Olion Byw (Living Traces)
Fiddle and Voice – Lucy Rivers
Guitar, mandolin – Dan Lawrence
Albums:
Hen Bethau Newydd (Old Things New)
Mudo (Migration)
Calan Mai ( Spring Festival EP)
Olion Byw are a Welsh folk duo – mining the traditional tunes and songs of Cymru and bringing a contemporary energy and arrangement, with a smattering of original tunes. They have released two albums and an EP and have performed at venues and Festivals all over the UK and Loriant, supporting Baaba Maal at Hay Festival. In 2014 they were invited for an an official showcase at Folk Alliance in Kansas City and that same year they got the opportunity to fly to India and perform and collaborate with folk musicians in West Bengal with Banglaratak.
OLION BYW Review
Folk Radio review by Mick Tems
Mudo / Migrating
OBCD02
★★★★★
No sooner had Olion Byw’s promising debut CD stopped generating admiring compliments than the duo announced that their second album is about to be released; and for anyone who thought that Dan Lawrence and Lucy Rivers had made a pretty impressive start, this one even tops Hen Bethau Newydd. Dan and Lucy still maintain their repertoire of tried and trusted songs and tunes from the Welsh tradition, but this time they throw into the melting pot several experimental, mouth-watering morsels to savour. Olion Byw translates as Living Traces, and this couple are actually mining the history, the motherlode of Welsh culture. With Lucy on soulful, fine fiddle and Dan on adventurous, questing guitar and bright mandolin, those traces are healthily blossoming.
The sleeve notes say that migration is a recurring theme in the folk songs of many cultures, and it’s also true of Wales; whether it’s a move for love, heartbreak, money, war or merely to see the world, these songs hold a resonance.
Dylan Fowler
