Lolfa Binc returns with Ymbincio! Blending noise rock, improvisation, and multilingual artistry, the Gwynedd-based band creates raw, boundary-pushing music while proudly representing Welsh culture in the global music scene.
1.
Congratulations on your new album, Ymbincio! Can you share the inspiration
behind the album's title and overall theme?
Hii the title means to "enpink" or "pink-up" - to do your makeup or to pink yourself in Welsh which we find hilarious and of course it relates to all of our band which means 'Pink Lounge.'
2. Your music often features a blend of Cymraeg, English, and other
languages. How do you decide which language fits a particular track, and how
does this multilingual approach shape your sound?
We are improvised band so if you have got two or more languages at your disposal I guess it's whatever language that seems to fit the improvisation in which you're taking part! but also there is equipment going on - one thing the stochastic effect of throwing pages around on the floor and also I've got poetry generator which is a scary looking dolls head with one of those wooden reels that has had cable inside which has poetry and different text pinned to it which I can spin around and then it's sort of whatever catches my eye at the time, it's called ANGELA aleatory non generative etymological lexical actuator 😜
3. The standout track Syndod a Sêr has been highlighted as epic. Can you
tell us more about the creative process behind this piece and what it
represents?
The name is based on a collection of poetry by Meirion Pennar which is significant to me because it's one of the only truly Avant Garde collections in Welsh to my knowledge so I keep coming back to that and it became a kind of repeating element in that longer track. yeah things tend towards epicness if you continue with the improvisation but I think we do get a lot of variety into that track SYNDOD Y SÊR means 'surprise of the stars.'
4. Improvisation seems to play a key role in your music. How do you strike a
balance between structure and spontaneity in both the studio and live
performances?
yeah, we're
moving more into improv. we do have songs worked out consisting of riffs which
we then record in a kind of live recording setup. you know like some jazz
musicians apparently Rage Against machine the dirty 3 and guttersnipe work this
way. some people just don't like the studio process because it's very mediated,
isn't it? I think Tom the bassist prefers something pre-prepared but there's
always a significant variation whenever we do a performance. improvisation is a
way which you can never get anything wrong.
5. Lolfa Binc's sound is described as chaotic yet captivating. How do you
channel this energy into your live shows to create such electrifying
performances?
switch hitting is like maybe part of ADHD attention flipping around but also the energy of having the audience's attention incident upon you like (poet) Lorcas's "duende" you get power from the audience and that translates into kind of energy Force the performances then become some kind of ritual almost. the energy of the band members the energy of the audience intermingling into this Sonic artefact.
6. Noise rock and punk are genres often associated with rebellion and raw
emotion. What message or emotions do you hope your audience takes away from
Ymbincio?
there is a kind of rebellion and expressiveness to it. I used to think that it was displaying some sort of "psychic wound" but also, I think the rebellion is against conventional musical structures and approaches to music and lyrics.
7. Singing in Cymraeg brings a unique element to your music. How important
is it for you to represent Welsh culture and language in the global music
scene?
Oes tad! ESGOB annnwyl!! it's very important. it's quite difficult to understand the interior of minority language culture quite similar in the culture of you know of say: Galician Breton Catalonian Irish cultures and so on and it's important that Welsh bands when they do to get on a global stage don't try and hide that origin. now we've got some some cool bands like tristwch y fenywod who are representing Welsh culture as sophisticated experimental queer and contemporary just like we're also trying to do.
8. What role does your environment in Gwynedd play in shaping your music,
both sonically and thematically?
These songs are very much rooted in Gwynedd. with the exception of Tomos our drummer we are from other places originally I'm from South Wales Tom is from Essex and this is the place we have chosen to be. at the same time we're bringing in more metropolitan cultural influences you know we're interested in David Lynch and Sonic Youth as much as we're interested in Datblygu or Tystion. to an extent we are sort of outside the conventional music culture of Wales, hopefully we're bringing something-in that somebody can key into if they want to integrate innovative practice into what's happening in North Wales.
I'm not really as aware as I should be of current trends but obviously people have heard of like post-punk the like Idles and fontaine's D. C and things like that and amyl on the sniffers and of course is a lot of music out there. everybody's trying to find their niche. I feel that 90s noise Rock stuff does still sound quite fresh. people have heard of Nirvana but they haven't heard of the scene that was around them and they're kind of experimental noise fans that were around in the early 90s seems like something that can be explored anew...
10. Your music features a mix of experimental soundscapes and semi-tuned
riffs. How do you approach songwriting as a band to incorporate these
contrasting elements?
I'm trying to have some musical experiments in order to expand my learning, understanding at the moment. sometimes you go into a rehearsal having listened to Massicott or pavement or something I'm trying emulate that, try and do some polyrhythms or bring in different instruments like I started playing guitar and then sometimes we get new pedals and new techniques that we can bring together. for instance since the lockdown I've had the pedal board for my voice and I've started doing Loops and things that but do an ep or an album focusing on that next I think.
11. Since your formation in 2017, you've built a loyal fanbase and received
attention from major outlets like BBC Radio 6 Music. What has been the most
rewarding part of this journey so far?
It was nice to get on 6 music www.bbc.co.uk/pr...01950z and we get support from local music outlets particularly Neil Crud. louderthanwar.co...eview/ Certainly some of the gigs have been the most rewarding thinking like back in the day playing with radio rhydd and then more recently playing with cuntroaches in which I played the guitar with a quote unquote "massager." They have been an opportunity to create an event /whole night with other bands that I particularly enjoy. Got some lined up in Europe or in Wale whatever we do will definitely be conducting that chaos!
Tom Rhys Tomos (@lolfabinc) • Instagram photos and videos
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