Biography
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Members
- Dafydd Roberts
- Gwyndaf Roberts
Ar Log is a Welsh band playing traditional music. Their name is Welsh for "For Hire".
Ar Log has been performing and recording since 1976; the original members were Dave Burns (guitar), Dafydd Roberts (triple harp, flute), Gwyndaf Roberts (knee harp and bass), and Iolo Jones (fiddle). The four individuals were brought together by the Welsh Tourist Board, who were eager that a Welsh traditional group should represent the nation at that year's Interceltique festival in Lorient. There they met The Dubliners, who suggested that they should stay together and turn professional. During this period, the group released the first of several eponymous albums: Ar Log. In about 1980 Dave Burns and Iolo Jones left, and were replaced by guitarist Geraint Glynne Davies and fiddler Graham Pritchard.
This second lineup recorded two further albums, Ar Log II and Ar Log III. The former contains perhaps the best example of the Roberts' brothers harping: "Merch Megan/Wyres Megan" and "Llydaw" are two classic triple-harp arrangements. These contrast with sea shanties of J. Glyn Davies ("Fflat Huw Puw"," Rownd yr Horn").
In the early 1980s, Ar Log's horizons expanded substantially with the addition of Stephen ('Steffan') Rees (accordion, fiddle, and keyboards). Rees went on to an academic career in music. By this time, Ar Log had become particularly associated with Dafydd Iwan, a long-standing figure in the Welsh national movement. In 1982 and 1983, Ar Log embarked on two tours with Iwan. The first tour, Taith 700, was to mark the 700th anniversary of the death of Llywelyn the Last in 1282. The tours produced two albums (Rhwng Hwyl a Thaith and Yma o Hyd).
In 1983, the group recorded an all-instrumental album, Meillionen (clover leaf), aimed primarily at the Welsh folk dance community. The sleeve notes of the album also included a booklet of dance steps for the various sets on the album.
Ar Log IV was recorded in 1984, going some way to dispelling a common myth that Ar Log had somehow become Dafydd Iwan's backing group. By 1988, Iolo Jones had returned as Ar Log's fiddler, in place of Graham Pritchard. Ar Log V probably remains the group's most prominent album in terms of blending the synthesiser into the traditional elements. The group also rejoined Dafydd Iwan in 1988 for a celebration of the singer's quarter-centennial on the road. However, by now, Ar Log had essentially become a part-time operation as the group's members had found full-time employment elsewhere.
In 1996, Ar Log celebrated their anniversary by recalling all of the group's members, past and present, to record. Ar Log VI. A book was compiled by Lyn Ebenezer to mark the group's anniversary. An enduring aspect of Ar Log VI was the adoption by Ar Log of a permanent drummer and bassist in their performances. The new style brought the band into a more orthodox 'country' style, in the manner of groups such as John ac Alun in the Welsh language mainstream. Stephen Rees subsequently left the group and became a founder member of Crasdant. In 2004, Ar Log appeared at the Tân y Ddraig festival night organised by Bryn Terfel.
Ar Log's members are drawn from across the diverse geographic and cultural regions of Wales, and from differing musical backgrounds. Brothers Dafydd and Gwyndaf Roberts were brought up in Llwyngwril, Meirionnydd in the northwestern heartland of the Welsh language. They were immersed in the tradition of Welsh folk harping by their tutor, Nansi Richards ("Telynores Maldwyn", the harpist of Maldwyn). Iolo Jones is originally from Caerffili, a former coal mining town in south Wales. Jones was a classically-trained violinist. Pritchard combined throughout his career the complex harmonies of Ar Log with the lighter fiddle style employed by Mynediad am Ddim of which he was also a member..
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