20 May 2022
Although some may recognise Lloyd Lewis and Dom James as contributors on S4C's Hansh, their latest on-screen project - a video for their new single, Pwy Sy'n Galw?, will be quite different.
With music having always played an important part in both their lives, achieving the goal of releasing their single, Pwy Sy'n Galw?, today (May 20th) is reason to celebrate.
To add to the excitement, S4C's music platform, Lŵp, has produced a video to accompany the track.
Pwy Sy'n Galw? is a rap song, "a genre that is under-represented in Welsh" according to Lloyd.
And by producing a catchy song with big beats in the Welsh language, they hope to raise the profile of the language.
Dom James, from Cardiff, said: "I reached out to Lloyd back in 2017 to ask him to collaborate with me on music. I learned Welsh during my time at Ysgol Plasmawr and Lloyd picked it up at Ysgol Gyfun Gwynllyw in Pontypool.
"Since then, the Welsh language is very important to both of us, so combining the language and music was also important."
Cwmbran based Lloyd says: "Dom was already making music with Don (Donald Phythian), who is now our DJ and producer.
We created our first Welsh language song, Sawl Tro, about a year ago to perform on the programme Lemfreck curated, Lŵp Curadur.
"The response was incredible so we knew there was definitely room to create more Welsh rap.
"We decided to focus on doing a couple of Welsh songs and that's where Pwy Sy'n Galw? came into existence."
Although the track hadn't yet been released on streaming platforms, it attracted the attention of one of Wales' most influential DJs, Huw Stephens:
"When I played Pwy Sy'n Galw? on BBC Radio Cymru, the song had the best response of any song I've played on the show in years," says Huw.
"Musicians, fans and promoters got in touch asking; where can i get that song?! It's great, and really can't wait to hear what they're doing next."
"After a great response to the song we knew we had to make a video" added Lloyd.
"S4C's Lŵp channel agreed to help us. I had the idea to set the video in a call centre, then Owain at Orchard (production company) helped develop our idea.
"It was a lot of fun creating the video and I think that comes across while watching it."
Pwy sy'n galw video by Lŵp
Indeed, it is almost impossible not to dance or tap your toe to the song, but it also includes a poignant message about the Welsh language with lyrics such as: "Without a language there is no heart", "the situation has pushed me to raise the standard" and "feeling like a fake Welshman".
Following the success of the track, what's the next step for Lloyd and Dom James?
"Pwy Sy'n Galw? is the start of our journey. Our intention as a trio is to continue to create and release Welsh music and see how far we can take it.
"We have lots of events and sets to look forward to over the summer - the future looks to be exciting."
So watch this space – people are likely to be calling out for more tracks by Lloyd and Dom James, in the meantime enjoy the Pwy Sy'n Galw? video on the S4C Lŵp YouTube channel .
Lŵp Curadur: Lemfreck on S4C Clic
An Orchard production for S4C
