Sain, Wales' oldest record label, opens its Llandwrog archive to a new generation

For more than half a century, Sain has been the sound of Welsh-language music. Now the record label, based at Canolfan Sain in Llandwrog on the outskirts of Caernarfon, is making sure that sound reaches a new generation.

Sain, which means audio or sound in Welsh, was co-founded in 1969 by protest singer Dafydd Iwan. Its first single was Huw Jones' Dŵr, a protest song about the flooding of the Tryweryn valley near Bala. In the early 1970s the company moved to the Caernarfon area and opened its first studio near Llandwrog in 1974. Artists who have recorded with the label include Catatonia, Meic Stevens, Geraint Jarman, Bryn Terfel, Catrin Finch and Heather Jones.

With funding from the ARFOR challenge fund, the label has been digitising its back catalogue of more than 2,000 releases, with expert advice from the National Library of Wales. Five decades of protest music, pop, hip hop, classical and folk are now available to stream or download, alongside a vinyl reissue series.

The archive is already inspiring new work. Cardiff producer Don Leisure built his sample-heavy album Tyrchu Sain from the label's 1970s recordings, and singles from it were playlisted by BBC 6 Music.

Leading the next chapter is chief executive Kev Tame, who grew up in Waunfawr, just seven miles from the studios. He played in Big Leaves, whose records came out on the Sain imprint Crai, and he first set foot in Sain on work experience at 15, packing CDs in the mail room. "Sain holds the world's largest archive of Welsh-language music, a cultural treasure that deserves both celebration and preservation," he said. "But what excites me most is the future: recording and developing new musical talent in Wales."

That includes Stafell Sbâr Sain, or Sain's Spare Room, an anthology series in which up-and-coming and established artists record in the label's studio. At Canolfan Sain, freelancers, creatives and microbusinesses in north-west Wales can also now use co-working spaces.

Dafydd Iwan, whose song Yma o Hyd has become an anthem for Wales football fans, said the new era "feels like a new beginning".

To explore the catalogue, new releases and reissues, visit sainwales.com.