Fernhill is a Welsh folk band, formed in 1996. They have been described by music critic and journalist Colin Irwin

Colin Irwin

Colin Irwin is a British music journalist. Irwin was an assistant editor of Melody Maker in the 1970s and 1980s, before leaving in the summer of 1987 as the magazine moved in a different direction, and editor of Number One magazine in the late 1980s and early 1990s...

, as "highly regarded, innovative cultural ambassadors for Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 and its folk music

Folk music

Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....

, having toured in over 20 countries in four continents". Their style is described as "intimate enough with the tradition, that they are unafraid to stretch its boundaries."

Band Members

The current line-up is Julie Murphy

Julie Murphy

Julie Murphy is a singer who sings in Welsh and English. She sings in the Welsh band Fernhill, as well as performing and recording as a solo artist.She has also collaborated musically with John Cale , and Afro Celt Sound System .-Biography:Murphy was born in Highgate, London,...

, voice; Ceri Rhys Matthews

Ceri Rhys Matthews

Ceri Rhys Matthews is a Welsh traditional musician, record producer, and teacher.-Biography:Matthews was born in Swansea, Wales...

, guitar and flute; Tomos Williams, trumpet; Christine Cooper, fiddle and voice.

The original line-up, alongside Murphy and Matthews, included Andy Cutting

Andy Cutting

Andy Cutting is an English folk musician and composer. Born 18 March 1969 in Harrow, he plays melodeon and has had instruments made by Castagnari to his own specification. He won the Folk Musician of the Year at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2008 and 2011...

, accordions, 1996–2002; and Jonathan Shorland, flute and bagpipes, 1996 - 1999. Cass Meurig, crwth

Crwth

The crwth is an archaic stringed musical instrument, associated particularly with Welsh music, once widely-played in Europe.-Origin of the name:...

 and fiddle, played with the band between 2000 - 2004. Cutting and Shorland appeared on the first two albums, Ca’ nôs and Llatai. The line-up on Whilia was Murphy, Matthews and Cutting. Guest musicians were Tim Harris on upright bass and Cass Meurig on fiddle, who later joined the band full-time. The line-up on hynt was Murphy, Matthews, Williams, Meurig, Tim Harris, and Dorian Phillips AKA Nobsta Nutts rapper. In 2004, Meurig was replaced by Christine Cooper on fiddle. However, the 2007 live album Na Prádle, recorded at the Na Prádle club in Prague

Prague

Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...

, Czeck Republic only features Murphy, Matthews and Williams. Cooper is featured on their latest album Canu Rhydd

Canu Rhydd

-Track listing:#"adar"#"when i was in my prime"#"diddan"#"forest"#"glyn cynon"#"glyn tawe"#"y fwynlan o serch"-Musicians:*Julie Murphy - voice, sruti*Ceri Rhys Matthews - guitar, flute, voice*Tomos Williams - trumpet, flugelhorn...

 on fiddle and spoken word. In concerts, the band occasionally work with guest poet Jon Gower or rapper, Nobsta Nutts.

Touring Highlights

International appearances include Festival De Cornouaille, Quimper; Telemark, Kaustinen; Brosella jazz and folk, Brussels; Festival Interceltique de Lorient

Festival Interceltique de Lorient

The Festival Interceltique de Lorient or Gouelioù Etrekeltiek An Oriant was founded in Lorient, Brittany in 1971 by Polig Montjarret...

; major concerts in Athens

Athens

Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...

; Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

; Brussels

Brussels

Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

 and Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

. British Council

British Council

The British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...

 tours of Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

, Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

, the Czech Republic and three separate tours in southern and east Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

. The group's album, Na Prádle made the Mojo (magazine)

Mojo (magazine)

MOJO is a popular music magazine published initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer, monthly in the United Kingdom. Following the success of the magazine Q, publishers Emap were looking for a title which would cater for the burgeoning interest in classic rock music...

 top ten folk album list 2007. The album captures highlights of an intimate concert in Prague recorded and broadcast by Czech radio 3 during a tour of the Czech Republic in 2006.

Discography

• Ca’ nôs (Beautiful Jo Records, 1996)
• Llatai (Beautiful Jo Records, 1998)
• Whilia (Beautiful Jo Records, 2000)
• hynt (Beautiful Jo Records, 2003)
• Na Prádle (live) (Beautiful Jo Records, 2007)
• Canu Rhydd
  Canu Rhydd
  -Track listing:#"adar"#"when i was in my prime"#"diddan"#"forest"#"glyn cynon"#"glyn tawe"#"y fwynlan o serch"-Musicians:*Julie Murphy - voice, sruti*Ceri Rhys Matthews - guitar, flute, voice*Tomos Williams - trumpet, flugelhorn...
  
  (disgyfrith, 2011)