Steffan Cravos
Encyclopedia
| Country: | 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... |
|---|---|
| Born: | 1975 |
| Dates Active: | 1991–Present |
| Music Genres: | Rap Rapping Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”... , hip hop Hip hop music Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted... |
Steffan Cravos (born 1975, Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
) is a Welsh rap
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
and hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
artist, as well as a Welsh-language
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
activist.
Cravos, editor of Brechdan Tywod, a Welsh-language e-zine was also chairman of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, the Welsh Language Society
Welsh Language Society
Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, , often abbreviated to Cymdeithas or Cymdeithas yr Iaith is a pressure group in Wales campaigning for the future of the Welsh language...
for two years.
He was elected in April 2005 and was succeeded by Hywel Griffiths two years later.
As "DJ Lambchop", Cravos is known for his "cut, scratch, and mix" turntablist
Turntablism
Turntablism is the art of manipulating sounds and creating music using phonograph turntables and a DJ mixer.The word 'turntablist' was coined in 1995 by DJ Babu to describe the difference between a DJ who just plays records, and one who performs by touching and moving the records, stylus and mixer...
. He is also the founding member of Tystion, a Welsh
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...
hip hop band. In his spare time, Cravos runs the label Fitamin Un
Fitamin Un
Fitamin Un is an underground electronic and hip-hop record label started by Steffan Cravos in 1995. It is currently based in Llandwrog, Wales, and features bands interested in Breaks, Electronic, Electronica, hip hop and Rap.-Artists:* Tystion* Pep Le Pew...
and an internet radio station called Radio Amgen.
He was briefly involved with an early line-up of Gorky's Zygotic Mynci
Gorky's Zygotic Mynci
Gorky's Zygotic Mynci were a Welsh alternative rock band, formed in Carmarthen, west Wales in 1991. They sang songs in both Welsh and English. They split up in May 2006.-Biography:...
playing violin and sound effects, and is credited on several songs on their early-years compilation Patio
Patio (album)
Patio is the debut album by Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, it was originally released on 10" vinyl only in June 1992 on the Ankst label. It was re-issued on CD in June 1995 with nine extra tracks. It is made up of a mixture of live, studio and home recordings....
.
AKA
He is also known as DJ Lambchop, MC Sleifar, Lembo, Mihangel Macintosh, DJ Kurva Anyád, DJ Lambchop, Endaf Estron and Daz Tandy.Quote
"What does it mean to be a Welsh band singing in WelshWelsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
? To me, it’s the natural thing to do, Welsh is my first language, and I wish it would be the natural everyday language of 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...
. If it is used enough, then maybe one day Welsh will return to be the main language of my Country. The eradication of the language will mean less and less of an identity for the Welsh nation
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...
, it will turn Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
's and the wishes of the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
ruling establishment since him into a reality—that is, Wales becomes western England" (from a 30 July 2002 email).
This sentiment is echoed by John Griffiths
John Griffiths
John Griffiths AM is a Welsh Labour Co-operative politician and the Minister for Environment and Sustainable Development...
of Llwybr Llaethog
Llwybr Llaethog
Llwybr Llaethog are an experimental Welsh language band that effectively mix such varied musical genres as rap, dub, reggae, hip hop, and punk in their music....
:
"They also had a unique attitude towards the vexed question of the appropriateness of singing and rapping in the Welsh language, as John puts it, 'the language has been systematically put down over the last few hundred years, so singing in Welsh is a political statement in itself, but it’s also the language I grew up with anyway and personally I believe that any language must adapt to stay healthy, and must be street usable to live, therefore I am also a keen advocate of using slang Welsh.'" (Liner notes to Hip-Dub Reggae-Hop, Llwybr Llaethog 1985-2000.)
DJ Lambchop
The name combines the Welsh stereotype of the lamb with the cut, scratch, and mixing of turntablismTurntablism
Turntablism is the art of manipulating sounds and creating music using phonograph turntables and a DJ mixer.The word 'turntablist' was coined in 1995 by DJ Babu to describe the difference between a DJ who just plays records, and one who performs by touching and moving the records, stylus and mixer...
. As DJ Lambchop he released a cassette-only release called "Cashing in on Cool Cymru" in which he slags Kelly Jones
Kelly Jones
Kelly Jones is a Welsh singer-songwriter and guitarist and the lead singer of the band Stereophonics. Influenced by classic rock bands such as The Who, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC and the Sex Pistols, Jones is noted for his strong, gravelly voice, which has been described as "whisky" vocals...
over a break beat. The other tracks are "Terfysgoedd Daear" and "Distort the Truth, Distort the Facts, Distort Everything Dub".
Lambchop has run campaigns against corporations such as AOL for inequal treatment of Welsh customers. He once put up a website called "AOL's Total Lack of Respect for the Welsh Language".
Fitamin Un
In 1996, Cravos set up Recordiau Fitamin UnFitamin Un
Fitamin Un is an underground electronic and hip-hop record label started by Steffan Cravos in 1995. It is currently based in Llandwrog, Wales, and features bands interested in Breaks, Electronic, Electronica, hip hop and Rap.-Artists:* Tystion* Pep Le Pew...
. Fed up with the scene in 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...
, he created it to be an outlet for some of his projects (like Tystion) and other underground material. Other bands released on the label include Llwybr Llaethog
Llwybr Llaethog
Llwybr Llaethog are an experimental Welsh language band that effectively mix such varied musical genres as rap, dub, reggae, hip hop, and punk in their music....
, "Pep Le Pew", "Trawsfynydd Lo-Fi" (aka Liberation Front), and "Continuous Sound Labordy Swn Cont".
Radio Amgen
Radio Amgen provides numerous rare mp3's to listen to on the computer. The tracks are from an eclectic mix of artists in both Welsh and English languages, as well as links to artists, labels, other mp3's, and institutions. Radio Amgen translated as Alternative Radio, also gice many amateur dj's and music producers the opportunity to showcase their creations. Such successful introducing radio shows include Dander Radio, produced by Aron Jones.Tystion (1991 - 2002)
TystionTystion
Tystion was a Welsh language hip hop band from Wales.- Background :In 1996, MC Sleifar and G Man got together and released a few cassettes themselves...
began in 1991. Cravos, aged 16, and influenced by the sounds of Dead Kennedys
Dead Kennedys
Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band formed in San Francisco, California in 1978. The band became part of the American hardcore punk movement of the early 1980s. They gained a large underground fanbase in the international punk music scene....
, worked from his bedroom in Carmarthen
Carmarthen
Carmarthen is a community in, and the county town of, Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is sited on the River Towy north of its mouth at Carmarthen Bay. In 2001, the population was 14,648....
using two tape decks and a mixer. He wanted to create an answer to the current state of the Welsh musical mainstream. By 1995, he was joined by Gruff Meredith.
Lo-Cut and Sleifar
Cravos worked on this project with Murry the Hump member/producer Lo-Cut (Curig Huws) and put out an album in 2004 on Boobytrap Records. They are based in CardiffCardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
and established their partnership in Paris.
"Music for the feet and music for the mind" -- their definition of hip-hop - is the English translation of the title.
Albums
| Year | Album | Label | Additional information |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Miwsig I'ch Traed A Miwsig I'ch Meddwl | Boobytrap Records | |
Projects
- Brechdan Tywod (in Welsh)
- DJ Lambchop
- Lo-cut and Sleifer
- Radio Amgen (in Welsh)
- Tystion
- Tystion page (with lyrics)
Welsh-language activism
- Arrested on the behalf of a New Language Act
- http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/newspolitics/tm_objectid=16290389&method=full&siteid=50082&headline=make-the-effort-to-remove-the-blinkers-name_page.htmlAlun PughAlun PughAlun John Pugh is a former Labour Welsh Assembly Government Minister for Culture, Welsh Language and Sport. Pugh was born into a poor coal mining family in the Rhondda Valleys. He moved to North Wales in the mid 1980s. Pugh currently lives in his former constituency near Ruthin, and lived in...
's essay on bilingualism] - Cravos's Western Mail article responding to Pugh's essay