Meic Stevens | Artist
Meic Stevens is a Welsh singer-songwriter born 1942 in Solva, Pembrokeshire, UK. Stevens's songs have a mystical, faintly psychedelic flavour, and are mostly sung in his native Welsh language. Still largely unknown outside Wales, he was discovered by DJ Jimmy Savile, who saw him performing in a Manchester folk club in 1965. This led to Stevens recording his first single "Did I Dream" with arranger John Paul Jones, who later joined Led Zeppelin. After that initial brush with success, he suffered a nervous breakdown and retreated to his home village to recuperate, and started to write songs in Welsh in a concerted effort to create a distinctive national pop music. From 1967 to 1969 he recorded a series of Welsh-language EPs on local labels like Sain and Wren. These EPs were re-issued some forty years on the excellent compilation sets Rain in the Leaves - The EPs Volume One (2006), and Sackcloth & Ashes - The EPs Volume Two (2007). Along with his many Welsh language recordings, Stevens made a one-off English language LP, Outlander (1970) for Warner Brothers Records, which has remains his most popular album release, due to its accessibility to Anglophone audiences. Today Stevens' psych-folk influence can be heard in contemporary Welsh groups such as Super Furry Animals and Gorky's Zygotic Mynci. The artist can be found occasionally singing in certain pubs in Aberystwyth until the late hours. He also performs regularly throughout Wales and England at major festivals, eisteddfodau, theatres etc, plus periodically in Brittany, France, where he is very popular. Standout albums include Outlander (1970), Gwymon (1972), the archival release Ghost Town (1997), and the aforementioned compilations Rain in the Leaves - The EPs Volume One (2006), and Sackcloth & Ashes - The EPs Volume Two (2007). Stevens remains a national hero in Wales, were his has been dubbed the "the Welsh Dylan".
Artist Website: wikipedia/Meic_Stevens
Featured Albums: Meic Stevens
Related Artists: Bara Menyn
Video Clips: Rain on the Leaves, Rue St Michel, Rowena
