Folky vocalist to power your pagan rituals
Who?
Harnessing her voice for seemingly endless possibilities, Welsh artist Bethan Lloyd uses native and global folk vocal traditions to create tribal rhythms, rave-inspired production and harmonic layering. Sounds intense – and it is – but at the heart of the music are Lloyd’s own vocals, which can at times be trance-inducing. Drip-feeding us tracks since 2016, the start of 2023 has seen releases come thick and fast. Her current single,‘No Umbilical’, will be followed by another in March, while her debut album, ‘Metamorphosis’, is due to arrive in April via Berlin label Soulpunx.
Why Bethan Lloyd?
Lloyd’s journey is fascinating. It includes training as a classical singer, immersing herself in Berlin’s experimental scene and learning from magicians about ancient teachings of the natural world. Music for Lloyd presents a chance to connect with the environment around us, both past and present, and she has recorded at Neolithic sites and places of natural beauty. This approach is audible on her debut album, ‘Metamorphosis’, which pits a playful, gritty and danceable patchwork of ideas around her manipulated voice. There’s an innate ancientness to each track, augmented by wholly contrasting modern technology, like the 80s synth vibes of ‘No Umblical’ or the Enya-meets-dubstep-meets-techno soundscape that is ‘Aria’ (yes, it is that good).
Tell Us More…
And there’s even more depth to Lloyd’s creativity, whether as a collaborator in drone-choir NYX (who recently worked with Gazelle Twin), Jet Pack Dog (with Isaac Ray who joins her on production duties on ‘Metamorphosis’), leading voice retreat workshops (“vocal liberation and improvisation” is an upcoming one) or performing in inspiring places, such as on top of Mynydd Parys mountain in Wales under starlight.
‘No Umbilical’ is out on Soulpunx.
