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‘Together in creativity for peace!’ Sain, the indie label pushing Welsh music forward for 56 years

It’s gone from a cowshed to a cultural institution. As its 3,000-album archive gets digitised, different generations explain how Sain deepened Welsh identity

A former member of electronic collective Acid Casuals and rock band Big Leaves (who were signed to Sain’s 80s-00s pop imprint Crai, which also released early singles by Catatonia), he is part of a generation who are keen to preserve and revive Welsh music history. Past its purple-painted reception run by the formidable Rhian Eleri, artworks from the label’s 2019 50th birthday celebrations line its corridors, using Sain’s early DIY collage aesthetic as inspiration, with the work of musician and poet Geraint Jarman (who died this week) who mixed rock, reggae and pop and played with Welsh poetic forms, being especially prominent. “Which didn’t always happen in some other minority languages, like Gaelic.” A touring culture based around clubs, miners’ institutes and local theatres has helped, as has the popularity of regional and national eisteddfod festivals, which still thrive today.

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