Datsyn Interview
Translated from Sothach! 71, June 1995
Super Furry Animals, the new darlings of the NME are performing tonight at Porthmadog Sports Club, and among the support bands are Datsyn, yet another band from North Wales. They’ve already been interviewed on Y Lein Hwyr and have performed a session for Nia Melville’s show on Radio Cymru, but tonight they’re standing in in the Sports Club toilets talking about their songs and their attitudes towards their music.
Who are you and what do you do?
- Nick Ferwick: guitars and keyboards
- Gruffudd Meredith: guitar and voice
- Iwan Pierce: bass guitar
- Ifer Gwyn: drums and backing vocals
- Steffan Cravos: vinyl record scratching
What has Datsyn achieved so far?
The best thing at the moment I think is the recording session for Nia Melville, but we’ve also recorded a demo which not many people have heard yet, and a couple of tracks for compilation albums. The Melville session was a lot of help since it gave us the chance to be heard, get a bit of cred and even to take the opportunity to record the tracks we wanted to hear on the radio.
Kinky Bitch has alraedy received quite a bit of attention on Radio Cymru’s youth programmes, so what has Datsyn got to offer the Rock scene in Wales (apart from suggestive song titles)?
We just want to record stuff that sounds quite fresh, and even though we’re proud of our Welsh heritage, we are looking beyond to give the music something a little different. I’m sure that the songs are influenced by rap music…
As in tonight’s set, with Steffan Cravos (formerly of Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci) scratching vinyl on the turntables?
We like listening to any kind of music that’s good, and by showing these influences in the music that we perform, we hope to sound like no other band on the scene.
So, what state is the Welsh Rock Scene in in 1995, following the success of Gorky’s, Catatonia and Super Furry Animals? Is the scene healthier than it used to be?
Yes, it’s quite healthy. There’s plenty of interesting things going on that are away from the more ‘traditional’ Welsh stuff, like Dafydd Iwan and the like, but we’re not keen on placing music in categories.
Has it been difficult breaking through into the scene?
Hmmm…no, but it hasn’t been easy either. There isn’t enough coverage of pop bands, especially new ones, and more often than not, the press or the media don’t seem to be reflecting what’s going on in the scene. Its seems easier to get attention by singing in English!
We’re not going to sing only in English since the meaning of our songs are often lost in the translation, but we do use English words because that’s the way we speak in our everyday lives. We want the songs to appear as natural as possible, but we don’t want people to see us as some sort of ‘joke band’ – we are serious about music, and about what we do.
But audiences enjoy listening to ‘classics’ again and again.
Perhaps, but but we think that audiences also like to hear new and original material.
So what’s on the horizon for you?
Datsyn hope to perform at the Eisteddfod, and the track Sbeis (Uncensored) will soon be appearing on the Gog Rock compilation tape.