Tystion is a musical project from Wales which began in 1991. Steffan Cravos, then 15 and influenced by the sounds of Public Enemy and the Dead Kennedys, worked from his bedroom in Carmarthen using two tape decks and a mixer. He wanted to create an anser to the current state of the Welsh musical mainstream. By 1995, he was joined by Gruff Meredith. Motto: (Welsh for Wales forever) Anthem: (Welsh for Land of My Fathers) Capital Cardiff (Caerdydd) Largest city Cardiff (Caerdydd) Official language(s) Welsh, English Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister of the UK Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Rhodri Morgan AM Unification    - by Gruffudd ap Llywelyn 1056... Steffan Cravos (born in Cardiff in 1975) is a rap and hip hop artist, as well as a Welsh-language activist. ... This article is about the music group. ... The Dead Kennedys (often known by their initials DK, as in decay) are a hardcore punk band from San Francisco, California. ... Carmarthen (Welsh Caerfyrddin - caer fort + Myrddin Moridunum, Merlin (origin disputed)) is the county town of Carmarthenshire, Wales. ... Motto: (Welsh for Wales forever) Anthem: (Welsh for Land of My Fathers) Capital Cardiff (Caerdydd) Largest city Cardiff (Caerdydd) Official language(s) Welsh, English Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister of the UK Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Rhodri Morgan AM Unification    - by Gruffudd ap Llywelyn 1056...

Background

Tystion ‘witness/testify’ sings hip-hop/rap mostly in Welsh but with some English as well. “<There’s more to this than meets the eye. Our words expose the lies around us.>” they sing in Dallt Y Dalltins . They became more than just Steffan in October 1996 when MC Sleifar (Steffan Cravos) and G Man (Gruff Meredith) decided to release a Welsh-language rap album. A year later they released the album Rhaid i Rhywbeth Ddigwydd (Something’s Got to Happen) on Fitamin Un. Steffan Cravos (born in Cardiff in 1975) is a rap and hip hop artist, as well as a Welsh-language activist. ... Steffan Cravos (born in Cardiff in 1975) is a rap and hip hop artist, as well as a Welsh-language activist. ... Fitamin Un is an underground electronic and hip-hop record label started by Steffan Cravos in 1995. ...

“We knew we wouldn’t get away with lyrics like ‘I fucked that Michelle in the kitchen, man that bitch was twitching’.” Instead they aimed to “Prove that Wales wasn’t all about choirs, chapels and mountains; and to move rap away from the mysoginy and cliché that prevails all too often.” In 1998 they were picked up by Angstmusik, and in 1999 they released Shrug Off Ya Complex. “If ever there was a call to arms for the Welsh underclass, this was it.” And it is this album’s lyrics we’ll take a closer look at. The Scream (1893) by Edvard Munch. ...

Many lyrics are forward-looking and speak of a regrouping of Wales, ostensibly Y Fro Gymraeg and a Welsh-speaking Wales. “<Enough of this oppression. About time to re-energize Wales. Let’s unite and organize, make ourselves heard in the towns.> “<Stepping forward, not looking back. … C’mon, it’s time to be decisive. … Too many voices, no one’s innovating. We have to be strong, will that day come? … I can’t relax, I’m being strangled. We need our own rules. We can’t be treated like a machine. Break free, and start teaching self-confidence. If we are to leave the gutter, get up, NOW!>” This is a similar call to the one Saunders Lewis gave when he proclaimed that the Welsh language could be saved and that people had to be willing to pay fines and face prison sentences for their beliefs. Motto: (Welsh for Wales forever) Anthem: (Welsh for Land of My Fathers) Capital Cardiff (Caerdydd) Largest city Cardiff (Caerdydd) Official language(s) Welsh, English Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister of the UK Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Rhodri Morgan AM Unification    - by Gruffudd ap Llywelyn 1056... Saunders Lewis (John Saunders Lewis), (October 15, 1893 - September 1, 1985), was a Welsh poet, dramatist, historian, literary critic and political activist. ... Welsh redirects here, and this article describes the Welsh language. ...

Interestingly enough, although songs like Wermod Lwyd <Wormwood> talk about Tystion in rehab and their struggle against the world’s toxins, in Shrug Off the Complex he asserts that “<in the face of major powers we are being trampled like snails on the ground. We’re slow, y’all. Got any blow? Got any speed? No! I have none cos I need a clear mind to save my rights, it’s clear and totally obvious, Independent, Underground, the voice of revolution in the area transmitting to the nation on a secret wavelength.>” Unlike some American rap where excesses of drugs are sometimes extolled, here Tystion is clear that in order to effectively create change, one must be free of drugs and clear of mind. Furthermore, we are warned that “you’ll never get any solace smoking a joint, what’s the point, you sit in front of the tele, you sit still, that’s when the enemy comes in for the kill.” “We ain’t justifying aggression. We don’t have to justify anything. hip hop poetry in motion. Streets are in commotion. Our mother tongue was stolen. The lies of lay men. They tried to crush the nation. Henry VIII destroyed our religion, burnt our books, stole our faith. Our history is a set of lies agreed upon, but some has another notion and over the years planned revolution. Shrug off the complex.” It is interesting here that aggression isn’t being called for—and many of the Welsh protests have been non-violent—and the listener is also given a mini history lesson from a point of view they might not have heard in school. “History is a set of lies agreed upon” is a quote from Napoleon Boneparte. Hip hop music is a style of music which came into existence in the United States during the mid-1970s, and became a large part of modern pop culture during the 1980s. ... Breakdancer in Ljubljana, Slovenia. ... Motto: (Welsh for Wales forever) Anthem: (Welsh for Land of My Fathers) Capital Cardiff (Caerdydd) Largest city Cardiff (Caerdydd) Official language(s) Welsh, English Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister of the UK Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Rhodri Morgan AM Unification    - by Gruffudd ap Llywelyn 1056...

Tryweryn is a song about the village of Capel Celyn and the Tryweryn valley near Bala which were drowned in 1965 in order to supply water for the City of Liverpool. 800 acres of land, including the school, post office, chapel, and cemetery, as well as 12 farms and land belonging to four other farms were drowned to create the Llyn Celyn reservoir. Neither the Welsh members of parliament or the local authorities had any power or voice in the decision. “<Water is a gift from the clouds to keep us from thirst and to wash our bodies, but sometimes the elements are the enemy. When the water drowned the valley I wasn’t even born, but I remember Tryweryn. … It’s only through communication that we can understand everything that’s happened and enjoy opening new doors. By listening and reasoning we’ll get rid of oppression. We’ll learn—we’ll win. It’s about time that the history of Wales gets the platform it deserves. Remember Tryweryn, resistance by the people. I can see the future, improving every year, our hands on the wheel, our people faithful. No heads int9he clouds, we’ve reached the summit. It’s downhill from now on. It’s written. C’mon we’re out in front. … I’m decisive like Saunders and D.J. when they burnt down the old school. The seeds have been sown. There’s no boundaries to the ideas. Turn hindrances into words. Turn devastation into rhymes. I remember a small town in ’62.”> Once again the listener is encouraged to remember the past and communicate and use words as resistance. Knowledge is power. Saunders Lewis has been mentioned before, but “he was one of the "Penyberth Three": along with Lewis Valentine and D.J. Williams, he protested the government’s establishment of a bombing school on the Llyn Peninsula, an area deep in the Welsh heartland. In September of 1936, the three set fire to one of the buildings on the site and then turned themselves in to the authorities. The incident drew only temporary attention to the nationalist issue, though, as World War II was on the horizon.” Capel Celyn was a rural community to the North West of Bala in North Wales, in the Tryweryn Valley. ... The Tryweryn is a river in North Wales. ... Bala is a market town in Gwynedd, Wales, formerly an urban district of Merionethshire. ... Liverpool is a major city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. ... Llyn Celyn is a large reservoir constructed in 1961 in the valley of the River Tryweryn in North Wales. ... Motto: (Welsh for Wales forever) Anthem: (Welsh for Land of My Fathers) Capital Cardiff (Caerdydd) Largest city Cardiff (Caerdydd) Official language(s) Welsh, English Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister of the UK Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Rhodri Morgan AM Unification    - by Gruffudd ap Llywelyn 1056... The Tryweryn is a river in North Wales. ... Saunders Lewis (John Saunders Lewis), (October 15, 1893 - September 1, 1985), was a Welsh poet, dramatist, historian, literary critic and political activist. ... Lewis Valentine (1893-1986) was a Baptist pastor, author, editor and political activist. ... D.J. Williams (born July 20, 1982 in Pittsburg, California) is an American football linebacker for the Denver Broncos of the NFL. He was selected with the 17th overall pick of the 2004 NFL Draft out of the University of Miami. ... *Map sources for LlÅ·n Peninsula Hafan Pwllheli Marina St. ... Combatants Allied Powers: United Kingdom France Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Axis Powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Charles de Gaulle Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33...

“<We can rock, no problem. The beats and music take us out of trouble, instead of destruction and violence I use my words and voice. I had enough of being told I’m wrong. Off your knees. Plan and design the future. Leave the past, design the future. Leave the past, create the future. A free Wales built on faith. A free Wales full of faith.>” Although this song began with talk of “<getting a gun to blow a hole in his [[[William Hague]] ] mouth>” it is clear that this is a verbal metaphor of distress and it is words and communication which are to be used in resistance. As with other lyrics the themes of communication, remembrance of past history, waking of from apathy, and strength in unity are emphasized. William Hague was the leader of the Conservative Party from 1997 to 2001.

Discography

Albums

See also: 1994 in music, other events of 1995, 1996 in music, 1990s in music and the list of years in music // January 18 - Jerry Garcia wrecks his rented BMW into a guard rail near Mill Valley, California. ... Fitamin Un is an underground electronic and hip-hop record label started by Steffan Cravos in 1995. ... See also: 1995 in music, other events of 1996, 1997 in music, 1990s in music and the list of years in music // January 8 - Madonnas stalker, Robert Hoskins is found guilty and convicted on five charges of assault, stalking, and threatening to kill the singer. ... Fitamin Un is an underground electronic and hip-hop record label started by Steffan Cravos in 1995. ... See also: 1996 in music, other events of 1997, 1998 in music, 1990s in music and the list of years in music // Events January 9 - David Bowie performs his 50th Birthday Bash concert (the day after his birthday) at Madison Square Garden, with guests Frank Black, The Foo Fighters, Sonic... Fitamin Un is an underground electronic and hip-hop record label started by Steffan Cravos in 1995. ... See also: 1998 in music, 1999 in British music, other events of 1999, 2000 in music, 1990s in music and the list of years in music // Events January 7 After eight years of marriage, Rod Stewart and supermodel wife Rachel Hunter announce their separation. ... Ankst is a Welsh independent record label formed in 1988 at Aberystwyth University by Alun Llwyd and Emyr Williams. ... See also: 2000 in music (UK) Musical groups established in 2000 Record labels established in 2000 other events of 2000 list of years in music 2000s in music // John Tavener is knighted in the New Years Honours List. ... Ankst is a Welsh independent record label formed in 1988 at Aberystwyth University by Alun Llwyd and Emyr Williams. ...

Singles

See also: 1998 in music (UK) other events of 1998 Musical groups established in 1998 Record labels established in 1998 list of years in music 1990s in music // February 15 - Sir Edward Elgars unfinished third symphony, completed by Anthony Payne is performed for the first time at the Royal... Ankst is a Welsh independent record label formed in 1988 at Aberystwyth University by Alun Llwyd and Emyr Williams. ... See also: 1998 in music, 1999 in British music, other events of 1999, 2000 in music, 1990s in music and the list of years in music // Events January 7 After eight years of marriage, Rod Stewart and supermodel wife Rachel Hunter announce their separation. ... Ankst is a Welsh independent record label formed in 1988 at Aberystwyth University by Alun Llwyd and Emyr Williams. ... See also: 1998 in music, 1999 in British music, other events of 1999, 2000 in music, 1990s in music and the list of years in music // Events January 7 After eight years of marriage, Rod Stewart and supermodel wife Rachel Hunter announce their separation. ... Ankst is a Welsh independent record label formed in 1988 at Aberystwyth University by Alun Llwyd and Emyr Williams. ... See also: 2001 in music (UK) Musical groups established in 2001 Record labels established in 2001 other events of 2001 list of years in music 2000s in music // January 1 Comeback of Guns N Roses in House of Blues Hum disbands. ... Fitamin Un is an underground electronic and hip-hop record label started by Steffan Cravos in 1995. ... See also: 2002 in music (UK) Musical groups established in 2002 Record labels established in 2002 other events of 2002 list of years in music 2000s in music // 2002 was marked by significant trends in Rock Music. ... Fitamin Un is an underground electronic and hip-hop record label started by Steffan Cravos in 1995. ...

References

• Lyrics in <> brackets are originally in Welsh. The English translation came from their website <http://www.ankst.co.uk/tystion%20page.htm>.

• <http://www.landofsong.net/tystion/biog.shtml>

• Ibid.

• Ibid.

• From Dallt y Dalltins (I Know Y’know).

• From Shrug Off the Complex.

• Ibid.

• Ibid.

• Ibid.

• <http://www.llge.org.uk/ymgyrchu/Dwr/TRyweryn/index-e.htm> p. 1.

• From Tryweryn.

• From Dyma’n Rheg (This Is My Curse)