‘Cynefin’ (pr.’kuh-neh-vin’), a word with no direct translation into English, is the musical brainchild of Welsh folk singer, researcher, grain grower and cultural historian Owen Shiers. The initial aim of the project was to create a musical map of his home county, but the work quickly grew a life of its own and culminated in the 2020 album Dilyn Afon (Following A River), produced by long standing mentor and producer, John Hollis. The album received critical acclaim with the Guardian hailing Shiers as ‘a stunning new talent’ and Songlines dubbing the album “beguiling…a distinct debut”. It also received nominations for Welsh Language Album of the Year 2020 and three nominations at the 2023 Wales Folk Awards. Continuing in the vein of rooting his music firmly in the customs and cultural vernacular of Ceredigion, Cynefin's newest album 'Shimli' takes its title from the now obsolete West Walian practice of all night musical and poetic vigils which used to take place in mills and workshops. Drawing inspiration from folk song, the beirdd gwlad (folk poet) tradition – as well as living oral history and story, the album explores the intersection between music, poetry, food and the natural world. A personal dispatch from the struggle to preserve a language, culture and way of life, the album is a musical petition – a stake in the ground for the diverse and the disappearing in our age of homogenisation and mass amnesia.
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Cynefin plays traditional and contemporary Welsh folk music, blending archival regional histories and poetry with acoustic instrumentation.
Cynefin is based in the Ceredigion region of West Wales, drawing deeply on local oral traditions, landscape, and language.
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