Review Text
QUICK INTRO.... Siân occupies a unique place in Welsh traditional singing. She comes from a line of singers who accompany themselves on harp. This method of performing is championed by Siân, whose renditions of ancient soulful tunes are no less than sublime. No one else does it like this. Her teacher before her, Mrs Franses Môn Jones also toured widely in the States in her time. Siân is the flag bearer of her teacher's tradition. REVIEWS Sian James is the Welsh melodic psyche, and once you understand that her potential becomes awesome. A Welsh Enya? - do me a favour! We're talking automatic empathy here, not any reinforced Celtic stereotypes. James, for my money, will one day sweep all before her. Cloth-eared English will consign this to some ethnic rack, but the sheer power and beauty of her voice unadorned is stunning. Her music grows in depth the more you listen, and if you're not in Snowdonia, then sweeping along the Llyn coastline, at least in spirit if not reality with this, then mate you don't know Wales, no matter how many times you've visited. But know Sian James and you're getting there. Dwin' decall Cymraeg... tipyn bach. Simon Jones, Folk Roots. ...suitably rhapsodic music by Siân James, owner of the type of voice that critics describe as 'achingly pure'. John Peel, Top Radio one DJ in UK Well, if it did for Enya, then it'll certainly do for Sian James..... And that voice makes strong men crumble.... Continuing her evolution from her last album 'Distaw' this collection of traditional material finds Sian James among the leading lights of her own generation. A work of extreme heart and a work of art. John O'Regan - Broadcaster & Freelance journalist Limerick, Ireland I first heard Sian's recordings when I was staying high in the mountains of North Wales near the picturesque village of Croesor. It is a completely different thing to hear and see Sian perform live. She is an angel. We Celts are noted for our range of songs and tunes which can take you from joy to melancholy in a painfully short time. The Welsh are no exception to this rule and Sian's Wonderful voice and expressive face help to make each song a treasure to hear. Her playing is brilliant yet effortless and her singing is pure even with the songs of love and betrayal. She happily explains the songs too before singing them. This is so those of us with only about 2 words of Welsh, both involving ordering alcohol, can understand them. The songs and stories run like an amazing folk soap opera. There are men sending Blackbirds to their uninterested girlfriends and brothers secretly marrying the other brother's fiance. Confused? You won't be if you buy Sian's new album Pur which features many of the songs and tunes she sang today. If you get the chance to see Sian live though, take it. She took us all through a beautiful set in the relative hush of the small Theater and I was genuinely moved, a small tear showing the big softie in me yearning for a night in Mam's kitchen back in the hills. John Cutliffe Reviewing Sian's performance Atlanta Celtic Festival. New Mexico Welsh thrilled by Welsh singer Siân James. New Mexicans were fortunate to enjoy thrills, weeping and laughing at a recent perfor-mance in Albuquerque by Siân James, singer and harpist. Not well known in this country, Siân is an icon in her native Wales. She was in Albuquerque under the auspices of the National Endowment for the Humanities to make recordings. Singing publicly at the age of three, the artist's background includes a degree in voice and broad experience. For example, hers is the voice you hear in the film, The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill and Came Down a Mountain. She has also composed a soundtrack for a six part BBC series on birds. Siân's voice is singularly sweet, well-suited to her specialty of acnient and modern Welsh folk love songs and Celtic laments. To highlight her versatility, however, she treated her audience to her own composition for voice and harp of a blues num
