014,[16] and by Allmusic as one of the best Indie Records of 2015.[17] London's Loud and Quiet called it the second best album of 2015.[18]

Track listing

Source:[19]
All tracks written by Gwenno.

No.TitleEnglish TranslationLength
1."Chwyldro"Revolution5:18
2."Patriarchaeth"Patriarchy3:29
3."Calon Peiriant"Heart of the machine5:08
4."Sisial y Môr"The whispering sea5:41
5."Dawns y Blaned Dirion"Dance of the True Planet1:30
6."Golau Arall"Another Light3:31
7."Stwff"Stuff4:59
8."Y Dydd Olaf"The Last Day4:15
9."Fratolish Hiang Perpeshki"Fratolish Hiang Perpeshki4:37
10."Amser"Time4:44

Release history
Country Date Label
Wales 27 October 2014 Peski Records
Worldwide 24 July 2015 Heavenly Recordings
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References
  1. "Gwenno". nme.com. Time (Inc.) U.K. 10 May 2015.
  2. "Interview: Gwenno". www.tyci.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2018-02-06.
  3. "Escape Velocity - Sense Of Emergency: Gwenno Interviewed". The Quietus.
  4. "Y Dydd Olaf by Gwenno reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  5. "Reviews for Y Dydd Olaf by Gwenno". Metacritic. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  6. Sendra, Tim. "Y Dydd Olaf – Gwenno". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  7. Salmon, Will (4 August 2015). "Gwenno – Y Dydd Olaf". Clash. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  8. Clarke, Jude (22 July 2015). "Album Review: Gwenno – Y Dydd Olaf". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  9. Hunter-Tilney, Ludovic (17 July 2015). "Gwenno: Y Dydd Olaf — review". Financial Times. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  10. "Gwenno: Y Dydd Olaf". Mojo (262): 89. September 2015.
  11. Ritchie, Kevin (5 August 2015). "Gwenno". Now. Archived from the original on 6 February 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  12. Snapes, Laura (24 July 2015). "Gwenno: Y Dydd Olaf". Pitchfork. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  13. "Gwenno: Y Dydd Olaf". Q (349): 107. August 2015.
  14. Kennedy, Jake (August 2015). "Gwenno – Y Dydd Olaf". Record Collector (443). Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  15. "Gwenno: Y Dydd Olaf". Uncut (219): 75. August 2015.
  16. "Y Selar Mawrth15". issuu.com.
  17. "Favorite Indie Pop and Indie Rock Albums - AllMusic 2015 in Review". AllMusic.
  18. "Loud and Quiet's Best Albums of 2015".
  19. "Y Dydd Olaf de Gwenno en Apple Music". 24 July 2015.
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