Shwmae and welcome back to Green Man Chinwag, where we introduce you to a bumper bunch of GM25 acts via our punchy mini-Q&A – both newer discoveries and firm favourites!
This week, we hear from the otherworldly Tristwch Y Fenywod (‘The Sadness of Women’). Featuring members from cult heroes Guttersnipe, Hawthonn and Slaylor Moon, the goth trio – comprising vocalist and zither player Gwretsien Ferch Lisbeth, Sidni Sarffwraig on bass guitar and Leila Lygad on the electronic drum kit – announced their arrival last year with their majestic self-titled debut LP.
Welsh culture has a rich and storied history of folklore tradition, from which the band pull lyrical inspiration. “By reclaiming, re-interpreting, and re-imagining these stories and concepts from history that we are creating something new from them which dismantles their power,” said Gwretsien in a previous interview with Bandcamp. It’s a mission statement that rings true with their openness to sonic exploration, an approach that encompasses rock and folk with a touch of disco.
Ahead of their Green Man debut this August, we invited the band to answer our quickfire questions. Here, Gwretsien dives deep on their summer touring plans and a dream backstage rider – featuring unexpected culinary delights aplenty...
For fans of: Cocteau Twins, Martha Skye Murphy, Mabe Fratti
Where to start: ‘Y Trawsnewidiad’ – layers of ethereal vocals slip against psych-folk explorations and darker flourishes, fusing language, landscape and identity
What can we expect from your Green Man 2025 performance?
Caddug, tywyllwch a dioddefaint benywaidd! (‘Gloom, darkness and female suffering!’)
What does your dream backstage rider look like?
20 packs of sleisen greision ŷd (‘crispy slices’) from Becws Môn [bakery in Llangefni, north Wales]. A mural of jellybeans arranged to look exactly like one of Yayoi Kusama's Infinity Rooms!
If you could have been at any gig in history, what would it be?
That's a hard choice! Throbbing Gristle at the ICA? Diamanda Galas at the Church of St John the Divine? Datblygu at Pesda Roc? Joy Division at Derby Hall in 1980?
Mayhem live in Jessheim? Mars at Max Kansas City in 1978? The premiere of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring? There's just too damn many! I'm sure we could all think of five more each that are even more crucial…
What’s the first thing you do when you get back home from tour?
Blaze it up and listen to all the LPs and tapes acquired across the tour!
What was the musical moment that changed the world for your teenage selves?
I can't speak for the other two, but for me, it was Only Theatre of Pain by Christian Death, That record turned me gay!
Musically or otherwise, what are you most looking forward to this summer?
Rolling around on the twyni tywod (‘sand dunes’)! And mine and Sidni's UK tour playing as the backing band for Drainolith!
And finally, what’s your favourite biscuit?
Wow, another tough question since I am a serious biscuit connoisseur. At the moment, I am super into these Hide & Seek brand black Bourbons that I have only ever found in this one Gujarati specialist shop down the road from me; it's like a combination of an Oreo and a regular bourbon, but better than either of those!