Mae Huw Stephens yn enwog ym myd cerddoriaeth. Mae’n cyflwyno sioeau nos ar Radio 1 a Radio Cymru. Dechreuodd e yr ŵyl ‘Sŵn’ yng Nghaerdydd, ac mae e’n foi da! Dyma sgwrs hyfryd ges i gyda fe…
Huw Stephens is a legend in the music world. He presents evening shows on Radio 1 and Radio Cymru, he started the Sound festival in Cardiff and he is just an all-round top bloke. Here’s a lovely chat with him…
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| Huw, dych chi’n cyflwyno sioeau ar Radio Cymru a Radio 1. Mae'r rhan fwya o bobl yn y maes cyfryngau dechrau gyrfaoedd yn y Gymraeg ac wedyn yn ymestyn i mewn i’r Saesneg, ond fe wnes di ddechrau fel DJ ar Radio 1 pan o ti'n 17 oed. Pa fath o brofiad ooedd e? Roedd e’n brofiad diddorol iawn. Ro’n i’n ifanc iawn - ro’n i’n gwneud radio ysbyty yng Nghaerdydd, a gwirfoddoli yna, felly ro’n i’n lwcus iawn cael y job. Hefyd, ro’n i’n ateb y phones yn y BBC yng Nghaerdydd ar ddyddiau Sadwrn. Roedd e’n gyffrous iawn- tipyn bach yn bonkers i fod ar Radio 1 ond fe wnes i joio fe. Roedd e gyda Bethan Elfyn ar y dechrau - dyn ni’n mynd yn ôl nawr i 1999- y ganrif ddiwethaf! | Huw, you present shows on Radio Cymru and Radio 1. Most people start careers in media through the medium of Welsh and then extend into English, but you started as a DJ at Radio 1 when you were 17. What sort of experience was that? It was a very interesting experience. I was very young - I was doing hospital radio in Cardiff, and volunteering there, so I was very lucky to get the job. I was also answering the phones in the BBC in Cardiff on Saturdays. It was very exciting- a little bit bonkers to be on Radio 1 but I enjoyed it. I was with Bethan Elfyn at the start - we’re going back to 1999 now- the last century! |
| Gwnes ti greu gŵyl gerddoriaeth Gymraeg, ‘Sŵn’ yng Nghaerdydd, sy'n digwydd pob mis Hydref. Sut oedd yr ŵyl eleni? Mae ‘Sŵn’ wedi newid eleni - yn lle un penwythnos mae un gig bob nos-ish am fis a dwi’n meddwl bod y gigs wedi bod yn brysur iawn. Dwi’n gwneud llai gyda gigs ‘Sŵn’ ar hyn o bryd ond maen nhw wedi bod yn llwyddiannus iawn. Mae Caerdydd yn llawn llefydd i gigio y dyddiau ’ma. | You have created a festival for Welsh music, ‘Sound’ in Cardiff, which happens every October. How was the festival this year? Sŵn has changed this year- in place of one weekend there is one gig every evening-ish for a month and I believe that the gigs have been very busy. I’m doing less with ‘Sŵn’ gigs at the moment but they have been very successful. Cardiff is full of places to gig in these days. |
| Rwyt ti’n cyflwyno yn y ddwy iaith- ydy e'n anodd symud rhyngddyn nhw? Na - dyw e ddim yn anodd o gwbl achos dwi’n siarad Cymraeg a Saesneg i’r un lefel. Ges i fy magu yn siarad Cymraeg. Roedd fy nhad yn dysgu Cymraeg yn y Brifysgol, a gwnaeth e siarad Cymraeg gyda fi. Dwi’n ffeindio fe’n hawdd i siarad Cymraeg a dwi’n lwcus iawn i weithio a siarad gyda ffrindau a gweld bandiau sy’n canu yn y ddwy iaith. | You present in the two languages- is it difficult to move between the two? No - it isn’t difficult at all because I speak Welsh and English to the same level. I was brought up in Cardiff speaking Welsh. My dad taught Welsh in the University, and he spoke Welsh with me. I find it easy to speak Welsh and I’m very lucky to work, speak with friends and see bands that sing in both languages. |
| Mae llawer o bobl yn defnyddio geiriau Saesneg mewn sgyrsiau cyffredin yn y Gymraeg. Wyt ti erioed wedi defnyddio geiriau neu idiomau Cymraeg ar Radio 1? Ha ha. Weithiau dwi’n anghofio’r gair Saesneg am rywbeth, ac mae rhaid i fi ofyn fy nghynhyrchydd “what is ‘gŵyl’ yn Saesneg?”. | Lots of people use English words in general Welsh conversations. Have you ever used Welsh words or idioms on Radio 1? Ha ha. Sometimes I forget the English word for something, and I have to ask my producer “what is ‘festival’ in English?”. |
| Ydy dy gynhyrchydd yn siarad Cymraeg? Nac ydy, dydy hi ddim - Saesnes o Lundain yw hi - ond achos bod hi wedi bod yn gweithio gyda fi am amser hir - mae hi’n gallu dweud ‘diolch’ ac yn y blaen. | Does your producer speak Welsh? No, she doesn’t - she is an Englishwoman from London - but because she has been working with me for a very long time - she can say ‘thanks’ and so on. |
| Felly, oes geiriadur gyda hi yn y stiwdio? Oes, oes, mae ganddi eiriadur! | So, does she have a dictionary with her in the studio? Yes, yes, she does! |
| Dw i'n newydd i'r byd cerddoriaeth Gymraeg a dw i'n moyn dechrau dod i ddeall y ‘scene’, rwyt ti’n arbenigwr. Beth ddylwn i wneud? Mae ‘Y Selar’ yn gylchgrawn da - mae ar gael mewn print misol ac ar y we, gyda Twitter feed, ac mae lot o bethau da ynddo. Mae Radio Cymru yn y nos yn dda, ar ôl saith o’r gloch, yn dda. | I’m new to the Welsh music world and I would like to start exploring the scene, you are an expert. What should I do? The Cellar is a very good - it is available in print monthly and on the web, with a Twitter feed, and has lots of good things. Radio Cymru in the evening is good, after 7 o’clock, is good. |
| Ydy, mae e. Mae gwefan Golwg 360 yn eithaf da hefyd- maen nhw’n gwneud straeon a newyddion am fandiau. | Yes, it is. The Golwg 360 website is quite as good as well - they do stories and news about bands. |
| A beth am bobl sy'n chwarae cerddoriaeth Gymraeg - beth allan nhw wneud i ffeindio mwy o wrandawyr a chyfleoedd? Mae ‘Brwydr y Bandiau’ pob blwyddyn yn yr Eisteddfod yn wych. Mae llefydd fel Clwb Ifor Bach, Tŷ Tawe a chanolfannau Cymraeg eraill yn dda - dych chi’n gallu trefnu gigs ynddyn nhw. A jest recordio caneon da a rhoi nhw ar y we a linco lan gyda bandiau eraill. | And what about people who play Welsh music - what can they do to find more listeners and opportunities? Battle of the Bands every year in the Eisteddfod is great. Places like Clwb Ifor Bach, Tŷ Tawe and other Welsh-langauge centres are good- you can organise gigs in them. And just record good songs and put them on the web and link up with other bands. |
| Rwyt ti wedi gwneud llawer o bethau i hybu bandiau Cymraeg. Beth yw dy uchafbwyntiau? Wel, dechrau gŵyl ‘Sŵn’. Dw i’n joio chwarae bands o Gymru ar Radio 1 sy’n canu yn Saesneg ac sy’n canu yn y Gymraeg - fel Tony ac Aloma a Sŵnami, i gynulleidfa sy ddim yn siarad Cymraeg o gwbl. | You have done lots of things to promote Welsh bands. What are your highlights? Well, starting ‘Sound’ festival. I enjoy playing bands from Wales on Radio 1 who sing in English and who sing in Welsh - like Tony And Aloma and Sŵnami, to audiences who don’t speak Welsh at all. |
| A pha grwpiau Cymraeg sy’n torri bant o’r scene Gymraeg i mewn i Brydain fel math y Super Furries yn y Nawdegau? Mae Tim Burgess o’r Charlatans yn caru lot o gerddoriaeth Gymraeg ac mae’n siarad Cymraeg a defnyddiwyd Yucatan drwy gydol ffilm yr Euros ‘Don’t Take Me Home’. Mae’r bands fel Estrons, Euros Childs a 9Bach yn gigio o gwmpas Prydain a’r byd, ac maen nhw’n canu yn Saesneg ac yn y Gymraeg. Mae’r byd yn eang, ond mae’r scene Cymraeg yn fach iawn, felly mae’n hawdd codi momentwm a thorri trwy’r byd eang. Ac mae BBC 6 Music yn chwarae tracs Cymraeg gan Gwenno & Tony ac Aloma yn y dydd ac yn y nos. | And what Welsh groups are breaking out of the Welsh scene into Britain like the Super Furries did in the Nineties? Tim Burgess of The Charlatans loves lots of Welsh music and speaks Welsh and Yucatan were used throughout the Euros ‘Don’t Take Me Home’ film. Bands like Estrons, Euros Childs and 9Bach gig around Britain and the world, and they sing in Welsh and English. It’s a big world, and the Welsh scene is very small, so it’s easy to pick up momentum and break through into the wiider world. And BBC 6 Music plays Welsh tracks by Gwenno & Tony and Aloma in the day and in the evening. |
| Diolch yn fawr Huw- roedd e’n bleser i siarad â ti a diolch am bopeth ti’n gwneud i hybu’r scene a bandiau. | Thanks very much Huw- it was a pleasure to speak with you and thanks for everything that you are doing to promote the scene and bands. |
huwstephens
Dyma fwy o wybodaeth am y cylchgronau a’r grwpiau y soniodd Huw amdanyn nhw uchod…
Here’s more information about the magazines and groups that Huw mentioned above…
Y Selar: y-selar.co.uk, twitter.com/Y_Selar
Golwg 360: golwg360.cymru/celfyddydau
Estrons: estrons.com, twitter.com/estrons, facebook.com/Estrons, open.spotify.com/artist/4QLxrnoxEmvV8TT7gkqgM5, estrons.bandcamp.com, youtube.com/user/TheESTRONS
Euros Childs: euroschilds.co.uk, twitter.com/national_elf, open.spotify.com/artist/4ZIAXslcwSuPJXw2qmztU8, youtube.com/channel/UCgddipN8AcNtMdjoLyVR6Iw
9Bach: 9bach.com, twitter.com/9bach, facebook.com/9BachMusic, open.spotify.com/artist/2NIcUSfuUPORqM5CaXZlIO, youtube.com/user/9BachMusic
Gwenno: twitter.com/gwennosaunders, facebook.com/Gwennomusic, open.spotify.com/artist/44mRrrRjaV8iu1VLIKuwty, youtube.com/user/gwennosaunders
Sŵnami: twitter.com/Swnami_, facebook.com/Swnami, open.spotify.com/artist/6LsLJJGqMODwb0U7oXXOfy, youtube.com/user/Swnamiwales
Tim Burgess: timburgessmusic.com, twitter.com/tim_burgess, facebook.com/timburgessmusic, open.spotify.com/artist/1goerABWhGQPWKhMCZeJ68, youtube.com/TimBurgess
Tony ac Aloma: sainwales.com/en/artists/tony-ac-aloma, open.spotify.com/artist/4J0eHk2IPOPq6ewCEABYjs
Yucatan: yucatan.cymru, twitter.com/yucatanambyth, facebook.com/yucatanambyth, spotify.com/artist/13G0F7SJMHPbasoUirF59J, yucatan.bandcamp.com
