Welsh musician Cerys Hafana’s first release on the brilliant subsidiary of Hamburg-based global music label Glitterbeat explores the full sublime potential of its title, one all too often invoked to mean meekness and sweetness. Opening track Helynt Ryfeddol (An Incredible Ordeal) introduces a folk story about an old man drawn towards the purest music he has ever heard, sung by a bird, to which he listens until it stops. He returns home to find his house entirely changed and lived in by different people. Seven tracks later, the title track tells us that the bird was an angel, and that the man went away for 350 years, never to be seen again.
Angel is the third release by this piercingly beautiful singer and exceptional, adventurous musician in 18 months. (Their collection of precise piano instrumentals, Difrisg (Differing) was released by Instant Karma back in June, while 2024’s guitar-led EP The Bitter combined the eerie melancholia of Broadcast with a Welsh twist on sultry Americana.) The piano returns for Angel, but Hafana also builds striking patterns on their best-known instrument, the Welsh triple harp, and draws from Breton influences, including folk dance rhythms and a call-and-response technique, kan ha diskan.
