Wave Of Jubilation: Surfing in Wales with Y Niwl

Pronounced ‘Uh Nule’ and translated as ‘The Fog’, Y Niwl are the only surf rock band in North West Wales, as far as our sources can tell. But before you tiss and mumble something about Wales not exactly being a world competitor for Godzilla sized waves, let it be known that the band have indeed surfed there. Physically as well as musically.

"For consistency it'd have to be Pembrokeshire," says drummer Pete, discussing the best surfing spots in the country. "Although to be fair I haven't surfed there much. My preference is Porth Ceiriad on Llŷn, I've surfed there so much now I can hardly go right anymore."

As news rolls in of the latest shark attack to hit foreign waters, it's worth asking however: what kind of animal are surfers likely to be attacked by in Wales?

"An orca was spotted off Criccieth this summer," says Pete, "but I don't think they go for humans. Best not to mimic a seal when surfing though. You're more likely to catch something than for something to catch you!"

Surf music is still a niche musical genre, despite high profile hipsters acts like The Drums and MGMTmaking in-roads in its direction. Y Niwl are the real deal however; you can imagine tracks like 'Undegpedwar' appearing on the Pulp Fiction soundtrack. How did the sound emerge?

We never intended to categorise ourselves to any real extent," explains guitarist Gruffudd, " it's just that when we started playing together, this particular style seemed to flow easier than anything else. We all listen to quite a lot of "old-ish" stuff, so it wasn't really a surprise when the influences started to show. It's a lot more liberating to write songs without having to confine ourselves to a certain gimmick."


'Undegpedwar'

The band have a fine back history, which includes drummer Pete's previous adventures working with alternative-pop legends Gorkys Zygotic Mynci and the fantastic Topper. So how's the Welsh language scene looking at the moment?

"The scene in Wales is busy enough," says Gruffudd. "It's easy to bitch and moan about certain aspects but overall it's quite active, even if there has been a decline in the past few years.

"Because it's such a small country, there's not a lot of room for different scenes in terms of genres and all that. But there are pros and cons; on the one hand, there's quite a bit of diversity, but on the other it's sometimes frustrating if there's only a handful of bands you really enjoy... you end up seeing the same gig every week!"

Life in Y Niwl is still an unpredictable thrill ride however, as they explain; "We once bought a pack of Jaffa Cakes, and as we pulled them out one by one to eat, they all had the chocolate side facing upwards. Then, about three quarters of the way into the pack, one of them had the cake side facing upwards! To this day, we have no idea how this happened. Touch wood it won't happen again."