Traw [traoo]:
Laptop improvisation using field recordings and live sampling.

Richard Llewellyn
Owen Martell
Simon Proffitt
Contact: traw@fouriertransform.com



Releases:
Buried Treasure
(Fourier Transform, CD-R, forthcoming) | Rural field recordings

Community Noise (edit)
(On Cawl Siarc compilation, Siarc Marw, CD-R, 2006)

Cwymp Y Dŵr Ar Ganol Dydd
(Confront Collectors Series, CD, 2006) | With Rhodri Davies

Congratulations to the Young Men of Nelson
(Fourier Transform, CD-R, 2006) | Kitchen utensils and wooden toys



Shop:
Cwymp Y Dŵr: £4.99 + p&p
[visit shop]

Congratulations to the Young Men of Nelson: £8 including p&p worldwide
[visit shop]



Things people have said about Cwymp Y Dŵr:
The outcome of this project, the six tracks presented here, are uniformly lovely, not a bad apple in the bunch. As might be expected given the initial source and the general demeanor of Davies' music, the pieces tend toward the roughly consonant with ringing overtones abetted by percussive jangles that might have ultimately derived from interaction with the harp's frame. But it's the layers of tonal washes, their interference patterns and the resultant throbbing colors that make the music here. Gentle pulses emerge within beds of tiny bristles, a kind of ambient sound, often very misty, often offset by brief, harsher intrusions, always gorgeous. Sometimes the fluttering gets rather rapid, as on "Sgwd yr Eira" (the Scrabble hound in me wishing that Welsh words other than "cwm" were acceptable in that game) but the general tone of the pieces is one of mildly agitated repose and contemplation. There is something of a similar nature in the tracks, not a bad thing as each is very fine on its own, though if I had to pick a winner, it'd be "Y Pannwr", a somber piece with muffled "bell tolls" and ambient percussive chatter that eventually dives into deep, deep dronage.
Brian Olewnick, Bagatellen

This is well thought-out, elegant EAI, leisurely in pace but rich in detail – if a tad heavy on reverb in places – ranging from the tiny helicopter flutters of "Sgwd Yr Eira" (sorry, don't know what that means, nor how to pronounce it) via the cavernous clangs of "Einion Gam" and the sinister "Mellte", in which ominous low thuds and mid and high register drones are gradually wrapped in a blanket of white noise fuzz, to "Y Pannwr" and the closing "Llia", which explore the austere clanging resonance of Davies' harp frame to great effect. Serious stuff, but eminently listenable. In fact, the only difficult thing about this album is pronouncing its title.
Dan Warburton, Paris Transatlantic

The trio's main ground is a prolongued shimmering drone; over and through that emerge other strata or isolated events, hums and white noise wash, clunks, resonant thuds and juddering. It's music that creates its own environment and envelops you as you listen...
Julian Cowley, The Wire



Live:
13 Jan 2007 | The Flea Pit, Hackney, London | with Rhodri Davies (harp/electronics)
06 Sep 2006 | The Printing House, Trinity College, Dublin | with Rhodri Davies (harp), David Lacey/Dennis McNulty/Paul Vogel (electronics + percussion)
27 Aug 2006 | Milgi, 213 City Road, Cardiff
09 Jun 2006 | Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff | guitar/bass/drums free-rock set
21 May 2006 | Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff | with Rhodri Davies (harp), Dennis McNulty (electronics)
30 Apr 2006 | Port Mahon, Oxford | with Gary Smith (guitar)
22 Apr 2006 | Memorial Hall, Betws-y-coed | The Sonic Catering Tribute Band with Karine Décorne (food)
13 Oct 2004 | Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff | Community Noise, various sounds provided by members of the public
?? Jun 2004 | Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff | as part of Jacuzzi Junta
30 Apr 2004 | Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff | as part of Jacuzzi Junta



Unreleased:
Untitled (2005)
Shoji Hano (drums), Gary Smith (guitar) & Traw (live sampling)

Fireworks (2xCD, 2004)



Links:
Audition
Confront
Fourier Transform
Gary Smith
i and e
Rhodri Davies
Shoji Hano