WOMAD

Gwenno

From United Kingdom

Biography by WOMAD, August 2003:Gwenno grew up in Cardiff as the daughter of Cornish language poet and bard Tim Saunders. Theirs was a multi–lingual household, and Gwenno grew up surrounded by the Irish, Welsh and Cornish tongues. Still only 21 years old, Gwenno’s first love was the stage, and she has already taken a leading role in Michael Flatley’s Lord of the Dance and Feet of Flames. She has also starred in Welsh TVsoap Pobol Y Cwm and presents the S4C youth show Fideomondo. Now, however, she’s focusing on her musical career. Having nurtured a deep–rooted love of the Celtic languages, Gwenno finds rich expression of these through her music. Her repertoire takes in a wide variety of forms, from melodic Cornish love songs through to modern dance–based sounds, and she has had a recent top five hit in the dance charts with 'Fire in the Sky'. Now signed-up by Caernarfon record label Crai, she has released a new EP titled 'Mor Hyd'. Her success was reflected at the 2002 Welsh Music Awards in Cardiff when she was nominated for three awards, winning two of these. Biography supplied by management, August 2003:Gwenno, a 21-year-old talented artist from Cardiff, sings in Welsh and Cornish and has hit the right notes with a string of successes.She has already travelled the world with Michael Flatley’s Lord of the Dance show, had a top five hit in the dance charts with ‘Fire in the Sky’ and even starred in the S4C soap Pobol Y Cwm. With all this under her belt, Gwenno decided to concentrate on her musical career - she hasn’t looked back since being signed-up by Caernarfon record label Crai and releasing a new EP titled ‘Mor Hyd’.Her success was reflected at the 2002 Welsh Music Awards in Cardiff when she was nominated for three awards and won two of these. She won best newcomer at the Dance Award night, best video at the Rock and Pop Award night and was also nominated for best female at the Dance Award night. (Rhys to confirm)The video for her new song, ‘Mor Hyd’, has also appeared on giant videoscreens in top clothes shops such as H&M and Top Shop alongside the likes of Kylie and Alica Keys. She is hoping that her new Welsh language single will have a big impact in the charts. In the near future, she would like to concentrate on writing new material and to build on her successful 2002.