Owen Shiers's second album, 'Cynefin: Shimli,' embraces the storytelling tradition of west Wales, presenting a blend of ballads, poetic music, and original songs in Welsh. The arrangements, enriched with varied instruments like horns and piano, evoke a pastoral feel. Shiers captures the essence of disappearing rural communities, threading personal narratives that reflect on identity and belonging. Rather than fostering anger over cultural loss, the album invites contemplation, showcasing Shiers's plain yet soothing vocal style. As he navigates themes of nostalgia and connection, he simultaneously addresses broader societal homogenization and memory loss.
In his bilingual liner notes, Shiers calls this album a stake in the ground for the diverse and the disappearing in our age of homogenisation and mass amnesia.
Recording as Cynefin, Shiers's second album mixes traditional ballads, musical settings of poems, and originals built on stories collected from rural west Walians, all sung in Welsh.
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