Liam and Siôn are songwriters from Eryri, north Wales, who now live in Machynlleth. They write and perform as part of the band Lo-fi Jones. Here, they describe the process of creating the song Bydd goleuni yn yr hwyr – there will be light in the evening – which they composed in response to the painting of the same name by Lisa Eurgain Taylor. As it happens, Liam did an Art Foundation in Coleg Menai with Lisa Eurgain, years ago.
“We started the process by going into the National Library to look at some of the pieces of art in the collection and used our phones to take photos of the ones which caught our attention. Back home, we made a short list of the pieces we felt we could respond to instinctively, both musically and lyrically. We began composing several songs in response to different artworks from our shortlist. This was the third and final song we composed, and the one which we followed through to completion. ‘Bydd Goleuni...’ is an incredibly striking painting, masterfully capturing Eryri’s familiar rugged landscape, while also conveying an ethereal, otherworldly quality. We feel it evokes a feeling of hope tinged with sadness.
After listening to a track by Gruff Rhys as additional inspiration, we displayed a photograph of the painting (from the web) on our computer screen, and Liam started to play atmospheric, ethereal, psychedelic chords on a Korg synth. Then, Liam played major sevenths on the guitar. We both started to sing the words ‘Bydd goleuni yn yr hwyr’, and more words and the melody flowed from that. We improvised with harmony above the strummed chords, and the melody seemed to reveal itself naturally in tandem with the lyrics. We each fed ideas for lines and lyrics into the pot, which Siôn took the lead on crafting. The artist’s notes helped determine the themes in the song: “a world untouched by man - protect the natural world”. When we got stuck, we looked to the painting for inspiration. Fighter jets flew over us several times during the process, and so found their way into the song. Verse two references the 19th-century poem Aros Mae by John Ceiriog Hughes, subverting the original imagery to evoke the jarring contrast of these machines against Eryri's ancient landscape.
We started around 3pm, and after about two hours, the song was finished. The following day we recorded the song in Siôn's home studio, using multitracking software (Logic).
The two of us sing on the track. We start in unison, and move into a two-part harmony, with Siôn singing the main vocal line, or the higher voice, and Liam singing the lower harmony. Liam played the synth, guitar and bass. Siôn added additional synth and other sounds, and did the music production, mixing and mastering.”
Lyrics:
(translation available below)
Bydd goleuni yn yr hwyr
Mae’n hawdd anghofio’n llwyr
O ddydd i ddydd
Beth sydd yn y pridd
O dan ein traed, yn yr aer ac yn y gwaed
Ac wrth i’r cwmwl cuddio’r copa
A’r glaw i lanhau’r clwyf
Pan ti’n teimlo fel rhoi’r gorau i bopeth
A fydd goleuni yn yr hwyr?
Aros mae’r mynyddau
Tawel gwylio megis cynt
Rhuo drostynt awyrennau
Trais peiriannau ar y gwynt
Yn y creigiau hen atgofion
Cyn dyn, a’i mentrau mawr
Ai niwl neu fwg o’r tanau
Sy’n gorchuddio’n llwybr nawr?
Ac wrth i’r cwmwl cuddio’r copa
A’r glaw i lanhau’r clwyf
Pan ti’n teimlo fel rhoi’r gorau i bopeth
A fydd goleuni yn yr hwyr?
Ac wrth i’r cwmwl cuddio’r copa
A’r glaw i lanhau’r clwyf
Pan ti’n teimlo fel rhoi’r gorau i’r ymdrech
Bydd goleuni yn yr hwyr.
Translation:
There will be light in the evening
It’s easy to forget completely
From day to day
What is in the soil
Beneath our feet,
In the air and in the blood
And as cloud covers the summit,
And rain to clean the wound,
When you feel like giving up
On everything
Will there be light in the evening?
The mountains wait
Quietly watching as before
Roaring over them, (fighter) jets
Machines’ violence wrought upon the wind
In the rocks, old memories
Before man and his great ventures,
Is it fog or smoke from the fires
That obscures our path now?
And as the cloud hides the summit,
And rain to clean the wound,
When you feel like giving up
On everything
Will there be light in the evening?
And as the cloud hides the summit
And rain to clean the wound,
When you feel like giving up the struggle
There will be light in the evening
This piece was commissioned by The National Library of Wales where Low-fi Jones and Aberystwyth-based trio Internet Fatigue were invited to explore the art collection and compose their own response to a work of their choosing.
