Researcher shortlisted for Cân i Gymru

A song written by a member of staff in the School of Welsh has been shortlisted for Cân i Gymru 2024.

Mêl, a song composed by Dr Llewelyn Hopwood and Owain Huw, will be one of the 8 songs performed in the final round of the singing competition, held at the beginning of next month.

Each of the songs will be performed before a live audience and a panel of judges at the Swansea Arena, which is the first time for the competition to be held here. It will be in the hands of the public watching the broadcast on S4C to decide who will take first place and receive the £5,000 prize.

Speaking about his song, Dr Hopwood said: “It's a lively song about lively creatures: bees! My close friend, Owain Huw, and I composed it many years ago whilst killing time one afternoon, and instead of keeping it to ourselves, we seized the opportunity to enter this wonderful competition.

"Though we both used to write lots of songs when we were in the band Bromas, and whilst Owain continued to work as a musician in another band The Humber Collective, I missed writing and composing songs together.

"From there, we set about composing the song, 'Mêl'. In musical terms, it belongs stylistically to the genres of funk and disco, and poetically, it is a song that pays homage to the busy lives of bees.

"They are special creatures who band together on a daily basis, each one of them has a particular role to play, persevering and enjoying work as they create that sweet thing: honey."

Cân i Gymru will be broadcast on S4C on Friday night, 1 March.