Adwaith on new album 'Bato Mato' and singing in Welsh to a global audience

"We didn't start the band thinking that singing in Welsh would take us around the world, but it has and people really enjoy it" says Adwaith bassist Gwenllian Anthony.

The band have just released their long-awaited second album 'Bato Mato'.

Inspired by an epic journey on the Trans-Siberian railway, it's a stunningly evocative record.

With recording and touring curtailed by the pandemic, the band say they had an opportunity to reevaluate their plans, scrapping their initial ideas for the follow up to their acclaimed debut 'Melyn'.

"After our trip to Siberia, we felt that album wasn't the right album and we thought we could do better" says Anthony. We wrote another album and it was mostly sending voice notes over to each other because we couldn't meet up!"

"A lot of the sounds on the album are inspired the landscape of where we went - like big synth atmospheric noises" adds guitarist Hollie Singer.

"We explore themes of adulthood, and loss, but also hope as well".

While 'Bato Mato' sees the band evolve their sound, the band remain fiercely passionate about their language and heritage.

"I think it's an amazing feeling to be able to travel the world and sing in our native tongue" says Gwenllian Anthony

"We get asked a lot if we'd sing in English, but I just feel like it'd be  inauthentic of us to ever write an English song!"

"People really like to interpret what they want and kind of feel the music, instead of the lyrics"

The interview with Adwaith features in ITV Wales' new arts and entertainment show Backstage.

Catch up with the latest episode of Backstage and previous episodes at www.itv.com/walesprogrammes