Cerys Hafana
“Machynlleth-based harpist Cerys Hafana is more of a reinventor than musician – opening up their instrument, the triple harp, past its constrictive, traditional form, allowing it to congeal with modern songwriting”
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Cerys Hafana is a Welsh triple harpist and composer who mangles, mutates and transforms traditional music. They explore the creative possibilities of archival material, folk songs and psalms, found sounds and electronic processing, alongside original compositions. They come from Machynlleth, mid Wales, where rivers and roads meet on the way to the sea.
Cerys released their first album, Cwmwl, in 2020. Their second album, Edyf, was selected as one of The Guardian’s Top Ten folk albums of 2022, and was shortlisted for the 2023 Welsh Music Prize. In January 2024 Cerys released The Bitter, a 5-track EP of English and Scottish folk song arrangements self-produced for the Old Tunes Fresh Takes podcast during the COVID lockdowns. In September 2024 they released Crwydro, an EP of solo piano pieces to mark two years since the release of Edyf.
Cerys has performed extensively around the UK, and at festivals such as Festival Interceltique de Lorient, Green Man, Reeperbahn, Other Voices, WOMAD and Trans Musicales, and has supported artists such as Charlie Cunningham, Adwaith, Andrew Wasylyk and Yann Tiersen. They completed their first solo headline tour of the UK in early 2024, and will be touring the UK and Europe extensively in 2025. Cerys has toured with leading classical ensemble Sinfonia Cymru in early 2024.
They have also performed live sessions on Radio 6 Music (Cerys Matthews, Riley & Coe), Radio 3 (In Tune and Music Planet), Radio Wales and Radio 4 (Woman’s Hour).
CERYS HAFANA headlines St Mary’s Church on Saturday 22 March, see schedule here