Internet Fatigue are an Aberystwyth-based trio whose genre-blending sound brings together acoustic arrangements, electronic beats and flowing spoken word. Here they talk about the experience of composing Heuldro’r Haf, featuring Holy Chords, in response to the Mary Lloyd Jones triptych Bryn Celli Ddu.
“We enjoyed being shown around the National Library’s collections by Phoebe Murray-Hobbs (diolch, Phoebe!). We saw so many amazing artworks in the library’s collection, and it was really cool to be able to poke around behind the scenes. We were particularly taken by Mary Lloyd Jones’ 2007 triptych, Bryn Celli Ddu. The paintings are named after the Neolithic burial site on Anglesey which they abstractly depict. aim was already aware of this site’s use as a gathering place on the Summer Solstice.
aim did some reading on the real life Bryn Celli Ddu, and the background of Mary’s work depicting it. This gave us an extra appreciation of the work and Mary’s use of the bardic alphabet and Celtic symbolism. aim was inspired by their experience visiting an exhibition of Mary’s work at the Aberystwyth Arts Centre a few years ago. They also read more about Bryn Celli Ddu in books from the National Library, following in Mary’s footsteps, as she had carried out her own research before creating the triptych. Mary drew from writers such as Iolo Morganwg, who we reference in the song along with the legend of Taliesin and the living legend / arch druid, Mererid Hopwood.
Harry is learning Welsh (and far from fluent!), so tried writing some Welsh lyrics. What struck him was how old sites like Bryn Celli Ddu are, yet how young all of us witnessing — or responding to it — are. His lyrics reflected this. Then aim wrote additional lyrics responding to Harry’s, drawing from their research into the themes in Mary’s work and the history of the original site.
From this the music evolved. Harry wrote the guitar part, James added some bass, and together we built up the electronic elements later in the song. The band is normally just the three of us, but for this we brought on Amy to play some accordion, which features in various ways all the way throughout the piece and helps give it more of an acoustic (and eerie) vibe than most of our songs. aim also recorded bits of sound (doors opening, painting rails sliding) from around the National Library, which feature in the song as percussive elements. Additionally, the “synth” sound in the final third of the song is derived from a really obnoxious sounding alarm in one of the Library’s vaults. The alarm is to help make sure no one gets stuck in there without oxygen — which can be sucked out of the vault to prevent fires!
Finally, we sampled Mary speaking about her work in a video uploaded to YouTube by the Mid Wales Arts Centre. In the clip, Mary speaks about what inspired her work, which we thought resonated with both the drawings and carvings on the stones at Bryn Celli Ddu, and the process of this project.
We would like to thank:
- The National Library of Wales, especially Phoebe Murray-Hobbs and CELF, for this opportunity;
- Mary Lloyd Jones for continuing to create art which engages with the old and young world which we inhabit;
- Mid Wales Arts Centre for allowing us to sample their interview with Mary;
- CRIM’s sonic wizardry mixing and mastering the track;
- Amy Grandvoinet’s droning, holy chord contributions."
This piece was commissioned by The National Library of Wales where Internet Fatigue and Machynlleth-based band Lo-fi Jones were invited to explore the art collection and compose their own response to a work of their choosing.
